THE WISE WALK WITH THE WISE TO BE WISE! The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother. —Proverbs 10:1 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. —Proverbs 12:15 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit…

KEEP HIS WORD My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye; bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. —Proverbs 7:1-3 “And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways.  Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it.  Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.  For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.” —Proverbs 8:32-35             Life and…

GUARD YOUR HEART! Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. —Proverbs 4:23             Vigilance… to be watchful, to be cautious, to be attentive, to be observing, to be alert, to be aware…  These are words that describe the action we are to take in keeping our heart so out of it will “flow the springs of life.”  Be vigilant because “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise” (Proverbs 11:30).  Guard our hearts so we will not be grieving (Ephesians 4:30) or quenching the Holy Spirit (I Thessalonians 519), but instead out of our…

BE WISE! The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. —Proverbs 1:7 How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? —Proverbs 1:22 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.  For the LORD…

BE LIKE A TREE! He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. —Psalm 1:3 If you are “like a tree” that is healthy and producing then: You are not walking in the counsel of the wicked. You are not standing in the way of sinners You are not sitting in the seat of scoffers If you are “like a tree” that is healthy and producing then: You delight is in the law of the Lord You meditate on his law day and night If you are “like a tree”…

OUR LORD GOD ALMIGHTY IS SO FAR ABOVE US! Then Job answered the LORD and said:  “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.  I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further.” —Job 40:3-4 Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. —Job 41:11 Then Job answered the LORD and said: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.  ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not…

LORD I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:  “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” —Job 38:1-2 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. —Psalm 145:3 The LORD is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works. —Psalm 145:13 The LORD is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. —Psalm 145:17             Be careful that you do not think you know better than our Lord God Almighty!  Job was trying to figure out why this was happening to him and why God was against him,…

THE SELF-EXISTENT ONE If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him? And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?  If you are righteous, what do you give to him? Or what does he receive from your hand? —Job 35:6-7             God is awesomely awesome!  Who can comprehend Him?  He is infinitely greater than we are.  Men have needs in order to survive.  God does not need anything.  Men need others for the human race to go on.  God needs nothing and continues forever!             When you and I sin it does not change His character at all.  He grieves over our sin (Ephesians 4:30), but…

MY BREATH IS IN HIS HANDS If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust. —Job 34:14-15             The power of God is inconceivable.  Man thinks he knows so much, but in comparison to God we know nothing.  At any time He could gather His spirit and His breath and that would be the end of every living thing on the planet.  Think about that.  In an instant the planet would be completely lifeless if that was God’s desire.  Earth would become a dusty planet.             “Man is like a breath;…

HE HAS NOT ABANDONED YOU! Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness, as I was in my prime, when the friendship of God was upon my tent, —Job 29:2-4 You have turned cruel to me; with the might of your hand you persecute me. —Job 30:21             When we go through the midst of deep trials our thinking may be all over the place as we try to figure out why this is happening.  We try to make sense out of why difficulty is happening to…