ACCEPTING CORRECTION

 

ACCEPTING CORRECTION

Prov. 10:17 People who accept correction are on the pathway to life, but those who ignore it will lead others astray. NLT

Let’s face it; all of us need correction. No one is beyond the need to be disciplined and straightened out in our thinking. No one ever lives a faultless godly life and no one understands all things clearly. If you do not see yourself in need of correction, you have a pride issue and it is sin.

Correction that is Biblically based and done in love accomplishes much good. It helps us to stay on the pathway of eternal life and to grow. It should be the goal of every believer to live a godly life, to live by the Word of God. It should be natural for us to seek counsel when we are in doubt or are struggling to understand and live out the Word properly.

When we refuse to be corrected, we not only hurt ourselves, we hurt others as well. A person who cannot be corrected is stuck. There is no growth. There is a demeanor that is influenced by his sinful nature. His counsel is flawed due to a lack of wisdom from the Spirit of Christ. There is a lack of the fruit of the Spirit in his life. There often develops a warped understanding of God and the life of holiness. Often such a person is argumentative and refuses to be corrected. He becomes self-righteous, thinking he has no sin and cannot sin. The chances are good that he will lead others away from the Lord as he wallows in his stubbornness.

Only those who are open to new understanding will grow in Christ. Only those who are humble enough to accept they don’t know it all or have it all together will be useful to God. Don’t be led astray. Don’t be so set in your ways that you can’t be corrected. Listen to the wise counsel of others. Let the Spirit of God guide you and teach you the ways of the Lord.

TREASURE KNOWLEDGE

 

TREASURE KNOWLEDGE

Prov. 10:14 Wise people treasure knowledge, but the babbling of a fool invites trouble. NLT

How well do you treasure knowledge? When you treasure knowledge, you put great value on it. He who treasures knowledge is not satisfied with what he already knows. He always is pursuing greater understanding. He knows that he does not know all things and has an open mind so that he can learn new things. Learning becomes a very vital part of living.

When you treasure knowledge, you hold onto it. You diligently watch over what you know and understand lest you forget it or it fades in importance in your life. Wise are those who have built a solid foundation of truth in their lives. Wise are those whose quest for knowledge never dies.

Wise are those who once they know and understand truth stand firmly upon it. There are certain things God reveals to us that we will never fully know or understand, but there are certain things that are universally understood amongst God’s children and we must hold fast to those things. God has never added to or taken away from His Word and He never will. What we don’t understand we hold onto by faith and await the day in which the Lord will remove the scales from off our eyes so we can understand.

Wise people do not need to flaunt what they know. Those who are quick to speak often are like babbling fools. They often have not done their studies and speak out on what they think about things and make fools of themselves. It takes time to work out the truths of the Word. It takes careful thought and meditation to discern truth from error. A person who speaks off the top of his head without clear understanding does more harm than good and needs to be quiet.

Wise people treasure knowledge. They are willing to pay the price of thinking for themselves. They are good students of the Word. They are humble in spirit and are willing to rethink things if the Spirit gives them greater understanding. They willingly discard their old ways of thinking as they mature in faith. Wise people do not hinder the work of the Spirit in them to give them proper understanding of the Scriptures.

RESPECT AND REVERENCE

 

RESPECT AND REVERENCE

Prov. 9:10 Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in understanding. NLT

To fear the Lord means we respect who He is, we revere Him, we regard Him, and we have a revulsion for sin. I don’t believe there is as much respect for God as there should be in our lives. We have sanitized God and put Him in a neat little box in our lives. We give little thought to God as being holy and demanding of our holiness. We limit Him in our thinking to fit into our comfort zone about Him. We want Him to be all love and not a judge of sin.

Can we really say that we revere the Lord? Are we in awe of Him? Do we humble ourselves in His presence? Do we adore Him? Are we overwhelmed by His majesty and glory? Does His power impress you? Wise are those who can see God for who He is and bow in amazement before Him.

For many of us, we don’t regard God as much as we should. We reserve a certain part of our lives for Him and do not engage Him in the rest. We go about our business with little thought of how the Lord should influence what we do. We focus on Him mainly on the Lord’s Day, and then mainly for just an hour or two. Wise are those who are willing to let the Lord into every area of their lives.

Wise are those who do not like sin and strive to keep it out of their lives. They see sin as repulsive. They understand the nature of sin and how it impacts our lives. Rather than cozying up to it, they strive to stay away from it. When we fear God we are sickened by sin and find it to be revolting.

When we fear the Lord like we should, we gain an understanding of what we need to be like in order to enter into His presence. We understand what we need to do in order to have the Lord be with us in life. We take seriously our relationship with God and pursue holiness in living. When we fear the Lord we can then begin to understand just how wondrous and precious our relationship really is. We also discover just how awful and foreboding life is without Him.

If we don’t fear God, we won’t fear hell. And if we don’t fear hell, we will not see sin as being something to avoid. We will treat sin, and thus God’s grace, lightly. The beginning of wisdom is to fear God.

FEAR GOD, HATE EVIL

 

FEAR GOD, HATE EVIL

Prov. 8:13 All who fear the LORD will hate evil. That is why I hate pride, arrogance, corruption, and perverted speech. NLT

How much do you hate evil? How we feel about evil is reflected in how we live. The more we despise evil, the more we will avoid it and strive to live a holy life. Take a moment and think about how you react when evil rears its ugly head. Do you ignore it? Do you tolerate it? Do you indulge in it? Does it repulse you? Do you try to squash it?

Evil is everywhere we are at. We can't avoid it and whether or not we think we are, we are doing something about it. We are either participating in it, condoning it, or resisting it. We cannot be neutral about it. If we are in Christ, we do make choices about it all the time. When we let it entertain us we are choosing it instead of righteousness. When we allow it to go on uncontested around us, we are choosing it instead of righteousness. If we truly hated evil, I suspect things would be quite different in our homes, churches and world.

If we are in Christ, we ought to have strong feelings about evil. We should hate all that robs the soul of life and destroys it. We should not tolerate those who blatantly do evil. We may not be able to stop them, but we certainly can resist the urge to join them in their evil. We can speak up when we have the opportunity. We can urge those who do evil to stop and repent. We can all do something instead of sitting by and letting evil go wild around us.

We forfeit our right to complain about it if we are not willing to do something about it. We who are in Christ must resist it. We must be advocates for righteousness. We must be part of the solution and not the problem. God commands us to be lights in the darkness. When we don't do it, it is sin.

When we have a proper fear of God we will have a proper attitude about evil. We must understand the holiness of God and its impact on how God treats us. God is absolutely holy and He will absolutely judge all sin. It is that which is evil that sends a person to hell. It should frighten us to the point where we keep it out of our hearts and move us to do what we can to get it out of the hearts of others.

CHOOSE WISDOM FROM GOD

 

CHOOSE WISDOM FROM GOD

Prov. 8:10-11 Choose my instruction rather than silver, and knowledge over pure gold. For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can be compared with it. NLT

The world has it all wrong. It measures the worth of people with how much money and stuff they have. Those who have a lot are deemed to be more important than those who don’t (yes, even in the church). They get preferential treatment and envied by those who don’t have as much. The quest of the world is always to get more of what they have. No matter how little or much one has, the desire for more drives them all. The world lives for what money can buy and they lavish in the comforts and things it buys.

Wise are those who don’t buy into the world’s ways. Instead of obsessing one’s life over the riches of earth, one should be obsessed with obtaining the knowledge of heaven. Far better off are those who know the Lord and His ways. Earthly treasures come and go, but God’s truths are eternal. The things we learn from God endure regardless of the circumstances of life.

Those who learn from God gain wisdom from God. They discover how to apply to life the things they learn from God. They learn how to live life in anticipation of eternity. They discover that the only thing that will prepare them for eternity is wisdom from God. They know that eternity is fleshed out in the lives of the believer. They cease to be anxious about what is going on in the world, for they know that God is in control and is working all things out for our good and His glory. They never have to worry about gaining or losing wealth because they possess that which will last forever which nothing can destroy or take from them.

Wisdom is far more valuable than all the wealth of earth combined. It is the only thing that will stand the test of time and keep the soul anchored in Christ. It is essential for our spiritual growth and the key to eternal life. Jesus is our wisdom from God and blessed are those who live in Him.

STAY FOCUSED ON CHRIST

 

STAY FOCUSED ON CHRIST

Prov. 4:25-27 Look straight ahead and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet, then stick to the path and stay safe. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil. NLT

We fall into sin when we lose our focus on Christ. When we let our minds stray, we fall prey to sin. It is that simple. As long as we are focused on Christ, sin does not allure us. When we are captivated by the righteousness and glory of Christ, nothing else matters. When we begin to look around us to see what else is there, we are easily drawn away.

We need to see Jesus who is ahead of us and focus our thoughts on Him. We need to mark out a straight path to Him and stick to it. Many of us keep wandering off because we have not marked off our path. We don’t have a plan on how to stay on the path. We begin our journey without any idea how we are going to make it home to be with our Lord. Shame on us.

In order to walk straight, we must steady ourselves. We must be students and disciples of the Word. We must determine to know as much about God and His Word as we can. We must spend as much time in fellowship with the Lord as we can. We must learn the joys of prayer and stay in constant touch with Him. We must be observant and learn how to appreciate the beauty of our walk. We must develop grateful hearts for our ability to walk and all the help the Lord gives us along the way. We must choose to walk on a straight path and not get sidetracked.

The walk of faith is not an easy one because we have a very alluring enemy who dogs our every step. He has the ability to distract us and allure us away from the path. He is very crafty and will not hesitate to use all of his resources to get us to take our eyes off of Christ. We must be aware of his tactics and determine before we encounter him that we will not let him lure us away from the Lord. We will wander, but when we do we must refocus and resume our walk with the Lord. Keep your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of your salvation.

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR SOUL

 

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR SOUL

Prov. 4:23-27 Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do. Avoid all perverse talk, stay far from corrupt speech. Look straight ahead and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet, then stick to the path and stay safe. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil. NLT

No one can protect your mind and soul but you. God has given you the task of guarding your heart. No one can stay away from the distractions of sin that haunt you but you. No one can say no to sinful temptations for you. YOU must take charge of your heart and protect it from evil. No one is to blame but you if you fail to do it and fall into sin. No one can make you sin but you. It is your choice if you fall into sin. If you neglect your dutiful watch over your soul, you will sin. And, your sin will impact everything you do.

Protect your heart. Don’t use perverse speech; let only those things which honor the Lord come from your mouth. Don’t look around you at the allurements of sin. Don’t let them entice you to sin. Keep your eyes focused on the Lord and Him alone all the time. Stay on course. Don’t stray off the path of righteousness and wander into the mine fields of sin. Stay focused and take control of the path of life you walk on.

Fix your heart and mind on the Lord. Whatever builds you up in the faith and spurs you on to holy living, think about those things. If you do these things, you will find your way to the Lord. And if you don’t, you have no one to blame but yourself for missing out on the Lord and His blessings on your life. You will never find what your soul needs anywhere but in God. Only God can satisfy the longings of your soul.

GUARD YOUR HEART

 

GUARD YOUR HEART

Prov. 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do. NLT

How well are you guarding your heart? What are you doing to protect if? There are several things we all should be doing. We should first of all determine in our hearts that we are not going to let sin in. If the will is not there, nothing else we do is going to matter much. We must make a commitment to the Lord that we are going to strive to protect our hearts. We must watch what we feast on. What goes in through our eyes affects what our hearts are made of. We must be careful what we listen to. What we hear often lodges in our brains and filters down into our hearts. If we don’t make a covenant with the Lord regarding what we see and hear, our hearts will be poisoned with sin.

We guard our hearts by spending much needed time with the Lord in the Word, prayer, worship, and fellowship. We cannot rob ourselves of the time we need with the Lord and expect to have a heart that is right with Him. The more we are with the Lord, the more of Him we assimilate into our lives.

We guard our hearts by spending quality time with other believers. We learn from each other how to live in Christ in a world that hates Christ. We learn that there is joy and peace in Christ. We learn that it does matter to others how we live. We learn that there are others just like us who struggle with living by faith and are doing it. We learn that together we can accomplish great things for the Lord that we can’t do on our own.

Guarding our hearts is not easy and is never ending. We need to always be on the alert for danger. We must never compromise the integrity of our hearts. What is in our hearts affects everything we do and say. And, what we say and do is our witness in the world. In all you do, do it as unto the Lord and you will be blessed.

SHUN EVIL

 

SHUN EVIL

Prov. 4:14-17 Do not do as the wicked do or follow the path of evildoers. Avoid their haunts. Turn away and go somewhere else, for evil people cannot sleep until they have done their evil deed for the day. They cannot rest unless they have caused someone to stumble. They eat wickedness and drink violence! NLT

We have a tendency to put people on a pedestal. We idolize people we don’t even know. We pay no attention to how they live if they are talented and we enjoy their talents. We pay to buy their products and feed on what they offer more than we care to admit. Discernment in the public arena is not one of our strong suits.

Many of the people who are popular and have a measure of fame are unrepentant sinners. Some flaunt their sinful lifestyles with seemingly no shame or remorse. Some blatantly advocate a belief in false gods or untruth. We sometimes follow and support the lives of those who are wicked and going to hell.

Scripture clearly reminds us that we must be more discerning as to whom we let into our minds and influence our hearts. We must be sensitive to the effect others have on us. If we are not being built up in our faith by others, they are tearing us down. Be careful who you let influence you. Your relationship with God is at stake.

Instead of idolizing the wicked, we should be praying for them. They need the Lord just like we do. Unless they repent, they will go to hell. Shouldn’t we care enough for their souls to ask the Lord to convict them of sin? We don’t know what is going on inside of them. What we see may just be a cover-up for the turmoil in their souls. Someone’s salvation may just be a prayer away. Jesus said to look out on the harvest field and pray that the Lord will send laborers into it. Ask the Lord to lay some soul upon your heart to pray for. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous person avails much.

DOING GOOD FOR OTHERS

 

DOING GOOD FOR OTHERS

Prov. 3:27-28 Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them. If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, “Come back tomorrow and then I will help you. NLT

A couple of things strike me from these verses. One is that we are not to withhold good from those who DESERVE it. I don’t believe the Lord would have us treat all people the same. We are to love all people the same, but some people don’t deserve to be treated with a generous spirit. Sadly, there are a lot of people who won’t help themselves and expect others to take care of them. Some people go out of their way to make life miserable for others and who take advantage of them. We need to be wise and discerning in whom we extend favor to.

Having said that, we are to strive to be kind to all and live at peace with them. We do it because it is the nature of God’s love which flows from the heart of those who love Him.

Another observation is that not all people have the means or opportunity to help others. The Lord holds us accountable for our attitude in regards to what we have. If we refuse to help others when we have the power to do so, we will face God’s judgment for it. If we don’t have the means, the Lord does not expect us to deprive ourselves of our daily needs for the sake of others.

If the Lord nudges you to do good for someone, don’t ignore it or put it off. The Lord never leads us to do what we can’t do. He always provides the means to fulfill His will. A generous and giving heart should characterize those who are children of God. But, don’t be foolish; give with discernment. It is not love to give to those who refuse to help themselves. We are to help build each other up, not enable them to continue their self-destructive ways. Seek wisdom and discernment from the Lord and don’t let your emotions determine your actions.

The time to help others is during their time of need. Putting it off may cause you to miss entirely the opportunity to do good and honor Christ.

GOOD PLANNING AND INSIGHT

 

GOOD PLANNING AND INSIGHT

Prov. 3:21-23 My child, don’t lose sight of good planning and insight. Hang on to them, for they fill you with life and bring you honor and respect. They keep you safe on your way and keep your feet from stumbling. NLT

Most of us are not good planners. We react more than we act with a plan. We go through life with little sense of where we want to go or be. It is good enough for us to survive, and we hope along the way we may flourish. However, when we live like this, we struggle to get anywhere. We pretty much are in the same position of life as we were in years gone by and will be until we die.

Today’s verses suggest a better way to live. We need to live with a purpose and plan. We need to proceed with some sense of idea where we are going and why. We need to live today in light of our tomorrows. When we have something to live for, it affects how we live in the present. People are more apt to honor and respect those who live with a purpose than they do those who drift through life.

What is true of life in general is true spiritually. It is imperative for our spiritual health that we apply these truths to our souls. All we do must be with the Lord in view. We must build our lives on the sure foundation of His Word and life. We must always be striving for greater godliness and have a plan in mind as to how we are going to get there. It doesn’t just happen on its own. We must live each day knowing we will have opportunities to get to know the Lord better and seize them. He reveals himself to us in a variety of ways and we must be alert so we can see Him.

We need a plan for our spiritual lives. We must have in place things we do in order to grow in faith and our knowledge of the Lord. We must have a plan, and work it. The more effort we put into spiritual growth, the safer we will be on our journey home. When we live faithfully and diligently before the Lord, he will help us walk on solid ground so we don’t stumble and fall.

He who fails to have a plan and work it for his spiritual health will not make it to heaven.

