What will you give up to have God’s favor? Looking at Proverbs 15:1-16, we see several verses that deal with the a trade off. Which will we do, love God or love the world? Seek after wisdom or embrace foolishness? We live in a world today that wants to do both. We want to have our cake and eat it too. We want to follow God and have wisdom and blessing, yet we aren’t willing to give up the things of this world. We try to find ways to make God’s commands into more of a both/and instead of an either/or scenario. Yet God’s word is very clear in these…

Tranquility. This is such a beautiful word that, for me, brings to mind a wonderful picture of peace and beauty. In Proverbs 14:26-35, Solomon gives more pictures of how wisdom impacts us. We see the importance of respect and reverence for God. We understand our need to slow down and reflect on all the things that God provides us. It also mentions tranquillity of mind and heart. As we are resting and peaceful and tranquil of mind, we can see how God is at work and moving in our life. When we are constantly stirred up and seeking for the next best thing, we miss what God has already done. Do…

Do we act without thinking?  As we continue reading Proverbs chapter 14, we see in verses 13 through 25 how important it is to take time to consider our actions. We must reflect and think through the impact of the things that we are doing. We find that so many people act impulsively and as a result, their actions are considered foolish and reckless. Wisdom considers all options and is always looking for ways to improve and be better. Wisdom takes time. Do we? Are we considered reckless and impulsive or thoughtful and deliberate?  Do we seek to know and understand what is the best option, or do we settle…

We can’t know how to do what is best for ourselves. As we continue in Proverbs chapter 14, verses 1 through 12, Solomon continues sharing the differences between the righteous man and the wicked man. Today he makes an interesting statement. We do not know what is best for ourselves. Most of the time, we would completely disagree with this statement. We think we know what’s best. We tell God in prayer what we think is best. We expect God’s best to line up with our picture of what is best. Yet in verse12, we see very clearly that there is a way that man thinks is right, but in…

Do we accept correction? Solomon continues his contrast of the righteous and the wicked in Proverbs 13. Again, he covers a variety of areas of life and how the wicked respond versus how the righteous respond. However, he begins the chapter with a reminder that the righteous man accepts correction. We must be open to the idea that we do not know everything and we don’t always act the way we should. As a result, we will receive correction from others. Do we accept it or do we make excuses? Are we willing to learn from it, or do we become defensive? Will we make needed change or do we…

The Righteous Man and the Wicked Man. Proverbs chapter 12 gives comparison between these two types of men. What does a righteous man do? What does he not do? How does he compare to a man who is Wicked? This chapter is full of examples that cover every area of life from how the man thinks to how he treats other people and even animals. You see, the character of who we are impacts and drives every other aspect of our life. We cannot be thinking evil things and expect to act in a way that pleases God or enhances the lives of others around us. The opposite is true…

Generosity. In Proverbs 11:22-31 we see still more verses explaining wisdom and how to act with wisdom. One theme that becomes clear in these verses is the focus on generosity and how the wise are not hoarders. The people who have wisdom are also people who are very generous and give to others. God rewards generosity. God gives us all that we need, but often he gives us even more than we need so that we can find the joy in giving as well. God is generous, we are to be generous. Would others look at our life and describe us as generous? If not, what is one step you…

What is our motivation? In Proverbs 11:14-21, we read through several verses that contrast righteous motivations versus evil motivations. As we read through, we can clearly see that God honors the motivations behind the actions, not just the actions themselves. God sees our heart. God knows why we do the things that we do. If we are simply doing good things for our own self recognition, he sees and understands that we have evil and selfish intent. All those people who are seeking to follow him and are seeking to lead others to follow him, God sees that too. As we are going through our day, what is the driving…

Do we know how to keep our mouth shut? In Proverbs 11 we see more statements about the characteristics of wisdom. In verses 1-13 we see a lot said about when we speak and what we say. Do we know when to speak and when to remain silent? Can we be trusted with the confidence of others? If we cannot wait to tell everything we have seen or heard, we will lose credibility with those who speak to us. What we say influences our integrity greatly. How will our integrity be reflected today?

Are we the calm during the storm? In Proverbs 10:22-32 we see more contrast between the wise and the fool. In verse 25 it mentions that the wise have a firm foundation, but the wicked get destroyed by the storm. When the storms of life come on us, are we able to weather through them, or do we get sucked under and trampled?  If we are holding to the righteousness of God, we have a firm foundation on which to stand. We can be confident that even though the storm rages around us, our foundation is strong and sure. For the fool, they get destroyed by the storm. They don’t…