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Proverbs Devotional 5.14.20

By May 14, 2020July 10th, 2020Daily Devotional

I. Prayer to enter the Lord’s presence:

Be still for a moment. “Lord, I give the day that is now past to you.  It is yours.  I give the day that is to come to you; help me to see where you are working and to join you there.  Speak to me during these moments.  I commit them and myself to you.”

 II. Prayer of Confession:

“Lord, you are faithful to forgive me and cleanse me of my sin when I confess it to you.  I confess my sin(s) of ______________.  Thank you for forgiveness.” (1 John 1:9)

III. Prayer of Thanksgiving:

Choose to be thankful, speak out loud of what God has done.
“Thank you, Father, for _________________.  Fill my heart and my mouth with gratitude throughout this day.”

IV. Scripture Reflection

Read: Proverbs Chapter 14

Reflect:

Proverbs 14:6

The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none,
but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.

When I was young, a movie came out called “Urban Cowboy.” Do you see the contradiction in the title of the film? Yeah, that’s right, real cowboys aren’t from urban areas! There was a hit song in the movie called “Looking for Love.” Here are the opening lines:

“I spent a lifetime looking for you
Single bars and good time lovers were never true
Playing a fools game, hopin’ to win
Tellin’ those sweet lies and losin’ again

I was lookin’ for love in all the wrong places
Lookin’ for love in too many faces
Searchin’ their eyes
Lookin’ for traces of what I’m dreaming of”

Both the movie and the song remind me of the mocker in our Proverb. The mocker has a strong dislike for correction, he’s a deliberate troublemaker, he’s got to have things his way, and his bad influence is plain to everyone but himself. He doesn’t lack mental capacity, but it’s his mental attitude that has earned him the title of mocker! We see it clearly in the Proverb: the mocker seeks wisdom yet he is unwilling to meet the prerequisite—fear of the Lord!

This is where the movie and the song I started out with come in to play. Apparently, mockers are lookin’ for wisdom in all the wrong places! Like the urban cowboy who only dresses the part of the cowboy, the mocker is searching for wisdom without going to the true source. He will never be a cowboy until he does the things cowboys do. Like the song, he’ll spend a lifetime playing the fools game hopin’ and losin’ again.

Wisdom is available to all who honestly and humbly seek it. But there’s a catch. We have to start at the right place: the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7 NIV) Jesus is the embodiment of wisdom. He’s told us He is the way the truth and the life. We can experience the wisdom of God by believing and trusting in Jesus. 

Respond:

One way we experience God’s presence and wisdom is through prayer. Jesus says, “Ask, and the gift is yours. Seek, and you’ll discover. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. For every persistent one will get what he asks for. Every persistent seeker will discover what he longs for. And everyone who knocks persistently will one day find an open door. (Matthew 7:7-8 TPT) Wisdom is there for the taking when we seek it in line with God’s will.

V. Prayer for others:

Pray specifically for the concerns of your life and the lives of others. 

VI. Prayer of commitment:

Lord God, I commit to love you with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my strength and with all my mind and to love my neighbor as myself.  Empower me today to love you and others with everything that I am.”  (Luke 10:27)

This Week’s Scripture Memory:
Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

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