Prepare
Opening Prayer
God, thank you for this day, for your Word, and for the blessing of sitting at your feet. Help us listen as children to their Father and understand and obey your Word. In Jesus' name, amen.
Read
Scripture Passage
Guidance for the Young
3 My son, do not forget my law,
But let your heart keep my commands;
2 For length of days and long life
And peace they will add to you.
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart,
4 And so find favor and high esteem
In the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
8 It will be health to your flesh,
And strength to your bones.
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Pr 3:1–8.
A — About
What Is This Passage About?
A father urges his child not to forget God's law but to keep mercy and truth close and written on the heart. Rather than trusting personal judgment or being wise in our own eyes, we should trust the Lord wholeheartedly, acknowledge him in every way, fear him, and turn from evil so he directs our paths.
B — Best Verse
Which Verse Best Summarizes the Passage?
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Let all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.
Deborah chooses verses 5-6, and Bryan explicitly agrees. These verses summarize the passage's contrast between self-reliance and wholehearted trust that acknowledges God and receives his direction.
C — Called or Christ
C — Called to Do
Keep God's instructions close, write them on your heart, and adorn your life with godliness. Refuse self-reliance, fear and acknowledge the Lord, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you obey as God directs your path.
Devotional Study
Transcript of the devotion. Minor transcription errors may remain.
Did you have fun at church yesterday? Yeah? Good. Well we are glad to see you this morning. It's such a blessing to get to do devotions with you each day. We're at Proverbs chapter 3 verses 1 through 8 this morning. Proverbs chapter 3 verses 1 through 8. Good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions.
This is where every day we get together. We get into God's Word and we grow in our love for the Lord together. And what do we do this year? We're going to get through all of the wisdom literature. That's right, that's right. So what book are we in now? Proverbs. That's right, Proverbs chapter 3. Proverbs chapter 3, the first 8 verses. Why don't we go ahead and have some coffee, or if you've got tea, Debra's got tea.
She picked it out herself this morning. We're going to have coffee and tea and why don't we go ahead and pray after that. You want me to pray or you want to pray? You want me to pray? Okay. God, thank you so much for this day and thank you for your word. Thank you for the blessing it is to sit at your feet. We pray that we would listen as children listening to their father and that we would understand and obey your word in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay. You want to come up here real close and we'll get this done? Okay. So how about we'll just go to verse 8 and we'll do it where the breaks are. You want to read first? Okay, go ahead.
My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands. For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you. Let not mercy and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart. and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Let all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones."
Okay, what do you think this is talking about, Debra? You should not forget the Lord's laws. Yeah. And you should meditate on them. All right, don't forget the Lord's laws and meditate on them, right? Are there good things that come from that? Yeah. So if we're supposed to listen to God's law, what does it say we're not supposed to do? What does verse 5 say? Um, be not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths.
That's right. So sometimes do we want to do what we want to do? Does it work out well all the time? No. But when we follow God's ways, does it work out well for us? That's right. Hey, have you ever gotten a necklace before? Yeah. Do you like when you get to wear necklaces?
Right here, that's what that means when it says, uh, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. What do you think, what do you think that's saying about God's instructions and commandments? Um, you should remember them. and um do what they say yeah yeah do you remember the the song we sing about uh beauty is um shame no not shape but remember how but a woman who fears the lord um Yeah, do you adorn yourself with braids and jewelry and stuff like that or do you adorn yourself with what? Yeah with holiness So bind them around your neck.
Would you rather have a pretty necklace or godliness? That's right. That's right. You are a pretty girl though All right, well, oh what would you underline in your in here is the best verse I Five and six. Five and six. I really like five and six, too. What would you underline in your Bible as the best verse to summarize this?
Okay, we've talked a lot about seek calling, calling what are we called to do in response to this. Are you binding the Lord's word as a doormat around your neck? Have you written his word upon the tablet of your heart? It'll go well with you. Lean not on your own understanding, but fear the Lord.
All right, acknowledge your way, and He will make your paths straight. You ready to pray? All right, let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for your word. God, we pray that your Holy Spirit might let us actually obey your word. We pray that you would care for us this day. May you receive the glory. Father, please protect us and care for us. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, may the Lord bless you today as you rest in Him, as you think upon His word, and as you love Him with all your heart. We'll see you tomorrow. Say bye. Bye. Bye.