DAY 1 – MAY 23
TITLE: “CONSIDER”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
READING: Proverbs 6:6
Key Verse: “Go to
the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!”
The other day, as I was talking with someone about what they were learning, I made the comment,” We are called to be learners.” I do believe that we are to continually be learning the things of God and how to apply His teachings to our lives. The Apostle Paul said it this way; “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14.
Paul was pressing on. In other words, he was a learner. Jigoro Kano founded the art of judo. In his day, he became the highest-ranking black belt in this world-renowned sport. The story is told that when he was nearing his death, he made one last request of his students. He asked that they bury him wearing a white belt. The white belt is the symbol of a beginner or a learner.
When we have a teachable heart, there are many things that we can learn. The book of Proverbs has a lot to teach us about wisdom if we will listen and learn. In this verse, we are told to consider the way of the ant and be wise. The point is that there is much that can be learned if we will stop and consider. The word “consider” means “to mediate, weigh, ponder, reflect, contemplate or regard.” It is the opposite of forgetting, neglecting, or ignoring.
There is much you and I can learn today if we will stop and consider. Take a few moments to stop, listen, and learn as you reflect upon these passages of scripture.
“But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.” I Samuel 12:24
“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” Psalm 8:3-4
“Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the Lord.”
Psalm 107:43
“I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.” Psalm 143:5
DAY 2 – MAY 24
TITLE: “FORETHOUGHT”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
Key Verse: “yet it
stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” Proverbs
6:8
Forethought Financial Group, Inc. provides innovative insurance and financial solutions for families managing retirement and planning for funeral expenses. With their company name, they have the phrase, “Thinking Ahead.”
What comes to mind when you think of the word, ‘forethought’? Perhaps words like foresight, preparation, anticipation and prudence come to mind. An example of forethought is found in Proverbs 22:3, where it says, “A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” Proverbs 24:27 is another example of forethought in Proverbs. It says, “Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.” Jesus called for forethought when He said, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.” Luke 12:33.
There have been many natural disasters that have taken place
during my lifetime. Many of us have seen pictures and heard reports of the
tragedy the earthquake and tsunami caused in Japan this year. As I reflect on
it, I am reminded of other natural disasters. One of those took place in 2004. While
many cities and villages along the Indian Ocean suffered catastrophic losses
from the December 2004 tsunami, the port city of
The answer began 250 years ago when
The ant had forethought. It stored up provisions in the summer and gathered its food at harvest. A person who lives wisely is a person with forethought. Are you living the life today that prepares for the future?
DAY 3 – MAY 25
TITLE: “WORK, FOR THE
NIGHT IS COMING”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
Key Verse: “yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.”
Proverbs 6:8
Eleven miles off the east coast of Scotland, in the North
Sea, stands the Bell Rock Lighthouse. It has endured the ferocious onslaught of
the
We have a limited time to prepare for the future. We must use the time we have wisely. We have a limited time to mold and teach our children the things of Christ. We must use the time wisely. We have a limited time to worship the Lord. We must use the time wisely. We have a limited time to store up treasures in heaven. We must use the time wisely. We have a limited time to love our neighbor as ourselves. We must use the time wisely. We have a limited time to go and make disciples. We must use the time wisely. We have a limited time to serve the Lord here on earth. We must use the time wisely. The scripture says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.” Ecclesiastes 9:10. The ant uses its time wisely. Will you?
Jesus understood the limit of time. He said “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” John 9:4. We have a limited time to do the work of the Lord.
Work, for the night is coming, Work through the morning
hours;
Work while the dew is sparkling, Work ’mid springing flowers;
Work when the day grows brighter, Work in the glowing sun;
Work, for the night is coming, When man’s work is done.
Work, for the night is coming, Work through the sunny noon;
Fill brightest hours with labor, Rest comes sure and soon.
Give every flying minute, Something to keep in store;
Work, for the night is coming, When man works no more.
Work, for the night is coming, Under the sunset skies;
While their bright tints are glowing, Work, for daylight flies.
Work till the last beam fadeth, Fadeth
to shine no more;
Work, while the night is darkening, When man’s work is o’er. (Anna L. Coghill)
DAY 4 – MAY 26
TITLE: “PROCRASTINATION”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
Key Verse: “How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest.”
Proverbs 6:9 -10
Some years ago, we took a vacation through some of the
states we had never been in. One of those states was
In 1956, 16 years later, he was successful, but he was not known. He was just successful locally. When he was 66 years old, the time when most men retire, calamity struck. I-75 was being built and would bypass the town of Corbin, KY, meaning nobody would stop at his motel or eat at his restaurant. If he was going to survive, he had to do something else. So, he sold his restaurant and the motel and went into the chicken spice business, supplying to restaurants. Out of that little business, at the age of 66, came the idea to start a restaurant where people would come in and buy nothing but fried chicken, using his recipe of 11 herbs and spices, and he decided to call it Kentucky Fried Chicken. The rest is history.
The next time you go to Kentucky Fried Chicken, remember that those thousands
of restaurants all over America and now all over the world were started by a
man who, at the age of 66, decided that he was not going to go the easy way. He
worked hard and decided he was not going to just fold his hands and do
nothing.
Don’t just fold your hands and put off for tomorrow what you
can do for the Lord today. Excuses can keep you from moving forward and doing
what God has called you to do. Don’t let the opportunities to serve the Lord
pass you by. Donald Gardner asked, “Do you know what happens when you give a
procrastinator a good idea?” His answer: “Nothing!” Don’t put off what God is
calling you to do today. Napoleon Hill said, “Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off
until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before
yesterday.” Today is the day to serve the Lord and live for Him. What does God
want you to do today? Martin Luther, the founder of the Lutheran church, gave
us this quote to consider. He said, “How soon ‘not now’ becomes ‘never.’”
DAY 5 – MAY 27
TITLE: “YOU REAP WHAT
YOU SOW”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
READING: Proverbs 6:11
Key Verse: “and poverty
will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.”
Proverbs 6:11
I have been thinking recently about the words, “You reap what you sow.” Like a gigantic burst of flame in the sky, this phrase grabs our attention. Paul spoke of that principle when he said, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Galatians 6:7-8. What are you sowing these days?
The nature of the harvest is determined by the planting of the seeds. If my wife plants some strawberry seeds in a field, she is not going to go out and harvest potatoes where she planted those seeds. If my wife goes out and plants beans, she is not going to go out and harvest pumpkins. It is a principle of life that you reap what you sow. If a person sows one seed, he is not going to reap a whole garden full of fruit. Paul wrote, “…Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” II Corinthians 9:6. If we sow little, we will reap little. It is a principle of life that you reap what you sow. Romans 2:6 says, “God ‘will give to each person according to what he has done.’” If you do not sow any seed, then you will not reap a harvest.
What we sow matters. This is what we are to learn from the ant. The ant sowed wisely and, thus, was prepared and received the benefit of its labors. Slothfulness and laziness get in the way of reaping a great harvest. A person is free to choose what they plant, but we are not free to choose the consequences of our choices. Our lives are determined by the choices we make. One poet wrote:
“Sow a thought, reap an action.
Sow an action, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow a character, reap a destiny.”
What are you sowing these days? Take a few moments to prayerfully reflect on this word of instruction. “Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.” Hosea 10:12