Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Proverbs, Chapters 4-6 To study these chapters, go to this link -
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Highlight Passage: Proverbs 4: 4-7: [NKJV]… 4 He [Solomon’s Father, David] also taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart retain my words; Keep my commands, and live. 5 Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. 6 Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you. 7 Wisdom is the principal thing; THEREFORE, … get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.”
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Highlight Passage #2: Proverbs 5: 1-4, 21-22 :[NKJV] … 1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom; My son, pay attention to my wisdom; Lend your ear to my understanding, 2 That you may preserve discretion, And your lips may keep knowledge. 3 For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil; 4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. … 21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, And He ponders all his paths. 22 His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin.
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Highlight Passage #3: Proverbs 6: 20-24 :[NKJV] … 20 My son, keep your fathers command, And do not forsake the law of your mother.21 Bind them continually upon your heart; Tie them around your neck.22 When you roam, they will lead you; When you sleep, they will keep you; And when you awake, they will speak with you.23 For the commandment is a lamp, And the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,24 To keep you from the evil woman, From the flattering tongue of a seductress.
My Journal for Today: Well, if you’ve read and studied along with me in this chronological trek through the Bible this year, on more than one occasion I have made a reference to a word picture I latched onto from a mentor years ago which has served me so well in dealing with a stronghold of sin in my life. He pointed out to me that one would be wise, if having to traverse a minefield either to follow someone who knew where all the mines were or to have a map of the mines in the minefield. And he went on to insure that I knew and internalized that God’s word – i.e., His truth/wisdom – was God’s map through the minefields, as we tried to avoid the explosive and deadly mines of sin in our lives.
And that is exactly what God was doing for Solomon’s son [and all believers] as Solomon, being the voice of God, the Father, did all he could to pass along the advice that David had given him to avoid one of the deadliest minefields any boy, becoming a man, can avoid and that is the minefield of sexual sin. And because of my past and my now calling in ministry – helping Christian men recover from habitual sexual sin, and learning how to traverse the minefields of sexual sin in our XXX-laden culture – this section of Proverbs has a special and powerful meaning for me.
Here was Solomon, having that dreaded “sex talk” with his boy, … doing all he could to show the lad (which is any immature believer learning to avoid the minefields of sin in life) how to get through the minefields of sexual sin without being severely damaged. And today, apparently as in Solomon’s day, sexual sin is one of Satan’s biggest and most deadly minefields in life. Our spiritual arch enemy has a vast and extremely deadly minefield for anyone in life – especially us guys – to traverse; and as Solomon warns his son in today’s chapters of Proverbs, the only way to get through this minefield successfully is to have God’s word so deeply embedded in our minds/hearts that it becomes God’s map through the minefields.
The author of Psalm 119 knew this when he wrote Psalm 119: 9, 11: How can a young man cleanse his way; … by taking heed according to Your word. … Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You (Lord). And God told Joshua much the same thing as a prescription for spiritual success in all the battles of life which were to be ahead of Joshua, when God proclaimed (in Joshua 1: 8), … You shall meditate in [God’s word] day and night that you may observed to do according to all that is written in it. Then … you will have success …
Knowing – i.e., deeply knowing - God’s word (i.e., His wisdom) and praying to seek God’s wisdom from it (see James 1: 5-6) is the only way to negotiate the minefields of life, especially those laden with sexual bombs, like p0rnography addiction, homosexuality, and other forms of sexual sin. So, I pray that we (Christians) will take heed to this advice from Solomon. Unfortunately he didn’t live by his own advice; and the book of Ecclesiastes chronicles the deadly outcomes which Solomon had to deal with in his life by not heeding God’s map through the minefields.
May we take God’s advice to Joshua [in Joshua 1: 8] and trek successfully through the minefields of life, walking safely and securely by the light of God’s word [see Psalm 119: 105].
My Prayer Today: … Lord, I have Your word secured in my mind and heart as a light unto my path, … and I will use it to move through the minefields of life. Amen
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