Read Pro. 3:7-8
It's hard not to be "wise in your own eyes" when the world teaches you to get an education, learn all you can, be the best, etc., etc. But the truth is we don't have anything God didn't give us and there is nothing new under the sun. The only way man discovers any new invention is because God reveals that knowledge to him. So the smartest thing we can do is fear God and depart from doing evil. God is the only thing that is true and he is wisdom personified. Departing from evil means choosing God and all the benefits that come with following him. When we do this it is health to our navels and marrow to our bones. Our navels, if we are female, are where the life that we carry gets nutrients to live. If we are male, then it is the center of our strength. Either way, choosing to follow God is our feeding tube to life and strength. The marrow of our bones is the tissue in our bones that gives our bones vitality like the Holy Spirit gives us God's life.
Lord, help us to remember that we can do nothing apart from you but with you nothing is impossible. Annoint us to impart your life to every person we encounter today.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Mon.'s Devo - Trust in the Lord
Read Pro. 3:5-6
In my walk with God I have come to understand that I have to trust God with my heart and obey even when it doesn't make sense. I was reading today in 1 Kings 17 where God told Elijah that there was going to be no dew or rain for the next few years. God had provided a brook where he hid Elijah and the ravens brought him food each morning and evening. When the brook dried up God told Elijah to go the the village of Zarephath where he had instructed a widow there to feed him. But, when he got there the widow was preparing her last meal for her and her son then she would be out of food. Did God forget to tell her that she was suppose to feed Elijah? And did God forget that the woman had no food? Elijah doesn't seem to stumble over this because he has learned that when God says something He has it figured out. He just told the woman to fix him something first, then themselves, and God would never let her run out of food again. She did and God did. What a lesson to not get discouraged when things don't exactly happen as you think they will.
I shared a while back about our mold in the house we are going to do a make-over in. The first mold expert came and said there was mold all up in the wall. I thought that was smart of God to document it first then do his miracle. Then the scientist came last week and said that there was no mold by the dryer at all and the mold around the windows was due to the faulty windows. So now they are planning to cut the sheet rock out around the windows and just replace that. This news is a miracle and I am praying that when they cut the sheet rock out they won't find any mold there either. Sometimes the way God does his thing is not the way we want him to but he is in control and our part is to trust him and invite him into our situations and let him direct us.
Thank you Lord that as the world gets more and more uncertain you become more and more certain.
In my walk with God I have come to understand that I have to trust God with my heart and obey even when it doesn't make sense. I was reading today in 1 Kings 17 where God told Elijah that there was going to be no dew or rain for the next few years. God had provided a brook where he hid Elijah and the ravens brought him food each morning and evening. When the brook dried up God told Elijah to go the the village of Zarephath where he had instructed a widow there to feed him. But, when he got there the widow was preparing her last meal for her and her son then she would be out of food. Did God forget to tell her that she was suppose to feed Elijah? And did God forget that the woman had no food? Elijah doesn't seem to stumble over this because he has learned that when God says something He has it figured out. He just told the woman to fix him something first, then themselves, and God would never let her run out of food again. She did and God did. What a lesson to not get discouraged when things don't exactly happen as you think they will.
I shared a while back about our mold in the house we are going to do a make-over in. The first mold expert came and said there was mold all up in the wall. I thought that was smart of God to document it first then do his miracle. Then the scientist came last week and said that there was no mold by the dryer at all and the mold around the windows was due to the faulty windows. So now they are planning to cut the sheet rock out around the windows and just replace that. This news is a miracle and I am praying that when they cut the sheet rock out they won't find any mold there either. Sometimes the way God does his thing is not the way we want him to but he is in control and our part is to trust him and invite him into our situations and let him direct us.
Thank you Lord that as the world gets more and more uncertain you become more and more certain.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Fri.'s Devo - The Tablets of Our Hearts
Read Prov. 3:1-4
Verse one is the key that the Israelites kept forgetting to do. They were to remember the laws that God had given them and keep them in their heart. It is one thing to know what is right to do and do it, but another thing to obey from the heart. Obeying from the heart was what God was looking for and still is. It is foolish not to obey God's laws because obeying them come with the promise of a long peaceful life. All the money in the world cannot buy peace and longevity but it is ours for the choosing. And if we want mercy and truth (God's kindness and stability) to stay with us we must bind them to our neck and write them on the tablets of our heart. When I think of binding something about my neck, I think of putting on a necklace. I absolutely love jewelry and sometimes it takes longer for me to pick out my jewelry than my clothes. It has to complement my outfit which is what mercy and truth does. If we wear it in our hearts it will embellish our outward appearance also. Our bodies are to be the temple of the Holy Spirit which means we have all the instruments of the Tabernacle in us. We have a brazen altar where we go to God and repent of our sins and give him the sacrifice of our lives. We have a laver where we wash ourselves and renew ourselves through the water of His Word. We have a table of shew bread where we partake of Christ's body through the Word and through our sacrificed lives. We have a candlestick where the Holy Spirit is lit in our lives and he gives us insight and understanding. We have an altar of incense where we pray and our prayers are like incense and we have a Holy of Holies where the altar of God dwells in our life and we can come boldly before him in prayer. Inside this altar is our heart where God has written his words. God has taken the words he wrote on stone tablets and written them on the fleshly tables of our hearts.
Lord, may we bind your words and your ways about our hearts so that we might find favor and understanding in the sight of God and man.
Verse one is the key that the Israelites kept forgetting to do. They were to remember the laws that God had given them and keep them in their heart. It is one thing to know what is right to do and do it, but another thing to obey from the heart. Obeying from the heart was what God was looking for and still is. It is foolish not to obey God's laws because obeying them come with the promise of a long peaceful life. All the money in the world cannot buy peace and longevity but it is ours for the choosing. And if we want mercy and truth (God's kindness and stability) to stay with us we must bind them to our neck and write them on the tablets of our heart. When I think of binding something about my neck, I think of putting on a necklace. I absolutely love jewelry and sometimes it takes longer for me to pick out my jewelry than my clothes. It has to complement my outfit which is what mercy and truth does. If we wear it in our hearts it will embellish our outward appearance also. Our bodies are to be the temple of the Holy Spirit which means we have all the instruments of the Tabernacle in us. We have a brazen altar where we go to God and repent of our sins and give him the sacrifice of our lives. We have a laver where we wash ourselves and renew ourselves through the water of His Word. We have a table of shew bread where we partake of Christ's body through the Word and through our sacrificed lives. We have a candlestick where the Holy Spirit is lit in our lives and he gives us insight and understanding. We have an altar of incense where we pray and our prayers are like incense and we have a Holy of Holies where the altar of God dwells in our life and we can come boldly before him in prayer. Inside this altar is our heart where God has written his words. God has taken the words he wrote on stone tablets and written them on the fleshly tables of our hearts.
Lord, may we bind your words and your ways about our hearts so that we might find favor and understanding in the sight of God and man.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Thurs.'s Devo - Choose Life
Read Prov. 2:8-22
If we choose God's wisdom He will guard our path and put up a hedge around us. Wisdom helps us understand how to live a righteous life and make the right decisions. It leads us to the good path that is where we will prosper. God's way protects us from evil intentions and perversion. Those who refuse to choose the wisdom of God will walk in misery and destruction because of their ignorance. The irony of it is that they deceptively love their distorted ways. They seduce others to do the things they are doing because they have forsaken wisdom and God. All they have to look forward to is death. Those seduced by them spiral down the same path that leads to death and destruction.
But, those who choose righteousness will live in truth and enjoy a full life. Verse 21-22 says that we who are righteous shall dwell in the land and remain in it but the wicked shall to cut off from the earth and rooted out of it. I sometimes forget that in the end God is going to create a new heaven and a new earth and we will live on that earth again. God promised this new earth in Is. 65 and Peter said that the new earth would be a place where righteousness dwells (2 Pet. 3:13). John saw the new heaven and earth and the new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven. (Rev. 21:1) It would be inherited by those that overcame but the sinners would inherit the lake of fire. So like Duet 30:19 says, "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may life. Tomorrow is the National Day of Prayer and we choose life for our nation and call our nation back to the true and living God.
If we choose God's wisdom He will guard our path and put up a hedge around us. Wisdom helps us understand how to live a righteous life and make the right decisions. It leads us to the good path that is where we will prosper. God's way protects us from evil intentions and perversion. Those who refuse to choose the wisdom of God will walk in misery and destruction because of their ignorance. The irony of it is that they deceptively love their distorted ways. They seduce others to do the things they are doing because they have forsaken wisdom and God. All they have to look forward to is death. Those seduced by them spiral down the same path that leads to death and destruction.
But, those who choose righteousness will live in truth and enjoy a full life. Verse 21-22 says that we who are righteous shall dwell in the land and remain in it but the wicked shall to cut off from the earth and rooted out of it. I sometimes forget that in the end God is going to create a new heaven and a new earth and we will live on that earth again. God promised this new earth in Is. 65 and Peter said that the new earth would be a place where righteousness dwells (2 Pet. 3:13). John saw the new heaven and earth and the new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven. (Rev. 21:1) It would be inherited by those that overcame but the sinners would inherit the lake of fire. So like Duet 30:19 says, "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may life. Tomorrow is the National Day of Prayer and we choose life for our nation and call our nation back to the true and living God.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Wed.'s Devo -The Big Three
Read Pro. 2:1-7
All through Proverbs you see the three words wisdom, knowledge and understanding so let's see if we can define them. Websters says that wisdom is the power to judge rightly. Job said that the fear of the Lord was wisdom (job 28:28). The Psalms say that the fear of the Lord was the beginning of wisdom. Our scripture today says for us to incline our ear to wisdom. Wisdom is mentioned 234 times in the Bible and 53 times in Proverbs. I believe that wisdom comes with maturity. It is experiential knowledge which is why the older you become the more you should have. The only true wisdom comes from God.
The definition of knowledge is all about gaining facts and knowing information and principles. It is learned but not necessarily experienced. Knowledge is what we get at school and through reading our Bible. Wisdom is what we get when we apply that knowledge. Knowledge is mentioned 172 times in the Bible. There was a tree in the garden of Eden called the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If you ate its fruit you knew the facts about what was good and what was evil.
Understanding has to do with intelligence. You can listen to a teacher teach math all day but if you don't understand what she is saying it is unfruitful. Websters defines understanding as your mental quality; the power or ability to think, learn, judge, etc. It is mentioned 160 times in the Bible. Job said that to depart from evil was understanding.
We have different amounts of each of these qualities but reading the Bible and understanding the Proverbs can increase our capacity in each of these areas. With every piece of knowledge we gain God will give us a way to experience it so it will become wisdom. As we grow in knowledge we will gain the ability to understand and develope wisdom.
It is God that gives us wisdom, knowledge and understanding. Our part is to open our eyes to what he has made, observe it and ask questions. He has given us His Word which is the essence of Him so if we incline our spiritual ear to listen He will teach us.
Lord, we put our ear near to your mouth; cause us to hear and understand. We seek your wisdom, knowledge and understanding with all our hearts. May your wisdom be our shield and buckler that we may walk in innocence.
All through Proverbs you see the three words wisdom, knowledge and understanding so let's see if we can define them. Websters says that wisdom is the power to judge rightly. Job said that the fear of the Lord was wisdom (job 28:28). The Psalms say that the fear of the Lord was the beginning of wisdom. Our scripture today says for us to incline our ear to wisdom. Wisdom is mentioned 234 times in the Bible and 53 times in Proverbs. I believe that wisdom comes with maturity. It is experiential knowledge which is why the older you become the more you should have. The only true wisdom comes from God.
The definition of knowledge is all about gaining facts and knowing information and principles. It is learned but not necessarily experienced. Knowledge is what we get at school and through reading our Bible. Wisdom is what we get when we apply that knowledge. Knowledge is mentioned 172 times in the Bible. There was a tree in the garden of Eden called the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If you ate its fruit you knew the facts about what was good and what was evil.
Understanding has to do with intelligence. You can listen to a teacher teach math all day but if you don't understand what she is saying it is unfruitful. Websters defines understanding as your mental quality; the power or ability to think, learn, judge, etc. It is mentioned 160 times in the Bible. Job said that to depart from evil was understanding.
We have different amounts of each of these qualities but reading the Bible and understanding the Proverbs can increase our capacity in each of these areas. With every piece of knowledge we gain God will give us a way to experience it so it will become wisdom. As we grow in knowledge we will gain the ability to understand and develope wisdom.
It is God that gives us wisdom, knowledge and understanding. Our part is to open our eyes to what he has made, observe it and ask questions. He has given us His Word which is the essence of Him so if we incline our spiritual ear to listen He will teach us.
Lord, we put our ear near to your mouth; cause us to hear and understand. We seek your wisdom, knowledge and understanding with all our hearts. May your wisdom be our shield and buckler that we may walk in innocence.
Tues.'s Devo - Listen...it will come.
Read Prov. 1:20-33
"Wisdom cries without." When I looked up what the Hebrew word "without" meant I found that it meant "to sever or properly separate by a wall". That is the purpose of wisdom: to separate God's ways from the worlds ways. He is shouting out his ways every where we go. We can't miss it if we are looking for it. But, the people who are not looking for God's wisdom are described as silly, simple, scoffers, and fools. They love being silly and delight in speaking slander against people who don't believe like they do and hate knowledge. Wisdom cries out to these people to turn from their foolishness and turn to her. Wisdom longs to pour out its spirit on those who will listen. God is so generous and long suffering that he calls out and reaches out his hand to everyone till he finally has to pull it back and judge them for refusing his wisdom. He, who wanted to be their god will become their enemy. He will laugh at their misfortune and dread. He knows that when devastation causes them to be afraid and destruction comes like a hurricane and they are in anquish that they will finally call on him, but he will not answer. He won't answer because they refused his words before all this happened. This is the fruit of their labor. They thought they didn't need God so they will have to make it on their own.
