Stay Connected

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

STAY CONNECTED

Prov 19:27

27 Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.

NIV

There is only one source for the correct instruction. Of course as we attend schools, colleges or universities we receive various forms of instruction which we endeavor to learn in order to achieve some area of success in life. However, there is only one source of words of knowledge and that is the Bible. The Hebrew word translated instruction implies correction, or disciple and even chastening. This can only come from God, from the Spirit who dwells within. Our heart, if left alone, to its own devices is bent toward that which does not please God, or evil. That is what God said. Of course when we were born again, he took that heart of stone and gave us a heart of flesh.

Ezek 11:17-21

17 "Therefore say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.' 18 "They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. 19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. 20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD."

NIV

God is the one who changes us from being bent toward evil to listening to his correction, his instruction. It is true we have to return to the land he gave us and remove any vile images and detestable idols. There is an action required in order to get an undivided heart. This is the instruction of the Lord. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we repent of those vile images and detestable idols, our life of self-serving, living in sin. We then listen to the instruction of God, and learn true knowledge. But there still is a war that wages within us, our heart may not truly be as undivided as it should. There is always images before us, there is always some form of idol before us to lure us, to tempt us to take a peek, even sometimes a stare. We are constantly being drawn away from the instruction of the Lord.  That is the main purpose of Satan, to draw us from the words of knowledge, to grab our attention toward other things. We have often seen scenes depicting a person with an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, both seeking to influence the person. This is our life to a sense. We have to stay connected to the instruction, the correction, and the discipline of the Lord and learn from him the knowledge that leads to eternal life. Our heart desires God, but is also can desire the things of the world. How can that be?  We have to continually turn from the images of the world, the idols of the world. We have to constrain those desires of our heart. We might try to justify the desires of our heart in some way that seems we are following the instructions of God. The idea here is that we should make every effort not to be entrapped or ensnared by the ideologies of the world. The way to do that is stay connected to the instruction of the Lord.  

Waste not

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

WASTE NOT

Prov 19:26

26 He who robs his father and drives out his mother is a son who brings shame and disgrace.

NIV

This appears to be speaking to the issue of the prodigal son and his wasting all his inheritance and then not being able to care for his mother after the death of his father. But if that were the case, this saying has absolutely no meaning for women or for people in their older years of life whose parents have long been gone. What other meaning could the word son have which would bring this home to all of us?

Rom 8:14-17

14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God . 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba,  Father." 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

NIV

So then are we in that sense acting at times as the prodigal son toward God? Do we waste our inheritance of eternal life, chasing after the things of this world? Because we are co-heirs with Christ, we inherit all that Christ did. We inherit eternal life, we inherit the right to be called children of God. We also inherit the right to seat at the right hand of God. That seems strange to say, but according to the words of Jesus we will be on the right side of God.

Matt 25:31-33

31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats . 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

NIV

The resulting action is from the words spoken by the King, God himself.

Matt 25:34

34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

NIV

So then why would we want to waste this kind of inheritance by wanting the world’s way of life? Why would we want to bring shame and disgrace upon our Lord? Why would we act, behave or speak in any manner that would bring disgrace toward God? This idea of the mother has us perplexed to a point. There is a whole movement of religious people, who want to see God as mother. They are both non-gendering God as well as gendering God as a woman. They approve all the love, caring, gentleness, nurturing aspects of God as being feminine qualities, thus saying men are incapable of them. Yet the point still remains as children of God, he then is our parent. However parent strikes each of us, he is still the parent, which could incorporate all aspects of earthly parents, except far more. Earthly parents are flawed, God is not. Thus when we drive out God, it is in the sense that we drive away his provisions for our life. This is seen when we depend on our own knowledge, our own supposed wisdom, our own abilities or skills or for that matter, our own spirituality. Let us not rob God from being our all in all, our refuge, our strong tower, our provider, our protector, our teacher, our all in all. Let us not waste our inheritance nor turn or tune him out.  

Prudence or knowledge

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

PRUDENCE OR KNOWLEDGE

Prov 19:25

25 Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence; rebuke a discerning man, and he will gain knowledge.

NIV

Here again we have a contrast between the foolish and the wise. The mocker is one who makes mouths at, this could mean simply a person who likes to talk a lot about the foolish things of life. But in a deeper sense as we are familiar with in the 1^st Psalm the, sitting in the seat of mockers, implies giving God lip service. The idea here is that when a person who either speaks about foolish things or speaks foolishness about his religious knowledge is flogged, or chastened, corrected made to look unwise in the eyes of other, the rest of the people who may behave in the same manner as this one did find a more deceptive way to say the same thing this person has been. They do not actually learn anything other than to be better at sneaking in their foolish thoughts. On the other side, the discerning man, the one who is separate mentally, has understanding, receives his rebuke as a means to gain more understanding and to better himself as an individual, making the needed changes in his lifestyle and spiritual disciples in order to improve in his relationship with others and with God. It is far too easy to put up our defenses when we are rebuked in some way. Whenever someone attempts to correct our manner of speech, or the words we use, or a behavior or attitude that is not pleasing to God, we need to see it for what it is. The only reason God rebukes us is because he cares, he loves us so much he wants the very best for us. Most of the time our closest friends, our loved ones care and love us and want to see us do things the right way, and when we are in error, a rebuke, a correction  is needed. If we are discerning people, if we are people with understanding then we will receive it and use it to better our character. Only the foolish think they know it all, the wise know there is far more to learn. The foolish see no need to grow, the wise knows growth is the only way to gain more growth, which leads to a better understanding, which leads to more willingness to accept correction. Let us be the discerning one. 

No sitting on hands

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

NO SITTING ON HANDS

Prov 19:24

24 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth!

NIV

There is nothing more honorable then to work for our sustenance. The scripture teaches us that if a man does not work he does not eat. It also gives us the instruction as to how we should deal with a person who is this sluggard spoken about here in this saying of Solomon.

2 Thess 3:6-15

6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." 11 We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. 13 And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right. 14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

NIV

The idea conveyed here as the sluggard putting his hands in his dish, or rather his bosom as the Hebrew word could mean, is the man who says he has some infirmity which prohibits him from work and thus he cannot feed himself and relies on others, society to support his life. It is not that he cannot work, he chooses a life of dependency rather than labor. This kind of laziness is likened to a man being so lazy he would not shake fire off himself. There are people in this world which have become so dependent upon the government they dare not work for fear of losing that support. There is no same in labor, in fact there is honor in following the commands of God. Because of the sin of Adam man has been told that by the sweat of his brow he will toil the ground all the days of his life. This sluggard would starve himself rather than labor. See, my hands, I am lame, I have to keep them in my coat, they are cold and unable to even take that food from the bowl to my mouth. Quite a contrast between what God has for a man, and what man has for himself. Although it seems in our society to care for the underprivileged, the downtrodden, as being a humanitarian response, it also can be self-serving so as to make as many people dependent upon the supplier of sustenance in order to control them so they keep that person in the position of the giver. There are those in positions of power who have created a complete social group of sluggards for their own benefit. This is so far from the truth of God. As Christians these people are in danger from their own sin, and should be warned as a brother. At the same time we should not have anything to do with them in the sense that we should not be like them. If we want to eat, we need to work for our food, not being dependent on others, but only on God. God has in the past rained down both manna and quail from heaven for the children of Israel as well as provided water from a rock for them. However we do find this may well have been for the purpose of a test rather than making them lazy. There is a twofold reason we are told about this test.

Deut 8:2-4

2 Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

NIV

Deut 8:15-18

5 He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

NIV

Although we are to work, it is the Lord who provides us with the work. The honor in the labor is from knowing God has provided us with the means to labor, and has directed our paths to the labor of his choose for our lives. He gives us the abilities to labor. Each man according to his purpose. We all fit together in labor just as we do in the body of Christ. Our wealth is not of our own making, so pride should not be a part of our lives. Although we are not the sluggard as defined here, we are still dependent on God for every aspect of our lives. He provides us with the ability to labor and tests us as he did the Israelites to see if we will follow his commands and work by the sweat of our brow all the days of our lives. There is not a time we should be sitting around on our hands.

Finding Rest

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

FINDING REST

Prov 19:23

23 The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.

NIV

Any questions? This sure seems very plain and clear to understand. When we are in awe of God it leads us to eternal life. When we acknowledge him in all our ways it leads to life. God is the source of all life. He created life in the first place. After forming Adam from the dirt of the earth, be breathed his own breathe into the man, making him a living being, containing the very breathe of God. The very air we breathe today was created by God. The very fact our lungs can be filled with air is because God breathed into the lungs of Adam. However, this fear, this reference, this awe of God is what leads us to eternal life. We cannot take God for granted, we cannot simply incorporate God into our normal everyday life as a human. We need to revere him, hold him in the highest esteem. We need to see him high and lifted up seated upon the throne in Heaven holding the very key to life. If he were for one moment to stop thinking about the earth, about his people, about us, we would simply cease to exist. We live because he lives. Without God we are nothing. In addition to all this, life itself, both this life and the one to come, we can find rest. From the very beginning God has been telling us he is the source of rest.

Ex 33:14

14 The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest ."

NIV

Yet Jesus reassure us that is the truth as it was from the beginning and it will be forever.

Matt 11:28-30

28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest . 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 

NIV

We find rest, contentment in the Lord. What trouble can disturb our rest, our contentment in Christ? It would appear there is none. Sure we encounter situations in life which could cause some anxiety, some concern, some restlessness, but when we are in the presence of our Lord, when we understand that Christ is in us, the Holy Spirit dwells within our being, how is it that we cannot find rest? Paul tells us that he learn to be content in whatever situation he found himself in. Should we not trust God like Paul did? When we place our trust in our own abilities it is then we become anxious. The Psalmist put it best when he said that cursed is the man who trusts in flesh, but blessed in the man who trusts in God. Let us always trust God for not only our salvation, but for every aspect of this life he has given to us. He is the creator and we are the created, how could we every think we are on our own? All we have to think is that when we have a child, do we just leave it to its own devices to live? Not hardly, we nurture it, we cuddle it, we teach it, and protect it helping it to become a mature adult in order to live rightly, showing it the joy and contentment of knowing God. How much more God does that for us. Let us live restfully in Christ, assured of our salvation and his divine guidance and protection over us in this life, content in whatsoever lot we are in. 

