Proverbs

The Bold Righteous (Proverbs 28)

Boldness

The wicked flee when no one is pursuing,
But the righteous are bold as a lion.

What a contrast we read of here. One FLEES, the other is BOLD.

I know what it is like to be bold, and I also (regrettably) know what it’s like to flee. What about you?

I know there are times I have fled from God. I have turned and run – not outwardly – but certainly in my heart because I chose the path of my sinful desires over repentance and the way of the Lord.

And so I ended up fleeing from His promises, fleeing from the test He has in front of me, fleeing from the opportunity He was presenting to bless me.

Like the person described in this Proverb, in those times we flee though “no one is pursuing”. In other words, no one is coming after us, there is nothing is fear. God still extends His hand of mercy and grace to us, even in our sinful fleeing. He is calling us, longing for us to return to Him.

On the other hand, the righteous person is as BOLD as a lion. It is amazing, that when we walk in right relationship with God, a sense of boldness rises upon us.

When we walk closely with the Lord, we become aware of His love, of His Spirit, and of His supernatural provision in our life. And it makes us bold. If He’s for us, who can be against us?

We need boldness. In facing every challenge life throws at us, in confronting the intimidation of the enemy, in embracing change and walking in the promises of God – we need to walk in boldness. And it is the righteousness of Christ that gives it to us.

PRAYER: Father, thank you for Jesus and His perfect sacrifice. I surrender myself and my sin to you and I quit running. I humbly put myself “in Christ” and receive fresh boldness from you today, in Jesus name, Amen.

The Disgrace of Pride (Proverbs 11)

disgrace

Proverbs 11:2 says:

When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.

Pride and Humility are polar opposites. You can’t be both proud and humble. At best it is either / or.

Pride, the proverbs tell us, will bring you disgrace. Think about that word DIS-grace. Most of us would want to receive grace in our life, certainly from God and most likely from others. But with pride comes DISgrace.

Why is this? The fruit of pride is destruction (Proverbs 16:18) and that destruction is ultimately at our own hand. Then, when you set yourself up to fall you can expect no compassion or grace from others. Why? You have sown self-importance, a “me first” attitude at the expense of others. And so you will reap DISgrace from others.

But humility is a pre-requisite for wisdom. Humility enables you to see things as they really are. Humility removes the goggles of distortion that self-important pride blinds you with.

It is not possible to be truly wise without walking in humility. Because humility guards us against the ever-rising tide of pride within our hearts that is seeking to take over and distort what we see and how we live with our own self-importance.

Pride will lead you to disgrace. But humility will open the door to wisdom.

PRAYER: Father, forgive me for my pride and self-important attitude. I humble myself before you and take the lowly place. I ask you for a sensitivity to my own pride that I might repent of it as soon as it arises. Thank you Father, Amen.

Fruit and the Tree of Life (Proverbs 11)

Tree of Life

Proverbs 11 verse 30:

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
and the one who is wise saves lives.

The fruit that is produced by a righteous life is more than just fruit. According to the word of God it is an entire tree of life.

How is this so? The fruit of the righteous is fruitful. The fruit of the righteous contains what is required to grow trees, and those trees produces more fruit, which in turn contain seed for more trees. And the cycle of fruitfulness continues.

What is contained in the seed of the fruit of the righteous? The seed for a tree of life. A tree that keeps of producing, keeps of giving life.

In the Garden of Eden there was a tree of life. Eat of that fruit and you would never die. But there is another tree of life. It is the “tree” of the gospel that Jesus was crucified on. His death, burial and resurrection enables us to eat of the fruit of the gospel and inherit His eternal life!

Our calling is to replant the seeds of the fruit from the tree of life. This is the reproducing good news of the kingdom of God, the work of salvation.

That is why he who wins souls is wise. What better return than the reproducing work of the tree of life bearing fruit of eternal value.

PRAYER: Father, I turn to you and ask you to enable me to produce fruit in keeping with repentance. I ask for opportunities to tell people about you and your good news and what you’ve done in my life. In Jesus name, Amen

Dread or Desire (Proverbs 10)

Desire or Dread

Proverbs 10 verse 24 says:

What the wicked dread will overtake them;
what the righteous desire will be granted.

What do you focus on? What you dread or what you desire?

In life some people are motivated by their desires. They have an inward drive to move forward. Their focus is on their desires being attained.

Others are driven by what they dread. They are focused on their fears, on the potential for things to fail, to go wrong and cause problems.

Where is your focus? On your desires? Or on what you dread?

The author of Proverbs points to something interesting in this verse. He says your relationship with Him will ultimately determine which of these – destiny or dread – will become your destiny.

Your future destination depends on where you stand before Him. If you stand with Him your focus is forward, and the desires of God’s future for you are able to fill your heart. But if you stand away from Him, your focus is what’s behind coming for you and dread fills your heart.

It is what the “wicked” dread, that overtakes them. But what the “righteous” desire that will be fulfilled. We can change our outlook or our thinking but ultimately it is our relationship and standing before God that will determine your destiny.

PRAYER: Father, I chose to stand with you and ask to have your perspective in life. I thank you for making me righteous by your son Jesus. I ask you to fill me with sanctified desires, in Jesus name, Amen.

Being Wise (Proverbs 9)

Wisdom (62/365)

Proverbs 9 verses 8-10 says:

Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you;
rebuke the wise and they will love you.
9 Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still;
teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Foolish people hate rebukes or instruction because to the fool the goal is being right. To the fool, validation comes in the form of approval from others, not in truth.

Truth applied rightly is wisdom. And the person of truth – Jesus – is the one we solely should seek to please and be approved by. To seek validation in Christ alone is true wisdom.

That is why a rebuke, instruction and correction is received by the wise person.

The wise person knows “this is keeping me in line with the truth”. The wise person knows I need others to gently show me where I am veering from the truth. The wise person knows left to my own understanding I am going to drift away from the truth – the person of Truth, Jesus Christ.

When we humbly live like this, we show our fear of the Lord and grow even more in wisdom, understanding and truth.

PRAYER: Father, today I humble myself. I need correction. I need others to reveal my failings that I might grow in you and stay close to you. I choose wisdom and truth Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.

Wisdom or Wealth (Proverbs 8)

Crowne-Gold-Silver-Bullion

Proverbs 8:10-11 says:

“Take my instruction and not silver,
And knowledge rather than choicest gold.
11 “For wisdom is better than jewels;
And all desirable things cannot compare with her.

How many of us if we had the choice of gold or instruction, would choose instruction?

Come on, be honest! It’s hard to make the argument for instruction, isn’t it?

Yet, the Word of God is quite clear wisdom is more precious than Gold, silver or rubies. Why is this?

It has to do with what we value. Most people just value cash. And they are on a chase to get more of it, more quickly.

Yet cash is not the solely the answer to anything on it’s own. Dollars in your bank account won’t make you feel loved, it won’t provide a reason for getting up in the morning, and it certainly can’t go with you into eternity.

To use wealth effectively – to solve problems, to empower others, to achieve things of value, to maximise it’s value – you need wisdom. Wealth by itself is not complete. It needs something to go with it for it be useful; wisdom.

Wisdom can maximise the best of any situation. Whereas dollars by themselves need to be stewarded and directed.

Wisdom can solve problems. Wealth only has the potential to solve problems. Wisdom is what is missing, not just wealth. Therefore, choose wisdom.

PRAYER: Father, let me not be blinded by wealth. I choose wisdom today. I ask for a spirit of wisdom and revelation from you Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.

Proverbs

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