Today's Reading - Proverbs 21

Ritual vs Righteousness

The way you behave in your dealings with others means far more to God than your religious performance.  

It seems that there is no shortage of people who are ready to do their religious duty on Sundays, but show no signs of a godly life the rest of the week. They meticulously make the “sacrifices” of attending church services, paying their tithes, saying their prayers, following their liturgy, singing their songs, and performing their rituals – but there is no attempt to live a righteous life before God. They just don’t get that God is more interested in their seeking to be righteous, just, and merciful than He is in them coming and offering such “sacrifices” to Him. 

David the Psalmist recognized this truth in Psalm 51 – “You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.” God is far more interested in matters of the heart than He is in our religious ceremony. Having this type of broken spirit and repentant heart will result in living the type of life that God finds acceptable and pleasing – a life of faith, mercy, kindness, justice, and righteousness.

Yahweh was very blunt about this truth with the prophet Isaiah when He questioned him about religious duty:

“’What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?’ says the Lord.

‘I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle.

I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

When you come to worship me, who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony?

Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me!

As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting—they are all sinful and false.

I want no more of your pious meetings.’” (Isaiah 1:11-13)

The reality is that if our heart isn’t in it, God isn’t interested in our religion. He is seeking those with a humble and contrite heart who recognize their need for His grace and forgiveness and commit themselves to living righteously, justly, and mercifully through the power of His indwelling Spirit. The way you behave in your dealings with others means far more to God than your religious performance.  

Today's Reading - Proverbs 20

Wine is a Mocker

As you know, the drinking of wine, beer, and other alcoholic beverages is an accepted practice in our culture. In fact, you could say it is not only acceptable, but is expected and encouraged by nearly everyone. It is the "norm" of our society. It is simply our “way of life.” But, is it consistent with God’s “way of life?”

The reality is – and here comes the honesty – the Bible consistently and strongly advises against the consumption of wine and strong drink. It is true that the Bible sometimes refers to wine in positive ways when describing something satisfying (“Your mouth is like the best wine.” -  Song of Songs 7:9), or celebratory (“Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart” - Ecclesiastes 9:7), but it also strongly warns of the dangers of drinking.

Here in Proverbs 20, we read that “wine is a mocker” and that “strong drink (or beer) is a brawler” and that “whoever is led astray by them is not wise.” A mocker is somebody who is hostile to a life of righteousness and ridicules all who disagree with him. This statement is a warning against the harmful ways a person is affected by consuming too much wine.  Consuming too much wine (or any alcoholic beverage) negatively affects one’s thinking and behavior, which could lead to actions, words, or attitudes unpleasing to the Lord. Those who consume too much wine give themselves over to its influence and allow it to control them. In a sense, then, the wine “mocks” their lack of self-control.

The book of Proverbs provides instructions for living a wise and virtuous life—by avoiding actions that end up harming oneself and others. In Proverbs 20:1 specifically, wine and beer are described as enemies of wisdom. Whoever is led astray by alcohol is not wise.

While wine and other alcoholic beverages can be safely consumed without leading to sin, we should pay close attention to the Bible’s strong warnings against excessive consumption. Alcohol has a way of leading us away from the righteous and virtuous life God calls us to live.

Bottom line: The Bible does not strictly forbid drinking, but it does strongly discourage it and forbids drinking in excess, leading to drunkenness. If a Christian chooses to consume alcohol, they must do so with moderation, restraint, and self-control. If you cannot drink without such restraint, then you must avoid alcohol altogether. Whoever is led astray by alcohol is not wise. Check your heart on this matter. Have you adopted your culture’s values when it comes to drinking? Or, have you internalized God’s values and chosen to live above society’s “norm”?  

 

Today's Reading - Proverbs 19

Man's Plans | God's Purpose

You’ve probably heard it many times, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” Don’t let your familiarity keep you from being awestruck and astonished by those words. Meditate on this truth for a moment – God has a plan for YOU!

In a world with nearly eight billion people, it’s easy to feel small—to feel as if our day-to-day lives aren’t worth much, especially when we’re occupied with seemingly mundane and unimportant matters. Yet God has a purpose and a plan for each and every one of us. We all have unique gifts, talents, positions, perspectives, and callings. God uses this tremendous diversity to carry out his will, and his plans are always bigger, bolder, and better than anything we could ever imagine.

