Posts Tagged ‘christianity’


Under Gods Command

Proverbs 14:29 -A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly. 

A quick temper can be like a fire out of control.  It can burn us and everyone else in its path.  Anger divides people. It pushes us into hasty decisions that only cause bitterness and guilt.  Yet anger, in itself, is not wrong.  Anger can be a legitimate reaction to injustice and sin. When you feel yourself getting angry, look for the cause.  Are you reacting to an evil situation that you are going to set right?  Or are you responding selfishly to a personal insult?  Pray that God will help you control your quick temper, channeling your feelings into effective action and conquering selfish anger through humility and repentance.


Under Gods Command

Proverbs 13:03 He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin. 

You have not mastered self-control if you do not control what you say.  Words can cut and destroy.  James recognized this truth when he stated, “The tongue is a small part of the body but makes great boast”. If you want to be self-controlled, begin with your tongue.  Stop and think before you react or speak.  If you can control this small but powerful member, you can control the rest of your body. 


Under Gods Command
Gideon 

Judges 6:06-10 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help.  When the Israelites cried to the LORD because of Midian, he sent them a prophet who said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:  I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors.  I drove them from before you and gave you their land.  I said to you, I am the LORD your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.  But you have not listened to me.  

Again the Israelites hit rock bottom before turning back to God.  How much suffering they could have avoided if they had trusted him! Turning to God shouldn’t be a last resort; we should look to him for help each day.  This isn’t to say life will always be easy.  There will be struggles; but God will give us the strength to live through them.

Lets Bring it Home:  Don’t wait until you’re at the end of your rope.  Call on God first in every situation.


Under Gods Command
Proverbs 10:09 – The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out. 

A consistent course of righteousness will keep a man confident, and he will not stumble in life. But rejecting instruction and wisdom, and choosing his own way, will lead a man to trouble and pain; and this perverse rebellion will be revealed to others.

A sincere and faithful man, who walks righteously before God and men, will be secure in his conscience, in the blessings of God, and in safety from trouble  He is single minded with no fear of detection, for he has never practiced deceit or hypocrisy. He neither fears devils or wicked men, for Jesus Christ is his helper and heaven his home. He will not fear the future, for his heart and steps are fixed in God’s word. He knows that God is with him, regardless of what men may think. He knows that difficulties for other men will not defeat or destroy him. He is confident and safe.

But the man who chooses sin and perverts the way of righteousness will fall at once, and all men will know his secret perversity. To disobey is truly to be perverse, for it is corruption of, and rebellion against, God’s wisdom. Perversity is God’s word for disobedience, and we should respect the seriousness of it.


Under Gods Command
Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me and those who seek me find me.

Lady Wisdom promises love to those who will love her, and she promises to be easily found by those who will seek her early. If you love wisdom, she will love you in return and bless your life. If you seek wisdom, you will find her easily, as she is not far from any man (1:20-23; 8:1-5). What is your problem? Love wisdom and seek her now!

Lady Wisdom in this text makes herself available to all who will love and seek her. What is wisdom? The power of right judgment! What is its basis? The fear of the Lord! Where is wisdom most clearly defined and explained? In the word of God! If a man loves Scripture and seeks it early, he will most certainly find knowledge and understanding.


Under Gods Command

Proverbs 1:8  Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

Our actions speak louder than our words. This is especially true in the home. Children learn values, morals, and priorities by observing how their parents act and react every day. If parents exhibit a deep reverence for and dependence on God, the children will catch these attitudes. Let them see your reverence for God. Teach them right living by giving worship an important place in your family life and by reading the Bible together.


Under Gods Command

Proverbs 30:07-09 “Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

How wise and prudent are you? Do you fear wealth as much as poverty? Do you know that financial success is a vain lie? Here are two of the most important prayer requests you can ever pray! Agur gave inspired instruction to his two students about the danger and deception of money and riches, and your future success and tranquility depends on it.

Agur had a great desire for two petitions (30-7). He knew the dangerous consequences of not obtaining them (30-9). He understood the deceitful and damning nature of both financial success and poverty, so he begged God to deliver him from the arrogance of being rich and from the temptations of being poor. He begged for a moderate income.

Agur prayed for two things: (1) to be saved from vanity and lies, and (2) to obtain only moderate success in life, avoiding both poverty and riches. What vanity and lies are under view? The vanity and lies of riches and success! How so? Let the connection, context, and Bible drive the interpretation (1 Cor 2:13)), since there is no hint at lies of false religion, evolution, false gods, a cheating spouse, hypocrites, perjurers, or other such lies.

Think honestly and wisely about money! It does not satisfy, even when you get lots of it; this is vanity)! It disappears quickly! It corrupts morals! You cannot take it with you. It chokes out and destroys fruitfulness. What vanity! Are you wise enough to believe these warnings and pray against wealth?

A wise man prays for a moderate income and estate, so he can avoid the temptations to sin on either end of the financial spectrum (30-9). He prays for contentment, and he learns contentment, knowing it is the true measure of success. A wise man maximizes life by walking with God, regardless of assets or enemies.

Reader! This advice is only in the Bible! The fools around you adore riches! They have sacrificed their lives to vanity and lies! Add these two prudent requests to your prayers!


Under Gods Command
Disobedience and defeat

Judges 3:10-11 The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, so that he became Israel’s judge and went to war. The LORD gave Cushan-Rishathaim King of Aram into the hands of Othniel who overpowered him. So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.

Othniel was Israel’s first judge. In 1:13 we read that he volunteered to lead an attack against a fortified city. Here he was to lead the nation back to God. Othniel had a rich spiritual heritage-his uncle was Caleb, a man with unwavering faith in God (Numbers 13:30; 14:24). Othniel’s leadership brought the people back to God and freed then from the oppression of the King of Aram, Naharaim. But after Othniel’s death, it didn’t take the Israelites long to fall back into their neighbors’ comfortable but sinful ways.

Lets bring it home: The Holy Spirit is available to all believers today, but he will come upon believers in an extraordinary way for special tasks. We should ask the Holy Spirit’s help as we face our daily problems as well as life challenges


Under Gods Command
Disobedience and defeat

Judges 3:8-9 The Anger of LORD burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim King of Aram Naharaim, to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. But when they cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother who saved them.

Othniel was Israel’s first judge. In 1:13 we read that he volunteered to lead an attack against a fortified city. Here he was to lead the nation back to God. Othniel had a rich spiritual heritage-his uncle was Caleb, a man with unwavering faith in God (Numbers 13:30; 14:24). Othniel’s leadership brought the people back to God and freed then from the oppression of the King of Aram, Naharaim. But after Othniel’s death, it didn’t take the Israelites long to fall back into their neighbors’ comfortable but sinful ways.

Lets bring it home: How many of us, when we win battles by asking other people to pray to for us or even going to God when we need to win a battle forget about Him and go back to our sinful ways after being shown favor.


Under Gods Command
Disobedience and defeat

Judges 3:5-7 The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughter to their sons, and served their gods. The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.

The Israelites discovered that relationships affect faith. The men and women of the surrounding nations were attractive to the Israelites. Soon they intermarried, and the Israelite accepted their pagan gods. This was clearly prohibited by God (Exodus 24:15-17; Deuteronomy 7:1-4). By accepting these gods into their homes, the Israelites gradually began to accept the immoral practices associated with them. Most Israelites didn’t start out determined to be idolaters; they just added the idols to the worship of God. But before long they found themselves absorbed in pagan worship.

Lets bring it home: A similar danger faces us. We want to befriend those who don’t know God but through those friendships we can become entangled in unhealthy practices. Friendships with unbelievers are important, but we must accept people without compromising or adopting their patterns of behavior.