Lessons from Proverbs 4. - Part 3

"Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you. (25) Let you eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. (26) Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. (27) Do not turn to the right or left; remove your foot from evil."                                              Proverbs 4:24 - 27.  NKJV

The Living Bible translates v24 as: 'Spurn the careless kiss of a prostitute. Stay far from her.' This paraphrased verse offers the reader a warning to stay on the right path of the just and advises us, to give much attention to our lives. Deceitful and perverse words are used to cover up deceitful actions, as are what we look at and the feelings this may stir up. This is a warning to us all as it is so easy to take a wrong turn and be lost.

The paraphrase of this verse, paints a picture of how dangerous it is when we become sidetracked. Charles F Stanley writes: 'God calls us to stay spiritually alert at all times, and that includes taking regular inventory of our lives' directions. What you allow to affect your heart, influences everything in your life. If you are constantly occupied with wicked and worldly matters, that is what will flow forth from you.' The Spirit Filled Bible commenting on this says, 'How Solomon would have profited by following his own advice.' This is probably true of us all; we must live up to what we confess. This is what attracts people to Jesus, not hypocrisy.

We have to keep our eyes on the ball. If a goalkeeper keeps looking to the right and the left and not on where the ball is, this is where someone will score a goal. Do you get the picture? Our spiritual concentration needs to be constantly focused on Jesus. This helps us to keep on the path of the just. We need to keep checking and re-checking our words, our attitude and how we handle things each day. Deceipt and perverse talk are from the pit as are unwholesome thoughts. We have to regularly keep a watch on these areas, looking straight ahead. If we see something that is not what we should look at, keep going and don't look back. If we do, we can get hooked and reeled in. In other words, we need to be wise and never walk into potential evil situations.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

Lessons from Proverbs 4 - Part 2

"Keep you heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life."    
                                                                                                            Proverbs 4:23.  NKJV

Talking around Matthew 12:33-35, Derek Prince said, 'When the heart is filled it overflows through the mouth, and that overflow tells us the real condition of the heart.' It comes down to what particular fruit we are bearing - good fruit or bad fruit. There is so much temptation around that each of us has to make a concentrated effort to stay on the straight and narrow.

What we watch on TV, or what particular movies we favour play a part in how we operate in our lives. If we're not careful we can be easily influenced and encouraged to let our guard down and, 'take a night off Christianity'. After all, no-one will know, will they - will they? Well for one thing, we may be very careful but we'll never be able to hoodwink God. He sees and hears all.

This is why this verse tells us clearly to, 'Keep your heart with all diligence'. Actually, the word, 'Keep', can be translated 'Guard' - hence, 'Guard your heart with all diligence'. This makes it sound more serious and it is. When we guard something, we keep a watchful eye on it. This needs to be done on a regular basis so that the thief doesn't break in. If scripture tells us, 'the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour,' (1 Peter 5:8) we get the picture that this is very serious business indeed. Therefore, we need to be watchful.

If you've ever noticed the rituals of a Meerkat, you will see this in action. The one's on guard will stand and watch non-stop, looking in many directions. They know it's their responsibility to keep the others safe as there are many predators ready to attack them. Remember, someone once said, 'When the floods came, Noah wasn't in the dark, he was in the ark'. (Genesis 7). Be ready and alert.

We need to protect and guard our heart with all diligence. We know from experience that most unbelievers never read a bible, they read us instead and they're very diligent about it too. One small mistake on our part and it goes around the neighbourhood like a rocket out of a gun. This is why it is so damaging when a leading Christian is caught in some particular scandal. It causes the body of Christ much pain.  and the newspapers love to print these type of stories.

Each of us, have a responsibility to Jesus. He calls us His friends. This means He trusts us. Isn't that amazing? Jesus Christ of Nazareth, trusts us. May we always attempt to protect His Name and live up to our calling.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

Lessons from Proverbs 4

"My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. (21) Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; (22) for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh."                     Proverbs 4:20-22.  NKJV

One of the most important things during a counselling session, is for the counsellor to show they are actually listening properly. Looking out of the window or checking the time on a watch, just shows the person that they are not being listened to properly. Good attending skills are extremely important.

