Acts 26: Paul is Called Crazy for his Beliefs

Paul is standing before another judge and he give his defense. This time he tells the entirety of his testimony, how he was once like his accusers, persecuting Christians because of what they believed. He explains that he met the risen Jesus as he was walking towards the city of Damascus.
He then points out how the Old Testament said that the Messiah would suffer and rise again, as he begins to try to convince his new judge to put his faith in Jesus.
At this time he is accused of being crazy. This is the point where Christians are always thought of as crazy. The resurrection to some is an insurmountable issue holding them back from the Gospel. "When people die, they stay dead" they might say. Well the truth is that God is stronger than that. God could bring his Son back from the dead, and he did. We are not crazy, but by faith, we believe this truth, and we tell it to others in the hopes that they will also believe. If we are called crazy because of this belief, so be it.

Acts 25: The judges do not know what his crime is.

Yet another individual hears the case against Paul and they hear his defense. Once against this is an opportunity for Paul to present the gospel.
The Jews just want him to be moved to Jerusalem so that they can ambush and kill him on the way. They realize that in a fair trial he would win and not be executed.
Festus, his judge, realizes that the main different boils down to weather Jesus is alive or not, and does not fully understand why that would be a crime.
Paul appeals to Caesar for his trial, and Festus brings in another man just to figure out what to write to Caesar concerning him.
God is working behind the scenes to insure that the Gospel is spread.

Acts 24: Paul Defends Himself.

Paul is put on trial. The prosecution arrived and gave their statement.
They said that Paul stirred up trouble everywhere he went. (Which is only true because they chased him around stirring up trouble against him)
They also said that he defiled the temple. (Which he did not do)
They also accused him of being the "ringleader of the sect of nazarenes." (They were right that he was one of the leaders of Christianity at the time.)

In his response he focus on what he does believe.
He says that he believe in the God of their fathers, that the prophets spoke of. And he says he does what he does in good conscience due to the fact that he believes the just and the unjust will both be resurrected.
The idea behind what he is saying is that the just will be resurrected for eternal reward in heaven, and that the unjust will be resurrected for eternal damnation, and Paul wants to be in the just category. He does also admit to being a follower of "the way". But he argues very strongly that this does not contradict the Old Testament, that God-fearing people will believe in "The Way". His reason for saying this is because Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. Paul is arguing that he is in the right, and that since the messiah has come all Jews should believe as he does.
After this Paul was held in prison because the governor was hoping to get money from him, but he had ample opportunity to speak with the Governor concerning what he believed.

Acts 23: Paul is Smart

Sorry that I forgot to update four 6 days. It will not happen again.

Paul has been arrested for preaching the gospel. He is brought before the Sanhedrin, the council of Sadducees and Pharisees that rules in religious matters over the Jewish people.
When Paul realizes that both groups of people are there he uses it to his advantage. They do not agree on much in the way of doctrine.
PHarisees believe in angels and resurrection. They are literalists, where as the Saducees do not believe in these things.
So Paul brilliantly brings up this issue so that the two groups fight amongst themselves so his trial cannot proceed.

AFter this some of the Jews try to ambush him but God foils their plan.
Paul in the end of this chapter is sent to the governor of the area so that he can be tried. His accusers will get an opportunity to say what he did and he will get a chance to defend.

As we continue to follow that life of Paul we will see that God uses this situation for his Glory and so that the gospel can be spread.

Acts 17: The Bereans

Some people argue and ignore the gospel, and even react violently to it.
Other accept it.
The people from the city of Berea are a model for us all.
When we hear teaching in church or some other Christian we should just not openly accept it we should instead check with the word of God to make sure that what we have heard is true.
The Bible is our foundation and it tells us everything we need to know about God and living the Christian life.
The Bereans according to verse 11 because "they received the word with all eagerness examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so."
They did not take Paul word for it, but they listened to what he had to say intently and checked with the word of God to make sure he was right.
I tell you this, any Pastor or preacher would be very happy to hear that this is what you are doing with their sermons, and you would also be blessed by doing it, because it would put you into deeper study of the Bible.

