God treasures a willing listener.

God treasures a willing listener.

Proverbs 21

For a long time now, I have believed that the only thing God requires for salvation is a willingness to listen. Why? Because, as Paul said in Philippians 1:6, “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.” The good work is God’s, and He will complete it in us in His time—as long as we are willing. He won’t force Himself on us, so we have the ultimate say-so over whether we will allow God to do His good work in our lives.

God gives pleasure that lasts forever.

God gives pleasure that lasts forever.

Proverbs 20

Alright, let’s start today’s blog with a pop quiz. It’s been a while since we studied Psalm 16. Do you remember this verse? “You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy. In Your right hand, there are _________ _________.” (Ps 16:11) Can you fill in the blank without looking it up?

God's purposes prevail.

God's purposes prevail.

Proverbs 19

One of the proverbs in today’s chapter was very encouraging to me—very encouraging because I care about doing the Lord’s will in my life, but sometimes I question whether I really understand what His will is. That’s why I liked this verse: “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” (vs 21)

God is whatever you need.

God is whatever you need.

Proverbs 18

When you grow up in the church, you realize (once you’re an adult) that you are familiar with many phrases from the Bible that you’ve never actually thought about before. That happened to me today as I read this chapter of Proverbs. Had you heard this verse before? “The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” (vs 10)

God desperately wants us to have peace.

God desperately wants us to have peace.

Proverbs 17

Especially in America, we spend much of our lives in the pursuit of getting. We work at getting an education, getting a job, getting job security, getting a house, getting a car, getting love, getting a retirement plan—getting, getting, getting. And in Proverbs, I believe Solomon’s main point is, In all your getting, get wisdom. In all your getting, get the things that are important. In all your getting, don’t pass over the permanent for the perishable.

God is no softie.

God is no softie.

Proverbs 15

When our first daughter was about seven months old, we hit our first parenting “challenge” — sleep training. The difficult part of that came when Caroline just didn’t want to go down for her nap or when she became so tired that she would have trouble falling asleep. So, in order to help her learn to go to sleep on her own at that age, we decided to adopt the “Ferber method” of sleep training, which includes allowing your child to cry for very short intervals of time and not picking them up, but reassuring them that they are okay and safe.

God plants people.

God plants people.

Proverbs 12

One of my favorite television programs to watch is Judge Judy. Judge Sheindlin is a no-nonsense judge who doesn’t hold back what she’s thinking from the litigants who come into her courtroom. And one of the things she says often (especially to people who have lied or are trying to lie to her!) is, “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to have a good memory.”

God makes us rich.

God makes us rich.

Proverbs 10

Right off the bat, there will be some who are uncomfortable with the title of this blog. On the other hand, there will be some who wholeheartedly agree—and even believe (as Jews in the first century did) that monetary wealth is a direct sign of God’s favor. But wherever you fall on the spectrum, verse 22 from today’s chapter must have caught your eye: “The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, without painful toil for it.”

God doesn't drown out the competition.

God doesn't drown out the competition.

Proverbs 9

It’s always interesting to notice patterns in literature, and the Bible is no different. There have already been numerous recurring statements in the first eight chapters of the book of Proverbs, but this chapter contained its own special pattern. Did you notice the invitation that was issued twice?

Whoever is easy to fool, let him turn in here! (vs 4, 16)

God is not random.

God is not random.

Proverbs 8

A few years back (haven’t heard it in a while, so I don’t know if it’s still around), one of the popular sayings in culture was That is so random. The younger generation used it a lot to describe things that are unexpected or “come out of the blue.” Random is also a word that has been used extensively in discussions regarding the origin of life in the universe. There are many people today who believe our existence is the result of a string of random events occurring over billions of years.

God is not seductive.

God is not seductive.

Proverbs 7

It seems rather ironic that Solomon wrote so much about women. Since he ended up with 700 wives and/or concubines, it would seem he either didn’t take his own wise advice… or he gained some of his wisdom through unfortunate experience! Either way, I think we can learn something very important about God by comparing Him with the women Solomon has been referencing in the last few chapters of Proverbs:

God is a... hater?

God is a... hater?

Proverbs 6

If there is one, overarching theme to the Bible, it must be that God is love. He is like a fierce Momma Bear who will do anything, absolutely anything, to protect His children. (And, you know, we’re all His children.) But because we spend so much time using that word love to describe God, it’s easy to forget that the Bible describes Him as hating things, too. (Notice I said things, not people.)

God designed sex.

God designed sex.

Proverbs 5

I can almost guarantee you’ll never hear someone get up at church and say, “Our Scripture reading this morning is from Proverbs, chapter five, verses 18 and 19: ‘May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer—may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love.’”

God is a pathmaker.

God is a pathmaker.

Proverbs 3

This chapter contains a famous Bible verse: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will direct your paths.” (vs 5-6) I learned that one as a kid; maybe you did, too. But, is it really true? Can we really trust God to lead us in the way we’re supposed to go? Is this rhetorical? Or literal?