In the same way, we need to give attention to God's Word. We can so easily be distracted. In church, some may be more concerned that someone has sat in their regular seat than what is being taught. It is also, so easy to drift off, especially when there is a pressing schedule of things to be done at home. We need to focus on what is being said and what is happening. It is the same at church or at home, distractions happen.

Solomon mentions the words, 'Incline your ear.' Again, this is ensuring that we are listening properly. To incline the ear, means to slightly lean forward to show that people have your attention - that you're taking notice. This helps us to focus more and again, shows the listener that you are actually listening. You often see this on the TV, where a news reporter leans forward as they speak to who they're interviewing. 

We need God's Word! It's as important to our spiritual well-being as food and drink are to our physical bodies. Without it, we will die. God's Word contains power - power to change situations, to prosper us and to heal our bodies. Note in v23 that Solomon says, 'for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.' God's Words are vitally important.
God gives us many promises in the bible but if we don't read it, we won't be able to find the relevant verses we need to confess and stand on, when we need them. The Word of God gives us life; it changes our outlook on things. It refreshes, empowers and edifies us. Life in this world can be so negative and violent. Politicians say one thing and then do another. It can be so daunting and unreliable. But God's Word is 100% reliable!

Let us all learn the art of giving attention to what God is telling us in His Word. One moment, you can be in a complete quandary, the next, POW - something wonderful has happened. What is it? God has given life to His Word and health to our flesh. However, it only comes by, 'Inclining the ear'.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

Don't fall short

"Pursue peace with all people and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. (15) looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble and by this many become defiled."   Hebrews 12:14-15.  NKJV

How do we fall short of the grace of God? We hold on to things such as:

UNFORGIVENESS. Someone hurts us and causes us much pain and heartache. In return we harbour unforgiveness towards them. At times such as this, we need to remember that, if we don't forgive, neither will God forgive us. (Mark 11:25-26). It's a dangerous place to be in.
RESENTMENT. We can tend to resent certain people, especially those who have hurt us, and we begin to hold a grudge. Every time we see them from thereon, the grudge gets bigger.
DESIRE TO GET EVEN. To be able to survive in this world, life has taught us to stand up for ourselves. If someone does us a wrong, then we need to get even with them. Many battles are fought over trying to get one back on someone who has hurt us.
BITTERNESS. If we're not careful, when all of the above are not addressed and dealt with, bitterness springs up. It begins small but eventually becomes unmanageable, the root is so deep.

We are all prone to these areas. As soon as something like this begins to take hold, we need to deal with it immediately. If we don't, it will take hold of us and taint our walk with Jesus. Thankfully, Jesus knows how difficult things can be, the difference being, He didn't fall into it. Every part of Jesus showed grace to all He met. Hebrews 12:3 says, 'Consider Him who endured such hostility lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.'

Jesus took it all and still produced grace to all who hurt Him. We may be tempted to think, 'Yes, but He was different, He was God.' Yes that's true but He was still human at the time; He bled and He showed emotion. The difference was He demonstrated hesed -God's mercies, goodness and peace, wherever He went. He showered people with hesed, therefore, His Father honoured Him and gave Him the ability - the strength, to carry out His mission.

And He will do the same for us, but we need to deal with these four areas: (1) Unforgiveness, (2) Resentment, (3) Desire to get even, (4) Bitterness. It's not easy to shrug these areas off, but it is achievable with Jesus' help. Let's all give it a go!

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

Submission

"Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
                                                                                                                                    James 4:7. NKJV

Basically, submission can be classed as giving in, or accepting the situation, yielding or surrendering. From one point of view, it is rather like weakness - we can't do it without help - and that's it in a nutshell. As Christians, we daily need God's help because if we try to go it alone, we'll fall flat on our face. The enemy loves to tempt us to go it alone. He does it to make us have the, 'I don't need anyone' syndrome. This is why we need to resist him and we do this by submitting to God. When we do, the devil flees. When we trust God from a humble, surrendered heart it disarms the devil. He can't understand it.

CS Lewis in his book, The Screwtape Letters, is warning some of his junior demons and says, 'We are never in greater danger than when they look around and all traces of God have forsaken them, yet they still choose to obey Him'.

