SOULJournal

Proverbs 11

SCRIPTURE:

Proverbs 11:2 -When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

OBSERVATION: What does it say?

In order to gain wisdom (aka Christ), we must be humble and teachable. Having a know it all attitude will only lead us away from Him.

UNDERSTANDING: What does it mean?

Pride comes before the fall. Pride leads to dishonorable actions. Why? Because if Christ is wisdom, pride keeps us away from Him. A prideful and self righteous person does not think they are sinners and therefore do not see their need for a risen Savior. Their hearts are not humbled and soft, but rather hardened. It takes a humble spirit to come into personal relationship with Jesus and choose to walk according to His ways. Pride and self righteousness will always be fighting against our need for Jesus. The Pharisees are a prime example of this.

LIFE APPLICATION:

I grew up in the church, but I did not accept Jesus' invitation for salvation until later in life. Some people have asked how that is possible if I was raised in that environment. It's easy...I didn't think I was a sinner. I didn't see my need for Jesus. I remember going through the 10 commandments in 9th grade and convincing myself that I had not broken any one of them. I was so deceived. When God got a hold of me through some unfavorable events, my heart softened, I admitted my sin and need for His saving grace, and my life started to change as I entered into a personal relationship with Him. It was no longer my parents' faith, but mine.
As I've grown and matured in the faith, He continues to teach me about humility and not having a self righteous attitude even more so than before. Confessing my sins daily to Him helps keep me in check with this.
Dear Lord, I pray for all the unbelievers and sinners out there whose prideful and hardened hearts are keeping them from relationship with You. I pray that we would not give up in doing our part to bring them into Your Kingdom. I also pray for those of us who have had a relationship with You for years, that we would not forget what You have saved us from and what You continue to save us from as sinners. Help us to maintain a humble and teachable spirit before You as we walk according to Your ways for Your glory alone. Amen.

Proverbs 10

SCRIPTURE:

Proverbs 10

OBSERVATION: (What does it say?)

When we read Proverbs 10 as a whole, it compares the traits of 2 completely different and polar opposite types of people:

Wise and Foolish
Righteous and Wicked
Diligent and Lazy
Prudent and Disgraceful
Lovers and Haters
Wealthy and Poor
Blameless and Evil
Prudent and Sinful

UNDERSTANDING: (What does it mean?)

Who alone is wise, righteous, diligent, prudent (definition: acting with and showing care and thought for the future), loving, gives life and wealth, and blameless?
Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior

Who is foolish, wicked, lazy, disgraceful, hateful, filled with poverty and ruin, evil, and sinful?
The devil and us apart from Christ.

This list ultimately compares our life IN Christ with our lives APART FROM Christ.

LIFE APPLICATION:

Apart from faith in Christ, we are nothing. Apart from faith in Christ, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). Apart from faith in Christ, it is impossible to live godly lives. Isaiah 53:6 (NLT) says, "All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the guilt and sins of us all."

Dear Jesus, we confess our sins to you today. We confess our complete dependency and need for your all sufficient grace. We pray that we would continue to walk in freedom away from the sin You have saved us from. Thank You that we are wise, righteous, diligent, prudent, loving, full of life, wealthy and blameless because YOU are these things. May we never take Your gift for granted. We also pray that You would give us hearts to share our hope with the lost who have not yet experienced Your amazing grace. Holy Spirit, please burden our hearts so that we would go out and not keep this Good News to ourselves. Amen.

Proverbs 9

SCRIPTURE:

Proverbs 9

OBSERVATION-What does it say?

This chapter compares the invitation of wisdom to the invitation of foolishness (folly).

WISDOM says, 4 “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense she says,
5 “Come, eat my food
and drink the wine I have mixed.
6 Leave your simple ways and you will live;
walk in the way of insight.”

FOOLISHNESS says 16 “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense she says,
17 “Stolen water is sweet;
food eaten in secret is delicious!”

UNDERSTANDING-What does it mean?

Similarities: Both Wisdom and Foolishness call out to the same type of people...the simple and those with no sense. This is profound because wisdom does not call out to the strong and wise. She calls out to the same type of people that foolishness calls out to. Wisdom loves the simple with no sense because these people are teachable, they love to learn, they love her and walk in her ways (vs. 6, 8-9). Foolishness also love the simple and those with no sense because it is easier for them to fall for anything. They hate wisdom and as a result know nothing. There is no fear or respect of the Lord in them (Vs. 8, 10, 13).

LIFE APPLICATION:

When we receive an invitation to a party, the ball is in our court in how we will reply. We can reply with a yes, no or maybe. Wisdom (who is Christ) cannot force us to walk in His ways. He doesn't force us to submit to Him as Lord and live our lives for Him. In the other corner, Foolishness (who is the devil and the adulteress), cannot force us to sin. He deceives, tempts and seduces, but ultimately, we make the decision to reply "yes " to his invitation. As a "simple person with no sense", whose house will we run to? Wisdom or Foolishness.

Dear Jesus, I admit that I am a weak, simple person with no sense who continues to lack confidence. I pray that I would not be ashamed or discouraged by it and instead run to You and rely on You alone for wisdom, strength and confidence. There are many times that I don't know what I'm doing, but You always know what You're doing. Thank You for Your confidence and perfection. Because of our faith in your sacrifice and resurrection, thank You that we have the power to reply "No" to the evil one's invitation to foolishness, even when he tries hard to make his party seem more fun and appealing. But Lord, we pray for help, especially in those moments when we start to entertain "maybe" replies to him. May You be glorified through our obedience of replying "Yes" to you alone. Amen.

Proverbs 8

SCRIPTURE:

Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say; I open my lips to speak what is right. My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness. (‭Proverbs‬ ‭8‬:‭6-7‬ NIV)

OBSERVATION-What does it say?

The adulterous woman has taken up most of the chapters until now. In this chapter of Proverbs 8, wisdom takes the stage. It is her time to talk. Wisdom says that her instruction is more valuable than silver, gold and rubies. Nothing we desire can compare with her (vs. 10-11). Wisdom says she can be trusted. Wisdom says she speaks truth. Wisdom says she was with God since the beginning of creation (see verses 22-31).

UNDERSTANDING-What does it mean?

Wisdom gives life. Christ is that wisdom that can be trusted. His instruction is valuable and nothing we desire can compare with Him. He speaks truth and was with God from the beginning of creation.

LIFE APPLICATION:

Christ is the source of all wisdom and truth. Everything in Scripture points back to Him. Let us run to no one but Him.
Dear Lord, You are the Source of all life. I pray that our lives would reflect faith in You as our light and guide. May we continue to live in Your Spirit and truth and keep as far away from sin and wickedness just as they are far away from you. Amen.

Proverbs 7

SCRIPTURE:

Proverbs 7:4-5: Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and to insight, “You are my relative.” They will keep you from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words."

OBSERVATION-What does it say?

The adulterer and seducer has continually been referred to in the feminine sense using words like "adulteress", "adulterous woman", "wayward woman", "she", and "her." However, another word that has been used in the feminine sense in our readings is Wisdom. Wisdom is referred to as "her"," she" and "sister" (See Proverbs 3:13-18 and Proverbs 4:6-9).

UNDERSTANDING-What does it mean?

She, who is wisdom, is who will save us from the adulteress. Proverbs 2:16 says, "Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words." King Solomon continues to make a case for pursuing wisdom instead of pursuing the adulterous woman.

LIFE APPLICATION:

In the beginning of reading all this stuff that King Solomon wrote on adultery, it disturbed me that the female was always the seductress and the wayward one. Men can be just as seducing as females and although lust is a struggle that generally affects males, there are women who also struggle with lust. Then I read it in greater context and saw the bigger picture that there is no gender bias existing here.
The adulteress in our lives is the devil, the evil one. He seduces us with his tempting ways. He seeks to steal, kill and destroy, just like the wayward woman. Wisdom however, ( who is also referred to as a feminine being), is the Lord. He seeks to protect, give life and restore.
We have 2 choices to make...to either run with the adulteress and give in to her seductive techniques OR to run with wisdom and make her our sister as the above passage in Proverbs 7 mentioned. Dear Jesus, I pray that we would bind wisdom around our necks and make her our sister instead of giving in to the seduction of the adulteress. We desire life, not destruction. We desire that You alone are glorified, not the evil one. Amen.

Proverbs 31

Every wife will either build the home or tear it down (14:1). If she walks with the Lord, she will be a builder; if she disobeys God's wisdom, she will be a destroyer. She must be faithful to her husband, for "A wife of noble character is her husband's crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones" (12:4, niv). A crown or a cancer: Wow, what a choice! And beauty isn't the only thing he should look for; it's also important that a wife have wisdom and discretion (11:22).

Chapter 31 gives one of the best descriptions of the ideal wife. This poem is an acrostic with the initial words of the twenty-two verses all beginning with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This acrostic form was a device to help people commit the passage to memory. Maybe Jewish parents instructed their sons and daughters to memorize this poem and use it as a guide for their lives and in their homes. Here are some of the characteristics of a godly wife…

She is a woman of character
She's not afraid to work
She is a generous person
She is a support for her husband making it easy for him to do his work.
She is an attentive overseer of the household
She's a woman worthy of praise
Her life is a testimony to others

This tribute to the godly wife and mother tells every Christian woman what she can become if she follows the Lord.

It also describes for every Christian man the kind of wife he should be looking for.  But it also reminds the prospective husband that he'd better be walking with the Lord and growing in his spiritual life so that he will be worthy of such a wife if and when God brings her to him.

Proverbs 30

^5-6 The believer replied, "Every promise of God proves true;
   he protects everyone who runs to him for help.
So don't second-guess him;
   he might take you to task and show up your lies."

^7-9 And then he prayed, "God, I'm asking for two things
   before I die; don't refuse me—
Banish lies from my lips
   and liars from my presence.
Give me enough food to live on,
   neither too much nor too little.
If I'm too full, I might get independent,
   saying, 'God? Who needs him?'
If I'm poor, I might steal
   and dishonor the name of my God."

Not much more needs to be said about these four verses.  In fact less needs to be said and more needs to be done to live as though we believe it.  Someone who believes that God is our loving Father lives in such a way that he believes that God will take care of him.  So he is not stressed about tomorrow or what he will eat or where he will live or what he will wear - the child of God believes that God's promises of provision and protection are true and lives in such a way.

Yesterday at church we talked about the fact that disciples of Christ don't just believe in Christ, but that belief in Him changes the way we live.  So today the question is...Are our lives and actions showing that we believe in God's provision and protection?

Proverbs 29

• Proverbs 29:25 (NIV) ²⁵  Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.

Solomon warns us about a problem that ails us so often – peer pressure.  So many of us are more worried about what people think about us that we will do whatever it takes to be in their good graces, even if what we have to do is wrong.  To place people above God in our lives will turn out to be a noose around our neck, a snare, a trap that leads to death.

Sometimes the fear is not because you want people to like you but because you are worried about what they can do to you.  Abraham lied about Sarah being his wife because he was fearful they would kill him.  Peter denied Jesus because he was fearful of man and what would be the consequences of identifying with Him.  But the New Testament tells us that we should worry less about what people can do to the body and worry more about the condition of our souls. (Matt. 10:28)

The truth is we need to put our trust in God.  His opinion is the one we should be concerned about.  Pleasing Him is what really matters in the long run.  And we need not worry about what people can do to us, even if it is painful in the moment; God has a plan for our lives that is ultimately good, we should trust Him, even when the going is tough.

Proverbs 28

• Proverbs 28:1 (NIV) ¹  The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
• Proverbs 28:5 (NIV) ⁵  Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it fully.
• Proverbs 28:12 (NIV) ¹²  When the righteous triumph, there is great elation; but when the wicked rise to power, men go into hiding.
• Proverbs 28:18 (NIV) ¹⁸  He whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but he whose ways are perverse will suddenly fall.

Time and again Solomon encourages us to walk in righteousness. 
What does walking in righteousness mean? 
It means that we accept the gift of forgiveness of sins and restored relationship to God and then we choose to walk in a way that is pleasing to God.  Righteousness involves loving God and doing what He commands.  And God’s law and example is always about esteeming others as better than ourselves.  If we walk in righteousness then we find that we are looking for ways to bless people.  Just as  God promised Abraham to bless him and that all the nations of the world would be blessed through Him so too we are blessed to bless others, and walking in righteousness is remembering that our blessings are given so that we can bless others.

When righteous leaders rule then people are safe because the leader is looking out for the benefit of those he is leading.

The righteous leader seeks to dispense justice and not play favorites, so people feel safe.

Righteous people are not afraid because they are not hiding anything, they can walk with confidence and make courageous decisions.

It does not mean that righteous people have no trouble, but a righteous person understands that God is at work and even if hard times hit they are confident that God will use it to His good somewhere along the way. 

Let us be wise and walk in righteousness – choosing to obey God so that we bless others and live with confidence.

Proverbs 27

• Proverbs 27:23-24 (NIV) ²³  Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; ²⁴  for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.

This bit of wisdom is so important especially when it comes to our finances. 
We have been given financial resources from God and we are asked to manage it wisely, yet so many of us give no thought to how we should manage it.  Too many people simply spend without any plan or without really keeping track.  Solomon urges us to know where we are with our resources, have some idea of the condition of our finances because it will not last forever.

In our Financial Peace class we are taught to have a budget.  Not only are we to have a budget but we are to take the budgeted amount and put them in envelopes so that we don’t just simply spend willy-nilly.  The reason for the budget is the wisdom of Solomon; when we use what is in our envelopes we are paying careful attention to what we have and soon, what we don’t have.  We may be tempted to spend more but if the envelope is empty then we know that there is no more to spend. 

Let’s be wise.  Keep careful track of the resources you have been given to manage.  Know the condition of your flock and pay careful attention to your herds, for riches do not endure forever, but wise stewardship of it leaves you with the closing verses of the chapter…

• Proverbs 27:25-27 (MSG) ²⁵  And then, when the crops are in and the harvest is stored in the barns, ²⁶  You can knit sweaters from lambs' wool, and sell your goats for a profit; ²⁷  There will be plenty of milk and meat to last your family through the winter.