A Holy God (Studies in Proverbs)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/31/2013 7:53 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  A Holy God

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Studies in Proverbs

            Message of the verses:  Today we begin looking at the last chapter in Dr. Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on the book of Proverbs.  As mentioned on many occasions in my SD’s I use Dr. Wiersbe’s commentaries to aid me in the study of the Word of God.  Dr. Wiersbe has a way of making difficult things seem a lot easier and it has been said of him that he puts the cookies on the shelf where you can reach them.  I have also mentioned that after looking at the first seven chapters in the book of Proverbs on a verse by verse way of studying it that there was an interlude in both the book of Proverbs and the commentary of Dr. Wiersbe and after the interlude we began to look at the rest of the book of Proverbs in a topical study, and today we begin the thirteenth and final chapter in Dr. Wiersbe’s study of Proverbs.  He entitles this final chapter “This God is Our God.”

            Introduction:  Why does a person have a desire to study the Word of God?  I believe the best answer to this question is to know the God of the Word.  I suppose we can study it to gain facts about it, to know theology about it, and that is all fine and good, but if we don’t begin to know the God of the Word in our study of the Word of God we would be, as Dr. Wiersbe writes like a young person looking at photo albums in order to get to know his family, and not taking the time to personally get to know them.  He may understand a lot of facts about them, but not know them on a personal level.

In Dr. Wiersbe introduction to this thirteenth chapter he quotes from A. W. Tozer’s book “The Knowledge of the Holy,” a book that I spent a lot of time recently reading and studying.  He states in an end note the following, “This is one of the finest devotional studies of the attributes of God in print.”  He then goes on to say that another book written by Richard L. Strauss entitled “The Joy of Knowing God” is also a good book to read to better understand the God of the Word.

            The following are the two quotes from Tozier’s book:  “It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is erroneous or inadequate.  If we would bring back spiritual power to our lives, we must begin to think of God more nearly as He is.  The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him.”  Dr. Wiersbe goes on to say the following about this last quote, “If that’s true, and I believe it is, then it’s possible to be a Bible student and also an idolater!” 

            He concludes his introduction by saying “The book of Proverbs reaveals to us the wonderful God whom we should trust, obey, love and get to know in a deeper way.  As we grow in our intimacy with God, we will develop the wisdom and skills we need to be successful in making a life.”

A Holy God:

            Here are some verses about God being Holy from Proverbs:  “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Pr. 9:10).”  “Neither have I learned wisdom, Nor do I have the knowledge of the Holy One (Pr. 30:3).”  One may ask what the word “Holy” means and the answer is that it means “utterly different, wholly other.”  We know from the study of the Word of God that His nature is holy.  Peter quotes from the book of Lev. when he writes “but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.’”  (1 Peter 1:15-16) 

            When ever I think of the word Holy I can’t help but think of the wonderful old hymn “Take Time to be Holy.”  When I think of this song I often think that the title should have been “It Takes Time to Be Holy.”  The following are the lyrics of this song:

1. Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
   Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
   Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
   Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.
2. Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
   Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
   By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
   Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.
3. Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
   And run not before Him, whatever betide.
   In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
   And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.
4. Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
   Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
   Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
   Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

I can say that there is much spiritual truth in each of the verses of this wonderful old hymn

I don’t suppose that when a person reads the following verse from the book of Revelations that they would think of God’s holiness, “And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God.”  Or how about Hebrews 12:29 “for our God is a consuming fire.”  When we think about God’s holiness we cannot think of it like we would a surgical instrument all cleaned up and ready to use, for God’s holiness is cannot be viewed as the absence of defilement or an inert, negative attribute.  God’s holiness is something that is positive and active and that is how we can fit those two verses above into understanding God’s holiness.

The following verses from Proverbs 6 show us that God hates sin:  “16  There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: 17  Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, 18  A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, 19  A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.”  What we do know about God is that He does hate sin but He does love sinners, loves them enough that He sent His Son to take their place upon the cross to pay for their sins.  “"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  (John 3:16)  “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Rom. 5:8)

Proverbs also teaches us that people can sin so much that they become abominable to God:  “For the devious are an abomination to the LORD; But He is intimate with the upright (Pr. 3:32).”  Pr. 11:20 “The perverse in heart are an abomination to the LORD, But the blameless in their walk are His delight.”  Proverbs 16:5 speaks of the proud “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.”  Liars are found in Proverbs 12:22 “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, But those who deal faithfully are His delight.”  Cheats in Proverbs 11:1 “A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.”  Hypocrites in 15:8 “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright is His delight.”  Pr. 21:27 “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, How much more when he brings it with evil intent!”  Pr. 28:9 “He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.”  The unjust are spoken of in Proverbs 17:15 “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.”

3/31/2013 9:18 AM

3/31/2013 8:33 PM

            Now we will have a quote from Dr. Wiersbe:  “Sin becomes so identified with the sinner that the very person becomes reprehensible to the Lord.  This doesn’t negate His love, but we must keep in mind that God’s love is a holy love as well as a sacrificing love.  It’s a dangerous thing to play with sin and defy the living God. ‘He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy (Pr. 29:1 NKJV).’”  The highlighted portion of the quote is a very important thing to know or at least be reminded of.

            When we look at Proverbs 21:12 we will see that it calls God the “Righteous One,” or the “Righteous God,” and this states that God judges the wicked for their wickedness.  “The Righteous One takes note of the house of the wicked and brings the wicked to ruin.  The righteous God wisely considers the house of the wicked, Overthrowing the wicked for their wickedness.”  First is from the NIV while the second is from the NKJV.

            Now we will look at Proverbs 24:11-12, “11 ¶  Deliver those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back. 12  If you say, "See, we did not know this," Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work?”  These verses show us that a holy God must be righteous in all His ways and just in all His dealings.”

            One of the problems people have is they like to put God in a box, they do not want to learn about God through what He has written in His Word.  To put God in a box makes Him out to be something that He may not be.  When we look at God as being holy, and He surely is that, then we must realize that the things that He does are all holy, even though some don’t think they are.  I had a conversation with a relative at lunch about why God would allow the shootings to happen at the school in Connecticut late last year, and what he was really saying was that God did not know what He was doing or He would have stopped that.  He was putting God in his own box and wanted Him to perform the way he wanted Him to perform.  It is interesting that our supreme court make prayer in public schools illegal many years ago, so what they did was kick God out of the school system in our country.  As Ann Graham Lots stated to Larry King, “God is a gentlemen and He left.”  Why do we wonder about things like this when in our country we don’t want to follow God’s laws, and so we reap the consequences of it, but as soon as something bad happens we want to blame God for not being in control or not stopping it.  Dr. Wiersbe writes, “Sometimes God sends immediate judgment on the wicked (2:22), but sometimes He merely takes away His restraining hand and allows the sinners’ sin to judge them.  ‘The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast’ (Pr. 5:22, NIV).”  (Read also Romans 1:18 until the end of the chapter.)

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think that it is a good reminder for me and for everyone to realize that God is holy.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I am going to put onto my prayer list that I try to look at each day that God is Holy.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 32:7-9

            7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.  8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.  9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, whose trappings include bit and bridle to hole them in check, otherwise they will not come near you.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “In Jerusalem”  (Acts 8:1)

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who was Jacob’s first son?”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

 3/31/2013 9:03 PM

           

Pride (Studies in Proverbs)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/30/2013 9:44 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                                      Focus:  Pride

Bible Reading & Meditation                                             Reference:  Studies in Proverbs

            Message of the verses:  In today’s SD we will look at the popular sin of pride, which is the last popular sin we will discuss, but we will also do a brief review of all of the popular sins that we have looked at over the last few days.

Pride

            It seems that whenever I think about pride I cannot help but thinking about a song that Roger Miller sang back in the 1960’s or 1970’s I don’t remember the exact year.  I don’t even remember the name of the song but a line in the song was “Pride is the chief cause in the decline of the number of husbands and wives.”  I can’t help believe that this is a true statement.  I looked the song up on the internet and the name of it is “Husbands and Wives.”  The section I am talking about is as follows, “The angry words, spoken in haste Such a waste of two lives It's my belief, pride is the chief cause and the decline In the number of husbands and wives.”

            I want to quote the different verses in the book of Proverbs that have the word “pride” or “proud” in them.

Pr 8:13 “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.

Pr 11:2 When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom.

Pr 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.

Pr 21:24 "Proud," "Haughty," "Scoffer," are his names, Who acts with insolent pride.

Pr 29:23 A man’s pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor.

Pr 15:25 The LORD will tear down the house of the proud, But He will establish the boundary of the widow.

Pr 16:5 Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.

Pr 16:19 It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly Than to divide the spoil with the proud.

Pr 21:4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart, The lamp of the wicked, is sin.

            There are many theologians who would say that pride is the “sin of all sins,” and I would have to agree with them, for who am I not to agree with them.  Let us look at what was probably the first sin that was ever committed, which is recorded in the book of Isaiah 14:12-15, “12 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! 13 “But you said in your heart, ’I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 14 ’I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.”  What was this first sin?  Pride.  Who committed this first sin?  Lucifer whom we know as Satan.   When I was studying about creation I read somewhere or heard somewhere that it probably took Lucifer about twenty minutes before he sinned.  If one reads the description that is given to him in the Scriptures I suppose that once can understand why he fell and fell quickly for he was the highest being that God created.

            Next we see the sin of pride in the garden of Eden where the sinful Lucifer, now the devil temps Eve with the sin of pride, telling her that she can become just like God knowing good from evil.  Telling her that God had held out on her and not given her all she deserved, and she and Adam believe the lie of Satan and plunged the entire creation into sin.  It took the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son to pay for that original sin and all the sins that man has ever committed to bridge the gap between God and man can again have fellowship with God. 

            Dr. Wiersbe quotes a Scottish Pastor in his commentary on this section who said, “No man can bear witness to Christ and to himself at the same time.  No man can give the impression that he himself is clever and that Christ is might to save.”  Dr. Wiersbe goes on to write “That quotation should be printed in large letters and displayed in every church sanctuary and conference auditorium where God’s people gather.  It might humble some of the preachers and musicians who call so much attention to themselves that the hungry sheep can’t see Jesus.  If the  greatest sin is the corruption of the highest good, then people who use the Christian religion to promote themselves are guilty of great transgression.”

            Dr. Wiersbe goes on to talk about something that is very interesting to me, when he writes “Solomon illustrated our desire for recognition and praise by writing about honey.  ‘It is not good to eat too much honey, nor is it honourable to seek one’s own honour (Pr. 25:27).’  Balance this with Pr. 25:16:  ‘If you find honey, eat just enough—too much of it, and you will vomit.’  If honey represents praise, then beware of trying to digest too much of it.”

            Now we will attempt to review these five popular sins that we have been looking at with the help of Warren Wiersbe.  I suppose that when we look at those who are not believers we are not surprised that they commit these five popular sins probably with regularity, but what about believers?  Let us take a look at some different passages in the Bible to show that believers have this some kind of problems with these sins.  1 Cor. 11:21 illustrates that the Corinthian believers had trouble with getting drunk, “for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk.”  What does 1 Cor. 6:10 say? “nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”  I am not saying that those that Paul was writing to were not believers for I believe that when Paul writes this verse that he is speaking of the habitual sins, not the occasional sin of a believer.

            When we read Ephesians 6:1-3 we can see that there were some children of the parents that Paul was writing to that did not respect their parents.  “1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honour your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’”

            In Luke 12:15 we read that Jesus said “Take heed, and beware of covetousness” and then Paul writes to the Colossian believers that covetousness was idolatry. (Co. 3:5)

            In Paul’s letter to Timothy he warned him that young believers should not be appointed to spiritual leadership roles because “lest being lifted up with pride [they] fall into the condemnation of the devil.  We also see that the Apostle John wrote in his third letter about a proud believer named Diotrephes who was running the church and wouldn’t submit to the authority of God’s Apostle. (3John 9-11)

            We conclude with the words of James who said in his letter “My brethren, these things ought not to be so.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  When I think about the fact that I, along with every other human was born a sinner, and that it took a loving and just God to provide salvation for me, and it takes the Spirit of God, who lives in me to show me the good works that I am to do for the cause of Christ, that will bring glory and honor to Him, I have to ask myself “Why should I be proud of anything I do?”  Because I still have that old nature within me there is surely a battle that goes on over things like doing good works for the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Holy Spirit of God to lead me to accomplish the works that the Father has chosen for me to do, and through them bring honor and glory to my Lord and Savior.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 32:1-8

            1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!  2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!  3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.  4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.  Selah.  5 I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.  6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.

            7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance.  Selah.  8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Joseph”  (Genesis 39:9)

Today’s Bible Question:  “Persecution in the church at what place caused the Christians to be scattered through Judea and Samaria?”

Answer in Tomorrow’s SD

3/30/2013 11:13 AM   

Greed (Studies in Proverbs)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/29/2013 8:45 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                          Focus:  Greed

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Studies in Proverbs

            Message of the verses:  We are going to continue looking at the subject of “Popular Sins” in Today’s SD by looking at greed.

            Let us begin looking at the subject of greed by looking at a couple of verses from Proverbs:  “He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, But he who hates bribes will live (Pr. 15:27 NKJV).”  “Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied (Pr. 27:20).”

            In his commentary Dr. Wiersbe sites some statistics from a 1994 Money magazine survey to indicate how greedy people in the Untied States are and all the statistics go up from previous surveys.  The most disturbing statistic was one that said that twenty-three percent of people surveyed said that they would be willing to commit a crime to get $10 million dollars if they knew that they would not get caught.  This goes along with what Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:10 “Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after. (The Message)  “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.  (ESV)

            I have heard it said that the hardest of the Ten Commandments to keep is the tenth commandment which says, “"You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’”  Paul picks up on this when he writes the following “For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God (Eph. 5:5).”  “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. (Col. 3:5 NKJV).”   Paul is saying that covetousness is idolatry and the reason it is idolatry is “because a covetous heart puts something else in the place that God rightfully should occupy in our lives.”  (Warren Wiersbe)  The unfortunate thing in our country today is the covetousness is applauded and not looked down upon to which is should. 

            An Arabian proverb says, “Covetousness has for its mother unlawful desire, for its daughter injustice, and for its friend violence.”  The great problem with all of this is that a person only has so much time to live on this earth and as Paul writes about a person and says that he brings nothing into this world and cannot take anything from this world, so why not use your time to do the things that the Lord has for you to do.  “1Ti 6:7 For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.”  “Eph. 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

            How can we change our society so it understands the ways of the Lord are the best and only ways to follow?  We can change it one person at a time, and the first thing is to lead a person to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and then to disciple them into the truths of the Word of God.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “If believers today would read John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, they’d meet Mr. Hold-the-World, Mr. Save-all, and Mr. Money-Love; they’d discover what Bunyan thought about Demas, the one time associate of Paul who fell in love with ‘this present world’ (Co. 4:14; Phile. 24; 2 Timothy 4:10).  While it isn’t a sin to be wealthy-Abraham and David were both wealthy men and yet godly men—it is a sin to want more than we really need to keep what we ought to give.  Covetousness is like cancer:  It grows secretly and robs us of spiritual health, and the only remedy is to cut it out.”

            We have already looked at wealth in a previous SD and so all I want to do is to remind us that wealth or material possessions are a gift of God, and we should thank Him for them and we should use them for the glory of God and also for the good of others.  The following is a quote from John Wesley who was the founder of the Methodist Church: 

            “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can as long as you ever can.”

            This is a good prescription for the cure of greed.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I suppose that most all people have at least, a little bit of greed in them, and so for that reason this has been a good topic to study.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Seek the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit to search my heart to see if there is any greed in my life and to seek to correct it.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 32:1-8

            1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!  2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!  3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.  4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.  Selah.  5 I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; and You forgave the guilt of my sin.  Selah.  6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of waters they will not reach him.

            7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.  8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Answer to yesterdays Bible Question:  “Hebrews 1:8)

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who said ‘How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God’?”

Answer in Tomorrows SD

3/29/2013 9:50 AM    

Illusion (Studies in Proverbs)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/28/2013 9:32 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Illusion

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Studies in Proverbs

            Message of the verses:  We will continue to study the popular sins that are found in the book of Proverbs in today’s SD.  I have set some short term goals as far as finishing up our study in the book of Proverbs and then what lies ahead after that.  I hope to finish our study in Proverbs by April 4^th and then we will look at the second chapter of the book of Daniel after that, and once we study that we will then begin the book of Ecclesiastes which should take us way into the summer months.  Ecclesiastes is the second to last book of the books of poetry with only the Song of Solomon to follow before beginning in the books of the prophets.

Illusion

            I suppose that illusion is used by magicians, but it is also used by people who are trying to impress someone else, perhaps so others think that they are rich, but are not, so others think that they are poor but our not.  I believe that true believers are the richest people in the entire world, and as believers we are to tell others about the riches that God has given to us through Jesus Christ our Lord.  I have mentioned in earlier Spiritual Diaries that the book of Ephesians shows many of the riches that believers have.  Dr. Wiersbe has entitled his “Be” book for Ephesians “Be Rich,” as he comments on the riches that all believers have because they are “in” Christ Jesus.

            “One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth (Pr. 13:7).”  There is a problem with being rich in money and things:  “Worth is measured by wealth, not by character and conduct; as long as people have money and fame, they’re considered important.  To be ‘rich and famous’ is the ambition of millions of people; until they reach that goal they enjoy riches and fame vicariously as they follow the career of their favorite celebrity.”  (Warren Wiersbe)

            Let us look at Proverbs 14:8 which shows us that wise people believe God’s truth and because of that they live for reality and not for illusion:  “The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception.”

            Dr. Wiersbe lists some of the deceptive illusions that people live for today:  “There are no consequences, so do as you please.  If it feels good, it is good.  The important thing in life is to have fun.  There are no absolutes.  (What about this statement?)  The older generation can’t teach you anything.  Commitment is enslavement.  Stay free.”

            When a person builds their life on lies they are sure to be disappointed.  Jesus says “24  "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell-and great was its fall." 28 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 29 for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes (Matthew 7:24-29).”  “When Jesus finished these words” speaks of what He said in the “Sermon on the Mount.”  There have been many commentaries written on Matthew 5-7 which contain what Jesus said in the sermon and so we can learn many things from His teaching in this part of Scripture.  We surely can learn that if we build our life on the truth that is found in the Word of God we will not fall to lies and illusions that will do nothing but bring harm to us.

            Dr. Wiersbe finishes his commentary on illusion by stating “To trust Jesus Christ is to know reality, because He is the truth (John 14:6).  To know and obey God’s Word is to know the truth (John 17:17), and to be empowered by the Holy Spirit is to experience truth (1 John 5:6).  God is a God of truth, and those who know Him by faith have no desire to frolic in the senseless illusions of the world system.”  “15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”  (1 John 2:15-17 KJV)  

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There are times when the Word of God steps on your toes, and that has been my experience in looking at the book of Proverbs.  I am thankful for the truth that is found in the Word of God, and I desire to follow and live by that truth.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Do not be fooled by those who present illusions to me.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 32:1-8

            1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!  2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!  3 When I kept silent about my sin my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.  4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away like the fever heat of summer. Selah.  5 I acknowledged my sin to You and my iniquity I did not hide; I said “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.  6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.

            7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.  8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “The name of the Lord.”  (Romans 10:13)

Bible Question for Today:  “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever” is recorded in what book?

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

3/28/2013 10:46 AM

Disrespect (Studies in Proverbs)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/27/2013 9:46 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Disrespect

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Studies in Proverbs

            Message of the verses:  In yesterday’s SD we began to look at what Dr. Wiersbe calls “Popular Sins,” and so today we will look at the second popular sin that he writes about in his commentary on Proverbs, and the book of Proverbs speaks out about.

Disrespect:

            Let us start with a reminder of what we learned from the introduction that Dr. Wiersbe wrote at the beginning of his commentary on the twelfth chapter of his book:  “Movies and TV are instructing generation after generation of children how to ridicule virginity, laugh at sobriety, challenge authority, and reject honesty.  Actors, actresses, and advertisers have convinced them that ‘having fun,’ ‘feeling good ’and‘getting away with it’ are now the main goals in life.

            “The book of Proverbs has something to say about popular sins that are weakening our homes, threatening the peace of our communities, and destroying lives.”

            Let us begin this short study of disrespect by looking at Proverbs 30:17, “The eye that mocks a father And scorns a mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it.”  Verse seventeen is at the end of a paragraph that starts out in verse fifteen by saying, “There are three things that will not be satisfied, Four that will not say.”  What this proverb is telling us that the child that does not have respect for his or her parents will one day be treated like an unburied corpse and this was a great reproach in Israel.  Let us now look at Proverbs 30:11-14 and compare it to the generation we now live in:  “11 Don’t curse your father or fail to bless your mother. 12 Don’t imagine yourself to be quite presentable when you haven’t had a bath in weeks. 13 Don’t be stuck-up and think you’re better than everyone else. 14 Don’t be greedy, merciless and cruel as wolves, Tearing into the poor and feasting on them, shredding the needy to pieces only to discard them.”  (The Message) 

            How do children begin to show disrespect to their parents?  First of all they do not respect the Word of God, for if they did then they would realize that their disrespect was totally wrong.  Proverbs 15:5 states “A fool rejects his father’s discipline, But he who regards reproof is sensible.”  Proverbs 13:13 states, “The one who despises the word will be in debt to it, But the one who fears the commandment will be rewarded.” 

            As a person goes through different stages of life they learn different things along the way.  When parents spend their hard earned money to send their children off to a college that teaches them that the Word of God is not what they should be following they then come home and ridicule their parents and laugh at them telling them how old fashion they are.  If these children continue along this path, having this haughty attitude, they will eventually rob their parents as seen in Proverbs 28:24 “He who robs his father or his mother And says, "It is not a transgression," Is the companion of a man who destroys.”  They may even end up cursing their parents as Proverbs 20:20 speaks of “He who curses his father or his mother, His lamp will go out in time of darkness.”  Proverbs 19:26 teaches that they will bring shame to their parents, “He who assaults his father and drives his mother away Is a shameful and disgraceful son.”

            Dr. Wiersbe concludes his commentary on being disrespectful by saying “Under the Old Covenant, children who disobeyed their parents were in danger of losing their lives.  I’m not advocating that disrespect for parents be made a capital crime today, but passages like Deuteronomy 21:18-21 and Leviticus 20:9 show how seriously God takes the Fifth Commandment: ‘Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.’ (Ex. 20:12, NKJV; see Eph. 6:1-4).  Children who don’t respect godly, loving parents aren’t likely to respect teachers, policemen, or any other authority symbol in society.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  From reading these different verses in Proverbs I can see the importance of teaching children the Word of God when they are very young.  The following are three verses from the book of Proverbs that all have the words “a child” in them:  Pr 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.  Pr 22:15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.  Pr 29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom, But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.”

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Share what I have studied with our children so that they can put it into practice with their children.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 32:1-8

            1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!  2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!  3 When I kept silent about my sin my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.  4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away like the fever heat of summer. Selah.  5 I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. 6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.

            7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah. 8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Answer to Yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Helped his seven daughters at the well”  (Exodus 2:16-20)

Bible Question for Today:  “On whose name shall one call to be saved?”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

3/27/2013 10:45 AM

Drunkenness (Studies in Proverbs)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/26/2013 9:31 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                          Focus:  Drunkenness

Bible Reading & Meditation                                            Reference:  Studies in Proverbs

            Message of the verses:  Today we begin the next to the last chapter in our study of the book of Proverbs that is from the commentary we have been looking at by Dr. Warren Wiersbe.  He entitles this twelfth chapter “Popular Sins (Drunkenness, Disrespect, Illusion, Greed, and Pride).”  We will be looking at the first section on drunkenness in today’s SD.  I realize that we do not have the time to do an extended study on alcohol abuse, but we will look at what the Bible, including the book of Proverbs has to say about this subject.

            Before we look at drunkenness I want to quote something from Dr. Wiersbe’s book that is from the introduction of this chapter.  “Movies and TV are instructing generation after generation of children how to ridicule virginity, laugh at sobriety, challenge authority, and reject honesty.  Actors, actresses, and advertisers have convinced them that ‘having fun,’ ‘feeling good,’ and ‘getting away with it’ are now the main goals in live. 

            “The book of Proverbs has something to say about popular sins that are weakening our homes, threatening the peace of our communities, and destroying lives.”

Drunkenness

The first thing we must realize is that alcohol is a narcotic, and not a food.  We find from different portions of the book of Proverbs warnings about the abuse of alcohol.  Alcohol is a very big problem in the United States and other countries as it costs many billions of dollars in care and also in lost wages.  Many people are killed due to alcohol related car accidents and on the job related accidents. 

Wine and Israel:  Since we are looking at the book of Proverbs we better find out what it says along with other books of the Bible, about wine and other alcoholic beverages.  We will first look at Genesis 27:28 “Now may God give you of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And an abundance of grain and new wine,” this is a blessing Isaac gives to Jacob and it includes new wine.  Let us now look at Psalm 104:15 “And wine which makes man’s heart glad, So that he may make his face glisten with oil, And food which sustains man’s heart.”  The people of Israel considered wine a gift along with oil and bread.  Not unlike meat, wine was not present at all meals, but it was more like something done on special occasions.  Wine was not prohibited to the people of Israel except with certain priests and those who were performing a Nasserite vow.   It was said of John the Baptist that no wine or hard drink was to be given to him.  I take this to mean that even when his mother was pregnant with him she could not have any wine or strong drink. 

Wine and wisdom:  Proverbs 20:1 says “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.”  This is the first of seven passages in the book of Proverbs that talk about the abuse of alcohol.  The verse tells us that wine is a mocker; the more people drink it the more they want it even though it does bad things to them.  Dr. Wiersbe quotes a Japanese proverb that says “First the man takes a drink; then the drink takes a drink; then the drink takes the man.” 

We see in Proverbs 21:17 that addiction to alcohol can lead to poverty “He who loves pleasure will become a poor man; He who loves wine and oil will not become rich.”  I wish now to quote Proverbs 23:29-35 “29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? 30 Those who linger long over wine, Those who go to taste mixed wine. 31 Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it goes down smoothly; 32 At the last it bites like a serpent And stings like a viper. 33 Your eyes will see strange things And your mind will utter perverse things. 34 And you will be like one who lies down in the middle of the sea, Or like one who lies down on the top of a mast. 35 “They struck me, but I did not become ill; They beat me, but I did not know it. When shall I awake? I will seek another drink.’”  This is vivid description of the tragic consequences of drunkenness.

Let’s look at Proverbs 31:1-9 to see that alcohol and civic responsibilities don’t mix.  In his commentary on this section Dr. Wiersbe stated that a person from Washington D.C. told him that the United States had three political parties, the Democratic, the Republican, and the Cocktail party. “1 The words of King Lemuel, the oracle which his mother taught him: 2  What, O my son? And what, O son of my womb? And what, O son of my vows? 3 Do not give your strength to women, Or your ways to that which destroys kings. 4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Or for rulers to desire strong drink, 5 For they will drink and forget what is decreed, And pervert the rights of all the afflicted. 6 Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to him whose life is bitter. 7 Let him drink and forget his poverty And remember his trouble no more. 8 Open your mouth for the mute, For the rights of all the unfortunate. 9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.”

Wine and today’s believer:  The following are verses from the NT that clearly warn today’s believers about the sin of drunkenness.  “Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy (Rom. 13:13).”  “For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night (1Thes. 5:7).”  “"Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap (Luke 21:34).”  “envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (Ga. 5:21).”  “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul (1Peter 2:11).”  Peter picks up on what Paul wrote in Galatians concerning the works of the flesh.

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The Bible makes it clear that we as believers are not to do anything that can cause another believer to fall into sin, and if that means that as believers we have a drink once in a while then we are not to do it around a weak believer that could cause him to fall.  The church I belong to states in its constitution that its members are not to use any type of alcohol as a beverage and I desire to stick to that.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Follow what is in our church constitution.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 32:1-8

            1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!  2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!  When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.  4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away like the fever heat of summer. Selah.  5 I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.  6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.

            7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.  8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “The Southern kingdom (Judah).”

Today’s Bible Question:  “What did Moses do that won favor with the Priest of Midian?

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

3/26/2013 10:35 AM  

Obedience (Studies in Proverbs)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/25/2013 9:09 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Obedience

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Studies in Proverbs

            Message of the verses:  We have been looking at six things that are in the will of God over the past six Spiritual Diaries.  I should say that today we will be looking at the sixth thing that is in the will of God for us as believers.

            6. Obedience

            We have been looking more closely at Proverbs 3:5-6 in our study which is all about the will of God, and in verse six we read these words, “in all your ways acknowledge Him” and this means “Do God’s will in every area of life.  Seek to honor Him in everything.”  Proverbs 3:7 goes on to say “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil.”  If we are wise in our own eyes we are not being humble, and this is disobedience against the Lord.  Proverbs 11:2-3 state, “When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom 3 The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.”  (NKJV)

            How can we be assured that we are obedient to the Lord?  Proverbs 3:6 states that “He will direct our path,” and by having Him direct our path we can be assured that we are obeying our Lord.  Dr. G. Campbell Morgan said:  “Not always in easy or pleasant paths, but always in right paths.  Now always in those I would have chosen, but always in paths which lead to success….The paths that He directs lead always through mist and mystery, through battle and through bruising, to the fulfillment of the meaning of life.”

            Dr. Wiersbe finishes his commentary on this 11^th chapter by stating the following:  “Some people live only for entertainment and try to escape the burdens of life.  Others live for enjoyment and try to make the most of life.  God’s dedicated people live for enrichment and discover fulfillment in life as they do the will of God from the heart.

            “Which on are you?”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It seems that I may be struggling with these very questions in my life lately.  My desire is to do the will of God, to obey Him in all ways like the Proverb is stating.  It is easier said than done, but by the grace of God I will do a better job.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Be obedient to the Lord in all the ways that He directs my life.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 32:1-8

            1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.  3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.  4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away like the fever heat of summer. Selah.  5 I acknowledge my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.  6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.

            7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.  8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Pharaoh’s baker”  (Genesis 40:16-17)

Bible Question for Today:  “In which kingdom did Joel prophesy?”

Answer in Tomorrow’s SD

3/25/2013 9:52 AM 

"Plans" (Studies in Proverbs)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/24/2013 8:48 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                          Focus:  Plans

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Studies in Proverbs

            Message of the verses:  Our subject from the book of Proverbs today is plans.

            5. Plans

            Now we have had theme verses in the last few Spiritual Diaries, which are Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not upon your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.”  As we look at these two important verses from the book of Proverbs we can see that we are to look to the Lord for direction, but we are also to follow the direction or plans that the Lord gives to us. 

            When we look at plans that we have in are life we are not suppose to totally be all passive and the Lord to be active, and this is something that all believers run into not too far down their walk with the Lord.  Are we to let God and let go as some have said?  Dr. Wiersbe writes the following endnote to help answer this question: “Psalm 46:10 says, ‘Be still and know that I am God’; the phrase ‘be still’ literally means ‘take your hands off,’ or ‘stop your striving.’  There are times when we prove our faith simply by waiting on the Lord and allowing Him to work.  Naomi’s advice to Ruth was excellent:  ‘Sit still, my daughter’ (Ruth 3:18), and so was Moses’ instruction (Ex. 14:13).  But when it’s time to act, no amount of devotion will substitute for obedience.  See Josh. 7:10ff; 1 Samuel 16:1ff; 1 Kings 19:15ff.”  We see that there is a time to plan and a time to act, but our planning must be in the Lord.  James 2:26 states “Faith without works is dead.”  I realize that this verse has brought controversy to some, but the verse is not speaking about our salvation for we do not work or that for that is a gift, but in order to prove that we are saved we work at what the Lord wants us to do as Ephesians 2:10 speak of.

            We read in Proverbs 3:5 that we are not to lean on our own understanding, but that word “leaning” means ‘to rely on.”  Our faith must be in the Word of God and not in our own wisdom.  Proverbs has much to say about wisdom, and the kind of wisdom we as believers need is from the Lord and not from ourselves, and we get that from the Word of God.

            When we are seeking to know the will of God we are to gather all of the facts that we can access, but our decision must be based on knowledge and not on hearsay.  “Every prudent man acts out of knowledge, but a fool exposes his folly.”  (Pr. 13:16 NIV)  “He who gives an answer before he hears, It is folly and shame to him (Pr. 18:13).”  As we look at this verse we must understand that it applies to whether we are answering a person or the Lord.  “The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way, But the foolishness of fools is deceit (Pr. 14:8).  As believers when we are making plans we must take our time and look honestly at all the facts.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “God expects us to use our brains and make plans, but He also expects us to submit those plans to Him and let Him make the final decision.”  “The plans of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD (Pr. 16:1).”  “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed (Pr. 16:3 NIV).”  Dr. Wiersbe continues “If we’re yielded to the Lord and our plans are not His plans, He will show us what’s wrong.”  “And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you (Phil 3:15b NIV).”  “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps (Pr. 16:9 NIV).” 

            The problem is when we rebel against the Lord and desire to go our own way, “There is no wisdom and no understanding And no counsel against the LORD (Pr. 21:30).”  That is why we as believers are to begin our search in the Word of God, and then obeying it after reading it.  In His Word we will find the character of God and the will of God will never contradict either the purposes of God or the character of God, and that is why we must wait before the Lord for “the plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty (Pr. 21:15).”  There is no need to rush ahead if we are walking by faith as seen in Isaiah 28:16b, “Whoever believes will not act hastily.” 

            Dr. Wiersbe concludes this wonderful commentary by writing the following:  “So, when we have a decision to make, we gather all the facts and seek wise counsel, we make our plans, we commit ourselves and our plans to the Lord, we listen to His Word, and we wait before Him for His leading.  Sometimes God leads us through a Bible promise or warning; sometimes while we’re at worship with God’s people, He speaks through a song or Scripture reading; or He may direct us through providential circumstances.  More than once in my own life, His disciplines have turned out to be His directions (Pr 3:11-12; Heb. 12:1-11).” 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I surely have to agree that there have been times in my life when the disciplines of God as I then yield to His purposes have given great direction to me.  It is not always the most pleasant of ways, but it does work.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  There is something that has been running through my mind that I may want to do, and so as I think about it I desire to seek the will of the Lord, and also desire to wait upon the Lord, which is something that is not natural for me, and then hope that what the outcome will be will bring glory to the Lord.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 32:1-8

            1 How blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sin is covered!  2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!  3 When I kept silent about my sin my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.  4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away like the fever heat of summer. Selah.  5 I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; and You forgave the guilt of my sin.  Selah.  6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.

            7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.  8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Answer to yesterday’s Question:  “Jerusalem” (2 Samuel 5:5)

Question for Today:  “Who had a dream about three baskets of food on his head?”

Answer in Tomorrow’s SD

3/24/2013 10:08 AM