Acts 16: Singing in Prison

Paul and Silas are arrested as they continue on their missionary journey. They are then thrown into prison.
What would we do if we were in their position?
We would probably complain, moan, call out to God and ask him why, but this is not what they were doing.
They were singing praises to God. They were worshiping God as they were in prison.
This shows tremendous faith. They were praising God because they knew he was in control. They knew that no matter what God was there, whether they stayed in prison or were freed, or even if they were to die, they rested in the love and sovereign will of God.
God does in the end release them from jail, and because they do not run away, and because they were singing as they were in prison they are able to tell the Jailer himself about Jesus.
They celebrate in the midst of a trial and because of this they are able to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Acts 14: Sorry I skipped it.

So I did acts 15 on the 14th, and I am doing Acts 14th on the 15th to catch up. It seems as if I momentarily forgot how to count

The crowd of people in the town of Lystra appear to be a very fickle group.
Paul heals a lame man, who has been unable to walk since birth, and they want to sacrifice a bull to him and worship him as a god. Paul and Barnabas are able to stop them before they are able to sacrifice the bull. This is in direct contrast to Herod who accepted worship as a god and was struck down by God because of it. The Jews from two cities that Paul had already been too followed him to Lystra to stir up trouble. They succeeded. Paul, just shortly after he was almost worshiped as a god, was dragged out of the city and stoned. They left him for dead, though he gets up and walks back into the city.
The Gospel is offensive to some and causes them to react harshly and negatively. Others respond in a manner that accepts the truth of the Gospel. This is still true today.

Acts 15:Salvation by Grace Confirmed

It seems as if it did not take very long before false teachers sprung up in the church. Paul and Barnabas meet people claimingto be Christians but teaching that you must be circumcised. Circumcision was a Jewish ritual put in place by God in his Covenant with Abraham, it was to show that the Israelites were different and set apart.
These people were saying that faith is not enough, that works were necessary.
But Peter, when all their was a big council on the matter had this to say in verse 11 "But we will be saved through grace just as they will."
The truth is only grace can save us not any works that we can do.
In the end the council determines that they should refrain from imposing the ceremonial law on the Gentile converts and only require them to follow a few specific rules, and even those are not an issue of salvation but of fellowship.
In the global church today there are people who had to salvation. Saying you have to do something ceremonial, they might say you have to be baptized or walk an aisle at the end of a sermon. The truth is you must repent of your sins and believe on Jesus, and then by grace you will be saved.

Acts 13: Success and Persecution on the First Missionary Journey

At this point the church in Jerusalem led by the apostles have recently learned that the Gospel is for all people and not just the Jews. The Holy Spirit tells them to send out Barnabas and Saul (Also named Paul) so that they can spread the Gospel to other regions. Paul and Barnabas then become the first missionaries. They go to Cyprus first, which is an Island off the coast of Greece. Then onto Antioch. They go to the Jews in Antioch believing that they should begin with the Jewish population in each location.
The major point of the sermon by Paul is that Jesus rose from the dead. The resurrection is a key point for the Christian. It is also one that many people refuse to believe just like in this chapter.

Acts 12: Rescue and Punishment

Peter is arrested, but he is not held long. An angel frees him, though he is left standing at the door to a house where the church is meeting because of a young girls excitement over Peters escape. No Jail can hold the servants of God if God still has work for them to do. God is in control of such things and He lets them go as He pleases.

Herod is punished. Herod is the king of Israel. Really he is a Governor who governs the province under the Roman emperor. Someone calls out that his voice is not the voice of a man but of a God. He does nothing to deny this statement so God strikes him down. God is the only God and making any claims to the same is a dangerous business. So in what we do we should point to God and bring honor and glory to him rather than ourselves.

Acts 11: Called Christians

Up until this point people looked at the early Church as a radical Jewish sect. But it seems at this time in Antioch the church stood out. But notice it doesn’t say “they called themselves Christians” but that they were called Christians there for the first time.
Why is this important?
1. It means they were different.
If they were living the same lifestyle as everyone else, they would not of deserved a name that distinguished them from everyone else. They were different in how the lived.
2. Christ was their central focus.
They were called Christians because Christ Jesus was there main focus. It is similar to in the past when Christians were called “Jesus Freaks” (It is not just a song...) because they were crazy about Jesus. These peoples central focus was Christ.
The question we have to ask ourselves is would we be called Christians if that name wasn’t around? Would we be associate with Jesus Christ by how we live our lives and by what our central focus is? Or are we only called Christians because we call ourselves Christians?

