August 21

Aug 21 - Today from Proverbs 21 we look at verse 30
"There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord."

As I think about this profound and immutable truth, I think it would be safe to say that every true believer would quickly nod their head in agreement with it. It's a peculiar thing about a nod; it's like a courteous affirmation about something so obvious that it doesn't really merit deeper thought or discussion. It's like saying "Yep, I agree. Let's move on to something else now." That is the difference between reading the Bible and meditating on God's Word. Reading is valuable in gathering the historical record of God's dealings with mankind. It is valuable in giving form to our moral thinking. But reading is never enough if we are to seriously mature in our understanding of God's ways. In order to allow God's Word to nurture our very souls and to add depth and dimension to our convictions, we must meditate on it. Such is the case with the profound and obvious truth before us today. It is so worth meditating upon.
We do well to do more than nod in affirmation of this truth. We should cast it in a mould and hang it on the walls of our home and office. We should print it on a card and carry it in our pockets and wallets. We should write it on the tablet of our heart and keep it at the forefront of our thinking, speaking and doing. Why? Because every time we have a propensity to sin, we are somehow believing we can find a loophole in this immutable truth - and we become self-deceived. "Preposterous!" you say? Think about it.
If we are to be serious students of God's Word, it would mean that we desire a deeper understanding of God's ways and we would always approach Him with an open and teachable heart. Right? It would mean that we are ready to cast aside our own understanding of things and be willing to embrace and put into practice the things He reveals to us. Right? I can think of no better clarification for the role of a true disciple. Paul writes in Romans 12:2, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world (system), but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Isn't that a good definition of what we have just agreed to? So, if there is no wisdom, insight or plan that can succeed against the moral and spiritual laws, and the sovereign eternal rule of the Lord, then why do we still tend to behave as though we have discovered some unknown little loophole? I'll tell you why. Because we allow our feelings and emotions to intertwine with what at times appears on the surface to be the "cold, hard truth" of God's Word. Because we refuse to let go of some of the patterns of this world system and we intersperse them with our limited knowledge of the moral and spiritual principles of God's kingdom. We deceive ourselves into thinking that we have developed a hybrid moral stance that will stand in the test of eternity. The problem with such thinking is that it is not a hybrid, it is contaminated truth - which means it is no longer truth at all. It will not stand. It will not succeed against the pure and eternal truths and ways of the Lord. It will burn. It will be responsible for loss. When we stand before our Lord on that day, all of what we fabricated to be hybrid principles of God's kingdom will disappear and the only thing we will have left is the fruit of what we built using the pure principles revealed in His Word. You can read about that day in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. It is so worth meditating on God's Word.
When I came to truly know the Lord Jesus at the tender age of thirty, I knew there was only one place where I could grow to understand His ways - the Bible. I didn't know it then, but His Holy Spirit led me to adopt and commit to the concept of Romans 12:2. There were bumps in the road. There were wrong turns. There were some stalls in the process. But that's exactly what it is - a process. I am still committed to the wonderful truth of psalm 119:105, "Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." I am still processing life. I am still a disciple. If anyone ever wants to convince me that they have a truth that I need to walk by, they had better have sound Biblical structure to their presentation or argument. I am not a big fan of hybrid doctrine. I want to build my life on solid ground. I want to finish the race. It isn't a matter of coming in at first place; it is a matter of coming in on the right path.