Category Archives: Devotional

Spiritfire Proverbs 21:12 “The Ruining of Salvation”

“The Righteous One takes note of the
              house of the wicked
     and brings the wicked to ruin.”
 
At the outset of our dive into the depths of this proverb, we sat for a spell in the heritage and traditional teaching of the ‘Righteous One’.  No, I didn’t give an exhaustive account filled with Old Testament Scriptures, no, but I said as a culture, their expectation was of a deliverer who will ‘make things right’.  Return Israel to its political position of favor, not conquered, oppressed, and scattered.  The focus was still on an earthly kingdom.  A Righteous One who will restore God’s justice by destroying the wicked, or as the proverb states, “brings the wicked to ruin.”  Here we see the ‘plan’ explained of the expectation, the ‘hope’, of a people lost from their position.  He would “take note,”  “bring to ruin”, and return to Wisdom’s house its preeminence among the houses.
 
When I asked my kids, “Where is Jesus?  How did He fulfill this one?”  The bottom dropped out beneath us and we were cast into the mysteries of Christ.  “Surely He is the Righteous One, Dad.  That’s easy!” my kids declared.  “Yes, He is.  I agree.  But look closer, and stop calling me Surely.  When we read of Jesus and His mission, did He take note like Santa and keep a list?  Did He bring the wicked to ruin?”  This was the ‘true’ depth of the wisdom of God.  Here we witnessed the fulfillment of His plan, the Kingdom of God.  The writer of Proverbs only saw in part, as we do, but not the whole.  
 
Jesus was and is ‘the Righteous One’ so that part is fulfilled, but what did He ruin?  He ruined the entire matrix of the houses!  We’ve already seen how Jesus ‘stole’ from the Imposter’s House to fill His roster of disciples.  And we witnessed how quickly and immediately the process of becoming a new creation took as Jesus’ neighbor on the cross found mercy.  
 
Jesus is the Wisdom of God fulfilled.  The veil was torn, that separation paid for in His death, the hope of a new creation raised in His resurrection.  Jesus brought ruin to the House of the Wicked not by their blood, but by His.  The old way was made new.  Now we are brought in beyond our ability to obey.  We get His righteousness and our salvation brought ruin to everything.
 
Merry Christmas!  He is born!

Spiritfire, Proverbs 21:10, “Cravings”

“The wicked man craves evil;
his neighbor gets no mercy from him.”
 
As has been our practice for Spiritfire- our family devotion time with God, we began with prayer, gave our intros, and then looked at the wisdom inherent in the verse for that night.  Proverb 21:10 has the form of a ‘this-and-more’ proverb.  In this case, it made a statement and then furthered the point with an example.  What one craves is what makes them.  Why would a neighbor of Folly’s house seek from them the fruit of Wisdom’s?  If mercy is what they seek why would they live next to the wicked?  Maybe it wasn’t on purpose.

When I asked my family, “Where is Jesus in this proverb and how does He fulfill it that we may be made into new creations?”  They saw Him in the proverb’s reflection on the pools of Living Water below, and Betsy said:
 
“To imagine what Jesus went through: the false testimonies, the whipping and beatings from the soldiers, the mockery of the crowds, the shameful stripping of his clothes, his criminal crucifixion… He was surrounded by those who were craving evil against Him in every possible way.  Even His closest “neighbors,” His disciples, showed no mercy and abandoned Him.
 
Then to think of Jesus, as an earthly man – He was a righteous man who craved Love.  When dying for us, He called out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:35).  When Jesus’ neighbor who was hanging on the cross beside Him asked for mercy, Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43).  Jesus craves love and His neighbor gets ultimate mercy from Him.”

Spiritfire- Proverbs 20:30, Scourging of Evil

“Stripes that wound scour away evil,
And strokes reach the innermost parts.”

Some scriptures seem to be written to be a stumbling block to those who, like Satan himself, would misuse them to justify their wicked and oppressive hearts.  When I spoke with my kids about this verse, I told them how this was the thought and goal of discipline.  “Back in the day, parents used to give their wayward kids a whooping, and it was considered love!”  We then spent some time talking about how ‘lucky’ they were that they were such good kids, otherwise…, and then I slapped my hands together- Whap!!!  I said all this in humor, of course, but in my heart I was thanking God for my kids.
 
