Knowing God - He Touches Us First

Matt 8:2-3

And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

A leper came to Jesus and worshiped him.  He worshiped him before any healing was given.  He worshiped Jesus from a place of rejection, physical torment and affliction.  No one could touch a leper.  Lepers would have to announce their presence to give people an opportunity to pull themselves back in order to avoid any possible touch.  Could you imagine?  Being someone in so much affliction and not having human touch to comfort and console you? Here, we see Jesus healing this man, but we see Jesus touching this man and then healing him.  The touch came BEFORE the healing.  The leper’s worship came BEFORE the healing.  How precious the love each had for the other.  Our Jesus is longing to touch us regardless of whether we think we deserve it or not.  His touch IS our healing.  He will touch us BEFORE we are healed.  Be open to His touch today.  Worship Him BEFORE He moves in power.  This will produce a relationship that is rooted in love rather than performance.

Proverbs - Financial Bondage

Chapter 6:1-5

 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend,

if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,

 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth,

thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself,

when thou art come into the hand of thy friend;

 go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.

 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter,

and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

                    If we have hastily agreed on a financial dealing, if we have entered into some sort of business dealing with a non-believer or committed our resources to that which we do not have the sure leading of God’s Spirit, we must do what we can to get out of it.

                    If you must lose the money, lose it.  If we can pay quickly and be released of such dealings, pay it.

                    We are not to be co-signers for another.  This places our relationships with others under great strain and the love of money can come and birth all sorts of evil.

                    If we find ourselves in great debt - don’t slumber while interest is accumulating.  Wake up!  Make a plan and stick to it!  We will then be as a bird delivered from a trap and fly again freely.

          

Knowing God - God is For Me

Ps 56:9

When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.

God is For Me

Here is an instruction on how our battles are to be fought.   The psalmist distinctly connects his enemies turning back with crying unto the Lord.  Because God is for us, He wants to be involved in our battles.  So often we wait until our enemies are upon us to call upon the Lord.  If we were to cry out to the Lord at the first sight of opposing forces, His intervention will be experienced at a much sooner time than when the conflict has already taken a great toll on us.  When we call on the Lord, it is not just a therapeutic exercise but a cry out for legitimate help that is powerful and effective.  Dear saint, when you cry out to the Lord, do you not know that you are pulling into your battle, the God who is for you?  Do you not realize the potential of influence your God has in the situation?  Do not allow the enemy of your soul to trivialize or minimize the effectiveness of your cry.  This is war!

Proverbs - Intoxicating Love

Proverbs 5:14-23

Help Your Husband Be Ravished With Your Love  

 I was almost in all evil in the midst

 of the congregation and assembly.

 Drink waters out of thine own cistern,

 and running waters out of thine own well.

 Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad,

 and rivers of waters in the streets.

 Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee.

 Let thy fountain be blessed:

and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.

 Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe;

let her breasts satisfy thee at all times;

 and be thou ravished always with her love.

 And why wilt thou, my son,

be ravished with a strange woman,

and embrace the bosom of a stranger?

 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD,

and he pondereth all his goings.

His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself,

and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.

He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

Marriage is so special.  The Lord wants a man and woman

to experience a level of commitment that reflects His

commitment to us - His bride.  He wants marriages to be full

of refreshment, nourishment, safety and contentment.  We,

as women, can look at these verses and see that we need

to be available to our husbands at all times for his

satisfaction.  We, as wives, should be described as loving

and pleasant.  Have you made your husband the highest

human priority as far as helping him and seeking to satisfy

him?

Pray that your husband will always be ravished with your

love.  The word ‘ravished’ can be translated ‘intoxicated’.

Does your love fill your husband and cause him to be

anaesthetized against the cruel, destructive arrows of his

adversary?  Something that can intoxicate someone has

had time to ferment and change in chemical make up.  It

started out as fruit but with time was able to have power

over someone’s state of mind.  In your marriage, is the fruit

of the Holy Spirit remaining and with time your love is

influencing your husband in a way that helps him avoid the

traps of the enemy - especially those lustful traps he faces

on a daily basis?

