Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Proverbs 12:6-10
Prov 12:6-10
The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright delivers them. The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous will stand. A man is commended according to his good sense, but one of twisted mind is despised. Better to be lowly and have a servant than to play the great man and lack bread. Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
Rom 8:5-6
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
A man is commended according to his good sense. Nothing shows good sense more than when one decides to follow Jesus. This means that we set our minds on the Spirit and the things of the Spirit. Paul goes on to say that when we set our minds on the Spirit to follow him, that he lives in us, and we are no longer in the flesh. When we become the children of God we are put into the heavenly places, where Jesus is at the right hand of God. We are in the kingdom of his Son. This is why John says that when we are in Christ, we are not to love the world or the things of this world. All of these things will pass away but we will live forever.
The church, God’s people, is actually a foretaste of heaven itself as we live with Christ and God in our hearts. It is not an institution that is somehow separate from the people who make it up. It is the eternal relationship of all the saved, living for God, in Christ, and in a special relationship with him. More than once, we find this relationship referred to as a marriage between the church and Christ.
But, back to good sense. God will give us wisdom when we pray for it and open our hearts to his Spirit. When we follow Jesus, we will find the best life possible for us. I cannot measure my life by yours as you cannot measure yours by mine. What we can do is make the best of what God has given us and use every opportunity to do good. Good sense means we think before acting or speaking.
My heavenly Father, give me good sense. Help me think before I speak or before I act in every situation. Teach me to learn to listen better and to weigh what I hear, honestly and carefully before I form my opinion and before I react. As I learn to listen and to think, remind me to always measure everything by your word, for you alone are the only source of truth. Forgive me when I fail. Thank you for being so good to me and to my wife in so many ways! Be with our nation and give us leaders who will respect you as the only true God. I pray in Jesus’ name.
Robert
