“But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.” (Prov. 1:33 NKJV) 

 Warning! Don’t refuse God’s call

“Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord, They would have none of my counsel And despised my every rebuke. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies. For the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them.” (Prov. 1:24-32 NKJV)

 In other words, you reap what you sow 

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” (Gal. 6:7 NASB)

“Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares.” (Prov. 1:20 NKJV)

 Wisdom cries aloud 

“She cries out in the chief concourses,[ At the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words: “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?” (Prov. 1:21-22a NKJV)

 Fools hate knowledge 

“For scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge.” (Prov.1:22b NKJV)

Turn to God, surely He will make His Words known to you

“Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.” (Prov. 1:23 NKJV)

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Prov. 1:7 NKJV)

Obey your mother and father

“My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother; For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, And chains about your neck.” (Prov. 1:8-9 NKJV)

Shun evil counsel

“My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent. (Prov. 1:10 NKJV)

Keep away from evil people

“My son, do not walk in the way with them, Keep your foot from their path; For their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed blood.” (Prov. 1:15-16 NKJV)

 Don’t be greedy for gain

“So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; It takes away the life of its owners.” (Prov. 1:19 NKJV)

“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: “To know wisdom and instruction, To perceive the words of understanding, To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity;” (Prov. 1:1-3 NKJV)

Read Proverbs every day!

The book of Proverbs is a wonderful and profitable book of the Bible to be read every day. There are 31 proverbs, one for each day of the month. I like to read it in many different translations. A year in KJV. Another year in NKJV, then NIV, NASB, NLT, and others. Even though I have read it over and over for many years, I continue to receive new and fresh insights from it. 

Proverbs will give prudence to the simple and help the young

“To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion…”  (Prov. 1:4 NKJV)

 Proverbs will increase the wise

“A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,” (Prov. 1:5 NKJV)

 Proverbs will increase your understanding of things

“To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles.” (Prov. 1:6 NKJV)

“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” (1 Cor. 4:2 NIV)

You have been given a trust 

In the above passage the word trust is used. Trust is defined by Webster’s dictionary as, “(1) a charge or duty imposed in faith or confidence or as a condition of some relationship. (2) something committed or entrusted to one to be used or cared for in the interest of another. 

You are entrusted with God’s mysteries 

“This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed.” (1 Cor. 4:1 NIV)

You must be a faithful steward above reproach

“For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain.” (Titus 1:7 ESV)

You must work heartily for the Lord

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Col. 3:23-24 ESV)

“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Gal. 1:10 ESV)

Please God: 1) believe that He exists and 2) believe that He rewards those who seek Him!

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Heb. 11:6 ESV)

 Please God: and receive from Him!

“And whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.” (1 John 3:22 ESV)

Please God: and be in peace with your enemies!

 “When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” (Prov. 16:7 ESV)

Please God: you have been entrusted with the gospel!

“But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.” (1 Thess. 2:4 ESV)

“The steadfast love of the  Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” (Lam. 3:22-24 ESV)

 With every day comes a fresh start for you! That’s because God’s Love is steadfast and NEVER ceases. Therefore, no matter what things may look like, the Lord Himself, is truly your portion! So you can put your hope securely in Him!

 Don’t fear, God is with you!

 “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isa. 41:10 ESV)

 Hold fast, God is faithful!

 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” (Heb. 10:23 ESV)

 He has called you into Christ’s fellowship!

“God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Cor. 1:9 ESV)

 Therefore, He supplies your every need in Christ Jesus!

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:19 ESV)

“Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.” (Acts 17:23-24 NKJV)

He gives to all life, breath, and all things!

“Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.” (Acts 17:25 NKJV)

God has preappointed exactly WHEN in history each person will live 

“And He has made from one blood[c] every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times…” (Acts 17:26a NKJV)

God has preappointed exactly WHERE each person will dwell

“... and the boundaries of their dwellings,” (Acts 17:26b NKJV)

God did it for a reason, that people will seek and find Him

“… so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’” (Acts 17:28-29 NKJV)

Therefore …

From the above passage we learn that God has made us. He has also determined when in history we should live as well as where we are to live. And He did it all for a reason, to enable people to find Him. In other words, you were born when you were born, at the time you were to live, exactly where you live, in order for you to help your neighbors come to know Him. Wow think of that! That begs the following question:

What are you doing to reach your neighbors for Him?

“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:31-32 NKJV)

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10 ESV)

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:14 NIV)

You we’re born a winner!

On the day you were conceived over a million of your “brothers and sisters” raced to reach your mother’s egg. And you got there first! You won! That’s right, you were truly the winner that day! And you are still a winner today! (Psalm 139:15 NKJV)

You were skillfully made in secret 

“My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.” (Psalm 139:16 NKJV)

God’s thoughts are still with you today, and they are precious! 

“How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.” (Psalms 139:17-18 NKJV)