The Simple or Naive (Studies in Proverbs)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/31/2013 8:58 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  The Simple

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Various Verses

            Message of the verses:  In today’s Spiritual Diary we begin to look at part two of “People Wise and Otherwise,” as we now look at what Dr. Wiersbe calls “the terrible trio.”  We will be looking at the simple, the scorner, and the fool, but most of the time we will be looking at what the Bible calls a fool.  However first we must look at the simple and the scorner.  We need to remember when we began the study of Proverbs that at first wisdom spoke to all three of these of the terrible trio as seen in Proverbs 1:22, but in her second visit she only spoke to the simple and the fool (Proverbs 8:5).  Her last visit in Proverbs 9:4 she only spoke to the simple because the other two did not listen before, which brings up the point we all need to remember that there will come a time when the Lord stops calling as the Scriptures say “today is the day of salvation.”

            The Simple:  The simple people are what we can call the naïve people, those that will believe anything and it is because they have no convictions about anything.  I remember sometime back in the 1990’s that my wife and I were attending Moody’s Founders Week in Chicago, something we did many times, and Josh MacDowell came all the way from Moscow, where he was ministering to speak to us about “The New Tolerance,” that was coming.  What this new tolerance is is what we see in our world today where people have to be tolerant of whatever people want to believe.  The problem is that what they believe in is against the Scriptures, and now this makes it more difficult to tell them about the Gospel.  Satan is the one behind all of this new tolerance, trying to get it to be against the law to talk to others about Christ.   

            Proverbs 14:15 says “The naive believes everything, But the sensible man considers his steps.”  Dr Wiersbe quotes Charles R. Bridges who writes “To believe every word of God is faith.  To believe every word of man is credulity.” 

            If a man has convictions in our world today he is considered a bigot, or even an ignoramus.  Jesus said the following in John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”  Jesus said this in answer to Thomas who asked where Jesus was going.  This answer to the question Thomas was given by Jesus the night before He was to be crucified the next morning. In this answer that He gave He states something that is a conviction to all true believers and that is there is only one way to come to the Father, and that is through the Son, and what the Son accomplished on the cross.  The simple minded man will have a problem believing this because he believes anything and has no convictions.  This kind of statement that Jesus made here is not what we would call today to be political correct, but never the less it is true.  When it comes to a person’s salvation they must have firm convictions and not waver.  There have been many people who did not waver in their convictions about their salvation and were killed for their convictions and they will one day receive a crown in heaven for standing up for the Lord of Glory.

            1/31/2013 9:35 AM

            1/31/2013 11:52 AM

            At this point I think it will be wise for me to put all of the verses from the book of Proverbs that use the word “naïve” or if one is reading the KJV that word would be “simple.”  The Hebrew word’s definition is as follows “1) simplicity, 2) simple, foolish, open-minded.”  This word is used in the KJV of the Bible as follows “AV-simple 15, simple ones 2, foolish 1, simplicity 1; 19.”  This quotation is from the Hebrew/English dictionary that is found in my Online Bible Program.  The following are the fourteen verses where this word is found in the book of Proverbs as seen in the NASB where it is translated as “naïve.”

“Pr 1:4 To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion,

Pr 1:22  "How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?

Pr 1:32  "For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them.

Pr 7:7  And I saw among the naive, And discerned among the youths A young man lacking sense,

Pr 8:5  "O naive ones, understand prudence; And, O fools, understand wisdom.

Pr 9:4  "Whoever is naive, let him turn in here!" To him who lacks understanding she says,

Pr 9:13  The woman of folly is boisterous, She is naive and knows nothing.

Pr 9:16  "Whoever is naive, let him turn in here," And to him who lacks understanding she says,

Pr 14:15  The naive believes everything, But the sensible man considers his steps.

Pr 14:18  The naive inherit foolishness, But the sensible are crowned with knowledge.

Pr 19:25  Strike a scoffer and the naive may become shrewd, But reprove one who has understanding and he will gain knowledge.

Pr 21:11  When the scoffer is punished, the naive becomes wise; But when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.

Pr 22:3  The prudent sees the evil and hides himself, But the naive go on, and are punished for it.

