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 10:2-3:(KJV): "Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death. 3 The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked."

Thoughts for the Day:

The book of Proverbs gives us much wisdom in many areas.  These verses tell us the riches that belong to the wicked will not help them in the day of  death.  Every man must face death, and there is only one way that anyone will escape the punishment in hell that waits on the other side of death. The way of escape is through Jesus. Jesus died for our sins on the cross; He took our sins and the punishment that we deserve. If we repent, and accept Him as our savior, we will not go to hell, but rather, we will go to heaven to be with Him.   God's original plan for man did not include hell.  The Bible tells us that hell was created for the devil and his evil fallen angels. Men are going there because they are deceived into following the devil's ways.

Matthew 25:41: "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."

When we accept the Lord Jesus as our Lord, death holds no fear for us, as Jesus conquered the enemies of death and hell on the cross. When a Christian dies they go to heaven, as they have received their righteousness from the Lord.  The Bible tells us that no man can attain righteousness, outside of receiving the righteousness of Christ. We are all born into sin. This is a sin cursed world, and the only redemption for any of us is found in Christ. Even our best deeds spring from wrong motives without the Lord in our hearts.

Romans 3:10-12: "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."

However, the good news is that we do not have to remain in sin. If we come to God and ask Him to forgive us, and give us the strength to forsake our sins, He will. We must ask Him into our hearts and allow Him to live His life through us, then we have His righteousness. When we have His righteousness, we can walk free from sin and live an overcoming life in this earth.  As His children, we have been given many promises. We no longer have to walk in fear, doubt, sickness, poverty and any of the other things that the devil tries to put on us.  We have been given the victory over the devil and his evil attacks.  As we stand and pray the Lord tells us the devil has to flee from us.

James 4:7: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

Proverbs 10:3 tells us that His righteous people will never be famished in their souls, for He will feed us every day if we come to Him and ask Him to meet our needs.  Whatever we need this day, He promises to provide for us. He gives the weary -- strength, the fearful -- courage, the sick -- healing,  the angry -- peace, the wounded -- comfort, the hungry -- food, the troubled -- guidance.  The list could go on and on. He will meet every need we have, when we come to him with a humble heart.  Money cannot buy the things that God gives His children.  He freely gives us His love, joy, and peace that the world knows nothing about.  All the substance and material things that they work so hard for will not help them in their day of trouble.  Every man comes to the end of himself at some point.  Sometimes that point is death and in that place all their riches cannot help them. Riches do not follow them to the grave. 

Many people are losing their worldly riches today because they are not serving God. This verse tells us that God casts away the substance of the wicked. However, sometimes through loss, people will turn to God. The Lord does not want us to come this way.  He simply wants us to surrender to His will.  When we do this, our riches mean nothing to us, in comparison to the riches we find in Christ. Truly He is the "Pearl of Great Price."

Matthew 13:45-46: "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it."

Prayer for the Day:

Dear Heavenly Father, You truly are the "Pearl of Great Price." I am so glad that I found You.  There is nothing in this world that compares to Your beauty!  Lord, even the times in my life that have been the most difficult, I have never doubted Your love for me, as You have always been there.  I have not always understood certain things that have happened, but I really do not have to understand everything.  I trust that You know what is best for me, and I know as I yield to You, You will show me how to overcome all the troubling things that confront me. Show me how to overcome the attacks of the enemy.  Thank you that You deliver Your righteous people.  Bless and strengthen Your people every where.   In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.