Proverbs 3:25 says, Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.  Just as we were told that we could sleep without fear, or in peace, here we are told to live without fear of the things of this world.  Once more we are not told that the desolation of the wicked may come, but that it will.  Through our faith in Christ though, we should never become suddenly overcome with fear of anything in this world.  Verse twenty-six states, For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.  When confronted with the evil of the world, we are told that our confidence should be in God.  When we live by faith, God will keep our souls safe forever, so there is no need to fear whatever happens in this life.  Verse twenty-seven says  Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.   We are to do what is best for others whenever we can.  Christianity is not a selfish religion that claims that somehow those who are Christians deserve more of the things of this world than other people do.  We are called to reach out to the world with the love of God.  Verse twenty-eight says, Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.  We are told to help our neighbor today if we have the ability to do so.  We are not to just put them off with a promise of what we will do for them tomorrow.  Verse twenty-nine states, Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.  Having just been called on to help our neighbors,  we are now warned to not devise ways to harm them.  When we allow greed and materialism to rule our lives, we will too often think only of ways to gain more of the things of the world, even if our neighbors are harmed in the process.  We cannot serve God simply for our own material benefit.  Verse thirty advises, Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.  Some people seem to simply have a hard time getting along with anyone, but we are told not to be that way.  We are not to fight with our neighbors simply because they may be hard to get along with.  I believe that even if they have done us harm that we are still to reach out to them with the love of God.  Verse thirty-one says, Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.  We are never to be envious of anyone, especially those who have become rich through the oppression of others.  We are to choose the way of God instead, which calls us to want what is best for others.  Verse thirty-two says, For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.  Those who put themselves first in everything are an abomination to God.  They refuse to hear His call and follow His leadership.  Verse thirty-three states,The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.  I do not believe that this refers to material things, but to spiritual things.  A poor person who follows God is spiritually blessed and at peace in the world, whereas those who deny God will never be satisfied, because something is missing spiritually.  Verse thirty-four says, Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.  Those who scorn, or deny and ridicule God will likewise be scorned by God.  Those who are lowly, or humble themselves before God, will be given God's grace.  The choice is up to the individual.  Verse thirty-five declares, The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.  The wise are those who accept Christ as their Savior and Lord, and the foolish are those who reject Him.  The wise inherit glory.  They do not earn it, but it is theirs by their being born again into the kingdom of God.  The fool is some who has said in his or her heart that there is no God, and eternal punishment is that person's choice.  There is no neutral ground with a person's relationship to God.

Proverbs 3:13 says, Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.  I believe that there is a difference between gaining knowledge and gaining wisdom.  True wisdom comes from understanding how God works in the world and how He expects us to live in the world.  Knowledge is more an accumulation of facts, but wisdom allows us to see God behind those facts.  Many people, who have a great deal of knowledge, attempt to explain how the world was created and functions without the wisdom of God behind it all, but through the wisdom of God, we must acknowledge that He is the Creator and Sustainer.  Verse fourteen states, For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.  Some people equate wisdom with riches, but God tells us that wisdom is more important than riches, and therefore separate from them.  Many people gain great riches without ever having any true wisdom, which can only come from God.  Verse fifteen says, She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.  This is a continuation of the discussion of the value of wisdom over material things.  We are told that wisdom is more precious than anything else that we might desire.  This would imply that we should spend more time and effort on gaining the wisdom of God than we do on gaining material blessings.  Verse sixteen states, Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.  Living by wisdom can bring long life and riches, but this may not be in this world.  If we are wise enough to live by faith in God, then we have everlasting life and security.  Verse seventeen declares, Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.  I don't believe that this means that all war and fighting will cease when we gain the wisdom of God, but that we can live with peace in our souls in spite of all that is going on in the world.  Because we are God's children forever when we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, then we should not allow the things of this world to rob us of our peace through our faith in Him.  Verse eighteen states , She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.  Once more, since true wisdom comes from accepting Christ as our Savior and Lord, then wisdom is indeed a tree of life to those who claim this wisdom.  Verse nineteen declares, The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.  This verse tells us that the heavens and earth were founded on the wisdom of God.  This disputes the theory based on the knowledge of man that the heavens and earth were created by some cosmic explosion.  God created the heavens and earth to function in a specific way, and He continues to keep it working in accordance with His will.  Verse twenty states, By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.  This is more than just intelligent design by some creative force.  This is a statement that everything was created in accordance with God's design.  Verse twenty-one says, My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:  We are advised to never forget that God is behind it all, and that by doing so, we display sound wisdom.  Verse twenty-two says, So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.  Wisdom that comes from God, the only true wisdom, will bring life to our souls.  Until we have the wisdom to accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, our souls are spiritually dead.  Though the soul is the everlasting part of every person, it is separated from God until we come to Him through Christ.  When we accept Christ, we are spiritually alive with God forever.  Verse twenty-three states, Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.  I believe that this is referring to walking safely spiritually without stumbling.  When we live by God's direction, under the guidance of His wisdom, we are safe from the power of sin forever, and we should never stumble in our walk with Him.  This is true even when the world around us seems to be going insane.  The wisdom of God is still true.  Verse twenty-four says, When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.  When we are secure in our relationship with God, physical aches and pains may keep us awake, but worries never should.  We can sleep peacefully knowing that we are God's children forever through our faith in Christ.

Proverbs 3:1 says, My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:  Even in Proverbs, there is a call to have God's commandments written in our hearts.  Not forgetting God's law means more than inscribing His words in a stone.  I believe that we should be more concerned about living with God's commandments written in our hearts, or minds, than about having them written on a stone, or poster.  This is especially true if we are displaying them more to bring attention, or glory, to ourselves instead of God.  More than displaying God's law, we need to live it.  Verse two says, For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.  I don't believe that we can say that everyone who lives under God's leadership will live a long life on this earth, but I do believe that anyone who does will live a more peaceful life.  We also know that this is just the beginning of our everlasting life.  Once we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, we begin to live that everlasting life with Him, and this should bring us peace, no matter what happens in our life.  Verse three says, Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:  We should always keep God's laws where we can see them personally, and I believe that the best place for this is to have them hidden, or written, in our heart, or mind.  We should always have ready access to God's word if we are going to be guided by it.  Verse four states, So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.  If we follow God's guidance, if we do not find favor with other people around us, it should never be because of our attitude toward them.  We should always live in a way that honors God, but also in a way that shows love and compassion to those around us.  This world is not my land, or your land, but God's land.  Verse five declares, Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  Do we really trust in God with all our heart, or do we often waver in doubt?  Do we often believe that our understanding of the world is better than God's understanding?  If we make a statement that implies that God just doesn't understand our situation, then we are leaning on our own understanding.  Verse six states, In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.  We are instructed to acknowledge God in everything we do.  We cannot divide the world into the secular, or material, and the religious, or spiritual.  Everything we do should be guided by God if we are truly followers of Christ.  Verse seven says, Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.  There are people today who say they are just too intelligent to believe in God and His word.  They are wise in their own eyes.  We are called on to fear, or give priority to, God and to not follow the ways of evil.  Just because we as followers of Christ have all our sins for all time forgiven does not mean that we are free to live however we want.  God's guidance should still be our standard.  Verse eight states, It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.  I believe that this is basically saying that following God's guidance will give us strength when we are met with the trials and tribulations of life.  Verse nine states, Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:  We are to honor God with all we have.  We are to give God the first and best that we have, and not the leftovers if there are any.  I believe this applies to our time as well as our possessions.  God must come first if we truly honor Him.  Verse ten says, So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.  I don't believe that we should ever give to God expecting to be rewarded materially for doing so, but this verse tells us that when we put God first, He will bless us.  God will always supply our needs if we live according to His will, though we may not always be able to see it at the time.  Verse eleven declares, My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:  After telling us that we will be blessed if we honor God by the way we live, we are now told that God will chastise us when we do not obey His will.  We love the promise of the blessings, but we aren't so thrilled with the chastisement.  Solomon tells us to not despise the chastisment, then tells us why in the next verse.  Verse twelve states, For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.  If God never corrects us, then there may be something wrong with our relationship with God.  We are not told that God might correct us if we do something wrong, but that He will correct us, and that He will do this out of love for us.  Whether God is blessing us or correcting us, it will always be done out of His love for us based on our relationship to Him.  God can neither bless nor correct us if we do not acknowledge Him as our heavenly Father.

Proverbs 2:10 says, When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;  This can only happen after we acknowledge God.  Without acknowledging God, we can have no real wisdom.  Verse eleven states, Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:  Our discretion will be in choosing the path that God directs for us.  The understanding that God is in control will keep us under His direction.  Verse twelve says, To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;  This is still referring to being under the direction of God and being guided by the wisdom that can really only come from Him.  When we are, we will not be lead astray by evil people who teach things that are in opposition to God's word.  We can never compromise God's truth and successfully follow Him.  Verse thirteen says, Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;  Once more, we are told that we cannot deny the wisdom and teachings of God without leaving the path of uprightness, or righteousness.  We can either walk following the path that God sets for us, or we can stray away into the path of the unrighteous.  Verse fourteen continues, Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;  We know that there are people today who delight in denying God.  We also know that there are those who seem to delight in doing evil.  We also know that those who deny God and live by the power of evil seem to delight in getting others to follow them.  I believe this is especially true of those who deny that God is the Creator of the world.  Verse fifteen states, Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: This is still a continuation of the description of those who will not accept the wisdom of God.  When a person denies God, everything they do is crooked in the eyes of God, so the path that such a person followers has to be against what God teaches.  Verse sixteen says, To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;  This is a positive result of following the direction of God.  We will not give in to temptation, no matter how appealing it may appear to be, if we are living under the guidance and protection of God.  Verse seventeen states, Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.  This is in reference to a woman who would lead someone away from God by using sexual allure, but the warning could apply to anyone who would lead us astray from God's will for whatever reason.  Verse eighteen continues, For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.  As just stated, this refers to a woman leading a man into sexual misconduct, and the result of the auction leading to death.   Verse nineteen states, None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.  I believe that this is simply a reference to the power of sexual misconduct, or sin, in the life of a individual.  Matthew Henry says that is almost impossible to escape from such sinful actions.  Verse twenty states, That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.  This tells us if we want to walk in the way of good, or righteous men, then we will avoid these sexual temptations.  We hear so much about sexual misconduct conduct today, though it is usually about the man leading, or forcing, the women into the act.  Which ever one, man or woman, leads a person into such an act puts them in a dangerous situation spiritually.  Verse twenty-one says, For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.  This simply tells us that if we walk in God's path that we will remain in His kingdom, not simply by our actions but by our faith in God.  Verse twenty-two declares, But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.  This is the ultimate outcome for those who will not follow God and accept the salvation that Christ makes available.  Even if they live rich and prosperous lives, they will ultimately be cut off from the kingdom of God.

We will take a brief pause from Proverbs to reflect on the New Year.  I guess we can first reflect on last year.  Whatever it brought us, good or bad, is now gone, and can never be changed, so we cannot allow it to determine what the coming year is going to be.  We may learn from the past, but we cannot attempt to live there and find all the purpose and joy that we should in today.  As a person gets older, there is a tendency to spend more time reflecting on the past, but we cannot afford to allow this to cause us to stop living in the hope of today. As followers of Christ, we must remember that time is really of no consequence.  The time passed so far is but the blink of an eye compared to the everlasting life we have through our faith in Christ.  As far as this coming year, 2019, that we start today, we need to look forward to it with hope, since we as Christians should always be filled with the hope of Christ in our lives.  If we are to make any New Year's resolutions, the first should be to put the will of God first and to live by our faith in Christ.  Though we may make plans for the coming year, we must live today as if there were no tomorrow for us.  This moment is all that we are promised in this world, and we must make the most of it.  Just as we cannot live in the past, we cannot live in the future.  We can only live in the now, so what we do with today is all that we can control.  Many resolutions will be made today, and broken before the week is out, but we, as followers of Christ, need to resolve to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit everyday, and this is a resolution that we should not make figuring we will soon break it.  Whatever this new year brings, whether good or bad, we must put God first, then everything else will be ok.  So, happy New Year and may God bless you during this coming year as you live by your faith in Him.

