Devotional Thoughts

Genesis 31:3-6    "And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee. And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock, and said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me. And ye know that with all my power I have served your father." Genesis 31:11-13    "And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I. And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred." In chapters twenty-nine and thirty of Genesis, we see how God led Jacob to the household of his uncle, Laban. In much th

Proverbs 11:30    "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise." A tree can only produce fruit when it has life, nutrients, and water. That's a basic statement, but it is true. For the child of God, all of those elements are found in Jesus Christ. He is our life. He is the bread (nutrient) of life. And He is the living water.  I wonder if Paul had this verse in mind even as he spoke of himself, "... that I may win Christ, And be found in him..." (Philippians 3:8-9)   "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life." Our lives can be a work of beauty and a great influence when we reflect the righteousness of Jesus Christ. The elements of the fruit of the righteous are "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. (Galatians 5:22-23) These elements can have a positive influence on others when we are bold and open in our love for God, joy and peace in Christ Jesus, patient a

Genesis 28:20-22     "And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee."   I hear and feel in my heart a great power when I read the first phrase of our scriptures today. Jacob vowed a vow. It was a solemn promise which he made to God and not men. This promise was made in response to God’s promise to Jacob. Jacob’s vow was made because of God’s promise, not in order to receive God’s promise. As we read about Jacob, we should realize that God had already made choice of Jacob and his seed. God’s promise was already in place to make of Jacob a great nation before he was ever born (Genesis 25:23). Jacob had secured the birthright (Genesis 25:31-34) and

Proverbs 11:24-26    "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.  (25)  The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.  (26)  He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it." These three verses speak to us of a very simple, yet often neglected, fact.  Jesus said it in this manner, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35) For whatever reason, we seem to live in a time when selfishness prevails. Maybe it is not more prevalent, but we see it displayed more often. All my life, I've heard people say something like this, "You have to look out for Number 1, because nobody else will do it for you." It's a sad time when this is the case. The Lord has shown us many times that true kingdom living consists of reaching out to help others. "It is more bless

Genesis 28:10-15    "And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I hav

Proverbs 11:19-20    "As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death.  (20)  They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the LORD: but such as are upright in their way are his delight." We notice in these two verses that righteousness and uprightness are bookends that stand out. Sandwiched between these are evil and "a froward heart".  The Lord goes on to tell us, "Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered." (Proverbs 11:21) We understand that the total being of God is so much greater than our minds are able to comprehend; yet, He opens windows for us to look into a portion of His character.  He loves that which is right and He hates that which is wrong. He rewards the upright, or those who walk in a way that is right according to His standard. Remember yesterday we saw that "A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weigh

Genesis 28:1-4    "And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother. And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham." Genesis 28:8-9    "And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife."   In the close of chapter twenty-seven of this book, we see that Rebekah was sick to death of Esau’s wives. Seeing their behavior, Isaa

Proverbs 11:1    "A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight." Today's passage means much to us, but quite honestly, its value to us depends on which vantage point we are beginning.  Solomon has been writing about the wise and the foolish, the righteous and the wicked, and that which is true and false.  "A false balance is abomination to the LORD." We have all heard about the butcher who holds his thumb on the scales when weighing meat. I personally encountered a false balance at a gas station where a penny was added each time I stopped the pump. I complained to the owner, but received no satisfaction. His approach was it was only a penny, but those pennies added up when you consider all the customers in a day. But I believe the Lord had much more in mind than just meat and gas when He inspired Solomon to write these words. "But a just weight is his delight." There must be a standard weight by which the scales are bala

Genesis 27:26-30    "And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed: Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee. And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting." Were it not for the fact of God’s promises, we might be tempted to think that Jacob came by everything he had as a result of fraud. In Genesis 25:29-34, we see that Esau was much more concerned with what he pe

Proverbs 10:17    "He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth." I am notorious for tossing the assembly instructions to the side. If I can see the picture of the finished product, then I figure I should be able to put it together without any problems.  I usually finish with a lot of extra parts that really were necessary for the proper use of whatever I was assembling. I could have saved myself much time and effort and confusion if I had just taken time to read the instructions before beginning to put it together.  I think that a sure sign of maturity is when we come to the place of knowing that we need help. A child often takes the approach that he can do anything and knows everything without needing help. Sometimes, it is necessary to allow them to make their mistakes in order to come to the place of realizing a need.  The sad thing is that adults do not always outgrow that trait. Refusing to receive advice, instruction, and corre

Genesis 26:14    "For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him."  Genesis 26:16    "And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we."  Genesis 26:19-22    "And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him. And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land." In keeping with His promise, the LORD was richly blessing Isaac. After his deceit concerning Rebekah, Abimelech had given orders that anyone who touched I