Psalm 33:11 tells us, “The plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.” It is an undeniable truth of Scripture that God has a “master narrative” (or “metanarrative”) by which He is governing our planet and guiding the affairs of our lives. It is this narrative and purpose that God is busy fulfilling every day. In a “macro” sense (largescale), His purpose covers the entirety of human history from the creation of the universe – to the redemption of mankind – to the events of the end times and ultimate end of our planet.

In a “micro” sense (smaller scale), God also has a master narrative for your life. Even before you were born, God knew the purpose and plan He had for you. As he told the prophet Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)

In other words, you can't really fight against God or against God's plans. You may be making all kinds of plans. You may be figuring out various schemes, but ultimately, God's word and His purpose is going to stand. There is an old Greek saying, "The dice of the gods are loaded." That means you just can't go against God's will and win. God has said certain things and you may scheme and devise all you want. But the purpose of the Lord for your life is going to stand. He will arrange and establish your plans.

A person may make plans, but God is the one who determines their outcome. He knows your unseen motives and controls events according to His largescale purposes and His individual plan for your life. It is vitally important, therefore, to always bring God into your planning. When your wisdom comes from God, your decisions will always be right. The mysterious and amazing thing is that you may think your plan was your idea, but in the end, God planted that idea in your heart and mind because it was His purpose to do so. God’s purpose will prevail.

 

Today's Reading - Proverbs 18

The Forerunner of Ruin

One of the principles that is often repeated in the Bible is this: A proud person will soon be ruined – a humble person will soon be honored. James 4:6 says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  Ultimately, God brings low the proud and raises the humble. 

It seems counter-intuitive — that putting ourselves low will raise us up, while putting ourselves first will end up with us last. But that’s exactly what the Bible says. Repeatedly. Proverbs 11:12 says, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.” Haughtiness, pride, and arrogance are the forerunners of ruin.

The call to follow Christ is a call to forsake pride, arrogance, haughtiness, and self-praise and to pursue humility from a sincere heart. We need to drop our pride because pride comes before a fall. Many proverbs warn that the sin of pride is a dangerous offense. Pride is the sin most likely to keep a person from crying out for a Savior.

Pride in the context of these verses refers to an arrogant attitude that manifests itself as self-reliance (haughtiness) and lack of dependence upon God. To be humble and thus avoid the pride that goes before a fall is to respect, reverence, and submit to the Lord in every area of your life. When we fear the Lord, we acknowledge our desperate need for God because He is infinitely wiser than we are. The proud person pursues his or her own way, but the humble one obeys God’s Word. Doing so makes us sure-footed so that we will not slip or stagger: “The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him.” (Psalm 37:23)

As seriously dangerous as pride is, it’s equally hard to spot. When it comes to diagnosing our hearts, those of us who have the disease of pride have a challenging time identifying our sickness. Some of the symptoms of pride include fault-finding, a harsh spirit, superficiality, defensiveness, taking God for granted, hunger for attention, and neglect of others. Do you see any of these symptoms in your life? Then you must repent, forsaking your pride and humbling yourself before God. If you do, God will honor your humbleness. If you don’t – watch out! Ruin in some form or another awaits you.

“For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” (Galatians 6:3)

Today's Reading - 2 Chronicles 5 & 6

 

Solomon's Prayer of Dedication

As the opening ceremonies of the Temple reached their climax, King Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire community of Israel, and he lifted his hands in prayer. Then he knelt in front of the entire community of Israel and lifted his hands toward heaven. He prayed, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven and earth. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion.”

The prayer that follows is one of the most heartfelt compilations of praises and petitions in the entire Bible. Solomon’s prayer culminated with this request, “O my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to all the prayers made to you in this place.”

Solomon longed for this Temple to be a place that was alive with the presence of the ever-living God. A place where people could connect with God. A place where prayers would be heard, people would be healed, sins would be forgiven, and lives would be changed. He desired that “God’s house” would be the center of community and national life for all of Israel.

Can you picture it? The political and military leader of the nation bowing in deep reverence with words of praise unto the Lord.  Solomon’s words ring true today just as they did that day. There is no God like Yahweh. He is the only true and living God. No matter how far you go – throughout heaven and earth – or how intently you search, you will never find anyone even remotely like Him. He is a God of His word – who always keeps His promises and covenants. He does this because of His “steadfast love” for His servants – those who have bowed the knee to Him as their Master and Lord.

