DEVOTIONS

Fire, Fire
May 13, 2024

DAILY PROVERB:

Proverbs 12:1-4
Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish. A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn. A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved. A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.

OUTLOOK ON THE IN BOOK:

     On TV, I saw a raging fire on the west coast of the US burning out of control. The firefighters were not trying to stop the blaze; they were concentrating on making sure it did not spread much farther. They realized it was out of control and were busy trying to control the amount of damage it would do. To do so, they ignited a controlled fire around the blaze, large enough to burn everything in its path. Their hope was that when this raging inferno reached that point, it would no longer have anything to burn, and that the pre-burned area was too large for the flames to leap over. Fortunately, it worked. Yet, to control the fire, everything around it had to be destroyed.

    Often, people who believe they are right and will not listen to counsel are just like that fire. No matter what the facts say, no matter what the evidence of God’s hand at work says, no matter what, they believe they are right. It is not until everything around them has been destroyed that they begin to realize, in their unwillingness to learn, they have destroyed themselves. There is nothing left to consume. No one left to complain to or listen to them and their ideas. People avoid the destructive fire of a stubborn heart.

    Today’s verses say, “he that hateth reproof is brutish.” The word “brutish” in today’s verse means eaten up or self-destructive. Just as the fire was destroyed by fire, so will people who are unwilling to receive instruction destroy themselves by destroying relationships all around themselves.

THE WORD WALKING IN ME:

    You might be asking, “If I realize that is me, and I am in the middle of it, how do I change?” Reach out to the mighty hand of God to pull you free. Ask Him to open your heart to the truth. Do not try to get God to get on board with what you are doing. Find out what God is doing and get on board with Him.

Do you beleive that God can change your heart if you yeild it to Him?

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: May 13, 2024

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH A DAILY PROVERBS
   1 Chronicles 10-13
   Proverbs 12:1-4

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
   2 Samuel 21-22
   John 2

WEEKEND REVIEW
May 11 & 12, 2024

Proverbs 11:18

The wicked worketh
a deceitful work:
but to him that soweth
righteousness shall be
a sure reward.

 

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 18 – Day 6:

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

Proverbs 11-12

 

WEEK 18 – 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:

May 11, 2024
2 Samuel 19-20
John 1:35-51

May 12, 2024
No Passages Assigned

NEXT WEEKS UPCOMING SCHEUDLES:

SCHEDULE 1 – Bible In a Year – with Proverbs Study 

May 13, 2024
1 Chronicles 10 – 13
Proverbs 12:1 – 4

May 14, 2024
1 Chronicles 14 – 17
Proverbs 12:5 – 8

May 15, 2024
1 Chronicles 18 – 22
Proverbs 12:9 – 12

May 16, 2024
1 Chronicles 23 – 26
Proverbs 12:13 – 16

May 17, 2024
1 Chronicles 27 – 29
Proverbs 12:17 – 20

May 18, 2024
Proverbs 11 – 12

May 19, 2024
No Passages Assigned

 

SCHEDULE 2 – Old & New Testament

May 13, 2024
2 Samuel 21-22
John 2

May 14, 2024
2 Samuel 23-24
John 3

May 15, 2024
1 Kings 1-2
John 4:1-38

May 16, 2024
1 Kings 3-5
John 4:39-54

May 17, 2024
1 Kings 6-7
John 5:1-27

May 18, 2024
1 Kings 8
John 5:28-47

May 19, 2024
No Passages Assigned

What Are You Creating?
May 10, 2024

DAILY PROVERB:

Proverbs 11:29-31
He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.

OUTLOOK ON THE IN BOOK:

    The Frankenstein Monster was a scary-looking creation. However, as the story goes, he was not really a monster at all. He was the creation of a mad scientist named Dr. Frankenstein, who was conducting experiments on how to create and sustain life. The creature he constructed was a combination of many different parts he had put together.

    Who can forget the moment in the film when the switch is thrown, the creation begins to move, and he says, “He’s alive, he’s alive”? The creation then took on the name of the creator, as people all began to call him Frankenstein.

    That’s a fictional story. However, did you know that you are also influencing people’s lives every day? In our verses today, it says, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.” What you do and how you live your life as a Christian are part of the fruit that others see. It’s what will cause others to either desire or reject what you have in Christ. Your kindness and love will be like a tree of life to them. Your testimony for the Lord will bear fruit in the lives of those around you. When people see the joy of your salvation and realize Jesus died for them as well, they may accept Him and have a new life in Christ, just as you do.

