The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 15:15-17 (day five)  

Some honest questions that sometimes creep in to my heart and mind… What does all this “wisdom speak” look like in real life?  Are these platitudes that people never personally deal with?  How do they really work and function?

These verses seem to be declaring that a heart set on wisdom (fear of the Lord) will somehow experience and process real life in a different kind of way. Ok, but how?

I love it when scripture clarifies and illustrates other scripture. A great picture of this “Wisdom Principle” is seen in the Apostle Paul’s life and writing.  “Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬-‭13)‬  Looks like the way of Godly Wisdom to me.

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 15:15-17 (day four)

We might read this and think, “Easy for you to say, Solomon.” He is one of the wealthiest figures in the Bible. But we can’t dismiss his advice here for several reasons. God gifted Solomon with supernatural wisdom. Yes, he also had incredible material blessings, but his life’s focus was on obtaining godly wisdom. This wisdom led him to the conclusion that wealth is meaningless when compared to a life lived in the presence of Yahweh.

This wisdom is echoed throughout Scripture. Paul offers a similar sentiment in Philippians 3:7-8, “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…”

Solomon knew the love of God, which led him to have a proper view of worldly things. How much more do we, living on the other side of Christ’s earthly life, death, and resurrection, know the love of God and the fellowship of the Spirit? May our lives be shaped by the surpassing value of knowing Christ.

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 15:15-17 (day three)

Better is a dish of vegetables where love is
Than a fattened ox served with hatred.

Riches are not evil in and of themselves. Much good can come from the beneficent use of wealth. Ailing loved ones can get premium care; adverse circumstances don’t turn into catastrophic losses; and so on. But riches cannot fill the need for love, welcome, nurture, and safety in the presence of people who are important to you. Financial abundance is a poor substitute for human touch and empathy. It can serve as a distraction from the absence of those things for a while, but eventually, emotional starvation will make itself known, with extremely distressing outcomes. When you apply money to circumstances to make life better, will you also apply love?

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 15:15-17 (day two)

All the days of the afflicted are bad, But a cheerful heart has a continual feast. Vs. 15

How desperately do we want that ‘continual feast’ to be material? Car, job, bank account, etc. So often we read that kind of verse believing that if I’m ‘happy’ enough, things will work out. I am a big believer in positive attitude, but that is not what scripture is calling us to here or in other passages like this.

It seems to me that we must constantly re-define the concept of ‘joy’. ‘Happy’ should not be our end game. Do I want that for you, for me, for my family? Absolutely! But an honest assessment of the human condition reminds us that our fallen sin-filled world robs many of happiness. Scripture is replete with stalwart believers who are walking a dark and lonely journey. What scripture promises is the assurance of God’s presence in those circumstances. This is joy, this is a feast; to know the Lord has not left you. Let us continually seek joy in all situations.

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 14:34 (day seven)

Righteousness exalts a [family],
But sin is a disgrace to any [home].

“Wait Rick, you can’t just change the Re:Verse text like that! Did you not get enough parenting last week?” Let’s unpack why I made this change.

We have a national epidemic, and it’s not covid or some sort of illness. America is becoming Biblically illiterate. Only 18% of the United States population is considered Scripture Engaged according to the American Bible Society’s State of the Bible. Scripture Engagement is defined as “consistent interaction with the Bible that shapes a person’s choices and transforms their relationships with God, self, and others.” If we want America to become more righteous, Scripture Engagement must become a priority.

An affinity for Scripture starts in the home. When children see that you make scripture a priority (do you read publicly and consistently?) and they see that it makes a significant impact on your life (do you exemplify Jesus?), they too will want to engage with  scripture. We might not be able to solve America’s Biblical illiteracy through a sermon or a program, but if each family would do their part to make scripture and prayer a priority in the home, we can begin to help America heal from this epidemic.

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 14:34 (day six)

The most basic understanding of the first half of this proverb is that the people prosper under godliness. The implications are clear enough: godly leadership has a profound impact.

Godliness is never stagnant; it always spreads. Just as a single light can illuminate the darkest room or one seed yield a bountiful harvest, so it is with godliness. One godly person can ignite a chain reaction, profoundly impacting their peers as their godliness spreads.

Godliness is never a quiet personal experience. It never keeps to itself. It only knows one direction; it travels.

(And for those reading  this post on a Saturday [wink, wink], thank you for your commitment to Re:verse and loving your pastoral staff.)

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 14:34 (day five)

“Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a disgrace to any people.”

Have you noticed the stark contrasts that  Proverbs clearly depicts?  One that fears God and one who despises God. The wise and the foolish. And in our text this week, the righteous and the sinful. The exalted and the disgraced. The chasm seems to grow wider and wider between the two sides. Is there no middle ground?  Kinda this or mostly this. No, there is no room for half hearted devotion. No place for mediocre obedience. The options are either righteousness or sinfulness. And the results and consequences of each, are clearly spelled out so that the choices and decisions of individuals and nations are evident. The good news is that we can still find righteousness personally and corporately when we fear the Lord, love His Word, turn to Him in humble repentance, and trust His promises.

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 14:34 (day four)

Our worldview in the West is so heavily individualistic that we often view salvation and repentance through that lens too. Yes, salvation and repentance are for individuals, but they are also for communities and nations. So much of what the Old Testament prophets address is about collective repentance and national righteousness. Daniel repents on behalf of the entire nation. Isaiah calls for the collective people of Israel to turn from their wicked ways. It seems almost impossible today in our modern, Western worldview that an entire nation could repent and turn to God. Yet, it comes up over and over again in Scripture.

So how do we move towards corporate repentance and righteousness? It’s more than standing on our religious high horse repeating, “America just needs to get back to God.” Yes, of course she does. But tropes won’t help us achieve that. It’s more than just politics and policies, though those are important.

I wonder if it starts with considering Jesus’ vision for us in John 17:22-23, “The glory which You have given Me I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me.”

The more we pursue and experience the glory and unity of life in the Spirit that Jesus describes in our homes, small groups, congregations, neighborhoods, etc., the more national righteousness seems possible.

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 14:34 (day three)

“Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a disgrace to any people.”

What is righteousness? Is it doctrinal purity? Devotion? Moral behavior? A profession of faith? God and country? Progressive cred? Repudiation of liberalism? Siding with the tax collector instead of the Pharisee in Jesus’s parable of the men who when to the temple to pray? Many will insist they aren’t perfect, even though they think they’re right. Righteousness is tricky that way, for individuals and for the nations. Claims to righteousness often have the effect of drawing lines and fracturing community. These days, it’s not uncommon to hear groups of people setting themselves against each other, declaring they’d rather not build a nation with those who don’t meet their standards. What kind of disgrace awaits such a people?