Proverbs 1:
22-33 NKJV 22 How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners
delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge. 23 Turn at my rebuke;
surely I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you. 24 Because I have called and you refused, I
have stretched out my hand and no one regarded. 25 Because you disdained all my
counsel, and would have none of my rebuke, 26 I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when your terror comes, 27 when your terror comes like a storm, and
your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. 28 Then they will call on me,
but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.
29 Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, 30
they would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke. 31 Therefore
they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled to the full with their
own fancies. 32 for the turning away of the simple will slay them, and the
complacency of fools will destroy them; 33 But whoever listens to me will dwell
safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil.
Was reading
in Proverbs this morning, the first day in a new year and I was captured as I
read by the verse 22 in chapter 1 of scorners who delight in scorning, verse 25
for those who disdain godly counsel will see calamity described as terror,
verse 28 describing those who call on God in their terror that is like a storm
from verse 27 and the person who is steeped deep into anguish. NOW
that person is encapsulated in an on-going whirlwind where the vision is
distorted, the sound of that dust hitting every place of the body including the
will and emotions causes such discomfort and no rest nor peace!
Anguish is
a noun that is described as severe mental or physical pain. Synonyms are
torture, torment and agony! Yes anguish is torture with torment and agony!
So in the
passage we have just read, the simple ones are those who scorn and they hate
knowledge. They will not listen to be
taught by God Himself! Even though He reaches out to give His counsel, no
one regarded. God speaks that His counsel was considered as disdain among the
scorners. Then that “suddenly” occurs in their life and they seek the Lord,
even diligently at that time, but cannot find Him, they cannot find the wisdom
that He had offered them. Verse 30 tells us that they would have none of His
counsel and despised His every rebuke. And verse 31 speaks that shall eat the
fruit of their own way and be filled to the full with their own fancies.
Job 4:8 Even
as I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. 9 By the
blast of God they perish and by the breath of His anger they are consumed.
People can
commit error and God will deliver from us from that error when we know Him,
know His way is right and is the truth we so vitally need. We repent of
foolishness. Whoever listens to me ( the wisdom of God) will dwell safely, and
will be secure, without fear of evil.
Most
certainly there are times of excessive demand on us, either at home or in the
work place, but in every life we are to be the charitable person giving to
those “the poor” those in need! Yet not all of those who appear “to be the poor”
are the poor and all those who appear as in “need” can be those looking for
another fix in their habit. Most certainly when people go “rogue” they allow
that which is not lawful, not in this state nor in any other state, but they
choose to make drugs more easily available to others who will seize that
opportunity to use and to stay hooked on a thing. They become slaves to what
they fancy!
Was in conversation with this business leader
in the last few days. He has contacts in a number of areas of this nation as
well as in other countries, and one who he mentioned was a “lady” who had lived
in California for a numbers year in the area of San Francisco. He did not give her name nor did we ask it,
but her tale of woes was horrific being attacked on her street not once but
three times, and managed to escape harm from men who sought to harm her. She
was quick to move out of that “mess” and had relocated to the other side of
this nation to see the Atlantic Ocean. She had escaped horror and disease in an
area that was willing to allow people to run amuck. Amazing in this day and
time, you have people who rather have drugs than a real home and a real job to
go to and live in safety. And this scene is playing out in a number areas
including in the northern part of the state of where we reside.
And to
those who have suffered the loss of a loved one to Covid-19 we engage you with
our love and prayers. For certainly this was and still is an excessive demand
in our lives, our activity in keeping our food bought and bills paid, so in
regard to the virus and to masks we see many have been touched by it, and
affected by its virulent activity!
BUT God is engaged
with activity in our lives! John 4:24 God is Spirit and those who worship Him
must worship in spirit and truth.
You and I
are Alive in the new Birth; Alive in the flow of His spirit. We are enabled by
His power and not as a mechanical thing. A humble manner of transparency
according to His word of truth for worshiping Him is not a matter of location,
but the location of our heart. And we should ask ourselves daily, is “our heart” set for Him out of true
knowledge of God? Do we put Him first each day? Will we regard His word as
truth and life in the midst of a virus, or rogues running amuck?
That true
knowledge of God is seen in Colossians 3: 9-11 Amplified Bible 9 Do not lie to one another, for you have
stripped off the old (unregenerate) self with its practices, 10 and have
clothed yourselves with new the [spiritual self], which is ever in the process of
being] renewed & remodeled into [fuller & more perfect knowledge upon]
knowledge after the image (the likeness) of Him Who created it. 11 (a)[ In this
new creation all distinctions vanish] There is no room for and there can be
neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, [ nor difference between
nations whether alien] barbarians or Scythians [ who are the most savage of
all] nor slave or free man; but Christ is all and in all [everything and
everywhere, to all men, without distinction of person].
There is no
color, and no ethnicity. There is Jew and Gentile only! There are the “believers”
who have left the “old man” behind to live for Christ in this day and hour! When
the un-regenerated is regenerated into the life of God an actual observable
change is evident! They do a “new thing” for that which is God’s word read
daily has and will remove the trash and debris on our hearts to reveal God’s purpose
for each of us. The new is observed as it replaces the old to appear as the
image of God !
Proverbs
24:1-5 Do not be envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them; 2 for their
heart devises violence, and their lips talk of troublemaking. 3 Through wisdom
a house is built, and by understanding it is established ; 4 by knowledge the
rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. 5 A wise man is strong,
yes, a man of knowledge increases strength.
Violence
& trouble always leads to a downfall! You can see that in those who choose
their own destiny! They will not receive correction nor the instruction that
leads to that “safe place” in the Lord. It
is God who established the world through His wisdom, understanding, &
knowledge :Prov. 3:19-20 The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding
He established the heavens; 20 by His knowledge the depths were broken up,
& the clouds drop down the dew.
So a house
is established in the same manner; The treasure is both material &
spiritual blessings; Sinners try doing this in their own thinking and their own
ways and end in destruction without God.
Genesis
7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the
seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep
were broken up, & the windows of heaven were opened. A Flood was sent and the fountains of the
great deep were broken up: it was broken by Him who sustains the heavens and
the earth. You can go to see the Grand
Canyon, and what you see is the aftermath of a flood caused by man and his
sinful nature! When sin abounds there is no foundation under the people who
sin; there is only shaking and catastrophic tides of nature un-leased on those
who remain in that state of lawlessness!
Expressing
God’s gracious word of Salvation in Us will always be seen in obedience to His word given to us. It is a faithful
person who has trust in the Lord. They have faith in Him and have allowed Him
to sit on the throne of their heart to be led by Him.
We are to
appear as a person defined by righteous behavior willing and to do for His good
pleasure . We are to be the willing and the active daily for Christ! Those who really come
in contact with God are so concerned about righteousness that they will do
everything in their power to create a righteous community, whether that
righteous community is his family, his neighborhood, or his church…and that is
those who make up the believers around him. Looking forward to Christ’s return
is important for us to lean toward, and that we reach others with the Gospel,
that there is a heaven to gain and a hell to avoid. And we keep that watch, as we walk with those who have the gospel
preached to them, are the changed to shun evil, and are the quick to embrace
truth that only comes from God Himself! We receive truth!
Again, Proverbs 1:30 they would have none
of my counsel and despised my every rebuke. 31 Therefore they shall eat the
fruit of their own way, and be filled to the full with their own fancies. 32 for
the turning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools
will destroy them; 33 But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be
secure, without fear of evil.
Those who
disregard correction have the thought that this word has no value to it. So they
reject truth! They turn away as those seen in the rebellion of (Hebrews 3:8),
and those in apostasy. They have no trust in God but in their own selves. They
live in unbelief because their hearts are hard.
Off hand,
you might think of Pharaoh that Moses faced in bringing the Hebrew nation out
of bondage. Each time that Moses was sent to Pharaoh, a new plague, a new thing
of a evil heart brought about bad plagues and he continued to harden his heart.
God used this to bring the man to see Him, still Pharaoh rejected God in Moses
and chose death instead. He chose his own way that led him out to chase the
Hebrew nation to bring them back into serving him and he died, yes drowned with
his men and his fine horses in the Red Sea!
It is like
seeing a man with wealth be taken captive by booze and drive a hundred thousand
new car into a light pole! That happened to an actor just a few years ago.
Is there
something driving us? Hopefully it is the Holy Spirit of God who brings us
through sorrow, discomfort and sometimes tragedy.
Hopefully
it is not evil driving one, but the Holy Spirit, who brings us through what may
appear as darkness to bring light us to continue to see the “great” light and
see the hope in Jesus Christ. We have not been left alone. God is with us!
2021 has
begun and when we get to its end, I pray we are still one with God. I believe
us to the righteous who are without fear of evil. There are many things we see
today that line up with injustices seen in the workplace, schools, and even
within our government. Injustice and lies have taken over meetings, voting, and
even to the point of changing history of one nation like ours!
In today’s
society and with the culture, we can see an absence of reasonable moral
guidelines. When people are establishing their own guidelines, they are
trusting in their own righteousness which amounts to being wrong in so many ways….
In that quality of HOPE, you
and I find the measure of the man, the one willing to walk with God no matter
the cost to him. Where is our hope? Is it in God or in man? For if man is lost,
he is lost to that which brings life, & he has no hope. But the man who
brings the message of hope brings Jesus Christ where the light shines in the
dark places. The crooked places are made straight, & what is of God is made
known to us by the Holy Spirit!
New teaching at: Voice of Prayer
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