Who am I?

Hello, welcome to JLSParaphrase. My name is Jerry L. Simms, and I am a graduate of the Institute of Christian Service that at one time was on the campus of Bob Jones University. My wife and I are members of Faith Baptist Church in Taylors, South Carolina. During this study I was a full-time maintenance mechanic. I was also a South Carolina State Constable, a member of the South Carolina State Guard, and a member of the fire/safety team at the Michelin plant where I worked. I was busy, but I found time to study, and then I would meditate on that information throughout the day. This study became my life, and it was a sweet experience.

What was my study?

Somewhere in the late 1980s I decided to embark upon a dedicated study of the book of Proverbs. Chapters 1-9 and 30-31 are chapter content, so I majored on them. Able men had done good topical studies on chapters 10-29, so I saw no need to duplicate their good work. In the study I wanted to learn what the verses were saying on their own virtue – not necessarily what some preacher or teacher said about them. I decided that I would hang in there as long as it took to really learn the book. Therefore, the information on this site is the result 27 years of dedicated study and approximately 15,000 hours of study and meditation. When I was about 1.5 years into the study I wrote down what I had learned. At about the three-year mark I realized that what I had first written was so anemic that I had to discard my notes and write again.