Archive for the ‘Under Gods Command’ Category


Under Gods Command

Proverbs 27:6 – Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.

Who would prefer a friend’s wounds to an enemy’s kisses? Anyone who considers the source. A friend who has your best interest at heart may have to give you unpleasant advice at times, but you know it is for your own good. An enemy, by contrast may whisper sweet words and happily send you on your way to ruin. We tend to hear what we want to hear, even if an enemy is the only one who will say it. A friend’s advice, no matter how painful, is much more valuable.


Under Gods Command

Proverbs 26:20 Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.

Talking about every little irritation or piece of gossip only keeps the fires of anger going. Refusing to discuss them cuts the fuel line and makes the fires die out. Does someone continually irritate you? Decide not to complain about the person and see if your irritation dies from lack of fuel.


Under Gods Command

John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up at the last day.

God, not man, plays the most active role in salvation. When someone chooses to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, he or she does so only in response to the urging of God’s Holy Spirit. God does the urging; then we decide whether or not to believe. Therefore no one can believe in Jesus without God’s help.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; (6) in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.


Under Gods Command
Proverbs 23:19-21 Listen, my son and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path. Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

Overdrinking or overeating will make you poor. Young men are especially vulnerable to these temptations, as most any American college fraternity will prove. Solomon, the wise Preacher and father, warned his son against these two evils and their destructive effects on a man’s career and finances. America, the land of plenty and then some, is a prime breeding ground for both of these corrupting excesses. Let every young man beware!

Consider the context. The inspired father asked his son to hear, be wise, and choose what is right (23:19). He warned him against drunkards and gluttonous eaters (23:20). He also exhorted his son to honor both parents (23:22), put a priority on wisdom (23:23), and to consider the great joy a wise life could give his parents (23:24-25). So great is the danger of these foolish, youthful lusts, he forbad even associating with such sinners (23:20).

Young men think drunkenness is cool – because they are childish, foolish, and ignorant (22:15). They actually boast about getting sick and puking on themselves! They revel in how long their hangovers last! But the great God considers it sinful and stupid. Drinking until you are drunk is a sin against heaven (I Cor 6:9-11; Gal 5:19-21; Eph 5:18), and it is stupid for the painful consequences such drinking brings (23:29-35; 31:4-5).


Under Gods Command

John 6:40 – For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

Those who put their faith in Christ will be resurrected from physical death to eternal life with God when Christ comes again.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; (6) in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.


Under Gods Command

Proverbs 21:06 A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.

Honesty in business and finances is wisdom. The apparent advantage of deceit is only an illusion. It is a vanity – worthless without value. It will not work. The perceived gain will be lost, and the LORD will judge those who lie for monetary advantage. To choose this approach is the same as desiring death and destruction.


Under Gods Command

John 6:39 – And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.

Jesus said he would not lose even one person whom the Father had given him. Thus anyone who makes a sincere commitment to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior is secure in God’s promise of eternal life. Christ will not let his people be overcome by Satan and lose their salvation.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; (6) in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.



Under Gods Command

John 6:37-38 -All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.

Jesus did not work independently of God the Father, but in union with him. This should give us even more assurance of being welcomed into God’s presence and being protected by him. Jesus’ purpose was to do the will of God, not to satisfy Jesus’ human desires. When we follow Jesus, we should have the same purpose.


Under Gods Command

Proverbs 20:06 – Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?

 
Talk is cheap. Your boasting is worthless. Your history is irrelevant. True character is measured by present actions and results, not by self-praise, past events, explanations, or excuses (20:11). Yet fools talk more than wise men (14:33; 29:11), and sluggards talk more than hard workers (26:16). Most men love themselves and will quickly tell you how gifted and faithful they are, but real performers as measured by the Bible are very rare.
Don’t tell about your job performance. Let a promotion tell it! Don’t brag about your great marriage. Let your spouse spread it! Don’t tell about your personal holiness. Let your fruits and persecution prove it! Don’t tell about your charity and kindness to others. Let your number of devoted friends be the measure! Don’t tell how much you can be trusted. Let your credit score tell the truth. Don’t tell how much you fear and love God. Let your changed life and the testimony of others prove it (I Thess 1:6-10; I John 2:4)!