Proverbs 21, The LORD searches the heart of man!

Pro 21:2, EVERY WAY OF A MAN IS RIGHT IN HIS OWN EYES, BUT THE LORD WEIGHS THE HEARTS. 

We tend to justify our own actions; whether good or bad it seems right in our own eyes! Many say, “Just follow your heart and you will be fine”! GOD knows our hearts, our intentions, our desires, our motives; HE sees it all!

Jer 17:10, I, THE LORD, SEARCH THE HEART, I TEST THE MIND, EVEN TO GIVE EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS WAYS, ACCORDING TO THE FRUIT OF HIS DOINGS. 

Pro 21:3, TO DO RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE IS MORE ACCEPTABLE TO THE LORD THAN SACRIFICE. 

The way we treat others is more important than how much you give to HIS work. Remember HE own everything and Lacks nothing; what can we give HIM? Remember JESUS’s story of the good Samaritan!

Luk 10:30-33, …”A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. … priest … And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, … came and looked, and passed by on the other side. BUT A CERTAIN SAMARITAN, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, HE HAD COMPASSION.

Pro 21:13, WHOEVER SHUTS HIS EARS TO THE CRY OF THE POOR WILL ALSO CRY HIMSELF AND NOT BE HEARD. 

We will reap what we have sown. If we see our brother or our friend in need, and we say without helping “I’ll pray for you”, How did we help him?  The LORD will repay all of us even for a glass of water we give!

Mar 9:41, FOR WHOEVER GIVES YOU A CUP OF WATER TO DRINK IN MY NAME, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, HE WILL BY NO MEANS LOSE HIS REWARD. 

Pro 21:21, HE WHO FOLLOWS RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MERCY FINDS LIFE, RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HONOR. 

Living righteously and having mercy on others is a conscious choice we make! It isn’t the easiest path to take and often mocked by others, YET it has tremendous rewards from the LORD! WE SHALL BE KNOWN AS FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST JESUS BY OUR LOVE FOR OTHERS!

1Co 15:58, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, KNOWING THAT YOUR LABOR IS NOT IN VAIN IN THE LORD. 

Proverbs 15, GOD see’s all!

Pro 15:1-2, A SOFT ANSWER TURNS AWAY WRATH, BUT A HARSH WORD STIRS UP ANGER. THE TONGUE OF THE WISE USES KNOWLEDGE RIGHTLY, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.

Answer a raging man with rage, then get out the gloves, but a soft answer turns away wrath! We should have self-control in every situation, and ponder just how to respond!

Pro 15:28, The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil. 

Pro 15:3, THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE IN EVERY PLACE, KEEPING WATCH ON THE EVIL AND THE GOOD. 

The eyes of the LORD see all, what we say, what we think, and our motives! We often believe that the wicked get away with everything, Not so! Their day will come!

Jer 16:17, For MY eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from MY face, NOR IS THEIR INIQUITY HIDDEN FROM MY EYES.

 Pro 15:8, 26, THE SACRIFICE OF THE WICKED IS AN ABOMINATION TO THE LORD, …. THE THOUGHTS OF THE WICKED ARE AN ABOMINATION TO THE LORD.

When a wicked man enters HIS sanctuary, IT IS BETTER TO LISTEN AND LEARN RATHER THAN TO GIVE MONEY AS IF YOUR DOING GOD A FAVOR! The sacrifices of the wicked even their very thoughts are an abomination to the LORD! Better is to obey HIS instruction

Ecc 5:1, Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear RATHER THAN TO GIVE THE SACRIFICE OF FOOLS, FOR THEY DO NOT KNOW THAT THEY DO EVIL. 

Pro 15:17, BETTER IS A DINNER OF HERBS WHERE LOVE IS, THAN A FATTED CALF WITH HATRED.

Love satisfies the heart way more than food! In a house filled with rage, not even the best food will satisfy the heart! “RICHES AND POVERTY ARE MORE IN THE HEART THAN IN THE HAND. HE IS WEALTHY WHO IS CONTENTED. HE IS POOR WHO WANTS MORE.” 

(Bishop Hall, cited in Bridges)

Pro 17:1, Better is a dry morsel with quietness, Than a house full of feasting with strife. 

Pro 15:33, THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE INSTRUCTION OF WISDOM, AND BEFORE HONOR IS HUMILITY. 

Remember pride comes before the fall, but GOD can use the humble mightily! 

