God’s Word For Today

Text: Proverbs 27:19 (ESV)   19 As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.   THE NEED OF SELF-REFLECTION   Still water is as a mirror. When you look into a pool, you will see your reflection. You can see what you truly look like, which might be different from what you think. Similarly, a person's heart reflects who he really is. Self-examination is a necessary thing...

Text: Proverbs 27:18 (ESV)   18 Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who guards his master will be honored.   DILIGENCE HAS REWARDS   Diligence and hard work usually pay off. Generally, a person who puts in the necessary work will reap the expected rewards of those efforts and sacrifices. Farmers can't reap crops unless they plant and tend to them, can they? Athletes win because...

Text: Proverbs 27:17 (ESV)   17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.   IRON SHARPENS IRON   In ancient days, the common method to sharpen steel or iron was to use a similar piece of metal. When the two scrape against each other, both are shaped and rough spots and rust are removed. In the same manner, two people can interact and help refine each other.   Other proverbs note the import...

God’s Word for Today 12 Jul, 2025 15 A continual dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike; 16 to restrain her is to restrain the wind or to grasp oil in one's right hand. -Prov 27:15-16 ESV WHEN NAGGING BECOMES UNBEARABLE Constant dripping from a leaking roof or persistent rain are annoying. The effects of a few drips are minor. But the experience of constant drip may become unbear...

God’s Word for Today 11 Jul, 2025 14 Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing. -Prov 27:14 ESV BEWARE OF UNTACTFULNESS Timing is everything. This statement is always true. A good act done untimely is construed as cursing. When and where a person chooses to act is as important as what they are doing, is it not? Offering thanks or deserv...

God’s Word for Today 10 Jul, 2025 13 Take a man's garment when he has put up security for a stranger, and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an adulteress. -Prov 27:13 ESV A RESPONSIBLE ACT OF GENEROSITY This is a repeat of Prov 20:16. A lender should be cautious when lending to an unreliable person. He must practice prudence [see v.12] A believer who chooses to "lend" to unreliable pe...

Text: Proverbs 27:12 (ESV)   12The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.   BE PRUDENT   It is always wise to try to avoid undue risks. We have to think many times over when making decisions. However, the simple-minded person is impulsive. He walks headlong into danger. God wants us to seek "wisdom." That is, a proper understanding of God and His w...

Text: Proverbs 27:11 (ESV)   11 Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him who reproaches me.   A WISE SON, A GLAD FATHER   A child's behavior do reflect on their parents, don’t they? Kids who act badly bring shame on their fathers and mothers (Prov 17:25; 19:26). This is not absolute. We see well-raised children still making poor choices in life. Nevertheless, either right...

Text: Proverbs 27:9-10 (ESV)   9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel. 10 Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend, and do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.   DO VALUE A FRIEND’S ADVICE   In the ancient world, oil was used popula...

God’s Word for Today 5 Jul, 2025 8 Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who strays from his home. -Prov 27:8 ESV BE AT HOME A bird wandering from nest to nest is trading security for insecurity. This restless bird will become vulnerable to danger, hunger, and isolation. This is especially true if the bird is young. It is not ready to survive in the wild world on its own. Similarly, a man...

Text: Proverbs 27:7 (ESV)   7 One who is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.   ENTITLEMENT AND INGRATITUDE   Abundance may breed ingratitude. When one is full, even delicious foods, like honey, are not appealing anymore. However, when one is starving, even unpleasant food seems tasty and palatable. Since the ancient world, honey has been the symbol of something...

God’s Word for Today 3 Jul, 2025 5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love. 6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy. -Prov 27:5,6 ESV FAITHFUL ARE THE WOUNDS OF A FRIEND Friends are not to hurt each other. But there is an act of ‘wounding a friend’ that is not harming him. A nurse may hurt us by inserting a needle at the arm of a sick man but it is to make him feel...

