Open the Bible UK Daily

The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing.

Proverbs 20:4

Here is how Proverbs describes the sluggard, or the unproductive person:

He is slow to start
The sluggard does not plough in the autumn (20:4). This draws attention to the long-term effects of putting off the things we need to do. There is a season for ploughing, for sowing, and for reaping. Ploughing is hard work, and the sluggard does not want to do it. He procrastinates. “It’s not good weather today. I’ll get ar...

The sluggard buries his hand in the dish and will not even bring it back to his mouth.

Proverbs 19:24

We are looking today at the theme of work, or more precisely, its opposite.

The book of Proverbs introduces us to a tragic character whose life ends in ruin. The name of this character is the sluggard. He is referred to 14 times.

The sluggard is presented in comic terms, like when you see a caricature of a politician or a celebrity. Some aspect of their face is exaggerated, but you immediately...

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

Your words will be a blessing when you have:

An open ear
Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger (Jas. 1:19). Having an open ear means listening to the words of others. It also means listening to the Word of God. “Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge, for it will be...

“What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart.”

Matthew 15:18

The Proverbs encourage us to speak in certain ways, and to avoid speaking in other ways. Let’s frame four prayers from the book of Proverbs, asking for God’s help with our words.

Lord, help me to speak with restraint
The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things (15:28).

Words pour out of the mouth of the wicked, but the heart of the righteous ponders how to answer...

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Proverbs 18:21

What you say comes out of you, but it also goes down inside you. It goes to the stomach (18:20). Your own cursing will go deep down into your own soul. They are bitter fruits, and they will make your soul sick. You will eat your own words.

The tongue is the means by which we bring great help or harm to others and to ourselves. Speaking life words or death words will...

Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

Proverbs 18:21

We have looked at the way of wisdom in relation to friends and family, and today we come to wisdom in our words. There are more proverbs on what we say than on any other subject. The tongue is the means by which we bring the greatest help or harm to others.

There is death in the power of the tongue
There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts (12:18). The tongue is a weapon that can wound another...

My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; keep my commandments and live.

Proverbs 7:1-2

The only commands that are life-giving are the words and commands of God. But here is a father who has made God’s words his own: “My teaching. My words. My commandments.” What he commends to his son is what he pursues himself. That is the power of example.

If you are a parent, a great motivation for living a godly life is to give your children a credible example to follow. “God’s words ar...

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6

Remember that the Proverbs are not promises. Still, this is a stunning statement: Your influence in the lives of your children goes deeper than you may think. It will still be with them, even when they are old!

The thief on the cross lived his life in rebellion against God, yet he said to the thief on the other side of Jesus: “Do you not fear God?” (Lk. 23:40). Where did that...

A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.

Proverbs 10:1

You might be surprised to hear that the largest number of proverbs relating to family life are addressed to parents and to children. Let’s begin with God’s wisdom for children.

Always seek to bring joy to your parents
Honour your father and your mother (Ex. 20:12). The word honour means “give weight to” or “regard as heavy.” So, to honour your parents means to give weight to what they say.

If someone a...

He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favour from the Lord.

Proverbs 18:22

Your spouse is a gift from the Lord. These are the words of Solomon to his son Rehoboam, and this wise father commends marriage to his son as a good thing. Marriage is a good gift from the Lord.

We live in a culture that flaunts freedom. “Who wants to be tied down?” The Bible has a very different view of marriage. Solomon says to his son, “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband” (12:4).

The...

A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city, and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.

Proverbs 18:19

If you have a good relationship with your brother or sister, cherish it and guard it, because Proverbs reminds us that close relationships are vulnerable to deep wounds that don’t heal easily. “A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city.”

You see this in the Old Testament. The first children born into the world were two boys, Cain and Abel. One was jealous of the other and, in the end, h...

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 18:24

The Lord Jesus Christ is the best friend you can ever have.

1. Jesus will always be with you
He says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:4). No one else can say this to you. In every adversity, in life and in death, Jesus is the friend who will always be with you.

2. The words of Jesus are sweet
When others were...

Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbour who is near than a brother who is far away.

Proverbs 27:10

What are the qualities of a true friend? How can you be a better friend? Proverbs gives us a profile of a true friend.

1. A true friend is present
Do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbour who is near. (27:10). When calami...

Let your foot be seldom in your neighbour’s house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you.

Proverbs 25:17

Proverbs gives us two ways to guard our friendships:

First, by being considerate
The easiest way to kill a good friendship is to become demanding. Here is a person who becomes friends with his neighbour, but then he overdoes it! Eventually the neighbour has had enough.

Be considerate not only of your friend’s time but also of his or her mood. “Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart...

