LESSONS ABOUT WISDOM PROVERBS _KEITH SIMONS_ CHAPTER 15 V1 A quiet answer reduces anger. But an impatient word increases anger. V2 A wise man’s words are full of knowledge. A fool’s words are plentiful, but his words are all foolish. V3 God sees everything. He watches both good people and e... [ Continue Reading ]
If we choose our words carefully, then we will get a good reaction. When we tell people about God, we should be polite. We should not use angry words. These will upset people. However, sometimes, we must warn people. Jesus did this in John 2:13-16.... [ Continue Reading ]
We love to listen to wise people. Their words teach us and encourage us. We do not benefit from the words of a foolish person, who hates wisdom. A fool will say many things. However, everything that he says is foolish.... [ Continue Reading ]
God knows everything (1 John 3:21). He knows what the result of our actions will be. He watches good people so that he can protect them. He watches evil people so that he can punish their evil actions.... [ Continue Reading ]
Our words can comfort other people. Words can help people, and they can encourage people. Lies never achieve these good things. Lies hurt other people. Lies upset people and cause great problems.... [ Continue Reading ]
If someone hates wisdom, then he hates instructions. He is angry if someone corrects him. A wise person learns from correction. He wants to know if he is wrong. Because he learns from correction, a wise person becomes even wiser.... [ Continue Reading ]
A good man has precious possessions. He cannot buy these possessions with money, and he cannot sell them. They are not physical objects, but they are real. They are things like wisdom and knowledge. These things are really valuable. An evil man also earns things. He might earn money, but he also ea... [ Continue Reading ]
The wise man teaches the things that he knows. Other people hear and they benefit from his advice. If we are wise, then we can help many people. The fool’s heart does not benefit anyone. A fool hates God, and hates wisdom. Solomon does not mean the fool’s physical heart. Solomon means the fool’s em... [ Continue Reading ]
The people of Israel sacrificed (killed) animals as a gift to God (Leviticus Chapter s 1 to 7). If an evil person did this, God would not accept the gift. God wants us to be holy. He wants us to ask him to forgive us. He wants us to trust in him. No gift can forgive us. Only God, who loves us, can f... [ Continue Reading ]
Solomon explains about people who start to do evil things. God will correct them. Sometimes, as a father smacks his child, this correction will be bitter. God corrects the person so that the person will return to God. See John 15:2. If a person does not accept God’s correction, then that person wil... [ Continue Reading ]
Some people think that God does not know their thoughts and actions. They are wrong. God even sees beyond the grave into hell. God knows all our thoughts, and all our actions. We cannot escape from God. Even when we die, God will be our judge.... [ Continue Reading ]
This person insults other people, because he is proud. Nobody can correct him. He always thinks that he himself is right. He will not ask for advice. He does not respect a wise person.... [ Continue Reading ]
Your thoughts and emotions control your whole body. We smile when we are glad. We are sad if our experiences upset us. If we pray, God will comfort us (James 5:13).... [ Continue Reading ]
Both a fool and a wise man have important desires. The wise man wants more knowledge. The fool wants foolish things. By ‘fool’, Solomon means someone who hates wisdom. For a fool, this is like his need for food. He is hungry, not for food, but to do an evil action. See Proverbs 4:16-17. V15 When so... [ Continue Reading ]
A Christian may be poor. But he has every reason to be cheerful. See Philippians 4:4; 1 Peter 1:8 and Psalms 96:11-13. God’s love is like a party. See Psalms 23:5; Isaiah 55:1-2, and Luke 14:15-23. For other people, their lives can be difficult. They might be rich or poor, but they all need God’s h... [ Continue Reading ]
Many people want the best meat, instead of a few vegetables. But love is better than hate. We want to eat in a place where people love us. Sometimes it is better to be poor than to be rich. Some things matter more than money or wealth. Love matters more than wealth. Especially, the love of God matt... [ Continue Reading ]
We should be patient. A patient man can even help enemies to become friends. This might take many years. But a patient person can often achieve success in the end. Sometimes, it takes many years to help someone to trust God. This may be especially difficult if, at first, the person hates God. We mu... [ Continue Reading ]