Proverbs 9:10    "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding." At first, this seems to be a repetition of Proverbs 1:7,  "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge..." In fact, the fear of the Lord seems to be the theme of all the Proverbs as it is repeated many times.  Solomon came to an understanding of this need in his life. We aren't sure if he came to this understanding at an early age and forgot it, or if it came to him after he had made many mistakes in life. Either way, he stresses over and over the need to have a healthy fear of God in our hearts and minds. Whether you see this fear as being a literal fear of God's wrath or a healthy fear of honoring Him, it is a necessary element in our lives.  Yes, this seems to be a repetition from chapter one, but Solomon goes deeper into the thought in today's verse. The fear of the Lord is the beginning and "the knowledge of the holy"

Genesis 26:6-10    "And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon. And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her. And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us."   According to the scripture, both Isaac’s mother (Sarah) and Isaac’s wife (Rebekah) were exceptionally beautiful women. Prior to Isaac’s birth, Abraham spent time in Gerar (Genesis 20:1-16) and had dea

Proverbs 9:1    "Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars" If we use the definition of wisdom that we saw in chapter 8, then we can say in this verse, "Wisdom (Jesus) has built His house and has placed it on seven pillars." The number 7 used in the Bible always represents completeness. Using this verse, we also can read, "...  upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18)  The Church of Jesus Christ, made up of the redeemed of the Lord, shall never fail. As long as the earth remains, the Church will flourish. Even under adversity, the Church will flourish. Even under the harshest attack of Satan, the Church will flourish. How can I say that? First, Jesus said it. Second, she (the Church) is not built upon the ability and reasoning of humanity; rather she is built upon the rock of understanding that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God. We have been bought by the blood

Genesis 26:1-5    "And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." Some one hundred years before this event, the scripture tells us there was a great famine in the land (Genesis 12:10). Abraham, who was at that time known as Abram, went into the land of Egypt during that time of famine. Th

Proverbs 8:22-32    "The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men. Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye childre

Genesis 25:21-23    "And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger."   Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah. As far as the scriptures tell us, he only had one wife all of his life. Having the example of his father, Abraham,  before him, and after Rebekah remained childless for almost twenty years, it is certainly likely that the temptation to do as Abraham had done crossed his mind. Perhaps he had seen enough of the turmoil in Abraham’s life caused by not waiting on the LORD. Instead of taking matters into his own hands, Isaac intreated (pr

Proverbs 8:20-21    "I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:  (21)  That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures." In Chapter 7, Solomon spoke of his life as one looking out a window.  "For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding..." (Proverbs 7:6-7) There is a saying, "Hindsight is better than foresight."  Solomon looked at his life and realized the mistakes he had made.  God inspired him to write of those things in such a way as to instruct us to use his hindsight in order to make better decisions for our lives. Experience can be a harsh teacher, but wisdom allows us to use the experience of others to realize the better way to live our lives. Today's verses come to us as wisdom actually talking to us. As we are brought to the place of making a decision, wisdom

Genesis 25:5-7    "And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country. And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years."   Abraham gave all he had (his whole inheritance) to the promised son, Isaac. He had other sons, and he apparently loved them. But there was only one that was given according to the promise of God. Abraham gave gifts to these others, but they were to take these gifts and dwell far away from Isaac and his family. Abraham did all this while he was still living. He knew that his word would have far more power in his life than if he merely left it in a document for them to sort out later. Abraham made this decree, and then saw to it that it was carried out. Paul tells us that “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. B

Proverbs 6:20-22    "My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:  (21)  Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. (22) When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee." I am repeating the verses from yesterday because they deserve more attention. We find Solomon wrote much about the importance of keeping the commandment and instructions of the Father. We have talked about the benefits of observing and seeking to live by the commands of God, but this morning I want to think about the reason for keeping these particular instructions. Back in the early 90's, an individual decided to rewrite the 10 commandments. I can't remember any of them because they were unimportant in the big scheme of life. There is a reason the 10 commandments stand just as strong today as when God wrote them in stone to give to Moses. That reason is because

Genesis 24:62-67    "And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death." Isaac was no doubt anxious for the return of the old servant Abraham had sent to bring Isaac a wife. Isaac had been by the way of the well Lahairoi. The name of the well means “well of my living Seer (or Beholder).” What better place to meditate on the promi

