Day 78 (Year 2) Growing into Adulthood “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.” (1 Corinthians 13:11 NASB) “Child” mentioned in today’s verse, nepios in the Greek, is more often translated […]
Day 77 (Year 2) Accepting Discipline or Persisting Childishness? “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.” (Proverbs 22:15 NASB) “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I
Day 76 (Year 2) Discerning the Source of Our Suffering “Fools, because of their rebellious way, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.” (Psalm 107:17 NASB) Not all suffering on earth is caused by our sins, but some are indeed the result of our transgressions and iniquities. We should avoid two extremes in beliefs. First,
Day 75 (Year 2) Foolishness Leads to Sin “The devising of folly is sin, And the scoffer is an abomination to men.” (Proverbs 24:9 NASB) “Sin” in today’s verse is chatta’th in the Hebrew, which refers to the “condition of sin, guilt of sin, or the punishment for sin.” In other contexts, it also means
Day 74 (Year 2) Foolishness Leads to Weariness “The labor of fools wearies them, for they do not even know how to go to the city!” (Ecclesiastes 10:15 NKJV) Many fools are diligent, but their diligence results in weariness. In biblical agrarian society, only a few people were lazy. Thus, the Bible assumes most people
Day 73 (Year 2) Eliminating Foolishness in Your Walking … “Even when the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.” (Ecclesiastes 10:3 NASB) We should even consider our walking posture or gait to escape from foolishness. If there is any foolishness in it,
Day 72 (Year 2) Practice Restraining Laughter “For as the crackling of thorn bushes under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool; And this too is futility.” (Ecclesiastes 7:6 NASB) The difference between the fools and the wise often lies in their differing reactions. Thus, to transition from foolishness to wisdom, one needs
Day 71 (Year 2) Excessive Talking Leads to Foolishness “For a dream comes through much activity, and a fool’s voice is known by his many words.” (Ecclesiastes 5:3 NKJV) When we have numerous matters to handle, coupled with thoughts, sometimes these emerge in our dreams. Hence, believers who have poor sleep quality due to excessive
Day 70 (Year 2) Avoiding the Quarrelsome “It is honorable for a man to stop striving, since any fool can start a quarrel.” (Proverbs 20:3 NKJV) The word “quarrel” at the end of today’s verse, gala’ in the Hebrew, also means “to break out in contention, meddling,” etc. Regarding quarreling, I have a few thoughts
Day 69 (Year 2) Seeking Wisdom but Not Self-Interest “For oppression makes a wise man mad, And a bribe corrupts the heart.” (Ecclesiastes 7:7 NASB) … “And neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11b NASB) The wise among Israel in the Old Testament were not necessarily wealthy. In the
