Daily Devotional For Sunday, February 18, 2024

We live in a world where over my lifetime, there have been more and more people that seek fame, fortune and not faith. And this is not only true with non-believers, it is sometimes true with those who claim to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, there were televangelists of the 1980’s who rose to such stardom and then fell as fast as a meteor back to earth from their scandals. Some of these were Jim & Tammy Faye Baker, Jimmy Swaggert and Ted Haggard to name a few. The Book of Proverbs is about having godly wisdom and applying it, heeding it and then using it to help others avoid pitfalls. 

Sometimes these proverbs start with one little word “if,” which starts a subordinate clause of a conditional sentence. We see this as we come to Proverbs 2. This little word is God’s way of saying, “If you will do this, then I will do this.” Or “If you will do this, then this will happen.” For example, look at Proverbs 2. Look how these verses begin:

• Verse 1, “My son, if you receive my words . . .” (ESV).
• Verse 3, “If you call out for insight . . .” (ESV).
• Verse 4, “If you seek it (wisdom) like silver . . .” (ESV).

It would be great if people, especially God’s people, would heed the “ifs” that God and His Word put before them. Yet, people in general are stubborn, arrogant, prideful and self-centered. Many of you will recognize the name of Truman Capote, the author of the book In Cold Blood. When you read biographies about him, they mention that all Capote wanted was fame and fortune. He wrote solely for this purpose. He lived such a flamboyant, partying and wild life that after he died, Gore Vidal, Capote’s, lifelong rival said this about the author’s death in 1984, “. . . “a good career move” (See Deborah Davis, Party of the Century: The Fabulous Story of Truman Capote and His Black and White Ball (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2006), p. 256).

Not a great way for Capote to be remembered. 

At Southside I teach a class called Class 301 — Discovering Your God-Given S.H.A.P.E. The purpose of this class is twofold: First, to help you learn what is God’s personalized and individualized purpose for your life by learning your: spiritual gifts, abilities, what you have heart to do, your personality type and your experiences— especially your painful experiences. Second, to motivate you to use your S.H.A.P.E. for something bigger, something deeper than yourself — the glory of Jesus Christ in a ministry. 

When it comes to all God has given you in terms of education, experiences, talents, abilities, gifts, income and etc., do you use all of these for Him (depth) or do you see them just to use for you (shallow)? So, to get you started this week, take a moment and read Proverbs 2 below:

“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, (2) making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; (3) yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, (4) if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, (5) then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. (6) For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; (7) He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, (8) guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of His saints. (9) Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; (10) for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; (11) discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, (12) delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, (13) who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, (14) who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, (15) men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways. (16) So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress[b] with her smooth words, (17) who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God; (18) for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed; (19) none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life. (20) So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. (21) For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it, (22) but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it” (ESV).

Tired of shallowness? Tired of living a life of hypocrisy? Tired of struggling with a reality that says to you, “Fake it until you make it”? Then heed the words in Proverbs 2, especially those that have that little word in them — “if.” When we look at Proverbs 2, it gives God’s way for us to live lives empty of shallowness and hypocrisy. 

First, we must obey God’s Word. Look at verse 1, “My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you . . .” (ESV). This verse uses a Hebrew translated as “treasure” [צָפַן, titzpon]. It has the idea of “storing up, saving, protecting.” If you have ever gone to the Smithsonian in Washington DC, you will see how our nation has stored up our national treasures. Since the Book of Proverbs is about dispensing wisdom, it does so for a reason few treasure — to thwart ignorance. When you break the law and you’re explaining to the police officer or the judge why you did what you did, you might hear them say, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.”

Second, we must discipline our ear to desire to listen to God’s wisdom exclusively over other voices. Look at verse 2, “. . . making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding” (ESV). How do you do that? You pay attention to it by eliminating distractions such as the TV, turning off or down digital devices and etc. The Book of Proverbs uses the word “fool” over 62 times as a way to demonstrate those who do not do this. We have to seek God’s wisdom passionately just like the story Jesus told about the woman in Luke 15:8-10:

“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? (9) And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ (10) Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (ESV).

Third, we must pray daily for understanding. Look at verse 3,”Yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding . . .” (ESV). The biblical word for “understanding” is discernment. I am not suggesting a method, but more of a mindset. One of the things I say often in sermons is have an on-going conversation with God throughout the whole day. Yes, have your daily quiet time, but while you’re driving, talk to God. When you’re eating, talk to God. When you’re working, talk to God. When you’re studying, talk to God. Do not think of prayer as a phone call. You call God up, talk and then hang up. When a concern or worry hits, you pray right then and there. Several years ago, we had a campaign in our church called “Pray as you go.” Do that.

