by David Brenneman
“Many plans are in a man’s heart, But the counsel of the Lord will stand.” Proverbs 19:2.
“Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.”
Matthew 5:33-37.
“My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments; For length of days and years of life And peace they will add to you. Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones. Honor the Lord from your wealth And from the first of all your produce; So your barns will be filled with plenty And your vats will overflow with new wine. My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord Or loathe His reproof, For whom the Lord loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. How blessed is the man who finds wisdom And the man who gains understanding. For her profit is better than the profit of silver And her gain better than fine gold. She is more precious than jewels; And nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways And all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who hold her fast. The Lord by wisdom founded the earth, By understanding He established the heavens. By His knowledge the deeps were broken up And the skies drip with dew. My son, let them not vanish from your sight; Keep sound wisdom and discretion, So they will be life to your soul And adornment to your neck. Then you will walk in your way securely And your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden fear Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; For the Lord will be your confidence And will keep your foot from being caught. Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it,” When you have it with you. Do not devise harm against your neighbor, While he lives securely beside you. Do not contend with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm. Do not envy a man of violence And do not choose any of his ways. For the devious are an abomination to the Lord; But He is intimate with the upright. The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous. Though He scoffs at the scoffers, Yet He gives grace to the afflicted. The wise will inherit honor, But fools display dishonor.”
Proverbs 3:1-35.
Will we be encouraged when we stand before Jesus to give an account of our lives or will we find shame instead? Will we have a life to be seen that sought His wisdom and guidance or one where we did not?
Will we be among those who invested the talents we were entrusted with or will we be as the one who buried it and showed nothing?
This chapter in Proverbs is becoming one of my favorites. In it is a lot concerning the instructions of the Lord.
We, while we yet breathe, in any given moment of time, have a choice to obey or go our own way.
We have the choice to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness or seek our own.
Do you not see that there's no other option? We either are going His way or our way.
We either are obedient students, disciples even, or we're not. We're either proving the truths of God in Christ Jesus or we're not.
We either are making Him proud or we're making ourselves proud.
While things, such as even this blog's viewership, are astounding in my sight, this is the work of God in my life. I take no credit that isn't mine to take. What is on me is to obey and do and leave the consequences to God. When it comes to doing anything we do we should always do it as unto the Lord. Colossians 3:23-24. When we are out in the public eye, in any social media platform, we represent Christ to the world. When we're cutting people down we're not being the light of Jesus Christ. It matters not if it's 'just a game' or not. Matters not if it's 'all in fun' or not.
Wherever we go, whatever we do, do it all in the name of Jesus Christ.
We, at all times, represent Jesus.
Do you really stop to think what your statements and behavior is seen like to Jesus when you're casting aside your responsibility to Him as a child of God all because of your feelings?
Do you realize you're not showing Jesus in a positive light when you rant about inconsequential things?
Do you not see that you show yourself and others that when you're being that way that you've learned nothing about being a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ?
Jesus said if anyone wishes to come after Him that they must deny themselves, take up their own cross, and follow Him.
It means you give up wanting your way in favor of His way. You give up speaking as you would and begin speaking as He would.
It's not going to happen overnight.
This is called the process of sanctification. This is to be our highest priority.
Regardless of any worldview we are to represent Jesus Christ to the world. We are to be diligent in learning how to be more like Jesus. We are to be showing the world Jesus...not us. We are to take being a Disciple of Jesus Christ with all seriousness.
When we make commitments be sure they are the right thing to be committing to.
When we do these things, when we are putting learning and practicing righteousness first in our lives we've turned the corner towards growing in Christ. We're now glorifying God rather than ourselves. We're being the light to the world in which we live.
Do not forsake the Lord's instruction. Don't give excuses for your departure from the righteousness life that God desires for you.
Don't create exclusions for your behavior either.
One day you WILL either be giving an account of your life before Jesus. Do your best, while you are able, to live a life that Jesus says "Well done" to.
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
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