The greatest goal of any teacher is to instill in his/her students the desire to learn. The greatest skill a teacher can give his/her students is how to learn. We are students for life. Many of us thought the learning was over with graduation at any level but we soon discovered that every day is a classroom and if we understand, accept and apply ourselves, we will enjoy the adventure. But if we decide that we no longer need to learn, life will become a very complicated thing filled with many struggles.
As Christians we should grasp this understanding wholeheartedly. We are students of the Holy Spirit. Every day is a classroom where we get to put into practice what we have received in theory. Our Teacher is with us all day long to apply practical lessons, so we can learn and grow. The purpose is for us to grow and mature which involves, theory, practical, correction and encouragement. It starts in one place though:
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)
It begins in a proper relationship with Yahweh. It begins with the understanding that he is the Teacher and we are the students. That is a healthy place, a respectful place, a place of understanding authority. If we have a healthy fear of Father it means we will respect his instructions. Many of us consider them suggestions but his instructions are commandments. Some people get offended at the thought of being commanded to do anything but that is because they are spiritually immature, do not understand the love of Father, and have yet to discover they are not a boss but a pupil.
Note though that the fear of the Lord is the beginning. It is a starting place. Just like the cross is the starting place for our relationship with Jesus. Past the cross is the resurrection and the receiving of the Holy Spirit. It is a progression. But from this humble position our knowledge and understanding grow. We spend far too much time doubting, criticizing, complaining and rebelling against the Teacher. These are not attitudes that permit an atmosphere of healthy learning. These are marks of distrust and if we do not trust our Teacher we will not be able to learn from our Teacher.
The lessons we receive from Yahweh are far more important and often more difficult than any we will learn in our formal schooling. These are life lessons meant to shape us for eternity. They include humility and service to others. We have an excellent Teacher who examines our weaknesses and puts us in places and situations to deal with those weaknesses, so they are exposed and overcome. Not always a pleasant experience but always to our benefit.
People get in trouble when they think that choosing Jesus is going to make everything easier and that he will resolve all our problems. Our walk with him is not easy but it makes everything better as he teaches us by using our problems to grow us spiritually. It is a challenging classroom but our Teacher is always present to lend us exactly what we need in the moment. Don't give up and do keep your heart humble and your perspective that of a pupil. Every day he is moving us closer to the goal; eternity is almost at hand. Keep running the race to grab hold of that prize. Submit to the Teacher and the lessons for today and you will be surprised by the joy you have in doing it.
Showing posts with label Proverbs 1. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Proverbs 1. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Why Should I Fear Yahweh?
Having grown up near the Atlantic ocean I learned to respect water. There are certain rules you learn to obey, not because they are forced on you but simply for survival. There are things you can do to enjoy the water but there are definitely other things you shouldn't do if you want to live. One thing you learn is that you always keep your wits about you when you are around water. You learn to respect the character of the Atlantic ocean.
In our age of hyper-grace I think we are forgetting the respect that is due our Creator. It is kind of like the line we get from Mr. Beaver in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. When Lucy asks if the lion, Aslan, is safe Mr. Beaver replies, "Safe? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good." A wonderful description of Yahweh, one to which we should pay attention. If we understood his character we would understand why David writes of respecting him in the same way I learned to respect the powerful Atlantic ocean:
Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
And rejoice with trembling. (Psalm 2:10-11)
Even king Solomon understood respecting the character of Yahweh, or at least he did before his hundreds of foreign wives interfered with his relationship:
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)
The character of Yahweh is nothing to be trifled with; he is not tame. The Atlantic ocean is not tame and never will be tamed. It is beyond the capability of man. Yahweh is beyond the concept of man and we can never reduce his character so that we can make him dance to our tune. To try to do so is to play in the water without respect. It will end in our demise.
We cannot play with Yahweh's words to make it say what we want. We cannot change the words or actions of Jesus to suit our thinking. We cannot dismiss the Spirit into non-existence. We cannot create our own god and then attach Yahweh's name, claiming that we are Christian. Our God cannot be mocked and those who try will discover the true nature of his character.
Our God, his testimony concerning himself, his instructions, his Spirit are to be respected and obeyed. This Hebrew word has been translated to "fear" and most people miss the point because we no longer live in an age where respect has much value. I hear ignorant people stating, "I will never obey God if he requires me to fear him". The ocean doesn't demand me to fear it, but it is a wise thing for me to develop a healthy fear of it if I wish to live. Fear is not as we use it today but it does imply a great respect of something so powerful it is out of your control to tame and get it to behave as we want.
