Category: Devotional

Real Friends Give More Than They Take (Proverbs 6)

On By pastorjonathanIn DevotionalLeave a comment

Pro 6:1-5 ESV My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, have given your pledge for a stranger, (2) if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth, (3) then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. (4) Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber; (5) save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

Dear Daughter, growing up I was always large for my age and most of my friends were smaller. In 8th grade I was the new kid at school and one of the first guys to befriend me was small and skinny. We weren’t friends long before he asked me, “Do you have my back? Like if we get in a fight or something, do you have my back?” I didn’t want to offend him. I thought this was like a best friends kind of sentiment. I thought he was a pretty alright guy and I really hadn’t made to many other friends yet, so I pledged, “Yes I have your back!” The next thing I know he started running his mouth and hurling insults at this guy he didn’t like! Before I knew it he was yelling at me, “you have my back right?” Somehow he had picked a fight that I was supposed to fight. Thankfully I had enough sense to say, “You started this mess, you finish it.”

I found out the hard way that my new friend was only my friend for my size. He was really a jerk that just wanted me to fight his battles for him. He thought that if he had a big friend that he could run his mouth off at people he didn’t like. My pledge to have his back was bigger than I had imagined. I had his back, but he certainly didn’t have mine or eh wouldn’t have picked a fight.

Choose your friends wisely. One of the best ways to get yourself in trouble is to have friends who will leave you with all the responsibility. When your friends ask you to take a risk for them that is not your risk to take, they are not your friends. Let me be clear. When they ask you to lie for them, they are not you friend. When they ask to cheat off your homework, they are not your friend. When they ask you to hold on to something that is illegal or forbidden, they are not your friend. They just want to take big risks and leave you being responsible for their irresponsible actions.

Some people in your life will set traps for you like this. They’ll pretend to be your friend in order to get something from you. Real friends give more than they take. Real friends won’t put you in situations where you will get in trouble or in danger. Lose the friends that always seem too needy. Don’t be the friend that is always putting others in an awkward spot to cover for you.

Father, thank you for my children. I pray that you would watch over them today. I pray that you would guard them from predatory “friends” who would seek to use them or take advantage of their friendship. I pray that they would be good friends to others. Watch over their relationships. Let the all seek after you in all they do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Join us in reading a Proverb A Day through the Month of May (or any month you want)

Rejoice in the Wife of Your Youth (Proverbs 5)

On By pastorjonathanIn DevotionalLeave a comment

Pro 5:15-20 ESV Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. (16) Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? (17) Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. (18) Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, (19) a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love. (20) Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?

Dear son, my parents read a book to me when I was little about a little boy who was given a dollar. He met a friend who said he’d give the boy two quarters for the dollar. Two is more than one, the boy reasoned and so he made the trade. Another boy offered him three dimes for his two quarters. Three is more than two, the boy reasoned and so he made the trade. Still another boy offered him four nickels for the three dimes. Four is better than three he reasoned, and so he made the trade. Finally a boy offered him five pennies for his four nickels. Five is more than four he reasoned and so he made the trade. He came home to show his father what he had done and it was then that he realized that with every trade he’d lost value. I’m sure the story was intended to teach us the value of a dollar, but there was a deeper lesson as well. We are often tempted to make bad trades in life and we often don’t value some things like we should.

I cannot emphasizes the value of loving one woman all of your life. There will be moments of temptation that come your way all through your life. It is your duty to guard your heart and pursue your wife. When temptation comes your way count the cost and flee. I know men who have traded their entire life for a moment of pleasure. They traded their wife, their children, their income, their respect, their trustworthiness, and some traded their occupation for a few fleeting minutes of pleasure. There is grace for those who have made this costly trade (Psalm 51), but it’s my prayer that you guard your heart.

Let’s focus in on verse 19-20 for a moment. If you are going to truly value your future wife and pursue the wife of your youth above all it means that you will stay away from sexual relationships outside the bond of marriage. You don’t need any competing memories with your marriage bed. You don’t need any old flames to stir up old passions, jealousy or doubt. This means that you will stay away from viewing pornography. You don’t need to peak into someone else’s bedroom. You don’t need the fantasy of sex without commitment. You don’t need your head filled with false expectations or ideas of how to degrade and exploit women.

