Love Covers

Proverbs 10-12

I was looking through the Proverbs in today’s reading, trying to decide what to focus on. There are just so many good ones! Proverbs is one of my favorite books, and as I meditate on different verses that hold meaning to me, I like to add artwork to them. When I look through my Bible, I’ve noticed that the ones I have marked up the most seem to have a common theme: they all have to do with how we treat others. 

I wish that was more of a focus in the world. The internet is full of comment sections heaped with insults and negativity. I’m forever grateful that my kids are homeschooled with a smaller group of Christians because my heart breaks at the stories of bullying. Videos abound of people being cruel to others in stores, on sidewalks, in restaurants, even at home with their families. Even in our churches, people can be unkind. 

The book of wisdom has a lot to say on how we treat those around us. Being kind, honest, and dependable is not only godly, but wise and leads to many benefits. 

Verse 11:10 tells us how others feel about those who are righteous and those who are wicked. Proverbs 11:13 warns against gossip, 17 teaches us that kindness to others benefits us, 22 talks about how we should be modest around others, and verses 24-26 give us the benefits of being generous. Chapter 12 speaks on how our own poor words to others can destroy us in verse 6. Verse 10 is actually about how we treat animals. Verse 16 talks about overlooking insults and not becoming immediately annoyed with others, and 25 tells us one of the benefits of using kind words. 

But I think my favorite verse about how we should interact with others is 10:12. “Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.” There are many types of people in this world, and we are bound to clash. I only have three children in my house, and they definitely don’t always get along. They don’t hate one another at all, but they sure do have some conflict. However, they also love each other. So, unless they are having a particularly bad, rotten kind of day, they aren’t purposely going out of their way to create issues. 

I don’t think many of us reading this are likely to have a lot of hatred in our hearts. I’d like to think that most people don’t. So I feel like the most important part of this verse is actually the second half. I also think it’s the most difficult. Love covers over all wrongs. Have you ever tried to love someone who has really wronged you? It’s not easy. But how much better would the world be if we covered up the wrongs done to us with love and forgiveness? 

Society would say that this type of reaction would make you a doormat or a pushover. This is a lie. Nothing takes more strength than loving those who harm you. That kind of strength comes from God. He allowed his only son to die for a lot of people who held no love for him or others. His love is that deep. Christ was willing to die for those who hated him. His love was that deep. 

As you read through the Proverbs, seeking out wisdom, I hope you see the wisdom in this: actively loving those who wrong you will make your life, and the world itself, better. My prayer for you is that you will practice treating others with patience and kindness, and that those you interact with will do the same. I pray that you see the wisdom in covering wrong with love. 

-Jenn Haynes

Reflection Questions: 

What verses speak to you today in these passages? Where is God trying to place wisdom into your life so that your path is easier? 

Think about some of your interactions with others lately. What were the best ones? How can you go and bless others the way that you were blessed? What were the worst ones? Was your reaction one of love? How can you forgive the offences and react with love? 

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The Voice of Wisdom

Proverbs 7-9

Do you ever find yourself looking at someone else’s situation or decisions and think, “I would have done that completely differently”? Of course you have. We all have. The world is full of armchair quarterbacks and side seat drivers. It’s so much easier to look at someone else’s situation and evaluate it as an outsider without the pressures of personal consequence. 

In the heat of the moment, standing at our own crossroads, however, we get wrapped up in the “what ifs” and the worries about whether or not we are making huge mistakes. So how do you know when you’re doing something wise or foolish? 

Chapters 7 and 8 of Proverbs personify danger/foolishness and wisdom as two women. The first woman is the strange or adulterous woman, luring in a simple youth. She uses “smooth talk” and “persuasive words” to seduce him. I feel it’s worthy to note that sexual sin is being used in this personification, probably because it’s the most common and most dangerous. And her opposite is wisdom, who doesn’t use tricks or wordplay, but speaks plainly. She promises no shortcuts, but offers instruction, knowledge, and truth. 

Both women have some similarities though. They are both crying out to those around them, trying to persuade others to follow them. They are both offering up benefits to listening to their words. So how do we know which to listen to? 

It seems obvious when we read the chapters, right? It’s less obvious in our own realities, though. Less obvious, but it’s still possible to make the correct choice. As in all decisions, we should test our options against scripture. If you want to know if your actions are wise or dangerous, test them against God’s word. Discernment, the ability to judge well, is a skill that everyone can, and should, develop through practice. The more we know of God’s word, the better equipped we will be to look at the paths before us and choose the wise one, the one that aligns best with scripture. 

When wisdom calls out to you, don’t you want to be familiar with her voice? 

My prayer for you is that you become so familiar with the voice of wisdom, the words of God, that you are not easily fooled or led astray. I hope you will love instruction so that you will continue to grow in wisdom and righteousness. I pray that you find the benefits of wisdom listed in chapter 9: “For through wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you.”

-Jenn Haynes

Reflection Questions: 

What decisions do you face right now? Have you placed your options up against scripture? 

How is your scripture study? In what ways can you make yourself more familiar with God’s word, and the voice of wisdom, so that you can easily recognize it?

Are there any voices of temptation in your life right now that are trying to call out to you? Take a moment to honestly analyze and reflect. Often we want to shy away from facing the hard truth that there are likely things in our lives that we enjoy but that we should give up because they are unwise. Does that hold true for you? 

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Heart Protection

Proverbs 4-6

My husband and I went to an amusement park last week with our three kids. Though I suffer from motion sickness in a major way and I’m terrified of heights, I still love roller coasters. Going on them with my kids has been a fun, new blessing, and I love that they are all big enough to ride them with us now. But I’ve also noticed that they are slightly less enjoyable in another way. I now do something on coasters that I’ve never done before.

I pray. Like constantly. Through the whole thing. The second we start going upside down all I can think is, “God, my entire family is on this contraption, please hold us safely in your hands!” I spend the entire ride begging for God’s protection. It eventually just turns into a long stream of silent pleas of, “Oh God, oh God, oh God pleeeeeeeease keep us safe!” All I can focus on is my family’s safety.

I know that the older I’ve gotten, the greater my anxiety has grown. This especially holds true with my kids. They are all running around in this world like nothing can harm them and all I can think is that literally EVERYTHING can harm them. And I want so badly to protect them. We’ve invested a great deal into several devices all designed to help us care for our kids’ medical needs. We have an alarm on our house to alert us to danger at night. Smoke alarms in appropriate rooms, and carbon monoxide detectors as well. Our family is precious to us and we want to guard it with all we have. 

But we also want to guard our hearts in the same way. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” EVERYTHING we do flows from our hearts. Just as we all do certain things to keep our bodies safe, we should be protecting our hearts as well. Over and over in Proverbs, the importance of wisdom is repeated. If our hearts are filled with wisdom, love, truth, and righteousness, then these are what will come forth in our actions. Hearts full of wisdom will not only keep us on good, straight paths, but will also be a light for others to see as well. 

-Jenn Haynes

Reflection Questions: 

What is attacking your heart right now? What is badly influencing you? How is this showing in your actions and your words? How can you better guard your heart from those things? 

If you are a parent, how can you help your children protect their own hearts? 

Is everything you are doing showing others a path toward God? 

My prayer for you today is that you continue to find wisdom and instruction in these proverbs and use them in ways that will protect your precious heart. Fill it with all that is good and holy!

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The Root of Learning

Proverbs 1-3

I’m a homeschooling mom. I never meant to be one, it just kind of happened. It happened in such a weird way, actually, that I know it was God speaking into our lives. That being said, we follow what is known as a classical model of learning. I won’t go into details about it, but when you dive into homeschooling, or if you’re an educator, you have probably become familiar with pedagogy – the study of learning. Or, as most people think of it, the study of how to instruct. We’ve developed many different ways of learning over the years, trying to help people in various situations learn in different ways that speak to them more clearly. We require different methods because we are different people with a beautiful variety of brains. 

But the root of learning is not teaching. It’s not the brain, nor the instructor. It is knowledge and wisdom itself. And behind all knowledge and wisdom is God. 

God did an interesting thing when he created us and the world we live in. He placed a tree of the knowledge of good and evil and then told us not to eat from it. What a crazy thing, right? Why place the tree there at all? But to be completely free, he had to give us freedom of choice. And that means we have to have options to choose from. Humanity chose poorly. We continue to choose poorly. 

How do we choose wisely? Proverbs 1:7 tells us, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” The fear of the LORD means showing God the respect and awe that he’s due so that we long to obey him in all things. When we obey the instructions of the loving Father who wants only the best for us, then we are led to knowledge and wisdom. 

As you start through the book of Proverbs, take note of how this wonderful book is not only trying to grant you wisdom and knowledge, but also moral guidance. Let these Proverbs speak to you in a way that helps you see how much God loves you and wants to guide you and protect you. I hope you start to see the benefits of wisdom, as they are beautifully outlined in chapter 2, show up in big ways in your life. 

-Jenn Haynes

Reflection Questions:

What are some of the ways that God’s guidance has kept you from trouble? In what moments of your life do you feel you would have avoided trouble if you HAD followed God’s instruction more closely?

Proverbs 2:10 says, “For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.” What wisdom have you gleaned from scripture that has given you that sense of pleasantness in your soul? 

My prayer for you today is that you will experience the truth in Proverbs 3:5-6. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 

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Set Me as a Seal

Song of Solomon 5-8

While I was in college at Ohio Northern, I was a member of their touring choir. We sang many beautiful pieces, most of them filled with Christian content and stories. Our director chose them for their beauty or technical difficulty, as he was not a man of faith. But I loved the content. One piece from my years there stands out to me to this day because our director told us the story of its composition, and it has never left me.

René Clausen, an accomplished American composer and director, wrote Set Me As a Seal after the tragic death of his unborn child. After three miscarriages, he and his wife were six and a half months into pregnancy. Because his wife was 39, and their three previous children died before birth because of birth defects, the doctor wanted an amniocentesis done. Due to misplacement of the needle, the baby was killed instantly during the process. The Clausens still had to deliver their baby, who had no birth defects and was perfectly sound, in a delivery room to the sound of crying babies being born around them. 

I cannot imagine the agony. The senselessness of the loss is overwhelming to me. It was to Dr. Clausen and his wife as well. After the stillbirth of their fourth child, Clausen went home and composed Set Me As a Seal in 20 minutes. 

I remember singing this song with our choir, time and again as we went on tour. It was beautiful in its simplicity of words, and complexity of notes and harmonies. It sounded like a plea from a grieving heart. The lyrics were short but profound, and straight from Song of Solomon chapter 8, verses 6 and 7. 

“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm: for love is strong as death.

Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.”

While grieving the loss of another child, Clausen turned to scripture and faith and found his inspiration in a book of love songs written for a husband and wife. But these love songs aren’t just for husband and wife. They are to mirror the love that God has for each of us, and the love we should have for him. These lines represent complete ownership and belonging. They represent a love that is to last forever, that cannot be removed or washed away. 

God wants us to belong to him in such a way. He wants us to seek him first and always. And his love for us is also without end. How beautiful it is to know that a love this deep exists. When we are in our darkest hour, or in our greatest moment of joy, his love is the same. He is unwavering. 

As you read through the last half of these songs today, I hope you see the beauty of God’s love for you and the relationship he longs to have with you, and also the relationship Christ has with the church. You are beautiful to him, and worthy of love. You are so worthy, in fact, that Christ died for you. 

– Jenn Haynes

PS: If you would like to hear a lovely recording of Set Me As a Seal, this choir performs it beautifully: 

UNT A Cappella Choir: René Clausen – Set Me As a Seal Upon Your Heart (1989) 

I hope it helps you to reflect on his profound love for you

-Jenn Haynes

Reflection Questions: 

Do you see yourself as beautiful and worthy of the love God has for you? 

How do you think God sees you? 

Take a quiet moment to reflect on the fact that God’s love for you is so deep and passionate that he desires your love above all else. The God of the universe wants a relationship with you that is deeper than any other relationship you’ve ever had. He sees you as valuable and lovely. Hold that close to you. 

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Chapters of Love

Song of Solomon 1-4

This collection of songs is something that, sadly, is frequently misunderstood and avoided today. At a wedding we celebrate love, yes, but certainly not like this. The beautiful imagery described in these chapters of love, desire and passion are everything we should want in a relationship with our spouse. Unfortunately, discussions of sexual desire and attraction like this are usually either twisted by an immoral society, or avoided by Christians. The world has thrown sex around until it’s dirty, misused, and undervalued. And Christian religion has gone in the complete opposite direction and has made it into something secret and almost shameful. We feel embarrassment.

But desire is not shameful at all when it is within its perfect time and place. Amidst all of this expression of love, there is one important phrase repeated again and again. 

“Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.”

There is no rushing here. When we want to be in a relationship or long to fill our sexual desires more than we long for God’s good and perfect plan, this is when everything falls apart. The imagery stops being intimate and beautiful. It becomes cheap and our relationship is no longer the reflection of God’s love for us that it should be. 

But when we acknowledge God first and seek him for our fulfillment, we restore the proper order of things. God created man and everything was good. Adam had God and relied on him completely. And in that complete reliance, God provided the perfect partner. 

God knows our needs far better than we do, and that includes our need for relationships and intimacy. When we seek him first before seeking fulfillment in others, God will provide in his own perfect timing. 

I hope you see the beauty reflected in these chapters! Love and desire within God’s plan is a treasure to be appreciated. 

-Jenn Haynes

Reflection Questions: 

For those who are unmarried: Do you find yourself growing impatient? Are you seeking fulfillment from people rather than God? How can you turn your focus more on your relationship with God and rely more fully on him? 

For those who married: Maybe you’re a newlywed, or you’ve been married for years, or you’re widowed. Take some time to reflect on your love. Read through the descriptions and think about your own beloved. What do you appreciate about your spouse? How did God provide for you by bringing you together? How does your relationship reflect the relationship God desires to have with you? 

My prayer for you today is that you see beauty in this passage. I pray you seek intimacy with God first, and that you rely on him fully. And for those who are/were married, I pray you are able to reflect and appreciate all of the wonderful qualities of your spouse. 

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My Hope is in His Word

Psalm 119:89-176

I don’t think that any child would say that they love rules. And yet, they subconsciously crave them. Rules from a loving parent show a child that someone loves them enough to guide them. Structure makes them feel reassured and gives a sense of stability. Without those directions and guidelines, children become stressed and tend to feel out of their depth. 

Even as an adult, I like to have rules and guidelines that make logical sense. Structure eases my mental burden because it removes some of the many options that exist. In fact, research says that too many decisions and too many options are harmful to our mental health and can lead to mental fatigue and anxiety, causing us to either avoid making decisions or make harmful decisions that don’t align with our life goals. 

If I know that by following wise guidelines I will avoid many mistakes, my mind and soul feel more at ease. How blessed are we, then, that we have a loving father who cares so much about us that he has set boundaries for his children to keep us safe? 

The author of Psalm 119 clearly knows the value of God’s laws. His gratitude to God for providing wisdom and guidance is clear. When I first read through this passage my initial thought was, “How can someone go on this long about laws and rules!?” But the truth is that these verses aren’t proclaiming the glory of guidelines. They are testifying to the everlasting love God has for us.

We live in a sinful world that is full of deceit, pitfalls, and endless opportunities for mistakes. But Psalm 119:113-114 offers reassurance that though the world is wicked, our God loves us so much that he has provided all of the guidance we need to navigate life. 

“I hate double-minded people, but I love your law. You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.”

What a beautiful reminder to bury ourselves in God’s commands. I pray that you find love, peace, and reassurance in his words written for you. 

-Jenn Haynes

Reflection Questions

What are some decisions you are facing right now? What would God advise? 

Many people find rules restricting. How do you feel about some of God’s rules for you? If you find them restricting, do some reflection to find out why. Is what God wants for you clashing with what you want? 

Take some time to thank God for some specific rules he has set forth for you that you have found helpful. Revel in his love for you! 

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A Discerning Heart

1 Kings 3-4, 2 Chronicles 1, Psalm 72                                   

In these accounts (1 Kings 3 & 2 Chronicles 1), we see Solomon following the LORD and God coming to him in a dream to ask him whatever he wants.

In the start of his reign here, Solomon presents himself with humility before God in his answer.

1 Kings 3:7-9 says

7 “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

He could have so easily asked for more, yet what he wanted was to be able to do the job that God had appointed to him well.  I really appreciate this and want it to be an example to me to want to do my job(s) well.  I am thankful that for the most part, I enjoy my job, which makes it easier to work hard at it.  But I know that is not always the case.  For those jobs that I am maybe not fully equipped for, or maybe especially in the ones I think I am, I want to be reminded to ask God for wisdom in how I work or lead so that I can do it well.

