Today’s passage: Proverbs 15

Helpful thoughts:

• It is good to read verses 1, 2 and 23 together.  A “harsh” word can be factual, but a wise person will use their knowledge rightly and in a timely fashion.
• A reverential fear of the Lord and a loving relationship with family and friends is worth more than any treasure this world can offer.  How wonderful it is to be content and happy before, during, and after we either do or don’t gain more possessions!
• The hedge of thorns and the highway of verse 19 refer to the ease of movement in getting things accomplished.  The lazy will get things done slowly, like you were walking through thorns.  The upright’s task list looks more like a highway.

Questions to consider:

1. How can verse 3 help us to grow in our thankfulness for Jesus’ sacrifice?  Is there any sin in us that God missed and therefore Jesus didn’t die for?  What is true of all those who rest in Jesus (Romans 8:1)?
2. Why must humility come before honor (Verse 33)?  What will a humble person do that a proud person will not (Verse 32)?  What does this assume about all of us?  What do we all need to hear?  How many of us are prepared to receive honor in this life without instruction, repentance, and growth?  How does the Lord respond to us as we humble ourselves and follow Him (Verses 8-9)?
3. Which proverbs sticks out the most to you?  How can you put it into practice today?

Prayer:

Father, thank you for your great omniscient love for us!  May we be a humble people who lean on your grace and turn to your word for counsel for everything in life.  I pray that our church would be salt and light in our world and in our country in how we use our words.  The anger is thick around us and harshness seems to prevail.  But Jesus is King and we have nothing to fear.  May we speak words that turn away wrath, use knowledge and disperse it wisely, that give life and joy in due season.  We thank you Lord that the paths of our lives lead upward in Christ!

Today’s passage: Proverbs 14

Helpful thoughts:

• Fearing the Lord precedes walking in righteousness.  Despising Him precedes walking foolishly.
• Verse 4 can be a great encouragement and reminder in our service as a church!  Things may not always go the way we want.  The final product may never turn out exactly as you hoped.  It’s better to have “dirty stalls” and fruitful church than the alternative.
• We can feel very passionately about something and be entirely wrong about it.  (Verse 12)
  • When our feelings line up with truth, more positive feelings will come as we act out according to truth.
  • When our feelings oppose the truth and if we decide to follow our feelings instead, worse feelings will result as we suffer the consequences of our poor choices.
• Righteousness exalts a nation.  Sinfully calling others out for their sin only adds to the reproach.

Questions to consider:

1. Do you think verse 20 is an instruction or a sad commentary on our natural responses?  What would the instruction be if we understand this proverb correctly?
2. What is consistently true of those who are quick tempered or impulsive?  What do these proverbs offer as the alternative to being quick to anger?  How can we slow our tempers down?  How will that bless us and others?
3. Which proverb sticks out the most to you?  How can you put it into practice today?

Prayer:

Father, we pray our church would fear you, pursue understanding, and be quick to love.  That we would regard you highly as you deserve.  We pray that we would love because you first loved us (1 John 4:19).  May we see “dirty oxen stalls” as a blessing because it means they were used to build the kingdom.  May we see our conversations as tools to accomplish good that results in actions and fruit.  Please give us sound hearts, rooted in your wisdom, satisfied with your abounding love, ready to do your work.

Today’s passage: Proverbs 13

Helpful thoughts:

• Our words can build up, strengthen and produce good results, or they can tear down and cause harm. (Ephesians 4:29)
• Our wealth (Or the lack thereof) will not be what brings us happiness and contentment.
• There is a big difference between agreeing with a statement and taking the time to consider it and apply it.  One makes for good conversation, the other changes our lives.
• There are patterns in this chapter today.  One action leads to another which leads to another.  They can all combine to make a downward spiral or great momentum and upward trajectory.

Questions to consider:

1. How could verse 12 be tied together with the rest of the proverbs in this chapter?  (What kinds of desires will be fulfilled for those who will not listen, who are lazy, who are pretending to be rich, etc.?  What kinds of desires will be fulfilled for those who listen and hear wisdom, who are diligent and hard-working, who are wise stewards of their resources and will not flaunt their increase, etc.?)  Do foolish acts (Or wise acts) occur in isolation or do they usually build one upon another?  How will the accumulation of wisdom or foolishness impact our lives and the lives of those around us?
2. How would verse 20 prove true?  What does “walking” with people mean?  How would those relationships affect  us over time?  How does verse 20 impact verse 24?  What kind of people do our children need to walk with in order to grow up wise?  What kind of people do parents need to be for their children?
3. Which of these proverbs stuck out the most to you?  How can you put it into practice today?

Prayer:

Lord, we thank you for the wisdom you give us through your word.  I pray for the parents of our church, that they would walk with the wise, be wise, and share that wisdom with their children diligently as they grow.  May we all work together as a church to build one another up, multiplying in fruitfulness.  Help us to understand that every decision we make affects the next decision and the next decision after that.  Help us to understand that every decision we make affects not just us but the people around us as well.  Father, may we be people who think and act wisely and benefit one another exponentially for our good and for your glory.  And of course, we thank you for the most exponential good act in the history of the world, the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior.  May we remember that our wisdom and obedience and fruitfulness did not originate in our own power, but that they are the fruit of your love and the change you have brought to our lives through Christ.