God’s Word for Today 2 Jul, 2025 4 Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy? -Prov 27:4 ESV WHO CAN STAND BEFORE JEALOUSY? There is a severe strain caused by a fool's "provocation" (v.3), Solomon acknowledges the hurt inflicted by wrath and anger. Some damage is done to the targets of anger, some are done to the person who loses control to rage (Prov 14:17, 29; 15:1...

Text: Proverbs 27:3 (ESV)   3 A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty, but a fool's provocation is heavier than both.   DEALING WITH AN INJURIOUS PERSON   The fools are injurious people. The ‘fool's anger’ could be "heavy" to bear, as if being forced to carry a heavy stone or boulder. Given a literal choice, many people would rather struggle to lift a heavy load than withstand cons...

Text: Proverbs 27:2 (ESV)   2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.   LET ANOTHER PRAISE YOU   It is wrong to brag about things we have not yet accomplished (see v.1). However, it is equally wrong to brag about things we have accomplished. Arrogance is always wrong. Pride is a grievous sin. This is an imagery of someone flaunting with an inflated sense...

Text: Prov 27:1 ESV 1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. -Prov 27:1 ESV DO NOT BOAST ABOUT TOMORROW No human being can infallibly predict what will happen in the future. Some occurences in life are predictable like sunrises and sunsets. Certainly, most are uncertain and unpredictable. A wise person do make plans, don’t they? (Prov 16:3; 20:18; 24:27) But, they m...

Text: Prov 26:22-28 ESV 22 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body. 23 Like the glaze covering an earthen vessel are fervent lips with an evil heart. 24 Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart; 25 when he speaks graciously, believe him not, for there are seven abominations in his heart; 26 though his h...

God’s Word for Today 26 June, 2025 20 For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. 21 As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. -Prov 26:20-21 ESV DON’T ADD FUEL TO THE FIRE A fire must be fueled, must it not? In the ancient past, this almost always required wood. When no more wood is added, the fire extingui...

God’s Word for Today 25 June, 2025 17 Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears. 18 Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death 19 is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I am only joking!” -Prov 26:17-19 ESV WHEN A JOKE IS NOT A JOKE Solomon compares an unwise prying into an argument to grabbing a passing dog by the ears. In ancien...

Text: Prov 26:13-16 (ESV)   13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!” 14 As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed. 15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth. 16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.   SNAPSHOTS OF THE SLUGGARD   These 4 verses por...

Text: Proverbs 26:12 (ESV)   12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.   SELF-DECEPTION MAKES ONE HOPELESS   When someone is intoxicated with his own arrogance, he would become egotistical. He sincerely believes he could not possibly be wrong. Then, he is immune to learning and correction (Prov 1:24–26; 8:33; 16:18; 19:20) Who can teach such a per...

Text: Prov 26:8-11 ESV 8 Like one who binds the stone in the sling is one who gives honor to a fool. 9 Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools. 10 Like an archer who wounds everyone is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard. 11 Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.. -Prov 26:8-11 ESV POINTLESS The purpose of placing...

Text: Prov 26:6-7 ESV 6 Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet and drinks violence. 7 Like a lame man's legs, which hang useless, is a proverb in the mouth of fools. -Prov 26:6-7 ESV THE PERIL IN TRUSTING THE UNDEPENDABLE In the ancient times, messengers were employed to deliver communications from senders to the recipients. The advances of science and communicatio...

God’s Word for Today 18 June, 2025 3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools. -Prov 26:3 ESV GODLY DISCIPLINE IS NOT FOR THE FOOLS The "fool" here, as always referred on the book of Proverbs, is a person who ignores godly wisdom (Prov1:7) He is unlikely to respond to reason. Thus, he will suffer in the end as a consequence (2 Pet 2:12; Jude 1:10). Whips and b...

Text: Proverbs 26:1-2 (ESV)   1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool. 2 Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight.   WHEN HONOR AND CURSES HAVE NO BASIS   Generally, weather is hard to predict, is it not? But in some regions, some seasons are more predictable and so are their climate patterns. Israe...