Where Are They Now?
Read: Psalm 73 When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous is established forever. (Prov. 10:25) It’s tempting to envy the prosperity of those the Bible calls “the wicked” or “the ungodly”—that is, people of the world. These aren’t necessarily extremely evil people; rather they are, in the psalmist’s words, “those […]
Amor Omnia Vincit
Read: 1 Peter 4:7-11 Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. (Prov. 10:12) The Roman proverb used in the title of this devotional is translated “Love conquers all.” It’s an ancient statement of contemporary bumper sticker theology: “Love Wins.” But I wonder: Whose love? Conquers what? Wins how? Every wedding includes mutual promises […]
Don’t Worry
Read: Matthew 6:25-32 The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked. (Prov. 10:3) Are you a worrier? I’m not usually, but I can fall into that trap at times—the one where you let fears about the future spoil your peace in the present. Jesus said that […]
Pride Goes before a Fall
Read: Daniel 4:28-37 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. (Prov. 16:18) According to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, the walls of Babylon were so massive that a four-horse chariot could drive around the city on top of them. So when King Nebuchadnezzar looked out on his city at the height […]
First Things First
Read: Matthew 6:33-34 Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house. (Prov. 24:27) Recently I visited the historic sites of Abraham Lincoln’s boyhood in Kentucky and Indiana. The Lincoln family led a hard life on a series of frontier farms. Everyone knows about the log […]
Hope Deferred
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. (Prov. 13:12) If you are familiar with the Bible, you probably know Jacob’s story. What happens to him in Genesis 29 is a classic case of the biter bit, the trickster tricked, the con man conned. It’s hard to feel […]
The Fear of the Lord
Read: Romans 8:14-17 Blessed is the one who fears the LORD always. (Prov. 28:14) What exactly does it mean to fear the Lord? Preachers usually explain it as feeling awe for God, adding that it doesn’t mean we should be afraid of him. Really? Aren’t you just a little bit afraid of God? I know […]
The Beginning of Wisdom
Read: Proverbs 1:1-7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Prov. 9:10) I did a little research and learned that the expression “the fear of the LORD/God” or the command to “fear the LORD/God” occurs 120 times in the English Standard Version of […]
Lady Folly
Read: Proverbs 7 All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter. (v. 22) The opposite of knowledge is ignorance. The opposite of wisdom is folly. Whether or not you are foolish doesn’t depend on how much you know. As C. S. Lewis remarked, “A man may be a Master of Arts and […]