Welcome to the twenty-second serving of "Five A Day....with A Slice of Wisdom". We are in the home-stretch of our 30 day challenge. Just joining? You are not too late! Been with me? Bless your heart! This time with you and our Father has been so precious and such a blessing! I pray your heart is being strengthened and your spirit renewed !



Today's portion comes from the Amplified Version (AMP). With eight days left on our challenge, I am open to suggestions for a preferred version. If not, I will keep plugging away with alternating them as best I can. As always you can visit : www.biblegateway.com
for any version you would like or if you want the audio version.

A Moment of Grace: Father God, it is so good to join with You and my brothers and sisters around the table. Though You have called me to serve, I have also been partaking. It is a Blessing to feast with You and one we don't take for granted Open our minds, ears, eyes and hearts as we feast on Your Word today. Help us to express ourselves openly and be obedient as David was. I know some are remembering David sinned. Aren't we all sinners? We are shown great mercy and grace in what You did for and through David and what You are doing for and through us. Help us not to cast stones at one another but to abound in mercy and grace just as You have done for us. Help us to be reflective and responsive to Your Word in the Name of Jesus, Amen.


Come and Dine........

Psalm 13

Amplified Bible (AMP)


Psalm 13

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

1 How long will You forget me, O Lord? Forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?

2 How long must I lay up cares within me and have sorrow in my heart day after day? How long shall my enemy exalt himself over me?

3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; lighten the eyes [of my faith to behold Your face in the pitchlike darkness], lest I sleep the sleep of death,

4 Lest my enemy say, I have prevailed over him, and those that trouble me rejoice when I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted, leaned on, and been confident in Your mercy and loving-kindness; my heart shall rejoice and be in high spirits in Your salvation.

6 I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation




Psalm 43

Amplified Bible (AMP)


Psalm 43

1 Judge and vindicate me, O God; plead and defend my cause against an ungodly nation. O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!

2 For You are the God of my strength [my Stronghold—in Whom I take refuge]; why have You cast me off? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

3 O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your dwelling.

4 Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my exceeding joy; yes, with the lyre will I praise You, O God, my God!

5 Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the help of my [sad] countenance, and my God.


Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation




Psalm 73

Amplified Bible (AMP)


Book Three

Psalm 73

A Psalm of Asaph.

1 Truly God is [only] good to Israel, even to those who are upright and pure in heart.

2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well-nigh slipped.

3 For I was envious of the foolish and arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 For they suffer no violent pangs in their death, but their strength is firm.

5 They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they smitten and plagued like other men.

6 Therefore pride is about their necks like a chain; violence covers them like a garment [like a long, luxurious robe].

7 Their eyes stand out with fatness, they have more than heart could wish; and the imaginations of their minds overflow [with follies].

8 They scoff, and wickedly utter oppression; they speak loftily [from on high, maliciously and blasphemously].

9 They set their mouths against and speak down from heaven, and their tongues swagger through the earth [invading even heaven with blasphemy and smearing earth with slanders].

10 Therefore His people return here, and waters of a full cup [offered by the wicked] are [blindly] drained by them.

11 And they say, How does God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?

12 Behold, these are the ungodly, who always prosper and are at ease in the world; they increase in riches.

13 Surely then in vain have I cleansed my heart and washed my hands in innocency.

14 For all the day long have I been smitten and plagued, and chastened every morning.

15 Had I spoken thus [and given expression to my feelings], I would have been untrue and have dealt treacherously against the generation of Your children.

16 But when I considered how to understand this, it was too great an effort for me and too painful

17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood [for I considered] their end.

18 [After all] You do set the [wicked] in slippery places; You cast them down to ruin and destruction.

19 How they become a desolation in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors!

20 As a dream [which seems real] until one awakens, so, O Lord, when You arouse Yourself [to take note of the wicked], You will despise their outward show.

21 For my heart was grieved, embittered, and in a state of ferment, and I was pricked in my heart [as with the sharp fang of an adder].

22 So foolish, stupid, and brutish was I, and ignorant; I was like a beast before You.

23 Nevertheless I am continually with You; You do hold my right hand.

24 You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to honor and glory.

25 Whom have I in heaven but You? And I have no delight or desire on earth besides You.

26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the Rock and firm Strength of my heart and my Portion forever.

27 For behold, those who are far from You shall perish; You will destroy all who are false to You and like [spiritual] harlots depart from You.

28 But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God and made Him my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.

Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation



Psalm 103

Amplified Bible (AMP)


Psalm 103

[A Psalm] of David.

1 Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name!

2 Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits—

3 Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases,

4 Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption, Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy;

5 Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle’s [strong, overcoming, soaring]!

6 The Lord executes righteousness and justice [not for me only, but] for all who are oppressed.

7 He made known His ways [of righteousness and justice] to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.

8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and loving-kindness.

9 He will not always chide or be contending, neither will He keep His anger forever or hold a grudge.

10 He has not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great are His mercy and loving-kindness toward those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him.

12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

13 As a father loves and pities his children, so the Lord loves and pities those who fear Him [with reverence, worship, and awe].

14 For He knows our frame, He [earnestly] remembers and imprints [on His heart] that we are dust.

15 As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

16 For the wind passes over it and it is gone, and its place shall know it no more.

17 But the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord are from everlasting to everlasting upon those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, and His righteousness is to children’s children—

18 To such as keep His covenant [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it] and to those who [earnestly] remember His commandments to do them [imprinting them on their hearts].

19 The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all.

20 Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word.

21 Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, all you His hosts, you His ministers who do His pleasure.

22 Bless the Lord, all His works in all places of His dominion; bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul!

Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation


Psalm 133

A Song of [a]Ascents. Of David.

1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

2 It is like the precious ointment poured on the head, that ran down on the beard, even the beard of Aaron [the first high priest], that came down upon the collar and skirts of his garments [consecrating the whole body].

3 It is like the dew of [lofty] Mount Hermon and the dew that comes on the hills of Zion; for there the Lord has commanded the blessing, even life forevermore [upon the high and the lowly].

Footnotes:a.Psalm 133:1 See Psalm 120 title footnote.

Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation


And now for our slice of Wisdom:



Proverbs 13

Amplified Bible (AMP)


13 A wise son heeds [and is the fruit of] his father’s instruction and correction, but a scoffer listens not to rebuke.

2 A good man eats good from the fruit of his mouth, but the desire of the treacherous is for violence.

3 He who guards his mouth keeps his life, but he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

4 The appetite of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the appetite of the diligent is abundantly supplied.

5 A [consistently] righteous man hates lying and deceit, but a wicked man is loathsome [his very breath spreads pollution] and he comes [surely] to shame.

6 Righteousness (rightness and justice in every area and relation) guards him who is upright in the way, but wickedness plunges into sin and overthrows the sinner.

7 One man considers himself rich, yet has nothing [to keep permanently]; another man considers himself poor, yet has great [and indestructible] riches.

8 A rich man can buy his way out of threatened death by paying a ransom, but the poor man does not even have to listen to threats [from the envious].

9 The light of the [uncompromisingly] righteous [is within him—it grows brighter and] rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked [furnishes only a derived, temporary light and] shall be put out shortly.

10 By pride and insolence comes only contention, but with the well-advised is skillful and godly Wisdom.

11 Wealth [not earned but] won in haste or unjustly or from the production of things for vain or detrimental use [such riches] will dwindle away, but he who gathers little by little will increase [his riches].

12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire is fulfilled, it is a tree of life.

13 Whoever despises the word and counsel [of God] brings destruction upon himself, but he who [reverently] fears and respects the commandment [of God] is rewarded.

14 The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death.

15 Good understanding wins favor, but the way of the transgressor is hard [like the barren, dry soil or the impassable swamp].

16 Every prudent man deals with knowledge, but a [self-confident] fool exposes and flaunts his folly.

17 A wicked messenger falls into evil, but a faithful ambassador brings healing.

18 Poverty and shame come to him who refuses instruction and correction, but he who heeds reproof is honored.

19 Satisfied desire is sweet to a person; therefore it is hateful and exceedingly offensive to [self-confident] fools to give up evil [upon which they have set their hearts].

20 He who walks [as a companion] with wise men is wise, but he who associates with [self-confident] fools is [a fool himself and] shall smart for it.

21 Evil pursues sinners, but the consistently upright and in right standing with God is recompensed with good.

22 A good man leaves an inheritance [of moral stability and goodness] to his children’s children, and the wealth of the sinner [finds its way eventually] into the hands of the righteous, for whom it was laid up.

23 Much food is in the tilled land of the poor, but there are those who are destroyed because of injustice.

24 He who spares his rod [of discipline] hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines diligently and punishes him early.

25 The [uncompromisingly] righteous eats to his own satisfaction, but the stomach of the wicked is in want.


Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation