Bible League: Living His Word My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.— Proverbs 24:13-14 ESV Let's begin with a question: What is it that sustains your hope in life — a feeling that what is desired can be had or that events will turn out for the best? Hope is valued (or not) by that which describes it: a "lasting hope," a "constant hope," as over against a "fleeting hope," or even a "misplaced hope." Hope for all of us seems to be in continual motion. At times we sense the strength of its presence, and at other times, it's like hope just stood up and walked out the door! If we are honest with ourselves, we would admit that hope wavers and wanders in relation to the events that are taking place in our lives. Whether near or distant, we have learned, for the most part, to temper our thoughts and look through the lens God has provided to see that He is working on our behalf. Our verses for today metaphorically describe this "lens" God has graciously provided to give anchor to hope. King Solomon is not introducing the latest dessert item on the royal menu, but he is intentionally drawing a relationship between honey and wisdom -- indeed, the wisdom that comes from the Word of God. Both Solomon and his father King David took ample opportunity to extoll the superior virtues of this kind of wisdom through their writings. Wisdom is better than rubies (Proverbs 3:15; 8:11; 20:15); it is better than silver or gold (Proverbs 3:14; 8:10; Psalm 119:72); summarily, it is better than anything you could desire (Proverbs 4:7)! For those who will not just see it or hear it, but truly apply it there is great reward (Psalm 19:11), and it certainly provides an anchored, delightful hope amid that which could truly snatch our hope away if we allowed it (Psalm 1:1-3). But we don't allow it! We remain steadfast in the Word, like a well-nourished tree remains near the source of its nourishment. Though the Proverbs can be individualized pithy statements of truth, it surely is not by accident that Proverbs 13:12 and 13 have a tight relationship with one another that substantiates the connection between our hope for life and our love for the Word of God. Hope keeps rising in our lives, like a well-nourished "tree of life" for those who love and revere the Word of God. Some days may be dark. Some circumstances may cause us to wonder where hope went. But a faithful meditation and obedience toward the Word of God will eventually renew the feeling of God's love in our lives, and nothing is quite so sweet as His presence! By Bill Niblette, Ph.D., Bible League International staff, Pennsylvania U.S. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingIsaiah 59, 60, 61 Isaiah 59 -- Your sins have separated you and your God NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Isaiah 60 -- The Glory of Zion NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Isaiah 61 -- The Spirit of the Lord is on me; The Year of the Lord's Favor NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 1 Thessalonians 4 1 Thessalonians 4 -- Live to Please God; The Dead in Christ Brought with His Second Coming NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.Insight We are saved by faith, not by deeds. But love for others and for God is the response of those whom God has forgiven. God's forgiveness is complete, and Jesus said that those who are forgiven much love much. Challenge Because faith expresses itself through love, you can check your love for others as a way to monitor your faith. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Psalm 36:9 With thee is the fountain of life.There are times in our spiritual experience when human counsel or sympathy, or religious ordinances, fail to comfort or help us. Why does our gracious God permit this? Perhaps it is because we have been living too much without him, and he therefore takes away everything upon which we have been in the habit of depending, that he may drive us to himself. It is a blessed thing to live at the fountain head. While our skin- bottles are full, we are content, like Hagar and Ishmael, to go into the wilderness; but when those are dry, nothing will serve us but "Thou God seest me." We are like the prodigal, we love the swine-troughs and forget our Father's house. Remember, we can make swine-troughs and husks even out of the forms of religion; they are blessed things, but we may put them in God's place, and then they are of no value. Anything becomes an idol when it keeps us away from God: even the brazen serpent is to be despised as "Nehushtan," if we worship it instead of God. The prodigal was never safer than when he was driven to his father's bosom, because he could find sustenance nowhere else. Our Lord favors us with a famine in the land that it may make us seek after himself the more. The best position for a Christian is living wholly and directly on God's grace--still abiding where he stood at first--"Having nothing, and yet possessing all things." Let us never for a moment think that our standing is in our sanctification, our mortification, our graces, or our feelings, but know that because Christ offered a full atonement, therefore we are saved; for we are complete in him. Having nothing of our own to trust to, but resting upon the merits of Jesus--his passion and holy life furnish us with the only sure ground of confidence. Beloved, when we are brought to a thirsting condition, we are sure to turn to the fountain of life with eagerness. Daily Light on the Daily Path Matthew 6:13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.'Proverbs 28:26 He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered. James 1:13,14 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. • But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 2 Corinthians 6:17 "Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE," says the Lord. "AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you. Genesis 13:10,11,13 Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere-- this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah-- like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. • So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. • Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the LORD. 2 Peter 2:7,9 and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men • then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, Romans 14:4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. 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