Who Are You Voting For?

October 8, 2020

DAILY PROVERBS:

Proverbs 24:24-26 He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him: But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them. Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.

OUTLOOK ON THE IN BOOK:

     In our last devotion, we spoke of the fear and respect that God should receive. As well, we mentioned the respect leaders of our nations, churches, homes, etc. should receive, but often do not. Part of the reason for this is found in today’s verses.

  If we elect people to a place of leadership who do not belong there, we suffer a lack of respect for the office they hold. Then, every leader following them in that office must try to bring back the dignity the office should hold. Consequently, they have two jobs. They must restore that which they had no part in losing, along with the daily toils of the job itself.

    So why do we elect the wrong people? One reason is laziness on our part. We don’t want to read, listen, and find out who they are and what they stand for. We simply vote party lines or popularity without any real concern for what the future holds for us, or for those who come after us. 

    Another reason is friendships. We elect a person to office based on our friendship either to them or to someone who likes them. Again, with little real thought or concern on our part. The reasons may be financial, political, or popularity, but the outcomes of such elections are dangerous. 

  We all need to learn to be responsible citizens, church members, and yes even more selective in our personal relationships. We must be responsible to find the right leadership for our homes, churches, and lives. Our selection cannot be based on their ability to speak, their looks, or political party. They ought to hold our moral values and love our Lord.

THE WORD WALKING IN ME:

    It is never too early or too late to pray for our leaders. Pray for the ones who are in place today as they need God’s guiding hand. Pray also for those who might lead in the future. That God would strengthen and guide them. Also pray that He might guide our eyes and hearts toward them.  

GOD TALKING TO ME:  October 8, 2020

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH DAILY PROVERBS
  Mark 4 – 6    / Proverbs 24:24-26

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
  Isa. 26-28   / Phil. 2

Living In His Word Ministries

Fear And Respect

October 7, 2020

DAILY PROVERBS:

Proverbs 24:20-23 For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out. My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change: For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both? These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.

OUTLOOK ON THE IN BOOK:

     Fear and respect. These are two outlooks in life that seem to have gone by the wayside today. In fact, these two subjects do not even appear to be related any longer.

     Fear is most often brought on by something we are afraid of. However, there can also be a reverent fear, which means we revere something, or someone’s power. For example, I do not fear lights and wall sockets, but I have a respectful fear of what electricity can do to me if not handled correctly. Therefore, we do all we can to take fear out of the equation of our lives.

    Respect today has also been compromised. In our teaching of self-esteem, we have made self so important, and taken away respect for those in authority. The world wants us to think everyone is the same and that no one is over anyone else. In doing so, they have taken away the respect we should have for our police, government leaders, clergy, and even God Himself. 

    Yes, we as people are all the same in God’s eyes. There is no race, group, or gender, which has any more prominence over another in the kingdom of heaven, or His church. However, the Bible teaches that we should fear the LORD and the king. It means to respect and reverence the Lord. WHY, because He is LORD, He is GOD, and He is the creator of the universe. God’s Word also teaches respect for authority. To respect those who rule over us. Why, because God is in control there too, and He allows them to be placed there.

   Today’s verses say, “meddle not with them that are given to change.” This does not mean we should never seek to change anything, but we meddle with Godly leadership. We should elect Godly people to begin with, and then we pray for them, and trust God’s judgement and rule over us.

THE WORD WALKING IN ME:

    Thank the Lord today for those He has put in authority over you. Pray for them by name. Ask God to give them Godly wisdom to rule over us well. Trust that God is still on the throne and believe that He still knows what He is doing.

GOD TALKING TO ME:  October 70, 2020

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH DAILY PROVERBS
  Mark 1 – 3    / Proverbs 24:20-23

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
  Isa. 23-25   / Phil. 1

We Love To Win

October 6, 2020

DAILY PROVERBS:

Proverbs 24:17-19 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him. Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked;

OUTLOOK ON THE IN BOOK:

    Don’t you just love winning? This may seem like a dumb question, but it needs to be examined. The truth is we all love winning. When our team wins, we yell, scream, and act simply crazy. When our child wins at sports or any competition, we are as proud as if we had won ourselves. Winning is wonderful. However, whenever someone wins, it usually means someone else has lost. 

    Our passage in Proverbs today is not speaking about friendly competitions; rather it is about the struggles of real life. Nevertheless, the competitive nature of our hearts will often join in life’s arena as well. It may be when a neighbor does not do as well as we have, that we almost feel as though we somehow have won something. It could be when someone hurts us either intentionally or accidentally, and then we see him or her get hurt in a similar fashion. We somehow feel better and almost glad for their dilemmas. It’s that competitive, I must win nature.

    As much as God warns the lost to beware of oppressing the righteous, He also warns the righteous about wishing evil on their enemies. God hates it when we gloat. Why should we feel a need to? To gloat means we feel we have won, but that is not true. We won when we accepted Jesus as Saviour. We have no need of continually winning as we now live on the winning side. We need not wish that anyone else should fail to make us any more of a winner. We are as much a winner today as we will ever be. We have the grand prize in our possession today. We have Jesus as Lord, the Holy Spirit in our heart, and Heaven waiting as our home. What more do we need to win?

     
THE WORD WALKING IN ME:

    God saved us when we did not deserve salvation. There is no one who deserves salvation, but all the lost need salvation. God does not need us to be His judges here below, just His witness.

GOD TALKING TO ME:  October 6, 2020

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH DAILY PROVERBS
  Matthew 26 – 28     /   Proverbs 24:17-19

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
  Isa. 19-22           /     Eph. 6

Living In His Word Ministries

Bullies Never Really Win

October 5, 2020

DAILY PROVERBS:

Proverbs 24:13-16 My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste: So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off. Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place: For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

OUTLOOK ON THE IN BOOK:

     Wouldn’t it be great if all the evil hearted folks of the world would just read the Bible? It plainly warns them against trying to destroy the righteous people of God.

     We might often wish that the Bible said the wicked would fail at their attempts to hurt the righteous, but that is not what it says. In fact, it implies that in their attempts to destroy us they will succeed in bringing problems into our lives.

    Can the wicked of this world hurt the righteous? They sure can, and often do. They can inflict physical pain if they take a notion to. However, often more scaring is the mental and emotional pain they will cause. They bring up our past and try to destroy us with it. They bring up our present failures and magnify them in the presence of others to try to tear us down. 

    Does ridicule hurt? We would like to be hard as stone and say, “no way.” However, truthfully is it does. The playground chant of, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” is not really true. When it happens, the pain and anguish is real. Even so, we must also remember that the promise God makes to the righteous is just as real. God will strengthen us, and we will not stay down, nor should we feel defeated. The just man spoken of in today’s verses are those who have placed their life in Jesus Christ and are made righteous by His blood. We need to understand, we have an advocate with the Father. A representative if you will, who stands to pleads our cause. His name is Jesus. What better defense against the world could you have than the creator of all things? Those who attempt to destroy what is truly His, have no defense. Ultimately their devices come back to get them.

   
THE WORD WALKING IN ME:

  When trials come, and do not pretend they won’t, remember the verses found in Proverbs 24:13-16. There is a brighter tomorrow just around the bend. Jesus said He was not only the author, but also the finisher of our faith.

GOD TALKING TO ME:  October 5, 2020

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH DAILY PROVERBS
  Matthew 24-25     / Proverbs 24:13-16

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
  Isa. 15-18   /   Eph. 5

Weekend Review

October 3 & 4, 2020

Proverbs 24:3

Through wisdom is an house
builded;
and by understanding
it is established:

Work Week Devotions
Through the Book of Proverbs

      As you know by now, with WORK WEEK DEVOTIONS, we only publish our Devotional Thoughts on Monday – Friday. On Saturday we suggest you re-read the entire chapter we have been studying this past week, and if we will be going into the following chapter the next week, we encourage you to read that chapter as well.       

There are never Devotions on Sunday. 

Thank you for joining us as we
journey together
Through Proverbs in 2020.

WEEK 39 – Day 6

     On Saturday, we suggest you re-read the Proverb we have written from this past week and the week to come.

Proverbs 23-24

WEEK 39 – Day 7

     Today we suggest you read and study whatever the Lord has laid on your Pastor’s heart. Whatever Scripture he uses for today’s messages were given to him by God for your specific needs.

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH DAILY PROVERBS

October 5, 2020      Matthew 24 – 25  Proverbs 24:13 – 16
October 6, 2020      Matthew 26 – 28  Proverbs 24:17 – 19
October 7, 2020      Mark 1 – 3             Proverbs 24:20 – 23
October 8, 2020      Mark 4 – 6             Proverbs 24:24 – 26
October 9, 2020      Mark 7 – 9             Proverbs 24:27 – 29
October 10, 2020    Proverbs 24 – 25              
October 11, 2020    No Passages Assigned    

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY

October 5, 2020      Isa. 15-18             Eph. 5
October 6, 2020      Isa. 19-22             Eph. 6
October 7, 2020      Isa. 23-25             Phil. 1
October 8, 2020      Isa. 26-28             Phil. 2
October 9, 2020      Isa. 29-31             Phil. 3
October 10, 2020    Isa. 32-36             Phil. 4
October 11, 2020    No Passages Assigned

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY

October 3, 2020       Isa. 11-14        Eph. 4
October 4, 2020       No Passages Assigned