Bragging On Jesus

Proverbs in 365 Devotions

For a full transcript and more go to braggingonjesus.com

Proverbs in 365 Devotions

For more go to braggingonjesus.com

Proverbs 23:1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is before you, 2 and put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite. 3 Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food. 4 Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. 5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven. 6 Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies, 7 for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.c “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.

8 You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten, and waste your pleasant words.

It seems to me that in these verses Solomon is counseling us against appealing to man for our welfare in life… that is trusting others instead of God. Men make promises for money and good things to those who they can use for pawns and I think Solomon is saying don’t get caught in that trap. Dont succumb to the pressures of others to do things that go against your God given conscious or His word. Don’t get caught up in the rat race of the world searching for treasures like there is any chance that they might satisfy you… they won’t. That extra money you earn driving the get away car is not going to pay your family doctor bills. Gods way is the best way!

... For full transcript go to braggingonjesus.com

So in closing, everything Solomon has mentioned here is not only about a man trying to use you… It is about much more. Satan offers us… you and I his delicacies, but they too are deceptive food. He keeps on keeping on as he tempts us to work for him throughout our lifetime. He knows that if we get a taste for sin… we will want more… and we will say “yes sir” and “thank you sir”. He may promise us good times, riches and power but once our eye sets on it… we find we can never get enough to make us happy… then one day we find that all along satan was leading us to our own destruction and we vomit up his delicacies. Satan never wanted good for us… He is the stingy man Solomon spoke of… he sought his own glory and it led to his downfall… and he has tempted mankind with the same even from the days of Adam and Eve and we know how that turned out.

But God who is not stingy so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son who lived the perfect life that no one else would and he died the wicked sinners death everyone deserves and defeated the wages of sin which is death that no one could. And whoever delights in him is given Jesus righteousness and power over sin and will be raised up no longer a slave to the entropy of sin… no more sickness, pain, covid-19 or even death and will be with the Lord forever.

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Proverbs 22:26 Be not one of those who give pledges, who put up security for debts. 27 If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you? 28 Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set. 29 Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

Today we look at three obvious examples of how men strive to get ahead in life.

I want to focus mostly on the first thing Solomon mentions and then we will touch on the other two.

Solomon tells us how we should not be one of those kind of people who put up security for loans and then make promises to pay. Is Solomon saying never take out a loan? I don’t believe so because there are times borrowing and loaning is mentioned in the Bible with no seeming implication of wrong doing by either party. However there is a heart behind some borrowing which is obsessive and self centered and can ruin a persons life.

Every day in the world people see things and their heart begins pounding for them… not out of necessity but out of lust… Credit Cards hit their limit over and over…. and people become poorer and poorer in money and in their heart towards God.

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And for believers, satan gets what he wants… he ties our hands and keeps us working day in and day out to pay debts and so we have little extra time for our new mission in Christ…

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So we have touched on three things that mess our life up when we become slaves to the loans we have taken out.

One is that our worship begins shifting from God to the things of the world.

Secondly, our incoming money shifts from our new mission in Christ to paying for things.

Thirdly, our time is taken away from us. We spend it not only paying for those things we’ve given our life to… but also spending time with them and taking care of them. that is… dusting, storing, repairing, even using in an effort to find satisfaction because we believed the promises of the world over the promises of God.

Solomon also gives us a couple more examples of how people get ahead in life. I’ll read the last two verses again and then briefly touch on them.

28 Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set. 29 Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

Some get ahead by reinterpreting truths to suit their own interests. They take advantage of others by making a case based on passion and smooth talk. They take things out of context and manipulate the poor and helpless.

Then in closing Solomon tells us a better way. That is dependable and skillful workmanship. This is glorifying to God.

Ecclesiastics 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might,…

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

When we fervently glorify God by honest and good work, we are emulating him…

Actually, if the Lord is our worship then It is Him who is at work in us… and he will not let up or quit… he will not turn back but he, like an artist, a potter… greater than any expert craftsman is making us into an amazing vessel that will mightily glorify himself and in doing he brings great joy to us.

Philippians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Psalm 138:8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Proverbs 22:22 Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate, 23 for the Lord will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them. 24 Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, 25 lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.

Solomon teaches us not to selfishly take advantage of the vulnerable and easy targets in society. ... And then Solomon says not to enjoy friendship with an angry person or a person who takes out their frustrations on others; or else we may become like him.

So in these verses we find a few villains. One robs the poor; one subdues the afflicted; another is full of anger and the last mentioned is a wrathful man. These are all brothers… or at the least close relatives in the family of villains.

For those who take advantage of the poor and afflicted… Gods word is clear… God will deal with them firmly. Believe it.

Small clip of Gods related word to Israel:

Exodus 22:22 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, 24 and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

So yes, God is serious about taking advantage of others.

What about the angry and wrathful man? ... God will deal with the angry and wrathful person.

Colossians 3:6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

So God will deal with the one full of anger and the one who shows his anger practically with wrath. The believer will receive discipline with the love of a Father toward his children while one who rejects the free gift of the love of God in his only Son Jesus… will actually receive the full force of the anger and wrath of God.

Romans 2:8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.

In closing Solomon tells us how we become like those we love to fellowship with and admire… This is the dark side of the principal of associated glory.

Proverbs 13:20 says: Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

And the Apostle Paul agrees in 1st Corinthians 15:33 saying: Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Even as believers we may tend to think that if we do not hang out with the major sins that plague mankind like murder and adultery or theft… if these are not our friends… we are good. WRONG!

In the letter to the church in Laodicea John writes this from Jesus:

Revelation 3:16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

I think a good thing to ponder is this: Who do you make your friendships with? Not only speaking of people but passions… Who did you hang out with last night? What movies did you watch? Where did you go on your smart phone? What sites did you ponder on the internet? Who are you making friendships with? The Bible has clearly shown us that we will become like these.

Moses ask of God in Exodus 33:18 ... “Please show me your glory.”

Paul connects how God showed Moses his glory in the next chapters to 2nd Corinthians 3:18 which says: And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Proverbs In 365 Devotions

For a full transcript go to braggingonjesus.com

Proverbs 22:17 Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge, 18 for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips. 19 That your trust may be in the Lord, I have made them known to you today, even to you. 20 Have I not written for you thirty sayings of counsel and knowledge, 21 to make you know what is right and true, that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?

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Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

We are blind; he is the eye opener.

We are deaf to his words; he gives us ears to hear.

We have no understanding or awareness until God let’s us know Jesus is the greatest treasure in the Universe.

We are dead spiritually like Lazarus was physically until God says come forth.

We are without form and void, and darkness is over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God hovers over our heart. And God says let there be light and we become a new creation in Christ Jesus.

2nd Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

The good news is how Jesus is the promised one from Genesis 3 after mankind fell into sin. He would come and do what mankind did not do and that is obey Gods commandments and keep his word perfectly as a man. He gives his righteousness to all who believe God concerning Jesus, looking to him as the promised one for their unrighteousness. Jesus came and lived a perfect life and died the wicked sinners death we deserve. He was paid the wages of our sin. Then, on the third day he defeated the hold sin had in death through the law (the wages of sin is death… the soul that sinners it shall die); and God gives us that same power over the hold sin has in life to have victory over temptation as we walk with him. God will raise us as Jesus was raised no longer subject to the entropy connected with sin to be with him forever.

So back to the text… again; the first reason Solomon wrote about the truths he says is “to make you know what is right and true”. He wants our eyes and ears and heart to be awakened to Gods truths. Thats what happens when we see Jesus as good news.

2nd Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2ndly Solomon says he writes these things “that you may give a true answer to those who sent you”.

So yes this goes perfectly with the Gospel through all of scripture. #1 see, #2 share. We usually do this automatically even when we are passionate about things of this world. Football and all sports... other hobbies... our favorite food, music.... we see, we hear, we taste and if we like... then we share.

Pray

Proverbs In 365 Devotions

For more go to braggingonjesus.com

Proverbs 22:15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him. 16 Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.

In today’s passage we find that Solomon wants us to discipline our children. And apparently there is even a time when it is appropriate to use a rod on them. I suspect some have used this verse as an excuse to take out their frustrations on their children… maybe even beat them so that they could hardly move. Please do not read this into the verse!!! It is not there. In fact the very next verse which we read says how we should not to oppress the poor to benefit ourselves. You see… God does not approve of oppressing others not the poor as his word says and certainly not our children.

Colossians 3:21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

So we cannot provoke to oppress our children and yet at the same time Paul and Solomon both say we must discipline them. In Ephesians Paul helps us even more saying how the discipline we give should point them to the Lord.

Ephesians 6:4 says: Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

So then spankings… I received my share growing up… with a belt, a paddle and a switch come to mind… also the bare hand… …spankings have their place and there is a time when they are the best possible tool. We need to be good at using discernment… not only for the appropriate measures but also in knowing our child’s heart and what type of discipline points them to the ways of the Lord the best. And thats not all… we must check our own heart and if we are responding to them in hot anger simply wait. We must do all things with love for our children good and to the glory of God.

