January 24, 2019
HOW DO WE GUARD OUR HEARTS? Solomon instructed his son to guard his heart. In other words, he wanted his son to be careful about where his passions and desires led him. Certainly Solomon was an example of a man who ultimately let his heart overrule his head. He started out well with God, leading
December 30, 2018
WHO CAN FIND A VIRTUOUS AND CAPABLE WIFE?
This is a proverb made more timely by the current culture’s low view of marriage. Neither the art of being a wife, nor a husband are held in high regard today. Yet, for those who would have a marriage as God designed, desiring to experience the joy and bliss of such a divine estate, the Proverbs 31 description of a godly wife, is well… more precious than rubies!
As a young man, I was overwhelmed by the prospect of finding a wife. How can you find the right one? As most men, my eye was attracted to outward beauty. Yet, I soon found this an uncertain indicator of inner grace (as my mother had warned). Even listening to my pastor’s sermons, who taught us not to date those outside the faith, I struggled with uncertainty. How could I be sure that I had found the right one for me? I mean, this whole “two shall become one” stuff is a pretty big deal and then you add on “till death do us part,” and I was terrified of making a mistake.
That’s when I began to pray for a Proverbs 31 wife, wherever she was out there, that God would take care of her and prepare her for me. I would go through the list of attributes and pray them for her. In the process of doing this, I began to think about whether I was worthy of having such a wife. Didn’t I need to be a Proverbs 31 husband too? “Where’s that list?” I wondered. So, I began to pray a two part prayer: “Lord, make me worthy of such a wife and help me find her when the time is right.”
This coming June will mark 40 years of marriage to my Proverbs 31 wife. This is a thing that God has done. He prepared us for each other before we ever met. He led us to find each other. And He has knit us together through many joys and sorrows along the way. I don’t think either of us would have fit the Proverbs 31 description when we first started. But in our commitment to God and to one another, the Lord has done this work in us.
If you are looking to find a Proverbs 31 wife (or husband), first learn to be satisfied in your relationship with God, asking Him to make you more and more like Jesus, which is His purpose for you. Pray for your future mate, that God is doing the same for them. Then, ask God to lead you to one another when the time is right.
September 29, 2018
PRESSURE TESTS STRENGTH
Solomon wrote this proverb concerning the real test of strength. It’s what happens to you when you’re under pressure. Pressure exposes the true size of your strength.
Testing under pressure is also God’s method of proving the strength of our faith. As the apostle Peter wrote, “These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold” (1 Pet. 1:7).
How has pressure affected the strength of your faith?
September 21, 2018
THE JOY OF GODLY CHILDREN
It’s hard to describe the joy of having children who have trusted Jesus and who follow Him faithfully. Yet, we cannot take credit. For just as our children are a gift from the Lord (Psa. 127:3), so it is God’s mercy and grace that they have become children of God. It was the Lord who enabled us to provide for our children and raise them up in His admonitions. But we could not give them a new heart. We could pray with them, read the Bible to them, take them to church, and try to give them a good example to follow, but we could not save them. Only Christ can do that. And we are so glad that He has. What indescribable joy it is to see them living for Jesus!
Now, we must pray for our children’s children . . .
January 1, 2018
The Book of Proverbs contains the God-given wisdom of Solomon. It promises to teach people “wisdom, discipline and understanding.” Wisdom has the good judgment to rightly apply knowledge and experience. Discipline has the insight to be led by wisdom rather than desire. Understanding has a deeper comprehension of knowledge, so that it is able to know and explain a thing simply.
Conveniently, the Book of Proverbs has 31 chapters, so if one reads a chapter a day, it can be read through 12 times a year. That’s 12 times closer to being wise than when the year began!
Yet, the deepest wisdom is to know Christ. As the apostle Paul wrote, “But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24).
December 31, 2017
It’s become my habit to highlight a verse from each of the four daily readings in the One Year Bible on the last day of the year. So, on this last day of 2017, I offer a prayer for all of us from each of the readings:
From Malachi, I pray that we will receive healing and the power to go out kicking up our feet like young calves.
From Revelation, I pray that we will look forward to Christ’s return and be blessed by the promises of His Word.
From Psalms, I pray that we grow in our awareness and acknowledgement of God’s “mighty acts” and “excellent greatness,” so that we are always praising the Lord.
From Proverbs, I pray that as members of His Bride, the Church, we would be be clothed in “strength and honor,” always “rejoicing in time to come.”
I pray these prayers over all of us, knowing that His Word is true, His promises sure, and His ear, always listening, ready to answer the prayers of His people.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
December 10, 2017
Listen and think before talking. The book of James, which is sometimes called the “Proverbs of the New Testament,” advises: “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:19-20).
Try listening more and talking less today. Who knows what you’ll learn.
October 30, 2017
Do you know a “talebearer?” They always know the latest gossip and rumor. They speak with a wink and a whisper. Their words never elevate your estimation of others, but always tend towards disunity and strife. Yet, their news seems irresistible to the ears, like the “tasty” morsels of Turkish Delight were to Edmund’s stomach. Their words “go down” sweet, but sour your heart towards others. If you know a talebearer, rebuke them. And if they continue, avoid them.
October 25, 2017
What does it mean to be wise in your own eyes? It means that you think your know better than the Lord. Your “wisdom” is just as good as His or anyone else’s. Ironically, this is the worse kind of foolishness. For the truly wise man admits his limited knowledge and is always teachable. But the fool is a know-it-all that will not listen to counsel. Wisdom is more than knowledge. It is more than intellect. Wisdom is the knowledge and fear of God put into practice. The one who knows and fears the Lord accepts his own insufficient wisdom. The truly wise know that they don’t know all.
October 15, 2017
Solomon answers the question, “Can we ever have too much of a good thing?” In short, his answer is, “Yes.” Instead, we should practice moderation, “eating only what we need.”
Our problem: We’re all born with a sin nature that the Bible calls the “flesh.” The flesh always wants more. It is never satisfied. God gave Adam and Eve every tree and every fruit in the garden, but one. Yet, they had to have the one. We are their children. We eat too much, drink too much, sleep too much, say too much… we desire too much, always to excess. We always want more.
Be warned. We have a self-inflicted sickness. It comes from the sin nature, which is the flesh. It has an insatiable appetite. It always drives us to excess. What we need is a new nature, one born from above. We need a new nature that is born again by the Holy Spirit, so that we have the spiritual fruit of self-control. Then, we will be able to enjoy the good things of life… in moderation, “eating only as much as we need.”