There are many verses in the Bible telling us of the riches and wealth that are ours in the Lord.  This verse is interesting because it tells us that His fruit is better than gold.  Not only do we find wealth in the Lord, Himself, but in the fruit that He produces.  The amazing thing is that this fruit is produced in us!  We are the branches upon which He allows the fruit to blossom and grow.  What an exciting challenge that is.  As John 15:4-5 reveals to us, Abide in me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.  I am the vine, ye are the branches.  He that abideth in me, and I in him, the some bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.  It is our spiritual destiny to be fruit bearing branches.  It is also our responsibility, and should be our goal, to bear much fruit and to never be seen by the Lord as an unfruitful branch.  Think of the type of fruit that will be seen in your life as a branch: fruit that is better than fine gold.  Our fruit is not to be common, ordinary or lack luster.  Ours is not the small crab apple, or a hard brown nut, but fruit that would be desirable to all that see it.  When Eve looked at the "false" fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, she saw something that was to be desired, that tempted her, and that gave her momentary satisfaction.  The true fruit of the Lord, seen in the lives of His people, is to be of the quality that will "tempt" in a positive way.  It is to draw the unbeliever or the faltering Christian to want to share in its delights and abide in its source, the Lord.  Only that kind of fruit can give lasting satisfaction.  The amazing thing is that this satisfaction is not just for others, but especially for the branch itself...for each one of us that has this fruit of fine gold in our life.  The fact that the Lord has an explanation or clarification of the quality of the gold as being "fine gold" is of special note.  Two qualities are necessary for "fine" gold.  First, it must be carefully refined, all the impurities must be removed.  If any are left, the quality of the gold will not be as pure and of as great a value.  When we are saved, God takes away all of our sin, His purification process in salvation is perfect.  But day by day, the Holy Spirit seeks to refine us, to wash us clean of any impurities of sin that have come after salvation.  If our life is to have fruit of the highest quality, we must be submissive to the refining process through confession and forsaking of sin.  Fine gold could also be seen as that which was carefully and intricately made into a thing of great beauty.  It is not just the hard lump of gold first found by the miner, but the sparkling piece of jewelry of prized beauty.  Our lives should not be the same as the day the Master "found" us in salvation.  Our lives and testimony and our fruit should be becoming more and more a thing of beauty, constantly being crafted by that same Master.  Look carefully at your life today.  Is it pure?  Are you really different and more beautiful than last week or last year?  The real question is: does the quality of your fruit glorify your Father in Heaven?  The ultimate quality of "fine gold" is found in John 15:8: Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit...  God has a further challenge to us in our verse for today.  He says that His revenue is better than choice silver.  Our "payment" from the Lord is better than even the choicest of worldly rewards.  His grace, blessings and favor can not be purchased nor compared to anything the world would offer.  Our "income" in the Lord is rich and sweet, choice and fine, full of satisfaction!  Remember today two important lessons: (1) You are RICH in Christ.  (2) You can be a beautiful fruit bearing branch with fruit of outstanding quality if you let the Lord work through you and if you abide close with Him.

Throughout our Locket Verses, we have found a great many that have to do with the pathway that the Lord would have us to walk in.  We have already learned that we start on that pathway at salvation, and day by day we must follow the Lord’s leading so that we walk correctly on the specific life pathway God has chosen for us.  These verses add more insight into that daily walk.  God says that He leads in the way of righteousness and in the midst of judgment.  He is constantly and consistently going ahead on our path and always giving us direction on how to follow, in order that we will walk in the right way.  It is our choice whether or not we follow His leading.  God is the constant in this matter.  We are the ones who must decide whether to be creatures of indecision or unstableness, or new creatures of steadfastness and purpose.  The Lord is the leader.  We must follow on, firmly planting our feet in His footsteps along the paths of righteousness and judgment.  All this is done for an important reason found in verse 21: That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.  God wants us to inherit something that is very tangible in our lives.  Critics of Christianity say that we have a "pie in the sky, come by and by" type of religion.  They say that everything is in our minds and it is all imaginary.  These verses certainly speak out directly at that criticism.  God says that if we follow His leadership on life’s pathway, He will cause us to experience at least three things.  The first is to inherit substance.  There is nothing imaginary about substance.  Perhaps it will not be the monetary horde that some envision when they think of substance, but it will be very real.  Our substance is, in fact, more real than the passing riches of the world.  We can have the substance of hope, peace, love, blessing and joy.  They should be just as tangible to us as anything that we could ever hold in our hands.  There are also the inherited substances of family here on earth and in Heaven above.  We are part of the family of God and He will bless us with an earthly family relationship that will be more precious than any we can imagine.  Perhaps it will be in His plan to bless us with financial wealth, but even in the little we may have, He will give the riches of His blessing beyond any dollars and cent value.  Secondly, He promises to fill [our] treasures.  The Lord, Himself, will fill each of our inherited substances with His spiritual fullness.  That means, as you follow the Lord, your marriage will be filled with His fullness.  Your joy and your peace will be filled with His fullness.  Everything that is of value will become more valuable because of the deep and enriching filling He will give each part.  Did you notice the third benefit of following the Lord’s leadership on the path of life?  We will fall in love with the Lord!  God is talking directly to those that follow His leading when He calls them those that love Me.  As we walk close to Him, the natural response is to fall more deeply and completely in love with the Savior.  If we thought that we loved Him when we came to Him in salvation, it can not even be compared to the depth of love felt by one who has followed closely each step of the way as the Lord leads in the paths of righteousness and judgment.  That is perhaps the best blessing of all!  Have you truly fallen in love with your Lord?  If you have, than all the blessings of substance and filled treasures are promised to you.  Let each one of us live our lives today in such a way that we will fall more and more in love with our loving Lord.  It is not hard, just follow closely as He leads the way!

Why is it that the Devil has us tricked to became angry when we are Scripturally rebuked, to resist instruction from another, and to question motives when someone tries to teach us?  The enemy of our souls knows that if he can gain evil victory in these areas that he can divide churches, tear marriages apart, drive children away from their parents and sever friendships.  This attitude will also destroy precious opportunities for growth in the individual themselves.  Even when everything spiritual within us is crying out for us to listen and learn, there is usually another "spirit" that says, "Put up your defenses, don't listen."  There is only one word for the tool that Satan uses to accomplish this resistance, and that tool is pride.  The seriousness of these verses cannot be over emphasized.  As I thought about the implications of this important area, I realized that we could view it in several ways.  It is obvious from the verses that the only ones who can take rebuke positively and allow others, including the Lord, to teach him, is the wise man.  The further implication is also obvious: those who do not react as the wise man are truly fools.  When we think of all the times we bristled at a rebuke, even those given in love and godly concern, and of all the times we felt we knew more than enough on a subject, it stings our self pride to realize that the term fool could have been applied to us.  I am certain that each one of us does not want that title, but instead would desire to be wise.  Then we must examine our hearts very carefully.  Usually when we cannot accept a rebuke given in love, it is because it hits home.  The devil is not truly interested in our reactions to unfounded rebukes.  It is to those that would cause godly change, that which would be used to conform us more to the image of Christ and remove the areas of sin that would hinder that process.  Has such a thing as pride caused us to not only turn deaf ears, but to deeply injure the one who had enough courage and love to come to us?  Is there someone in your life whom you have wounded when you did not react the way they had hoped and prayed for?  Search carefully in your memory, there may be some need for restoration.  The wise man expressed love for the one who came with the rebuke!  Then there is our responsibility if God chooses to use us as the one to bring a constructive rebuke or instruction.  The response of the hearer is greatly dependent upon the attitude of the one who brings the rebuke.  If it is not brought in love and humility, then no matter how true the area of concern may be, it will not be received for the good it was meant.  To be chosen as a messenger of concern is a great privilege.  It should mean that God can trust you with your attitudes.  If our loved one or friend responds positively, then we have been used of the Lord to work something beautiful in their life.  But this can never be entered into quickly or carelessly, but only with great prayer and humility of spirit.  This is a dual edged sword of responsibility.  We must be wise in the things of the Lord to both give and receive positive rebukes and instruction.  The interesting and surprising thing is that there is Another who is given to us for the ministry of instruction and rebuke, and He is the Holy Spirit.  Let’s pray for sensitive hearts to listen and respond correctly to the Holy Spirit as He speaks to us each day.  You will learn to love Him more as you do!

