Archive for the ‘Proverbs’ Category

Proverbs 06:22 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: August 6, 2013 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Proverbs 06, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Under Gods Command
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Proverbs 6:22 When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you: when you awake, they will speak to you.

Wisdom is a most valuable guide, protector, and friend, both day and night! Reader, have you bound it on your heart and tied it about your neck (Pr 6:21)? Have you remembered and obeyed the good advice and rules you received from your parents (Pr 6:20)?

As you proceed through life, wisdom will direct your choices. As you sleep in bed, it will comfort your soul, keep your thoughts right, and protect you from evil spirits. When you begin each day, wisdom will be your friend and counselor in facing the day’s events.

The singular pronoun “it” refers to the law of God as taught by godly parents (Pr 6:20-21). If parents train and teach their children correctly, the father’s commandment and the mother’s law, though plural nouns from two different parties, is one body of wisdom and truth – the law of God. It is the nurture and admonition of the Lord – the singular doctrine of God (Deut 12:32; Josh 1:7-9; Eph 6:4)! Parents, unite today on God’s word!

Can wisdom lead you through life? Yes! Wisdom is the power of right judgment – the ability to analyze a situation and know what to do. Life has many choices and decisions, many of which have serious consequences and are presented deceitfully by the world. You cannot even trust your own heart (Jer 17:9). When you are about to turn out of the way, wisdom will say, “This is the way, walk ye in it” (Is 30:21). Wisdom will guide you in making these decisions that destroy many (Pr 4:5-9; 8:1-21; 22:3; Eccl 10:10)!

Can wisdom keep you, when you sleep at night? Yes! Wisdom will deliver you from fear and guilt to sleep peacefully (Pr 3:24; Ps 41:1-4). Wisdom can teach you in the night (Job 33:14-18; Ps 63:6). Wisdom will keep you from earning God’s chastening or fainting under it (Pr 3:11-12; Ps 32:1-5). Wisdom will protect you from the fears that plague others (Ps 34:7; Is 26:3-4). Wisdom will keep you from overworking and worrying about things that God will do for you (Ps 127:1-2; Phil 4:6-7). Lay hold of wisdom today!

Can wisdom talk with you, when you awake? Yes! Wisdom is the knowledge of God and His will for your life. When you awake to the challenges, opportunities, and fears of a day, you will have a gentle companion to reassure you and direct you. Instead of being intimidated and overwhelmed, you can be courageous and excited. Instead of being hopeless as others, you can rejoice in the future! Wisdom will give you confidence and strength to live joyfully and victoriously (Pr 14:26; 21:22; 28:1; Ps 104:34; Rom 15:13).

Get wisdom! Where? It is freely offered in the fear of the Lord and the Bible (Pr 9:10; Ps 19:7). Parents, teach it to your children. Children, learn it from your parents. Parents and children, love the preaching of it (Jer 3:15; Mal 2:7; Acts 10:33; Col 1:28; I Thess 5:20). Join an old-fashioned church following the apostles in doctrine and practice, there you will hear and learn the wisdom of God from His word by His ministers (Jer 3:15; 6:16).

Proverbs 2:11 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: August 2, 2013 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Proverbs 02, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Proverbs 2:11 Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.

Are you safe? Are you protected? King Solomon wrote his proverbs to preserve and keep you from pain and trouble. Most men get into difficulties or temptations in life that cost them dearly in many different ways. Discretion and understanding can keep you safe.

Men take many precautions to protect themselves from danger. They use seat belts in automobiles, take vitamins, lock the doors at night, exercise and/or eat nutritiously, regulate elevators, buy medical insurance, listen to weather warnings, avoid dangerous parts of town, visit doctors often, avoid motorcycles, and so forth and so on.

They also make efforts to protect their children. They make sure they eat three balanced meals a day, avoid risky playground equipment, do not play with knives, avoid strangers, do not ride their bikes in the street, bundle up in cold weather, get to bed on time, do not climb too high in trees, stay away from the bully down the street, and so forth and so on.

But all these efforts are of little value and only protect the body. What are you doing for the soul? For your own soul and the souls of your children? What efforts are you making to acquire discretion and understanding yourself and to instill them in your children? Worldly institutions or the media certainly do not teach them, and they are rarely taught in modern churches. But God has made them available for you in Solomon’s proverbs.

Preserving and keeping your soul requires different efforts than those described above. And you must consider, which is more important, physical health or your soul? Which is more important, financial assets or your soul? Jesus Christ valued your soul more than gaining the whole world (Matt 16:26). He has clearly set your priorities for you.

Discretion and understanding will not only preserve your soul; they will also preserve your life and your assets. As the Preacher wrote elsewhere, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding” (4:7). The whole book of Proverbs is dedicated to the value of acquiring discretion and understanding.

Discretion knows what to do, when to do it, and how to do it in various circumstances. Understanding is discerning a situation, its hidden dangers, subtle errors, and the right course of action. These terms overlap in meaning, but they also have their own shades of meaning. The context shows they are related to wisdom and knowledge (Pr 2:10).

Additional benefits of acquiring discretion and understanding are also found in the context (Pr 2:12-22). They will protect you from the lifestyles and choices of the evil man and the strange woman, both of which are on their way to destruction and seeking to take as many with them as they can. Discretion and understanding are important for you.

Proverbs teaches discretion (Pr 1:4). It teaches when to speak and when not to speak (Pr 26:4-5; 15:28; 29:11), when to be angry and when not to be angry (Pr 25:23; 19:11). Discretion is guiding your affairs well (Ps 112:5). A woman without it is like a sow (Pr 11:22; Tit 2:5). The knowledge of how to plant, harvest, and process various grains is discretion (Is 28:26). And Joseph was promoted highly because of it (Gen 41:33-40).

Proverbs teaches understanding (Pr 1:2). Animals do not have it (Job 39:17; Ps 32:9). Its foundation is the knowledge of the holy (Pr 9:10), and it is built by God’s word (Ps 111:10; 119:98-100,104,130). It is dependent upon a man rejecting his own understanding (Pr 3:5). Adultery, listening to vain persons, and being an easy surety prove a lack of it (Pr 6:32; 12:11; 17:18). It involves ruling your spirit (Pr 14:29) and pursuing knowledge (Pr 15:14). It is a source of happiness (Pr 3:13), leads to the good life (Pr 13:15; 16:22), and causes a person to be of an excellent spirit (Pr 17:27). Daniel clearly had it (Dan 1:20; 5:11-14; 6:3-4), but the world of Gentiles does not (Rom 1:31).

Discretion and understanding will preserve and keep your soul and life. They are aspects of godly wisdom that will protect you from foolish errors, wicked persons, and sin. They will keep you out of all sorts of trouble, spiritual and physical. They will bring you peace, security, success, and happiness. Life without them is hard and difficult (Pr 13:15; 22:5).

They are easy to obtain, if you will apply yourself to learning the Word of God. You need to be in a church where the Word of God is taught faithfully and frequently, and you need to apply yourself in personal reading, meditation, prayer, and study. Then you must apply your learning to the life situations that God will bring your way (Heb 5:12-14).

God has given you the means to protect your life from pain, trouble, and difficulty. He has given instruction for happiness and success. Are you applying yourself as diligently and regularly in acquiring these two things as you do in protecting your body and money? Make sure your priorities are God and Solomon’s priorities for your maximum success.

Spiritual Training 01 August 2013

Posted: August 1, 2013 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Romans, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Romans 14:20-21 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.

Sin is not just a private matter. Everything we do affects others, and we have to think of them constantly. God created us to be interdependent, not independent. We who are strong in our faith must, without pride or condescension, treat others with love, patience, and self-restraint.

Lets Bring it home: Is the Church and those that are strong in faith maintaining that peace when in disagreement?

Proverbs 1:16 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: August 1, 2013 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Proverbs 01, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Proverbs 1:16 For their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shed blood.

Fools cannot quit folly. Sinners cannot stop sinning. They run with haste to more wickedness rather than walk. They greedily rush to satisfy their evil lusts (Eph 4:17-19). Because of this trait, young men should stay as far from fools and sinners as possible.

After introducing the book of Proverbs (Pr 1:1-9), Solomon wrote a parable warning his son about the grave danger of evil associations (Pr 1:10-19). Foolish friends destroy more young men than any other factor. The parable describes a band of cutthroats seeking to entice a young man to join them, and Solomon told his son where such fools are headed.

Being asked to join a band of cutthroats is extreme, but consider the temptation for young men to join gangs in high schools or city ghettos, immoral college fraternities, subversive military or political organizations, the KKK, the Masonic Lodge, the Communist Party, labor unions, and other societies of men pursuing a wide variety of equally evil goals.

The danger of association with wicked men is their mad rush to more and more evil. No matter your desire to avoid sin and wickedness, their enticing invitations and the power of peer pressure will be too much to resist. You will go down with them, and go down they certainly will. Solomon made this clear before ending the parable (Pr 1:17-19).

Sin does not know contentment. One sin is not enough. After breaking a commandment of God and tasting the fruit of forbidden pleasures, it must have more. The heart becomes hardened, the conscience is seared, the lusts are inflamed, and the mind cannot forget the stolen thrills. The downhill rush to destruction has begun. What will stop the sinners?

You cannot reform wicked friends. Instead, the wicked friends will corrupt your good manners (I Cor 15:33). The safety of wisdom is simple: do not even start friendships with fools (Pr 1:10; 4:14-17; Ps 1:1-3). If you have foolish friends, forsake them immediately (Pr 9:6; 13:20; 14:7). This rule is crucial for survival and success (Pr 2:10-22).

Only God can change fools, which he did gloriously in the case of Saul of Tarsus (Titus 3:3-5). If you think you can change them, you are gravely mistaken. Be not deceived (I Cor 15:33)! Another proverb concludes, “Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him” (Pr 27:22). Even Paul avoided those without faith and the fear of God (II Thess 3:1-2; II Tim 3:1-5).

The lesson is simple and weighty. Foolish friends will destroy any man. Therefore, reject all worldly friends for the friends of the king of Zion (Ps 101:1-8; 119:63,79; 144:11-15; Tit 1:8). You can find them in a local church that exalts apostolic doctrine and practice, where you can exhort and help each other to greater faith and obedience to Jesus Christ.

Proverbs 30:25 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: July 30, 2013 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Proverbs 30, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Proverbs 30:25 Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer.

Ants are wise. You think they are one of the weakest creatures, but they have wisdom that many men do not have. They save part of all income to use later in life. They work hard when the getting is good, and with an eye to the future, they save for harder times.

Solomon also used the ant to illustrate economic wisdom, when he exhorted his son to consider their diligence, their initiative without supervision, and their foresight to prepare and save for the future (Pr 6:6-8). Are you as wise as the ant, or can you learn a lesson from them? Do you have a regular savings program? Do you leave it untouched to grow?

Though ants are very weak – you may crush hundreds of them with a single foot – they use wisdom to preserve and protect themselves. In fact, they prosper by their wisdom. In the summer, they work diligently to accumulate as much food as possible, which they eat during the fall and spring, when underground. They generally hibernate in the winter.

Wise men do not spend all income; only fools spend it all (Pr 21:20). Saving some of your income is not an option or suggestion – it is God’s commandment. You are to learn from the ants (Pr 6:6-8; 30:25); savings protects you from unforeseen danger in the future (Pr 27:12). Not saving some of your income is sinful presumption (Pr 12:27; 27:24).

Savings must be a priority in life, not an option for money left over after expenses. If a commitment to savings is not made before spending occurs, it will not be done. Paying bills is paying others; saving money is paying yourself. Godly economics is simple: pay God first (tithes and offerings), pay yourself second (consistent savings), and live on the rest. There is no need for fancy budgets or financial models – live on whatever is left.

What you save is what you pay yourself. What you spend is what you pay others. How much do you have for all the years of sweat, toil, difficulty, and frustration of working? You have nothing left from all those years, except your savings account and net assets. Is paying yourself – saving some of your income – starting to make sense? Thank you, ants!

Saving less than 10% of gross income is playing games. Wise men will save at least 10%. The change in lifestyle to save 10% is insignificant, if prudence is practiced elsewhere. Many employers today will match your savings in a 401(k) plan. A simple savings program is easy. You pay God first (10%+), yourself second (10%+), and live on the rest. By living on 80% of your income, you will appreciate things more (Pr 27:7). Try it!

Savings creates another benefit – capital! See the important comments on Proverbs 14:4. Every man will have a few opportunities in his life – called time and chance in the Bible – to make big money (Ec 9:11). But you must have capital – savings – to take advantage of these opportunities. Some call this investment capital seed corn, for it is the seed that is planted for a future harvest. The ant’s wisdom has taught you savings and investment.

You never touch savings. It is for the future – dire emergencies and opportunities. If the ants took vacations and ate their food stores, they would die in the fall and spring, when they need those food stores. If you need extra cash for unusual expenses during the year, it comes from cash management and other reserve funds; it does not come from savings. Your saved capital is not to be touched; your seed corn is not to be eaten!

