Tag Archives: Proverbs

Wisdom starts with God, November 5, 2018

Today’s Podcast

I ran across this question today in my devotions: If knowing God is the beginning of wisdom, can a person who does not know God be wise?

In today’s culture we would probably get an overwhelming number of responses to that question that answers in the affirmative. The argument would be to look at all the accomplishment we have made as a collection of all mankind’s minds. Certainly, the discoveries we have made, the inventive and creative mind of man, the impressive body of knowledge around us means that we are wise with or without God, right?

It is certainly convenient to think we are as smart as God and we wisdom, but I’m inclined to believe the Book that contains the wisdom of the Ages. Off and on, I have attempted to read one chapter of Proverbs a day each month continuously. I’ll have to admit, I’m not very good at it. There are 31 chapters, so it makes for a good goal to just pick up the book and read today’s chapter and see what it says.

I’m releasing this podcast on Monday, November 5th. That chapter in Proverbs gives warning from a father to his son concerning adultery. Nothing good comes from it. In fact, only bad things can come from adultery. There might be moments of pleasure, but in the end, those pleasures disappear and you are left with a disastrous marri age, ruined relationship both within and outside the family, a reputation that says you cannot be trusted since your spouse could not trust you.

If we would just live by the precepts the writers of Proverbs gave us more than 3,000 years ago, we could avoid so many of the problems we bring on ourselves. Those wise men give us lots of advice about the practical things of life. Loving God and pursuing him. Learning, studying, and obeying God’s laws. Family relationships. Parenting. Finances. Work ethics. The consequences of not following their advice in these areas of life.

And you know what? As I reach toward the back half of my sixth decade of life, I’m finding their advice and their knowledge of the consequences of not following their advice is absolutely true. I only wish I had followed everything they had to say. I didn’t. I don’t know very many people who have. We are pretty stubborn and selfish and most of us have a pretty healthy opinion of ourselves. We think we know the answers to life better than God. We don’t.

All we have to do is look around our world and see just how awful a job we do at following the wisdom of those writers. As humans, we fail in almost everything those authors told us. We mess up relationships because we are more interested in what we want than in caring for those we are supposed to love. We have messed up finances in every country because again we are selfish. The haves and the have nots plague our world. One percent of the world’s population owns well over 99% of its wealth. I don’t think God meant for us to live that way.

With that statement, I’m not suggesting we move to a socialist or communist society because governments have proven many times over that those countries do not fare very well. And, oh by the way, they have their one or two percent that own 95% or more of their countries wealth. Those governments never work because people are selfish and greedy by nature. Those with the wealth don’t want to give it up because if they give away some of their wealth, they won’t have it. Not that they need all of it, but they won’t have it and that’s the point. We are selfish and greedy with humongous egos.

We think we have knowledge. So did Thomas Jefferson’s generation. In the mid 1800’s the current philosophy was that there was nothing else to be learned. We knew it all. Except that today we double our knowledge base about every 12 months according to IBM and with the full build of the internet, knowledge is expected to increase every 12 hours before too many years pass. Just think of that, All the knowledge that ever was doubling every year in today’s communication systems. That blows my mind. But knowledge isn’t wisdom.

I know a lot of people with a lot of knowledge, but they can’t control their household. They are hopelessly in debt. They seem to destroy every relationship they have with their supposed knowledge. They are a total mess even though they know a lot of things. Knowledge is not wisdom.

You see, wisdom is how you use the knowledge you have. It has more to do with having peace in a chaotic world. It has to do with more than surviving or being what the world might deem as successful in life. It has to do with making from this life to the next and having an eternal reward instead of an eternal punishment. It has to do with living in community with others. Wisdom is recognizing we don’t know everything, but that’s okay. It means we recognize our limitations. We understand we need others and we especially need God.

Having wisdom is so much better than having property or money or any physical assets of any kind. With wisdom, you understand the importance of the intangibles of life. These are the things that last. The physical assets that so many run after can be taken away in a moment. Ask the people who lived through the hyperinflation years in places like Argentina when all the stores just dropped the last three zeroes in the price because 1000% inflation every few months meant a loaf of bread cost nearly thousands of pesos. Even today, now that inflation is under control, a meal for two in a mid-range restaurant will run AR 800$.

The same could happen here. Assets in stocks or property or in the bank or anything tangible can lose value overnight. Look at the housing bubble that caused property to climb unreasonably fast and fall just as fast. We watched one of the most powerful manufacturing cities in the country, Detroit, crumble and whole neighborhoods in foreclosure and houses selling for as little as $400-500. Seems unbelievable, doesn’t it? Just spend some time around Wall Street and you’ll see fortunes won and lost in hours. Nothing tangible survives.

