When people in power fail to use that power to promote justice, injustice is inevitable. To borrow from the wisdom of Spiderman… With great power comes great responsibility, and so we must learn how to govern wisely. In today’s passage, we see two principles for wise government: 1. Recognizing the pitfalls of power, and 2. Remembering the purpose of power.
Proverbs 27:5-6 - "The Wisdom of Friendship"
Much like love, we typically think of friendship in terms of how we feel. But friendship isn’t really about how we feel. Scripture defines it in terms of actions. Friendship requires faithfulness, so we must learn to be faithful friends. Today, we are going to look at several proverbs that identify two of the essential aspects of faithful friendship: 1. Always loving a person, wherever they are in life; and, 2. Never leaving a person where they are in life.
Proverbs 25:6-7 - "The Wisdom of Humility"
Part of our fallen human condition is that we want to seek honor for ourselves. The wisdom of Proverbs warns us that such pride is a path to dishonor, and even destruction. Humility is the only path to true honor, so we must humble ourselves. In today’s proverb, we see a sharp contrast between the consequences of honoring ourselves and humbling ourselves before God and others.
Proverbs 24:30-34 - "Don't Waste Your Life"
The hard truth is that laziness is incredibly wasteful, so we need to learn how to recognize and avoid it at all costs. Today’s proverb teaches us about the consequences and characteristics of laziness so we can recognize it, overcome it by the power of the Holy Spirit, and live wisely to be fruitful for God’s glory and the good of others.
Proverbs 23 and 24 - "Keys To Success"
We tend to define “success” in worldly terms, and when we see “bad” people experiencing such success, we easily become annoyed, angry, or envious. But we need to redefine success according to God’s Word, which teaches us that true success in life requires submission to the Lord. Our passages in Proverbs make this quite clear. True success isn’t about how we look to others; it’s really about where we look in life and how we look at life.
Proverbs 16 - "Planning and Providence"
Proverbs 16 illuminates the relationship between our plans and God’s plans. They remind us that it’s impossible to frustrate God’s plans, but it’s easy to become frustrated when we fail to align our plans with His. We must entrust our lives to the Lord. This truth is well illustrated in Proverbs 16. Here we see that we can entrust our words, our works, and our ways to the Lord.
Proverbs 15 - "Words of Wisdom"
Wise words must be well-spoken, so we all need some speech lessons. Proverbs 15 gives us at least three lessons in just four short verses. We learn that wise words must be spoken in the right manner at the right moment with the right motives.
Proverbs 1:20-33 - "A Limited-Time Offer"
All too often, we treat wisdom like an optional upgrade to an already pretty-good life. The truth is, wisdom is a limited-time offer, so we really do need to act now! Think about today’s passage as a five-point marketing strategy to convert us to a life of wisdom. Here we see Lady Wisdom choosing an audience, giving a call to action, clarifying advantages, considering alternatives, and comforting with assurances.
Proverbs 1:1-7 - "The Beginning of Wisdom"
When we doubt God, we seek knowledge and wisdom elsewhere, and we become “wise in our own eyes.” But the wisdom of man is really just foolishness. What we need is God’s wisdom, and there’s only one place to get it. God is offering each one of us a new beginning on the pathway of wisdom, so let’s step out in faith together.
2 Thessalonians 3:16-18 - "A Final Reminder"
If we begin to search for what we “need” out in the world, we will quickly sink into the tension-filled uncertainty of our surrounding culture. As Christians, we can stop searching because we already have everything we need in Christ. Specifically, we have the promise of peace and grace from God. There is nothing we truly need that hasn’t already been given to us by God on account of our faith in the death and resurrection of His Son.
2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 - "Church Discipline"
We tend to operate with a “mind your own business” mentality, even in the Church. But as fellow members of the Body of Christ, we can’t afford to mind our own business. We’re called to something much greater and more loving than that. And that’s where Paul is taking us today. Church discipline is necessary for a truly Christian community, so we need to learn how to do it biblically. Today’s short passage lays out three aspects of biblical church discipline. It must be consistent, clear, and compassionate.
2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 - "Praying Together"
When we fail to pray and ask for prayer, we leave God out of life’s equations. As Christians, we must acknowledge our dependence on God through prayer. In today’s passage, we see Paul prayerfully acknowledging this dependence in two ways. He requests prayer for the multiplication of his ministry, and he prays for the maturity of believers.
2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 - "Standing Firm"
We find ourselves on shifting sand when we forget the truth about God. The truth is... God’s love and grace are solid ground, so we can stand firm in this Christian life. In today’s passage Paul lays out these two realities for believers, so that we can know that we have solid footing: 1. We are LOVED by God; and 2. He gives grace for today, tomorrow, and the rest of eternity.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 - "Looking Forward"
Too many of us minimize biblical teachings on the end times. We see that there are many different interpretations and so that becomes our reason for setting it aside. But understanding future events affects how we live in the present, so we need to better understand what God has promised about the future. Like Paul, we must do two things in the church: confront false teaching and confirm biblical teaching concerning the end times.
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 - "Praying With Purpose"
What we see in these two verses will help us have a better perspective on how to pray for one another, especially in the current situation we are living through. Praying with purpose for one another will help us persevere. It will also help us point each other to the hope in Christ’s return and how we can live lives that point to His glory in the meantime. In our passage, Paul gives us a great template for how, what, and why to pray with purpose.
2 Thessalonians 1:1-10 - "The Importance of Perseverance"
Christians have what it takes to persevere, but we must learn to see our circumstances in light of our relationship with Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:11-28 - "Learning To Walk"
This Christian walk isn’t easy, so let’s lean in and learn together. In today’s passage, we see two aspects of our Christian walk that go hand-in-hand: our walk with Christ and our walk with other Christians. We can’t learn how to walk with Christ unless we are walking with other Christians, and we can’t walk with other Christians as we should unless we are all walking with Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 - "Living With Hope"
An unclear hope is not much help to anyone. We need to better understand what Scripture says about our future as Christians so that we can wait well. Christ calls us to live hopefully, so we need to know what we’re hoping for in Christ. In today’s passage, Paul explains what we can expect in terms of a future hope, and how we should express our hopefulness in the way we presently live.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 - "Grieving With Hope"
Without God, the reality of death leads to despair. But God’s promise of life leads to hope, so we can face death without despairing.
1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 - "We Can Do Better, In Christ"
Paul reminds us that we can always do better in Christ, and so we must keep growing in love and holiness by the power of the Holy Spirit. Until we die as Christians (or Jesus comes back to get us), we can all get better and better at reflecting the character of God, and relating to others with the love of Christ.