When we thought of Jesus, the Spirit opened our eyes to a deeper love that was shown to us on the cross.  This proverb was revealed to be more than a ‘core’ or ‘this and more’ proverb.  This one was found to be a ‘key’, of sorts, to understand the price that was paid for us.  Why should the sinless One get what we in our disobedience deserved?  For all have sinned, Romans 3:23-24.
 
Afterward, as I thought more on this, another passage came to mind:
 
Isaiah 53:5 NASB
 
“But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging, we are healed.”
 
Or again by another version KJV
 
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
 
The scourging of Jesus purged us from evil.  Our inmost parts were purified by His piercing.  Jesus fulfilled this proverb to make us a spotless bride, a holy people, a new creation clothed in His righteousness, 1 Peter 2:19-25.
 
Thank You Jesus!  “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

Spiritfire- Proverbs 20:29, Glory and Splendor

“The glory of young men is their strength,
gray hair the splendor of the old.”
 
It was difficult to impress upon my children how strength will not always be available as they age.  Whenever I heard about it as a kid, I always ignored it because I had no context to understand it.  In my teenage years, I enjoyed pushing my limits mentally and physically.  I remember purposely going outside during weather that normally kept people inside.  I enjoyed being alone during the wind, and rain, and cold.  I would mentally estimate how long I could survive and though I’d never fully try, I’d attempt enough for a taste.
 
Now, things are vastly different.  I have even begun to get gray hair in my beard.  The change from glory to splendor may not have been one I ever fully contemplated, but like the changing of the seasons, I knew it would come.
 
The fading of the glory of physical abilities from illness, disease, accident, war, or age, can be sudden or agonizingly slow.  Some may even experience a roller coaster of gains and losses day by day due to whatever.  The process can push people into a weird mode of survival which makes sense of the various strategies they employ to accomplish what used to be simple tasks.
 
Though many try to continue to matter before the fading takes a more permanent hold, we looked at Jesus’ fulfillment and witnessed how He is both the glory and splendor of God forevermore, Hebrews 1:1-3.  His strategy for all things, both great and small, was and is to love.

Spiritfire- Proverbs 20:27 “The Lamp of the Lord”

“The lamp of the LORD searches the spirit of a man; it searches out his inmost being.”
 
We began talking about the ‘darkened path’.  Without God, the path of our heart and mind is dark indeed filled with many dangers, toils, and snares.  Many walk claiming they can see, but without a light, they are lost.  Psalm 119:105 helps us to see God’s revealing aid upon our path.  Not only does His light shine on our path but this proverb points out how it reveals our ‘inmost being’ to His ever-watchful eye.  We then talked about how many don’t want to know what He sees.  They would rather hide and let darkness cover them.  But His light will shine, and all will be revealed.
 
Up until now, the ‘fear’ of our inadequacies revealed in the light of a righteous and holy God, helped to keep our feet on His path.  But now a better path has been revealed, a better Way has been made known.  When we explored Proverbs 20:19, we witnessed how Jesus fulfilled ‘avoidance’- the path to Wisdom’s house.  We saw in what context His parable of ’The Good Samaritan’ was told.  Now, in this proverb, we see how Jesus, the Word made flesh, John 1:14, fulfilled the ‘lamp of the Lord’ by becoming the ‘Light of the world’, as in John 8:2.  For now, His light reveals the Righteousness of Jesus, which takes away our wickedness, as in 2 Corinthians 5:17-19.
 
A better Light has come!  Amen, thank You, Lord Jesus.

Spiritfire- Proverbs 20:25, It’s A Trap!

“It is a trap to dedicate something rashly
and only later to consider one’s vows.”
 
Admiral Ackbar’s cry of warning to the Rebel Alliance in the movie ‘Star Wars: Return of the Jedi’, when they realized the shield around the “fully armed and operational battle station” was still up, was the first thing my kids and I heard.  After we took some time giving our best Ackbar impersonations, we began to explore this proverb from a long time ago, in a culture far, far away.  Because of its intro, we began to know this as the Star Wars’ proverb.
 