Our desire

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

OUR DESIRE

Prov 19:22

22 What a man desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar.

NIV

It would seem this translation may not carry the exact meaning of the original text, or at least might not reflect its intent, or could mislead how we understanding it. What we first must see is the desire of the man. It is not that a man desires to receive unfailing love from someone, as it might first appear. But rather it is a man’s desire to have an unfailing love toward others, or show his kindness. This idea is shown because of the contrast of the liar. When those who have the means to demonstrate an act of kindness and tell a person they are going to help them in some material way but never follow through are the liar spoken about here. It is better to be poor and not in any position to assist another in the material sense than to say yes, but do nothing. What this translates into our lives is that there are people who know we are believers. They know we are Christians in the narrowest sense. That is many people understand themselves to be Christian as opposed to Muslim or Hindu, but are not born again, Spirit filled followers of Jesus. However, they know we are and they also have some sort of understanding how we are supposed to behave. One of those behaviors is kindness, or love toward our follow man. This translates in their thinking that we should always be willing to help them, assist them in some manner. Surely when they are in need, hurting in some way, they would expect us to at least pray for them, or with them, or give them help. Because we have witnessed to them, telling them of the born again experience, or the need to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, they understand we have read the Bible and follow God’s commands. They know enough of the bible to know how we are supposed to be if we follow his commands. They expect us to show acts of kindness and when we don’t we are worse than the poor man, the man who does not know how he is to behave according to God’s word.  As believers it should be our desire to do good toward others and follow through with it. Sometimes we might tell people we will pray for them, when we actually forget or just don’t. It is far better to simply just take their hand and pray with them, for them, right there and then. This is doing kindness at its best. This is showing them Jesus. But it would seem this saying goes beyond prayer and into the physical helps. Should we not also be willing to extend ourselves to assist them physically as well? This would agree with putting the needs of others before our own.

Phil 2:1-5

2:1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

NIV

This action should not be out of a sense of duty, or obedience, but it should be our desire. The question is: is it?

Us or HIm

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

US OR HIM

Prov 19:21

21 Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

NIV

This is somewhat of a repeat of a previous saying of Solomon when he said that we can make our plans, but it is the Lord who orders our steps. The idea is the same, yet there is somewhat of a slight difference. However, we should consider how we spend time making our plans for life. It seems we are always thinking about what we want to do. When we were young we had dreams of being someone of importance, or doing something important. As life progressed, we changed our mind time and time again because we had some plan in mind, a plan that was always being revised due to circumstances. But always in the back of our mind we have dreams and desires that we try to accomplish in some way. It seems we are always directing our thoughts toward our own plans, goals, desires or wants. But what we are being told here is that no matter what we plan, it is the Lord who makes sure his purpose for our life prevails. We think we are in charge of our own lives, but we are not. We think we have the freedom to come and go as we please, but we are being directed by the Lord for his purpose, not ours. There are those voices, false voices that preach God is there for us, but in reality we are here for him. They preach we should expect blessings from God, but in reality we should be blessing him. They preach we should ask him for anything, new cars, new homes, lots of money, happiness, fun and games, and he will give anything we ask for. But in reality it is us who should be asking God what he wants us to do for him. They seem to forget that we need to ask according to his will. What is his will for our lives? What is his purpose for our lives? Once we find that out then we can ask for anything in order to accomplish his will, his purpose for our lives. This is the difference between us making our plans, and doing his purpose. Our heart is not bent toward his plans, but toward ours. Yet if we are born again, then that should imply we have a new heart, a clean heart. This is what David prayed.

Ps 51:10

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

NIV

When we become born again, should we not have had our heart replaced with a new one, a clean one, just a chalk board is erased and washed clean of all the previous words so a new set of words can be written, so it is with our heart. God erases all the old words of our lives, the sin, the self-centered desires, and writes new words on our heart, his words, his plans, and his purpose for our lives. The words of the Lord spoken to Israel through the prophet Ezekiel still speak to us today regarding this words of Solomon.

Ezek 36:22-32

22 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. 23 I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes. 24 "'For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. 30 I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. 32 I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign LORD. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, O house of Israel!

NIV

We are not supposed to live for ourselves, but for him, for his glory, for his names sake. Let us remember this, when we start up making plans again, and again. Let us remember who it is we serve, us or him. 

Finding Wisdom

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

FINDING WISDOM

Prov 19:20

20 Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.

NIV

Listen to whose advice? Accept whose instruction? Those are the questions which we need the answers to. Our first consideration is who is worthy enough to give us advice? That would have be the Lord. We know the world’s thinking is nothing but foolishness to God.

1 Cor 3:18-20

18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"; 20 and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile."

NIV

Then we would have to conclude the advice from anyone who is not born again is foolish advice. This would coincide with what the Lord inspired David to pen in the 1^st Psalm.

Ps 1:1

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked

NIV 

There is absolutely no wiggle room here. We might learn knowledge from the unsaved, but we  are most definitely not to take any of their advice. This would make it clear the only one we can take counsel from is the Lord. Therefor we find all advice for our life within the scriptures. This would also be true with instruction. At first we would think this is a contradiction to learn knowledge from the world, or wicked. But the Hebrew word translated instruction means to be disciplined, chastened, corrected. This again leaves only God qualified to administer instruction. Of course parents have not only that privilege, but that responsibility, toward their children. Children would be wise to accept the advice and instruction from their parents so as to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Although it may be true that some believing parents have children that have gone astray. These children would then not be wise. Those parents surely experience some pain associated with children who reject advice and instruction. This is the pain God feels when his people go astray and reject his advice and instruction. Could we be guilty of saying no to his advice and instruction? Could we be seeking after the advice of the world? Do we take their methods and practices for our own in various areas of life? This would not be wise if we did. Why would we want foolish advice? Why would we want to be corrected by foolish people? This then would apply to how we decide what we will do, where we work, where we live, what we do with our money, what church we attend, on and on the list of life choices goes. Because we are Spirit filled, let us walk therefor by the Spirit. This leads us directly to the Armor of God.

