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I die devotionals, Nathan Dooley

So they will be life to your soul | P3-V22

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The Rewards of Wisdom

Proverbs 3; I die daily devotional.

21 My son, let them not vanish from your sight; Keep sound wisdom and discretion, 22 So they will be life to your soul And adornment to your neck. 23 Then you will walk in your way securely And your foot will not stumble. 

The foot of Christ did not stumble on His way to be crucified. Jesus did not forget the teaching of His Father nor let His heart forfeit the commandments of God. Mat 27:22-23 “Pilate *said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all *said, “Crucify Him!” But he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” Yet they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Crucify Him!”

God took on our flesh through His only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus kept the commandments perfectly, there was no sin in Him, and so you might think that the proverb is contradictory—after all—Jesus died. So what happened? Why didn’t this man known as Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, the Son of the living God, have life rather than the cross of death by keeping the commandments? Lets find out from the testimony according to John chapter 3 in your bibles!

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. 18 The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, so that his deeds will not be exposed. 21 But the one who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds will be revealed as having been performed in God.”

If our Lord and Savior by God our Father through Jesus, did not carry His adornment to the cross so that we might believe and have eternal life, we would all be judged condemned to an eternal death through sin of the first man Adam without an opportunity to change by the grace of God. Or if you’re an unbeliever reading this, you might think that science has proven powerfully meaningful by the reality of a believer—such as myself—to have finally accepted the reality of a “good story” told as mythology. But this is not mythology; the truth of the gospel is good news! And so what happened to Jesus? How is it that we have eternal life through Jesus if we die? The gospel testifies the fulfillment of prophecy in Jesus:

Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to point out to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem and to suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised up on the third day. And yet Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s purposes, but men’s.” Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS. “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

The Word of God is eternal, and the only way the eternal Word of the old covenant could be fulfilled was through the blood of redemption, meaning the innocent body and blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. So when His body was pierced to the cross and His blood shed upon the world—we were saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. The wrath of God in His justice poured out upon His only Son our punishment for that sin of which separates us from our Holy God and Father—with Jesus now at the right hand of God to reconcile us to Himself by His Word. Jesus is the new covenant mediated through belief as we abide by faith in His resurrection from the dead that sanctifies—in us—the power of the Holy Spirit of God.

John 20:21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be to you; just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any,  their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”

We have the forgiveness of sins if we remain faithful to an obedience of faith in the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirt as believers in the name of Jesus Christ. If we continue in our sin after believing, then we don’t know God nor have life by faith, but a fearful expectation of judgement that condemns unbelief. 2 Thess 1:6 For after all it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted, along with us, when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God, and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These people will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes to be glorified among His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—because our testimony to you was believed. If we sin after believing, we trample underfoot the Son of God and insult the Spirit of grace. Heb 10:26 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and  THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. 28 Anyone who has ignored the Law of Moses is put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severe punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” 31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

RESOURCE

Proverbs 3 (NASB)—blueletterbible.org
1 My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments; 2 For length of days and years of life And peace they will add to you. 3 Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones. 9 Honor the LORD from your wealth And from the first of all your produce; 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty And your vats will overflow with new wine. 11 My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof, 12 For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father  corrects the son in whom he delights. 13 How blessed is the man who finds wisdom And the man who gains understanding. 14 For her profit is better than the profit of silver And her gain better than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than jewels; And nothing you desire compares with her. 16 Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor. 17 Her ways are pleasant ways And all her paths are peace. 18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who hold her fast. 19 The LORD by wisdom founded the earth, By understanding He established the heavens. 20 By His knowledge the deeps were broken up And the skies drip with dew. 21 My son, let them not vanish from your sight; Keep sound wisdom and discretion, 22 So they will be life to your soul And adornment to your neck. 23 Then you will walk in your way securely And your foot will not stumble. 24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. 25 Do not be afraid of sudden fear Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; 26 For the LORD will be your confidence And will keep your foot from being caught. 27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it. 28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it, ”When you have it with you. 29 Do not devise harm against your neighbor, While he lives securely beside you. 30 Do not contend with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm. 31 Do not envy a man of violence And do not choose any of his ways. 32 For the devious are an abomination to the LORD; But He is intimate with the upright. 33 The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous. 34 Though He scoffs at the scoffers, Yet He gives grace to the afflicted. 35 The wise will inherit honor, But fools  display dishonor.

COMMENTARY

Chapter 3

Matthew Henry (P3-V22) Commentary
II. The argument to enforce this exhortation is taken from the unspeakable advantage which wisdom, thus kept, will be of to us.

