Proverbs 15:18

Verse of the Day Devotion: Proverbs 15:18 

“A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but the slow to anger calms a dispute.” – Proverbs 15:18      

Have you ever been in a discussion with someone on a topic where the two of you did not agree?  I have at times.  Everything starts out ok, but then something happens and suddenly one or both of you begin showing signs of animosity.  It can start out slow, but if things do not change, then the possibility of an intense argument becomes more probable.  This was likely not the direction either of you anticipated.  You were simply wanting to discuss a topic, and suddenly everything blew up. 

This is especially true if both are looking for a win and will do anything possible to be successful.  Especially if both parties have the same goal.  At this point, the possibility of an amiable conversation becomes less likely.  And the more entrenched both parties are, the possibility becomes stronger each will leave angry at the other.  However, the second part of this verse describes how we are to handle any discussion, no matter how much we differ regarding the topic.  We are to be slow to anger, not trying necessarily to win the debate, but to be calm and present our case.  Anger does little in presenting what we believe, in fact, it will probably harden them to their own view of the topic.  Meekness is a better attitude in these situations.  You can bring up your opinion or belief, but not in an argumentative way.  Present all arguments on both sides, and if there is no agreement, leave as is.  There may be reasons why each sees things the way they do.  It is not worth arguing because all it will do is close minds.  Then, even if they come to believe you, they may never admit it or act on it.

This is especially important when we, as Christians, are one of the parties in a conversation.  Doubly so when not everyone involved is a Christian.  The issue in either case is our witness.  It would not be good for others to see us being angry and offensive during a discussion if they know we are a Christian.  What if we, in the process of trying to prove our point, call the other person a derogatory name?  Not only will this undoubtedly close the mind of the person, it can also cause others hearing our conversation to question our faith, to the point where they may even see us as a fake Christian.  They will see us as someone not living the life we profess.  Paul says it this way.  “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29. He also adds, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.”  Ephesians 4:30-31.  Note, we are not to exhibit bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, malice, and slander.  This pretty much does away with all negative expressions we could present.  In fact, we are to do all to God’s glory.  “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:17

We are to show love to all we come into contact with, whether we agree or not.  To argue does not help our cause, in fact, it degrades our ability to be a consistent witness.  We are to go out and be Christ’s hands and feet on the earth.  We are to show the love of God to a world that needs to hear it even though they may not think they do.  We are to be a light in the darkness.  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16.  It is our calling; it is our mission.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

Proverbs 16:24

Verse of the Day Devotion: Proverbs 16:24 

“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” – Proverbs 16:24    

Have you ever gone through tough times?  I can assure you I have.  I can recall many instances in my life where things have not gone in any way like I wanted.  It can be brutal.  I can remember a time which particularly changed me.  I started attending a new church in Homestead, Florida.  The message that Wednesday evening caused me to go through much reflection of my past.  After church was dismissed I was just sitting there with my head down praying.  After a period of time, a man and his wife came up to me and asked if everything was OK.  I was honest and told them I was going through a difficult time.  I was at the time an extreme introvert which made it difficult for me to open up.  I also had trouble with making new friends because of how my parents raise me.

I was unsure how this would go, but they did not rush me at all while we sat and talked.  They were extremely kind and spent much time with me.  They listened and then helped me to work through my issues.  Then, after they prayed for me, they invited me to their home that weekend for a time of fellowship with them and other people from the church.  I did go and made several new friends that helped me going forward to move beyond my childhood and on to a new way of life.

And this blessing happened because they took the time to just be with me, encouraging me to open up and understand they wanted to be my friends.  These people at The Rock Church of Homestead did more for me than anyone else had up to this point.  I made so many friends on the base who also attended the Rock Church. There were others as well who opened their homes to me and said I was welcome there any time.  The couple eventually offered me a room to stay at once I left the Air Force.

This was made possible by God who brought us all together through their kind and loving words which brought a wonderful change in my life.  This shows the impact kindness can have on someone.  As our focus  verse says, “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” Proverbs 16:24.  Their words and actions did much to heal my spirit from the harshness I grew up with as a child.  Their words were so sweet and did much to heal the sores in my heart.  We ended up parting ways after I got married and moved away.  But I will never forget all the wonderful people I met for the love they showed me and the healing I am sure they had no idea they were a part of.

This was a difficult devotion to write, however, I want to encourage us all to speak kind and pleasant words to everyone God brings our way.  We do not know what many people have endured and/or are currently going through.  They may exhibit anger and hurt because of things inside them, or they hide their feelings so we cannot see the hurt. This is why we need to always speak kind and loving words and refrain from angry and negative speech.  As we also read in proverbs, “The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.” Proverbs 18:4. Let us strive for all our words to be as bubbling brooks and sweet honey which brings healing to the hearts and bones of all we meet.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Proverbs 29:11

Verse of the Day Devotion: Proverbs 29:11 

“A fool always loses his temper, but a wise man holds it back.” – Proverbs 29:11 

This life we live can be difficult at times.  It seems that many are so stressed that the simplest things can cause them to become angry and tell us what they really think about us.  Work environments are much more difficult and can be very stressful.  Political conversations can start out amiable but end up with yelling and other non-complementary actions.  It can be so easy at times to lose our temper and say things that should never be said.

I remember when I was in the Air Force and I was a roommate with a Seventh Day Adventist.  We agreed to attend each other’s church once and afterwards discuss our thoughts.  I will not get into any details, but I made a huge mistake which caused him to walk away from the faith.  I found an issue that he somewhat agreed with and I, in essence, beat him over the head with it.  He believed Jesus died on the cross for his sins.  He definitely lived the life of a Christian, probably more than I did at the time.  To make a long story short, he left his church and Christianity all together and started living a life separate from Christ.  I tried talking to him, but I could not get him to understand.  Now I did get angry during parts of the discussion, and I believe this was the major reason for his decision, and  I have regretted it ever sense. 

Today, it seems that it does not take much to end up quarreling with people.  And unfortunately I have seen this behavior between Christians.  And the majority of time it has to do with doctrinal disagreements.  Some over simple things like pre-tribulation verse post-tribulation rapture, or one that is very fiery (unfortunately) is the idea of Calvinism.  However, we must be careful of how we address these for several reasons.  First, if a brother or sister is in error doctrinally, yelling or insulting will only exacerbate the issue.  They may turn away and not listen to us anymore.  If what they believe is false doctrine, in love, show them their error.  If we argue in anger or yell, we may lose them and strengthen their belief in the heresy. 

And if we are speaking to a non-Christian regarding Jesus and how He died for us to provide salvation, we may end up in a debate because they do not believe in Him at the time of our conversation.  If we raise our voice and/or insult them in any way, we may lose the opportunity to share the gospel and turn them away from desiring Christ.  You see, if Christians treat people badly during times of evangelism, or if they see that we give up on them quickly, then we have no doubt lost the right to speak into their life.  And this may eliminate anyone else from ministering to them as well.

We are called to spread the good news of Christ and the salvation He provides and the invitation He has given us.  And we are called to disciple those new to the faith.  Moreover, we are to do both with a heart filled with love and patience, for many times it will take longer to reach them then a single meeting.  They must see we ourselves live the life we are inviting them to live.  And we must take whatever time is needed in order not only to lead them to Christ but help them grow in the faith.  Our Lord spent as much time as necessary to teach those He came across.  As our focus verse says, “A fool always loses his temper, But a wise man holds it back.” Proverbs 29:11  Do we speak in love to those we come into contact with?  Do we wisely present the truth so as to help them truly understand?  Do we patiently help people understand or lose our patience and act as such in unwise ways?  Do we lose our patience with people (fool), or do we hold back our anger (wise)?  If the latter, we are doing well.  If the former, then do the latter.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Proverbs 3:6

Verse of the Day Devotion: Proverbs 3:6 

“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” – Proverbs 3:6          

Many times, when we are going through difficult situations, we cry out to God to help us.  We know we cannot get through these times in our own strength.  We get anxious and worried about how this will end.  Because of this, we pray and ask God to bring us out of these circumstances and lead us to the other side.

However, when things are going well, how often do we pray and ask God to lead us in the direction He calls us to go?  According to our focus verse, it should be always.  It tells us in all our ways acknowledge Him.  This basically means to know who He is; our God, Lord and King and proceed accordingly.  We are to set Him before us.  We are to trust Him in all things, and no matter what, we are to go in the ways He calls.  Note the previous verse.  “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”  Proverbs 3:5.  We are not to be half-hearted in our trust, for He always has what’s best for us in mind.  “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Roman 8:28.  Sometimes, it does not appear to us that it will end to our good, but this is what He has promised and therefore we can accept it and live as such.

There is an example in the Book of Acts where Paul had an idea where he wanted to go, however, he heard from the Lord and followed His ways instead.  “And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us. And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” Acts 16:6-10.  What Paul wanted to do was not a bad thing because he wanted to share the gospel with the people in Bithynia, and probably in Asia as well.  However, this was not what God had laid out for Paul.  And Paul accepted His leading and walked the straight path set before him.

We are doing the work of God; therefore we should do the work He calls us to do in the way He tells us to do it.  Maybe we want to go to the Hawaii to minister, however, God may want to send us to Cleveland, OH.  Are we open to His leading?  We may want to preach every Sunday in a little country church; however, God may want us to go to the gangs of New York and witness to their members.  (This refers to the ministry of David Wilkerson as described in his book “The Cross and the Switchblade”, which I encourage everyone to read.  We must understand that we are not to do what we want in ministry but do what He wants in ministry. 

We must acknowledge Him as our lord and do the work He has called us to do and not usurp His place and decide ourselves what we are to do.  This is where prayer comes into play.  We are to call upon Him for guidance and then listen for His response, after which we move forward on the straight path He has prepared for us. 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.