LEARNING DAILY

 

Proverbs 8:12-14,17, I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge and discretion. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate. Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom; I am understanding, I have strength. I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.

 

As we begin the quest to find out about wisdom, it seems good to come to an understanding about what wisdom is. Solomon, in these verses, links wisdom to the qualities of prudence, knowledge, and discretion. Prudence is one who has good sense and is smart as compared to one who is simple, gullible or naïve (see verse 5). Knowledge in the book of Proverbs refers to facts, information learned over a period of time. Discretion is the ability to make godly decisions based on the knowledge we have.

 

One who is prudent, one who has prudence because of the presence of Jesus Christ in his/her life, is humbled by his/her sinfulness and turn to Him to walk daily with Him on the narrow way and walk with Him as wise and not as a fool. The secular world wants people to be impressed with their knowledge and advancements, but I fear they are far from the will of God. Yes, our life has become easier because of many advancements, I do not believe these advancements have brought people closer to God. Have you read about the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Scary stuff!

 

God gives those who walk with Him discretion to know the real meaning of life and to know His will (read 2 Corinthians 2:14). Have you had thoughts about the times we live in and that the return of Christ is close? Are there those people you know you do not want to be around and others you move toward? Have you sensed that something is not right without really knowing? That is the Lord directing you away from wrong choices that could have bad results for you and the kingdom of God. Because of God’s wisdom in the lives of Believers, they can make better choices; we can choose between right and wrong, and between good and best.

 

The New Testament verse that reflects this idea is Ephesians 5:15-17, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be in unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” God wants each Believer to gain wisdom; He wants us to walk with Him as wise and not as foolish. We do that by “redeeming the time” or by making the best of each moment in our lives. How can that be done? It happens only by gaining wisdom, but understanding that God’s will for our lives is to be redeemed by His Son.

 

Can I tell you that we must stop wasting our time on the things that do not make us wise in the matters of God. He placed us on this earth for Himself. He meant for us to get our lives right with Him through Jesus Christ, to glorify Him, be a light to others so they are drawn to Him and to live righteously as His children. We are to be an example for others and we do that through gaining His wisdom. Our Father in heaven wants you to know how much He loves you and He will be found by you when you diligently seek Him and His wisdom.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Proverbs 8:10-11, Receive my instruction, and not silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold; for wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.

 

God asked Solomon what he wanted from God. Solomon’s reply was to ask for wisdom which pleased God. Because he did not ask for riches and fame, God made him the wisest man that ever lived; He also gave him both wealth and fame throughout the world.

 

As Christians living in an evil and deceptive world, we need to have knowledge of how God want us to live and the wisdom to use that knowledge. We need the wisdom from above that helps us be aware what deception is trying to get us to believe and where it wants to lead us. What better words than the proverbs of the wisest man to live on this earth? I am going to spend some time writing from the book of Proverbs to help us live our lives from God’s point of view as to how we are to live wisely in these days. As a reference, I am using the daily devotional, the Chronological writing of the Bible because it has done all the grouping of Proverbs by topic.

 

Let me give some background to the Proverbs today. Solomon is credited with writing thousands of proverbs. “The proverbs are short poems, usually in the form of couplets, which set high ethical standards and give practical advice for daily living through the use of comparative, or perhaps antithetical, imagery” (written as an introduction to the Proverbs in the Daily Bible written in Chronological Order). Often the verse in Proverbs places a high value on wisdom and contrast living as God demands with evil living so prevalent in the world today. Righteousness is contrasted to wickedness and justice is contrasted to injustice.

 

The David Jeremiah Study Bible points out a significant thought we must understand. “Somewhere between Solomon’s day and the present, knowledge became separate from wisdom, especially in the modern West. While contemporary emphasis is often on knowledge to the exclusion of wisdom, the ancient Near East upheld the importance of wisdom – of how to live well in the world. Knowledge was not devalued; rather it was regarded as a means to an end. The end was wisdom – where knowledge, discernment, and understanding combined to produce a positive outcome. The opposite of wisdom is foolishness – ignorance, lack of discernment, and limited insight in favor of one’s personal preference or opinion. In Proverbs, the wise person is humble before the holiness and counsel of God.”