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Proverbs 13:20

The people with whom you are closest will have the greatest influence in your life. The character of the friends you choose will rub off on you. And the deeper a friendship becomes, the more like your friend you will become. Friendship can bring you great good or do you great harm, depending on the friends you choose.

God says, “The companion of fools will suffer harm.” That’s the normal pattern that prevails in this world...

Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgement.

Proverbs 18:1

In Proverbs we are looking at what it means to follow the way of wisdom in five areas: friends, family, words, work, and wealth. Today, we begin by looking at friendship.

“Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire” (18:1). That is, he is concerned about himself. And if you are only concerned about yourself, you break out against all sound judgement.

Why? Because you are made in the image of God, who is Father, Son, and Holy...

With you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.

Psalm 130:4

To “fear the Lord” means to love Him so much that His frown would be your greatest dread and His smile would be your greatest delight.

There is a fear that love removes, and there is a fear that love brings.

The fear that love removes is the fear of punishment. There is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).

The fear that love brings is fear of wounding the One we love. Theologian Charles...

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Proverbs 9:10

What is your first reaction to “the fear of the LORD”? If you have endured a religion based on fear, you may say, “I had enough of that when I was young; I don’t want anything to do with it now.”

If that is what you feel, look at the good that is promised here, and see if you may discover something wonderfully new.

Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

Proverbs 3:16–17

Here are three things that wisdom brings to us:

1. Long life
Long life is in her right hand (3:16). If you eat a proper diet, you will enjoy better health than if you live on junk food. That doesn’t guarantee you will never have cancer, but the general principle is true.

The same is true for your soul. Peter says, “Whoever desire...

The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Matthew 7:14

Proverbs describes what it looks like to follow Jesus Christ. It lays out the life to which wisdom calls us, the life of a disciple of Jesus.

We are going to look at what it means to follow Jesus, what it means to follow the way of wisdom in regard to your friendships, your family, your words, your work, and your wealth.

Now, you may be asking, “What’s in t...

Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice?

Proverbs 8:1

In Proverbs 8, wisdom speaks, but whose voice is this? The answer is found in the New Testament.

Jesus is described as the wisdom of God: “You are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God” (1 Cor. 1:30). “Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:2-3).

So, when we read in Proverbs that wisdom calls, we are to understand that the voice of the Son of God is calling out to us.

Notice...

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom.

Proverbs 3:13

Wisdom is the skill you need for putting together a successful life—or to put it another way—wisdom is “life skills.” Over these next days, we’re going to look together at what the Bible has to say on practical issues like friends, family, words, work, and wealth.

We will be talking here about the skills of building friendships, raising children, and managing money. We will be considering how to speak in a way that builds others up and about being more effective in your wo...

Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

2 Corinthians 7:10

There are two kinds of grief (or sorrow). Worldly sorrow brings death. You can be full of regret and never change; you can be sorry without repenting. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. Godly sorrow leads to real and lasting change.

Godly sorrow is the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience. Let’s see how these two sorrows work out in the lives of David and Saul.

‘He arose and came to his father.’

Luke 15:20

The prodigal son was absolutely miserable. But it takes courage to go back home. How do you find the courage to begin the long journey home? You find the courage when you believe that there will be a welcome. And this is the promise of the gospel.

The father in Jesus’ story is more generous than the son would ever have dared to imagine. The father, filled with compassion, throws his arms around his son and kisses him (that’s forgiveness). The father brings out the...

“The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’”

Luke 15:12

In Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, the younger son gets his money and goes to live as far away from his father as he can. But he squanders his money, and then Jesus says, “A severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need” (15:14).

So, he got a job feeding pigs, and the pigs were fed, but he was hungry. Then Jesus says, “He came to himself.” The so...

And he answered, “I will not.”

Matthew 21:29

What an obnoxious son! His father asked him to go work in his vineyard, and he said to his face, “I will not.” There’s hostility, rebellion, and defiance! “You’re not going to tell me what to do.”

The grandmothers would be saying, “Oh, what a shame! What a pity he isn’t like his brother.” Then Jesus tells us about a remarkable change: “But afterward he changed his mind and went” (21:29).

What the two sons actually did shows what they thought of their father. The son w...

“A man had two sons.”

Matthew 21:28

Jesus told a parable about a father who asked his two sons to go work in his vineyard. One son said, “I will not,” but later he changed his mind (repented) and went. The other son said, “I will, sir,” but he didn’t.

The second son’s response was immediate, positive, and polite! Grandmothers who saw this clean-cut lad would be very impressed, “He’s such a good boy! Any father would be proud to have a son like that.”

But Jesus quickly punctured that balloon...

Present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life.

Romans 6:13

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of the German Christian leaders who stood against the Nazi regime. Bonhoeffer was an inspiration to many. But when he looked into his own heart he wasn’t so sure. He expressed this conflict in a poem called “Who Am I?”, written from his prison cell shortly before he was martyred.

