Do Not Be Idle

          Reading in Proverbs today is very convicting to me.  We are called to work while in this world and in this Proverb we are given the ant as an example.  Although there are harsh words here we must consider they are told to us in love, to motivate us to a better way of living that is honoring to God.

Proverbs 6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!

Proverbs 6:7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,

Proverbs 6:8 yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.

Proverbs 6:9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
When will you get up from your sleep?

Proverbs 6:10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—

Proverbs 6:11 and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.

          True for myself I had lost my last job due to problems within the company and they just could not afford to keep me on, but that does not give me the right to sit around while I wait for something else to come back from my applications.  Work has to continue.  In my defense however work in other areas that does not put bread on my table, but does bring glory to God continues.  Work here on this daily devotional, work on this blog, continued schooling to prepare myself for a life of service to God, work in the prayer room at church and witnessing to others about the saving grace of God, and premarital counseling to couples preparing for a committed life together for God.

          I understand also that I am to put food on the table for my family and God has blessed me with income resulting from my time in the military.  I still have to find the means that will supplement that more and allow me to honor God in the process.  

          So when we think about the ant and the work it does, where do we fall in comparison to the ant.  Is there more we could be doing?  Is there more we should be doing?  I am not saying we cannot enjoy some rest to a point, but if we truly love God with all our hearts, mind, strength, and soul would we ever want to stop working for His glory and spreading the Good News of salvation.  There can be no rest in this area of our lives till the day comes when we are reunited with Christ.  Our very lives should be a shinning example to others and this is the work we must carry on.

Discipline

          Let’s face deep down most all of us hate discipline.  Doing the thing that you know you should be doing for the greater good, but hating it because there are other things that you would rather be doing that are far more pleasing to our selfish and sinful nature.  Sitting on the couch eating a stack of cookies with some milk watching your favorite television show as opposed to hitting the gym and burning off a couple hundred calories is much more fun.  So why do we try to instill discipline in our lives, but more times than not fail miserably?  It is the nature of sin in a fallen world.  We give into our sinful desires even if they are seemingly innocent when compared to greater sins as we see them.

          Obviously I speak to this from my own personal struggles and not as someone trying to inflict the law of the Word on others as if I had nothing to confess to in all of this.  In reading Proverbs 5 today along with my other readings I am hit right between the eyes with the Word of God.  I find that this happens more and more as I read and get to know and build my relationship with the Lord through all of this.  So when I read the following verses they hit home and are convicting.  I confess my weaknesses in these areas and ask the Lord for forgiveness, also for strength to uphold discipline in my life in order to glorify God and be an example to others.

          So in reading these following verses I need to keep in mind, as I hope whoever reads this will to, that the opposite side of the coin to not keeping discipline in your life is a harsh reality.

Proverbs 5:12 You will say, "How I hated discipline!
How my heart spurned correction!

Proverbs 5:13 I would not obey my teachers
or turn my ear to my instructors.

Proverbs 5:14 And I was soon in serious trouble
in the assembly of God's people."

Proverbs 5:23 For lack of discipline they will die,
led astray by their own great folly.

          My prayer is this, that these words be read, taken to heart and used as a reminder the next time we decide I really do not want to do this or that and that you see the other side where it is good in the end to be disciplined, that all this will be honoring to God and reflective upon yourself to others that they will see the good that can come from leading a disciplined life.  Either we give in to sin and temptation or we strengthen our resolve through the Holy Spirit to resist it and do what is right in the sight of God.  These are our choices.

Generosity Towards Others

          Today’s readings were very good, but as I read Genesis 45 one thing struck me, the Pharaoh’s generosity towards the brothers of Joseph.  Once the Pharaoh found out who they were this was his reaction.

Genesis 45:16 When the news reached Pharaoh's palace that Joseph's brothers had come, Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased.17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Tell your brothers, 'Do this: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan,18 and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of the land.'

Genesis 45:19 "You are also directed to tell them, 'Do this: Take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives, and get your father and come.20 Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours.'"

          Now the Pharaoh could have just been happy for Joseph and after Joseph had done so much for the land of Egypt this was, but a small token of his appreciation for that, which I am sure is part of the truth.  However the Pharaoh also knew that the Spirit of God was with Joseph and he feared and respected that.

Genesis 41:38 So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?"

          So for that fact that Joseph had done great things for the country of Egypt through the power of God the Pharaoh honored that and honored God in doing so.  We should turn to this as an example of how we are to treat others.  We do not do so out of our desire to please them or look good in the eyes of others, but out of a fear and reverence for the Creator of this universe.  He has told us “to love others as ourselves.”  I think to add to that a little more that we should love them as God loves them and us.

God’s Desire for Us

          Today’s readings were very good in Acts 23, Proverbs 3 that I am reflecting on here, Psalm 61, and Genesis 44.  I could have reference all of Proverbs 3 here without much hesitation and it would be right since God’s Word means so much more than mine, but this is a way again for me to be accountable in my reading and understanding of such things.

          As Proverbs 3 opens up it talks about love and faithfulness two attributes that we should posses and that should be apparent to all of those around us especially those that are closer to us.  I know that sometimes we can put these on as we would put on our clothes in the morning.  Not to say that they are not genuine, but we use them when it suits us and take them off in the evening when we are back with those that we should be showing this to more so.  So this needs to be a part of who we are because it is a part of who God is and who He wants us to be.  So:

Proverbs 3:3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.

Proverbs 3:4 Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.

          To follow this one up we must gain understanding and wisdom, but not of our own doing, but through the Lord so that we may not boast in our own accomplishments.  

