Bragging On Jesus

Proverbs 20:26 A wise king winnows the wicked and drives the wheel over them. 27 The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all his innermost parts. 28 Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king, and by steadfast love his throne is upheld. ... The first; verse 26 tells us first how a wise king deals with the wicked. He winnows them and drives the wheel over them. A winnowing fan would blows the chaff off of the wheat… separating it from the edible grain. The grain is put into storehouses or sold in the market while the chaff may be disposed of by burning.Speaking of Jesus and judgment John the Baptist uses this same metaphor In Matthew 3:12: His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Solomon says the wise king also drives the wheel over them. From what I gathered, driving the wheel over them refers to the threshing wheel which was a wooden frame with three or four rollers arm

Proverbs In 365 Devotions For more go to braggingonjesus.com Proverbs 20:25 It is a snare to say rashly, “It is holy,” and to reflect only after making vows. What does holy mean? Strongs concordance says this word translated from means apartness or sacredness. As a believer God calls us to be set apart to the Lord. That includes our words. We are to keep our word both to God and man. James 5:12 says: But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. So when we give our word to another we are accountable to God for our pledge. If you are a believer you are an Ambassador for Christ and so our words reflect upon the Lord. In that context our words are holy. We are not to give our word or make a promise flippantly to others. We say things like I will be praying for you… but what becomes of our words? We say I will be there or I will call you tomorrow morning… or I will c

Proverbs 20:24 A man’s steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way? Something about this verse makes me want to smile. I think part of it is acknowledging the sovereignty of God. It just does something for my heart knowing the Creator of all things loves me so much and cares to be involved in each step I take. And another reason I like this verse is because there’s a mystery here… Today's devotion is my pondering a small part of the journey. Please double check my musings. Why does God intervene in the oh so small steps that man takes from day to day? Actually, I think that if we acquaint ourselves with Gods word we can know what he’s doing our life… at least generally; but specifically well, not so much… It seems to me that Solomon is saying… The reason our plans in this world don’t always go the way we hope is because God channels our steps. I mean… at the time of trouble does anyone know the real reason why we experience hardships like a loss of job or 1001 other trials? And so we fig

Proverbs In 365 Devotions For more go to braggingonjesus.com Proverbs 20:21 An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning will not be blessed in the end. Bad Love R Aylor The desire to have what we deserve and not have to wait seems to be the desire of all men... but it’s a false premise. This example Solomon gives concerning an inheritance is a great example. There's this hunger inside of men… this seed of greed that only needs a sprinkle of hope to feed it and the next thing you know it becomes an overwhelming obsession that controls us. 1st Timothy 6:10 acmes to mind: For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. Notice the object of the verse is not money but the kind of love that is associated with it. This is a powerful self serving kind of love that excludes love for others… Its a kind of love that is greedy for the inheritance and breeds distrust among siblings and causes famil

Proverbs 20:19 Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler. 20 If one curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in utter darkness. ...To slander would include things like digging up dirt on others and making a character assignation against them with malicious gossip. It may even be something way back in the persons past… This slander may be a total misrepresentation of who the person is today… They spew out their words like a mad person kills and destroys with seemingly no guilt and unconcerned about the lives they destroy. Solomon calls this person a simple babbler… Simple, I suspect because they lack the things that Proverbs tells us over and over to pursue… Things like wisdom, knowledge, prudence, discretion… attributes like fearing the Lord, helping the poor, looking out for the good of others and accountability with money and in relationships… the list goes on and on. And this babbler is someone who just rattles on and on with nothin

Proverbs in 365 Devotions For more go to braggingonjesus.com Mouth Full Of Gravel R Aylor We’ll take a look at a couple verses today which can be taken separately or even together I believe without changing the meaning… The first is: Proverbs 20:17 Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel. In other words when a man uses all kinds of deceitful and underhanded tactics to get what he wants; yes it may be bread like the text indicates… but it could be any kind of gain he obtains. After he gets what he has set his heart on the sweetness soon disappears and is replaced by something he can hardly tolerate. I think I have probably eaten bread before and found a small piece of gravel in it… Even if its one grain a person will try and spit it out… But if it is hot freshly baked bread and it is oh so wonderful smelling and has sweet butter on it… and as a person chews it he finds it to be filled with gravel they will probably break a few teeth… not good! And for for sur

Proverbs 20:16 Take a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger, and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for foreigners. Today Solomon gives us a lesson on discernment in relation to degrees of trust. Lets begin with the first example: What if a neighbor comes to you and wants to borrow money for supposedly a needy person who lives in town… and let’s say you do not know this needy person; he’s a stranger to you. This needy person had no assets or security to mortgage to you the lender... in order to receive a loan. So, they had to get a co-signer. That's when your friend… your neighbor, ask for a loan for the man who needs it and Solomon says to take his garment as security. It’s interesting… ...Here’s what it says in Exodus 22. Exodus 22:25... So Solomon says to go ahead and take your neighbors garment (who is not poor) as collateral. Now that's not much of guarantee that he will pay is it?… If the needy person defaults on the loan your friend the co-signer will pay it. But if he

Proverbs in 365 Devotions For more go to braggingonjesus.com Proverbs 20:14 “Bad, bad,” says the buyer, but when he goes away, then he boasts. 15 There is gold and abundance of costly stones, but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel. The 1969 Dodge Charger R Aylor First today we are given the example of a person who has gotten himself a good deal on merchandise. Let’s say it was an automobile and his name was Joe. Joe had been browsing for vehicles from his desktop at work… He had even driven through a few car lots and talked to a salesman or two. He was in his late 20’s and just couldn’t find the car that suited him. One day Joe noticed a newspaper advertisement from a farmer who lived out in the country… This dude had a 1969 Dodge Charger in almost mint condition for sale. And so Joe skipped breakfast and hurried out to look at his dream vehicle… The farmer showed Joe all the bells and whistles like the supercharged 426 V-8 Hemi… And everything was amazing … the wheels, transmission, interior; eve

Proverbs In 365 Devotions For more go to braggingonjesus.com Proverbs 20:13 Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread. Love Not, Love What? R Aylor I think the first word in this proverb is the key to the root of its meaning. In fact, it’s a key to the outcome of many things including life itself. What we love sets the track for our day every day… It helps us put in order our to do lists for a particular day or the plans we make for our week. If we ponder what we love… For example: I like metal detecting, playing guitar, visiting with friends, studying Gods word, eating… which I need for health and energy to do the rest, I like money a lot… It even helps support my metal detecting, purchasing guitars… and of course you need money to eat… I like going to church and fellowshipping with believers and hearing Gods word. So then, how would I order my to do list? If my priorities were in line with God it might go something like this: 1 - Study Gods word every

Proverbs 20:12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the LORD has made them both. This is an interesting verse to me. Why would Solomon state the obvious? I don’t know but it does get one to thinking. My brother likes to state the obvious… it gets on my nerves sometimes. Sometimes he says things like ” You know, if the temperature drops and the moisture in the air increases it will snow tonight”. I’m sure he does it on purpose… and its ok… sometimes I kind of enjoy that part of his sense of humor… really! I looked back over some verses in this chapter and Im just not sure if he’s specifically linking this to any of them. So, let’s just think about it as a stand alone proverb. Yes! First we see this truth in a physical human being. God is Creator. The LORD made the hearing ear and the seeing eye…For most of us that is obvious. But that begs the question: who has made the blind eye and the deaf ear? Actually the Bible tells us. You may be acquainted with the story of Moses and how God told him to go to Egy

Proverbs In 365 Devotions For more go to braggingonjesus.com Proverbs 20:11 Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright. Watching Your Child Make Themselves Known R Aylor Oh, our children… how precious a gift… how disruptive to our life… And the thing is… they are all born with differences… in looks yes except for identical twins… but also differences in personalities… They are sooo unique! Dissimilar in strengths and weaknesses… not only in the physical but mental traits as well and how they think things through… not better or worse but different. The imprint of these characteristics and attributes can play a major role in what our children will be suited for in life as well as the kinds of things they will enjoy or detest. So those things are important… and yet they may change depending on how they are brought up and what they associate themselves with in life… This can be a good thing or a horrible thing. Something else to add into the equation: We are al

Proverbs in 365 Devotions For more go to braggingonjesus.com Proverbs 20:8 A king who sits on the throne of judgment winnows all evil with his eyes. 9 Who can say, “I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin”? 10 Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the LORD. The Day Of Winnowing R Aylor Today… let’s start with the last verse and work our way backwards. God hates all kinds of false weights and measurements. What does unequal weights and unequal measures mean? Well in biblical times, merchants weighed out herbs and grain to sell to their customers… or, like today they cut measured yards of material to sell for making clothes... But some used weights or a measuring stick that were less than the standard in order to cheat others... this kind of action is detestable to the Lord. But if you think about it… false weights and measures extend further than things related to merchants greedy for money. Too many times people like you and I proclaim ourselves to others as mea

Proverbs In 365 Devotions For more go to braggingonjesus.com Proverbs 20:7 The righteous who walks in his integrity— blessed are his children after him! Blessed Children R Aylor Integrity; doing whats right… not caving to temptation of sin like greed or hate… brings with it a good name but rebellious children can ruin that name quickly. Those who see will likely question the ability of the parent to teach and raise their children and so the wayward children are associated with the parent from then on. But the thing is... this righteous parent… this person keeps on keeping on and continues to walk in integrity. They keep loving and teaching their children what is true. They don’t side with their children on what is right to gain their loyalty. They keep setting good examples with their life. They keep their word...they love others... they help the needy, they don’t gossip, they work hard, study and love God and his word... And the thing is… A righteous person leaves blessings for their children and grandc

Proverbs 20:5 The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. 6 Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find? Deep Water R Aylor How do you know what’s in a person... no, not what they had for breakfast... but whats in a persons soul and character? Solomon gives us a prime example of how to gauge another person. Don’t get me wrong, the bible teaches us not to judge others… and yet another place it tells us to judge others. So there is undeniably a context for doing both. We make judgments of who we want our pastor to be and what church our family attends based on things like whether they preach the truth of Gods word. In fact it is Gods word that is the basis for our judgments in life… It should be. But these are not final judgments on people… only God can do that… We cannot know a persons heart… We are limited to our knowledge of these things. And sadly much of the time we make judgments based on a look someone gives us or a wor

Proverbs in 365 Devotions For more go to braggingonjesus.com Proverbs 20:4 The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing. No Sluggard To Mission R Aylor Already in Proverbs 20 Solomon has mentioned various kinds of people. In verse one it was the person who is led astray by wine and strong drink… In verse 2 showed us one who stirs up anger and one who is angry… Then in verse 3… a peace seeker and also a quarreler. Today we look at the sluggard. When autumn comes and there is work to do the sluggard likely does not tell others how lazy he is. He may not even acknowledge it to himself. It’s just that he usually has some very important task to do that keeps him from the work. It’s always something that he would rather do than to plow the fields. This year he must travel to see a sick friend in another village. Last year he had planned a vacation around that time with some friends. The year before that his allergies would act up whenever he exerted himself in the outdoor

Proverbs in 365 Devotions For more go to braggingonjesus.com Proverbs 20:2 The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion; whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his life. 3 It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling. What is it about a foolish man that he will quarrel with anything from a Mountain to a mathematical calculation when neither one can be persuaded one inch? A foolish son will argue with his father who has the authority to discipline him… A foolish person will get up into a police officers face knowing they will either get beat up or will spend the night in jail. You already know what it is that keeps us coming back for more don’t you? Of course you do, we all do… its pride. We’re all familiar with it on some level where we live. It’s commonly seen when one or both spouses quarrel and defend themselves… before you know it, even the one who was in the right about the specifics of the quarrel has to apologize. Solomon says how whoever provokes a k

Proverbs in 365 Devotions For more go to braggingonjesus.com Proverbs 20
:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise. There are quite a lot of things in life that can lead us to brawl; that is, to quarrel or fight, and there are a whole lot of things that can lead us astray. One thing I want to be careful of… and that is I do not want to ever assert the traditions of men one way or the other over the truth of Gods word like the Pharisees did. So I am not here to convince anyone about whether they personally should drink alcohol. I believe this verse is addressing… yes alcohol in particular but the being led astray by something this world offers… It’s a heart thing; it’s about the things we seek and where we let these things in life lead our hearts… will it lead us in a closer walk with the world or a closer walk with the Lord? I was thinking of what Moses told the children of Israel before they entered the promised land about loving the things of the world an

Proverbs in 365 Devotions For more go to braggingonjesus.com Proverbs 21:30 No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord. 31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord. Today Solomon shares with us an iron clad truth about God and then gives us an example which we can receive application from for our every day life. First off in verse 30 tells us we cannot outwit or strategize or manipulate God. We cannot trick him or hide our motives from him. We cannot set a trap for him or find some work around in his word that would keep us from facing just judgment. Gods word is not like the hundreds of thousands of pages legal codes and regulations such as IRS tax laws where one might try to find a loophole so one might escape the intent of the law. There are no loopholes against the Lord. Psalm 2:1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and aga

Proverbs 21:27 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more when he brings it with evil intent. 28 A false witness will perish, but the word of a man who hears will endure. 29 A wicked man puts on a bold face, but the upright gives thought to his ways. Today’s 3 verses speak of being a fake… living our lives with proclaiming we are one way… maybe even believing it at times… and when we do we get a false sense of security. Thats how we used to walk before we came to find our security in Christ. ... First we see the gift giver. This is the person who brings sacrifices to God that are not accompanied by a heart of worship and joy… its like a man who brings his wife a bouquet of flowers while having a mistress on the side. It’s an abomination to the Lord when we approach God thinking our own good gifts or deeds make up for our sinful heart of adultery towards him… Gifts and sacrifices won’t cut it. Even if we change our ways it won’t atone for our sins. See Matthew 9:13 So Jesus calls us t

Proverbs in 365 Devotions For more go to braggingonjesus.com Proverbs 21:23 Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. 24 “Scoffer” is the name of the arrogant, haughty man who acts with arrogant pride. 25 The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor. 26 All day long he craves and craves, but the righteous gives and does not hold back. Talk, Scoff and Slouth R Aylor Today we look at 3 characters which we meet many times throughout Proverbs… The talker, the scoffer and the sluggard. The talker quite often puts their foot in their mouth when they open their mouth… or rather should have stopped up their vocal cords with a foot or fist or giant plunger because they say things to make themselves look better and so many times don’t even give much thought to that and people see through their words… in trying to make themselves look good they seem to belittle others and say wrong and hurtful things… they may not always know it but people see through their smoke scr