Yahweh is love, but his character demands respect. We can't do whatever we want because his character has defined right from wrong, good from bad. We are a fallen creation because of our disobedience and he has done everything he can, paying the highest price, so that we might escape the consequences of our behaviour. Even this should never be trivialized but should provoke in us a response of love, so that we would desire to walk in his righteousness and respect him. I pray that Yahweh's people can re-discover this before it is too late.
In our age of hyper-grace I think we are forgetting the respect that is due our Creator. It is kind of like the line we get from Mr. Beaver in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. When Lucy asks if the lion, Aslan, is safe Mr. Beaver replies, "Safe? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good." A wonderful description of Yahweh, one to which we should pay attention. If we understood his character we would understand why David writes of respecting him in the same way I learned to respect the powerful Atlantic ocean:
Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
And rejoice with trembling. (Psalm 2:10-11)
Even king Solomon understood respecting the character of Yahweh, or at least he did before his hundreds of foreign wives interfered with his relationship:
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)
The character of Yahweh is nothing to be trifled with; he is not tame. The Atlantic ocean is not tame and never will be tamed. It is beyond the capability of man. Yahweh is beyond the concept of man and we can never reduce his character so that we can make him dance to our tune. To try to do so is to play in the water without respect. It will end in our demise.
We cannot play with Yahweh's words to make it say what we want. We cannot change the words or actions of Jesus to suit our thinking. We cannot dismiss the Spirit into non-existence. We cannot create our own god and then attach Yahweh's name, claiming that we are Christian. Our God cannot be mocked and those who try will discover the true nature of his character.
Our God, his testimony concerning himself, his instructions, his Spirit are to be respected and obeyed. This Hebrew word has been translated to "fear" and most people miss the point because we no longer live in an age where respect has much value. I hear ignorant people stating, "I will never obey God if he requires me to fear him". The ocean doesn't demand me to fear it, but it is a wise thing for me to develop a healthy fear of it if I wish to live. Fear is not as we use it today but it does imply a great respect of something so powerful it is out of your control to tame and get it to behave as we want.
Yahweh is love, but his character demands respect. We can't do whatever we want because his character has defined right from wrong, good from bad. We are a fallen creation because of our disobedience and he has done everything he can, paying the highest price, so that we might escape the consequences of our behaviour. Even this should never be trivialized but should provoke in us a response of love, so that we would desire to walk in his righteousness and respect him. I pray that Yahweh's people can re-discover this before it is too late.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Knowledge, Wisdom, Gifting (1)
The LORD intends for us to be more than what we are, more than that to which we have limited ourselves. The vast majority of us are ignorant and lazy which is not the Lord's desire for us but something we have done to ourselves. We allow ourselves to be side-tracked by useless diversions, things that tickle our flesh desires, that rob us of the LORD's plan for us. Without getting into specific purposes for each person I can tell you it is Yahweh's will that each of us gain knowledge, wisdom and gifting.
The one thing we are responsible for is gaining knowledge. It is simply the study of everything. We used to be a curious bunch and would gain knowledge by observation and experimentation. Then we built schools and called people who did this scientists and the rest of us went off to watch movies and play video games. Yet, we have all been given a great capacity to learn and gain knowledge. It is our Creator's desire for us to learn:
The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge,
And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. (Proverbs 18:15)
The only thing Yahweh asks is that we would keep the acquiring of knowledge within the context of our relationship with him:
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,But fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)
It is good to learn, to increase our knowledge but not at the cost of losing our eternity; not at the cost of losing our faith. There are a lot of things that mankind thinks it knows but it's because they have not sought knowledge within the context of our Creator. Unfortunately, the abuse of such knowledge has led most of our western society to replace Yahweh with other things. But this should not be an excuse for us not to seek proper knowledge, even to understand what the world considers knowledge. But we are lazy.
We would rather be entertained by the many diversions offered to us. We have become a society that chases after the ghost of leisure, paying whatever it costs for pleasure. How many books do you read in a year? I don't mean novels but books; biographies, history, science, geography. You may read the Bible but how much time do you commitment to actually studying it? Research? Commentaries?
You say you watch educational television but do you take notes and follow up with some self-studies to confirm it? You say you have the Internet, specifically Google, but do you know how to use it beyond checking your FaceBook and Tumblr? We have so much knowledge at our finger tips but we never actually try to consume any of it. We would rather watch some actors play out a fictitious story that will move our emotions and soon be forgotten, adding nothing to us. Wow, what an incredibly lazy man I have been.
Gaining wisdom is desired of us by Yahweh because it makes us more useful to him. But knowledge alone will not work. It is possible to be an ignorant idiot or an educated idiot but we are still an idiot. We also require wisdom and gifts to be a well rounded and useful servant of our LORD. Return tomorrow and I will continue on this suspect, but for now, make a decision to make better use of your free time. It will honour our LORD.
The one thing we are responsible for is gaining knowledge. It is simply the study of everything. We used to be a curious bunch and would gain knowledge by observation and experimentation. Then we built schools and called people who did this scientists and the rest of us went off to watch movies and play video games. Yet, we have all been given a great capacity to learn and gain knowledge. It is our Creator's desire for us to learn:
The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge,
And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. (Proverbs 18:15)
The only thing Yahweh asks is that we would keep the acquiring of knowledge within the context of our relationship with him:
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,But fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)
It is good to learn, to increase our knowledge but not at the cost of losing our eternity; not at the cost of losing our faith. There are a lot of things that mankind thinks it knows but it's because they have not sought knowledge within the context of our Creator. Unfortunately, the abuse of such knowledge has led most of our western society to replace Yahweh with other things. But this should not be an excuse for us not to seek proper knowledge, even to understand what the world considers knowledge. But we are lazy.
We would rather be entertained by the many diversions offered to us. We have become a society that chases after the ghost of leisure, paying whatever it costs for pleasure. How many books do you read in a year? I don't mean novels but books; biographies, history, science, geography. You may read the Bible but how much time do you commitment to actually studying it? Research? Commentaries?
You say you watch educational television but do you take notes and follow up with some self-studies to confirm it? You say you have the Internet, specifically Google, but do you know how to use it beyond checking your FaceBook and Tumblr? We have so much knowledge at our finger tips but we never actually try to consume any of it. We would rather watch some actors play out a fictitious story that will move our emotions and soon be forgotten, adding nothing to us. Wow, what an incredibly lazy man I have been.
Gaining wisdom is desired of us by Yahweh because it makes us more useful to him. But knowledge alone will not work. It is possible to be an ignorant idiot or an educated idiot but we are still an idiot. We also require wisdom and gifts to be a well rounded and useful servant of our LORD. Return tomorrow and I will continue on this suspect, but for now, make a decision to make better use of your free time. It will honour our LORD.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Faith Like A Child
I wish it was possible to tell the world that we do not follow a book of laws as they perceive that we do. In fact, I wish it was possible to explain that to Christians. I am not a hyper-grace preacher and do not belong to a hyper-grace church, I simply believe it is easier to understand God when we look at it from a relational perspective instead of a religious one.
God is my Father because he has adopted me as his child. So when I study his Word I am not seeing a list of laws but instead a Father's loving instruction. My desire to obey does not come from a fear of punishment but from a heart of gratefulness. I love my Father for his love and grace. My response to his righteousness is a love response. There is more to it than that. For instance, since Jesus is one with me, I do not want to bring him into something that would break his heart. But my desire to walk in obedience and God's righteousness is an act of love; a relational thing.
This means that I do not need to understand why my Father tells me not to do something; it is simply enough he told me it is not acceptable. The rebellious nature in me tells me that I am not brainless, that I can't obey blindly, that I am free thinking and deserve an explanation, but the child in me says, okay daddy. The logic of man's thinking is it's downfall, it's barrier against the love and grace of our Father. The cry from the world all the time is "Come dance with us for we are free and wise and no one tells us how to think". It is a seductive cry but the Word of God says:
My son, if sinful men entice you,
do not give in to them. (Proverbs 1:10)
These men lie in wait for their own blood;
they ambush only themselves!
19 Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
it takes away the life of those who get it. (1:18,19)
Our Father has told us that there is a way that seems right to man but it leads to death. The world is convinced of it's truth and throws our Father's words into the heap of all man's man-made religions. We cannot win the world by playing at it's game. We cannot build our churches on the principle's of man's wisdom and expect them to honour God. We cannot build our lives on the values of this world and expect to please our Father. These things that are pursued by those who claim Christ and yet walk in the logic of the world will take away their life.