The Pharaohs thought they could take their wealth into the afterlife with them. We know they didn’t as tomb after tomb gave up its golden treasures to grave robbers. Nothing went with those mummies that lay in those sarcophage. Everything placed in those tombs stayed there until someone took them. But their reputations survived through decades and centuries. Their histories still peak our interest. We still know something of some of their reigns. But all the things that survived them are intangible. What made the treasures of interest was the stories that go with them.

Wisdom provides the stories. Wisdom gives us the use of knowledge that brings good to others. Wisdom advances relationships and brings peace to chaotic situations. Wisdom springs from the heart of God. Wisdom knows when justice or mercy or grace is the proper response to those who wrong us. Wisdom befriends the broken, but doesn’t condone the actions that caused their brokenness. Wisdom listens like, talks like, acts like, lives like, worships like, strives to be like Christ. Knowing him is the beginning of wisdom. Without him, we are fooling ourselves thinking we are able to adequately apply any amount of knowledge in a worthy manner.

So to be wise, know him so you will know more.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Integrity and duplicity, May 14, 2018

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Today’s Podcast

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The subject of today’s podcast includes two terms that are mutually exclusive. Integrity and duplicity. The two can not coexist in the same person. We try awfully hard these days. We try to make things fit the way we want them to fit. We want what we think is best for us regardless what it might do to someone else. We want what we want and we want it now. But that’s not how integrity works.

Solomon said in Proverbs 11:3, “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.”

So what exactly am I talking about when I talk about duplicity in the context of integrity? We’ve already determined that integrity is about oneness with our Creator. It’s about his truth, not anyone else’s. Integrity isn’t defined by our norms, but by God’s. We’ve said integrity requires accountability and how important a partner and mentor can be in helping us stay on track, keeping us from straying from the path we’ve set out on.

Duplicity is defined as deceitfulness or double-dealing. It comes into play in this setting when we talk about integrity but then don’t live up to what we say. It reminds me of a public service announcement that was aired on the Armed Forces Network when I was stationed in Germany several years ago. The camera panned on a soldier called to his home because his teenage son had been caught shoplifting. The soldier did a pretty good job of chewing out his son, telling him how wrong it was to steal. How he had learned in church that was one of the Ten Commandments God gave us. He asked how in the world he could stoop so low as to steal something that didn’t belong to him.

All the while the soldier carried on this conversation with his wayward son, the camera moved position and drew the lens back to focus on a handful of black skillcraft pens laying on the soldiers desk at home. Those of you who have worked in the government know what that means. No one had those black skillcraft ballpoint pens except Uncle Sam and he bought hundreds of thousands of them. And why did the government buy so many? Because people like that soldier stole them from their offices.

You might think to yourself, taking a pen from my employer isn’t such a big deal. And maybe one pen isn’t. At that time they were about $1.50 a dozen. But this soldier along with probably 50% of the rest of the 5 million people employed by the federal government had two or three or more of those pens at home. If my math is right, that’s about $625,000 of theft. That’s a well organized gang conducting grand larceny. You probably never thought of it that way, but someone had to pay for that pen or pencil or notebook or pad of paper or whatever it is you might bring home for personal use. Is that duplicity? You bet.

Or how about that cell phone ding to remind you of an email or a facebook message that you just have to answer at work? Or the website you need to explore for just a few minutes at the office. Or a bill you need to pay from there because your internet speeds at home are so slow? Does your employer want to pay you for being completely unproductive when you’re supposed to be working for her? Stealing part of your paycheck by failing to give that time to your employer as you agreed when you were hired is called duplicity, deceitfulness, double-dealing. It certainly isn’t integrity.

Am I saying that I am perfect in these area? No. If you scoured my house, you’d probably find one of those long lost skillcraft pens in a box in the garage. And to be honest, once in a while I’ll answer or make a personal call or see a personal email pop up on my screen and answer it while I’m supposed to be doing something else. But I try to stay very conscious of my time and what I do with the equipment and supplies entrusted to me. I learned because of those skillcraft pens that I kept having to buy out of my meager budget as a company commander in the army almost forty years ago how just one innocent pen can suddenly add up to dozens, then hundreds, the thousands. And no one really notices until someone at the top of the chain coughs because more than half a million dollars in black government pens have gone missing.

It’s not that big a deal. Except it’s duplicious. It’s no big thing. Except it breaks commandment number eight. It’s nothing really. Except God says don’t do it. No one cares. Except it means your integrity is at stake.

Our society is trying hard to turn all these things into various shades of gray. Just a pen. Just a pad of paper. Just a box of paper clips. Just a few copies for my kid’s school work. Just a few messages during the day. Just a little me time during my work hours. Just a little here and just a little there. No big deal. No harm done.

The latest figure I could get comes from 2012, so this data is six years old and has only gotten worse since then. But listen to some of these facts from six years ago. 60% of workers spend at least some time on social media during work hours. The average college student in 2012 spent 3 hours on facebook and two hours studying. Which explains why college students who use facebook regularly have a GPA a full point lower than those who don’t.

In the US that year, collectively we spent 12,207,423,487 hours on social media. Twice as much time on social media as in any form of exercise. 10% of us spend more time on social media than we do at work and 60% of us connect with our social media at work. Workers are interrupted every 10.5 minutes by things like twitter, IM’s and facebook. Then studies show it takes 23 minutes to get back on task after an interruption. No one can really multitask by the way. Your brain will only let you do one thing at a time. If you think you’re multitasking, you’re fooling yourself and turning out poorer quality work that you are able.

So what did all that cost? When you do the 2012 math, social media cost companies almost $4500 per employee. And it cost the US economy about $650 billion. But it’s just one message, right? It doesn’t hurt anything? It’s only a few minutes, right? No one cares. It’s not like I don’t get my job done, so I can do this on the sly, right? Take a look at the number once more. The social media mafia successfully stole $650 billion dollars from everyone’s pocket.

Why everyone’s pocket and not just those C-suite executives? Because those C-suite executives didn’t have the money to give employees the raises they might have been able to give otherwise. They didn’t have the money to improve health benefits. They didn’t have the money to hire new employees. They didn’t have the money to build new facilities or new plants. $650 billion can do a lot of stuff, and collectively in the workplace…How did Solomon put it? “… the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.”

Integrity and duplicity can not exist in the same person. But we need God’s help to maintain our integrity. The world makes everything shades of gray instead of God’s black and white. The problem is that the world won’t be our judge when Jesus returns. God set the rules and God will judge us based on his rules. Not the world’s. Not ours. His. So how is your integrity meter running today?

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

Integrity and accountability, May 7, 2018

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Today’s Podcast

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

We started talking about integrity last week, defining real integrity as walking in unity with God. Following his purpose and plan rather than our own. Letting God determine what is true and right and good rather than letting society or even our own conscience determine the moral norms we should follow.

Today, I’d like us to consider a passage from Ecclesiastes chapter 4 as we think about our integrity. Solomon said this: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: if either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

You might ask, “What does that have to do with integrity?”

I’d answer, “Everything.” You see, we need a good friend to keep us accountable. Particularly in this day and age, and in our society in which it seems that what is right is only what I think is right for me. We live in a time when we are always asking the question, “What’s in it for me?” Instead of asking what God would have us do in the same circumstance.

When Solomon wrote these words, I’m not sure he had just the physical realm in mind. As we think about those verses, they apply equally to our spiritual lives, as well. Let’s take a look at them again. Two have a good return for their labor. You’ll remember that when Jesus sent the disciples out across the countryside to spread the message that the kingdom of God was at hand. He didn’t send them as single preachers. He sent them in pairs. Why? Because of this verse.

Two have a good return on their labor. Two reinforce each other. Two help each other from getting discouraged when tasks seem insurmountable. Two provide a little competition to each other to get things done faster and better. Two help each other see tasks from different perspectives and find solutions to problems that one alone would not see. It’s like someone writing letters in the sand and depending on which side of the letters you’re standing on, you might read the word mom or you might see the word wow. Both are right from your perspective. But together you can pick the one that makes the most sense for the problem at hand.

Climbers know you never climb alone because of that second axiom. If a piton slips out of place or a rope breaks or a misstep causes an injury in mountainous terrain, without help, a single climber might be doomed. With two, there is hope of rescue. The same is true of diving and other sports in which one slip could cause catastrophic results.

Those who live in the northern most climates understand the importance of maintaining body temperatures and the best way to warm up someone who has been exposed to the frigid elements of those arctic temperatures is to climb into a sleeping bag with them. Body spooned against body to raise the temperature of an exposure victim works when medical facilities are not readily available. But alone in that same sleeping bag, the hypothermic individual body temperature will rise very slowly if at all because there is nothing inside the bag to raise the temperature. Alone, they will continue to fight the lower core temperature for hours before the body can recover on its own, if at all.

Defense is the next one. I know you’ve heard the term, “I’ve got your back.” That’s what it’s all about. Alone, the enemy can come from behind and you’d never see him. But with two, your back is covered. The enemy can’t slip in. Your friend is right there with you.

And a cord of three strands? It’s the difference of wrapping a single thread around your hands and breaking it versus wrapping that same thread around your hands several times. Now it gets pretty tough to break if you can break it at all. The additional rounds of that thin thread add the extra strength that makes the “cord” stronger than you.

Now do you see how all those fit with our spiritual fight.?

In our society where integrity can slip away so easily because of the situational ethics, the sliding morality, the growing sense that right is whatever is right in your own eyes. We need someone to help us maintain our integrity. We need an accountability partner. We need someone who will walk along beside us who is not afraid to tell us like it is and keep us on the path of God’s truth, not our own.

When we find that accountability partner, we can help each other in our labor. We can grow in our faith and in our relationships with God and man because we have nothing to hide. We live a life of integrity which means we stay above the filth and lies that have become the norm for so many in our society.

When we find that accountability partner, we can help each other up when we fall. None of us are perfect. We will falter from time to time. We do not that helping hand to reach out and help us get up and get back on the path of truth and rightness and integrity. We need someone who will stay with us during those times and lift us up with a helping hand, not point fingers at us and walk away. But at the same time, that accountability partner will not condone the bad behavior. He will not allow you to stay on a path of destruction. A good accountability partner will be just that, one who holds you accountable for your actions and your words and your attitudes.

When we find that accountability partner, we will find one who challenges us and we will challenge them with new insights into God’s word. We will grow together on the journey before us. We will keep each other from getting cold in our faith. We will not let each other become lukewarm in our attitude toward God and his plan like the church at Laodicea. We will warm each other in our spiritual lives by constantly challenging each other to become more like Christ through the interaction we have with each other as partners, accountable to watch each others integrity quotient.

As accountability partners, we can help defend each other in the faith. Satan knows our weaknesses. A good accountability partner should too. But that means we must open up to them and share those points in our life where we are most weak. Then our partner can come along beside us and watch our back. He can watch where we go, observe what we do, help us to fight the enemy by helping us maintain our integrity by escaping from those temptations in the first place. A good accountability partner will help us change the habits that put us in places and situations that could compromise our integrity, our oneness with God.

What does the cord with three strands mean? It means I can’t get through this spiritual journey alone. I know churches are filled with hypocrites. I know there are evil people in churches. I know not everyone who has their name on a membership role or who teaches a Sunday School class is a model Christian or even a Christian at all. But some of the people in church are good solid followers of Jesus Christ. Some are worth emulating. Some are worthy of watching and learning from their lives.

Churches are like hospitals for sinners. They should be full of sinners. They should be filled with evil people seeking a way to find peace and forgiveness in their lives. And some of those leaders who you point to that don’t fit your definition of Christian? Well, they are in the right place, too. Where else can they hope to find Christ but in a sinner’s clinic?

We still can’t make it alone. We need people around us to help us on this spiritual journey. If you don’t like the church you’re in, find one you can worship in. Find one that doesn’t seem so hypocritical. Find one that preaches and teaches God’s word, not the latest news item. Find a church with people who are struggling with life’s questions the same way you are. I pass at least a dozen churches on the way to mine. Surely, some church around you fits the needs you have of finding a Bible believing church. Go there. Find an accountability partner. Grow together in a life of integrity.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more about The Story and our part in it. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

Just stop spending (Luke 12:22-30) November 16, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Psalms 131-133

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 12:22-30
Jesus: (then, to His disciples) This is why I keep telling you not to worry about anything in life—about what you’ll eat, about how you’ll clothe your body. Life is more than food, and the body is more than fancy clothes. Think about those crows flying over there: do they plant and harvest crops? Do they own silos or barns? Look at them fly. It looks like God is taking pretty good care of them, doesn’t it? Remember that you are more precious to God than birds! Which one of you can add a single hour to your life or 18 inches to your height by worrying really hard? If worry can’t change anything, why do you do it so much?
Think about those beautiful wild lilies growing over there. They don’t work up a sweat toiling for needs or wants—they don’t worry about clothing. Yet the great King Solomon never had an outfit that was half as glorious as theirs!
Look at the grass growing over there. One day it’s thriving in the fields. The next day it’s being used as fuel. If God takes such good care of such transient things, how much more you can depend on God to care for you, weak in faith as you are. Don’t reduce your life to the pursuit of food and drink; don’t let your mind be filled with anxiety. People of the world who don’t know God pursue these things, but you have a Father caring for you, a Father who knows all your needs.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

We worry so much about material things in this country, don’t we? But we get caught up worrying about the wrong things. We worry about how to make car payments and house payments and how to pay for that next vacation or the one we had last year because we charged it on our credit cards. We worry about the debt we’ve accumulated because we wanted everything our parents had but we want it now so we bought it without the cash or the income to pay for it. Now we’re in terrible financial shape and worry how we will put food on the table.

The problem we have today is we spend $1.10 for every $1.00 we earn. Until we figure out that you can’t make ends meet until you spend less than you make, we’ll keep getting ourselves in trouble. That’s the problem with our government and has been for a lot of years. That’s why we have a $17 trillion deficit. Our elected officials don’t know how to stay within a budget. They keep spending more of our money than we give them. So my grandchildren have a government tax bill of $48,000 each.

So how do we get out of this state of worry that plagued the people around Jesus and drives so many of the people around us to ulcers and anti-depressants? It really is easy, you know. Two words fix the problem but it takes discipline that most of us in this generation just don’t have. We don’t like it because it doesn’t satisfy that selfish desire that eats at us and is the root of all sin. We want what we want and don’t want to listen to anything that doesn’t feed that selfish desire.

So what are those two words that fix the finance problem that most people have today? STOP SPENDING!

But how do we do that, you ask. I know, you still have to eat and clothe yourself and have a place to live. But let me ask you a few questions that you might not like.

Do you need the fast-food you eat three or four times a week or would a sandwich made from home and taken to work nourish you just as well if not better? You can buy a week’s worth of homemade sandwiches for the price of one fast-food meal. How about Starbucks or other specialty coffees? Do you frequent those places everyday or even once or twice a week? The average latte is $5. Even once a week is a car payment every year. And if you go every day, that’s a car payment a month spent on coffee.

Then where do you get your clothes? Did you know that many of the second hand stores have designer label clothes people donated or sold that have never been worn, that still have the tags on them with prices 10% or less of the original price? How would you like to get a $500 dress for $10? They are available if you look. And the last time I walk through Neiman-Marcus, the ‘in thing’ was for all the blue jeans and shirts to look like they had been worn-out and thrown in the trash then pulled out and put ridiculously high price tags on them anyway.

See, we get so hung up on fashion, cars, houses, just stuff, that we forget that God will take care of all that if we trust Him with ourselves. He never lets us down. We just have to get our eyes on the right prize. That doesn’t mean we can be frivolous and expect God to provide. I think He wants us to be good stewards of the things He provides including finances. Jesus talks about money five times as much as He talks about prayer. But He does so because we can become so enamored by the things of the world we can lose sight of what’s really important and it isn’t money. It isn’t stuff. The important thing is Him.

Focus on Him. Be disciplined in your approach to life. Read Proverbs and let the principles of life that Solomon and the Wise men who wrote those principles laid out for us soak into your life and live by them. If you do, you’ll find that life works so much better. You’ll find that you don’t need to worry about the stuff that most people worry about every day because you’ll know God will put the important things in place for you. You can focus on what’s really important and that is worshiping and serving Him and working through His plan for your life in service to those around you.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Tidbits of wisdom to live by (Proverbs 29), June 4, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Proverbs 29
Set – Proverbs 29; Romans 16
Go! – Proverbs 28-29; Psalms 60; Romans 16

Proverbs 29
¹ The one who remains defiant after repeated reprimands
will suddenly be shattered, and there will be no remedy for him.
² When just leaders are in power, the citizens celebrate;
but when evil people gain control, their joys become moans.
³ An adult who loves wisdom and follows its ways gives his parents joy,
but one who hangs out with women of the street will lose everything.
⁴ A king brings stability to a land with his justice,
but one who makes unjust demands brings it to ruin.
⁵ The one who flatters his friend
is laying a trap that will catch his friend’s feet.
⁶ An evil person is sure to be trapped by his sin,
but a man who lives right is free to sing and be glad.
⁷ The just get involved with the poor and know their issues,
but the wicked cannot comprehend such concerns.
⁸ Mockers stir up a city and inflame passions,
but the wise know how to put out the fire and ease tensions.
⁹ When the wise go to court against a fool,
there will be ranting and raving but no resolution.
¹⁰ Bloodthirsty men despise those who are honest,
but the just find a way to help them.
¹¹ A fool does not think before he unleashes his temper,
but a wise man holds back and remains quiet.
¹² When it is known that a ruler listens to the words of liars,
soon he will have only scoundrels for advisors.
¹³ A poor man and his oppressor have this in common:
the Eternal created them and provides both with light and life.
¹⁴ The king who is fair in his treatment of the poor
will see his dynasty continue forever.
¹⁵ Corporal punishment and correction produce wisdom,
but a child left to follow his own willful way shames his mother.
¹⁶ When evil people are free to flourish, sin is on the rise,
but the just will surely see their destruction.
¹⁷ If you discipline your children, they will make your life easier
and refresh your soul.
¹⁸ Where there is no vision from God, the people run wild,
but those who adhere to God’s instruction know genuine happiness.
¹⁹ Words are not enough to correct a servant;
even if he understands, he will not respond.
²⁰ Have you ever met someone who is overly eager to talk?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
²¹ If you indulge your servant from early in life,
in the end it won’t go well for either of you.
²² A hot-head provokes quarrels,
and one mastered by anger commits all kinds of sins.
²³ A person’s pride brings him down,
but one of humble spirit has a firm hold on honor and respect.
²⁴ Anyone who teams up with a thief must despise his own life,
for he is bound by an oath to tell the truth and yet refuses.
²⁵ If you fear other people, you are walking into a dangerous trap;
but if you trust in the Eternal, you will be safe.
²⁶ Many people vie for special treatment from a ruler,
yet genuine justice proceeds from the Eternal.
²⁷ The right-living are disgusted by the actions of the unjust;
likewise, the wicked are disgusted by the ways of the righteous.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

I’ve given you in these words, more tidbits of wisdom to live by. They are so simple, yet so profound. These are worth teaching to your children early in life and helping them live them daily by living them yourself as an example.