  • 1. In respect of strength and satisfaction: “It will be life to thy soul (v. 22); it will quicken thee to thy duty when thou beginnest to be slothful and remiss; it will revive thee under thy troubles when thou beginnest to droop and despond. It will be thy spiritual life, an earnest of life eternal.’ Life to the soul is life indeed.
  • 2. In respect of honour and reputation: It shall be grace to thy neck, as a chain of gold, or a jewel. Grace to thy jaws (so the word is), grateful to thy taste and relish (so some); it shall infuse grace into all thou sayest (so others), shall furnish thee with acceptable words, which shall gain thee credit.
  • 3. In respect of safety and security. This he insists upon in four verses, the scope of which is to show that the effect of righteousness (which is the same with wisdom here) is quietness and assurance for ever, Isa. 32:17. Good people are taken under God’s special protection, and therein they may have an entire satisfaction. They are safe and may be easy,
I die devotionals, Nathan Dooley

Let us swallow them alive like Sheol | P1-V12

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The Enticement of Sinners

Proverbs 1; I die daily devotional.

12 Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, as those who go down to the pit; 

For those of us who have intimate knowledge by the experience of sin can be enticed to educate the innocent by our experience of sin. We can become the very nature of these current verses of our chapter: 10 My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent. 11 If they say, “Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us ambush the innocent without cause; 12 Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, as those who go down to the pit; 13 We will find all kinds of precious wealth, We will fill our houses with spoil; 14 Throw in your lot with us, We shall all have one purse,”

The sinful nature of our flesh desires the innocent to understand the nature of our pleasure, after all; we want what the innocent has—innocence. But why? Because innocence is the essence of goodness, and evil is incapable of that essence. there is a thought experiment out there called “The Evil God” challenge, and the problem is that the arguments by Christians defending a good God can be turned around and used also for defending an evil God, thus “defeating” our cause.

SWALLOW THEM ALIVE

Or… at least… that is what the skeptics might contemplate or worse, the atheists’ willingly believe.

However, the truth is, God is good because He is innocent. But the evil, that is not innocent, hates that fact, and is why Wisdom is teaching us not to be the sinner. The sinners desire is to swallow us alive because they are dead, and they want us to be dead with them. But this is why when we believe in Christ, we desire baptism, and church, and the Word of God (the bible). What does Jesus say to us sinners?

John 5:13 But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place. 14 Afterward Jesus *found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.” 15 The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”

Jesus said, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.” We, by grace through faith, have become well. That means we are different, we have changed! What does the apostle Paul say?

 1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. 55 O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

  • Are you dead?
  • Are you still sinning?
  • Do you believe in Jesus Christ?
  • Are you changed by faith?
  • Are you alive in Christ?

RECOURSE

Proverbs 1 (NASB)—blueletterbible.org
1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding, 3 To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice and equity; 4 To give prudence to the naïve, To the youth knowledge and discretion, 5 A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel, 6 To understand a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their riddles. 7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.  8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction And do not forsake your mother’s teaching; 9 Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head And ornaments about your neck. 10 My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent. 11 If they say, “Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us ambush the innocent without cause; 12 Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, as those who go down to the pit; 13 We will find all kinds of precious wealth, We will fill our houses with spoil; 14 Throw in your lot with us, We shall all have one purse,” 15 My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path, 16 For their feet run to evil And they hasten to shed blood. 17 Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird; 18 But they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives. 19 So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence; It takes away the life of its possessors. Wisdom Warns 20 Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square; 21 At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings: 22 “How long, O naïve ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge? 23  “Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. 24 “Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; 25 And you neglected all my counsel And did not want my reproof; 26 I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes, 27 When your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. 28 “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me, 29 Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD. 30 “They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof. 31 “So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices. 32 “For the waywardness of the naïve will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them. 33 “But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”

COMMENTARY

Matthew Henry (P1-V12) Commentary
Here Solomon gives another general rule to young people, in order to their finding out, and keeping in, the paths of wisdom, and that is to take heed of the snare of bad company. David’s psalms begin with this caution, and so do Solomon’s proverbs; for nothing is more destructive, both to a lively devotion and to a regular conversation (v. 10): “My son, whom I love, and have a tender concern for, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.’ This is good advice for parents to give their children when they send them abroad into the world; it is the same that St. Peter gave to his new converts, (Acts 2:40), Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Observe,

