Posts Tagged ‘theology’

Proverbs 31:1-3 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: May 31, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Proverbs 31:1-3 The sayings of King Lemuel-an oracle his mother taught him “O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows, do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin kings.

The queen mother appealed to her son King Lemuel as only a mother can do and warned him against the greatest threat to his life and reign – women. Kings, due to their power and riches, were great objects of seduction by whorish women. Kings, by their power and riches, lived luxuriously, which promoted lascivious living and the lusts of their eyes and flesh. This great mother despised whores and warned her son against them.

Kings ruled nations, raised armies, and conquered empires. Kings are the greatest rulers in history. They made weighty decisions that affected the lives of those in and out of their kingdoms. They had absolute authority of life and death over every citizen. To influence a king was to influence nations and the lives of millions. For a king to become infatuated with a woman was to give his strength, duty, and honor to the base lusts of his loins!

How many kings have been destroyed by evil women affecting their decisions? Or would it be easier to ask how many kings have not been so affected! The threat was real; the historical record bleak; and the consequences terrible. Kings, and all men in authority, must be stricter and stronger in resisting women than other men. Power is an aphrodisiac and an opportunity for the flesh. On these two counts men in leadership roles must be vigilant. They must deny the flesh to keep themselves, their offices, and their charges.

King Lemuel’s mother knew good women, for she wrote the loftiest description of the most perfect woman ever imagined (31:10-31) She wanted her son the king to have one woman – a virtuous, God-fearing woman – to be his wife. She did not desire a harem for him. She did not allow thoughts of mistresses. She despised concubines and courtesans. She knew his success depended on one great woman as his wife. Consider it well, men!

Samson was judge of Israel, but the conniving whore Delilah brought him down to terrible destruction. David had a harem of wives; but taking the wife of one of his best friends brought him sore trouble, nearly destroyed his kingdom, and cost him dearly for the rest of his life. His son Solomon followed David’s horrible example against his own wisdom and is left in ignominy and shame in the Bible (1 Kgs 11:1-11; Numb 13:26).

What are the lessons? Great mothers warn their sons plainly about the danger of whorish women. Great men, especially in positions of authority or leadership, must take extra precautions to be vigilant against this dangerous threat. And if women can destroy gifted rulers, common men should be even more careful. Great women will realize their sexual power and restrain it diligently for righteous purposes only with their husbands.

There is only one King never moved by evil. David wrote of his distant Son, “He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain” (II Sam 23:3-4). Jesus Christ is that perfect king. Tempted in all points like other men, He never sinned (Heb 4:15).

Proverbs 30:07-09 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: May 30, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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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!

Proverbs 24:17-18 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: May 24, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command
Proverbs 24:17-18 Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or the LORD will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him.

David, Solomon’s father, refused to gloat over the death of his lifelong enemy Saul. On the other hand, the nation of Edom rejoiced over Israel’s defeat and was punished by God for their attitude. To gloat over other’s misfortune is to make yourself the avenger and to put yourself in the place of God, who alone is the real judge of all the earth.

Proverbs 23:19-21 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: May 23, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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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.

Over drinking 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 (1 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).

Spiritual Training 22 May 2012

Posted: May 22, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Judges, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command
Disobedience and defeat

Judges 4:1-3 After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the LORD. So the LORD sold them into the hands of Jabin, a King of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. Because he had nine hundred iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the LORD for help.

Israel sinned “in the eyes of the LORD. “Our sins harm both others, and ourselves but all sin is ultimately against God because it disregards his commands and his authority over us. When confessing his sin David prayed, “Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (Psalm 51:4). Recognizing the seriousness of sin is the first step toward removing it from our lives.

This is the only time during the period of the judges when the Israelites enemies came from within their land. The Israelites had failed to drive out all the Canaanites. These Canaanites had regrouped and were attempting to restore their lost power. If the Israelites had obeyed God in the first place and had driven the Canaanites from the land, this incident would not have happened.

Chariots were the tanks of the ancient world. Made of iron or wood, they were pulled by one or two horses and were the most feared and powerful weapons of the day. Some chariots even had razor-sharp knives extending from the wheels designed to mutilate helpless foot soldiers. The Canaanite army had 900 iron chariots. Israel was not powerful enough to defeat such an invincible army. Therefore, Jabin and Sisera had no trouble oppressing the people-until a faithful woman named Deborah called upon God.

Spiritual Training 15 May 2012

Posted: May 15, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Judges, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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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.

Spiritual Training 14 May 2012

Posted: May 14, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Judges, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command
Disobedience and defeat

Judges 3:1-5 These are the nations the lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): The five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the LORD’s commands, which he had given their forefathers through Moses.

We learn from Chapter 1 that these enemy nations were still in the land because the Israelites had failed to obey God and drive them out. Now God would allow the enemies to remain in order to “test” the Israelites; that is, to give them an opportunity to exercise faith and obedience. By now the younger generation that had not fought in the great battles of conquest was coming of age. It was their job to complete the conquest of the land. There were many obstacles yet to be overcome in their new homeland. How they would handle these obstacles would be a test of their faith.

Lets bring it home: Perhaps God has left obstacles in our life – hostile people, difficult situations, baffling problems – to allow you to develop faith and obedience.

Spiritual Training 08 May 2012

Posted: May 8, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Judges, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command
Disobedience and defeat

Temple prostitution and child sacrifice were a part of the worship of these Canaanite idols. This generation of Israelites abandoned the faith of their parents and began worshiping the gods of their neighbors. Many things can tempt us to abandon what we know is right. The desire to be accepted by our neighbors can lead us into behavior that is unacceptable to God. Don’t be lulled into compromise or pressured into disobedience.

Judges 2:12-15 They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the LORD to anger because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. In his anger against Israel the LORD handed them over to raiders who plundered them. He sold them to their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist, Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the LORD was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.

To worship an idol violated the first two of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-6) The Canaanites had gods for almost every season, activity, or place. To them, the Lord was just another god to add to their collection of gods. Israel by contrast, was to worship only the Lord. They could not possibly believe that God was the one true God and at the same time bow to an idol. Idol worshipers could not see their god as their creator because they created it. These idols represent sensual, carnal, and immoral aspects of human nature. God’s nature is spiritual and moral. Adding the worship of idols to the worship of God could not be tolerated.

Spiritual Training 03 May 2012

Posted: May 3, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Judges, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command
Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites

Judges 2:1-3 The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers. I said, I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars. Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.

This event marks a significant change in Israel’s relationship with God. At Mount Sinai, God made a sacred and binding agreement with the Israelites called a covenant (Exodus 19:5-8).

Because they rejected and disobeyed God, the agreement to protect them was no longer in effect. But God wasn’t going to abandon his people. They would receive wonderful blessings if they asked God to forgive them and sincerely followed him again.

Although God’s agreement to help Israel conquer the land was no longer in effect, his promise to make Israel a nation through whom the whole world would be blessed (fulfilled in the Messiah’s coming) remained valid. God still wanted the Israelites to be a holy people (just as he wants us to be holy), and he often used oppression to bring them back to him, just as he warned he would (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28).

The book of Judges records a number of instances where God allowed his people to be oppressed so that they would repent of their sins and return to him.

Too often people want God to fulfill his promises, while excusing themselves from their responsibilities. Before you claim God’s promises, ask, “Have I done my part?”

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

Spiritual Training 02 May 2012

Posted: May 2, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Judges, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command
Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites

Judges 1:28 When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into force labor but never drove them out completely.

Tribe after tribe failed to drive the evil Canaanites from their land. (Judges 1: 29-35) Whey didn’t they follow through and completely obey God’s commands?

1. They had been fighting for a long time and were tired. Although the goal was in sight, they lacked the discipline and energy to reach it.
2. They were afraid the enemy was too strong-the iron chariots seemed invincible,
3. After Joshua’s death, power and authority were decentralized to the tribal leaders, and the tribes were no longer unified in purpose.
4. Spiritual decay had infected them form within. They thought they could handle the temptation and be more prosperous by doing business with the Canaanites.

We, too, often choose to tolerate sin rather than drive it from our lives. We may know what to do but just don’t follow through. This results in a gradual deterioration of our relationship with God. In our battles, we may grow tired and want rest, but we need more then a break from our work. We need to know that God loves us and has given us a purpose for life. Victory comes from living according to his purpose, willing to fully obey him.

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