I want to encourage you to read a chapter a day - there's 31 chapters, so it will take you a month.
To give you some idea what Proverbs is like, here's just some verses of what's in just chapter 16...
Proverbs 16
1 We can make our own plans,
but the LORD gives the right answer.
2 People may be pure in their own eyes,
but the LORD examines their motives.
3 Commit your actions to the LORD,
and your plans will succeed.
5 The LORD detests the proud;
they will surely be punished.
6 Unfailing love and faithfulness make atonement for sin.
By fearing the LORD, people avoid evil.
7 When people's lives please the LORD,
even their enemies are at peace with them.
8 Better to have little, with godliness,
than to be rich and dishonest.
9 We can make our plans,
but the LORD determines our steps.
16 How much better to get wisdom than gold,
and good judgment than silver!
17 The path of the virtuous leads away from evil;
whoever follows that path is safe.
18 Pride goes before destruction,
and haughtiness before a fall.
19 Better to live humbly with the poor
than to share plunder with the proud.
20 Those who listen to instruction will prosper;
those who trust the LORD will be joyful.
21 The wise are known for their understanding,
and pleasant words are persuasive.
22 Discretion is a life-giving fountain to those who possess it,
but discipline is wasted on fools.
24 Kind words are like honey—
sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.
25 There is a path before each person that seems right,
but it ends in death.
31 Gray hair is a crown of glory;
it is gained by living a godly life.
32 Better to be patient than powerful;
better to have self-control than to conquer a city.
33 We may throw the dice,
but the LORD determines how they fall.
********
Now, I want you to read this passage from 2nd chapter of Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth.
People have quoted lots of the verses in it, but I'm not sure we really understand what is the power statement in the section.
The power statement comes at the end - I underlined it.
I've heard lots of sermons preached on some of the verses in this passage.
I've never heard one preached on the verse I underlined.
And it's the most important verse in the whole section - it explains everything Paul says beforehand - it was what he was working up to all along.
1 We can make our own plans,
but the LORD gives the right answer.
2 People may be pure in their own eyes,
but the LORD examines their motives.
3 Commit your actions to the LORD,
and your plans will succeed.
5 The LORD detests the proud;
they will surely be punished.
6 Unfailing love and faithfulness make atonement for sin.
By fearing the LORD, people avoid evil.
7 When people's lives please the LORD,
even their enemies are at peace with them.
8 Better to have little, with godliness,
than to be rich and dishonest.
9 We can make our plans,
but the LORD determines our steps.
16 How much better to get wisdom than gold,
and good judgment than silver!
17 The path of the virtuous leads away from evil;
whoever follows that path is safe.
18 Pride goes before destruction,
and haughtiness before a fall.
19 Better to live humbly with the poor
than to share plunder with the proud.
20 Those who listen to instruction will prosper;
those who trust the LORD will be joyful.
21 The wise are known for their understanding,
and pleasant words are persuasive.
22 Discretion is a life-giving fountain to those who possess it,
but discipline is wasted on fools.
24 Kind words are like honey—
sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.
25 There is a path before each person that seems right,
but it ends in death.
31 Gray hair is a crown of glory;
it is gained by living a godly life.
32 Better to be patient than powerful;
better to have self-control than to conquer a city.
33 We may throw the dice,
but the LORD determines how they fall.
********
Now, I want you to read this passage from 2nd chapter of Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth.
People have quoted lots of the verses in it, but I'm not sure we really understand what is the power statement in the section.
The power statement comes at the end - I underlined it.
I've heard lots of sermons preached on some of the verses in this passage.
I've never heard one preached on the verse I underlined.
And it's the most important verse in the whole section - it explains everything Paul says beforehand - it was what he was working up to all along.
1 Corinthians 2
9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
for those who love him."
10 But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit.
For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets.11
No one can know a person's thoughts except that person's own spirit,
and no one can know God's thoughts except God's own Spirit.
12 And we have received God's Spirit (not the world's spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom.
Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit,
using the Spirit's words to explain spiritual truths.
14 But people who aren't spiritual can't receive these truths from God's Spirit.
It all sounds foolish to them and they can't understand it,
for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.
15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things,
but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others.
16 For,
"Who can know the LORD's thoughts?
Who knows enough to teach him?"
But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.
So Paul says that if we're connected to God, with the Holy Spirit living inside us, we have the mind of Chirst.
In short, we think like Him.
iow, we are then able to think like God, reason like Him, & understand like Him.
Think about that today - that if the Holy Spirit lives in us, then we can think like the God of the universes thinks.
9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
for those who love him."
10 But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit.
For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets.11
No one can know a person's thoughts except that person's own spirit,
and no one can know God's thoughts except God's own Spirit.
12 And we have received God's Spirit (not the world's spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom.
Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit,
using the Spirit's words to explain spiritual truths.
14 But people who aren't spiritual can't receive these truths from God's Spirit.
It all sounds foolish to them and they can't understand it,
for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.
15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things,
but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others.
16 For,
"Who can know the LORD's thoughts?
Who knows enough to teach him?"
But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.
So Paul says that if we're connected to God, with the Holy Spirit living inside us, we have the mind of Chirst.
In short, we think like Him.
iow, we are then able to think like God, reason like Him, & understand like Him.
Think about that today - that if the Holy Spirit lives in us, then we can think like the God of the universes thinks.
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