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:
23 Whoso keepeth
his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.
24 Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.Proverbs 21:23-24 (AMP):
23 He who guards his mouth
and his tongue keeps himself from troubles.
24 The proud and haughty man -- Scoffer is his name -- deals and acts with
overbearing pride.
These scriptures in
Proverbs tell us to guard our speech and to resist being proud and
haughty. Verse 23 is a warning to be careful what we say, as our words
can actually keep us from trouble. Our careless words can certainly cause us
trouble too. There is other scripture in the New Testament that tells us
the same thing.
James 3:2-13
(AMP):
2 For we all often stumble and fall and offend in many things. And if any
one does not offend in speech [never says the wrong things], he is a fully
developed character and a perfect man, able to control his whole body and to
curb his entire nature.
3 If we set bits in the horses' mouths to make them obey us, we can turn their
whole bodies about.
4 Likewise, look at the ships: though they are so great and are driven by rough
winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the impulse of the
helmsman determines.
5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and it can boast of great things. See
how much wood or how great a forest a tiny spark can set ablaze!
6 And the tongue is a fire. [The tongue is a] world of wickedness set among our
members, contaminating and depraving the whole body and setting on fire the
wheel of birth (the cycle of man's nature), being itself ignited by hell
(Gehenna).
7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea animal, can be tamed and
has been tamed by human genius (nature).
8 But the human tongue can be tamed by no man. It is a restless (undisciplined,
irreconcilable) evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who were made
in God's likeness!
10 Out of the same mouth come forth blessing and cursing. These things, my
brethren, ought not to be so.
11 Does a fountain send forth [simultaneously] from the same opening fresh water
and bitter?
12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine figs? Neither can a
salt spring furnish fresh water.
13 Who is there among you who is wise and intelligent? Then let him by his noble
living show forth his [good] works with the [unobtrusive] humility [which is the
proper attribute] of true wisdom.
These words from
James tell us that we can bless or curse with our tongues and that the
root of our mouth problems is a heart problem. What is in our heart, will
come out of our mouths. The only way we are going to overcome our heart
problems is to give our heart to Jesus and allow Him to cleanse it, then we will
bless others and use our mouths to speak wisdom and kind things. We have
all said things that we wish we had not spoken. When this happens, the only way
to make things right is to apologize and admit that what we said was wrong. Even
though this is hard, we will have more respect, than if we refuse to admit we
were wrong and allow pride to rule us.
Mark 7:20-23:
20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries,
fornications, murders,
22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye,
blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Verse 24 in our study today, tells us that a scoffer, who is proud and
haughty, will also be an angry and over-bearing person. No one likes a person who is
over-bearing and pushy. We must ask God to change us, if we tend to have a
demeaning and controlling attitude toward others. The Bible tells us that the
Lord resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. May we all humble
ourselves before God.
1 Peter 5:5-6:
5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be
subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the
proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt
you in due time.
Dear Heavenly
Father, I am thankful for Your grace and mercy toward me. I need help in
the area of guarding my lips. Lord, give me the grace to keep my mouth
shut when I should not speak, and give me the holy boldness to speak up when I
need to do so, without fearing what others will think about me. May I be a
person who blesses others and not one who curses others with a negative
confession about them. Cleanse my heart, oh Lord, so that I will not even want
to speak evil or bad things. I humble myself before You, Lord, and ask for
a meek and lowly spirit like Jesus, our Saviour, has. In His name I pray. Amen.
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