January 12-Wisdom
Write out the Scripture.
Proverbs 2:1-5, My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, 2 turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—3 indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, 4 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
Observe what it is saying.
Solomon asserts what the results are if we listen to the truth and are obedient to God’s word. When we pay attention to true wisdom and apply it to our hearts in a way that we understand it, if we go further and passionately ask for it or search for it as we would a hidden treasure, then we will find it. In discovering God’s truth, the wisdom of heaven, we can comprehend what a healthy fear of the Lord is and know the beautiful nature of God. The good news for us is that this truth has made itself known to us in the person of Jesus Christ as recorded in Scripture. The search is over. We have literally been handed the whole book of God’s eternal wisdom! So, we need to open it, read it, reflect on it, and apply it to our daily walk.
Relate it to your life.
I have been given an immense treasure in God’s Word to live in reverent fear of the Lord who loves me.
Do something.
Father, may my search for the treasure of Your truth be found as I study Your Word to fully know and love You. Amen.
January 13-Wisdom
Write out the Scripture.
Proverbs 2:6-8, For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 7 He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, 8 for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.
Observe what it is saying.
Solomon makes it clear that the Lord is the giver of wisdom. Every word God speaks is filled with valuable knowledge and insight. In fact, His wisdom provides the way for those who take His teaching to heart and live according to His holy love. Those who choose to receive God’s grand wisdom will live successfully according to God’s eternal purposes and plans. We are also promised that God watches over and provides protection to those who take in His word. Those who abide by God’s way have an added layer of heavenly protection over those who refuse to live the godly life. We know we will not be kept from all harm, but we can be confident that God is with us, watching and shielding us more than we would otherwise enjoy if we simply go our own way and do our own thing.
Relate it to your life.
I have all the resources of heaven with me when I choose to walk the wise road of God’s counsel.
Do something.
Lord, because You are the giver of wisdom, I am asking today that You would impart Your wise counsel into my life. May I humble myself and receive Your instruction even if it goes against what I believe or want. May I be a diligent student of Your word so that I will live the best possible life that will give me the best possible outcomes. Amen.
January 14-Wisdom
Write out the Scripture.
Proverbs 2:9-11, Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path. 10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. 11 Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.
Observe what it is saying.
When the Lord gives His wise instruction, we will walk the good path which Solomon identifies as understanding what is right, just, and fair. This is a repeated theme from chapter one so it is important for us to pay attention to. Wisdom is inspired knowledge that is to be practiced in our daily life. It is more than a mental accumulation of interesting trivia. It enters into the deepest part of our being- our heart and soul. It is pleasant. It is welcomed. It becomes so infused in our being that it protects and guards us. It becomes our default setting for making decisions and choosing the direction we will go. This way of wisdom is the way God designed us to live our best possible lives. Sin interrupted that design. God has been working ever since to get us back on track with imparting His truth and love into our lives.
Relate it to your life.
I am among the wisest in the world when I choose to take God’s word to heart and live it out daily.
Do something.
Lord, help me to get it. Your way is the best approach to life. Your way is the one planned from the beginning. Your way gives me everything I need to live in Your protection, power, and peace. Amen.
January 15-Wisdom
Write out the Scripture.
Proverbs 2:12-15, Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, 13 who have left the straight paths to walk in dark ways, 14 who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, 15 whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.
Observe what it is saying.
Walking the wise way of God delivers us from the evil ways that many follow. This dark path is evidenced by those who have left the way of God’s pure knowledge and who speak evil. They not only do wrong, but they enjoy participating in the perversity of this dark world. These unwise persons have abandoned the measure of wisdom which includes what is right, just, and fair. Wisdom is the way of the Godly life. It marks the path of truth. It offers the motivation by which to live a pleasing life to the Lord. It is the way of life and hope. The way of wisdom is the way of Jesus. It is His redemption and restoration at work within us to make us brand new people through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
Relate it to your life.
There is only one way to experience true life, and it is found in the wise way of Jesus Christ.
Do something.
Lord, I need Your salvation found in Jesus Christ alone. I confess my sin. I turn away from it and turn totally to You. I welcome Your redeeming and restoring work into my life. Please cleanse me and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Amen.
January 16-Wisdom
Write out the Scripture.
Proverbs 1:16-19, Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words, 17 who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God. 18 Surely her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead. 19 None who go to her return or attain the paths of life.
Observe what it is saying.
