Proverbs 31:18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
Jesus tells a parable where he describes the kingdom of heaven to ten virgins who went out to meet the bridegroom. Some of the virgins were wise and they took extra oil in case the bridegroom tarried while other virgins […]

Proverbs 31:3 Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, yet he allowed his relationship with God to be severely destroyed as a result of his many wives. Solomon started out his reign as king wholly dedicated to God. However, as he […]

Proverbs 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
Adam and Eve sinned when they ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve realized that they were naked and that something had changed as a result of their […]

Proverbs 27:12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.
You know your weaknesses. You know which temptations you are more likely than not to yield to. A wise man is one who knows where they are weak and they ensure that they do not put themselves […]

Proverbs 22:3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
Are you a wise man or are you a fool? Do you see the problems that you will bring upon your life if you play with the temptations of sin? A wise individual knows their weaknesses and […]

Proverbs 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
Do you desire to obey God and add knowledge to your life? Scripture tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. In this verse, we see the important lesson that we are to fear the […]

Proverbs 2:10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
In verse 11 we see that those who obtain and delight in knowledge of the ways of God receive the benefit of discretion preserving them. In verse 12 we see that knowledge of the ways of God will deliver one from […]

Matthew 26:35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.
Peter made a statement that he was not able to perform. Jesus had told Peter that before the cock crowed three times, Peter would deny HIM. In a fashion typical for Peter, […]

Acts 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
Jesus taught us that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a […]

I John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Are you on the winning side? The battle of life has only two sides, either you are with God or you are of the world. In this passage, […]

I John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Virtue requires that you fill your life with things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of a good […]

I John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
It is real easy to become materialistic and start to love the things of the world more than God. Most people spend most of their week […]

I John 2:10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
Temptation is all around us. Even Jesus, the Son of God was tempted. It is not a sin to be tempted; it is a sin to yield to temptation. Jesus was tempted like you, but […]

Judges 7:6 And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.
Gideon had blown a trumpet and had sent messengers across the land and 32,000 men answered the call. However, 22,000 men were […]

Psalms 141:3 Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
Do you pray daily for God to protect you from evil? Do you pray that God will put a guard over your mouth so that you do not say foolish things? Do you pray that God will guard your eyes […]

Psalms 119:11 Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.
When Jesus taught us how to pray, one of the elements of prayer is that we are to pray that God will protect us from temptation. Daily we should ask God to give us the strength to live that […]

Psalms 94:18 When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.
You are not perfect; all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. God has a perfect path for you to take, but Satan is constantly working to cause you to stumble and depart from the paths of God. […]

Psalms 74:22  Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.
Are you one with God? Have you taken the time to understand what God’s purpose for your life is? Have you obeyed God’s direction for you?
How many times have you seen people try to separate their spiritual lives from […]

Psalms 26:1 Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.
When you sin, it is because you lack trust in the Lord. You have basically allowed Satan to convince you that either God does not care what you do here on […]

Psalms 13:6 I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

Is your glass half empty or half full? What is your perspective on life? In this Psalm, David is talking about the Lord forgetting him and the Lord hiding HIS face. David mentions his enemies are being exalted over him. David understands that his trust is in the Lord and as such, it is to God whom he is seeking to find deliverance from his present distress. In the end, David has not yet seen the deliverance of the Lord, but he still is singing the praises of God.

David ends this Psalm by acknowledging that God has dealt bountifully with him. How can one proclaim that God has dealt bountifully with them when in their current position, they are wondering whether God has forgotten them? How has God dealt bountifully with David when David�s enemies are currently winning the battle? While David personally may be in the valley of the shadow of death, he understands that God writes the last chapter and that while things may be bleak this moment, based upon God�s faithfulness in the past, he can rejoice because God will triumph in the end.

Psalms 11:1 In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?

David made a commitment in his heart that regardless what occurred in his heart, he was going to trust in the Lord. David understood that there would be times when things would become difficult and that those around him would encourage him to take matters into his own hands but David made a commitment to God. Regardless what trials occurred in his life, David was going to put his trust in the Lord and not in his own strength.

In verse five of this Psalm, David acknowledges that the Lord brings trials into the life of the righteous. David understood that trials are God�s way of testing HIS children to see who will really trust in HIM and who will rely upon their own strength. When trials come into your life, how will you respond? Have you made a commitment to God that when you seem to face difficult times, your trust will be in God?

Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. When HE reached the garden, HE had HIS disciples wait for HIM but requested that Peter, James and John continue with HIM. Jesus then told HIS three disciples that they were to watch as HE prayed. HE then went a little further and fell down on HIS face and prayed. After praying for one hour, Jesus came back to the place where HE requested HIS three disciples to wait and found them asleep. Jesus asked Peter why he could not watch for one hour.

