Do we KNOW Proverbs 3v5-6?

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

In my personal devotions, I’ve been looking at Proverbs. It’s only taken me a couple of month or so to get this far. But now, I’m up to this passage that we all *know*…. or DO WE???

Well, for me, that’s the case. I know it and quote it frequently, but I’ve been meditating on it lately and thinking do I REALLY know it? Am I practicing it?

And as I was walking up to the shop this morning to buy our bread, I was mulling this over in my mind. Other verses, that say a similar thing, came to my mind too. And I realized that they are all talking about trust and faith.

In these two verses, the “leaning not on your own understanding”, and the “acknowledging Him in all your ways”, are both outworkings of the first part….”Trust in the Lord with all your heart.” They are the “how-to’s” of trusting in the Lord.

Anyhow, here are the other passages that came to me….

Psalm 37:1-7a
“Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.”

Proverbs 16:3
“Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.”

Philippians 4:4-7
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus said: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

And the words of this old hymn came to me. This really sums it up…

What a Friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge,
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield you;
you will find a solace there.

I pray that you are encouraged by this as much as I am, and that you too will KNOW Proverbs 3:5-6.

(BTW, the Scripture verses are all from the New King James Version.)

Be REAL!! Be KIND!!

Let not mercy and truth forsake you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart,
And so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. (3:3-4, NKJ)

So summing up… (read the previous post if you want to know what we’re summing up)… we’ve read that we need to keep this pair, mercy and truth, with us all the time. But how does that work out in our everyday lives? How do we show mercy?… how do we show truth?… to those around us.

Well, my thought is, live as Jesus lived. Display His qualities in our lives.

Okay, that is easily said, but it is not easily DONE. We have this sin nature inside us that would want to do everything else but be merciful and honest. So in and of ourselves it is an impossible task.

For instance, how could we be gracious and merciful to someone who’s just ripped us off, or who as slandered us? How can we be completely honest when it means damaging our reputation? How can we speak the truth to someone when the truth might hurt?

Well, that is where we need help. We can’t do it alone!! And the good news is that Jesus is the answer.

“Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:16, NLT)

And Paul, in two of his letters, explains how to work that out in our daily lives. To the Ephesians he said:

“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:21-32, NLT)

And here’s what Paul said to the Colossian church:

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. (Colossians 3:1-15, NLT)

And in Jesus, we have the means to be able to do all that. If we have surrendered our lives to Him, we can do it, because it is not we who do it, but He in us. We can show that little kindness, share that friendly smile. We can be open and genuine with those we come in contact with. We won’t have to wear a “mask”… we can be ourselves. We won’t have to try and impress.

So in a practical sense, let’s stop trying to be who we are not. Let people see the person that God has made us.

And let’s look for ways to show a kindness to someone….

… TODAY!!! …

… especially someone who is undeserving, because that is how we were before God. That’s why we needed His mercy and grace! And since He has blessed us so, let us be that blessing to someone else.

In other words, BE REAL and BE KIND!!!

Tie them around your neck!

Let not mercy and truth forsake you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart,
And so find favor and high esteem
In the sight of God and man.
(Proverbs 3:3-4, NKJ)

That’s a text I’ve been mulling over for a couple of weeks or so. It has started me on a quest of discovering what was really meant by “mercy and truth”.

So I did word studies on both. The result is these ten entries in my blog:

Don’t Leave Home Without Them!

Write It Down!

Mercy and Truth

Tears and Smiles - God’s Mercy and Grace

What is Truth?? (Part 1)

What is Truth?? (Part 2)

What is Truth?? (Part 3)

What is Truth?? (Part 4)

What is Truth?? (Part 5)

What is Truth?? (Part 6)

So now I’m back to where I started. When I first began, this is the image I had in mind of capturing, mainly because the New Testament says a similar thing.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, ‘This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’
“And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

And as I explained earlier, the word “mercy” in Proverbs is the same word as “loving kindness” in the OT. and “loving kindness” in the old, is equivalent to “grace” in the new.

So where better place could we look to find out what those words mean, but the Lord Jesus. He was FULL of grace and truth!!!

What is TRUTH?? (Part 6)

Just ONE more ABSOLUTE!!

We find it in Jesus’ final prayer, in the Garden of Gethsemane, just before He was taken away to be tried and crucified. Read the whole prayer in John 17.

“I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.” (John 17:6-8, NLT)

So that ABSOLUTE is God’s Word. Just as Jesus said, “Abide in My word…”, we see that HIS word is God’s Word, and visa versa.

And some more verses to check out from that chapter.

“I have given them your word…” (v.14)
“Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.” (v.17)
“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.” (v.20)

So then, if Jesus said God’s Word is truth, and Jesus is THE truth, surely it is not that hard for us to believe that. And that Word was not just to His disciples back then. Jesus has included US in that prayer.

Imagine that! Jesus was praying for you, for me, over 2000 years ago in that garden. And many of us have believed in Christ Jesus through the words of those disciples/apostles. We can find the words of many of them in our Bible today. God had them record what they had witnessed, so that WE could believe TOO!

We know that Jesus believed in God’s written word in the Old Testament, and we have learned that He said only what the Father said. In the same way, the apostles too, have only written as God has inspired them. Paul said this very thing to Timothy:

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NLT)

So the final WORD on ABSOLUTES, is GOD’s WORD as found in the Bible.

“Don’t lose sight of them (God’s words). Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.” (Proverbs 4:21-22, NLT)

What is TRUTH?? (Part 5)

Know JESUS!!  Know TRUTH!!  Know FREEDOM!!

Just as Jesus said:

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:31-32,36, ESV)

And, on the other hand…

NO Jesus!! NO truth!! NO freedom!!

What is TRUTH?? (Part 4)

I’ve been thinking of the affects of the truth on different people. It’s just like as to a light shining into a dark place. People react to the truth in one of two ways. Some are drawn like moths, while others scatter like cockroaches.

And people are in the dark for one of two reasons… either ignorance or rebellion. Some don’t know because they haven’t heard. Others don’t know because they don’t WANT to hear.

And that is why Jesus came… to shine a light of hope and draw those who were LOST IN the dark, and to expose the wickedness of those who LOVED the dark. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. Just like Isaiah, the prophet, had said about Jesus hundreds of years before:

“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.” (9:2, NLT)

Read what John says in the beginning of his Gospel:

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
“He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.
” The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.
” The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

“God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

” He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.” (John 1:1-13, NLT)

Just as a light, Jesus shone into the hearts of people and saw what was there….

“Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew human nature. No one needed to tell him what mankind is really like.” (John 2:23-25, NLT)

So what was God’s plan in sending Jesus?

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”

“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” (John 3:16-21, NLT)

And throughout the Gospel of John, we can see the effects of that Light. Some people were drawn to it and were changed, and others ran from it and scattered, and were condemned.

In chapter 8, Jesus actually calls Himself the Light:

“I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” (v12, NLT)

This really upset the religious leaders. They got their shackles up and began arguing with Jesus. However, knowing their hearts, Jesus knew how to answer, and many who heard the debate believed in Him. So He then said to those who believed:

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (v31-32, ESV)

So, it all boils down to this. If we want to know the truth, believe in Jesus, listen to what He says and take it to heart. Then we will know God the Father, also, as Jesus said later:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him … Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (14:6-7, 9b, ESV)

And in His final hours, before He was taken away to be tried and crucified, He prayed:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.”

There is heaps more I could say, but it is all in John’s Gospel, which is why the book was written. And even John could have said a lot more, for he adds at the end of the gospel:

“The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.” (20:30-31, NLT)

So, if you want to know what truth is, I would suggest to start by reading John’s Gospel.

Take it to heart and you WILL know the truth, and that truth will set you free.

JESUS is the TRUTH!…  ABSOLUTELY!!

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36, ESV)

What is TRUTH?? (Part 3)

HOW DO YOU MEASURE UP?

As I was thinking about truth, it reminded of a rule or a tape measure … something that is reliable… that you can measure by.

And I thought about how we humans measure other people by all sorts of standards… and oh how wrong our judgment can be!! We use the wrong measure. We do not see what’s in the heart.

And then this morning, I thought of the song, “The measure of a man” by Clay Aiken. Just found the lyrics!… so its some food for thought.

This world can analyze and size you up
And throw you on the scales
They can IQ you and run you through
Their rigorous details
They can do their best to rate you
And they’ll place you on their charts
And then back it up with scientific smarts
But there’s more to what your worth
Than what their human eyes can see

CHORUS
Oh I say the measure of a man
Is not how tall you stand
How wealthy or intelligent you are
Cause I found out the measure of a man
God knows and understands
For He looks inside to the bottom of your heart
And what’s in the heart defines
The measure of a man

Well you can doubt your worth
And search for who you are and where you stand
But God made you in His image
When He formed you in his hands
And He looks at you with mercy
And He sees you through His love
You’re His child and that will always be enough
For there’s more to what you’re worth
Than you could ever comprehend

CHORUS

BRIDGE
You can spend your life pursuing physical perfection
There is so much more, more than ever meets the eye
For God looks through the surface
And He defines your worth by, what is on the inside.

Still more thoughts about TRUTH to come….

 

What is TRUTH?? (Part 2)

Hey, I’ve had a change of mind. I’ve been doing some more reading about truth, and discovered something different.

Believing the truth, really isn’t the most important thing. I discovered that believing the truth is the result of something more important.

The MOST important thing is to LOVE THE TRUTH!! We firstly need to be SINCERE IN OUR HEART!! That is what God looks at. To start with, the belief system could be completely wrong because of ignorance. But I believe that if there is a genuine desire in the heart to know and seek after the truth, will not a gracious God lead us into that truth?

So how did I come to this conclusion?

Check out these passages from the Bible:

“When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God’s written law. And the Jews, who do have God’s law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it. For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight. Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life.” (Romans 2:12-16, NLT)

“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” (John 3:18-21)

“This man (the Antichrist) will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.” (2 Thes. 2:9-12, NLT)

“For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7, NKJ)

So, really the sincerity of the heart is really what matters most. It is from there that God will work. God, by his Holy Spirit, will work in our hearts and reveal to us HIS truth… will point us in the right direction.

On the other hand, we could have all the knowledge of the truth, but if that knowledge is not being worked out in our hearts, we are no better than an atheist who believes there is NO God. Because our hearts are not true to God, they are really rejecting the true God. We instead make ourselves god, because we want to do our own thing. The result will end up being deception. God will cause us to be greatly deceived and we will believe the enemy’s lies.

So really the secret is our “want to”!! Do we want to do what God wants? Are we prepared to surrender our wills to His?

That is the FIRST ABSOLUTE TRUTH!…. the TRUTH in our HEARTS!!! Is my heart absolutely FOR God?

And, I’ll write more tomorrow… or the next day….

What is TRUTH?? (Part 1)

The famous words of Pontius Pilate when Jesus was brought to him for questioning!

And today, we often ask the same. How can we know what is really true? And hey, does it really matter to me? Does it matter what I believe?… you may ask.

And that seems to be the trend. Everyone can live by your own truth… do what feels right! We can believe what we like, as long as you are sincere. Just as long as we don’t hurt anyone.

But is it right?

Lets say we took that same attitude in other areas of life. Take time for example! You ask, “Do you have the right (true) time?” And the response you’d get back, would be something like this: “Oh, time? It’s really whatever time you want it to be. Just live by your own time.”

Can you imagine what chaos that would cause in the world?

But thankfully for time, we DO have a standard, GMT or UTC, and the rest of the world set their clocks to that. If you have a schedule to keep, you will frequently check that the time on your watch is right. For some, even five minutes late could be fatal, like picking up your little kids off the school bus. How important is it to be there on time for them?… especially if they have to cross the road. And catching planes or trains, the consequences of missing that flight or train could end up with one being left stranded.

So, with time, we definitely need a standard… an ABSOLUTE to base our truth about time on.

And when you think about it, all time is based on the sun, moon and the rotation of the earth. God has set those things, as it were, in concrete, never to be altered. And the timing is SO precise, that if the earth were to slow down or speed up the smallest fraction, it would be catastrophic for the whole universe. God has created it like that for us, so that the earth could maintain life. On no other planet could such life, or any life, exist.

And then, even a tribe in the remotest jungle, will use the sun for its standard of time. Their whole lifestyle is dependent on the sun and the moon. And forget about man, and look at creation. All animal life and plant life depend on the sun for their existence.

Check out what God’s word says:

“The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.
God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end.
Nothing can hide from its heat.
The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul.
The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.” (Psalm 19:1-7, NLT)

“You made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to set.
You send the darkness, and it becomes night, when all the forest animals prowl about.
Then the young lions roar for their prey, stalking the food provided by God.
At dawn they slink back into their dens to rest.
Then people go off to their work, where they labor until evening.”
(Psalm 104:19-23, NLT)

So when we look at God’s amazing creation, we cannot help but believe in an absolute truth… or can we?….

“But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. “Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.” (Romans 1:18-23, NLT)

I think I’ll leave it there for now. More thoughts about ABSOLUTES to come… stay posted!!!

 

 

 

Tears and Smiles!

or.. GOD’S MERCY AND GRACE!

So let’s look again at the first part of our verse…

“Let not mercy and truth forsake you…” (Proverbs 3:3a)

In the Old Testament the are 2 Hebrew words that are used for mercy. Firstly, the one used here is “chesed”, which is often translated as “lovingkindness” or “steadfast love”. The main idea is a love that is kind, strong and steadfast, and is shown to those who are in a close relationship. This is very similar in meaning to the Greek work “charis”, translated “grace” in the New Testament. God shows His kindness to us, even though we don’t deserve it.

The other word for mercy is “rahamin”, from the verb “raham”, meaning to have compassion, be merciful, or pity. It is the compassion that God has on the sinner who calls on Him. This also has a Greek equivalent in the New Testament, “eleos”, and is also translated mercy.

In lots of passages in the New Testament you can grace and mercy mentioned together. I like what I read in one of my lexicons…

“God’s grace affects man’s sinfulness and not only forgives the repentant sinner, but brings joy and thankfulness to him. (And mercy) is concerned not with the sin itself, but with the misery brought upon the sinner as a consequence of that sin.” (”The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible” by Spiros Zodhiates, p.1886)

So as I see it, grace forgives and gives us a bright new future, a new life, a fresh start, and a relationship with our heavenly Father, and mercy restores us from the damages and hurts of our past. God’s mercy both proceeds and follows His saving grace.

Zodhiates also says, “In John 3:16, God loved in mercy and gave in grace, but God’s manifestation of grace goes before His mercy.”

And as I see it…

God’s mercy is His tears for us!
God’s grace is His SMILE on us!!

And one more thought…

God’s grace forgives and blesses…
God’s mercy cleans up our messes.

Next, some thoughts about TRUTH…