BUT, if we do listen to wisdom and do what it tells us to do, then we will live in safety and it shall be peaceful where we live. We will not live in fear or dread. What a comfort to us in the days we are living in. Thank you Lord for not disserting us. We choose to hear and follow your wisdom.
"Wisdom cries without." When I looked up what the Hebrew word "without" meant I found that it meant "to sever or properly separate by a wall". That is the purpose of wisdom: to separate God's ways from the worlds ways. He is shouting out his ways every where we go. We can't miss it if we are looking for it. But, the people who are not looking for God's wisdom are described as silly, simple, scoffers, and fools. They love being silly and delight in speaking slander against people who don't believe like they do and hate knowledge. Wisdom cries out to these people to turn from their foolishness and turn to her. Wisdom longs to pour out its spirit on those who will listen. God is so generous and long suffering that he calls out and reaches out his hand to everyone till he finally has to pull it back and judge them for refusing his wisdom. He, who wanted to be their god will become their enemy. He will laugh at their misfortune and dread. He knows that when devastation causes them to be afraid and destruction comes like a hurricane and they are in anquish that they will finally call on him, but he will not answer. He won't answer because they refused his words before all this happened. This is the fruit of their labor. They thought they didn't need God so they will have to make it on their own.
BUT, if we do listen to wisdom and do what it tells us to do, then we will live in safety and it shall be peaceful where we live. We will not live in fear or dread. What a comfort to us in the days we are living in. Thank you Lord for not disserting us. We choose to hear and follow your wisdom.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Mon.'s Devo - Chains about your Necks
Read Prov. 1:7-19
I'm sorry, I forgot to post Fri's devotion before I went out of town so here it is today.
Being able to really understand and see life as God made it, we must have a reverence of God. Fear of God is the first fruit of knowledge. The Bible calls a person who doesn't worship God a fool. People who are silly hate reproof and wisdom. If we are going to build the name of God and be a son or an heir we must hear our father's instruction and obey it. God made it so easy for us by writing it down and making it accessible to everyone. God's word adorns us with His favor. His Word is like a chains about our neck. I wonder if that is so we won't be easily turned or distracted. If we are enticed by sinners we are to resist. He gives us a great description of the tactics of the enemy:
1. They look for some innocent person to attack and kill
2. They prey on those who are alive and whole, full of integrity and strength
3. They entice them with wealth and other people's possessions
4. They promise unity and brotherhood but they are selfish and murderous
God says to walk away from them and choose another path to follow. They are quick to find evil and murder.
I just got back from visiting friends and relatives in Monroe, Shreveport, and Texarkana. I came home with 3 necklaces, two that were gifts from friends and one that was a fundraiser for a foundation set up after the loss of their son due to a boating accident. So each of them had meaning. I was contemplating the meaning of getting these necklaces when I just reread what I had written before I went that God's instructions are like chains about our necks. How sweet of God to manifest that truth in an physical way.
Lord, let your Words be our adornment.
I'm sorry, I forgot to post Fri's devotion before I went out of town so here it is today.
Being able to really understand and see life as God made it, we must have a reverence of God. Fear of God is the first fruit of knowledge. The Bible calls a person who doesn't worship God a fool. People who are silly hate reproof and wisdom. If we are going to build the name of God and be a son or an heir we must hear our father's instruction and obey it. God made it so easy for us by writing it down and making it accessible to everyone. God's word adorns us with His favor. His Word is like a chains about our neck. I wonder if that is so we won't be easily turned or distracted. If we are enticed by sinners we are to resist. He gives us a great description of the tactics of the enemy:
1. They look for some innocent person to attack and kill
2. They prey on those who are alive and whole, full of integrity and strength
3. They entice them with wealth and other people's possessions
4. They promise unity and brotherhood but they are selfish and murderous
God says to walk away from them and choose another path to follow. They are quick to find evil and murder.
I just got back from visiting friends and relatives in Monroe, Shreveport, and Texarkana. I came home with 3 necklaces, two that were gifts from friends and one that was a fundraiser for a foundation set up after the loss of their son due to a boating accident. So each of them had meaning. I was contemplating the meaning of getting these necklaces when I just reread what I had written before I went that God's instructions are like chains about our necks. How sweet of God to manifest that truth in an physical way.
Lord, let your Words be our adornment.
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