Are we doing our part?

A man prayed and asked God for help. The request was for a remote control for the television. A moment later there was a knock at the door. The neighbor had just bought a new remote and wanted to know if he wanted his old one. He took the remote, thanked the neighbor and went inside and thanked God. The man then asked God for one more favor, "Would you also be willing to push the buttons for me?" 

This story is silly, but when it comes to changing our sinful habits sometimes we ask God to do it all. We need to have a balanced approach. We need to ask God to help us change and then we also need to diligently resist sin.

Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)
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Jesus, through whom grace and truth were realized, preached repentance

Matthew 4:17

17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

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When we refuse to obey - then change our minds

One thing we see in the passage below is willful disobedience of a son followed by repentance. This passage is an encouragement to me because when I refuse to obey, and then repent, I can know that God will regard me as one who does His will.

Matthew 21:28-32

28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They *said, “The first.” Jesus *said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.

Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org )

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God teaches us ways to avoid self inflicted poverty

The purpose of this devotion is to avoid some sources of self-inflicted poverty. But this teaching does not suggest that everyone that is poor has brought it upon themselves. There are many factors that can lead to poverty that could be out of and individual's control. Here are just a few examples: layoffs, injuries, and living in a country that has an oppressive government. 


Lets start our devotion in Proverbs chapter 6. In verses 1-5 God is trying to protect His children from self-inflicted poverty. He steers them away from the dangers of  becoming surety for a stranger / neighbor. We are instructed that we should not guarantee another persons debt. One example would be to co-sign for a stranger / neighbors car loan. If that person can no longer make their payments then the bank will come after you and demand payment. We, and our families with us, can be brought to financial ruin through such practices. But because God loves us He steers us away from this form of self-inflicted poverty. 


Continuing in chapter 6 we will find another source of poverty. Verses 6-11 show that being lazy and loving sleep will cause poverty to overtake you. 


Proverbs 6:9-11

⁹ How long will you lie down, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
¹⁰ “A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest”—
¹¹ Your poverty will come in like a vagabond
And your need like an armed man.

The sluggard is lazy and does not want to work. But even if circumstances force him to work he proves to be a thorn in his employer's side and runs the risk of being fired. He can be late or even miss work due to his unwillingness to get out of bed. And even once he arrives at work he does his work half-heartedly. And because he lacks the self-motivation, which is one characteristic of the diligent, he ends up requiring extra supervision. The lazy one is a grief to his employer and inevitably he will lose his job . So through either unwillingness to get a job, or being fired due to poor work performance, the sluggard lacks earning power and poverty overtakes him. 


Proverbs 10:4

⁴ Poor is he who works with a negligent hand,
But the hand of the diligent makes rich.

Proverbs 20:13

¹³ Do not love sleep, or you will become poor;
Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with food.

In Proverbs 6:6-8 the sluggard is asked to observe the work habits of the ant. The ant is diligent and needs no supervision. The ant thinks past the need of the moment. It continues to work because it anticipates needs in the future and stores up for that future lack.

Proverbs 6:6-8

⁶ Go to the ant, O sluggard,
Observe her ways and be wise,
⁷ Which, having no chief,
Officer or ruler,
⁸ Prepares her food in the summer
And gathers her provision in the harvest.

Another source of poverty is being pleasure centered. 

Proverbs 21:17
¹⁷ He who loves pleasure will become a poor man; 
He who loves wine and oil will not become rich.


In the first half of verse 17 we see someone who begins with wealth and then loses it by being pleasure centered. This person could have received wealth through an inheritance and then squandered it through the pursuit of pleasure. A perfect example of a person who is pleasure centered and dwindles from a wealthy state to a poor state  is the Prodigal Son. That passage is found in Luke 15:11-32. Also, in the second half of Proverbs 21:17 (above)  we see the effect of being pleasure centered from a different perspective. The person who lacks riches is prevented from rising to a wealthy status due to a focus on pleasure.


A few other verses to consider. 

Proverbs 23:21

21 For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,
And drowsiness will clothe one with rags.

Proverbs 28:19

19 He who tills his land will have plenty of food,But he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty in plenty.

Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)
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How quickly do we respond to God's instructions?

Pay attention to the word "immediately" used more than once in the passage below. They showed no hesitation. They responded to the Lord immediately.

Matthew 4:18-22

18 Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 And He *said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.


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Pleasing God or grieving God

Proverbs 10:1 talks about a son either acting wisely or foolishly. If he acts wisely he can bring joy to his parents. If he acts foolishly he can bring them grief.

10 The proverbs of Solomon.

A wise son makes a father glad,

But a foolish son is a grief to his mother.

It is necessary for the son to have the knowledge of how his conduct affects his parents. They provide both a positive and a negative motivator for obedience. Likewise these same two motivators produce obedience in us towards our heavenly Father. On one hand we are encouraged to walk in love because we know it will please God 

Hebrews 13:16

16 And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

And on the other hand we don't want to walk in sinful conduct since we know it can grieve Him. 

Ephesians 4:30

30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)
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Two keys to a successful marriage

I don't want to oversimplify relationships which can be complex but nevertheless there are two core principals that are needed for a successful marriage. One principal applies to the man and one to the woman.

God who knows us and fashioned us understands how our needs differ and has given us good counsel on how each spouse can meet the need of their partner. As you read this you may think of other things that keep a marriage strong but for sake of this devotion we will only focus on just two core issues.

God identifies these two core needs as love and respect.

Ephesians 5:33
Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

Notice in this verse the core need of a woman that is addressed is different from the core need of the man that is revealed. A core need of the woman is her need to be loved by her husband. And a core need that a man has is to be respected by his wife. When a woman feels loved it makes it easier for her to respond with respect to her husband. When a man feels respected it makes it easier for him to respond by expressing love to his wife.

But a vicious circle can develop when we only meet the other persons need when our need is first met. Mindsets like " Respect is earned and I'll only show respect to him when he shows love to me" Or "I'll only express love towards her when she starts showing me respect" In this example each spouse is withholding a core need of the other until their own need is met. Having these type of mindsets leads to further deterioration of the relationship.

In the above example of conditionally meeting the other persons need the couple can be driven further apart.  The woman sensing that love is being withheld from her digs her heals in and withholds respect from her husband. The man feeling that he is not respected by his wife responds by withholding love from her.

One solution for this example is to show unconditional love and unconditional respect.
This can keep a vicious cycle from forming. Instead with an unconditional display of love and respect a positive cycle can be produced. The woman feels loved and she is encouraged to respect her husband. And that respect sits well with him. The husband feeling respected is encouraged to respond by showing his wife love and this meets a great need in her. This can feed upon itself in a positive way and fuel a cycle of increasing love and increasing respect. This cycle is key to a successful marriage.

God bless you.


Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)
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