A teaching by Rev. Barbara Williams, President of the Ministry of the Watchman International
Week of July 31-August 4, 2023
MONDAY
The desire of the righteous is only good, but the expectation of the wicked is wrath.
Proverbs 11:23
The desire of the righteous is only good. When bad things happen, how can we expect good? We can expect good because of the righteousness that is within us.
The word “righteous” is a contracted form of “right-wiseness” or “right wisdom.” What is right wisdom? Right wisdom is the word of God. Right wisdom is the spirit of God bringing right thinking and the processing of information in an accurate way.
Right wisdom allows us to make the right conclusions. Right wisdom allows us to accept the truth about each and every situation. To him who is pure, all things are pure, but to the forward or wicked person, all things are impure, wicked, and negative.
The expectation of the wicked is always wrath. The wicked wait for judgment from an angry God. The righteous know the truth about God… that He is good and His mercy endures forever. Therefore, the expectation of the righteous is good.
If you are in need of healing, there is good news! Proverbs 4:20-22 SAYS:
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
So there is life and health in God’s word. Since God’s word is medicine, we must take it like we would a prescription. I suggest three times a day, like you would your food. Remember, healing is the children’s bread. Consider this your “dose” for today. Remember, read, and meditate three times a day the following:
Rx: Proverbs 16:24 ~ Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15
If you’ve never studied the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, we invite you to join us as we read through the Bible in a year. Read and meditate on these chapters this week:
July 31: Judges 14, Acts 18, Jeremiah 27, Mark 13
August 1: Judges 15, Acts 19, Jeremiah 28, Mark 14
August 2: Judges 16, Acts 20, Jeremiah 29, Mark 15
August 3: Judges 17, Acts 21, Jeremiah 30-31, Mark 16
August 4: Judges 18, Acts 22, Jeremiah 32, Psalms 1-2
August 5: Judges 19, Acts 23, Jeremiah 33, Psalms 3-4
August 6: Judges 20, Acts 24, Jeremiah 34, Psalms 5-6
TUESDAY
Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
Deuteronomy 8:11-14
Do the righteous ever have expectations that are not good? Of course we do.
How does this occur if we have God’s wisdom? If we are righteous, how does it happen that we expect bad things to happen to us at the hand of a God who is good? It is possible to be born again and neglect to keep our covenant with God from a standpoint of obedience to Him. We have a covenant to love and worship God and have no other gods before Him.
This passage of scripture describes a situation that God knows will occur. When we are living a life of prosperity and ease we tend to forget God. Perhaps we don’t spend as much time meditating on the word, or maybe we don’t read the word daily the way we did when we first started with Him. After a period of time, we tend to move God out of the picture and even take His place.
How often have we taken credit for our job promotions and wise purchases? We may give God a little lip service initially, but in our hearts we become content believing that our abilities have gotten us where we are.
We don’t acknowledge the invisible God who works behind the scenes opening doors that no man can open. We don’t acknowledge that it is He who gives us the power to get wealth that He may establish His covenant with us.
We have ceased to let Him be our life. We become estranged from God, our life source.
WEDNESDAY
Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
Deuteronomy 8:11-14
People who distance themselves from God will naturally be more self-conscious than God-conscious. When we are not as diligent in serving the Lord as we have previously been, we forsake our relationship with Him. We cease to put Him in His rightful place. Soon we drift away from Him in our hearts, and our hearts become distant and cold. It is God’s presence that softens our hearts.
It is through worship of Him that we keep in contact with Him. It is through the closeness with God that we keep a clear picture of who He is and what He will do. When we are close to God, we feel worthy of His love.
We have His wisdom and a good expectation of Him. When we are distant from God, we lose contact with Him and our wisdom is flawed. Somehow we feel condemned because we have not given Him time and attention. We put off repentance because of the condemnation. We live in a place of fear and doubt.
If this is true of the saint, how much more true is it for the sinner? The person who has never met God feels that He cannot trust God. He may even be surprised that God is good. He waits for bad things to happen because His concept of God is flawed. Without a covenant of peace with God, man is left feeling estranged and vulnerable.
THURSDAY
A good man shows favor, and lends: he will guide his affairs with discretion. Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.
He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.
Psalm 112:5-7
The man who worships the Lord has a heart fixed in trust of God. He does not waver. He has a resolve that God is good. He does not fear evil tidings. He is not afraid of bad things happening, because he has taken the Lord as his refuge. He does not fear that God is against him. He knows that God is good all the time and he only expects good things to happen to him at the hand of God. He is not afraid of evil tidings. He is not waiting for bad news to come to him. His expectation is good at all times.
When trouble comes, he hides himself in the cleft of the rock, for he knows that he is welcome there. He serves a God who is ever merciful. Righteousness tells him this.
He is able to draw from his inner reserve of wisdom and approaches his life in peace and confidence. He can go to His God for answers when questions arise. He knows that God will never turn on him. He only gives good and perfect gifts. His heart is fixed because he trusts his God.
FRIDAY
A good man shows favor, and lends: he will guide his affairs with discretion. Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.
He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.
Psalm 112:5-7
The servant of God trusts that he can always come back to God. Even when his heart may become lifted up in him and he forgets God, he knows the way back home. When your heart strays away from the Lord, come back to Him through repentance and renewing your covenant of worship with Him.
I believe many people did on 9/11. The unfortunate passengers on hijacked planes had a time of warning with the grace for repentance if needed. Many of those who lost their lives at the Pentagon and the World Trade Center were granted grace from God to renew their relationship of closeness with the Lord. Others were allowed to accept the Lord for the first time.
How do I know this? Because God’s mercy endures forever. His wrath only lasts for a short time, but His mercy lasts forever.
His mercy brings us into the world, and His mercy will take us out of the world, especially if we belong to Him.
Did the terrorists on that day have mercy when they died? Sinners do not have eternal life, but I know that God is not willing that any perish, and He does all He can to bring us to repentance.
Perhaps they heard the gospel on Christian television at some time. God’s mercy allowed that. Maybe a Christian witnessed to them or gave them a tract at some time. I know God’s will was for them to repent, but it appears that they held onto a false god until the end, falsely believing that the act of terrorism would get them into paradise.
The righteous are not that way.
Righteousness lets us know that the Most High God is a God of mercy and love, and that He will welcome us home when are hearts are fixed in trusting Him.