Proverbs 2:1 says, My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;  Though written by Solomon, I believe that we can safely say that this refers to God.  We are God's children if we accept His gift of salvation.  After referring to us as His son, or child, there is a big if, stating that if we receive and live by God's commandments, then what is said next will be true.  God's promises are always based on our obedience to Him.  Verse two states, So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;  We are to listen for God's instructions and make them the basis of our actions.  The only way to know what God would have us do is to listen for His word to us.  We also need to understand that God's word to us will always be consistent with what His word has always said.  Verse three declares, Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;  I believe that this is the knowledge of God that we are to cry out for,, and that it is with an unwavering faith in Who He is that we are to lift up our voices.  We may have the greatest knowledge of how the world thinks, but without a knowledge of what God says it is worthless.  Verse four says, If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;  We are told that we are to seek the knowledge God as we would seek the riches of the world.  The truth of God is worth more than any treasure we might find in this world.  The question then becomes which do we seek most, earthly riches or the wisdom of God?  Verse five states, Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.  When we put searching for the truth of God ahead of material things, we are promised that we will fear, or respect, God and find His knowledge, which is the only true knowledge.  Verse six states, For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.  Once more, we are told that true wisdom comes from God.  The word of God gives us knowledge and understanding of how everything was created and is sustained, which is by the action of God.  We can either choose to believe this or not.  Verse seven says, He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.  This basically tells us that if we would be righteous, then we must believe God's word, because we can only become righteous through the grace of God.  Once we accept God's gift of salvation, of righteousness, then we must walk in righteousness in all that we do.  Verse eight says, He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.  God is the One Who keeps us on the path of righteousness.  After we become followers of Christ, we are not suddenly able to live by God's will by our own ability, but the Holy Spirit comes to live in us and to enable us to do so.  Verse nine declares, Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.  Only after we acknowledge that God is the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer of everything can we understand His righteousness, judgment, and fairness.  When we do understand this, we will not ask how a loving God could send people to hell, but will understand that He did everything He could, short of forcing them to follow Him, to keep them from going there.

Proverbs 1:20 says, Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:  I believe that Solomon is telling us that even in all the evil of the world that wisdom will not be silenced.  Wisdom calls us to a better relationship with others, not based on our on greed for material things, especially those belonging to others.  Verse twenty-one states, She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,  Since wisdom comes from God, His wisdom can be found everywhere if we listen for it.  Verse twenty-two asks, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?  This is a warning to not rely on our own understanding or the power of false religions.  I believe that this knowledge that fools are said to hate is the knowledge of God.  Verse twenty-three declares, Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.  This was not a call for people to follow Solomon, but for people to follow God.  We are to turn from our wicked ways and follow God.  When we accept Christ, after acknowledging our own inability to save ourselves, then God does pour out His spirit on us. The Holy Spirit indwells, or lives within us.  Verse twenty-four says,  Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;  God says that even though He called them, people ignored His call and His hand stretched out to them in mercy.  This has not changed, even after the coming of Christ.  Verse twenty-five states, But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:  There are so many people in the world today who do not acknowledge God.  There are also those who claim to follow Christ who do not obey His teachings or follow His leadership.  Verse twenty-six states, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;  Though this tells us that God will laugh at the calamity of those who do not accept Him, I don't believe that God really delights in the suffering of those who will not put their faith in Him.  Verse twenty-seven states, When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.  Then continuing in verse twenty-eight, Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:  This is a warning that when the fear of God comes after everything in the world has failed, which will certainly be true when God's judgment comes, that it will be to late.  We are told to seek God when He can be found, and I believe this is a warning that some people will simply wait too long to respond to God's call.  Verse twenty-nine says, For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:  There are definitely many people today who choose to not fear the Lord.  They hate anything to do with the knowledge of God, which is the true knowledge.  Verse thirty states, They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.  God will make Himself known to people, but many will not listen to His counsel.  It is not enough to just acknowledge that there might be a god, but we must listen to what the only God teaches us.  Verse thirty-one says, Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.  I believe that this simply says that people who refuse to listen to God will be allowed to live their everyday lives.  God will not just strike them down immediately.  Verse thirty-two says, For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.  I believe that this teaches us that ultimately everyone will be judged by their actions, beginning with their relationship to Christ.  Those who have rejected God and abused the poor for their own benefit will find that their prosperity is the prosperity of fools.  Anything gained while denying God will be a foolish prosperity, since it will all pass away.  Verse thirty-three declares, But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.  God promises that those who follow Him will live in safety, free from the fear of evil.  Even if we are in a situation where our lives are threatened because of our faith in Christ, we should never be afraid of the outcome.  We are  secure with God for time everlasting.