Acts 10: The Gospel For All

Up until this time, outside of the Ethiopian Eunuch, the people who had responded to the Gospel were either Jews, or Half-Jews.
The Jews were set apart to God. They were supposed to be different so that they would be a testimony of God before all the other peoples so that those peoples would also turn to God. But the Jews ended up looking at their differences with pride. They would not associate with any Gentiles, not eat with them or stay in their houses.
It actually takes a dream from God for Peter to understand that the Gospel is for all, but he in the end does understand this.
We need to be careful that we do not make the mistake of thinking that the Gospel is for us but not for them. Whoever "them" may be.
Regardless of race or nationality that Gospel should be proclaimed to all. So lets spread the goodnews of God to all people, not to just a select few.

Acts 9: God Chooses Saul, and He Can't Do Anything About It.

Saul was a man who was persecuting the church. He had some measure of authority and seems to have been one of the men in charge at the stoning of Stephen. He gets permission to go to the city of Damascus to imprison and persecute more Christians. But something happens on his way. He gets blind sided by Jesus. A bright light shines down on him and he talks to Jesus face to face. God has chosen him for a specific purpose and chooses to show him grace.
He changes his name to Paul and tells him that he will be a witness for God. Much of the rest of the books of Acts follows Paul. He is used by God to spread his message.
But for a moment look at the conversion of Paul. Paul is stopped b God in a miraculous way. Paul is rebelling against God, persecuting his church, and God intervenes and changes him, in a single moment. Paul doesn’t seem to have a choice. Left up to Paul, he would of continued to persecute the church. But God decides he wants something different for Paul. I say all of this because our conversions are the same. Left up to ourselves we would have nothing to do with God, but God decides to change us, and decides to give us grace. And ultimately, there is not anything we can do to stop the grace of God.

Acts 8: Through the Persecution the Gospel Spreads

Before Jesus left he told the disciples that they were going to be witnesses for him not just in Jerusalem but in the surrounding areas, and to the end of the world. Up until this point in the book of Acts they have been solely in Jerusalem. But because of persecution the Christians are scattered and begin to spread the gospel to the surrounding area.
The Gospel begins to spread to Samaria. And two of the Apostles travel their to check out whats going on. An individual attempts to buy the power of giving the Holy Spirit. This early in the church someone is already attempting to use it for their own personal gain.
Also in this chapter we see the propagation of the Gospel to a man from Africa. Phillip is given the opportunity to tell a Ethiopian man about Jesus from the book of Isaiah once against showing that the entire Bible is about Jesus.
It is a tremendous comfort to know the God uses bad things for goods purposes like he did with the persecution of the early church.

Acts 7: The First Martyr's Last Speech

Stephen in the last chapter was chosen to be one of the deacons. He was telling others about his faith and was soon arrested for it. When placed on trial he is given an oportunity to defend himself, and begins talking about Abraham and the begining of the nation of Israel. He does this for two reasons.
1. He shows that Israel has continually rejected God and his Prophets.
2. That the entirety of the Bible was leading up to Jesus.

He concludes by telling the people who have put him on trial that they are just like their ancestors, they killed Jesus whome God sent.
Telling his accusers this did not hel his case, they became very angry and stoned him. But to the last moment Stephen was a good witness for Jesus saying in verse 60 “ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.”
Stephen is the first erson to be killed for his belief in Jesus.

Acts 6: Serving Widows

Often times in American culture we treat out elderly as outcasts. There is a focus on the young being important. The aged are often mocked for being out of touch, and treated as useless. This makes no sense, since the aged are often wiser than those having youth, and much can be learned from them. It is also not biblical, we need to be taking care of our elderly as is done in this passage.
There is a little strife in the church at this point. Apparently the Jewish Christians are overlooking the feeding of the Greek Christians’ Widows. This was a big problem that the Apostles took seriously. They stated that it is not what they should be focused on, but they realized it was important. So they elected 7 people called deacons to take care of the Widows in the church.

Saturday Video: Trip Lee Invasion

Acts 5: A Biblical Horror Story

Ever tried to lie to God? A couple observations:
1. It doesn’t work. (God is omniscient.)
2. It is dangerous. (God is all-powerful.)

These two things are something that the early church figures out rather quickly at quite a cost to a couple among them.

They sell their field and give some of the money to the church, which is not a problem. The problem is that they wanted people to think that they were giving all of the money to the church. They attempted to deceive the Apostles and God.

The problem with their plan was that God still knew. In verse 3 the Bible says, “Then Peter said, 'Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?'”
God knew, and God revealed it to Peter.

The second problem with their plan shows the power of God. Verse 5 says, “When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.” God killed him for his deceit. His wife dies shortly after her husband because of the same deceit.

Acts 4: Under Arrest

There are many places in the world where preaching the name of Jesus will still get you arrested. Here in this passage the Apostles get arrested for healing a man and preaching in the name of Jesus. The church, newly founded, is facing persecution. When the men are arrested, they are told to not speak about Jesus anymore.

Their response is short and to the point: “But Peter and John replied, 'Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to Him? You be the judges!'"

They essentially say, “Should we listen to you or God?” This question has an obvious answer; we are to listen to God.

This might not seem important, but a day may come when even in America we are told we must not tell others about Jesus. But we must do what God says not what man says.

Acts 3: The Gospel Displayed

Peter and John healed a man in the name of Jesus. They used this miraculous occurrence as an opportunity to proclaim the truth of the Gospel.

I want you to see that all of the parts of the Gospel are in this passage. Paul is very specific; he tells them that they killed Jesus. Peter also says that God raised Jesus from the dead. In verses 18-19 Peter says, “But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out.”

Peter defends his statements using the Old Testament, showing that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament. He then calls for the people to repent (turn from their sin and turn to Jesus). If they do this their sin will be forgiven; their sin will be blotted out.

Peter says this to the people responsible for the death of Jesus. How great is the grace and mercy of God that even those people were offered forgiveness!

Acts 2: The Miracle of Pentacost

The disciples seem to have been waiting for the Holy Spirit. Their teacher (Jesus) has left, thought he promised to send the Holy Spirit, and so they were waiting. Pentacost is 40 days after Passover, which is when Jesus died. So this chapter takes place forty days after the death of Jesus and Peter’s denial of Jesus three times.  Here, a miraculous event takes place. More than one actually.

The first being that the disciples, speaking in their language, are miraculously understood in a different language. This caused the Gospel to spread rapidly since people were in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentacost though they lived throughout the Roman Empire.

The second being that Peter is a changed man.  He was previously denying Christ but is now preaching the gospel and calling on all men to believe in Jesus. This life change is due to being radically changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Acts 1: Jesus' Final Commission

The book of Acts is about what happens to the followers of Jesus after he ascends into heaven. The first chapter begins with Jesus’ final command to his disciples.

Jesus says in verse 8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus promises to them that they will be empowered by the Holy Spirit, and when they are empowered they will be witnesses for Jesus Christ.

There is a progression in the locations.  It would be like saying, "You will be a witness for me in Williamston, and in all Martin County and Pitt County, and to the ends of the world.”

If we believe in Jesus, we are empowered by the same Spirit, and we should be a witness for Him!

State of the Blog: Finished Proverbs, On to Acts

We are continuing on our journey of daily Bible reading. We learned a lot from the book of Proverbs; now we are moving on to the book of Acts.

The book of Acts starts with Jesus ascending back into heaven, and gives the history of the early church in Jerusalem. It shows how the early church spread throughout the Roman empire, and tells us much about the men who spread it.

It is an exciting book, full of adventure and full of truths about God and man.

Also, it has 28 chapters, which is the same as the amount of days that are in February.

While you are here, you may as well check out this awesome video:

Proverbs 31: The Godly Woman

I want you to take a moment and think about the woman described in this passage.

Women, does this in any way, shape, or form describe you?  If it doesn’t, this should be a model to you. Stop emulating the people that might be cool, stylish, or attractive. Instead emulate this woman who is a hardworking woman, who made a great wife for this man. She is of extreme value to him and to the kingdom of God

Men, does this describe the girl you're looking for in the future when the time comes?  If not, then you need to reevaluate what you are looking for. You might be looking for a girl that is stylish or pretty, but if she is not morally upright and hard working, is that the type of girl you want to spend your life with? Or are you looking to just have fun at the expense of a broken heart? Test yourselves men, and save yourself for a woman like the one described in this passage.