  • 1. How industrious wicked people are to seduce others into the paths of the destroyer: they will entice. Sinners love company in sin; the angels that fell were tempters almost as soon as they were sinners. They do not threaten or argue, but entice with flattery and fair speech; with a bait they draw the unwary young man to the hook. But they mistake if they think that by bringing others to partake with them in their guilt, and to be bound, as it were, in the bond with them, they shall have the less to pay themselves; for they will have so much the more to answer for.
  • 2. How cautious young people should be that they be not seduced by them: “Consent thou not; and then, though they entice thee, they cannot force thee. Do not say as they say, nor do as they do or would have thee to do; have no fellowship with them.’ To enforce this caution,
    • I. He represents the fallacious reasonings which sinners use in their enticements, and the arts of wheedling which they have for the beguiling of unstable souls. He specifies highwaymen, who do what they can to draw others into their gang, v. 11-14. See here what they would have the young man to do: “Come with us (v. 11); let us have thy company.’ At first they pretend to ask no more; but the courtship rises higher (v. 14): “Cast in thy lot among us; come in partner with us, join thy force to ours, and let us resolve to live and die together: thou shalt fare as we fare; and let us all have one purse, that what we get together we may spend merrily together,’ for that is it they aim at. Two unreasonable insatiable lusts they propose to themselves the gratification of, and therewith entice their pray into the snare:-
      • 1. Their cruelty. They thirst after blood, and hate those that are innocent and never gave them any provocation, because by their honesty and industry they shame and condemn them: “Let us therefore lay wait for their blood, and lurk privily for them; they are conscious to themselves of no crime and consequently apprehensive of no danger, but travel unarmed; therefore we shall make the more easy prey of them. And, O how sweet it will be to swallow them up alive!’ v. 12. These bloody men would do this as greedily as the hungry lion devours the lamb. If it be objected, “The remains of the murdered will betray the murderers;’ they answer, “No danger of that; we will swallow them whole as those that are buried.’ Who could imagine that human nature should degenerate so far that it should ever be a pleasure to one man to destroy another!
      • 2. Their covetousness. They hope to get a good booty by it (v. 13): “We shall find all precious substance by following this trade. What though we venture our necks by it? we shall fill our houses with spoil.’ See here,
        • (1.) The idea they have of worldly wealth. They call it precious substance; whereas it is neither substance nor precious; it is a shadow; it is vanity, especially that which is got by robbery, Ps. 62:10. It is as that which is not, which will give a man no solid satisfaction. It is cheap, it is common, yet, in their account, it is precious, and therefore they will hazard their lives, and perhaps their souls, in pursuit of it. It is the ruining mistake of thousands that they over-value the wealth of this world and look on it as precious substance.
        • (2.) The abundance of it which they promise themselves: We shall fill our houses with it. Those who trade with sin promise themselves mighty bargains, and that it will turn to a vast account (All this will I give thee, says the tempter); but they only dream that they eat; the housefuls dwindle into scarcely a handful, like the grass on the house-tops.
Devotional, Nathan Dooley

The Perfect Promise

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And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,

Hebrews 5:9

I love this verse because it makes secure the salvation of your soul. In the first devotional you’ll read about the power of God through an instruction to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. In the second devotional you’ll read about how faith is our ability to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. In this devotional we have an intimate relationship between belief and faith that produces… The Perfect Promise!

If you’ve believed in the good news about the Son of God in the flesh of Jesus Christ—then you are perfect in that provision of love through faith, not fear, meaning that your confession of sin is forgiven (Luk 12:10). You might be experiencing a heavy load of guilt and shame for deep dark secrets that hold you captive to an environment of enslavement (Eph 5:1-21)? It’s like your soul is screaming for help because there is a consequence for the rejection of truth about your environment (2Pe 2:1-22). If that is the case…?

Please literally stop what you are thinking and doing and listen to this promise. God promised that He would provide salvation not just for a duration of time, but eternal salvation, meaning that Jesus Christ is the perfect promise of sacrifice to remove and remember your sin no more and to help you handle the deepest darkest issues of your life for complete restoration in the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1Tim 2:4-6, Jhn 16:7-15). By believing that truth is an act of faith you’ve decided to choose by trusting in this promise of God.

And so how to obey is that you trust in the name of Jesus Christ, and if you’ve decided to trust in the name of Jesus Christ… you are made perfect in love by the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. The darkness of your life will be converted to light through faith, believe in your faith (Eph 2:4-9), because you are loved with an eternal love. And Jesus Christ is your source of perpetual salvation! By really meditating on this promise, you will experience the providence of the Holy Spirit.