Again today I plead with you and myself to live a life of no compromise. Do not compromise your relationship with the Father. No do compromise your desire to obey out of love. Do not compromise for the sake of appearing wise in the eyes of the world. Do not compromise to be accepted by man and rejected by God. Our Father has made it clear to those who are willing to be his children. We praise him for his grace, that he forgives all things and restores us to him whenever we get it wrong. But he knows our hearts. He knows if we are sincere in our love or if we are simply playing at it. I plead with you again today to:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength.
There is no compromise in love because love never fails. There is also no disrespect, no disobedience, no rebellious thought in love. Love never fails. So we, as the children of God, respond with a simple reality: If our Father said it we believe it and act upon it. Faith like a child.
God is my Father because he has adopted me as his child. So when I study his Word I am not seeing a list of laws but instead a Father's loving instruction. My desire to obey does not come from a fear of punishment but from a heart of gratefulness. I love my Father for his love and grace. My response to his righteousness is a love response. There is more to it than that. For instance, since Jesus is one with me, I do not want to bring him into something that would break his heart. But my desire to walk in obedience and God's righteousness is an act of love; a relational thing.
This means that I do not need to understand why my Father tells me not to do something; it is simply enough he told me it is not acceptable. The rebellious nature in me tells me that I am not brainless, that I can't obey blindly, that I am free thinking and deserve an explanation, but the child in me says, okay daddy. The logic of man's thinking is it's downfall, it's barrier against the love and grace of our Father. The cry from the world all the time is "Come dance with us for we are free and wise and no one tells us how to think". It is a seductive cry but the Word of God says:
My son, if sinful men entice you,
do not give in to them. (Proverbs 1:10)
These men lie in wait for their own blood;
they ambush only themselves!
19 Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
it takes away the life of those who get it. (1:18,19)
Our Father has told us that there is a way that seems right to man but it leads to death. The world is convinced of it's truth and throws our Father's words into the heap of all man's man-made religions. We cannot win the world by playing at it's game. We cannot build our churches on the principle's of man's wisdom and expect them to honour God. We cannot build our lives on the values of this world and expect to please our Father. These things that are pursued by those who claim Christ and yet walk in the logic of the world will take away their life.
Again today I plead with you and myself to live a life of no compromise. Do not compromise your relationship with the Father. No do compromise your desire to obey out of love. Do not compromise for the sake of appearing wise in the eyes of the world. Do not compromise to be accepted by man and rejected by God. Our Father has made it clear to those who are willing to be his children. We praise him for his grace, that he forgives all things and restores us to him whenever we get it wrong. But he knows our hearts. He knows if we are sincere in our love or if we are simply playing at it. I plead with you again today to:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength.
There is no compromise in love because love never fails. There is also no disrespect, no disobedience, no rebellious thought in love. Love never fails. So we, as the children of God, respond with a simple reality: If our Father said it we believe it and act upon it. Faith like a child.
Friday, June 28, 2013
No Compromise
One of the first signs that we are slipping away from Jesus is when righteousness takes less of a priority for us. It starts to become easier to compromise on those things we considered to be of importance. I stated a couple of days ago that when I start feeling that I have begun to compromise I refresh myself in the Psalms, Proverbs and the gospel of John. I find it interesting how both Psalm 1 and Proverbs 1 are similar in direction and tone.
Solomon wanted to leave nuggets of wisdom to guide his sons and the first thing he starts with is the need to have the desire to turn away from evil. Evil is a powerful force that held all of us in captivity for a long time and it doesn`t give up just because it lost possession. It will take every opportunity to try to separate us from the love of Jesus. When we understand God`s grace we know that evil holds no power over us but there are times of weakness, tiredness, busyness, distraction when the presentation of evil can be very attractive. It can even present itself as wise. Solomon warned his sons:
My son, if sinful men entice you,
do not give in to them. (Proverbs 1:10)
Recall Psalm 1:
Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers. (Psalm 1:1)
The problem is that we do not recognize evil as evil until we see it in the light of God`s righteousness. This is the reason the world is becoming hard to the message of the gospel; it doesn`t want to see. People do not want to hear that their actions are an offense to God. They don`t want to hear that they will be held accountable for their decision to deny Jesus. They do not want to be told that their life is a lie that leads to death. So they marginalize any who would present the truth.
