The Path of Righteousness (Studies in Proverbs)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/16/2013 4:01 PM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  The Path of Righteousness

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Proverbs

            Message of the verses:  Let us begin by reviewing what we learned from Proverbs chapters 2-4 where we learned that as believers we were to walk on the wisdom way, “5  Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight (Pr. 3:5-6)  When we walk the way that we are suppose to walk, in God’s wisdom, then God will bless our walk for His desire for us is to “walk in the way of good men And keep to the paths of the righteous (Pr. 2:20).”  We are not to listen to evil men “who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness (Pr. 2:13).”  We are never to walk in the way of the seductive woman whose “house sinks down to death And her tracks lead to the dead (Pr. 2:13).”

            A cute short story from Dr. Wiersbe as he refers to a dirt road intersection in the prairies of Canada where the sign says, “Be careful what rut you take—you’ll e on it a long time!”  Jesus state the following in Matthew 7:13-14 from His Sermon on the Mount, “13  "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14  "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”  We will now look at some of the blessings that Solomon points out for those who walk the path of life and wisdom.

1.       God’s people experience His direction.  Pr 11:5  “The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way aright, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.”  We have already looked at Proverbs 3:5-6 which fits in nicely here.  Let us now look at a verse from the book of Acts to show us that God wants His children to know His will, “"And he said, ’The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear an utterance from His mouth (Acts 22:14).”  Ephesians 6:6 shows us we are to “but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart (Eph. 6:6).”  In John’s Gospel we see that the Lord will reveal His will to those who are willing to obey it, “"If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself (John 7:17).”

2.      “On the path of the righteous, God’s people also experience deliverance.”  Proverbs 11:6, “The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, But the treacherous will be caught by their own greed.”  If you have been a believer for long you know that you have already faced trails that can be hard, but there is a wonderful verse in Romans chapter eight and verse twenty-eight that says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  Psalm 34:17 also helps us during these trials, “The righteous cry, and the LORD hears And delivers them out of all their troubles.”  We must remember that there are troubles we can get in all by ourselves that cause us to go through trials, but there are also trials we go through that are of the Lord to help us grow in our walk with Him.  When we are in those troubles He promises to bring us through, “An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, But the righteous will escape from trouble (Pr. 12:13).”

3.      “We have God’s provision for all we need if we’re walking in His wisdom.”  I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, 21  bestowing wealth on those who love me and making their treasuries full (Pr. 8:20-21).”  Now don’t be fooled at this verse to get you on the “health and wealth –success” bandwagon. Dr. Wiersbe writes “Proverbs was originally written for Jews under the Old Covenant; under that covenant, material blessing was a part of God’s promise to Israel (Deut. 28:1-14).  Believers today can be sure of God’s provision for their every need as they obey His will (Phil. 4:19; Matt. 6:24-34).  It sometimes looks to us as though the righteous are suffering and the wicked prospering, but faith sees beyond today and considers where the godless end up (Psalm 73).  ‘Better is a little with righteousness Than great income with injustice (Pr. 16:8).’  ‘Misfortune pursues the sinner, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous (Pr. 13:21 NIV).’”

Spiritual meaning for my life:  Learning and doing the will of God is what I need to continually do in order to walk in His wisdom.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to work harder on my memory verses so that I will keep my weapons ready when the enemy tries to strike.

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:  “Herod” (Mark 6:22)

Today’s Question:  “What mountain did God give to Esau?”  Answer in tomorrows SD.

3/16/2013 4:42 PM