Proverbs 22:3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.

Are you a wise man or are you a fool? Do you see the problems that you will bring upon your life if you play with the temptations of sin? A wise individual knows their weaknesses and they keep away from evil. A fool will continue to play with temptation until they are bit.

When I was young, I was told a story about a sheep dog that loved to kill rattle snakes. The dog had a cunning ability to dodge the snake and then grab it behind the head and throw it up in the air and do this continually until the snake died. Of course this was done on small rattle snakes. However, over time, the dog kept going after bigger and bigger snakes. One day, the dog did not return and the rancher grew worried. The rancher went out to look for his prized dog and found him dead next to a large rattle snake. The dog kept playing with snakes until eventually a snake was too fast and it killed him.

Sin can have the same devastating effects upon your life. What appears to be something harmless and fun can grow until it completely destroys you. You must be careful what you accept as acceptable behavior in your life. While it may be just a small compromise to your life, it can eventually utterly consume you and thus result in destroying your testimony.

Throughout scripture you see examples of how sin destroyed the testimony of an individual. Even if sin does not utterly destroy your testimony, the consequences of sin can destroy the ability of God to use you as HE desires to use you. God had a perfect plan for Adam and Eve and that plan was destroyed by the decision of Adam and Eve to do what is right in their own eyes.

Every day you are faced with decisions to make. You must choose between doing what is right in the eyes of God and doing what is right in your own eyes. However, Job had the right idea when he wisely removed temptation before it even started. Job said that he made a covenant with his eyes; why should he think upon a maid? (Job 31:1). Job was a wise man who understood the devastating impact of lust upon the life of a man. Rather than allow himself to be bitten by lust, he chose to keep his mind pure. This was a conscience decision that he made so that he stayed as far away from evil as he possibly could.

Jesus taught us in the Sermon on the Mount how we are to pray. One of the things that we are to pray for is that God would give us the strength to avoid evil. The temptations of this life are strong. If you take the temptations for granted, they will bite you when you least expect it. A wise person is going to take the time every day to ensure that they do not go close to anything that could lead them astray.

You know your weaknesses. You know the areas that if you get too close, it will cause you to slip into sin. God needs you to be wise and not even go close to those areas that will destroy you. If you continue to see how close to sin you can get without being bite, eventually, it will bite you and you will be grieved that you once again disappointed God.

You must spend time drawing closer to God. As you take time adding knowledge of the ways of God, God will give you the wisdom in what to do to avoid sinning and falling short of the glory of God. You must have a close relationship with God if you are going to be like Job and wisely abstain from those things that could destroy your testimony.

Proverbs 22:1 A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold.

What is the most valuable thing to you? Is it the amount of money in your pocket book or is it your reputation? It is one thing what you think of yourself, but it is quite another thing to see how others perceive you. Your life is to reflect the light of God, but if you are acting just like the world, why should the world change from their wicked ways in order to draw closer to God?

Gehazi was a servant of Elisha. Naaman was a leper who came to Elisha for healing. Elisha sent Naaman to the river Jordan to dip seven times in order to be healed. When Naaman obeyed, he saw God deliver him from the disease. Naaman was a grateful man and he immediately returned to Elisha to give him gifts. Elisha understood that if he accepted the gifts, then when Naaman went home and told everybody what happened, then Naaman would give credit to Elisha when instead credit needed to be given to God.

Elisha understood that he could not receive the credit for what God had done through him so he refused to accept any of the gifts of Naaman. However, once Naaman had left, Gehazi took off after Naaman and made up a story in which he obtained for himself gifts that Elisha had refused. Gehazi received the gifts by using the name of Elisha and as a result, Gehazi destroyed the testimony that Elisha was trying to build. Gehazi may have obtained riches, but he lost his reputation.

Gehazi is not the only person in the Bible who pursued riches rather than a good name and was punished for it. In fact, any time we sin and fall short of the glory of God, we are saying that our own way is more important to us then what God or others think of us. When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of good and evil, the only thing they were thinking about was themselves. Adam and Eve had great wealth but we see that they wanted something more. Because they allowed something rather than their relationship with God to come first, they sinned.

Cain was a man who was not pleased that he did not receive the approval of God. However, rather than change himself so that God was pleased with him, Cain chose to kill his brother Abel. By getting rid of Abel, Cain did not gain a good name; instead, Cain was afraid that someone would take his life.

Joseph was a man who would rather have a clear conscience and serve God then to have great wealth. Joseph was simply a slave and the wife of his master was trying to sleep with him. In her eyes, Joseph was not just another slave. However, Joseph refused to soil his reputation by sleeping with the wife of his master. Joseph chose a good name and as a result, he ended up going to prison.

Just because you chose a good name, it is not a promise that God is going to bless you beyond your wildest imagination. You never know who God is putting into your life to see your testimony. When you chose to do the right thing, God will use you for HIS glory.

Who do you serve: Is it God or gold? If you spend time pursuing the riches of this world, then you will quickly find that that the riches of this world will not satisfy. Instead, you must spend your time drawing closer to God. As you spend time adding knowledge of the ways of God, you will obtain a wealth that far exceeds your wildest expectation.

Proverbs 21:31 The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.

There is an age old question among Christians about how you are supposed to live your life for the Lord. Some people believe that that God is in control of everything so it does not matter what you do; God is going to do what HE wants anyways.

In this passage, Solomon is showing us that it does matter what you do when you serve the Lord. However, ultimately, it is up to the Lord what occurs in your life. God does not want to see you sitting idly by just waiting to see what HE is going to do. Instead, God wants you to act.

Think of the story of the woman who had an issue of blood. She made a decision that if she touched Jesus, she would be healed. Jesus tells us that it was the faith of the woman that healed her. The woman could have equally stated that if she slept in her bed for 72 straight hours, Jesus would heal her. While this is true that God could have healed her, we would not understand the important lesson of faith and as such, because she did not make a public expression of her faith, it is very likely that she would not have been healed.

Instead, this woman prepared her life to be healed of God. She made a journey to go see Jesus. She worked her way through the crowd and she touched Jesus. It was up to God whether or not she was healed, but she first had to step out in faith.

Peter, the only man to walk on water also had to step out in faith before HE saw the miracle of him doing the impossible. Peter had seen Jesus and he understood the power of God. Peter simply stepped out in faith and as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, he walked on water, however, the second he started looking at the storm, he started to sink.

God does not want us to simply sit back and do nothing. Instead, God desires that we be pro-active and that we prepare our lives to be used of God. One of the ways that we can prepare our lives to be used of God is by adding knowledge of the ways of God to your life. This means that you take the time every day to read your Bible. As you study the word of God, you allow HIM to renew your mind and your heart and to draw you closer to HIM.

How can you expect to be used of God if you do not first take the time to put HIM first in your life? The more time you spend drawing closer to HIM, the easier it will be for HIM to direct you, protect you, and provide for you. If you do not prepare to be used of God, you probably will not be used by HIM.

Think about it, athletes spend a lot of time practicing the fundamentals of the sports they love. The more time they spend practicing, the better they get. Yes, there is a certain amount of God given talent which dictates just how good you can get at the sport. However, with some practice, patients, and preparation, even the best athlete can get better.

What are you doing to prepare your life to be used of God? You must start living your life in such a way that God through you might be glorified. The more time you spend adding knowledge of the ways of God, the easier it will be to obtain the safety that you long to have. There is safety in understanding just what God desires you to do. There is safety in the midst of the storm when you do not stray from the place that God put you. There is safety in simple obedience to God.

Proverbs 21:22 A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof.

When David faced Goliath, he went after the strength of the enemy. By defeating Goliath, it discouraged the enemy from continuing the fight. The lesson from this verse not only has application for fighting a war, but it also has an application for your spiritual life.

The spiritual battles that we face are great. We serve a God who requires us to live in accordance with HIS law. However, Satan desires to do everything in his power to tempt us to violate the perfect law of God. You do not have to yield to sin. Remember, greater is HE that is in you then he that is of this world.

When you are doing spiritual warfare, you need to take the battle to the enemy. You can wait until after you sin and then ask God for forgiveness, but God has a better plan. You can wait until you are in the middle of a temptation to desire that you must do spiritual warfare. However, a wise man will not wait until Satan comes and draws the battle lines; instead, a wise man understands that God desires him to take the battle to the enemy.

In the Sermon on the Mount, when Christ was teaching his disciples how to pray, one of the elements of the prayer was to pray that God would not lead you into temptation. Temptation is all around you, but you need to first start your day on your knees preparing yourself for the temptations that Satan is going to bring your direction.

You have heard of the prayer of Jabez. Many people pay attention to the first request that God would bless him. However, as a Christian, the third request of Jabez, that God would keep him from evil is every bit as important as the first request if not even more important. Jabez prayed that God would keep him from evil so that Jabez did not have to deal with the guilt of knowing that he violated the perfect will of God.

Paul taught us in Ephesians 6 that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Paul used the analogy of the armor of a soldier to remind us of our duty to God to be prepared always for whatever Satan throws our direction. A soldier who left his armor at home and then marches off to battle would not be very wise. So too, a Christian who starts his day without first ensuring that they are ready to take on the enemy is equally foolish.

The armor of a Christian is truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, the Bible, and prayer. A wise man who attacks the city is first going to put on his armor so that he is protected. How do you think you are going to be able to defend yourself from the attacks of Satan, let alone go out and take back ground that does not belong to him if you do not daily prepare yourself? You must stop and take the time to fill your heart and soul with the things of God so that when temptation comes, you will not only not yield to the temptation, but you will go on the offense and start winning souls or start making disciples.

You must take the time every day to add knowledge of the ways of God. As you fill your heart and soul with the things of God, God will direct your paths and bring people into your life who HE desires you to work with. If you are just living your life according to your own principles, you will not go out and make a difference in this world. It is when you win souls or disciples others that you follow the principles of this scripture and take the battle to the enemy.

Proverbs 21:11 When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.

Have you ever heard of rich man complaining he had too much money? Most rich men are always chasing the next dollar. This means that it does not matter how much they have, a little bit more is what they desire.

So likewise, a wise man never has too much knowledge. A wise man desires to obtain more knowledge of the ways of the Lord. A wise man understands that his spiritual bank account is never too large and as such, will continue to seek the Lord and HIS perfect will for his life.

Jesus may have been perfect, but HE still spent time talking to God. Jesus already understood what the perfect will for HIS life was, but this did not stop HIM from praying in the garden. Jesus should be our example in that we are constantly trying to grow closer to God. It does not matter if we understand the will of God for our life, we should still continue to add knowledge of the ways of God.

Joshua was a man who understood that he was supposed to lead the nation of Israel into the Promise Land. After the battle of Jericho, Joshua went to take Ai. Joshua did not seek God whether it was time to attack Ai because Joshua already understood that the land was his and he was commanded to attack. However, had Joshua been a little bit more careful and had a constant relationship with God, Joshua might have found out that there was sin in the camp that would prevent him from receiving the victory.

Joshua could have avoided being defeated by the enemy by simply taking the time to be instructed of God. Joshua was a great man with a great calling, but this did not mean that he could go days on end without talking to God and obtaining a closer understanding on what God desired him to do. There is a time for cleansing and a time for action.

A wise man can always receive more knowledge of the ways of God just like a rich man can obtain more wealth. Abraham was a wise man who had a personal relationship with God. God told Abraham that he was going to have a son. However, Abraham had to wait 25 years to see the fulfillment of the promise. During this 25 years, Abraham received confirmation from the Lord on several occasions that God did desire for him to have that son. Abraham already knew the will of God, but it did not hurt his faith to receive further confirmation of what God desired him to do.

There are many examples both positive and negative throughout scriptures as to why one should continue to seek the Lord. For some reason, people have no problem in understanding the greed of a man who continues to seek more money. However, why is it that people believe that they can have too much of a relationship with God? Why do some people think that too much of God can be a bad thing.

You are not accountable to God for what people think you should do; you are accountable to God for how you respond to what God desires you to do. God desires that you continue to seek HIM. God desires that you spend the time seeking a more perfect knowledge of HIS ways for your life. It does not matter how spiritually rich or poor you are, you can always obtain more knowledge of the ways of God. Spend some time today drawing closer to God.

Proverbs 21:3 To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

There are better ways to please the Lord than bringing sacrifices. It is true that we do not offer sacrifices of animals as the Jews did in the Old Testament. However, this verse is still applicable to our lives today. Have you ever tried to deal with God by saying you would give up something in order to receive the favor of the Lord? Maybe you are like the religious leaders during the time of Jesus who were so proud of all the fasting and praying that they were doing. Maybe the sacrifice you make is all the money you give to help the church or the needy.

While there is nothing wrong with fasting and praying or giving to the Lord, if you are doing it for sacrifice sack, in order to obtain something from the Lord, you may not be blessed the way you desire to be blessed. God does not want you to be making sacrifices just so that you can claim to be spiritual. God will accept your sacrifice if they are done for the right reason.

While sacrifices for the right reason are good, there is something else that God would rather you do that is even more important to HIM. God would rather see you do justice and judgment. If you are being unfair to others yet giving great sums of money to God, the light of your life will be very dim and your influence on the world will be weak. If you show partiality to others but try to make it up by fasting and praying, again, those who feel slighted by you will not see you reflecting the light of God and will not be impressed by your great spirituality.

God desires that you change your life and the way you live. This means that you need to understand how you are interacting with others. It does not matter if you can say all the right thing or do everything that causes the choir to say amen, if the world cannot see the light of God in your life, you will not be able to persuade them that you have anything worthwhile to offer them.

Cain was a man who was making sacrifices to God. However, God did not accept the sacrifice of Cain. God told Cain that if he did well, then his sacrifice would be acceptable. The lesson from Cain is simple, God expects us to change who we are and how we live. If we are not allowing God to change us for HIS glory, then all the things that we do in the name of religion are as worthless rags.

Ananias and Sapphira planned on making a great sacrifice to the Lord. They sold some land that they had and they were going to give the money to the work of the Lord. Ananias and Sapphira kept back some of the money but told Peter that the money they were giving was 100% of the sale price. God did not care about the large sacrifice being made by Ananias and Sapphira. The fact that the couple were trying to lie and obtain the praises of man was enough to cause the Lord to strike them dead.

Your sacrifices to the Lord will always be worthless as long you are not living according to HIS standards. The more time you spend adding knowledge of the ways of God, the easier it will be for you to understand just how God desires you to live. God will accept your sacrifice when your heart is pure before HIM. Solomon made a thousand burnt offerings to the Lord and God not only accepted the offering, but also gave Solomon anything he desired. The heart of Solomon was right before God and he asked God for wisdom rather than riches, honor, or long life. It is important that you live your life in a manner that is pleasing to God.

Proverbs 21:2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.

Who is the judge of your life? If you are the judge, you will never condemn yourself. If you are the judge, you will always find excuses for your behavior. If you are the judge, you will be quick to discern just how wonderful of a person you are. When you are the judge, you judge by your own standards, you have your own level of acceptability, and you look at your life from your own flawed perspective.

However, you should serve the living God. God above is the ultimate judge. He judges by a perfect standard. He is a perfect judge because HE not only sees your actions, but HE also knows your heart. God sees your heart so HE knows why you do what you do. When people judge you, they can only guess at your heart, but God knows it.

David is known as the man who had a heart after the heart of God. David just like you and me did sin and fall short of the glory of God. David just like you and me faced the judgment of God for violating the perfect will of God. However, David had something that we need to seek after. David sought God and desired to please HIM.

