Month: February 2021

Scripture Readings Proverbs 11:13Isaiah 47–48Mark 10Psalms 49 Verse Focus (Proverbs 11:13) A gossip betrays a confidence,     but a trustworthy person keeps a secret. Meditation Hello, and welcome! 🙂 Proverbs 11:13 tells us, in the NRSV, “A gossip goes about telling secrets, but one who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a confidence.” The NIV translation is very similar: “A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.” Does this proverb surprise you? Our cultural idea of gossip is that of malicious talk. While that is certainly a part of gossip, the Bible teaches us that gossips may have very…

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Scripture Readings Proverbs 11:12Isaiah 45–46Mark 9Psalms 48 Verse Focus (Proverbs 11:12) Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense,     but the one who has understanding holds their tongue. Meditation Proverbs 11:12 says, in the NRSV, “Whoever belittles another lacks sense, but an intelligent person remains silent.” In the NIV, the verse reads, “Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense, but the one who has understanding holds their tongue.” Curious about the difference between “another” versus a “neighbor,” I looked at the verse in multiple translations. About one third of the translations I reviewed saw the offense as belittling another person, whereas the…

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Scripture Readings Proverbs 11:9Isaiah 43–44Mark 8Psalms 47 Verse Focus (Proverbs 11:9) With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors,     but through knowledge the righteous escape. Meditation Today’s proverb is a little more enigmatic than some. “With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors,” says Proverbs 11:19, “but through knowledge the righteous escape.” We know that Scripture gives us truth. But what does it mean? How are we to apply this proverb to our lives? The first thing that I think of is gossip. Speaking about what your neighbors do — you can certainly destroy reputations that way. And although we currently…

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Scripture Readings Proverbs 11:4Isaiah 41–42Mark 7Psalms 46 Verse Focus (Proverbs 11:4) Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath,     but righteousness delivers from death. Meditation Today’s proverb invites us to consider eternal realities. Proverbs 11:4 says, “Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.” In the Bible, the day of wrath is always God’s day of judgment against the nations and the peoples. Although there is a coming Day of Judgment when Christ will return, there have been many smaller days of judgment that have occurred throughout history. The Israelites faced a day of judgment when…

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Scripture Readings Proverbs 11:3Isaiah 39–40Mark 6Psalms 45 Verse Focus (Proverbs 11:3) The integrity of the upright guides them,      but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. Meditation Good morning, again! Good afternoon, good day, good evening, good night. 🙂 Proverbs 11:3 tells us that integrity is a guide. We’ve already talked about integrity. Honesty, righteousness, strong moral character — these things will help you know the way to go. Integrity will help you to make the right choices. In contrast to this, the “unfaithful” or the “treacherous” are destroyed by their “duplicity” or their “crookedness.” Destroyed. That’s a pretty strong…

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Scripture Readings Proverbs 11:2Isaiah 37–38Mark 5Psalms 44 Verse Focus (Proverbs 11:2) When pride comes, then comes disgrace,     but with humility comes wisdom. Meditation There is a well-known English proverb that says, “Pride goeth before a fall.” This is likely a corruption of the King James translation of Proverbs 16:18, which says, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Today’s proverb is in a similar vein. In the NRSV, Proverbs 11:2 says, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace; but wisdom is with the humble.” I like how the NIV translates the verse — it’s more or less the…

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Scripture Readings Proverbs 11:1Isaiah 35–36Mark 4Psalms 43 Verse Focus (Proverbs 11:1) The LORD detests dishonest scales,     but accurate weights find favor with him. Meditation Proverbs 11:1 says, in the NRSV, “A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is his delight.” I like the way this proverb is put in the NRSV because “abomination” is a stronger word in my mind. It helps me to really grasp how much the LORD hates dishonesty in commerce. But, of course, this proverb is not just about those who weigh and sell goods in the marketplace. It’s about honesty…

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Scripture Readings Proverbs 10:31Isaiah 33–34Mark 3Psalms 42 Verse Focus (Proverbs 10:31) From the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom,     but a perverse tongue will be silenced. Meditation Today’s verse focus is Proverbs 10:31. In the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), the verse reads, “The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.” This seems straight-forward enough, and it agrees with many of the other proverbs we’ve looked at this year. But just to be thorough, I decided to look up the definition of “perverse.” Most of us are aware that perverse…

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Scripture Readings Proverbs 10:29Isaiah 31–32Mark 2Psalms 41 Verse Focus (Proverbs 10:29) The way of the LORD is a refuge for the blameless,     but it is the ruin of those who do evil. Meditation Proverbs 10:29 says, in the NRSV, “The way of the LORD is a stronghold for the upright, but destruction for evildoers.” I take a lot of comfort in this verse, even though I don’t fully understand it. It’s interesting that the verse doesn’t say that God is our refuge (although we know from other Scripture that He is), but the way of the LORD is our refuge. In…

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Scripture Readings Proverbs 10:27Isaiah 29–30Mark 1Psalms 40 Verse Focus (Proverbs 10:27) The fear of the LORD adds length to life,     but the years of the wicked are cut short. Meditation Today’s proverb is a short but sweet promise. As the NRSV puts Proverbs 10:27, “The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.” As if we needed another reason to fear the LORD! We already know that the fear of the LORD brings wisdom, understanding, health, prosperity and protection — now we can add more years of life to the list. All in all,…

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