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The Word for wisdom:

Proverbs 30:4 (HCSB)
Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His Son— if you know?

The Word for inspiration:

Psalm 75:1 (HCSB)
We give thanks to You, God; we give thanks to You, for Your name is near. People tell about Your wonderful works.

My observation:

As the writer of the Proverb says, there are many things about creation and life that we do not know. However, the good news for the believer is that we know the one who knows everything.

John 1:10-12 (HCSB)
¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was created through Him, yet the world did not recognize Him. ¹¹ He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. ¹² But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name,

Like the Psalmist every believer has the privilege of being a witness of the almighty works of our true and living God.

My prayer:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I extol you for your mighty works in creation. Most of all I am so thankful for your mighty work in the recreation of man who was marred by sin.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (HCSB)
He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Revelation 4:8 (HCSB)
Each of the four living creatures had six wings; they were covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night they never stop, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God, the Almighty, who was, who is, and who is coming.

My song:

What a Victory! What a Triumph! (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/nt/1174

The Word for wisdom:

Proverbs 29:2 (HCSB)
When the righteous flourish, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, people groan.

The Word for inspiration:

Psalm 74:19-20 (HCSB)
¹⁹ Do not give the life of Your dove to beasts; do not forget the lives of Your poor people forever. ²⁰ Consider the covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of violence.

My observation:

In every period of history there is a need for government for an orderly society. Governmental leaders are necessary, and they bear a large responsibility that is too big for their shoulders.

The Proverb for today has a prescription for successful leadership, and that prescription is righteous men and women to govern over a civil society. We don’t need people with better programs because no one can create a set of programs that will solve all of the problems of our nation.

What we need from our citizens is the exercise of self-control.  Today’s Proverb speaks of two areas that we need to exercise self-control. The first area relates to expressing our feelings.

Proverbs 29:11 (HCSB)
A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man holds it in check.

Proverbs 29:22 (HCSB)
An angry man stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered man increases rebellion.

The second area relates to putting a guard over what comes out of our mouth.

Proverbs 29:20 (HCSB)
Do you see a man who speaks too soon? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

The Psalm for today is a prayer of Asaph. In his prayer Asaph recognizes that God is able to do great and mighty things. The Psalmist recognized that although Israel was in deep trouble, the God he served and cried out to for help was able to help them. Our troubles may be too big for us, but they are not too big for God.

Psalm 74:22 (AMP)
Arise, O God, plead Your own cause; remember [earnestly] how the foolish and impious man scoffs and reproaches You day after day and all day long.

My prayer:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I pray that the leader of our nation and the leaders of the nations of the world will govern in righteousness.

Father God, I pray that your people will exercise self-control in their feelings and their words. Father God, I pray that we will look to you as the source. Our problems are too big for men, but they are not too big for our God.

Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV)
‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

My song:

Simply Trusting Every Day (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/569

The Word for wisdom:

Proverbs 28:6 (HCSB)
Better a poor man who lives with integrity than a rich man who distorts right and wrong.

Proverbs 28:27 (HCSB)
The one who gives to the poor will not be in need, but one who turns his eyes away will receive many curses.

The Word for inspiration:

Psalm 73:25 (HCSB)
Who do I have in heaven but You? And I desire nothing on earth but You.

My observation:

The focal passages for today from the Proverbs and the Psalm should be an encouragement to each of us that God is good, and that when we look back over our lives, we will be able to say, “It is good”.

That is what the Psalmist was able to say in Psalm 73.

Psalm 73:1 (HCSB)
God is indeed good to Israel, to the pure in heart.

Psalm 73:28 (HCSB)
But as for me, God’s presence is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, so I can tell about all you do.

In between the first and the last verse life for the Psalmist was not always good. You may find that to be your present experience. The experience of the poor as depicted in Proverbs 28 also gives testimony to the difficulties of life in the present. Have you ever been where the Psalmist was?

Psalm 73:2 (HCSB)
But as for me, my feet almost slipped; my steps nearly went astray.

The poor man in Proverbs found that there are some things that money cannot buy, and that these things will outlast the things that money buys. The poor man can have integrity, discernment, and faith that God will meet his needs.

The Psalmist found that when you have God as your friend, you don’t need anybody else, and you don’t need anything else to satisfy your needs.

Psalm 73:23-24 (HCSB)
²³ Yet I am always with You; You hold my right hand. ²⁴ You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will take me up in glory.

My prayer:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I am so happy and blessed to be able to say with the Psalmist, “God is good”, and “God’s presence is my good”.

Father God, I am so thankful that the Lord Jesus is my friend, and that you are my maker and my keeper. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

My song:

Lord Jesus, Thou Dost Keep Thy Child (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/574

The Word for wisdom:

Proverbs 27:1 (HCSB)
Don’t boast about tomorrow, for you don’t know what a day might bring.

The Word for inspiration:

Psalm 72:1-3 (HCSB)
¹ God, give Your justice to the king and Your righteousness to the king’s son. ² He will judge Your people with righteousness and Your afflicted ones with justice. ³ May the mountains bring prosperity to the people and the hills, righteousness.

