Fear Equals Reverence And Respect

Proverbs 9: 9-11 - Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.  "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.  For through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life

 

Solomon uses the word fear in these verses to help us understand the reverence and respect we must have in our heart for God.  To truly know God…is to develop a fear of losing the guidance and protection he provides for us once we believe.  We respect him as our father…and stand in awe of the gift he gave in his precious son…..who died on a horrible cross to save us all from our sins.

 

The chapter paints a picture of the two choices we have in life…to follow the harder path of wisdom….or be swayed away to the easy path the world tempts us to follow.   The one who holds a true love of God in their heart…will love God as much as he loved us…and cling to the faith that God will hold our hand while we take that harder path.  The longer we allow God to lead us on that harder path…the wiser we will become.

 

I will admit that God has been very patient with me while I tried to walk on both paths.  It is amazing to me that he loves me in spite of my attempts to have my cake and eat it too…so to speak.  I needed the reminder this morning that the world just can’t offer me the same guarantee of life forever that God gave me when I gave my life to him.  I need to be more loyal to his way…and listen a little closer to his directions of how to stay on the path he wants me to be on.

 

Father…I find myself saying I am sorry a lot lately…for straying from your will…and chasing those worldly rabbits that only lead to empty holes.  Thank you for reminding me that you are a patient…loving God…and never leaving me to fall so deeply in one of those holes that I can’t reach your hand and climb out. Help me to open my eyes to see your path more clearly….and open my ears to hear your voice above all the worldly sirens that try to call me so close they can trap me in their spell. Amen.

God Made The World Interdependent

Proverbs 8:22-23 and 27-28 - "The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old;  I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began.

I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,

 

Solomon must have penned these beautiful words of reflection and truth in a moment of thanks for the wisdom he had been granted. In his moments of thankfulness to God…he realized just how precious the gift was that he had been given.

 

Even Solomon….who was given the most wisdom of any man….ever….knew the source of his wisdom was God. It was his wisdom that allowed the vast and complex world we live in.  Wisdom existed in his mind first…and he used it to create all that we see …from the tips of the sky….to the depths of the sea. It was his wisdom that knew to make everything interdependent on the things around them…all working together.

 

What comfort it gives me to know that God used the same wisdom he gave Solomon…to create the world. He is in control…and even the winds obey his voice.  I don’t have to understand every scientific principal that makes it work…just trust that the great wisdom of God put it together. Everything he made has a purpose….everything is part of a great cycle that renews the world for future generations.

 

I am reminded that we had better care for it a little better than we have been. Pollution from our factories and huge businesses… the stripping of forests and trees to build our ornate houses….. the dumping of waste in our water systems….will all catch up to someday.  God will only allow our foolishness and greed to go unchecked for a time.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that you created our world in its pure form to take care of us without our help. Forgive me for taking for granted that it will always be here for me…and not respecting its great wealth. Help me to use your wisdom to care for my edge of the world in a more careful way. Amen.

Pray For Confidence....And Stay Focused On God's Purpose

Proverbs 7:6-9 -   At the window of my house I looked out through the lattice.  I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who lacked judgment.  He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in.

 

Solomon continues his wise advice by reminding us that being too simple-minded allows our heart to be tempted.   He tells the story of a young lad who walks too near the corner of an adulteress….eventually swayed to fall to her seductive nature.

 

The simple person he speaks of here is really anyone who lacks judgment…..the one who has no purpose…and just wanders day to day. When approached with any immoral situation …the pretty speech of another…the tiredness of our spirit….wears away the good we are trying to cling to.  We fall so quickly to the temptations…never even stopping to ask God to help us see through the trick satan has placed before us.

 

I admit….I find myself searching for purpose more than I am confident of what I am here to do.  I know in my heart in revolves around telling others about God.  And I know that he will use all of the mess ups and tragedies he has walked me through to help others in some way. I needed this reminder today to stay focused on  him…and keep searching for what he needs me to do…so satan can’t trick me into straying from the path God has set for me with something else.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that you are up there guiding  me ….even when I don’t ask you too.  Forgive me for wondering where you are sometimes….and help me focus completely on your voice so I can hear you about the temptress in this story of Solomon.  Take my simple mind …and build in it the common sense and judgment I need to listen to only you….and run quickly from anything that tries to take me away from your purpose for putting me here.  Give me the confidence I need to trust in only you. Amen.

Let Humility Keep Pride From Taking Root In Your heart

Proverbs 6:16-19 -  There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,  a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

 

Solomon tackles a variety of foolish actions in this chapter of Proverbs. Telling us to swallow our pride when we realize we have bit off more than we can chew….to respect the things our parents try to teach us about his ways as we age…and another warning about adultery. He ends this chapter with a list of 7 things that make God the angriest.

 

Haughty eyes appear when we think we know more that those around us…and pride tricks us into looking on others with scorn.  Using lies… producing a false witness for someone else…or stirring up trouble between people…has its roots in pride as well. It always seems easier to lie than to swallow pride and admit the truth. Murder….the heart that devises wicked schemes…and those that quickly rush into evil …well those take simple pride and elevate it to another level. 

 

Thank God there is a simple way to avoid all of these things he hates…..we have to let humility rule our hearts at all times…and quickly swallow our pride and repent…so God can wash the seed that satan plants in our heart completely away…before it takes root and gets worse.

 

I will admit that it is not an easy thing to do…I slipped up several times this last few weeks….telling my share of what most call white lies. They have eaten me up inside ever since…God’s love trying to show me how important it is to cleanse my conscious.  I will have to find a way to swallow my own pride and let God’s love and power give me the strength I need to correct my embellishments.  God has to be in charge…not me.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I need to be more aware of the pride that tries to slip into my heart. Forgive me for trying to making myself look better by stretching the truth. Help me to rely more on you than I do my own understanding of how things work. Show me how to fix my mistakes…and give me the strength to accept the outcome when I do. Amen.

Earthly Pleasure Can Overtake Our Will To Do The Right Thing

Proverbs 5:21-23 -  For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths.  The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast.  He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.

 

Solomon devotes a whole chapter to the age old practice of prostitution.  It was a huge problem in the world he lived…tempting men…ensnaring them with the strong desires of the human to be intimate….to satisfy the strong urges of our body to seek pleasure and release.  He tells the young men to who he writes….to run far from this practice.

 

My mind wants to expand Solomon’s warning to these young men…to all people who are tempted by any kind of adultery….and other practices driven by sexual desires.  These things degrade all parties involved.  They destroy families.  They make a mockery of the institution of marriage…and have been the cause of millions of divorces over the course of history.  Our society has even relaxed its stance on many practices that were once considered taboo….the internet increasing access to millions of images…..easily accessible to anyone…anywhere.

 

My Life Application Bible commentary expanded this thought even further in my mind.  It suggested that the word prostitution was used loosely…as a symbol for anything that deters our search for truth and wisdom.  The desires we allow to take root in our heart for anything that gives us earthly pleasure overtakes our will to do the right thing….like Paul says in Romans 7:18… “ I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.”

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I need to guard my heart for anything that seeks to replace my need for time with you.  Forgive me for the times I have allowed the world’s pleasures to keep me from doing what is right.  Help me to focus my heart completely on you….and give me wisdom to recognize the things that satan throws in my path to trick and confuse me. I pray this morning not just for me…but for the world.  Somehow….shine your light brightly in the minds of all that are involved in some form of sexual sin today.  Help them to realize that it is destroying their relationship with you and all the people around them.  Save the marriages that are affected…and repair and reinstate the ones that have been destroyed by divorce. Amen. 

Guard Your Heart...Look Straight Ahead

Proverbs 4:23-27 -  Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.  Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.  Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.  Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.  Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

 

Solomon ends this great chapter of Proverbs with a reminder to guard our hearts…the wellspring of life.  It is protected by keeping our talk positive and encouraging…and keeping our eyes focused on God.  Our feet will be able to walk directly where God leads us…without taking any side trips or stops along the way. 

 

Looking straight ahead to God …helps to put boundaries on our earthly desires.  We look forward to God’s plan he has given us ….and are less apt to stray when satan waves those temptations in front of our face.  Focusing on God helps us have the attitude of Paul in Philippians 3:14…. “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

 

I admit that I have been distracted from my goal many times…but God keeps letting me try again. I have been the rabbit from the old children’s story….The Tortoise and The Hare. I ran and ran and got tired and laid right down to take a long nap…missing the blessing God had waiting at the end.  But God is teaching me how to be the turtle…..and stay focused and patient with the plan he has set for me.

 

Father...thank you for this reminder that I am only my best when I am focused completely on you.  Forgive me for the times that I have run ahead of your plan…or gotten completely off the path on some side mission of my own. Help me to stay focused on you…and press forward to win the prize for which you have called me.  Amen.

Give Your 'Fristfruits' To God

Proverbs 3:-10  -   Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;  then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

 

Solomon reminds us here how important it is to give a tithe of everything he blesses us with.  He says that we need to give God the ‘firstfruits’ of all our labors here on Earth. He reminds us that thinking of God first will result in even more blessings.

 

It’s a simple concept…to tithe a tenth of all our income….whether it be money…or crop…or livestock….then decide how we would give that to God.  My father taught me this concept.  I watched as he wrote a check to the church each Sunday…and encouraged me to place my dollar in the envelope with my name. 

 

I remember processing the concept in my own mind as I began to earn my own income…battling in my mind whether to tithe on the gross or the net income.  Most of my life I tithed on my net income…but this passage makes it clear that we are to tithe on the ‘firstfruits’….before the government of the country we live in takes their  share.

 

I am not sure when I began tithing on my gross income…but I will testify that since I began to practice this in my tithing…I have never wanted for anything.  Blessing after blessing seem to fall in my lap. I want to think that God is smiling at me…like Jesus smiled at the poor old women in Luke 21:1-4. That sweet women didn’t even stop at a 10 percent tithe…she gave every penny she had to live on for the next year!

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that my attitude toward giving is more important than the amount I give. Forgive me for the many years that my giving was calculated to just follow a rule.  Help me to continue to transform my thoughts about giving into the attitude of that sweet old lady…who gave all she had.  Show me where to pay forward the blessings you have given me to help the most people…and model the great love that will help them see the truth of your gospel.  Amen.