January 1, 2008

Today's Reading - Proverbs 1
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Following Scripture Verses

1. The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
2. To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
3. To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
4. To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
5. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
6. To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
7. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
9. For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
10. My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
11. If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
12. Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
13. We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
14. Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
15. My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
16. For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
17. Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
18. And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.
19. So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
20. Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
21. She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
22. How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
23. Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
24. Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
25. But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
26. I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
27. When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
28. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
29. For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
30. They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
31. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
32. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
33. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

Today's Pathway:
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Hi,

I wasn't sure whether I should try to do another devotional series this year. However, since it was profitable for me to do the writing, I decided to continue sending something out on a daily basis for my own sake. If it is a help to you as well, then I praise the Lord for it.

I am going to begin this year trying to look at a verse in Proverbs each day. I know of several people who read a chapter of Proverbs every day in addition to their regular Bible reading. Since there are 31 chapters in Proverbs, and 31 days in 8 of the 12 months, it is pretty easy to read the first chapter on the first day of the month, the second chapter on the second day, and so on. Since Proverbs is a book of wisdom, and all of us certainly can use wisdom from God in our daily lives, I believe that it is a good book to study.

I would not recommend that you limit your Bible reading this year to only the book of Proverbs. As mentioned above, this would be a supplement to your regular devotional reading. Since we will be looking at each chapter multiple times during the year, the individual devotionals will probably be much shorter than the ones last year.

I hope these are a blessing and encouragement to you.

Happy New Year.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. - Proverbs 1:7

Since we are starting a new year, it only seems fitting that we would start with a verse that teaches about beginnings. The book of Proverbs contains much wisdom, but it will only be beneficial to the man who fears God first. If a man doesn't fear and respect the Lord, why would he want to pay attention to anything that He has said? Allow me to illustrate. You can teach a man how to do a job, but if he doesn't have enough character to show up for work and be diligent in his labors, then you have wasted your time teaching him the job. If he doesn't respect you, or fear the consequences of his poor performance, than he has no motivation to follow your instructions. The same is true in the Christian realm. A pastor or a parent can fill someone's mind with Biblical instructions on how to live, but until that student fears God the teacher will see little fruit from his efforts. I, or someone else, can send you a Bible-based challenge everyday filled with practical wisdom, but it will do you no good until you decide that all that really matters in your life is what the Lord has to say.

Don't be a fool. Don't despise the Lord and the Word that He has given to you. Decide today that you are going to choose to reverence and fear the holy God Who created and saved you. One you have made that decision, watch how the Bible can transform your life.

Pastor Mark J Montgomery