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 12:28(KJV): "In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death."
Proverbs 13:1(KJV): "A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke."

Thoughts for the Day:

Many of the verses in the book of Proverbs show the cause and effect of our actions. According to these verses, righteousness brings life, while the scorner's actions will lead to death because he will not listen to wisdom. Righteousness is found only in Christ.  When we follow Christ and His teachings outlined in the Word of God, we will be walking in the way of life. Verse 28 is not just referring to life (as being born and living in the earth) and death, as dying (a physical death); but is also referring to the life and death principals. By this I mean anything that leads to an abundant life is a life principal, while anything that leads to death is a death principal. For example if we become sick, certain illnesses can lead to death, therefore sickness is part of the death principal.  Depression can lead to mental illness which is also part of the death principal.  In fact, there are a lot of words that begin with the letter "D" that are associated with the death principal: discouragement, disease, disappointment, disillusionment, despondency, doubt and despair, to name a few. Curiously enough, the one who is behind the "Deadly D's" is the devil himself and his name begins with a "D." The devil's plan is to bring destruction to mankind.

On the other hand, there are things that we can do that produce life. For instance when we praise God, it will drive depression from us.  When we pray in faith, discouragement will lift. When we quote the healing scriptures in faith, sickness will leave. When we sing and worship God, our hearts will be filled with joy. Jesus promised us abundant life. If we are not experiencing that life, we need to totally commit to God, and ask the Lord to fill us with the Holy Spirit so that we might walk in the spirit, and receive all that the Lord has for us.

John 10:10: "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

Proverbs 13:1 tells us that if we are wise, we will obey our father's instructions. A rebellious son will not accept any correction from his father, which can be his downfall. In the church we should also obey and receive the church father's instructions that are based on the Word of God.  God's Words bring life to us. When we heed them they will produce a blessing. The Bible says that when we put God's Words of life into our hearts, it will produce blessings of health and long life.  In computer language we understand the expression, GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out). If we put the garbage of evil things in our spirits, that is what will come out; especially when we are under pressure. What is in our hearts (our spirits) will surface and come out of our mouths. Rebellion toward our parents and/or authorities reveals that we have a heart problem.  One of the Ten Commandments tells us that if we want a happy and long life, we must honor and respect our parents.

Deuteronomy 5:16: "Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee."

Those who refuse correction will never be able to overcome the problems in their lives. When they refuse the things that will bring them life, they are left to reap the results of the bad things they are sowing.  The Lord wants all of His children to be blessed; however, we cannot receive those blessings if we insist on our own way. If we refuse to obey the Lord, we will eventually end up in a place that we will not be happy about.  For the sinner without Christ, that place is hell. For rebellious Christians, disobedience creates a type of hell in this life, the loss of fellowship with God. This is just one of the losses that occurs. Since the devil is a robber and thief, he will take advantage of a backslidden Christian and begin to rob them of anything that he can. There is only one safe place in this world for any of us, and that place is in the center of God's will. If we are out of the will of God, we become a target of the devil and we must remember, that he is a killer and he is out to destroy us.  Let us walk in path of life, not death.

Prayer for the Day:

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You, as always, for Your abundant blessings. I may never know until I reach heaven how many times You have had Your angels protect me from the wicked one. I do appreciate You watching over me and my loved ones.  Lord, I pray this day for all of the backsliders. Lord, draw them back to Yourself. Forgive them and be merciful to them.  Thank You, that Your mercy endureth for ever. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.   Lord, thank you for correcting me when I have missed You in some way.  I do want to stay on the path of life. Keep Your children in the path of holiness and righteousness. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.