Take for instance the proverb, “A fool does not think before he unleashes his temper, but a wise man holds back and remains quiet.” If you can hold back you temper and teach your children to do the same, they will be much more likely to succeed in the world. Those who rant and let their rage rule their voice will not get ahead in life. Their attempts to intimidate by their volume will not go far.

Or how about, “If you discipline your children, they will make your life easier and refresh your soul.” Have you ever watched the parents who failed to discipline their children from an early age? By the time they’re toddlers it’s almost too late. If children haven’t learned self-discipline before their teenage years, trying to start then is almost impossible for you. It can only happen with My intervention and few teenagers want My intervention at that point.

And here’s one you see lived out every day. “The right-living are disgusted by the actions of the unjust; likewise, the wicked are disgusted by the ways of the righteous.” That explains the growing divide you see between the righteous and the religious today. It explains the riff that grows between those who abide by My commandments and those who try to dismiss them to suit their own pleasures.

This last proverb explains the chasm only the cross can bridge as people finally see their sinful life against the purity of My spotless sacrifice. But when you see it and reach out to Me, I bridge the gap and forgive. I bring you into a renewed relationship with Me so you can live a righteous life as I created you to live.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Trust God to carry you through (Proverbs 16), May 31, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Proverbs 16
Set – Proverbs 16; Romans 12
Go! – Proverbs 16-18; Romans 12

Proverbs 16
¹ People go about making their plans,
but the Eternal has the final word.
² Even when you think you have good intentions,
He knows your real motives.
³ Whatever you do, do it as service to Him,
and He will guarantee your success.
⁴ The Eternal made everything for a reason.
Even wrongdoers fit in His plans; troubled times await them.
⁵ He abhors arrogant people.
Make no mistake about it! They will be punished!
⁶ The penalty of sin is removed by love and loyalty;
and by devotion to the Eternal, evil is avoided.
⁷ When people make good choices, He is pleased;
He even causes their enemies to live peacefully near them.
⁸ Better to have little and stand for what is right
than to become rich by doing what is wrong.
⁹ People do their best making plans for their lives,
but the Eternal guides each step.
¹⁰ The king makes a decision under divine inspiration,
but he must never render an unfair judgment.
¹¹ The Eternal requires that business be conducted honestly;
He wants fairness in all your dealings.
¹² When kings commit evil, it is despicable,
because their thrones should be built on justice.
¹³ Kings admire those who tell the truth;
they adore those who set the record straight.
¹⁴ A king’s rage signals that people will die,
but whoever is wise will pacify him.
¹⁵ If a king is smiling brightly, life will be granted;
his favor is like a cloud swelled with the first spring rain.
¹⁶ How much better it is to receive wisdom than the riches of gold
and to gain understanding over some silver prize!
¹⁷ The highway of the just bypasses evil;
those who watch where they’re going protect their lives from sin.
¹⁸ Pride precedes destruction;
an arrogant spirit gives way to a nasty fall.
¹⁹ It is better to be humble and live among the poor,
than to divide up stolen property with the proud.
²⁰ Those devoted to instruction will prosper in goodness;
those who trust in the Eternal will experience His favor.
²¹ The wise at heart have a reputation for understanding;
pleasant words make the lips more persuasive.
²² Understanding for those who have it is a spring of life,
but it is pointless to try and instruct a fool.
²³ From a wise heart flow careful words;
wise words make the lips more persuasive.
²⁴ Pleasant words are like a honeycomb:
they drip sweet food for life and bring health to the body.
²⁵ Before every person lies a road that seems to be right,
but at the end of that road death and destruction wait.
²⁶ People work to stay alive,
pressed daily by their need to eat.
²⁷ Good-for-nothings conjure up evil ideas;
their conversations fuel destructive fires.
²⁸ Perverse people stir up contention;
gossip makes best friends into enemies.
²⁹ Violent people try to recruit their neighbors,
wanting to lead them down the vile path of evil they have chosen.
³⁰ Body language can expose a person’s intentions:
whoever winks the eye is planning perversity;
whoever purses his lips is intent on evil.
³¹ Gray hair is a crown of honor,
earned by living the right kind of life.
³² It is better to be a patient man than a mighty warrior,
better to be someone who controls his temper than someone who conquers a city.
³³ We may try to control the roll of the dice,
but actually, the Eternal decides what they will determine.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

You just heard a lot of good pieces of advice from if you’ll take them to heart. Things like young people should listen to people who have life experience. They know a little bit about what you’re going through. Times really haven’t changed as much as you think.

