HALLEUYAH! HALLELUYAH!! HALLELUYAH!!!
RELEASE DATE: August 22, 2022
WEEK 27: (August 22 – August 28, 2022)
WEEKLY BIBLE READINGS:
Proverbs 11: 23 – 28 (NKJV)
23 The desire of the righteous is only good, But the expectation of the wicked is wrath. 24 There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty. 25 The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself. 26 The people will curse him who withholds grain, But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it. 27 He who earnestly seeks good [a]finds favor, But trouble will come to him who seeks evil. 28 He who trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous will flourish like foliage.
There is a constant war between righteousness and wickedness. Satan, the fallen angels and the demons fight at all times to bring men down and implant wickedness in their hearts. The enemy fills the earth and affects all the activities therein, inhabiting all including Christians. Like Jesus mentioned in one of His proverbs, both the wheat and tares should grow together and at the appointed time, there will be a separation. That will also be the case for the righteous and the wicked.
Solomon in the book of Proverbs exemplifies who a righteous man and a wicked man is. He draws the differences as well as the expectations. A righteous man desires good things for others and himself that the wicked cannot even know. But the lesson is not how men desire different things – the lesson is what righteous men receive contrasted to what wicked men receive. A righteous man desires a blessed life, and he gets it. The wicked man desires a blessed life, but he gets judgment instead.
Solomon described the expectation of the wicked elsewhere. “When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth” (Pr 11:7). “The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish” (Pr 10:28). The future of the righteous is blessed; the future of the wicked is cursed.
A righteous man delights himself in the LORD, and God gives him the desires of his heart. He walks uprightly by zealously doing the will of God at all times, and God does not withhold any good thing from him. He lives a godly life, desiring and trusting God to have mercy on Him and bless his efforts. God and men favor the cause of such men, and they reap results that are only good in this life and the next.
A wicked man thinks he will live indefinitely, and he pursues his goals without regard for God, confident in himself and the world’s vain promises. He is shocked with the trouble he endures in life, and then he dies to find his expectations turned upside down. He cannot take anything with him, and he finds God angry with him for eternity. This is a terrible outcome, but it is what he chose by living a selfish, sinful lifestyle.
What is your future? How will things end for you? Do you want a glimpse into the days ahead? The proverb is true. A righteous man will realize only good as the end result of all his desires, for both God and men will favor and reward him. But the wicked man, no matter what he desires, will be judged in wrath.
Beloved, this is a reminder to pursue and live a righteous life and at all times ensure that we do good to all regardless of the circumstance.
PRAYER
Jehovah, Jesus Christ, Holy Michael. Father, we pray this day that you purge and clean our hearts. Teach us to pursue the righteous path. Give us the mind to do good at all times, even when it seems not to be convenient. Grant us the spirit to shun evil and help us give generously. May we experience the reward attached to being righteous. This and many more we ask for through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Thank you and God bless. Shalom.
Footnote: “A life without Christ is full of crisis but life in Christ is a great life full of peace. Let that be your Guide & Guard”
Isaiah 59:1 – Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear”