Wednesday, October 4, 2017, 7:44 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Oh, To Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer.”
Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Proverbs 27 (Select vv. NASB).
Do Not Boast
1 Do not boast about tomorrow,
For you do not know what a day may bring forth.
5 Better is open rebuke
Than love that is concealed.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.
Not one of us knows if he or
she has tomorrow. It is not guaranteed us. Anyone of us could die at any
moment, at the spur of a moment, via an auto accident, a natural disaster, a
mass shooting, or a plane crash, etc. In fact, the way things are going these
days, it is pretty much guaranteed we are going to be seeing more and more
uprisings, factions, and mass killings, etc.
The reason? We live in the
last days. We are seeing the fulfillment of prophecy of scripture regarding
these days on a daily basis. The “beast” is rising, and he (it) is taking over
the world, one nation and one people group at a time. And, a good number of
these uprisings and mass killings are either fully faked, or partially faked
(staged), but fully orchestrated by this “beast” New World Order, and the blame
put on someone else. The purpose is obvious for anyone who has been paying
attention. It is to bring in the rule of this “beast” New World Order and one
world religion. So, they have to first create the chaos in order to bring in
this new order out of the chaos.
Satan is, of course, behind
all of this, and he is our enemy, as well as are those who carry out his
bidding. But, his servants often disguise themselves as servants of
righteousness and they will act like they are our friends, and that they care
about us, and that they are thinking about what is best for us, but don’t trust
them. Deceitful are their “kisses,” for their goal is to steal, kill and to
destroy, not to save. We cannot trust many people, even those who claim to be
ministers of the gospel, or our politicians, or our news media, for many of
them are liars and deceivers. So, just because it sounds good does not mean it
is good. Better to have someone love you enough to tell you the truth, than to
buy into the lies of an enemy who wants to steal your soul.
Do Not Wander
8 Like a bird that wanders from her nest,
So is a man who wanders from his home.
12 A prudent man sees evil and hides himself,
The naive proceed and pay the penalty.
17 Iron sharpens iron,
So one man sharpens another.
In light of the fact that
tomorrow is not guaranteed anyone of us, especially, we should take note of how
we are living our lives, to see if they are in line with the Word of God and
with his holy and righteous character, or whether we are living for sin and
self and self-pleasure. Are we walking in holiness, obeying the Word of God, or
have we wandered off from our pure devotion to Christ, and are we living in sin
(addiction) and in spiritual adultery? Is Jesus Christ truly our Lord
(owner-master), or do we mouth loyalty to him while we go on about our own
business living life how we want?
If we are to be wise, and to
be living what we say we believe, then we need to be prudent (sensible and
discerning) about what we think, say, look at, listen to, participate in, and
take into our minds, eyes and hearts on a daily basis. And, I am not speaking
here merely about obvious evil, sin, rebellion, wickedness, and immorality, but
about the subtle lies of Satan that come at us via TV, movies, music, the
internet, games, magazines, advertisements, and social media, especially the
memes, etc. Too many people take at face value everything they see and hear on
the news, for instance, without ever questioning whether it makes sense, or
even if it is true. We need discerning minds which see the evil in deception,
too, or we will be caught in their trap.
So, we must be people first
of all committed to Jesus Christ and to walking in his ways, not holding back
anything from the Lord, and not holding on to addictive and/or secret sins,
though not secret from God. We must listen to our Lord when he speaks words of
correction to our hearts and not go on our own stubborn way, thinking we know
what is best. Also, we need to humble ourselves and be willing to receive loving
and caring rebuke or correction from those who have close walks with the Lord,
who are following his Word, and who see that we are in danger or that we are
being deceived. We should not write them off as religious fanatics or as “conspiracy
theorists,” just because maybe they see something we are not willing to see. Perhaps,
we need to have our eyes opened to see that we have been following after lies.
The Heart Reflects
19 As in water face reflects face,
So the heart of man reflects man.
20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied.
22 Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle
along with crushed grain,
Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.
The Bible says that out of
the heart the mouth speaks, and if it speaks out of the heart of mankind (of the
flesh), it is likely to speak what is evil. Our words often reflect what is in
our hearts, as well as our hearts reflect what is filled up in our minds. If
what we are taking into our minds and hearts every day is what is sinful,
immoral, wicked, and hateful, such as backbiting, gossip, mockery, and adultery,
that will be what is in our hearts, and that is what is going to come out of
our mouths. But, if what we are taking in and following with our lives is what
is righteous and holy, this should be reflected in how we live, think, act and
speak. Yet, it is not all black or all white, for we are continually growing,
learning, and changing, hopefully for the good.
Yet, there will be those who
will ever be learning, but who will never come to the knowledge of the truth,
because they are stiff-necked, self-sufficient, prideful, stubborn and unwilling
to yield to God’s control over their lives. So, they live their lives like
someone driving a vehicle around and around in a cul-de-sac, but never going
anywhere, but just repeating the same mistakes over and over again, and never
maturing or changing. Or, if they do change, it is superficial, at best, which
is why they keep returning to their vomit. And, there isn’t anything you can do
or say that will change them, because they don’t want to hear it, and so they
continue on a sinful course.
Not Forever
23 Know well the condition of your flocks,
And pay attention to your herds;
24 For riches are not forever,
Nor does a crown endure to all generations.
About tomorrow, not only are
we not guaranteed life, but we are not guaranteed a particular quality of life.
What we have today could all be gone tomorrow, in an instant, at the touch of a
key pad on a computer, for instance, and all could be wiped out - all we have
ever saved for. Yet, we are not promised wealth and success in this life, but
we are promised grace, peace, joy, contentment, security, protection, comfort, encouragement,
strength and power in our lives, with Christ, which are everlasting lives. Our
houses, lands, bank accounts, stocks, bonds, 401Ks, Social Security, and
pensions, etc. could all be gone tomorrow, and then what?
Our trust cannot be in the
things of this world, which are passing away, but our trust must be solely in
God, in His Word, and in our salvation from bondage to sin that we might forever
live with Christ to his righteousness.
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Thomas O. Chisholm / W. J. Kirkpatrick
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s
treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the
fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy
love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like
Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy
fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
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