Solomon makes sure that his sons understand just how a prostitute (or any promiscuous girl) drums up business so that they'll be able to avoid her temptations.  The young man's first mistake is in coming to the part of town where

  Out of so much to pick from today, God pointed me yet again to another of His "listen and accept My teachings" references.  In verse 22, He says, "[My commands] will guide you when you walk, guard you when you sleep, and sp

  My commentary set the tone well with something every person should know by now:  "Sin is attractive as a prospect, but hideous in retrospect."  When it's right there before us, being dangled before our noses, we seem to

  God had me to zero in on verse 12, but not for the reason I first thought:  "Nothing will hold you back; you will not be overwhelmed."  That sounds like something straight out of a high-priced motivational seminar.  So

  "Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don't depend on your own understanding.  Remember the Lord in all you do, and He will give you success.  Don't depend on your own wisdom.  Respect the Lord and refuse to do w

  I'm a "story" person, and I've not disrespectfully said that Proverbs seems to be a collection of spiritual fortune cookies.  So often it is tough for me to stay engaged.  But today was different.  Last night I

  Verses 2 & 3 say, "Preach the Good News.  Be ready at all times, and tell people what they need to do.  Tell them when they are wrong.  Encourage them with great patience and careful teaching, because the time will come

  Verses 4-5 were like a magnet this morning.  Talking not about unbelievers but about those who profess to be Christians, Paul said, "They will be conceited, will love pleasure instead of God, and will act as if they serve God but wil

  "An athlete who takes part in a contest must obey all the rules in order to win." My oldest son and several of his friends are competing in a cross-country meet today.  It's a really convoluted course, with lots of

  Although Paul is writing to Timothy as one pastor to another, a lot of what he says could have meant just as much if Timothy had been a butcher or a banker.  Paul was sitting in prison in Rome, and he knew that it was just a matter of tim

  Job has gotten overwhelmed by his circumstances - to the point where he begins to believe that he deserves an answer from God as to why it's happening.  So God speaks to Job in a voice like thunder, asking Job if he dares to correct G

  But as the sidebar today by Max Lucado states, "God's questions aren't intended to teach; they are intended to stun.  They aren't intended to enlighten; they are intended to awaken.  They aren't intended to stir

  Elihu, the young guy, has been sitting quietly and listening to all of this back-and-forth between Job and his friends - all older than him.  He finally has had enough.  After chastising Job's friends for not giving him a good an

  My heart feels for Job and his longing to once again commune with God.  He said, "How I wish for ... the days when God watched over me ... and I walked through darkness by His light ... when God's close friendship blessed my hous

  Job's friends keep arguing in an ideal sense that evil people don't prosper - that God will get even with them in this life.  The only problem is that it rarely seems to happen that way in this life.  How can they argue as fa

  Job's alleged friend Eliphaz fired off some questions at the start of chapter 22 that my commentary says were designed to show that God doesn't need Job or anything he has or does, including his blameless ways.  He said, "Can

  I really feel for Job and how miserable his existence had become.  He's listened to his well-meaning but quite-incorrect friends and done his best to fend off their attacks on his character.  He's lost his kids.  I just

  It's getting hard to stomach all of the loving advice being dispensed by Job's friends.  They've pretty much decided that he's stubborn and willful and has hardened his heart against God.  Otherwise, all of these thin

  This discovery would have been incredible for a theologian working with the few texts available at the time.  To think that these words came from a man who has lost all and is in such physical suffering is all the more incredible!  A

  With friends like these, who needs enemies??  They may start out well-intentioned, but they don't listen very well.  Bildad continually seems to have wrong perceptions about his friend, and even though his prescribed remedies sou

  Job was in such misery and physical pain that, in typical Middle Eastern fashion, he hurled curses at the day he was born, as if by doing so he might somehow undo time and erase the existence he'd known and therefore his current affliction

 Job had no clue it was coming.  He hadn't been privy to the conversations between God and Satan.  In fact, it would have come as a complete surprise to him to know that God himself had brought up Job's name to Satan, and in do