In Proverbs we are looking at what it means to follow the way of wisdom in five areas: friends, family, words, work, and wealth. Today, we begin by looking at friendship.

“Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire” (18:1). That is, he i...

To “fear the Lord” means to love Him so much that His frown would be your greatest dread and His smile would be your greatest delight.

There is a fear that love removes, and there is a fear that love brings.

The f...

What is your first reaction to “the fear of the LORD”? If you have endured a religion based on fear, you may say, “I had enough of that when I was young; I don’t want anything to do with it now.”

If that is what you feel, look at the good t...

Here are three things that wisdom brings to us:

1. Long life
Long life is in her right hand (3:16). If you eat a proper diet, you will enjoy better health than if you live on junk food. That doesn’t guarantee ...

Proverbs describes what it looks like to follow Jesus Christ. It lays out the life to which wisdom calls us, the life of a disciple of Jesus.

We are going to look at what it means to follow Jesus, what it means to follow the way of wisdom ...

In Proverbs 8, wisdom speaks, but whose voice is this? The answer is found in the New Testament.

Jesus is described as the wisdom of God: “You are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God” (1 Cor. 1:30). “Christ, in whom are hidden...

Wisdom is the skill you need for putting together a successful life—or to put it another way—wisdom is “life skills.” Over these next days, we’re going to look together at what the Bible has to say on practical issues like friends, family...

There are two kinds of grief (or sorrow). Worldly sorrow brings death. You can be full of regret and never change; you can be sorry without repenting. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. G...

The prodigal son was absolutely miserable. But it takes courage to go back home. How do you find the courage to begin the long journey home? You find the courage when you believe that there will be a welcome. And this is the promise of the gospel....

In Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, the younger son gets his money and goes to live as far away from his father as he can. But he squanders his money, and then Jesus says, “A severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need” (15:...

What an obnoxious son! His father asked him to go work in his vineyard, and he said to his face, “I will not.” There’s hostility, rebellion, and defiance! “You’re not going to tell me what to do.”

The grandmothers would be saying, “Oh, wha...

Jesus told a parable about a father who asked his two sons to go work in his vineyard. One son said, “I will not,” but later he changed his mind (repented) and went. The other son said, “I will, sir,” but he didn’t.

The second son’s respons...

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of the German Christian leaders who stood against the Nazi regime. Bonhoeffer was an inspiration to many. But when he looked into his own heart he wasn’t so sure. He expressed this conflict in a poem called “Who Am I?”,...

Suppose you spent 8 hours a day sleeping, 8 hours working, 3 hours eating, and 2 hours travelling to and from work. You would have 3 hours leftover. Now, if you gave 2 of those to your family, then you would have just 1 hour left!

Many peop...

God showed Joseph in a vision the great purposes that He had for him. But his brothers sold him to slave traders who took him to Egypt, and he ended up in prison.

Put yourself in Joseph’s shoes: Why am I here? What use can a man be to G...

Notice what the apostle Paul says just before this: “Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness” (6:13). Paul is talking here about the possibility of offering yourself to sin—your capacities, what you can do with the sk...

This is a great description of repentance! Notice the negative and the positive: “You turned… from idols”—that’s the negative. These people stopped doing certain things that were displeasing to God. More than that, they started doing other things ...

John Owen says that putting your sin to death involves the following:

1. A habitual weakening of sin
Every time you say “no” to the flesh you weaken its power.

2. Constant fighting and contending against ...

Sin is a power. It has life and vigour in it. That means you have to track it down and deal with it, or it will destroy you.

In the story of Cain and Abel, Abel brought God an acceptable sacrifice, but Cain did not. So Cain became angry. Go...

Once you have identified an area of sin that you need to deal with, start watching for its movements in your life. Suppose you are stalking pride, lust, laziness, or unbelief. Ask yourself, “When am I most vulnerable to this? In what ways do I see...

Using the Bible as a tool for self-examination is good to do on a regular basis. It is also good to set aside some particular times for self-examination.

On a regular basis
When you read the Bible ask yourself, Is t...

James is using a picture here—desire conceives. The point about conception is that it is a hidden thing. Nobody knows when it actually happens, and it only becomes evident later on.

When the impulse to sin remains hidden, undetected, and un...

It is clear that we will all be tempted. There is no if here: “Each person is tempted when…” Every Christian will be tempted throughout the entire course of his or her life.

James is talking to Christian believers, and he is remindin...

This is how people pray when they see that lasting change begins with knowing God.

Think about the difference between Job and Esau: Esau wanted to change, but he couldn’t because he was far from God. Job changed because in all his pain he j...

The word comforted is the same word Job used when he said, “I repent.” There is a wonderful comfort in repentance. You could translate Job 42:6: “I repent and comfort myself in dust.”

What comfort could there possibly be for Job i...

In a nutshell, this is how Job responded to his encounter with Almighty God. It is very different than his attitude toward God beforehand!

What is your prevailing attitude toward God right now? Is it one of complaining? Is it questioning? ...

The breakthrough in Job’s life came through a fresh glimpse of the greatness and glory of God. The encounter was devastating. God asked Job nearly 40 questions:

• “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (38:4)
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Job was a man of faith, a strong believer. But his faith had been stretched to the limits. He believed in God, but he struggled with God, so he poured out his questions and complaints.

Job wasn’t the only believer to complain like this. Som...

Job got what he asked for – a clear, direct, audible encounter with God. But afterwards Job said, “I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” What did Job repent of?

God doesn’t accuse Job of any sins. Instead, He vindicates Job and ...

Job had some friends who were worried about his spiritual condition, and so they came to comfort him in his loss. They should be commended for that.

These friends felt quite sure that Job’s suffering must be a direct consequence of some sin...