Sunday, January 18,
2015, 6:30 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put this song in mind:
Near
the Cross / Fanny J. Crosby / William H. Doane
Jesus, keep
me near the cross; there a precious fountain,
Free to all,
a healing stream, flows from Calvary's mountain.
Near the
cross! O Lamb of God, bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk
from day to day with its shadow o'er me.
In the
cross, in the cross, be my glory ever,
Till my
raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.
Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Proverbs 1 (selected verses ESV).
Wisdom and
Instruction
The
proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
To
know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
to
receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;
to
give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth—
Let
the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain
guidance,
to
understand a proverb and a saying,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
I think sometimes we confuse wisdom with knowledge, yet
wisdom is knowledge coupled with understanding, and coupled with practical application
of that knowledge to our lives. James said it well when he said that if we hear
the word, but we don’t put it into practice in our lives, then we are like
someone who looks at himself in the mirror and then walks away and forgets what
he looks like. We are self-deceived. So, he concludes that we need to be not
only hearers of the word, but we need to be doers of the word. This is wisdom.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and
wisdom. To fear the Lord means to walk in his truth and in his ways, and to
show him the honor and respect which he so deserves by not only listening to
him, but by obeying what his word says. It means to leave our lives of sin
behind us, to be born anew of the Spirit of God, and then to walk in the
Spirit, in holiness, purity, and with integrity - in the power and strength of
the Spirit within us. If we do not walk in the fear of the Lord, but instead we
pick and choose what we will do or not do for God, and we are still running our
own lives, then we act foolishly, this Word teaches us.
Do Not Consent
My
son, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.
If
they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
let us ambush the innocent without reason…
throw
in your lot among us;
we will all have one purse”—
my
son, do not walk in the way with them;
hold back your foot from their paths,
for
their feet run to evil,
and they make haste to shed blood…
Such
are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain;
it takes away the life of its possessors.
I have learned recently that there are people who take issue
with this term “sinner” in relation to Christians, stating that we are not
sinners saved by grace, but we are saints, and thus we are no longer sinners. Whatever
you believe on that issue, the reality of the situation is that believers in
Jesus Christ still have the propensity to sin, and we do still sin at times, although
sin should no longer be our master, and we should no longer be enslaved to it, nor
should we willingly be giving in to it, especially on a regular basis, because
Jesus Christ died to deliver us from bondage to sin. He has set us free!
So, as believers in Jesus Christ, not only can we still sin,
but we can also lead others to sin. So, when this speaks of “sinners” enticing
us to sin, don’t be fooled into thinking this is merely referring to those
outside of faith (or professed faith) in Jesus Christ. Some of the worst
deception and enticement exists right within the church (or within the
organization called church). So, we should have our guard up even among those
whom we think would never try to get us to disobey our Lord or who we think would
never lead us to evil. One of the greatest deceptions and enticements I know of
exists within the church, and that is to make people believe they don’t have to
give up their sins to believe in Jesus Christ. Wow!
Within the modern church of today the world has crept, and it
has taken over so that there is not much distinction at all between the church
and the world. That mindset is being passed on to the people within the church,
especially to this younger generation which has not known anything differently.
They want to be attractive to the world, so they compromise with the world and
dilute the gospel to make everything more acceptable and appealing, so the
world will want to join in with them in their meetings. They market the church
just like big business, which uses lies, deceptions, manipulation and trickery
to entice people to come to their gatherings and to join in with them in their
mockery of true faith and worship.
In a sense, the modern church of today represents Babylon,
and God is calling his people to come out of her and to not share in any of her
sins, so that they also do not share in her punishment. The Lord is telling his
people to not walk in the ways of this adulterous and idolatrous church which
is running after “other lovers,” and which is discarding the Lord as the head
of the church and his Word as the instructions to follow, and which is casting
aside those of his followers who still hold to the truths of scripture and who
do not deny the Lord.
Because You Refuse
Because
I have called and you refused to listen,
have stretched out my hand and no one has
heeded,
because
you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
I
also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when terror strikes you,
when
terror strikes you like a storm
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
Then
they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not
find me.
Because
they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
would
have none of my counsel
and despised all my reproof,
therefore
they shall eat the fruit of their way,
and have their fill of their own devices.
For
the simple are killed by their turning away,
and the complacency of fools destroys them;
but
whoever listens to me will dwell secure
and will be at ease, without dread of
disaster.”
I believe these words can be applied to 3 groups of people:
1) Those who have refused to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, 2)
Those who have professed to believe, but who never repented of sin and did not
turn to follow the Lord in obedience, and 3) Those who did believe in Jesus but
have since wandered off to follow after the ways of this sinful world. Our God
and Lord Jesus Christ has been calling for all 3 of these groups of people to
repent of their sin and to turn (or to return) to their Lord and to make him
their only God. Yet, many have refused, which is evidenced by their heart responses
to God and by their actions.
This is a warning of judgment (divine discipline and
correction). This is not merely Old Testament teaching, though. The New
Testament is also filled with warnings to these 3 groups of people, and
especially to the church, calling them to repent and to turn or to return to
their Lord, leaving their idols behind them (See: Rev. 2-3, for example).
If You Return
“How
long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How
long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?
If
you turn at my reproof,
behold,
I will pour out my spirit to you;
I will make my words known to you.
Yet, to those who love the Lord, love wisdom, listen to the
Word, and do what it says, and to those who listen to these warnings and these
calls for repentance and turn at the Lord’s reproof, he will pour out his
Spirit on us and will make his words known to us. Amen!
Yet, this does not means we will have it easy or that we won’t
ever be disciplined by the Lord, because he said he disciplines those he loves
- those who are his children. It also does not mean we will be free from strife,
or calamity, or disaster happening all around us, because we live in a sinful
world, and we live in flesh bodies, and because the Lord uses difficult
situations in our lives to mature us, purify us, make us holy, and to teach us
patience and endurance. Yet, what it does mean is that we will have his peace
within, he will give us his strength and wisdom, and we will be secure in him,
without fear, and we will be able to continue to live and to walk in his ways
even if all hell breaks loose all around us, because our focus is on him, our
trust is in him, and because our security is found in him.
I
Will Lift My Eyes / An Original Work / December 12, 2012
Based
off Psalms 121-125
I
will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.
My
help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.
He
will not let your foot slip, and He who watches will not sleep.
Our
Lord watches over you, and your life He will keep.
I
will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.
My
help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.
I
give thanks to Him.
I
will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.
I
look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n.
Because
of His great love for us, He made us alive with Christ.
Through
the kindness of our Savior, He gave us new life.
I
will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.
I
look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n;
My
home, now in heav’n.
Praise
be to the Lord, who is on our side.
Our
help found in Him. He gives peace within.
Those
who trust will ne’er be shaken. God will supply all we need.
Our
Lord has done great things for us. He’s our friend, indeed!
Praise
be to the Lord, who is on our side.
Our
help found in Him. He gives peace within.
I
can count on Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment