Proverbial Wisdom – 3:1-6

My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Proverbs 3:1-6 (KJV)

Dear Friends, I apologize for the tardiness of this week’s lesson. This has been a difficult week for me. First, I had a toothache and as a result, I found myself sitting in a dentist chair. Then Thursday, September 22, was the anniversary of my first husband’s death.

It has been eight years since my husband’s death, but it was such a life-changing event that I will never forget the details of that horrible day. Although I will never forget my husband, I did learn how to adjust to the change, continue forward with my life, and wait patiently upon God. I am still waiting to discover all the wonderful plans that God has in store for my future.

God has a good plan for all of His children. He sees into our hearts—He sees our strengths and He sees our weaknesses. The astounding part is that God loves us in spite of all of our weaknesses!

Life-changing events can transform our weaknesses into strengths. When we are suddenly plunged into the angry waves of despair, from a sickness or death of a loved one or maybe even from our own sickness, we may flounder around for a bit, barely keeping our heads above water. However, while we are floundering in despair, we gently hear God calling, “Hang on My child. Hold tight to My hand and I will lead you out.”

After floundering for a bit, I hope that we wise up, reach out, and take hold of God’s outstretched hand. I know I had to.

There was no way that I could make it through the valley of death without God. I surrendered myself to God, I rehearsed His Word (Bible) in my mind, and I held tight to my faith in Him. God did not disappoint me.

God was my strength while I underwent a painful transformation process. Through my faith in Him, I survived my walk through the valley of death. It was in that valley of death that some of my weaknesses were transformed into my strengths. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Psalms 23:4).

Unfortunately, many times we have to undergo painful trials before we willingly surrender ourselves to God’s transforming hand. It is in the midst of those trials that we finally begin to understand and appreciate God’s faithfulness.   

All of us will go through life-changing events at some point in time. Some of those events will be good and some of those events will be bad. Nevertheless, by faith we can victoriously endure all life-changing events IF we depend on God. God is working on our behalf to transform us into pure, strong, holy vessels. “The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives” (Psalms 37:23, NLT).

If you are personally going through a life-changing event, perhaps God is birthing a new ministry within you. God may be transforming some of your weaknesses into strengths so He can use you to help His children. Therefore, while you are going through the transformation process, do not become overwhelmed. Instead, look at the process as an exercise in your faith. By faith, you know that God is right there beside you, lovingly planning every detail of your transformation.

But while you are being transformed, make sure that you follow ALL of God’s commands. God’s Word promises that if you remember His laws and obey His commands, you will have length added to your days and peace added to your life (verses 1 and 2). But you can’t stop there!

Your outward behavior must reflect God’s mercy and God’s truth (verse 3 – “bind them about thy neck”). The only way that you can outwardly reflect mercy and truth, is to have these same principles written internally within your heart (“write them upon the table of thine heart”). Therefore, let mercy and truth rule your days, both in your heart and in your behavior. When you do this, you will find favor and understanding in the sight of God (verse 4).

Finding favor with God is my goal. More than anything, I want to hear God say, “Well done My good and faithful child.”

In this life, you will go through many spiritual battles. You may not see your attacker and you may not understand your attacker’s strategy. However, you can still be victorious when you learn to trust in God, lean on Him, and acknowledge Him as your sole source of strength. God will protect you through the battles and after they are complete, you will have been transformed.

…Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today.

Matthew 6:32-34 (NLT)

Three Key Concepts:

1.  Life-changing events can be the beginning of a spiritual transformation.

2.  God will sustain you through all life-changing events.

3.  God knows what you need and He will provide all that you need.

Holiness – Dig Deeper

For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

2 Peter 2:20-21

Hello Everyone!  I am glad that you have decided to join me in this wonderful expedition of digging into God’s Word. Today, we are going to dig deep so grab your gloves, shovel, and flashlight. Oh by the way, don’t forget to grab your Bible. You’re going to need it in this dig.

This week, we’re going to span a large time-period in biblical history; all the way from Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden, up until today— the here and now. Really, our time span begins before Adam, back to the time when one-third of God’s angels fell into sin.

But first, we need to establish in our minds that God, the Creator of the heavens, the Earth, and us, is holy. He is a holy God (Leviticus 11:45, 1 Peter 1:16).

Next, we need to establish that God created man in His own image. Thus the original man (Adam) was initially created holy (Genesis 1:26-27). Even before God created man, He created the holy angels. Everything that God created was holy. “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good…” (Genesis 1:31, emphasis added).

God’s creation was not only good, but it was very good! So what happened? What turned God’s very good creation into a fallen, degenerate creation?

The short answer is sin. Sin caused the fall of some angels and the fall of mankind. Although sin can be enticing and may look pleasant to the eyes, it is not (Genesis 3:1-6).

In fact, sin can be so enticing that even an anointed cherub fell. The fallen cherub, who we know as Satan (Lucifer), esteemed himself to be as a god. He thought that he could rise above all of God’s creations; thus, he succumbed to the sin of pride and he fell (Isaiah 14:12-14, Ezekiel 28:12-17). Along with him, Satan took one-third of God’s angels (Rev 12:4).

Because of their sin, some of the fallen angels were immediately cast into hell. The remaining fallen angels will be cast into hell at a later time (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6, Revelations 12:7-9). But remember, we already established that these angels were originally created holy. Sin entered their hearts and they chose sin over holiness; thus, they became separated from God.

God is holy and He does not fellowship with sin (Isaiah 59:2, Romans 8:7-8).

Later in biblical history, we have Adam and Eve. They too, like the fallen angels, initially were holy but then they also chose to disobey God. They succumbed to sin and broke their fellowship with God. No longer could they walk and talk with God in the cool of the morning (Genesis 3:8).

Sin is devastating and its consequences far-reaching. Adam’s fall created within all of mankind a sin nature. Consequently, his fall separated you from God—now that is far-reaching! “When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned” (Romans 5:12, NLT).

But God is merciful. Although sin invaded His once holy creation, God provided a way that you can overcome sin. That way is through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He was the holy Lamb for all of mankind. All you have to do is believe in Him (John 3:16, Romans 5:15-21).

Once you believe in the gift of God’s Son (Jesus), then God cleanses your sin-contaminated heart. You regain the wonderful opportunity to fellowship with Him. However, this lesson is not about the history of the fall of the angels and mankind. It goes deeper.

When you believed in the blood sacrifice of Jesus, you were rebirthed into a holy creation, just like the holy angels and the first man (Adam). Now go back to the beginning of this lesson to see what happened to their holiness. They lost it because they chose sin!

Don’t worry, I am not getting into the age-old discussion of “once-saved-always-saved.” nor the potential “backsliding” of man. I am going to focus on God’s Word. If you want to delve deeper into those age-old arguments, then read Security: The False and the True, by W. T. Purkiser, or Bible Holiness by E. P. Ellyson. Both of these books deal with those issues.

Instead, I want to give you Scriptures that will help fortify your heart and keep you from falling. I don’t want you to make the same mistake that Adam or the angels made. Let’s turn on our flashlights and look at God’s Word.

If you are a reborn child of God, then you have God’s Holy Spirit within you. He can enable you to remain holy (Romans 8:8-9). He will shine a bright light of truth and bring Holy Scripture into your remembrance (John 14:26). Follow His light and abide in His truth (John 15:1-8). Do not grieve or resist Him; instead, obey Him. Allow Him to keep you sealed unto the day of your redemption (Acts 7:51, Ephesians 4:30).   

Hang tight to God’s Word because you will be bombarded with false doctrines. Some of these doctrines will appeal to your itchy ears and will sound true, at least on the surface. Nevertheless, they do not wholly agree with God’s Word; as such, they are doctrines of deceit and of devils (1Timothy 4:1). Therefore, heed God’s Word and His warnings and do not succumb to the teachings or cares of this life (Luke 21:34). Put on the whole armour of God and stand strong (Ephesians 6:11-18).

To summarize, your reborn holiness will be attacked; therefore, remain in constant obedience to God. Become steadfast! Walk in the light of His Word and His Spirit. Do not resist or grieve His Spirit. Lastly, put on the whole armour of God.

   

Whew…that was deep! I don’t know about you but I plan on digging deeper until my Lord returns. I want my holiness perfected through God’s Sprit.

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

2 Corinthians 7:1 (KJV)

Three Key Concepts:

1.  Everything that God created was initially holy.

2.  All of mankind and one-third of the angels chose to sin.

3.  Your newly born holiness will be attacked.

The Privilege of Prayer

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7 (KJV)

The other evening after I had just gotten in bed and had fluffed my pillow, I felt in my spirit that I needed to get back up. God was calling me to get down on my knees and pray. At first, I said to myself, “I just got in bed so I will pray while I am laying here.” But that was not what I was supposed to do. I knew in my heart that I was to get up and kneel down in prayer. So reluctantly, I got out of bed.

Now since my bed is tall and I am short, it isn’t a small feat for me to get in and out of bed. I have to slide down off the bed and then I have to climb up to get back in. But nevertheless, I got up. However, I didn’t do it with a happy heart— I approached it as if I was doing a chore.

But do you know what happened?

As soon as I began kneeling down, my heart changed. Instead of thinking that, “I’ve got to pray,” I thought that, “I get to pray.” Through that simple act of obedience, God made me realize how truly blessed I am. I have the opportunity to kneel before my God.

Not everyone can freely kneel before God. Some people may have physical limitations that prevent them from kneeling. Then there are people in countries outside of the United States who may have government restrictions that require them to kneel secretly in prayer. But I don’t have any limitations or restrictions. Anytime I want, I can kneel and pray…I have both the ability and the freedom. That is a blessing! That is a privilege!

Once I was down on my knees, God opened my eyes to the privilege of prayer. Unfortunately, it is a privilege that I often take for granted. God, the Creator and Giver of life, savors my prayers. That was a humbling thought, which brought tears to my eyes. But at the same time, I was ashamed of my initial thoughts of staying in bed. Therefore, I repented.

How could I have ever considered staying in bed when God was calling me? A soft bed does not even compare to God loving me and wanting to hear from me. “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers…” (1 Peter 3:12, KJV).

For a while as I was kneeling in prayer, all I could do was praise God’s name. His Spirit came over me and I felt so blessed that I had the opportunity to pray. That is a precious privilege that I never want to take for granted again. “Lord, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice” (Psalms 141:1-2, KJV).

Do you know how special you are? You can bow down before the Creator of this world. God loves you, He cares about you, and He listens to you. In fact, the Bible says that when God’s children pray, their prayers are like a sweet-smelling incense, “…and they held gold bowls filled with incense—the prayers of God's people” (Revelation 5:8, NLT).

God made a way that you can personally talk to Him through prayer. It is a wonderful freedom but it came at a tremendous price. Jesus paid that price. “Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom…” (Matthew 27:50-51, KJV ).

How do you feel about praying—is it a chore or is it a privilege?

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. This is the new, life-giving way that Christ has opened up for us through the sacred curtain, by means of his death for us. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's people, let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him. For our evil consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

Hebrews 10:19-22 (NLT)

Three Key Concepts:

1.  God loves you and He hears you when you pray.

2.  Praying is a privilege, not a chore.

3.  Your privilege to pray came at a tremendous cost.