How did David develop a heart after the heart of God? We know that David spent many hours writing songs where he talked to God about what was going on in his life. David praised God for the God and tried to understand the trials that he was facing. Because David had a heart after the heart of God, God blessed David in ways that he did not bless Saul.

If you were to compare the life of Saul and the life of David, one would wonder why God blessed David and took the throne away from Saul. David committed adultery, he committed murder, he became proud and numbered the size of his army. Saul did some things that we wrong, but from our human perspective, we would say that they were not as egregious as the sins of David. This is the reason that God is the ultimate judge. HE is able to understand the heart.

The heart is deceptively wicked and no man can know it except the Lord. When sin entered the world, it caused you and me to start living by our own standards. However, there is a better way; you do not have to suffer the punishment of living for eternity in hell which is the consequence of sin. You can choose to start living your life by the standards of God.

To have a heart after the heart of God, you are going to have to start purifying your heart from the influences of this world. You will purify your heart by starting to fill your heart with the things of God. The more time you spend adding knowledge of the ways of God, the more pure your heart will become and the more God will be pleased with your thoughts and actions.

We can learn a lot from the life of Jesus. While we will never live the perfect life that HE lived, we can observe the standard that God desires us to maintain. Jesus spent time talking with God so that HE maintained fellowship with HIM. Jesus also understood what the will of God was and that is what HE desired to do.

If you are doing what you want, when you want, then you will never fully understand the will of God and what you must do in order to please God. The more time you spend seeking out the will of God, the easier it will be for you to understand who God is and what HE desires you to do. God knows your heart, why do you not start living like you believe it.

Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

You must understand that God can do what you cannot do. When you are in a position of being under the authority of someone else, you may or may not be able to persuade them to change the direction of their thinking. Being under authority means that you are going to have to learn to make wise appeals. However, you do not only need to learn to make wise appeals to your immediate supervisor, but you need to make wise appeals to the God of the universe.

God controls the heart of a king. It does not matter how wicked the king, God can still cause the eyes of the ruler to open up and see the truth. Nebuchadnezzar was a wicked man who was full of pride. God used Nebuchadnezzar to declare war on HIS chosen nation so that HIS people would be punished for forsaking HIM. However, because of the pride of Nebuchadnezzar, God had Nebuchadnezzar go crazy for seven years while he ate grass. It was only when Nebuchadnezzar acknowledge the greatness of God that God restored him to his throne.

You must understand that nothing can happen to you absent God allowing it to happen. This means that when an authority in your life does something that is unfair, God allowed this to happen to you. Rather than become upset at the other person who did you wrong, you need to turn to God and see why HE allowed this to happen. What lessons did God have for you? Does God desire that you change your direction? God could have changed the heart of your authority to do something different but HE chose not to.

God has certain plans for your life. God uses others in your life to help guide you to the place that you need to go so that HE is glorified. Elijah was a great man of God. Ahab was a wicked king who did not like Elijah. Because of the hatred of Ahab towards Elijah, Elijah was forced to flee for his life. Elijah found himself by a brook where he was feed by the ravens. Elijah then found himself enjoying the hospitality of a widow. God could have turned the heart of King Ahab so that he did not hate Elijah, but instead, God provided for the needs of Elijah in such a way that Elijah understood that HE served a powerful and living God.

When you face a difficult time with those in authority, you need to take the time to pray to God and ask God to direct the heart of those over you. Watch very carefully what those over you do and learn to respond so that God gives you the glory. If God turns the heart of the authority the way you desired, thank God for turning the heart of the king. If God does not turn the heart of your authority, then thank God that HE may be directing you on a new path.

Just as God directs the heart of a king, God can direct your heart. You can probably remember a time in your own life where you had a desire to do one thing, and then God came through and changed your heart a different direction to desire something completely different. God understands what is best for you, and you need delight yourself in the Lord so that HE can give you the true desires of your heart.

You must spend time adding knowledge of the ways of God to your life. The more time you spend delighting in the Lord, the easier it will be for you to hear the still small voice of God. God will direct your paths. God will change your heart when HE needs you to start focusing your attention in a different direction.