My observation:

In today’s passages we get to read the Proverb of Solomon and the Psalm of Solomon. Every leader needs the power and the provisions that only God can provide.

In the Proverb we see that man is limited in his knowledge of the future. However, the God that Solomon believed in and trusted in was unlimited in his knowledge of the future.

Therefore, Solomon had one to whom he could turn to ask for the help that he would need to be successful in succeeding his father David as King over God’s people.

My prayer:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I praise and thank you for the privilege of prayer, and for the power of prayer.

Father God, it is through the means of prayer that you have chosen as the vehicle to communicate with your people.

Lord, teach us to pray, and burn within our hearts the desire to pray.

My song:

When Thou Wakest in the Morning (Click on link for lyrics and midi):

http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/788

The Word for wisdom:

Proverbs 26:2 (HCSB)
Like a flitting sparrow or a fluttering swallow, an undeserved curse goes nowhere.

The Word for inspiration:

Psalm 71:3 (HCSB)
Be a rock of refuge for me, where I can always go. Give the command to save me, for You are my rock and fortress.

My observation:

In this chapter Solomon makes several comparisons using the word “like”. In our focal verse for today he departs from talking about the fool to talk about the undeserved curse.

In this chapter there are warning about people the wise person should avoid. However, there is one type of person you don’t have to worry about, and that is the person who tries to put on you an undeserved curse.

It’s an old trick of the enemy of our soul, but it won’t work. A curse that comes from the lips of man, and that is without cause will come to naught. God is sovereign and in control, and he will not allow it to come upon his children.

The bible has an example in the Old Testament of what happen when Balaam tried this and failed.

Numbers 23:8 (HCSB)
How can I curse someone God has not cursed? How can I denounce someone the Lord has not denounced?

It is comforting to know that God is sovereign, and that nothing can come into our lives without being seen by his eyes, and passing through his hands.

My prayer:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I praise and thank You that you are sovereign over all, and that nothing can happen to us that is outside of the coverage of the promises and the provisions we find in the Word of God.

We may not understand everything that happens in this world, but, we can rest in the blessed assurance that God knows, and that God cares for his children.

My song:

We’ll Understand it Better By and By (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://biblestudycharts.com/SH_Well_Understand_It_Better.html

The Word for wisdom:

Proverbs 24:5-6 (ESV)
⁵ A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might, ⁶ for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory.

The Word for inspiration:

Psalm 69:16 (ESV)
Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.

My observation:

The bible has a wonderful promise concerning prayer. The promises of this passage have been foundational in my prayer life for many years.

Matthew 7:7-8 (ESV)
⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

I taught a class on prayer many years ago, and this passage was one of the core scriptures used in the resource I was using. It used the acrostic ASK as a guide in praying for others.

Ask a question in search of God’s will.

Seek an answer as you daily read God’s Word.

Knock – Thank God when the Holy Spirit reveals the answer to your question in search of God’s will in the Word.

Yesterday a friend asked me to pray for him in a matter that he needed wisdom. He did not give me the details of the matter, and I did not need the details to be able to pray for him because the God to whom I prayed knows the details.

This morning as I went before the Lord with the question on my heart about my friends need, I asked the question Lord, what is your will concerning the need that my friend has in his life? As I read the Proverb for today, the answer to my prayer leaped off the pages of my bible, and into my heart. My immediate response was to thank God for the answer. In faith I believe that it is a present possession.

My prayer:

Father God, I thank you that you are a God to whom we can bring all of our questions, and in your Word we can find all of the answers to our questions about life.

Lord, I thank you that the wisdom that my friend asked for to meet the pressing need in his life will be provided by you because you are a God of abundant mercy.

Lord, I am so thankful that your children live on the promises of God rather than on explanations. Lord, your servant is leaning hard on you, and the promises of the bible.

Proverbs 2:6 (ESV)
For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

James 1:5 (ESV)
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

My song:

O How Nigh the Lord is Unto All Who Call on Him (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/1083

The Word for wisdom:

Proverbs 23:23 (HCSB)
Buy—and do not sell—truth, wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

The Word for inspiration:

Psalm 68:19 (HCSB)
May the Lord be praised! Day after day He bears our burdens; God is our salvation. Selah

Psalm 68:35 (HCSB)
God, You are awe-inspiring in Your sanctuaries. The God of Israel gives power and strength to His people. May God be praised!

My observation:

The bible has many examples of people who sold the truth. The truth is precious and keeping it may cost you something, but staying with the truth is worth the price.

Consider the outcome of Esau from the Old Testament, and Judas from the New Testament, two men who sold the truth.

It was not worth it for them, and it will not be worth it for you.

Genesis 25:29-34 (HCSB)
²⁹ Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field exhausted. ³⁰ He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, because I’m exhausted.” That is why he was [also] named Edom. ³¹ Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” ³² “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?” ³³ Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to Jacob and sold his birthright to him. ³⁴ Then Jacob gave bread and lentil stew to Esau; he ate, drank, got up, and went away. So Esau despised his birthright.

Matthew 26:14-16 (HCSB)
¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve—the man called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” So they weighed out 30 pieces of silver for him. ¹⁶ And from that time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray Him.

