January 1 / Proverbs 1 / Matthew 1

IMMANUEL

Proverbs 1:2-7

Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise.

Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair.

These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young.

“The strong motif throughout Proverbs is that God’s ways are superior to ours. Therefore, we must be in close relationship to God in order to live the virtuous life. Moreover, Proverbs insists the virtuous life is practical and will make us more contented and better off in many ways.”  -From The Ronovare Spiritual Formation Bible

I really like this definition of wisdom I found in The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary:

The ability-divinely bestowed and acquired through a lifelong process-that enables one in various situations to make and carry out decisions pleasing to God and ultimately socially and personally beneficial.

Proverbs 1:20-33

Come and listen to my counsel.

I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise.

There is a good and right way to live that God, as the founder of life, has set up. And this way of life is not only available to all who would seek after it, but it also calls out to us. We are without excuse and unable to claim ignorance. Especially in this information age we live in. It is not more information we need, but to act on what we know.

And act we must, for as this passage tells us, there may come that time when it is too late to rectify the damage we’ve done in some real sense. Yes, God can and does redeem our ridiculosity all the time. But let’s not be naive to the fact that we are given the freedom to choose damage and a lot of it.

For waywardness kills the simple, and the complacency of fools destroys them… [v 32]

Matthew 1:23

…they shall give Him the name Immanuel- which, in translation, means “God with us.”

This, it seems to me, shows us the greatest gift God gives us- His divine, manifest Presence. All we must do is acknowledge what is already there.

It doesn’t seem to matter what you’re going through as long as you are going through it with the one you most love and who most loves you. We can get through anything together, especially when that person is our perfect, loving Maker.

This is why we remind each other of who is with us, and what He is like. We can not only make it through anything, but come out of it strengthened in Him and for His glory. If we but have eyes to see and ears to hear!

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