Daily Devotional
Betty Miller shares her daily devotionals which are based on the book of Proverbs in the
Bible.
The Wisdom of God
Verses for the Day:
Proverbs 16:11(KJV): "A just weight and balance are the Lord's: all the weights of
the bag are his work."
Proverbs 16:11(Amp): "A just balance or scales are the Lord's; all the weights of the
bag are His work (established on His eternal principles)."
Thoughts for the Day:
This verse in Proverbs deals with
dishonesty. In Bible days much of the trade was done by weighing items on a
pair of scales. While the item to be purchased was placed on one of the trays, the
other tray held a corresponding weight and when the scales were balanced the amount could
be determined. Since the item was sold by quantity, and the price was determined by
weight, a fair and equitable price was established. However, just as we have crooks
today, there were traders who tampered with the weights, thus causing the customer to pay for
more than they were actually getting. The weights were unjust, which resulted in a false
balance or standard. The Lord says that a false balance is an abomination to Him because
it is cheating. Our God is a just God, so He loves justice and equity. He wants all
of His children to be fair and just too, and never cheat each other in any way.
A pair of scales has always been representative of balance, justice and equity. The
above verse in Proverbs tells us that when the balance is false it
becomes sinful. Today many things have become "out-of-balance" in regard to the
true teachings of the Bible; therefore, they too have become sinful in the eyes of God.
Many people take only portions of God's Word and build them into doctrines without
considering other portions that bring balance to the ones they are propagating. This
always results in error as they have taken extreme views of God's Word. A great deal of
division in the body of Christ is due to this very problem.
Those outside of the body of Christ are also affected as they see things within the
church that should not exist and therefore want no part of Christianity because of these
extremes. When people get out-of-balance in certain areas, it turns others away from Jesus
instead of bringing them to Jesus. We have all been guilty of this at times, as it is not
always easy to walk in perfect balance with the Lord.
However, the Holy Spirit's desire is that we learn this balanced walk, as it is the
only way we will come into perfection. When the Holy Spirit is doing something new, the
pendulum sometimes does swing rather far in one direction as people are so eager to hear
and practice new truths. However, after these are learned it is important that they swing
back into balance or else they will end up in extremes that will bring discord into their
lives.
Jesus is the Rock. He is solid and stable and will not change. For this reason we can
trust Him and believe the Words He has spoken to us. If He said it, then that settles it.
It is truth because He cannot lie. If He said it and we believe it, then faith in His Word
will produce those things that are promised to us in the Bible. Knowing only portions of
the Word can cause us to become imbalanced. We must seek to know the whole truth and be
completely surrendered to the will of God for us to be victorious and successful
Christians. Stressing one portion of God's Word will invariably produce prayer failures.
This is the reason for many "faith" failures today. It is not so much people's
lack of faith that fails to produce the answers they are seeking, but their failure to
apply other portions of God's Word.
Prayer for the Day:
"Father, we come to You in Jesus' most precious name, thanking You for Your
love for us. Lord, You see the areas in our lives that are not in balance. We ask that You
reveal those to us and help us to walk in the path of righteousness and Your holy balance.
Deliver us from error and all that is an abomination to You. Heal us today spirit, soul
and body so that we might serve You by walking in a victorious Christian life. Let our
lights shine so that truly others might see Your love in us. In Jesus' name we pray,
Amen."
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