Lifeline Today
Sunday August 16
Extending Grace
The king said, is there not still someone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the [unfailing, unsought, unlimited] mercy and kindness of God? Ziba replied, Jonathan has yet a son who is lame in his feet. 2Samuel 9:3 (AMP)

The grace of God has a vertical significance as a gift from Him. And like the Cross of Christ, there is also horizontal grace – our extending it to others. When we remind ourselves always of where God has brought us from, to where we are, we easily allow Him to take another person through us.

Mephibosheth has zero personal appeal; but David stooped in grace. Like the late pastor and Bible scholar Donald Barnhouse said: “Love that goes upward is worship; love that goes outward is affection; love that stoop is grace.” To show grace is to extend favour or kindness to one who doesn’t deserve it and can never earn it. This is your day.

Wisdom Fountain: "Be graceful in everything; in anger, in sadness, in joy, in kindness, in unkindness, retain grace with you!"
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the boundless grace You constantly pour into my life. As You have forgiven and accepted me, please grant me the strength and compassion to extend that same unearned grace, mercy, and patience to the people around me in Jesus’ name.

PROVERB OF THE DAY

(Proverbs 5)

1. My son, pay attention to my wisdom;
Lend your ear to my understanding,

2. That you may preserve discretion,
And your lips may keep knowledge.

3. For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey,
And her mouth is smoother than oil;

4. But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.

5. Her feet go down to death,
Her steps lay hold of hell.

6. Lest you ponder her path of life—
Her ways are unstable;
You do not know them.

7. Therefore hear me now, my children,
And do not depart from the words of my mouth.

8. Remove your way far from her,
And do not go near the door of her house,

9. Lest you give your honor to others,
And your years to the cruel one;

10. Lest aliens be filled with your wealth,
And your labors go to the house of a foreigner;

11. And you mourn at last,
When your flesh and your body are consumed,

12. And say:
“How I have hated instruction,
And my heart despised correction!

13. I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,
Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!

14. I was on the verge of total ruin,
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

15. Drink water from your own cistern,
And running water from your own well.

16. Should your fountains be dispersed abroad,
Streams of water in the streets?

17. Let them be only your own,
And not for strangers with you.

18. Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice with the wife of your youth.

19. As a loving deer and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
And always be enraptured with her love.

20. For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman,
And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?

21. For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD,
And He ponders all his paths.

22. His own iniquities entrap the wicked man,
And he is caught in the cords of his sin.

23. He shall die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

PROVERB OF THE DAY

(Proverbs 5)

1. My son, pay attention to my wisdom;
Lend your ear to my understanding,

2. That you may preserve discretion,
And your lips may keep knowledge.

3. For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey,
And her mouth is smoother than oil;

4. But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.

5. Her feet go down to death,
Her steps lay hold of hell.

6. Lest you ponder her path of life—
Her ways are unstable;
You do not know them.

7. Therefore hear me now, my children,
And do not depart from the words of my mouth.

8. Remove your way far from her,
And do not go near the door of her house,

9. Lest you give your honor to others,
And your years to the cruel one;

10. Lest aliens be filled with your wealth,
And your labors go to the house of a foreigner;

11. And you mourn at last,
When your flesh and your body are consumed,

12. And say:
“How I have hated instruction,
And my heart despised correction!

13. I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,
Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!

14. I was on the verge of total ruin,
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

15. Drink water from your own cistern,
And running water from your own well.

16. Should your fountains be dispersed abroad,
Streams of water in the streets?

17. Let them be only your own,
And not for strangers with you.

18. Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice with the wife of your youth.

19. As a loving deer and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
And always be enraptured with her love.

20. For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman,
And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?

