In reading through Jeremiah, I noticed that many times it said that God spoke to them. He used the words, “…rising early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction.” The children of Israel greatly provoked Him.

Time after time He said that if they would turn back to Him, He would relent of the disaster He had planned for them. It reminded me of Isaiah 30:15. It says, “…In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength, but you would not.”

There is a great definition of rebellion in 1 Samuel 15:23. It says, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord…”

Anytime that we act independent of the Lord, we are rejecting His word. Rebellion, stubbornness, and disobedience come from a heart, “…hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Hebrews 3:13.

James 1:22 says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves.” A doer actively applies His word and walks in it.

Hebrews 12:1 says that our journey of progressive sanctification is a race. Distractions will disrupt our endurance. They are classified as, “…every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us…”

Isaiah 50:7 says, “For the Lord God will help Me; therefore I will not be disgraced; therefore I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed.” Setting our face like a flint is a pattern of Jesus that we can follow.

Hebrews 12:2 says that we do that by, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” With singleness of heart Jesus remained on the cross to bring many into His Kingdom.

Here is our instruction for endurance. Luke 9:23 says, “…If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” We embrace our trial-cross by walking in the Spirit who resists our flesh.

David wrote Psalm 86. Verse 5 says, “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.”

Verse 11-12 says, “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore.” In verse 11 he was asking the Lord to give him singleness of heart.

What trial are you facing? Let’s take our example from Jesus.. He was on His way to Jerusalem to die for us. Luke 9:53 says that as they entered a village of the Samaritans, “…they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.”

He did not allow anything to distract Him. Verse 62 says, “…No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Fit in the Greek means useful.

Beware of distractions. They can be subtle, but are the devil’s strategic weapon to pull us off course.

I was reading through the book of Jeremiah. The Holy Spirit stopped me at Jeremiah 32:40. The context was after God had scattered His people. Their disobedience had placed them in captivity. His promise was that He would bring them back.

Verse 39-40 says, “Then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them…but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.”

Psalm 25:14 in the Amplified helps us understand how we fear the Lord. It says, “…who fear (revere and worship) Him…”

Malachi 3:16 gives us the language of those who fear the Lord. It says, “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name.”

What does the Lord hear when He listens to your conversations? A lifestyle of worship is reflected through every aspect of our lives.

Proverbs 3:32 Amplified says, “…His confidential communion and secret counsel are with the (uncompromisingly) righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with Him).” Keith Green wrote a book called, “No Compromise.”

A good example of compromise is found in Ecclesiastes 10:1. It says, “Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment, and cause it to give off a foul odor; so does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.”

People watch us. When our message of the gospel and our behavior do not match, we lose face in the sight of unbelievers, as well as believers that we are discipling. Paul said, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1.

In Proverbs 8:13 wisdom was speaking. It says, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.” Do you hate the things that the God of Wisdom hates? He gives grace to the humble, but He resists the proud. James 4:6. Holy Spirit, please reveal any blindspots of compromise that taint our testimony.

My favorite verse about the fear of the Lord is Psalm 25:14 in the Amplified. Just take a moment to bask in it. It says, “The secret (of the sweet, satisfying companionship) of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its (deep, inner) meaning.”

1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “…Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 

Verse 10 in the Amplified says, “Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through his Spirit, for the (Holy) Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God (the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man’s scrutiny).”

Do you love secrets? The Lord delights to reveal the secrets of His heart to us through our intimate communion with Him. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Proverbs 2:7 says, “He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly.” How do we find that treasure chest? Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Therefore the question becomes: what is in my heart?

Proverbs 2 was King Solomon’s words to his son. Verse 1-2 says, “My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding.” We can make a personal application from this when we read it as the Lord talking to us.

Verses 3-4 are instructions for crying out, seeking, and searching for the hidden treasures of discernment and understanding. The fruit is found in verse 5. It says, “Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.”

We just discovered that the reverential fear of the Lord is our hidden key to opening His treasure chest of wisdom. Verse 6 concludes, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

This is how we discern what is true wisdom. James 3:17 says, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”

Proverbs 1:5 says, “A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel.” Proverbs 9:9 says, “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.”

One who seeks wisdom has a teachable spirit. They come with no agenda of their own. Their heart is open to receive. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

Matthew 7:7 says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” We have to come with open hands and a submitted heart. Otherwise our  own fleshly agenda will interpret incorrectly. James 1:14.

I started reading the book of Proverbs according to the date. After I read Proverbs 1, I read the first six chapters of Ecclesiastes. Both books were written by King Solomon. Proverbs 1:6 says, “To understand a proverb and an enigma, the words of the wise and their riddles.” 

As I read this verse, my mind went back to Number 12. Miriam and Aaron had spoken against Moses. The Lord called the three of them. Verse 4 says, “…Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!…” Did you note the exclamation mark?

He called Aaron and Miriam. Verse 6 says, “…Hear now My words…” Then He explained the difference in the way He spoke to the prophets than to Moses. Verse 8 says, “I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings…”

I love Jeremiah 33:3. It says, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” We are calling out to the one, “In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:3. 

2 Timothy 2:14 says, “Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers.” This would include idle words and gossip. Both are futile and empty because they lack substance. They tear down instead of build up. Verse 23 says, “But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.”

Proverbs 16:24 says, “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”

We gain wisdom and understanding for righteous speech from God’s word alone. 2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Diligent means to exert oneself, make every effort, be zealous, strain every nerve, and further the cause assiduously. It involves thinking, acting, planning, and producing. We read through our Bible for understanding to implement personal application.