My prayer:

Father God, by faith and the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, help me to be a person who refuses to sell the truth.

Father God, thank You for sending Jesus to be our Savior. Because of Jesus we can join the Psalmist and the people of God in a victory celebration of worship and praise of our great God.

John 14:6 (HCSB)
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

My song:

In Spirit and in Truth, O Lord (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/865

The Word of wisdom:

Proverbs 22:17-21 (HCSB)
¹⁷ Listen closely, pay attention to the words of the wise, and apply your mind to my knowledge. ¹⁸ For it is pleasing if you keep them within you and if they are constantly on your lips. ¹⁹ I have instructed you today—even you— so that your confidence may be in the Lord. ²⁰ Haven’t I written for you thirty sayings about counsel and knowledge, ²¹ in order to teach you true and reliable words, so that you may give a dependable report to those who sent you?

The Word of inspiration:

Psalm 67:6-7 (HCSB)
⁶ The earth has produced its harvest; God, our God, blesses us. ⁷ God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear Him.

My observation:

The focal passage in the Proverb for today is an introduction of the sayings of the council of the wise. The thing I like about this council of the wise is the priority they have of pointing people to God.

Proverbs 22:19 (MSG)
To make sure your foundation is trust in God, I’m laying it all out right now just for you.

These wise sayings have an underlying motive of encouraging you to fear the Lord, and put your trust and confidence in God.

Proverbs 22:19 (HCSB)
I have instructed you today—even you— so that your confidence may be in the Lord.

Hebrews 11:6 (MSG)
It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.

My prayer:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I praise you for your unfailing love and compassion for people. Father God, I am so glad that the book says that your love is available to everyone who believes in Jesus.

Lord, I know you care, and Calvary is the proof. Lord, I believe. Lord Jesus, I thank you Lord for enabling me to be able to call your Father, my Father and my God. I can sing, “He’s My God” because of Jesus.

John 3:16 (HCSB)
“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

My song:

He’s My God (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/ns/53

The Word for wisdom:

Proverbs 21:21 (HCSB)
The one who pursues righteousness and faithful love will find life, righteousness, and honor.

The Word for inspiration:

Psalm 66:16-20 (HCSB)
¹⁶ Come and listen, all who fear God, and I will tell what He has done for me. ¹⁷ I cried out to Him with my mouth, and praise was on my tongue. ¹⁸ If I had been aware of malice in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. ¹⁹ However, God has listened; He has paid attention to the sound of my prayer. ²⁰ May God be praised! He has not turned away my prayer or turned His faithful love from me.

My observation:

There are so many benefits of having a right standing and relationship with God. I am so encouraged and inspired by today’s Psalm.

There is nothing so awe inspiring as the knowledge of knowing that there is a God in heaven who hears and answers prayers.

When you have experienced that for yourself you can’t help but tell somebody about the greatness and goodness of God. That is what David did when he said, “Come and listen, all who fear God, and I will tell what He has done for me”.

If God has heard and answered your prayers, you ought to rejoice and tell somebody. There is a world that is thirsty and we who have had our thirst satisfied need to point people to Jesus.

John 7:38 (HCSB)
The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.”

My prayer:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I am so thankful that you hear and answer the prayers of your believing children.

O, taste and see that the Lord is good. What he did for the saints of old he will do for you today. O, come and listen and experience the blessing of God hearing and answering your prayer.

My song:

God Answers Prayer (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/g/a/p/gaprayer.htm

The Word for wisdom:

Proverbs 20:6 (HCSB)
Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but who can find a trustworthy man?

Proverbs 20:7 (HCSB)
The one who lives with integrity is righteous; his children who come after him will be happy.

The Word for inspiration:

Psalm 65:8 (HCSB)
Those who live far away are awed by Your signs; You make east and west shout for joy.

Psalm 65:11 (HCSB)
You crown the year with Your goodness; Your ways overflow with plenty.

My observation:

This Proverb is a reminder that people are not always who they claim to be. The book says that many claim to have unfailing love, but they do not speak the truth. They are pretenders.

So we are presented with the question, “Who can find a trustworthy man?” We don’t have to read very far in the Proverb to get an answer to this question. Solomon gives it to us in the first part of the next verse, “The one who lives with integrity is righteous”.

The Psalm for today reminds us of the unfailing love of God, his loyalty and his goodness to his people that endures forever. The focal verses remind us that people everywhere and at anytime have ample reason to give praise to God. You don’t have to wait until the crowing of the year to praise God. You can praise him in the morning when the sun rises in the east, and you can praise him in the evening when the sun sets in the west. Since God is good all the time, why not just praise the Lord all the time?

Psalm 34:1 (KJV)
I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

My prayer:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I pray that the presence of the Spirit of the living God abiding in me will enable me to stay faithful to you.

Father God, I pray that the helper, the Holy Spirit, will empower me to talk right, and walk right, and to be pleasing in your eyes.

I praise you Lord, and I thank you for the privilege of walking daily with Jesus.

My song:

Tis So Sweet to Walk with Jesus (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/587