by Susan Barnes | 27 Jan 2025 | Short Devotion
A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Proverbs 31:10 This chapter of Proverbs is addressed to a male king. It concludes the book by giving practical examples of what wisdom looks like. It isn’t a job description...
by Susan Barnes | 20 Jan 2025 | Short Devotion
Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Proverbs 30:8 Falsehood and lies are obviously deceptive but so are poverty and riches. Riches deceive us into thinking that...
by Susan Barnes | 12 Dec 2024 | Short Devotion
The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern. Proverbs 29:7 The wicked have no empathy. They’re self-absorbed. They don’t understand how poverty or other difficulties impact a person’s life and have no...
by Susan Barnes | 5 Dec 2024 | Short Devotion
The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. Proverbs 28:1 The righteous have nothing to hide, so they can be as bold as a lion. They can admit mistakes, apologise and move on without fear of being found out because...
by Susan Barnes | 28 Nov 2024 | Short Devotion
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. Proverbs 27:1 Likewise, James writes, “You do not even know what will happen tomorrow” (James 4:14). We’re accustomed to planning our days and weeks, perhaps setting goals for the...
by Susan Barnes | 21 Nov 2024 | Short Devotion
Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest. Proverbs 26:2 This proverb does away with superstitions, like walking under ladders, opening umbrellas inside, breaking mirrors and staying in room 13 at a...
by Susan Barnes | 14 Nov 2024 | Short Devotion
Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone. Proverbs 25:15 Patience and gentleness are persuasive. Bones are the most rigid part of the body and take a long time to decompose after a person dies. Yet the most...
by Susan Barnes | 7 Nov 2024 | Short Devotion
For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes. Proverbs 24:16 This proverb recognises that calamity strikes both the wicked and the righteous. However, they respond very differently. The...