Matthew 26:15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus� 12 disciples agreed to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Judas was not entrapped into betraying Jesus by the deception of the chief priests but he willingly came to the chief priests and asked them what they would give him if he betrayed his Master. Judas had determined in his heart that money was more important to him than his relationship with Jesus.

Judas betrayed Jesus for a sack of silver yet Judas is not the only person who has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Since you have accepted Christ�s calling to follow HIM, how have betrayed your relationship with Christ? Have you allowed greed to get in the way of your relationship with Christ? Have you allowed bitterness to get in the way of your relationship with Christ? Have you allowed lust to get in the way of your relationship with Christ?

Matthew 18:8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.

What you do here on this earth does affect your final destination. Your actions or your lack of actions can result in your going to spend eternity in heaven or eternity in hell. In this passage Jesus just informed you that it would be better for you that you do not have a hand, a foot or even an eye than it would be to spend eternity in hell.

Think about it for a second, what if you had a problem walking into places that caused you to stumble and fall short of the glory of God. What if you cut off your leg? The fact that you have to now hop along everywhere you desire to go would be a constant reminder to you of the need to put the things of God first in your life. Christ states that it would be better that you have only one leg and you enter heaven than that you have two legs and you live a life of debauchery here on this earth.

Matthew 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

Have you ever said something mean to another individual and then shortly there after told them that you were only joking? While you may be telling the truth and did not actually mean what you said, according to Christ that come the Day of Judgment, you will have to give an account for every idle word. It does not matter that you did not mean the cruel words; you must still answer to God.

It does not matter if only you hear your idle words or if they spread like wildfire and are heard around the world. You are going to be judged by God for every word that is uttered from your mouth. Earlier in this chapter, we see that Jesus knew the thoughts of the Pharisees and he was able to confront their false opinions as to where Jesus received HIS power. If Christ could hear the thoughts of men, what makes you think that HE cannot hear every word that you speak?

Matthew 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Satan tried to tempt Jesus with the entire world if Jesus would only bow down to him. Satan understood that while he would be giving up his territory, in reality, he would not since by Jesus bowing down to him, it would be the same as Jesus acknowledging that Satan was greater than God. Jesus being the Son of God understood that while Satan was the prince of the earth, that there was coming a day that HE would fight Satan and defeat him. At that time, the earth would properly return to the Lord.

Matthew 4:6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Satan�s second attempt to tempt Jesus came with the misuse of scripture. Satan knows that Jesus is the Son of God but that still does not stop him from attempting to cause Jesus to sin. If Jesus had cast HIMSELF down as requested by Satan, there is no doubt that Jesus would not have died. When Jesus was on the cross, HE acknowledged that all HE had to do was say the word and twelve legions of angels would come to HIS aid. Nonetheless, Jesus understood that HIS power was not in doing what was best for HIMSELF, HIS power was given to HIM to draw the world�s attention to the Father.

Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where for forty days HE did not eat. After forty days, of fasting, Satan came unto Jesus and said, �If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.� Jesus was the Son of God and all HE needed to do was say the words and the stones would have become bread for HIM to eat. Jesus however understood that God was leading HIM and that while HE understood that HE would have to eat soon, HE also understood that HE needed to follow God�s timing for HIS life.

Acts 20:19 Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews:

Paul is speaking to the elders of Ephesus. Paul is telling these men that God is calling him to go to Jerusalem. Paul does not know what God is going to do, all he knows is that God desires for him to go. What is important to understand in this passage is the fact that Paul acknowledges that he has been tempted.

As Christians, we often make heroes out of the characters in the Bible. We often forget that they too were human and had to face trials and temptations. Paul was no different. There were times when he desired to quit but he had to persevere because it was God�s will for his life. Paul was faithful in serving the Lord but even though he was faithful, he was still tempted to sin and fall short of the glory of God.

Acts 20:9 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and as taken up dead.

Paul was in Troas preaching the gospel to the believers. Paul was only in Troas for seven days and as such, this was the only Sabbath that he was going to be able to teach. Paul had much to share with the believers and as such, he preached long into the night.

Eutychus was a young man who attended the meeting Paul preached. However Eutychus, while a believer was not devouring every word shared by Paul. Rather then seeing how close he could be to Paul, Eutychus found a comfortable spot in the back sitting by a window. Sitting by a window gave Eutychus plenty of distractions from hearing all the words of Paul. In addition, because of his position, he was able to fall asleep with less chance of being detected.