Proverbs 16:1 - Sovereign over our Speech

Proverbs 16:1 - The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

Message: Sovereign over our Speech

Time: It seems that Proverbs was written and then compiled sometime between the tenth and sixth centuries B.C. Proverbs was probably written during the reign of Solomon, 971-931 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

God's sovereign work has always been a tough concept for me to grasp. I wonder how much is man's responsibility and how much is God's. I approach it as an either/or idea. But, is it all or nothing or is there a different way to understand it? If God is completely sovereign and has ordained everything, down to the tiniest detail then man does not have free will and man's choices do not really matter. If this were the case, I think there would be no need for any commands from God, in the Bible. Why would he command us to do something if the outcome of our choices is already predetermined? Yes, this is an interesting question. 

I believe that the Holy Bible is complete and everything in it is there for a reason and everything in it is written for me. And so as I read it, I need to be thinking about how it applies to me and what it means to me. The biblical authors convey peoples thoughts, feelings, and their actions and their reasons for them. And the Biblical authors also convey God's thoughts and actions. They do coexist. The difficulty I have always seen is to what degree do they coexist. It is like there is a perfect explanation I am waiting for. So the authors put forth that man is fully responsible for his actions and yet that the Lord's way is comprehensive and he establishes everything that ever happens. 

This verse in Proverbs 16 expresses those two ideals. In the first half of the verse, "the plans of the heart belong to man." Man makes plans. He sets out a course for what he wants to do, needs to do, would like to do. I get up in the morning, I think about my day and I think about how my day will be ordered. I think about what I will work on during that day. Will I clean the garage or sit on the couch? Will I kiss my wife or not? Will I praise my kids or not see a reason to praise them and say nothing? Throughout the day I am making decisions, I am making plans. Right now, I had a choice, to read the Word, think about, ponder it or I could have simply gone outside to work or into the garage to work. But, I chose to start my day in God's word because I want to connect with God and learn from Him and meet Him. 

But then the 2nd half of the verse hits me, "the answer of the tongue is from the Lord." There is not simply a plan, there is also an answer. There is a result. There is an outcome. These outcomes fit into his will. This is the reality. God has a will. He has an outcome. He has a result. 

And this is my conclusion: I do not know how those two ideas co-exist. They do. Paul teaches that He "works all things according to the counsel of his will." Paul says, "All things work together for good." I studied Ecclesiastes 3 to see that there is time for events under the sun. These times will happen. God wants me to enjoy myself, but also recognize that he is in control. There was the study of Proverbs 21:1 - The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes. God moves, but man remains accountable. The Bible is clear that God listens to our prayers (I will say of late I have been thinking more about how I am to pray and what words I am to use). In October I looked at this verse from Proverbs 16 as well, "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord." There is the same idea. Man makes a choice, but its outcome if from the Lord. 

All I know is I must keep going. I must keep studying God and His word. I must keep trying to improve my ways and work on my life. God has given me the Holy Spirit to help me in my life. I must continue to get to know God and live for Him. And through it all, through all of the circumstances, God is in charge of the outcomes and results of my life. He understand why it all works together the way it does. He knows why my family can have great times together and then why my son fails a class at school. He keeps me safe and yet when someone or something dies and is no longer in my life, I can still trust Him. This is His world. I am His vessel in His world. I am here for Him.

Promise: At the end of every decision, every plan, every outcome, I look to heaven and I say, "This is your outcome. Teach me to accept it and trust You through it and show me what my response to your outcome should be. My desire is to glorify You in this world.

Psalm 21 - God and King

Psalm 21
O Lord, in Your strength the king will be glad, and in Your salvation how greatly he will rejoice! You have given him his heart’s desire, and You have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah. For You meet him with the blessings of good things; You set a crown of fine gold on his head. He asked life of You, You gave it to him, length of days forever and ever. His glory is great through Your salvation, splendor and majesty You place upon him. For You make him most blessed forever; You make him joyful with gladness in Your presence. For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the lovingkindness of the Most High he will not be shaken. Your hand will find out all your enemies; Your right hand will find out those who hate you. You will make them as a fiery oven in the time of your anger; the Lord will swallow them up in His wrath, and fire will devour them. Their offspring You will destroy from the earth, and their descendants from among the sons of men. Though they intended evil against You and devised a plot, they will not succeed. For You will make them turn their back; You will aim with Your bowstrings at their faces. Be exalted, O Lord, in Your strength;
We will sing and praise Your power.