If you invest your capital conservatively and wisely, it will grow during all the hours of the day and night. If you buy bonds, you are earning interest every second of every day and night (Matt 25:26-27). If you buy stocks, you have many people in many companies around the earth working for you every day and night. You are leveraging your limited ability and effort by the multiplied abilities and efforts of many others. Thank you, ants!

Financial success requires diligence, discipline, sacrifice, consistency, and time. The ants do all five well (Pr 6:6-8; 30:25). Diligence is working hard to maximize your income. Discipline is paying the Lord first and yourself second, before spending even a dime. Sacrifice is doing without a few toys and luxuries you want. Consistency is doing it without interruption during your productive years. Time is what allows savings to grow.

If your estate is small and your savings negligible, reader, it is because you have ignored the ants and Solomon’s wisdom. Have you never heard that you ought to save at least 10% of your income for the future – for emergencies and opportunities? Have you never heard? Or are you more foolish than the ants, which save without a ruler or guide?

Preparing for your eternal future is far better than preparing for your financial future. Here is wisdom in its brightest and purest form. As the unjust steward protected himself from unemployment, Jesus exhorted His children to protect themselves from that great accounting to take place in the last day (Luke 16:1-16). Have you looked to the future and laid up a good foundation against the time to come (I Tim 6:17-19)? The Lord Jesus Christ will come soon, and you will face an emergency like no other. Save up for it!

Spiritual Training 30 July 2013

Posted: July 30, 2013 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Ephesians, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Ephesians 4:17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 

Living “in the futility of their thinking” refers to the natural tendency of human beings to think their way away from God.  Intellectual pride, rationalizations, and excuses all keep people from God.  Don’t be surprised if people can’t grasp the gospel.  The gospel will seem foolish to those who forsake faith and rely on their own understanding.

Lets bring it home: Are we surprised when people can’t grasp the gospel?  Did we grasp the gospel right away, or were we one of these people at one time?   Just remember that being a Christian is a process, but first you have to get your foot in the door to begin the training.

 

Proverbs 29:05 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: July 29, 2013 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Proverbs 29, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Proverbs 29:5 Whoever flatters his neighbor is spreading a net for his feet.

Flattery is sweet. It strokes your pride and feeds your ego. But it closes your eyes to the character or intentions of the giver – you cannot see the trap being set. No matter how pleasant it is to hear flattery, look out and get away, for someone is manipulating you.

Flattery is also nice to give. It produces a positive and warm response from most hearers. But the false feelings you give others is sin in the sight of God and noble men. While commending and praising others is good, excessive praise or manipulation is wrong.

Flattery is false, insincere, or excessive praise used to gratify the vanity or self-esteem of a person. It is sucking up to them, exaggerating their good features, and ignoring their faults. Men flatter others to obtain undeserved favor or otherwise serve their own purposes (Dan 11:21,32,34). Self-esteem and pride, vulnerable traits of carnal Christians in these perilous times, are sinful symptoms of man’s depraved heart (II Tim 3:1-2).

Flattery is a sin in the sight of God and good men. It is lying speech, for it is either not true and/or insincerely given (Ps 12:2-3; 36:2; 78:36; Ezek 12:24). Praise with a deceitful motive is a profane and perverse thing: stay away from flatterers (Pr 20:19). Flattery is also unfaithful and wicked use of speech that works ruin (Pr 26:28; Ps 5:9-10). Rebuke is actually far better, for it has the noble and profitable goal of helping others (Pr 28:23).

Flattery is dangerous both to the giver and receiver. It is dangerous to the giver, because God will judge him for it, and he will be known as a lying toady (Job 17:5; Ps 12:1-3). It is dangerous to the receiver, for it can seduce him to do what he should not, as in the case of a whorish woman (Pr 2:16; 6:24; 7:5,21). Young readers, do not believe any romantic words from a person wanting you to sin. Believing flattery, no matter how much you desire it to be true, is conscious self-deception by an enemy (Pr 26:24-25)! Despise it!

Politicians, salesmen, and today’s ministers are flatterers. Rather than present substance, facts, and truth, they present fawning, foaming, and empty praise, insincere friendliness, and vain promises of performance. A wise man will recognize these common culprits, who crave your vote, your purchase, or your tithe. God’s ministers do not flatter (I Thess 2:5). A wise man will not let men lie to him, even about his virtues (Pr 14:15). He will avoid obvious traps being set, and he will avoid the pleasant self-deception of flattery.

A wise man will not flatter, for he knows it is a sin despised by God and man (Pr 6:16-19). If he has a job involving clients, customers, patients, or church members, he will be very careful to deal with facts and reality. It is a temptation of this grinning, frivolous, superficial generation to flatter. All men must guard their friendships and neighborly relationships, lest they use excessive or insincere praise. Do you know that even flattering titles commonly used today are also condemned (Job 32:21-22; Matt 23:5-12)? Learn the lesson of this proverb and hate flattery in both directions and of all kinds. God help you.

Proverbs 26:07 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: July 26, 2013 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Proverbs 26, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Proverbs 26:7 – Like a lame man’s legs that hang limp is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

A cripple trying to walk, run, or dance is a horrible sight! His legs do not function as a coordinated pair. Being not equal in length, strength, or coordination, his movements are absurd, contradictory, ridiculous, and unprofitable. The lame should not try to dance!

In the same way, a fool using parables or proverbs to teach wisdom is absurd, contradictory, ridiculous, and unprofitable. King Solomon by this proverb teaches another indictment of fools (Pr 26:1-12). Fools should not try to be teachers.

Parables and proverbs are the dark sayings of the wise (Pr 1:5-6; Ps 78:2). They are the carefully designed means of teaching wisdom in few words, with striking force. Taken from every day life, they have a figurative meaning requiring skill and understanding to interpret and explain. Formed with interesting similes and metaphors for appeal and challenge, they are too much for a fool, who is a man without understanding or wisdom.

Fools should be taught; they should not teach. Fools should listen; they should not talk. Therefore, they should not have the honor of a public forum for their babblings (Pr 26:1,8). And they should be ignored or shut up by wise rebukes (Pr 26:4-5). This is God’s rule for dealing with fools, and you should consistently obey it (II Tim 2:16,23; Tit 3:9).

Their lack of common sense and/or spiritual understanding denies them any right to take the deep things of God’s word into their mouths. Their sinful living habits and profane treatment of religious matters preclude them from touching His holy things. They would do much better and be perceived more kindly, if they kept their mouths shut (Pr 17:28)!

But it is impossible for fools to shut up and listen and learn – they must be babbling in their ignorance – for that is one of the chief marks of a fool (Pr 15:2; Eccl 5:3; 10:3,12-14). Identifying fools is easy: all you have to do is listen for the one talking the most. So fools in both the pulpit and pew vainly take up the Word of God and try to teach wisdom.

A fool thinks the sound and sense of words are equal – they need no interpretation – so the cripple stumbles into confusion and heresy. Sound bites are good enough for a fool. Why worry about context or the spiritual intent of words, he argues: the Bible means what it says, and says what it means. He does not know or understand the minister’s work of reading distinctly and giving the sense of a reading (Neh 8:8; Eccl 8:1; II Pet 1:20).

A fool thinks reading and study are the same – he assumes thinking and studying are the same – so the cripple falls without due preparation. Anyone should be able to give their opinion, he argues: we are all God’s children and have the Spirit to expound and teach the truth. He has neither the God-given aptitude for the work, nor invests the sweat to save him from doctrinal shame (Pr 15:28; I Tim 3:2; 4:13-15; II Tim 2:15; Tit 1:9).

A fool opens his mouth wide and belches about doctrine and principle – but his life never matches the Scriptures he uses – so the cripple stumbles and falls into the gutter of hypocrisy. He fools some by his loud profession of faith and wisdom, but the Lord Jesus Christ will expose his nakedness in the Day of Judgment (Matt 7:21-23). He fails one of the chief duties of a teacher – to be an example of the truth (I Tim 4:12,16; Tit 2:7).

Is this proverb literally true? Until you have heard a spiritualizing fool with the Song of Solomon or the parable of the Good Samaritan, you cannot appreciate just how ridiculous a dancing cripple can be! Until you hear a fund-raising fool abuse and twist the words of Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish,” you cannot fully grasp the danger and folly of a cripple on a balance beam! This proverb is indeed literally true.

Reader, what lessons can you learn here? Be swift to hear and slow to speak (Jas 1:19). Do not be eager to be a teacher, for they shall receive the greater condemnation (Jas 3:1). Silence is golden, especially if God or men have not called you to be a teacher (Heb 5:4). Make sure your life teaches louder than your words (Matt 23:14-15). Be thankful for God-called teachers and submit to them, for this is God’s means for your learning.

The Lord Jesus was no cripple. His legs were equal and very strong. He was perfectly fit as the greatest teacher of wisdom in the history of the world. His prudent use and interpretation of parables and proverbs was exceptional. He was greater than Solomon. His skill and power in teaching caused men to tremble in amazement and avoid questions (Matt 7:28-29; 22:46; Luke 4:22; John 7:46). Give Him the glory due unto His name.

Wisdom for the Soul – Proverbs 4:23

Posted: June 4, 2013 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Proverbs 04, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

Your heart determines your life. This may be the most important proverb. The favor or grief in your life depends on ruling and training your heart. If you direct and instruct your heart with godly inputs, there is no limit to your potential success before God and men.

Every sin starts in your heart, and your character and speech reflect your heart. You can only pretend to be different than your heart for a short time, for it will quickly regain control and dictate your actions. Others know your heart by your words and choices.

Our heart, our feelings of love and desire-dictates to a great extent how we live because we always find time to do what we enjoy. Solomon tells us to guard our heart above all else, making sure we concentrate on those desires that will keep us on the right path. Make sure your affections push you in the right direction. Put boundaries (Guard Rails) on your desires: don’t go after everything you see. Look straight ahead, keep your eyes fixed on your goal, and don’t get sidetracked on detours that lead to sin.

David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). What a description! This should be your life goal! But David guarded his heart by careful self-examination, confession, prayer, friends, singing, etc. (Ps 4:4; 9:1; 15:2; 17:3; 19:8,12,14; 24:4; 26:2; 27:3,8,14; 28:7; 32:11; 34;18; 37:31; 51:10,17; 57:7; 61:2; 62:8,10; 66:18; 77:6; 84:2; 86:11-12; 101:2-5; 108:1; 111:1; 112:7-8; 119:11,32,36,63,111; 139:23-24; 131:1; 141:4-5).

Your heart is your greatest asset, for it can do more for you than anything else. It is much more than the muscle beating 70 times a minute in your chest. You need to consider and prize the inner, decision-making part of you that loves certain things and chooses to do them over other things. Learn to set your affections on good things (Col 3:2; Matt 6:21).

You can keep your heart good, or you can let it become bad. You can be diligent in this project, or you can be lazy. God’s children have an old man that tempts them to evil, but their new man calls them to godliness. Your heart must decide between the two often. Every person makes a series of choices each day. What are you going to do today?

Whatever is in your heart comes out in your life. If your heart is full of good things, your life will show that goodness; if your heart is full of sinful thoughts, your life will show them. The large tests and decisions you will face many times in life are dependent on your heart, and so are the small choices that you make hundreds of times a day.

Is your heart pure? Are you working to keep it pure today? Do you know that laziness in this matter will bring severe trouble and pain to your life? You must eliminate negative inputs to your heart e.g. Hollywood entertainment, foolish or sinful friends, and worldly music. You should feed your heart with godly music, the Bible, prayer, and holy friends.

Jesus Christ condemned the Pharisees for emphasizing man’s outward appearance; He emphasized man’s heart instead. He said the following in two different places:

O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
Matthew 12:34-35

But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
Matthew 15:18-19

Sin begins in the heart. Lust for a sin attracts your heart, so you think about it. If you think about it enough, you will do it. The result of this choice is death. Protect yourself by keeping your heart diligently from sinful thoughts (James 1:13-16). God sent the Flood to drown the earth for their wicked imagination (Gen 6:5), so hate any evil fantasies.

Think about an evil heart and how it affects the various issues of life. Sexual fantasizing will lead to filthiness, fornication, adultery, or defrauding your spouse – all because you allowed sinful thoughts in your heart. The same is true of bitterness toward others, coveting things you do not have, pride, excess ambition, envy, and other sins like them.

How can you keep a pure heart? Protect it from influences toward sin (Ps 101:3; I Cor 15:33), and supply it with influences toward holiness (Ps 119:11,63; 101:6). Get away from evil things, and spend your time with good thoughts and things (Phil 4:8). This is actually quite simple, but it takes strong personal commitment and discipline to do it.

Since even thinking about foolishness is sin (Pr 24:9), and desiring another woman is adultery in your heart (Matt 5:28), you must often examine your heart with the Lord’s help (Ps 139:23-24). Hiding scripture in your heart by reading, meditation, and memorization will further protect you from sinful thoughts (Ps 119:9,11,15,105).

Jesus Christ sees your heart clearly and fully (Heb 4:12-13), so He will reward diligence if He sees a faithful heart (II Chron 16:9), and He will punish folly if He sees a heart with idols set up in it (Ezek 14:3-8). It is foolish to think He does not see every idea and thought of your heart (Jer 17:9-10; Rev 2:23). He knows you better than you know you.

As David kept his heart, you can keep and perfect your heart. Remember, he was careful and faithful to examine himself, to confess his sins, to pray, to delight in God’s words, to choose only godly friends, to give thanks and sing praises to God. These heart exercises will keep your heart noble and righteous, and keeping it like this will bring God’s favor.

Solomon taught you to work at fearing God each day. He wrote elsewhere, “Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long” (Pr 23:17). The apostle Jude put it this way: “Keep yourselves in the love of God” (Jude 1:21). You can and will stop loving and fearing God, if you allow sin to harden your heart (Heb 3:12-13). Never forget this proverb, and with God’s help and strength, keep your heart diligently.

Wisdom for the Soul – Proverbs 03:30

Posted: June 3, 2013 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Proverbs 03, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Proverbs 3:30 Do not accuse a man for no reason-when he has done you no harm

You better have a good reason to debate, fight, or sue anyone. You may defend yourself if real harm has been done. But God condemns petty, hypocritical, or vengeful responses. There better be significant injury involved, or He will judge you for hatred (Matt 7:1-5).

How serious are the consequences of debating or fighting for no good cause? The great God of heaven hates such contrary, froward, obnoxious, and wicked men (Pr 3:31-32). He curses the families of men that will not get along with others and that like to stir up trouble (Pr 3:33). He will scorn the scorners and promote fools to shame (Pr 3:34-35).

Of course, contentious men always say they have a reason for contending with others. In their perverted sense of justice, they are right to argue, fight, or sue most anyone for damages. But God knows the hearts of all men, and He will despise their petty, personal, hypocritical, or vengeful thoughts. He will be froward to froward men (Ps 18:25-26).

Wisdom includes knowledge and ability to get along with others. Wise men are glorious, because they know they should defer anger and ignore minor offences (Pr 19:11). They know that if they are unmerciful in holding men accountable for their small offences, then God Himself will not forgive them their trespasses (Matt 6:14-15; 18:21-35).

What causes some men to be contentious? Pride! Only pride (Pr 13:10)! It is not an innate sense of justice or righteousness that causes them to criticize, debate, fight, or oppose others. It is the pride of their wicked hearts that refuses to be merciful, refuses to overlook small offences, and refuses to forgive others fully and easily. Pride is damning. You can call it principle if you want, but God and all good men know it is only pride.

How about women that nag? Same thing! Their pride finds pleasure in correcting their husbands. They love to remind him about every fault or mistake he has made. Resenting their role, they show haughtiness and selfishness by contending and brawling. No wonder Solomon repeatedly warned against such women (Pr 19:13; 21:9,19; 25:24; 27:15).

Peace and unity, godly goals of wise men, require overlooking minor offences or faults of others. Only when life or home is threatened is there cause for fighting. Jesus Christ taught that even anger in your heart or name-calling without a righteous cause is murder (Matt 5:21-22)! Let that charge sink in. And responding with force to minor offences is of the same character (Matt 5:38-42). Let someone slap you on a cheek. So what? If someone sues you for your coat, go ahead and give them a cloak as well. Make peace!

In earlier generations of America, children had a godly little rhyme that originated around 1862, “Stick and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” This is exactly the wisdom of this proverb. If you are in danger of having your bones broken, say by an intruder at night, you may defend your home, family and self (Ex 22:2). But being called names only gives you an opportunity to respond in kindness (Rom 12:17-21).

Solomon also taught against vengeance, “Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips. Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work” (Pr 24:19-20). The golden rule taught by Jesus Christ is treating others as you want them to treat you, not the way they may have treated you. Can you by God’s grace flush all revenge and choose to love your enemies?

A contentious spirit is from hell, but a gentle and peaceful spirit is from heaven (Jas 3:14-18). What a great difference! What a glorious opportunity for you show a difference in your character and make a difference in the world. What a precious opportunity and privilege to please God and men and to promote peace wherever you go. What will you do today? Fight over anything? Or forgive everything? Be a peacemaker. Amen.

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