Papa Pat Tiny Devotionals

 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family who might drop by, I think the milk has gone bad. The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: The Lord gives light to the eyes of both. Proverbs 29:13, NASB My first thought was: “Lord, WHY would You give light to the oppressor? Why not put them in darkness?” See, If God did it MY way, then the oppressor would be at a disadvantage, and the poor could advance. Isn't that desirable? Well, no, for a couple of reasons. In the first place, how is the oppressor going to SEE his oppressive ways, unless he has light? That might not matter, if you didn't care for the oppressor; just let them run into a wall, then loot the wreckage. Seems fair to me; but then, I'm not a Heavenly Father. Even as an earthly father, though, I understand that God loves the oppressor, just not his oppressive ways. He desires repentance, and how is THAT going to happen, if he's blind to what he is doing? In th

 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family who might drop by, it's a breakfast burrito! The rich man is wise in his own eyes, But the poor who has understanding sees through him. Proverbs 28:11, NASB Why is it that riches and foolishness seem to go hand-in-hand? Why are we spending so much time trying to get rich? Riches shield us from the consequences of our behavior; and, since logical consequences are the best teachers we have access to, that cuts us off from learning. It works with simple matters, like home maintenance: if I am poor, and need to paint the bedroom, I have to learn how to paint, and do it myself. The rich person just hires someone else to do it for him. That's not a bad thing, by the way. Painters need to pay their bills just like we all do, and if everyone did their own painting, how would they get by?  The worst aspect of the learning-deprived rich person is that they don't really have to learn how to get along

 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family who might drop by, whipped cream on your Cheerios (Tre says!). A prudent man sees evil and hides himself, The naive proceed and pay the penalty. Proverbs 27:12, NASB Note that the difference here is NOT what is seen; there's nothing that suggests that the naive person is blind to the danger. The difference is in how they react when danger is detected. The prudent person does NOT attack the danger. That's because the task in life is not to drive all danger away; it's to go from Point A to Point B. Unfortunately in this case, the path from A to B has danger lurking about; think of it as an ambush. The wise person doesn't even risk a small amount of danger in combating a bad thing that can be detected; he removes himself from the sight of the lurking evil. Probably, it's implicit in his action of hiding himself that he finds another way to get to Point B. After all: that was the plan

 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family who might drop by, Remember Everyone Deployed! The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; He is weary of bringing it to his mouth again. Proverbs 26:15, NASB Cleaning Up One of the reasons for the emphasis on washings in the Old Testament law is that they dined without forks and spoons. Knives, highly useful for stabbing, had long been adapted to the table;  the practice was to cut off a portion of food, pick it up with your fingers, and eat it. Alternatively, you dipped your bread in the dish, and soaked up the gravy that way. Alas for poor LazyBubba! He is likely to starve, because he can't even lift his fingers out of the common dish and feed his face.  Sluggards don't usually last in large families. Anyone who leaves his hand in the dish is likely to have it perforated by the knives of his more energetic siblings; if LazyBubba leaves his hand in the dish, he's blocking access to the foo

 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family who might drop by, today is physical day. Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest Is a faithful messenger to those who send him, For he refreshes the soul of his masters. Proverbs 25:13, NASB This verse is an analogy: it compares the cold of snow with a faithful messenger, and it's intended to show how refreshing a faithful messenger is. For that to work as intended, the reader has to be familiar with snow at harvest time. The closest I've ever gotten to harvest is cutting the grass, and it rarely snows here in the foothills north of Atlanta. I do understand the benefits of a faithful messenger, though, so my learning is about harvest snow. And, after processing the verse, Farmer Jacob of 900 BC and I both understand the same thing; he learned that Part B, and I learned that Part A, are both soul refreshers. Did the scribes who transcribed Solomon's wisdom all those centuries ago cons

 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family who might drop by, the dogs are napping. Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; Do not destroy his resting place; For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity. Proverbs 24:15-16, NASB Who does this verse protect? It's clear that it is a warning; it's written in the form of “Don't do THIS, because THAT.” And I have sung something similar to verse 16 as an encouragement about the what happens with a good man. Under that understanding, I interpret the verses as saying “Don't mess with the righteous, because I love them and will protect them.” This morning, though, I feel a bit bolder, somehow. I think the selection is a warning of DIRECT consequences to the wicked, not only “don't mess with those I love.” I think it's saying: “Don't mess with that kid. You might knock him down, once, but he