December 16

PROVERBS 23
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
my heart too will be glad.
16 My inmost being will exult
when your lips speak what is right.
17 Let not your heart envy sinners,
but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day.
18 Surely there is a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
19 Hear, my son, and be wise,
and direct your heart in the way.
– Proverbs 23:15-19

PROVERBS 23 BENEFITS OF FEAR OF THE LORD
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When you fear the Lord your God faithfully
You will always follow the right path continually
There will be wisdom ready for you to use
There is hope and a future awaits you
When you fear the Lord and obey him
You will tread the right way and overcome sin.

In these Proverbs, Solomon gives us a glimpse of the outcome of fearing the Lord. He says that when we fear the Lord, he is delighted. Each time we speak the truth, God is glorified.
Those who revere God will be spared from envying the world’s ways. They will have a future and they will not be desperate or hopeless.
In Proverbs 14:27, Solomon also mentions another benefit of fearing the Lord. It is the fountain of life and it ensures that we can avoid the snares of death. In Proverbs 8:13, he also mentions that fear of the Lord is the hatred of evil. In other words, when we revere the Lord, we will not get into the habit of sinning. Proverbs 19:23 says it protects us from harm and keeps us content and satisfied.

REFLECTION
• How come some people don’t fear God despite its many benefits?

December 15

PROVERBS 23

10 Do not move an ancient landmark
or enter the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their Redeemer is strong;
he will plead their cause against you.
12 Apply your heart to instruction
and your ear to words of knowledge.
13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
14 If you strike him with the rod,
you will save his soul from Sheol.
– Proverbs 23:10-14

PROVERBS 23 COMMIT YOURSELF TO INSTRUCTION
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
If you want to be able to live a life of peace and joy
Commit yourself to instruction from God’s word
Meditate on truth and fill your mind and heart with it
Then darkness will be exposed and you’ll see the devil’s tactics
Be faithful to follow what God commands you to do
If you press to obey the law, you’ll find love and joy.

What do you think verse 12 of these Proverbs mean? What does it look like to apply your heart to instruction? Many Christians read the bible but probably few believers actually apply the laws and truth in our lives. We get stuck in our minds and usually what we read in the bible or teachings in our churches do not always touch our hearts into applying such commands or instructions.
In the book of James chapter one he stresses the importance of not just hearing the word, but in also doing it. He says that if one only hears and doesn’t do it, he is like a man looking at his natural face in the mirror who forgets quickly what he looks like after leaving.

REFLECTION
• Why is it important to commit ourselves to God’s instructions?

December 14

PROVERBS 23
6 Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy;
do not desire his delicacies,
7 for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.
“Eat and drink!” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
8 You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten,
and waste your pleasant words.
9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
for he will despise the good sense of your words.
– Proverbs 23:6-9

PROVERBS 23 DON’T GIVE WISDOM TO FOOLS
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When you have acquired truth and wisdom, use it wisely
Do not mishandle it by throwing it on people who are foolish
Why waste your time on instructing fools; they won’t listen
If you attempt to put some sense into them, it is only useless
Fools care only about their own limited understanding
They are so senseless; they don’t know what is good for them.

In Matthew 7:6, Jesus warns his disciples “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.” What does this verse mean? According to a commentary, “It is easy to focus on the derogatory imagery of dogs and pigs and miss the real point, which is not meant as an insult. The message is about wasting things of value on those who not only won’t appreciate them, but might even be angered by the offer.” Just like Solomon warns us in verse 4 of this Proverbs that we need not speak good sense in the hearing of a fool or they will just despise us. What is the point of giving valuable wise words to someone who does not want it? One will just be wasting efforts to bring truth to someone who doesn’t want to hear it. Bring truth only to those who would value and appreciate it.

REFLECTION
• Cite an instance when someone foolish just trampled on a sensible word you said.

December 13

PROVERBS 23
When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
observe carefully what is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to appetite.
3 Do not desire his delicacies,
for they are deceptive food.
4 Do not toil to acquire wealth;
be discerning enough to desist.
5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone,
for suddenly it sprouts wings,
flying like an eagle toward heaven.
– Proverbs 23:1-5

PROVERBS 23 DESIST THE LOVE OF MONEY
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
The love of money cannot exist if you are a servant of Christ
No one can serve two masters but only those with double minds
Those who are lovers of money work to acquire riches
But the believer gathers treasures that belong to heaven
You will be a slave to the dark powers if you love money
Satan will surely keep you in bondage to sin and be greedy.

Solomon warns us in verse 4 of the dangers of the love of money and wealth. He says that if one works only to acquire wealth, there will be consequences that will not be beneficial for that person.
In the garden of Eden before the fall, the history of work began “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it (Genesis 2:15). Work then wasn’t that hard since God had already provided everything they needed. After the fall, the consequence of their disobedience changed the purpose of work. Because man was tainted with sin, he has a tendency to work to gather wealth instead of his daily bread. Before the fall, man was content with God’s provision, but greed entered his heart after.

REFLECTION
• Why should we be purposeful with our work ethics? What happens if we aren’t?

December 10

PROVERBS 22
17 Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise,
and apply your heart to my knowledge,
18 for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,
if all of them are ready on your lips.
19 That your trust may be in the LORD,
I have made them known to you today, even to you.
20 Have I not written for you thirty sayings
of counsel and knowledge,
21 to make you know what is right and true,
that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?
– Proverbs 22:17-21

PROVERBS 22 HAVE TRUTH READY ON YOUR LIPS
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Be quick to listen to what is true at all times
This will expel all kinds of lies that always comes
If you have the habit of storing Gods words in your heart
It will be easy to speak only what is true from your mouth
When you know the truth, it will set you free
The devil’s tricks or tactics will not triumph over you.

I know of some Christians who do not take memorizing God’s word at heart. Some say that not all Christians need to memorize God’s truth. Joshua 1:8 says clearly “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” To meditate on it day and night means to store it in your heart and not just your mind. If we constantly consume it day and night, we will automatically speak it out loud, wouldn’t we? Wouldn’t all Christians be truth lovers instead of deceived? Jeremiah 15:16 says “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart.”

REFLECTION
• Why do you think some Christians don’t memorize or meditate on God’s word?

December 9

PROVERBS 22
13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside!
I shall be killed in the streets!”
14 The mouth of forbidden women is a deep pit;
he with whom the LORD is angry will fall into it.
15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
16 Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth,
or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.
– Proverbs 22:13-16

PROVERBS 22 THE ROD OF DISCIPLINE
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When children are instructed and guided in righteousness
They will not give in to their natural selfish tendencies
Correcting and showing a child the way to go
Is the highest form of love that parents can show
When a person is raised in loving discipline
He will be secure and overcome the temptation to sin
When children are abused, misguided and neglected
It results in insecurities and various mental challenges.

Many children nowadays are left misguided and uncorrected. Too many parents are so absorbed in their jobs that their kids are either neglected on their own at a very young age or dropped off at daycare places that they haven’t even cared to investigate about. The early stages of development of a human being lies in those first years of life. They are formative. If the child isn’t instructed in the right way to go, they will definitely have issues later on in their lives. That is why the root of many mental and emotional problems of a person lies in the attachment age years. The attachment theory argues that a strong emotional and physical bond to one primary caregiver in our first years of life is critical to our development. If that primary caregiver does not model or teach the right life skills to the child, they won’t be able to learn how to navigate a world full of challenges and trials.

REFLECTION
• Why do you think the “rod of discipline” is frowned upon by the world system?

December 8

PROVERBS 22
7 The rich rules over the poor,
and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
8 Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,
and the rod of his fury will fail.
9 Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed,
for he shares his bread with the poor.
10 Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out,
and quarreling and abuse will cease.
11 He who loves purity of heart,
and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend.
12 The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge,
but he overthrows the words of the traitor.
– Proverbs 22:7-12

PROVERBS 21 WHEN YOU DRIVE OUT A SCOFFER
The Hebrew word for scoffer is “lutws,” which literally means “to twist the mouth” or “make mouth at”. The book of Proverbs says that the scoffer is the most difficult person to reach with the good news of Jesus Christ. Proverbs 13:1 says, “A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke”.
Freedomchurchweb.com says this about mockers: Mockers are also called scoffers in Scripture. They defy and renounce truth and good things, not only to their own detriment and destruction, but that of others. They are provokers of others to wrong, strife and evil. Scripture tells us “Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you.” You can’t persuade or reason with a mocker to turn away from his mockery. Without God’s often dramatic intervention, most mockers are a “lost cause.” When confronted with the truth, they will hate you because they hate the truth. Sadly, the mocker is usually beyond any human help. Don’t waste your time or energy trying to instruct the mocker. Pray for them, the only cure for them is God himself, who has to arrest him and humble him.
Solomon shows us the aftermath of driving out a scoffer in verse 10. All kinds of quarreling, strife and abuse stops. Their absence brings about peace, joy, faith and love. A heavy burden will be taken away from you when you let them go because they are toxic.

REFLECTION
• Share some encounters with scoffers that you have experienced.