Give A Penny To A Millionaire

September 9, 2020

DAILY PROVERBS:

Proverbs 22:15-17 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want. Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.

OUTLOOK ON THE IN BOOK:

    How foolish would it to be to watch someone with obvious wealth go up to a man who is clearly homeless and living on the street, and ask him if he had an extra room and bed where they could stay for a few days? Then, when the homeless man replies, “I don’t have a place of my own to stay,” the wealthy person begins to cry and beg, “come on, please, let me stay at your place. It will only be a few days! I just need to save a little more money.” The homeless man might very well point to the sky and say, “Hey buddy, you’re standing in my living room right now!” To watch such a thing would seem ridiculous. Today’s text calls it oppressing the poor to increase riches.

    How about if you were to see a limousine, pull up to a stop light next to a man in an old rusty pick-up truck. The driver of the pick-up blows the horn and motions for the limo to roll down the window. When they do, he asks, “Hey you need a ride? I have plenty of room in the box of my truck if you do.” Again, that would be silly. Giving to the rich what they do not need.

    That is what is meant by “He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.” In both situations, no one is being helped.

    Often people will live their lives, beating their heads against a wall, doing ridiculous things over and over, expecting different results. Then, when someone points out that what they are doing isn’t helping anyone, they’re told to mind their own business. The words of wisdom meant to help are not taken as a gift, but rather are seen as an intrusion into an already troubled life.

    The same often happens in witnessing. A lost soul will do the same sinful things over and over and finds no peace in them. Yet, when someone presents them with the gospel, they are told to mind their own business as they continue down a path of no hope. However, occasionally, someone will listen, and God gloriously changes his or her lives.

THE WORD WALKING IN ME:

    We are not going to win them all to Christ with the gospel. Nevertheless, for the few who will listen its worth repeating.

GOD TALKING TO ME:  September 9, 2020

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH DAILY PROVERBS
  Daniel 4 – 7     /     Proverbs 22:15-17

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
  Pro. 12-13  / 1 Co. 16

I Saw A LION

September 8, 2020

DAILY PROVERBS:

Proverbs 22:11-14 He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend. The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor. The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets. The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.

OUTLOOK ON THE IN BOOK:

     I remember a story of a young boy who came running into the house yelling “There’s a Lion in the yard, come see, there’s a lion out here.” The frightened and nervous parents jumped up and ran to the porch only to see a mangy old dog out in the yard. The father told his boy; “son, go to your room. You have scared your mother and me to death with your tall tales. I have told you that lying will get you in serious trouble some day. You go upstairs and pray. Ask God to forgive you for your lying. When you think you are forgiven, you may come down.”

     The boy had been upstairs in his room for a couple of hours when his mother called up and said, “It’s time for dinner.” As the boy quietly sat at the dinner table the father asked him, “Son do you think God has forgiven you for telling us there was a lion outside?” The boy said, “Yes I do, but dad, while I was praying, God told me when he first saw that dog, He thought it was lion too.”

     The slothful, or today we might say a lazy person in today’s passage says, “There is a lion without.” The reason he says this is simple. He is lazy, and this is just another excuse not to go out into the world and do his part. The excuses of the lazy are many. Where there is no real danger, obstacles are made up. Where any little hindrance appears, they exaggerate it to enormous proportion.

     It’s easy to look at people who are not willing to work for physical gain and say, “Yup, that’s them, the slothful.” However, what about those who will not work for the Kingdom of God to do their part to win souls? I wonder if they see lions too.

THE WORD WALKING IN ME:

     Satan is like a roaring lion the Bible says. It also says greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. Oh, dear Lord; open our eyes to see that you have defeated the roaring lion of Satan, and that we need to be busy in your harvest fields today. Amen.

GOD TALKING TO ME:  September 8, 2020

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH DAILY PROVERBS
  Daniel 1 – 3     /     Proverbs 22:11-14

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
  Pro. 10-11  / 1 Co. 15

Learn To Discern

September 7, 2020

DAILY PROVERBS:

Proverbs 22:8-10 He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail. He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor. Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.

OUTLOOK ON THE IN BOOK:

  Every Christian, I believe, really wants to help people if they can. It’s born into us at our new birth. We desire to be like Christ who desired to help those in real need. “He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed.”

    The key however to really helping someone is the ability to discern his or her real need. Let’s look at three types of people considered in our verses today.

• First, “He that soweth iniquity.” Often the generous heart of a well-meaning saint is taken advantage of by those who have only themselves in mind. Our desire to show the love of Christ to the hurting may get in the way of God’s dealing in their life and His desire to bring them to repentance. Sometimes blindly helping is not really helping at all. It may just provide aid to a sinful lifestyle.

