Today's Reading:
Jeremiah 33:1-34:22
Revelation 20:1-15
Proverbs 7:1-5
Click on Text Link to Read Online
Focus Verses: Proverbs 7:21-23
21
With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her
smooth talk. 22 All at once he followed her like an ox going to the
slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose 23 till an arrow pierces
his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost
him his life.
Insight:
In
Proverbs, Wisdom is personified as a virtuous woman who offers
instruction, truth, and knowledge. Folly is also personified as a woman,
but in contrast to wisdom she is a lying temptress who persuades with
empty promises of pleasure and instant gratification. Wisdom calls out,
"Let all who are feeble minded come in here and find understanding.
Leave your foolish ways behind and live!" Folly calls out, "Stolen water
is sweet. Let's have a good time. If it feels good, do it." Wisdom
offers life. Folly offers death.
No one has to try to
be foolish. It doesn't take any effort at all. In fact, the best way to
become a fool is to just put aside the whole idea of effort and
intention. Just go with your feelings. Just do whatever is easy and
within reach.
Becoming wise, however, requires effort.
It is necessary to heed warnings and seek out truth. It requires
discipline, intention, the drive to shake off laziness, and the ability
to rise above feelings. Most of all, it requires the grace and truth of
God. Without God's help and guidance, wisdom is beyond our reach.
Thankfully, God is reaching out to us and has made wisdom available to
us through the Scriptures, his Son, his Spirit, and his people—the
Church.
Response and Action:
I
am thankful that Wisdom is calling out to me. I am thankful that God in
his grace and mercy has revealed himself through Christ Jesus. I want
to be responsive to the gift of wisdom and truth God has extended to me.
I will listen to his Word, and I will heed the warnings he gives. I
will cling to the promises he has made, and I will walk in the ways he
has instructed me to go. I will be on guard against temptations and
lies--within and without--that would turn me away from wisdom.
O
God, help me to live for you and through you. Help me to turn away from
what is wrong and do what is right. Help me to love you with all my
heart, soul, mind, and strength. Grant me the wisdom and the will to
guard my heart, to feed my spirit, to stimulate my mind, and care for my
body. Be faithful to me and do not let me be tempted beyond what I can
bear, and when I am tempted, give me strength to stand and show me the
ways of escape. Help me to leave my foolish ways and to walk in the
truth. Amen.
Spiritual Formation Verses: 1 Corinthians 10:13
13 No
temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is
faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But
when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can
stand up under it.
Resources:
How to Read Proverbs
by Tremper Longman
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