What a God!

DEVOTION
PROVERBS
WHAT A GOD!
Prov 3:19-20
19 By wisdom the LORD laid the earth's foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; 20 by his knowledge the deeps were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew.
NIV
If this kind of wisdom is that which he gives to me if I seek it, it is most powerful. It is the same Hebrew wisdom that I am to find, although I do seriously doubt that I could ever lay a foundation for a planet. How powerful is this wisdom of God? How majestic is his power? I believe it is far greater than I might comprehend. Yet still, it is by his intelligence, his understanding that he set the heavens, the universe in place. No big bang, no by chance theory of the beginning here. No it is by intelligent design; his understanding of how all things must work and interact with each other in order to maintain the cosmos. I do not know how anyone could ever think that all that there is just happened without some intelligent source behind it all. That is so unintelligent to even think in that manner. How could any person believe man actually can know through whatever he has invented in the way of numbers, the age or beginning of the universe? Man’s knowledge is so utterly limited compared to the knowledge of God. Without God in the equation, man’s ideas or theories are just that, man’s. Not one theory about the universe, its origin, its formation, or design is fact if God is left out. The only truth is what God has declared. The only true facts are what God has declared. It was by his knowledge that the depths of the oceans were divided by the continents. This idea that all the continents were once one, and shifted over the last however many millions and millions of years is just nonsense, because once again, that theory, not fact, has been devised to ignore the existence of God. I merely have to gaze into the wonders of the clouds to see his hand at work. In fact the other day the formations were so incredible I simply said, “God, is that beautiful”, and before I could think another thought, I heard, “Thank you”. What A God is my God!

Blessed

DEVOTION
PROVERBS
BLESSED
Prov 3:13-18
13 Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, 14 for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. 15 She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. 16 Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. 17 Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. 18 She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed.
NIV
A mouthful of words, many of which I could spent a long time pouring over and contemplating how each applies to my life, yet all in all it is one main theme which is the joy and blessings of finding wisdom and gaining understanding. These two are so much greater than anything the world could have to offer. No doubt Solomon found them yet did he not get distracted by all the things of the world? It is a battle of a lifetime not to let those desires of the world overpower the desire to find wisdom and understanding. Although I am ready to see my Lord face to face whenever he desires, there also is a benefit of this long life, yet is the long life on earth or does this speak to eternal long life? Does this speak to riches and honor here or there? In a sense I believe it does mean both, which implies I can expect a long life here and have much material goods, and be honored by others. That is a little over the edge I think. It certainly is not what I am looking for in the life. But if that is the result of finding wisdom and gaining understanding who am I to argue with God. I cannot speak to the long life part as I do not know how long is long, but as for the riches and honor I can only say I think that has been in my life already. I have much, more than many, and I believe others have a certain amount of respect toward me, which I can only attribute to God. I must confess I do indeed have a pleasant way in this life. I have so few struggles, anguishes or difficulties that it would appear I have none. Maybe I travel with too much ease, maybe I should fret more about things, and be in turmoil over all sorts of situations, but I just cannot seem to get there, for my life is pleasant and the path I walk is peaceful. It has little to no unrest. It is filled with the Shaalowm peace of God, safety, wellness, happiness, friendliness, welfare and health. What more could I ask for? But still there is more, and this is in fact the hereafter part. For in finding God’s wisdom and gaining the understanding to see his truths for my life, I will be able to reach out my hand and partake of the tree of life, which I have already done, at least in a spiritual sense, and be blessed with life eternal. Why would it not be the desire of my heart to find this wisdom? I am blessed.