Proverbs 6:20-22    "My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:  (21)  Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.  (22)  When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee." We see many verbs, or action words, as we read through the book of Proverbs. This tells me that there are conditions to be met in order to receive and experience the blessings of these promises. This morning, we are reminded to keep the commandments and forsake them not.  This carries the meaning that the instructions of the Lord will guard, protect, and preserve us as we go through life. But there is a condition that we are to bind them upon our hearts and tie them about our necks. By keeping them close to us, we will have a constant guide and companionship with the Lord. We sometimes call it our conscience, when in reality, the Word of God is that which is speaking to

Proverbs 5:15-17    "Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.  (16)  Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.  (17)  Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee." It seems that Solomon is taking experiences from his own life in writing these words. He had allowed himself to be carried away with the religious systems of diverse nations. He became enamored with women from other nations. He took them to be his wives and allowed them to bring their gods with them into his house.  We read in 1 Kings 11:3, "... he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart."  This took place over a period of time as Solomon became more accustomed to these gods being around. No doubt, he observed the worship of these women and eventually decided there was some sort of substance to their religion. He began to "drink from the wells and c

Genesis 24:26-27    "And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren." The man referenced in verse twenty-six was the steward of Abraham’s household. Abraham had exacted an oath from this man (likely Eliezer) that he would go into the land of Abraham’s kindred and find a wife for Isaac. This man, having been a faithful and trusted servant for many years, had access to all that his master, Abraham, owned (Genesis 24:10). According to the oath he had sworn to Abraham, he selected ten camels and loaded them with provisions for the journey and precious gifts to give to Rebecca at the end of it.  We are so very blessed that our heavenly Master still gives to his faithful servants access to all that He has. In Romans 8:32, Paul says “He that spared not his own Son, but deli

Proverbs 5:1-2    "My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:  (2)  That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge." Have you ever been in a conversation when someone was talking to you, but your mind was somewhere else?  When that happens, you usually find yourself asking them to repeat what they said and even then attention may not be given.  In these two verses, God is telling us to pay attention to what He says. He gives me the picture of a dog pricking up his ears when he hears something different. You can always tell by the ears when something grabs its attention. God is telling us to prick up our ears and listen. Then He tells us to protect what we hear. In other words, keep it in our hearts. We've seen a few times already the verse in Psalm 119 when David said that he would hide the Word of God in his heart. We need to keep that Word in order to maintain the quality of behaving or speaking in such a way to avoid

Genesis 24:1-4   "And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac."   Abraham had attained a great age at this point, being 140 years old. We can have a good estimate of his age based off two things. He was a hundred years old when Isaac was born (Genesis 21:5), and Isaac was forty years old when he got married (Genesis 25:20). For 140 years, the LORD had blessed Abraham both naturally and spiritually.  One of those blessings was that Abraham had a servant that he trusted implicitly. Although the servant is not named here, it is like

Proverbs 4:25-27    "Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. (26)  Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. (27)  Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil." Blinders are placed on horses' eyes so they can only look forward. Roaming eyes can take us in wrong directions. Satan had a specific plan when he came to Eve. If he could get her to look at the tree, then enticement to eat would follow. His plan worked for him. We read in Genesis 3:5, "And when the woman saw....."  Soon after, she took the fruit.  Solomon is telling us that we are to think about the path we take and be very deliberate in our choices. We will have much better progress in our Christian walk if we place the "blinders of God's Word" on our eyes.   

Genesis 22:20 and 23    "And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor; . . . And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother." Genesis 23:1-2    "And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her." Abraham and Isaac had returned from their worship of God on Mount Moriah. We can only imagine the joy and wonder that must have been in their hearts. God had delivered Abraham from having to sacrifice Isaac, and instead provided a ram that they could sacrifice unto the LORD. The LORD further gave Abraham an amazing assurance that He would provide Himself (in the person of Jesus) to be the ultimate sacrifice for His children. The scriptures then tell us of two sig

Proverbs 4:23  "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."   Today's devotion is short and to the point. In all that is going on in our world today, we need to guard our hearts against becoming cold and bitter.  May the Holy Spirit keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus!

Genesis 22:15-18   "And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice." Abraham had gone to Mount Moriah to offer up Isaac in worship unto God. This was a test of Abraham’s faith. Since nothing is hidden from Him (Hebrews 4:13), we must conclude that this test was for Abraham and Isaac’s benefit. The angel of the LORD (speaking as the Divine Being) had called to Abraham out of heaven to not harm Isaac. Instead, Abraham was able to offer a ram that was caught in a nearby thicket.  After the ram was sacrificed, the angel

Proverbs 4:5-8   "Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.  (6)  Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.  (7)  Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.  (8)  Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her." "Get wisdom, Get understanding"  "Forsake her (wisdom) not"   "Exalt her" Again, I do not want to talk down to anyone, but as a reminder - "Get, Forsake not, and Exalt" are all action words that we are to pursue in our lives. We are not born with either understanding or wisdom. It is an acquired attribute that takes a lifetime.  Understanding is the ability to separate right from wrong, good from evil, light from darkness. Wisdom is the ability to use that learning to accomplish the good things in life that are always before us. Solomon t

Proverbs 4:20-23    "My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.  (21)  Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.  (22)  For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.  (23)  Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." "Keep thy heart with all diligence."  Back in Chapter 2, we saw instructions to "hide my commandments with thee." There are keys given to us by which we are to keep our hearts. Jesus spoke much about the heart and the fact that out of the heart, flows the abundance of our desires.  In Matthew 15:18, Jesus spoke, "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart..." There are many thoughts that come into our minds and if we are not careful, those thoughts become words or actions. Those words or actions will either lift up or tear down.   As you read this fourth chapter of Proverbs, it becomes app

Genesis 22:9-14    "And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen." Much is said about the faith of Abraham, but we do not often consider the trust that Isaa

Proverbs 3:13-16    "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.  (14)  For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.  (15)  She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.  (16)  Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour." Wisdom and understanding are greatly stressed. Again, this is understandable that Solomon, the most wise man, would stress the importance of these two characters.  I do not pretend to be the master of either, but in my simple way of looking at matters, I see understanding as the knowledge of using materials and wisdom is the ability to know when and how to use them. We often hear of individuals, especially sports figures, who make millions of dollars and suddenly wake up to realize their money is gone. They apparently did not understand the proper use and care of their possess

Genesis 22:6-8    "And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together." God had commanded Abraham to take his son Isaac into the mountain that He would show him. When he got there, he was told that he was to offer Isaac as a burnt offering unto the LORD. God had made Abraham a promise that he would be a blessing to all nations. Even though Isaac’s birth was miraculous, the birth of the true promised seed (Jesus) was even more so.  Abraham believed God’s promise that his seed would be called (come from) the lineage of Isaac. Knowing that, Abraham was fully convinced that bot

Proverbs 3:9-10    "Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:  (10)  So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." "So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine."  We sometimes want to jump to this part of the lesson and enjoy the bountiful blessings that God has promised us. We want our bank accounts full. We want a good job. We want a nice house and car. We want more "grown-up" toys such as boats and bikes and all the other things. We want... We want... We want....  And when we read verse 10, we read that God has promised to fill our storehouses with plenty. He has promised to provide all our needs according to His riches in glory, by Christ Jesus. See Philippians 4:19.  But we cannot skip over verse 9 of our text today. "Honour the Lord."  What is included with giving honor to the Lord? What do I mean when I say th

Genesis 22:1-5   "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you." Detractors from the authenticity of the Bible will often point to Genesis 22:1 and James 1:13 as proof that the Bible contradicts itself. Genesis 22:1 tells us that God did tempt (test) Abraham, and

Proverbs 3:6-8   "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.  (7)  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.  (8)  It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones." Let's begin with some word definitions in order to better understand these passages, especially verse 7.  I don't mean to insult anyone's intelligence, but definitions of words can make a big difference to the context of Scripture. The first definition is a review of the word, fear.  It means to honor, or give reverence to, the Lord. The next definition is for the word, evil. Yes, it can mean wickedness. I surely do not want to dismiss that definition; but, it also can mean "adversity, affliction, calamity."  With these latter definitions, what could verses 6 and 7 be saying to us?  In my simple way of thinking, God is saying that if we will look to Him and seek His wisdom, we will avoid most adversity, afflicitons, and calamities.  I sa

Genesis 21:9-12    "And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called." The promised son, Isaac, had survived infancy and grown to the point that Sarah was able to wean him. He was ready to begin to take on more solid sustenance to continue his growth and development. In celebration of this fact, Abraham made a great feast. Hagar and Ishmael were present, and trouble was present with them. Ishmael was seen mocking Isaac. Since Ishmael would have been in his mid-teens by this point, it is highly likely that he u

Proverbs 3:5-6    "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  (6)  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Everytime I read these verses, I am reminded of my sixth grade field trip to Rock City on Lookout Mountain. I don't remember a great deal about that trip, but I do remember crossing the swinging bridge. Let me first say, I'm afraid of heights. (I'll just get that out of the way to begin with.) Everyone else was going at it with excitement, but I was not feeling it. There was no other way other than to walk across the swinging bridge, so I began slowly with my steps. I was beginning to feel more confident about the bridge when about halfway across, someone decided it would be a good idea to see if the swinging bridge would really swing. My confidence left me quickly and I had to pray that the bridge would hold up until I got all the way across. As you can tell, I made it across and life went on.