Proverbs 30: Prayer

Do we pray like the author of this chapter?

In verses 7-9 he prays: “Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.”

This man asks to be neither rich nor poor. For if he is rich, he may think he doesn’t need God, and if he is poor, he may be tempted to steal. He asks all of this for the sake of the name of God--not his own greediness, but for the glory of God and how people will respond to God.

Do we pray in this manner or do we pray selfishly?

Provers 29: Justice

Though the government is ordained by God, and we are supposed to obey it, we should not look to it for perfect or complete justice. Even the greatest kings or politicians are far from being perfect in their judgements. We should not be dreamers who think the next big political thing is going to solve our problems; only God can do that.

Verse 26 states, “Many seek the face of a ruler, but it is from the LORD that a man gets justice.”

Ultimately, justice will come from God. When Jesus returns to this earth he will judge justly as only God can.

Proverbs 28: Confess Your Sin

Verse 13 says something that we do not like to hear. “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

We like to hide our sins; we even try to hide them from God. This verse is saying instead of hiding our sins, we need to confess them, say that they are wrong, and not do them any more. 

This is a harder way to live, since in and of ourselves we would like to assign blame and make excuses. However, this verse says we will be shown mercy if we confess and forsake our sins, but bad things will happen if we dont.

Proverbs 27: Getting Sharper

Verse 17 says, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." 

What this means is that those we are with will affect us. We will be sharpened by those who are doing what's right and weakened by being with those who do wrong. Iron sharpens iron, and Christian sharpen other Christians.

Do you find yourself continually hanging out with people who bring you down spiritually? Then stop it, and instead hang with those who will sharpen you and push you to do better.  Spend time with those who push you closer to Jesus, rather than those who push you farther away.

Proverbs 26: Eating Vomit?

There is a verse in this chapter that is gross.

Verse 11 says, “Like a dog who returns to is vomit, is a fool who returns to his folly.”

Ever done something foolish? And then done it again? And again? The Bible says that doing this is like a dog that goes back and eats his own vomit.

This is a habit that we have to break. We will find ourselves slipping up and falling back into the same pits over and over again. You would think we would learn, but we don’t always. We need to break this habit, and realize the foolish things we do are like vomit.

Proverbs 25: Repay Meanness with niceness

Our immediate response to someone who is mean to us is to be mean back. This often causes the conflict to escalate and get much worse than it would have been had we responded in a different manner.

Verses 21-22 of this chapter are very interesting: "If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you."

The idea is be nice to your enemies. If you are nice to your enemies you may bring them to change their attitude because of what you did and how you responded. You, as a Christian, could help bring them to God by your actions of kindness in the face of their unkindness.

Proverbs 24: Authority

Do you have trouble respecting authority?

American teenagers are sometimes (sadly) known for disrespecting authority. Are you disrespectful of your parents, police officers, or teachers?

There may be peer pressure to be disrespectful because some people think it's cool to be disrespectful. Well, one thing we see in the book of Proverbs is an encouragement to respect God’s authority and the authority of the King. We must remember that God is sovereign ,and for this reason we must respect the laws of the land and do as they say.

Verses 21-22 say, "My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise for disaster will arise suddenly from them, and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?"

Judgement awaits us if we do not listen to the authorities God has placed over our lives.  Let us remember that.

Proverbs 23: Don't Envy Evil

Do you ever find yourself envying how others live?

Maybe they go to a lot of parties, and it looks like they are having a lot of fun.  Maybe they get whatever they want because they steal, or because the only thing they care about is money.  Maybe he has a lot of friends because he tells dirty jokes.  Maybe she gets lots of dates because she dresses immodestly.

Verse 17 says, "Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all day."

This is a warning that we should not envy the lives of sinners, but instead fear and respect God. We live our lives knowing that Jesus has given us life and given it more abundantly, so we do not need to be envious of the lifestyles of others.

Proverbs 22: Excuses, Excuses

Have you ever made up excuses for why you didn't do something?

"The water makes my hands dry out, so I didn't do the dishes."
"There is a loud, angry dog outside, so I cant mow the lawn."
"My parents gave me too many chores, so I didn't have time to do my homework."
"I just didn’t have time."
"There is a lion in the street, I cant go to work."

Oh wait... that last one is in this chapter (verse 13).

You know the sluggard (or lazy person) will make up any excuse just to get out of doing what they are supposed to do. Do you find yourself  not doing things often and then making excuses?

Let me tell you that it won’t be the lion that kills you, but your laziness will, in a sense, kill you.

Repent of this sin, and do all your work unto the God.

Proverbs 21: Honesty

Verse 6 says, "The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death."

It may seem like a good idea at the time to be dishonest just to get ahead. You might even get ahead for a while, but it will be short-lived. There is no satisfaction in winning by cheating, or by earning your way through life dishonestly.

Also, it will not last. Eventually you will get caught and punished.

There is no lasting value in living in a dishonest manner. Many people try to get by with a dishonest life, and it ends in ruin, perhaps with them ending up friendless and in jail. On the other hand, honest gain is lasting gain.

Proverbs 20: Hypocrisy

Are you saying one thing and doing another?

This might work for a while, but verse 11 says, “Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.”

People watch what you do and eventually will figure it out if your behavior is wrong. On the other hand, if you are doing what is right you don’t need to walk around saying "Look at me I’m doing right."  Your behavior will make that evident to others.

Proverbs 19: Slothful

Are you lazy? The Bible uses a word in many translations: slothful. This is used to describe a lazy person.

One verse in this chapter has this to say: “Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.”

Lazy people will end up sleeping so much that they don't get anything done; you can't be productive when you are sleeping. An idle person won't be able to make money so he will be hungry.

As younger individuals we set the pace of our lives. The habits that we form now will be with us for the rest of our lives. Are you lazy now? There is still time to change, so stop being lazy and work hard so that you will no longer be slothful.

Proverbs 18: Watch Yo Mouth

When I was younger I would often say things to specifically make people mad. I did this most often to my older brothers, because of this I often got well deserved beatings. But if you think about it I was pretty much asking for it, by purposely insulting or annoying them. Have you ever been in a situation where you used your mouth to get into trouble like I did? And you knew you were doing it? Ever said something intentionally to make someone mad? Well essentially this chapter says you're a fool.

Verse 6 says, “A fool's lips walk into a fight and his mouth invites a beating.”

I was a fool when I purposely provoked my brothers. When we talk in such a way as to provoke people, we are acting like a fool. Instead of using our mouth to get into trouble we should hold our tongue and be careful in what we speak. So Watch Yo Mouth!

Proverbs 17: Silence

My mom used to tell me, “If you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all.” This is a sound piece of advice, and to some extent is a modern day proverb. There is a proverb similar to that in this chapter.

Verse 28 says, “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.”

Sometimes we do not have anything to say, but we like to hear our own voice and want to impress people, but we do not know what we are talking about so we fail miserably. But if we just keep our mouth shut we wouldn’t look so foolish, and may have learned from what others were saying.

Proverbs 16: Pride

Pride is something we are all guilty of it at one time or another.

Sometimes we get so caught up in our accomplishments or achievements that we fail to realize all the things we have done wrong or are incapable of doing.

Verse 18 of this chapter says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Destruction follows our pride. If we think more highly of ourselves than we should, we will fall, and it will be revealed that we are not as good as we appear.

Let's instead look at ourselves in a true light, recognizing our sin and weaknesses rather that being puffed up in our own mind.

Saturday Video: Do You Want God? Sermon Jam

Proverbs 15: God is Watching

God knows everything. Every thought, every action, everything that we have ever done. He knows the good stuff that we have done when no one else does. He also know every dark and deep secret that we keep hidden from everyone else.

Verse 3 says, “The Eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”

We must realize that when we do things in secret, God knows anyway. Let us confess our secret sins to Him and beg Him for forgiveness. We will be forgiven if we do this.

Also, we should look at this verse as a blessing too. God knows the needs we have, and He can be trusted to take care of us!

Proverbs 14: Doing What Feels Right

I hear this phrase all the time: “I am just going to do what feels right.” This is a statement that sounds good, until you look at it closer. Is how you feel the best indicator of whether something is right or wrong?

Often our feelings are very wrong.

Verse 12 says: “There is a way that seems right unto a man, but its end is the way of death.”

Our feelings are not a good indicator of what is right or wrong. The Bible is the indicator of what is right and wrong.

We need to recognize that if our feelings and the Bible contradict, we need to follow the Bible.

So next time you think to yourself, "I am going to do what feels right," make sure, instead, that you are doing what is right according to God's Word.

Proverbs 13: Parental Discipline

Some of you think your parents hate you when they punish you. You may feel like they are being hard or mean.

But they do not hate you. They are trying to raise you rightly, and they discipline you because they love you.

Listen to verse 24: “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.”

Discipline causes you to become a different person. It helps you mature, and to learn from your past mistakes so you live life better.

Thank your parents for the discipline they have given you, and try to learn from each instance what you did wrong so that you can do better in the future.

Proverbs 12: Being Stupid

Do you remember getting into arguments when you were a kid? Maybe you argued about which Pokemon was betters (the answer is Zapdos), or which member of a boy band was the cutest, or maybe which Star Trek series was the best (okay, that last one was just me).

After you had been arguing for a while, it would turn ugly and you would start calling each other names. Finally someone would proclaim, “Well, you're just stupid.” (People in the background would be like “Oohhh, no, he didn’t!”)

The only response to “Well, you're just stupid” was to call the other person stupid as well. Bonus points if it could be done in a clever manner: “I'm rubber you’re glue....”

The point is, calling someone stupid is no joke. It is a serious matter. It hurts to be called stupid, and if the Bible calls us stupid we should probably change our ways.

Verse 1 says, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.”

If you respond to correction well, you love knowledge. But, if you hate it when someone corrects you when you do something wrong, then you are stupid, according to the Bible.

Proverbs 11: You Can't Take it With You

You may have seen the bumper sticker that says "he who dies with the most toys wins." This statement is supposed to make us realize that life is not about stuff.

But so many of us live with this mindset. We want things. Fast cars, lots of money, and giant houses, among other things. But you know what happens to people who live their life for stuff? They die, just like everyone else, and they do not get to take their stuff with them. (Maybe you've seen the other bumper sticker that is more accurate: "he who dies with the most toys still dies.")

Verse 7 says, “When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too.”

The wicked man's hope is on things on this earth. His hope is in his wealth or in his ability or in his station in life. So when he dies, his hope dies.

Let us, instead, cling to an eternal hope, found in God and in our resurrected Savior.

Proverbs 10: Living in God's Land

I believe we all want to live in the land of God. I don’t think you would be reading this if you did not want to live in God’s land.

So what does it take?

Verse 30 says, “The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not dwell in the land.”

In the context of the Old Testament as a whole, this is directly referring to the land of Israel that God had promised to Abraham. But the application, or the principle, is much broader. To go to the land that God has promised us takes being righteous. We of course know from Romans 3:10-11 that we are not righteous for it says: “as it is written, ‘none is righteous, no, not one; no one understand, no seeks after God.”

So how can we enter into the land God has for us? The answer is found in the book of Genesis.
Genesis 15:6 says, “And he believed the Lord and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

Believing in God is what was counted as righteousness for Abraham, and it is what will count as righteousness for us.  We cannot be righteous outside of this.

Proverbs 9: How Do You Respond to Correction?

We all mess up a lot. People tend to see this, and our friends or our parents will correct us and help us. We have two ways we can respond to this correction. We can get angry, or we can understand that it was done in love, and choose to change our ways.


Verse 8 says, "Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you."


If we are scoffers and fools, we will respond angrily to correction. If we are wise, we will respond with love to that person. We need to strive to accept correction in love and to act wisely in this manner. 

Often when someone points out something that we have done wrong they are doing this because they love us, so let us respond by changing our lives, not fighting them.

Saturday Video: Gospel Graffiti

Proverbs 8: Wisdom Can Be Found

Let me assure you that wisdom exists, and it can be found in the pages of the Bible. Let me tell you that it is not too late. You may not have lived your life listening to God and to His Word up to this point, but you can start now. Wisdom is said to be crying aloud for all to hear, if we are just willing to listen.

Verses 35-36 say, "For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”

If we find wisdom we get favor from God, and if we don’t find wisdom we hurt ourselves. To sum up: wisdom can be found, and if we don’t find it, we are in trouble.