Pr 27:12  A prudent man sees evil and hides himself, The naive proceed and pay the penalty.

            We have looked at the wise and the wicked in our past Spiritual Diaries, and today we are looking at the Simple or the naïve as is used in the NASB.  If I understand what Dr. Wiersbe is saying in his commentary then those who are the wise are the ones who are the true believers in Jesus Christ.  Those who are wicked, naïve, scorner, and fools are not believers.  I also believe that there are those who are unbelievers who are wise in some things, but not in the things of the Lord.  One may look at them as see that they have had a successful life because they have a nice house to live in and nice cars to drive and have saved their money so that they can retire well, but in their hearts they do not know the Lord.  They don’t act wickedly, but still they are not a true believer.  There are those who are true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who at times do act wickedly or life a scorner, or act naïve, but in their hearts they know that they are sinners and have repented of their sins and accepted the forgiveness that Jesus provided for them while suffering on the cross, and proved by His resurrection from the dead.  As believers we can look at the simple or naïve in this section and learn from their ways and then figure out that we don’t want to act like them.  We read in some of these verses that they do not change, because they cannot change because they do not know the truth that the Scriptures teach, but we can change as we read and study the Bible and as we confess to the Lord that we are acting like the naïve and seek His help in changing.  That is the difference between those who are truly wise and those who are not.

            Dr. Wiersbe quotes Brooks Atkinson who wrote the following on Groundhog’s Day: “People everywhere enjoy believing things they know are not true.  It spares them the ordeal of thinking for themselves and taking responsibility for what they know.”  Dr. Wiersbe goes on to say “the old saying, ‘what you don’t know can’t hurt you,’ is false, as any physician or auto mechanic can tell you.  What you don’t know could kill you! ‘For the turning away of the simple shall slay them’ (Pr. 1:32).”

            We have already seen the young man who followed the prostitute in Proverbs 7:7ff and we can say this about him “Pr 14:18 The naive inherit foolishness, But the sensible are crowned with knowledge.”

            Dr. Wiersbe ends his commentary with the following paragraph:  “All of s are ignorant in many things, but simpletons are ignorant of their ignorance and are unwilling to learn.  They follow the philosophy, ‘Where ignorance is bliss, ‘tis folly to be wise.’   But when there’s a Bible to read, a life to build, and an eternity to prepare for, it is folly to be ignorant.”  The following is the end note from the quotation Dr. Wiersbe has quoted.  “This oft-quoted statement is the last line of Thomas Gray’s poem, ‘Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College,’ but its message is usually misunderstood.  In the poem, Gray contrasts the joyful innocence of children in school to the difficulties they will have when they reach adulthood.  He asks us not to rob them of their youthful pleasures too soon.  There will be time enough for them to learn that life isn’t always fun and games.  We expect a certain amount of naïve innocence in children, but not in adults.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have to admit that there are times when I am naïve about things and make mistakes along these lines and so it is important for me to learn more about this subject as it is taught in the book of Proverbs so that I will not fall into its trap.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Proverbs 1:4 says “To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion.”  The book of Proverbs is written for this reason and for other reasons too, but this reason stated in Proverbs 1:4 is to give prudence to the naïve.  The Hebrew word for  “prudence” means the following “shrewdness, craftiness, prudence.  In the 16^th chapter of the book of Luke Jesus tells a parable about a man who is praised for his shrewdness even though he was really dishonest in his dealings.  Jesus says the following about him:  “"And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light Luke 16:8.”  My step of faith is to act more shrewdly in my dealings with others who are trying to take advantage of me.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 121:1-8

            1 I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come?  2 My help comes from the LORD who made heaven and earth.  3 He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.  4 Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.  5 The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand.  6 The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night.  7 The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.  8 The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.

Turning Points Wisdom for Today:  “Our strength is seen in the things we stand for; our weakness is seen in the things we fall for.”  (Theodore Epp)  “Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls.”  (Proverbs 35:28)

1/31/2013 12:56 PM

   

More on the "Wicked" from Proverbs

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/30/2013 8:51 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  More on the Wicked

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Various Scriptures

            Message of the verses:  We will continue looking at the subject of the wicked in today’s Spiritual Diary.

