Devotional
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Daily Readings: Psalm 44 and Proverbs 7 Proverbs 7 vividly describes a young, simple man’s slide into sexual immorality. It makes crystal clear that his slide into sin began and then later picked up speed because of a lack of wisdom; which is why the chapter begins with an exhortation to prioritise the acquisition of…
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Daily Readings: Proverbs 6 and Psalm 43 Today’s devotional focuses on Proverbs 6:6-11. These verses teach about applying wisdom to the area of work. They are addressed to the “lazybones” in the NLT, or the “sluggard” in older translations, and invoke the example of the industrious little ant. These industrious insects, the proverb declares, do…
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Daily Readings: Psalm 42 and Proverbs 5 Written by a father for his sons, Proverbs 5 describes the danger of being enticed into sexual sin by an “immoral woman” with her luscious lips and enticing physical assets. This does not mean that somehow women are the problem, being inherently immoral and leading poor, innocent men…
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Daily Readings: Proverbs 4 and Psalm 41 Proverbs 4 calls us to love and prize wisdom very highly (v.8). In fact, in both v.5 and 7, it teaches us to “get” wisdom – thereby translating the Hebrew word “qana” which implies purchasing something. So it’s clear that wisdom is really worth having, and that it…
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Daily Readings: Psalm 40 and Proverbs 3 “The Lord … is gracious to the humble”, says Proverbs 3:34, in what could be seen as a summary statement of the chapter’s teaching on the life of wisdom. The chapter drips with promises for people who are graciously blessed by God: a satisfying life (v.2), favour with…
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Daily Readings: Psalm 39 and Proverbs 2:12-22 Life is filled with many temptations to turn away from God’s desire for our lives. Two particular sources of temptation are mentioned in Proverbs 2:12-22. There are “the wicked” who tempt us to go astray down their “dark paths” and whose ways are “wrong”, “twisted” and “crooked”. And…
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Daily Readings: Psalm 38 and Proverbs 2:1-11 Proverbs 2 assures us of God’s deep desire to share His wisdom with us. The passage promises that when we listen to the voice of God, tune our ears carefully to the sound of His voice and make a concentrated effort to hear Him, God will graciously speak…
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Daily Readings: Psalm 37 and Proverbs 1:8-33 On Friday we considered the thought that to live in the “fear of the Lord” is to live with such a reverent and loving sense of awe and wonder at the glory, greatness, holiness and perfection of God that the overriding desire of one’s life is to please…
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Having completed daily devotions from the Old Testament history books at a chapter-a-day, our daily devotions now shift to the Book of Proverbs for the remainder of 2022. Proverbs is a book in the “Wisdom Literature” genre comprising a collection of short memorable statements of practical life-wisdom. In his commentary, John Philips writes: ““Proverbs ……
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Daily Readings: Esther 10 and Psalm 35 Although it was not written with the events of Esther in mind, Psalm 35 is a wonderfully appropriate Psalm to read as our reading of Esther comes to a close. With prayers like, “Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me” (v.1),…
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