Doing what is “right in our own eyes,” or God’s?

 

“There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” -Proverbs 14:12

In the book of Judges, chapter 17, verses 1-13, there is a story of a man named Micah and his mother. He stole “eleven hundred shekels of silver” from his mother. Later upon hearing her curses he decided to confess and then give it back. She blessed him then and said, “I had wholly dedicated the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son, to make a carved image and a molded image; now therefore, I will return it to you (v.3). “..Then his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the silversmith, and he made it into a carved image and a molded image; and they were in the house of Micah. ⁵ The man Micah had a shrine, and made an ephod and household idols; and he consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. ⁶ In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

Beyond that, a Levite soon came along and Micah persuaded him to be a paid priest for him over his idolatrous home temple. The Levite agreed (See v.7-11). The text finishes in vs. 12-13, saying, “So Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and lived in the house of Micah. ¹³ Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since I have a Levite as priest!” (Judges 17:3-13, summarized).

As we read through this story in the Bible, comparing it with the teachings of the Scripture we realize that a very sad condition had arisen in Israel. Everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes. And it’s hard to know what is sadder, the fact that they were doing so, or the fact that they had fallen into so much spiritual darkness that people even thought God’s blessing was upon them in their sins. His commandments were clearly broken and all respect of God’s boundaries for a healthy human-to-God relationship were entirely disregarded (See Exodus 20:3-6).

The question then comes to us today, “How about us?” Do we do everything that seems right in our own eyes? Or, in God’s eyes? Is it all about my opinion vs. yours or another person’s opinion? Do we presume that our action is right and that we are honoring God because we have some form of worship and perhaps we are using some elements from the true worship of God? Do we think that merely attending church once a week or “having a Levite as our priest” is enough to please God and have His blessing, while knowingly living sinful lives in other ways? Or even beyond that, do we realize who God is and what He truly requires of us? Or do we just have a vague concept of who God is based on hear-say but not according to the knowledge of the Bible? It seems high time that we discover for ourselves from the Bible just who God really is! Let us seek Him in His word! Let us find out what HE wants for our lives and what is truly right! And let us follow the Lord wholly, according to His ways, and not according to our own. It may seem right in our own eyes (not being enlightened by His word, or being in doubt of it), but lets find out what the truth really is and live by it before we have to meet the Lord face to face! Let’s humble ourselves before God and surrender to His eternal wisdom. Shall we not?

Thoughts causing sin in your life? What’s the Bible’s solution for victory?

 

“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: (14)  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. (15)  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:13-15).

Doesn’t sin begin in our minds? Our “own lusts” or desires originate in our minds or thoughts. From the suggestion of an impure thought or idea (if entertained) comes the dwelling upon, the consuming of us, the transforming of our feelings, emotions, body chemicals, and finally the act of sin, which if repeatedly continued will lead to destruction, and if even once indulged can cause great misery depending on the situation. Repeated patterns or habits just tend to entrench themselves further essentially becoming our character.

Too often we could find ourselves in a pattern or habit of sin. Have you ever found yourself there? Dwelling upon the wrong thoughts, at first a suggestion, then a little flow, then a river in the wrong direction – sinned. Pick yourself up again, apologize to God, get strength to overcome, successful for a little while, then some erroneous thoughts come along again, and you trip and fall flat on your face. This is the human battle field of sin no matter what the ill may be.

Christ pointed out that the sin begins in our thoughts, not our actions. The actions count for what they are and often bring more destruction to ourselves and/or others than the thoughts, but the action of sin never would have occurred if the thoughts were not entertained. Christ teaches us to “nip it in the bud,” that is, kill the flower before it blooms, or fight the battle against wrong thoughts before they explode like time bombs and hurt people (ourselves and others). Christ said if a man lusts after a woman then he is committing adultery in his heart (See Matthew 5:28,29).