Solomon gets very specific how wisdom guides us with the example of the adultery. He later spends three chapters teaching about the perils of adultery. We wonder how Solomon’s dad, King David’s adultery with his mother, Bathsheba and then the murder of her husband influenced his strong emphasis on this topic. Solomon was later the product of this adulterous relationship. These verses speak of the devastating impact adultery has on the individuals and families involved in this sin. Even though the sin reaps horrific results, it is not the unpardonable sin. Even David who committed such a devastating sin was forgiven, and his legacy as described in the New Testament was that he was a man after the heart of God. Even though Solomon was a gift from this relationship, we cannot forget the terrible consequences that it brought, including the death of the son who was originally conceived by the affair.
Relate it to your life.
God’s prescription to faithfulness in marriage is for the spiritual and emotional health and benefit of individuals, families, and society as a whole.
Do something.
Father, we pray for our marriages that they will be strong, faithful, and fulfilling. Keep the enemy of adultery out of each relationship. Protect the sanctity of marriage as You originally designed it to be a blessing for the preservation of mankind. Amen.
January 17-Wisdom
Write out the Scripture.
Proverbs 2:20-22, Thus you will walk in the ways of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. 21 For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; 22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be torn from it.
Observe what it is saying.
The way of wisdom travels the path of the good and righteous. It takes in every instruction of every morsel of truth the Lord offers us. We refuse to pay attention to the many and varied salacious seductions of this world. Instead, we focus our hearts’ attention upon that which is holy, characterizing the very nature of God. The promise for those who choose the Godly life is that they will live in the land where they will continue to experience God’s presence and blessing. In contrast, those who choose to walk away from God’s path of holy love will find themselves exiled to a place outside of God’s presence and blessing. We choose what our future will be. Wisdom is the way that sticks with God and His perfect teaching which leads to life, abundant life, and eternal life. All other paths lead us away from God’s eternal blessings and take us into eternal judgment.
Relate it to your life.
I reiterate what I said last week, “I determine my future by what I do with the wisdom God has revealed in Jesus Christ.”
Do something.
Lord, please keep me on the holy highway of Jesus Christ that brings life, abundant life, and eternal life. Give me such a tender, responsive heart so I will obey Your word and securely stay on the path of the righteous. Amen.
Write out the Scripture.
Proverbs 2:1-5, My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, 2 turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—3 indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, 4 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
Observe what it is saying.
Solomon asserts what the results are if we listen to the truth and are obedient to God’s word. When we pay attention to true wisdom and apply it to our hearts in a way that we understand it, if we go further and passionately ask for it or search for it as we would a hidden treasure, then we will find it. In discovering God’s truth, the wisdom of heaven, we can comprehend what a healthy fear of the Lord is and know the beautiful nature of God. The good news for us is that this truth has made itself known to us in the person of Jesus Christ as recorded in Scripture. The search is over. We have literally been handed the whole book of God’s eternal wisdom! So, we need to open it, read it, reflect on it, and apply it to our daily walk.
Relate it to your life.
I have been given an immense treasure in God’s Word to live in reverent fear of the Lord who loves me.
Do something.
Father, may my search for the treasure of Your truth be found as I study Your Word to fully know and love You. Amen.
January 13-Wisdom
Write out the Scripture.
Proverbs 2:6-8, For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 7 He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, 8 for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.
Observe what it is saying.
Solomon makes it clear that the Lord is the giver of wisdom. Every word God speaks is filled with valuable knowledge and insight. In fact, His wisdom provides the way for those who take His teaching to heart and live according to His holy love. Those who choose to receive God’s grand wisdom will live successfully according to God’s eternal purposes and plans. We are also promised that God watches over and provides protection to those who take in His word. Those who abide by God’s way have an added layer of heavenly protection over those who refuse to live the godly life. We know we will not be kept from all harm, but we can be confident that God is with us, watching and shielding us more than we would otherwise enjoy if we simply go our own way and do our own thing.
Relate it to your life.
I have all the resources of heaven with me when I choose to walk the wise road of God’s counsel.
Do something.
Lord, because You are the giver of wisdom, I am asking today that You would impart Your wise counsel into my life. May I humble myself and receive Your instruction even if it goes against what I believe or want. May I be a diligent student of Your word so that I will live the best possible life that will give me the best possible outcomes. Amen.
January 14-Wisdom
Write out the Scripture.
Proverbs 2:9-11, Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path. 10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. 11 Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.
Observe what it is saying.
