Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Proverbs 20:11-15
Prov 20:11-15
11 Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright. 12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made them both. 13 Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread. 14 “Bad, bad,” says the buyer, but when he goes away, then he boasts. 15 There is gold and an abundance of costly stones, but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
Eph 5:15-17
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
God gave us lips to speak, ears to hear, and eyes to see. How we use these is up to us. We may use them to his glory and to make our lives better or we may use them for selfish purposes and to gender strife. The choice is ours to make on a daily basis. What we see, hear, or say is largely determined by our attitude about ourselves and others. We may choose to focus on the negative or the positive.
Jesus said that those who have ears should hear. That is, we are to understand what we hear, especially when it comes to spiritual matters. As we study the word of God, whether it be by listening to someone else or reading it on our own, we need to try to comprehend what is being said in the context of its writing. After this, we can see how it fits other passages and how it fits us today.
One of the great blessings we have in our lives today is the internet. We can hear so much about any topic that we want to study. Search for any Bible topic and there is an almost endless list of ideas, lessons, blogs, and articles. But the great danger is being led astray by some of what is being taught. Paul said we are to handle accurately the word of God. The best commentary is always scripture.
This means that we must study and think and reason, but all of this must be based on what is taught in other parts of scripture. The true understanding will never contradict other passages. It may not agree with what we just read, or what we have always been taught, but it will always agree with what the Bible says.
O Lord God, give me wisdom to properly divide your word, to understand it correctly, and to apply it consistently in my life. Give me strength to practice self-control in every part of my life. Give me the energy and motivation to do what I know needs to be done, and to do it in a way that honors you and brings glory to Jesus, my Lord and my Savior. Help those who are hurting, grieving, and waiting on test results and diagnosis that they will trust you and have your peace. Guide our elections and give us leaders who respect Jesus. In his name I pray.
Robert
