Voices

In Scripture we are told to test all things (1 Thess 5:21).  Jesus reassured us that His sheep know His voice (John 10:4) and again in verse 14 the Lord tells us, "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own."  Yet today there are many who claim to be followers of Jesus, who claim to know His voice, and count themselves among the saved, a child of God who do not know Jesus as Lord and twist the Scriptures.  In addition there are many who are following the teaching of these men and women blindly, on a course straight to hell.  I am not writing this to judge who is and who isn't of the family of God, rather I'm writing this because upon taking a closer look at what some pastors are proclaiming to be truth is in fact false, deceptive teaching and the Scriptures say (Mat 24:11), "...many false prophets will rise up and deceive many."  Because they regard the man so highly they aren't opening the Bible to test his or her words against God's word or are simply too lazy to read the word for themselves.  

When Paul visited Berea he reported, (Acts 17:11) "These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.  The Bereans were checking the Scriptures to test what Paul was teaching against the word of God.  This was a commendable act because Paul is a man capable of sin like all other men.  As followers of Christ the word of God is our only measure of truth.  

Joshua 1:8 "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Psalm 19: 7-10a The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.  More to be desired are they than gold.

2 Tim 3:16-17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

However, many regard the reading of Scripture tedious, boring and dull.  Therefore they go to church to have their ears tickled and are unaware of how far from God and His truth they really are.  

Proverbs 9 warns us of the voices that will be calling to us.  There are only two, the voice of wisdom and the voice of folly and they sound very much alike.  Let's look at them both.

Proverbs 9:1-6  The voice of wisdom:

Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars; she has slaughtered her meat, she has mixed her wine, she has also furnished her table. She has maidens, she cries out from the highest places of the city, "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!" As for him who lacks understanding  she says to him, "Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Forsake foolishness and live, and go in the way of understanding.

Proverbs 9:13-18 The voice of folly:

A foolish woman is clamorous; she is simple, and knows nothing. For she sits at the door of her house, on a seat by the highest places of the city, to call to those who pass by, who go straight on their way: "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here"; and as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, "Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant." But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of hell.

What I find interesting about these two voices is they both call from the same "pulpit" the highest places.  The false teachers of today stand in a pulpit just as the teachers filled with the Holy Spirit, called by God and equipped by God to teach His word.  Both pulpits are in a building called a church. 

The second thing I find interesting is the people they are calling, they are the simple and as we read in the Psalm 19 it is the word of God that makes a the simple wise.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 1:7).  If it is the word of God that makes the simple wise then without it we have no tool with which to measure truth or folly and no Person with which to guide us in truth.  

What is the difference between the two messages, it is the direction in which believing that message will take you.  Without the Lord, without His word to give us wisdom we will surely be led right to the pit of hell.  "But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of hell."

The Lord wishes that none would perish, that all would come to repentance and life.  John 3:17 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Proverbs 9 declares there are two voices that will be calling for us to follow them, one is wisdom leading to life and the other is folly leading to hell.  Proverbs 9 also tells us the solution to the problem we have, "How do we know which is the voice of wisdom?"  Verse 10-11 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding, For by me your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added to you.

Proverbs 3:26 For the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.

If you are tempted to decide you do not need the Lord and you can determine for yourself which voice is the way of life you are already deceived, for it is the Lord that gives wisdom and without the word of God to guide you, you are among the lost.  Do not rely on a man or a woman to tell you the truth alone but search out the Scriptures to determine whether their words are wisdom or folly.  Proverbs 9:12 is clear, If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, and if you scoff, you will bear it alone.  Christ is our mediator (1 Tim 2:5), it is His blood that washes our sin and gives us life and citizenship in heaven (Eph 1:3-14) (Phil 3:20) (Col 1:9-14), to refuse Him is to stand on your own merit on that day of judgement(2 Cor 5:9-21).

Proverbs 3:5-8 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones.

Following Jesus,

CC

Email devo

Good morning...a friend of mine sent this devotional to me this morning and its simple message was great encouragement to me so I wanted to pass it along to you.

Blessings, CC

Home: More than Just a Word

Marybeth Whalen

 

 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honor one another above yourselves.”

Romans 12:10 (NIV)

         

Devotion:

I opened up my email to discover another one of those forwards we all get from time to time.  I almost hit “delete” but my eye landed on this acronym for the word “Home”:

 

Honor the Lord

Obey His Word

Minister to one another

Establish walls of truth

 

I was glad I took a look at this forward, because it made me think about whether or not these four components are present in my home.  When looked at it in this light, the word “home” means so much more than just a place to live. Isn’t that what we want all of our homes to be? More than a place to sleep and eat and occasionally clean, we want our homes to be a place where lives are shaped into God’s design. This little acronym zeroes in on four important goals we should have for our home.  The exciting thing is, no matter who lives there, or what problems we are facing, or what limits we feel like we have, with effort and intention our homes can be places where these four things happen. 

Honor the Lord: We can honor God with our lips, but yet our hearts can be far from Him (Mt. 15:8) — and the people who live with us will be the first to know when we do this! Let’s seek to honor Him behind the closed doors of our homes, living out our devotion to Him in a visible, gentle way as we realize that our families are watching.

Obey His Word: Obeying His Word at home is not always easy.  The Bible tells us to be submissive to our husbands, to love others more than we love ourselves, and to pick up our cross (as we pick up after our children, or care for our elderly parents).  When we do these things with humility, those we most want to impact will notice.  More than that, they will file it away in their hearts, and our lives will echo in theirs in ways we can’t possibly foresee.

Minister to one another: Ministry requires us to love others, to reach others, and to lay down our lives for the sake of those God has placed in our sphere of influence.  This must happen at home first.  And yet, if we’re honest, it’s usually the last place it happens.  We go out and give the best of what we have to offer to others, then give our leftovers to the people we profess to love the most. Let’s minister to those in our own homes first.

Establish walls of truth: When I first read this, I will confess that something prickled in me.  Establish walls?  How is it Biblical to establish walls? I questioned.  However, I soon realized I was thinking of walls as a means to keep people out.  When in actuality, we need to be building walls of truth—God’s truth, designed not to keep others out but to guard our hearts and give us a safe place to retreat and to rest.  These walls of truth make our homes into fortresses—a place to run to when our daily battles wear us out. 

These are not things we can just do once and move on.  They are daily requirements, regular sacrifices, and even personal struggles.  We won’t ever do it perfectly and there will be days we feel we are taking one step up and two steps back. But with God’s help, we can keep working to make H.O.M.E. mean so much more.                                                                                                         

Dear Lord, make my home a place that includes these four components.  I want my home to be more than just a place to  live in—I want it to be a place where lives are impacted and relationships are strengthened.  Lord, I need Your help to do these things. Thank You for Your promise to always help me when I ask. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.