What an amazing day this was. One of the highlights of human history for sure! And what an amazing God we serve! There is no God like Him in the skies above or on the earth below, who unswervingly keeps covenant with his servants and unfailingly loves them while they sincerely live in obedience to His ways. Praise be to God!

Today's Reading - Proverbs 17

Concealing Offenses

Personal relationships are delicate things. To maintain healthy friendships takes an intentional effort. Depending on your experience, you may wonder if healthy relationships are even possible. There’s a lot of brokenness in the world. Are good, solid, joy-filled relationships even possible? Yes. The Bible makes that very clear. When God created human beings, He made them relational beings. His intent was for them to have a wonderful, God-honoring relationship.

Every good relationship requires love, humility, service, patience, acceptance, affection, and forgiveness. Unfortunately, every one of us is infected with the disease of sin. As a result of our sinful nature, we can veer off the course of healthy relationships and can, at times, cause offense to others – even those we are closest to. This is where Proverbs 17:9 comes in – teaching us that in a true, healthy relationship, the loving person will “cover” the offense of the one they love. The word “cover” in this verse means to conceal; hide; cover up. The lesson here is that there is virtue in keeping someone else’s sins to yourself rather than “repeating” them to others. Being a telltale gossip does nothing but degrade relationships and end friendships.

The greatest example of this type of love is found in our Heavenly Father. He, out of His deep love for us, has chosen to cover our offenses and sins. Psalm 32:1 says, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” This is the same Hebrew word for “covered” that we find in today’s verse. Think about that! God has chosen to conceal and cover up your sin with the blood of Christ rather than allowing you to be separated from Him! Oh, what love the Father has for us.

God covers your offenses because He seeks love and a relationship built on love with you. And it is our call as His children to do the same for others in our lives. Is there someone who has offended you? Is there a relationship that has been spoiled by another person’s sin or mistake? Do you know someone whom you should forgive? Do it now. Take a moment in God’s presence and bring that person (or persons) to His attention. Tell Him you want to be like Him, forgiving transgressions and covering past sins. Then, from your heart, forgive that person.

If you’ve furthered the damage to your relationship by repeating the matter to others, take another moment to ask God to forgive you. If you ask, He will grant it. Then, if the situation warrants, go to your friend and ask for their forgiveness as well.  Whoever covers an offense seeks love.

 

Today's Reading - Proverbs 16

 

Roll Your Load

The word “commit” in verse 3 carries the idea of transferring a load. It means to roll the heavy load off of your back and roll it onto the back of another – as a man transfers a burden from his own back to one stronger and better able to bear it. Here we are being told to roll our load of work onto the Lord’s back.

While “work” may mean everything we have to do in life, it primarily refers to the “works” we do for God. This includes the entirety of the Christian life – faith, worship, learning, fellowship, prayer, and service. Jesus was a Man who was laser focused on the works He was called to do. Once, after healing a blind man, He said “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 9:4) This was His way of saying, “I must quickly carry out the tasks assigned to Me by the One who sent Me.” The Apostle Paul mirrored this sentiment when he said, “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 20:24 NLT)

All of us have tasks to do which have been assigned to us by our Heavenly Father. If we try to carry the burden of these tasks in our own strength, they will be too heavy for us. This is why we must roll our load onto the Lord’s back. Trust Him, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to enable you to accomplish your assignments from Him. It is in Him that you will find the strength to complete the work He has given you to do. God has given everyone an assignment! An assignment is a mission or role to which a person is appointed. We each have a role in the Body of Christ and a distinct mission to fulfill… and God has perfectly equipped us to succeed in His assignment.

The second part of this verse promises that when we roll our burdens onto Him, He will arrange and establish our plans. A person may make plans, but God is the one who determines their outcome. He knows your unseen motives and controls events according to His purposes and His plan for your life. It is vitally important, therefore, to always bring God into your planning. When your wisdom comes from God, your decisions will always be right. The promise here is that when your plans come from God, they will be firmly established (firm, secure, steadfast, settled). He will quiet your fears and insecurities and put you on the firm foundation of His plan for your life.