Proverbs 7: Looking for Sin

We often put ourselves in a position that will cause temptation and lead to sin. We allow ourselves to be put in situations with people of the opposite gender where we are going to be tempted to sin sexually. In some ways it is like we are looking for sin, or at least trying to see how close we can come and still avoid sin. This chapter is written so that we would avoid sexual sin. It is written so that we would avoid even being tempted by such sin and instead would flee it. It might appear to be fun at the time, and sin can be seductive, but we need to run away from it.

Verses 8-9 say, "and I have seen among the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense, passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house."

The man is heading to the prostitute's house.  He is seeing how close he can get to sin, and in the end he falls into it. Let us not be like him, but instead flee from sin.

Proverbs 6: Laziness

Laziness is a sin that many people struggle with. We tend to avoid hard work and instead expect things to be done for us. Maybe we complain when we are supposed to do chores or our homework. But life takes hard work, and the Christian life takes even more hard work.

In this chapter Solomon uses the illustration of an ant, here is what he says in vereses 7-8: "Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest."

The ant doesn’t need anyone to watch over it making sure that it does what it needs to do. And neither should you. You should fulfill your obligations for school and in your home without your parents riding you the whole time.

Proverbs 5: Regret

What do you think your going to regret at the end of your life?

Do you think you will regret doing whats right?

Do you think you will regret listening to those with more wisdom than you?

Or will you regret ignoring those who are wiser and older than you?

Or will you regret your sin, and foolish behavior?

Verses 12-14 say, “and you say, 'How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.'”

Here is a man who ignored instruction, and followed his own way, on the edge of destruction. He regrets not listening to people when he was younger. He regrets hating discipline and instruction.

You will regret going to parties, and doing other bad things, but you will not regret living for and loving God.

Proverbs 4: Which Path?

There are two paths that we can take in this life. We can take the path of the wicked, which leads to death and destruction. Or we can take the path of righteousness, which leads to life.

Verses 14-15 say, “Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.”

We are supposed to stay away from the path of the wicked and not even touch it. This is a path that leads to bad things. Small sins lead to more sin as we walk down this path of destruction. Sometimes we walk down this path because of friends or for other reasons, but we should walk down the path of righteousness instead.

Verses 26-27 say, "Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil."

We need to examine the path that we are on. Are we on the path of righteousness, leading to God? Or are we on the path leading to destruction? Are there things, or even people, that we need to cut out of our life so that we go down the right path?

Proverbs 3: Trusting God

The book of Proverbs may be talking about wisdom and knowledge, but its not your wisdom or knowledge, its about God’s.

Verse 5 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”

By our nature we are fools.  We need the wisdom of God.

We shouldn’t follow our own ideas and our own path, but instead we should follow the wisdom of God.

Verse 6 continues this idea: “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

In everything that we do we should honor God.

If we do this, the Bible says that our paths will be made straight.

Proverbs 2: What Do You Expect?

Do you expect wisdom to come up to you and introduce itself?  Do you expect to wake up one morning and suddenly be wise?

or

Do you expect to have to work for wisdom?  Do you expect to have to search for wisdom?

Verses 4-5 say: "If you seek it like silver, and search for it like hidden treasure, then you will understand how to fear the Lord, and you will discover knowledge about God." (NET)

We have to look for wisdom. It will not come to us; we have to find it. We have to search for it like it is something of worth before we can gain it. If we do not think of wisdom as having value, then we will not find wisdom.

So then, let us search for widsom, and let us search for the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 1: Is this for You?

Proverbs 1

Is this for you?

Is the book of proverbs a book for you? This question is answered in verse 4.

The author of Proverbs (a king named Solomon) says, “to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth—” (ESV)

Now I’m not saying you are "simple," but you are a youth. Discretion and knowledge are important things. They help us know right from wrong and good from bad.

This book was written so that you, a youth, might know how to live your life.

So how do we gain wisdom or discretion? King Solomon also answers that question:
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (ESV)

So, fear (or reverent respect) is the beginning of this knowledge of good and evil. Our options are simple: we can know God, and respect Him and begin a journey towards wisdom, or we can despise wisdom and instruction and be labeled a fool.

So I hope you join us as we go through the book of Proverbs, and gain wisdom that can only come from God and His Word. Every day in January we will read a chapter of Proverbs, and their will be a short devotional thought on this blog.

I hope you will join us on this journey into wisdom!