Do What is Just and Right

Until we connect again via this update on January 2, we want to wish all of you His peace, comfort, and joy. Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year!

Devotional for 12.19.11

We’ll again keep our thoughts focused on Wisdom about Integrity as we turn to Proverbs chapter 23 to get wisdom that goes beyond the gold!

DO WHAT IS JUST AND RIGHT

Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, for their Defender is strong; he will take up their case against you.

Proverbs 23:10-11

The Israelites acquired their land by conquest, and every tribe and family considered its allotment or inheritance as a gift from God. David said, The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance (Psalm 16:6). With contentment and gratitude He acknowledged that all he had was a gift from God.

Boundary stones were a common way of marking off property lines. Sadly, some didn’t see these stones as set in stone. They moved them to the right or the left, depending on what was most advantageous to them. It was subtle, a little push here, a small nudge there. They’d do just enough to gain the upper hand without being detected.

It’s today’s equivalent to fudging on your taxes or your timecard, cheating the system, taking company resources for personal use, or withholding your tithe. What seems like a small thing in man’s eyes is theft in God’s.

God gives warning in Scripture: Do not move an ancient boundary stone (Proverbs 22:28, Deuteronomy 19:14, 27:17, Hosea 5:10). The consequences listed within these verses include being cursed and God’s wrath being poured out like a flood of water.

God desires that we be people of integrity who do what is just and right, especially in our relationships with the fatherless and widow. He is their Defender (Proverbs 23:10). He will take up their case against those who deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless (Isaiah 10:2).

We’re in the midst of a season where there are ministries far and near (including GEMS!) asking for gifts, prayers, time, and resources to help the needy, widows, and fatherless. This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place (Jeremiah 22:33).

Whether making decisions within the boundary lines He’s entrusted to you or responding to the boundary lines of the poor and needy, be a woman of integrity: Do what is just and right!

Wisdom Step: Read Psalm 82:3. How will you obey this command today?

Lord, to those who hunger, give bread. And to those who have bread, give the hunger for justice.

Latin American Prayer

A Good Name

Devotional for 12.12.11

Hello! Are you ready for Christmas? When people ask that question they’re often wondering, “Are your presents bought and wrapped? Are your Christmas cards sent and the goodies baked?” That’s not the readiness that matters most! In this season of Advent may the preparation that tops our list be the preparation of our hearts as we remember His first coming and look forward to His next. Have a blessed week putting His name on display!

Turn to Proverbs chapter 22 to get wisdom that goes beyond the gold!

A GOOD NAME

A good name is more desirable than great riches,

to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

Proverbs 22:1

What do the names Nae, Percy, Bell, Rooney, and Bear have in common? Unless you’re a close friend or relative of my family, probably not much! That list includes my childhood nickname, and those of my siblings. We affectionately associate those names with one another yet today.

What names are personal to you? From given names to professional titles to pet names, each one of us has a name or two. For those who kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name, we’ve also been gifted the name child of God (Ephesians 3:14-15).

The names Christian, Daughter of the King, and Beloved originate with God. It’s because of His divine paternity and through His Son Jesus that we have a name that is more desirable than great riches and better than silver or gold (Proverbs 22:1).   

To have a good name means to have a good reputation marked by integrity, godly character and conduct. It’s one thing to receive a good name from God, it’s quite another to live up to that name.

Women of integrity have a good name because they hallow God’s name. Jesus taught us to pray, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name (Matthew 6:9). We hallow God’s name when we think on His holiness and “recognize Him as transcendent in every moral attribute” (John Lewis). We hallow His name when we sanctify God in our hearts, setting apart Christ as Lord (1 Peter 3:15). His name is hallowed when our thoughts, conversations, and actions honor Him, and regrettably, His name is profaned when we fail to live as He requires.

If you were introduced to someone new in your community or at church and she said to you, “Oh, I’ve heard of you!” What do you think it is that she probably heard? Would it be your tender heart toward children, your prayer life, or your service projects? Or would it be that you’re a shopaholic, have control issues, or are updating your status on Facebook by the quarter hour? What is your name associated with first? Our integrity impacts our reputation, our reputation reflects our name, and more importantly, the holy name of God.  

Wisdom Step: Who are you trying to make a name for today? Seek to only desire and pursue His name and glory today and always.

My dear Jesus, my Savior, is so deeply written in my heart, that I feel confident, that if my heart were to be cut open and chopped to pieces, the name of Jesus would be found written on every piece.

St. Ignatius of Antioch

Conduct = Character

Devotional for 12.5.11

Happy December! Along with preparing our hearts during the season of Advent, we’ll join our GEMS in focusing on being wise in integrity. As leaders within this ministry it’s an important reminder to practice what we preach and be true to His Word in every area of our lives. Joining you on that journey. Have a blessed week!

Turn to Proverbs chapter 21 to get wisdom that goes beyond the gold!

CONDUCT = CHARACTER

The way of the guilty is devious, but the conduct of the innocent is upright.

Proverbs 21:8

Our conduct points to our character. If our behavior is devious or scheming, it points to guilt. If our pattern of choices is upright it indicates innocence and purity of heart. More often than not, our conduct equates our character; our character and deeds tend to run plumb. Even a child is known by his (her) actions, by whether his (her) conduct is pure and right (Proverbs 20:11).

Job was a man of integrity. Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason” (Job 2:3).

Though Job lost all that he had – his family and his possessions – he held fast to his integrity. He fell to the ground and worshiped, demonstrating that He loved God more than His gifts.

Job’s response to such mind-numbing devastation agitated his wife who said, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9) Curse God and die. That was Satan’s goal for Job and remains his objective for mankind yet today.

In spite of Job’s pain and suffering, his unanswered questions and unsupportive spouse and friends, Job kept his steps on God’s path; his feet did not slip. He said, “Till I die, I will not deny my integrity” (Job 27:5). Although he wasn’t sinless, he was forgiven, and knew the joy and freedom of living with a clear conscious.

It’s complicated and pointblank exhausting, to cover up a lie with more lies, and deception with more deception. Foolish conduct leads to wickedness, death and destruction.

The way of the wise has nothing to hide. It’s a straight path to God and abundant life. God’s desire for His children is to guide them in the way of wisdom and lead them along straight paths (Proverbs 4:11). In everything – at home and/or the workplace, when we surf the Internet and pay our bills, interact with friends and/or strangers, let’s set an example by being women of integrity. Like Job, until we die, may we not deny integrity!

Wisdom Step: What kind of characters are you and I? Our conduct will point to the answer.

May I be consistent in conversation and conduct,

the same alone as in company,

in prosperity and adversity,

accepting all Thy commandments as right,

and hating every false way.

The Valley of Vision – A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions