Daily Bible Devotionals

“My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.  Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.  Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.  Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you.  Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you.  Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established.  Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil.” Proverbs 4:20-27 (NKJV)

Today’s proverb begins with a stern exhortation to keep Solomon’s instruction, his “words and sayings.”  Since it is recorded as wisdom in Scripture, we can only assume that Solomon is speaking of God’s Word, which he is imparting to his son.  As such, his teaching aligns with his father David’s instruction.

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.  He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” Psalm 1:1-3 (NKJV)

Perhaps, you have heard it preached that the heart is “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)  Of course, that is true of the unredeemed heart, but the Spirit-led heart of a believer has the potential for purity and must be guarded by God’s Word and Holy Spirit.  Jesus warned His disciples how unredeemed hearts may seem righteous, yet they cannot be trusted.

“These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.” Matthew 15:8 (NKJV)

When we seek God’s Word, as illuminated by His Spirit, we learn to guard our hearts and minds, aligning them with the truths of God’s character and waiting on His timing.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV)

Focusing on God’s Word, looking straight ahead, and not straying to the “right or left” means that we should walk according to what the Bible teaches, not being more conservative than it demands nor more liberal than it allows.  Surrender to His leading and trust that He will guide you in paths of righteousness.  (Psalm 23:3)

“Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls.  But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” Jeremiah 6:16 (NKJV)

Grab your Bible & experience the Groundworks Ministries Podcast as Steve Wiggins leads us through the full chapter of Proverbs 3. Click the links below to watch or listen now!

“When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you, to deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things, from those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness; who rejoice in doing evil, and delight in the perversity of the wicked; whose ways are crooked, and who are devious in their paths; to deliver you from the immoral woman, from the seductress who flatters with her words, who forsakes the companion of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God.  For her house leads down to death, and her paths to the dead; none who go to her return, nor do they regain the paths of life - so you may walk in the way of goodness, and keep to the paths of righteousness.  For the upright will dwell in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; but the wicked will be cut off from the earth, and the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.” Proverbs 2:10-22 (NKJV)

Anyone familiar with the story of Solomon’s life scratches their head when reading today’s proverb.  That’s because God gave Solomon the wisdom to discern His Word rightly, yet Solomon lacked the moral integrity to apply it to his own life, at least long term.  In that sense, Solomon reminds me of those doctors and nurses who stand outside the hospital smoking cigarettes!  It’s not like they are unaware of the cancerous life-shortening effects of smoking.  They probably tell their emphysema patients, “Smoking will kill you  .”They just choose to ignore the facts for themselves.  How could Solomon preach so rightly yet live so wrongly?

“But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites - from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you.  Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.’ Solomon clung to these in love.  And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.  For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father David. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon.  And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.” 1 Kings 11:1-8 (NKJV)

It is not enough to simply know God’s Word.  We must also obey and apply it!  We must practice what we preach.  When the preaching of God’s Word is matched with our practice of it, not only will we share it with others, but it will be Spirit-filled and change the values of the people who both hear our message and observe our lifestyles.  The problem with the church at large is not the absence of good preaching.  It is that people have no value for it.  We must model our faith. (Luke 11:28; Matthew 23:3; Luke 6:46; Ezra 7:10; Psalm 1:1-3; Judges 2:10; 1 Samuel 3:1)

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7 (NKJV)

The challenge to writing devotionals for the Book of Proverbs is that the wisdom in the Proverbs is so plain.  So, why explain the obvious?  We need a commentary because rich contextual ideas are hiding in plain sight in the Proverbs.  Not hidden because God wants us to be unwise or uninformed but rather because we are not as wise or informed as we may think!  God assumes we are obediently reading the Bible and discussing it all day, every day (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).  If we are, then Proverbs will be like parables, and we’ll see both the simple lesson, as well as the deeper meaning.  Otherwise, we just walk away with some good sayings.  The Proverbs begin with a message akin to the beginning of the Psalms: you either receive God’s Word or reject it.  “Sort of” believing it is the same as rejecting it.  The consequences may not be as immediate as flat-out rejection, but they are as inevitable!

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.  He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.  The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.” Psalm 1:1-4 (NKJV)

If the Bible is discussed everywhere, all day, its wisdom should be commonplace.

“Wisdom calls aloud outside; she raises her voice in the open squares.  She cries out in the chief concourses, at the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words: ‘How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?  For scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge.  Turn at my rebuke; surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.  Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, because you disdained all my counsel, and would have none of my rebuke, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, when your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.” Proverbs 1:20-27 (NKJV) (Matthew 23:37; Acts 2:17; Joel 2:28; Isaiah 44:3)

God answers the call of repentance before the call for deliverance.  (Jeremiah 29:13)

“Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.  Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke.  Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled to the full with their own fancies.  For the turning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil.” Proverbs 1:28-33 (NKJV)

“Praise the Lord!  Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty firmament!  Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to His excellent greatness!  Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; praise Him with the lute and harp!  Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!  Praise Him with loud cymbals; praise Him with clashing cymbals!  Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord!” Psalm 150:1-6 (NKJV)

Every music leader in every church worldwide dreams of a worship service where the congregants display the type of whole-self-worship described in Psalm 150!  What a fitting end to our nearly five-month daily journey through the Psalms.  The entire community of Israel, continually worshipping the Lord with every possible instrument at their disposal, is not a foreign idea to the people of Israel.  At least it isn’t in Scripture.  On the day the Lord gave His Word (through Moses) to the people, He commanded them to worship Him alone, with all they had.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (NKJV)

The worship of God’s people is not isolated to church (or temple) services.  Whole-self worship was and still is to be practiced continually among His followers.

