Proverbs 15 - 5.13.22
Scripture - What stood out?
Proverbs 15:1
A soft answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Observation - What does it say?
One of six verses in this chapter that have to do with the words that come out of your mouth.
Understanding - What does it mean?
“Some people are so rude.” My co-worker whispered to me as she peered over my cubicle. “Some people act like they are all that - church going - but then they get in here and they are so rude.”
I happen to be a church goer and thankfully I wasn’t the one upsetting my colleague. Still, it made me sad to hear a person defame an entire body of followers over one moment in one professional relationship. And it also made me sad that it had gotten to that point in their working relationship.
2The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,
but the mouths of fools pour out folly.
4A gentle tongue is a tree of life,
but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
7The lips of the wise spread knowledge;
not so the hearts of fools.
23To make an apt answer is a joy to a man,
and a word in season, how good it is!
28The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,
but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.
These are the other five verses pertaining to our speech in this chapter.
Having read proverbs earlier in the day I knew the Lord was sharpening me with this moment to respond. And so I boldly proclaimed, “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Life Application - How can I apply this to my life today?
Lord please forgive me if in my timidity I created an environment that was inviting for this kind of behavior and talk around me. Please forgive my own ineptitude. I pray that my co-workers are able to resolve their issues. I pray that you would teach me how to use my words more wisely from now on. Please highlight the areas of my own speech patterns and relational habits that might invite such behavior from my peers. Please strike them all down. Please highlight the areas of my behavior that communicate folly and perverseness and evil. Please Lord strike that all down too. Please turn me into a man that spreads knowledge, thinking before I speak, and responding gently. In the name of Jesus do I pray. Amen.
-kenneth lee
Ephesians 1-5.12.22
Scripture
Ephesians 1:15-23 NIV
15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Observation
The Apostle Paul is sharing some of his prayers for those in Ephesus. It is a prayer that shows Paul’s deep love and concern for the spiritual growth and well-being of the Ephesian church.
Understanding
I love this passage because we get a glimpse of Paul’s heart and love for others as he prays for their spiritual growth and understanding of who they are in Christ. This prayer is also a prayer that we can learn much from, particularly for our own prayer lives.
Paul prays that God will make known to the community God’s wisdom, riches, hope, and power. The wisdom and revelation to know Him better, is for the family of God, to be worked out as the people live and love in relationship with one another and the surrounding world.
This prayer shows us that there is so much more to be had for ourselves and others we pray for.
We can pray for a deeper encounter with God. We can pray for a deeper understanding of God. We can pray for a deeper power of God. We can pray for revelation of your destiny.
Life Application
God I pray for myself and the family at DSC to have a Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation so that we may know you better. I pray the eyes of our hearts be enough to know the hope to which you have called us to. May your power and strength that raised Christ from the dead be activated in our lives as we understand who we are In Christ Jesus.
-Justin Eaves
1 Kings 11-5.11.22
Scripture
1 Kings 11:12-13
12 Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”
Observation-What does it say?
God was not pleased with King Solomon towards the end of his life because his wives had “turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been (verse 4).”
However, God did not take Solomon’s position away from him during his lifetime. God said he would take it from Solomon’s son, but even then, He would still show mercy by giving him a portion of the Kingdom. Why? Because of his father and God’s servant, King David.
Understanding-What does it mean?
David’s choice to be fully devoted to God until the end, led to God showing mercy towards his son, Solomon.
Imagine for a second, God mentioning your name to your offspring as the reason He shows mercy to them, because you were a faithful servant to Him.
The legacy we leave behind matters. Although He remembers our sin no more when we give our lives to Him, something He doesn’t forget is if we were a man or woman after His own heart. King David already received his reward by being in Heaven with Jesus, but God still honored him in front of his son on earth by allowing Solomon to continue to rule. That actually makes me tear up.
Life Application
Being honored by the Lord is the greatest honor any of us could receive, to the point of it affecting the next generations after us.
I pray that we would be men and women after God’s own heart, like King David was, and as a result, God would show mercy to our children and grandchildren after us.
-Michelle Gaddi