Proverbs 3:23-24 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. (24) When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
The promises pronounced in this text are entirely conditional. We cannot claim them on their own. They are not some magic chant we can use as safety and comfort affirmations.
These promises are fulfilled today in each and every person who, as was mentioned in the previous verses, keeps sound wisdom and discretion. These promises are solely for those who don’t allow wisdom, knowledge and understanding to depart form their eyes.
We have, in the life of our Messiah, a perfect example of the fulfillment of these promises. Our Savior could affirm today that these promises rang true for Him in their entirety. But did He walk safely? Did His foot never stumble? Was he never afraid when He lied down to sleep? Was His sleep always sweet?
To the contrary, Jesus’ life seems to have been one rife with problems, fears and troubles. He was a man of so much sorrow that we thought God Himself afflicted him. He ended up even dying the death of a criminal and yet . . . yet . . . He can claim that these above promises were fulfilled in His life. Why? Because even though trouble drowned Him; even though the world killed Him; even though the devil pulled every trick in the book to defeat Him, Jesus came out victorious and the everlasting conqueror of, even death.
These promises do not portray an image of idyllic utopian peace and comfort. They rather portray the image of one who conquers all in the name of God, by the sole power of keeping locked on His eyes.
'Be strong, be strong and be strengthened!'
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
THE HEART OF THE ISSUE
Proverbs 3:19-22 The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.
My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.
When we feel far from God, it is not God who moved. The wonderful virtues which have founded the earth; the understanding which has established the heavens forever; and the knowledge that breaks the deep and prepares the morning dew; these are all at our disposal.
To be able to benefit from these wonderful powers, for them to become life to our souls and grace to our necks, we are asked only one thing: let them not depart from thine eyes.
King David knew that; he said: I will not set any evil thing before mine eyes.
We are responsible for what we watch; we even have remote ‘control’ of our TV. Yes, the world is full of evil, but there is no one to force us to watch anything on the internet that we do not want to. We are free to buy whatever book and magazine we want to. We also have reviews available to help us choose movies.
What then keeps us from keeping sound wisdom and discretion?
My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.
When we feel far from God, it is not God who moved. The wonderful virtues which have founded the earth; the understanding which has established the heavens forever; and the knowledge that breaks the deep and prepares the morning dew; these are all at our disposal.
To be able to benefit from these wonderful powers, for them to become life to our souls and grace to our necks, we are asked only one thing: let them not depart from thine eyes.
King David knew that; he said: I will not set any evil thing before mine eyes.
We are responsible for what we watch; we even have remote ‘control’ of our TV. Yes, the world is full of evil, but there is no one to force us to watch anything on the internet that we do not want to. We are free to buy whatever book and magazine we want to. We also have reviews available to help us choose movies.
What then keeps us from keeping sound wisdom and discretion?
Monday, October 29, 2007
THE SENIOR-PARTNER
Proverbs 3:17-18 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. (18) She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
CONTEXTUAL NOTE: For details about who is ‘Her’ in this text, refer to the second paragraph of the devotional on Proverbs 3: 15-16.
Jesus said that there is rest in His presence. He said to people while on earth ‘My yoke is easy and My burden is light’.
I was talking with a young lady about her mother tonight. The concerned daughter was telling me all the reasons why her mother couldn’t cope in her spiritual and emotional life. As I listened, it seemed to me that nothing was happening in the life of this faithful mother that was exceptional. This lady was experiencing all the stressful situations that any mother her age would experience. The difference was mainly how she handled it.
We have the promise that Jesus’ ways are ways of pleasantness; that His paths are paths of peace; that we are happy of we hold on to Him. I would be the first to admit that just because we have Jesus as Lord, Master and Savior, our life flows like a song; each day has its own set of challenges that we need to face. Does God’s Word lie then? Is He lying to us in presenting us with hopes of an idyllic happiness?
I do not mean to be cold hearted, but as far as the Word is concerned, if the promise is there, so is the fulfillment. What I have told this young lady is that if her mother doesn’t find that peace that is promised to her, it’s not God’s fault; maybe she is not availing herself of the option.
Sometimes we rob ourselves from the peace Jesus wants to give us by fighting against Him and what He does in our lives. What we need to rather do, is partner up with Him as the ‘senior-partner’ of our earth walk. When we surrender ourselves to Him, things seem to change drastically. After all, He has the wider perspective. How is it this little song: My Lord knows the way through the wilderness; all I have to do is follow”?
CONTEXTUAL NOTE: For details about who is ‘Her’ in this text, refer to the second paragraph of the devotional on Proverbs 3: 15-16.
Jesus said that there is rest in His presence. He said to people while on earth ‘My yoke is easy and My burden is light’.
I was talking with a young lady about her mother tonight. The concerned daughter was telling me all the reasons why her mother couldn’t cope in her spiritual and emotional life. As I listened, it seemed to me that nothing was happening in the life of this faithful mother that was exceptional. This lady was experiencing all the stressful situations that any mother her age would experience. The difference was mainly how she handled it.
We have the promise that Jesus’ ways are ways of pleasantness; that His paths are paths of peace; that we are happy of we hold on to Him. I would be the first to admit that just because we have Jesus as Lord, Master and Savior, our life flows like a song; each day has its own set of challenges that we need to face. Does God’s Word lie then? Is He lying to us in presenting us with hopes of an idyllic happiness?
I do not mean to be cold hearted, but as far as the Word is concerned, if the promise is there, so is the fulfillment. What I have told this young lady is that if her mother doesn’t find that peace that is promised to her, it’s not God’s fault; maybe she is not availing herself of the option.
Sometimes we rob ourselves from the peace Jesus wants to give us by fighting against Him and what He does in our lives. What we need to rather do, is partner up with Him as the ‘senior-partner’ of our earth walk. When we surrender ourselves to Him, things seem to change drastically. After all, He has the wider perspective. How is it this little song: My Lord knows the way through the wilderness; all I have to do is follow”?
Sunday, October 28, 2007
WHAT IS HE WORTH?
Proverbs 3:15-16 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. (16) Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
I give my students five Bible verses a week to journal. I tell them that if the verse starts with a pronoun, they need to search for the noun it refers to in the preceding verses. If I would give them this verse to journal, without a little bit of linguistic knowledge, they would find it difficult to find the noun that ‘she’ refers to.
In the Hebrew text, "she" refers to ‘wisdom’ found two verses above. In English, the word wisdom is genderless. But in Hebrew, it is feminine. This causes a little problem for translators.
It is important to understand here that ‘wisdom’ here is not a virtue that is brought to us because we have received and accepted Jesus as our Redeemer. It is not a form of magic formula that gives us health, wealth and a long happy life. This verse does not represent promises of prosperity conditional to making Jesus our Lord and Master; that would sound more like the devils’ promises to Jesus in the desert.
Wisdom is Jesus: He is the one that is better than the merchandise of silver and than the gain of fine gold. He is the One more precious than rubies and than all the things we desire. He is the One who has length of days in His right hand, and riches and honor in His left hand. The idea here is that having Jesus makes us feel like worldly treasures are just husks, husks, husks!
Jesus has treasured us in that way; do we Him?
I give my students five Bible verses a week to journal. I tell them that if the verse starts with a pronoun, they need to search for the noun it refers to in the preceding verses. If I would give them this verse to journal, without a little bit of linguistic knowledge, they would find it difficult to find the noun that ‘she’ refers to.
In the Hebrew text, "she" refers to ‘wisdom’ found two verses above. In English, the word wisdom is genderless. But in Hebrew, it is feminine. This causes a little problem for translators.
It is important to understand here that ‘wisdom’ here is not a virtue that is brought to us because we have received and accepted Jesus as our Redeemer. It is not a form of magic formula that gives us health, wealth and a long happy life. This verse does not represent promises of prosperity conditional to making Jesus our Lord and Master; that would sound more like the devils’ promises to Jesus in the desert.
Wisdom is Jesus: He is the one that is better than the merchandise of silver and than the gain of fine gold. He is the One more precious than rubies and than all the things we desire. He is the One who has length of days in His right hand, and riches and honor in His left hand. The idea here is that having Jesus makes us feel like worldly treasures are just husks, husks, husks!
Jesus has treasured us in that way; do we Him?
Saturday, October 27, 2007
WHAT IS BETTER THAN SILVER AND GOLD
Proverbs 3:13-14 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. (14) For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
Finding wisdom is not enough; any fool may stumble upon it. With wisdom, we must also get understanding. Throughout the ages, wisdom has often been misused. It has been an instrument of exclusion of the so-called ‘unwise’, and it even has caused the straying of many. A prime example of this is King Solomon himself. He was known to be the wisest man on the face of the earth, but he died an idolater dabbling in witchcraft. Also, in the times of the early church, many people who revered wisdom without having the understanding thereof got sidetracked in the idolatrous doctrine of gnosticism, which still has a great foothold on the Church to day.
Understanding teaches us how to rightly use the wisdom we get from God. Only when we apply understanding with the wisdom God gives us do we reap its benefits. What in this world is better than merchandise of silver and fine gold? What is there to hope for that is better than the riches of this world and all they have to offer? Oh yes; I know the answer to this riddle. What is more precious than a forever place in the Kingdom of God? What is better than Jesus, and what can be valued more than the righteousness He gives to His saints? All this is the blessing and happiness of one who finds wisdom and understanding.
Finding wisdom is not enough; any fool may stumble upon it. With wisdom, we must also get understanding. Throughout the ages, wisdom has often been misused. It has been an instrument of exclusion of the so-called ‘unwise’, and it even has caused the straying of many. A prime example of this is King Solomon himself. He was known to be the wisest man on the face of the earth, but he died an idolater dabbling in witchcraft. Also, in the times of the early church, many people who revered wisdom without having the understanding thereof got sidetracked in the idolatrous doctrine of gnosticism, which still has a great foothold on the Church to day.
Understanding teaches us how to rightly use the wisdom we get from God. Only when we apply understanding with the wisdom God gives us do we reap its benefits. What in this world is better than merchandise of silver and fine gold? What is there to hope for that is better than the riches of this world and all they have to offer? Oh yes; I know the answer to this riddle. What is more precious than a forever place in the Kingdom of God? What is better than Jesus, and what can be valued more than the righteousness He gives to His saints? All this is the blessing and happiness of one who finds wisdom and understanding.
GOD’S ROD OF CORRECTION
Proverbs 3:11-12 My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: (12) For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
We are sinners. We are sinners because we are naturally disobedient. Therefore we deserve each and every last stroke of the lash. If we do not know that, we have a serious problem with self-righteousness. What is worse when we don’t realize it is that we project the same spirit to our children. We absolve them the way we want to be absolved; we indulge them the way we want to be indulged, and we excuse them the way we wan t to be excused. The result is that we raise a generation of undisciplined disobedient whining brats that will pass the next laws in our country.
When Our Messiah walked the earth, He lived the life of an afflicted man. The Bible tells us that He was not physically handsome and that He was born in the remote corners of a country subjected to servitude. The prophet Isaiah also tells us that people saw Jesus’ trouble on earth, they thought that God was actually punishing him. The apostle Paul tells us that even the Son learned obedience through the things that He suffered.
Does God judge? Yes He does. How else would He be a just God? Does God discipline? Yes He does. How else would we learn from Him?
Let us remember next time we feel that God is our trail, that His rod of correction is His unbearable compliment that confirms our salvation. It shows the world not that God hates us, but that He loves us, and that He looks at us as His children who He trains and corrects.
We are sinners. We are sinners because we are naturally disobedient. Therefore we deserve each and every last stroke of the lash. If we do not know that, we have a serious problem with self-righteousness. What is worse when we don’t realize it is that we project the same spirit to our children. We absolve them the way we want to be absolved; we indulge them the way we want to be indulged, and we excuse them the way we wan t to be excused. The result is that we raise a generation of undisciplined disobedient whining brats that will pass the next laws in our country.
When Our Messiah walked the earth, He lived the life of an afflicted man. The Bible tells us that He was not physically handsome and that He was born in the remote corners of a country subjected to servitude. The prophet Isaiah also tells us that people saw Jesus’ trouble on earth, they thought that God was actually punishing him. The apostle Paul tells us that even the Son learned obedience through the things that He suffered.
Does God judge? Yes He does. How else would He be a just God? Does God discipline? Yes He does. How else would we learn from Him?
Let us remember next time we feel that God is our trail, that His rod of correction is His unbearable compliment that confirms our salvation. It shows the world not that God hates us, but that He loves us, and that He looks at us as His children who He trains and corrects.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
THE BLESSING OF TITHING
Proverbs 3:9-10 Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: (10) So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
In our previous two verses we have uncovered the secret of good health: fear the Lord and to depart from evil. In today’s text we are given the secret of wealth: give to the Lord the firstfruit of your increase.
In the New Testament, not much is said about tithing except for a collection taken from the Greeco-Turk congregations to help the starving brethren in Jerusalem. In First Corinthians nine, Paul also refers to his right to receive tithes from his new converts, even though he prided himself in not taking advantage of it. For more information we have to go to the Old Testament.
Tithes constituted the firstfruits of harvests and of flocks. Tithes were to be given to the priests. It was their support as they administered to the temple the people. It also represented the bulk of the welfare system. Tithes also supported the care of the one temple in Jerusalem. Everyone else met in homes or simple meetinghouses called synagogues. God never asked for more. God’s ‘religion was not a financial burden on His people. It rather provided them with a system that literally filled their physical and spiritual needs.
God said that if people obeyed His ways of tithing, He would Himself make sure their barns would be filled with plenty, and their presses be bursting with new wine.
It is quite a biblically foundational principle, but what if tithes were only a voluntary matter? After all, why should God bless us if we don’t give from our hearts? The only way to know that is if tithing is voluntary. What if these tithes represented the salary of pastors, based on a percentage of what was received instead of on a set regular salary? What if also this money was used to feed the poor of the church? After all, why should God’s people depend on man’s governments for help them when our God own the cattle on a thousand hills?
There was another part to tithing. Every male that opened the matrix belonged to God. Jesus was the firstfruit among many brethren. He was a Nazarite who belonged to God. In essence, just like God gave His firstborn for the ‘cause’ so to speak, He also asks us to give our firstborn to Him in service. We are supposed to dedicate our firstborn for His service, meaning, we are supposed to train train into God’s service, not as assets to our own lives. Can you imagine how many missionaries we would have if we did that? I think it would make a difference in the world.
Why do we have to always re-invent the wheel?
In our previous two verses we have uncovered the secret of good health: fear the Lord and to depart from evil. In today’s text we are given the secret of wealth: give to the Lord the firstfruit of your increase.
In the New Testament, not much is said about tithing except for a collection taken from the Greeco-Turk congregations to help the starving brethren in Jerusalem. In First Corinthians nine, Paul also refers to his right to receive tithes from his new converts, even though he prided himself in not taking advantage of it. For more information we have to go to the Old Testament.
Tithes constituted the firstfruits of harvests and of flocks. Tithes were to be given to the priests. It was their support as they administered to the temple the people. It also represented the bulk of the welfare system. Tithes also supported the care of the one temple in Jerusalem. Everyone else met in homes or simple meetinghouses called synagogues. God never asked for more. God’s ‘religion was not a financial burden on His people. It rather provided them with a system that literally filled their physical and spiritual needs.
God said that if people obeyed His ways of tithing, He would Himself make sure their barns would be filled with plenty, and their presses be bursting with new wine.
It is quite a biblically foundational principle, but what if tithes were only a voluntary matter? After all, why should God bless us if we don’t give from our hearts? The only way to know that is if tithing is voluntary. What if these tithes represented the salary of pastors, based on a percentage of what was received instead of on a set regular salary? What if also this money was used to feed the poor of the church? After all, why should God’s people depend on man’s governments for help them when our God own the cattle on a thousand hills?
There was another part to tithing. Every male that opened the matrix belonged to God. Jesus was the firstfruit among many brethren. He was a Nazarite who belonged to God. In essence, just like God gave His firstborn for the ‘cause’ so to speak, He also asks us to give our firstborn to Him in service. We are supposed to dedicate our firstborn for His service, meaning, we are supposed to train train into God’s service, not as assets to our own lives. Can you imagine how many missionaries we would have if we did that? I think it would make a difference in the world.
Why do we have to always re-invent the wheel?
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
KEY TO GOOD HEALTH
Proverbs 3:7-8 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. (8) It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
When we are wise in our own eyes, we in essence say is “My judgment is better than God’s”. How long will we make gods of ourselves?
In His Word God has given us specific healthy guidelines for living a successful life on earth. We are taught what and how to eat. We are told how to handle our money, our politics, our families, our spiritual life, our emotional life, our love life and sexual activities. There is really nothing left to chance, but yet, we want to know better; we want to be wise in our own eyes. Each and every law passed in our government, is just another attempt to re-invent the wheel on the things God has already instructed us on. It is pure pride and rebellion against God’s ways.
The navel is the reminder of the umbilical cord through which a fetus gets his nourishment. The fetus receives nothing via the mouth or anywhere else. He is totally dependant on the food given to him through the umbilical cord. The marrow is the substance that irrigate and moistens the bones. Without it our bones are weak and brittle.
To not be wise in our own eyes, we have to be in a state of total dependency and surrender to God, just like the fetus in an expectant mother. Our text explains what it looks like; it says, to fear (respect, honor, obey) the Lord, and to depart (to move away from) from evil.
When we are wise in our own eyes, we care little for what God has to say about things and eventually reap the results of our actions, often through bad health. The word here promises us even good health if we are yielded enough to do things the way He wants us to do it.
When we are wise in our own eyes, we in essence say is “My judgment is better than God’s”. How long will we make gods of ourselves?
In His Word God has given us specific healthy guidelines for living a successful life on earth. We are taught what and how to eat. We are told how to handle our money, our politics, our families, our spiritual life, our emotional life, our love life and sexual activities. There is really nothing left to chance, but yet, we want to know better; we want to be wise in our own eyes. Each and every law passed in our government, is just another attempt to re-invent the wheel on the things God has already instructed us on. It is pure pride and rebellion against God’s ways.
The navel is the reminder of the umbilical cord through which a fetus gets his nourishment. The fetus receives nothing via the mouth or anywhere else. He is totally dependant on the food given to him through the umbilical cord. The marrow is the substance that irrigate and moistens the bones. Without it our bones are weak and brittle.
To not be wise in our own eyes, we have to be in a state of total dependency and surrender to God, just like the fetus in an expectant mother. Our text explains what it looks like; it says, to fear (respect, honor, obey) the Lord, and to depart (to move away from) from evil.
When we are wise in our own eyes, we care little for what God has to say about things and eventually reap the results of our actions, often through bad health. The word here promises us even good health if we are yielded enough to do things the way He wants us to do it.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
TO TRUST OR NOT TO TRUST
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. (6) In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
I heard it said that the best way to know God’s will is to have no will of our own.
Many of us experience difficulty finding God’s will in our lives. We have in today’s text the key to find the right direction for our lives. I would like to submit a major side to the perspective that tells God, “Here God, direct my path”.
The prime element of finding God’s will is, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. In our dangerous society, we have lost the sense of trust. The idea of totally surrendering our critical functions and to lay in total surrender in the arms of someone, even God’s is rather foreign to us. We like to keep the controls, so we have to work at surrendering them.
He also tells us, lean not to thine own understanding. Trusting God means that we endorse His wild and sometime seemingly unreasonable ways before those coming form our own logical reasonable reasoning.
Now here comes the biggy: in all thy ways acknowledge Him. Sometimes we are like children who really want to do something but we afraid that wise Daddy will say no. So we go ahead without asking so we can say we didn’t know. God said, to acknowledge Him in all our ways; this means to let him know the full measure of what we have in mind so He can give us His piece.
Contrary to popular opinion, God is a gentleman. He generally doesn’t force His way on people. His Holy Spirit does come in to say its piece, but then we are left with the decision to go by its leadings or not. God though, will let us eat the full fruits of our own doing until we are sick of it and eventually ask Him for advice.
I heard it said that the best way to know God’s will is to have no will of our own.
Many of us experience difficulty finding God’s will in our lives. We have in today’s text the key to find the right direction for our lives. I would like to submit a major side to the perspective that tells God, “Here God, direct my path”.
The prime element of finding God’s will is, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. In our dangerous society, we have lost the sense of trust. The idea of totally surrendering our critical functions and to lay in total surrender in the arms of someone, even God’s is rather foreign to us. We like to keep the controls, so we have to work at surrendering them.
