Mar 4 - Today from Proverbs 4 we look at verse 18 & 19
"The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter til the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble."
Everyone is on a pathway in this life. Every pathway is cut through with countless scores of intersections. We all have choices to make as to where our path will lead. Without light, we are hopelessly doomed to wander and stumble in the darkness.
The first gleam of light comes when a person purposes to lead a righteous life – that is, to live just lives before God and before men. They are people who turn toward God. People from all walks of life continue to stumble in the darkness for multiples of reasons. Then, one day, an opportunity comes to turn to the living God. The Holy Spirit draws the heart. The victim of darkness turns to God and the first gleam of light falls upon the path. The purposeless life suddenly sees purpose. The doctrinally deceived suddenly see the light of truth. The rebellious suddenly see the destruction that lies ahead and turn from that path. The ensnared suddenly sees what has hold of them and the way of escape. Whatever the circumstance, turning to God brings the first gleam of light. The same Holy Spirit who drew the heart to turn is now desirous to lead. He is the Spirit of Christ, the Good Shepherd. He is one with the Father and the Son. He desires to lead all that turn to God to the fullness of light in Christ Jesus. Turning toward God is the beginning, not the end.
This path is not a constricting path of rules and regulations. There would be no joy on such a path. 2 Corinthians says that the letter of the law kills, it is the Spirit who gives life. Galatians 3:2 asks, "Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?" So we see that the path of the righteous is a path of faith. When God reveals a truth to us, we are to believe Him and walk in the light of that truth. When we come to intersections of decision, we are to inquire of Him. When He directs, we are to trust Him. That's what faith does. It is a spiritual adventure to walk the path of faith. It often takes us in directions that we would not normally choose. When we are convinced it is of Him, we do well to follow, for there is a blessing ahead. When we are unsure, but feel we must move forward, we must make our best decision based on the light we have. If we are wrong, He knows how to correct us. The point is to be sincere in our purpose to follow Him.
Our God is a personal God. He has the unique ability to be intimate and personal with every one of His children all the time all at once. When you come to the Father with a problem or an issue, He's not distracted by the boiling conflict in the Mid-East, or by the killer hurricane in the Caribbean. You have His complete and undivided attention. When you stray (or deliberately detour), from the path of light, He is completely aware - and He loves you enough to discipline you. The wise thing to do is to keep accounts short, and repent when He convicts. Confess your sin, make reparation if the situation calls for it, and get back on the path and headed in the right direction. He doesn't hate you. He doesn't want you to suffer and pay for your sin. He died in your place so you wouldn't have to. He wants you back in fellowship with Himself, following the path of faith and making a difference in the world He loved so much that He offered His only Son. As we walk the path of faith, we will experience purpose, opportunity and fulfillment in using our gifts and abilities for His glory. At the end of that path is unspeakable glory.
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him." -1 Cor. 2:9
Since Nov 08
About Me
- Ken
- While mentor-ing a couple of young men late in the year 2001 , I told them that if they agreed to read a chapter of Proverbs each week-day as a part of their devotions, I would choose one verse from the chapter and share a meditation by email. They agreed. I continued to write the meditations at my desk in my home for the next two and a half years. They began to forward them to their friends and I received requests from those friends to be placed on the email list. My personal email bundle was to about eighty people. Many of those people forwarded them to friends all over the country – and some over the world. Only the Lord knows how extensive the writings traveled. I am not a professional writer, and each meditation was spun off in a relatively short period of time during my own personal devotions in the morning. In April of 2004 I assembled 366 of the meditations into a calendar year. As I now bring up the Proverb of the Day to send on to my friends, I am surprised at how fresh each of them is to my own heart – and often how they speak to me in a completely different way than when I first wrote them. . . . . Ken Sweers
2 comments:
How timely, we had Bible study yesterday and much of this came up. How do we follow God along in life??? Today another study that is 40 days of learning to be a disciple. I may just use some of this in the discussion.
Started using these as morning devotion and they are great, thanks a bunch WaynO
"Hearing God" is a great study topic. I used to get so jealous of the leaders, speakers and motivators who repeatedly stated; "God told me this ... God told me that ... "
How come I never get to hear God?
(By the way, I have learned thorugh years of experience not to be so enthralled with people who use the term "God told me this ...". In fact, I have found in many - not all - but many cases that this is tactical hedge against placing the idea or action into any kind of an evaluation process. How can one argue with God?)
Then I discovered that God 'speaks' in many ways - and I was hearing Him all along. His sheep need to learn how to 'hear His voice' so that indeed we might follow Him in obedience.
There is no 'fool-proof' way of hearing God. Sometimes we have to make evaluation judgements according to all of the indicators we have and then simply move in accordance with our best conclusion. God is great enough to correct us if the conclusion is wrong. The most important factor is our heart-motivation to hear and to follow Him in obedience. This pleases the Father.
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