As we continue reading, we see the wisdom of Solomon here, and we see how he became a great king, but seeing this positive start here also saddens me when we read how he fell and how he turned away from the God who gave him this great wisdom, wealth, and honor.  You’ll read about that later, but I just wanted to note that again (from earlier in the week), we can’t let pride get in the way – even those viewed as some of the “greats” have fallen when led astray.

~Stephanie Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. How would you define wisdom?
  2. What is one decision you have made that showed a lot of wisdom? What is one decision you have made that lacked wisdom?
  3. In what jobs/roles/areas of your life should you pray for a more discerning heart to distinguish between right and wrong?
  4. How does pride mess with wisdom?
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Loving Laws

Psalm 119:1-88

As I read through the first half of this Psalm, one thing that stuck out to me was the repetition of the thought of loving God’s law/commands/decrees or desiring to love them. 

When we think about laws, we don’t usually think about loving them.  We follow the laws so we don’t get punished.  Some laws, we understand and agree that they are good, so it makes sense to follow them, and some, we don’t and the only reason to follow them is to not get in trouble (like prohibiting nursing homes from playing Bingo more than two times per week or not crossing state lines with a duck on your head).

The concept of loving laws makes much more sense when you consider a loving God that created them.  Though we may not understand all of them, we can know that God put them into place for the good of people.

Though the requirements of the law were fulfilled in Christ and there wasn’t an expectation for the Gentiles to follow the law, we can still look at the law and see valuable guidance like washing your hands.  You can see how the instructions on dealing with dead bodies or blood would have made sense, especially before more medical advances were made.  And whatever doesn’t make sense to you at this time, if you believe that God is good and loving, you can trust that the laws were made with a reason.

When we look at the direction given by Jesus that went above and beyond the call of the law, we can also believe that he gave those directives because he loves people too and wants us to as well.

When we want to do good because it is good rather than because of a fear of punishment (or a promise of reward), we can live our lives differently than the world around us.

God, teach us to love your ways, to truly believe that your ways are good and trustworthy.

~Stephanie Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. What are your favorite 3 verses in Psalm 119:1-88? Why did you choose each one?
  2. What is the benefit of having good laws? What laws help your home, school or work environment run more smoothly?
  3. Do you trust that God’s laws are good? Pick one of God’s good laws that God might want you to love more. What would that look like?
  4. What do we learn about God’s laws from Jesus?
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So Be Strong

1 Kings 1-2 & Psalm 37, 71, 94

As David gets ready to die in 1 Kings 2, the beginning verses as he speaks to Solomon stuck out to me.

2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, 3 and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go 4 and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’”

“So be strong, act like a man” – what does that look like?  I think this statement connects with the next one.  To be strong and act like a man is to observe what the Lord your God requires which is to walk in obedience to him and keep his decrees.  Doing those things takes strength because it opposes the way of the world.

I am not a man, but I am raising a young one, and this is what I desire for him.  I want him to be strong, that is, to stand firm in faith and not give in to pressures from this world, but to instead walk in obedience to God.  I want him to be strong as in to stand up for those who can’t, to defend and protect the weak. 

Our culture puts definitions on what it wants men to be like, and that changes throughout time (for example, I read recently that pink used to be a very masculine color in the past), but those things don’t really matter.  How they follow God matters.  How they care for others matters.

As you continue reading in 1 Kings 2, you see poor examples of men in Adonijah, in Abiathar, in Joab, in Shimei as they tried to usurp the leader God put in place or followed the wrong people or refused to listen.  These aren’t poor examples of men in a cultural sense, they are poor examples of men in the sense that they were not walking in obedience to God.  They were not being strong/faithful to what they were told, but instead were led astray, or were trying to lead others astray.  If we can raise up men who follow God and care for others, we raise up men who are like Jesus and that is the strength that I hope to see.

~Stephanie Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. How is God’s definition of what it takes to be a man different from what the world currently says men should be?
  2. While it is not discussed in this text specifically, what do you think God would say to women about how they should act?
  3. Man or woman, how have you showed strength in opposing the way of the world? Is there an area where God would like to see more strength in you – more doing what God requires?
  4. What good examples have you had of men or women who were strong in the Lord?
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