S – The one who loves a pure heart and gracious lips—the king is his friend.

Proverbs 22:11 CSB

O – Commentary:

Purity of motives and thought (a pure heart) and gracious words are appreciated by a king (cf. 14:35; 16:13). Naturally he wants to have people like that around him. So purity and graciousness are advantageous; they help give a person a friendship with leaders in high positions

 “Proverbs,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures

A – When we keep our hearts pure, it is a game changer.  It moves us closer in proximity and relationship to “the King.”  It is easy to see the outside of people, but only God knows the true heart.  Pure motives and expectations help us stay close to him.

R – Heavenly Father, you are the God of all.  Please help us to stay close to you.  Reveal to us any impurities in our hearts so we can remove any distance in our relationship.  Allow us to see ourselves as you see us.

S – Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom

2 Corinthians 3:17 CSB

O – Commentary: 

The Holy Spirit is the personal “Agent” of Christ; He is the Spirit of the Lord (cf. Rom. 8:9). The Two are One in purpose (John 15:26; 16:6–15) and in result (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 5:1). Paul’s words the Lord is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17; cf. v. 18) do not confuse these two Persons of the Godhead. Instead, they affirm the Holy Spirit’s deity.

A major result of the New Covenant is freedom. Elsewhere Paul compared those under the Old Covenant to children of slavery and those under the New to children of freedom (Gal. 4:24–31). This freedom is possible because Christ has redeemed from the penalty of the Law those who believe so that they become children of God (Gal. 4:5–7). This freedom as children is confirmed by the Spirit, who enables Christians to call God Father (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6).

  “2 Corinthians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures,

A – The Holy Spirit works with us daily and empowers us to walk in freedom.  We need to invite the Holy Spirit into each day and be aware of his leading and prompting.  In doing so, we will enjoy the benefits of the freedom the Lord provides.

R – Heavenly Father, we worship and surrender to you today.  We invite your Holy Spirit to work on our behalf and lead us through our day.  We want freedom from anything distracting us from accomplishing your will and purpose. 

S – He said to mankind, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom. And to turn from evil is understanding.

 Job 28:28 CSB

O – Commentary:

God told man (’āḏām, “mankind”) that the essence of wisdom is to fear (“venerate and submit to”) the Lord, even when man cannot understand His ways, and to reject evil, living in accord with God’s standards of holiness. Honoring God (the positive) involves hating sin (the negative; Prov. 8:13). Job’s accusers had insisted that he was not fearing God or eschewing sin and that therefore he was not wise. In Job 28 he argued the opposite: he was fearing God and hating evil (as God Himself had already said of Job, 1:1, 8; 2:3), but they were not! Therefore wisdom and understanding were his, not theirs.

“Job,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures

A – If we fear God, we will love what he loves and hate what he hates.  This is a fear of awe, respect and honor to God.  It draws us closer to Him.  Like Job, we do not move away from God in difficulties or challenges.  Instead, we push toward him even when we don’t see his presence.  That is where wisdom and understanding grows.

R – Heavenly Father, you are the one true, God.  In our desire for more of your presence, wisdom and understanding, give us the courage to move towards you.  Life’s challenges want us to run from you.  We choose today to run to you.  Meet us where we are at and help us to grow wiser, with greater understanding.

S – Humility, the fear of the Lord, results in wealth, honor, and life.

Proverbs 22:4 CSB

O – Commentary:

Humility and the fear of the Lord go together (cf. 15:33). A person cannot fear God (worshiping, trusting, obeying, and serving Him) and be filled with selfish pride at the same time. Wealth … honor, and life result from fearing God, and as in 21:21 (see comments there) they also come from righteous living. So the fear of the Lord and righteousness are closely related

“Proverbs,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures

A – Walking in humility and reverence of God, it allows our worship, trust and obedience to be authentic.  No wonder the battle of humility and pride is always present in our lives.  We must be aware of it and intentionally fight for humility.

R – Heavenly Father, we worship and surrender to you today.  Give us the strength and courage to walk in humility and faith.  We desire to know you more today.  We honor and fear you and it draws us closer.

S -Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. ¹⁴ Do everything in love

 1 Corinthians  16:13–14 NIV

O – Commentary:

The command, Be on your guard (grēgoreite) might be rendered “be diligent” in carrying out the will of God (cf. 15:58, “give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord”). In view of the Corinthians’ susceptibility to false teachers (cf. 2 Cor. 11:3) the exhortation to stand firm in the faith was a timely reminder (cf. 1 Cor. 15:1, 58). So too were the closing exhortations (similar to the Gr. text of several Pss., e.g., 27:14; 31:24) to be men of courage and be strong, that is, marked by maturity (cf. 1 Cor. 14:20) and not infants easily swept aside (cf. Eph. 4:14). That sort of diligence and commitment is required if everything is to be done in love

“1 Corinthians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures

A – Strong direction that requires diligence and intentionality.  What would our day look like if we were discerning and alert in the spiritual realm, resilient in our faith, confident in our humility, empowered in our gifting and authentic in our love for God and others?  We would make an impact in our lives and those we engage.