Unfortunately, when we start getting distracted in our relationship with Jesus we do the same thing. Evil stops looking so evil because we are no longer seeing it through God`s righteousness. Compromise is so easy when we have allowed our relationship to wain. There is no good thing in us apart from what Jesus has done for us and to walk in constant obedience requires a constant growing relationship in Jesus. Without it sinful men will entice us and we will give in to them. Before we realize what is happening we will walk in step with the wicked, stand in the way that sinners take and mock our Father. Without a growing and vibrant relationship in Jesus compromise is an easy thing.
Look for the signs. Are we paying more attention to the opinion of people over the Word of God? Are we starting to set aside the Word, no longer convinced of its truth? Have we set aside prayer for other activities? Is stress increasing? Is fear in greater abundance? Are our thoughts more to our own needs? Is grace a little harder to find? Is forgiveness harder to give? Do we see the Church differently? Are we more judgmental of believers? Are we beginning to side with society? Are we beginning to lift up the logic of man?
Compromise is easy. Too easy. Paul had one answer:
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:12-13)
In faith there is no compromise, no middle ground. Either you believe or you don't. Either you trust or you don't. Either you obey or you don't. There is no room for doubt, fear, or worry. These things are only produced when we are compromising in our walk in Jesus. There cannot be compromise. It has always been about Jesus and it will always be about him. If your life is not all about him then none of it is about him. It is not a part but the whole thing. If it is any less then we have to yell at our soul to rise up and praise our God, get our eyes back to where they need to be and stop living a lie.
The only answer to a compromised life that has abandoned God's righteousness is a heart response to God's grace: To love God with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength.
Solomon wanted to leave nuggets of wisdom to guide his sons and the first thing he starts with is the need to have the desire to turn away from evil. Evil is a powerful force that held all of us in captivity for a long time and it doesn`t give up just because it lost possession. It will take every opportunity to try to separate us from the love of Jesus. When we understand God`s grace we know that evil holds no power over us but there are times of weakness, tiredness, busyness, distraction when the presentation of evil can be very attractive. It can even present itself as wise. Solomon warned his sons:
My son, if sinful men entice you,
do not give in to them. (Proverbs 1:10)
Recall Psalm 1:
Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers. (Psalm 1:1)
The problem is that we do not recognize evil as evil until we see it in the light of God`s righteousness. This is the reason the world is becoming hard to the message of the gospel; it doesn`t want to see. People do not want to hear that their actions are an offense to God. They don`t want to hear that they will be held accountable for their decision to deny Jesus. They do not want to be told that their life is a lie that leads to death. So they marginalize any who would present the truth.
Unfortunately, when we start getting distracted in our relationship with Jesus we do the same thing. Evil stops looking so evil because we are no longer seeing it through God`s righteousness. Compromise is so easy when we have allowed our relationship to wain. There is no good thing in us apart from what Jesus has done for us and to walk in constant obedience requires a constant growing relationship in Jesus. Without it sinful men will entice us and we will give in to them. Before we realize what is happening we will walk in step with the wicked, stand in the way that sinners take and mock our Father. Without a growing and vibrant relationship in Jesus compromise is an easy thing.
Look for the signs. Are we paying more attention to the opinion of people over the Word of God? Are we starting to set aside the Word, no longer convinced of its truth? Have we set aside prayer for other activities? Is stress increasing? Is fear in greater abundance? Are our thoughts more to our own needs? Is grace a little harder to find? Is forgiveness harder to give? Do we see the Church differently? Are we more judgmental of believers? Are we beginning to side with society? Are we beginning to lift up the logic of man?
Compromise is easy. Too easy. Paul had one answer:
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:12-13)
In faith there is no compromise, no middle ground. Either you believe or you don't. Either you trust or you don't. Either you obey or you don't. There is no room for doubt, fear, or worry. These things are only produced when we are compromising in our walk in Jesus. There cannot be compromise. It has always been about Jesus and it will always be about him. If your life is not all about him then none of it is about him. It is not a part but the whole thing. If it is any less then we have to yell at our soul to rise up and praise our God, get our eyes back to where they need to be and stop living a lie.
The only answer to a compromised life that has abandoned God's righteousness is a heart response to God's grace: To love God with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength.
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