Devotional

What Is Love? (Baby, Don’t Hurt Me)

June 4, 2024 (155/365)  |  Song of Songs

I’ll be the first to admit that poetry really doesn’t do it for me. Psalms are rarely where I turn outside of my reading plan, and Song of Songs is similar. It’s just not how I’m made. I love the narrative of Job and the practicality of the Proverbs, but the rest of the “Wisdom Literature” doesn’t really get my blood pumping. But in spite of that, it is still the Word of God. And even though some of it might appeal to us more than other bits, we still need to ask God to reveal what we can learn and grow in as a result of reading it. Because all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV).

Today is was this chunk near the end of the Song of Songs:

For love is as strong as death,
    its jealousy as enduring as the grave.
Love flashes like fire,
    the brightest kind of flame.
Many waters cannot quench love,
    nor can rivers drown it.
If a man tried to buy love
    with all his wealth,
    his offer would be utterly scorned.

Song of Songs 8:6b-7 (NLT)

This is as good a definition of love as any I’ve ever heard! Love — REAL love — is as strong as death and as enduring as the grave. It is permanent, and goes on eternally from when it begins. Love is a bonfire, a raging inferno. It is all-consuming and can be seen and felt by all who come near it. It cannot be defeated. And love — true love — cannot be bought. There is no shortcut to love. It must be earned, there is no other way to attain it.

This is how WE as Christians are to love, because we are called to love as Christ loves. And this is that love.

Building Good Study Habits

June 3, 2024 (154/365)  |  Proverbs 22:17-24:34

I was a pretty bright kid. This meant that academically stuff came pretty easy to me. It was even suggested to my parents that I skip ahead a grade. My mother declined that offer, however. And the downside to being a bright kid and having academics come pretty easily to me is that I never learned how to study… I never had to! I never had homework because I easily completed it all during class time. Then… grade 9 math hit me like a bus. I was reeling, my grades were suffering and I had no concept of studying and applying myself. It was pretty terrible. And honestly, it took until well into college before I finally figured out how to study.

It was laziness. Never needing to try meant that I never did. And that’s where our Proverb comes in today. Laziness is a hard habit to un-learn and hard work will enable you to be everything you can. But I can’t say it any better than the Psalmist:

I went past the field of a sluggard,
    past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
thorns had come up everywhere,
    the ground was covered with weeds,
    and the stone wall was in ruins.
I applied my heart to what I observed
    and learned a lesson from what I saw:
A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest—
and poverty will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man.

Proverbs 24:30-34

I don’t think I can say any better than the Scriptures, so I’ll simply leave it there today.

Exploring Themes

June 2, 2024 (153/365)  |  Proverbs 20:1-22:16

Today I decided to write down the overarching theme that I perceived in each Proverb. With each additional Proverb, I would consult my list, if it fit with one of the existing themes, I would add a tick mark beside it, otherwise I would write down a new theme. At the end I counted them all up.

The themes I ended up with (you might well end up with a different list with different counts if you decide to do this) were: Fighting, Laziness, Intentionality, Loyalty, Integrity, Discernment, Sanctification, Reputation, Wisdom, Giving, and Trust in God.

The winners by my count were Discernment and Integrity with 9 Proverbs each. This was a good reminder for me of the value of these traits.

Discernment allows us to pursue only those things & relationships which are good for us, which will edify and encourage us, which will make us into better people and allow us to fully step into what God has for us. You can — as Fleetwood Mac put it — Go Your Own Way, but that will not give you the fullness and satisfaction in every sphere of your life that following Christ offers.

Integrity is so critical to the life of the believer. My father used to tell me that your word is your legacy. It’s how you will be remembered. And if it is how we will be remembered, then it is also how we are known. So we say what we mean and mean what we say? Are our promises good as gold? Can people take us at face value and never be afraid. That’s how God is, and if we are seeking to be like Him, then all of the above should be true about us. Whether it’s fair or not, people judge the king by his messenger. What kind of messenger are you for THE King?

That’s my takeaway. What theme(s) stood out to you from today’s reading?

Listen First, Then Speak

June 1, 2024 (152/365)  |  Proverbs 17-19

Another day in the Proverbs, another day of hearing things that directly challenge and encourage me. I know people refer to the Psalms and Soul Salve, but for me Proverbs fits that bill much better. And today the theme that jumped out and struck me was about listening. About gathering information in order to make informed decisions. This is not always something we are good at, and so it becomes a worthwhile challenge to hear. From today’s passage (all renderings are NLT):

Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions. (18:2) Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish. (18:13) The first to speak in court sounds right—until the cross-examination begins. (18:17) Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes. (19:2) Get all the advice you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life. (19:20) If you stop listening to instruction, my child, you will turn your back on knowledge. (10:27)

As James chapter 3 highlights so forcefully, the tongue has the most damage-inflicting power of any muscle in our bodies. James tells us it’s full of poison. All the more reason that we should seek council, listen to all the witnesses, and ask for what Paul Harvey would call “the rest of the story”.

As we read yesterday, there is a path that seems right to us, but is less to death. This is what we read about throughout the book of Judges! People did what was right in their own eyes and it led to horrific outcomes! If you don’t remember how bad it got, go read Judges 19 again. And then — after acting like fools — we wonder why God has abandoned us! Like we left Him behind to go our own way, and then act like it was His fault! And if we never learn to listen, we will end up in that same scenario over, and over, and over again.

People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord (Proverbs 19:3)

Do I Know What’s Best?

May 31, 2024 (151/365)  |  Proverbs 14-16

It’s fun to look for emerging themes as we read through the Proverbs and today’s theme struck me as the very theme highlighted by a proverb appears TWICE near the beginning and ending of today’s reading. Here it is:

There is a way that appears to be right,
    but in the end it leads to death.

Proverbs 14:12 & 16:25 (NIV)

And throughout today’s reading we see that the foolish1 follow their own path and chart their own course, but instead of finding success and joy, they find destruction and emptiness. And more than that, they also hurt those around them in a sort of hurricane of destruction. We read about households, neighbours, children, parents, and even the Lord being affected by the ill-conceived, ill-informed, and ill-executed plans of the willfully ignorant. But the great irony — as Solomon points out — is that they are “pure in their own eyes”!

This is yet another example of why it is so absolutely critical that we have a brother or sister who can sharpen us and tell us when we are being big stupid idiots. Once you find a person who can tell you that your being stupid as an act of love and friendship… return the favour and never let that person go!

  1. It is worth noting that “fool” or “foolish” refers to a person who is obstinate, unyielding in their position, and without understanding. This is not someone who has been bamboozled in a moment, but represents a lifestyle of doing it “their way”. ↩︎