Saturday, June 8, 2013
How quickly do we respond to God's instructions?
How quickly do we respond to God's instructions?
Pay attention to the word "immediately" used more than once in the passage below. They showed no hesitation. They responded to the Lord immediately.
Matthew 4:18-22
18 Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 And He *said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Bad company will corrupt your morals
In today's devotion will address the need to avoid bad company. The verse we will look at is 1 Corinthians 15:33
33 Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals."
What a powerful impact bad company can have on our walk with God. It can take a person who has good morals and cause those good morals to be weakened. Don't let yourself be tricked into thinking you are steadfast and can't fall. Don't be tricked into thinking you can keep the wrong kind of company and be unaffected. Obviously the potential is there to be tricked in this area otherwise the Bible wouldn't say, "Don't be deceived..." If we have that mindset that our walk will be fine while we keep bad company then we are deceived and our walk will suffer.
And don't think that all of your Bible learning will prevent you from drifting. The bad company will outweigh your wisdom and knowledge and understanding. Remember that God granted Solomon great wisdom but that wisdom did not keep him from turning to other gods. And why did Solomon turn to other gods? It was because of the wives he married. His wives were a source of bad company. Their company corrupted his morals and turned his heart away. The passage that tells us about Solomon's wives corrupting him is found in 1 Kings 11:4
4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
This teaching must be kept in balance. On one hand we need to avoid bad company. And on the other hand we need to be around those that are not healthy spiritually in order to show them love and share the gospel with them. Ask God to show you the proper way to keep this balance in your situation.
33 Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals."
What a powerful impact bad company can have on our walk with God. It can take a person who has good morals and cause those good morals to be weakened. Don't let yourself be tricked into thinking you are steadfast and can't fall. Don't be tricked into thinking you can keep the wrong kind of company and be unaffected. Obviously the potential is there to be tricked in this area otherwise the Bible wouldn't say, "Don't be deceived..." If we have that mindset that our walk will be fine while we keep bad company then we are deceived and our walk will suffer.
And don't think that all of your Bible learning will prevent you from drifting. The bad company will outweigh your wisdom and knowledge and understanding. Remember that God granted Solomon great wisdom but that wisdom did not keep him from turning to other gods. And why did Solomon turn to other gods? It was because of the wives he married. His wives were a source of bad company. Their company corrupted his morals and turned his heart away. The passage that tells us about Solomon's wives corrupting him is found in 1 Kings 11:4
4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
This teaching must be kept in balance. On one hand we need to avoid bad company. And on the other hand we need to be around those that are not healthy spiritually in order to show them love and share the gospel with them. Ask God to show you the proper way to keep this balance in your situation.
Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Avoiding the adulterous woman - Part 1
In this multi-part devotion we are going to talk about avoiding the adulteress. In part 1 we will be drawing our text from Proverbs chapter 5. Please open your Bibles and make sure my comments agree with the scriptures.
In Proverbs chapter 5:1-3 we see a spiritual battle being played out in the realm of words. Through speech the father gives wisdom to the son that can prevent him from falling prey to the adulteress. But also through speech the adulteress tempts the son by her sweet, smooth, and enticing words.
In verses 3-4 we see the importance of not being a short term manager. If all he thinks about is the moment than he can fall prey to her wiles. He must think like a long term manager. He must look past the pleasure of the moment and keep in the front of his mind the future consequences. Embracing her will have a bitter end and one that leads to death.
Verse 8 provides a way to protect the son from her. Don't go near her. One of the ways this will protect the son is it will keep him away from her speech that can entice him and trap him.
Verse 10 provides an additional deterrent. Don't go after her or you will suffer financial loss.
Verse 11 again talks about being a long term manager. Don't go after her for the end result is that you will groan when your body and flesh are consumed.
Verses 15-19 provide a God given way to satisfy the sons desires and thereby reduce the tempting lure of the adulteress. Through marriage the son is actually encouraged to take pleasure in his wife. And it is evident in this text that the purpose is not merely to produce offspring but it is also for mutual enjoyment.
Verse 21 gives the son an additional deterrent by making him aware that God is watching everything he does. And God who watches also orchestrates consequences for every man's deeds.
Verse 22 warns the son that sin itself can capture and hold him. Here is just one example of how his sin could capture him. He could lose his freedom through an increased work load. If a divorce occurs he could be forced to work a second job in order to keep up with the child support payments.
Verse 23 shows that the consequence of this sin is great. If he does not pay attention to instruction then he will die.
In Proverbs chapter 5:1-3 we see a spiritual battle being played out in the realm of words. Through speech the father gives wisdom to the son that can prevent him from falling prey to the adulteress. But also through speech the adulteress tempts the son by her sweet, smooth, and enticing words.
In verses 3-4 we see the importance of not being a short term manager. If all he thinks about is the moment than he can fall prey to her wiles. He must think like a long term manager. He must look past the pleasure of the moment and keep in the front of his mind the future consequences. Embracing her will have a bitter end and one that leads to death.
Verse 8 provides a way to protect the son from her. Don't go near her. One of the ways this will protect the son is it will keep him away from her speech that can entice him and trap him.
Verse 10 provides an additional deterrent. Don't go after her or you will suffer financial loss.
Verse 11 again talks about being a long term manager. Don't go after her for the end result is that you will groan when your body and flesh are consumed.
Verses 15-19 provide a God given way to satisfy the sons desires and thereby reduce the tempting lure of the adulteress. Through marriage the son is actually encouraged to take pleasure in his wife. And it is evident in this text that the purpose is not merely to produce offspring but it is also for mutual enjoyment.
Verse 21 gives the son an additional deterrent by making him aware that God is watching everything he does. And God who watches also orchestrates consequences for every man's deeds.
Verse 22 warns the son that sin itself can capture and hold him. Here is just one example of how his sin could capture him. He could lose his freedom through an increased work load. If a divorce occurs he could be forced to work a second job in order to keep up with the child support payments.
Verse 23 shows that the consequence of this sin is great. If he does not pay attention to instruction then he will die.
Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)
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