Message: God and King; How we are to pray for our leaders; it is not that God would change their hearts, but that God will work.

Time: The psalms were written by many different people across a period of a thousand years in Israel's history. They are thought to have been compiled and put together in their present form by some unknown editor shortly after the captivity ended about 537 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

This is a psalm written by David. He is writing or praying to the Lord about a king. 

David trusts in the Lord's power
He first says that the king will be glad because of the strength of the Lord and he will rejoice because of the salvation of the Lord. Salvation is an interesting word; God saves people, from themselves; He redeems man and sets Him apart. This is what I think about the word salvation. I don't think it is necessarily referring to an eternal salvation, but rather that God intercedes for this king giving him strength and help. Because of the Lord working in the king's life he can then be glad and rejoice. It is not through man's ability or control that makes himself glad and rejoicing. It is through the Lord. These words, though, refer to what the Lord will do. This passage goes back and forth between what God has done already and what He will do.

Past
You have given him his heart’s desire
You have not withheld the request of his lips. 
He asked life of You, You gave it to him, length of days forever and ever.

Present
For You meet him with the blessings of good things
You set a crown of fine gold on his head. 
His glory is great through Your salvation, splendor and majesty You place upon him. 
For You make him most blessed forever
You make him joyful with gladness in Your presence. For the king trusts in the Lord

Future Enemies
Through the lovingkindness of the Most High he will not be shaken.
Your hand will find out all your enemies
Your right hand will find out those who hate you
You will make them as a fiery oven in the time of your anger
The Lord will swallow them up in His wrath
Fire will devour them. 
Their offspring You will destroy from the earth and their descendants from among the sons of men. 
Though they intended evil against You and devised a plot, they will not succeed. 
For You will make them turn their back
You will aim with Your bowstrings at their faces. 

Be exalted, O Lord, in Your strength; we will sing and praise Your power.

The key to this passage is that it points to the reality that God is the one who works in the lives of people, and specifically in the lives of the leaders of nations as this is referring to the king of a people. David is trusting the Lord and declaring that He is in charge.

And this passage speaks a lot about enemies which are obviously normal in a leadership, but those enemies will not have a hold on the king or his kingdom because the Lord will be in charge of them.

I don't pray like this. I pray that God would change a leader's heart. I make it seem like the leader must be surrendered to God before God is going to do a good work in the nation.

Promise: God is in charge and He can take care of His people and kingdoms no matter the leader. We are not to trust in leaders, but trust in the Lord.

Proverbs 5:22-23 - The Cords of Sin

Proverbs 5:22-23
His own iniquities will capture the wicked, and he will be held with the cords of his sin. He will die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.

Message: The Cords of Sin

Time: It seems that Proverbs was written and then compiled sometime between the tenth and sixth centuries B.C. Proverbs was probably written during the reign of Solomon, 971-931 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

Life can be discouraging at times, especially when we look at other people. I find that in my life when I can just concentrate on my family and what is going on, life is much happier, but the moment I see what other have, what they are experiencing, or the successes they have I tend to struggle. And I tend to try to find something about them that still makes me a better person. It is a horrible thing. I hate that I always try so hard, at times, to make it out I'm a better person. But, I do see myself improving in this issue. 

This verse speaks of the sins of the wicked. Some day they will found out and caught. Today in our time studying scripture at home, we saw that those that are wise in their own eyes do not bring healing to themselves, which means destruction comes to them. Here in verse 23 is a similar idea, that he will die for lack of destruction. The ones that think they have it all together will eventually die, and I think this means a person dies on the inside.  