What do you do when you have natural urges and you aren’t married yet? Use that energy to go to work in building a life for you and the wife of your youth. Too many young men sit around and play video games into their 30s and beyond. Prepare yourself for marriage so when the right woman comes along you already have a job, have a plan, and are able to be married without living off of someone else.

When you are married and temptation comes your way, never despise your wife. Never for a moment imagine her as cruel for not giving you what you want, when you want it. This is a lie from the devil. Committed relationships take some work. The Devil will always offer you two shiny quarters and tell you that he’ll take that dingy dollar off your hands, but you must know that no matter how shiny the coin he offers you, your dollar isn’t dingy and it is worth way more than he is offering. Commit now to have eyes only for your wife. Count yourself blessed everyday. Do the small things in your relationship well. Kiss her on the way out the door in the morning. Open her door. Treat her like your queen. Speak well of her to your children. Speak well of her to your coworkers. Speak well of her often and never run out of good things to say. Pursue the wife of your youth don’t give your energy or attention to any other and you will be blessed. Sometimes work is the mistress the devil offers instead of another woman. Be careful not to pursue so much overtime that you stop pursuing your wife. (And dear daughter too, look for a man like this).

One last word. There are many lies and perversions in our culture. They are given to you by people with an agenda. I’ll be honest, I have an agenda too. I’m your dad, I want the best for you. You are more than a voter to me. You are more than a consumer to buy my goods. You are more than an opinion in a pole to persuade others. You are my son. My interest in you is greater than what this world offers. I’m on your team. I’m your biggest fan. I love you enough that I will not tell you just what you might want to hear. I will tell you what you need to hear. You are more than sexual appetites and animal lusts. Your identity is greater than your sexual urges. You are a man created in the image of God and you have the capacity to withstand sexual temptation (no matter what shape it takes).

Father, Thank you for my precious children. I ask for your blessing on their lives. I pray for their present and future relationships. I ask you to watch over them in their singleness and in their relationships. I pray that they would seek after you and your blessings. I ask Lord that they would live following your wisdom even when that runs counter to the culture. I pray that my wife and I are examples for them to follow. I ask for your grace to be multiplied to my family as we seek after you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Join us in reading a Proverb A Day through the Month of May (or any month you want)

Be Teachable (Proverbs 4)

On By pastorjonathanIn DevotionalLeave a comment

Pro 4:10-13 ESV Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many. (11) I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness. (12) When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble. (13) Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.

Dear daughter, I heard a story about a grandmother who had given her grandson a bible. Unknown to him, she had inserted several 100 dollar bills in the bible. The grandson thanked his grandmother but secretly he despised her for giving him such an impractical gift. There were times in his life when he needed money and he would reach out to his grandmother for help. She would tell always give him a scripture reference and ask if he’d been reading his bible. He was polite and would thank her, but he never looked up the passages. Finally one day he asked her why she never helped him with money when he needed it. She knew he wasn’t reading the bible she gave him and finally confronted him to the point that he admitted that he’d never opened it. She said, “All you ever needed was at your fingertips, but you never opened the gift I gave you. Not only had I already given you the money, but even more than that, the infinite riches of God’s word were available to you all the time as well! What good is a gift if it is never opened?”

God has blessed you with the gift of His Word. It is a guide for life. In it we learn about Him and about us. God has also given you parents to guide you. We’ve learned a lot about life through experience, from our own parents, and others. All of our learning testifies to the truthfulness of God’s Word. We have sought to live out the truth we have seen in God’s Word. There are things in our lives that you should emulate. Sadly there are also places where we have stumbled that we would warn you to avoid. Either way, God has given us to you to educate you. You have many gifts from God, but what good are those gifts if you never open them and use them.

Being teachable is the best skill you can ever have! If you are teachable you can learn almost anything. However to despise instruction is prideful. It assumes you can learn and discern things well on your own already. Pride will lead you to costly mistakes.

