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 4:23-27(KJV): "Keep thy heart with all
diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil."
Thoughts for the Day:
The book of Proverbs is a great
book to use to teach our children the wisdom that they will need to become overcomers in
this life. These verses are exhortations so that we do not yield to the things that would
cause us harm or destroy us. Verse 23 goes to the very heart of
the issue that will determine our destinies. This verse states that the
issues (or the things that flow out of us), come from our hearts. We are all born
with wicked things in our hearts, because we have inherited the sin nature from our
fathers all the way back to Adam, when he sinned originally by his disobedience. All
mankind carries the blight of sin, until we repent and come to Jesus for a heart
cleansing.
Matthew 15:8-11: "This people draweth nigh unto me with their
mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain
they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 10 And he called the
multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: 11 Not that which goeth into the
mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man."
Two things we are commanded to do:
(1.) We are to guard our hearts and be cautious what we embrace and take into our spirit (Verse
23).
(2.) We are to be careful about what comes out of our heart through our lips (Proverbs
23:7b: "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he...").
These two things will determine what kind of life we will have on this
earth. Verse 24 tells us to put away a froward (crooked) tongue and quit
saying perverse things. This is referring to all kinds of evil talk---cursing,
gossiping, criticizing, lying, condemning, etc. When we speak these things, we are
actually speaking a curse on someone. This comes not only on the person we say evil things
about, but we will receive it back on our own lives, because we reap what we sow.
That is why the Bible tells us the tongue is like a fire and unless we allow
Jesus to help us to tame it, we will not be able to control what comes out of our mouths.
James 3:6-10: "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity:
so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire
the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. 7 For every kind of beasts, and of
birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of
mankind: 8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9
Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after
the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My
brethren, these things ought not so to be."
Our mouth problem is actually a heart problem, so to
correct it we must ask the Lord to help us and ask Him to cleanse our hearts of the things
that are not like Him. Notice in Proverbs 4:23-27 that not only is the
heart mentioned, but the mouth, eyes, feet and hands as well.
This means, to live a life of righteousness, we must make a total commitment to
serve God with all of our heart and our minds and every part of our bodies as well.
When we do this, we will walk in the blessing and wisdom of God.
Prayer for the Day:
Dear Father, I realize that I have been guilty
of not guarding what has gone into my heart. Forgive me Lord, for this sin. I have also
been guilty of allowing the wrong things to come out of my mouth at times. Also,
please forgive me for the things that I have spoken that have come from a wrong heart
attitude. Lord Jesus, I would like to make the words of the Christian song,
"Change My Heart, Oh God" to be my prayer today:
Change my heart, oh God
Make it ever true
Change my heart, oh God
May I be like you
You are the potter
I am the clay
Mold me and make me
This is what I pray
Change my heart, oh God
Make it ever true
Change my heart, oh God
May I be like you
Mercy/Vineyard Publishing
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