Christmas Break

A Daily Passage will return after the Christmas break.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

A Blessed Fountain

"Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe" (Proverbs 5:15-18).

The rewards for marital fidelity are wonderful. The rewards are as refreshing as pure spring water that is not polluted by adultery. The picture of infidelity we are given here is spilt water. Water that has spilt out on to the street is seen as lost and polluted. This is why discipline and restraint are so vital to the marriage relationship.

Cisterns, wells, springs, and streams all have boundaries. Those boundaries are what keep the water pure and readily accessible. Without restraint, the water is spilled out on to the streets and thus wasted. This is why the Lord calls on us to keep our sexual desires in check. There is absolutely nothing wrong with sexual desires. There is never a call for us to repress our sexual desires; we are simply called to control them.

River banks do a wonderful job of protecting neighborhoods from flood waters. Once those banks are breached, real damage is done. So it is with our sexuality. One of God's amazing gifts to His children is sex. His desire is for us to enjoy it in the safety of discipline and restraint. We are to be intoxicated by the joy of sex. To control our sexual desires inside the covenant of marriage leads to blessing. If not controlled, real damage is done. Within the protective river banks of marriage there is tremendous rejoicing when sexual freedom is exercised and enjoyed.

Never forget, you do not have to repress your sexual desires. You simply have to direct them. If you do, you will know the pleasure of God in the intimacy of your marriage. If you do not, you will only know the heartache of sexual floodwaters that have spilled over their protective banks.

It Will Cost You

"And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, and you say, 'How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation'" (Proverbs 5:7-14).

Because the cost of adultery is so high, Solomon urges his sons to listen and hold fast to what he tells them. He warns them that moral failure is costly. Hence, the boys are not to even go close to the adulteress' house. The temptation could be so great, even being near her could prove deadly.

The consequences of adultery are threefold, according to Solomon. To fall prey to adultery will first cost a person their honor. Sin takes a toll on a person by zapping their spiritual strength due to the guilt that is produced. Their is no honor in sin... and we know that.

To fall prey to sexual sin will also cost a person their emotional strength. This could mean that their emotional health is compromised because they lose their self-respect. There is nothing respectable about sin because it is an offense to God and it ruins human relationship.

To fall prey to adultery will cost a person their money. To have "your labors go to the house of a foreigner" means that you literally pay for your transgression. Whether it is paying money to keep the transgression secret, paying the adulteress so she sticks around, or paying child support once a baby is born, the monetary cost of sin can be very real.

The cost of sin can also be found in being remorseful at the end of your life for not listening to sound counsel in this area. The ruin and the disgrace in the eyes of others brings intense remorse. The bottom line is simple: it will cost you greatly if you fall prey to sexual sin.

Consider your steps today. Are you walking anywhere close to the house of ruin? Are you flirting with disaster. If so, take the counsel of Scripture and stay far away from the adulteress' house. You cannot afford the actual cost associated with the experience she offers.

Smoke And Mirrors

"My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding, that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge. For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it" (Proverbs 5:1-6).

Proverbs now takes up the subject of adultery. We are introduced to the "forbidden woman" who promises a good time with her smooth and sweet words. The end result of the son's involvement with such a woman, however, would be utter disaster. This is why the admonition to pay attention to wisdom's warning is repeated once again.

Illusionists sometimes use smoke and mirrors to make people think they can do amazing things like disappear and such. Our eyes tend to believe what they see and so we are amazed. Adulterous people are the same way, but instead of using smoke and mirrors, they use flattering words, seductive invitations, and empty promises. The flattery builds confidence, the seductive invitation builds anticipation of pleasure, and the promises build hope of fulfillment.

And so with confidence, anticipation of pleasure, and the promise of fulfillment, young men and women walk straight into the trap. The trap is one of death that has a bitter taste and a wounding cut. The bitter taste of wormwood and the wounds of the two-edged sword are all that adultery can and ever will deliver.

Never forget that things are not always as they appear. Consider this as you hear the seductive words of the "forbidden woman" because the dripping honey quickly turns to blood. And the blood is ours.

The Straight And Narrow

"Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left: turn your foot away from evil" (Proverbs 4:25-27).

Starting with the debacle of the Garden of Eden, we humans have always wanted what we can't have. Craig Barnes once said that he believed the Lord placed one forbidden tree in the garden simply to prove that we were never meant to have it all.

Yet we strive for just that.

The discipline of keeping our eyes on that which is good for us is imperative if we want to really enjoy life. It is important to ponder the path we walk in order to experience life to its richest potential. Wisdom tells us that avoiding all swerves to the right and left takes us to the ultimate destination. And so wisdom's call is to avoid crashing into ditches that ruin the journey.

We must keep in mind that sin is not only attractive to us, it is deadly. The admonition from God to walk the straight and narrow path is not punishment. It is provision. The day we learn that what we are looking for is not on the side of the road but rather over the horizon, is the day we truly start to live. Life is truly lived well when we live it on the path and not in the ditch.

And so we are told to keep our eyes on the horizon. We are told to not swerve off the road into the ditch. We are told to ponder the path set before us. This is God's provision for us, not His punishment. The straight and narrow road is a daring and dangerous road because it takes faith that what is over the horizon is much better than what is in the ditch.

Liar Liar

"Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you" (Proverbs 4:24).

I have sometimes wondered what would happen if our noses really did grow longer each time we told a lie. Not just big lies, even when we tell little white ones. What if we were caught every single time our speech was anything but straight forward?

I bet then we would more closely watch what comes out of our mouths.

Guarding our hearts has a huge impact on what comes out of our mouths. The difference between being honest and deceptive is the difference between a pure heart and a polluted one. Jesus once said, "The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45).

The only way we would be able to put away crooked and devious speech would be to walk the righteous path on which only a righteous heart treads. The path our heart takes is the path our tongues will naturally take as well. This is why it is so important to guard our hearts.

If our goal is to honor God in all we say and do, we will fail miserably if we are people who are known as deceitful, tricky, scheming, wily, underhanded, cunning, sneaky, crafty, or sly when it comes to our words. In other words, we cannot honor God if we are liars. Even if our noses don't grow longer each time we lie, we will be found out. For that which is in our hearts always works its way to the surface.

Springs Of Life

"My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life" (Proverbs 4:20-23).

We again are told that wisdom's value is found in the health it produces. To pay attention with our "ears" and "eyes" is to focus on life giving truth. To take truth into our "hearts" is not just about mental and emotional capacity. It is about a person's values.

Inner values lead to external actions. The phrase, "springs of life," denotes one's actions. What comes out of a person's heart, by way of actions, indicates the quality of one's inner values. If there is garbage in a person's heart then only garbage will spring forth. If there is godliness in a person's heart then only godliness with spring forth. It's as simple as that.

How is the quality of that which flows from your heart? Does purity and refreshing life flow out of your heart? It is either that or garbage. Purity and refreshment is that which leads to healing. Again we are told that wisdom leads to life while foolishness leads to death.

The key to life, therefore, is found in paying close attention to the truth of God's Word. What we allow our ears and eyes to focus on matters because the object of our focus will make its way into our hearts. And from our hearts flow springs of life. Hopefully those springs (actions) are not polluted.

Protecting Shins and Toes

"But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble" (Proverbs 4:18-19).

I have hiked the mountains of Colorado both in the light of day and the dark of night. For obvious reasons, it is easier and safer in the light of day. Or maybe not so obvious? I only ask because so many of us choose to step foot on the path that is like "deep darkness" expecting not to stumble.

The truth is, we will always stumble along the path that is drenched in darkness. I have learned this lesson well. I have banged my shins and stubbed my toes on living room furniture too many times, as I have tried to make my way to the kitchen in the dead of night. And it always hurts!

To walk the path of the righteous is the complete opposite. It is like the bright light of a dawning morning that only gets brighter as the day progresses. This speaks to the joy that comes from knowing where you are going while seeing the obstacles that stand in the way.

Jesus has been introduced to us as true Light. His Word is the lamp unto our feet. His glory shines an illuminating light for us so that we can take life's journey while being fully aware of the pitfalls and potholes that lie in devilish wait.

Chose to walk in "the light" of wisdom today. Enjoy the bright light of dawn as you trek through the day. There is great joy in doing this knowing that our shins and toes will appreciate our effort.

Warning Signs

"Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence" (Proverbs 4:14-17).

It is so imperative that we not walk the path of the wicked that six critical commands are issued. The sense of urgency is obvious. Do not enter, walk, or go on that path! Do avoid, turn away from, and pass by the path of the wicked! To enter the way of the wicked, one would have to deliberately walk past six warning signs. They would have to climb over six barbed wire fences. To travel the path of those who hate God, someone would have to ignore six blaring sirens.

The warning sings, fences, and sirens are exposing the fact that those who do evil things are not just doing them, they are feasting on them. They are people who can't sleep because the hunger to do wrong gnaws at their soul. Their depraved guts crave violence. Their "bread and wine" are to do evil things. They can't sleep at night until they cause harm to someone.

How many warning signs have you ignored in your lifetime? How many sirens have gone unheeded? How many fences have you jumped in order to be in a place you don't belong? For me, there are too many to count. That is why my commitment is to walk a totally different path. I like to sleep at night and I have found that the best way to enjoy a good night's sleep is to live a life that honors God.

If you or I find ourselves on the path of the wicked, walking the way of the depraved; it is only because we have chosen to ignore the warning signs. It is because we have chosen to jump the fence. Let's be sure that when we feast, we feast on only the good things of God and not the "bread and wine" of the sleepless wicked.