Lord, we come before You and Your precious word this morning and thank You for Your unwavering and unconditional love. Amen
Today we dive into Proverbs 6, Lessons for daily Life, I can’t wait to see what we hear!
Proverbs 6
Lessons for Daily Life
My child, of you have put up security for a friend’s debt or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger – if you have trapped yourself by your agreement and are caught by what you said – follow my advice and save yourself, for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy. Now swallow your pride; go and beg to have your name erased. Don’t put it off; do it now! Don’t rest until you do. Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter, like a bird fleeing from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, the labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to the rest – then poverty will ounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber. What are worthless and wicked people like? They are constant liars, signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye, a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers. Their perverted hearts plot evil, and the constantly stir up trouble. But they will destroy suddenly, broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing. There are six things the LORD hates – no, seven things he detests: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family. My son, obey your father’s commands, and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. Keep their words always in your heart. Tie them around your neck. When you walk, their counsel will lead you. When you sleep, they will protect you. When you wake up, they will advise you. for their command is a lamp and their instruction a light; their corrective discipline is the way of life. It will keep you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman. Don’t lust for her beauty. Don’t let her coy glances seduce you. For a prostitute will bring you poverty, but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life. Can a man scoop a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire? Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet? So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife. He who embraces her will not go unpunished. Excuses might be found for a thief who steals because he is starving. But if he is caught, he must pay back seven times what he stole, even if he has to sell everything in his house. But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool, for he destroys himself. He will be wounded and disgraced. His shame will never be erased. For the woman’s jealous husband will be furious, he will show no mercy when he takes revenge. He will accept no compensation, nor be satisfied with a payoff of any size.
What have I taken away from this chapter today:
As I read through the seven things the Lord detests, I find myself saddened. I was once a person who lived in these seven detestable acts and can once again look back at the wreckage I caused in my own life as well as in those I was around. I pray for forgiveness and healing in these places and am so grateful that Jesus has saved me from that dark place. Infidelity, lying, stealing, disrupting other’s families, these are all common practice around us. If we are not careful, we can be distracted by the darkness around us. This is why the Proverbs continuously repeat that we need to write these words on our hearts and to tie them around our necks. We are to be a light in this world and we can only do that if we are filled with the Spirit. Our battle is not with man, we are in the midst of a spiritual battle. Be in God’s Word, always be in prayer, keep your eyes on the LORD and lead a different life. Be the light that this world so desperately needs.
My prayer for today:
Lord, I thank you for Your words and I pray that they continue to penetrate deeper and deeper as my walk continues. Lord, please remind us that You have provided Your Holy Spirit to guide us and work through us. Only I can get in the way of that and I pray that I can see when that happens. I open myself to You and beg for these bonds of the world to be broken. When I tire, I look to You. Lord, You died for our sins, You have washed away my shame, help me to remember that always. In the precious name of Jesus, I pray these things. Amen
Smoothing out the rough edges 