Aptly spoken

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

APTLY SPOKEN

Prov 25:11

11 A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

NIV

What a wonderful picture of a bunch of great looking delicious apples placed perfectly upon a platter of silver ready for someone to pick one up and taste it. This is how perfect a word spoken at the right time and to the right point. We cannot force this right word or words. We cannot manipulate the conversation to get these words spoken. This has to be speaking about the moment in time when we are able to speak the truth of the gospel into someone’s life. Although all conversation about all subject matter could also be applied to this saying. But then what matters, what is aptly spoken, has to be about the gospel. Some would say that Solomon had no knowledge of the gospel and thus his saying speak only to the earthly or human condition and words of worldly concern. However, every word of scripture is God-breathed. Solomon was indeed the wisest man to every live, but it was not his wisdom, as God bestowed his wisdom upon him. Before the foundation of world God had already determined that we all would be justified through faith in Jesus Christ through his work on the cross.

Eph 1:3-10

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment — to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

NIV

This has been his plan from before he created this world and all that is in it. So then as he inspired Solomon to write words, aptly words spoken like apples on a silver platter, he wrote words that spoke of the gospel message, he spoke words about the grace of God through Jesus Christ. These are the words we should be speaking as well, but at the appropriate time in the right way so they flow from our lips like honey from the honey comb, so they appear as juicy apples served up on silver. The Spirit will make that happen every time. It is not a force labor, but a flowing, an overflowing of springs of living water coming from within us.

John 7:38-39

38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."  39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.

NIV

Everything we say as inspired by the Spirit are these aptly spoken words. Let us walk in step with the Spirit, let us live in the Spirit as we lives in us. Let us allow him to produce his fruit, his gifts in and through us for the benefit of those who someday will believe because of an aptly spoken word. 

Reputation

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

REPUTATION

Prov 25:9-10

9 If you argue your case with a neighbor, do not betray another man's confidence, 10 or he who hears it may shame you and you will never lose your bad reputation.

NIV

What is said in confidence must remain in confidence, period. There is never a good excuse to repeat anything which is told to us. Gossip is abhorred by God. We have been told not to be gossips.

Prov 11:13

13 A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.

NIV

Over and over Solomon speaks about the gossip in a very negative sense.

The Corinthian church which was full of believers also was full of people, humans, imperfect in every way. Paul wrote to them about their waywardness.

2 Cor 12:20-21

20 For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip , arrogance and disorder. 21 I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged.

NIV

Gossip was right in there along with all those other sinful attitudes and behaviors. So often we just consider the bad sins, but never give much thought to telling stories about other people’s problems or waywardness. We have said it and we need to pay attention to it. If we are not part of the problem or the solution than it is none of our business. It is so easy to get caught up in telling someone what somebody said. Now if they post it on Facebook or some other social media, while then it is public domain and we all can talk about their words. We can gossip all we want. But those words were posted strictly for those who are accepted as friends, so then some people did not see that post and  then we would indeed be a gossip betraying that friends words. Some believers might even try to hide gossip in a prayer request. But it is still gossip. We have a reputation to behold. That reputation is not really ours, but Christ’s. If people know we are a Christian, and surely they should, then any type of gossip ruins the reputation of Christ. We are his representatives on earth, his ambassadors to a lost world. What we say and how we behave reflects on him and his reputation. Let us always be that one person who can keep a secret, be that confidant, be depended on in a person’s troubled times, to guard them, to protect them, to trust them, to hope in them and show them who Jesus is by being trustworthy regarding their life and words. It is all about his reputation. Our reputation is his reputation. 

No Shame

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

NO SHAME

Prov 25:7-8

What you have seen with your eyes 8 do not bring hastily to court, for what will you do in the end if your neighbor puts you to shame?

NIV

We cannot be sure why the first portion of their saying is part of verse seven of the past saying. Does is belong with the invitation to dinner with the King, or does it belong to this idea here? Does it tie the two sayings together as one? First we should consider if this is speaking about earthy matters or heavenly ones. Is this truly about testifying about what we saw someone do and taking them to court, thus making an adversary of them? Then to only find out they return the favor and bring us to court over something we have done thus putting us to shame. On the other hand, does this actually deal with some heavenly matter? Could this speak to the matter of us judging others, who we think are not truly believers as being terrible people, sinners in the worse degree, but in the end they are in heaven seated with Christ and we are not, because of our horrible judgmental attitude. Could this speak about us who think we are believers judging the condition of the world? There is but one judge, he is the Lord. We have no right to bring anyone to the court he holds, as a sinner, as a criminal worthy of punishment. We are the same sinner worthy of the punishment of death. Our sin has condemned us already, but through faith and faith alone we have been declared innocent by the Judge of all judges. This is the stand we must take in this world. Each person has that opportunity as we all are the same mankind the Lord has created. There is no difference between Jew or Gentile, free or slave, white or black, brown or yellow or red. The color of a person’s skin or the nation a person is born into has no effect on their right to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and thus be at the wedding feast of the Lamb. We cannot judge any other persons heart or their actions for it is up to God to do that. We can only observe the outside or the outward appearance of a person and their lifestyle while God examines each person’s heart, which includes ours. Let us not be put to shame by bringing another person’s sin forward while having sin within our own lives. Let us not compare ourselves to someone we think is a sinner, thinking we are better off than they are. Let us only compare ourselves to Christ, he is the mark we press toward. He is the place we run the race to. In Christ no one has any shame. 

Come up here

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

COME UP HERE

Prov 25:6-7

6 Do not exalt yourself in the king's presence, and do not claim a place among great men; 7 it is better for him to say to you, "Come up here," than for him to humiliate you before a nobleman.

NIV

Jesus taught this truth as recorded by Luke.

Luke 14:7-11

7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." 

NIV

Being a parable it really is not about being invited to eat dinner at someone’s house and picking which seat to take. Nor is this proverb about that same thing. This is about being invited to the banquet in heaven, the wedding feast of the Lamb of God, we being his bride. Of course we are also the sons and daughter of God as well as co-heirs with Jesus. We are also the inheritance of God. But the idea here is that we should live a life of humility, not a boastful one. We should not go around telling people how great we are because we are a Christian and we are going to heaven, while they will not unless they become like us. We also should not assume our place in heaven based on anything of ourselves. We have absolutely no right to claim any place in heaven other than our faith in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross on our behalf. This also means all others have the same opportunity and that all who believe in him will be at that wedding feast. There is but one seat of honor and it belongs to Jesus Christ. As we are in Christ we will be seated with him at the right hand of God.

Eph 2:4-10

4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

NIV

Somehow thousands upon thousands of us will be seated with Christ at a place of honor, but only as we accept his work on our behalf. We cannot boast any other reason other than Jesus. There is nothing we can do to get that seat at the table. There is nothing we can do to get a better seat. Jesus was at dinner with some Pharisees, who were all about good works. There is no amount of good works that gets us any better seat of honor, to be invited closer to God. There is no scripture which tells us of more crowns or a better position in heaven. We are all the same, sinners saved by grace. When we understand our sinful state and realize it is all about Jesus and his grace and mercy toward us on that cross, we can only take the least important view of ourselves and simply be thankful we have been invited to dine with Jesus, to dine with God. When we take our eyes off of ourselves and realize our only purpose is to bring glory to God, to give him all the praise and honor and glory for he created us for his own purpose. How can we assume we have any place of honor, it only belongs to Jesus. Only through faith in the work of Jesus on that cross will we hear those words, “Come up here”. 

Counsler

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

COUNSLER

Prov 25:4-5

4 Remove the dross from the silver, and out comes material for the silversmith; 5 remove the wicked from the king's presence, and his throne will be established through righteousness.

NIV

We might see this strictly in the physical sense of earthy government. If a leader has corrupt counselors, his seat of leadership will certainly be corrupt. However if those corrupt counselors are removed, as the dross is from silver, then his seat of leadership will be more righteous. This, however, is based on the condition the king, the leader is himself righteous. What we have to wonder is who is righteous among us? What man can declare himself righteous? What difference would any counsel make in the righteousness of any leader, any person? We are told in the 1^st Psalm that we are blessed if we do not take the advice, the counsel of the wicked.

Ps 1:1

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

NIV

Yet who can be righteous outside of being in Christ? Who can establish any righteous leadership without taking only the counsel of the Holy Spirit? Yet here we also see that the establishment of the throne of Christ in our hearts also removes the wicked counsel from it. That is at least what should happen. If we are going to be declared righteous we have to have the throne of Christ ruling in our hearts. The idea here is who do we take counsel from. Do we pay attention to the advice of the world or of the Spirit? Worldly advice seems fairly common sense in many cases, especially when it concerns our daily lives. The world advises us every day over and over again through multiply ways that we should by gold or silver to secure our future because the market, the dollar is unstable. Store up as much as we can so we will be able to survive the pending disaster. The counsel of the world has been grab all the gusto you can, you only go around once. The counsel of the world says that as long as you are a good person you will go to heaven. We have already seen that God tests our heart.

Prov 17:3

3 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart.

NIV

Have we gotten rid of any of our wicked counselors? Have we removed any of the worldly advice from our way of life? Although we have Christ in our heart, although we have already been declared righteous by God, we might still be looking to some wicked advisor for our daily living. What does complete trust in God look like? Sure we have to work to be able to obtain our sustenance. This was a command of God in the first place. He told Adam to tend the garden, then after being expelled from the garden he told Adam he would have to work all the days of his life for his sustenance. Working isn’t not having trust in God, it is actually obeying God. But if we, like the rich farmer who had to build bigger barns to store up his great wealth, and are not rich toward God, we have taken the advice of the wicked, rather than from God. How much attention do we pay to the world’s advice? Let us rid ourselves of these wicked advisers and then our hearts will be establish in righteousness. We cannot live with a divided heart as we have seen before. We cannot take the counsel of the Spirit for some things, and take the counsel of the world for other things. We cannot serve both God and the world. Only one counselor is right and righteous.  He is the one Jesus sent to dwell within us. 

Searchable

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

SEARCHABLE

Prov 25:3

3 As the heavens are high and the earth is deep, so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.

NIV

Does not take much contemplation to know it is impossible for one man to know the heart of another. Here we are told that those who attend the affairs of government cannot be understood by us common people. Their acts, their actions, their decision making reasons are beyond our reach. This certainly was true in the time of Solomon as well as other kings throughout the lands. Many times the kings were of royal blood lines who had received an education of sorts and the common people may not even been able to read or write, much less comprehend the minds of educated people. Today in our country we still have our so called representatives meeting behind closed doors making deals we have no knowledge of. It may even be that their deals, their plotting is unsearchable to us. But we have a King who hides nothing from us. He desires we know him and that we know his plans and his will for us. His heart is not unsearchable. His heart is laid bare so we can see and feel it. He has made sure all peoples of all generations may find a way to know and see his heart. He has published his very words explaining his heart, his desires and his plans for his creation. As David prayed and which should be a part of our pray:

Ps 139:23-24

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

NIV

He also wants us to search his heart, he wants us to know him. So then let us search his heart and find peace. Let us search his heart and find eternal life. Let us search his heart and know that he is our God and we are his people. He hides nothing from us. There are no secret meetings in heaven making rulings and laws without the knowledge of his people for he has written his law upon our hearts. He is searchable.

Concealed and revealed

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

CONCEALED AND REVEALED

Prov 25:1-2

These are more proverbs of Solomon, copied by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah:

2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.

