Building up or tearing down...

This morning as I was having my devotions I read a familiar verse but it spoke to me fresh and new for today. That is the amazing thing about God's Word....it is alive and active......it doesn't matter how many times I may read a verse it can suddenly come alive on the day I need to hear it and be reminded of its truth. Thank you Lord for being alive and active in my life!

I hope it encourages you as it did me. I like to read it in several versions.....

Proverbs 14:1 - "The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down." (NIV)

(CEV) - "A woman's family is held together by her wisdom, but it can be destroyed by her foolishness."

(NLT) - "A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands."

(MSG) - "Lady Wisdom builds a lovely home; Sir Fool comes along and tears it down brick by brick."

(NKJV) - "The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish pulls it down with her hands."

As the woman /mom in the house I can spend my time and resources building up or tearing down my home. By nature I am a "nester" I love the part of painting and decorating, creating an atmosphere that is a haven for my family as well as anyone who visits our home. Creating our own little retreat! I can also think in the literal, physical terms of tearing down my home by not caring for it and letting things go. But what struck me was from -
The Message - "Lady Wisdom builds a lovely home; Sir Fool comes along and tears it down brick by brick.
It does take time to build a lovely home but it can be torn down in an instant with the words we say to one another....even joking.....or the attitude that permeates the atmosphere. It literally says - tears it down brick by brick. It is a slow tearing away until all you have left is a pile of bricks. Nothing left of the beautiful home you started out to build.

In my own foolish attitudes, pride, selfishness, fear or insecurity I can tear down my home brick by brick. I want to choose wisdom & build my home centered on Christ - He is the solid foundation. He is the Only Foundation on which to build upon!

Here are a few wise building materials that I thought of: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 -

(NLT)- "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!"
(MSG) 3-7"If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love. Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end. (8-10) Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled."

(NIV) - "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away."

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. Thank you for speaking to me today...help me to focus on You and Your Word, remove the pride & selfishness from my heart and help me to build my home that will radiate with Your Love.....the Love that never fails!