Proverbs 3:1-2

“My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.”

Proverbs is the 20th book of the Old Testament; it’s placed after Psalms and before Ecclesiastes. In this way, it’s the 2nd in a “trilogy” of poem-focused writings that span quite a large chunk of time and come from a variety of different authors. It’s main purpose is to give wisdom, advice, leadership, and guidance to those who seek it; its theme hinges on the ideas that: being wise is the only way to live a prosperous life, and that wisdom comes directly from God.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” –Proverbs 1:7 NIV

Wikipedia explains it like this, “The repeated theme is that “the fear of God (meaning submission to the will of God) is the beginning of wisdom”.Wisdom is praised for her role in creation; God acquired her before all else, and through her he gave order to chaos; and since humans have life and prosperity by conforming to the order of creation, seeking wisdom is the essence and goal of the religious life.””

Basically, wisdom keeps you safe and prosperous while foolishness will lead you to make many (more) mistakes and cause you many (more) problems throughout life. And as a rule, wisdom leads you closer to God while foolishness leads you away from Him. This is the basic summary of Proverbs 3:1-2.

If we seek guidance from God through prayer and study/immersion in His word (i.e., reading the Bible), we will find our way and purpose as a human being and as an individual.

---

On a personal note, I unintentionally took a day or two off from writing about the verse of the day. Really I chose to spend time with my family and loved ones over the past couple of days instead of “forcing myself” to sit down and write. It wasn’t a planned choice, which is why I say it was “unintentional”. But it was my decision.

And as a result, it was surprising how quickly I felt myself starting to feel…lost? Empty? Like I wasn’t engaging as I should have been? It’s funny how quickly we can latch onto good habits without even realizing it.

I have been busy planning a wedding since getting engaged (almost) ten days ago. I’ve also got a month-long summer class approaching during June (yaaaaayy….), I’ve taken on a part-time job to get some extra money (most of which will help pay for above wedding), and I’m slowly trying to find the mindset of “school” that I left behind long ago.

It will be difficult going back, but I think with the summer class helping me to get back on track, and working out a schedule I can stick to will help a lot. So far, I’m only in class three days a week for about 3 hours, which is awful. But its in the afternoons, so it can’t be that bad, right? I’ll have the mornings to hopefully exercise and let my dog play in the dog park, to study, work, and then go to school. But we’ll see how it all plays out. I know from experience that plans don’t always go as expected and it’s difficult to work them out until you’re actually going through it.

But through experience, trusting God, and trying to connect the dots between the two, I believe we gain wisdom.

Exodus 31:3

“3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills.”

Most people, religious or not, are likely to know the story of Moses and how he led the Israelites out of Egypt with the intent of setting them free, I use the word “intent” here because–like with anything humans try to “plan”–it didn’t really go over so well.

The book of Exodus is the second book of the Bible (again, we’re talking OT today), right after the book on the beginning of the world. To me, Exodus is one of the most dramatic and intense books of the OT because of what it represents: the start of the rest of the story. This is where the Israelites become God’s (Yahweh’s)  chosen people and where He begins to have a relationship (mind you a very different one than what we were able to have after Jesus) with those people. It’s where we begin to hear about the “Promised Land” which flows with milk and honey, where He resides with them and leads them through battle in a quest to do away with the evil and in return live in the Promised Land.

All this–the strength, the provisions, the protection, and the peace–in exchange for their faithfulness to Him.

So they go along with it for a while. At first, they’re eager to please and show their gratitude toward God for freeing them from slavery. But soon the heat of the desert, the hangries, and the exhaustion began to set in. Things got hard and they began to lose perspective and lose faith. There’s more to it, but basically the book of Exodus explores more of (flawed) human nature and how restrospect is always seems to be 20/20. Meanwhile as the Israelites are struggling and growing immensely impatient, modern day readers are either yelling or smacking themselves on the forehead before standing up and proceeding to go about their day in (usually) a very similar fashion to the Israelites.

“And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.”

This pieces of scripture tells us where our skills, abilities, and knowledge come from: God, who provides for all of our needs (see post regarding Matthew) whether immediate or long-term.

In the context of Exodus, it refers to the main builder of the Tabernacle (the place where Yahweh resided among His people), Bezaleel, and his understudy of sorts Aholiab.

Image source

Bezaleel and Aholiab were two examples of how God provides a way for us to carry out our own assigned tasks in helping to carry out His plan and His way. In the context of the modern world, it’s a sort of reassurance that God will give you what you need in order to do what you need to do. If it honors God, obeys God, follows God, and spreads God…you’re probably headed in the right direction.

Not wandering, not wasting time, not being kept waiting or being abandoned.

Remember everything has a time and a season, and learn to trust God’s timing.

Job 33:4

“The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”

“Why?”

The book of Job (another book found in the Old Testament) doesn’t waste time in explaining how awesome Job is. The first chapter opens with explaining his wealth: he’s got tons of oxen, sheep, camels, donkeys, more than enough servants to make life comfortable, and more sons than daughters (7 vs 3). He was also an upstanding, God-fearing guy who had all his ducks in a row and was basically a pretty popular guy in the “Land of Uz“.

Life was happening for Job, until Chapter 1 takes a quick turn for the unexpected: one day Satan speaks with God and–because of Satan’s argument that Job has not been “truly tested” in his faith in God–is allowed to test the validity of Job’s upright, blameless, and God-fearing nature. Satan wants  a chance to prove Job’s “faith” is only a result of his riches; and (ultimately) God, well…God grants Satan the opportunity to prove his claim wrong.

There is more to it than what I will go into, but as a whole the book of Job explores how the very foundation of a person is what supports them when all is lost. It also discusses one of the most popular questions: why do bad things happen to good people?

Job lost his house, his kids, servants, and wealth; then he lost his physical wellness and eventually even his friends. He was literally left with nothing, and yet his faith in God remained. Job was a man of solid spiritual foundation, so when the structure of his life was destroyed and the dust from the storm settled, he was able to rebuild.

Today’s verse (33:4) reemphasizes the importance of acknowledging how God–the almighty, all-loving God–created us, and because He created us, He will take care of us (possible comparison to Matthew 6:26). While in the context of the book of Job this verses doesn’t carry quite this meaning, out of context in the modern day world, the verse can carry a significant amount of weight.

If you’re one who struggles with the “why?” question, the book of Job is one book you should read.

Source

Source

Source

Micah 7:18-19

“18 Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. 19 You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.“

Often times those who struggle (or just don’t choose) to believe in God have the idea that God is one of two things: controlling or unwilling to forgive. While I won’t delve into the reasons behind these beliefs, I will say that those beliefs are erroneous.

God is neither controlling nor unforgiving; in fact, the very reason He gave us freewill (the ability so much as choose to love and follow him or not to) and that He designated Christ to act as the ultimate sacrifice–the source of instant forgiveness–say otherwise.

The book of Micah (written by–surprise–Micah) was from a time that was close to Isaiah’s, which might tell you that Micah was also a prophet; he was also pretty similar to Isaiah in writing format and style. Is basic message alternates between the judgement and forgiveness of God; Micah aims to tell people of how harsh God’s punishment against sinners and non-believers may be, but he also expresses the joys of how welcoming and forgiving God is toward those who repent for their sins and those who make the active decision to become the Old Testament equivalent of a Christ-follower.

God doesn’t want to punish anyone; in fact, it breaks His heart to do so because His love for us is so immense. Instead He wants us to fess up, admit we were wrong/foolish/disobedient, and ask for His forgiveness. In this sense, God literally treats His people as we (as parents) treat our own offspring. He makes rules for our own well-being and protection; they are there to keep us on the right path, one that follows Him and ultimately leads to a life (and eternity) of peace and happiness.

And this is what Micah 7:18-19 is all about.

We as Christians should remind ourselves of how loving and God is when we truly seek His way and His forgiveness. It says something about God’s mightiness and His uniqueness as a “god”–there is no other god like Him. Humans may worship idols and things of their own creation, the “little g’s”, but we the created can only worship one true Creator: an all-encompassing, trustworthy, fair, slow-to-anger, quick-to-forgive, gracious, powerful, being who is full of nothing but unyielding love for us.

And the notion of us not only seeking Him, but to be sought after by God Himself seems a sufficient enough explanation of the goodness of God.

Isaiah 26:12 (NLT)

“Lord, you will grant us peace; all we have accomplished is really from you.“

The book of Isaiah is found in the Old Testament; its purpose is to warn of the dangers of how the people of Judah were living their lives and to encourage them with words of hope and comfort in regards to the Messiah’s coming. My Bible, a Life Application Study Bible (NLT), describes the book as being for both a sort of “scolding” (for the people’s own well being) and and a source of reassurance. It “unveils the full dimensions of God’s judgment and salvation” (source).

Within the Bible, this book is grouped together in the Old Testament during a time when prophets (often disliked for understandable reasons) were quite active. Prophets were there to act as a communicator between God and His people, who oftentimes didn’t listen because they didn’t like what they were hearing. Isaiah was one of the “major” prophets, and he spoke more about the Messiah than anyone else within the Old Testament.

Isaiah 26 is a chapter that discusses the greatness and mightiness of God’s power; it comes after a chapter that talks about how God always keeps His promises and finishes everything He starts; in this way, we know we can always turn to Him in time of need or despair. Chapter 26 itself refers to when God “establishes His kingdom” and Christ has dominion over Earth and all its evil. It is a praise to God for His promise to protect, rescue, and return justice and balance to His people.

Verse 12 points out that we should praise God for granting us peace: He saves us from eternal damnation; He protects and guides us; He keeps His promises and never leaves plans unfinished. God is so, so very much unlike humans who are untrustworthy, dishonest, lazy, envious, greedy, disrespectful, cheating idolators. We often fail to complete plans, can’t keep promises, make mistakes and poor decisions. Being human is hard, but trusting and loving God–the One who is love, who is only pure–is so easy.

God makes being human easier than it otherwise could be, even through hard times and setbacks. Trust Him, seek Him, and follow Him. It is the best decision any of us can ever make.

James 3:13

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”

Integrity. It’s who you are when no one is looking.

You hear about it; you might even know people with it or yourself actively seek it. But with that definition, what are we really exemplifying when we demonstrate integrity? Based on the meaning “who you are”, is having “integrity” necessarily always indicative of being an upstanding, honest, kind person? Or does it simply mean “who you are when you’re alone, no matter what kind of person that may be”?

The Oxford Dictionary defines integrity as “The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. The state of being whole and undivided.” It comes from a Middle English word meaning “intact”. 

The Bible talks a lot about integrity, actually, and perhaps the best way to sum up its conclusion is by saying integrity keeps you honest, it keeps you trustworthy, it keeps you aligned with God, and it sets an example for others (believers and non-believers alike). The book of James speaks a few times about integrity.

The book’s author, James the Just, actually started off his story as a non-believer; he didn’t begin to believe until after Jesus’ resurrection and later became one of the most important people when it came to establishing the churches. He wrote the book with the intent to share with the Jewish people (new Christians) that they should continue growing in their new faith. As 1 Thessalonians was meant to encourage, the book of James was also meant to encourage but in a bit of a different way. James emphasizes the importance of growing your faith through behaving and acting in a way that parallels how God wants us to live–with integrity.

GotQuestions.org best summarizes it: “The Book of James outlines the faith walk through genuine religion (1:1-27), genuine faith (2:1-3:12) and genuine wisdom (3:13-5:20). . . . He then compares and contrasts the difference between worldly and godly wisdom and asks us to turn away from evil and draw close to God. James gives a particularly severe rebuke to the rich who hoard and those who are self-reliant. Finally he ends with encouragement to believers to be patient in suffering, praying and caring for one another and bolstering our faith through fellowship.”

Essentially, it debunks the myth that Christians–Christ followers, lovers and believers in the Almighty–can become (or claim to be) Christians and still continue to live in a sinful manner. They can’t talk badly about people behind their back, hide wrongful or immoral behavior behind closed doors, or think evil thoughts. Those who are truly transformed and give up control in allowing God to change them from the inside out shouldn’t feel motivations for behaviors such as these; it’s not a conscious choice, but a desire to live in a Godly manner. It’s like representing a company or your boss in a way that pays respect, appreciation, and true value for them.

“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” –Esekiel 36:26

The bottom line of James 3:13 is that it is imperative to represent Christianity and the God you love in a way that both pays respect and demonstrates it in an honest light to other non-believers. Pay respect and be an example, living proof, a leader in guiding those who are lost.

Psalm 8

Image source

While we as humans may not be able to fully understand why God chose us (of all things) to be His most valued creation (Ecclesiastes 11:5), we can rest assured that He does in fact care about us. Not only can evidence be found in the everyday world around us– in our growing knowledge; our innovations and inventions; our adaptability; our resources–but in several verses within the Bible as well.

One in particular can be found in Psalms, a book of the Old Testament written with the intent to share (virtually) the whole spectrum of the “human condition” including pain, suffering, doubt, fear, excitement, joy, worship, praise, request for help and guidance, and even sin. It chronicles what it is to be a God-fearing human who demonstrates the honest truth of what a relationship with God can involve. The book of Psalms is a book that Christians in all walks of life turn to in times of need, whether it be for a source of comfort or a way to express the utmost joy. In that aspect, it can also offer some non-believers and new Christians resources of discovering (on a broad scope) who God is and just what He is capable of.

The above verse (Psalm 8: 1-9, NLT) details how much God values and cares for us; it points out how God can be found in the smallest details and the (perhaps) unexpected “coincidences” of life: children growing into God-fearing adults, the beauty of Earth and the stars around it. In the expanse of the entire universe, God chose us–imperfect sinners–to be the ones He set just below Himself in Heaven; we might feel like nothing, but we are everything to God [Another reference to this is found in the New Testament (Matthew 6:26).].

Psalm 8 serves as a great reminder to us that: we are loved; we are valued; we (as a whole and individually) have a purpose; we have been created by a mighty, majestic God.

Image source