Eph 6:10-18

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

NIV

All advice, all counsel, all instruction, all our defense against the foolish advice and instruction from the world is in this armor. Specifically in the sword of the Spirit, the word of God. Here is where we need to pray in the word of God on all occasions. This is where we find the wisdom of God for our lives. We are reminded of a movie title, “Finding Forrester” and can only think of the title of our lives, “Finding wisdom”. 

Love not wrath

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

LOVE NOT WRATH

Prov 19:19

19 A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty; if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.

NIV

This certainly speaks to the issue of self-control, one of the fruit of the Spirit. This hot-tempered man, or person, who is filled with wrath is not willing to listen to reason. This persons tongue gets them into trouble over and over again. If someone steps in and puts the argument to rest, it will just boil up again because this person has no control over their own emotions. When this saying speaks of penalty, it may well be this person has no friends and will never make any. Others are continually put off by them, tending to avoid them at all costs. We should learn a lesson from this. It is far better to be even tempered, not given to fits of rage. We might have plenty of passion about the scriptures and our relationship with Jesus, yet we should not be so passionate that we lose control of our tongue or our spirit. There is something to be said of being a man of few words, to be slow to speak, to think before engaging the mouth. The hot-tempered is not like that at all. Although we should not be lukewarm when it comes to our Lord, which is a totally different thing, we should avoid a quick hot tongue. Without consideration of the consequence of our words, they might well get us into trouble. All too often we speak too quickly in response to some offense. All too often we speak to hastily in an attempt to defend ourselves from some accusation. All too often we speak to quickly in order to insert ourselves into a conversation.  We are told the tongue is the most unruly member of our body.

James 3:3-12

3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8 but no man can tame the tongue . It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.   10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

NIV

Because we are told this should not be, it is evident we must take control of our tongue. Yet self-control being a fruit of the Spirit, which includes control of the tongue, we must walk in the Spirit. This might be difficult to do because we want to say what we want to say not matter the effect our words have on others. We have been raised in a society that espouses free speech that we should be able to say whatever we want, whenever we want and to anyone we want to, although it might get us in trouble. Let us consider our words, weight them, and tender them with love not wrath. 

The willing party

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

THE WILLING PARTY

Prov 19:18

18 Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death.

NIV

It would appear this saying is directed toward parents with small children. It would give direction to those parents to not spare the rod and thus spoil the child. It is far easier to pull up weeds in our flower beds when the weeds are but little sprouts then wait for them to take deep root and more difficult to dig out. This applies to the raising of our children. We are told, especially in this era, our children are the future of our country. Some are of the opinion it takes a village to raise a child. This concept has brought about the village attempting through social engineering to raise our children to agree with their agenda. But the fact remains it is the parents’ responsibility to bring their children to the correct understanding of life, which is directed toward God. When our children are young there is still hope to teach them the ways of God. As we know all our hearts are bent toward sin, which includes the heart of children. If we do not correct their ways, they will become bent toward evil and away from God. Once they have become young adults, and if not shown the way of God by their parents, the worlds system, the village, will have influenced them beyond reach. If the village has its grips on them, there are doomed to death. Parents cannot become willing partners with the village in the destruction of their children. While they are young it is the time to correct rather the spoil. This spoiling is to allow the children to behave in any manner they desire. It is often we see parents in public places who do not know how to correct their children. The child cries and the parent yields. If this behavior continues the child then learns how to control the parent rather than vice versa. The parent has become a willing party to the child’s death. We who are older are admonished to teach the younger. Let us not be afraid to speak up, in love of course, if the occasion presents itself, and the Spirit is leading our opening for conversation. Let us pray for the children, they find their way to God, not matter their family situation. Finding God and his correction is the only path which leads to life. No matter what age we are it still stands true that we are the children of God. This saying also applies to us in that way. When we were but babes in Christ we needed the correction and discipline of God to form a solid foundation for our faith. If, when we were saved, we floundered around on our own, not learning, not being mentored by mature believers, we might well have form patterns and behaviors they are not pleasing to God. In addition once we grew and formed our own opinions, we might have been spoiling ourselves, allowing beliefs that are not founded in the truth. This is also important for those of us who are mature in our faith, to teach those babes, while they are still young and have not been misled by so many voices of false doctrines. Once they have left the years of youth in the faith, they may well be on the road to destruction and it is far more difficult to bring them to understanding of the truth. Let us always be aware of the Spirits leading and not be willing parties to anyone's death. 

Open Heart

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

OPEN HEART

Prov 19:17

17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.

NIV

It would seem natural to see this as giving to the needy is the same as lending to the Lord. That is we should share our wealth with those in need. As  we have noticed before about how we approach those who stand on corners, or exit ramps with signs, this saying seems to support our handing over some of our resources to them. Yet there is something much deeper here, far more about our heart rather than our wallet. One of the more famous passages in scripture which is called the love chapter contains some interesting words.

1 Cor 13:3

3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

NIV

This would imply we could empty our wallets on the poor and it would mean nothing at all, we would gain nothing, we would not be lending to the Lord. It is our heart attitude about the poor that matters. Do we actually have compassion on them? Do we not pass any judgement on them? Another verse we have used before but bears upon this concept.

James 1:4-5

 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

NIV

If God gives to us without finding fault, then our showing mercy and compassion on the poor without finding any fault in them, is then us demonstrating the heart of God. This does not mean we tell them we will pray for them and walk away. For we are also taught about not doing that. But if we are giving from our wallet without the compassion to match it, it means nothing. If we desire any rewards from the Lord then we need to have the heart of God. Sure giving from our wealth helps the poor and we should not withhold it from them. Yet we should be careful how we give. If we flash our wallets, that is make a big show of our giving, not only do we not gain anything, we actually lose something. Giving to the poor when done in compassion is also done in humility. It follows suit with the principle of not letting our right hand know what our left hand is doing. So let us see the poor among us, let us beware of them, involved with them on more than a material level. Let us show the love of God. Let our hearts be open.  

Life or death

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

LIFE OR DEATH

Prov 19:16

16 He who obeys instructions guards his life, but he who is contemptuous of his ways will die.

NIV

Again we have the comparison of two types of lifestyle. The first person is the one who lives circumspectly, being conscience of the word of God. This is the person who makes the effort to live to please God. In some sense a rule follower. Normally we would not agree with rule following especially the rules and regulations of denominationalism or rather the rules developed by men who think we should live by a checklist of do’s and don’ts. But this rule following is of the commands of God. If those who like do’s and don’ts, they should see the list of do’s as being so much larger than of the don’ts. Things like love your neighbor as yourself, go into all the world and preach the gospel, care for the widows and orphans, give to the poor, heal the sick, ask for anything in Jesus’s name and believe. Get rid of anything, that sort of is the don’ts, like angry, hatred, doubt, malice, envy, jealously, bitterness, judgment, unforgiving and anything else that displeases God. Although this list is rather small, the do’s list encompass the whole of scripture. We would have to copy and paste the whole bible to make this list complete.  The point is here that we should be living always aware of God and his word, trying to live according to his desire and design for our lives, which would include serving him, doing some type of ministry, being involved in some area of service to the kingdom of God. The other person simply lives to satisfy his own heart. That would look more like the person who refuses to acknowledge God, and decides to live according to the ways of self. That word contemptuous in the Hebrew also carries the meaning of despise, disdain, to regard with contempt. How could we ever regard the word of God with contempt? We love the word, but there are people who despise it. They reject it as being the inspired word of God. They reject the fact it is inerrant. They consider other words of men to be true, but the word of God is not. This life serving self, living to satisfy their own hearts will lead them to ruin, to perish in the end. Solomon has more to say about that kind of living and its result.

Eccl 11:9-10

9 Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment. 10 So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.

NIV

It really comes down to the point that we cannot serve two masters. We cannot serve God and our own heart. Unless of course our heart is submitted to God. But we know that is not the case, as he has told us our hearts are bent toward evil. This is why we need Jesus. Yet we also have to acknowledge the mind of man has researched science and has some truths of the laws of nature, physics, math, geology, astronomy, medical, as well as a host of other areas. However, all of that is but man discovering what God has created. Newton only discovered the law of gravity, he did not invent it. Sure there are some mechanical inventions of man, but the laws of the universe are from God, not man. So then let us know the things of man, we can have the knowledge of man, but we need to have to heart of God. Living for self leads to death, living for God leads to life.  

Get up

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

GET UP

Prov 19:15

15 Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless man goes hungry.

NIV

We would think this is very obvious about being lazy. This certainly applies to the labor of a person’s life. God told Adam, because of his sin, he would toil the ground all the days of his life for his sustenance.

Gen 3:17-19

17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."

NIV

Yet it seems many have taken leave of this concept, that we are responsible to work all the days of our lives until we die. Over the years our government has attempted to make as many people dependent upon it for their sustenance. This has led people into a deep sleep, unconscious of their own responsibilities. Although it may be true there are some truly needy people who need assistance from time to time to help get themselves back on their feet, they should not become forever dependent, but learn how to become independent. However this does not relieve any person from their dependence upon God. We are all dependent on God for life itself, for salvation, and for all that we are, have and do. But this proverb speaks about the state of mind each person lives in. There is no room for sluggishness in life. The sluggish mind simply falls into a deep sleep, not able to render reasonable thought. We are not supposed to look to others for our food, only the shiftless might be in that mode. We are to work, to be industrious in our labor and life, both in efforts to provide for our own as well as in our labor for the Lord. This saying shows a cause and effect of those who are not willing to follow after those principles of working for self and God. We have to continually examine our hearts and minds to make sure we do not fall into a deep sleep in our lives. It can be easy at times to simply sit back and let others do the work. It can be easy to think we should come to a place in our lives when we should sit back and enjoy the fruits of our work. We should be careful about that. We have seen too many who gave up at a certain age and just got old in body and mind, falling into a deep sleep. No, we are to remain active all the days of our lives, continuing the growth process both in our mental facilities and spiritual understanding. This laziness can apply to our relationship with God. If we become lazy in our learning and understanding of the truth, we in fact will go spiritually hungry. Lack of food makes one weak, and if we are not being fed the word of God, the truth of God by both hearing it, as well as by the leading of the Spirit, we will be weak in our faith and our walk with him. We should not be lazy in our walk with the Lord, but exercising daily, eating daily, working out our salvation so to speak. It is now day and we do not have time to sleep, we need to be doing our work while there is work to be done. This applies to our lives and our calling from God. Wake up, get up and do something.   

One

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

ONE

Prov 19:14

14 Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.

NIV

It is true that children might well inherit the material things of life from their parents, some more then others. Some parents have great wealth which is passed on to their children. Others of little means may have little to pass on, but the fact is whatever children attain from their parents is all material objects, although indirectly from the Lord. A prudent wife, however is directly from the Lord. We have to go all the way back to creation to understand the mind of God in this matter. When he created Adam he knew it was not good for man to be alone so he created a suitable help mate for him. The Hebrew actually reads that God made a counterpart to help him. Counterpart implies suitable, the opposite part made exactly to fit. Although through the years there were times when parents arranged the marriage of their children, today it is not so. In those days the parents of a son would make sure the wife chosen for him would be to his benefit. Today we may or may not choose a mate based on their character or standing in society. Nevertheless this saying still holds true. When we look at the qualifications of men who are in any type of leadership role in the body of Christ, we also find qualifications for their wives. These same principles might well be applied to every marriage in Christendom.

1 Tim 3:8-13

8 Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. 11 In the same way, their wives  are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. 12 A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. 13 Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.

NIV

There are also verses which instruct the wives to respect their husbands. The whole of all this stands in the center of a Godly relationship between a Godly man and woman. It has been said, the woman sets the tone in the household. She manages the household, rears the children, or has the most influence upon them, specifically in the formative years of their lives. It is a wise man who understands a good wife is from the Lord and as such should treat her as a gift from God. The word prudent means intelligent, to wisely understand, to have insight. This would certainly imply a woman who aids her husband, give counsel, gives helpful words of wisdom. There is a certain danger in our society as well. Many men have abdicated their responsibility completely in regard to their role in a marriage. It has always been and will always be the man who God holds responsible for his family. This is the reason he should have the authority in the family. Some woman tend to shy away from the concept of submitting to the husbands authority, but the reason he has it is because he was given it by God because God holds him accountable. Yet the wise man seeks counsel from his wife because God has ordained her to be his helper, his counterpart. Man is not the king to rule heavy handed, but he is to love his wife as his own body. What harm would a man do to himself? A wise man would therefor do no harm to his wife, but treat her as he does himself. This is not just about a prudent wife being from God, but about the whole of the marriage relationship. The two shall become one, a union of part and counterpart fitting together perfectly in harmony, functioning as one, working together to accomplish the plan of God in their lives. 

SEEKING PEACE

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

SEEKING PEACE

Prov 19:13

13 A foolish son is his father's ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.

NIV

It would seem many, if not all fathers, take pride in a son who makes something of himself. It says something about his fathering skills, or his ability to influence his son in becoming a successful man. For the worldly father, that would be a son who becomes a professional maker of fortune and fame, in a sense. To the Christian father, that would mean a son who grows in the Lord and becomes a mature man of God. For both, when their son is foolish, it speaks volumes regarding the style in which the father raised him.

Interesting, that the foolish son and his father’s ruin is paired with the second half of this proverb of a quarrelsome wife.  Perhaps a quarrelsome wife has something to contribute to a son becoming foolish.  Or that, both a foolish son and a quarrelsome wife is a man’s ruin. In the Greek, (is the calamity of his father: a foolish son and the continual contentions of his wife) the wording would lead us to believe that both the son and the wife have a great effect on the man of the house.

With the pressures of the world on the men outside of the home, the only respite a man has is to come home after a tiresome day, where the atmosphere is peaceful and filled with joy.  We are admonished to seek peace, wives respect husbands:

Eph 5:33 - However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.  NIV

James 3:18 - Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. NIV

1 Peter 3:11-12 - Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.  For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."   NIV

It would seem that a contentious or quarrelsome wife would not be seeking peace for her home, thus effecting both her husband and her son.  Can we be so bold as to add daughters, or children to this verse?   A loving, respectful, peace seeking wife will then raise a harvest of righteousness in her home. 

Having taken liberties with this verse, we should in all ways seek peace in our homes, thus sending out husbands and children into the world knowing they have a peaceful home to return to. 

The Lion and the Dew

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

THE LION AND THE DEW

Prov 19:12

12 A king's rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.

NIV

Usually when we think of kings, we think of the time when knights were bold and sat around the round table at Camelot with King Arthur. Perhaps we think of King Richard, the lion hearted or King Henry viii and his six wives. Biblically we have encounter many kings of Israel and Judah. Some were good and others did evil in the eyes of God. We think of King Saul, King David and Solomon. The fact remains kings hold the life and death of their subjects in their hands. The king’s word was law, he decided to live in peace or war. He decided the fate of the people of the city he conquered. We think how Daniel was subject to the law of king Nebuchadnezzar as well as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. When the king was angry men died, but when the king was pleased with someone he bestowed favors upon them. We think of how the king of Egypt showed favor to Joseph because he was pleased with his interpretation of his dreams. But we also think of how King Saul sought to kill David because he was afraid of his popularity with the people. Although this saying might well speak of many of the kings of old, it also speaks of current day rulers or governments. In many countries if one protests again the ruling class, they are removed somehow. In our country, although we are allowed to protest, those who bow the lowest to the government officials are shown much favor. As true as all that is, this saying speaks in actually about God and his creation, us. We know there is both sides of God, his wrath and his peace. His wrath is reserved for those who refuse to submit to his authority. He will judge them in his wrath, he will be a roaring lion showing them no mercy, and they will be devoured by the lake of burner sulfur as surely as the prey of a lion is devoured until nothing is left of it. It seems difficult to think of God in those terms when we are like the grass which receives the morning dew. Each and every morning he refreshes us with his presence and his word. Because we have accepted Jesus as our lord and Savior God shows us favor, he hears our prayer. When Moses spoke to the people about being disobedient to the command of God, he told them God turned a deaf ear to their prayers. Solomon will tell us later that those who turn a deaf ear to God, their prayers are detestable.  But we who hear the voice of the Lord, who listen to the Spirit who lives within us, and follow the ways of God, are shown his favor. He listens and he gives us blessings both spiritual and material. He cares for us, he watches over us, he is a light onto our path, a path which he has laid out for us to walk. Now of course there are times we take our own path, we stray and follow after some temptation and fail to uphold his word in our heart. But he does not strike us dead on the spot because of Jesus. Jesus stands before the Father making intercession for us, showing his hands and feet telling the Father he took our sin into account in that cross. As we continue to try to live according to his path for us, his direction, his commands, he is forever forgiving because of our being in Christ. We are this fertile field of grass, living and growing because of his dew, his favor. If we are not receiving his dew surely we would whither, dry up and die. We need each mornings dew. 

Offenses

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

OFFENSES

Prov 19:11

11 A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.

NIV

How often we are too quick to take offense by others words or deeds. It would seem according to this phrase regarding the fact it is a wise man who defers his angry, it would then be a fool who does not. This would imply as in our daily contact with others, we will be offended from time to time. But it is to our credit if we overlook such offense. It is the fool who rushes into anger, or the feeling of being offended, perhaps feeling hurt, which certainly seems then it is all about self. But the person who has wisdom is patience with others, not seeing their offensive ways, overlooking their behavior, actions, or even their manner of speech. When we consider the wisest of the wise, he who is wisdom, God, he overlooks all our offenses. He has the greatest patience with us.

2 Peter 3:8-9

8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

NIV

If God is patient toward us, giving even the greatest of sinners the opportunity to come to Christ, not wanting any of his creation to perish, then should we not show patience toward each other? But no, we become impatient, we quickly become offended, hurt and want to exact some form of punishment to the offender. We either lash out or give the cold shoulder treatment, shutting them out. Oh, what if God did that to us! It would seem thinking ourselves wise, we become fools way to easily. If patience is from wisdom then impatience is from foolishness. God overlooks our sin, because we are in Christ who took all our sin upon himself. That is all our past, present and future sin forever and ever. Then we should also overlook the offenses of others, past, present and future, unless of course we think we are better than God, or have a better understanding of the offense and how terrible it is that we should exact punishment for it. That sounds ludicrous, in fact we are admonished to be patient with each other.

1 Thess 5:12-15

12 Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14 And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

NIV

Be patient with everyone, making sure we do not retaliate, exact out some form of revenge or punishment for the person who offends us or hurts our feelings. When we become impatient, the opposite of being wise, it would seem we are so self-absorbed, that everything is about us, that everything should revolve around our feelings, our wants, our life. Wisdom says we are not alone, we live with others who are also not perfect and they will make mistakes just as we do and so we must overlook theirs as they overlook ours. Than we would be living in peace with all men as far as it depends on us, which is also what we are admonished to do.

Rom 12:17-21

 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."   21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

NIV

All this is wrapped up in wisdom from God. Patience is wise, impatience is foolish. Patience reveals our wisdom and is honorable. Impatience reveals our foolishness and has no honor. 

A fool's folly

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

A FOOL'S FOLLY

Prov 19:9-10

9 A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will perish.

10 It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury — how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!

NIV

Nine is simply a repetition of five except the result of ruin and perish are slightly different but mean the same. It would seem this needs to be considered with heavy thought as whenever the word of God repeats, or we are told over and over again regarding a certain issue, it is of grave importance. So let us neither lie nor contend with those who do. As for it not fitting for a fool to live in luxury, it does not mean a fool should not have delight, but that those who live foolishly simply do not attain luxury. Our minds immediately consider material gain as the definition of luxury, yet would not the grace of God be the ultimate delight, pleasure or luxury?  It is not fitting for the fool, the person who defies God, who rejects his provision for their salvation, to enjoy his grace. So often those who think of themselves as wise are fools.

Rom 1:21-23

21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools  23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

NIV

This saying speaks directly to this issue. It is not about living a foolish life in the material sense. If we spend all our money foolishly so what. Those who think it wise to store up wealth are the true fools as that is in direct defiance to what God tells them, unless of course they are rich toward God, which is they use all their wealth to advance the kingdom of God. But in most causes that is not true, as they store it up for their own security for retirement. Then they are like the foolish rich farmer. This argument is one that will live on in the household of faith, as some would say storing up is being a good steward. So we need to consider it is not fitting for a person who refuses God, a fool, to enjoy the benefit of salvation. It is also not fitting that one who is a slave to sin to rule over the lives of those who are princes in the kingdom of God, which are all believers. This may not mean those who sit in the seat of government, but rather those who would influence the lives of others. So then it is not right for those who are slaves to sin to influence our lives as believers in Christ Jesus as we are also free men, having been freed from the bondage of sin. We might also conclude that because Satan is the father of all lies, those who are slaves to sin have lips filled with lies and as such we should avoid taking any advice, any counsel or allow them to influence our way of thinking or living. This certainly is hand and glove to the 1^st Psalm.

Ps 1:1-3

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

NIV

It goes on to talk about the ungodly the fools of this world, the slaves to sin.

Ps 1:4-6

4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

NIV

This is the truth of this proverb, repeated again and again as we have seen other truths of God done. The foolish will not see the kingdom of God, true delight, true luxury, nor should they have any influence upon our lives. 