He also tells us, lean not to thine own understanding. Trusting God means that we endorse His wild and sometime seemingly unreasonable ways before those coming form our own logical reasonable reasoning.
Now here comes the biggy: in all thy ways acknowledge Him. Sometimes we are like children who really want to do something but we afraid that wise Daddy will say no. So we go ahead without asking so we can say we didn’t know. God said, to acknowledge Him in all our ways; this means to let him know the full measure of what we have in mind so He can give us His piece.
Contrary to popular opinion, God is a gentleman. He generally doesn’t force His way on people. His Holy Spirit does come in to say its piece, but then we are left with the decision to go by its leadings or not. God though, will let us eat the full fruits of our own doing until we are sick of it and eventually ask Him for advice.
Monday, October 22, 2007
MERCY AND TRUTH
CONTINUITY NOTE: Sentence starts with Proverbs 3:1-2:
My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
(Proverbs 3:3-4) Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: (4) So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
“Favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man”; this sounds almost utopian. Only in the millennium will we finally find the fullness of this harmony. The apostle Paul echoes this principle in the 14th chapter of his letter to the Roman believers. In his letter, Paul points out to the Roman believers the wrongness of their judging ways towards each other. He tells them that everyone serves God with his own conscience and that we should let God do the judging. Nearing the end of his perspective thesis on following the Law of God as given through Moses he says: For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Romans 14:18.
The attitude Paul describes can only be achieved though holding on to the virtues given us in our text: mercy and truth. Mercy is great, but it should never absolve the reality and heavy price of sin. How would God be a right and just God of judgment if He closed His eyes on sin? In the same way, truth is beautiful, but it must never be used in an unmerciful manner; else it becomes a weapon that we hypocritically use against others while we hide our evil self-righteous motives behind it.
Due to our wicked sinful nature, it sounds impossible to do so; but if we wisely balance these two principles, we will be able to juggle pleasing God and man. To help him do so, this wise ‘father’ instruct his son write these principles of mercy and truth upon the tables of his heart. Five hundred years later, through the prophet Jeremiah, God described the messianic era saying, On that day, I will write my law upon their heart. This father knew and understood the concept of salvation.
Even so today, let us allow Jesus to write God’s Law in our hearts, that we may learn to temper truth with mercy; and that in our mercy, we may never obliterate the spirit of God's truth.
My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
(Proverbs 3:3-4) Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: (4) So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
“Favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man”; this sounds almost utopian. Only in the millennium will we finally find the fullness of this harmony. The apostle Paul echoes this principle in the 14th chapter of his letter to the Roman believers. In his letter, Paul points out to the Roman believers the wrongness of their judging ways towards each other. He tells them that everyone serves God with his own conscience and that we should let God do the judging. Nearing the end of his perspective thesis on following the Law of God as given through Moses he says: For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Romans 14:18.
The attitude Paul describes can only be achieved though holding on to the virtues given us in our text: mercy and truth. Mercy is great, but it should never absolve the reality and heavy price of sin. How would God be a right and just God of judgment if He closed His eyes on sin? In the same way, truth is beautiful, but it must never be used in an unmerciful manner; else it becomes a weapon that we hypocritically use against others while we hide our evil self-righteous motives behind it.
Due to our wicked sinful nature, it sounds impossible to do so; but if we wisely balance these two principles, we will be able to juggle pleasing God and man. To help him do so, this wise ‘father’ instruct his son write these principles of mercy and truth upon the tables of his heart. Five hundred years later, through the prophet Jeremiah, God described the messianic era saying, On that day, I will write my law upon their heart. This father knew and understood the concept of salvation.
Even so today, let us allow Jesus to write God’s Law in our hearts, that we may learn to temper truth with mercy; and that in our mercy, we may never obliterate the spirit of God's truth.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
HONOR THY FATHER AND MOTHER
Proverbs 3:1-2 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: (2) For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
The father continues his monologue; a monologue inspired by the divine Father, and given by a father. This father reminds his son to not forget the law (Law: Hebrew- torah, instruction) and the commandments, which are key to a long peaceful life. The promise of a long and peaceful life is attached to the sixth commandment: Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Exodus 20:12
Along with a deep sense of awe and respect for parents, the Hebrew word for ‘honour’ in this text has a very strong inference to financial support. Oh, how life was different in those days; have we really gotten smarter?
Parents lived in their household, with their children and children’s children until the day of their death. They never had to worry about Medicare nor welfare. Grandparents kept the kids while the parents were at work, so they never had to worry about daycare. They trained the young moms into parenthood. In ancient times in Israel, old age was not seen as an age of useless senility; white hair was compared to a crown in the Bible. People looked at old folks as the wise owls who had a more rational perspective on life and whose counsel was very valuable. Their life was cemented with trial sand errors; they had seen, and even in some cases experienced the pains of vanity.
Parents are usually responsible for giving us life. Any responsible parent knows that when we agree to let God give us children, we agree to a lifelong commitment. It never ends; even when children leave home, we parents continue parenting.
God wanted this relationship to go both ways. Parents and children are meant to care for each other until one or the other die. By putting it in the Ten Commandments, its almost like God knew that children would eventually become selfish and not want to care for their parents anymore. He did not have to talk about parents caring for children because that is innate in them. If parents abandon the child or do not care for it, maybe they do not deserve care from their kids, but if parents do their best all their lives to be all they need to be for their children, they have all the right to claim before God that their children take care of them until they die. If they don’t, if these children frustrate God welfare plan for the honored citizens of His kingdom, God will severely reward them with a short life, full of strife and frustration.
The father continues his monologue; a monologue inspired by the divine Father, and given by a father. This father reminds his son to not forget the law (Law: Hebrew- torah, instruction) and the commandments, which are key to a long peaceful life. The promise of a long and peaceful life is attached to the sixth commandment: Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Exodus 20:12
Along with a deep sense of awe and respect for parents, the Hebrew word for ‘honour’ in this text has a very strong inference to financial support. Oh, how life was different in those days; have we really gotten smarter?
Parents lived in their household, with their children and children’s children until the day of their death. They never had to worry about Medicare nor welfare. Grandparents kept the kids while the parents were at work, so they never had to worry about daycare. They trained the young moms into parenthood. In ancient times in Israel, old age was not seen as an age of useless senility; white hair was compared to a crown in the Bible. People looked at old folks as the wise owls who had a more rational perspective on life and whose counsel was very valuable. Their life was cemented with trial sand errors; they had seen, and even in some cases experienced the pains of vanity.
Parents are usually responsible for giving us life. Any responsible parent knows that when we agree to let God give us children, we agree to a lifelong commitment. It never ends; even when children leave home, we parents continue parenting.
God wanted this relationship to go both ways. Parents and children are meant to care for each other until one or the other die. By putting it in the Ten Commandments, its almost like God knew that children would eventually become selfish and not want to care for their parents anymore. He did not have to talk about parents caring for children because that is innate in them. If parents abandon the child or do not care for it, maybe they do not deserve care from their kids, but if parents do their best all their lives to be all they need to be for their children, they have all the right to claim before God that their children take care of them until they die. If they don’t, if these children frustrate God welfare plan for the honored citizens of His kingdom, God will severely reward them with a short life, full of strife and frustration.
Friday, October 19, 2007
GOD OWNS THE LAND OF ISRAEL
Proverbs 2:21-22 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. (22) But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
Halleluiah. This statement should be part of the ‘roadmap’ to peace in the Middle East. There is no point in trying to plan something if we don’t do it in accordance to God’s plan.
We need to remember the context and the linguistics of this verse. The word ‘land’ and ‘earth’ in Hebrew are one and the same: ‘aretz’, and it refers to the Land of Israel. We also need to remember that the person speaking is a Jewish king, speaking to a Jewish nation to whom the greatest of all of God’s blessings was the forever possession of the Land of Canaan. In those days, here was no greatest desire for a Jewish old man than to die and be buried in the land of his fathers. This promise has been given to them, but with conditions.
The Bible refers to the Land of Israel as His land. So God has the ultimate prerogative to decide who lives in it, who doesn’t. He also decides how people live in His land. It is like when we rent a house or apartment; we have to live within the boundaries allowed us in the contract or, we risk getting kicked out by the landlord. God He brought people to His land before, but they broke the conditions of the contract, so they got kicked out. They can and will return, but the conditions have not changed.
It is the upright who will eventually dwell in the land. It is the perfect that will remain in it. Who is upright but one whose way is straight within the ways of the instructions of God? Who is perfect but one who has been perfected through the Savior Yashuah, the Messiah? But the wicked who twists God’s instructions (Wicked: one who is ‘twisted’ as we twist the ‘wick’ in a candle) to fit his own ways and beliefs; the ones who transgress the instructions of God, shall be cut off from it. God will never allow them to live in His land.
In the promise of the return of the Jewish people to the old land of Israel, is imbedded the promise of their salvation and discovering of the Messiah who for so long has tried to reach them. So when we obey the injunction to ‘pray for the peace of Jerusalem’, let us pray that the people of Jerusalem find their Savior, Yashuah h’amashiah’ Sar Shalom, Jesus Christ the Prince of peace, without whom there will never be peace not only in the M. East, but anywhere on the earth.
Halleluiah. This statement should be part of the ‘roadmap’ to peace in the Middle East. There is no point in trying to plan something if we don’t do it in accordance to God’s plan.
We need to remember the context and the linguistics of this verse. The word ‘land’ and ‘earth’ in Hebrew are one and the same: ‘aretz’, and it refers to the Land of Israel. We also need to remember that the person speaking is a Jewish king, speaking to a Jewish nation to whom the greatest of all of God’s blessings was the forever possession of the Land of Canaan. In those days, here was no greatest desire for a Jewish old man than to die and be buried in the land of his fathers. This promise has been given to them, but with conditions.
The Bible refers to the Land of Israel as His land. So God has the ultimate prerogative to decide who lives in it, who doesn’t. He also decides how people live in His land. It is like when we rent a house or apartment; we have to live within the boundaries allowed us in the contract or, we risk getting kicked out by the landlord. God He brought people to His land before, but they broke the conditions of the contract, so they got kicked out. They can and will return, but the conditions have not changed.