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (NKJV)

Whole-self-worship is not simply a series of prayers mumbled under our breath or a closed-room intellectual Biblical pursuit.  God wants our faith to be on display so all can see.  Our faith should be observable to onlookers (for God’s glory and not ours), so the things we do (hand) are evidence of the way we think (between your eyes).

“You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:8-9 (NKJV)

Lest Christians write off this notion as an “Old Covenant” theology, remember that Messiah Jesus quoted this same commandment when asked which was the greatest.

“Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’  This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no other commandment greater than these.’” Mark 12:29-31 (NKJV)

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord and by every means at our disposal!

“Praise the Lord!  Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the assembly of saints.  Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.  Let them praise His name with the dance; let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.  For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.” Psalm 149:1-4 (NKJV)

I understand how difficult it is to introduce a new song to a congregation who is fully satisfied with singing the same old hymns! But the “new song” that the psalmist is exhorting the people to sing is more akin to the soundtrack for new circumstances, which demand a new response to the Lord.  Formerly, the Israelites sang for deliverance from exile, but once repatriated, the “old song” simply didn’t fit the new circumstances.  Their “new song” was to be one of victorious return!

“Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud on their beds.  Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute on them the written judgment - this honor have all His saints.” Psalm 149:5-9 (NKJV)

And what was the source of their victory?  The Lord, Who was faithful to His Word!  That same Living Word is accessible through the Person of Messiah, Jesus.

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV)

“Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me.  And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.  His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.” Revelation1:12-16 (NKJV)

“Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations.  And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron.  He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” Revelation 19:15 (NKJV)

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (NKJV)

“Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heights!  Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts!  Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you stars of light!  Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, and you waters above the heavens!  Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created.  He also established them forever and ever; He made a decree which shall not pass away.” Psalm 148:1-4 (NKJV)

I cannot stress enough the importance of pausing whenever we hear an Old Testament account of God calling-forth creation and meditating on the fact that the Person of the Trinity known as “Messiah,” the “Word of God,” Jesus is the One responsible for creation.  (John 1:1-14)  This is not solely a New Testament idea, inserted into the Jewish narrative to lend credibility to Jesus.  The deity of Messiah is a JEWISH prophetic truth that is revealed solely in the Person of Jesus.

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” Micah 5:2 (NKJV)  (see also: Isaiah 9:6)

In 1814, Mary Shelley wrote the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who created a monster he could not control.  The tale of Frankenstein’s monster is considered the first science fiction horror novel.  Some folks believe that Frankenstein is analogous to God, Who had the power to create the heavens and earth yet lacks the ability to control it.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  Long before Mary Shelley was born, the anonymous author of #148 made it clear that nothing is out of control or outside of the purview of God.  Alarms are not going off in heaven.  God is ever awake and on His throne.

“Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all the depths; fire and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling His word; mountains and all hills; fruitful trees and all cedars; beasts and all cattle; creeping things and flying fowl; kings of the earth and all peoples; princes and all judges of the earth; both young men and maidens; old men and children.” Psalm 148:7-12 (NKJV)

Because God is all-powerful, any power that we have is from Him.  There is no room for human boasting.  (Ephesians 2:8-9) He alone graciously “exalts the horn” (power) of His people.  And for that, we praise Him, for He alone is worthy!

“Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven.  And He has exalted the horn of His people, the praise of all His saints - of the children of Israel, a people near to Him. Praise the Lord!” Psalm 148:13-14 (NKJV)

“Praise the Lord!  For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.  The Lord builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.  He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”  Psalm 147:1-3 (NKJV)

Psalm 147 was written, no doubt, after the return of the exiles from Babylonian and Assyrian captivity.  We remember that Jeremiah prophesied the duration of Judah’s (the Southern Kingdom) exile would be 70 years.

“For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.  I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.” Jeremiah 29:10-14 (NKJV)

The God who seemed elusive for 70 years had never left the exiles.  There was never cause for panic.  God’s plan was public.  It was not military strength (horses) or cunning escape attempts (legs of a man) that freed the exiles.  The Israelites returned to the Promised Land because God was merciful and true to His Word.

“He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.  The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy.” Psalm 147:10-11 (NKJV)

For those exiles who recognized God’s work, there was genuine cause for worship!

“Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!  Praise your God, O Zion!  For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your children within you.  He makes peace in your borders, and fills you with the finest wheat.” Psalm 147:12-14 (NKJV)

Forgiveness from the Lord is a wonderful thing to experience; to realize that, by His grace, He does not hold your sin against you.  But how can we be confident He will ever use us to minister again?  God did not simply restore Israel to the land; He assured their security and blessed the generations to come.  Shalom (peace) was restored.  By the reference of God strengthening “the bars of your gates,” we know this psalm was written shortly after Nehemiah was sent by the Lord to fortify the city and begin re-establishing the community of faith.                                                  

“And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.” Nehemiah 6:16 (NKJV)

Grab your Bible & experience the Groundworks Ministries Podcast as Steve Wiggins leads us through the full chapter of Psalm 146. Click the links below to watch or listen now!