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

Proverbs 3:6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil.

Proverbs 3:8 This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.

Proverbs 3:13 Blessed are those who find wisdom,
those who gain understanding,

          We must honor the Lord also in all that He has given us and return back a portion out of our faithfulness.  Let’s face it if we are holding back then we really do not believe this passage here and we have no faith in the One we profess to have faith in.  They say you can tell a person’s faith by their actions.  How do people see you?

Proverbs 3:9 Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;

Proverbs 3:10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.

          Finally the hard one for all of us to really fall in line with is discipline and rebuke.  No one likes to be told they are doing something wrong, because of our own self-arrogance.  Look at our children as they are told no and disciplined for doing wrong, how do they react?  Do we not act the same way when we are rebuked?  Proverbs also tells us that the wise accept rebuke while the fool rejects it.  Strong words to remember next time you are in the middle of being corrected.

Proverbs 3:11 My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline,
and do not resent his rebuke,

Proverbs 3:12 because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
as a father the son he delights in.

God Judges

          I have always believed that everyone has a chance to accept God in his or her life, but in Psalm 58 David talks very harshly against the wicked.  He states that they are that way from birth, giving us the impression that there is no good in them.

Psalm 58:3 Even from birth the wicked go astray;
from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.

          The thing is that we cannot rightfully judge who these people are.  True by a person’s action we can discern what they are like, but we have no idea what God’s plan is for them.  If that were the case then we would have judged Saul long before he became Paul and one of the greatest instruments of God after Jesus.  So we should not judge as this passage starts out.

Psalm 58:1 Do you rulers indeed speak justly?
Do you judge people with equity?

Psalm 58:2 No, in your heart you devise injustice,
and your hands mete out violence on the earth.

          We need to be careful how we look at people.  True there will be those that are bent on doing evil in this world.  There will be those that we feel we can help and show them the light that for a time will accept, but will go right back to the sinful life they so enjoy.  All we can do is help these people by showing them the love and Word of God, but it is God that is in control of everything and we must leave it to Him and trust in His ways.

          So if you ever feel that the wicked people of this world are getting one up on you and that God is not watching over you or that things are just unfair remember the last few verses of this passage.

Psalm 58:10 The righteous will be glad when they are avenged,
when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.

Psalm 58:11 Then people will say,
"Surely the righteous still are rewarded;
surely there is a God who judges the earth."

          OK kind of graphic here, but you get the idea that God will judge and God will avenge our travesties and that it is not up to us to do so.  We are to let it go and let God deal with it.

Love Your Neighbor

          OK today’s devotionals were short and did not produce anything in me that I felt note worthy, but last nights connection meeting at the church followed in the path of yesterdays thoughts.  We are called to do God’s will, but in doing so we are also called to love.  We are to love God and we are to love others.  I am finding myself more and more caring of those around me.  Not that I was not before, but I can feel God’s love growing inside of me.  I am especially concerned with those who are lost and looking for God in their lives, but are not sure how to go about it when they are so caught up with the sin in their life that is a part of this world we are stuck in.

          I am sure that we have all heard this verse repeated in a few places in the Bible, but it is one that we need to hear over and over again to drive it home and make it a part of our daily make up of who we are as Christians.

Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

So we hear this all the time and wonder how in the world are we to love all those around us especially when there are times that we would much rather do just the opposite.  Rick touched on a verse out of 1 Thessalonians 4:9 last night that we should take to heart.

1 Thessalonians 4:9 Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.

          Wait I do not remember God teaching me anything.  Really?  What about the entire story of Jesus while He was here on this earth in human form, giving up everything that He had in Heaven with His Father, coming done here and being ridiculed, persecuted, tortured, and killed by us humans.  And why?  For us, because of His love for us regardless of how we treated Him and still do today.  If we really, truly loved Him today, would we not be breaking our backs to do everything and anything that He has called us to do?  Can we start by loving our neighbor the same way that Christ loves us?

What We Are Called to Do.

          Good reading today that reminds me and convicts me deeply about what God calls us to do once we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  Paul really hits it home with this little statement out of Acts.

Acts 20:25 "Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again.  26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you.  27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.  

          Paul said, that his is innocent of their blood, because he did not hesitate to proclaim the Word of God.  If we turn this on ourselves then the question becomes, whose blood are we guilty of because we withheld the Word of God because of our own fear of others in what they would say or do?  I know really convicting and it should be when we are not doing the will of God.  

OK, but I am not that strong of a person and I could never do that.  We do not have to do it on our own.  Joseph said it well in the passages in Genesis that I was reading today.  The Pharaoh had asked if Joseph could interpret his dreams for him and Joseph answered him:

Genesis 41:16 "I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."

We do not do this on our own, but we are still called to do it nonetheless.  God is with us through the Holy Spirit and will guide us as long as we put our trust in Him.  We are also part of a community in the church so we have each other to fall back on and support as well.  Paul goes on in Acts to say this:

Acts 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.  29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.  30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.  31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

          As servants of God we take on a lot and have some tough and serious work to do here in this world, but the reward on the other side is going to far over shadow anything we have ever been through here.  None of it we will ever deserve, but how much less will we deserve it if we have never lifted a hand to help out others?  I do believe all that profess Christ as Lord and Savior will go to Heaven, but I also believe that we will have to answer for our actions in this world as Christians.  What worries me is how am I going to be able to answer that one.  Good news is that I still have a chance to work much harder at following God’s will in our lives.  At least I hope I still have time.  How about you?