As far as verse 16 speaking of oppressing the poor or giving bribes to the rich… all for our own benefit. I believe we have spoken on this in a number of Proverb devotions. But let me say this. Whether it’s our relationship with our children or our spouse or our friends or if its how we relate to the rich or poor. We need to look out for their eternal good. Let them see us living lives of love and always pointing them to the awesomeness of Jesus and how he is good news of great joy and the greatest treasure in the Universe. How he lived a perfect righteous live and died a wicked sinners death… a death meant for us… How when he rose from the dead he defeated the hold that sin had through the law (the wages of sin is death) and God gives us that same power over the hold sin had over us in life so we are not slaves to sin as we walk with Him. And one day God will raise us no longer subject to the entropy associated with sin… no more pain, sickness, arthritis, covid-19… no more death and with him forever.

Pray

Proverbs 22:13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!” 14 The mouth of forbidden women is a deep pit; he with whom the Lord is angry will fall into it.

It’s interesting to me how these two verses fit together so well… ... For one we human beings rationalize and make excuses when we don’t want to do something claiming it is dangerous or will cause pain or suffering in some way; … While with open arms a man will run towards the arms of a forbidden woman which can ruin his life. The forbidden woman is a thousand times worse than a lion for sure! I believe we can see the spiritual parallel of how the forbidden woman not only represents adultery and fornication but also the forsaking of our Creator and making all kinds of sin into god’s rather than the Lord. So this forbidden woman can lead a man to eternal destruction while a lion can only kill our physical body.

Something else… When I come to this verse a “take notice” flag pop up as if to say slow down, something seems different here. Let me read verse 14 again.

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Then I notice what seems off... the verse is written backwards as to how I normally think. I would expect it to say something like whoever falls to a forbidden woman will evoke the LORD to become angry. However, it seems to say here that the LORD is angry before this person ever falls for the sweet sounding words of the forbidden woman. The word that stems from the Hebrew for “angry” is also sometimes translated enraged or abhorred.

This shouldn’t be surprising to me… its easy to see how a man will lust and ponder after a woman… even fantasizing in his mind… before he ever approaches the forbidden woman. The LORD is not happy with him for all his evil pondering of sin. I think that is the definition of worship… but it is not the worship of God but of sin. The LORD has good reason to be angry… And this man who may have purposed in his heart not to approach the forbidden woman in the real world… (only in his mind)… he cannot overpower the LORD and how he is angry because of his heart of sin… and what happens? ...the man falls. This senerio plays out so many times every day in the world.

As I think of my own life… a related question comes to mind…

When the LORD is angry with someone; will that person only fall in the same genera of their sin? …Or will they fall into other pits of sin not directly connected to their sin? Is that possible?

Maybe even as a believer you are like me and have committed spiritual adultery in various ways.

It seems to me that there are times in my life when I am re-routed off his path by pursuing a sin and then I have found that God has allowed other areas of my life to suffer.

Most often the pit that I have fell into that stems from some sin seems to be that I become blinded to areas of focus, the purpose God has for my life… ... Sin causes our reality to be distorted... it did that before we came to Christ keeping us from seeing His beauty and sin still causes spiritual fogginess to the beauty of Jesus! ...

When we as Christians prostitute ourselves to the world we seem to begin to make ourselves at home here instead of looking to the kingdom God has prepared for us and we stray from our new mission of seeing more of His glory and sharing his beauty with others. … Sin leads us to more sin… back to our old mission of seeking to glorify self.

Thankfully however, in my own sin, the LORD has been merciful to me personally. After sin sets in… God continues to draw his children back to him… hopefully sin does not keep us in the wilderness for 40 years… but after an undisclosed amount of time, repentance comes and the joy for the good gifts of God return. The fog lifts and my awareness, faith and hope returned when I humbled myself to my Savior.

This stark realization of how sin takes hold should motivate me to stay far away from the slippery slope of sin, and when I do sin to turn back oh so quickly!

Proverbs 22:10 Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out, and quarreling and abuse will cease. 11 He who loves purity of heart, and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend. 12 The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge, but he overthrows the words of the traitor.

Today we find some good words for leaders in various organizations… business owners… governments… even close knit type circles of friendship… Drive out a scoffer…

First who is a scoffer? That would be a person who’s always ridiculing in a scornfully derisive or mocking way. Some people just hold this way of looking at life and relating to others at their core. Its not that they are not capable of change… it does not mean Jesus does not love them or did not die for them… its just that they will cause all kinds of trouble in your business or organization and your group will struggle to accomplish great things. Typically I think the scoffer buddies up and builds up those he is with at the time but then he puts them down when he is around others. He is one who sows discord and division.

Jude 1:18 recounting what the apostles have said puts it like this: …“In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.

Look, we all need struggle and we all need our ideals to be challenged… It’s ok to disagree with others and its good to offer constructive criticism. But scoffers seldom meet privately to offer their ideas… They usually tear others down behind their back and if they do so to their face it is usually done in view of others so they will be seen as tough. Dont be that person who is always backbiting and gossiping about someone else. Even a scoffers close friends will likely soon understand that they are being belittled behind their own backs as well. Solomon likely drove out scoffers from his own administration in hopes to prevent an attempted overthrow and secure a godly kingdom.

Then verse 11 encourages us in what seems to be the opposite of scoffing. Solomon says how a godly king will count those as his friend whose speech is gracious (rather than scoffing) and those who love purity of heart.

Finally in verse 12 we find how that in all these things Solomon has been saying God is calling us to emulate himself… that's what its all about... see 2nd Cor 3:18 Gods glory transforms us taking on his character and fruit of the Spirit.

Let me read 12 again: The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge, but he overthrows the words of the traitor.

IF we look at this verse as describing two men with opposite natures… one who has knowledge that Proverbs speaks so highly of for the wise man of God. The Lord keeps watch over him. This is the man who loves purity and whose speech is gracious in verse 11. He is the one who will have the king as his friend which I think points to us who have a heart for God… a heart he has changed… we will have him… the King of Kings as our friend.

Solomon then says how the Lord himself will overthrow the traitor. The Lord will drive out the scoffer who claims to be his servant when he is around believers but then like a traitor he sides with darkness and scoffs at godliness. He is a traitor and divider and turns people away from the kingdom. He will be driven out.

In Luke 13:28 Jesus said it like this: “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out”.

Pray

Proverbs 22:7 The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender. 8 Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of his fury will fail. 9 Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.

... Let’s take a brief look at each one in a physical and spiritual context then look for the link between them.

A borrower is slave of the lender right? I mean, we may not think of it like that but the truth is.... if you have a $500 monthly car payment and a $1100 house and you make $100 day... if so then you are really working 16 full 8 hour days every month for your lender... and likely for many years… and if you don’t pay they will take disciplinary actions like someone might do to a slave… Surely not as severe but still the message is clear… borrowers are slaves in some context to lenders.

A spiritual application to borrowing money from a lender to obtain something we desire might be thought of like this. Consider all the different kinds of sinful things that tug on our hearts promising to fulfill our deep spiritual desires. And no, their not for free. They all come with a price want us to be paying them off for the rest of our life. We become slaves to the lender and the products we receive don’t even satisfy but rather lead us to destruction.

Next Solomon says injustice will not win the day.

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Look, the path of injustice has the same end as every other path. They all end in true justice. So injustice does not have the last say. Even in this life in places where there is at least some kind of justice with laws that protect the vulnerable and those who cannot defend themselves... In these places injustice is short lived. Thats likely how it was in Solomons kingdom. But its not to say that any society does not fall short… we all do. ... But nevertheless, on Judgement Day all injustice will be judged with true justice.

Finally Solomon speaks of a bountiful eye being blessed. A bountiful eye is a cool phrase. Bountiful means generous and openhanded… ...You know, I can see that being related to a persons heart or their deeds but its not everyday that we hear of someone with a bountiful eye.

Solomon gives us a clue to its meaning though… he says the person with a bountiful eye shares his bread with the poor. So I take that to mean that he has an eye for the needy and he already has made up his mind that he is going to lavish them bountifully in some way that will be a great help to them. Sometimes I think we get so wrapped up in our own problems as we walk through this broken world that we cant see the needs of those on every side of us. The person who has an eye for the poor and oppressed stays ... on the look out for those who are overlooked by society that they might show them compassion and bless them in the name of the Lord. Solomon says that these people will be blessed.

So all these verses today go hand in hand in pointing us to Jesus.

Remember in verse 7 we learned that the borrower is servant of the lender and sin comes with an eternal payment due. In verse 8 we saw how injustice cannot escape judgement day and all sin will face justice. Then finally in verse 9 we looked at how the bountiful eye will be blessed and he shares his bread with the poor.

Well, thats a charge for us sure… but you know… thats what the Lord did for us. He had a bountiful eye towards us and blessed us when we were needy.

In Mark 2:17 Jesus said: …“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

He showed us our need of Him and his beauty as the greatest treasure in the Universe… We looked to him in faith and were blessed In Christ Jesus.

He is the one who sets us free from our debt to the law because of sin.

And justice is done in that Jesus is the one who takes the wages due us for our sin…

It’s all because of his bountiful eye towards us because of his glorious grace through Christ Jesus.

Pray

Proverbs In 365 Devotions

For transcript go to braggingonjesus.com

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