Tracking

(Pro 4:21 KJV)  Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.

Tracking has become a big thing to the internet generation.  It is a big thing even to the elderly.  When you mail a package or Fed Ex it you get a tracking number and in theory you can go on line and find out exactly where the package is.  So they tell me.  I have never tried it.  The package is either here or it isn’t.  It doesn’t help me to know it was routed through South America to travel 30 miles down the road.

There are things that need to be tracked and it can’t be done on the internet.  I don’t know about you but I have a hard time remember pass words and pins.  The ones I remember are the ones I use on a regular basis.  Have you ever tried to remember the combination to your locker in high school?  I have nightmares at times where I can’t get the door open because of that.  

So?  The same can be true in the spiritual dimension.  One reason why it is important to exercise the spiritual disciplines is that it keeps the truth fresh in our minds and hearts. 

The Wisdom of Polarity

(Pro 3:18 KJV)  She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

It would help us if we would think about how some words have been used over the years.  “Happy” (833) to us today is an emotion that makes us feel on top of the world.  That is fine as far as it goes but this concept goes deeper than our bubbly emotions.  The root for “happy” has to do with making progress because we are walking straight.  This is the happy that comes from following directions and keeping out of the ditch.  

I just bought a battery tester for all the sizes I use around the house.  The directions make certain things clear, things that you would think would be automatic.  One of them is to make sure you connect the correct ends of the battery.  I have no idea what the penalty would be.  Do the makers show up at my door and confiscate the tester if I do it wrong?  Does it explode and wipe out the entire block?  Does it short out the battery and make it useless?  Probably none of these.  The key point, I think, is that if you get it in backwards it won’t work and you won’t be getting anywhere.

So?  Following the guidance of God’s wisdom will help us to get the batteries of life in with the right polarity.  It is a big step toward making the timer work. 

There Was A Crooked Man

(Pro 2:15 KJV)  Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:

Keep in mind that the idea of being “crooked” (6141) is heavily influenced by figurative and spiritual language.  If you are driving over a winding mountain road, the straightest thing you can do is drive crooked.  Take in the context.  The idea is not to condemn people who have a complicated path to follow.  It is for those who twist the path to their own use and ignore the path of righteousness.  

When we were young and even more foolish than today we flew into New York.  Since we did not know any better we took a cab to our hotel and were horrified at the cost.  Later we learned that we had been had.  The driver took a crooked route, knowing we were innocents, and spiked his payoff.  Just because your victims don’t know what you have done does not mean God is ignorant.

So?  There may be times where a choice of veering right or left is value neutral but much of the time there is a consideration of righteousness as defined by God Himself.  Veer at your own risk.

Simply Open

(Pro 1:4 KJV)  To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

I am sure I have noted it before but one of the meanings of “simple” (naive NASB) (6612a) is “open minded”.  We live in a culture that has made being open minded a great virtue.  The reason that the pagans around us like that understanding is that it means they can fill the open minds with all the mush at their command.  It has the idea of a wide eyed Dorothy stepping out of black and white Kansas into the Technicolor of Oz and standing, mouth agape, staring around her.  Proverbs is the force that will pull aside the curtain and expose the wizards of the left.

I remember when the open school concept was the latest rage.  Walls were removed.  You could see across the entire building.  You were also distracted by everything that went by.  It did not help to educate the kids.

So?  Accept that there are reasons for walls, doors and glass in the windows.  Proverbs is to teach us where to put them and when to open them.  Pay attention. 

Cross Fit

(Pro 31:17 KJV) She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.

Could this be an old fashioned reference to an exercise program?  Somehow I doubt it.  At the same time this woman was involved in activities that made her stronger.  It would do us good to remember that when it comes to physical strength, use it or lose it.  I have known some people who seem to stay fit with no effort.  It is possible just like some people can eat all they want and never gain weight.  It is not the standard principle that God used to make the world.  

So?  We need to consciously find ways to strengthen ourselves.  This would apply to physical strength but also to mental and spiritual strength.  One reason I write this daily devotional is to set up a situation where I am forced to wrestle with truth on a regular basis.  Growth or atrophy.

A Mass of Individuals

(Pro 30:27 KJV)  The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;

This verse is part of a selection of five verses in a series of selections.  Each of the verses in this section seems to be emphasizing the importance of the small things in life.  They are small things that become large when applied.  Here is the idea of the power of achieving a goal when we work together.  

The key to working together is more than a leader.  For us it requires the leading of the Holy Spirit.  I have heard stories of revival services where it would be like visible waves moving over the people as, row by row, they would lean forward.  It could only be seen from the front so it wasn’t like “the wave” that used to be attempted at baseball games.  There have been moves of the Spirit down through history that have changed the course of society.  I think of the Great Awakenings that have happened in America.  You might look at the Reformation or the growth of Christianity in modern China.

So?  Each of us needs to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  We need revival in America.  We need revival in the world.  It won’t happen by waiting for the next Billy Graham.  It will happen when all of us little people start being obedient. 

Beware the Snare

(Pro 29:8 KJV)  Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath.

What is it that these people scorn?  It could probably be summed up in wisdom.  Keep in mind that wisdom and knowledge begin with the fear of the Lord.  When you read the headlines and watch what is happening in your neighborhood you have to ask yourself if the people being highlighted are speaking from a fear of the Lord or from pagan arrogance.  

The picture of cities in flames should be familiar to you by now.  Are there people of wisdom speaking out?  In a few cases, but most of the rhetoric we hear is coming from those who have an agenda of hatred for the things of God.

So?  Recognize what you are seeing.  The majority of people with a microphone are out to destroy your freedom to worship, read the Bible and educate your children.  We need to know what is right and speak up when the line is crossed.