It is the upright who will eventually dwell in the land. It is the perfect that will remain in it. Who is upright but one whose way is straight within the ways of the instructions of God? Who is perfect but one who has been perfected through the Savior Yashuah, the Messiah? But the wicked who twists God’s instructions (Wicked: one who is ‘twisted’ as we twist the ‘wick’ in a candle) to fit his own ways and beliefs; the ones who transgress the instructions of God, shall be cut off from it. God will never allow them to live in His land.
In the promise of the return of the Jewish people to the old land of Israel, is imbedded the promise of their salvation and discovering of the Messiah who for so long has tried to reach them. So when we obey the injunction to ‘pray for the peace of Jerusalem’, let us pray that the people of Jerusalem find their Savior, Yashuah h’amashiah’ Sar Shalom, Jesus Christ the Prince of peace, without whom there will never be peace not only in the M. East, but anywhere on the earth.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
WHO IS RIGHTEOUS
Proverbs 2:20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
CONTINUITY NOTE:
The present sentence started at the beginning or Proverbs 2 with:
‘My son if thou wilt receive my words . . .’
‘Then shalt thou understand the . . .’
‘For the Lord giveth wisdom . . . ‘
‘To deliver then from the evil man . . .’
To deliver thee from the strange woman . . .’
The Word of God is our instructor. Not only it helps us walk in the path of good men, but it also helps us preserve the paths of righteousness.
Day after day the world changes; as new laws are voted, they change the landscape of our moral horizon. Every once in awhile it behooves us to stand back and look at our work of ruling this planet. Are we walking the way of good men? Are we preserving the paths of the righteous? Who were good men? Not even Jesus wanted to be called ‘good’, but God has often complimented people and called them ‘just’ or ‘righteous’.
Abel was called ‘just’. Abraham was granted righteousness from God. Noah was said to be a man righteous in his own generation. David pleased God in everything except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. These are beautiful titles given by God to mortal sinner people; to people just like you and I. What made them ‘just’, or ‘righteous’?
By faith Abel offered a sacrifice that extremely pleased God. By faith Noah obeyed God in starting to build a ship (a hundred years long project) to warn a generation of a deluge in place where it had never rained before. By faith Abraham left his comfort zone. He put himself under complete divine dependance. And when he was childless at almost one hundred years old, he believed God who told him he will have children as numerous as the stars of the sky. It seems that what pleased God was not an adherence to a legalistic religious system that promoted ‘goodness. We see in these examples people who were willing to follow God even common sense and opposition from the world.
Do we walk in the path of Noah in our generation? Do we preserve the way of Abraham? If not, why?
The answer is obvious. This proverb teaches us that if we incline ourselves to the wise teachings of God, we will understand and be given the wisdom to do so and avoid the household of the odd couple: the evil man and the strange woman.
Let us today seriously return to the ways of the Word; forsake the erroneous teachings of man’s religions and rather incline our hearts to the teachings of the pure Word of God.
CONTINUITY NOTE:
The present sentence started at the beginning or Proverbs 2 with:
‘My son if thou wilt receive my words . . .’
‘Then shalt thou understand the . . .’
‘For the Lord giveth wisdom . . . ‘
‘To deliver then from the evil man . . .’
To deliver thee from the strange woman . . .’
The Word of God is our instructor. Not only it helps us walk in the path of good men, but it also helps us preserve the paths of righteousness.
Day after day the world changes; as new laws are voted, they change the landscape of our moral horizon. Every once in awhile it behooves us to stand back and look at our work of ruling this planet. Are we walking the way of good men? Are we preserving the paths of the righteous? Who were good men? Not even Jesus wanted to be called ‘good’, but God has often complimented people and called them ‘just’ or ‘righteous’.
Abel was called ‘just’. Abraham was granted righteousness from God. Noah was said to be a man righteous in his own generation. David pleased God in everything except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. These are beautiful titles given by God to mortal sinner people; to people just like you and I. What made them ‘just’, or ‘righteous’?
By faith Abel offered a sacrifice that extremely pleased God. By faith Noah obeyed God in starting to build a ship (a hundred years long project) to warn a generation of a deluge in place where it had never rained before. By faith Abraham left his comfort zone. He put himself under complete divine dependance. And when he was childless at almost one hundred years old, he believed God who told him he will have children as numerous as the stars of the sky. It seems that what pleased God was not an adherence to a legalistic religious system that promoted ‘goodness. We see in these examples people who were willing to follow God even common sense and opposition from the world.
Do we walk in the path of Noah in our generation? Do we preserve the way of Abraham? If not, why?
The answer is obvious. This proverb teaches us that if we incline ourselves to the wise teachings of God, we will understand and be given the wisdom to do so and avoid the household of the odd couple: the evil man and the strange woman.
Let us today seriously return to the ways of the Word; forsake the erroneous teachings of man’s religions and rather incline our hearts to the teachings of the pure Word of God.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
THE LURE OF LOOK-ALIKE DOCTRINE
CONTINUITY NOTE:
The present sentence started at the beginning or Proverbs 2 with:
‘My son if thou wilt receive my words . . .’
‘Then shalt thou understand the . . .’
‘For the Lord giveth wisdom . . . ‘
‘To deliver then from the evil man . . .’
To deliver thee from the strange woman . . .’
Proverbs 2:18-19 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. (19) None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.
Let us hereby stand warned. The ‘strange woman’ always has the latest of lures to attract God’s children into her bosom. Like those used against Eve in the Garden of Eden, these lures are imbedded in the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. The reason they are lures is because the enemy is a professional fisherman. As he who uses look-alike shiny fish to lure its prey out of the water, so the enemy uses look-alike shiny doctrine to lure God’s children out of the pure waters of the Word.
The only way to make the difference between look-alike and true doctrine is to do just like the apostles did: to judge it by the never-changing Word of God in a concept consistent with both Testaments of the Bible.
This warning given to us here in this statement is very serious. The ‘death’ referred to as the inclination of the house of the ‘strange woman’ is actually the Hebrew word ‘rapha’, relating to Hades the invisible world. Just as one who swims in a cesspool would have to undergo serious cleansing and purifying in order to be clean again, we cannot return from the house of the strange woman’ without death to self and regeneration. There is no reformation from it.
The enemy wants confuse us. He has dirtied the waters of God’s Word with man’s philosophy and vain teachings.. It behooves us to now be serious about our studying of the Word. We need to do it by the sole inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This is the only way to make sure that we are not lured into the house of the ‘strange woman’, and to our death.
The present sentence started at the beginning or Proverbs 2 with:
‘My son if thou wilt receive my words . . .’
‘Then shalt thou understand the . . .’
‘For the Lord giveth wisdom . . . ‘
‘To deliver then from the evil man . . .’
To deliver thee from the strange woman . . .’
Proverbs 2:18-19 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. (19) None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.
Let us hereby stand warned. The ‘strange woman’ always has the latest of lures to attract God’s children into her bosom. Like those used against Eve in the Garden of Eden, these lures are imbedded in the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. The reason they are lures is because the enemy is a professional fisherman. As he who uses look-alike shiny fish to lure its prey out of the water, so the enemy uses look-alike shiny doctrine to lure God’s children out of the pure waters of the Word.
The only way to make the difference between look-alike and true doctrine is to do just like the apostles did: to judge it by the never-changing Word of God in a concept consistent with both Testaments of the Bible.
This warning given to us here in this statement is very serious. The ‘death’ referred to as the inclination of the house of the ‘strange woman’ is actually the Hebrew word ‘rapha’, relating to Hades the invisible world. Just as one who swims in a cesspool would have to undergo serious cleansing and purifying in order to be clean again, we cannot return from the house of the strange woman’ without death to self and regeneration. There is no reformation from it.
The enemy wants confuse us. He has dirtied the waters of God’s Word with man’s philosophy and vain teachings.. It behooves us to now be serious about our studying of the Word. We need to do it by the sole inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This is the only way to make sure that we are not lured into the house of the ‘strange woman’, and to our death.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
THE STRANGE WOMAN
CONTINUITY NOTE:
The present sentence started with:
‘My son if thou wilt receive my words . . .’
‘Then shalt thou understand the . . .’
‘For the Lord giveth wisdom . . . ‘
‘To deliver then from the evil man . . . ‘
Proverbs 2:16-17 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; (17) Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
Hebrew biblical rhetoric, especially in the book of Proverbs works by twos. The expression of two antagonist statements teaches a complete principle. That is why every positive element in the Scriptures has an antithesis somewhere.
The previous verses taught us the character of the evil man. The evil man is not the antithesis of the strange woman; they are both evil. The evil man is the antithesis of the ‘good Man”: the Messiah.
The “strange woman is the antithesis’ of the virtuous woman (Proverbs 31): the Church. The powers of both Heaven and Hell vie for the control of the souls of man. As the forces of God seek to bring people to the freedom of Messiah, the enemy’s desire is to enslave the world to his perversions. God uses his ‘virtuous woman’ to do His work. The devil uses the ‘strange woman’, also called Babylon, to do his.
Again, the idea is not to pin an identity to the ‘strange woman’. Hebrew biblical literature cares little about the ‘who’s’. Above the identity of the ‘strange woman’, what we need to define is its character, and someone’s character is not defined by his rhetoric, but by his actions.
In this passage, our text tells us the most important elements by which to recognize if someone is trustworthy or not. We are told that this ‘strange woman’ flatters. Flattering has an element of insincerity in it; of false praise, of trying to please in order to gain affection. Flattering is also the sister of lying.
This ‘strange woman’ also forsakes her early commitments to the Lord. She used to belong to Him, but she made a conscious choice to depart from following her Lord, so now, she forgets the covenant, the marriage contract of her God. In essence, the ‘strange woman’ is like one who says, ‘I used to follow the Lord, but I got smart: now I am enlightened. Come and be smart with me, and we can create our own set of values, even our own religion separated from the Bible. You and I can be like God now.’ Does that sound familiar?
This principle can define individuals, churches and even countries. The question now is for us to find where does this ‘strange woman’ influence our lives and again, the answer to that question is found within our heart, when we receive God’s word and wisdom with sincerity of heart.
The present sentence started with:
‘My son if thou wilt receive my words . . .’
‘Then shalt thou understand the . . .’
‘For the Lord giveth wisdom . . . ‘
‘To deliver then from the evil man . . . ‘
Proverbs 2:16-17 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; (17) Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
Hebrew biblical rhetoric, especially in the book of Proverbs works by twos. The expression of two antagonist statements teaches a complete principle. That is why every positive element in the Scriptures has an antithesis somewhere.
