BE A GATEKEEPERS TO YOUR CHILD’S HEART

Proverbs 4:23-25 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. (24) Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. (25) Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

The heart pumps the precious pure blood of life into every part of our body. The actual quality of our heart affects the health of our whole body. Is our heart weak? Is it strong? Is it sturdy? Urban life today causes us to do many that negatively affects the quality of our heart. Our food habits also contribute to degrade its quality, and we suffer dire consequences for it. A healthy heart means a healthy body. A sick heart means a sick body.

Our author refers to these properties when he admonishes his son. The way to our heart is through our eyes and ears. Whatever we see, hear or get emotionally affected by, gets recorded in the tablets of our soul and affects the heart of our being.

This son is told by his concerned father to keep his heart pure. He is told to keep his heart pure by staying away from the ‘froward mouth’. This means to stay away from the people who talk against God, because constantly hearing something eventually affects the soul. Advertisers know that. This son is also told to keep his eyes straight on the Words of God. This means to stay his eyes on godly sight rather than on ungodly scenes or actions, because the things we see affect our heart even more than those we hear. A picture is worth a thousand words, and can carry subliminal messages. Advertisers also know that. The eye is a much quicker learner than the ear.

May we follow this wise advice and keep our hearts pure. Let us keep not only our hearts pure, but also the heart of our children. As parents, we need to emulate this father who admonished his child about his company and his entertainment.

Today those questions remain: with all the sights and sounds that we are bombarded with on every side, is it a wonder that our society’s moral standards are going down? Is it a wonder that our youth lacks godly values? We cannot fight the media giants but can we be the gatekeepers of the hearts of our children?

MAY GOD GIVE US FATHERS

Proverbs 4:20-22 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. (21) Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. (22) For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

We hear again the wise king admonish his son. He tells his child to bring his inclinations towards his paternal counsel. This man tells his son to never let his fatherly advice out of his vision; to seal them in his heart; that in them, the boy will find both life and health.

Sad to say, the wise words of King Solomon were exemplified with his behavior only for a while. In his old age, this King let go of the Words of God and dabbled in the occult. The son who heard these words became a king who made unwise decisions and under whom the kingdom was divided.

If anything can change the course of history; if anything can move the heart of God towards His children; if anything can turn the evil tide that quickly drowns this generation; it is the desperate cry of upright fathers. When Moses cried to God for mercy as a father would cry for his children, God stayed his hand from destroying the Children of Israel.

May God give us fathers.

May God give us fathers whose words reflect the pattern of fatherhood given to us by the greatest Father of all.

Mayt God give us fathers whose Words match the actions.

May God give us fathers who can safely tell their children to emulate them because they themselves own the Words of life in their hearts.

May God give us fathers who fight in prayer and deeds for their children against the wolves of worldliness, laziness, mediocrity, selfishness and godlessness.

May God give us fathers who do what is right, unafraid to buck the tide of common opinion.

May God give us fathers whose life is hidden in the care of their little ones; who prepare with care the next generation.

May God give us fathers who in spite of their own selves, do their best to point their children in the direction of the Eternal father of all humanity.

FEARLESSNESS OR COURAGE

Proverbs 4:19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

The wicked, those who turn against God can be so arrogant. They seem almost fearless, which sadly, is credited to them as strength. The media’s super-heroes seem to be imbued with this property, which creates the admiration of its immature unsuspecting audiences.

What is it with this fascination with fearlessness?

The wicked fear not because they have rejected the sense of fear put in them by God. They want to defy it, and doing so defy God like Nimrod who wanted to build a tower all the way to Heaven. It is abnormal to not be afraid, just like it is abnormal to be numb to the conviction from the Holy-Spirit of God when we have done wrong.

God put in us a natural sense of danger. It is like the voice if God in us. It warns and protects us. It is therefore like a light in darkness. Those who reject this natural sense of fear also reject the voice of God in them. And those who reject the voice of God in them reject the light of God and therefore, they walk in darkness, not knowing at what they stumble.

There is a difference with fearlessness and courage. Fearlessness is the absence of fear; courage is the conquest of fear.

THE LIGHT OF GOD

Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

After being in darkness for a time, light, especially God’s light, needs to be introduced to our eyes slowly. It would blind us if it were to suddenly appear to us. The same goes with the light of truth from God.

If the light of Truth from God were to appear to us suddenly in its full integrity, it would probably hurt us; we are not ready to receive it. When Moses wanted to see the face of God, God told Him he could only see God’s glory from behind. When God spoke face to face with Moses, his face shone so that he had to cover it with a veil. When God spoke to the congregation of Israel, they begged Moses to be their mediator because they could not stand to hear God’s very voice. So, in His great wisdom and mercy, God promised that one day, He would come to talk to us at our level, as a human being.

If God were to suddenly pour in our hearts the pure Light of His spirit, it may reveal such an amount of wickedness in us that we would probably get discouraged. So, in order to bring us in slowly, He starts us with a small light, like a candle. But as we walk with Him, our path gradually becomes brighter. As our path gets brighter, we are able to take more, see more, realize more, and carry more. As days, months and years go by, we see new areas in our lives that we need to work on. As time passes, we understand more; we are less confused and more knowledgeable.

Let us feed God’s light in our heart through faithful fellowship with Him and His. We need not be afraid of it anymore. Let’s us allow it o come to our heart in all its fullness and clean us from all our iniquities.

BARKLESS DOGS

Proverbs 4:14-16 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. (15) Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. (16) For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

Who is the sleeper? Who is he that has his eyes closed? Is it not he who has lost the spiritual compass of God’s Instructions? Because of his loss of God’s Word, his heart has grown so relative that he is not able to recognize evil anymore. He is not able to be indignant at wickedness nor does he have the spirit to fight it. He is like clouds without rain; a dog that cannot bark.

Spiritual sleep, spiritual apathy, spiritual lethargy is the result of doing ‘mischief’. The main mischief is the rejection of God’s standards; the ‘relativising’ of Gods Word. Once we mix God’s Word with our own cultural principles, it looses its value and power; it is not able to keep us awake spiritually anymore. One of the problems with that is that when we backslide from God’s pure Word in that way, we seldom do it alone. We often drag someone else down with us, even if just our personal family.

We are given here the cautionary advice to not enter into the path of such people. We are told to avoid it; to turn from it and pass it. Maybe it is after all, safer to run into a blatant sinner than into him who is caught in the deception of look-alike faith.

One night a little girl fell from her bed. When her Mom asked what happen, the teary-eyed girl said, “I guess I must have fallen asleep too near to where I got in.” Could it be what happens to many of us? We enter the kingdom, but through some smooth-tongue unchallenging Word teacher we stop progressing and growing in our spiritual life. Oh yes, there is always a lot of activity which makes it look like we are awake but could it be like the little boy who told his Mom about the purring sleeping cat, “Mom, the cat fell asleep and left its engine running.”

May God help us to read the Word with wisdom and with understanding. May God help us to let it bark at our soul to warn it from the dangerous wolves of spiritual relativism.

THE UNDERSTANDING OF WISDOM

Proverbs 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

We need to remember that in these sayings as well as in those to come, ‘Wisdom’ is very much defined as Jesus Himself. It is not a form of poise or virtue, nor the ability to be witty and discerning. It is simply the ‘all in all’ of the Messiah.

Past and contemporary history shows us that just accepting Jesus is not enough. Religion often takes an oppressive form thus causing pain and even war. Faith also suffers an identity crisis. Instead of learning and understanding its form and format, everyone wants to just put its label on their own. This always leads to contentions, divisions, denominationalism and sectarianism born of self-righteous pride.

This happens because we get ‘Wisdom’ without getting ‘understanding’. It is like getting a new complicated appliance without a manual of operation. We end up breaking the machine or even using it in a hurtful manner. ‘Understanding gives the form and format of faith. It gives us its context, its culture and tells why things are a certain way and not another.

As we get faith, as we get wisdom, as we let Messiah be our Lord, Master and Savior, let us learn to understand all we can about Him and who God had chosen Him to be on earth. May we understand some of the simplest details like, “Why was He born a Jew?”; Why did He often go to Jerusalem?”; Why did He have to die in Jerusalem?”; Why was He born in Bethlehem?”; Why did He eat the Seder unleavened bread and drank its wine before He died?” How do these things affect us?”

As we learn to understand Wisdom, as we gather around the true identity of Messiah, we will be able to finally have a united vision of a united congregation.

THE FINAL PROMOTION

Proverbs 3:33-35

• The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.
• Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
• The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

Our king seems to conclude this exhortation to his son with these three maxims. Should we forget all the details in the preceding admonitions; should we fail to understand all their implications; if we only but remember these three maxims, we will possess the true heart of the wisdom that comes from above.

We may look at the house of the wicked and consider them blessed. In turn,as we try to be faithful to Him, we may look at our own house and wonder if God really sees us. Thus it is always with God’s people. But whatever our physical sense declare to us, we must remember the truth of the Word which reveals to our hearts the truth hidden from our eyes, that: The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.

Many people scorn and scoff at the laws of God. They declare the principles of Godly living outdated. They push their ‘enlightenment’ agenda though every mediatic and political mean possible. They constantly feel like they have to fight and struggle in order to justify their position. On the other hand, the people who humbly and lowliness of mind simply accept and endorse God’s ways seem to own a spirit of peace and quietness that no psychologist could ever offer. Thus He scorneth the scorners: but He giveth grace unto the lowly.

Oh, for the precious promises. When all is said and done; when the books are opened; when faith is balanced against works; when intentions are compared with actions; when spirits are rubbed against the touchstone; when the wheat is separated from the chaff; when fire reveals the only true lasting matter of our soul; when the sheep go again under the counting hand; when the Lord God of the Hosts of Heaven gives the final roll call; when the ultimate judgment is pronounced; glory, yes glory is given to those faithful ones who had enough love for their Lord to love Him with all their hearts, at even the cost of their lives and worldly reputation. But shame, oh yes, shame shall be the only promotion that those who loved wickedness, that those who scorned God’s commandments will receive.

Even so Lord Yehoshua, come quickly!

WEALTH OR WEALTH?

Proverbs 3:31-32 Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. (32) For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.

Here is a rich man, successful and established. He has not a care in the world but to look after his wealth and to indulge his heart. Of course, he tithes and contributes to the many social causes in his community. Many would consider him blessed of God. Many would consider that God smiled upon this man. Many would be envious and covet his position in life.

Let us take a closer look at the source of his wealth. Is it a wealth truly sent from God, or is it a wealth conceived by oppression?

When a man is blessed beyond his personal immediate needs, is he supposed to build bigger ‘barns’ and plan for his personal future, thus oppressing those for whom this wealth was meant? Does his wealth come from usury, the ungodly oppressing practice of benefiting from a brother’s misery by lending him money for interest? Does he oppress his family, working so hard at the cost of their neglect? Does he oppress his own soul, withholding it from God by working on the Sabbath which God has created for himself?

Wealth from God is a gift without condemnation. You didn’t work for it. You didn’t oppress for it. You didn’t withhold it from those to whom it was due. You did not compromise virtues and principles for it and yet, like King Solomon, author of this proverb, God laid it at your feet.

Let us know and remember that wealth wrongfully earned will not remain unpunished. Let us also remember that the secret of God is with the righteous. As we go and faithfully follow God, our needs will be met, and the wealth of His presence will abide in our heart. What more should we want?

THE PURE IN HEART SEE GOD

Proverbs 3:29-30 Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. (30) Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.

For this proverb, I will refer to Patrick Henry’s Bible Commentary where it is rephrased in the following manner:
· We must not be quarrelsome and litigious.
· Do not strive with a man without cause;
· Contend not for that which thou hast no title to;
· Resent not as a provocation that which peradventure was but an oversight.
· Never trouble thy neighbour with frivolous complaints and accusations, or vexatious law-suits, when either there is no harm done thee or none worth speaking of, or thou mightest right thyself in a friendly way.

This advice reflects Paul’s in the New Testament where He says, If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Sad to say, were this advice followed, gossip columnists and lawyer would go broke.

What is it in human nature that makes us strive on drama? I have known people who feel it abnormal when things quietly follow their course. They automatically attribute it to denial, so they go around trying to find the drama; and if they can’t find it, they create it.

In the classic movie Gone with the Wind, Scarlet was determined to steal her best friend’s husband from her. In trying to do so, Scarlet constantly took care of this man, even all the more after he came back wounded from the war. His wife, suspecting nothing, took it all as act of selfless love towards her. Because her heart was pure, she couldn’t even conceive the very real and present evil that was threatening her life. Call it innocent naïve stupidity, gullibility or denial, but I know who was the happier of the two women. It may only be a movie, but it works in real life. Those whose heart is pure and drama-impervious, see God, instead of the devil in everything.

What a different world we would have if instead of making mountains out of molehills, we would make molehills out of mountains.

BE YE PERFECT

Proverbs 3:27-28 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. (28) Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.

I pause for a moment this devotional approach to these Proverbs from King Solomon as I take you to behold the wonders of their literary constructions. Hebrew wisdom literature, as well as Hebrew poetry, works in sets of two verses. Two opposite concepts can develop an idea, or we can have what we have in these two verses: the first verse introduces the taught principle, while the second verse defines its application.

This may not seem very important but, and some may argue with me about that, I believe that God did not leave much room for guessing what He meant in His Word. If the second verse explains the first, then the person to whom good is due, is our neighbor. And to know who our neighbor is, we turn to the Messiah who, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, taught us that our neighbor was whoever we meet on our way that is in dire need, even if it is an actual oppressing enemy.

This is a simple proverb about giving, but it teaches more than generosity. It teaches us a form of generosity that is beyond the principle of ‘good deeds’. Mostly, it teaches us a generosity that makes us come near to the perfection Jesus talked about when He said,
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5:43-48

TO WHOM THE FEAR?

Proverbs 3:25-26 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. (26) For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

When God plunged the whole world into a flood of water, He kept Noah and his family safe. When the mighty God of Israel battered Egypt with plague after plague, He spared the land of Goshen. When the walls of Jericho tumbled and fell at the sounds of the shofars, Ahab’s house stayed untouched.

Oh, may we not trust God today also? May we not trust our mighty God to protect us? He is getting ready to again shake the earth; He said, everything that can be shaken will be shaken. Already today we can feel the mighty shaking of God. Moral values are reversed as the Word of God is either adulterated or all totally ignored. Will such a generation be spared the shakings of God? Probably not.

But we, who have put our trust in God through His Messiah, should not fear the shaking to come. If our eyes are fixed on His sound wisdom, on His knowledge and discretion, Why should we fear?

It is the wayward disobedient children who need to fear the judgments of the Father, not those who stay close to him and live in line with His Instruction.

PEACE THAT CONQUERS THE STORM

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.

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?

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”?

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?

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.