Friend or Foe?
Read: Matthew 26:47-52 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy. (Prov. 27:6) As an illustration of the wisdom of this proverb, consider the interactions between Jesus, Judas, and Peter on the night before the crucifixion. In the upper room, Jesus had told Peter bluntly that Satan would sift […]
Train Your Child
Read: 2 Samuel 18:24-33 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. (Prov. 22:6) Every Christian parent wishes there were a surefire formula for passing their faith on to their children. Proverbs seems to promise that: just train your child properly and […]
Sweeter than Honey
Read: Psalm 19 Eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off. (Prov. 24:13-14) The creed of the stoic is expressed in […]
Victory Belongs to the Lord
Read: Psalm 33 The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD. (Prov. 21:31) In the psalmist’s day, horses and chariots were the weapons of superpowers, the tanks and missiles and aircraft of the ancient world. When Pharaoh pursued the escaping Israelites into the wilderness, what made […]
Where There Is No Vision
Read: Judges 21:20-25 Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint. (Prov. 29:18) Around the time of our church’s 100th anniversary, the congregation decided to remodel and expand the building. Outside the new entrance they built a substantial sign engraved with the words, “Where there is no vision, the people perish”—quoting Proverbs […]
What to Buy
Read: John 8:23-32 Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. (Prov. 23:23) I happened to be browsing in a jewelry store one day while my wife was getting a new battery to put in her watch. A nicely dressed salesman politely asked if there was something I was interested in. […]
Rich toward God
Read: Luke 12:13-21 Honor the LORD with your wealth . . . then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. (Prov. 3:9-10) Jesus’ story is known as the parable of the rich fool. This farmer was a fool because he thought his prosperity was all for himself—notice how many times […]
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 […]