Violence is contagious. You’ve seen it recently in America as mobs took to the streets in some of your major cities in response to violence. You see how mobs react and how peaceful protests turn violent with just the spark of one blow thrown.

Look at the aftermath of earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, and other natural disasters and you see the truth in “people work to stay alive; pressed daily by their need to eat.” When hunger strikes people will do almost anything for a crust of bread.

But in the proverbs you heard, probably the most important is the first one in this chapter. “People go about making their plans, but I have the final word.” You have no promise of the future. You have this moment. That’s all. I want you to plan for the future. I want you to stay diligent in caring for those in your responsibility. Don’t cry the sky is falling and quit all your activities in planning for the tomorrow. But remember life is really just a breath and is gone.

Make right choices knowing that I have the final word in everything you plan. Also know that I will do what is best for you and what brings glory to Me. You may not think it best at the moment, but trust Me. I might let you go through pain and suffering for a moment in time, but I know the end results. I know what you’re going through and I’m with you to the end. I know your future and you can trust that I know what you need in your life for each moment.

The final word is mine. Trust Me as your God and Savior to carry you through this life into the next well.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Two sisters you need to know (Proverbs 7), May 28, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Proverbs 7
Set – Proverbs 7; Romans 9
Go! – Proverbs 7-9; Romans 9

Proverbs 7
¹ My son, live according to what I am telling you;
guard my instructions as you would a treasure deep within you.
² Stay true to my directives, and they will serve you well;
make my teachings the lens through which you see life.
³ Bind cords around your fingers to remind you of them;
meditate on them, and you’ll engrave them upon your heart.
⁴ Say to Lady Wisdom, “My sister”;
recognize that understanding is your best friend,
⁵ And they will keep you from the arms of another woman—
protect you from the enchantress who entices men into her bed.
⁶ One day I was at the window of my house,
looking out through my lattice shutters,
⁷ And there among the usual crowd of the gullible people
I spotted a naive young man.
⁸ He was going down the street near the corner where she lived—that mysterious and evil woman—
taking the road that led directly to her house.
⁹ At the end of the day, as night approached
and darkness crept in,
¹⁰ I saw her! A woman came out to meet him.
She was dressed for temptation and devious with her affections.
¹¹ Here’s what I know about her: she is loud and obnoxious, a rebel against what is proper and decent.
She’s always on the move—anxious to get out of the house and
¹² Down the street; at times in the open,
at others lurking around every corner.
¹³ As I am watching them, she grabs him and kisses him,
then shamelessly tells him:
¹⁴ The Immoral Woman: It was my turn to offer a peace offering,
and today I paid my vows,
¹⁵ So now I come to see you.
I really want to be with you, and what luck! I have found you!
¹⁶ You’ll be impressed. I have decorated my couch,
laid colorful Egyptian linens over where we will be together,
¹⁷ And perfumed the bed with exotic oils and herbs:
myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
¹⁸ Come in, and we will feast on love until sunrise;
we will delight ourselves in our affections.
¹⁹ You don’t need to worry; my husband is long gone by now,
away from home on a distant journey.
²⁰ He took a bag of money with him,
so I don’t expect him home until next month.
²¹ It worked! She enticed him with seductive words,
seduced him with her smooth talk.
²² Right away he followed her home.
He followed her like a bull being led to the slaughter,
Like a fool caught in a trap
²³ (that is, until an arrow punctures his liver),
Like a bird flying straight into a net.
He had no clue his life was at stake; everything was about to change.
²⁴ This is why it is so important that you listen to me, my sons,
and pay attention to all I am telling you.
²⁵ Do not let your mind wonder about her ways;
do not lose yourself and drift down her path,
²⁶ For she’s claimed one life after another,
victim after victim, too many to count.
²⁷ Her house is the gateway to the grave;
every step toward her is a step toward death’s dark chamber.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Wisdom and understanding. Sisters you should get to know. Let them become your confidants. They will serve you well if you let them. But if you ignore them, you will suffer immeasurable pain in every area of life.

Solomon wrote about these sisters in the opening chapters of Proverbs. He used illicit sexual relations as an analogy to going through life without them. You know about the sexual drives that can bend you toward evil so easily if not kept under control.

The young man in Solomon’s story let smooth words and enticing sounds lure him into a trap from which he could not escape. Once down that slippery slope that ignorance and rash decisions takes you, you’ll find it difficult to recover from the consequences of those illicit acts.

The sisters, wisdom and understanding, aren’t just about sex, though. They carry you through every situation in life. Relationships. Marriage. Finances. Parenthood. Retirement. Illness. Even death. Wisdom and understanding help you see clearly through every aspect of life because they were with Me from the beginning and saw every situation in which people find themselves throughout time.

So, how do you make friends with them? How can you get to know these wonderful sisters so they can help you through those pitfalls that so many fall into in life? It’s really not so hard. Just read My instruction book and follow its rules. It’s been the number one best seller for decades. In fact, it’s been the number one best seller so long it isn’t included on the best seller list. That doesn’t mean it isn’t the best seller, though.

So pay attention to Wisdom and listen to her sister, Understanding. You’ll find life works a lot smoother if you do.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Wisdom comes from God or experience (Proverbs 2), May 26, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Proverbs 2
Set – Proverbs 2; Romans 7
Go! – Proverbs 1-3; Romans 7

Proverbs 2
¹My son, if you accept what I am telling you
and store my counsel and directives deep within you,
² If you listen for Lady Wisdom, attune your ears to her,
and engage your mind to understand what she is telling you,
³ If you cry out to her for insight
and beg for understanding,
⁴ If you sift through the clamor of everything around you
to seek her like some precious prize,
to search for her like buried treasure;
⁵ Then you will grasp what it means to truly respect the Eternal,
and you will have discovered the knowledge of the one True God.
⁶ The Eternal is ready to share His wisdom with us,
for His words bring true knowledge and insight;
⁷ He has stored up the essentials of sound wisdom for those who do right;
He acts as a shield for those who value integrity.
⁸ God protects the paths of those who pursue justice,
watching over the lives of those who keep faith with Him.
⁹ With this wisdom you will be able to choose the right road,
seek justice, and decide what is good and fair
¹⁰ Because wisdom will penetrate deep within
and knowledge will become a good friend to your soul.
¹¹ Sound judgment will stand guard over you,
and understanding will watch over you as the Lord promised.
¹² Wisdom will keep you from following the way of evildoers,
of those who twist words to pervert the truth,
¹³ Of those who reject the right road
for a darker, more sinister way of life,
¹⁴ Of those who enjoy evil
and pursue perverse pleasures,
¹⁵ Of those who journey down a crooked path,
constantly figuring out new ways to trick and deceive others.
¹⁶ Wisdom will pluck you from the trap of a seductive woman,
from the enticing propositions of the adulteress
¹⁷ Who chose to leave the husband of her youth,
to forget her sacred promises to her God;
¹⁸ For her house is on the road that leads to death,
and her path goes down to the shadowy pit.
¹⁹ Those who go to her will never return;
they will never again find their way back to true life.
²⁰ As for you, you should walk like those who are good
and keep to the paths of those who love justice,
²¹ For those who live right will remain in the land
and those with integrity will endure here.
²² But not the wicked; they will be forced out and banned from this promised land,
and those who deal in deceit will be plucked up like weeds.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Wisdom is such an important quality to obtain but so few possess it. Those who declare they have wisdom usually don’t and those who thirst for it and seek it with their whole being usually have more than they think they do. Wisdom eludes many because they fail to work hard enough to obtain it. They just sit back and let life roll over them without a care in the world and take whatever life brings. No plans. No provision for the future. No expectation of anything other than come what may.

Wisdom operates in a different mode. Wisdom hopes for the best, but plans for the worst. She expects adversity and prepares for it, but makes an effort to avoid adversity through her diligence and shaping the future in ways to change the “inevitable”. Wisdom works with Me because she knows that with Me all things are possible.

But wisdom mostly concerns herself with right and wrong, justice for the downtrodden. Wisdom takes you down the right paths of life making right decisions with eternal consequences. The foolish, choose for the moment without regard for the future. Momentary pleasure drives the thoughts of the foolish instead of eternal reward. Wisdom asks you to store up treasures in heaven where rust and moths don’t corrupt it, whether monetary, relationship, character building or whatever.

It isn’t easy to gain wisdom, but it isn’t that hard either. This issue comes down to who controls your life. Do you control it or do you let Me control it. When you let loose of the throne of your life and turn over control to Me, I give you wisdom. I help you make right choices. I put you on the right road. I help you select the right treasures. I help you steer away from the momentary pleasures that trap you into Satan’s schemes and help you make choices for eternal investments. I give you real wisdom.

Two things give you wisdom, understanding from Me and the school of experience. From which would you prefer to learn? If you’ll listen to Me, you can avoid the pain and suffering that accompanies the experiences of poor, selfish choices. Choosing Me will result in experiences far less painful than the hard knocks of life and guarantee eternal rewards in heaven. It’s an easy choice to make. The world will tell you it’s not such an easy choice to follow, but then the world doesn’t have Me on its side.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.