Wisdom dwells with prudence

 S -  Proverbs 8:12-14   (NASB)
12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
And I find knowledge and discretion.
13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
Pride, arrogance, the evil way,
And the perverted mouth, I hate.
14 Advice is mine and sound wisdom;
I am understanding, power is mine.

O - My observation is that wisdom lives where one is prudent and knowledge is found in discretion.    Those who fear the lord, hat evil, and avoid pride and arrogance.   The mouth which is perverted is to be rebuked and I am to seek sound wisdom and advice.   This proverb is to remind me that I am to seek understanding because the power is mine to have.

A - The application for me is to recognize that I uniquely have the opportunity to receive the same wisdom that Solomon received if only I would have a healthy fear of the Lord and love of wisdom.  The path to understanding runs through the path laid out by wisdom.  I am too seek sound wisdom from the Lord and follow His path all the days of my life.   

P - Dear heavenly Father, thank you for this mornings devotion and sharing with me your wisdom.   I pray that I might write these words of wisdom on my heart so they might guide me all the days of my life.  I pray all this in Jesus' Christ name, Amen.

Wisdom of Solomon

 S - Prov 8:12-20 (NASB)

2 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
And I find knowledge and discretion.
13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
Pride, arrogance, the evil way,
And the perverted mouth, I hate.
14 Advice is mine and sound wisdom;
I am understanding, power is mine.
15 By me kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.
16 By me princes rule, and nobles,
All who judge rightly.
17 I love those who love me;
And those who diligently seek me will find me.
18 Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring wealth and righteousness.

O -

Follow the command of your father and teachings of your mother

 S - Proverbs 6: 21-31 (NASB)

My son, comply with the commandment of your father,
And do not ignore the [l]teaching of your mother;
21 Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
22 When you walk, [m]they will guide you;
When you sleep, [n]they will watch over you;
And when you awake, [o]they will talk to you.
23 For the commandment is a lamp and the [p]teaching is light;
And rebukes for discipline are the way of life
24 To keep you from the evil woman,
From the smooth tongue of the foreign woman.
25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her capture you with her eyelids.
26 For the price of a prostitute reduces one to a loaf of bread,
And [q]an adulteress hunts for a precious life.
27 Can anyone take fire in his lap
And his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can a person walk on hot coals
And his feet not be scorched?
29 So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her will not [r]go unpunished.
30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
To satisfy [s]himself when he is hungry;
31 But when he is found, he must repay seven times as much;

O -This proverbs tells the follower to comply with the commandment of his heavenly Father, and to not ignore the teaching of his mother; but instead tie them around your neck and you will be guided by them when you walk,  watched over when you sleep and talked to when you wake. 

A - The application for me is to remember to comply with all the commandments that God has given me through His word and to obey the teachings of my mother, who has taught me hard work and service of others.   It is these two ways I will be guided by and watched over.  I will seek them in my morning devotional time so that I might hear the way the Lord has made for me.

P - Dear heavenly Father, thank you for this mornings lesson, may it be sealed to my heart.  I pray Lord that I would remember all your teachings and laws and that I would abide them all the days of my life.  I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.

The heart, tongue and eye

 S - Prov 4:20-27   (NASB)

20 My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart from your sight;
Keep them in the midst of your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them
And health to all [g]their body.
23 Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.
24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth
And put devious [h]speech far from you.
25 Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your [i]gaze be fixed straight in front of you.
26 Watch the path of your feet
And all your ways will be established.
27 Do not turn to the right nor to the left;
Turn your foot from evil.

O - This proverb from Solomon is from him to his son (but applies to all of us).  Solomon says guard your heart because this is the source of your life and when life flows freely from it you will live a life that is abundant.   He says watch your speech because if you are good with your words in a way that deceives vice brings truth your ways will be crooked.  Rather instead let your eyes look forward and straight in front of you so you won't head down the wrong path.

A - The application for me is to pay attention to three of my vital organs,   my heart, my tongue, and my eyes.   Life flows from my heart when it is healthy and not hard.   When I store the wisdom of these proverbs and in fact all scripture in my heart , it is healthy and the life force within me pumps life giving blood to all my body parts.   This includes my tongue which is a powerful force that if not tamed will learn the bad habit of deception, only concerned with personal gain.  Instead I am to tame the tongue that it might be used to lift up others and not tear them down.   And lastly my eyes.   I need to keep them focused on the narrow path ahead of me and follow the trail that Jesus has planned for me.  When my eyes get distracted by things along the way,  I will tend to wander away from the path guide has set before me.  The application is to use my heart, my tongue and my eyes to lead me in God's ways.

P - Dear heavenly Father, thank you for today's word of wisdom, may it be sealed to my heart, flow from my tongue, and may my eyes stay fixed on you and the path you have set before me.  I pray all this in Jesus' name, Amen.

Practice Truth and Kindness

 S -  Proverbs 3:3-7 (NASB)

Do not let kindness and truth leave you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 So you will find favor and a good [b]reputation
In the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.

O - My observation is that God's wisdom is to be respected and to be practiced.   Two of the foremost truths are to live a life full of kindness in truth.  They are to be with you always, bound around your neck and written on the tablet of your heart.   Because of these two you will find favor with God and with man.   You also must trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding but in all ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight.

A - The application for me is to recognize I have not arrived yet in these areas of truth and kindness, in fact I have a long way to go. The proverb says do not let kindness and truth leave you.  So I must have some sort of truth and kindness in me, and given that it can leave me , some already has, each and every time I choose a lie or a cruelness over the truth and kindness,  I head in the wrong direction.  Every time I choose kindness and truth,  the Lord is faith to make my paths straight.  I imagine truth and kindness as attributes God had engraved on my infant heart.  As time went on and I grew the size of the truth and kindness grew in height and width but decreased in depth.  If I didn't purposely practice truth and kindness the depth would continue to diminish until it became less and less a guide to my life.  However, if I practice truth and kindness in my daily life,  The inscription on the tablets of my heart would be made deeper allowing His way to be clearer and straighter. 

P - Dear heavenly Father, thank you for today's Proverb may it be engraved deeper on the tablets of my heart.  I pray Lord you help me to practice truth and kindness daily so my path will be made straight and that I will find favor with you and with others.  I pray all this in Jesus' Christ name, Amen.

Preaching the Gospel

 S - Acts  9:19-22  (NASB)

Now for several days he was with the disciples who were in Damascus, 20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, [j]saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not the one who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the [k]Christ.

O - Saul after arrival in Damascus and his conversion immediately began seeking out the disciples in Damascus and began preaching the Gospel at the Synagogues.  Paul learned of the good news directly from Jesus.   Now he was preaching it to the Jews in the synagogue.    They said isn't this the Paul that we heard was punishing the the followers of Christ?  Because of this Paul continued increasing in his strength.

A - The application for me is to remember that I too have had my own Damascus moment and not that the Lord has lifted the blinders from my eyes,  I am compelled to share the Gospel at first to myself, daily, and then to God's people so they may understand and believe the truth of the resurrected Christ, and lastly to all nations.

P - Dear heavenly Father, thank you for today's lesson, may the life of Paul continue to be a guide and light unto the world through me (if neccessary).  I pray all this in Jesus' Christ name, Amen.

Turn to the Lords rebuke

 S - Prov 1: 23- 33  (NASB)

Turn to my rebuke,
Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.
24 Because I called and you refused,
I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;
25 And you neglected all my advice
And did not want my rebuke;
26 I will also laugh at your disaster;
I will mock when your dread comes,
27 When your dread comes like a storm
And your disaster comes like a whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently but will not find me,
29 Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord.
30 They did not accept my advice,
They disdainfully rejected every rebuke from me.
31 So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way,
And be filled with their own schemes.
32 For the faithlessness of the naive will kill them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them.
33 But whoever listens to me will live securely
And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”

O - Turn to His rebuke?    That is unexpected in a chapter on proverbs.   I imagine one has to turn to God first and receive His words of admonishment and corrects before receiving wisdom. Or as it is written it would be like feeding pearls to pigs.  The rest of the proverbs says it is too late when disaster comes for you to turn to the Lord,  he will not answer because you despised his rebuke and would not accept His advice.

A - The application for me is to remember to seek and receive openly rebuke and wisdom from God.  It all starts with a healthy fear of the lord.    It is the kind of fear of being alone in the circumstance you find . 

P - Dear heavenly Father,thank you for this mornings devotion, may it be sealed to my heart.

I pray all this in Jesus' Christ name, Amen.