21. For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD,
And He ponders all his paths.

22. His own iniquities entrap the wicked man,
And he is caught in the cords of his sin.

23. He shall die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

PROVERB OF THE DAY

(Proverbs 1)

1. The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

2. To know wisdom and instruction,
To perceive the words of understanding,

3. To receive the instruction of wisdom,
Justice, judgment, and equity;

4. To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion—

5. A wise man will hear and increase learning,
And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,

6. To understand a proverb and an enigma,
The words of the wise and their riddles.

7. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

8. My son, hear the instruction of your father,
And do not forsake the law of your mother;

9. For they will be a graceful ornament on your head,
And chains about your neck.

10. My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not consent.

11. If they say, “Come with us,
Let us lie in wait to shed blood;
Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;

12. Let us swallow them alive like Sheol,
And whole, like those who go down to the Pit;

13. We shall find all kinds of precious possessions,
We shall fill our houses with spoil;

14. Cast in your lot among us,
Let us all have one purse”—

15. My son, do not walk in the way with them,
Keep your foot from their path;

16. For their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed blood.

17. Surely, in vain the net is spread
In the sight of any bird;

18. But they lie in wait for their own blood,
They lurk secretly for their own lives.

19. So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain;
It takes away the life of its owners.

20. Wisdom calls aloud outside;
She raises her voice in the open squares.

21. She cries out in the chief concourses,
At the openings of the gates in the city
She speaks her words:

22. “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?
For scorners delight in their scorning,
And fools hate knowledge.

23. Turn at my rebuke;
Surely I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.

24. Because I have called and you refused,
I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,

25. Because you disdained all my counsel,
And would have none of my rebuke,

26. I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when your terror comes,

27. When your terror comes like a storm,
And your destruction comes like a whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.

28. “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.

29. Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the LORD,

30. They would have none of my counsel
And despised my every rebuke.

31. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way,
And be filled to the full with their own fancies.

32. For the turning away of the simple will slay them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them;

33. But whoever listens to me will dwell safely,
And will be secure, without fear of evil.”

PROVERB OF THE DAY

(Proverbs 1)

1. The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

2. To know wisdom and instruction,
To perceive the words of understanding,

3. To receive the instruction of wisdom,
Justice, judgment, and equity;

4. To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion—

5. A wise man will hear and increase learning,
And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,

6. To understand a proverb and an enigma,
The words of the wise and their riddles.

7. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

8. My son, hear the instruction of your father,
And do not forsake the law of your mother;

9. For they will be a graceful ornament on your head,
And chains about your neck.

10. My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not consent.

11. If they say, “Come with us,
Let us lie in wait to shed blood;
Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;

12. Let us swallow them alive like Sheol,
And whole, like those who go down to the Pit;

13. We shall find all kinds of precious possessions,
We shall fill our houses with spoil;

14. Cast in your lot among us,
Let us all have one purse”—

15. My son, do not walk in the way with them,
Keep your foot from their path;

16. For their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed blood.

17. Surely, in vain the net is spread
In the sight of any bird;

18. But they lie in wait for their own blood,
They lurk secretly for their own lives.

19. So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain;
It takes away the life of its owners.

20. Wisdom calls aloud outside;
She raises her voice in the open squares.

21. She cries out in the chief concourses,
At the openings of the gates in the city
She speaks her words:

22. “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?
For scorners delight in their scorning,
And fools hate knowledge.

23. Turn at my rebuke;
Surely I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.

24. Because I have called and you refused,
I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,

25. Because you disdained all my counsel,
And would have none of my rebuke,

26. I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when your terror comes,

27. When your terror comes like a storm,
And your destruction comes like a whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.

28. “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.

29. Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the LORD,

30. They would have none of my counsel
And despised my every rebuke.

31. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way,
And be filled to the full with their own fancies.

32. For the turning away of the simple will slay them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them;

33. But whoever listens to me will dwell safely,
And will be secure, without fear of evil.”

continuation chapter two 2.2
Now, don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying you don't need the knowledge. You absolutely need it. Without knowledge, you'd jump in and try to breathe underwater like a particularly optimistic fish. The knowledge gives you faith in the process. It tells you that the water can, in fact, hold you up, that these awkward, flailing motions have meaning and might eventually become graceful. It gives you a reason to keep spluttering. But you still need to practice. You still need to drill. You still need to drown a little before you can swim a lot. You'll drink so much pool water that you'll be able to taste the chlorine in your dreams. You'll cough, you'll gag, you'll question why you ever left the shore of theoretical comfort where the books were dry and the certificates were safe. The righteous life is not a certificate on your wall; it's a rhythm in your limbs, a muscle memory of the soul. And muscles don't grow by reading about protein; they grow by lifting something heavy and then feeling sore the next day and complaining to everyone about it.
‎
‎So it is with righteousness. One can study the Scriptures until their eyes cross and they've developed a permanent squint. One can quote verses on grace with the speed and precision of an auctioneer on caffeine. One can recite the doctrines of justification and sanctification forward, backward, and in the original Hebrew while juggling concordances. One can intellectually affirm with perfect, shining orthodoxy that Christ is the living water, and say "Amen" so loudly that the person in the next pew spills their coffee. But that, my friend, is merely reading about water. It is studying the molecular structure, the boiling point, the freezing point, the historical significance of water in the ancient Near East. It is all accurate, all true, all very impressive in a Bible trivia competition. But your throat is still parched. You are dying of thirst while holding a library card to the well. To be free from sin, you must dive into the discipline. You must practice patience when every fiber of your being wants to scream and throw a chair through a window—preferably the window of the person who is currently testing your patience. And not patience with gritted teeth and a twitching eye—that's not patience, that's just anger in a corset, anger with a fake mustache and glasses, anger doing a very poor impression of a calm person. No, you must steadily come to be in love with patience, to find it a fascinating companion, to court it like a shy lover, choosing it freely and wantonly, not because you have to but because you genuinely prefer it. You don't practice patience to make the Old Man in the Sky nod approvingly and slide a gold star across the heavenly counter. That would be theatre, a performance, a pretence, a dinner party where everyone is polite and no one is real. It would be you watching yourself be patient, which is the fastest way to become impatient with your own patience, which leads to a meta-crisis of infinite regress: you're angry that you're angry about being angry about trying to be patient. The work is not a bribe. The work is the transformation of your own taste buds.
‎
‎And this brings us to the great confusion, the grand misunderstanding that has produced more theatrical saints than a Hollywood casting call. Some say, with great authority, "You must practice self-control when temptation whispers." But let's examine that. Let's put it on the operating table and poke it with a scalpel. What is mere self-control? Isn't it often just controlling the evil that is inside you, making sure it doesn't leak out and stain your shirt? Isn't it just hiding the monster in the closet when guests come over, shoving it behind the winter coats and the old photo albums, while it continues to growl and scratch at the door and probably eat your shoes? A man who is seething with rage but has "controlled" himself, presenting a placid smile to the world while his internal organs are staging a violent coup, has not practiced righteousness at all. He has practiced concealment. He has become a beautifully decorated tomb, full of very active dead men's bones—which is, coincidentally, exactly what Jesus called the Pharisees in Matthew 23:27. He hasn't dealt with the rage; he's just soundproofed the room. The rage is still in there, doing squats, getting stronger, waiting for the guests to leave so it can come out and redecorate the living room with thrown lamps. This is not the practice of righteousness. This is spiritual stage management. It's a war tactic, hiding the dangerous artillery under a tarp and wheeling it out again when the truce is over. The bitterness is still there, polishing its weapons, writing passive-aggressive letters, keeping a detailed list of every offense ever committed against you since kindergarten.
‎
‎What, then, is this work we must do? It is not the suppression of the symptom. It is the re-training of the heart. It is the long, sometimes tedious, often unglamorous work of learning to love what is good, not just performing it for an Audience of One who, by the way, can see backstage and knows you're wearing a wire. It is the work of taking the anti-malarial tablet when you don't feel like it, when the pill seems bitter, when your flesh wants to spit it out and go back to the fever dreams. It is the work of getting into the water of discipline when the shore of theoretical knowledge is so much more comfortable, so much drier, so much less likely to expose your flailing limbs. It is the work of raising the sail—pulling the rope one more time when your arms are tired, when the wind seems absent, when the harbor looks so inviting with its stationary boats and its non-sailing people who never have to worry about storms. It is the work of not generating the wind, but cooperating with it.
‎
‎And if you will do this work—this unsexy, unglamorous, nobody-is-watching, nobody-is-clapping, nobody-is-writing-a-worship-song-about-your-effort work—you will find one day, to your utter and complete astonishment, that you are no longer acting patient. You simply are patient. The role you played has become the self you are. The costume has become your skin. The habit has become your heartbeat. And that, my friends, is not a lightning bolt. It is a sunrise. Slow, silent, and absolutely unstoppable. And when it comes, you won't even notice at first. You'll just be drinking your coffee one morning, and someone will cut you off in traffic, and you'll wish them well—genuinely—and then you'll catch yourself in the rearview mirror and laugh out loud, because the thing you were striving for has become the thing you are. The swimmer has become the swimming. The patient one has become the patience. And God, the Great Physician, the Master Swimming Instructor, the Captain of the Wind, will smile and say, "Finally, you got in the water. I've been waiting. Now let's go a little deeper."
‎

PROVERB OF THE DAY

(Proverbs 5)

1. My son, pay attention to my wisdom;
Lend your ear to my understanding,

2. That you may preserve discretion,
And your lips may keep knowledge.

3. For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey,
And her mouth is smoother than oil;

4. But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.

5. Her feet go down to death,
Her steps lay hold of hell.

6. Lest you ponder her path of life—
Her ways are unstable;
You do not know them.

7. Therefore hear me now, my children,
And do not depart from the words of my mouth.

8. Remove your way far from her,
And do not go near the door of her house,

9. Lest you give your honor to others,
And your years to the cruel one;

10. Lest aliens be filled with your wealth,
And your labors go to the house of a foreigner;

11. And you mourn at last,
When your flesh and your body are consumed,

12. And say:
“How I have hated instruction,
And my heart despised correction!

13. I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,
Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!

14. I was on the verge of total ruin,
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

15. Drink water from your own cistern,
And running water from your own well.

16. Should your fountains be dispersed abroad,
Streams of water in the streets?

17. Let them be only your own,
And not for strangers with you.

18. Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice with the wife of your youth.

19. As a loving deer and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
And always be enraptured with her love.

20. For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman,
And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?

21. For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD,
And He ponders all his paths.

22. His own iniquities entrap the wicked man,
And he is caught in the cords of his sin.

23. He shall die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

Fear not Man, Fear the One True God NKJV

Proverbs 1:7-10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother;

For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, And chains about your neck.

My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.

Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.
27- An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, And he who is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked.

Job 28:20-28 "From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?

Is it hidden from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the birds of the air.

Destruction and Death say, 'We have heard about it with our ears.'

God understands its way, And He knows its place.

For He looks to the ends of the earth, And sees under the whole heavens,

To establish a weight for the wind, And apportion the waters by measure.

When He made a a law for the rain, And a path for the thunderbolt,

Then He saw wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.

And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.'"

Matthew 10:28-31 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a cooper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from you Father's will.

"But the very hairs of your head are all numbered,

"Do not fear therefore; you are more value than many sparrows.

2 Timothy 1:7-9 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our LOrd, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings fro the gospel according to the power of God,

who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.

Romans 8:12-19 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors--not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

For if we live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

For I consider that the the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.

1 John 4:17-21 Love has been perfected among us in this; that we may have have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

We love Him because He first loved us.

If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

And this commandment we have from Him; that he who loves God must love his brother also.

1 John 5:4-5 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.

Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Fear Not man, Fear the One True God-Long Version NKJV

Proverbs 1:7-10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother;

For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, And chains about your neck.

My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.

Proverbs 29:22-27 An angry man stirs up strife, And a furious man abounds in transgression.

A man's pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.

Whoever is a partner with a thief hates his own life; He swears to tell the truth, but reveals nothing.

The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.

Many seek the ruler's favor, But justice for man comes from the LORD.

An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, And he who is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked.

Job 28:20-28 "From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?

Is it hidden from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the birds of the air.

Destruction and Death say, 'We have heard about it with our ears.'

God understands its way, And He knows its place.

For He looks to the ends of the earth, And sees under the whole heavens,

To establish a weight for the wind, And apportion the waters by measure.

When He made a law for the rain, And a path for the thunderbolt,

Then He saw wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.

And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.'"

Matthew 10:27-33 "Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.

"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will.

"But the very hairs of your head are all numbered,

"Do not fear therefore; you are more value than many sparrows.

"Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.

"But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

2 Timothy 1:7-12 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,

who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,

but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.

For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

Romans 8:12-21 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors--not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

For if we live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

For I consider that the the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope,

because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

1 John 4:17-21 Love has been perfected among us in this; that we may have have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

We love Him because He first loved us.

If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

And this commandment we have from Him; that he who loves God must love his brother also.

1 John 5:4-5 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.

Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Fear God Only Genesis 42:18-Deuteronomy 28:59 NKJV

Genesis 42:18 Then Joseph said to them the third day, "Do this and live, for I fear God:

Deuteronomy 4:9-10 "Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren,

"especially concerning the day you stood before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, 'Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.'

Deuteronomy 5:29 'Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My comandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!

Deuteronomy 6:1-3 "Now this is the commandment, and these are the statues and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess,

"that you may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statues and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.

"Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you--a land flowing with milk and honey.'

Deuteronomy 6:13 "You shall fear the LORD your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name.

Deuteronomy 6:24 'And the LORD commanded us to observe all these statues, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day.

Deuteronomy 8:6 'Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.

Deuteronomy 10:12-14 'And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

"and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statues which I command you today for your good?

"Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the LORD your God, also the earth with all that is in it.

Deuteronomy 10:20 "You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name.

Deuteronomy 13:4 "You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.

Deuteronomy 13:10-11 "And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

"So all Israel shall hear and fear, and not again do such wickedness as this among you.

Deuteronomy 14:23 "And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.

Deuteronomy 17:12-13 "Now the man who acts presumptuously and will not heed the priest who stands to minister there before the LORD your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So you shall put away the evil from Israel.

"And all the people shall hear and fear, and no longer act presumptuously.

Deuteronomy 17:18-20 "Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites.

"And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statues,

"that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.

Deuteronomy 19:18-20 "And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother,

"then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among you.

"And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you.

Deuteronomy 21:20-23 "And they shall say to the elders of his city, 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.'

"Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.

"If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,

"his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.'

Deuteronomy 28:58-59 "If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD,

"then the LORD will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues--great and prolonged plagues-- and serious and prolonged sicknesses.

Proverbs 5:1-23 (NRSV):
1. My child, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding,
2. so that you may hold on to prudence, and your lips may guard knowledge.
3. For the lips of a loose woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil,
4. but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
5. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol.
6. She does not keep straight to the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it.
7. And now, my child, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8. Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house,
9. lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless,
10. and strangers take their fill of your wealth, and your labors go to the house of an alien,
11. and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed,
12. and you say, “Oh, how I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!
13. I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.
14. Now I am at the point of utter ruin in the public assembly.”
15. Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well.
16. Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets?
17. Let them be for yourself alone and not for sharing with strangers.
18. Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
19. a lovely deer, a graceful doe. May her breasts satisfy you at all times; may you be intoxicated always by her love.
20. Why should you be intoxicated, my son, by another woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?
21. For human ways are under the eyes of the LORD, and he examines all their paths.
22. The iniquities of the wicked ensnare them, and they are caught in the coils of their sin.
23. They die for lack of discipline, and because of their great folly they are lost.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.bibleworld.new_revised_standard_version_bible_nrsv

CRIPPLE WOOD
Just like Samson of old, I have a riddle for you today: “The fragrance of healing came out of the cripple wood, and a graceful bearing out of the fire.”
On a recent walk in the Eastern Free State, I found two trees destroyed by fire.
On the right, a broken stump had a small wild plant emerging from its wound. The fragrance was soft, clean, and unexpected—a scent of grace among the soot.
On the left, a blackened tree had one branch that survived the fire. It was the perfect length for a walking stick. I took it home, sanded the burn marks, and brought it back to life. It’s not perfect—it’s crooked and uneven—but it’s strong. A friend laughed and said, “That’s a stick with character.” He was right. Character is formed in the fire.
The tree on the right released a pleasant fragrance. The tree on the left had a branch left over to complete a pilgrimage. They didn’t lose their value in the trauma—they found it precisely within it.
I think of my own wounds. Of the times I felt burned out, useless, finished. But God does not allow fire only to destroy. He lets a pleasant fragrance rise from the wound. He repurposes dry wood to serve as a walking stick on the long road.
Prayer:
Father, thank You for not leaving me in sackcloth and ashes. Shape my character where I go through Your fire. Let a pleasant fragrance come from my wounds. Amen.
Your trauma works healing for others. Even if you are crooked and covered with burn marks—this is not a distortion; this is your story. This is your testimony.
"For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ..." (2 Corinthians 2:15)
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