Today’s passage: Proverbs 12

Helpful thoughts:

• The Hebrew word translated as stupid is used for animals who graze in the field.  The idea is this, something is wrong, someone is trying to warn in love, and the animal just keeps grazing as if nothing was happening.  Being stupid is like sharing the intellectual capacity of a brute animal.
• One repeated characteristic we see in these proverbs is this: The wicked take life and goods from others in ways they think will benefit themselves, only to find destruction.  But the righteous preserve life, deliver those in need, and give themselves for the benefit of others and find life, joy and peace.
  • This is also true of our words…not just our actions.  (See Matthew 5:21-22)
• Verse 25 gives us a great reminder.  The Bible addresses anxiety and depression, their causes and cures.  This verse is not all the Bible has to say about them.  It may require some diligence to find it, but its there.

Questions to consider:

1. Why is it so important to choose good friends?  How can you become a good friend to others?  What role can and should the church play in this?
2. In the contrast of verse 27, what is diligence called?  If diligence is a possession, what does that mean we must do to obtain it?  Is it something you just have or is it something you must obtain?  What will we be if we do not pursue diligence?
3. Which proverb(s) stuck out most to you?  How can you put it into practice today?

Prayer:

Lord, I pray that we would be a people who are consistently pro-life.  Not just in our positions on abortion and euthanasia, but also in the way we talk to and write (or post) about others.  May we be a people who sit under the instruction of your word, heed the warnings and respond in faith and obedience.  May we fight for the life of others, even those with whom we disagree.  Thank you for giving us your wisdom!  Thank you for giving us life in the righteousness of Jesus!  Thank you for working in us to make us like Him!

Today’s passage: Proverbs 11

Helpful thoughts:

• Dishonest scales would be used in business or trade.  The scales would be unbalanced in a way that made it look like things were fair when they weren’t.  It was a way to scam people and take advantage.
  • The lie is that if I make more money my life will be better, but “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath.”
• No one is entirely blameless.  These terms should be held as that which characterizes a person.
• Verse 14 is a great bit of wisdom for any church.
  • There needs to be a direction, a vision that is rooted in biblical wisdom and God’s will.
  • There needs to be more than one person who is responsible for that counsel.

Questions to consider:

1. How does verse 9 compare/contrast with the second greatest command to “love your neighbor as yourself?”  How should we use our mouths when we disagree with people?  Is there a difference between debating and berating?  Where do we see this happening around us (And maybe even within the church) today?
2. Knowing that Solomon was a very wealthy man, what does he seem to value more than riches?  What does he see as the greater reward in life?  Even better than Solomon, what does the Lord Himself even delight in (Verse 20)?
3. Which proverb(s) stuck out the most to you and why?  How can you put it into practice today?

Prayer:

Father, as we see in this chapter of Proverbs today, we can either be a ring in a pig’s snout or a tree of life that wins souls through our conduct and our words.  God please work in our hearts and life to be trees of life to all those around us.  We thank you that we can be a delight to you!  To know that you watch us and are delighted when we walk with you and heed wisdom is such a great encouragement.  Please continue to renew our minds in these truths so that we will increasingly value the riches of righteousness more than the empty temporary riches of this world.

Today’s passage: Proverbs 10

Helpful thoughts:

• Chapter 10 starts a compilation of individual proverbs.  There won’t be themes to each chapter…
  • Chapters 10-15 contain proverbs that primarily use contrasts.
  • Chapters 16-22 contain proverbs that primarily use comparisons.
• Another reminder, these proverbs are poetry.  For example, when we read 10:1, we should see that a wise child makes both his/her parents glad and a foolish child grieves both his/her parents.
• In verse 15, both the rich and the poor are trusting in the wrong thing.
  • The rich man cannot be protected by his wealth.
  • The poor man is not destroyed due to his lack of wealth.
    • Both are trusting in money.  Both need to repent and trust in God alone.

Questions to consider:

1. Why and how does love cover all sins?  Does this mean we should try to ignore sin?  What does it mean to cover?  How is our sin covered? Who is the true everlasting foundation of the “righteous” (Verse 25)?  If you truly loved others and someone told you that you were hurting them, what would you want to do?  As sinners ourselves, what will we desire for others who are actively being hurt and hurting others in their sin?
2. What is the contrast of verse 14?  What direction does information go primarily for the wise?  What direction does information go primarily for fools?  (In or Out)  How do you know when it’s time to speak?  What would your motivation need to be? (For whose benefit?)
3. Which proverb stuck out the most to you?  Why?  How can you put it into practice today?

Prayer:

Father, please give us wisdom, that we would receive your instruction and heed them and be blessed.  Thank you for covering our sin in love through the blood of Jesus.  I pray that we Christians would look at others through the lens of your gospel love, be listeners, and then in the strength you provide, be lovers of people and seek their true good for your glory.

Today’s passage: Proverbs 9

Helpful thoughts:

• The seven pillars are a picture of the completeness, the sufficiency of what wisdom calls us to.  The life wisdom offers is not lacking in any way.  Whatever the world offers that is contrary to wisdom is outside of wisdom’s sufficient complete offering.
• There are two perspectives we must look to in verses 7-9:
  • Once you realize you are talking to a scoffer, dial it back.  There is only losing down that road for everyone involved.
  • When someone is loving you by speaking the truth in love, be very quick to listen and slow to speak.  Be the wise person who will still be wiser when others build into you through constructive criticism.
• Both wisdom and folly cry out from the high places.  There are many voices fighting for our ears and hearts.  This truth has been repeated often so far in the Proverbs.

Questions to consider:

1. If what wisdom offers is everything that is good, then what is left outside of wisdom for the world to offer?  Why is it so foolish to reject the Lord and rush after the desires of the flesh and the world?  What will a person ultimately find in that pursuit?
2. Compare and contrast verses 3-6 and 14-18.  What are the similarities and differences?  What are the consequences of heeding their differing advice?  How does the foolish obtain his bread and water?  How does the one who listens to wisdom obtain his bread and flavorful wine?  How does this point to the gospel?
3. How often do we talk with others in a way that would encourage growth and change?  How often do we offer or hear constructive criticism?  What attitude would foster and encourage this in the church?  What attitude would prevent it?

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for your grace to us in offering wisdom and life.  Thank you for the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ!  We thank you for giving us bread to eat and wine to drink when folly would tell us to go thieve an inferior alternative.  May we fear you and see the blessings in this life and the life to come that result from listening to and heeding your wisdom.  And may your church work together as a team, a family to encourage and exhort one another in wisdom, speaking the truth in love, listening to one another in patience and thanksgiving, growing together in Christ-likeness.

 

Today’s passage: Proverbs 8

Helpful thoughts:

• Wisdom and understanding are not the only voices crying out, but they are the voices we need to recognize and heed.
• The Lord and evil cannot share our affections and attention.  To love one is to choose against the other.
• When we reject wisdom and righteousness and choose to sin, we are not simply being selfish or momentarily indulgent, we are rejecting God, loving death and wronging our own soul.  Sin is rebellion and self-harm.

Questions to consider:

1. Why does wisdom exist?  Where did it come from?  To whom must we look to attain it?  Is wisdom a response to evil or is evil a depravation of wisdom?
2. What does it mean to search for wisdom “diligently?”  What will we be prone to see before our eyes?  If we passively take in the world around us, what voices will we hear first and loudest?  What must we do to seek for wisdom diligently?
3. Consider taking inventory of your day.  Write down what you did and what time it took.  How much time did you spend doing the things you do?  What “voices” had your ears and eyes?  Praise God for the good!  Ask for grace where we need to grow.

Prayer:

Lord, we live in a time where it seems like everyone has a voice.  If we were to hear everyone that has something to say, there would be no time left in the day to even eat or sleep.  Please give us grace to desire and value your words more highly than gold or silver, more highly than the voices on the news, more highly than the voices on social media, more highly than the voices in the movies, etc.  Lord, please help us to redeem the time you’ve given!  May we pursue wisdom and understanding diligently, that we could then exercise that wisdom in our daily lives through our own words and actions.

Today’s passage: Proverbs 7

Helpful thoughts:

• Praise God for parents who lovingly put these words of wisdom into the hearts of their children
  • Then pray that they might be treasured.
• The easiest way to avoid sin is to steer clear of it.  The young man who was tempted and fell first had to walk down the seductress’ street.
• Contrast verses 10-11 with 1 Peter 3:4:
  • ³ Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— ⁴ but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

Questions to consider:

1. In discipling children, what part of the process is the responsibility of the parent?  What part is the responsibility of the child?  What do we do with things we treasure?  What does it look like to treasure God’s word?
2. What is the “street corner” of the seductress today?  Where is it?  How can you avoid it?  In what ways does the normalization of cohabitation and sex outside of marriage make this “street corner” almost everywhere in today’s society?  Young men, where should you go to find a woman who will bless your life (And whom you can bless and follow the Lord together with)?  Young women?
3. Does the ox know it is going to the slaughter on its way there?  What kind of humility do we need to hear from our loved ones who are trying to warn us of danger ahead?

Prayer:

Father, we pray for faithfulness to lead and point our children to you.  And we ask you to grant them grace and repentance.  May our children love you with their whole hearts!  We also pray for wisdom to go down the path you have made straight for us, to stay away from the street corners on our phone, televisions, or literal street corners that lead us to temptation.  Father, as we look to Christ in Scripture and see of your great love for us, may we be so encouraged to pursue you that we don’t have the time or interest to go where temptations call.