            Let us begin by looking at Proverbs 6:12-19 which is somewhat of a summary statement that will describe the evil person and the hateful sins that he commits.  “12 ¶  A worthless person, a wicked man, Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth, 13  Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, Who points with his fingers; 14  Who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil, Who spreads strife. 15  Therefore his calamity will come suddenly; Instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing. 16  There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: 17  Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, 18  A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, 19  A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.”

            Dr. Wiersbe writes that “Every part of the wicked person’s anatomy is devoted to evil and his ‘body language’ communicates evil.”  Before we go on with the quote let us look at Romans 3:10-18:  “10  as it is written:  “None is righteous, no, not one; 11  no one understands;  no one seeks for God. 12  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;  no one does good,  not even one.” 13  “Their throat is an open grave;  they use their tongues to deceive.”  “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14  “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15  “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16  in their paths are ruin and misery, 17  and the way of peace they have not known.,” 18  “There is no fear of God before their eyes.’”  (ESV)  Notice the parts of the anatomy that are mentioned in these verses which are all quotations from the OT.  Now let us go on with the quote from Dr. Wiersbe:  “He can’t be trusted.  When he wants to signal his confederates that it’s time to do evil, he winks his eye; shuffles his feet, and motions with his fingers; they get the message.  The cause of all this evil is the perversity of his inner person, for it is out of the heart that evil comes (Mark 7:14-23; Jer. 17:9).  He’s skillful at plotting evil and the result is dissension.  He’s a troublemaker who sows discord, but judgment is certain and will come when he least expects it.  How much better it is when the whole body is yielded to God (Romans 12:2) and controlled by His Word (Proverbs 4:20-27)!”

            There is a list of specific sins that are listed in the verses from Proverbs that is quoted above, in Proverbs 6:16-19.  First we see pride, and the reason that this is listed first is because pride is the basic motivation for all the other sins.  We know from looking at Isaiah 14:12-14 that pride was what caused Lucifer to turn into Satan.  We could say that it was pride that was the first sin every committed for Lucifer committed the first sin.  “12  "How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! 13  "But you said in your heart, ’I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 14  ’I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’”  (Isa. 14:12-14)

            The next thing that God hates is lying or a lying tongue as Solomon describes it.  We know that God is the God of truth:  “"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”  (John 14:6)  One of the Ten Commandments states that we should not bear false witness, (Exodus 20:16).  Jesus said to the Pharisees that they were of their father the devil “"You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”  (John 8:44) 

            The third sin mentioned that God hates is murder and this is also seen in the Ten Commandants in Exodus 20:13:  “"You shall not murder.”  Notice that it states that you shall not murder and that does not mean that it is wrong to fight in a just war.  Early on after man was created we saw Cain kill Able and a bit later God instituted capital punishment and it has never been something that has been taken away by God.  God uses human government to exercise capital punishment (Gen. 9:5-6; Rom. 13:1-7), “but the shedding of innocent blood pollutes the land (Num. 35:30-34).  Murders have their part in the lake of fire:  ‘"But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.’”

            Next sin God hates is:  “A heart that devises wicked plans.”  It is a shame that people have to devise wicked plans in their hearts when they could do things that would please the Lord.  Dr. Wiersbe states that this is misuse of the gift of imagination that God has given to us.

            Next we will talk about “Feet that run rapidly to evil.”  There is a verse in the book of Isaiah and is quoted in the book of Romans that speaks of beautiful feet, and I was told early in my Christian life that the feet are the only part of the body that the Bible speaks of as being beautiful.  Why are the feet called beautiful because it is the feet that carry the believer to tell the Good news of the Gospel:  “Isa 52:7  How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, "Your God reigns!’”  “Ro 10:15  How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!’”    Now contrast with this verse in Romans “Ro 3:15  "THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD.”  One more verse about the feet found in Romans “Ro 16:20  The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”

            The next sin God hates is “A false witness who utters lies.”  Exodus 20:16 states “"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”  This is the ninth commandment.  We are seeing a lot of lying in our government today and Dr. Wiersbe states “Without truth, things start to fall apart; when people ‘lie officially,’ the foundations of society begin to crumble.” 

            The last sin that God hates that is seen in Proverbs six is “one who spreads strife among brothers.”  Contrast this with Psalm 133:1 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!”  How does the wicked person destroy this unity?  By sowing seeds that produce a bitter and divisive harvest.  Seeds like pride, “Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.”  (Pr. 13:10 AV)  “9 ¶  I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. 10  For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church.”  (3John 9-10)  Gossip, anger, hatred, a quarrelsome spirit, and foolish questions are also what can destroy the unity among believers.

            Dr. Wiersbe concludes his commentary on this chapter that describes the wise and the wicked by stating:  “There is a wisdom from above that brings peace and purity to God’s people, and there is a wisdom from beneath that brings strife and shame (James 3:13-18).  There is a wisdom of this world that destroys the church and a wisdom from God that builds the church (1Cor. 3:16-23)

            “’To the law and to the testimony!  If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them’ (Isa. 8:20 NIV).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The contrast between the wise and the wicked is a big contrast and it is obvious that I am to follow the path of the wise.  Jesus talks about the goldy person in Matthew 5:1-16.  It is good to see this contrast this godly person with the wicked person of which we have been studying.  “  1 ¶  When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2  He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

    “3 ¶  "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4  "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5  "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. 6  "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7  "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8  "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9  "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10  "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11  "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12  "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

    “13 ¶  "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14  "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15  nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16  "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Do all that is possible to live a wise and godly life before the Lord.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 121:1-8

            1I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; for where shall my help come?  2 My help comes from the LORD who made heaven and earth.  3 He will not allow my foot to slip; He who keeps me will not slumber.  4 Behold, He who keeps me will neither slumber nor sleep.  5  The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.  6 The sun will not smite you by day nor the moon by night.  7 The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will protect your soul.  8 The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from the time forth and forever.

Turning Points Wisdom for today:  “Words are things; and a small drop of ink falling like dew upon a thought produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.”  (Lord Byron)  “A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!”  Proverbs 15:23)

1/30/2013 10:15 AM   

Begining look at Wicknedness (Various verses)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/29/2013 8:58 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  The Wicked PT-1

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Various Verses

            Message of the verses:  In Today’s Spiritual Diary we will begin to look at what Proverbs has to say about the wicked.  We have just spent three days looking at what Proverbs had to say about the wise and so we change course and look at the wicked beginning today.

            We will begin this SD with an end note that Dr. Wiersbe has written to help describe the wicked or the evil.  “Some contemporary theology so emphasizes God’s love that it loses sight of the fact that God also hates.  God has no pleasure in sin (Ps. 5:4).  Sin grieves the Father (Genesis 6:6), the Son (Mark 3:5), and the Spirit (Eph. 4:30).  Love and hatred can exist in the same heart (see Psalm 97:10, Amos 5:14-15, Ps. 45:7, and Rom. 12:9).  If God’s people loved holiness more, they would hate sin more.  God is love (1 John 4:8, 16), but He is also light (1 John 1:5) and a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29).”  I will now put all of the verses that are used in this end note in the order that they were used.

            Psalm 5:4 “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You.”Genesis 6:6 “The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” Mark 3:5 “After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.” Ephesians 4:30 “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Psalm 97:10 “Hate evil, you who love the LORD, Who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.” Amos 5:14-15 “14  Seek good and not evil, that you may live; And thus may the LORD God of hosts be with you, Just as you have said! 15  Hate evil, love good, And establish justice in the gate! Perhaps the LORD God of hosts May be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.” Psalm 45:7 “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your fellows.” Romans 12:9 “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.”1John 4:8 & 16 “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 16  We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”  1John 1:5 “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.”  Hebrews 12:29 “for our God is a consuming fire.”

            I have been reading another book by A. W. Tozer and this one is entitled “The Attributes of God,” and it kind of goes along with the one that I just finished by Tozer called “The Knowledge of the Holy.  I began to read about the “Goodness of God” last night before going to sleep and after reading the following paragraph I had some questions that I could not get straight in my mind, but it seems that the Lord has answered the question that I had by studying what Dr. Wiersbe had to say about the wicked in his end note.   

