Searching For A Rare Jewel

Proverbs 2

Moral Benefits of Wisdom
1 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,

2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,

3 and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,

4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,

5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.

6 For the LORD gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7 He holds victory in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,

8 for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.

9 Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair—every good path.

10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

11 Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.

Reflection of Bee:

I have lots of negative thoughts this morning when I woke up. I felt that I could not forgive someone who have hurt me too deeply, to the extend that I don't want to go to heaven if he is going to be there. I felt that I don't want to be with a 'hypocrite' in heaven.

How silly was my thought to give up my salvation because of a person. God would be the judge to decide who should be in heaven, not me. He will deal with this person in His own way and in His own time.

"If" we do the things stated above, "then" we will receive what followed. Wisdom and the fear of the Lord goes hand in hand, so is the knowledge of God and understanding.

I need discretion and understanding in my dealing with people. I need to learn the fear of the Lord in every aspect of my life. I need to ask the question, "Is God happy with what I am about to do?" before I do it.


Dear Lord,
Forgive me for the negative thoughts I have this morning. You know that what was done to me was very painful to me and I am finding it hard to forgive without a proper conclusion. I want to commit this matter to You and asked that You will let Your love and reconciliation takes place so that the devil cannot accuse us before anyone.
Now I am putting this chunk of pains and hurts into Your hands. I ask that Your love will help to cover a multitude of sins and Your forgiveness reigns. I pray for Your peace to be in my heart.
I pray for this person too that You will reveal to him what he has done wrongly and that he will right what's wrong.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

The Truth About Sin

1 Kings 15:1-5

Abijah King of Judah
1 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah [a] became king of Judah, 2 and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother's name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. [b]

3 He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been. 4 Nevertheless, for David's sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong. 5 For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not failed to keep any of the LORD's commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.

Reflection of Bee:

No matter how close we are to the Lord, we still have our weaknesses as we are humans. Yet, the question is not whether we are perfect but rather how do we react when confronted of our sins. Do we repent or do we try to hide?

David is known as the man after God's heart, though he sinned "in the case of Uriah the Hittite" (v5). This is because he immediately repented when God showed him his sin.

May we response like David did.

Dear Lord,
Search my heart again tonight and show me where I have gone wrong. I pray that You will forgive my sins and I shall repent before You.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Morning

Lamentations 3:19-32

19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.

20 I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.

21 Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.

23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."

25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;

26 it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.

27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is young.

28 Let him sit alone in silence,
for the LORD has laid it on him.

29 Let him bury his face in the dust—
there may yet be hope.

30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,
and let him be filled with disgrace.

31 For men are not cast off
by the Lord forever.

32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.

Reflection of Bee:

Very often, my anger for someone never last. Before the morning comes, my anger would have been dissipated. For the Lord has taught me to forgive. Yes, though I may still wonder why that person hurt me, but I don't bear grudge against that person.

As follower of Christ we just reflect the image of God. It is God's work in our hearts, not our own doing. In the same way, God's anger upon us will not last forever. He is full of compassion and mercy towards His children. However, we should not take that for granted.

Dear Lord,
Thank Your for your Your compassion upon me all the days of my life. Thank You that You did not give up on me but continue to transform my life to be more like Yours. May I continue to show compassion and mercy to others as well.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

The Pain Machine

Acts 24:16

16 So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.

Ephesians 4:31-32

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Reflection of Bee:

How can one forgive, be kind, and compassionate when one has been hurt over and over again by the same person? How can one not feel angry or bitter in such situation? Yet the above passage is asking us to do what seems impossible.

Yes, it is really impossible if we do it in our strength. The above passage says we can do it because God has first forgiven us (though we have hurt Him over and over again too). Because of Christ, we can forgive, we can do the impossible just like what the poem, Forgiveness, by Brenda Terrell says.

I do feel hurt and very sad each time I think of the past and present hurts. Yet when I think of Jesus, forgiveness is the word that rings in my heart. Forgive just as I have been forgiven. I can't forgive in my own strength, I have to rely on God's strength to do it.

Dear Lord,
Thank You for forgiving me. Thank You for giving me strength to forgive too. Teach me to release all past and future hurts to You. Teach me to forgive and bless those who have hurt me, betrayed me, and made me miserable.
I raise my hands now to give You all of them. Please take over and do what is necessary that Your name may be praised.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

A Past Long Gone

Acts 13:36-41

38 "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses..."

Romans 8:1-4

1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

Bee's Thoughts:

"The law condemned us (Romans 7:10-11), but Jesus offers deliverance and new life (8:1).

Are you worried about what you've done in the past? Rejoice! God has "cast all our sins into the depths of the sea" (Micah 7:19). Are you still concerned about your sins? Rejoice! "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more" (Hebrews 10:17). And "I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions" (Isaiah 44:22).

If you have put your faith in Jesus and asked Him to forgive you, the past is truly forgotten. "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12). Trust and rejoice! —Vernon Grounds"

—Vernon Grounds

Thank God for Today's Daily Bread... it seems to be a direct speaking from God about the problem of someone close to me which also affects me. I pray that God will reveal to him this spiritual truth; that he need not carry the burden and guilt of his past anymore because of Jesus Christ. In Jesus, he is a new creature who can love purely and not selfishly as in the past.

Dear Lord, thank you for your assurance and reassurance that in you, there is no more condemnation.

.......the devotion of Bee

Redemptive Revenge

Romans 12:17-21

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Bee's Thoughts:

This is not just a passive advice… it is active. It calls for more than just forgiveness for my “enemy”… it requires me to do something “good”.

Keeping this passage in mind has helped me practice more self-control and to manage my emotion of hurt and anger better when being provoked. It’s a human tendency to hit back whenever we are hurt or angry. However, by using this wise advice from the Bible, it has helped me made peace with my “enemies” very quickly most time. I would keep quiet instead of hitting back. I would try to listen to the other party, try to figure out what I have done or say wrongly that has provoked the other to person anger, and I would say “Sorry” for my part of the fault. I would usually initiate the reconciliation process, but it’s up to the other party to accept or to reject it.

Thank You, Lord, for teaching me how to handle my “enemy”.

...the devotion of Bee