The previous verses taught us the character of the evil man. The evil man is not the antithesis of the strange woman; they are both evil. The evil man is the antithesis of the ‘good Man”: the Messiah.
The “strange woman is the antithesis’ of the virtuous woman (Proverbs 31): the Church. The powers of both Heaven and Hell vie for the control of the souls of man. As the forces of God seek to bring people to the freedom of Messiah, the enemy’s desire is to enslave the world to his perversions. God uses his ‘virtuous woman’ to do His work. The devil uses the ‘strange woman’, also called Babylon, to do his.
Again, the idea is not to pin an identity to the ‘strange woman’. Hebrew biblical literature cares little about the ‘who’s’. Above the identity of the ‘strange woman’, what we need to define is its character, and someone’s character is not defined by his rhetoric, but by his actions.
In this passage, our text tells us the most important elements by which to recognize if someone is trustworthy or not. We are told that this ‘strange woman’ flatters. Flattering has an element of insincerity in it; of false praise, of trying to please in order to gain affection. Flattering is also the sister of lying.
This ‘strange woman’ also forsakes her early commitments to the Lord. She used to belong to Him, but she made a conscious choice to depart from following her Lord, so now, she forgets the covenant, the marriage contract of her God. In essence, the ‘strange woman’ is like one who says, ‘I used to follow the Lord, but I got smart: now I am enlightened. Come and be smart with me, and we can create our own set of values, even our own religion separated from the Bible. You and I can be like God now.’ Does that sound familiar?
This principle can define individuals, churches and even countries. The question now is for us to find where does this ‘strange woman’ influence our lives and again, the answer to that question is found within our heart, when we receive God’s word and wisdom with sincerity of heart.
Monday, October 15, 2007
THE CHARACTER OF EVIL
Proverbs 2:13-15 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; (14) Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; (15) Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
Let’s continue the divinely inspired monologue of proverbs 2. We are now given an education on the character of the evil man speaking froward things the wisdom of God is supposed to protect us from. We are given a very specific description of him. Does the text refer us to the end time antichrist; or is it about the wicked in every generation? The Word of God is multi-dimensional therefore it applies to both. John, the emissary told us though two thousand years ago, that even then, the world was already filled with antichrists.
Let us dissect the text so we know and understand the character of the person in this targeted description.
We are told it is someone who leaves the paths of uprightness; this infers that he was once in it. He leaves the paths of uprightness to walk the ways of darkness. If God is Light, and Jesus is the Light of the world, this person has drawn away from God, especially in the person of Messiah. It is a person who rejoices in doing evil. The word evil is associated with hurt, harm, wretchedness, mischief and wrong. The character of the person we are speaking about rejoices in such behaviors as those mentioned above. He also delights in the ‘frowardness’ of the wicked. Fro-ward is the opposite of toward. Toward is going towards God, fro-ward is moving away from God. This person loves those who draw away from God; those who walk in crooked backsliding paths.
God has children on this earth who reflect him, His character and His love. The devil also has an ilk of followers who reflect his backsliding evil loving character. By leading our lives within the confines of the wisdom of the Word of God, we are safe from those who through secular lures and human philosophy draw away from God. This makes the Word a place of refuge. The question is: do we allow the Wisdom of the Word of God to lead our lives, and even to have a say in how we choose our friends?
Let’s continue the divinely inspired monologue of proverbs 2. We are now given an education on the character of the evil man speaking froward things the wisdom of God is supposed to protect us from. We are given a very specific description of him. Does the text refer us to the end time antichrist; or is it about the wicked in every generation? The Word of God is multi-dimensional therefore it applies to both. John, the emissary told us though two thousand years ago, that even then, the world was already filled with antichrists.
Let us dissect the text so we know and understand the character of the person in this targeted description.
We are told it is someone who leaves the paths of uprightness; this infers that he was once in it. He leaves the paths of uprightness to walk the ways of darkness. If God is Light, and Jesus is the Light of the world, this person has drawn away from God, especially in the person of Messiah. It is a person who rejoices in doing evil. The word evil is associated with hurt, harm, wretchedness, mischief and wrong. The character of the person we are speaking about rejoices in such behaviors as those mentioned above. He also delights in the ‘frowardness’ of the wicked. Fro-ward is the opposite of toward. Toward is going towards God, fro-ward is moving away from God. This person loves those who draw away from God; those who walk in crooked backsliding paths.
God has children on this earth who reflect him, His character and His love. The devil also has an ilk of followers who reflect his backsliding evil loving character. By leading our lives within the confines of the wisdom of the Word of God, we are safe from those who through secular lures and human philosophy draw away from God. This makes the Word a place of refuge. The question is: do we allow the Wisdom of the Word of God to lead our lives, and even to have a say in how we choose our friends?
Sunday, October 14, 2007
THE SIMPLE WAY
Proverbs 2:9-12 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. (10) When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; (11) Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: (12) To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
We are still expounding on what will our lives be like if we follow the advice given us in verses 1 through 4 of this second list of proverbs by King Solomon.
Counseling is a multi-million dollars industry. From the secular to the religious and passing through the esoteric, we find counselors of all types, kinds, colors and shapes. What does this tell us? It tells us that people are lost. It tells us that people have lost their compass. Worst of all, it also tells us that some people are profiteering from this state of affairs.
How did this situation occur? Did God put us here without a compass to find our way? Were we marooned on this planet, left to fend for ourselves doing the best we can? That would be terrible.
On the contrary, God has put all the parameters in place to show us the way to live successfully on earth. It is all written in His Book. The problem is that people have adulterated the book so it sounds confusing now, but really, it is simple. We have this promise that if we incline ourselves to the instruction book just like it says, neither veering to the right nor to the left, we will understand righteousness and judgment. It is told to us that then, wisdom (meaning to have respect for God and His ways) will enter our hearts, and knowledge (the knowledge of God) will be pleasant to us. If we live in such a way, we also have the promise that prudence will keep us, and that understand (of good and evil) will protect us. Then we will be delivered from those who would lead us astray from the godly heavenly path, those who make our lives miserable and cause us to need counseling.
Oh, that we would live in the simple ways of the Lord; that we would simply desire His Words and His ways. It will happen someday, I know it, when all things will be restored.
We are still expounding on what will our lives be like if we follow the advice given us in verses 1 through 4 of this second list of proverbs by King Solomon.
Counseling is a multi-million dollars industry. From the secular to the religious and passing through the esoteric, we find counselors of all types, kinds, colors and shapes. What does this tell us? It tells us that people are lost. It tells us that people have lost their compass. Worst of all, it also tells us that some people are profiteering from this state of affairs.
How did this situation occur? Did God put us here without a compass to find our way? Were we marooned on this planet, left to fend for ourselves doing the best we can? That would be terrible.
On the contrary, God has put all the parameters in place to show us the way to live successfully on earth. It is all written in His Book. The problem is that people have adulterated the book so it sounds confusing now, but really, it is simple. We have this promise that if we incline ourselves to the instruction book just like it says, neither veering to the right nor to the left, we will understand righteousness and judgment. It is told to us that then, wisdom (meaning to have respect for God and His ways) will enter our hearts, and knowledge (the knowledge of God) will be pleasant to us. If we live in such a way, we also have the promise that prudence will keep us, and that understand (of good and evil) will protect us. Then we will be delivered from those who would lead us astray from the godly heavenly path, those who make our lives miserable and cause us to need counseling.
Oh, that we would live in the simple ways of the Lord; that we would simply desire His Words and His ways. It will happen someday, I know it, when all things will be restored.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
HE PRESERVES JUDGMENT
Proverbs 2:8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
A literal translation would say: To watch over the paths of right-ruling, and the way of His kind ones He guards.
To stand for justice and integrity in this day and age seems like a loosing battle. Anyone who tries to do it on his own fights a loosing battle. Here we have the promise that God, that through the giving of His Words of wisdom, He watches over those who, without question or pause will be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause.
When we discover the truth of God’s Word, it always has the same effect: it takes us out of the lie. When we hear the truth of God in our hearts, we become like Noah who left his evil generation. We become like Abraham who left Ur not even knowing where he was going. We become like Moses who despised the riches of Egypt. We also become like Paul who left the pharisaic lies when he found his Messiah.
Even today, when we finally find the path of God in our hearts, it requires a forsaking of the old, and an embracing of the new. It is pointless to try to compromise one to keep the other, because lies cannot stand the truth, and darkness flees at the sight of light.
Finding the truth and right judgment of God always leads to problematic situations in our lives, but here is His promise given to us if we follow the path of His judgments:
He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
A literal translation would say: To watch over the paths of right-ruling, and the way of His kind ones He guards.
To stand for justice and integrity in this day and age seems like a loosing battle. Anyone who tries to do it on his own fights a loosing battle. Here we have the promise that God, that through the giving of His Words of wisdom, He watches over those who, without question or pause will be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause.
When we discover the truth of God’s Word, it always has the same effect: it takes us out of the lie. When we hear the truth of God in our hearts, we become like Noah who left his evil generation. We become like Abraham who left Ur not even knowing where he was going. We become like Moses who despised the riches of Egypt. We also become like Paul who left the pharisaic lies when he found his Messiah.
Even today, when we finally find the path of God in our hearts, it requires a forsaking of the old, and an embracing of the new. It is pointless to try to compromise one to keep the other, because lies cannot stand the truth, and darkness flees at the sight of light.
Finding the truth and right judgment of God always leads to problematic situations in our lives, but here is His promise given to us if we follow the path of His judgments:
He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
Friday, October 12, 2007
FAITH IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR Hebrews 11.1
Proverbs 2:7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
I would like to draw the reader’s attention to the words ‘sound wisdom’. In this text, the Hebrew does not use the usual word h’ah’ama’ as it did in the previous verse; it uses: ‘tooshyah” and implies tangible substance.
The ‘wisdom’ implied in this verse is not mental, intellectual nor theological; these things have already been promised in the verses before. What is implied here is a wisdom that provides substance for safety and protection; that is why this ‘sound wisdom’ (emphasis on ‘sound’) becomes a ‘buckler’ to those who walk with God.
The faith of our ancients in Old Testament times was not a faith where everything was spiritualized to the point that whether you saw it or not, your prayers were answered, because they were answered ‘in the spirit’. It was the Greek influence on the Church that brought this concept of over-spiritualizing religion. The faith of the ancient Hebrews was one of tangible substance; power and prophecy had to be proven by the senses. Paul even referred to this principle when he said: And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should stand in the wisdom of man but in the power of God.1 Corinthians 2:4,5.
I feel that one of the reasons we spiritualize what is meant to be substantial is to excuse our lack of faith. We cannot see the tangible fruits of our prayers so we spiritualize them; and we certainly don’t want to ask why because we are afraid of the answers. For example, if God substantially protects the righteous, why are the Christians in Darfour getting slaughtered without help?
We need to return to the simple faith God gave us. We need to go back to the belief that God will do it because He said so; to a faith that is so simple even a child can understand it, see it and profess it. As Paul also said, Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Colossians 2:8
I would like to draw the reader’s attention to the words ‘sound wisdom’. In this text, the Hebrew does not use the usual word h’ah’ama’ as it did in the previous verse; it uses: ‘tooshyah” and implies tangible substance.
The ‘wisdom’ implied in this verse is not mental, intellectual nor theological; these things have already been promised in the verses before. What is implied here is a wisdom that provides substance for safety and protection; that is why this ‘sound wisdom’ (emphasis on ‘sound’) becomes a ‘buckler’ to those who walk with God.
The faith of our ancients in Old Testament times was not a faith where everything was spiritualized to the point that whether you saw it or not, your prayers were answered, because they were answered ‘in the spirit’. It was the Greek influence on the Church that brought this concept of over-spiritualizing religion. The faith of the ancient Hebrews was one of tangible substance; power and prophecy had to be proven by the senses. Paul even referred to this principle when he said: And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should stand in the wisdom of man but in the power of God.1 Corinthians 2:4,5.
I feel that one of the reasons we spiritualize what is meant to be substantial is to excuse our lack of faith. We cannot see the tangible fruits of our prayers so we spiritualize them; and we certainly don’t want to ask why because we are afraid of the answers. For example, if God substantially protects the righteous, why are the Christians in Darfour getting slaughtered without help?
We need to return to the simple faith God gave us. We need to go back to the belief that God will do it because He said so; to a faith that is so simple even a child can understand it, see it and profess it. As Paul also said, Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Colossians 2:8
Thursday, October 11, 2007
TO KNOW THE WORD OR, BEING KNOWN OF THE WORD?
Proverbs 2:6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
Many in this generation are called wise. Many also look to the philosophical writings of ancient civilizations in hopes of finding some secrets that will help them with today’s struggles. But who is the wise? Who is the one whom we can rely upon? How can man, in his own admission of weakness and helplessness, be the one to determine the diagnosis, and much less the prescription to heal his social woes? The Bible is clear: can anyone who does not confess the Lord in one form or another be thought as wise?
Wisdom comes by practicing and personally experiencing the Word from God’s mouth within ourselves. Wisdom does not come by mere mental cognition of the Word; just knowing it. The bride may very well love the bridegroom. She may desire to give her life to him. She may agree with everything he stands for and look forward to be one flesh with him for eternity; but until she actually moves in with him and yields herself to his embrace; until the covenant is sealed in blood in the bed of love, she has not experienced being one with the bridegroom; she is not Mrs. so and so. She also is not heir to his ‘kingdom’, so to speak.
Let us intimately let the Words of the Bridegroom enter our soul. Let us eat them without even feeling that we have to try them, taste them, and analyze them. Let us just swallow them in full knowledge that they are good and will give us the wisdom we need, as well as knowledge and understanding. We can just eat them at face value; they will not hurt us. They will only take us out of this world. They will take us out of the philosophical and mental madness of this generation. They will take us to a place of peace and quiet where we will enjoy Him forever. What a prospect.
Many in this generation are called wise. Many also look to the philosophical writings of ancient civilizations in hopes of finding some secrets that will help them with today’s struggles. But who is the wise? Who is the one whom we can rely upon? How can man, in his own admission of weakness and helplessness, be the one to determine the diagnosis, and much less the prescription to heal his social woes? The Bible is clear: can anyone who does not confess the Lord in one form or another be thought as wise?
Wisdom comes by practicing and personally experiencing the Word from God’s mouth within ourselves. Wisdom does not come by mere mental cognition of the Word; just knowing it. The bride may very well love the bridegroom. She may desire to give her life to him. She may agree with everything he stands for and look forward to be one flesh with him for eternity; but until she actually moves in with him and yields herself to his embrace; until the covenant is sealed in blood in the bed of love, she has not experienced being one with the bridegroom; she is not Mrs. so and so. She also is not heir to his ‘kingdom’, so to speak.
Let us intimately let the Words of the Bridegroom enter our soul. Let us eat them without even feeling that we have to try them, taste them, and analyze them. Let us just swallow them in full knowledge that they are good and will give us the wisdom we need, as well as knowledge and understanding. We can just eat them at face value; they will not hurt us. They will only take us out of this world. They will take us out of the philosophical and mental madness of this generation. They will take us to a place of peace and quiet where we will enjoy Him forever. What a prospect.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
ASK THE HARD QUESTIONS
Proverbs 2:1-5 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; (2) So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; (3) Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; (4) If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; (5) Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
Is the adage, ‘Ignorance is bliss’ true?
If we were ignorant of responsibilities, we could cruise through life with seemingly not a care. But God doesn’t absolve us for ignorance, so when this life is over we are judged by what we know, and by what we should have cared to know.
In this age of information overload, knowledge is at our fingertips, and yet, we read God’s Word as if it were a fiction novel. If we realized that the Bible contained the simple solution to all the socio-politico-economic problems of the earth, maybe we would care to research and understand it more.
Why should we not want to understand the Word? Why do we read it without researching it for ourselves? Why do we not seek to understand it fully and without the shadow of a doubt? Why do we not ask the hard questions? Or worse, why do we satisfy ourselves and hide behind the seemingly absolving hypocritical statement, “we were not made to understand’? Why do we not cry after knowledge; lift up our voice for understanding; seek her as silver; and search for her as for hid treasures? Are we afraid of the answers?
Yes, with knowledge comes responsibility. With knowledge comes the responsibility of obedience. With knowledge the excuses are gone in our eyes and we have to do something about what we know. So we find all the excuses possible for not knowing. Some of the favorites are, “There are so many Bible translations . . .” “Every Church has a different doctrine . . . “, I read the Bible and I did not understand . . . “, I went to Church and I saw . . . “,. We use these easily pre-made excuses in order to absolve ourselves from the responsibility of knowing the Word of God. Thus we excuse our ignorance and absolve ourselves in our own spirit. Will God excuse us?
Is the adage, ‘Ignorance is bliss’ true?
If we were ignorant of responsibilities, we could cruise through life with seemingly not a care. But God doesn’t absolve us for ignorance, so when this life is over we are judged by what we know, and by what we should have cared to know.
In this age of information overload, knowledge is at our fingertips, and yet, we read God’s Word as if it were a fiction novel. If we realized that the Bible contained the simple solution to all the socio-politico-economic problems of the earth, maybe we would care to research and understand it more.
Why should we not want to understand the Word? Why do we read it without researching it for ourselves? Why do we not seek to understand it fully and without the shadow of a doubt? Why do we not ask the hard questions? Or worse, why do we satisfy ourselves and hide behind the seemingly absolving hypocritical statement, “we were not made to understand’? Why do we not cry after knowledge; lift up our voice for understanding; seek her as silver; and search for her as for hid treasures? Are we afraid of the answers?
Yes, with knowledge comes responsibility. With knowledge comes the responsibility of obedience. With knowledge the excuses are gone in our eyes and we have to do something about what we know. So we find all the excuses possible for not knowing. Some of the favorites are, “There are so many Bible translations . . .” “Every Church has a different doctrine . . . “, I read the Bible and I did not understand . . . “, I went to Church and I saw . . . “,. We use these easily pre-made excuses in order to absolve ourselves from the responsibility of knowing the Word of God. Thus we excuse our ignorance and absolve ourselves in our own spirit. Will God excuse us?
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
THE CONDITIONS
Proverbs 2:1-5 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; (2) So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; (3) Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; (4) If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; (5) Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
This father continues his monologue; or since this is implied to be God speaking to us, should I say, ‘this Father continues His monologue?
What is He telling us? What is He teaching us? What precept is He imparting to us?
How come that with so much religion, there is so little deep true faith? How come that with so many Churches opened every Sunday, with so many stores selling religious material, with so many TV and radio stations teaching about God, so many do not understand the fear of the Lord, and do not find the knowledge of God? If I were hungry after eating a copious and rich meal, I would stop and wonder if what I ate was real food, or if maybe I ate at all.
Let us now analyze the issue.
The text says, “if thou wilt receive my words . . .” The word ‘wilt’ in the KJV is not the used as we do today. It is not the future tense of the verb to be. It is a verb that denotes of the notion of personal will. In today’s English we could say: ‘if you will want’, (emphasis on want).
Our text continues with: “to receive”. There is a tendency to read the Word of God as if it were philosophy. Philosophy only requires to be accepted mentally. We process it and change it according to times and season. The word of God says that it needs to simply be received if we want to enjoy the benefits thereof. Could it be that all this Word is read as it were philosophy and not received at face value?
Finally, the text says, ‘my words’. The author here is God. We will never understand the fear of the Lord; neither will we find the knowledge of God by listening to someone else’s words or hearing a person’s private processing and understanding of the Word.
To obtain the benefits of the Word, we have to desperately want it, and unquestionably receive it. It needs to become our personal inclination and we need to apply our heart to it. It must be His Word, heard in our own spirit straight from the heart of God, and without the adultering and processing of man’s teaching. Anything else will eventually turn to spiritual confusion.
This father continues his monologue; or since this is implied to be God speaking to us, should I say, ‘this Father continues His monologue?
What is He telling us? What is He teaching us? What precept is He imparting to us?
How come that with so much religion, there is so little deep true faith? How come that with so many Churches opened every Sunday, with so many stores selling religious material, with so many TV and radio stations teaching about God, so many do not understand the fear of the Lord, and do not find the knowledge of God? If I were hungry after eating a copious and rich meal, I would stop and wonder if what I ate was real food, or if maybe I ate at all.
Let us now analyze the issue.
The text says, “if thou wilt receive my words . . .” The word ‘wilt’ in the KJV is not the used as we do today. It is not the future tense of the verb to be. It is a verb that denotes of the notion of personal will. In today’s English we could say: ‘if you will want’, (emphasis on want).
Our text continues with: “to receive”. There is a tendency to read the Word of God as if it were philosophy. Philosophy only requires to be accepted mentally. We process it and change it according to times and season. The word of God says that it needs to simply be received if we want to enjoy the benefits thereof. Could it be that all this Word is read as it were philosophy and not received at face value?
Finally, the text says, ‘my words’. The author here is God. We will never understand the fear of the Lord; neither will we find the knowledge of God by listening to someone else’s words or hearing a person’s private processing and understanding of the Word.
To obtain the benefits of the Word, we have to desperately want it, and unquestionably receive it. It needs to become our personal inclination and we need to apply our heart to it. It must be His Word, heard in our own spirit straight from the heart of God, and without the adultering and processing of man’s teaching. Anything else will eventually turn to spiritual confusion.
Monday, October 08, 2007
SPIRITUAL LAWS AND PRINCIPLES #1
Proverbs 1:32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
Herein is the conclusion of the chapter. The fate of the simple, the destiny of the one who doesn’t care to learn the right way, of the one who is Imprudent and does not seek to hear wise counsel, is sealed by his own doings. The child who failed to listen to the advice of his wise teachers will fall in the very pit they warned him of.
The King and author of these words also said, The fool and his money are soon parted. When we do not run our finances in the way God prescribed it in His Word, we are fools, and we soon find ourselves in penury. This principle works for a family unit as well as for a country. Worst of all when we, under the lure of gain, diverge from God’s financial dynamics, it is our own prosperity that eventually destroys us.
For individuals, societies, corporations and countries, these principles are as infallible as the law of gravity. Our careless disobedience to all of God’s ways leads us to the pits of hell. Not because God is mean, not because He is dictatorial, but simply because He is the on who knows the way away from the pitfalls.
Oh that we would care to listen. Oh, that we would want to hear. The message is simple. The map is clearly drawn. May we obtain deliverance from that wicked side in us which naturally wants to rebel against God’s wise advice. May we desire His leadings and value them higher than the price of pure gold.
Herein is the conclusion of the chapter. The fate of the simple, the destiny of the one who doesn’t care to learn the right way, of the one who is Imprudent and does not seek to hear wise counsel, is sealed by his own doings. The child who failed to listen to the advice of his wise teachers will fall in the very pit they warned him of.
The King and author of these words also said, The fool and his money are soon parted. When we do not run our finances in the way God prescribed it in His Word, we are fools, and we soon find ourselves in penury. This principle works for a family unit as well as for a country. Worst of all when we, under the lure of gain, diverge from God’s financial dynamics, it is our own prosperity that eventually destroys us.
For individuals, societies, corporations and countries, these principles are as infallible as the law of gravity. Our careless disobedience to all of God’s ways leads us to the pits of hell. Not because God is mean, not because He is dictatorial, but simply because He is the on who knows the way away from the pitfalls.
Oh that we would care to listen. Oh, that we would want to hear. The message is simple. The map is clearly drawn. May we obtain deliverance from that wicked side in us which naturally wants to rebel against God’s wise advice. May we desire His leadings and value them higher than the price of pure gold.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
HE GIVES US WHAT WE WANT
Proverbs 1:31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
Herein we hear the old Gypsy blessing: ‘May God give you what you want’.
In His great mercy, God faithfully tries to lead us away from dangerous pitfalls. He informs us in His words about the negative effects of certain ways and attitudes. His Holy Spirit reminds us constantly of His warnings in His written and spoken Words. Yet somehow, our personal desires seem to over power us and drown out the heavenly voice in our hearts.
The only recourse God has is therefore to let us eat of the fruits of our own doings. It is then that we learn our lesson: from our own suffering, and where like the famous prodigal son, we vomit on the ground after we have been filled with our own desires. It is then that hopefully, we learn that after all, God was right. It is then that sheepishly, we return to the house of the father who waits for us on the doorsteps with open arms, ready heal our wounds.
When we feel sick of life and its vanity, let us take a trip down memory lane. Are we just getting filled with our own desires? Are our prayers answered at the cost of our heart filling with bitterness and anguish? It is important to ask l these questions that stem from the basic equation: is my will in line with God’s will?
Herein we hear the old Gypsy blessing: ‘May God give you what you want’.
In His great mercy, God faithfully tries to lead us away from dangerous pitfalls. He informs us in His words about the negative effects of certain ways and attitudes. His Holy Spirit reminds us constantly of His warnings in His written and spoken Words. Yet somehow, our personal desires seem to over power us and drown out the heavenly voice in our hearts.
The only recourse God has is therefore to let us eat of the fruits of our own doings. It is then that we learn our lesson: from our own suffering, and where like the famous prodigal son, we vomit on the ground after we have been filled with our own desires. It is then that hopefully, we learn that after all, God was right. It is then that sheepishly, we return to the house of the father who waits for us on the doorsteps with open arms, ready heal our wounds.
When we feel sick of life and its vanity, let us take a trip down memory lane. Are we just getting filled with our own desires? Are our prayers answered at the cost of our heart filling with bitterness and anguish? It is important to ask l these questions that stem from the basic equation: is my will in line with God’s will?
Saturday, October 06, 2007
THE PERSPECTIVE IN GOD’S JUDGMENTS
Proverbs 1:24-30 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; (25) But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: (26) I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; (27) When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. (28) Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: (29) For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: (30) They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
Note: I kept these verses together because they form one sentence teaching us one particular concept.
We can read this passage and picture a sadistic God who uses His great power to punish His subject. We could see him laugh hysterically after He made up His mind to not hear our plea. But is it the picture that is portrayed for us here?
To get the right picture, we need to read the text within its complete perspective. God, our loving husband, took us and lifted us up from the foul sinful wilderness of this world. With a strong hand and a heavy price, He made us His wife. We in turn, have turned our nose up at all His bounty, care and provision, and went to party with other ‘lovers’. Now that we find ourselves in big trouble, we want to call upon Him to deliver us. Should he just come and rescue us prematurely before we learn our lesson? Should we just use and take advantage of His love and goodness? Should we expect the benefits of ‘married life’, the protection of the husband, without giving him our commitment and faithfulness?
Look at Israel. He rescued her in the desert, but even after they broke His covenant, He renewed His marriage with them, paid and new price, a new dowry when he came to take the price of their (as well as ours) sins on the tree. The prophetic picture of the Bible tells us that God does pay the price of our deliverance; that His mercies are new every morning. Does that mean that we do not have to suffer for a while the bitter results of our bad choices? Certainly not, or how would He be a just God? And all the more, how would we then learn to know better?
In all God’s dealing with us, let us not forget that He is the One who put Himself at risk for us so He could deliver us from the clutches of the enemy. Let us also remember that just like Him, we learn obedience through our sufferings.
Note: I kept these verses together because they form one sentence teaching us one particular concept.
We can read this passage and picture a sadistic God who uses His great power to punish His subject. We could see him laugh hysterically after He made up His mind to not hear our plea. But is it the picture that is portrayed for us here?
To get the right picture, we need to read the text within its complete perspective. God, our loving husband, took us and lifted us up from the foul sinful wilderness of this world. With a strong hand and a heavy price, He made us His wife. We in turn, have turned our nose up at all His bounty, care and provision, and went to party with other ‘lovers’. Now that we find ourselves in big trouble, we want to call upon Him to deliver us. Should he just come and rescue us prematurely before we learn our lesson? Should we just use and take advantage of His love and goodness? Should we expect the benefits of ‘married life’, the protection of the husband, without giving him our commitment and faithfulness?
Look at Israel. He rescued her in the desert, but even after they broke His covenant, He renewed His marriage with them, paid and new price, a new dowry when he came to take the price of their (as well as ours) sins on the tree. The prophetic picture of the Bible tells us that God does pay the price of our deliverance; that His mercies are new every morning. Does that mean that we do not have to suffer for a while the bitter results of our bad choices? Certainly not, or how would He be a just God? And all the more, how would we then learn to know better?
In all God’s dealing with us, let us not forget that He is the One who put Himself at risk for us so He could deliver us from the clutches of the enemy. Let us also remember that just like Him, we learn obedience through our sufferings.
Friday, October 05, 2007
WHERE HIS WORD IS MADE KNOWN UNTO US
Proverbs 1:23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
Who demands perfection? Who asks for total theological understanding? Who makes issues of details? Who strains at a gnat? Certainly not God!
All God asks is that we turn around. All He asks is that we acknowledge Him with all our hearts. Oh, how He knows our frame and our inability to understand things. All He requires is that we love Him and turn our will towards His instruction and then, oh then the most wonderful thing happens.
If we only but turn our hearts to Him. If we only but resolve to give Him all our love and attention, He does the impossible. He pours out His Spirit upon us; behold, He makes His Word known unto us: finally, we understand, finally we know. We did not obey because we understood, we understood because we obeyed. He said to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. He told us that, because only within the veil of our loving relationship with God lays the understanding of His instruction.
As we spend time with Him enjoying the food and comfort emanating from His Spirit, He also reveals to us the beautiful future He reserves for His children, and that my friend, is where strength and faith for today is found.
Who demands perfection? Who asks for total theological understanding? Who makes issues of details? Who strains at a gnat? Certainly not God!
All God asks is that we turn around. All He asks is that we acknowledge Him with all our hearts. Oh, how He knows our frame and our inability to understand things. All He requires is that we love Him and turn our will towards His instruction and then, oh then the most wonderful thing happens.
If we only but turn our hearts to Him. If we only but resolve to give Him all our love and attention, He does the impossible. He pours out His Spirit upon us; behold, He makes His Word known unto us: finally, we understand, finally we know. We did not obey because we understood, we understood because we obeyed. He said to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. He told us that, because only within the veil of our loving relationship with God lays the understanding of His instruction.
As we spend time with Him enjoying the food and comfort emanating from His Spirit, He also reveals to us the beautiful future He reserves for His children, and that my friend, is where strength and faith for today is found.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
THE FOOL DESPISE KNOWLEDGE
Proverbs 1:22-23 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? (23) Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
The father of our writer taught that the fool says in his heart that there is no God.
The fool lives his life as a natural being and a spiritual orphan. He does not know his Creator; neither does he wish to know Him. He does not understand the head nor the tail of his destiny and leads an unconscious existence. The fools has to be brought to the knowledge of truth that he was created by a God who has for hjim the most marvelous destiny. The fool needs to be taught the knowledge of God so he can be delivered from his folly.
Sad to say, there are fools who do not want to come under the covering of God. They want to continue their lives of spiritual transience. They prefer to be shouting stars with no other goal nor purpose but to crash at any moment on the surface of a desolate planet or worst, cause damages on a populated area.
How long will it take for the fool to realize that his only chance to life is to come to the knowledge and acceptance of the covering of the Master who has created him? How long will the fool love folly? How long will the fool hate knowledge? Not even our text today answers this question. It seems that all things will not come to reckoning until the great day of the white throne judgment, at the restoration of all things.
The father of our writer taught that the fool says in his heart that there is no God.
The fool lives his life as a natural being and a spiritual orphan. He does not know his Creator; neither does he wish to know Him. He does not understand the head nor the tail of his destiny and leads an unconscious existence. The fools has to be brought to the knowledge of truth that he was created by a God who has for hjim the most marvelous destiny. The fool needs to be taught the knowledge of God so he can be delivered from his folly.
Sad to say, there are fools who do not want to come under the covering of God. They want to continue their lives of spiritual transience. They prefer to be shouting stars with no other goal nor purpose but to crash at any moment on the surface of a desolate planet or worst, cause damages on a populated area.
How long will it take for the fool to realize that his only chance to life is to come to the knowledge and acceptance of the covering of the Master who has created him? How long will the fool love folly? How long will the fool hate knowledge? Not even our text today answers this question. It seems that all things will not come to reckoning until the great day of the white throne judgment, at the restoration of all things.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
LET US NOT SCORN HIM
Proverbs 1:21-22 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, (22) How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
The author of this prologue takes us back to the teaching of his own father who said, Blessed is the man . . . sitteth not in the seat of the scorner, (Psalms 1:1).
The scorner seats in his comfortable armchair; he laughs at the elements of righteousness. To him, the simplicity of Messiah is foolishness; it is subject to his rational mind. He indulges in all unrighteousness as if no one was watching; he literally thumbs his nose at the creator of his soul. Cynicism is his defense against the Holy Ghost’s pricks of conviction; ignorance is his excuse.
Doesn’t he know? Doesn’t he know that the One who created the heavens and the earth will laugh in the day of the calamity of the wicked? Doesn’t the scorner know that when in a fit of mockery he ignored the cross of messiah, he sealed his own destruction? Yes he knows, yet, in his scorning and silly mind, he seats and continue to delight in his own way.
We can look at those who openly and deliberately make a mockery of Messiah’s redemptive sacrifice, but let us be careful that we do not replicate the same mockery in our lives, even in more subtle ways. The One whom we agree redeemed our souls said, If you love Me, you keep my commandments. He also said that by their traditions, men often nullify His Words; isHis make them of none effects. Isn’t that the ultimate of all scorning mockery, to know the Word and deliberately go another way?
Let us be careful to obey His commandments in our lives. Let us also not scorn the Holy by our keeping of man’s secular ways and traditions above those established in His Word.
The author of this prologue takes us back to the teaching of his own father who said, Blessed is the man . . . sitteth not in the seat of the scorner, (Psalms 1:1).
The scorner seats in his comfortable armchair; he laughs at the elements of righteousness. To him, the simplicity of Messiah is foolishness; it is subject to his rational mind. He indulges in all unrighteousness as if no one was watching; he literally thumbs his nose at the creator of his soul. Cynicism is his defense against the Holy Ghost’s pricks of conviction; ignorance is his excuse.
Doesn’t he know? Doesn’t he know that the One who created the heavens and the earth will laugh in the day of the calamity of the wicked? Doesn’t the scorner know that when in a fit of mockery he ignored the cross of messiah, he sealed his own destruction? Yes he knows, yet, in his scorning and silly mind, he seats and continue to delight in his own way.
We can look at those who openly and deliberately make a mockery of Messiah’s redemptive sacrifice, but let us be careful that we do not replicate the same mockery in our lives, even in more subtle ways. The One whom we agree redeemed our souls said, If you love Me, you keep my commandments. He also said that by their traditions, men often nullify His Words; isHis make them of none effects. Isn’t that the ultimate of all scorning mockery, to know the Word and deliberately go another way?
Let us be careful to obey His commandments in our lives. Let us also not scorn the Holy by our keeping of man’s secular ways and traditions above those established in His Word.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
NO EXCUSE FOR IGNORANCE
Proverbs 1:22-23 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the
scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? (23) Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
Webster dictionary: SIMPLE:. Weak in intellect; not wise or sagacious; silly; Ex: The simple believeth every word; but the prudent looketh well to his going. Prov 14.
In the beginning of this proverb, a father instructs his son that if he abides by his wide advice, he will have subtility; he will be wise and not prey to evil men.
To benefit from this advice, the son needs to not only be yielded to the fatherly instructions, but he needs to study it. He needs to learn to apply it with wisdom and maturity. This takes time; it takes time to pray, learn, weigh the future fruits of our actions and even seek advice from appropriate people.
The old adage, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse”, is true. In this statement, ‘Wisdom’ does not excuse our lack of knowledge. Wisdom knows that knowledge is available. Wisdom knows that knowledge of right and wrong is published far and wide; that one only has to accept it in his heart and it will be there. In this segment Wisdom accuses us; yes it accuses us of spiritual lethargy, laziness, apathy and indifference. It accuses us of not desiring the wisdom that has been afforded us. It accuses us of not even caring about it. It accuses us of loving our state of spiritual slumber where we are easily drawn from doctrine to doctrine, not even realizing that eventually, we fall into disobedience leading us to heresy and blasphemy. Is there an excuse available for us when so much is published to help us stay on the right path? I doubt it.
In this segment also Wisdom’ pleads with us. It pleads with us to forsake our state of slumber. It pleads with us to turn at God’s reproofs in our lives. He promised that if we just turn to Him, just turn around and give him even if only a look, as he sees us afar us, he will us to welcome us again into his loving arms. Will you?
scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? (23) Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
Webster dictionary: SIMPLE:. Weak in intellect; not wise or sagacious; silly; Ex: The simple believeth every word; but the prudent looketh well to his going. Prov 14.
In the beginning of this proverb, a father instructs his son that if he abides by his wide advice, he will have subtility; he will be wise and not prey to evil men.
To benefit from this advice, the son needs to not only be yielded to the fatherly instructions, but he needs to study it. He needs to learn to apply it with wisdom and maturity. This takes time; it takes time to pray, learn, weigh the future fruits of our actions and even seek advice from appropriate people.
The old adage, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse”, is true. In this statement, ‘Wisdom’ does not excuse our lack of knowledge. Wisdom knows that knowledge is available. Wisdom knows that knowledge of right and wrong is published far and wide; that one only has to accept it in his heart and it will be there. In this segment Wisdom accuses us; yes it accuses us of spiritual lethargy, laziness, apathy and indifference. It accuses us of not desiring the wisdom that has been afforded us. It accuses us of not even caring about it. It accuses us of loving our state of spiritual slumber where we are easily drawn from doctrine to doctrine, not even realizing that eventually, we fall into disobedience leading us to heresy and blasphemy. Is there an excuse available for us when so much is published to help us stay on the right path? I doubt it.
In this segment also Wisdom’ pleads with us. It pleads with us to forsake our state of slumber. It pleads with us to turn at God’s reproofs in our lives. He promised that if we just turn to Him, just turn around and give him even if only a look, as he sees us afar us, he will us to welcome us again into his loving arms. Will you?
Monday, October 01, 2007
HEAR THE VOICE OF WISDOM
Proverbs 1:20-21 Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: (21) She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
Do we even hear it? And even if we did, do we make time during the day to process what it told us? Is our life so cluttered with unnecessary information that we do not even hear Wisdom’s voice? The Word cannot lie, and here we are told that Wisdom cries itself out trying to reach us at the places we gather together.
You say, where is it? It is so crowded and noisy around here that I couldn’t hear it even if it shouted through a megaphone.
It is not quiet; it ‘crieth’ the Word says. We are always in such a hurry to go somewhere, but Wisdom is faithful to try to meet us on our way. Its voice is often heard by the processing of information; but do we even take the time to process what we see and what we hear?.
Here one complains about the fate life seems to have ordered for him. Is he really victim of a destiny out of control or is he reaping the fruits of disobedience? Should we take time to think about it and learn from the voice of Wisdom screaming in our hears, ‘Here is what will happen to you if you do the same?’ Here is one whose spirit seems to be blessed with graciousness even in spite of troubles. Should we take the time to to ask ourselves, ‘ Here is one who has nothing, yet, his eyes shine and radiate happiness; why?’ Furthermore, creation is rich in examples that ‘cry out’ to us the principles of wisdom. The realms of physics and of biology daily teach us about the wise foundations upon which our world is built.
If we push away the noise, the mind-clutter, the rush and the undue pressure; if we decide to day to make the choice to hear, to give heed to the voice of Wisdom, what wonders will we learn, what wisdom will we acquire.
Do we even hear it? And even if we did, do we make time during the day to process what it told us? Is our life so cluttered with unnecessary information that we do not even hear Wisdom’s voice? The Word cannot lie, and here we are told that Wisdom cries itself out trying to reach us at the places we gather together.
You say, where is it? It is so crowded and noisy around here that I couldn’t hear it even if it shouted through a megaphone.
It is not quiet; it ‘crieth’ the Word says. We are always in such a hurry to go somewhere, but Wisdom is faithful to try to meet us on our way. Its voice is often heard by the processing of information; but do we even take the time to process what we see and what we hear?.
Here one complains about the fate life seems to have ordered for him. Is he really victim of a destiny out of control or is he reaping the fruits of disobedience? Should we take time to think about it and learn from the voice of Wisdom screaming in our hears, ‘Here is what will happen to you if you do the same?’ Here is one whose spirit seems to be blessed with graciousness even in spite of troubles. Should we take the time to to ask ourselves, ‘ Here is one who has nothing, yet, his eyes shine and radiate happiness; why?’ Furthermore, creation is rich in examples that ‘cry out’ to us the principles of wisdom. The realms of physics and of biology daily teach us about the wise foundations upon which our world is built.
If we push away the noise, the mind-clutter, the rush and the undue pressure; if we decide to day to make the choice to hear, to give heed to the voice of Wisdom, what wonders will we learn, what wisdom will we acquire.
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