This is classic submission. We give our all, our everything to Him, and we are blessed and reassured that whatever happens in any day, He will take care of it. I like what E Stanley Jones says, 'Surrender to Christ or you surrender to chaos'. When you stop and consider this, it is very true. Many times we become involved with something and rush at it without even consulting God in prayer. And many times, it may go wrong. This may be something that you need to manage better.

Galatians 2:20 gives us a great example of being submitted to Jesus: 
'I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.'

By accepting this, we confess that our old lives are dead and we are now alive in Jesus, submitted to Him in such a way that He takes control of everything and can be seen in us wherever we go.
Actually, it's a good verse to confess every morning. Confessing we are alive in Jesus and our old life is now dead. Do you know that dead men don't react? It is true and a great example of how we should be living for Jesus - No Attack - No Defence - No Reaction. We are in Jesus and He is all we need!

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

Zip the Lip

"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers."              Ephesians 4:29.  NKJV

Are you a grumbler? I think it is something that we are all susceptible to quite often.When things get on top of us and catch us unawares, we can turn into a whinger. We need to watch this area because, a glance in Exodus 16 & 18 shows us that grumblers died in the desert. A humbling thought. They were never satisfied with what God gave them. 'Well, that's different,' you may say. But it's not; our bodies are Temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19) and it is so easy to grieve Him (Ephesians 4:30). Therefore, we need to be aware of that.

A corrupt word is when something is decayed and rotten; so when we speak a word that isn't becoming of a person of God, we may be uttering decay. How do we do this? Well telling jokes is one way. We can be tempted to use graphic language to attempt to make  the joke funnier. When we're in certain company, it is so easy to drop our guard and allow ourselves to 'fit in' with the crowd. It isn't about 'fitting in' with the crowd, but 'standing out,' in the crowd; that should be our goal. 

We don't have to live such sanctimonious lives that we shut ourselves away from all but Christian people. If we did that, how would people get the opportunity to hear about Jesus? But we do need to be an example. This is when people see there is something different about us. One of the biggest problems are our words - what we say and how we say them. When we are not in control of our mouth, we can tend to criticise, moan or even say unkind words to people when they upset us. Take for example, when we're driving. Someone cuts us up, drives erratically near us or even honks at us. If we're not careful, a barrage of unedifying words can be spoken and once out, they can't be taken back.

Does what you say build people up? Do you bless them when you speak? Does what you say build you up? After all, you're a hearer of your words too. It's an area that perhaps we all need to work on. Oftentimes, we need to zip the lip until we can allow something good to come out. 
Let us be aware that, 'Death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it, will eat its fruit.' (Proverbs 18:21).
If you can say something good - then say it. If you can't, then zip your lip until you can!

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

      

Stand Your Ground

"O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you."  V16  
                                                                                                     Daniel 3.  NLT/NKJV

Nebuchadnezzar had built a golden image that stood ninety foot high by ten feet wide and he had commanded everyone to bow down and worship it. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused and the king was enraged. He threatened to throw them into the fiery furnace unless they obeyed him. "And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power.' V15.

The young men told him, 'God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand.' v17. Note that they said, God was able to deliver them but they added that He will deliver them from the king's hand. Basically, they were saying, 'God will deliver us, but if He doesn't save us from the fire, He'll save us from you, O king'. They knew that they may have to be thrown in the fire but they had the faith to know that, somehow they would be ok. They trusted God.

God is just as able to deliver you from whatever fire you may face. Trust Him - He is able and very willing to help. However, you might have to go through the ordeal. But, take heart, He'll be with you. Bob Gass wrote, 'When God doesn't deliver you immediately, he'll be your thermostat in the furnace.'

Notice that Jesus was with them. The king saw a fourth person in the fire (3:25). He said that He was like the Son of God. This was a Christophany - a preincarnate appearance of the Messiah. He was with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fire and He will be with you too, in whatever situation you find yourself in or have to go through. 

As scary as some situations can appear, there really is no need to worry about anything at all. Things may get hot when you make a stand for Jesus. Some say, 'when you play with fire, you'll get burnt,' but when you make a stand for Jesus, He will recognise this and not one hair on your body will be singed and there will be no smell of smoke either.

You may be in a difficult situation at present, but don't compromise your faith. Don't let anyone make you do what you know you shouldn't do. Make a stand, whatever the cost and Jesus will be right beside you.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com