            Tozer writes “The goodness of God means He cannot feel indifferent about anything.  People are indifferent, but not God.  God either loves with boundless unremitting energy or He hates with consuming fire.  It was said about the second Person of the Trinity, ‘Thou has loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows’ (Hebrews 1:9).  The same Lord Jesus that loved with boundless consuming love also hated with terrible consuming fire and will continue to do so while the ages roll.  The goodness of God requires that God cannot love sin.”  I truly believe this about God and yet it is hard to get my arms around it to better understand it.  However as I have looked at the verses above that Dr. Wiersbe spoke of in his end note I better understand what Tozer is writing about. 

            To better understand why Tozer wrote what he wrote I have to go back to a statement that he made earlier in the book:  “God is never partway anything!”  Tozer writes this because one of the attributes of God is that He is infinitude.  The following is what Tozer writes about infinitude:  “God is infinite!  That’s the hardest thought I will ask you to grasp.  You cannot understand what infinite means, but don’t let it bother you—I don’t understand it and I’m trying to explain it!  ‘Infinite’ means so much that nobody can grasp it, but reason nevertheless kneels and acknowledges that God is infinite.  We mean by infinite that God knows no limits, no bounds and no end.  What God is, He is without boundaries.  All that God is, He is without bounds or limits.”  So when we say that God is love, His love has no bounds, and when we say that God hates, He does that without bounds.  In my own mind I think of hatred as getting even, but that is not the case with God for God is perfectly just and does not judge people to get even with them.  Tozer goes on to say this about God not being boundless:  “There is nothing boundless but God and nothing infinite but God.  God is self-existent and absolute; everything else is contingent and relative.  There is nothing very big and nothing very wise and nothing very wonderful.  It is all relatively so.  It is only God who know no degrees.”

            I realize that this SD is not going exactly where I thought that it would go, but I believe that I have to be open to the leading of the Spirit of God when I write on my Spiritual Diaries.  To understand the wicked we have to understand how God will and is dealing with them today and in the future.  Remember that God is not vindictive, but just and so He will perfectly deal with the wicked, for that is the only way that God can do things for He is perfect.

            I will end this Spiritual Diary by stating something that Tozer has stated in the books that I have read by him and that is that the most important thought that a person can have is what he things about God.

1/29/2013 10:15 AM   

           

           

             

Perusing Wisdom PT-3 (Various verses from Proverbs)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/28/2013 12:02 PM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Perusing Wisdom PT-3

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Various Scripture verses

            Message of the verses:  We will continue in our look at wisdom and how to obtain it as we look through different verses from the Scriptures, mostly in the book of Proverbs.  Proverbs is, to me a difficult book to deal with, but I am following the outline that Dr. Wiersbe has in his commentary on Proverbs which, starting with the fifth chapter in his book deals with different topics, of which the first of these is wisdom.

            Wise People Associate with Wise People:  Let us begin with looking at Proverbs 13:20 “He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.”  Let’s look at proverbs 12:26 “A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”  (NIV)  This verse speaks of the necessity of choosing one’s friends wisely.  We cannot go wrong by looking at different peoples of the Bible who made wise choices as we become friends with them in our journey through the Scriptures.  Think of Abraham and Moses and then think of Joshua.  Next we can think of Samuel and then David and some of the righteous kings that followed in his line.  Then we think of some of prophets like Isaiah and Daniel and Jeremiah and Ezekiel.  Finally we come to John the Baptist and then the wisest of them all our Lord Jesus Christ.  Next we think of the apostles and those who followed after them like Barnabus and Mark and Silas and many others that I don’t have time to mention.  We can’t stop with those for we must also look at some of the early Christians all the way up to believers in our day.  I can include Warren Wiersbe, John MacArthur, David Jeremiah, and Joseph Stowell, and then a man whose books are difficult to read but filled with much truth, A. W. Tozer.  These are all men who are or were wise and when we befriend a person in our lives we must make sure that they are also people who are wise and make wise choices.

            Dr Wiersbe mentions that in his personal library that he has hundreds of biographies of former great believers that he has read and has gained much insight from them.  This is a wonderful idea to follow.  I have read biographies of D. L. Moody and have gained much insight from those books but need to do more along those lines.

            Wise People Preserve what They’ve Gained.  Proverbs 10:14 states “Wise men store up knowledge, But with the mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand.”  Now look at Proverbs 12:27 “A lazy man does not roast his prey, But the precious possession of a man is diligence.”  “A lazy life is an empty life, but "early to rise" gets the job done.”  (Message)  As believers we are not to waste the things that we have learned through the Scriptures, through the sermons we hear, the good books we read, of for that matter through the things that our wise friends can teach us. 

            Wise People Flee from Sin.  Proverbs 14:16 “A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, But a fool is arrogant and careless.”  In order to flee from sinful situations we must fear the Lord and love what He loves and hate what He hates.  Joseph is a wonderful example of this as he flees from Potiphar’s wife who tried to seduce him. Joseph was not a self-confident man, but depended upon the Lord.  Joshua was self-confident and lost a battle because of it.  Joshua was of course a believer and just made a bad choice so I do not think of him as being a fool, but one who made a foolish decision or which we all have made. 

            Dr. Wiersbe state the following “Wise people don’t take unnecessary chances and experiment to see how close they can get to the precipice without falling off.”  One of the Pastor’s at our church made this one of his points in a sermon that he gave at the beginning of this New Year. 

            Wise People Discipline their Speech.  Proverbs 16:23 states “A wise heart instructs its mouth and increases learning with its speech.”  Proverbs 10:19 “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise.”  We will look further at what Proverbs has to say about the dynamics and dangers of human speech latter on in our study.

            Galatians 5 speaks of the “fruit of the Spirit” and a portion of that fruit is self-control.  Peter speaks of this also in Second Peter in a list of qualities that believers should have in their life.  James speaks about the dangers of not controlling the tongue in James chapter three. 

            Wise People are Diligent in their Work. Proverbs 10:4-4 “Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely, But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully.”  Dr. Wiersbe states “Wise people are working people, people who make the most of their opportunities and who carry their share of the load.”  One of the things that was taught in the house that I grew up in was to work hard and this was passed on to my two sisters and to myself.

            Wise People seek to Influence Others to Trust the Lord.  Proverbs 11:30 “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who is wise wins souls.”  This is a wonderful verse for in it we see that as believers we are to pass on the way of salvation to our lost friends, and to those to whom the Lord had directed onto our path.  Peter says that we are always to be ready to tell others about the hope that we have within us.  That hope of course is that we have had our sins forgiven through the precious blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who paid the price for our sins at Calvary as He actually became sin for us so that we may obtain His righteousness.  Dr. Wiersbe states that “Wisdom leads to righteousness, and righteousness produces fruit” as Proverbs 11:30 says, “ and then this fruit ‘entices’ those who are hungry for what is real and eternal.  By both their lives and their words, wise people seek to lead others to the Lord.” 

            Dr. Wiersbe concludes his commentary on this section about wise people by writing the following:  “As we continue our study of Proverbs, we’ll discover other personal characteristics of those who are wise; I trust we’ll seek to imitate them.  After all, God promises that the wise will inherit glory (3:35), bring joy to others (10:1; 15:20), bring help from God (12:18), never be in want (21:20), and have strength to wage war (24:5-6).  The way of wisdom is the way of true life.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Make wise choices and not make foolish choices.  Continue to learn about wise choices as I study the book of Proverbs.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to learn contentment by learn the way of the wise.  Continue to have my mind transformed by the Word of God.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 121:1-8

            1I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; for where shall my help come?  2 My help comes from the LORD who made heaven and earth.  3 He will not allow my foot to slip; He who keeps me will not slumber.  4 Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.  5 The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand.  6 The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night.  7 The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.  8 The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.

Turning Points Wisdom for Today:  “If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.”  (Isaac Newton)  “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.”  (Proverbs 11:14)

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