A slow man can be very slow. He has lots of excuses. Solomon uses humour here. Nobody could be so slow that plants grew on his path. The truth is that the man was very lazy. The good man is like someone who travels along a good, clear road. A good person is patient (verse 18). But, at the right tim... [ Continue Reading ]
This is like Proverbs 10:1, but the second line is different. ‘A foolish son causes pain to his mother.’ (Proverbs 10:1). ‘A foolish son hates his mother.’ (Proverbs 15:20) The foolish (or evil) son might not think that he hates his mother. However, his evil actions prove that he hates her. He caus... [ Continue Reading ]
If someone is not wise, then foolish (evil) things attract him. This is like a traveller who chooses the wrong route for a journey. Some people love to do evil things. They gladly choose to do evil things. A wise person does not make this mistake. He is careful to do the right things. He is like a... [ Continue Reading ]
Many people do not like to receive advice. Perhaps they are proud and so they do not like to hear other people’s ideas. If you do not obtain advice, then your plans will often fail. We should not make this mistake. If we are wise, then we shall ask many people for advice. Some of the advice that w... [ Continue Reading ]
An adviser should always try to give correct advice. He thinks and he prays about his words. He considers the probable results of his advice. He wants to say the right words, at the right time. He wants to help, because his advice can bring success to his friend’s plan. An adviser is glad when he g... [ Continue Reading ]
Solomon uses humour. Life is like a journey. When we live wisely, we are going towards heaven. This is like a journey where we are going upwards. So we are travelling away from the graves and from hell. Solomon imagines that the wise man is walking up a hill. Sometimes, it is hard to walk up a hill... [ Continue Reading ]
Everything that God does is right. Some people will praise a proud man. Some people think that proud people are very great. God does not think this. In the end, God will punish proud people. Some people do not care about widows. They might say, ‘That old woman has no husband to protect her. We can... [ Continue Reading ]
God knows our thoughts, and he hears our words. The evil person thinks about evil plans. He might plot against other people. He might try to steal from them. God knows these thoughts, and he hates these plans. An honest person speaks the truth. God loves the truth, so God loves the words of honest... [ Continue Reading ]
People give bribes (secret gifts) so that other people will do wrong things. For example, if a judge accepts a bribe, then he might punish an innocent man. If a government official accepts a bribe, then he might allow the giver to meet the king. The Bible teaches that we should not give bribes (sec... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus answered questions in Mark 11:27-33 and Mark 12:13-40. Jesus studied the Bible. His answers were wise. Jesus thought about what the Bible says. And he knew the right answers. We too need to think about problems. Especially, we must discover what the Bible says. Then we shall learn God’s wisdo... [ Continue Reading ]
‘God is not deaf or weak. The result of your evil actions is that you have moved far away from God.’ (Isaiah 59:1-2) However, God is close to a good person. God even knows a good person’s silent prayers. See Matthew 6:6-8.... [ Continue Reading ]
Even our smiling faces can cheer other people! People are glad, if we smile. Our words can achieve more than our happy faces. The Christian message is good news. God can change people’s lives. He will forgive them, if they trust him. This good news will make people strong.... [ Continue Reading ]
If someone learns from words of correction, then that person will become wiser. We all make mistakes. A wise person learns not to repeat his mistakes. He knows that correction is valuable.... [ Continue Reading ]
When other people correct us, we become wiser. And we become more responsible. Correction is a good thing. But someone who refuses to obey instructions will suffer as a result. This is as if he hates himself. We should learn discipline. And we should learn to be wise.... [ Continue Reading ]
Especially, we shall learn to be wise, if we respect God. Wisdom is God’s gift to us. We must respect God. This is the first and most important lesson in wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). People want to receive honour. But many people do not want to be humble. We need to be humble, because we need to learn fr... [ Continue Reading ]