Proverbs – God’s practical guide to an joyful life
Good day friends! I pray your week and weekend went well.
Today’s topic is one that many of us may say doesn’t apply to our lives, but upon closer look can find that it is a topic that we have found to be true by our experience… it’s the topic of seeking after ill-gotten gain. Let’s top up our coffee’s and see what Solomon has to say…
Devotion 3
Proverbs 1:10-19
My son, if sinful men entice you, do not give in to them. If they say, “Come along with us; let’s lie in wait for innocent blood, let’s ambush some harmless soul; let’s swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder;cast lots with us; we will all share the loot”— my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths; for their feet rush into evil, they are swift to shed blood. How useless to spread a net where every bird can see it! These men lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush only themselves! Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the life of those who get it.
“Of course I would never be so deceptive or harmful. I could never fill my house with plunder of someone else. I would never lie in wait to shed someone’s blood. This passage is certainly not talking about me.” …or is it?
So often we can read passages like this and think this refers to the big crimes. This is the passage that those individuals should have read before getting caught up in that robbery or murder or really big ‘no-no’. However, have you ever been tempted, or someone you know devised a little plan, to take a few items from the office, or that really nice glass with the restaurant’s name etched in it or perhaps a couple friends start making fun quietly as a passerby goes by because they have a limp or just simply look different in some way, and you join in the joking, the bullying.
It is so easy to get caught up in the moment and the seemingly harmless silliness or the quiet desire of greed. I know. I’ve been there. It’s so easy to follow along and it really isn’t meant as something extravagantly evil. In any case, it is a path of ill-gotten gain. It negatively affects the victim from whom we’ve gained, and it will negatively, should negatively, affect our life.
However, it’s these thoughts of innocent, fun loving play, or self-gratification that the devious individuals, that satan, or that our sinful selves would have us believe. It’s the lie used to draw us into the lie of a better life and self-fulfillment when in reality it draws us to disgrace, regret, self-loathing, and death. It is in these things and the temptations of these people, satan and our sinful-self that Solomon is warning us against. He is warning us to stand strong against them and to walk away and to have nothing to do with them. For although in our minds they will seemingly give us all this wonderful glory and possession, in reality they are a life-sucking burden of guilt and regret. Do not be fooled.
So let us keep our eyes on the path that Christ has for us. To know the truths of what lay behind these seemingly gloriously harmless, but empty facades. Repent of those times you have given in, for our gracious Lord will forgive and renew you. Then, with his help, do not sway by such temptations to take another path, but stay focused on his path ahead. Enjoy your days with those who would encourage you in your faith walk and guide you when you feel tempted to stray, and in the same way you should encourage them. Be wise, live wise!
Prayer: Dear Lord, there are so many sinful desires that would draw us into attaining ill-gotten gain. Forgive me all those times that I have given in to such desires and help me to overcome my selfish greed by keeping my eyes on you and seeking your help when I am tempted next- and I know there will be a next time this side of heaven. Help me to be discerning and wise in all my decisions and interactions. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
me wherever I am.
Good day friends! I pray your week and weekend went well!
In the movie, Facing the Giants, one of the characters shares a parable about two farmers who endured a drought. Both farmers prayed to the Lord. One farmer continued to go around downcast. The other farmer walked around with an umbrella. The question was then asked, “which farmer believed that God would answer his prayer?”
This parable is very convicting because how many times do we pray about or for something and then go on complaining or worrying about it. On the contrary, when we have lifted something up to the Lord, we need to know and trust beyond a doubt that God is listening, God is working, and God will reveal a response. The act of prayer is not just equal to us picking up a phone and talking into it. It requires us to dial directly to him and to speak face to face with our all-knowing and all-loving God, just as we would a dear friend. This is an intimate conversation where he is intimately present. The great thing is that He wants us to tell him all our requests; great and small. No prayer request is too insignificant and no request is too big for him.
When we give our needs and life’s situations to God and ask Him to guide us and the outcome, we can release it and trust that as events arise and the outcome is attained, whatever it is, it has been accomplished according to his will for our lives. That doesn’t mean we get what we want. It means we get what He knows is best for us. At times we may feel disappointed, but other times we may be the recipients of watching God reveal Himself in our lives in miraculous ways.
Ultimately, may I encourage you to seek the Lord with all your requests and always be prepared for an answer. Seek his guidance first in all things and always trust the answers, so that just like the farmer who trusted God to answer his prayer in the midst of his drought, you may answer a confident ‘yes’ when asked, “Do you have your umbrella, too?”
Without a doubt, whether you believe it or can see it or not, you have been blessed with gifts and abilities by our gracious God. So in addition to unconsciously being a blessing to those God sets in your life- as we discussed last week- you have been blessed with these gifts and abilities, with the sole purpose to bless others and, in so doing, give God glory.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, you have blessed each and every human being with gifts and abilities. Help me to see and nurture the gift(s) you have given me and to use them for your glory in the secular realm, but especially, in your church. Guide me to be a good steward of these gifts that they may bless others. In Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!
In the same, whatever questions you may have about your existence: why you were born into your particular family, situation, etc…, just know that it wasn’t an accident, no matter how wonderful nor how dysfunctional it may be. God created you to be whom you are to be a blessing to those around you. He will give you the physical, emotional, psychological strength to overcome, if you let him. You may not know what your purpose is, and each day may be a struggle, but trust God to guide you through it, and be strong in the Lord. One day, may he open your eyes to see your purpose. To show the blessing you were to those in your life, and may you see the blessings that he undoubtedly will bestow upon you as you trust in him.
Good day friends! I pray your week and weekend went well!
In the same way, we should celebrate the freedom we have in Christ. With great joy and pride we need to celebrate this ultimate freedom and peace that is ours. In Christ, we have freedom from the slavery and guilt of our sins, and ultimately, freedom from death and the peace in knowing that life eternal is ours. There is nothing that can take away that peace we have in Christ- “…neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation!” (Romans 8:38b-39a) We should be singing from the rooftops and holding a celebration like no other.
