Apr. 12 | Love Covers All

Series | The Wisdom of Proverbs, Part 1

Scripture | Proverbs 10:12, “Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.”

Lesson 12 | Love Covers All

If you had a choice to choose how people would always treat you either with love or hate, which one would you pick?  Love.  Why?  Everyone loves love.  Even people who hate others like gangs still choose to love each other as a family.  Therefore, there is no one who really wants hate all the time, everyone down deep inside really wants love.

Now consider this, Jesus said in Luke 6:31, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”  Therefore, you and I are to treat people not like how they treat us but rather how we want to be treated.  And how do we want to be treated?  With love.  Thus, we should then love people even when they commit wrongs against us. 

King Solomon in the above proverb is teaching a simple lesson- hatred causes dissension (more trouble) and love covers (forgives) all wrongs.  Now someone might say, “But 'So and So' doesn’t deserve to be forgiven because of what they did to me!”  However, Jesus is not teaching that we should love and forgive people because they deserve it, but rather because it is the right thing to do.  Just like the ole’ saying goes, “two wrongs don’t make a right.” 

As a result, we can be sure that in life people will do wrong against us and make us angry.  In those times we have a choice to either hate them and cause more problems for them and ourselves or love and forgive them.  Biblical forgiveness doesn’t mean accepting one’s behavior as right, but rather doing what is right for Jesus' sake.  

For example, when the Roman soldiers crucified Jesus and He said, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing,” Luke 23:34.  He wasn’t saying they were “okay” or “right” in what they did.  No, as a matter of fact, if people who sin against us don’t personally ask God to forgive them, they will be punished in eternal fire for their sins.  God even says, “vengeance is mine,” Romans 12:19.

Therefore, the decision is yours when you are wronged in life you can either love or hate- I pray you choose to love! 

Reflection | When you are wronged do you act in love or hate?   

Action | (1) Ask God to forgive your sins as you forgive those who sin against you. (2) Next time you’re offended remember to choose love over hate. (3) Lastly, pray for those who wrong you to repent and live by God’s commands.   

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | Joshua 5:1-7:15, Luke 15:1-32, Psalm 81:1-16, & Proverbs 13:1. Click here to read online.

Apr. 11 | Lazy Hands vs. Diligent Hands

Series | The Wisdom of Proverbs, Part 1

Scripture | Proverbs 10:4, “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.”

Lesson 11 | Lazy Hands vs. Diligent Hands

King Solomon in the above proverb is contrasting the difference between the “poor man” and the “wealthy man.”  The poor man, in general, is said to be poor because he or she has “lazy hands” and the wealthy are rich, generally speaking, because they have “diligent hands.”  What kind of hands do you have?

Are you the kind of person that has to work on the job even if others are not because you hate laziness?  Or are you the kind of person that always looks for the least amount of work to do just to get by?  Are you comfortable not working hard in life or do you feel driven to always give your best no matter what you do- parenting, work, church, etc.?

Some people don’t mind living on food stamps or receiving government checks because they think it’s owed to them.  I worked in the inner city of New Orleans for over 7 years and saw this kind of mindset every day.  I call this way of thinking a “poverty mindset.”  Meaning, poverty is a comfortable place for some people to live be because they have no desire to change their situation.  People with a poverty mindset would rather have a “handout” than a “hand up.”

At the same time, I’ve had the privilege of meeting some really successful businessmen and women who have worked hard in life and have the wealth to show for it.  One thing all these people had in common was their drive and passion to work hard.  Some of them came from poverty, other countries, and even had broken the law in the past.  However, at one point in their lives they all made a decision to work hard and never give up. 

Of course, King Solomon was aware of people in his day that fell on hard times and may have been poor at times because of unforeseen circumstances.  However, even when good hard working people face troubling times, they still have their work ethic.  Therefore, even if people in our day lose their job because of an economic recession, they get back up and keep working hard because they know the only way out of poverty and hard times is to have “diligent hands.”

Make a decision today to avoid laziness and work hard with your hands- eventually it will pay off! 

Reflection | Do you have “diligent hands?”   

Action | (1) Repent of any laziness you may have. (2) Ask God to give you the strength to work hard in life. (3) Lastly, be diligent- never give up!  

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | Joshua 3:1-4:24, Luke 14:7-35, Psalm 80:1-19, & Proverbs 12:27-28. Click here to read online.

