Proverbs Devotional 10.10.20

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 10

Reflect:

For October, I’d like you to simply read slowly through the entire proverb each day. Think about the verses that have stood out to you over this year, the things God has spoken to you about, and the wisdom that was revealed to you. Use this time as a summary review of our time together over the last nine months.

As you read the Proverbs, you’ll notice that they are comprised of different translations. My hope is that doing this will help you to read Proverbs afresh. Following the reading is a short prayer that sums up the proverb. God Bless!

 Proverbs 10 (MSG)
The Wise Say­ings of Solomon
An Hon­est Life Is Im­mor­tal
Wise son, glad fa­ther;
stu­pid son, sad mother.
² Ill-got­ten gain gets you nowhere;
an hon­est life is im­mor­tal.
³ God won’t starve an hon­est soul,
but he frus­trates the ap­petites of the wicked.
⁴ Sloth makes you poor;
dili­gence brings wealth.
⁵ Make hay while the sun shines—that’s smart;
go fish­ing dur­ing har­vest—that’s stu­pid.
⁶ Bless­ings ac­crue on a good and hon­est life,
but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.
⁷ A good and hon­est life is a blessed memo­r­ial;
a wicked life leaves a rot­ten stench.
⁸ A wise heart takes or­ders;
an empty head will come unglued.
⁹ Hon­esty lives con­fi­dent and care­free,
but Shifty is sure to be ex­posed.
¹⁰ An eva­sive eye is a sign of trou­ble ahead,
but an open, face-to-face meet­ing re­sults in peace.
¹¹ The mouth of a good per­son is a deep, life-giv­ing well,
but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.
¹² Ha­tred starts fights,
but love pulls a quilt over the bick­er­ing.
¹³ You’ll find wis­dom on the lips of a per­son of in­sight,
but the short­sighted needs a slap in the face.
¹⁴ The wise ac­cu­mu­late knowl­edge—a true trea­sure;
know-it-alls talk too much—a sheer waste. 

The Road to Life Is a Dis­ci­plined Life
¹⁵ The wealth of the rich is their bas­tion;
the poverty of the in­di­gent is their ruin.
¹⁶ The wage of a good per­son is ex­u­ber­ant life;
an evil per­son ends up with noth­ing but sin.
¹⁷ The road to life is a dis­ci­plined life;
ig­nore cor­rec­tion and you’re lost for good.
¹⁸ Liars se­cretly hoard ha­tred;
fools openly spread slan­der.
¹⁹ The more talk, the less truth;
the wise mea­sure their words.
²⁰ The speech of a good per­son is worth wait­ing for;
the blab­ber of the wicked is worth­less.
²¹ The talk of a good per­son is rich fare for many,
but chat­ter­boxes die of an empty heart. 

Fear-of-God Ex­pands Your Life
²² God’s bless­ing makes life rich;
noth­ing we do can im­prove on God.
²³ An empty-head thinks mis­chief is fun,
but a mind­ful per­son rel­ishes wis­dom.
²⁴ The night­mares of the wicked come true;
what the good peo­ple de­sire, they get.
²⁵ When the storm is over, there’s noth­ing left of the wicked;
good peo­ple, firm on their rock foun­da­tion, aren’t even fazed.
²⁶ A lazy em­ployee will give you noth­ing but trou­ble;
it’s vine­gar in the mouth, smoke in the eyes.
²⁷ The Fear-of-God ex­pands your life;
a wicked life is a puny life.
²⁸ The as­pi­ra­tions of good peo­ple end in cel­e­bra­tion;
the am­bi­tions of bad peo­ple crash.
²⁹ God is solid back­ing to a well-lived life,
but he calls into ques­tion a shabby per­for­mance.
³⁰ Good peo­ple last—they can’t be moved;
the wicked are here today, gone to­mor­row.
³¹ A good per­son’s mouth is a clear foun­tain of wis­dom;
a foul mouth is a stag­nant swamp.
³² The speech of a good per­son clears the air;
the words of the wicked pol­lute it.

Respond:

Father, I thank You for the wisdom found in this proverb. Help me to be diligent in pursuing You. May Your wisdom be on my lips, stored up in my heart, and evident in all that I do.  Amen.

 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 24:10