Held with Cords of Sin
The sinner is held by his sin. And those sins become a cord that is connected to them. I think the thing that Solomon puts forth here is not simply that the wicked are captured by their sin for to what each of us surround ourselves, is what we become. If we are surround ourselves with good people, we tend to do good things. And the wicked conversely are ensnared by their sin. But this entrapment is not simply a momentary capture, but the person becomes held by these sins. 

I have heard many people say that once they are surrounded for so long in their sin that it becomes very difficult to separate themselves from it. For instance, a drug addiction or prostitution or alcoholism or obesity. Once we become accustomed to it, cutting the cord is almost impossible. 

Lack of instruction
Those that are wise in their own eyes (Proverbs 3:7) have no need for further instruction. And people who are bound by their sin, will die because they are satisfied with their sin.

Promise: The wicked are ensnared by their sin and it becomes a cord that they cannot un-attach themselves and it results in death.

Ecclesiastes 3:18-22 - The Common End of Man and Beast

Ecclesiastes 3:18-22
I said to myself concerning the sons of men, “God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but beasts.” For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust. Who knows that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth? I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what will occur after him?

Message: The Common End of Man and Beast

Time: Solomon's authorship is not stated. Solomon's reign as king of Israel lasted from around 970 B.C. to around 930 B.C. The Book of Ecclesiastes was likely written towards the end of his reign, approximately 935 B.C.
 
What the Lord is Saying:

Background
This is the final message of Ecclesiastes 3. Thus fare I have studied this chapter in 3 parts.

1. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 - A time for everything - There is a time for everything because God has ordered and set up this world. Things happen because of his plan. We all experience life in different ways and yet those experiences occur in similar ways or categories. This is by design. 
2. Ecclesiastes 3:9-15 - Here today, gone tomorrow - God is in control. Yes, there is enjoyment in life, but do not get too focused on any one thing; in so doing we forget God and forget we are His instruments; we must continually be reminded of our position in His creation. I must continually remind myself I have limitations. 
3. Ecclesiastes 3:16-17 - The hope of final judgment - God will judge. Wickedness will get its due even though it appears now people are getting away with being evil. There is hope. 

There is a time for everything. God is in control. He provides us with joy but do not ever forget that I am His instrument. I have a position in creation. I am not everything. Lean on the everlasting arms. Trust Him now and in the future. Do not get wrapped up in thinking that evil wins. God will judge the wicked.

Introduction
As I turn myself to these last 5 verses, in my first reading, I am left with a familiar conclusion: God is in control. God has ordered and set up this world. There is a designer. Events of life are not random. The nature of man is not improving. The future, our after life, is in the hands of God. Do not get too focused on the after life events, but do equip people for those days.

The Bible is not simply a story to be read about God, but it is also a story giving us the picture of human beings and what they are really like.

Man is a beast
The pot does not ask the potter, why have you made me this way? Isaiah 64:8 - But now, O Lord, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand. Romans 9:21 - Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? I am not to question God's ways. To this end, I am very much similar to the beast, the animals of the land. God has given them limitations. Their lives are simple. Yet they are ordered. Man may be more complex in thought but they are but beast.

Created
Man is a created being, like the beast. Man was given the task of naming the beasts, but that was ordained by God. All came from the dust and all return to the dust.

Man and beast have different ultimate destinations
While man and beast both come from dust and return to dust, the spirit of man and beast have different destinations. The Septuagint renders this verse as: And who has seen the spirit of the sons of man, whether it goes upward? and the spirit of the beast, whether it goes downward to the earth? And as scripture goes to say further on, heaven and hell give us a better understanding of afterlife. 

Enjoy life
Chapter 3 concludes with an idea that has been present throughout this chapter: enjoy life. Enjoy the life that God has given us. Yes, we have responsibilities, but we also are to have enjoyment. God teaches us and he gives us failing and successes for us to praise him and to teach us that we are in His grip. Life is to be enjoyed. God wants us to enjoy life. It is unfortunate when people cannot enjoy life.  

