10.25.08 The Flight of the Arrow, Proverbs 25

Razor-sharp Arrowheads

One of my favorite past-times as a kid was shooting my homemade bow (made from a tree branch and heavy-duty nylon string). My father had purchased a nice stack of arrows at a garage sale that had a variety of arrow heads for hunting, fishing, and target practice. He made me a bow and shared with me how he would hunt for game and spend hours in the woods on the hunt.

He let me shoot those arrows in a nearby empty field. Before he turned me loose, he gave me plenty of saftey instructions on how to hold the bow, guide the arrow, and avoid injury to others, etc. I used to love to point my arrows high in the sky to see how far I could let them fly. Finding them in the thick grass was a challenge and part of the fun. I would occasionally scare up a rabbit or a bird and had reason to take aim at my fleeing prey.

I enjoyed shooting arrows for many years, once taking archery in college, and practicing on a bail of hay in the back yard. The invention of the bow and arrow has a deep history in service to mankind. The bible gives plenty of warning about our words and how they pierce.

Music video: "Cry Out to Jesus" by Third Day

Proverbs 25:11 - "A word is aptly spoken is like apples of gold in setting of silver."

I found a photo of apples in a silver bowl. The apples looked very inviting and the nicely polished bowl, set for a special occasion, hightened the intrigue. It looked like like luxury. Are you due for a great word?

I think about my cousin Richard (41) who is on a waiting list for a heart transplant. He has been on a 30-day waiting list and word of a heart would be great news to his family and to ours.

Are you withholding a blessing by your words? How can you present a word to someone that will be received as a special arrangement just for them?

Proverbs 25:18 - "Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow is the man who gives false testimony against his neighbor."

Who is our neighbor? With the advent of the internet, our neighbor is literally anyone around the world. A false word can impact someone's livelihood or prevent a blessing. A false testimony is any untrue statement - either to embellish or to tear down. A club requires little aim and up close delivery (sometimes concealed and brutal), a sword requires more skill and further distance, and an arrow even greater aim, distance, and skill. Have you ever been harmed by someone's lie?

On Mission, On Assignment, and in the ZONE!

Andy Valadez
e-mail: andy@marketingdynamics.org