SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/14/2013
11:18 AM
My Worship Time Focus: The God of
Righteousness PT-1
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Proverbs
Message of the
verses: Today we are back in the
book of Proverbs and will be looking again at the outline that is in Dr.
Wiersbe’s commentary on Proverbs. We are
now in the tenth chapter of his commentary which he entitles “Make Wary for the
Righteous.” We will first look at the
God of righteousness in today’s SD.
I have been reading the Proverbs for many years, but
probably not the way that I should have been reading them. When I first became a believer I would read a
chapter of Proverbs each day because I wanted to gain insight and wisdom. A causal reading of Proverbs is not really
the way to look at it, for the theme of the book of Proverbs is wisdom, gaining
wisdom in order to solve the problems of life.
But we cannot just look at Proverbs when we are in trouble to find the
answer to our problems, even though this may help from time to time. The best way to understand Proverbs is to
study it so that the words of wisdom can be transformed into our live so that
when trouble comes the answer will be there because it is a part of your
life. Having godly character is more
important than having a boat load of money.
Having a lot of money does not mean that a person has godly character, just
look at movie stars and politicians if you think that having money makes sure
you have godly character. Remember we
are only on this earth for a very short time and so we should make certain that
our character is godly so when we come before the judgment seat of Christ we
will not be ashamed of some of the things that we have done while in this
body. We must desire to be righteous and
have righteousness as we live this life in the body.
Dr. Wiersbe writes “This explains why the words righteous and righteousness are used o often in Proverbs. Wisdom leads, ‘in the way of righteousness’
(8:20), and ‘in the way of righteousness is life’ (12:28). ‘The prospect of the righteous is joy, but
the hopes of the wicked come to nothing’ (10:28 NIV). The wicked have hopes, but they’re false
hopes, so it behooves us to examine our own hearts to make sure we’re among the
righteous who truly have hope, and that we’re the kind of people the Lord can
trust with His blessings.”
1. The God of Righteousness
First we have to understand
what the words righteous, righteousness, upright, and uprightness mean in the
Hebrew. These words describe the ethical
conduct that conforms to God’s standards and moral character that comes from a
right relationship to the Lord and His Word writes Warren Wiersbe. Many people who were alive when Jesus walked
on earth thought that righteousness is complying to a set of rules, and some still
think this today. When we look at the
Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew chapters five through seven we see that
Jesus was teaching us that righteousness is not following a set of rules, for
if that were true then the Pharisees would have been righteous, but Jesus
teaches us that our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the Scribes
and Pharisees. He explains that not
having an adulterous relationship with a woman does not mean that you are practicing
righteousness for one may be having an adulterous relationship with a woman in
their minds. After all what we are in
our minds is what we are, it makes up our character. I heard a man speak on this one morning and
he stated that if he was what he thought about the most that he would be a
woman.
Our God is a
righteousness God. First John 1:5
states “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.” John is writing about the character of God
and explains it by using the terms light and darkness, stating that there is no
darkness in God, meaning that God is perfectly righteous. Deuteronomy 32:4 states “He is the Rock, His
work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without
injustice; Righteous and upright is He. (NKJV)
Psalm 11:7 “For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; The
upright will behold His face.”
God’s Word is
righteous. It only makes sense that
if God is righteous, and He is, that His Word would also be righteous. “6
Don’t miss a word of this—I’m telling you how to live well, I’m telling
you how to live at your best. 7 My mouth
chews and savors and relishes truth—I can’t stand the taste of evil! 8 You’ll only hear true and right words from my
mouth; not one syllable will be twisted or skewed. 9 You’ll
recognize this as true—you with open minds; truth-ready minds will see it at
once. (Pr. 8:6-9 The Message).” Psalm
119:38 states “You have commanded Your testimonies in righteousness And
exceeding faithfulness.” Dr. Wiersbe
writes “The Word of God reveals the God of the Word; His Word, like His
character, can be trusted.”
We know from reading through the OT that nations other
than Israel had their own gods and had their own temples and priests, but
listen to what Deut 4:33 and 36 says, “"Has any people heard the voice of
God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived? "Out of the heavens He let you hear His
voice to discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you
heard His words from the midst of the fire.”
However we must not just hear God’s Word, even though
that is a great privilege, for hearing it brings about a great responsibility,
and that responsibility is to obey His Word, obeying what the Lord commands us
as found in His Word. “"So you
shall keep His statutes and His commandments which I am giving you today, that
it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may live
long on the land which the LORD your God is giving you for all time.’” (Deut. 4:40)
Hebrews 12:25 “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For
if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much
less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I use to think
that the book of Proverbs was a book that could teach me about wise things that
I should do to have a better life. I
find that this is true, but not in the way that I thought it was. By understanding that many times in the book
of Proverbs wisdom is speaking of the things that God has done and is doing has
opened up the book of Proverbs in a new way for me. Knowing God by having a personal relationship
with the Lord Jesus Christ is first and foremost in having wisdom. After that we as believers must study God’s
Word and have His Word transform our lives from the inside out. I suppose it is a good thing to have your
toes stepped on while studying the Word of God, and mine have been stepped on
as I continue to study this book.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
Respond to how the Holy Spirit is
convicting me as I study the book of Proverbs, that is respond in a positive
way.
Memory verses for the
week: Psalm 32:1-6
1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered! 2 How blessed is
the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is
no deceit! 3 When I kept silent about my
sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon
me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah 5 I acknowledged my sin to You, and my
iniquity I did not hide; I said “ I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”;
and You forgave the guilt of my sin Selah.
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You
may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
Answer to yesterday’s
question: “Speak” (Luke 1:21-22)
Today’s question: “What did the woman bring to Jesus’ tomb?
Answer in tomorrow’s SD.
3/14/2013 12:59 PM
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