Words from a Branch

My son, if sinners entice you,   do not consent.   If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood   let us ambush the innocent without reason;   like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; we shall find all precious goods,   we shall fill our houses with plunder; throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse” my son, do not walk in the way with them;   hold back your foot from their paths, for their feet run to evil,   and they make haste to shed blood.   For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird, but these men lie in wait for their own blood;   they set an ambush for their own lives. Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain;   it takes away the life of its possessors. Proverbs 1:10-18 ESV                 Peer pressure is nothing new; sinners love company and a...

Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. Proverbs 1:8-9 ESV             The overt meaning and intention of this verse has behind it a few important implications which setup the overt command. Sadly we can no longer take these implications of verses like this for granted. No, not even the mention of father and mother which implies a man and a woman joined in covenant marriage each with a respective role to play in the household and in the upbringing of the children. The family was the first social structure God introduced, and He built it on the union of one man and one woman in covenant. The implication of this verse is that the one man one woman marriage structure is beneficial for the children. As much as non-believers would like to dismiss this truth even their research continues to bear it out; as does real wo...