Think about King David’s terrible sin of adultery in ancient times. It began with some thoughts, alone, up on a roof top as he happened to spy a bathing beauty of a woman who did not belong to him. Instead of nipping the evil/lustful thoughts right there he decided to indulge them a bit until they indulged him, brought the woman to his house, led to adultery, murder, lying, the death of a child, and the death of many good soldiers by a foolish cover-up move, and countless families weeping for their daddy’s and for husbands who were not coming home from the war anymore. Bad thoughts indulged led to sin, sin upon sin, countless misery, shame and disgrace.

So, how to overcome those thoughts which lead to sin, and often to habit, which leads to poor characters, which leads to more difficulties, disgrace, shame, and even eternal destruction? Let’s take a look at the Bible’s principles!

Encouragement: “Be TRANSFORMED by the RENEWING OF YOUR MIND” (Rom. 12:1,2).

1. Keep Active, occupied, or busy in right things: “Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her...” (Ezekiel 16:49). Sodom was a very wicked place and part of the problem was that people had way too much idle time on their hands and they occupied it with lusts and evils. King David’s first mistake in the Bathsheeba ordeal was having too much free time on his hands, since he didn’t “go out to war” as kings usually did at that time (See 2 Samuel 11:1,2). The devil makes use of idle hands and minds.
2. Fill your mind with the word and meditate only on good things: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8). “BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man [or woman] cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. (10) With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. (11)  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:9-11). “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). The word of God will retrain our minds in the right ways.
   
3. Pray – for His power, for others, for everything: “(9) After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. (10) Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (11) Give us this day our daily bread. (12)  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. (13)  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen” (Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus). Brother Paul said, “Pray without ceasing!” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
4. Avoid impure suggestions to your mind. Protect your senses: “He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;” (Isaiah 33:15).
5. Avoid bad influences – Choose your friends carefully: “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Cor. 15:33).
6. Choose to wage an all out war through Christ, by keeping your thoughts centered on Him:  “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5). See also John 15:4,5 – without Him we can do nothing. We must abide in Him. We must “look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:1,2). “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon you; because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3).
7. Look for the way of escape as soon as dangerous thoughts peak their head – there is one: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
8. Be diligent to continue in well-doing: “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9).
9. Don’t be self-sufficient, proud or unconcerned – Know your weakness and needs: “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).
10. Don’t be discouraged if you slipped up – Instead, pray, and persistently seek to overcome through Christ: Victory and change is coming through Christ. Span longer in your stints of victory until victory lasts forever. In Christ know it is attainable! “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7).

If we follow these Bible principles then victory is attainable! Seek the Lord and be strong in the might of His power! May the Lord bless and guide you to live in His will always! Let’s say this one more time, succinctly, in a different order: (1) Word – Fill with it (2) Prayer (3) Busy – Keep it that Way (4) Run – Stop that thought (5) Fill with good (6) Cut out the bad (7) Don’t Quit – there’s a way out (8) Jesus’ Power (9) Friends – Good Ones! (10) Don’t Underestimate Weaknesses – Fortify Against.

The Road to Forgiveness or the Road to Hell? Which will it be?

“(17)  Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king. (18) So Samuel called unto the LORD; and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. (19) And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king. (20) And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart; (21)  And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. (22)  For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people. (23)  Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: (24)  Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you. (25)  But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.” -1 Samuel 12:17-25

We’ve all sinned. We’ve all made mistakes. Yes, even as believers, even as God’s own chosen people, as people whom God has done great things for, we have sinned. How sad that is, but isn’t it a fact? Once convicted of our sins, what then should we do? They may surely be heavy sins; we may surely feel the weight of guilt upon us or perhaps even the fear that God will strike us dead for our terrible sins. Have you ever felt like that? Most with an illuminated conscience to the weight of their guilt have felt even something like that. But what shall we do? The prophet Samuel points out that we only have two choices: (1) Either we repent of our sin in sorrow, accept His merciful forgiveness, choose to seek Him, and to live in His path of righteousness again, OR (2) Give it all up, forsake the Lord for our heavy guilt, not accepting His forgiveness, lose all hopes, and plunge into a life of wicked sinfulness driving us straight into the fiery lake of Hell and eternal destruction. That’s it! Those are the only choices. The prophet Samuel pointed it out so clearly. So which will it be? Let us therefore in light of such truth seek the Lord and His mercies while they are yet to be found. Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom we are chief! (ref. 1 Titus 1:15). Shall we lose hope? No, let us never! To give up our hope is truly a hopeless thing indeed; In fact, a worthless thing. Why not repent, and seek the Lord rather, since He came to save sinners. Have you been one? If Christ reached out to save sinners who are in the full muck of sin, do you think He’d still reach out to a lost, struggling, hurting lamb, who has now soiled or tarnished their fur in the stains of sin by their foolishness? Of course! He loves His lambs! Those who’ve begun the journey out and away from sin, should never let a single sin (or multiple sins) keep them from returning to the forgiving, cleansing power of Jesus, and the hope of immortal glory and righteous perfection through Christ Jesus! Don’t ever let a sin keep you from the Savior from sin! Come to Jesus today, seek His path of righteousness again, find and accept His mercies today, and find life through Him! There are no more options except for certain death and wickedness. Either repent and accept His love, or perish. Seek Heaven, or plow into Hell. That’s it. That’s all. Praise Jesus for the hope we have in Him! Seek Heaven brothers and sisters! Follow the path Jesus has laid out.

In closing, just take a note of the steps followed in the Scripture from 1 Samuel today:

• The people sinned against all counsel and advice of God’s prophet (His word, the Bible) – though they full well knew what the counsel was.
• Samuel prayed for the people to see the weight and guilt of their sin.
• God showed them the weight and the guilt of their sin – GOD showed them (As He does today too, by His Spirit and various means).
• The people greatly feared, felt the weight/guilt of their sin, and begged for mercies from God and His servant while standing naked in their guilt and shame.
• Samuel, God’s minister, encouraged them NOT to give up in despair, but acknowledged that they had sinned, and encouraged them to seek the way of righteousness again. And to serve the Lord with ALL THEIR HEARTS!
• He reminded them that the ONLY other option was to fall out into a life of sin which has no profit, but can only lead to full emptiness and certain ruin.
• Samuel reminded them of God’s love and His nature, desire, and will NOT to forsake us, or to let us go, but to reach out to us and to redeem us from all iniquity!
• Samuel then expressed that not only did GOD care for them, but also he, Samuel, God’s minister was not giving up on them either, but was praying for them to be saved and he promised to proclaim to them the right way of God’s word in which they could still and needed to live by.
• He then wrapped up his counsel by repeating the needed choice or action to seek the Lord and to reverently obey (fear), love, and serve Him from the Heart; Reminding again that God’s love does not cast us away. Then furthermore reminding that the only other option was a life of sin leading to sure death and destruction. That’s it, that’s all.

Let us therefore follow the steps laid out in God’s word, seek His love and His mercies, repent of our sins in sorrow, serve Him from the heart (with all of it) from love, do His will and live with Him forever. Any choice different from that is only darkness. The choice is yours and mine. Heaven or Hell, life or death. Therefore, CHOOSE LIFE! 

A Message from the Grave or a message from God’s Word?

 

“Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” -Luke 16:29-31

Jesus told a very famous parable in Luke 16. While a number of Christians like to debate about whether this was a parable or not, for our purposes today we’ll not touch on that point. It was the story of the rich man and Lazarus that Jesus was talking about in this place. At the conclusion of the story we read the lines printed above from verses 29 to 31. What truth can we gather from this portion of the text? Well, I think there are at least a couple important lessons we can gather. Let’s look at them!

In the story, the rich man, who was suffering in a place of torment (hell), communicated to Abraham that someone should come back from the grave to bear a message to the living – that they should repent of their evil works and do the right things in their lives (so that at the end they would not end up in the punishment of hell fire). In other words, the rich man was asking for God to send a message from the grave to the living! In the story he was asserting that a message of wisdom should come from the grave or from the dead to persuade the living of what they needed to do in their lives. The rich man thought it would be effective to give such a message. What was the response from God’s side however?

From God’s side (Abraham) the message came back all too clearly!! “They have Moses and the Prophets: Let them hear them” (v.29). “If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead” (v.31). What is the point that God is making here? He is telling us that He expects us to hear and to obey His word! God expects us to follow and obey the Scriptures! God has already given us enough of a persuasive message from His word, “Moses and the Prophets,” and that is what He is expecting us to obey! God is putting the burden of proof on His word! He is telling us that all of us will be judged by His word alone and whether or not we accept it. God is NOT going to send us a message from the grave or from the dead to persuade or to get us to do something. No! He is going to rely upon His word to do that job! God expects us to know or learn what is in the Bible and to follow it! His word will be the ultimate message and test for us! We are not to seek vital information from any other source that would lead us to run contrary to His word!

What can we conclude? Check it by the Bible always!! God puts His written word above everything! And He is never intending to send us messages from the grave because He has already given us His word! That’s what Jesus teaches us here! Do not be deceived by the devil! Many in the world today are claiming to come back from the dead (near death experiences or otherwise) and to have messages from the grave (or “near grave”) about what God wants for us to do. But Jesus just told us in His parable that God does not want to operate that way and He will not. Instead, God points us back to the Bible, “Moses and the Prophets,” and He says “Let them hear them” (v.29)! God says to obey His word and nothing else! Let us be wise and do so as Jesus taught!

So quickly turned out of the way?

 

“And the LORD said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image.” -Deuteronomy 9:12

It seems that human beings are so easily turned out of the right way. The Bible points out that sin does “so easily beset us” (Hebrews 12:1). This is a sad fact of sinful human nature. Paul warns even, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). We must be ever careful. Satan is out to get us and he is always disguising his efforts in such a way as to trap us and he is aiming for the spots in our character where he knows from experience that he will find weakness. He took Adam and Eve that way, Samson, David, Moses, Aaron, Mariam, the Children of Israel, and you just name them, the list goes on. Let us ever be thankful for God’s grace and mercy through Jesus Christ for if it was not for such then we would all surely be left for dead!

Let us be thankful that in Christ and His word there are power and great promises that will lead to overcome and “to escape the corruption that is in the world through lust” (John 15:4,5; 2 Peter 1:4). And though are sins have been as scarlet, yet they will be as white as snow if we confess and forsake them while trusting in Jesus to deliver by His blood and righteousness (1 John 1:9; Isaiah 1:18; Proverbs 28:13).

Have you been quickly turned out of the way? Have you seen yourself sliding away from God and perhaps doing what you should not have been doing? Did you ever wake up one day and realize that you had followed a path that had led you away (even far away) from God, our Father who loves us? Perhaps you have. Do not despair. It’s very sad. It’s very terrible! But the good news is that God loves you and me still! He longs with a Father’s great heart of love for His wayward child to return to Him and to repent of the sin. God has a place for us still. He shows His great love and mercy for us! He is not willing for any to perish, but desires for all to come to repentance if they will. In fact, He pleads with us to do so (See Ezekiel 33:11; 2 Peter 2:9; Matthew 11:28-30). See also this picture in Jesus’ story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:17-24).

Here is a simple recipe for coming back into the Father’s love and His holiness: Stop where you are…all dirty and sinful. Think of His love. Choose to leave the sinful life and to go back to God’s love (even knowing your unworthiness). The Father will welcome you back with arms of love. He sees you coming when you are still “far off.” When you meet Him confess your sin. He will embrace you, forgive you, cleanse you, fill you, and cover you with His love and righteousness. He will guide you in His way again. Go now and be blessed in God’s love! Do not remain even another moment outside of His love. Stop wallowing in sin and trying to avoid God. Run to Him!! He alone can deliver and save you!

Learning to Fear the Lord through His word

“And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:” -Deuteronomy 17:19

We are to read and meditate in God’s word all the days of our life! I would submit that we cannot learn to “fear the Lord” our God without diligently studying and respecting His word! We must hear it and study it much. We must learn about the God who can turn waters into blood, who can drive back oceans, who can call the dead to life, who can create creatures from nothing and humans from dust.

Learn of the God who can open blind people’s eyes, cause the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, and the dumb to speak. Learn about the God who rebukes disease and sends demons running and cowering in fear. Learn about the One who can change the heart of a sinner (you and me) and make us to desire holiness and seek it forever. Learn about the God who can forgive the hated and despised of human beings and make them into a person you could love and respect. Know the God who put our Solar system into orbit and who is soon coming again to re-claim this planet, to take it over, and who will destroy all evil.

Get to know Him today while mercy yet lingers! Who cannot fear, reverence and respect such a God? Let us learn from His word to deeply respect/reverence (fear) and follow Him. Only with such a relationship with God can we be overcomers and grow in His Holiness. “By the fear of the LORD men depart from evil” (Proverbs 16:6). And only through the Bible (plus prayer and contemplation of His mighty works in nature) can we learn to fear Him! Go and fill yourself daily with His Holy words!!! Be blessed in Christ Jesus today!

Building a Sturdy Character: A Mystery?

“Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.” -Luke 6:47-49

Most people, if you asked them, would say that they would love to have a better character. Wouldn’t you? Some disagree about how to do that. Some doubt if it were even possible. Others wonder how to achieve such a thing, if it were possible. Jesus tells us that it is possible and He tells us how. It’s actually quite a simple recipe that He gives us. It’s no mystery.

Jesus teaches us that character building is like building a house. It takes time to develop, but everyday it will grow if we follow His plan. Then if done rightly, it will stand the tests of various temptations and hardships in this life. The result will be very rewarding! It is achieved by both hearing God’s word and by choosing to believe and to obey it. We have to put it into practice. We should hear and obey God’s word. Do whatever He says! Seek to do it and strive to do it. Pray to do it and take steps to do it. You and I have to be wise. We need to make a choice today and every moment to fill ourselves with Christ’s word and to practice it. In the end we will be blessed by a strong and better character which is more like the character of Jesus.

If we do not obey God’s word (in anything) then we are sowing weakness into our character (just like building upon the sand) which later will reveal itself when the storms of temptation arise in our lives. The weakness of our character will surely show itself when put to the test! When the floods arise our house will fall because it is weak and poorly built (if we have failed to obey God’s word). “The fall of it will be great” Jesus says. How sad and terrible such things will be? How embarrassing and shameful to have a house so poorly and unwisely built that it collapses when the pressures and temptations arise upon us.

But how wonderful it would be if our house stood firm under pressure! For example, how wonderful if our testimony was like that of Joseph who was tempted by Satan (through a married woman in that case, see Gen. 39) and who stood victorious for God! Joseph did not arrive there by accident. Rather, it was by decision after decision every day (little though they may have seemed) that Joseph was able to have a house/character built upon the solid rock of God’s word! By choosing to obey God’s word time after time (rather than lust or some other thing) in the seemingly little things of daily life Joseph was able to develop a pure and holy character that loved righteousness and repulsed evil. We, through Christ, His word (both hearing and choosing to obey), and prayer can be overcomers even like that! Through Christ we can have the victory! Let us seek God daily and choose to obey His word. Also keep in mind that Joseph did not put himself into temptations way or go looking for trouble. He was there by necessity as a slave, just minding his own business and doing his daily work. That’s when Satan brings sin a looking for us! When it tried to take him he knew the best thing was to RUN away! It is manly and Godly to run away from sin when the temptation seems overpowering. Sometimes that is the best thing! Let us not be foolish. Build on the rock as Christ Jesus taught us to do and you will be blessed with more of His strong and righteous character!