The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 9:1-18 (day five)  When you think about the banquet spoken of in the first few verses of chapter 9, can you picture others at the table and in the room with you?  It describes community. At the banquet there is conversation and interaction- instruction, encouragement, confrontation, correction. All are necessary. All are invaluable. All require humility and honesty. Where do those kind of interpersonal relationships begin and come from?  Answer- A relationship with the Lord (fear of the Lord, trust in the Lord, loving the Lord and His commands) creates a humility and hunger for wisdom (among other things) that can only be found first in our relationship with Him, and then in our relationships with other believers. A lack of wisdom is not a character flaw, it is a spiritual problem.

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 9:1-18 (day four)

I love that the invitation to wisdom is open to all. There’s not a screening to prove your aptitude. Wisdom calls openly, allowing all who are confused, naive, or struggling to freely enter. This reminds me of the words of Jesus saying to the crowd, “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Wisdom, the very Spirit of God, calls openly for all to enter, all to gain insight, all to find rest. No application necessary.

However, this same proverb does show us one of the ways we know if we’re growing in wisdom. It shows us where the rubber meets the road, if you will. It tells us that those who are wise will receive correction gladly. A wise person will love the one who rebukes them, because it allows them to grow in wisdom all the more.

How well do you take rebuke? How do you handle it when you receive correction? I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not great at it – I become defensive and put my hands over my ears. This is the first sign that I still have much growing to do when it comes to wisdom. The wise are teachable, and teachability requires humility. Are you willing to walk humbly with God and others? It’s the first step to growing in wisdom.

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 9:1-18 (day three)
“Come, eat of my food
And drink of the wine I have mixed.
“Forsake your folly and live,
And proceed in the way of understanding.”

Why doesn’t the entirety of the Old and New Testaments consist solely of Genesis 15:6 – “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness” – and John 3:16? What’s all this extra content about wisdom and understanding and encouraging one another and living in peace with each other? The reason is that it’s not extra; it’s essential. The way of God is not a verse to memorize. It’s not even a system to accept. It’s an eternal kind of life. There is no way of living eternally other than the way of wisdom and generosity and peace and love. If you’re going to live eternally, the Bible’s got to teach you to live eternally.

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 9:1-18 (day two) Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser, Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning. Vs. 9

Any John Bunyan fan’s out there? Pilgrim’s Progress is a rite of passage for many who love classic Christian literature. In the spirit of full disclosure, it’s not my favorite, but I do have an appreciation for its place in teaching generations about the journey each person makes in their faith. When I re-read Psalm 9, I was struck by how Bunyan-esque it felt. Wisdom and Folly become personified and have interactions with all who walk past.

I was struck by verses seven through twelve. How we teach and talk to people must be directly proportional to their ability to understand. Truth doesn’t change, but the method of delivery is not the same for someone who follows Jesus, and one who has yet to follow. We must take great care when using wisdom as a weapon. Let him who has ears to hear, hear. This is another instance where we can pray for discernment as we love people where they are.

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 3:9-10 (day seven)

Honor the Lord… from the first of all your produce. Proverbs 3:9

He is Risen.

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 1 Corinthians 15:20

Did you know that the Feast of Firstfruits was held the day after the Sabbath of Passover? It was a day of thanksgiving and of promise. By giving the firstfruit to the Lord, even if it meant giving everything that had been produced up to that point, it showed that the people trusted in God’s promise that a plentiful harvest was coming.

What day did Jesus conquer death and rise from the grave? The day after the Sabbath of Passover. Christ fulfilled the firstfruit. This was a promise that His resurrection was only the beginning. A plentiful harvest was yet to come; the resurrection of you and me.

He is Risen Indeed.

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 3:9-10 (six)

“Honor the Lord from your wealth And from the first of all your produce;”

How do we honor the Lord with our wealth when he does not need it? We honor the Lord when we enjoy what he has given us and reinvest it into the Kingdom.

God doesn’t give to us so we can hoard; he intends for us to enjoy what he has given. A father is not honored when the son does not enjoy the gifts he has been given. Nor does He give so we can keep it to ourselves; he expects us to be generous as he is generous.

And enjoying what God has given and generosity is not mutually exclusive; after all, it is more blessed to give than to receive.

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 3:9-10 (day five) “Honor the Lord from your wealth And from the first of all your produce;” There is a familiar pattern found in these opening chapters of Proverbs. Godly Wisdom must form and grow from the inside out- the exhortations and instructions for wisdom to begin in the heart. Love, fear, and trust for the Lord start there. Then, they move outward- evidenced by our attitudes and actions. In the rhythm of these verses is a natural and logical progression From the heart and mind to action and decision. From faith to finances (a presumed easy and effortless application of wisdom). Notice with what and when we are to honor the LORD- first fruits. We are to give first- before any other business is done. We are to give our best. Even this action is a mental and visible reminder of God’s sovereignty and generosity- another way to worship God for His goodness, kindness, and power.

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 3:9-10 (day four)

In the Kingdom of God, there is abundance. Jesus says, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). This refers to our eternal life in the presence of God, but also to our life here and now. Regardless of what’s in our checking account, this is the reality that children of God live in. And we are called to honor God with this abundant life he has given us in every capacity – our time, our skills and talents, our relationships, and as Solomon reminds us here, our finances.

This abundance calls us to live with open hands. When the world would tell us to hold all we have tight to the chest, Kingdom wisdom tells us to offer it up freely. When the world would have us put our faith in our wealth, Kingdom wisdom returns our gaze to the one who bestowed it. Solomon speaks to this in Ecclesiastes 5:10, “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.”

The more we live by Kingdom wisdom, the more our focus shifts from the number in our bank account to the God who fulfills his promise of abundant life. The more we honor God with what he’s given us, the more aware we become of the abundance around us. 

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 3:9-10 (day three)

“Honor the Lord from your wealth
And from the first of all your produce;
So your barns will be filled with plenty
And your vats will overflow with new wine.”

God created the universe with no shortages whatsoever. Air, water, vegetation, and mineral resources abound. Scarcity is engineered by people as they vie for superiority, power, position, and favor. The winners of this competition control the levers of influence and domination. Most all human beings not occupying this pinnacle of supremacy find themselves on lower rungs – the second, third, fourth tiers, etc., all the way down to abject poverty and powerlessness. There is one way to stand in defiance of this order of dearth and lack: give away what you have before it gets into the system. Generosity before the Lord is the death knell of the regime of shortage.