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Scripture Passage
23 The desire of the righteous is only good,
But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.
24 There is one who scatters, yet increases more;
And there is one who withholds more than is right,
But it leads to poverty.
25 The generous soul will be made rich,
And he who waters will also be watered himself.
26 The people will curse him who withholds grain,
But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.
27 He who earnestly seeks good finds favor,
But trouble will come to him who seeks evil.
28 He who trusts in his riches will fall,
But the righteous will flourish like foliage.
29 He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind,
And the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.
30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
And he who wins souls is wise.
31 If the righteous will be recompensed on the earth,
How much more the ungodly and the sinner.
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Pr 11:23–31
Devotional Study
Transcript of the devotion. Minor transcription errors may remain.
Because we all sinned. Why do you say good? Because Jesus Christ died for our sins. That's right, you're both right. We naturally deserve wrath. And he who waters will also be a water on himself. The people will curse him who withholds grain, but the blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.
All right, so if we're generous, if we give, guess what? We receive. It's more generous to give than to receive. It's better for us if we give rather than receive. So when we give gifts, should we be stingy? No, right? We want to be good with the good things God's given us. So the more we give, the more blessed it is.
Don't trust in riches. It's interesting when Jesus is is giving his parable of the soils He says that one of the soils is like a seed that's planted and sprouts up But then the weeds choke it out. Do you want to know what he says the weeds are? That cares this life and the deceitfulness of wealth And if we chase after money, it's not actually a good thing Oh Well, yeah, the weeds will choke it out, right?
But if we're seeking righteousness, we'll flourish. Yeah, the weeds won't choke it. That's right. So keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, right? Okay, Nathan, you want to read verse 29? He who troubles his own house will inherit the land, and the fool will be servant. Debra, you want to read verse 30? The fruit of righteousness is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise. Oh, okay, so the fruit of righteousness is a tree of life.
What do you think that's talking about? You don't need to grab her hair. What do you think that's talking about? Um, God? Well, I think it's talking about God. The fruit of righteousness is a tree of life, right? When we seek after the Lord, do we get life? When we have the righteousness of Jesus imputed to us, do we have life? That's right. What he's going to do in his judgment, that's what that's saying.
Okay, what do you guys think? What was the proverb that stood out most to you? What would you underline? Verse 30, you like that one? The fruit of righteousness is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise. What about you, Deborah? What proverb stood out to you? Verse 27, right, about earnestly seeking good. I liked verses 24 through 26, where it was talking about the generous person. I like the rich. Oh, you like the one about not trusting in the rich? You like the al-