Daily Devotional
               Betty Miller shares her daily devotionals which are based on the book of Proverbs in the Bible.   

  The Wisdom of God

Verses for the Day:

Proverbs 16:1-3(KJV):
1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.
3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.

Proverbs 16:1-3(Amp):
1 The plans of the mind and orderly thinking belong to man, but from the Lord comes the (wise) answer of the tongue.
2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits -- the thoughts and intents of the heart.
3 Roll your works upon the Lord -- commit and trust them wholly to Him; (He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and) so shall your plans be established and succeed.

Thoughts for the Day:

The book of Proverbs reveals the source of true wisdom which comes from the Lord, as He establishes the thoughts of those who commit their works unto Him. Verse 1 tells us that when a man has the heart of the Father, he will prepare his speech and answers to reflect the Lord's advice which comes by the Holy Spirit. As God's children, we should prepare our hearts to receive from the Lord, by keeping a submitted and committed attitude before Him.  The other preparation that we should make is to fill our minds and hearts with the Word of God.   As we read the Bible, God's Holy Word, it will renew our minds and our thinking so that we change our carnal thinking to think the thoughts of God.

Ephesians 5:26-27: "That he might sanctify and cleanse it (the church) with the washing of water by the word,
That he might present it (the church) to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."

We are cleansed by the Word of God.  It is like water washing away the dirt from our minds. We must not only receive it in our minds, but ask the Lord to help us to apply it to our lives by faith. As we line up with the Word of God, our lives will be changed so that we can walk in victory over sin in our lives. The Word of God is full of power and it is able to change us, when we call on God in faith to help us to walk in the commandments of God.

Hebrews 4:12: "For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power -- making it active, operative, energizing and effective; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the "breath of life (soul) and (the immortal) spirit, and of joints and marrow (that is, of the deepest parts of our nature) exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart."

Verse 2 of Proverbs 16 in our devotional tells us that men think that they are pure in their own sight.  Without God's light, men do not realize they are deceived by the devil in the things they choose to do, so they do not perceive their doings as wrong. The Lord weighs the spirits of men.  He reveals Himself to those who are searching for the truth, because He sees the thoughts and intents of men's hearts. Those without God walk in a way that seems right to them; however, it will lead to death unless they give their lives to God and follow Him.

Proverbs 14:12: "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."

Proverbs 16:3 tells us to give our works to the Lord and to commit and trust them wholly to Him.  As we do this, He will cause our thoughts to become agreeable to His will. When we obey and do the will of God, our plans will be established and succeed, because they are the plans of God. When I am in doubt about what I should do in a certain situation, I ask the Lord, if what I am thinking and feeling is from Him, to put it stronger in my spirit.  However, if those thoughts are not of Him, I ask Him to remove them from my mind and let me have His thoughts and plans.  We must not be led by circumstances, nor should we be led by our minds or emotions without the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  If our minds and emotions have not been cleansed from carnal thinking, the devil can deceive us, causing us to miss the will of God. The Bible says that as the sons of God, we should be led by the Spirit of God. Our circumstances, thinking and emotions should then line up with what the Spirit of God has revealed to us.   He leads, they follow.

Romans 8:12-14:
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

When we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, we are promised that whatever we do will be successful. Our Father in heaven is all wise and He will not allow us, as His sons and daughters to be defeated. If we follow the ways of the Lord and strive to please Him, we will not live to please our flesh.

Prayer for the Day:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You, for your promise of wisdom and guidance.  Lord, help me to overcome my carnal desires and live to glorify and please You in all of my ways.  Fill me with the Holy Spirit daily, so that I can walk in Your power to overcome those things that the devil uses to try and defeat me. Lord, cleanse my heart and mind of the things that do not agree with Your Word. Lord, bless Your people every where and meet their needs this day.  Lord, bless each brother and sister in all the countries of the world.  Meet their needs, as well as ours, so that we all can share the gospel with others who need You.  I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.