 

Solomon writes the purpose for writing the proverbs in chapter 1 verses 1-4, “to know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, judgment, and equity, to give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.” The book of Proverbs clearly shows two groups of people in humanity – those who submit to the will of God and those who do not. Proverbs contrasts those who live in the world by following God’s principles and those who live by their own knowledge, apart from God. Those benefit the most when God is honored and revealed as the true source of one’s wisdom.

 

Solomon often mentions that he is writing to his son as he writes the Proverbs. As parents and grandparents, we are to be teaching our children and grandchildren the ways of God and how to live a life that honors Him. His writing also tells us the need to live a life of continual training and discipline because we all lack His wisdom. So, we are going to seek God’s wisdom through the Proverbs in the days ahead. We must not be careless in seeking God’s wisdom; we must be diligent in doing so. God taught Solomon and He will teach us as well through the Holy spirit He gives to us when He saves us. Ask the Holy Spirit to instruct your heart each day and to help you open the Word of God to you. Pray that He will help you apply His Word to every circumstance you face and when you need wisdom the most.

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.

 

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Joshua 4:6-7, that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come saying, “What do these stones mean to you?” Then you shall answer them that all the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters were cut off.  And these stones shall be a memorial to the children of Israel forever.

 

Those who crossed the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land were instructed by Joshua to carry stones from the river in order to establish a memorial; this memorial was to commemorate this great event. Those who were with Moses as they left Egypt were instructed by God Himself to establish weeks of remembrance. The Passover was to be remembered as was events to be remembered by the Feast of Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and the Feast of Weeks. The establishments of these events were to be celebrated to remember what God had done for them. From the verse from Joshua above, notice that these events were to be remembered by those who would come after those who participated in the actual events.

 

I have had the opportunity to visit the memorials established in Washington D.C. that commemorate those who gave their lives in various wars this country has fought in. Regardless of one’s beliefs about this country’s participation in some of them, we must not forget those who gave everything for this country to remain free. On the Vietnam memorial there are several names of classmates, only a few of the many names memorialized. Seeing those memorials is a time to reflect on the many who served in the world wars, Korea, Vietnam, and the wars in the Middle East; a time to remember the lives changed as a result of their serving. Saying “thank you” seems too little to say to those of you who have served this country in that way! Freedom is never free.

 

I have that same difficulty when I think of what Jesus Christ did for all would believe in Him. To me the cross is a memorial of the salvation He offers to all people. Sadly, too many look at the cross as something else, like many who walk by the war memorials and do not realize the importance, the sacrifice made and not understanding the meaning behind the memorials. Saying “thank you” to the Lord Jesus Christ for His sacrifice on the cross for each person just seems too little. Instead, we need to live our lives differently. We need to cast of our self-centered lifestyle and live on the narrow way as He desires, trusting Him in all things, and living our lives as a memorial for all to see how He has changed us.

 

There are friends who read this who have served this country. Thank you for your service, for keeping this country free for us to live our lives as we want. I pray that freedom does not become something that destroys us from within. I am so thankful for the freedom that Jesus Christ gave all who believe in Him. It is not a freedom to live in any way we want. No, it is freedom to live as He desires – freedom from a lifestyle of sin and living as an evil world wants us to. That freedom was not free either! I encourage each of us to live our lives as living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2), a memorial so others might see the power, the grace, and love Jesus Christ in us.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Psalm 144:3-4, Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of Him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him? Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

 

The heading in the DJSB for Psalm 144 is A Song to the Lord who Preserves and Prospers His People. In the LSSB the heading is The Warrior’s Psalm. I am not sure if that makes any difference to the what David is writing in this Psalm; either way David is highlighting the ways God has protected him. He has experienced God’s protection and acknowledges His need and dependence on God each day. That is great teaching for each of us as we walk on the narrow way to eternal life in His kingdom.