    Now I would be careful with this next idea; you might startle a person. Nevertheless, when they accept Christ, you could express it with the same enthusiasm as Dr. Frankenstein did in the movie. You could exclaim, “He’s alive, he’s alive!” What a joy to know you can play a part in giving someone else real, eternal life.
     

THE WORD WALKING IN ME:

    Today, as we go about our day, it might be interesting to think, “I am becoming a part of someone else’s life right now.” What I say, where I go, and how I look all matter in the life of another. Therefore, to be at my best, I want to model Christ. Just as the creation of Dr. Frankenstein did, we too have taken on the name of our creator: Christian. This means to be “Christlike.”

 

What are you creating today for the world to see?

 

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: May 10, 2024

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH A DAILY PROVERBS
    1 Chronicles 7-9
   Proverbs 11:29-31

 

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
   2 Samuel 16-18
   John 1:1-34

 

Who Doesn’t Like Gifts?
May 9, 2024

DAILY PROVERB:

Proverbs 11:26-28
He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it. He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him. He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.

 

OUTLOOK ON THE IN BOOK:

   

    When I was young, I could hardly wait for my birthday or Christmas to come around. I just knew there were going to be presents wrapped just for me. Everyone seemed so happy seeing that I was happy in receiving the gifts too.

    As I grew a little older, I started to want to give presents to the people I liked. I didn’t always have a lot of money, but I always seemed to come up with something. After they had unwrapped the gift, my first question was, “Do you like it?” If they said yes (which most people do), I felt so good that my gift made them happy. However, at Christmas, I was still looking around for what everyone had brought for me as well.

    Now, as a grandparent whom God has blessed beyond what I deserve, I still look forward to Christmas and birthdays. However, now I’m not so concerned with what presents they may have brought for me. My greatest joy is watching the grandchildren as they tear into those packages. I see their eyes light up, a scream of joy over here, a “Look, Mommy, what I got” over there. To me, it’s not about the presents I receive any longer. I get such a kick out of bringing joy to their life by giving. In return, I receive their love all year long.

    You cannot wrap true love up in anything but the heart. God desires that we all should be able to experience that kind of unselfish joy and happiness. This is why He teaches us about giving all year long. Then, as we give to others without looking for anything in return, God gives us His love through others all year long.

THE WORD WALKING IN ME:

    God’s economy makes much better sense than man’s. In man’s economy, you try to keep what you get for yourself. In God’s economy, as you give to others what God has shared with you, you inherit the blessings of those around you as well. 

 

With God as the financier, how can we lose?

 

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: May 9, 2024

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH A DAILY PROVERBS
    1 Chronicles 4-6
   Proverbs 11:26-28

 

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
   2 Samuel 14-15
   Luke 24:36-53

God Or Greed?
May 8, 2024

DAILY PROVERB:

Proverbs 11:23-25
The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath. There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

OUTLOOK ON THE IN BOOK:

    Greed encourages greed. It almost seems bewildering how often God shares with us how we should be willing to give and give liberally.

    In our verses today, there are several comments pointed at the Christian or the righteous, such as, “the desire of the righteous is only good,” “there is that scattereth, and yet increaseth,” “the liberal soul shall be made fat,” and “he that watereth shall be watered also himself.”

    We do know that within ourselves, we are not righteous; rather, we are made righteous. This transformation occurs when we place our faith in Jesus and what He did for us on the cross. Now, because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us, our once dark, angry, and greedy hearts have been transformed into lives filled with the light of the Word and the love of Christ.

    This love, which now resides within us, is why God tells us, as believers, to desire to give. Love, by its very nature, is giving. God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Love is always characterized by giving. God doesn’t need our money; He doesn’t need what we’ve accumulated in our banks and lives to take care of everything in the world. What God desires is our hearts. It’s from the heart that we either love and give or become greedy.

    Today’s verses also indicate that the wicked can expect wrath if they hoard and withhold everything, ending up with nothing. Often, the reason lost people choose not to give is that they perceive the world as a greedy place. They see others who are unwilling to help one another and choose to hoard everything, only to end up with nothing. When we die, we take nothing from this earth with us. However, love will endure forever.     

 

THE WORD WALKING IN ME:

     In the New Testament, Jesus tells us the same principle again in Luke 6:38. It says, “Give, and it shall be given unto you…” Whom do you think we should believe, God or greed? 

I’ll choose God every time. How about you?

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: May 8, 2024

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH A DAILY PROVERBS
    1 Chronicles 1-3
   Proverbs 11:23-25

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
   2 Samuel 11-13
   Luke 24:1-35