What a great responsibility we have with the use of our mouths.  It is so easy to remember the times that we have been wounded in our spirits by just the little words spoken by another.  It is also sadly true that we can think of those words that we would like to "take back," but know we never can.  There are many verses in the Bible dealing with the tongue and the lips as being capable of becoming like a fire, a world of iniquity. (James 3:6)  But this verse gives the other side of the picture!  The saved person has the marvelous privilege of being able to have a changed instrument, a mouth that will be all together lovely.  Just think of it, your tongue can be as beautiful and of such fine quality as choice silver because you are counted as one with the just, justified by the blood of Jesus Christ.  What a privilege is ours to have lips that can feed many with the sustaining Bread of Life, because of our righteousness imputed by the Lord our Righteousness!  Each time that we open our mouths, we should be keenly aware of how God views our instruments!  In His perfect plan, we would be continually using our tongues and lips as instruments of blessing, giving glory to God and grace to the hearers.  It will not take much self examination to realize that we often use our mouths in ways that could not be described as choice silver, whose words do not bring satisfaction, but leave the hearer hungry still.  The very mark of a spiritual person is found in the way that he uses his mouth: If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. (James 3:2)  God tells us that our ability to control the use of our entire body for His glory is demonstrated by the use we exercise over our mouths.  We should take seriously every single utterance we make.  Every time we open our mouths to speak, we should pause to ask for Holy Spirit control.  Many times I have met a woman who claimed to be a Christian, but when she started to speak, I was not only surprised, but disappointed.  Even being raised in an unsaved home, I was taught most carefully by my mother to speak like a lady and to use proper language.  It is always surprising to me that many Christians do not feel that their language is that important to their testimony.  As improper words escape their mouths, words that are offensive or would offend another, they smile and say that it is just the way that people in their region of the country talk, or just a part of their personality.  Perhaps they have forgotten what it takes to be a real Christian lady or gentleman.  Perhaps they have failed to see that when they were saved they became citizens of a different region, the principality of Heaven!  The musical "My Fair Lady" amply illustrated the fact that even a crude woman could be changed into a fine lady if she gave primary attention to the words of her mouth.  We should be desirous of being the finest lady for our King that we can be.  When we use our mouths, "How love-a-ly" it would be if those that heard us would see our words as choice silver!  What an opportunity we have as Christian women to feed many.  We can do this in two important areas.  First, we can be witnesses to others and bring to them their first taste of the Word of Life, the Living Bread.  These people do not have to be strangers, they can be loved ones and family.  As mothers, each one of us should remember the pleasure of nursing our little baby and giving it the sustenance it needed.  It can also be a mother’s marvelous pleasure to bring to her children the Bread of Life.  We can, also, be used of God to feed many that are already saved, as we speak the Words that can edify, encourage, and instruct.  What a privilege it is to have an instrument given by God that can not only give honor to Him, but be used to add dignity to our own person.  Today, consciously think of your tongue as choice silver and don’t fail to use your lips to feed others the Word of God.

In Hebrew writings there is almost always a parallelism.  In our verse for today, we are told that the blessing of the LORD has a parallel quality: it makes one rich, and there is no sorrow with it.  Many times the riches of the world carry sorrow with them.  If the riches are inherited, there is a sorrow at the loss of the loved one.  If they are ill gotten, then there is the sorrow of sin and guilt.  If they are made by ignoring other important areas of life, such as family, then the sorrow will be reaped in all the lives involved.  Even well gotten riches of the world can have a hidden sorrow if they are not used for the glory of God and according to His will.  But the riches of the Lord will always be a blessing, and His blessings will always cause us to be rich in the things of the Spirit that can never pass away.  God’s blessings deep within our hearts will cause a richness of joy and peace that can not be compared with all the cold hard money that some store away in bank accounts against a rainy day.  Our days in the future will always be ones filled with Heavenly sunshine!  In the midst of financial difficulties and even near poverty, the Christian can smile and say, "I am rich in the Lord!"  If we are working for the blessings of God, then we will have no regrets and no disappointments; for His promise is true: He will add no sorrow with the blessing.  Even if we are in the midst of a genuine sorrow in our life, when God gives His blessings of grace and comfort, He will especially minister to our hearts in such a way that no additional sorrow will be added.  Looking back on our life, we will be able to say, "The Lord doeth all things well."  If you ever get discouraged with your life as you compare it with the lives of those that possess great earthly wealth, think on this verse.  If your discouragement comes as you look at the pile of bills each month and compare it with your income, look past the bills to the blessings that God has given you in your life.  The things Satan would have us turn our eyes on will always cause sorrow.  Eve looked for blessing in the fruit of the Tree.  Instead she found sorrow and death.  In fact, God told her that the sorrow would be multiplied.  Let’s not fall for the temptation of false blessings, Satan’s tricks disguised as things to be desired.  If we strive for them, we will surely have multiplied sorrow in our lives.  If we strive for the pure things of God, and seek to gain His blessings, joy will be added to it.  So lift up your head today in pride at being a Christian!  Fight discouragement and overcome temptation by planting this verse deep in your heart.  Indeed, this verse might be a good one to place above the desk where we figure our bills.  Repeat this verse several times today and see if you do not feel a joy welling up in your heart as you consider how great the Lord really is, and how precious His blessings are in our lives.

The first part of each of these four verses sounds like a marching song for a victorious army!  And, indeed, that is what they are.  As we repeat them in our minds, we should be encouraged and strengthened in our hearts.  We can have confidence and pride in being a Christian.  His ways are the ways of blessing and honor.  His soldiers are rewarded with all the "medals" mentioned above.  When we have the fear of the Lord, a godly respect and reverence, then He promises that He will prolong our days.  Eternally, we know that this is true.  In Heaven we will discover the ultimate reality of everlasting life.  But also on earth, we may find that God prolonged our days.  This blessing is totally in His hands.  He alone knows the future.  He alone knows what the benefits will be from either shortening or prolonging our days.  Many a faithful Christian has been taken home by the Lord, in His mercy and grace, to spare them suffering and to fulfill His plan.  But in eternity’s view, they will know that God prolonged their days of joy.  In my own life, when at age 31, I was told I might not live long, I prayed to the Lord to prolong my days, if it was His will, so that I could see each of my children grow up.  All three of my children have reached adulthood.  God has kept His promise to me.  Many times as I have held my grandchildren, I thought on this truth and thanked the Lord that He had prolonged my days beyond any imagination that I could have had, and filled them with His riches.  The hope of the righteous shall be gladness is a sure reward from God.  All of our spiritual hopes should fill us with overwhelming gladness.  Think on being in Heaven, seeing Jesus, having perfection of body, and enjoying all the benefits of everlasting life.  Do you feel the gladness sweeping through your soul!  You should, because each one of our Christian hopes are sure and filled with gladness.  Each soldier needs strength.  Our verses promise that strength as we walk in the way of the Lord with upright lives.  Do you want to be strengthened in the inner man to meet the conflicts and trials of life?  Then this verse holds the formula for success: choose to live in an upright way and follow closely the path of the Lord set before you.  To be upright will mean saying no to sin and yes to God.  It may mean having to stand when others would desert the cause of Christ.  But as we stand, instead of becoming faint, we will find that the Lord will miraculously strengthen us in our spirit.  He will often give special strength to our physical life in times of great need.  He will even give us the strength to stand in the first place, if we will trust and obey.  The concept of being upright demands action on our part and is a vital area in Christian living in order for victory to be accomplished in our lives.  As a brilliant ending refrain to our victory song, comes the last reward: The righteous shall never be removed.  No one can take us out of our Father’s hand.  Our salvation is sure because our righteousness is not found in ourselves but in the Lord our Righteousness.  Shout it out in victory, "We can not be removed!"  "We shall never be removed."  The New Testament says it clearly: ...never death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)  No greater reward could be given a faithful soldier than to be made a permanent part of his king’s army.  We have that reward and nothing can take it from us.  Live in victory today!

Here again is a section of Proverbs that deals with our mouth.  These are two positive areas that we can be blessed with as we give that instrument to the Lord for His glory.  To speak in wisdom and in an acceptable way, is truly of great value.  Think of the negative side of each of these qualities for a moment.  If we do not speak in wisdom, then the things we say will be foolish, vain, lacking in knowledge and grace.  No one would really want to listen to someone who talked in that way for very long.  Have you ever met anyone whose conversations were always a reproach to you?  They were certainly not the person to whom you would go for counsel or to pour out your heart’s burdens.  No, the one to whom you would go is the person who speaks in wisdom.  You feel you can trust yourself to such a person and have confidence in their advice.  Do you want to be a wife whose husband listens attentively and with an open heart when you share the thoughts of your life with him?  Do you want your children to not only hear you, but listen and respond positively to your counsel?  Do you want friends to feel a special closeness of spirit with you?  Then this important area of speaking forth words of wisdom must be a consistent part of your life.  Each one of us should pause and pray to the Lord that He would so control our speech and fill our mouths with His wisdom that we would speak the pleasant and wise words that would give us victory in this area.  At one point in my early marriage, when my husband was away from the Lord, I realized that I was totally incapable of speaking the words that could bring peace and restoration if I spoke in my own power.  I asked the Lord to put a watch (a guard) on my mouth and to put the words that He would have me to say directly within me and cause me to speak them.  One night, after deep and convicting prayer in my own life, I was confronted with a situation that the Devil had planned to use for evil.  In my own strength, I would have spoken angry and divisive words, but a miraculous thing happened.  Even as in my mind I could hear the natural words that I would use, the most loving and gentle words were coming out of my mouth.  For a brief span of an hour, God let me see in a dramatic way, the difference between what I was like in the flesh and what I can be in the Spirit.  The end of the confrontation was full of love and beauty, but it could have been full of hate and destruction.  The Lord Himself had answered my soul felt prayer and put words of wisdom in my mouth that were acceptable to Him and to the hearer, my husband.  They were also most acceptable to me, because I will always know the difference God’s control made that night.  Our lips are to know what is acceptable.  That means they will have to be taught!  Our lips do not naturally speak wisdom and that which is acceptable to God and to man.  No, instead, they would too quickly speak out in self defense and pride.  They would react in anger and competition.  They must be taught to speak those things which are acceptable.  This teaching will involve several "classes."  The first subject will be the study of God’s Word daily.  As His words fill our minds and hearts, an amazing thing will happen.  They will not just be words to us any more.  They will transform our minds and attitudes, they will rechannel our actions and goals, they will become teachers themselves.  The next class subject must be prayer.  In prayer, we can communicate directly with the source of all wisdom, the Lord.  We can ask His Holy Spirit to work in our lives to control and direct our lips aright.  As we pray, we will summit to His leadership and creative power in the transforming of our lives.  The third class is the practical application course.  Here, day by day, we must consciously choose to speak those words which are acceptable.  We need to go to school each day to learn this important lesson of speaking correctly.  When I taught Junior High School, often times I would have to hand back a poorly done assignment, and write on it, "This is not acceptable."  That meant that the student had not met my expectations for a given assignment.  It also meant that I wanted them to try again.  God has an important assignment for each one of us this day.  He has clearly laid out the guide lines in His Word.  He is expecting us to not only work on the assignment, but to do it correctly, in the best way possible.  If we fail to speak correctly today, then the Holy Spirit will whisper to us, "This is not acceptable."  That is called "His convicting power."  Listen and respond correctly, if that is His message.  But how much better it would be if we could receive an "A" everyday because we have learned to speak that which is acceptable.  Take it as a challenge!  Let God write on your daily assignment sheet, "Well done, my good and faithful student."