 

Go back to verse 1 of the Psalm and begin reading how David describes the Lord. Read the descriptions – my Rock, my lovingkindness, my fortress, my high tower, my deliverer, my shield, and the One in whom I take refuge. David has learned to trust God in battle and in any crisis that he faced. Psalm 145:2 seems appropriate here, “Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever.” Praise must come when we come to trust God for His goodness and for watching over us as we face the battles of life that come our way. No day should go by without praising and thanking God for His blessings and gifts to us. Why don’t you stop reading and take a few minutes to give Him your praise and thanksgiving for what he has done and given you!

 

Man has certainly messed up since creation. God made us to fellowship with him, to walk in obedience, to be his people and for Him to be our God. But mankind messed up, often, over and over. Man messed up so badly that God regretted that He created them. But He forgave and life was good until mankind messed up again. If you are honest, you have to agree with me that this cycle is the story of your walk as it is with my walk with the Lord. There have been times I have been disappointed, perhaps even angry that God did not answer my sincere prayers for something very important to me in the way I wanted. It is easy to look back and be thankful He said no.

 

I have learned to be extremely thankful that God never gave upon me and just let me go on a different way – the broad way that leads to destruction. I have even at times asked God the same question David did in this Psalm, “Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of Him [me]?” Why does God even bother with us and just let us go our own selfish, self-centered way? Why does He even care?

 

He does care! He sent His Son Jesus to save us, to forgive our sins, and to change us, making us fit to live for ever in His kingdom. For those of us who have chosen to accept this precious gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, it is our responsibility to live the best life we can, asking for His forgiveness when we sin, and to live our life to the fullest, not for ourselves but for Him. The greatest blessing we can have is to know that God cares for us – no, He loves us – and calls us His children!

 

Psalm 144:15 summarizes the thought for today, “Happy [blessed] are the people who are in such a state’ happy [blessed] are the people whose God is the Lord!”

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Psalm 55:22, Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

 

1 Peter 5:6-7, Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

 

I laid in bed last night wondering and praying about what more I could do for some prayers I have been praying to be answered. I know God answers prayer in His way and in His timing; I get impatient. I know He sees into tomorrow because He is not limited by time and I know He knows best; I still try to help Him. He must shake His head and wonder if I will ever learn to trust Him fully. I just want Him to move in the lives of my loved ones and those around me to know deception and to walk on the narrow way as God wants them to. I keep praying, believing He really does know best!

 

That brings us to the verses from the Psalms and 1 Peter. Two important thoughts stand out to me this morning. First is that every Believer must humble themselves under God’s authority, believing and trusting He knows our every need, every concern, hears every prayer lifted to Him – He cares about each one of us. Secondly, we are to give all of our burdens, all the things and people we care about to Him.

 

Humility is to be the very center of every Christian’s walk with God. Humility is the “absence of pride, an honest awareness of one’s weaknesses, and the disposition to ascribe to God and others the credit for what one is achieving or has accomplished” (LSSB). Peter is encouraging, exhorting all Christians to walk on the narrow way in such humility that others would see and know there is something different about us, that we follow Christ. When we do, we will receive God’s grace and help. When we do, He exalts or lifts us up at the time He knows it is needed and best. Prideful people believe they can handle everything themselves, believing they do not need God. They point to their “success” in business, their accumulation of stuff, and their accomplishments. They can have all this while acknowledging God has blessed them to give Him glory and honor for doing so. “Humility means Christians should depend willingly on someone else and see others as better than themselves. God’s people should humble themselves ‘under the mighty hand of God’ and leave the exalting to Him” (DJSB).

 

Both the Psalmist and Peter tell us to “cast our burdens upon the Lord”. In other words, when situations come that cause us to fear, be anxious, and cause us to be concerned about what to do, Believers are to pray and not worry. The greatest formula to stop worry is to pray, give the burden(s) to God who really does care about you and your situation! This is emphasized throughout Scripture. Give the burden, the problem to Him and trust He will solve the situation and/or get you through it! When we do, the Psalmist says God will sustain us. Just like a newborn baby cannot live without the care and nurture of loving parents, we are made to live dependent on God’s care and His provision. God wants to be our provider, at least I believe that is what I read in the Bible. He wants to be our king, for His people to look to Him, to trust Him to handle our problems in His way, in His time for His honor and His glory. He cares for each of us and is pleased when we cast our cares upon Him.

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Matthew 12:50, “For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

John 10:27, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

John 15:10, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”

John 15:14, “You are my friends if you do whatever I command you.”

 

The statements above were all said by Jesus. Notice the word, “do the will of My Father”, “follow Me”, “abide in My love”, “keep My commandments”, and “do whatever I command”. I mention often that each believer is to walk on a narrow way which is another way of saying we are to do what the Bible says, to follow Jesus by keeping His commandments. I write this today in reaction to those who say they are Christians but do not act like He tells us we must act.

 

The Bible tells us to walk the narrow way like Jesus tells us. We get on it by accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior. No one can make judgment on one’s salvation; that is between the individual and the Lord. However, the Bible tells us in Matthew 7 not to throw our pearls to the swine and to watch out for false Prophets. We are told we will know them by the fruit that is produced in their life; a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. My thought is that not everyone who states they are a Christian is. Jesus said in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Verse 23 continues, And then I will declare to them [those who have no relationship with Him], ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” They were not permitted into heaven because they did not have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

I know I am in shaky territory when writing this. I want to make two points today. If you have asked Jesus to save you, act like it. Jesus said few would find the narrow way. The reason for this is that people do not follow Jesus and do not make Him Lord of their daily life. The two must go together! It is difficult to write this today. However, deception is getting ever stronger in our world. I would encourage you to reread again the parable of the Sower found in Matthew 13; study it and know what it says.

 

The other point to be made is to make sure you know that Jesus does not forbid spiritual discernment. When He says “Judge not” in Matthew 7:1, He is “condemning the kind of judgment that comes from a hypocritical and unkind spirit. Christians should never judge by appearances or in a manner by which they themselves would want to be judged” (DJSB). Jesus continued by telling us to judge ourselves and remove the plank from our own eye before making judgment on others.

 

Jesus told us that walking on the narrow way would be difficult, but it leads to life in His kingdom. Along the way, those on it will be faced with those who want to lead us away from God’s kingdom by trying to get us to believe false teachings. Be encouraged to “do the will of My Father”, “follow Me”, “abide in My love”, “keep My commandments”, and “do whatever I command”. Read/study God’s Word to draw close to Him and do what He desires. By doing so, you will not be misled as the days grow darker and deception grows in the days we live in.

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Proverbs 16:6, In mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity; and by fear of the Lord one departs from evil.

 

Do not misunderstand this verse. One cannot atone or be reconciled by showing mercy or living their life in truth. Forgiveness of sins comes only through what Jesus Christ did for whosever believes in Him (John 3:15) and what He did at the cross at Calvary. It is God’s mercy that sent Jesus to this earth to take our place on the cross and according to the truth spoken through the prophets in the Old Testament (from Clarke’s Commentary). All Believers are to put this into our hearts so that we live for Him. That is how we refrain from doing evil and making those mistakes written about in the last page of the blog.

 

I was challenged by a statement made by Dr. Ed Newton, Pastor at Community Bible Church, Sunday morning. He said, “The Bible will keep you from sin and sin will keep you from the Bible.” He did not mean one who reads/studies the Bible will no longer sin. He meant the person who reads/studies the Bible will learn to fear God and do the best they can to walk on the narrow way. When we study God’s word, we gain such a respect and reverence of who God is that we want to do everything we can to please Him and bring glory to Him. That includes departing from evil! The book of Proverbs is clear that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. That reverence leads to humble and obedience to His majesty, power, justice, mercy, and grace. The study of God’s Word also tells us that God can do whatever He wants to do, at any time, and in any way. He is in control of all things – yesterday, today, and tomorrow!

 

Proverbs 16:5 tells us it is inevitable that God will punish those who are proud in their heart, too arrogant to acknowledge God. The only way to avoid the consequences of pride and sinful living is to acknowledge our sin and ask Jesus Christ to forgive and change us. Romans 6:23 is clear that every sin will be punished. It also declares that grace comes through God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. I cannot think of a better way to live our life than in God’s mercy and His truth; when we do, He changes us by purifying our life and helping us to “depart from evil”. It is His desire for us to be made perfect, complete in Him and motivates us to live the life He desires. Instead of living for ourselves, to desire others to see how great we are and all other self-centeredness, we begin to live to help others and live to serve God. That should drive us to hate sin and turn from it.

 

I want to emphasize the statement Dr. Newton made. Reading and studying God’s Word will change you! As you read about God’s love for you and His desire for you to live the life He desires, you want to change and no longer live the life you once lived. Let me tell you that God’s Word will help you understand His mercy, grace, and love for others in a way that will cause you to desire to share that with others. That can happen through your words and through the life you lead. The Word of God will drive you to hate sin, to want to drive the sinful nature from your life, convict you when you sin, and cause you to go to the Father to be forgiven.

 

The greatest goal for each of us should be to turn away from sin and walk the narrow way, the perfect way, to God. He accepts nothing less. I encourage you to be in God’s Word, to learn more about God’s mercy and truth, to desire more mercy and truth and His fear in your life. Gaining these virtues or qualities will make you great in God’s eyes. May God bless each of us in this pursuit as we walk toward His kingdom and eternal life!

 

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Romans 8:28, And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

 

Genesis 50:20, But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is today, to save many people alive.

 

As I was considering and writing the page for the blog about what I would write to a “younger me”, I had to consider my many failures over the years. I could have included a lot of things I would like to do over. Did you consider what you would write or tell to your “younger you”? Did you consider things you would like to be able to do over? I wonder if the mistakes we have made help us grow, mature in our spiritual walk, as we walk the narrow way to eternal life in God’s kingdom.

 

Please don’t misunderstand. I am not trying to justify bad behavior in my life. The verses above tell me there are going to be bad things that occur in my life. Sadly, we continue to sin after we accept the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. We must admit our sin(s) when we commit them, repent, and His grace, oh His grace, is with us! There is evil all around us; it is everywhere. The temptation to give in to it is continual, relentless eve as it pursues us. People want to see Christians fall; they celebrate when we fall into their traps. But God, in His faithfulness and His grace helps us and strengthens us and picks us up when we fall; we must turn to Him, asking for Him to forgive us and make us stronger in following Him.

 

I doubt that any Believer wakes up and looks forward to making mistakes that day. The reality is we all make mistakes; we all sin. We have heard that we must learn from our mistakes. God forgives the mistakes we make when we confess them. Be careful – this is not a get out of free card. He tells us to “go and sin no more”! I believe good can come out of mistakes and sin; being forgiven is to be aware of how mistakes happen and to learn from that. For me, mistakes begin with the thoughts I allow to become actions. Sometimes, I allow thoughts to stay around too long, allow visuals to stay too long in my mind. Before long, they become words spoken or actions done I wish I could take back. Again, I don’t plan this and do not like the consequences that result.

 

If one can let go of their mistakes by confessing them, be forgiven, learn from them, it seems to me spiritual growth will occur. That would be a good thing for the kingdom of God. From experience, there are some things that seem more difficult than others to remove from our lives. We must have a plan in order to avoid mistakes, especially those that cause us the most difficulties. For example, the one who has a problem with alcohol better not enter a bar or put themselves in a place where temptation would be overwhelming. The examples could go on and on –you need to plan to not put yourself in a position to be tempted beyond your limits. If you sin, confess it and let it go! God understands, forgives, but wants you to stop sinning! Keep yourself in God’s Word and before the temptation occurs, pray for God’s strength and wisdom to keep and deliver you from temptation. Then be obedient!

God doesn’t always keep the mistakes from happening. But He is with you, providing a way of escape. Nothing catches Him by surprise; nothing is too big for Him to redeem, to forgive us. Learn from your mistakes. In doing so, we are reminded that we are human and imperfect. That is not an excuse to sin! It does help us to move from relying on ourselves to rely on God to cleanse and purify ourselves.

 

I have found through my failures, through my disappointments, drawing close to God is the only way to be obedient and content. Like learning to touch a hot stove is painful and something to not do again, learning from mistakes makes me want to follow God in obedience to His Word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Learn to see God’s purpose in your life through the mistakes you make!

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

1 Corinthians 10:13, No temptation has overtaken you except such as common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make a way of escape, that you will be able to bear it.

 

I have heard a song played which the artist, MercyMe is talking to his “younger self”. In the song he sings, “Dear younger me where do I start? If I could tell you everything I have learned so far then you could be one step ahead of all the painful memories still running through my head. I wonder how much different things would be, younger me.”

 

As I listened to the song, I began to wonder what I would write to a “younger me”. What would you write? Today’s blog may be more for me and I probably won’t explain too much. Take a few minutes to consider your thoughts to your “younger me”.

 

There is no particular order to the following thoughts. I might write:

 

Change is not a bad thing; it happens for different reasons. You need to get out of your comfort zone, even when it might be difficult or painful. You have a great journey ahead.

 

Life is good even when difficulty and challenges come. Those times get better.

 

Continue exercising and training; it is not easy to get started again once you stop.

 

You are not the only person experiencing whatever you are experiencing. Don’t be afraid to talk to close friends about your situation. Their advice may help you through difficult times. Besides, that is why they are close friends.

 

God made you the way you are. He knows everything about what you do, say, think. He does not make mistakes! And, because God made you the way you are, you don’t need to copy anyone else; be who God made you to be. It is a waste of time trying to figure out what the model or ideal person is.

 

When you find that special person to spend your life with, be open and honest with her/him and do all you can to make that relationship strong, constantly making it better so the wonder never stops.

 

Don’t be gullible! Follow the old saying of trust but verify. Deceitfulness is a constant danger in the world and wants to drag you into living a life God does not want you to live.

 

Read/study God’s Word daily. Pray daily – write out your prayer if discipline is needed. God’s Word will never fail and will keep you from being deceived. God’s Word is fascinating and helps us to know Him, trust Him, and stay faithful to Him. You can never pray too much or too often.

 

You will never waste a moment of your time by getting to know the Lord better and trying to live the way He desires you to live – walking a narrow way into eternal life in His kingdom. Living your life in order to know Him better will cause you only to miss out on sinful living. Make this a daily choice, a daily practice.

 

Do everything you can to avoid complacency! Be curious and try new things. Learn as much as possible.

 

Forgive! Forgive! Forgive! Nothing is gained by holding grudges or dwelling on how others have treated you! That includes forgetting yourself!

 

Be grateful for what you have. Bless others with what you have been given!

 

I did have some difficulty getting started. But once again, once started I went too long. There is no doubt much more could be spoken to the “younger me”! I will reflect on other thoughts in my quiet time. What about you? What would you write to “your younger you”?

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Matthew 19:26, But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

 

I believe that settles the matter: When did the impossible ever stop God? It never has! It never will!

 

This statement by Jesus came as a result of the response a “rich young ruler” had when Jesus told him if he wanted to follow Him, he needed to go sell all he had and give to the poor. Then he would gain treasure in heaven. Jesus singled out the barrier this guy had when it came to following Him – he loved his wealth above everything else. The disciples of Jesus must have thought like the rich young man: that wealth was an indication of God’s blessing. They asked Jesus who was qualified to enter heaven if those who were obviously blessed by God did not qualify. Jesus responded with the words above; that God’s blessing cannot be earned; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not possible with men; it comes only through Him.

 

Luke 1:37 tells us that “nothing is impossible with God”. Throughout the Bible the God of the miraculous is at work. Abraham and Sarah conceived a son at an old age. God parted the Red Sea and Jordan River to allow His people to cross without harm. The fourth man walked with three Hebrews in a fiery furnace protecting them so they did not even smell like smoke. The woman Hannah was barren, God heard her cry and the prophet Samuel was born. The same happened for Elizabeth who was a relative of Mary, who conceived by the Holy Spirit. Victory after victory was given to Joshua in the Promised Land because of God going before the armies. These victories included the walls of Jericho coming down by the shouts of the people of God. Deliverances of God’s people after crying out in their disobedience; God rose up judges who were obedient to Him and victories were gained by God’s intervention. There were people, like Lazarus, who were raised from the dead by the power of God in the New Testament. The birth, life, death and resurrection testify to God doing the impossible.

 

Is there anything too difficult or impossible for God? No! The power to do the impossible comes from God, from faith in the one who is able to do the impossible. There are so many examples of doing the impossible than given above. The key in each is the power of doing impossible is God. Moses may have struck a rock for water to flow from it, but God was the One doing the impossible. Another thought in these examples is God did things that were impossible so He would receive the glory; man may have been used but God received the glory.

 

Over the years, I have been asked to pray with or for others. I have seen God do some wonderful things because of prayer. I have learned that God really does want us to ask Him into our various trials, situations, especially the messes we get into. I have also learned that He does not always answer the way I ask or want; He does not answer always right away. We must continue to “ask, seek and knock” about bringing godly desire to completion – that is still no guarantee. His timing! His way! All glory and honor to Him!

No there is nothing too great for God to do. The impossible done by Him is for His glory alone.

I end the way I began. One of the greatest miracles – impossible for man – is to say yes to the only way to eternal life in His kingdom. Only God can save man from the sinful, evil world we live in. What a joy to be asking for another to say yes to the salvation Jesus offers and see it happen! What a great God we serve!

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Mark 8:35-36, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”  Jesus

 

There are some important questions to deal with as we walk the narrow way. First, we must get on the narrow way through a narrow gate – answering the question of heaven or not. Then we must decide to get to know the truth found in God’s Word so we do not fall to false teaching and be led astray – apostasy. Today, we deal with dying to self. Let me begin by saying that God gives wealth and stuff to us so we have the ability to help others; there is nothing wrong with wealth. The problem comes when we allow what we have to control the things we do and allow it to cause us to think more highly of ourselves than we should. Taking advantage of the position we have to gather personal gain at the expense of others becomes a problem.

 

What did Jesus mean when He asked the question of a man gaining the “whole world but loses his soul”? Gaining the whole world is to receive all the world offers – fame, money, pleasure, prestige, and so forth. To lose one’s soul is to die without a relationship with Christ and spend eternity without Him. In the last page of the blog, this place was the lake of fire.

 

The verses from Mark are found in Matthew 16. Jesus says this after predicting His death and resurrection. Peter, being Peter, objects to this happening to his Lord and is rebuked by Jesus. Was Peter concerned about his own needs, as some commentaries state? If so, Jesus is telling Peter, and us, that nothing is more important than our soul being with Him in eternity in His kingdom. Placing our emphasis on gaining wealth and stuff, earthly gains, is not worth the eternal price that might be paid.

 

There is nothing wrong with wealth, fame, success and power if all that is God’s will. God blesses us with what He knows we will use for His glory and His honor. He is a loving God and wants to be glorified through Believers. The problem becomes when we place this stuff, temporary stuff, ahead of following Him. Let me say this another way using the Word of God. Deuteronomy 8:18 tells us the source of our wealth, “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” God gives us the ability to create wealth. To others, He gives the ability to write commentaries and Study Bibles for us to better understand His Word. The point is God gives the ability to gain what He can use. If we have this in our minds, we have the ability to do what is right, to be generous and say no to corruption or cheating in order to gain more wealth for ourselves.

 

When earthly blessings are chased and become the primary motive of our lives, we are not living our life in the will of God and risk the losing our soul. Not my words – they are from God’s Word! When God is our desire and all we want and need, He supplies everything we need. We don’t go hungry; we have all the money we need; we encourage and help others; and we are successful – at least in God’s eyes!

The cost is dying to self, of losing one’s self, to losing one’s life; the result of doing so is to live for Jesus and His gospel. The reward is found in Matthew 16:27, “For the Son of Man will come in glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.” The reward(s) will be worth any and all cost we have to follow Him! I wonder just how far off this time will be!

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

2 Thessalonians 2:3, “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away occurs first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition

 

In one of the last pages of the blog this verse was used to address the rejection of truth which is called apostasy or the “the falling away”. Look around and take some time to reflect what is going on in the world and specifically the United States. Is there any doubt that there is a rejection of Biblical truth and truth has become what individuals say it is? This is not a new thought as individuals have been determining truth for themselves for many years. Is there any doubt that people are “falling away” from key and true doctrines of the Bible to follow false teachings that claim to be true or real Christian doctrines?

 

There are verses of Scripture that highlight apostasy during the New Testament times I want you to consider. John 6:60-66 describe followers who did not understand His teachings; they were too difficult for them to grasp. Understand that the Holy Spirit had not been sent to Believers to teach them all things. Because they could not understand, they left “and walked with Him no more”. In Galatians 1:6, Paul writes of those who walked away from the teachings of Jesus to follow a different gospel. 1 Timothy 4:1 warns that in the last days, there would be those who will depart from the faith to follow the doctrines of demons. And, 2 Peter 3:17, is a warning for us today to stay alert to those who would teach false doctrines (such as the rapture of the true Church is not real). There has always been a problem with apostasy and the Bible indicates it will become worse in the last days.

 

I write about this today to make sure all Believers do not fall to the lies that are being spoken, by so many held to be authorities or leaders in all areas of life (This includes leaders in the church and in government!). These false teachings or misinformation begins very subtly, by a simple twist of truth that grows and pollutes one’s faith and beliefs. Evil becomes good and good becomes evil through slow and misleading thoughts until one begins to believe the false teachings as true. It is difficult to detect the teaching of apostates because only a small difference in Scripture causes error to be taught. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 11:13-14, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” If Satan can “masquerade as an angel of light and pretend to be one of God’s good angels he can empower false apostles to masquerade as apostles of Christ” (DJSB). Believers cannot look for these false teachers to just outright lie but rather to twist the truth just enough to make the false look believable. Yet, they seem to be less and less concerned with just twisting the truth to make it believable; the lies are becoming more and more bold and shameless today.

 

The only way to recognize false teaching is to stay in God’s Word, staying close to truth; knowing truth will help us recognize or at least warn us of something not being right. Then we go back to find the truth and do what it says.

 

The goal of those who are deliberately trying to mislead people is to stay in power and to bully those who know, believe and want to follow God’s truth into submission to their desires and way of life. I wonder how much longer God will allow this before He takes the true Church out of this world and until He removes the Holy Spirit who restrains the man of sin and the powers of evil from having their way on earth. The rapture and the judgment of God must be very close!

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.