DISCIPLINE IS GOOD

 

DISCIPLINE IS GOOD

Prov. 3:11-12 My child, don’t ignore it when the LORD disciplines you, and don’t be discouraged when he corrects you. For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. NLT

We never get too old to be disciplined by the Lord. We never get to the point where we don’t need to come underneath God’s corrective hand. Why? Because as long as we are in the flesh, we will be influenced by the flesh. We are prone to slip up and fall. In our weakness, we often aren’t strong enough to resist the temptations that assail us. The Lord disciplines us because we need to understand that we can’t sin and get away with it. Sin is serious business with the Lord and He holds us responsible for it when we do sin.

It is good for us to come underneath the Lord’s discipline. Why? Because it is a testimony of God’s love for us. If He didn’t care for us and love us, He wouldn’t bother to help us with our sin problem. He doesn’t have to discipline us, but because He loves us He does it. We need to thank the Lord when we come underneath His discipline.

Don’t let pride keep you from submitting to the Lord’s discipline. Don’t get discouraged when He reveals to you your sin. Don’t get the idea that God is treating you harshly. He loves you and wants to spare you from a life lived in sin. Remember, sin always carries with it a price to pay. Sometimes the consequences are great and the Lord allows us to bear them in order to teach us not to do it again.

Every time we sin, it’s a chink in the armor of our righteousness. Unless the Lord intervenes, the chink will grow bigger and make us more vulnerable to Satan’s attacks. The more chinks we live with, the more likely we are to sin and wander away from God. Only the Lord can fix the chinks. He can replace the chinks with His righteousness and make us whole again. He loves to do it, but He won’t do it as long as we harbor our sin and don’t submit to His discipline.

Don’t let sin rob you of the joy of your salvation. Confess whatever sin plagues you. He will forgive you and cleanse you from all your unrighteousness. You may have to go through some difficulty in order to learn that you can’t sin and get away with it, but that is a good thing. It teaches us that the Lord loves us and that we need His constant presence and help so that we don’t let sin rule over us.

HONOR THE LORD FIRST

 

HONOR THE LORD FIRST

Prov. 3:9-10 Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything your land produces. Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with the finest wine. NLT

Honor the Lord with your wealth. No matter how much you may or may not have, you are wealthy if you are reading this. A third of the world barely has enough to survive on, let alone thrive. People everywhere are literally starving to death due to a lack of food or resources to buy it. So, the issue is what are we doing with what we have? Are we hoarding our wealth, using it for selfish purposes, letting it slip through our fingers without knowing where it is going, or perhaps relying on it for our security? Does it honor the Lord when we use our wealth with little regard for others or the kingdom of God? How much of what the Lord has entrusted to you do you use for His honor and glory? Do you even give the Lord a tithe offering? What kind of a message are we sending to the Lord when we give Him our leftovers or spare change?

The Lord promises to bless those who honor Him. He promises that we will always have enough to both honor Him and live on. There will never be enough to give to the Lord if we don’t first trust Him and act in faith believing in His keeping His word to us.

And, wealth is not necessarily confined to money. We are rich in so many other ways: intellectually, emotionally, giftedness, etc. Do we strive to honor the Lord in those areas of our lives as well? Are you being a good steward with what the Lord has blessed you with? Are you blessing others with what you have been entrusted with? Honor the Lord first and you will be blessed with enough for your daily needs of life.

SEEK HIS WILL IN ALL YOU DO

 

SEEK HIS WILL IN ALL YOU DO

Prov. 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own wisdom. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your path. NLT

Either you trust the Lord or you don’t. There is no middle ground. If you don’t trust the Lord in all things, how can you say you are trusting in Him? We flee to Him with those things that are too big for us and try to handle things which are within our ability to handle. Is God only able to handle the big things? Or, is He so big that He doesn’t care to be bothered with the little things? Blessed is he who trusts in the Lord with ALL things in his heart.

When we depend on our wisdom, we often don’t do things right. There is so much we don’t know about life and what is before us. We base our actions on what we know, and our knowledge is very limited at best. It is always in our best interest to trust the Lord and not depend on our own wisdom.

When we seek the Lord’s will in all we do, He will direct our path. We cannot expect the Lord to guide us if we don’t seek Him out for guidance. If we are constantly seeking His will, we can be assured that we are in His will for us. He never lets those who are seeking His will wander around outside His will for them. He will lead us on the only path that leads to eternal life. He will not let us lose our way, but we must be willing to let Him lead us. Jesus is the only way to God; every other path leads to hell.

If you do not have the will to trust the Lord with all your heart, you will not know what it is to be led by the Lord in all you do. You cannot have it your way and expect to be on a path that pleases God. You will never find your way home to heaven by walking on the path laid out by you.

We are not wiser than God. Let your heart’s desire be, “Where He leads me, I will follow.”

LOYALTY AND KINDNESS

 

LOYALTY AND KINDNESS

Prov. 3:3-4 Never let loyalty and kindness get away from you! Wear them like a necklace; write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with God and people, and you will gain a good reputation. NLT

I have known those who are loyal and kind and those who aren’t. Those who are loyal and kind hold a very special place in my heart. I count it a privilege to know them and thank the Lord for bringing them into my life. I have friends like that who are both Christian and non-Christian. My life is very rich because of them. When I speak of them, I have nothing but endearment in my heart for them and I want nothing but the best for them. I want to treat them well because of my love for them.

I want to be that kind of a person as well. It is my prayer that others will know me to loyal and kind. It is not something that comes naturally for most of us. However, anyone can become that kind of a friend if they are willing to put forth the effort to do so. It all begins in the heart; the more we live in relationship with Christ, the more natural and easy it becomes.

Notice that it is possible to lose what we should have by nature. Loyalty and kindness can go away from us if we are not careful to protect and keep them. If we allow selfishness to rule our hearts, we will cease to be the kind of a person that others will cherish as a friend and that will please God.

In order for our nature to change, we must be committed to the process of change. We must deliberately seek to be loyal and kind. It may not come easy at first, but the more we do it the easier it becomes. It is within the character of every child of God; all we have to do is to let Christ rule the heart. We must diligently seek Him and strive to please Him. We must let the Lord transform us and wear the transformation like a necklace around our necks. Godliness must become the norm and not the exception in our lives.

He who is loyal and kind finds favor with both God and man. If you are struggling in this area of your life, ask the Lord right now to change you. You will be glad you did.

CRY OUT FOR WISDOM

 

CRY OUT FOR WISDOM

Prov. 2:3-6 Cry out for insight and understanding. Search for them as you would for lost money or hidden treasure. Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD and you will gain knowledge of God. For the LORD grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. NLT

Do you cry out for insight and understanding, or are you satisfied with what little you know? Let’s face it, most of us do not have a deep longing for insight and understanding. We shrug off what we don’t know and don’t try to dig deeper to know. There are many things we cannot know for they are hidden in God, but there are many things He wants us to know that we don’t pursue.

What we do know and understand determines how mature we become in faith. He who knows little will not do well in his walk with the Lord. The more spiritual knowledge and understanding we have in our hearts, the more capable we will be to deal with the many ups and downs of living.

Spiritual knowledge is far more valuable than all the riches of earth. What we learn about the Lord and His ways inspires within us a fear for Him. We learn that God is to respected and treated with reverence. We learn that we are responsible for our living and thinking and must let the Lord have control of them.

Wise is he who seeks the Lord and strives to understand His ways. The more we learn of Him, the more we are able to live lives that are pleasing to Him. The Lord gives wisdom to all who earnestly cry out to Him. He will not deny anyone insight and understanding if they sincerely seek Him.

May your heart hunger and thirst for God today. May your heart cry out for insight and understanding so you can live rightly before Him today and always. Don’t give up on your quest and the Lord will fulfill your longing. Wisdom comes to those who sincerely seek the Lord.

WHAT WISDOM IS

 

WHAT WISDOM IS

Prov. 1:7 Fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. Only fools despise wisdom and discipline. NLT

Wisdom is the right application of knowledge. Knowledge is more than remembering information; it is understanding what we remember. Knowledge of God is obtained by first learning to fear the Lord. If we do not respect who the Lord is, revere Him, or respond to Him as our God, we will never really know what the Lord wants us to know. Life-changing knowledge is rooted in a personal relationship with Christ.

Wisdom is understanding that we need to come underneath God’s discipline from time to time. It is not a pleasant experience, but necessary for our maturity in faith.

Only fools despise wisdom and discipline. To despise is to hate. Fools hate to know what God demands of us. They hate to be told what to do. They hate to have to change their ways to conform to God’s ways. They hate anything to do with a God who takes a personal interest in our lives.

Fools despise God’s loving care who sometimes has to take us to the woodshed because we do wrong. They want a God who loves us always and never interferes with us when we don’t return his love in obedience. Fools hate to bow before God. They want instead to live as if they themselves were God.

May we be a people who fear the Lord. May we become a people who have great knowledge, who seek to know the ways of the Lord and live by them. May we be a people who welcomes the Lord’s discipline, knowing that is needed for our relationship with God to grow, no matter how painful it may seem to be at the moment.

LONGING FOR SALVATION

 

LONGING FOR SALVATION

Ps. 119:166 I long for your salvation, Lord, so I have obeyed your commandments. NLT

If you really want to live in Christ, you must obey God's Word. The ending of our salvation is not at Calvary; it's in heaven. Calvary is only the beginning of the process of salvation. It is those who stay in the process and die in the faith that will be with the Lord in heaven. Repentance without evidence of it is merely words spoken. Those who are being saved are living by God's Word. If heaven is the longing of your heart, you must live in obedience to God's Word.

A true child of God has an insatiable longing to be with God, both now and forever. You cannot be a child of God and be okay with not having fellowship with God in this life. You long to be near to the heart of God. You long to learn from Him. You long to be loved and taken care of by Him. You long to be a channel of Him in the world. You long to worship Him through the way you live life. You long to honor Him and bring Him glory in all you do.

In other words, a true child of God is so intertwined with God that they become inseparable in life. God is the main focus and passion of his life. He lives in obedience to God all the days of his life and anxiously awaits the day in which his faith will give way to sight.

Are you longing for the completion of your salvation, for that day in which your faith will give way to sight and you are literally in the presence of the Lord forever and ever? Are you preparing for that day by the way you are living today?

PEACE AND STEADINESS

 

PEACE AND STEADINESS

Ps. 119:165 Those who love your law have great peace and do not stumble. NLT

The law sheds great light on our souls. It exposes our sins and commands our allegiance to God’s ways. When we love the law, we are agreeing that it is good for us. It is good that our sins be exposed and we are found to be unworthy of a relationship with God. In order for us to know saving grace, we must first know that we desperately need it. We must know that all of our righteousness, all the things we try to do to please God, are as filthy rags. None of us can please God on the merit of our efforts to do good things.

We who love the law do so because it compels us to flee to Christ. We quickly learn that we need Christ to save us. We learn that there is no other way to find favor with God than Jesus. We learn from the law that it is God’s way and no other way.

When we learn to appreciate God’s ways and strive to live by them, we have great peace in our souls. We know all is well between us and God because we discover in Jesus the ability to live righteously before God. Jesus fulfills all of the demands of the law and in Him we know that all is well with our souls. There is no greater peace than to know that God is with us. And, when God is with us, we do not fall down and stay down.

The Lord holds us up and keeps us steady when we live submissively and obediently. We may lose our balance and stumble, but Jesus never lets us stay down. He picks us up, wipes us off, and sends us on our way again, with Him as our guide and strength.

The law is given to help guide us on our way. Learn to love and appreciate it. With Jesus helping us, we know the peace that passes all human understanding. We know the peace that comes from being right with God.

LOVING GOD'S LAWS

 

LOVING GOD’S LAWS

Ps. 119:165 Those who love your law have great peace and do not stumble. NLT

Two wonderful things God's law does for those who love it: it gives them great peace and it keeps them from stumbling. The first thing we notice is that we must love the law of God. Can you honestly say you love it? You spend time with what and whom you love. You want to spend time with them. You want to learn from them. You want to absorb all that you can from their presence. You want to enjoy and savor what they bring into your life.

In order to have a healthy relationship with God, you must have a passion for His Word. It must captivate your soul. It must permeate your thinking. It must govern your living. If you love the Lord, you will love His Word and you will know the peace of God.

The peace of God is different than any kind of peace found on earth. His peace is a great peace. What makes it great is the knowledge that all is well with one's soul. When we are listening to what God is saying, we are hearing from the absolute authority over all things. We are listening to the One who knows. Hearing from God and doing what He says assures us of our right standing before Him. Nothing can compare to the peace that comes from knowing we are living a life that pleases God, before whom we shall all give an account someday.

The more we let the Word govern our lives, the less likely we are to stumble along the way. We stumble and fall when we don't listen to God. His law is perfect and if we obey it, we will not stumble. God's Word is His perfect standard for living. Obeying it is our only surefire way to not stumble. The Word never fails us; we fail the Word.

Living out the Word keeps us steady in our walk with the Lord. It is why it is so important for us to stay connected daily with God through His Word. We tend to easily forget what we know to be true and need daily reminders of it. We tend to be weak in spirit and need the strength God's Word provides for us. We tend to let our own ideas influence our steps and we need the Word to keep us in line with God's ways. Take God's Word lightly or neglect it and you will stumble and fall.

ALL GOD SAYS IS TRUE

 

ALL GOD SAYS IS TRUE

Ps. 119:160 All your words are true; all your laws will stand forever. NLT

ALL means all. There is not one word God has recorded in the Scriptures that is not true. Like it or not, God has declared what is truth. He who tries to water it down or adapt it to fit his own desires does so at the risk of his soul.

Not one of God's laws will falter. God's ways and thoughts are unchangeable. God's Word will outlast all of creation. God is absolute truth. He is eternal Truth. He is the same truth that He always has been and always will be.

It is imperative for us to strive to understand the words of God as written. It is not our opinions that matter, nor is it an option for us to try to make it say what we want it to say. Many things God has spoken are beyond our ability to understand, but that gives us no right to question its authenticity or authority over us. We must study it diligently under the Spirit's guidance to try and discern what is being said. And if we can't understand some things, we know they are true because God said it and we accept them by faith.

Wise is he who is humble enough to admit he doesn’t have perfect understanding of all things. Our understanding is limited by our feeble minds. We understand things based on our own experiences and teachings in life. Wise is he who lets the Word speak for itself and accepts it as truth simply because God inspired it to be written. The more time I spend in the Word, the more I discover how limited my understanding really is. Often, the Lord speaks to me in ways that are outside of my comfort zone of understanding. It is by faith and not our sight that we are able to gain an understanding of God’s Word.

God gives us opportunity and all the resources we need to learn truth and He will hold us accountable for what we do with our opportunities. Ignorance is not an excuse for those who have been given opportunity and squander it away. All of God’s words are eternally true and will outlast all of our understandings of it.

LORD, YOU ARE MINE!

LORD, YOU ARE MINE!

Ps. 119:157 LORD, you are mine! I promise to obey your words! NLT

Can you make that declaration today? Can you emphatically say and mean it that the Lord is yours today? Do you really know it to be true? Upon what basis do you make your claim? Do you know your sins are forgiven and are no more? Can you honestly say that the Lord has changed you from the inside out and you are forever a different person than you were before you gave your heart to Him?

If so, stop right now and thank Him. Thank Him for His loving you so much that He was willing to die on the cross for your sins. Thank Him for all that He went through to make you His own—the enormous physical, mental, emotional, and most of all, spiritual suffering that He endured for you. Thank Him for His eternal love—a love that is unconditional, unchanging, and never dies. Thank Him for His constant work within you—chiseling away at your old self to make you into a holy person, a person after God's own heart.

You know Him and His love for you. Do you love Him? How does He know that you love Him? Do you tell Him that you love Him? How often do you say it? You can't say it enough. He longs to hear you say it. How do you show Him your love? It's one thing to say it and it's another thing to show it. If you really love Him, you will show it. You will strive to obey His Word to the very best of your ability and you will strive to always live a consistent, godly life. Actions speak louder than words.

If you truly love the Lord, you will honor Him and respect Him. You will not take advantage of His grace. You will allow Him to use you as a love channel to others, a vessel of grace. You will guard carefully your soul so that you don't shame Him. You will strive to always keep sin out so that He will be comfortable in your presence. If you love Him, you will take your faith in Him seriously and strive to always work out your salvation in a way that pleases Him.

You are mine! I pray that you can make that statement today from the very steps of your heart.

THE WICKED ARE FAR AWAY

THE WICKED ARE FAR AWAY

Ps. 119:155 The wicked are far from salvation, for they do not bother with your principles. NLT

When people ignore God's Word there are predictable results. They live lives of sin. They reject and often scorn the Gospel message. They stay away from God's house. They put all their investments in the world and what it offers. They show no concern for eternity or the status of their souls. They oppose the Gospel and those who live it. Many go out of their way to try to silence the Gospel and her messengers. They fall deeper and deeper into the evil world. They wander so far away from God that most do not ever find their way to Him.

The reason why it's so important for us to be active students of the Scriptures is so that we don't start drifting away from God and wander into the cesspool of sin. We do not have the wisdom, willpower, or ability, to stay away from sin without God's Word to guide us. God will help those who are willing to help themselves. The better we know the Scriptures, the better chance we have of staying away from sinful living. You can be assured that everyone who is wicked in heart is that way because they have not sought the Lord through His Word. There is no hope of the wicked being saved as long as they refuse to be bothered by God's Word.

The more consistent you are in daily reading and meditating on God’s Word, the more likely you will be to stay out of the clutches of wickedness. Deprive your mind and soul of God’s Word and you will wander away from God and fall into the cesspool of sin.

GOD'S UNCHANGING DECREES

 

GOD’S UNCHANGING DECREES

Ps. 119:152 I have known from my earliest days that your decrees never change. NLT

When did you first understand that God's Word never changes? Or, have you ever paused to consider whether or not it's true? If there was any chance at all that God's Word could change, we could not trust any part of it to be true. We would never be able to trust that what it proclaims about God and His ways are true. We would always be in a quest to discern what to believe and not to believe. We could never be sure that our decisions were the right ones. There would be no absolute standard upon which to build our lives. We would be no better off than any other form of life on earth.

God's Word and ways never change. God never goes back on His Word. He had it written exactly what He meant to be written. It is sin to try and adapt the Word to fit what we want it to say. We do not have the wisdom, right, or authority to try and make it say what we want it to say. It is absolute truth from beginning to end.

It is becoming increasingly popular to question what God says. Many people take things out of context to make the Scriptures say what it doesn't say. Many pick and choose what they want to believe and live by. Many will compromise the Word to fit our culture and times in order not to offend certain people. Many refuse to believe that the Scriptures are indeed truth from God.

If we don't have absolute confidence in the authenticity of the Word, we have nothing to stand on and live by. If God has not spoken clearly to all people of all times in the same way, man becomes his own god. There is no absolute truth; everybody is able to determine for themselves what is right and wrong. We see the end result of this way of thinking all around us. There are a multitude of belief systems, all claiming to be truth from God. There are a multitude of religions who deny the Word as God's final authority for belief and practice. Truth is adapted to fit the sinful desires of people, all in the name of God. God's character is distorted and He is deemed to be a God of love who embraces all people and invites them into His kingdom just as they are, without repentance or change.

God's Word is non-negotiable and non-changeable. God says what He means and means what He says. If you have a problem with that, then you have a problem with God. Take your complaints to Him, not me. I stand unmovable on the absolute authority and authenticity of God's Word. ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God. He didn't need man's help in deciding what truth is when He moved man to write it, and He doesn't need man's help in deciding now what truth is.

God has spoken to us by the Word. It behooves us to accept it, learn it, and strive to live by it.

GOD'S PROMISES TESTED

 

GOD’S PROMISES TESTED

Ps. 119:140 Your promises have been thoroughly tested; that is why I love them so much. NLT

One thing that we have in common with all humanity is that everyone goes through times of life that are not easy. Everyone needs help beyond themselves from time to time. For the believer, we find our greatest source of help comes from God's Word.

A multitude of saints who have gone before us have had to put God's Word to the test as they struggled through life. There has never been a time in history in which God's people have not needed wise counsel and renewed hope from God. For most who have preceded us, life has been very harsh. People have been harassed and killed for centuries because of their faith. There is not one promise of God that has not been put to the test over the years. And, every promise of God has been proven to be trustworthy.

Everyone who stands on the promises of God knows that they shall not fall. God always does what He says He will do. He never fails to see His children through whatever they may face in life. Over and over again, God's children proclaim His faithfulness. When difficulties arise, we don't always recognize the workings of God in our crisis. But as we make it through and look back, we can clearly see the hand of God on our lives. We see that God's promises are trustworthy all the time.

Don't you just love God's promises? There are promises of God to see us through every situation of life. They remind us of a God who cares. They speak of God's ability. They speak of God's desire to be involved in every part of our lives. They speak to our needs today and the life that is still to come. They are rich in wisdom and they guide us through life. Hold them close. Let them govern your heart. Let them captivate you and thrill your soul. Let them hold you steady in the storms of life.

A word of caution: when claiming the promises of God, be sure that the promise is for you to claim. Some promises were given only to the house of Israel and to try to make them fit into our situations does not work. Wrong applications of God’s promises lead to wrong doctrine which leads to misled people which leads to a people who question the truthfulness of God’s Word. Study God’s Word and understand the context in which promises are given for us to live by.

GUIDED BY GOD'S WORD

 

GUIDED BY GOD’S WORD

Ps. 119:133 Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by any evil. NLT

Our only protection from evil is to let the Lord take His Word and direct our paths. We are not capable of “winging it" on our own and staying pure before God. If you are not asking the Lord to take His Word and lead you through your journey of life, you are depriving your soul of its very essence for life. You cannot sustain a relationship with God without His Word. You will do nothing but starve yourself to death and give Satan fertile ground upon which to thrive. You will succumb to evil if you neglect God's Word in your life. Guaranteed.

You cannot be led by the Word unless you know the Word. You cannot know the Word without reading and meditating on it. If you don't put in the time, you will do the crime, it's as simple as that. No one has the strength of soul to resist temptation apart from the Word of God. Without the Word to guide us, we will be easily led astray. The Word shows us the pathway to holiness. We learn what not to do and what to do. God does not lead us into confusion. He clearly marks out the path for us to follow. It is imperative for the health of our souls that we equip ourselves with a working knowledge of God's Word.

We choose daily whether we will be overcomers of evil or victims to it. We choose daily whether or not we will arm ourselves with the Word or not. No one has any excuse. We have time for what we want. There is no activity on earth that is more important for the life of the soul than God's Word. If there is the will to spend time in the Word, there will be a way. Adjustments may have to be made in daily routines, but there is a way. Does your relationship with God mean enough to you for you to do it?

TREMBLE IN FEAR

 

TREMBLE IN FEAR

Ps. 119:120 I tremble in fear of you; I fear your judgments. NLT

For the most part, we no longer fear God, which I believe is strange. Think about it. God, the creator and source of all that is, calls us unto himself. God, who spoke all things into being by the power of His word beckons us to come to Him. God, who is the judge of every person who has ever lived, holds us accountable for how we live before Him. We will be judged by His holy standards, and yet, we do not fear Him? It makes no sense at all to me.

One of the big contributors to how far we have fallen into sin is our lack of fear of God. We chide the hellfire and brimstone preachers of the past, yet when they began to fade, we quickly began to travel on the slippery road to moral destruction. When the Church lost her sense of fear of God, she became lax with sin and began to excuse it under the guise of God being a god of love and mercy, full of grace. For some, it has led them to believe God would not even send anyone to hell, which has led many to even question whether or not hell even exists.

A lack of fear leads to a lack of respect. God ceases to be the holy judge and becomes our friend who would never exclude us from His fellowship in heaven. God has become less relevant in our lives and we scarcely consider it important to stay in touch with Him. Because we do not fear Him, we do not consider reading the Bible and prayer essential parts of our lives.

There is a desperate need in the Church today for a resurrection of our fear of God. We will continue to drift away from Him and water down the Gospel message if we don't. Each one of us will stand before God and give an account for how we have lived our lives and our eternal destiny will be determined on the basis of our righteousness in Christ, our holy living.

Do you fear God? Does it cause you to tremble knowing that He will determine whether or not you will spend eternity in heaven or hell? Does it cause you to tremble knowing that He will judge us by His standards? If not, perhaps you need to reconsider who God is and your accountability to Him for how you live.

DETERMINED TO OBEY

 

DETERMINED TO OBEY

Ps. 119:112 I am determined to keep your principles, even forever, to the very end. NLT

How determined are you really? Do you just say you are, or do you actually strive to live by God's principles? Let us pause for a moment today and think about this. In order to live life God's way, we must be quite familiar with what His principles are. We must understand what God demands of us before we can apply them to life. We must study them enough that we know them by heart.

Once we know them, we must embrace them. It's not enough to recall God's principles with our minds; we must want to live by them with our hearts. The desire to live by them comes from a genuine love commitment to God. It involves time spent alone in fellowship with Him. It involves a desire to please and honor Him with our lives.

God's ways become our way for life. We determine in our hearts to live by God's rules daily, all the days of our lives. We so value their role in our lives that all that really matters to us is to let them be who we are in the world. They become how we live and govern how we think about things. In other words, we so identify ourselves with God and His ways that they become our natural selves. We are clearly seen as a people after God's own heart, a holy people.

How determined are you to let God's principles be your guide and identity in life? Do you live consistently by God’s principles or just when it’s convenient for you to do so? Are you in private who you strive to be public? Can you honestly say that who you are and what you do are determined by God and not yourself or the world around you? Are God’s ways your way of life?

GOD'S LAMP AND LIGH T

 

GOD’S LAMP AND LIGHT

Ps. 119:105-106 Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. I've promised it once, and I'll promise it again; I will obey your wonderful laws. NLT

I wonder, how brightly does God's Word shine on the path of your life? Is it barely noticeable, or can everyone tell that you are influenced and driven by it? Does God's Word keep you from sinning, or are you prone to wander away from its truths? Do you rely on it to keep you pure in heart, or does it even matter to you?

God gives us His Word to show us the way to Him. It reveals our sinfulness and His holiness. It instructs us on how to get to God. It forces us to look inward and deal with the sin it exposes. It shows us what we must be doing in order to be found acceptable to God. It magnifies God. The Word strips us of our excuses and leads us into holy living.

Do you know God's Word better than any other source of knowledge you may have? Think about it for a moment. In order to do certain jobs or to use certain skills, we had better know what we are doing. We spend a lot of time, energy, effort, and often money learning how to do what we do in life for a living. Some of us become quite knowledgeable and skilled on how to do our tasks. Why do we pursue those things and so often neglect to put an equal or greater amount of time into learning Biblical truth and how to apply it to life? After all, what is more important, our knowledge of the ways of the world or the ways of God?

The ability of God's Word to light our path and influence our lives is dependent on the time and effort we put into knowing it and living it. You can pretty much tell who does and who does not spend quality time in the Word by how they handle life and the wisdom they have. Obedience is not possible without a consistent quality time in the Word. And, I do not believe that there can be quality time without quantity time. It takes time to discover the truths of God that are there in His Word.

Do you dare make a promise to God today that you will get to know the Word and live it?

GOD'S ENDURING WORD

 

GOD’S ENDURING WORD

Ps. 119:89-90 Forever, O Lord, your words stand firm in heaven. Your faithfulness extends to every generation, as enduring as the earth you created. NLT

All of creation as we know it will one day cease to be. God promises to create a new heaven and a new earth after He purges the world of sin. We look at the world we live on, the stars in the sky, and the planets scattered throughout the universe and we see what man has seen for centuries. We are lulled to sleep thinking nothing is ever going to change, but it will. We don't know what the future habitat for mankind will be like. We can only imagine some it as it is revealed in the Scriptures.

The only thing we know for certain about what will be is that God and His Word are eternal. What God has spoken in the past holds true for today and will be true forever. We cannot count on a whole lot in this life, but we can always count on God and His Word. God said exactly what He meant to say and He means every word of it. God's Word is binding because God is never changing. He is as He always has been and always will be.

We can apply the Word to our lives with confidence because we know it comes from God and is meant for us today. We know it has proven to be true in every generation and it is impossible for it to ever fail.

"Thank you, O Lord, for great is your faithfulness through all generations. Thank You for your Word which governs our lives and leads us safely home to your presence. Help us to always let it teach and guide us in your ways, O Lord. In Jesus' name. Amen."