“He who diligently seeks good seeks favor, but he who seeks evil, evil come to him. He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like the green leaf. He who troubles his own house will inherit wind, and the foolish will be servant to the wisehearted. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise wins souls. If the righteous will be rewarded in the earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!” Proverbs 11:27-31 Are you real and transparent to the world around you? Do you desire what other people have or are you never content with the things that you possess? We all must be content with who we are and what we have; don’t covet what others have but embrace and remember that God gives us whatever we need. “Better is he who is lightly esteemed and has a servant than he who honors himself and lacks bread.” Proverbs 12:9 Will you be content with what God has granted for your life? Continue Reading…
Trust in the wisdom of God and you will find security: Proverbs 11 and 12
After the whirlwind of life is over where will you stand: Proverbs 9 and 10
There is great value found in the in the way of wisdom that manifests hope, purpose, and understanding in the lives of those who seek and treasure it. The curse of sin rages against wisdom by promising great dividends while only offering foolishness, despair, and death. “‘Whoever is naive, let him turn in here! ‘ To him who lacks understanding she says, ‘Come, eat of my food and drink of the wine I have mixed. Forsake your folly and live, and proceed in the way of understanding.’” Proverbs 9:4-6 Will you answer the call of wisdom? Will you heed the voice of wisdom and turn aside from the path of folly that leads to death? Continue Reading…
What provisions have you made for your journey through life: Proverbs 5 and 6
The exhortation of Solomon bestowed to us in Proverbs 5 and 6 continues his plea and call for mankind to regard wisdom and know the peril of sin. Sin is seductive and very pleasing to our eyes. Sin tells us that we can claim whatever we desire at any moment if we just follow our own selfish desires. Solomon presents another voice that we can listen to and this voice is not at the outset as appealing but hope and sustenance are found by heeding this voice. Do you desire to follow your sinful lusts or the quiet steadfast voice of wisdom. “For the lips of and adulteress drip honey and smoother than oil is her speech; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword… Now then, my sons, listen to me and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Keep your way far from her and do not go near the door of her house.” Proverbs 5:3,4,7,8 There are two forces in this world that desire us wholeheartedly. Will you follow the path of sin and death or will you choose to submit your life to God and trust in true wisdom to save you. Continue Reading…
Wisdom personified in Jesus Christ: Proverbs 3 and 4
What does it mean for our hearts to keep the commandments of God? Is there a difference between our hearts and our minds? “Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.” Proverbs 3:3-7 These words of Solomon were given to us by the grace of God so that we can think about what motivates and drives us to do all that we do. Do you go about your day looking through the lens of your fleshly desires and lusts to determine what your actions should be? Do you count yourself to be wise? We must above all else in our lives choose to follow God first and foremost in all that we do.
What does following God look like? The walk we take with God is one that is based on each and every moment of our lives. When we arise in the morning, when we lay down at night, and every moment in between we need to remember that God is our motivation and inspiration for life. The faith that is developed in God “will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones.” Proverbs 3:8 Renewal for our weary and worn out lives is found in God almighty. Continue Reading…
Are you counted among the wise or the foolish of this world: Proverbs 1 and 2
Life is a journey filled with moments of wisdom and insight built upon our collective successes and failures. We are consistently learning about life by the situations we encounter, our reactions, and the consequences we experience. Our parents often tell us to not do a particular thing because it will not be good for us. Did you heed your parents advice or did you follow your own insights right into calamity? How did our parents know that these circumstances were perilous for us? Whether we knew it or not wisdom was being imparted from our parents when they encouraged us to inaction or action. Did you embrace the wisdom of your parents and the elders in your life? Where does wisdom come from? Continue Reading…
You are without excuse, yet restored, will you praise the Lord: Psalm 150
There is nothing more important in our lives than God. Have we been blessed by God? Do we see God’s hand providing for our every need? The truth may startle us when we realize that whether we acknowledge God or not He is still the one who is upholding our lives. “Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty expanse. Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness.” Psalm 150:1,2 We are without excuse for our condition in life but by the grace of God we have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” Psalm 150:6 Will you praise the Lord? Continue Reading…
God is sovereign, sinless, and pure: Psalm 149
How can worship and wrath coexist? In Psalm 149 we are given two pictures by the Psalmist; verses one through 4 speak of worshiping God with a new song while verses 5 through 9 speak of wrath falling upon God’s enemies. Can we make a connection between worship and wrath? “Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the congregation of the godly ones… Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand…” Psalm 149:1,5 The key to remember as we seek to understand how worship and wrath can coexist is God alone. If we focus on ourselves we will never reconcile seemingly polar opposite ideas but once we remember and acknowledge that it is God who is sovereign, sinless, and pure we can know that in this sin tainted world the things that are at odds with each other are actually in harmony. Continue Reading…
Will you join creation in praising God: Psalm 148
Have you become consumed and overwhelmed by all of the prohibitions of life? We are told consistently to not do this thing, never think about these other things, and to never place a toe out of line. All the rules, regulations, and laws that we are told to follow are for our best and the collective best of society but there is a drain to our lives when we live in consistent negativity. How often are we told to wholeheartedly without limit do something? The psalmist in Psalm 148 is exhorting creation as a collective whole to praise God, “Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven. And He has lifted up a horn for His people, praise for all His godly ones; even for the sons of Israel, a people near to Him. Praise the Lord!” Psalm 148:13,14 Will you join in the praise of creation as you seek to praise the God of heaven and earth? Continue Reading…
Is God worthy of your praise for all eternity: Psalm 145
Why would we want to praise God for all eternity? There are moments when praising God continually seems like it could be a tiring endeavor but in those moments we supersede our will and expectations upon our eternal relationship with God and we easily find our selfish desires fighting aggressively against the authority of God in our lives. “I will extol You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever. Everyday I will bless You, and I will praise your name forever and ever.” Psalm 145:1,2 David is encouraging us in Psalm 145 to desire to praise God above everything else we could and do desire. It is easy enough to talk about praising God forever and ever but we often are left desiring a reason for our desires and actions. Continue Reading…
Is God your all encompassing everything who sustains you: Psalms 144
“My lovingkindness and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and He in whom I take refuge, who subdues my people under me. O Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You think of him? Man is like a mere breath; his days are like a passing shadow.” Psalm 144:2-4 Have we forgotten the love for God that was encompassed in complete awe and wonder because of God’s sufficient faithfulness? Listen to David’s words in Psalm 144; God is David’s lovingkindness, fortress, stronghold, deliverer, shield, and refuge. This list of who God was for David is all encompassing to every corner of David’s life. There is no area within David’s life that God was not intimately present in. God by our limited human understanding should have no desire to interact with us but His grace is greater than our inability. Continue Reading…
