Proverbs 1:20

“Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square.” (NASB)

STRONGS HEBREW/GREEK ORIGINS

“Wisdom shouts (qara': calls, cries out, proclaims) in the street (hamah: roar, noise, disquieted, troubled, clamorous, concourse, mourning, tumultuous, commotion), She lifts her voice in the square.”

SUMMARY

Wisdom calls out and proclaims in the noisy and troubled concourse, She lifts her voice in the square.

MEDITATION

At this hour yesterday millions of people were shouting how proud they were to be Americans. Discussions of the great opportunity and blessing to be able to act as a nation (to choose a leader) were all over the airwaves. Many seemed filled with hope and excitement, “God is doing something new!” and “It’s time for a change!” many declared openly with confidence. Today though, a different echo is resounding like an ugly clamor rising from the earth. Despair, words of hopelessness and an all-out onslaught of fear. Why in the world are we who claim to be within the Body of Christ so fickle and wayward in our thinking!? The patterns of this world and kingdoms of men rise and fall. This is why it’s absolutely imperative to make your permanent dwelling in a land that cannot be shaken. In this land, there is only one throne and it is not offered up for any other to possess. So, amongst the “noisy and troubled discourse” of today, will you hear the voice of Wisdom crying out in the streets? What is She saying? Who will hear and most importantly, who will take the time to sit and listen? Will you?      

Psalm 51:10

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” 

STRONGS HEBREW/GREEK ORIGINS

“Create (bara: shape, form, fashion) in me a clean (tahor: pure) heart (leb: mind, understanding), O God, and renew (chadash: repair, make a new) a steadfast (kuwn: right, fixed, established) spirit (ruwach: wind, breath, mind) within me (qereb: seat or faculty of thought and emotion).”

SUMMARY

Form within me a clean and pure heart O God. Make new a right spirit deep in the innermost part of me, where all of my thoughts and emotions reside.

MEDITATION

No matter how hard we all may try, attempting to create and fashion something within our own strengths and abilities usually only yields temporary results (at best). The necessity of this verse is often overshadowed by Christian programs, books and teachings on how to find happiness and purpose in your deepest, innermost being. We’re often told that if we just do this more and do that less then results will somehow come. The problem however is that what we must do first is overlooked. We need to be found going to the One who is Creator and beseech Him to do what we cannot. The same One who fashioned us physically out of dust desires to regenerate our innermost being, spiritually. Are you living a daily life of approaching the One who is in the business of regeneration? Do you grasp that until your mind and understanding are renewed, all other “fixes” are just rooted in feeble, limited attempts to band-aid the results of the deeper issue at hand? Today, find a quiet place and ask the Lord if He would do some creating and renewing today… in you.  

John 15:2

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.”

STRONGS HEBREW/GREEK ORIGINS

“Every branch (klema: tender and flexible shoot or sprout of a vine) in Me that does not bear (phero: bring forth, carry) fruit (karpos: that which originates or comes from something, an effect, results), He takes away (airo: to take upon one's self and carry off from its place ; remove); and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes (kathairo: cleansed of filth and impurity) it so that it may bear more fruit.”

SUMMARY
Every branch from the vine in Me that does not bring forth results of being in Me, [My Father] removes; and every branch from the vine that brings forth results of being in Me, He cleanses of impurity so that it may bear even more results of being in Me.

MEDITATION

If you saw my work truck this week, you’d likely have some questions for me in regards to my line of work and how I would allow my own vehicle to looks so shoddy considering detailing is my business. Yesterday, a friend did some wet-sanding for me as we’re prepping the hood and front fenders for some new paint in a few days. In its current state, it looks pretty awful. The sanded areas have more of a pink hue than red and the finish is as flat as a chalkboard. In contrast to the rest of the truck, the front end sticks out like a sore thumb. All of that being said I know that it’s literally a work in progress. Others may see me pull up to a parking lot to work for the afternoon and think that my truck is in dire need of some work itself but that’s OK because I know the end of the process is around the bend. So, even though I can’t hardly stand the way my own truck currently looks, I know that it will lead to a much-needed end – fresh, new, shiny paint. I see a lot of my own spiritual life within this simple example. There are things in my life that just don’t look too great right now at first glance. I’m a branch that is in constant need of pruning and purging. Father has His hands full at times tending to this “tender shoot” that’s hidden in the Son. Thankfully, He sees the end result that lays before me. My spiritual journey is one where I’m constantly in process until I breathe my last breath.  And I’m OK with that… no matter how I may look for now, for in the end, I’ll look like My Saviour.