Always In Need

DEVOTION
PROVERBS
ALWAYS IN NEED
Prov 3:11-12
1 My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, 12 because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.
NIV

How could I despise or refuse discipline or correction from my Lord? I suppose I could simply not listen and be like a little child, always wanting my own way. I could stamp my feet, hold my breath, carry on with a temper tantrum until he gives in and lets me do my thing. But, no that is not a good thing, for my way is not his way and I believe I need to be doing things his way. So I will not reject his discipline, I will accept it, and receive his corrections and directions for the way I am to go. If I get messed up and start down that old way, I need him to discipline me and make those corrections in my walk. I should not even feel a bit resentful that he is involved in my daily walk, but rather feel comforted because of his presence in my life. If he paid no attention to me, and just let me alone to do whatever I decided I wanted to do, he would not be loving me at all, but rather shunning me. How could I live without his presences, his love, his discipline and yes even his rebuke? I do not think I could. I would feel so lonely, so unloved by my Lord and my God. I would feel as if he just did not care about me. But I know that is contrary to his word. He continually tells me of his love and compassion toward me. He repeats it over and over again so that I will get it deep down within my being and understand his great love and concern for my life, so much so that he sent Jesus to redeem me and give me that opportunity to accept that redemption. He is my Father and I am his son now, and I know he knows what is best for my life. I also know there are those times when I do get a little going in my way, for I am human, not that it is alright, or that I am making excuses, but the fact remains I will never be perfect enough to gain salvation on my own. I will never live completely free from all sin, and so I will always be in need of his love, his discipline, his correction, and chastisement for those times of bad behaviors. True, they have become fewer and fewer as the years have gone by, because of his discipline, but I will never not need more of that correction in my life, I will always be in need.

Jehovah Jira

DEVOTION
PROVERBS
JEHOVAH JIRA
Prov 3:9-10
9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
NIV
It is the right thing to do as he has provided all of it to begin with. If I say to myself that it is mine, than I have not understood a thing. If I say to myself I do not have enough and I need to keep all I have, than I understand nothing. The question, of course is what is meant by honoring the Lord. Is this another word for tithe? Is this another Old Testament teaching on giving the Lord a tenth of all I have? How do I honor God by giving to men? Is not giving to the church, simply another way of giving to men, supporting the salaries of staff, and paying bills to keep the church open? What honor does God get from that? I do not believe that I should be selfish with my income, and that if I am being feed, in a spiritual sense, it is the right thing to help support those who have been called to serve him within the church. Yet are not many people, lay people, including myself, called to serve him in the church and do so without any financial compensation from the church? No, I think maybe this honoring God with my substance has more to do with making sure he receives all the glory and honor for providing me with all I need, all that I have, and all that I am, instead of giving other men some of what he has provided for me. I have often wondered, if I am to look to God for all I need, why should other men look to me for all they need, instead of looking to God. All that I have is because of God. He has giving me far more than I even need, but again, he has called me, and placed me within a cultural setting which requires a certain amount of material wealth in order to “fit in” so to speak. This has been done by him in order that I may have some influence upon this segment of society for the advancement of his kingdom. As I use my wealth for his kingdom, I will be blessed. As I use what he has given to me for the purpose of influencing others to walk in his ways, he will continue to provide me the means and blessing of more, to do more. I cannot keep to myself, or hide what he has done for me, I must honor him with it, and giving him the praise and honor he is due for being Jehovah Jira, the God who provides.

I Choose God

DEVOTION
PROVERBS
I CHOOSE GOD
Prov 3:7-8
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. 8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.
NIV
How could I ever think I had any wisdom within my own being? But I suppose without thinking, it is pretty easy to rely on myself in the process of making decisions about all sorts of things. That is the problem, without thinking. I need to remember that I have no wisdom on my own. I need to remember I have to rely on God for the wisdom in decision making, especially those ones which are not good for me. I think it is too easy to make choices that are in the direction of evil rather than good. I also think left to my own wisdom I would most likely chose in the direction of evil, for does not my God tell me, my heart is deceitfully wicked or at least prone to choices of evil rather than good. So, I need his wisdom in my choices and I need to keep away from my own wisdom of sorts. He is the almighty God, the creator of the Universe with all wisdom and understanding and as such is due all reverence. I will give him praise and honor in my life, shunning the evil and keeping my heart and mind focused on him and his thoughts, his wisdom, and his ways. I do not understand how anyone would desire any other result in their life than health in their body and nourishment in their bones. I know this is not the primary purpose of not being wise in my own eyes, or even shunning evil, but it still is a result that God brings about and I will accept that result as I accept everything else my Lord God does in my life. There is just so much he does for me, in me and even through me, I cannot count them. This health in my body and nourishment to my inner most being is just one of them. Sure I know at some point things will begin to fail. I do not expect God to keep me absolutely free from every kind of illness that will on day lead to the death of this physical shell I dwell in, for I think that is just a part of life, in the body which is prone to decay. Although this may well be speaking to my physical being, and the health of it, I think it also speaks to the inner being, and having a good healthy inner self because of not relying on that self, but rather on God. I know that my inner being will be nourished and healthy because I shun evil and give reverence to God, looking to him for wisdom in my life choices and that part of me will never decay as a result. But that also brings me to the thought that if I did rely on self and if I did not fear the Lord, and if I did not shun evil, would the inner most part of my being then be ill, sickly and without nourishment, thus bringing about death and decay of my soul? This is a sad ending, to be sure, of which I want no part of, so I choose God.

My Lord, My God, and My Savior

DEVOTION
PROVERBS
MY LORD, MY GOD AND MY SAVIOR
Prov 3:5-6
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
NIV
Can I think of any good reason to every trust in myself instead of the Lord? I cannot, for I know without a doubt my thinking and my reasoning will always be flawed. My understanding, my own wisdom would only be based on the human ability, which has to be so infinitely less than God’s. My human effort to accomplish anything is equally lessor than the Lords ability. How could I ever trust in me? Can I create anything from nothing? Can I speak anything into existence? Can I actually heal anyone of a terminal disease? Can I perform a miracle? Can I turn water into wine? Can I feed five thousand people with a couple of fish and a few loafs of bread? Can I save anyone from sin? What can I do? I can trust in the Lord with all my heart and I can refuse to lean on my own understanding. That is what I can do. Can I stand up and shout from the rooftops on how intelligent I am and that I have made all the perfect choices in my life and the reason I have whatever I have is because I decided ever course of action my life would take, and all my efforts have brought me to this moment in time? No, I cannot say that, for my life has been a result of my Lord and Savior. I cannot do anything in and of myself. I cannot make a good choice on my own. In my own human condition it simply is not possible for me to go in the right way. I acknowledge it is the Lord who has directed my life, who has brought me to this moment in time and place. All I am, and all I have is due solely because of him. He has done so much for me, in me and through me, which I could never have done alone. How could I not give him the entire acknowledgement? It is the Lord who has done it all. I know this is absolutely true and I am always looking forward to a continued walk with him for if I ever let go, for I know he would not, I would not have a very straight path ahead of me. But having my hand in his, and him holding fast onto my, I can walk through the rest of my time here on the earth in a straight and even way. I will not veer to the right or left, for he will direct the way I am to go, both in the physical realm and the spiritual, for you are my Lord, my God and my Savior!

Bind and Write

DEVOTION
PROVERBS
BIND AND WRITE
Prov 3:3-4
3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
NIV
Other translations use mercy and truth instead of love and faithfulness so I am a little undecided here. The original language is also a little unclear as it could imply kindness, or piety towards God and stability or trustworthiness. I think in either case, in either translation or implication there is a sense of character which is advised not to leave me as I am to bind them around my neck and write them on the tablet of my heart. No matter how I look at the words, in any form they are my state or the condition of my relationship with God. The love, kindness, piety is directed toward God. My faithfulness, stability or trustworthiness is also directed toward God. These are not my emotions, or interactions with other men, but with God. I need to love him with all of my being, to have this around my neck circles my head, my mind and on the tablet of my heart surely implies within the very core of who I am. These qualities are not something I can just have as a part of what I think or feel once and awhile during my prayer time, or during some church service. No they have to be the very fabric of my being. They have to be what I am made of, what drives my very life, the purpose for which I live. What could be better than finding favor and good understanding in the sight of God? Again, I have to return to the original words, to gather up a better grasp. Having the traits of love and trustworthiness toward God allows me to find this favor in his sight. It brings me a good understanding in his sight as well, as I am able to fellowship with him and he with me. As this relationship deepens, and I grow to be more like him, I am confident that my character will also be seen by man and I will have favor and a good name in their sight as well. I think as a representative of God in this land I live, that should be not my goal, to win favor and a good name, but the result of my relationship with him as thus he will be praised not me. I am simply to bind and write.