R – Heavenly Father, we invite your Holy Spirit to start with us in searching our hearts. Help us to grow in all of these areas.  We want it all and recognize the price tag of intentionality that it requires.  We desire more of you and step toward your calling in our lives.

S – No wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel will prevail against the Lord.

Proverbs  21:30 CSB

O – Commentary:

Human wisdom is no match against God’s wisdom. No wisdom or plans of any person can ultimately thwart the Lord’s plans, for He is sovereign (cf. vv. 1–2; Job 42:2) and all-wise.

“Proverbs,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures

Commentary:

The book of Proverbs promotes human wisdom and considers it worthwhile for righteousness (Prov 11:14; 15:22; 20:18). However, it puts human wisdom in proper perspective: It is only found in the fear of Yahweh and it is always subject to God’s higher wisdom (1:7; 20:24

Faithlife Study Bible 

A – God is sovereign and his plans will never be matched or superseded by ours.  Yet, in revealing human wisdom, he gives us insight and understanding of how to align our plans with his.  In our relationship, he reveals his character, will and love.  That produces a healthy fear of him.  We know him more so we respect and experience a deeper reverence.  It draws us closer to him instead of pushing us away.

R – Heavenly Father, we stand in awe, respect and honor for all you are.  We draw closer to you and want to know you better.  As you reveal more of yourself to us, please give us more wisdom and understanding of you.

S – Can you fathom the depths of God or discover the limits of the Almighty? 

⁸ They are higher than the heavens—what can you do? They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know? ⁹ Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.

 Job 11:7–9 CSB

O – Commentary:

Zophar pointed out that the Lord’s mysterious, plummetless, unknowable wisdom exceeds the height of the heavens … the depths of the grave, the length of the earth, and the breadth of the sea

  “Job,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures

A – God is big.  No one can comprehend the extent of his ability and character. That leads some to move from God in fear or disbelief.  That moves others closer to God in faith and trust.  We all have a choice to make.  Add to the equation daily life, the enemy’s challenges and temptations and our thoughts – it is simple yet hard.  Take a step towards God today.

R – Heavenly Father, you are big and you have no limits.  We invite you to unlock another mystery of you today.  Reveal your presence, power and peace so that our limited abilities cannot refute it.  Thank you for loving us and drawing us closer to you today.

S – What is a mere human, that you think so highly of him and pay so much attention to him? 

¹⁸ You inspect him every morning, and put him to the test every moment.

Job 7:17–18 CSB

O – “Inspect” –pâqad, paw-kad’; to visit (with friendly or hostile intent); by anal. to oversee, muster, charge, care for, miss, deposit, etc.

“Test” – bâchan, baw-khan’;to test (espec. metals); gen. and fig. to investigate:— examine, prove, tempt, try (trial).

 James Strong, The New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996).

*Job’s sarcasm has a line of truth – God does think highly of man and daily cares and tries us.

A – There are times when God feels distant or he is allowing challenges he could easily fix.  What is our attitude and belief in God?  Like any relationship, it is difficult to say “I love you” when the other is not “reciprocating.”  By faith, we know that God is present and working on our behalf.

R= Heavenly Father, we worship you as the one, true God.  We invite you to be present and do your will in all of our challenges.  We quiet the enemy’s forces and voices by the blood of Jesus.  We invite your Holy Spirit to do what only you can do.

S – Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, 5 is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. 6 Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends…

1 Corinthians 13:4–8 CSB

O – This scripture gives us fourteen assertions about love.  Half are positive and half are negative.  It summarizes with the phrase “love never ends.”  Although not exhaustive, it gives us strong list of ways for us to demonstrate love in a Godly way.

A – The latter part of  chapter 13 states “The greatest of these is love.”  We must walk in love with God and with others.  We must learn the character and qualities of His love so others can see His love for them.  

R – Heavenly Father, you are the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  Your love has no end.  And, you demonstrated it for us through Jesus on the cross.  Give us the strenth, courage and tenacity to share it with others in our thoughts, words and actions.

S – If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father’s family will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.” 

Esther 4:14 CSB

O – Commentary:

• deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place: Mordecai knew God’s promises and realized that God would not allow his chosen people to be annihilated (see Gen 12:3; 22:18; 28:14; Isa 60:1–5). • perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this: Esther’s rise to power at this precise time was not just a lucky chance of fate—her position as Xerxes’ favored wife and queen was a role that God had given her to influence history for the Jewish people.

 New Living Translation Study Bible 

A – God is working in all things – good and bad.  He also is involved in timing – “For such a time as this.”  We can trust both of these principles in our lives.  We must do our part and have that God will do his. 

R – Heavenly Father, we worship and surrender to you today.  We are grateful that you are working in our lives with perfect timing.  Strengthen our faith when we don’t understand what you are doing or when the timing doesn’t meet our expectations.