Wisdom and Understanding

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING

Prov 19:8

8 He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who cherishes understanding prospers.

NIV

Well there certainly appears to be a great chasm between knowledge and wisdom. We can spend years acquiring a vast amount of knowledge accumulating facts for the purpose of caring for our bodies. That is we use all that knowledge to produce enough wealth to live in comfort, providing for our physical needs. The acquisition of knowledge may come at a great expense. Degrees awarded by universities are a result of many years of study and the payment of a large sum of money.   Wisdom, on the other hand is free for the asking.  

James 1:4-8

 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

NIV

Wisdom is for the man who loves his soul, not like knowledge which is for the man who loves his body. But it does appear in a sense that wisdom does come at some cost. The cost is absolute belief. Doubt causes the wisdom to be withheld. We cannot be double minded which would translate that we might confuse knowledge with wisdom. We might think as we gain an enormous amount of knowledge that it correlates to wisdom. It was once said, by whom we are not sure, that knowledge in the accumulation of facts and wisdom is the ability to use them. But that is still all about the provision of the body and leaves the soul wanting. True wisdom, which provides for the soul, is to get knowledge, grace and acquaintance with God. When we have a deep relationship with God, he provides us with wisdom. He does not find fault with us as would a professor administering a final exam. The professor finds all our faults and if enough of them fails us. God grants us with wisdom and he does so generously and he is not looking for any faults in us, well except for doubt. If we cherish knowledge we might attain some earthy things, including not just the material, but also acknowledgment, praise from men. But if we cherish wisdom and understanding from God we will prosper. This does not mean we will become wealthy materially, but our spirit, our soul will prosper. We will grow in truth. Our souls will find eternal life. The soul filled only with the knowledge of this world will find just the grave, which leads to perishing.  So we ask God for wisdom and we have no doubt he has bestowed, is bestowing and will continue to bestow us with information about himself and the ability to understand, so that we grow in our relationship with him. The process is never complete, it is a lifelong endeavor. There are no degrees, but there is a graduation ceremony. There are not hard exams or finals, but just a short easy quiz. Have you accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior? If we answer in the affirmative, we get our cap and gown. Yes, faith is the key to great wisdom and understanding. 

Ruler gifter friend

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

RULER GIFTER FRIEND

Prov 19:6-7

6 Many curry favor with a ruler, and everyone is the friend of a man who gives gifts.

7 A poor man is shunned by all his relatives — how much more do his friends avoid him! Though he pursues them with pleading, they are nowhere to be found.  

NIV

Once again we are faced with a comparison of the wealthy and the poor in their relationships with others. Although we have two different types of rich here we may not have seen before. We have the ruler and the one who gives gifts. These may be one in the same person, but it also may be two different types of people who live in abundance.

Luke 22:24-26

 25 Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.

NIV

The ruler, the person who sits in the seat of government usually has many who pursue his favor. They desire to serve him, to proclaim his greatness in hopes of being a recipient of his generosity, he thinks of himself as their benefactor. He lords his position, his authority over them, but they do not care, they do not mind in hopes of getting something for themselves. This does remind us of the whole of Washington D.C. and its system of patronage. Yet should we not be seeking the favor of God? He is our ruler. All men should seek his favor for with it comes eternal life. Should we not being proclaiming his greatness and authority over our lives? How can we do or live without seeking his approval because he is our Lord. The second rich man is the one who is defined as the giver of gifts. It seems our whole society is geared to receiving gifts. As children Christmas is a much awaited day as it is when all we have every wanted is wrapped up under the tree. But this rich man is the one who shares his wealth and everyone wants to be friends with him. This is the one who might have great parties, inviting all the friends who are the hangers on, in hopes of getting something for themselves. Many are the people who want to stand around the most important person at a party, a wedding, or other social gathering. Should we not gather around Jesus? Should we not want to be near him, at all times? Is he not the most important person in our lives? Has he not told us if we need anything, anything at all we need but ask him?

John 14:13-14

13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

NIV

He is our ruler and the one who gives gifts and calls us friend. But the poor in contrast seem to have people running from them, not wanting anything to do with them. In fact when their needs are really pressing and he looks for one to help, they avoid him, so he cannot find any of who were supposed to be friends. How true that is in many cases with mankind. How often do we roll up the window as we approach that person with a sign seeking a hand out for food? Is that not avoidance? We even judge them. What about the widows and orphans who we as believers are admonished to look after. Do we even know who they are? How would we look after them? If we think they have been left with a surplus of money by their deceased husband, why would we need to look after them? What needs would they have? What about the orphans? Could we have adopted them? Perhaps the younger families are able, but we in our older years, should we not look after them too? This is difficult, not to avoid those in need, the poor. Again we can see that God has indeed looked after us, being truly the poor. We have nothing compared to the glory of God, and yet he seeks after us. He does not avoid us. He has told us if we seek we will find, if we knock, the door will be opened. He is always there for us. He has told us he will never forsake us, he will never leave us. Even when we are poor of faith, that is our faith is weak and we lose sight of his plan for us and we get distracted by the world, he is there, he is still with us, he has not left. Even when we fail him miserably and we yield to a temptation and sin, he is there, he has not turned his back on us, and he will never avoids us. It would be a horrible way to live as a believer always in fear of God leaving us every time we commit a sin. That would be a life of fear, not of one being at peace with God. Now, sure we should not go about sinning, but the fact remains we will not be perfect until we reach heaven. So then in our weakness he is made strong. He is our refuge our strong tower and we will run into it. He is our ruler, our gift giver and our friend.