Coming to the Still Waters

Today's verses are Proverbs 14:13-16, which read, v.13 - Even in laughter the heart may be in pain, and the end of joy may be grief. We can hide what is really going on.  We can laugh on the outside but really be crying on the inside.  What looks like joy may be just a show.  This is a perfect place to put that word that even Jesus used,  "hypocrite."   We are all hypocrites at times but we shouldn't live the life of a hypocrite or be a practicing hypocrite.  If we are hypocritical at times then we need to confess it and repent of it to turn from those ways and follow after Jesus to be authentic from the inside out. v.14 - The backslider in heart will have his fill of his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied with his. The backslider, the one who turns back, in heart, in the inner man and will, will have his fill or be satisfied of his own ways, the direction in which he is going.  The good man, the pleasing and agreeable man...

Today's verses are Proverbs 14:9-12, which read, v.9 - Fools mock at sin, but among the upright there is good will. There is quite a step from being ashamed of your sin to actually mocking sin.  I have said this before but it bears another stab at it.  We start by being ashamed of sin; we turn our eyes and ears away from it; and we are quick to confess and repent to God and any others involved.  But if I can get you to watch that same sin; if I can get you to laugh at that same sin; and if I can get you to make it a habit of doing so then we have a set up to eventually mock that it is even a sin.   The upright need to use will power when it comes to sin and dealing with it.  It is a will power that is fueled by a daily doses of the right, God's Word, and wise counsel.  It is not so much about your own personal will power but that you are relying on God's will for your life to glorify Him.   v.10 - The heart knows its own bitterness, an...

Today's verses are Proverbs 14:5-8, which says, v.5 - A trustworthy witness will not lie, but a false witness utters lies. This is pretty straight forward but when you start blurring the lines in culture of what is right and what is wrong then the obvious needs to be stated.  We tend to play with even the terms that bring confusion.  Remember when people would say that something was  "bad"  meaning it was really  "good" ?  It may have been a creative way to get some attention or communicate but that fad had people questioning what the speaker was saying when it should have been obvious.  Word re-definitions lead to ungodly actions that are easily excused as acceptable during this time or at least for me but maybe not for you. A trustworthy or faithful witness or the one who repeats, will not lie or fail to tell the truth in the singular form meaning every single time.  A false or deceptive witness or the one who repeats utters or brea...

Today's verses are Proverbs 14:1-4 which read, v.1 - The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands. The woman who is wise establishes her dwelling place with stability but the woman who is foolish disassembles her dwelling place by her very actions.  Something is going to happen in the home.  Is it going to be build up or torn down?  What is the source of the outcome to that family?  The answer is the actions that come directly from us. v.2 - He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, but he who is devious in his ways despises Him. He who is going in his straight way reveres Jehovah,  "the existing one"  but he who is turning from the straight way hold in contempt Jehovah,  "the existing one."   Quite a difference on the action given to God which is tied again to the action coming from the wise or the foolish.  One is walking or going in the direction of God's righteousness and th...

Today is a between the chapters devotional. Cliff Barrows, the song leader of the Billy Graham crusades, passed away on Tuesday.  He was 93 years old.  He joins George Beverly Shea who sang solos at the crusades that died at the age of 104 and Grady Wilson who was also an evangelist in the association who died at the age of 68.  These 3 men along with Billy Graham were in Modesto, California in November of 1948 holding another crusade that was seeing thousands answering the call of Christ. They met in a motel room on South Ninth Street and came up with these 4 points that made up the Modesto Manifesto.  It was a manifesto to guide them about how they would conduct themselves personally and also how they would deal with the popularity that came with the crusades.  The United States had experienced many of these traveling evangelists falling to scandal and they wanted to avoid being another.  Even though this was never written down, it could be artic...

Today's verses are Proverbs 13:21-25, which read, v.21 - Adversity pursues sinners, but the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity. The question here is what kind of prosperity is Solomon talking about.  The temptation is to pigeon hole it to just financial prosperity.  Many have held over the years that if someone who is religious has a lot than he must have been blessed by God and therefore if someone does not have a lot then they have not been blessed by God.  What defines prosperity? Proverbs are places were things are compared so in this verse prosperity is compared with adversity.  Adversity in this verse means bad or evil.  Prosperity in this verse means what is good and pleasing.  So the word prosperity is used in very general terms to be the opposite of bad or evil.  Those who live in the state of sin are pursued or followed by bad things while the righteous who are following in the footsteps of Jesus are rewarded or at peace ...

Today's verses are Proverbs 13:17-20, which reads, v.17 - A wicked messenger falls into adversity, but a faithful envoy brings healing. We have a messenger and we have an envoy and both words basically mean the same thing but there is an official feel to the word  "envoy"  over the word  "messenger."   The envoy is bound to another so he or she is bringing the message of another while a messenger could be just reporting something he or she has witnessed.  The envoy brings official word and is bound to convey that message to whomever it is assigned to.  The messenger just broadcasts like the newspaper boy on the corner yelling out the headline of the day. The real difference comes in the adjectives and the outcomes.  One is wicked and one is faithful.  One falls to adversity while the other brings healing.  The one spreading a message coming from his or her wickedness will fall to that evil from within.  The one sharing ...

Today's verses are Proverbs 13:13-16, which read, v.13 - The one who despises the word will be in debt to it, but the one who fears the commandment will be rewarded. The wages of sin is death is the Scripture passage that comes to mind when I look at the first half of this proverb.  Those who despise, hold in contempt or hold as insignificant the word, meaning God's given words to us, the Bible, will be in debt to it.  A debt means that you are bound to owe something.  Those who despise the Word will owe what the Word requires and it also reveals the results of such an action. I like the word  "but"  in the Bible but it really depends on what comes after it.  This is a good  "but."   The one who fears, reveres or honors with action the commandment or the given charge will be rewarded and that word in the Hebrew is  "shalam"  which is a variation of  "shalom"  which means to be at peace.  The one who fol...

We wake up this morning to a new president-elect.  I knew I would be typing and saying this but I just didn't know who it would be but now we know.  Donald Trump is the winner and no doubt there will be about half of the nation happy and half of the nation sad as in past elections.  No matter the results, as Christians we were going to wake up this morning and do what we have done every morning regardless the outcome and continue to pray.  Let us pray that we will continue to pray that our elected officials acknowledge God and the commandments of His Word, for their salvation, and the wisdom to follow God's counsel that we have been looking at lately in the book of Proverbs.  I found myself on my knees last night or rather early this morning asking God to guide the churches of America to be churches of God and doing what churches of God do more than ever before.  May our focus change from who is in the White House to who we are to witness to of our great G...