NIV

We might see this in two different ways. We might think that kings or men in general are always about researching to find answers to everything. We want to know, we want knowledge, and we want understanding in all matters. It may be our nature, it may be the way God designed us, or that we have trained ourselves over the ages to think more highly of ourselves then we should. We may have evolved into being self-centered in all matters, believing we can know all things, or have the ability to know all things. We might also think that God hides all things from us. He conceals a matter. He conceals the truth through speaking to us through the prophets, some of which we may never know what is meant until it is all fulfilled as we stand before the Almighty in eternity. He speaks to us in parables, some in allegories and other things which seem to be metaphors. Yet he exposes his will to us through all these formats. He has published his will so we might know it. There is no other reason for him to publish his will other than for his creation to find out what his will is. So although he does seem to use various methods which would conceal in part what his will is, we are also to find it out within his published work or we should say word. Here he tells us to research it, to find out the truth of his will for our lives. It does bring his glory to conceal matters because it proves his almightiness, his majestic quality, his all-knowing. But it is concealed not to hide it from us, but for us to receive his glory as we research and find his will throughout all his published word.

Ephesians 2:10

“For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

We are his masterpiece, his crowning glory. He created us in his image, but then also recreated us afresh in Christ, for the old has passed away and all has become new. We cannot do the good things unless we are in Christ. This is part of the research we find in the truth of God, in his concealed publication. Some have perverted these good things into acts of good deeds, works. But it is the good things planned for us before the foundation of the world which he speak of. These are the good things of accepting Jesus, being made anew, being born again, being in Christ, being co-heirs with Jesus, being called the children of God. We but have to see the whole of the teaching in Ephesians to understand that. It is but one concealed truth which he also revealed. The whole of his publication is like this. Concealed but revealed

Eph 2:1-10

2:1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

NIV

Saved by grace, for his glory, for his purpose for us to be in Christ, to be made anew. This is his will for us, to be in Christ seated in the heavenly realms. What else can we do? Why are we so insistant  that we have to employ good works? This plan in the beginning was for us to be made anew in Christ, nothing else. There is no Jesus plus. Sure we say that because we love God we must do something good in his name. If we love him we will serve him. But what does serving him look like? What kind of good works can we do that equal his? He has exposed that which is partly concealed all that we are to do concerning works. But then we begin to step backwards when we start doing works. When we start doing works we start thinking about who does better works then others. When we think our works are better than it is a form of boasting. How we always look for ways to do better works then the next believer. Or if we are not doing any works, we might feel or be made to feel guilty but those boasting in the good works they are doing. It can become a vicious circle or trying to outdo each other with works, all the while missing the glory of God. We become man-centered in our works rather than God centered in our spirit. Let us see his truth for us. Let us research it, understand it and employ his truth to our hearts. We live in the love of God. We live in Christ Jesus. He lives in us, his Spirit dwells within us, we contain the very breathe of God. What more can we do but praise him, give him all the glory, all the honor and all the credit for all things. Although God has in part concealed, he sent his Spirit to reveal all truth to us. 

Body and soul

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

BODY AD SOUL

Prov 24:30-34

30 I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; 31 thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. 32 I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: 33 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest — 34 and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.  

NIV

God has always intended for us to work, to labor at something. When he put the first man in the garden, he did not tell him to just enjoy, to sit in a hammock, drink the juice of the grape, feast on the fruit from the trees and act lazy all day long. No, he told Adam to tend the garden.

Gen 2:15-16

15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

NIV

He also told Adam that he was to rule over all the other living things he had created. Adam had a big job on his hands, to work the garden, pruning the bushes, and trees so they would continue to grow properly and produce the desired fruit for his sustenance. God had provided all the fruit bearing plants and trees, but he required Adam to take care of them, to work them. Even after Adam and Eve had disobeyed God and were cast out of this paradise, God told Adam he would now have to work the ground all the days of his life and by the sweat of his brow he would have his food. There is no excuse to sit down and do nothing. God made us to work. We either work or we don’t eat. That is the principle established by God. Jesus worked, first as a youth in the carpenter shop with Joseph, than he did the work of his Father during the three plus years of his public ministry. Our modern concept of working for just so many years, storing up enough money so we can retire and sit back doing whatever just does not match the plan God had in creating mankind. We are designed to work, at least us men. What we know about the women is God designed them to be a helpmate. Whatever that looks like is not up to us to determine. Women need to explore that idea for themselves. What we can be sure is we are not to become a sluggard or lack judgement. This can also apply in a spiritual sense. We are to continually work the field and the vineyard of our heart and mind. We cannot get lazy in our working the truth of God into the soil of our spirit. We cannot be like that person who hears the word, accepts it, but the weeds grow up and choke it out. We cannot allow wall of defense to turn to ruin. That is the lack of putting on the Armor of God, the lack of staying in the word of God, the lack of retaining good judgment regarding the truth. If we become lazy in our relationship with God, we start to deteriorate. We can never stop working the vineyard. If we sleep a little, a little slumber, if we fold our hands to rest, poverty, spiritual poverty will come upon us like a bandit. We are susceptible to the armed man. That is the man of false lips, the one who misuses scripture to fleece the flock, the man who teaches incorrect theology, if he teaches it at all. If we become lazy, lacking right judgement we might well be deceived by these bandits. Let us always be about the work God has established for us, working for our sustenance, and working for the truth. Tending and caring for the garden, both our body and our soul. 

Thoughts

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

THOUGHTS

Prov 24:28-29

28 Do not testify against your neighbor without cause, or use your lips to deceive. 29 Do not say, "I'll do to him as he has done to me; I'll pay that man back for what he did."

NIV

Seems pretty straight forward as God has said that revenge belongs to him.

Rom 12:18-21

 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

So then why would we ever want to get even with someone who does a wrong to us? There is just no reason whatsoever, in fact we should be doing them good. If we consider just for a moment what it means in their lives to be objects of God’s wrath, they are going to experience the most horrendous ordeal any person could ever go through. They are going to find out all the mocking, all the slander, all the fun making at us who believe, was totally in error. They are going to find that all their talk about not believing that stuff about God was wrong and they are in fact going to suffer damnation. Although they refused all their lives to acknowledge God, they are going to take a knee before him. Every knee will bow.

Isa 45:23-25

23 By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked:  Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. 24 They will say of me, 'In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.'" All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. 25 But in the LORD all the descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult.

NIV

Every person who has, is and will ever live will kneel before God. It matters not, believer and non-believer alike will find out God is real, and he is the one true God. We who believe will enter into his rest, but those who refused to believe will be put to shame, they will ultimately be cast into the lake of burning sulfur. So rather than repaying them for anything they happen to do against us, we should be having pity on them, showing them mercy, giving them an opportunity to repent of their sin and come to the saving knowledge of Jesus. These are our instructions we find in the letter to the Romans. If they are hungry, feed them, if they are thirsty, give them something to drink.

Matt 5:6

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

NIV

Is this not what we should feed them with, or quench their thirst with, the righteousness of Christ? The greatest expression of compassion and mercy is to make every effort to help them escape that lake of burning sulfur. We should be feeding them the truth of God, we should be giving them living water that spring up from us.

John 7:37-39

37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."  39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.

NIV

It is not so much what we say, although our words mean much, but rather our thoughts are indeed what is in our heart. So let us not even think of revenge, but rather think compassionately. For so as we think, so are we. 

A great place to live

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE

Prov 24:27

27 Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.

NIV

It would seem this is strictly a material saying. Although how many of us today have fields to get ready? Most likely in those times men were expected to own land, make good use of it, produce a plentiful crop and set aside their profits until they have enough to build the home that befits their land. This could also mean build a family. That would then mean a man should have a sufficient amount of wealth set aside before he marries and begins to rear children. But for many of us today this saying would then be like closing the barn door after the cows already escaped. How do we apply this to our lives if we have been married for years and even have grown children? It is a little late for us to finish our outdoor work before building our house. So is there any way we can get an application for our lives? Solomon used this principle in the building of the temple. He made sure he had all the materials in store before construction began, so that the temple construction could be done without stopping waiting for more supplies to be brought in. Are we in the process of building a temple for the Holy Spirit? Is it a process? We are told our bodies are the temple of the Spirit.

2 Cor 6:14-18

14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."   17 "Therefore come out from them and be separate,       says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."   18 "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters,    says the Lord Almighty."  

NIV

Here is our outdoor work to finish and get our field ready. We are not to be in partnership in any way with unbelievers. This implies we do not blend our resources with unbelievers, no investments into their way of life. No commonality in material or spiritual things. Their way of materialism or their ideas of the supernatural are to be separate from ours. So our outdoor work is to get our field ready, our lives ready to be the temple of the living God. This would mean we are to come out from the form of life the unbeliever has and live in accordance with the will of God. As we study his word, as we cultivate our mind and heart we grow a bountiful crop, we produce much fruit. Well actually it is the Spirit who produces the fruit within us. We are in partnership with our living God, with the Spirit who dwells within our house, his temple. As we work our field, our mind and heart, he builds the house, his temple into a fitting place to dwell in. But we cannot ever stop doing our outdoor work. We must always be about readying our fields, so to produce this crop, which also could be the harvesting of souls for the kingdom of God. It might be difficult to harvest souls, if our field is not ready, our heart and mind not able to understand the truth of God. So let us be always about working the field, our heart and mind, so that our house, the temple of the living God, is suitable for his habitation, making it a great place to live. 

The kiss

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

THE KISS

Prov 24:26

26 An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.

NIV

Somewhat of a weird saying. But what is the truth in an honest answer being like a kiss on the lips? During the period we know as the Old Testament men would kiss, perhaps not on the lips, but on the cheek, as a sign of friendship and respect. We see this demonstrated in the life of Absalom, however this was not truly an honest answer.

2 Sam 15:1-6

15:1 In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. 2 He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, "What town are you from?" He would answer, "Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel." 3 Then Absalom would say to him, "Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you." 4 And Absalom would add, "If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that he gets justice." 5 Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. 6 Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

NIV

He was deceiving and intended his kiss to steal the hearts of the Israelites from the existing king. However, here we also see that any deception is not like a kiss on the lips. We also see that a kiss on the lips does not mean an honest answer. That is to say just because someone tells us they are our friend, and respect us, they may not be giving us honesty. Conversely, just because we tell someone we are their friends does not mean we are kissing them on the lips with honestly. We could take another kiss as being anything but honesty. When Judas kissed Jesus, it was not an honest answer, but a deception of betrayal. When Judas approached Jesus he called him Rabbi or in the original language it is implied, my master. Jesus called him friend, but Judas was not being honest in calling him master. It was not a kiss of honesty. However to be honest carries that meaning of close friendship. There idea is all about honesty. How honest are we with those close to us? Do they know our deepest thoughts? Do we share our innermost temptations? Do we hold those back, not trusting their being honest in their love for us? It is not that we should stand before the church and admit every time we fail God, committing some sin, but should there not be honesty among the closest of friends? Just how honest can we be and still have those people as friends? If they shun us because of our failures, then they were never really a friend in the first place. If we shun someone because of their failures, their sin, then were we really friends. If they fail not only God, but what we consider failing us, then if we lose trust in them or no longer look to them as upright and Godly, perhaps we were never their friend anyway. But are we not all commanded to love one another? Then would not the definition of love as told to us in 1^st Corinthians 13 demand we first be honest, second never stop loving, trusting, hoping, defending, one another no matter what? Honesty has to be the best policy, at least with those we are so close with it would be as if we are kissing them. 

Just another thought completely different. How about an honest answer about the gospel. What can be sweeter to the lips then the truth? The truth of salvation is like a kiss, it is an intimate act of bringing someone to Jesus. What greater love can there be than to share God's free gift of eternal life. The truth, an honest answer that without Jesus a person is doomed to death, but with Jesus, life. Let is give them a kiss. 

Innocent or guilty

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

INNOCENT OR GUILTY

Prov 24:23-25

23 These also are sayings of the wise:

To show partiality in judging is not good: 24 Whoever says to the guilty, "You are innocent" — peoples will curse him and nations denounce him. 25 But it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come upon them.

NIV

This most likely speaks about judges and/or ministers and their being impartial in their judgements. A judge should not be swayed one way or another in a case even if the accused is a close friend or a deathly enemy. In some sense a judge should not see the face of the accused, but only the facts of the case. But what does that have to do with our everyday lives and our relationship with the Lord? Because all scripture is God-breathed and profitable for correction, rebuking, teaching and training in righteousness, this has to have a truth we should be applying to our lives. We cannot simply determine whether a judge lives rightly or corruptly. There is something about the guilty and the innocent which makes us think about the judgement of God. He will surely judge without any partiality. It may well be that when he declares a person who accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior as innocent, peoples will curse him. There is no doubt that nations have denounced him. God will also convict the guilty. The difference is that people decide for themselves whether they what to be declared and judged as guilty or innocent. It is not as though anyone is without the guilt of sin, but because of Christ, those who accept him are then declared innocent. God is not partial about that, it is simply the facts. That fact is available to all peoples. He does not determine some to be declared innocent and some to remain guilty. If he did that he would be showing favoritism, he would be showing respect to one and not another.

Acts 10:34-35

34 Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.

NIV

Who has the great rich blessing, more than anyone? Is he not God? Of course his blessings are the riches of all. So he convicts the guilty and let’s go the innocent. He is just, he is fair, he is right in all he does. We also are admonished not to show favoritism. That is we should not prejudge anyone when it comes to sharing the gospel message.

James 2:1-4

2:1 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism . 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

NIV

Every person will stand before the God and be judged for his works. That is the works of his life. Did he accept Christ? Did he reject Christ? That is the only work that will be judged. But we cannot make that determination. We cannot judge another person’s heart. We cannot make say this person will not accept Jesus so I will not bother to tell them about him. We cannot say whether a person is worthy of salvation or not. All are worthy of salvation, we only have to look at ourselves to know that fact. Jesus did not go to the cross for only a select few, but for the whole world, every person. He did not show any partiality at all. So then let us not show any partiality in sharing the message about being able to be declared innocent and escape the penalty of being guilty.   

No Joining

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

NO JOINING

Prov 24:21-22

21 Fear the LORD and the king, my son, and do not join with the rebellious, 22 for those two will send sudden destruction upon them, and who knows what calamities they can bring?

NIV

The Lord and the king. Certainly this two represent God and government. We should fear the Lord, or give reverence to him. Respect the government for it is the Lord who established government and we are admonished to respect and pray for those in authority. Although that was true in the day of kings who reigned over the people, it may not be so true today in our country at least. Our form of government does not make those who serve in an authority over us, but rather we the people elect those to represent us in the union of states. So in that respect, we are the kings in this proverb. However the warning here is about the rebellious. This would be those who rebel against God and government. What that might look like is those who form their own brand of religion and government which tramples on the common people, or those who would accept their form of religion and governance. We see that in so many televangelists who spread false truths for their own personal gain. We see that in other forms of governments such as communism and socialism or those counties which dictators. They all bring destruction to the common people while putting those in charge at the top of the heap, living in luxury. We are not to accept either forms of these types. Of course it is difficult not to become political when we are told there are corrupt forms of government as well as corrupt forms of religion. So let us remember that we have but one Lord and one truth. Let us remember the Lord established human governance. We believe our form of a representative republic is the best form as it is supposed to be a government of the people, by the people and for the people, not over the people. If any form of government or religion becomes corrupt than we are to have nothing to do with them. We are not to fall into league with them, join them in any way for in doing so it will be our destruction.   

A tale of two lives

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

A TALE OF TWO LIVES

Prov 24:19-20

19 Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of the wicked, 20 for the evil man has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.

NIV

It was at the beginning of Proverbs 24 we had something very similar to this. Again we are assured of the destiny of those who have not accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. Why all the warning about their fate? They do not even care to read these words, for that matter, if they did they would not understand or believe them. But this is not a warning about their fate, for we know their fate and it is unquestionable they will perish, cease to exist, die, not only in the physical, but also in the spirit. Their lamp, their life, their being, all they are, their soul or spirit will be snuffed out. The original language carries the meaning of being extinguished or to expire. It has also been translated as being extinct. All this we know. All this has been a part of our understanding from our first encounter with the truth. They have no future hope. It cannot be any plainer then that. We have a future hope. We are going to live forever in the presence of our Lord and Savior. That sends shivers down our spine. Our heart, our spirit rejoices to know we are saved, we have been set apart, and God has made us holy. He no longer holds our sin against us. He has declared us innocent because of the blood of Jesus. Although we will never be free from some sin in our lives, God has promised us he will not remember our sin, he will not hold that against us because we are in Christ. That is difficult to grasp at times, because it seems we fail all too often. But the truth does not depend on our perfection or imperfection. The truth does not depend on anything about us, it is the truth because God spoke it. Jesus said he was the truth the light and the way.