• Next, you have the poor. Those who are truly in need of help and rightfully deserve it. It may be a Church member, another Christian, or an unsaved family that you have been working with and you know their true need. To refuse to help someone in this situation with what God has entrusted you with is just not right. Remember the old phrase “what goes around comes around.” To give to the truly needy out of a kind and loving heart will only result in God’s blessings poured out upon your life.

• The third type of person mentioned is the scorner. Helping someone because you think by doing so, he or she will quit gossiping or stop acting ungodly, is nothing more than a bribe. This almost never works out. Paying someone not to do or say something is a perversion of justice. There is a reason the police do not usually make deals with hostage takers. It’s only a pacifier, not a solution. God is the only solution to every real sin problem.

THE WORD WALKING IN ME:

    Being a good steward is doing what’s right with God’s provisions that He has given to you. Let’s help when possible. However, let’s pray first and try to be sure we are helping.

GOD TALKING TO ME:  September 7, 2020

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH DAILY PROVERBS
  Ezekiel 44 – 48     /   Proverbs 22:8-10

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
  Pro. 8-9    /   1 Co. 14

Living In His Word Ministries

Weekend Review

September 5 & 6, 2020

Proverbs 22:1

A good name is rather
to be chosen than great riches,
and loving favour rather than
silver and gold. 

Work Week Devotions
Through the Book of Proverbs

      As you know by now, with WORK WEEK DEVOTIONS, we only publish our Devotional Thoughts on Monday – Friday. On Saturday we suggest you re-read the entire chapter we have been studying this past week, and if we will be going into the following chapter the next week, we encourage you to read that chapter as well.       

There are never Devotions on Sunday. 

Thank you for joining us as we
journey together
Through Proverbs in 2020.

WEEK 35 – Day 6

     On Saturday, we suggest you re-read the Proverb we have written from this past week and the week to come.

Proverbs 21-22

WEEK 35 – Day 7

     Today we suggest you read and study whatever the Lord has laid on your Pastor’s heart. Whatever Scripture he uses for today’s messages were given to him by God for your specific needs.

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH DAILY PROVERBS

September 7, 2020      Ezekiel 44 – 48          Proverbs 22:8 – 10
September 8, 2020      Daniel 1    – 3             Proverbs 22:11 – 14
September 9, 2020      Daniel 4    – 7             Proverbs 22:15 – 17
September 10, 2020    Daniel 8    – 12           Proverbs 22:18 – 21
September 11, 2020    Hosea 1     – 6             Proverbs 22:22 – 25
September 12, 2020    Proverbs 22 – 23
September 13, 2020 No Passages Assigned  

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY

September 7, 2020       Pro. 8-9                      1 Co. 14
September 8, 2020       Pro. 10-11                  1 Co. 15
September 9, 2020       Pro. 12-13                  1 Co. 16
September 10, 2020     Pro. 14-15                  2 Co. 1
September 11, 2020     Pro. 16-17                  2 Co. 2-3
September 12, 2020     Pro. 18-19                  2 Co. 4
September 13, 2020 No Passages Assigned

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY

September 5, 2020       Pro. 6-7                      1 Co. 13
September 6, 2020  No Passages Assigned

Invest It All

September 4, 2020

DAILY PROVERBS:

Proverbs 22:4-7 By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life. Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them. Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

OUTLOOK ON THE IN BOOK:

      The stocks go up, the stocks go down, and this old-world spins round and round.  

    It seems as though wealth and riches are what consumes the minds of most people today. It’s almost completely impossible to live without some money in the stock market whether we know it or not. Do you have insurance, 401 K, or have you deposited money in a bank? If so, and most have, then the money you placed there was invested on the stock market. If the market collapses, so does the value of that company or financial institution.

    I heard a Financial Advisor tell a joke during his speech which went like, “I lost millions of dollars in the stock market today.” His friend said “really, how?” He said, “Gold went up one dollar a pound and I didn’t have a dime invested in it.”

    Could it be possible that many people miss the real riches, honor, and for some, even eternal life because we have nothing invested as well? The phrase, “Nothing invested, nothing lost” sure does not apply here. If we do not deposit our life into Christ, we will have lost it all. Christ invested His life in us and paid the premium for our sin debt. Our text today says; “By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.” This simply means, if we invest our life into the Lord, we receive His riches, honor, and a life that is out of this world. In addition, the stock market can never affect this investment in any way whatsoever.

THE WORD WALKING IN ME:

    The problem is most people want to invest a small amount of their life into Christ and hold back the rest. God does not work that way. We either deposit our entire life in Him or nothing. What have you given to Christ? We all must come humbly to the cross and make a total deposit of our life in reverence to our Lord. The dividends are glorious.

GOD TALKING TO ME:  September 4, 2020

THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH DAILY PROVERBS
  Ezekiel 40 – 43     /     Proverbs 22:4-7

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
  Pro. 4-5    /   1 Co. 12

Living In His Word Ministries