DEVOTIONS

I Saw A LION
September 10, 2024

 

DAILY PROVERB:

Proverbs 22:11-14
 He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend. The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor. The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets. The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.

 

OUTLOOK ON THE IN BOOK:

    I remember a story about a young boy who came running into the house, yelling, “There’s a lion in the yard, come see, there’s a lion out here!” The frightened and nervous parents jumped up and rushed to the porch, only to find a mangy old dog in the yard. The father told his son, “Son, go to your room. You have scared your mother and me to death with your tall tales. I have told you that lying will get you in serious trouble someday. Go upstairs and pray. Ask God to forgive you for your lying. When you think you are forgiven, you may come down.”

 

    The boy had been upstairs in his room for a couple of hours when his mother called up and said, “It’s time for dinner.” As the boy quietly sat at the dinner table, the father asked him, “Son, do you think God has forgiven you for telling us there was a lion outside?” The boy said, “Yes, I do, but Dad, while I was praying, God told me that when He first saw that dog, He thought it was a lion too.”

 

    The slothful, or today we might say a lazy person in today’s passage says, “There is a lion without.” The reason he says this is simple: he is lazy, and this is just another excuse not to go out into the world and do his part. The excuses of the lazy are many. Where there is no real danger, obstacles are made up. When any little hindrance appears, they exaggerate it to enormous proportions.

 

    It’s easy to look at people who are not willing to work for physical gain and say, “Yup, that’s them, the slothful.” However, what about those who will not work for the Kingdom of God to do their part in winning souls? I wonder if they see lions too.

 

THE WORD WALKING IN ME:

    Satan is like a roaring lion, the Bible says. It also says, “Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.” Oh, dear Lord, open our eyes to see that you have defeated the roaring lion of Satan, and that we need to be busy in your harvest fields today. Amen.

 

Are we seeing LIONS that God’s sees as puppies?

 

IF YOU ARE JOURNALING:

Ask yourself, what are MY THOUGHTS concerning this Passage, and todays Devotion?

 

Do I find within this reading a CHALLENGE for my life?

 

What are one or two things I WILL DO today or this week to accept that CHALLENGE?

  

GOD TALKING TO ME: September 10, 2024

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH A DAILY PROVERBS
  Daniel 1 – Daniel 3
  Proverbs 22:11 – 14

 

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
  Pro. 10-11
  1 Co. 15

 

Learn To Discern
September 9, 2024

DAILY PROVERB:

Proverbs 22:8-10
 He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail. He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor. Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.

OUTLOOK ON THE IN BOOK:

    I believe every Christian wants to help people if they can. It’s born into us at our new birth. We desire to be like Christ, who desires to help those in real need. “He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed.”

    The key to helping someone is the ability to discern his or her real needs. Let’s look at three types of people considered in our verses today.

•     First, “He that soweth iniquity.” Often, the generous heart of a well-meaning saint is taken advantage of by those who have only themselves in mind. Our desire to show the love of Christ to the hurting may interfere with God’s work in their lives and His desire to bring them to repentance. Sometimes, blindly helping is not really helping at all; it may just enable a sinful lifestyle.

•     Then there are the poor, those who are truly in need of help and rightfully deserve it. It could be a church member, another Christian, or an unsaved family with whom you’ve been working, and you understand their genuine need. Refusing to help someone in this situation with what God has entrusted you with is unjust. Remember the old phrase, “what goes around comes around.” Giving to the truly needy out of a kind and loving heart will result in God’s blessings poured out upon your life.

•     The third type of person mentioned is the scorner. Helping someone because you think by doing so, they will quit gossiping or stop acting ungodly is nothing more than a bribe. This approach almost never works out. Paying someone not to do or say something is a perversion of justice. There is a reason the police do not usually make deals with hostage takers; it’s only a pacifier, not a solution. God is the only solution to every real sin problem.     

 

THE WORD WALKING IN ME:

     Being a good steward means doing what is right with the provisions God has given you. Let’s extend help when possible, but before doing so, let’s pray first and ensure that we are helping.

How might God use you in someones life today?

IF YOU ARE JOURNALING:

Ask yourself, what are MY THOUGHTS concerning this Passage, and todays Devotion?

Do I find within this reading a CHALLENGE for my life?

What are one or two things I WILL DO today or this week to accept that CHALLENGE?

  

GOD TALKING TO ME: September 9, 2024

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH A DAILY PROVERBS
  Ezekiel 44 – Ezekiel 48
  Proverbs 22:8 – 10

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
  Pro. 8-9
  1 Co. 14

WEEKEND REVIEW
September 7 & 8, 2024

Proverbs 22:1

A good name is rather
to be chosen than great riches,
and loving favour
rather than silver and gold.

Work Week Devotions
Through The Book Of Proverbs

     What a joy it has been to be with you this past week. I pray these WORK WEEK DEVOTIONS have been a blessing to you as well. To receive them daily in your e-mail box go to LIHWMinistries Sign-Up Page – Living In His Word Ministries and sign up. Each day these devotions will be delivered directly in your e-mail box.

      As previously mentioned, with WORK WEEK DEVOTIONS, we will only be publishing Devotional Thoughts Monday – Friday.

     On Saturday we suggest you re-read the entire chapter we have been studying this 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.

As we Journey through Proverbs, if you have any questions
Please send them to LIHWDEV@LIHWMinistries.org

Also, you would be huge help and blessing if you 
might write a review on these devotions on
Review Work Week Devotions (amazon.com)
or 
Review Work Week Devotions Journal (amazon.com)

WEEK 35 – Day 6:

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

Proverbs 21-22

WEEK 35 – 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
OLD & NEW TESTAMENT TODAY AND TOMORROW:

September 7, 2024
Pro. 6-7
1 Co. 13
September 8, 2024
No Passages Assigned

NEXT WEEKS UPCOMING SCHEUDLES:

SCHEDULE 1 – Bible In a Year – with Proverbs Study 

September 9, 2024
Ezekiel 44 – Ezekiel 48
Proverbs 22:8 – 10
September 10, 2024
Daniel 1 – Daniel 3
Proverbs 22:11 – 14
September 11, 2024
Daniel 4 – Daniel 7
Proverbs 22:15 – 17
September 12, 2024
Daniel 8 – Daniel 12
Proverbs 22:18 – 21
September 13, 2024
Hosea 1 – Hosea 6
Proverbs 22:22 – 25
September 14, 2024
Proverbs 22 – 23
September 15, 2024
No Passages Assigned

 

SCHEDULE 2 – Old & New Testament

September 9, 2024
Pro. 8-9
1 Co. 14
September 10, 2024
Pro. 10-11
1 Co. 15
September 11, 2024
Pro. 12-13
1 Co. 16
September 12, 2024
Pro. 14-15
2 Co. 1
September 13, 2024
Pro. 16-17
2 Co. 2-3
September 14, 2024
Pro. 18-19
2 Co. 4
September 15, 2024
No Passages Assigned

Invest It All
September 6, 2024

 

DAILY PROVERB:

Proverbs 22:4-7
 By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life. Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them. Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

 

OUTLOOK ON THE IN BOOK:

    The stocks go up, the stocks go down, and this old world spins round and round.

 

    It seems as though wealth and riches consume the minds of most people today. It is almost impossible to live without some money in the stock market, whether we are aware of it or not. Do you have insurance, a 401(k), or have you deposited money in a bank? If so, like most people, your money has been invested in the stock market. If the market collapses, so does the value of the company or financial institution.

 

    I once heard a Financial Advisor tell a joke during his speech that went like this: “I lost millions of dollars in the stock market today.” His friend asked, “Really, how?” He replied, “Gold went up one dollar a pound, and I didn’t have a dime invested in it.

 

    Could it be possible that many people miss the real riches, honor, and for some, even eternal life because they have nothing invested as well? The phrase, “Nothing invested, nothing lost,” sure does not apply here. If we do not deposit our lives into Christ, we will have lost it all. Christ invested His life in us and paid the premium for our sin debt. Our text today says; “By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.” This simply means that when we invest our lives in the Lord, we receive His riches, honor, and a life that is beyond compare. Furthermore, the stock market can never have any impact on this investment in any way whatsoever.

 

THE WORD WALKING IN ME:

    The problem is that most people want to invest only a small part of their lives into Christ and hold back the rest. God does not operate on those terms. We must either deposit our entire lives in Him or nothing at all. What have you given to Christ? We all must come humbly to the cross and make a total deposit of our lives in reverence to our Lord. The dividends are glorious.

 

Have you deposited your all into Christ?

 

IF YOU ARE JOURNALING:

Ask yourself, what are MY THOUGHTS concerning this Passage, and todays Devotion?

 

Do I find within this reading a CHALLENGE for my life?

 

What are one or two things I WILL DO today or this week to accept that CHALLENGE?

  

GOD TALKING TO ME: September 6, 2024

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH A DAILY PROVERBS
  Ezekiel 40 – Ezekiel 43
  Proverbs 22:4 – 7

 

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
  Pro. 4-5
  1 Co. 12

 

Who Is Really Rich?
September 5, 2024

DAILY PROVERB:

Proverbs 22:1-3
  A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all. A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.

OUTLOOK ON THE IN BOOK:

    If you were to listen to most televangelism programming today, you might get the idea that people who do not have many material goods in life are somehow living outside of the will of God. That if they were living right and were in God’s will, then God would surely bless them with prosperity. However, this is not what the Bible says.

    The Bible says that a person who believes in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will be supplied with all their needs. If they need money, God will most often give them a way to earn it. If they need food, God will supply a way for it to be grown, donated, or purchased.

    I find, on occasion, those who have been blessed by God financially forget that not just a tithe of that money belongs to God. Rather, everything we are entrusted with comes from God, and therefore, everything really belongs to Him. The tithe simply is the portion He asks of you to help further His work on earth. This also provides you with an opportunity to be obedient to His Word and worship Him with what He has supplied for you.

    Billy Sunday once said, “The fellow that has no money is poor. The fellow that has nothing but money is poorer still.” We must all remember, God is the maker of us all, rich, and poor alike.     

 

THE WORD WALKING IN ME:

     As we go through this day we might want to remember another verse in Romans 8:28 which says; “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” “All things” encompasses ALL THINGS. Everything He has created works together to fulfill His purpose. The rich and the poor, people of all nationalities, young and old, every aspect of creation, and everyone are part of His creation and handiwork. This includes YOU!.

How will you invest into God’s kingdom today?

IF YOU ARE JOURNALING:

Ask yourself, what are MY THOUGHTS concerning this Passage, and todays Devotion?

Do I find within this reading a CHALLENGE for my life?

What are one or two things I WILL DO today or this week to accept that CHALLENGE?

  

GOD TALKING TO ME: September 5, 2024

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH A DAILY PROVERBS
  Ezekiel 37 – Ezekiel 39
  Proverbs 22:1 – 3

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
  Pro. 1-3
  1 Co. 11