Luk 14:11, FOR WHOEVER EXALTS HIMSELF WILL BE HUMBLED, AND HE WHO HUMBLES HIMSELF WILL BE EXALTED.” 

Psalm 121, Our help is from HIM!

Psa 121:1, I WILL LIFT UP MY EYES TO THE HILLS—FROM WHENCE COMES MY HELP? 

The Psalmist is not looking for help from the high ground, HE is thinking of the holy hill of Zion where the true KING will reign from!

Psa 2:6, “Yet I have set MY KING ON MY HOLY HILL OF ZION.” 

Psa 121:1b-2, FROM WHENCE COMES MY HELP?  MY HELP COMES FROM THE LORD, WHO MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH. 

Our help comes from the LORD for HE is always with us, and knows what’s happening in our lives! Don’t put your trust in money, your business, your skills, your wisdom; FOR ALL THESE THINGS CAN BE TAKEN FROM YOU!

Psa 20:7, Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; BUT WE WILL REMEMBER THE NAME OF THE LORD OUR GOD. 

Heb 13:6, So we may boldly say: “THE LORD IS MY HELPER; I WILL NOT FEAR. WHAT CAN MAN DO TO ME?”

Psa 121:3-4, HE WILL NOT ALLOW YOUR FOOT TO BE MOVED; HE WHO KEEPS YOU WILL NOT SLUMBER. BEHOLD, HE WHO KEEPS ISRAEL SHALL NEITHER SLUMBER NOR SLEEP.

IF YOU’RE STANDING ON THE ROCK (JESUS), THEN YOUR FOOTING IS SURE for you stand on solid ground! HE never sleeps on the job; HE is faithful from start to finish!

Deu 32:3-4, FOR I PROCLAIM THE NAME OF THE LORD: ASCRIBE GREATNESS TO OUR GOD. HE IS THE ROCK, HIS WORK IS PERFECT; FOR ALL HIS WAYS ARE JUSTICE, A GOD OF TRUTH AND WITHOUT INJUSTICE; RIGHTEOUS AND UPRIGHT IS HE.

Psa 121:7-8, THE LORD SHALL PRESERVE YOU FROM ALL EVIL; HE SHALL PRESERVE YOUR SOUL. THE LORD SHALL PRESERVE YOUR GOING OUT AND YOUR COMING IN From this time forth, and even forevermore.

There are times in trials where we don’t feel that HE is with us, or maybe turned away from us! But, Truth be told, HE IS THERE WITH US BUILDING OUR FAITH AND RELIANCE ON HIM AND HIM ALONE! Trust in HIM!

Pro 3:5-6, TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, AND HE SHALL DIRECT YOUR PATHS.

Isa 41:10, FEAR NOT, FOR I AM WITH YOU; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ 

Psalm 94, the Judge of all!

Psa 94:1-2, O LORD GOD, TO WHOM VENGEANCE BELONGS—O God, TO WHOM VENGEANCE BELONGS, SHINE FORTH! RISE UP, O JUDGE OF THE EARTH; RENDER PUNISHMENT TO THE PROUD.

Even though we long for vengeance against a wrong done to us, vengeance does not belong to man it is HIS and HE will repay the wicked!

Deu 32:35, VENGEANCE IS MINE, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time; For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things to come hasten upon them.’ 

Psa 94:6-7, They slay the widow and the stranger, And murder the fatherless. Yet they say, “THE LORD DOES NOT SEE, NOR DOES THE GOD OF JACOB UNDERSTAND.”

Many believe, in ignorance, that the LORD doesn’t exist or that HE doesn’t see anything! YET nothing is hidden to HIM!

Pro 15:3, The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.

Jer 23:24, Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?” says the LORD; “DO I NOT FILL HEAVEN AND EARTH?” SAYS THE LORD. 

Psa 94:8-9, Understand, you senseless among the people; And you FOOLS, when will you be wise? HE WHO PLANTED THE EAR, SHALL HE NOT HEAR? HE WHO FORMED THE EYE, SHALL HE NOT SEE?

HE who created the eye and the ear can see, and hear all things! Don’t be foolish! HE shall render justice as the just judge!

Psa 9:7-8, But the LORD shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment. He shall judge the world in righteousness, And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness.

Psa 94:11-12, THE LORD KNOWS THE THOUGHTS OF MAN, THAT THEY ARE FUTILE. BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOM YOU INSTRUCT, O LORD, AND TEACH OUT OF YOUR LAW,

Most may never truly understand until they stand face to face with the JUDGE of heaven and earth! HIS word teaches wisdom to those willing to hear, and knowledge to those who humble themselves before HIM!

Dan 12:10, Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. 

Time is short for HE is near, chose wisely!

Psalm 91, Knowing the LORD!

Psa 91:1-2, HE WHO DWELLS IN THE SECRET PLACE OF THE MOST HIGH SHALL ABIDE UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE ALMIGHTY. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, IN HIM I WILL TRUST.”

The majority of HIS people come to HIM ONLY in times of trouble, “LORD GOD HELP ME”! Blessed are those that DWELL in HIS presence in prosperous times and in times of trials!

Psa 91:3-4, SURELY HE SHALL DELIVER YOU from the snare of the fowler AND FROM THE PERILOUS PESTILENCE. HE SHALL COVER YOU WITH HIS FEATHERS, AND UNDER HIS WINGS YOU SHALL TAKE REFUGE; HIS TRUTH SHALL BE YOUR SHIELD AND BUCKLER.

BECAUSE YOU DWELL IN HIS PRESENCE day and night, HE shall protect you from all seen and un-seen things! 

Psa 91:5-6, YOU SHALL NOT BE AFRAID of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, NOR OF THE PESTILENCE THAT WALKS IN DARKNESS, …

The LORD tells us, in HIS word, not to fear, do not be afraid even of pestilence WHICH NO ONE CAN SEE, like Covid! BUT HE SEES IT!

Isa 41:10, FEAR NOT, FOR I AM WITH YOU; Be not dismayed, FOR I AM YOUR GOD. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ 

Psa 91:7, 9, A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; BUT IT SHALL NOT COME NEAR YOU. … Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, YOUR DWELLING PLACE,

BLESSED ARE THOSE THAT DWELL IN YOUR PRESENCE! Not a passing visitor who comes from time to time, but he that dwell IN HIM!

Psa 91:14-15, “BECAUSE HE HAS SET HIS LOVE UPON ME, THEREFORE I WILL DELIVER HIM; I will set him on high, BECAUSE HE HAS KNOWN MY NAME. HE SHALL CALL UPON ME, AND I WILL ANSWER HIM; I WILL BE WITH HIM IN TROUBLE; I WILL DELIVER HIM AND HONOR HIM.

Knowing HIS name means having a personal relationship with the MOST HIGH! Do you know HIM? Does HE know you? Imagine being in HIS presence, face to face, and HE tells you the following!

Mat 7:23, … ‘I NEVER KNEW YOU; DEPART FROM ME, you who practice lawlessness!’ 

Psalm 64, HE knows all and sees all!

Psa 64:1, … HEAR MY VOICE, O GOD, IN MY MEDITATION; Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

The LORD can hear you even if you speak withing yourself! The LORD heard Jonah from the belly of a big fish! No place exists where he can’t hear the cry of HIS people! WE CAN’T RUN FROM HIS SIGHT!

Psa 139:7-11, WHERE CAN I GO FROM YOUR SPIRIT? OR WHERE CAN I FLEE FROM YOUR PRESENCE? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me;

THE LORD IS LIKE THE AIR THAT SURROUNDS US ALWAYS PRESENT! IF WE ARE IN THE OCEAN, THEN HE IS LIKE THE WATER! HE SHALL ALWAYS BE WITH HIS PEOPLE!

Psa 64:2, Hide me from the SECRET PLOTS OF THE WICKED, From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,

David would prefer the enemy in the battle field where he can see them rather than an enemy secretly devising plot against him!

Psa 64:3,5, WHO SHARPEN THEIR TONGUE LIKE A SWORD, And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—BITTER WORDS…. THEY ENCOURAGE THEMSELVES IN AN EVIL MATTER; They talk of laying snares secretly; They say, “WHO WILL SEE THEM?” 

GOD sees all, hears all and knows all, yet the wicked do not know that HE is always present!

Psa 10:11, HE HAS SAID IN HIS HEART, “GOD HAS FORGOTTEN; HE HIDES HIS FACE; HE WILL NEVER SEE.” 

Psa 94:7, YET THEY SAY, “THE LORD DOES NOT SEE, NOR DOES THE GOD OF JACOB UNDERSTAND.” 

JUDGEMENT DAY IS COMING AND WE SHALL BE ACCOUNT FOR EVERY IDLE WORD! BE PREPARED, AND SEEK THE LORD!

Mat 12:36, But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, THEY WILL GIVE ACCOUNT OF IT IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT.