Reflections From the Proverbs: Choose Life

Choose Life

Proverbs Chapter Two:
18. For her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead.
19. None who go to her return or attain the paths of life.

This is a continuation of the caution against entering into adulterous situations. It vividly tells the consequences of succumbing to the seductions of the adulteress. Her house leads down to death, and her paths to the spirits of the dead. None who go to her return or attain the paths of life.
Let’s view this as we did yesterday continuing with the application of a spiritual type of adultery. Remember that God views allowing other "gods" in our life as spiritual adultery.
This sad ending is not what God desires for anyone. Listen to what Jesus said in John Chapter 8 verse 12: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Jesus came to bring light and life. What a contrast. Darkness and death, or light and life. Nothing else, no one else, can be what Jesus Christ is. No other path can lead to the path of life except His path.
In John Chapter 10 verse 9-10: "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
God not only desires a different path for us, He became the path Himself. He tells us I am the way, the truth and the life. He says I am the gate. He says I am the light of the world. The other "gods" that we allow into our lives have no ability to provide for us a path to life.

I like the King James Version of verse 10 : I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.. Abundant life. The exact opposite of a path that leads to death. If we could really understand how incredible these words are we would run to Him. If we could really trust that it is His heart’s desire to give us abundant life we would run and not look back nor look to the left or to the right. We would run and embrace Him as Lord.

I think that Paul had some understanding of this "abundant life" when he wrote in Ephesians 3:20 ; Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. NIV

I believe that it is God’s plan for us to have lives filled with excitement and surprises. I believe that it is His desire that our relationships be alive and fun and fulfilling. And, I believe it is God’s plan for our work to be meaningful and productive. With Him at the helm it will be.

I pray that all who read this will seek and find your open arms. I ask, Lord, that you show us a glimpse of the wonderful abundant life you have planned for us. You are all about life. It is our enemy who stalks around seeking to destroy. God you are worthy of our submission and obedience. I pray that all will choose life.

Reflections From The Proverbs: Spiritual Adultery

Spiritual Adultery

Proverbs Chapter Two:
16. It will save you also from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words,
17. Who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God. NIV

At first glance one would think that this is simply a caution and call for marital faithfulness and moral purity. It is that I’m sure, but in addition, there is a bigger picture that God seems to be always looking at. That is man’s relationship to Him.

There are many passages that speak of spiritual prostitution. The unfaithfulness of God’s people to their God. In the book of Hosea chapter 5 starting with verse 3 it says: I know all about Ephraim; Israel is not hidden from me. Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution; Israel is corrupt. Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the Lord.

It is God’s desire to be our all in all. He wants and deserves to be acknowledged in all things. He wants to love and provide and shelter as a loving husband would. He wants to love and provide and shelter as a loving father would. The Old Testament records that His chosen ones turned to other gods and the one and only true God called it prostitution. He refers to Himself as a jealous God. He has no intention of sharing us with any other god.

In Exodus 34 God spoke to Moses when he went up on Mount Sinai to get the second set of commandments (after breaking the first set).12; Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is jealous, is a jealous God.

His great love and His infinite wisdom make the empty trappings of false gods seem so foolish. But the trouble is that we don’t stay focused on God’s love and wisdom. We can so easily get caught up in things that take God’s rightful place. When we pour ourselves into careers or entertainment and set God aside for some more convenient time, we are allowing something to become a god in our life. Earning more and having more or doing more, these are seductive voices calling to us all the time.

We downplay our priority choices. We find excuses for our choices. We can even justify them. We certainly don’t want to think of them as spiritual adultery. What is God’s view of our priorities, our choices. Does He watch our life and say, " There is a spirit of prostitution in your heart, you do not acknowledge the Lord."

I pray that we will be a people who understand that we offend God when we do not allow Him to be Lord. I pray that He will reveal to us areas where our hearts are turned towards something other than Him. I pray that He will help us to submit these areas to Him.

Reflections From The Proverbs: Wisdom is Light

Wisdom is light

Proverbs Chapter Two
12. Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse,
13. Who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways,
14. Who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
15 whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways. NIV

In the book of John chapter 3, Jesus reveals some truth and wisdom. It says:
16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
19. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
20. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
21. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." NIV

This well known much loved passage of John 3:16 seems out of place connected to the old testament passage about wisdom saving us from wickedness, perverseness, dark paths, crookedness, deviousness and evil. But it connects beautifully, like a puzzle piece fitting to reveal a picture.

Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God’s perfect wisdom. It is Jesus the Christ who "saves" us from darkness and evil. But as Jesus speaks of God’s love to accomplish this he reveals another truth about the nature of mankind. He says people love darkness instead of light. It boils down to a heart thing. It is all about what we love.

Tapping into the wisdom of God is all about what is in our hearts. It is about what we treasure most. Both the old and new testaments tell us to love the lord your God with all our heart, soul, and strength.

We can get a pretty good idea of what we love most by looking over daily planners, glancing through our checkbooks, and listening to the words we say. Our time, our resources, and our words are pretty good barometers of where our heart is. If we make our relationship with Jesus Christ the Son and God the Father the treasures of our heart, then the wisdom of God will keep us from evil ways.

I pray that we will be a people who love God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. God knows that man’s nature is to love darkness. I pray that we will be a people of light. God loves to hear and answer this kind of prayer.

Reflections From The Proverbs: Personal Body Guards

Personal Body Guards

Proverbs Chapter Two
11. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. NIV

According to this passage, this growing relationship I have with the Lord provides for me the gift of two personal body guards. Their names are Officer Discretion and Officer Understanding. Officer Discretion is an expert in discernment. He discerns for me what is wise and what is foolish, what is good and what is evil, what is right and what is wrong. I try to listen to him at all times.

I John 4:1 says; Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. Our adversary is tricky and likes to appear shiny and good.

It is so easy to get caught up in thinking that surely God wants us to be happy. Friend, God wants us to be obedient. Sometimes obedience is difficult and it does not always feel good. How we feel is not the correct barometer to determine what is wise. We cannot trust our feelings, we cannot trust our own hearts. According to Jeremiah 17:9, 10 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? If we, as the saying goes, "follow our hearts" we are likely to be led down wrong paths, foolish paths, paths of self-centeredness. Because of this I need discernment beyond my own ability.

Officer Understanding has the ability of knowing the probable outcome of things. Kind of like getting a tomorrow view of a today action. I try to pay attention to his guidance also. It is good to ask the questions often. What will the result be if.......? How will this choice affect my family.........? How will this affect my relationship with the Lord.............? Wisdom looks past today.

I was blessed to begin a relationship with my heavenly Father at a very young age. I grew up loving Him and wanting to serve Him. I remember as a young child praying for wisdom. I remember specifically praying that God would help me learn from other people’s mistakes so that I wouldn’t have to make so many mistakes myself and reap the consequences. I believe that God honored those sincere prayers of a child. He steered my life away from many harmful things. He guided me to places of growth and strength. Did I get everything my heart wanted? No, but I got joy. He placed joy within my heart.

It only makes sense that if it was good for Solomon to ask God for wisdom then it is probably good for us too. In face, we find the invitation to request wisdom from God in the new testament.

James, the brother of Jesus wrote a letter to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations. In this letter, he writes in Chapter One verse Five: If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. NIV

It is God’s desire that we all have discretion and understanding to protect and to guard us. It is because God loves us so much that He wants to be our guide. He knows that our own hearts and minds are not qualified to lead. They are not trustworthy. We can be sure that God is trustworthy.

I pray that we will be a people asking God for wisdom, a people asking for the two protectors "discretion and understanding", and a people who understand how much He loves us.

Reflections From The Proverbs Soul Pleasure

Soul Pleasure

Proverbs Chapter Two7. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8. for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.
9. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair–every good path.
10. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. NIV

"Then" is always an interesting word. It connects two actions together. After "such and such" happens then "this" will happen. In this case the "such and such" is the act of becoming acquainted with the protecting, guiding and enlightening leadership of the Father. After that happens, then you will understand what is right and just and fair–every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

The old saying that ignorance is bliss certainly does not apply here. The more we become acquainted with God’s loving care for us, His guidance, His protection, and the closer we draw to Him, the more we see His heart. The more we see His heart, the more we begin to let our hearts become like His. We begin to understand what is fair and right from God’s perspective. We begin to be more interested in what is genuinely good and not just what is good for us.

After we get a taste of how wonderfully our heavenly Father loves us, our inner being increasingly desires to be more like Him. The desire to become more faithful grows in us. From this kind of a maturing relationship with Him wisdom will enter our hearts, and a pleasant awareness will begin to grow in our soul.

We live in a very cold and calculating world where much is done according to how it will benefit the doer. Our time is spent earning money to heap gain in our own laps. We fight and finagle our way to the top of many types of ladders. Trying to gain positions that will bring more prosperity, power or recognition. We carefully measure and maneuver outcomes depending on how they will affect us. Even acts of kindness and charitable giving can be done expecting some type of benefit in return.

Heart wisdom is a clarity of vision that goes beyond ourselves, it sees past our own circumstances. It sees with the eyes of God, and feels with His heart. Sometimes it is not logical. Sometimes it is not practical. Heart wisdom becomes aware of the bigger picture. It sacrifices self for that bigger cause. Soldiers are familiar with this concept. They leave their lives behind to fight for causes bigger than themselves, and sometimes beyond what they understand.

When you do something and you know that it comes from the desires of God’s heart and by the direction of His hand, it brings a pleasantness to your soul that nothing else can match.

I pray that we will be a people filled with pleasantness in our souls.

Reflections From The Proverbs: My Shield

My Shield

Proverbs Chapter Two
7.b. he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8. For he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. NIV

We talked earlier about the trade that Jesus made so that my sins are no longer on my account sheet, but have already been judged and punished. I have a clean slate. I am blameless. Not because I am good but because of my faith in Jesus Christ and His goodness.

I don’t walk a perfect walk, but I walk a blameless walk because of grace, unmerited, amazing grace. The promise made here for those whose walk is blameless is that God will be a shield for them.

There is a verse in Psalms chapter 5 that I love. It is verse 12. David wrote: For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

I have one son. I guess you could safely say he is my favorite among all other young men. He gets favored treatment. We were on a mission trip in Mexico together when he was around 10 years old. We were walking around a village when a ferocious sounding dog came charging out toward him growing and barring his teeth. Something rose up in me with terrific force. I pointed a finger at the dog and yelled with forceful authority “NO!” That poor dog must have thought something was going to come shooting out of my finger because he went yelping away and hid. Normally I am fearful of unfamiliar dogs. Where did that sudden boldness come from? Well, that was my favored son that dog was charging at. I became a shield around him. (My daughters are favored among all other young women, and I would do the same for them.)

Not everyone grows up in a family being a favored child although everyone wants to. Well, I have good news. Because God is God. all of His children are His favorites. I am the only one like me. God only made one like me, and I am His favorite of my kind. God cares about me. At times He rears up, points his finger in Satan’s face, and forcefully with all authority says NO! God’s loving favor becomes a shield around me and Satan has to back off.

God carefully watches my path. He guides me with wisdom and purpose and precision. Sometimes it is through gardens of sweet pleasure, and sometimes through dark valleys with hard lessons. Sometimes it is through meaningful challenges, but always my heavenly Father is nearby guarding me.

I could by choice wander off on a course not directed by God. I could chart my own path. Even though my foolish independence removes me from his umbrella of blessing, I could never step outside of God’s love. He calls us to be faithful children seeking His direction. We can be blameless because of Christ. We are faithful by daily choice.

I thank God for the gift of His grace that has pardoned me. I thank Him that we all can be favored children of the King.

Reflections From The Proverbs: VICTORY

V-I-C-T-O-R-Y

Proverbs Chapter Two
7. He holds victory in store for the upright, NIV

I like the way the King James Version words this verse. It reads: He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous.
The victory prize is wisdom. When I think of the word victory it takes me back to my high school days and those oh so important football games. The cheerleaders would lead the crowd to spell out V-I-C-T-O-R-Y then shout VICTORY! VICTORY! VICTORY! We all wanted our team to be victorious. I can still get a little caught up watching our Razorbacks. It is interesting to watch the crowds. You can easily tell the casual fans from the real fans. The real fans exhibit behaviors that tell you they really want their team to win.
All that yelling and stomping and "calling of the hogs" spurs the team on, but what really counts is the time spent on the practice fields when no one is cheering. The daily grind of going through the plays over and over. Those players want that prize of victory bad enough to work for it.

I feel certain that everyone wants to be victorious when it comes to attaining wisdom. We all admire those whom we consider to be wise. We all want the benefits that wisdom brings. Everyone wants to cross that end zone and claim the prize. The question is how bad do we want it? Are we like the players investing the practice time, or are we like the casual fans more worried about the traffic jams than who wins the game? Do we sometimes settle for mediocre lives instead of powerful lives because we don’t want it bad enough. Or do we miss out on exciting challenges because the discipline involved in attaining true wisdom seems too great.

God is so awesome. Not only does He hold the prize in His hand waiting for us to come claim it, He gives us a robe of righteousness that makes us worthy to claim it.
Paul says in Romans Chapter 3 :21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
Because of my faith in Him, Jesus traded His righteousness for my sinfulness. Then all my sinfulness perished on the cross. He will lead me and empower me through the grind of life. Every now and then I know that I have passed into the end zone and I am given a little portion of sound wisdom.
It is a process, and sometimes I am more yielded to His leadership and power than at others. It is an amazing process. As I gain bits of wisdom, I am drawn closer to this wonderful redeemer. And as I draw closer to Him, I gain more bits of wisdom.
I pray that God will help us all become avid fans of the God and me (or God and you) team. I pray that he will help us all yearn for victory and strive for the prize of sound wisdom.