Proverbs 13:20 - "Walking With Wise Men"

“He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companionof fools will be destroyed.” Today we are in between the chapters of Luke 10 and Luke11. I felt very impressed to take the time to tie them together with a personalspiritual discipline that has really helped me to take time to “sit at the feetof Jesus” on a daily basis over the many years of our ministry. In my very first year as a follower of Jesus, I wasprivileged to attend Lynchburg Baptist College, a brand-new Christian BibleCollege in Lynchburg Virginia that was co-founded by Dr. Jerry Falwell and Dr. ElmerTowns. It was there that I was introduced to Christian Devotional Books that wouldgreatly influence my life and ministry and give me a firm foundation to standon over the years. As a young believer I committed to reading five Psalms aday and one Proverbs that would take me through both books each month. InProverbs 13:20, I saw the great truth of “walking with wise men” that wouldkeep me from being destroyed by the devil and his fools. I asked the question, “Howcan I walk with wise men when they don’t have the time to spend with a collegestudent or young pastor?” Of course, in those early years at LibertyUniversity, because there was only a handful of students, I was privileged toget to know wise men like Dr. Falwell, Dr. Towns, Dr. Hindson, Dr. Wilmington,Dr. Chapman, Dr. Dobson and many other wonderful professors on a personal andfirst name basis, but that didn’t mean they had time to “walk with me” everyday and impart their wisdom into my life. But it was there that I’ll never forget Dr. Falwell, inthose very first days of the college in chapel services, introducing us toChristian leaders and writer from the past. The first one I remember himmentioning was Watchman Nee and his book called “The Normal Christian Life”. Hetold how much it had influenced his life. The next one was Andrew Murray andhis book, “With Christ in the School of Prayer”.  Another author and great pastor from the pastthat He often mentioned was Charles Spurgeon. One of my professors actuallystarted each class session by reading the day’s devotion from “My Utmost forHis Highest” by Oswald Chambers. It was then that I realized that these great Christian leadersand authors from the past left their wisdom and their lives in their writings.So I began the daily discipline, of not only reading the Psalms and Proverbs,memorizing verses that spoke to my heart, and reading systematically throughthe entire Bible, but also spending time with these “wise men” of pastcenturies. So today, I want to list some of the “wise men” and their dailydevotional books that you can easily find somewhere on sale on the internet.These are books that I really believe have imparted to me a greater love and knowledgeof our great God and Redeemer Jesus Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Watchman Nee –  Book:“The Normal Christian Life”; Devotionals: “The Joyful Heart” and “Table in theWilderness”.Charles Spurgeon – Devotionals: “Morning and Evening” and “Faith’sCheck Book”Andrew Murray – Books: “With Christ in the School of Prayer”and “Absolute Surrender”; “Humility”Devotionals: “Daily Thoughts on Holiness” and “God’s BestSecrets”Oswald Chambers – Devotionals: “My Utmost for His Highest”and “Daily Thoughts for Disciples”Henry Blackaby – Devotional: “Experiencing God Day by Day”E. M. Bounds – One Minute Devotional: “The Power of Prayer”Elmer Towns – Devotional: “365 Ways to Know God”A. W. Tozer – Devotional: “Renewed Day by Day”Of course, this is not a complete list, but I trust it willencourage you to spend time with some “wise men” too. If we are not careful with all the television media and socialmedia that we are exposed to everyday, we can end up “becoming a companion offools” and it is no wonder that so many lives are being destroyed. God bless!