Comfort Think on These Things

Wisdom for Life from Proverbs
1. Auflage 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4245-5515-4
Verlag: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 384 Seiten

ECPA Bronze Milestone Sales Award for more than 100,000 sold. Jesus Christ is coming back. Are you-and those you encounter each day-ready? The book of Proverbs is a prize of advice that's as relevant today as it was when it was written. In Think on These Things: Wisdom for Life from Proverbs, Ray Comfort imparts encouragement to grab hold of this advice and use it to change our lives-always living with eternity's values in view. Each daily devotion includes: - A proverb for the day - A Soul Search question that urges readers to reflect and apply the principle personally - Continual reminders that we are to live with eternity in mind Grab hold of God's wisdom while cultivating a heart to reach the world with the truth of God's Word.    

RAY COMFORT is the Founder and CEO of Living Waters and the best-selling author of more than 80 books, including, Hell's Best Kept Secret, Scientific Facts in the Bible, and The Evidence Bible. He co-hosts (with actor Kirk Cameron) the award-winning television program The Way of the Master, seen in 200 countries. He is also the Executive Producer on the movies Audacity, 180, Evolution vs. God, and others, which have been seen by millions. He and his wife, Sue, live in Southern California, where they have three grown children.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Comfort, Ray

Leseproben

January

January 1

MEN AND THEIR CAVES

A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is the grief of his mother.

—PROVERBS 10:1

Fathers and mothers react differently to life’s problems. When I have a problem, I prefer not to talk about it. I want to go into a cave and quietly think until I find a solution. Women usually want to talk about problems, and the discussion takes the weight off their shoulders.

When I was the director of a drug prevention center many years ago, I learned that fathers would often write off a son who was into drugs. The attitude was, The mothers, however, were more compassionate and brokenhearted over a son who was caught in the terrible web of drug addiction.

Christians, we shouldn’t react like the typical male. Instead, we should take the road of compassion and let the heaviness that comes with it drive us to prayer.

SOUL SEARCH: When have I reacted to something with a lack of compassion?

Father, may I always react to all things in a way that’s pleasing in your sight. Amen.

January 2

WHAT MATTERS MORE THAN HAPPINESS

Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness delivers from death.

—PROVERBS 10:2

What is it that you think matters most to God? I believe it is righteousness. We tend to esteem happiness as our highest ideal, and we say that it’s the right of every American to pursue it. But righteousness is what we should first pursue.

I’m sure a bag full of stolen money would make a thief happy. But whether something is right should always trump whether or not it makes us happy. Most of this sinful world has no real hunger for righteousness, but it will be the only thing that matters on the day of wrath. That’s when people will see that the righteousness that delivers from death is only found in Jesus Christ. I pray they will see it before that day.

SOUL SEARCH: At what times in my life has happiness meant more to me than righteousness?

Father, please help me to always put what is right above my personal happiness. Amen.

January 3

HOW TO GET A FAT SOUL

The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

—PROVERBS 10:3 NIV

It has been rightly said that you and I are a soul within a body. The world is only concerned with the wants of the body, so people neglect the wants of the soul. But Christians understand that it’s the soul that leaves the body at death and passes into eternity.

It is because of this that He denies the appetites of the body (the flesh) and instead feeds the soul with the nutrients that are pleasing to God—integrity, humility, self-control, the fear of the Lord, wisdom, understanding, and discretion.

If you’re a Christian, seek after these godly virtues, and be assured that God will not withhold them if you cry out for them. He will not allow the soul of the righteous to famish, so do what Scripture says: let your soul delight itself in fatness.

SOUL SEARCH: As a Christian, how have I neglected my soul? What can I do to feed godly virtues in my life?

Father, please give me an appetite that will result in a fat soul. Amen.

January 4

THE MOST PRECIOUS COMMODITY

He becomes poor that deals with a slack hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

—PROVERBS 10:4

God forbid that we would ever deal with a slack hand. Instead, we must take a firm grip on life, realize how precious it is, and use every moment as a man in a desert uses every drop of his life-giving water.

Time is our most precious substance, so use it with the utmost diligence. Today, use it to further what is eternal. Just how can you practically do that?

Discipline yourself to read and meditate on the Word daily. Set aside time each day to pray for the lost and other needs. Walk in the fear of the Lord, always having awareness of His presence and seeking His smile above all else. That means you will guard your thought life, and will always be on the lookout to share the gospel with a dying world, either by gospel tract or verbal witness.

SOUL SEARCH: When have I been guilty of wasting precious time in this life God has given me?

Father, help me to spend my precious time wisely today. Amen.

January 5

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF TODAY

He who gathers in summer is a wise son; he who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame.

—PROVERBS 10:5

How we should take advantage of the freedom to enter the harvest fields and reach the lost!

Imagine if, in years to come, it became illegal to give someone a gospel tract or to preach in public places. It is then that we will look back to these days of freedom and say that we should have been wise and gathered in summer. How shameful if we close our eyes and take rest when sinners are sinking into hell.

The Bible says that those who win souls are wise (Proverbs 11:30). So let’s be wise today, and seek and save those who are lost.

SOUL SEARCH: How can reaching the lost—obedience to the Great Commission—be a priority in my life?

Father, please help me to take advantage of today so I will have no regrets tomorrow. Amen.

January 6

WHAT WE WEAR ON OUR HEADS

Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.

—PROVERBS 10:6 NIV

isn’t a word commonly used in the world, but the Bible uses it regularly to describe the godly. The entire human race is made up of only two sets of people—the just and the unjust.

The just are those who have partaken of the grace of God in Christ. They have been justified, made as though they never sinned in the first place. Jesus said of the religious leaders of His time, “You are those who justify yourselves before men” (Luke 16:15). That’s all religion can do. It can’t justify us before God.

How incredible that in Christ we are righteous in the sight of our Creator—and that on the day of judgment, instead of coming under God’s wrath for our sins, we can instead hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21). Blessings are on the head of the just.

SOUL SEARCH: Considering how I have spent my life, in what ways would God be justified in saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant”?

Father, help me to fully understand the incredible blessing and reprieve of being justified by faith. Amen.

January 7

WHAT GOD HAS FORGOTTEN

The memory of the just is blessed, but the name of the wicked shall rot.

—PROVERBS 10:7

If we are in Christ, we are able to do something that God cannot do. We can remember our past sins. He has cast them into the sea of forgetfulness (see Micah 7:19), but it’s good for us to regularly recall them—without any affection toward them or condemnation from them, of course.

Jesus said that he who is forgiven much, loves much (see Luke 7:47). It’s the knowledge of what I have been forgiven that wells gratitude in my heart and makes me love God all the more for the cross. Do you know what you’ve been forgiven?

SOUL SEARCH: How can I remember God’s great love for me today?

Father, I shudder when I remember my past sins, and I rejoice that you’ve forgotten them because of your everlasting mercy. Amen.

January 8

THE WISE MASTER BUILDER

The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin.

—PROVERBS 10:8 NIV

It’s refreshing to witness to someone who has a humble heart. Humility is the light by which sinners see the cross. The wise in heart will receive commandments, and God commands all people everywhere to repent.

As Christians, we are tuned to the will of God. Our obedience is evidence of our love for the Lord. And we are wise to always look for His smile, because in our obedience we are building our house upon the rock. When the storms of life come, we will stand strong because of our unshakable foundation.

SOUL SEARCH: In my life, what times of disobedience have I left unconfessed? How can I strengthen my foundation through obedience to God’s commands?

Father, help me today to have a joyfully obedient heart to seek your smile. Amen.

January 9

HEADING NORTH

He that walks uprightly walks surely: but he that perverts his ways shall be known.

—PROVERBS 10:9 AKJV

To walk uprightly means to seek righteousness, as a compass needle seeks out north. Today, sin will try to pull the needle down. It may come in the form of pride, lust, jealousy, envy, gossip, or a thousand other sins—from the love of the world, to the love of money, to idleness and greed.

Don’t buckle. Don’t pervert your way. Let love for God be your shield against the enemy. If...