John 14:6-7

6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

NIV

So then because we are in Christ, we have the way, we have the truth, and we have the life and we are going to the Father, or we will be coming to the Father. So why then would we ever be envious of those who are not going to the Father? Is it because they live life with no restrictions, and we think we do? Jesus set us free from the law. Oh, right we do have all those commands of God in the New Testament. The one that says we are to love others as we love ourselves. There are a lot of attitudes we are to rid ourselves of, like:

Eph 4:31-32

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

NIV

We can go through a whole list of scriptures like this which admonish us to rid ourselves of certain attitudes and behaviors and at the same time telling us attitudes and behaviors we are to add to our character. But do we tend to make these attitudes into a law of our own? Do we make lists of all the bad sins we do not do, but leave out some of these attitudes off our lists of don’ts? Do we forget to add some of the attitudes and behaviors to our list of do’s. Do we just think good works is what is needed? Everything is wrapped up, according to Jesus, is in loving God with all our heart, mind, spirit and strength and loving our neighbor as ourselves.  That is it. The heck with the list, it is just another set of laws. We have the blessed hope of eternal life with God, so then let us not be like the world. Let us not envy them for their freedom from lists, for we have no lists either. Let us not be jealous of their lives, for theirs are coming to an end, ours is not. Let us not fret about their way of life. What it comes down to is a tale of two lives, one with an end, one without an end. 

No Gloating

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

NO GLOATING

Prov 24:17-18

17 Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, 18 or the LORD will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him.

NIV

If we ever think we are special just because we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we might well be guilty of this gloating spoken of here. The truth is we are but sinners saved by grace. We are not any better or worse than anyone else. We have heard with our own ears someone say, “I cannot remember the last time I sinned”. What a boast, and it might have been a gloat. We are admonished not to think more highly of ourselves then we should.

Rom 12:3-4

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

NIV

This poor fellow who said that was in the midst of a sin while speaking them. The sin of pride, the sin of thinking more highly of himself then he should. Not only that he was most likely lying about it, or at least completely deceived by the devil. The truth be told, anyone without sin can cast the first stone at us sinners saved by grace. No, the rest of mankind who has yet to accept Jesus are simply people who need Jesus. If they are experiencing difficult lives, hard times, troubled moments in life, we should be offering them a solution. It is not that all their troubles will go away, although they may, but it is the troubled heart within them which can be healed. Inner turmoil is what destroys a person. Living without inner peace, contentment, serenity is what causes all sorts of emotional, mental and even physical problems for a person. Just as the Apostle Paul said that he learned to be content in whatever circumstance he was in, we have that same peace, that same contentment. But the unsaved do not. We cannot gloat about that, but should want to help them. We should be giving them the peace of Christ, the grace that is available to them as it was to us. How can we gloat over someone’s pain and suffering? How can we gloat because we have eternal life and they do not? How can we gloat because our sin is forgiven and theirs is not? How can we rejoice because somebody has fallen? Another idea here is who is our enemy in the first place that we should gloat when they fall or stumble? Are we not to make every effort to live in peace with all people?

Heb 12:14

14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

NIV

Surely Solomon had enemies. There were all sorts of wars among the kingdoms in his time. We have had wars among nations in our time. Yet how can we gloat over those nations who have fallen under the power of the United States military might? Even during our Civil War, brothers considered brothers enemies. But, knowing what we know about the scriptures, how we can consider anyone an enemy, except he who wars against our soul. Are not all peoples the creation of God? True some have suppressed the truth by their evil deeds, but that does not mean they are not his creation. We should be seeing all people as he sees them, in need of his grace, therefor we have nothing to gloat about. 

Rise Again

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

RISE AGAIN

Prov 24:15-16

15 Do not lie in wait like an outlaw against a righteous man's house, do not raid his dwelling place; 16 for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.

NIV

There seems to be a warning here to the unrighteous, but what unrighteous person would first, read this warning, and second, pay any attention to it? What this proverb teaches us is about how we face calamities in comparison to how the unrighteous face those same calamities. There is something about this number seven which brings Job to our mind.

Job 5:19

19 From six calamities he will rescue you; in seven no harm will befall you.

NIV

We also should note this falling seven times is not falling into sin as the Hebrew word used here for fall has nothing to do with sin, it is not used at all in the Old Testament in connection to sin, but rather to fall, to fall down, to lay prostrate on the ground. This implies what the saying here teaches. There are going to be times when we fall into troubled times, or experience some calamity in our lives. This is what Job was experiencing. He had everything. He had a good life, a big home, lots of children, great wealth by all standards he was among the one percenters of the world. We know the story and how he lost everything, except his wife, although she was not very supportive of his continual trust in God, in fact she suggested he curse God. But Job says that God will rescue us from six calamities, even in seven no harm will befall us. This seven is an uncertain number, which it means forever, unnumbered amounts. This is the idea about forgiving sins, seven time seventy, always, unnumbered times. Whenever we fall into some sort of calamity, God will always rescue us. We always have our trust in the Lord, we do not give up just because we fall into some hard times or experience some difficulty. Those who do not know the Lord, those who cannot trust God, do not see the other side of a calamity, they are stuck in their troubles. Many times such calamities can bring a person down to depression; with no hope, not way of seeing a way out of their troubles. We do not ever see that side of a calamity for we always have the Lord who will rescue us. We may not be able to get up on our own, but God will lift us up and bring us through any situation in life. What can man to do us? Nothing for we are in the hand of the Lord, he is our refuge, he is our rock, he is our fortress, he is our strength in times of trouble. Where else would we go? Who else could we trust more them him? When we look  back at those times in life we went through a storm and see only but one set of footprints, they were his, carrying us through that storm. Yes, even when we walk through the valley of death, he is there to carry us home. We shall always rise again, both in times of calamity, and in the end times. 