Father, thank you for the wisdom you have given us in your word. Thank you for those you have called and equipped to model and teach your word to us. Thank you for my parents and thank you for the privilege of parenting my kids. I ask that we would all be teachable. Keep us from pride. Let us learn with humility from those you have given us as teachers that you might be glorified in our lives. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Join us in reading a Proverb A Day through the Month of May (or any month you want)

Trust In The LORD With All Your Heart (Proverbs 3)

On By pastorjonathanIn DevotionalLeave a comment

Proverbs 3:5-10 ESV Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. (6) In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (7) Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. (8) It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. (9) Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; (10) then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

Son, There are things that I wish I knew at your age. If I knew them then, how differently I might have behaved and how differently my life might have been. In our yard we have a tree that has grown up with the vine around it. If someone had the foresight to cut the vine early, the tree would have grown up to be straight and flawless. As it is, the vine was cut and pulled down years later than it should have and now the tree has the scar of where the vine cut into its bark. The tree will forever carry the mark of negligence because we didn’t cut the vine when it was young. There are habits/ thoughts in my life that I didn’t unlearn early in life and have warped me and as a consequence will take years to change.

Your life in a lot of ways is also like that tree when it was younger before the vine took hold. You are young and there are a lot of thoughts and voices that will try and steer you in all sorts of directions. You have the capacity to develop detrimental lifelong habits and thoughts that will hurt you. But you also have the opportunity to cut ties with those thoughts/ voices and pursue the things that will help you grow into godly womanhood.

The one thing you can do is commit to trusting in the Lord with everything. Commit to following Him. This will be displayed in a lot of different ways in you life. Do you trust God with your time? If you really do, you will form the habit of being gathered together with a fellowship of believers to worship Him on a weekly basis. You will spend time in His Word often. Do you trust God with your finances? If you do, you will habitually seek to be generous. You will set aside a regular tithe and offering to be budgeted before you pay your bills. To really trust the Lord is to follow Him and His Word above your own thoughts and desires.

Father, I pray for my children today. I pray that they would trust in you and lean not in their own understanding. I ask LORD for your grace to be multiplied to their lives. I pray that they learn quickly and easily from their parents about what it is to trust you in every area of LIFE. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Join us in reading a Proverb A Day through the Month of May (or any month you want)

Diligently Seek Understanding (Proverbs 2)

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Pro 2:1-9 ESV My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, (2) making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; (3) yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, (4) if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, (5) then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. (6) For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; (7) he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, (8) guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. (9) Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path;

Dear daughter, when you were little we used to watch a Disney animated cartoon series called Duck Tales. It was all about Scrooge McDuck and his pursuit of wealth. He would do anything (short of cheating) to make more money. He would win races, search for lost treasure, and fund crazy inventions. His pursuit was always the same, to make or keep money. He was so shrewd it was laughable.

The writer of Proverbs reminds us today that more than seeking to gain or keep money our most diligent pursuit should be understanding and ultimately understanding of what God might be up to. Understanding isn’t found just by reading about something, but in treasuring the commands of God, listening to godly authorities in our lives, and searching diligently to see God at work. With each pursuit in life we should seek to find out what the Lord is doing.

There are many moments where the people around you will sense or try and create the cultural current by telling you that to “be on the right side of history,” you need to join them in doing what they are doing. They want to tell you what righteousness is from their perspective or even worse tell you to define it from yours. Righteousness isn’t for us to define, it’s for God. All of us who seek to define our own righteousness will one day find that all of our righteousness is just filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

Father, I pray today for my children and ask that they would diligently seek You and seek understanding. Let them be those who are able to discern truth from error. I ask that they would listen to the commands of their parents and other godly autorities that you have put in their lives. Give them grace to resist the temptation of fools to define their own righteousness. Let them be ready to meet you on the day of Christ’s return and not caught off guard because of their laxity. Bless me as I age to be one who grows in discenment and understanding. Let me be a blessing to my children and grandchildren. Preserve us in a culture that is shifting beneath us. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

RESOURCES:

Join us in reading a Proverb A Day through the Month of May (or any month you want)

The Beginning of Knowledge (Proverbs 1)

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Pro 1:7, 28-29, 33 NKJV The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge, [But] fools despise wisdom and instruction. … (28) “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. (29) Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD, … (33) But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.”

Dear Daughter, We all have choices about what we let influence our lives. We choose to listen to some folks or give more weight to what they say than other. We live in a day and age of echo chambers where if we don’t like the news (or the spin on the news) on one station we turn the channel to another. If we don’t like the politics of folks on one social media feed, we find a different feed, app, friends, etc. You have a ton of options on who you listen to, however there is only one place that you will find true wisdom and knowledge and that’s the LORD.

A reverent respect for God and His Word is where true knowledge and wisdom begins. There are mainly two different paths in life. The one who follows after God and the one who goes her own way. In Proverbs the one who goes their own way instead of following after God is called a fool because she has forgotten that she was made by God, for God and that her greatest purpose is in the hands of God. Fools suffer because of their foolishness.

God has a purpose and a plan for you, but you’ll only find it out when you seek after Him. Fools often despise God’s wisdom because they are looking only for short term gain. But what feels good in the moment can cost them more than they might expect. Remember Esau sold his birthright for a pot of stew. Don’t miss out on Godly wisdom because of bad advice from the wrong crowd. Seek, Find, and Listen to God’s Word, you won’t be let down.

Father, Thankyou for loving us enough to give us knowledge when we come to you in reverent respect. I pray for my children today that they would grow in wisdom and knowledge as they seek after you. I pray that you would keep their feet from the path that leads to destruction. Guard their way. Make them ever vigilant to drink from the stream of your wisdom. Give us grace as parents to teach them your word and to honor you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Join us in reading a Proverb A Day through the Month of May (or any month you want)

Read A Chapter Of Proverbs A Day In MAY

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The goal is simple. Read a chapter of PROVERBS a day in the month of MAY! Will you join us?

The book of Proverbs stands out as a great source of wisdom to be passed down from parent to child. Solomon write and compiled Proverbs as wisdom to give to his son and in it he addresses issues such as choosing the right kind of friends, staying away from the wrong crowd, working hard, managing money, being respectful, choosing the right marriage partner, avoiding the dangers of alcohol, and so much more.  This wisdom is practical not just for parents and children but for all of us! 

https://pixabay.com/photos/bible-proverbs-heart-purple-pink-102684/

I’ve been reading my way through the book of Proverbs (a chapter a day) through most months as part of my devotional time. It’s a book filled with godly wisdom, broken down into short sayings. It is just 31 chapters long so it’s easy to read one chapter a day. And most days it seems like something I read in Proverbs applies directly to something I’m going through.  I’ll be reading through Proverbs, a chapter a day, through the month of May and reflect in writing about something from the chapter I’ve read.

I’ll be thinking in particular about parenting and my kids. Following the format of wisdom being passed down from father to son, I’ll be reflecting about wisdom I want my kids to see. Something else may jump out at you so feel free to comment in the comment section of each post. For some of you this is a place to start developing the habit of reading God’s Word each day, for others this may be supplemental to whatever you are already doing. Either way, I pray you are blessed in reading along with us a chapter of PROVERBS a day in the month of MAY (or any other month where this blog finds you!)

If you haven’t already, make sure your subscribed to this blog so you get fresh email posts each day in May. If you are on a desk top the email sign-up is to the right. If you are viewing this on a smart phone, make sure you click on the blog post and scroll down to the bottom. Just past the comment section is an area where you can sign up with your email!

Every few days I’ll come back and add links to the days we have already posted in May.

THE CURSE IS UNDONE! (Revelation 19-22)

On By pastorjonathanIn DevotionalLeave a comment

Revelation 22:3 ESV No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.

As we’ve read through the book of Revelation, several of the chapters depict a violent storm of God’s wrath. In today’s reading the storm of God’s wrath has passed, the bright rays of light illuminate everything and we notice that the sun is gone, but an even better source of light is present. God Himself is the light by which we will see! We see a wedding with a bride adorned in white, we see a river, we see the tree of life, we see a glimpse of our hope of glory, and we are reminded that the return of Christ is eminent.

What’s Missing: This subtle line, “no longer will there be anything accursed,” gripped me this morning as I read it. How wonderful will it be when there is no sin and the curse that follows it. When there is no consequence of the fall left to burden man. How free and wonderful will our worship be. How magnificent will be our enjoyment of all things. There will be no more guilt, no shame, no hunger, no hurt, no pain, no tears of sorrow, nothing to separate us from our God.

Who’s There: It’s not just about the curse being undone but because the curse is no more we will be able to abide in the presence of God. We will be where He is. No walls, no secrets, no separation. We will see Him for who He is and worship Him all the more! His glory won’t be veiled or hidden, but rather will be on center stage for all to see, worship, and adore. We won’t be running form Him, but running to Him. As dark as the clouds of God’s wrath hang in the background, the brightness of God’s glory will shine even brighter for those who are His.

Father, we stand in awe of you today! You are worthy of all worship and glory! We see only glimpses of eternity in this life. We behold shadows but crave the substance. Sin and the curse that comes with it has shackled all of creation. We longingly look forward to a day when our sin will be no more, where the curse is undone. We pray even now that you will our hearts with hope and longing for that day when we shall behold you in all of your glory. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

RESOURCES:

2020 Post on Revelation 19-22

Join us in reading though the New Testament in 90 Days! You can find the plan and previous posts here.

Mighty Is the Lord God (Revelation 16-18)

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Revelation 18:7-8 ESV As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, ‘I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.’ (8) For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”

Reading through Revelation is very sobering. It can be especially eye opening to read this section as it describes the wrath of God being poured out. We can tend to think of God in terms of only, grace, mercy, kindness, love, etc. But we must also note that God is also a God of wrath. His patience will come to an end. Humanity will face the great and terrible day of the Lord.

Notice that God’s wrath isn’t poured out on those who have received him into their lives, but it is poured out on those who have rejected God time and time again. Like in the days of the flood, Noah and his family were spared, but those who were outside the ark perished. In a similar way, those in Christ are spared the wrath of God to come.

It’s not as though God is unfair with His wrath. Those who receive it, have earned it. Because of God’s justice his wrath is poured out in exact measure. Not one drop more than those who receive it deserve. Not one drop less.

We seldom ever think of the weight or our sin against a holy and a righteous God. In our own court system it’s one thing to abuse an animal, it’s another to abuse a human. In some places you receive the death penalty for murder, a life for a life. But what is the consequence for a trespass against a Holy Eternal God? It’s an eternal crime worthy of an eternal punishment.

It shocks us to see such wrath poured out at the hand of God. It should shock us that God has been so patient. It should shock us even more that Christ would redeem and save some of us the from this great and terrible wrath. Sometimes we don’t appreciate the love of God displayed in Jesus Christ as we should because we have failed to take into account the wrath of God. The wrath that we would face apart from Him and the wrath that he took in our place.

Father, thank you for your overwhelming grace to save sinners from the wrath that is due us. We confess that we do not always know or consider how great and terrible an offense our sin really is. You are just, you are good, you are holy, you are worthy of all of our praise. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

RESOURCES:

2020 Post on Revelation 16-18

Join us in reading though the New Testament in 90 Days! You can find the plan and previous posts here.

Their Deed Follow Them! (Revelation 13-15)

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Revelation 14:13 ESV And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

Those who die in the Lord (saved) during a time of great tribulation are doubly blessed. They are blessed in the sense that they are no longer striving and suffering. Often when a godly saint who has suffered physically passes away, we draw comfort from the fact that they are no longer suffering. Indeed for a believer to be no longer suffering on earth is to be rejoicing in heaven. Especially those who were hunted down, betrayed, and martyred.

The second way that they are blessed is that their deeds follow them. What they have done in obedience to Christ has not been forgotten. They will be remembered and rewarded for trusting the Lord. We won’t be able to take any earthly riches with us into eternity, but we will get to take the demonstrations of God’s grace that revealed themselves in real works of faith.

When I meditate on this today, I’m praying to walk in the good deeds which God prepared beforehand (Ephesians 2:1). I’m pondering what it means to store up treasure in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-20). I’m praying that I honor the Lord with my conduct. I’m also rejoicing in the testimony of those who were faithful to the end. Men and women who though dead, still speak through their outstanding lives of character.

Father, thank you for saving me. Thank you for enabling me to do good works which will honor you. I pray that I build my life out of the things that really matter and honor you. Help me to seek your kingdom first and honor you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

RESOURCES:

2020 Post on Revelation 13-15

Join us in reading though the New Testament in 90 Days! You can find the plan and previous posts here.