| Passage: Proverbs 7-9 On Monday, July 24, 2017, Yujin wrote,
In these first nine chapters of Proverbs, Solomon presents in stark contrast wisdom and folly. Wisdom is connected to righteousness and enduring prosperity. Folly is connected to immorality and short-lived benefits. Wisdom is worth every effort and any cost, while folly has the appearance of easy pleasure and gain but in the end leads to death and destruction. Yet, as the wise can become fools, so also fools can become wise, as in the passages above. Folly and wisdom are not permanent conditions but a person's attitude and actions direct them toward one or the other. Therefore, I can choose to forsake my foolish thinking and behavior, which lead me to shame, destruction, and ultimately death; and I can choose to follow God's wisdom, which promise true and enduring benefits along with eternal life. Friends, Solomon writes generally and figuratively here so that every serious student can discern specific applications relevant to the challenges and opportunities in their particular stage of life. Whether you are a child or an adult, whether working in one profession or another, whether rich or poor, whether a woman or a man, whether among the wise or fools, you can find hope and relevant application these principles. I just came back from ten days of traveling with my family to Ridgway, Colorado. Both folly and wisdom presented themselves to me on the trip, as well as one other very precious and indespensible couplet: God's providence and grace. Without this divine couplet, folly would have prevailed over wisdom in me. Praise God for His providence and grace! |
| Passage: Proverbs 7-9 On Friday, July 24, 2015, Yujin wrote,
Power, wealth and fame are what worldly men aspire to gain, yet here, wisdom says that she possesses all these things and will give it to the one who makes wisdom his priority. The difference from worldly power, wealth and fame is that what wisdom gives will come with righteousness and God's favor. After extolling wisdom to the highest degree, Solomon declares the heart of wisdom:
Fearing God, by which we know Him, trust Him and obey Him, is the heart of wisdom, that same wisdom that offers men power, wealth and fame. Friends, this has been my ambition for the last seventeen or so years. I have made knowing, trusting and obeying Him the priority over every pursuit, over every relationship, and over every interest. Even though the promises of Proverbs are likely tied to the Old Covenant, and God is certainly not bound to bring these into my life, I feel that in some small and meaningful way God has given me power, wealth, and fame, if only as a witness to entice others to make fearing God their life's priority. Begin every day in prayer. Humble yourself and extol God's Name and thank Him for His grace. Seek his wisdom and providence, and intercede for everyone He brings to mind. Begin every day in His Word. Read it, meditate on it, study it to discern its meaning, and memorize it. Throughout the day, whatever your interest or occupation, find ways to give glory to God. This DailyQT.org blog is one way for me to glorify God and make Him known. Teaching in Sunday School, leading a men's Bible study, and sending out Biblical encouragements via email are other ways for me to glorify God and make Him known. Sharing the Gospel at Martial Arts testings and tournaments, following the biblical guidelines in encouraging, correcting, and challenging believers are ways that I glorify God and make Him known. Paying off my rental properties so that I will be free of all debt is a way I glorify God. Homeschooling my child, particularly in the Scriptures, is a way I glorify God. Getting rid of cable tv, my smart phone, and limiting my screen time are ways I glorify God. Then, end the day in prayer. Pray with your wife and child. Pray alone to close the day in humility, praise and thanksgiving. Pray for what lingers in your heart and troubles your mind. As you entrust these to the Lord, you will find peace in sleep. I have not achieved a righteous life, but I know whom I have believed, and I know that He will finish what He has begun in me and take me to glory. Yet, with what time He gives me I will strive to know, trust, and obey Him more and more, and I will in this way be a witness for Christ to all those who regard me. Won't you join me in this ambition? |
| Passage: Proverbs 7-9 On Tuesday, July 24, 2012, Fernando wrote, Proverbs 9 7�Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,�and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. & 9�Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;�teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. Wisdom is not about knowledge as righteousness is not about deeds. The wise do maneuver well, and the righteous do perform good deeds, but primary to wisdom is having a soft heart, a fertile good ground (cf Matthew 13). Verse 7 & 9 contain a situation where one approaches another to teach; the first refuses with abuses the other with increase. Nothing about their quality in performance or previous knowledge, all we see is their teachability, a humility to instruction. Even if in both situations, the student was abusive, the one who ended up accepting and growing did well, consider Jesus's story of two sons in Matthew 21:28-32, one say 'yes' and did not act, the other said 'no' and did act. If you extend your hand to teach or edify someone, don't be discouraged with a poor initial response; they may actually respond to your teaching well, while responding to YOU poorly. It should follow, that if they are responding well to your teachings that they will start to respond well to you, as verse 8 prepares us: ...reprove a wise man, and he will love you. |