Promise: Man is a Beast, but still has enjoyment in this life. God will take care of our outcome.

Proverbs 3:9-10 - Honoring God with Your Wealth

Proverbs 3:9-10
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.

Message: Honoring God with Your Wealth

Time: It seems that Proverbs was written and then compiled sometime between the tenth and sixth centuries B.C. Proverbs was probably written during the reign of Solomon, 971-931 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

This makes me think of people that need money, that I talk to through the online ministry. People are always asking for a huge windfall of money. Are they honoring God with their wealth? Are they buying things that honor him? Are they giving? It reminds me that giving is a priority. We haven't been giving correctly and we need to change that. I am pledging to get that started right at the beginning of the year. We need to get to 10% because we aren't there right now. And we need to save more properly as well. We are giving a lot of our savings right now to the kids, for college. It is hard, but that is where it is going. 

There is a promise here, as there is in other verses in Proverbs. In 3:5-6, he will make our paths straight when we trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understanding. In 3:7-8, there will be refreshment to our body when we are not wise in our own eyes, not thinking that we know it all, turning away from evil. And now in 3:9-10, we will have a lot when we are giving properly. We will not have this quest of want. I need to share these verses with the kids. They are promises from the Lord. The first 10 verses have a command and a promise once that command is followed. This is great and I need to share it. 

Promise:

 

Psalm 106:6-48 - A Call for Us to Remember

Psalm 106:6-48

We have sinned like our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have behaved wickedly. Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; they did not remember Your abundant kindnesses, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea. Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name, that He might make His power known. Thus He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up, and He led them through the deeps, as through the wilderness. So He saved them from the hand of the one who hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left. Then they believed His words; they sang His praise. They quickly forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, but craved intensely in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. So He gave them their request, but sent a wasting disease among them. When they became envious of Moses in the camp, and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord, the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and engulfed the company of Abiram. And a fire blazed up in their company; the flame consumed the wicked. They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a molten image. Thus they exchanged their glory for the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wonders in the land of Ham and awesome things by the Red Sea. Therefore He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen one stood in the breach before Him, to turn away His wrath from destroying them. Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe in His word, but grumbled in their tents; they did not listen to the voice of the Lord. Therefore He swore to them that He would cast them down in the wilderness, and that He would cast their seed among the nations and scatter them in the lands. They joined themselves also to Baal-peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead. Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds, and the plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up and interposed, and so the plague was stayed. And it was reckoned to him for righteousness, to all generations forever. They also provoked Him to wrath at the waters of Meribah, so that it went hard with Moses on their account; because they were rebellious against His Spirit, he spoke rashly with his lips. They did not destroy the peoples, as the Lord commanded them, but they mingled with the nations and learned their practices, and served their idols, which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons, and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with the blood. Thus they became unclean in their practices, and played the harlot in their deeds. Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against His people and He abhorred His inheritance. Then He gave them into the hand of the nations, and those who hated them ruled over them. Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were subdued under their power. Many times He would deliver them; they, however, were rebellious in their counsel, and so sank down in their iniquity. Nevertheless He looked upon their distress when He heard their cry; and He remembered His covenant for their sake, and relented according to the greatness of His lovingkindness. He also made them objects of compassion in the presence of all their captors. Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations, to give thanks to Your holy name and glory in Your praise. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting. And let all the people say, “Amen.” Praise the Lord!

Message: A call for us to remember

Time: The psalms were written by many different people across a period of a thousand years in Israel's history. They are thought to have been compiled and put together in their present form by some unknown editor shortly after the captivity ended about 537 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

The words of the first 5 verses of Psalm 106 yesterday, in my reading, can basically be summed up with the proclamation that "God is great; His deeds are mighty; His ways are true; so God, show Your favor on us." 

The beginning focus, from this Psalm, is on the greatness of God and the only reason He would show favor to us is because He is great. I was reminded yesterday of my need to speak of His greatness, but also to remember the things that He has done in my life. I began a writing in which I would document those things. I must remember. We must remember. Without remembering, we forget what has occurred and the blessings that we have received. They happen and occur constantly. 

As a kid and even as I got older, I always the theme of that 80s song from Edin-Adahl singing, "Bring back the joy of my salvation." It was a stark reminder that I remember the thrill that I experienced embracing the Gospel and its reality upon my life. 

The rest of this Psalm, is dark, as it speaks to a people that did not remember God. It begins with the memory that we sinned, repeating iniquity (We have sinned like our fathers), and yet God saved us in order to show His power (Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name), rescuing them from their foes (redeemed them from the hand of the enemy). For a moment, they believe and sang his praise, but then forgot, got selfish, and blamed God (tempted God in the desert). But they did not simply forget, but they replaced their Love for God with a Love for something else (They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a molten image). God said He would destroy them, but Moses intervened. But they still did not surrender, but continued in their march away from God (They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt) and a plague resulted and their doom was near; but then Phinehas intervened (Phinehas stood up and interposed, and so the plague was stayed). But they continued abandoning God and their descent continued (they mingled with the nations and learned their practices, and served their idols) and even as they spiraled down, He remembered His covenant with them (He remembered His covenant for their sake). We must praise God. Praise the Lord. He restores us and saves us despite our constant attempts to run the other way. We must stay close to Him and remember what we have received, and be thankful and not forget.

Promise: Remember what the Lord has done in my life. Don't forget.

Psalm 106:1-5 - A Call for God to Remember

Psalm 106:1-5  

Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting. Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the Lord, or can show forth all His praise? How blessed are those who keep justice, who practice righteousness at all times! Remember me, O Lord, in Your favor toward Your people; visit me with Your salvation, that I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, that I may glory with Your inheritance.

Message: A call for God to remember

Time: The psalms were written by many different people across a period of a thousand years in Israel's history. They are thought to have been compiled and put together in their present form by some unknown editor shortly after the captivity ended about 537 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:  

I am noticing that some Psalms seem to be a direct prayer to God while others are a proclamation about who He is. They are a praise testimony of Him and His attributes. This one seems to be sort of a mix of the two as it, in a way, helps us to know what to pray for when we pray. 

Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting. I do need to remember when I pray to give thanks to the Lord first. Even the Lord's prayer begins with "Hallowed be thy name." The model of prayer is to thank God for who he is first. The passage that I love and think about often in Romans 1 begins with the person that begins to live their life away from God in verse 21 and it says, "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks." The first thing to go in a person is giving thanks to God. I am always amazed at that verse, for it says that people knew God, but they didn't give thanks to Him. Lord, this must not be forgotten in my life. I must remember to thank God for what He has done, like we did at Thanksgiving time. We spent time thanking God for what he had done. Lord, help me to be more thankful. I should be thanking you more versus asking you for more. 

Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the Lord, or can show forth all His praise? Also, in my praying is remembering the things that God has done in our life and for us. We are people of want. We are people of need. We are people that desire something different about our current situation. But, we need to also remember what God has done in our life. There are good things that he does all the time and they should be remembered. Lord, remind me of what you have done for us. 

How blessed are those who keep justice, who practice righteousness at all times! Lord, it is a privilege to be able to walk in your ways, to live according to Your promises, to be called by You. It is the only way to live in life. I am so thankful that I get to walk with You, by your side. Your ways are not a burden, but are the best ways to live. 

Remember me, O Lord, in Your favor toward Your people; visit me with Your salvation, that I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, that I may glory with Your inheritance. Then the Psalmist makes a request from God. He asks God to show Him favor and to visit us with salvation. He asks him to come alongside him and be with him and the grace that God provides. In the mode of experiencing God, he wants to join God in what He is doing. Help me to see life from your perspective, to walk in Your ways. It is no problem wanting life to be different, but should not our ideal be to walk with the Lord instead of just getting our constant Christmas list met? 

Promise: Praise Him, Remember our Calling, Remember what he has done in our life and then we can rightly see Him in us, working in us.