An Unexpected Word Search

I’m always interested in words. Perhaps it comes with being a writer, but Mom was into words, too. She loved playing Scrabble and excelled at Crossword. I enjoy Word Search.

While writing I often refer to a dictionary or a thesaurus, but I didn’t expect to do that on my quest for a proverb today. I was enjoying an overview of chapter seventeen when one word called a halt to my thoughts.

The word was detestable. Not the word itself, but the way it described a couple of things detestable to God. This show-stopper was Proverbs 17:15, NLT: Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent - - - both are detestable to the LORD.

Anybody who joined me on this month’s quest for a personal daily proverb might remember that Proverbs 6:16 says, “There are six things the LORD hates - - - no, seven things he detests.”  All seven are listed, yet it didn’t stop me in my tracks like today’s simple two-liner.

I reviewed Proverbs 6:16 and decided the word hate softened the blow a little. I wasn’t too far off. I took time for a detestable word search and something called vocabulary.com turned up below another search claiming that the words hate and detestable are interchangeable. Hate is more common, but detest was considered an expression of such powerful dislike that no other word would do.

Some people read through the Bible each year in a different translation. Mom used to do that. I prefer to use a translation in studies for a few years. I’m currently using a *New Living Translation (NLT).

Perhaps your Bible translation says, "abomination, abhorrent, repulsive, or hateful." The idea is the same as detestable. Not one of these words indicates something in which God delights. Clearly, there are some things that God neither desires nor takes any pleasure in. 

I became interested in finding other things that are detestable to God, or that God detests. As I quickly reviewed the previous chapters of Proverbs, I noticed that some of the detestable things listed in Proverbs 6:16-19 are repeated individually in two-line Proverbs in the chapters that follow.

Life improvement comes with reading the Bible to learn. It’s not as rewarding when you just read a chapter so you can mark it off your list.

Remember Jesus’ instructions:  Love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength (Mark 12:30). Happy reading!

*NLT is the New Living Translation/Life Application Study Bible copyright 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Available wherever books are sold, or check christianbooks.com)

Photo from Pixabay: Bible, Book, Literature, by kevron2001. 

Personal Puzzles

PERSONAL PUZZLES

My niece can do puzzles of twenty-five hundred to three thousand pieces in about four days. I used to try to find a major challenge for her each Christmas. When she completed every one, I finally gave up.

Puzzles Have Many Pieces

One day I bought a puzzle at a thrift store thinking I’d give jigsaw puzzles another chance. I emptied the pieces out on a table and started sorting.

My niece had said she starts by sorting straight edges and matching colors. I followed her advice and got about three-fourths of the outer edges in place. It was a satisfying to feeling to get that far.

Working on the puzzle now and then, I often referred to the box cover for clues. I tried working a few sections of color at a time but after a few days I’d made limited progress.

I hate to admit it, but this puzzle had only one-hundred pieces. I finally boxed it up and donated it back to the thrift store.

Instead of feeling frustrated, I decided to face the truth. I like puzzles, but only those on paper. I’m in total agreement with 2 Corinthians 10:12 which says comparing ourselves with one another is not wise. I enjoy my booklets of Word Search or the comparison of two pictures to find the changes.

Puzzles Require Time

Human beings are puzzles, too, to themselves, their parents and others. Every generation has learned that it takes a while to put the pieces of our understanding together.

Mary and Joseph were returning home after the Passover Feast in Jerusalem when they became totally puzzled. Jesus was not with their group. As concerned parents, they frantically retraced their steps (Luke 2:41-52).

Relieved to find him in the temple interacting with the teachers, they still asked for accountability. “Why have you treated us like this? We’ve been anxiously searching for you.”

When they heard his answer, they were puzzled. Jesus said, “Why were you searching? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”

The same scriptures tell us Jesus returned home and grew in four basic areas of life: (1) Wisdom--mentally, (2) Stature--physically, (3) In favor with God--spiritually, and (4) In favor with people—socially.

His personal puzzle took time to put together, just as ours does. But there comes a point of maturity in everyone’s life when they leave home to share their personal puzzle with the world.

Each Life Has Its Own Challenges

As challenging as jigsaw puzzles may be, real-life puzzles are even more so. There is hope for solutions, however. Philippians 1:6 says . . . He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.

God has never found a life puzzle He could not complete or solve. Would you like some help with your personal puzzle? Just ask.