SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
3/14/2013 11:18 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-1 The God
of Righteousness
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Proverbs
Message of the
verses: Today we are back in the
book of Proverbs and will be looking again at the outline that is in Dr.
Wiersbe’s commentary on Proverbs. We are
now in the tenth chapter of his commentary which he entitles “Make Wary for the
Righteous.” We will first look at the
God of righteousness in today’s SD.
I have been reading the Proverbs for many years, but
probably not the way that I should have been reading them. When I first became a believer I would read a
chapter of Proverbs each day because I wanted to gain insight and wisdom. A causal reading of Proverbs is not really
the way to look at it, for the theme of the book of Proverbs is wisdom, gaining
wisdom in order to solve the problems of life.
But we cannot just look at Proverbs when we are in trouble to find the
answer to our problems, even though this may help from time to time. The best way to understand Proverbs is to
study it so that the words of wisdom can be transformed into our lives so that
when trouble comes the answer will be there because it is a part of your
life. Having godly character is more
important than having a boat load of money.
Having a lot of money does not mean that a person has godly character,
just look at movie stars and politicians if you think that having money makes
sure you have godly character. Remember
we are only on this earth for a very short time and so we should make certain
that our character is godly so when we come before the judgment seat of Christ
we will not be ashamed of some of the things that we have done while in this
body. We must desire to be righteous and
have righteousness as we live this life in the body.
Dr. Wiersbe writes “This explains why the words righteous and righteousness are used often
in Proverbs. Wisdom leads, ‘in the way
of righteousness’ (8:20), and ‘in the way of righteousness is life’
(12:28). ‘The prospect of the righteous
is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing’ (10:28 NIV). The wicked have hopes, but they’re false
hopes, so it behooves us to examine our own hearts to make sure we’re among the
righteous who truly have hope, and that we’re the kind of people the Lord can
trust with His blessings.”
1. The God of Righteousness
First we have to understand
what the words righteous, righteousness, upright, and uprightness mean in the
Hebrew. These words describe the ethical
conduct that conforms to God’s standards and moral character that comes from a
right relationship to the Lord and His Word writes Warren Wiersbe. Many people who were alive when Jesus walked
on earth thought that righteousness is complying with a set of rules, and some
still think this today. When we look at
the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew chapters five through seven we see
that Jesus was teaching us that righteousness is not following a set of rules, for
if that were true then the Pharisees would have been righteous, but Jesus
teaches us that our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the Scribes
and Pharisees. He explains that not
having an adulterous relationship with a woman does not mean that you are
practicing righteousness for one may be having an adulterous relationship with
a woman in their mind. After all what we
are in our minds is what we are, it makes up our character. I heard a man speak on this one morning and
he stated that if he was what he thought about the most that he would be a
woman.
Our God is a
righteousness God. First John 1:5
states “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that
God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” John is writing about the character of God
and explains it by using the terms light and darkness, stating that there is no
darkness in God, meaning that God is perfectly righteous. Deuteronomy 32:4 states “He is the Rock, His
work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without
injustice; Righteous and upright is He. (NKJV)
Psalm 11:7 “For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; The
upright will behold His face.”
God’s Word is
righteous. It only makes sense that
if God is righteous, and He is, that His Word would also be righteous. “6 Don’t miss a word of this—I’m telling you
how to live well, I’m telling you how to live at your best. 7 My mouth chews
and savors and relishes truth—I can’t stand the taste of evil! 8 You’ll only hear
true and right words from my mouth; not one syllable will be twisted or
skewed. 9 You’ll recognize this as
true—you with open minds; truth-ready minds will see it at once. (Pr. 8:6-9 The
Message).” Psalm 119:38 states “You have
commanded Your testimonies in righteousness And exceeding faithfulness.” Dr. Wiersbe writes “The Word of God reveals
the God of the Word; His Word, like His character, can be trusted.”
We know from reading through the OT that nations other
than Israel had their own gods and had their own temples and priests, but
listen to what Deut 4:33 and 36 says, “"Has any people heard the voice of
God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived? "Out of the heavens He let you hear His
voice to discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you
heard His words from the midst of the fire.”
However
we must not just hear God’s Word, even though that is a great privilege, for
hearing it brings about a great responsibility, and that responsibility is to
obey His Word, obeying what the Lord commands us as found in His Word. “"So you shall keep His statutes and His
commandments which I am giving you today, that it may go well with you and with
your children after you, and that you may live long on the land which the LORD
your God is giving you for
all time.’” (Deut. 4:40) Hebrews 12:25 “See to it that you do not
refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him
who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who
warns from heaven.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I use to think
that the book of Proverbs was a book that could teach me about wise things that
I should do to have a better life. I
find that this is true, but not in the way that I thought it was. By understanding that many times in the book
of Proverbs wisdom is speaking of the things that God has done and is doing has
opened up the book of Proverbs in a new way for me. Knowing God by having a personal relationship
with the Lord Jesus Christ is first and foremost in having wisdom. After that we as believers must study God’s Word and have His Word
transform our lives from the inside out.
I suppose it is a good thing to have your toes stepped on while studying
the Word of God, and mine have been stepped on as I continue to study this
book.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
Respond to how the Holy Spirit is
convicting me as I study the book of Proverbs, that is respond in a positive
way.
Memory verses for the
week: Psalm 32:1-6
1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered! 2 How blessed is
the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is
no deceit! 3 When I kept silent about my
sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon
me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah 5 I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity
I did not hide; I said “ I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; and You
forgave the guilt of my sin Selah. 6
Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be
found; surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
Answer to yesterday’s
question: “Speak” (Luke 1:21-22)
Today’s question: “What did the woman bring to Jesus’
tomb?
Answer in tomorrow’s SD.
3/14/2013 12:59 PM
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