Avoiding Evil

Living in a world of evil is hard. In the Proverbs, Solomon gives wise words of direction and counsel to avoid being overcome by it. Chapter 14 is another encouraging section. We don’t know what kind of trials and temptations are next, but we can prepare. We won’t be perfect in how we handle these challenges, but we can persevere by the grace of God.

This episode highlights proverbs that teach us how to live in the world without being overcome by it.

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• Scripture: Proverbs 14
• “The World Is Changing—Should We?”

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• America Through the Eyes of Isaiah, track 11

Families need guidance. Husbands and wives need encouragement and direction. Mothers and fathers need understanding and patience. Children need correction and teaching. Many of the problems in our country and throughout the world is due to a lack of sound instruction in the home.

God created the home. He is the only one who can define it and assign roles to everyone in it. That is why our society desperately needs the teaching of the Bible.

Proverbs 13 has priceless truths that every family would do well to read and memorize—instructions about work, discipline, obedience and many other parts of home life according to God’s plan.

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• Scripture: Proverbs 13
• Family Culture; or, Conversations in the Domestic Circle at the Carlton House, by Alexander Campbell.

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• RENEW 2024 – “Understanding the Times”

One of the key points in this chapter is character. This determines where we go in life more than ability. Character shows in our work ethic. It shows in how we treat others. It is displayed in what we say and don’t say. In short, character is everything, and any level of success is nothing without it.

Character comes from within. The core of character is the heart, not words or deeds. Solomon said as much when he opened this book by saying that the fear of the Lord is where it all begins (Prov. 1:7). As he unfolds the meaning and application of that starting point throughout the book Proverbs, he gives us more wisdom than we can imagine for our daily walk with God.

Read about this subject

• Scripture: Proverbs 12
• Gospel Advocate, January 2, 1930

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• RENEW 2026 – “My Responsibility”, “Put On the Lord Jesus Christ”

One of the greatest challenges to Christians is controlling our tongue. It is so easy to say the wrong thing. We lose our temper and say something harsh. We grow impatient and become overly critical. We take good things and people who love us for granted and forget to say “Thank you.” Nobody says the right thing every time, but we can do better.

On the positive side, our words can do much good if we use them like we should. We can encourage and comfort others. We can teach them the Word of God. We can sow the seeds of kindness and peace wherever we are. We can change an environment from bickering and resentment to one of good will and cooperation by saying the right words at the right time.

This is just one of the subjects in this focused study of ten Proverbs of Solomon from chapter 11.

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• Scripture: Proverbs 11
• My Sister's Keeper, Chapter 11: “The Christian Woman’s Tongue”

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• Bible Commentary, James, tracks 13 & 14

The book of Proverbs is one of the most practical books in the Bible. It deals with everyday life. It addresses people problems. It teaches us how to manage our emotions. It helps us become better husbands, wives, children, parents, neighbors, citizens, and employees. It teaches us how to look at our money and our things. It warns us about the dangers of alcohol and sex outside of marriage. It gives principles for the welfare of nations and their governments. All these good counsel from above is based on one simple fact that this book emphasizes from beginning to end: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov. 1:7).

This episode begins with the words “The proverbs of Solomon” (Prov. 10:1). After you listen to just ten verses from this chapter, you’ll want to know more. And if you remember who wrote these short, wise sayings called Proverbs, you’ll learn even more from this truly unique book of the Bible.

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• Scriptures: Proverbs 10:1 (Prov. 17:25; 17:21); 10:7; 10:12; 10:13; 10:19; 10:23; 10:24; 10:26; 10:27; 10:29
• “Proverbs to Live By”

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• RENEW 2021 – “Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled”

Is your mind is crowded with too many cares? In this age of quick and easy information, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. On any given day we hear and see hundreds of words and images. The Word of God in our hearts can be “choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life” (Luke 8:14). Is there a way to sort through all this data and see clearly?

There is. In this episode, we will look at simple ways to clear our minds of clutter. These all come from the Bible. God made our minds, and He knows best how to train them with good habits of thinking. He tells us how to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2). We can have clarity instead of confusion in a hectic world.

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• Scriptures: Mark 1:35; Psalm 8:3-8; Psalm 119:105
• “Finding Peace During Life’s Worries”

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• Bible Commentary, Philippians, Track 17

Nothing should be clearer. God created two genders: male and female. That is God’s original and permanent plan for mankind. The concept of male and female is not a human idea. It is a divine creation. It is not a biological accident or a stage in evolution. It is God’s design of mankind and His will for the human race.

Pointing out the facts in nature and the Bible about gender is not uncaring. It is compassionate in the biblical sense of the word. This episode of Finding Truth in the Confusion calls us back to the basics on this needlessly controversial but persistent issue of our time.

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• Scriptures: Genesis 1:27; Romans 1:26-27
• Right From the Beginning in a World of Wrong

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• America Through the Eyes of Isaiah, “Reversing Good and Evil”

Is it true that “Everybody interprets the Bible differently, so no one can know what it means”? If we believe God wrote the Bible, that cannot be true. God would not give us a book to confuse us. Still, there are lingering questions about the interpretation of the Scriptures. Why do people interpret it differently and how can we ever know we have the right understanding of it?

This episode of Finding Truth in the Confusion builds on the previous episodes in the series. If we can know God and Christ despite conflicting opinions about them, then we should not be discouraged when there are so many explanations of the Bible.

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• Scriptures: Matthew 24:15; Eph. 3:3-4
• Ox in the Ditch

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• Bible Interpretation—Beyond the Basics