When the Lord gives His wise instruction, we will walk the good path which Solomon identifies as understanding what is right, just, and fair. This is a repeated theme from chapter one so it is important for us to pay attention to. Wisdom is inspired knowledge that is to be practiced in our daily life. It is more than a mental accumulation of interesting trivia. It enters into the deepest part of our being- our heart and soul. It is pleasant. It is welcomed. It becomes so infused in our being that it protects and guards us. It becomes our default setting for making decisions and choosing the direction we will go. This way of wisdom is the way God designed us to live our best possible lives. Sin interrupted that design. God has been working ever since to get us back on track with imparting His truth and love into our lives.
Relate it to your life.
I am among the wisest in the world when I choose to take God’s word to heart and live it out daily.
Do something.
Lord, help me to get it. Your way is the best approach to life. Your way is the one planned from the beginning. Your way gives me everything I need to live in Your protection, power, and peace. Amen.
January 15-Wisdom
Write out the Scripture.
Proverbs 2:12-15, Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, 13 who have left the straight paths to walk in dark ways, 14 who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, 15 whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.
Observe what it is saying.
Walking the wise way of God delivers us from the evil ways that many follow. This dark path is evidenced by those who have left the way of God’s pure knowledge and who speak evil. They not only do wrong, but they enjoy participating in the perversity of this dark world. These unwise persons have abandoned the measure of wisdom which includes what is right, just, and fair. Wisdom is the way of the Godly life. It marks the path of truth. It offers the motivation by which to live a pleasing life to the Lord. It is the way of life and hope. The way of wisdom is the way of Jesus. It is His redemption and restoration at work within us to make us brand new people through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
Relate it to your life.
There is only one way to experience true life, and it is found in the wise way of Jesus Christ.
Do something.
Lord, I need Your salvation found in Jesus Christ alone. I confess my sin. I turn away from it and turn totally to You. I welcome Your redeeming and restoring work into my life. Please cleanse me and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Amen.
January 16-Wisdom
Write out the Scripture.
Proverbs 1:16-19, Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words, 17 who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God. 18 Surely her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead. 19 None who go to her return or attain the paths of life.
Observe what it is saying.
Solomon gets very specific how wisdom guides us with the example of the adultery. He later spends three chapters teaching about the perils of adultery. We wonder how Solomon’s dad, King David’s adultery with his mother, Bathsheba and then the murder of her husband influenced his strong emphasis on this topic. Solomon was later the product of this adulterous relationship. These verses speak of the devastating impact adultery has on the individuals and families involved in this sin. Even though the sin reaps horrific results, it is not the unpardonable sin. Even David who committed such a devastating sin was forgiven, and his legacy as described in the New Testament was that he was a man after the heart of God. Even though Solomon was a gift from this relationship, we cannot forget the terrible consequences that it brought, including the death of the son who was originally conceived by the affair.
Relate it to your life.
God’s prescription to faithfulness in marriage is for the spiritual and emotional health and benefit of individuals, families, and society as a whole.
Do something.
Father, we pray for our marriages that they will be strong, faithful, and fulfilling. Keep the enemy of adultery out of each relationship. Protect the sanctity of marriage as You originally designed it to be a blessing for the preservation of mankind. Amen.
January 17-Wisdom
Write out the Scripture.
Proverbs 2:20-22, Thus you will walk in the ways of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. 21 For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; 22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be torn from it.
Observe what it is saying.
The way of wisdom travels the path of the good and righteous. It takes in every instruction of every morsel of truth the Lord offers us. We refuse to pay attention to the many and varied salacious seductions of this world. Instead, we focus our hearts’ attention upon that which is holy, characterizing the very nature of God. The promise for those who choose the Godly life is that they will live in the land where they will continue to experience God’s presence and blessing. In contrast, those who choose to walk away from God’s path of holy love will find themselves exiled to a place outside of God’s presence and blessing. We choose what our future will be. Wisdom is the way that sticks with God and His perfect teaching which leads to life, abundant life, and eternal life. All other paths lead us away from God’s eternal blessings and take us into eternal judgment.
Relate it to your life.
I reiterate what I said last week, “I determine my future by what I do with the wisdom God has revealed in Jesus Christ.”
Do something.
Lord, please keep me on the holy highway of Jesus Christ that brings life, abundant life, and eternal life. Give me such a tender, responsive heart so I will obey Your word and securely stay on the path of the righteous. Amen.
Posted in Daily Devotionals