Key Verse: Proverbs 4:23
Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.
In Proverbs 4 Solomon details the influence of his father, King David. David’s words were indeed retained in Solomon’s heart (4:4). When God asked Solomon what he wanted, he remembered his father’s words and asked for wisdom rather than riches, power, fame, etc. (1 Kings 4:29-30). We are in the midst of reading the proof that God gave Solomon his request…the “Book of Proverbs.” David had illustrated this gift of wisdom to his son by referring to the ancient practice in the marriage ceremony when the bride would put a wreath (crown of glory) upon the bridegroom’s head.
Proverbs 5 teaches divine wisdom in marriage faithfulness. Here is a strong warning to stay far from, and not even consider, sexual immorality. With an illustration of a fountain of water, Solomon shows that it is absolutely essential to remain faithful to one’s spouse. Lasting satisfaction and God’s blessing will come from honouring the marriage covenant. For a New Testament meditation see Matthew 15:15-20.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Dear Lord God, I pray that my heart will be filled with Your wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. I realize that whatever I put in my heart will affect every area of my life. May my heart be so full of You that there will be no room left for that which is not of You. I pray in the Name of the One “In Whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9)…Jesus. Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
As I sit at my laptop computer typing these words, I’m thinking of the modern proverb that arrived with the computer age, “garbage in – garbage out.” My former co-host on television from 1977 to 1992, Rev. Father Bob MacDougal, used to ask people if they had put their garbage out so that God could pick it up and dispose of it. He had practised as a clinical psychologist at one time in Toronto, so he knew, as a professional, the importance of getting the bad stuff out. The morning after I first heard him say this, I was driving at about 4:30 a.m., north on Jarvis Street, toward our studios at 100 Huntley Street. There, in front of me, stopping every few feet, was Toronto garbage truck #100!! I got the message loudly and clearly from God, “David, get the garbage out! Furthermore, live in such a way that you don’t put garbage into your heart in the first place.” Amen!!! Amen!!!
Yours, knowing that “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [garbage]” (1 John 1:9),
David
Key Verses: Proverbs 9:8-9
Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you;
Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
In Proverbs 9 wisdom is personified as a woman who invites a guest int...
Key Verses: Proverbs 7:1-3
My son, keep my words,
And treasure my commands within you.
Keep my commands and live,
And my law as the apple of your eye.
Bind them on your fingers;
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
Think of just how we would react if we were about to get hit in the eye. Im...
Key Verses: Proverbs 13:22
A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,
But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.
Let’s back up to yesterday’s blog, Proverbs 12, for an observation. Here are principles which will help us reach our goals: (1) Be teachable! – ...