The Future

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

THE FUTURE

Prov 24:13-14

13 Eat honey, my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste. 14 Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

NIV

Although the taste of honey from the honeycomb is supposed to be far better, much sweeter, better tasting then that processed or honey that is expressed from the comb and placed in some jar to be sold on the store, this saying has little to do with honey. It merely uses taste of honey from the comb as a comparison to wisdom for our soul. There are references in the scriptures to people dipping into the honeycomb, so it would not be unusual for Solomon to know of this taste. Yet how sweet is wisdom to our soul.  If we find wisdom we have a hope of a future. If we find wisdom we will not be cut off. What or who else could we define wisdom then as God. He is the only one who would give us a future. He is the only one who we would not want to be cut off from. This seems pretty clear that the future spoken here is eternal life. Being cut off means there is no future. This clearly demonstrates people who are cast into the lake of fire have no future. They are not going to suffer the agony of flames for all eternity as that would imply that is their future life. But to be cut off is the opposite of having a future or eternal life. It may be true for some time they may suffer some kind of torment in the temporary place we call hell. We have no real idea of its physical attributes other than the story of Lazarus and the rich man. When the rich man died and was buried he went to hell or hades in the Greek. He was in torment in some kind of fire. Somehow some people get the idea that this is the way it will be in the lake of burning sulfur after the last judgement. But hell or hades give up their dead and hades is cast into the lake of burning sulfur alone with the beast, the false prophet as well as Satan. The three of them will be tormented day and night forever in this lake. However they are eternal beings. All the unbelievers, and a description of their lifestyle is given to us, will be thrown into this lake of burning sulfur and it is said of them, it is their second death. This is first the death the body then the death of the spirit or soul which is the end of life altogether, without any further future. There is smoke that comes from the lake of burner sulfur that will forever be in the nostrils of God. But not from their tormented souls. It merely means that he will always remember the fate, the lack of future those misguided souls did not have and the way they came to their end. We, on the other hand have found wisdom, we have found God. Some would say God found us, but we still had to say yes, we had to accept his grace, his mercy, his provision for our salvation. So we found wisdom and because of him, we have a future full of all the wonderful things he has prepared for us. Jesus has told us that he has prepared a place for us so that where he is we also will be, for all of time, all of future. 

To Rescue

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

 TO RESCUE

Prov 24:11-12

11 Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. 12 If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?

NIV

Are we the only ones who see this truth? Our friends of old, the commentaries of ancient times all look at this from rising up to testify for a person unjustly accused of some crime. That if we stand by within speaking up, their blood is on our hands. But do they only see the physical life of man? This proverb speaks directly to the people who have yet to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. They are being led away by Satan to their death. They are staggering toward their slaughter. Should they not hear the truth, see the truth, respond to the truth in the affirmative, they will be cast into the lake of burning sulfur, doomed to experience the second death. If we say we did not know about this destiny of the unsaved, non-repented person. If we say we do not know anything about the fate of those who have not accepted Jesus, will not God weigh our heart? Will he not perceive we care nothing about their destiny? How can we say we love the Lord and not share his grace with those condemned, by their sin, to death? It is not that he will repay us with death, or that we will get less reward. This truth is about the saved and the unsaved. The saved will receive eternal life the unsaved will receive death. The done or the doing is either accepting or rejecting Jesus. He will repay everyone for which ever they do, accept or reject. But if they have not made the choice or had the opportunity to make the choice then their blood may well be on our hands if we do not say something to them. God does perceive our heart, and knows if we care about those who have not heard. If we are content with us four and no more, what then? If we say, that is not our gift, then we say God has not gifted us with the ability of speech. Who of us cannot talk? Then why do we not speak up when the opportunity is there? Why do we not say something about Jesus when we are with those who need to make that choice? Now it is true that if they refuse, if they do not what to hear, if they say, I do not believe that stuff, well then speak no more about him. Do not cast our pearl before them anymore. Their blood is on their own hands, but we have done what we have been instructed to do, give them the choice to make. We have made every effort to rescue them from death. Yes, the Holy Spirit is the one who convicts of sin and need of repentance. But this, as well as many other scriptures, makes it clear we have a part to play in the rescue of those condemned to death. So let us be in the business of rescue. 

Strength

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

STRENGTH

Prov 24:10

10 If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength!

NIV

Certainly we would what to define what trouble is in order to get a handle on this truth. In the original language it carries the meaning of distress, or tribulation. The word is also used for a rival wife. It might seem this would be the right meaning in the time of Solomon as he has many wives. However that system of many wives has long gone with men like Solomon. So today we have no rival wives to deal with, but we do have troubles. We have times of distress. We have times of tribulation. What we do, how we live in those times defines who we are. If we buckle under the times of distress then we have small strength. But what kind of strength is also in question. The original word is used in a variety of ways. It is used for human strength as the strength for lifting a heavy weight. It is used in the same way for the strength of animals. It is also used for the strength of angels, as well as for the power of God. Here is how this could apply to us. When we are in times of distress or difficult times and we falter, it could mean we have little faith in God. It is easy to have faith in God when life is full of success. Our faith is not tested at all when everything is going perfectly. When we have more than enough money, extremely good health and enjoy all the fruits of our labor it is so simple to believe God has blessed us. But what happens when something goes wrong? What happens when we lose a job? What happens when we go through hard times? What happens if everything we have is wiped away by a storm or fire or other natural disaster? What happens if we lose a loved one? Do we falter or do we continue to have a strong unwavering faith in God? What is the strength of our faith? 

Keeping Guard

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

KEEPING GUARD

Prov 24:8-9

8 He who plots evil will be known as a schemer. 9 The schemes of folly are sin, and men detest a mocker.

NIV

It would seem there is a difference between being known as a schemer then just having an occasional thought about foolishness or even sin itself. What Christian can say they have never had a thought about something which is considered sin? What Christian can say they have never put that thought to action? But sin is not at the core of our thoughts or desires as this person who plots evil. Although James talks about a person being drawn away by our own evil desires.

James 1:13-15

13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

NIV

But again this is being drawn or dragged or enticed by temptation, not plotting to do evil. This plotter, this schemer has folly in his heart all the time. It would appear this type of mocker is even detested by the men of the world. That is how evil his plotting can be. We have just seen this type of plotter shooting hundreds of people enjoying a music festival. We have seen this type of person in history, such as Adolf Hitler plotting the extinction of the Jewish people. We have seen many such men that are so evil the world itself scorns them. But those types also serve another form of evil. That is because those who refuse to accept Jesus see themselves as good people in comparison to this type who plot evil and are known as schemers. What we need to consider is if we might plot any kind of evil or wickedness or sin. That is not our desire. That is not what our life is about. We desire to do that which is pleasing to God. Yet we fail to accomplish that plan all the time. We fall short of perfection and yield to some temptation, if it be so slight as to be impatient or be upset, or get angry or be not being forgiving. Whatever the temptation is, it’s aimed right at us. We could be tempted by fame and fortune. We could be tempted by stuff, material goods, money. We could be tempted by sensuality. It would seem there are as many temptations possible that it might take a book to list them all. Well in fact we already have a book listing them all and it was inspired by God. Yet let us continual assess out heart. Let us always allow God to examine the direction of our heart. Yes, we fail to be perfect, but let us not get trapped into being a plotter of sin. Let us not be deceived into believing our heart is bent toward evil all the time. Yes that is what God said about the people of the world before the flood. But if we have been given a new heart, if we have been born again, if we asked Jesus into our heart, if the Holy Spirit dwells within us, then how can our heart always be bent toward evil all the time? This is not to say we do not have sinful thoughts and that we are enticed into some sin from time to time. But that is not our desire all the time, every moment of every day as this one who plots evil. We have been changed, the old has passed away and we have become a new creature in Christ. So let us not be worried, or concerned that we could be anything like this plotter of evil, this schemer, this doer of folly. But let us also be on guard against the likes of such people, so as to not get drawn in by them. Some of these who plot evil have hidden themselves in sheep’s clothing, appearing to be Godly, but only having a form or godliness. They too are schemers of folly and we should be on guard again all forms of schemes for they all come from the father of all lies. Let us keep guard. Keep guard against anything that would entice us, and anyone who would try to deceive us. 

The gate

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

THE GATE

Prov 24:7

7 Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the assembly at the gate he has nothing to say.

NIV

It would be good to understand the meaning of the gate in order to understand why the fool has nothing to say at it. In the days of Solomon many of the cities were walled. They had one or perhaps in the case of large cites several gates. But the main gate was not just a door, or a portal, but was deep, perhaps twenty or thirty feet deep. Within the framework of the gate were sort of rooms, or places with stone benches. This is where the business of the city took place. If a stranger came to sell his wares within the city he must first meet with the city officials and receive his permit, so to speak. Any traveler must go through the gate and thus encounter the officials before entrance. So it would only be those who have either been elected because of their wisdom or those who had the power or influence in town because of their wealth. Either case a fool would not be one who was either elected or had any power or influence in the city. So how does this apply to our lives?  We have elected city officials, but then we do not have any city gates. We might be tempted to see this in the Christian community, or rather the church community. We would think those who sit at the gate are those who are wise in the affairs of the church. Those who have influence in the church because of either Spiritual wisdom or great wealth. But that would not fit as this would imply those who do not sit on any church board or position of leadership are but fools. The fool has to be the one who refuses or cannot see any reason to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. The fool in the original language is the perverse or silly. This certainly is the non-believer. In light of that truth, there is a city coming that will have twelve pearly gates. The fool will have nothing to say at this gates for he will not be allowed to enter. It will only be those who are wise, those who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior who will be in the assembly at the gate. We will not only have something to say, such as praise God, but we will hear those blessed words. “Welcome friend, enter into my city, my rest”.

Victory

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

VICTORY

Prov 24:5-6

5 A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength; 6 for waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers.

NIV

Again this seems to speak to the here and now, the present in the physical life of a person who is in a position of waging war, such as a king or president, someone with great power. But could there be something else here? What constitutes being wise? What kind of power is being spoken of? What kind of knowledge increases strength? What type of strength is increased? What type of war is waged and what kind of guidance is needed? To obtain the victory, who are the advisers that should be listened to? Our first thought is that we have victory in Jesus.

O victory in Jesus, My Savior, forever. He sought me and bought me with his redeeming blood; He loved me ere I knew him and all my love is due him, He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood.

There is power in the blood of Jesus. He also said that he would send the Holy Spirit who brings power from on high.

Luke 24:49

49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." 

NIV

When we receive the Holy Spirit we also have this power from on high, and how greater can be any power then from on high? A wise person would be one who accepts the cleansing blood of Jesus, and has the power of the Spirit working in their life. The knowledge we seek is about God, about his person, his attributes, and his character and of course his will for our life. As we increase in this knowledge about God our faith is increased, it becomes stronger and stronger. We have the faith needed to wage that war against the enemy of our soul, the devil. But we need the guidance of the Spirit in this battle, this war. This war could also be seen as the war that wages within. Just as the Apostle Paul said, there are things we do not want to do, that we do, and things we want to do, that we do not do. But the Spirit can give us guidance. We can have the victory, especially over death because we listen to the advisers, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. What other advisers are worth listening to? So let us be that person of great power, that wise person who increases in strength because of our knowledge of God. We have nothing to fear in this war. Satan may have declared war on us, but he will lose, because Christ has already defeated him and we are in Christ.