Open the Bible UK Daily

My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; keep my commandments and live. Proverbs 7:1-2 The only commands that are life-giving are the words and commands of God. But here is a father who has made God’s words his own: “My teaching. My words. My commandments.” What he commends to his son is what he pursues himself. That is the power of example. If you are a parent, a great moti...

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 Remember that the Proverbs are not promises. Still, this is a stunning statement: Your influence in the lives of your children goes deeper than you may think. It will still be with them, even when they are old! The thief on the cross lived his life in rebellion against God, yet he said to the th...

A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother. Proverbs 10:1 You might be surprised to hear that the largest number of proverbs relating to family life are addressed to parents and to children. Let’s begin with God’s wisdom for children. Always seek to bring joy to your parents Honour your father and your mother (Ex. 20:12). The word honour means “give weight to” or “...

He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favour from the Lord. Proverbs 18:22 Your spouse is a gift from the Lord. These are the words of Solomon to his son Rehoboam, and this wise father commends marriage to his son as a good thing. Marriage is a good gift from the Lord. We live in a culture that flaunts freedom. “Who wants to be tied down?” The Bible has a very different view of marria...

A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city, and quarreling is like the bars of a castle. Proverbs 18:19 If you have a good relationship with your brother or sister, cherish it and guard it, because Proverbs reminds us that close relationships are vulnerable to deep wounds that don’t heal easily. “A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city.” You see this in the Old Testa...

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24 The Lord Jesus Christ is the best friend you can ever have. 1. Jesus will always be with you He says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:4). No one else can say this to you. In every adversity, in life and in death, Jesus is the friend who will always be with you. 2. The...

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 neighbour who is near than a brother who is far away. Proverbs 27:10 What are the qualities of a true friend? How can you be a better friend? Proverbs gives us a profile of a true friend. 1. A true friend is present Do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your...

Let your foot be seldom in your neighbour’s house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you. Proverbs 25:17 Proverbs gives us two ways to guard our friendships: First, by being considerate The easiest way to kill a good friendship is to become demanding. Here is a person who becomes friends with his neighbour, but then he overdoes it! Eventually the neighbour has had enough. Be considerate not on...

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. Proverbs 13:20 The people with whom you are closest will have the greatest influence in your life. The character of the friends you choose will rub off on you. And the deeper a friendship becomes, the more like your friend you will become. Friendship can bring you great good or do you great harm, depending on th...

Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgement. Proverbs 18:1 In Proverbs we are looking at what it means to follow the way of wisdom in five areas: friends, family, words, work, and wealth. Today, we begin by looking at friendship. “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire” (18:1). That is, he is concerned about himself. And if you are only concerned...

With you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. Psalm 130:4 To “fear the Lord” means to love Him so much that His frown would be your greatest dread and His smile would be your greatest delight. There is a fear that love removes , and there is a fear that love brings . The fear that love removes is the fear of punishment. There is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:...

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. Proverbs 9:10 What is your first reaction to “the fear of the LORD”? If you have endured a religion based on fear, you may say, “I had enough of that when I was young; I don’t want anything to do with it now.” If that is what you feel, look at the good that is promised here, and see if you may discover s...

Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. Proverbs 3:16–17 Here are three things that wisdom brings to us: 1. Long life Long life is in her right hand (3:16). If you eat a proper diet, you will enjoy better health than if you live on junk food. That doesn’t guarantee you will never have cancer, but the ge...

The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Matthew 7:14 Proverbs describes what it looks like to follow Jesus Christ. It lays out the life to which wisdom calls us, the life of a disciple of Jesus. We are going to look at what it means to follow Jesus, what it means to follow the way of wisdom in regard to your friendships, your family, your words, yo...

Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? Proverbs 8:1 In Proverbs 8, wisdom speaks, but whose voice is this? The answer is found in the New Testament. Jesus is described as the wisdom of God: “You are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God” (1 Cor. 1:30). “Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:2-3). So, when we read in Proverb...

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom. Proverbs 3:13 Wisdom is the skill you need for putting together a successful life—or to put it another way—wisdom is “life skills.” Over these next days, we’re going to look together at what the Bible has to say on practical issues like friends, family, words, work, and wealth. We will be talking here about the skills of building friendships, raising children,...

Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 2 Corinthians 7:10 There are two kinds of grief (or sorrow). Worldly sorrow brings death. You can be full of regret and never change; you can be sorry without repenting. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. Godly sorrow leads to real and lasting ch...

‘He arose and came to his father.’ Luke 15:20 The prodigal son was absolutely miserable. But it takes courage to go back home. How do you find the courage to begin the long journey home? You find the courage when you believe that there will be a welcome. And this is the promise of the gospel. The father in Jesus’ story is more generous than the son would ever have dared to imagine. The father, fil...

“The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’” Luke 15:12 In Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, the younger son gets his money and goes to live as far away from his father as he can. But he squanders his money, and then Jesus says, “A severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need” (15:14). So, he got a job feeding pigs, an...

And he answered, “I will not.” Matthew 21:29 What an obnoxious son! His father asked him to go work in his vineyard, and he said to his face, “I will not.” There’s hostility, rebellion, and defiance! “You’re not going to tell me what to do.” The grandmothers would be saying, “Oh, what a shame! What a pity he isn’t like his brother.” Then Jesus tells us about a remarkable change: “But afterward he...

“A man had two sons.” Matthew 21:28 Jesus told a parable about a father who asked his two sons to go work in his vineyard. One son said, “I will not,” but later he changed his mind (repented) and went. The other son said, “I will, sir,” but he didn’t. The second son’s response was immediate, positive, and polite! Grandmothers who saw this clean-cut lad would be very impressed, “He’s such a good bo...

Present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life. Romans 6:13 Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of the German Christian leaders who stood against the Nazi regime. Bonhoeffer was an inspiration to many. But when he looked into his own heart he wasn’t so sure. He expressed this conflict in a poem called “Who Am I?”, written from his prison cell shortly before he was martyred. “W...

Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 Suppose you spent 8 hours a day sleeping, 8 hours working, 3 hours eating, and 2 hours travelling to and from work. You would have 3 hours leftover. Now, if you gave 2 of those to your family, then you would have just 1 hour left! Many people think “offering yourself to God” means doing some ministry. That’s a great thing to do. But...

Present yourselves to God... Romans 6:13 God showed Joseph in a vision the great purposes that He had for him. But his brothers sold him to slave traders who took him to Egypt, and he ended up in prison. Put yourself in Joseph’s shoes: Why am I here? What use can a man be to God in a prison? But Joseph exercised faith, pursued integrity, and ministered to the men God placed next to him. Then God s...

Present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life. Romans 6:13 Notice what the apostle Paul says just before this: “Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness” (6:13). Paul is talking here about the possibility of offering yourself to sin—your capacities, what you can do with the skill of your hands, the creativity of your mind, and so on. This...