Posts with the tag “proverbs”

Daily Devotional from Proverbs 27—Verse 1Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.It’s our nature to make claims like, “I’m never going to leave here,” “I’d never live there,” “I’ll always do this” or “I’d never do that” … And it is fine to make plans, set goals, and have dreams. As long as we submit them to God, and hold them with an open hand. His plans for us are of...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverbs 26—Verse 11Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.I have seen my dog eat her vomit, as well as other unmentionable substances – it is utterly disgusting. So why do they do it? Because to a dog, it simply looks like food that tastes good – and it goes down a little easier the second time.The teacher here likens our follies to that vomit t...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverbs 25—Verse 4Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel.Dross is defined as ‘foreign matter, dregs, or mineral waste, in particular scum formed on the surface of molten metal.’ So when a silversmith is melting down raw mined silver, he has to clean the dross out before he can form the silver into something beautiful.The VALUE is already...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverbs 24—Verses 17-18Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.GO HAWKS! Yes, it is absolutely okay to cheer on your favorites. But if you’re also praying the other team’s wide receiver would break a leg, well that would be displeasing to Jesus! That’s a li...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverbs 23—Verse 15My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad.As parents, we get the responsibility and the privilege of raising our kids to know and love the Lord. We get to read the Bible to them and teach them what it means to have character and integrity, and to love and serve others. But at some point, they reach an age where they will start making their o...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverb 22—Verses 17-18Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge,for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips.Why do we continue to read the Bible year after year after year? Because it is a Fount of Wisdom and Encouragement. It offers an eternal Hope that is always true no matter what ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverb 21—Verse 21Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.There are so many things we pursue in life. Education, a career, a spouse, relationships, a home, a skill or hobby…all good things. But more than these external, temporary things, God encourages us to pursue aspects of character – righteousness and kindness. If we make chara...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverb 20— Verse 10Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the Lord. It’s interesting that this sentiment is repeated in verse 23. What it’s essentially saying is that God cares about integrity. He wants our actions to match our words. He wants who we are on the inside to match what we show on the outside; our private life to match our public li...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverbs 19—Verse 20Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.Notice that we are counseled in two different ways regarding advice and instruction. LISTEN to advice – that doesn’t mean take all advice you get. Advice is based on opinion. Another proverb says that wisdom is found in a “multitude” of counselors. It’s wise to get advice from ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverb 18—Verse 17The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.A recent question in our household: Can we put Neosporin on our dog’s wound?One internet search found: “Neosporin is not safe for your dog and can cause vomiting and diarrhea.” Another search found: “Neosporin can be used to treat minor cuts in dogs, just like in humans.”W...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverb 17--Verse 9Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.People will offend you. Godly people. People you love and trust. We are all human and we are all dealing with different things at different times and not always aware of each other's burdens. How do we deal with it?The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:5 love is not easil...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverb 16— Verse 24Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.You’ve heard of the Five Love Languages, right? Different people feel love in different ways – through Acts of Service, Gifts, etc. One of those languages is Words of Affirmation. I must say, of all 5 love languages, this is probably at the bottom of my list personally. Words...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverb 15--Verse 33The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.This proverb provides tons of examples of what it's like to walk in wisdom and righteousness, and what it's like to walk in foolishness and wickedness. How are we supposed to remember it all? Well, Jesus boiled all the laws down to two:Love God more than anything or anyone else,...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverbs 14--Verse 4Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.I’ve mucked out stalls before. It stinks. It’s hard work. But can I tell you, the fresh butter you make from the cream you skimmed off the milk that you got from the cow – is like a bit of heaven in your mouth.There are often aspects of life we’d rather not deal...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverb 13—Verse 18Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is honored.When someone asks us to consider that our way of thinking or acting might not be as wise or as Christlike as it could be, we have a choice.We can react: we might get defensive, explain our reasoning, stick to our guns, or just shut down.Or we can respond: we might...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverb 12—Verse 25Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.You never know when someone is dealing with anxiety, fear, sorrow, or depression. Proverbs 18:21 says “Life and death are in the power of the tongue.” You have the power to speak LIFE into another person’s being!You also have the power to speak life into your own. I love how David reco...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverb 11—Verse 12Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent.I’m on the board of my neighborhood HOA. I sometimes hear the grievances one neighbor has with another. It might be fast driving, ‘junk’ outside, or incessantly barking dogs…These things can be legitimately irritating.There are good and poor ways of dealing with irritation...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverb 10— Verse 7The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.Reading this made me think of Arlan Askew, one of the long-time saints of our church who is now in heaven. I think of how he brought his pocket change every month for the BGMC offering, in a hand-carved barrel. How he drove my kids around in his tractor-trailer. How he would buil...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverb 9—Verses 7-8Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man and he will love you.Nowhere is this more obvious today than on social media. Scoffers are those who consider their opinion to be the right opinion, and they love putting others down. I saw a stick...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverb 8—Verse 17I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.The narrator of this proverb is “Wisdom”. It is spoken by Wisdom, to us. If we re-write this verse a little more clearly, we get: “Wisdom loves those who love Wisdom. Those who seek Wisdom diligently will find Wisdom.” Isn’t that an amazing thought? Wisdom loves those who love Wisdom. How? It...  Read More

Proverb 7Verses 2-3Keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye; bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.Imagine if the Bible were suddenly outlawed in America. In many nations today, it is. Would you have enough of it hidden in your heart to be able to continue to meditate, study, and share it? Would you still be able to access the wisdom cont...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverb 6–Verse 23For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life.If you haven’t yet fallen in love with the Bible, it may seem like an old book full of antiquated words, irrelevant stories, and a bunch of rules telling you what not to do.Oh friend, if that is you, please give it another try. Read the whole thing. In ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverb 5—Verse 6She does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it.Have you ever been lost? It’s a little harder now, in the days of electronic map apps, but when I first started driving, there wasn’t even MapQuest yet, and there were a couple times when I wandered off my path and didn’t know where I was or how to get back.I don’t know about you,...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverb 4— Verse 7The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight. I love this verse, because it’s true – the first step in seeking wisdom is to realize you don’t have it yet! But where do we get wisdom?? I pray for it A LOT. Aside from that, unless it’s the Bible (the book of Proverbs is actually referred to as “wisdom literature”), I am very c...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverb 3—Verse 3Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.We are encouraged here to wear love and faithfulness in two places: like a necklace – where people can see it, and written on our hearts – where God can see it.As followers of Jesus, if there are just two characteristics we should be focused...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverb 2—Verses 16-17So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God…How do we find wisdom in Proverbs when it seems like it doesn’t apply? I mean, I am not tempted by forbidden women. What can I get from this? Well, try replacing the idea of a ‘forbidden...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverb 1—Verse 33…but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.“Me” in this verse is the voice of Wisdom. The best source for wisdom, then and now, is the Word of God. Sometimes we need godly men and women who understand the Bible and the times, to help us find the wisdom in God’s Word. That’s what Bible studies and reading buddi...  Read More