Fourth, we must make the first three a top priority in our lives, not an item on a to-do list. Look at verses 4-5, "If you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, (5) then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God” (ESV). In other words, keep the main thing the main thing. This is how you break the yoke of shallowness. Read former atheist, now Christian apologist, Lee Strobel tell this story how God began to break his shallowness  from his book on this Christian web site.

While working as a journalist for the Chicago Tribune, Lee Strobel was assigned to report on the struggles of an impoverished, inner-city family during the weeks leading up to Christmas. A devout atheist at the time, Strobel was mildly surprised by the family's attitude in spite of their circumstances. Here’s the link: https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2008/november/8112006.html.

The Delgados—60-year-old Perfecta and her granddaughters, Lydia and Jenny—had been burned out of their roach-infested tenement and were now living in a tiny, two-room apartment on the West Side. As I walked in, I couldn't believe how empty it was. There was no furniture, no rugs, nothing on the walls—only a small kitchen table and one handful of rice. That's it. They were virtually devoid of possessions.

In fact, 11-year-old Lydia and 13-year-old Jenny owned only one short-sleeved dress each, plus one thin, gray sweater between them. When they walked the half-mile to school through the biting cold, Lydia would wear the sweater for part of the distance and then hand it to her shivering sister, who would wear it the rest of the way.

But despite their poverty and the painful arthritis that kept Perfecta from working, she still talked confidently about her faith in Jesus. She was convinced he had not abandoned them. I never sensed despair or self-pity in her home; instead, there was a gentle feeling of hope and peace.

Strobel completed his article, then moved on to more high-profile assignments. But when Christmas Eve arrived, he found his thoughts drifting back to the Delgados and their unflinching belief in God's providence. In his words: "I continued to wrestle with the irony of the situation. Here was a family that had nothing but faith, and yet seemed happy, while I had everything I needed materially, but lacked faith—and inside I felt as empty and barren as their apartment."

In the middle of a slow news day, Strobel decided to pay a visit to the Delgados. When he arrived, he was amazed at what he saw. Readers of his article had responded to the family's need in overwhelming fashion, filling the small apartment with donations. Once inside, Strobel encountered new furniture, appliances, and rugs; a large Christmas tree and stacks of wrapped presents; bags of food; and a large selection of warm winter clothing. Readers had even donated a generous amount of cash.

But it wasn't the gifts that shocked Lee Strobel, an atheist in the middle of Christmas generosity. It was the family's response to those gifts. In his words:

As surprised as I was by this outpouring, I was even more astonished by what my visit was interrupting: Perfecta and her granddaughters were getting ready to give away much of their newfound wealth. When I asked Perfecta why, she replied in halting English: "Our neighbors are still in need. We cannot have plenty while they have nothing. This is what Jesus would want us to do."

That blew me away! If I had been in their position at that time in my life, I would have been hoarding everything. I asked Perfecta what she thought about the generosity of the people who had sent all of these goodies, and again her response amazed me. "This is wonderful; this is very good," she said, gesturing toward the largess. "We did nothing to deserve this—it's a gift from God. But," she added, "It is not his greatest gift. No, we celebrate that tomorrow. That is Jesus."

To her, this child in the manger was the undeserved gift that meant everything—more than material possessions, more than comfort, more than security. And at that moment, something inside of me wanted desperately to know this Jesus—because, in a sense, I saw him in Perfecta and her granddaughters.

They had peace despite poverty, while I had anxiety despite plenty; they knew the joy of generosity, while I only knew the loneliness of ambition; they looked heavenward for hope, while I only looked out for myself; they experienced the wonder of the spiritual, while I was shackled to the shallowness of the material—and something made me long for what they had.Or, more accurately, for the One they knew.”

Questions To Consider

• Do you treasure God’s Word?
• When you are making decisions and solving problems, do you seek God’s wisdom or do you rely on yourself?
• Do you do what David writes in Psalm 119:11 — “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You” (NKJV)? Hidden — meaning treasured, stored.
• Do you make yourself turn your ear to God’s Word to obey it? Why or why not?
• Do you listen to and obey that “still small voice of God” when He speaks to you? Why or why not?
• Do you pray daily for God’s wisdom?
• Will you make questions 3-5 above the “main thing” in your life? Why or why not?

Scripture To Meditate On: Proverbs 2:7, "He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity” (ESV).

Prayer to Pray: “Dear Jesus, I am fickle at times. I can be so on fire for you and then at other times, there’s not even enough spark to start a fire. I want to treasure Your Word — store it in my heart. I want to turn my ear to Your Word and obey it. I want to glean from it every ounce of wisdom. And I want to make this the main priority in my life — to have an on-going conversation throughout the day with You. I ask that You help me do this, in Jesus’ name. Amen!”

I love you, Pastor Kelly