When we considered it, the story of Jephthah came to mind as one who made an oath rashly, in Judges 11.  Jephthah wanted to win a battle against neighboring Ammon over a dispute of land ownership, Judges 11:12-29.  So he made his oath to the LORD, in Judges 11:30-31, and said,  “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”  The LORD did as Jephthah asked, but the first thing that came out was not a thing, it was his daughter!  The trap of an oath rashly given was complete!  After he saw this, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break,” Judges 11:35.  She was his only child.
 
Did Jephthah sacrifice his daughter?  I’d consult the ‘book of armaments’ in: https://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/did-jephthah-sacrifice-daughter-to-god.html, to answer that.  Jephthah got to experience the truth of this proverb and in bitterness fulfilled his vow.
 
I then asked my kids, “Where’s Jesus in this proverb?”  As I asked this, it’s not to say that Jesus looked at each proverb and took the task to fulfill each one, but in His completeness as the Son of God, it was written in Colossians 2:3 “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” Jesus fulfilled everything.  Although again, as in most other proverbs, we feel the inescapable jaws of judgment and condemnation and are taught the discernment to ‘avoid the noid’, I mean the trap of impetuous oath making, Jesus is the One who sets the captives free as it is written of Him in Luke 4:16-21 quoting and fulfilling Isaiah 61:1.
 
Praise be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who sets us free!  We are made new and complete in Him, Colossians 2:10!  Although this Star Wars’ proverb warns us and Jephthah’s example witnesses to us and we learn to be wise in what we say, Jesus gives us our freedom no matter how many Death Stars are built by the Empire.

The Vindicator

Isaiah 54:17 English Standard Version (ESV)
17    “‘ no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,
    and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
    and their vindication from me,’ declares the Lord.”

“God is my vindicator!” This was echoing in my head this morning.
I know for myself, this often gets forgotten as I try to prove what I’m saying is the truth. I can’t find the verse that says we are to vindicate ourselves. God does this.

God’s arms are strong. He will carry you to safer shores. His Truth protects as it advances. His light makes plain the path you tread. Keep following after His call and He will lead you through.

How many are God’s wonders? None of us would believe; how amazing are His works? How are we to describe them? What words capture the wonder of His reality? This we have been promised, mind-blowing though it may be, more is yet to come!

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

A Farmer’s Field

There is an ‘Empty’ place.

A place that seems void of Life, yet that is the place most ripe for growth.

We sense it in the wind, in the sunrise, and in the rain.

We were meant to grow, not where we are, but where God sends us.

Now is the Time, Now is the place.

We move according to His direction.

We shine wherever we go, it’s what we do.

He is the Light and we are His children.

Spiritfire; Proverbs 20:20, Light Of The World

“If someone curses their father or mother,
their lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness.”

There are all kinds of parents in this world. Some care too much for their children, some care too little, and still, others are variations of the two. For the ‘too much’, this Proverb stands and condemns the ungrateful. For the ’too little’, it warns the unwary. For the vain, this proverb is the ‘get away free’ card. For the abusive, it is a gateway of doom. If this is what awaits the victim before a righteous God, then what is in store for the abuser?

Ephesians 6:4 helps us to gain a fuller view of the parent/child picture:

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

When we looked at Jesus, we saw Him in the garden praying a prayer that wasn’t going to get answered. His reply, as told in Luke 22:42, was not to curse God, but was in submission to Him:

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

We kept our eyes on Jesus and saw Him on the cross. Again, He didn’t curse God. He didn’t follow the advice from Job’s wife in Job 2:9, to “curse God and die.” He didn’t sing “Good Good Father”, by Chris Tomlin, either. He said, in Matthew 27:46,

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Whatever peace filled David when he wrote Psalm 27:10,

“Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord will hold me close,”

was turned on its head as in Psalm 22. Even so, Jesus did not curse His heavenly Father. Because of that, not only did Jesus not get snuffed out, He is the Light of the world, John 8:12.

More than the coming New Year, and clearer than your glasses, Jesus fulfilled Proverbs 20:20 for the salvation of us all.