“Who am I?...
Am I then really all that which other men tell of? Or am I only what I know of mysel...

Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31

Suppose you spent 8 hours a day sleeping, 8 hours working, 3 hours eating, and 2 hours travelling to and from work. You would have 3 hours leftover. Now, if you gave 2 of those to your family, then you would have just 1 hour left!

Many people think “offering yourself to God” means doing some ministry. That’s a great thing to do. But if that’s all “offering yourself to God” means, then you will only offer Him a very tiny part of your life.

1 Corinthi...

Present yourselves to God...

Romans 6:13

God showed Joseph in a vision the great purposes that He had for him. But his brothers sold him to slave traders who took him to Egypt, and he ended up in prison.

Put yourself in Joseph’s shoes: Why am I here? What use can a man be to God in a prison? But Joseph exercised faith, pursued integrity, and ministered to the men God placed next to him. Then God stepped in and Joseph was used to save his entire family.

God gave Mo...

Present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life.

Romans 6:13

Notice what the apostle Paul says just before this: “Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness” (6:13). Paul is talking here about the possibility of offering yourself to sin—your capacities, what you can do with the skill of your hands, the creativity of your mind, and so on.

This is the negative dimension of repentance, and now Paul is going to state the positive. You might expect him to say: “Do not present your mem...

You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.

1 Thessalonians 1:9

This is a great description of repentance! Notice the negative and the positive: “You turned… from idols”—that’s the negative. These people stopped doing certain things that were displeasing to God. More than that, they started doing other things that are pleasing to God. “You turned to God… to serve the living and true God”—that’s the positive.

Some of us were brought up with a Christianity that majored on what you shouldn’t do. What about living in a way...

If you 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.

Romans 8:13

John Owen says that putting your sin to death involves the following:

1. A habitual weakening of sin
Every time you say “no” to the flesh you weaken its power.

2. Constant fighting and contending against sin
Sin’s root remains in us, so don’t expect an end to your struggle with sin in this life.

3. Frequent success over sin
S...

“Sin is crouching at the door.”

Genesis 4:7

Sin is a power. It has life and vigour in it. That means you have to track it down and deal with it, or it will destroy you.

In the story of Cain and Abel, Abel brought God an acceptable sacrifice, but Cain did not. So Cain became angry. God said, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door” (4:6-7). Sin is like...

My sin is ever before me.

Psalm 51:3

Once you have identified an area of sin that you need to deal with, start watching for its movements in your life. Suppose you are stalking pride, lust, laziness, or unbelief. Ask yourself, “When am I most vulnerable to this? In what ways do I see it being expressed?”

John Owen wrote extensively on this subject in the 17th century, and his most famous book is called The Mortification of Sin. It has never been equalled, and although it’s not an easy read, you will f...

Examine yourselves.

2 Corinthians 13:5

Using the Bible as a tool for self-examination is good to do on a regular basis. It is also good to set aside some particular times for self-examination.

On a regular basis
When you read the Bible ask yourself, Is there a promise to believe, a command to obey, or a sin to avoid? Try to see if what you are reading points to a sin that could be lurking in your life.

You may know the story about four men who wanted to bring their...

Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin.

James 1:15

James is using a picture here—desire conceives. The point about conception is that it is a hidden thing. Nobody knows when it actually happens, and it only becomes evident later on.

When the impulse to sin remains hidden, undetected, and unchallenged, sin will grow. James speaks about sin, “when it is fully grown” (1:15). Sin grows, and once it takes root, it will gain strength in your life. Like a weed that is growing, it becomes harder and harder to pull out.<...

Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

James 1:14

It is clear that we will all be tempted. There is no if here: “Each person is tempted when…” Every Christian will be tempted throughout the entire course of his or her life.

James is talking to Christian believers, and he is reminding us that sin is not out there in the world, it is in here in each of our lives.

When you become a Christian, the guilt of your sin is forgiven by the sh...

“Please show me your glory.”

Exodus 33:18

This is how people pray when they see that lasting change begins with knowing God.

Think about the difference between Job and Esau: Esau wanted to change, but he couldn’t because he was far from God. Job changed because in all his pain he just kept on seeking after God.

The way you see the glory of God is in the face of Jesus Christ: God “has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the f...

Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

Genesis 24:67

The word comforted is the same word Job used when he said, “I repent.” There is a wonderful comfort in repentance. You could translate Job 42:6: “I repent and comfort myself in dust.”

What comfort could there possibly be for Job in the dust? He has finally resolved his conflict with God. Being out of sorts with God is a terrible thing for a Christian believer.

If your experiences of life have raised unresolved questions, it may be that like Job, you have becom...