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Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Studyheadquarters dot com.
Speaker 1: You're listening to the Chapter a Day Audio Bible. I'm
Speaker 1: John Stogey, and today we're in Proverbs chapter twenty three,
Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the New English translation. When
Speaker 1: you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully
Speaker 1: what is before you put a knife to your throat.
Speaker 1: If you possess a large appetite, do not crave that
Speaker 1: ruler's delicacies, for that food is deceptive. Do not wear
Speaker 1: yourself out to become rich. Be wise enough to restrain yourself.
Speaker 1: When you gaze upon riches, they are gone, for they
Speaker 1: surely make wings for themselves and fly off into the
Speaker 1: sky like an eagle. Do not eat the food food
Speaker 1: of a stingy person. Do not crave his delicacies, for
Speaker 1: he is like someone calculating the cost in his mind.
Speaker 1: Eat and drink, he says to you, but his heart
Speaker 1: is not with you. You will vomit up the little
Speaker 1: bit you have eaten, and will have wasted your pleasant words.
Speaker 1: Do not speak in the ears of a fool, for
Speaker 1: he will despise the wisdom of your words. Do not
Speaker 1: move an ancient boundary stone or take over the fields
Speaker 1: of the fatherless, for their protector is strong, he will
Speaker 1: plead their case against you. Apply your heart to instruction
Speaker 1: and your ears to the words of knowledge. Do not
Speaker 1: withhold discipline from a child, even if you strike him
Speaker 1: with the rod. He will not die. If you strike
Speaker 1: him with the rod, you will deliver him from death.
Speaker 1: My child, if your heart is wise, then my heart
Speaker 1: also will be glad. My soul will rejoice when your
Speaker 1: lips speak what is right. Do not let your heart
Speaker 1: envy sinners, but rather be zealous in fearing the Lord
Speaker 1: all the time, for surely there is a future, and
Speaker 1: your hope will not be cut off. Listen, my child,
Speaker 1: and be wise, and guide your heart on the right way.
Speaker 1: Do not spend time among drunkards, among those who eat
Speaker 1: too much meat, because drunkards and gluttons become impoverished, and
Speaker 1: drowsiness clothes them with rags. Listen to your father, who
Speaker 1: begot you, and do not despise your mother when she
Speaker 1: is old. Acquire truth and do not sell it. Wisdom
Speaker 1: and discipline and understanding. The father of a righteous person
Speaker 1: will rejoice greatly. Whoever fathers a wise child will have
Speaker 1: joy in him. May your father and your mother have joy.
Speaker 1: May she who bore you rejoice. Give me your heart,
Speaker 1: my son, and let your eyes observe my ways. For
Speaker 1: a prostitute is like a deep pit. A harlot is
Speaker 1: like a narrow well. Indeed, she lies in wait like
Speaker 1: a robber, and increases the unfaithful among men. Who has woe,
Speaker 1: who has sorrow, who has contentions, who has complaints, who
Speaker 1: has wounds without cause, who has dulness of the eyes.
Speaker 1: Those who linger over wine, those who go looking for
Speaker 1: mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it
Speaker 1: is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it
Speaker 1: goes down smoothly. Afterward it bites like a snake and
Speaker 1: stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things,
Speaker 1: and your mind will be perverse things, and you will
Speaker 1: be like one who lies down in the midst of
Speaker 1: the sea, and like one who lies down on the
Speaker 1: top of the rigging. You will say, they have struck me,
Speaker 1: but I am not harmed. They beat me, but I
Speaker 1: did not know it. When will I awake, I will
Speaker 1: look for another drink. Let's pray, Lord, thank you for
Speaker 1: your word, and thank you for the wisdom that we
Speaker 1: have through faith in your son Jesus Christ, and that
Speaker 1: you grant us the gift of being able to understand
Speaker 1: the truth of your word as we read it. Lord,
Speaker 1: we know that you give us a lot of caution
Speaker 1: in your word. You tell us how to interact with
Speaker 1: others in such a way that we bring you glory,
Speaker 1: and you caution us not to invite things into our
Speaker 1: lives that ultimately are a poor representation of what it
Speaker 1: looks like to be one of your children. Lord, you
Speaker 1: challenge us not to get drunk and not to overeat.
Speaker 1: And Lord, we know that these are things that humanity
Speaker 1: as a whole struggles with, because sometimes we rely on
Speaker 1: those things to try and soothe the pain that we
Speaker 1: experience on this earth. But Lord, we know that you
Speaker 1: are the ultimate comforter. So we pray that, through faith
Speaker 1: in your son Jesus Christ, that we would recognize that
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ is sufficient that you provide us comfort, and
Speaker 1: we don't need to rely on outside things to provide
Speaker 1: the kind of comfort that you supply for our hearts
Speaker 1: and our lives. So, Lord, thank you for these reminders
Speaker 1: from your word, and we pray Lord that we would
Speaker 1: walk with you faithfully. Today we pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen,