REPOST Today’s AMI QT Devotional, provided by Pastor David Kwon who heads Journey Community Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, was first posted on December 18, 2014. He is a graduate of Drexel University (BS) and Columbia International University (M.Div.).
Devotional Thought for Today
“Don’t Be A Fool”
Proverbs 26:4-5
Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. 5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
Proverbs 26:11-12
Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly. 12Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
The Webster’s Dictionary defines a “fool” as a “person who lacks good sense or judgment.” If we are honest with ourselves, at times, we have acted unwisely or foolishly especially when it came to making decisions by having a limited perspective of a situation; or in the things that we might have said to someone. The results of these unwise choices and actions are unwanted consequences.
One of the characteristics of fools is their unwillingness to listen to correction. When they make mistakes, they do not listen to criticism, so they end up repeating those same mistakes. For this reason, they are compared to “a dog that throws up and then returns to his vomit” (v.11). The assumption is that dogs throw up because they made a mistake of eating something bad, but in spite of that, they eat it again! So is the same for the fool who continually does not learn from past mistakes. The wise, on the other hand, seeks God’s counsel through spiritual authority, community and prayer, desiring to live according to His ways.
Spend some time this morning asking the Lord for His wisdom and counsel in your life. Do you trust God and His word? Pray that you would not live like the foolish, but rather seek His ways.
Prayer: Lord, give me wisdom that comes from You today. In every area of my life, help me to honor You by living as a wise person. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: 1 Chronicles 2
Lunch Study Break
Read Matthew 7:24-27: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Questions to Consider
- What are the characteristics of a wise person? How about the foolish person?
- What will ultimately determine the source of your foundation?
- Which person do you resemble? Why? How can you become like the wise person?
Notes
- He builds his life on the foundation of Jesus by obeying his Word. The foolish, on the other hand, does not obey God but lives for self. Jesus wants us to see that total surrender to Him is living wisely.
- Everyone will, sooner or later, face storms and hardships. And when they come, it will become evident as to what foundation one is building his or her life upon.
- Reflect and pray that your life would be built on the foundation of Christ.
Evening Reflection
Take some time to worship the Lord: Meditate on his greatness and give him praise and thanksgiving for the awesome God He is. Ask for greater joy and peace as you strive to live for Him.