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 […]
The Way of Wisdom
Read: Psalm 1 Wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her. (Prov. 8:11) The book of Proverbs is the treasury of the Old Testament’s wisdom literature. To be wise in the biblical sense means thinking, acting, and speaking in ways that lead to human flourishing. There’s a big […]
The Heart of Greed
Read: 2 Kings 5:15-27 I will run after him and take something from him. (v. 20 NASB) The story begins with Naaman’s leprosy but ends with that very same leprosy clinging to Gehazi. The link between the two characters is greed. Naaman’s lust for power and wealth at the beginning of the story blinds him to […]
The Little Girl
Read: 2 Kings 5:1-14 If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! (v. 3 NRSV) The most influential character in this story appears in only two verses and does not receive a name. She is known simply as the “little girl.” Yet she displays a remarkably mature faith. Having been captured on […]
The Abundance of Creation
Read: 2 Kings 4:42-44; Mark 6:30-44 They will eat and have some left over. (v. 43 NIV) This story follows right on the heels of yesterday’s and is intended to be read as a continuation of it. Apparently, the famine is lifting in certain parts of the country, because some farmer has been blessed with a […]
July 2022 Prayer Guide
SOUTH SUDAN — The Words of Hope team in South Sudan requests ongoing prayer for the country as they continue to face COVID-19 with very little medical infrastructure. Pray also for peace in the country, and that civilians would consent to laying down weapons that are too often used against neighboring tribes. Pray that our […]
Death in the Pot!
Read: 2 Kings 4:38-41 Serve it to the people and let them eat. (v. 41 Jewish Publication Society) It was a simple enough plan: just head out to the fields to see if they could find anything to put into the pot—the big pot—that the man of God had instructed them to fill with food, somehow, […]