Apr. 10 | Lust

Series | The Wisdom of Proverbs, Part 1

Scripture | Proverbs 6:25, “Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes…”

Lesson 10 | Lust

For the first nine chapters of Proverbs King Solomon contrasts the call of wisdom to the temptation of the adulteress woman, Prov. 2:16-22, 5:1-23, 6:23-35, 7:1-27, 8:1-9:18.  Solomon continually makes mention of the many pitfalls and devastating consequences of adultery such as, “adultery arouses the angry and fury of the woman’s husband,” “the one who commits adultery will never have their shame forgotten in this life,” and “adultery will cost a man much of his wealth.”

The primary way Solomon described adultery is that of a married man cheating on his wife with a married women acting as a prostitute.  However, Jesus stated in Matthew 5:27-28, “27 You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery. 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”  Therefore, according to Jesus “all lust” is now considered adultery.  Lust simply means, “to desire someone sexually that you are not married to.” 

Paul also wrote in Ephesians 5:3, “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity.”  As a result, the above proverb can be understood for us in the New Covenant as a warning against all lust.  God only ordained sexual union to be between a married man and woman (ex., Adam and Eve).  Jesus also reinforced this concept of monogamous heterosexual marriage in Matthew 19:5. 

Therefore, anything sexual outside of one man and one woman in marriage is considered sin, Galatians 5:19.  It is literally a “perversion” of God’s original version.  Also, lust is not only a one-time sin; it also leads to many other sins.  Such as, masturbation, pre-martial sex, pre-material oral sex, pornography, sexual fantasies about someone other than one’s spouse, homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality, polygamy, polyandry, polyamory, bi-sexuality, molestation, rape, and incest which are all considered impure, perverted, and sinful, 1 Corinthians 6:9.

Take some time today to guard your heart from lust because God has a better way for you!

Reflection | When was the last time you lusted?   

Action | (1) Ask Jesus to purify your heart from all lust and perversion. (2) Be wise in your sexuality to guard yourself against temptation.  For example, download accountability internet software, don’t watch unclean TV shows or movies, and guard what magazines/books/music your read and listen to. (3) Lastly, ask God to give you a spouse to fall in love with!  And if you're already married, ask God to only give you eyes for your spouse. 

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | Deuteronomy 34:1-Joshua 2:24, Luke 13:22-14:6, Psalm 79:1-13, & Proverbs 12:26. Click here to read online.

Apr. 9 | Seven Things The Lord Hates

Series | The Wisdom of Proverbs, Part 1

Scripture | Proverbs 6:16-19, “16 There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.”

Lesson 9 | Seven Things The Lord Hates

Did you know that there are actually things the Lord hates?  King Solomon boldly lists seven things that are detestable to God.  I would like to list and describe each one and also give New Testament scriptures to reinforce them.  My desire in sharing these things is for the purpose of hating what God hates and truly loving what He loves.  I sincerely pray that we will be a people after God’s own heart living our lives in holiness for He is holy.

(1) God Hates Haughty Eyes: God hates the look of pride in your eyes when you think more highly of yourself than you ought and you lust after power, 1 John 1:16.  (2) God Hates a Lying Tongue: God hates when people lie and don’t tell the whole truth, Colossians 3:9.  (3) God Hates Hands That Shed Innocent Blood: God hates murder, abortion, and unjust war, Romans 1:29.

(4) God Hates a Heart that Devises Wicked Schemes: God hates it when you plan to do sinful things and it doesn’t matter what “kind” of sin it is, 1 John 3:9.  (5) God Hates Feet That Rush to Do Evil: God hates it when you are quick to sin, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.  (6) God Hates a False Witness: God hates it when people lie in business, politics, and in the church because they are supposed to be trusted, Revelation 21:8.  (7) God Hates Dissension Among Brothers: God hates it when you gossip, slander, or act rebellious in the church and on the job, Titus 3:10.

May each one of us in prayer examine our hearts to see if we are doing any of the things God hates.  For Paul said in Romans 12:9, “…hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”  

Reflection | Are you doing anything that God hates?   

Action | (1) Examine your heart and repent if you are doing any of the things God hates. (2) Live a life hating what God hates. (3) Lastly, do the opposite of what God hates!

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | Deuteronomy 33:1-29, Luke 13:1-21, Psalm 78:65-72, & Proverbs 12:25. Click here to read online.