Knowing God - He Pleads Our Cause

Ps 35:1

Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me…

                                           He Pleads Our Cause                 

How wonderful that we have a God who can be everywhere.  He can speak to those who come against us when they are in their car, in the shower or while they are speaking things against us.  The Lord is the best attorney and most convincing representative we could ever have. He pleads our cause to those who strive with us.  What a loving Father!  This should help us keep quiet and avoid saying things we might regret later when trying to defend ourselves out of pain or being wounded.  We must remember that the Lord can get into people’s minds, hearts and lives in a thoroughly convincing way.  Dear friend, you have the Lord on your side.  Who can be against you?

Proverbs - Whose Voice Are You Listening To?

Proverbs 5:3-13

 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb,

 and her mouth is smoother than oil:

 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.

 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable,

that thou canst not know them.

  Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.

 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:

 Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:

 Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;

 And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,

 And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;

 And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,

nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!

                    A strange woman here is referring to someone you and I are not to be bonded with.  Our marriage relationship is with the Lamb of God and His Lordship in our lives.  When we listen to other voices that try to woo us into investing our time and obedience to them, we end up with a bitter end and our honor is given to others.

                    These ‘voices’ are smooth and sometimes we don’t even recognize we are being courted by some sin or worthless pursuit until we wake up and realize that we hated instruction and despised reproof.

                    We must rather listen to the Lord’s words and remove ourselves from these paths.  We must not ponder the paths that our Lord has not asked us to travel.  These paths are always so unsteady and the rules are always changing.  Let us love instruction and receive reproof.

Proverbs - Wisdom Requires Our Attentiveness

Proverbs 5:1-2

                              My son, attend unto my wisdom,

and bow thine ear to my understanding:

That thou mayest regard discretion,

and that thy lips may keep knowledge.

                    Wisdom demands attention.  If we go through life haphazardly making decisions we will end up with a life not steadfastly built on wisdom.  Are you attentive today and willing to stop something midstream if wisdom tells you to?

                    In order to understand life, relationships, finances etc., we must bow down our ear.  That means that we must listen with a humble state of mind.  Our ears should bow down and throw out our preconceived ideas allowing ourselves to receive instruction from our Maker.

                    If we want our lips to speak things that make sense, if we want our lips to speak things that our children can build their lives upon, we must have this sort of attentive humility in approaching our lives.

          

Knowing God - He Formed Us

Jeremiah 1:5

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

The Lord formed us in our mothers’ wombs and the Lord had us in mind before He even made us.  He decided our genes, socioeconomic environment, weaknesses and gifts.  He had specific purposes in mind for each one of us and set us apart for certain works before we were even being formed in the womb.  If you and I ever feel misunderstood or lost in our own skin, we must take note that the Lord has known us even before we were created.  In order to live out the life He has for us, it is so important for us to be in total submission to the One who decided to make us in the first place.  Ask Him for His leading and His purposes to come forth in your life today.  He knows you.  He formed you.  He has set you apart and called you.  He loves you.

Knowing God - The Lord Can Give Good for a Cursing

2 Sam 16:12

It may be that the Lord will look on mine affliction, and that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day.

The Lord Pays Good for Cursing

David spoke this when a man was casting stones at David and saying all kinds of accusations at him.  Earlier David said, “…so let him curse, because the Lord has said unto him, Curse David”. (2 Samuel 16:10)  David was in a very low time of his life and this man was adding insult to injury.  David was not going to command his men to fight for him in this situation.  This was not a king’s battle.  This was a personal attack and David knew the difference.  He realized that the Lord is His King and the Lord will fight for him.  The Lord sees the insults and personal attacks we go through.  He sees our afflictions and might very well give us a blessing because of someone’s ill treatment of us.  The attacks of others are intended to be used by the Lord to be used for our good.  The Lord sees your personal conflict.  Resist the desire to attack back and look up.  It may be that that the Lord will pay you good for the cursing you are going through.

Proverbs - The heart, mouth and feet

Proverbs 4:23-27

                                                                            

 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

 Put away from thee a froward mouth,

 and perverse lips put far from thee.

 Let thine eyes look right on, 

and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.

 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

                    Here we have a set of instructions involving our course.  They start with our heart and end with our feet. 

                                                                                                  

                   The Lord knows that our paths begin with our heart.  What do you cherish and value within?  What are your meditations, goals and affections?  Do they line up with what the Lord’s heart is for you and the purpose of your life?  We are exhorted here to keep our heart with ALL diligence.  That means we are continually having our heart searched by our Maker. How do we keep our heart this way?  Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God “ is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword...and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  We must listen to the Word of God with a vulnerability of being challenged, rebuked or corrected.  Also, we need to be quiet in our thoughts enough to hear the Holy Spirit point something out that is good or wrong in our hearts. The Lord tells us in Rom 8:26‑27, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: ...And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit..”  Do you have time to just go for a walk and talk things over with the Lord?  Have you turned off the radio in your car and brought things before Him and asked Him to search you?  Have you risen a little earlier than your household to meet with your Savior and have Him search you out?

                    Next, we see the tongue being dealt with.  The tongue has so much power.  We must ask the Lord to put a guard over our mouth and have purposed words that will build up not tear down.  Our mouths must not be allowed to ramble on with self-pity, self-exaltation, self-anything.  Our mouths should declare His praises and point others to Him.

                    Then we have the eyes related to our feet.  What are we watching or reading?  Where is our focus?         “Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.” (Ps 25:15) Who are looking to in order that our needs are met?  Look straight on.  Don’t look at what others are doing.  Don’t look behind you at the past.  Look straight on.  Look at the path you are taking.  Ponder the path.  Is it the road that the Lord has asked you to travel or is it your own trodden path?  Let your steps be ordered by the Lord today and ask Him to give you a sensitivity to your path and that your feet would be removed from evil.

Knowing God - He Shows Us Life's Paths

Psalm 16:11a

You will show me the paths of life..

He Shows Us Life’s Paths

The Lord is the One who shows us the paths of life.  He doesn’t just teach us about them or command us to go on them, but actually SHOWS us the paths.  Oftentimes we are ignorant or blinded to the paths that are full of life.  We choose paths of death and paths of decay.  We can choose a path because it looks familiar or inviting unaware of its destination.  We need the Lord to SHOW us the paths of life.  He will use His Word to illuminate our path and show us the path that goes towards life and newness.  Life denotes newness, activity, goals, accomplishment and meaning.  As you look into His Word and sense His leading trust that the paths He is leading You on are not really those which kill good times but rather bring life.  

Proverbs - Attend to His Words

Proverbs 4:20-22

 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.

 Let them not depart from thine eyes; 

keep them in the midst of thine heart.

For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

                    We need to attend to the Lord’s Words and bow down our own understanding to all He has to say.  We must guard them and not let them depart from our eyes.  This means that we should be reading the Word of God.  The scriptures teach us that we should, “... give attendance to reading...”. (1 Tim 4:13)  Sometimes we spend a lot of time letting others read to us but we should take some of our leisure time and feast on His Word, savor His truth and familiarize ourselves with His heart on matters.

                    His Words will even be health to our flesh.  In the book of Proverbs there are many practical commands about sleeping, work, eating etc..  Forgiveness releases us of stresses that bear hard on our heart and circulatory system.  Trust rather than anxiety will guard our respiratory system and blood pressure.  His Words are life to us and health to all our flesh.

Knowing God - God Goes Before Us

                                                         Isaiah 45a 

“I will go before you and make the crooked places straight:”

So much of who the Lord reveals Himself to be involves His involvement with us.  How wonderful that our God is a God who doesn’t just sit on a throne disconnected with His creation!  He is a loving Father, Shepherd and King, who concerns Himself with the paths of those He has created.  Here we see that God, Himself, goes before us on our paths, straightening out ways that are crooked before we even walk them.  Our Lord desires to be a God who, not only is with us on our roads, but goes before us to give us a great sense of being cared for and looked after.  He is in this day and its events before we even get there.  If you and I face something difficult today, remember that the Lord has gone before us and He has influenced the twists and turns our lives make.  He will guide us because He has traveled our roads before us.

Proverbs - Seeing Clearly

Proverbs 4:18-19

But the path of the just is as the shining light,

that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

 The way of the wicked is as darkness:

they know not at what they stumble.

                    We should be seeing things more clearly every year as we follow Jesus, the light of the world.  Oftentimes we are sinned against by an unbeliever or look at a non-Christian’s life and wonder, “How could they possibly think that they made a right decision? Don’t they see what they have done to me or what they are doing to their lives?”  My friend, they don’t.  They are stumbling at things they can’t even recognize.  Oh that the Lord would open the eyes of their understanding and help us to have mercy on them in their darkness.

Knowing God - The Lord Cares About Relationships

Psalm 68:6a

God setteth the solitary in families:

The Lord Cares about Relationships

God has a plan for our support environment.  He sets those who are alone into family environments.  It isn’t really us who are deciding that but He that is setting us there.  This truth about our God should help us understand God’s heart about relationships and family.  He knows we have a need to belong and be connected and He knows where to set us.  Be open to who He may be setting around you that He wants you to embrace as family.  Be open to being set in families where He knows they have what you might need.  What a wonderful God to direct our paths into relationships that feel like family!

Proverbs - Hear and Receive

Proverbs 4:10-12

 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings;

 and the years of thy life shall be many.

 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom;

I have led thee in right paths.

 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened;

and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.

                    We need to hear and receive what the Lord would tell us.  A good prayer to pray before we enter into the Word is that we would receive His Word as part of our being - that we would be receptive to all the Lord has to say.

                    The Lord has the right paths and they are designed to support us and get us where he wants to take us.  He leads us in these paths.  He is right in front of us.  More than focusing on the path, we should focus on the Leader.

         

Knowing God - He Knows Us

Nahum 1:7

The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him.

He Knows Us

                                                               

Sometimes we can feel like nobody really knows us.  We may even be confused ourselves about who we are.  One day we may feel outgoing and the next we want to isolate ourselves.  God knows those who trust in Him.  Trusting means to place our confidence in Him to the point that we don’t need an explanation to believe or act on what He says.  When we place our trust in Him, He knows us.  He knows our fears.  He knows our desires.  He knows our arrogance.  He is not asking for perfection.  He is asking for trust.  We don’t have to explain ourselves.  He knows us.  Trust in Him.  He is your stronghold in the day of trouble.  You don’t have to have your act together.  You don’t have to understand why you may be reacting the way you are.  He knows.  Focus more on trusting and knowing Him and less on trying to depend and know you.

Knowing God - He Has Done Great Things - For You!

1 Samuel 12:24

“Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart;  for consider what great things he has done for you.”

                                                                          

He Has Done Great Things  - FOR YOU!

The Lord has done great things.  We all know that.  He has created this earth.  He brought His people out of captivity over and over again.  He raised Lazarus.  He forgave the adulterous woman, but…..here we see we are commanded to consider the great things He has done FOR YOU!  Perhaps you are in a place where you believe and know that God is powerful and has done great things but you have not chosen to consider what great things He has done FOR YOU!  Stop now and consider what He has done for you.  Has he saved you from continuing in patterns that would have left your life in ruins?  Has he healed you? Has he given you abilities you know did not come from the way you were raised?  Has he delivered you from your own consequences?  Consider this today and it will help you to only fear Him and serve Him in truth with all your heart.

Proverbs - Get It!

Proverbs 4:5-7

 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not;

neither decline from the words of my mouth.

 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee:

love her, and she shall keep thee.

 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom:

and with all thy getting get understanding.

                   If the Lord tells us to get wisdom we must not have it naturally.  It isn’t until we realized this that we will humble ourselves and ask Him for it.  Is there a situation in you life today that you find yourself a bit frustrated by?  You need wisdom.  You need to get it.

                   Then, when you and I get that wisdom we must not forsake it.  We must continue doing those things that the Lord has instructed us to do.  This will result in our lives being preserved and not succumbing to the decay the trials and pressures are trying to inflict upon our quality of life.

                   We always have a list of things we either ‘need’ or ‘want’.  Here we are instructed to get wisdom and understanding above everything - first on the shopping list, first on the wish list, first on the errand list - GET WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING!

Knowing God - The Lord Interrogates

Job 38:2

“Brace yourself like a man:  I will question you,

and you shall answer me.”

The Lord Interrogates

The Lord is speaking here and seems to be speaking in a tone of authority.  We can find ourselves questioning Him and expecting Him to answer us.  Here we see the Lord saying that He will question us and He expects us to answer Him.  When was the last time you allowed the Word of God to question you and you answered?  Have you ever sensed His still small voice speaking to you?  It is a good thing to sense the searching of God and respond when you hear His questions. He could be asking us why we are doing something.  He could be questioning us about our mischaracterization of Him.  He could be asking us about something we have done.  We would do well to put ourselves as the ones being questioned rather than always questioning Him.  As we give Him answers we might be surprised to find out that His questions were well directed and intended to bring out of us that which we might have been blind to.  Brace yourself.  He will question you.  You shall answer Him.

Proverbs - God Gives Us Fatherly Instruction

Proverbs 4:1-4

 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father,

and attend to know understanding.

For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.

For I was my father's son, tender and 

only beloved in the sight of my mother.

He taught me also, and said unto me,

Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.

                    Even if your own father is not alive or through choices of his own cause him to be unable to instruct you in righteousness, the proverbs themselves are here to ‘father’ you and give you good doctrine

         

                    Doctrine here means ‘something received’ or ‘learning’.  The wisdom the Lord is teaching us within the Word is that which we can receive and become part of who we are and why we do what we do.

         

                    As we retain, or grasp, what wisdom is telling us to do we will really begin to live as the Lord intended.

Knowing God - The Lord Shows Us

Psalm 118:27a

              “God is the Lord, which hath showed us the light…”

The Lord Shows Us

Sometimes we miss the obvious.  We can be walking in darkness and not even realize that it really isn’t dark – our eyes are closed!  Whether it be fear, lethargy or habit, we can miss the light that we need to take steps in the direction the Lord has for us.  Our God is not only the light, but is tender to SHOW us the light.  Sometimes He just lifts our heads up to see that the dawn is coming.  He has us look away from the darkness and towards the horizon of what He is doing.  The Lord knows our frames and that darkness intimidates us and leaves us unable to move forward.  If there is an area of your life that seems rather dark and colorless, be open to the Lord showing you the light today.  He loves you and understands your tendencies.  He is gentle and full of compassion.  He wants to show us the light.  Let Him be the lifter of your head today.

                                                                                                      

Proverbs - Don't Be Tricked by What You See

Proverbs 3:31-35

 Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.

For the froward is abomination to the LORD:

but his secret is with the righteous.

The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked:

but he blesseth the habitation of the just.

Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.

 The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

                    We can look at others and wish we had what they had.  The problem is we don’t see all that they have.  They might have the nice house and nice cars but they also may have the nice child-support payments, tax-liens against that nice house, bitterness that makes them angry at the world and no faithful friends in their lives.  Our homes will be blessed as we do those things that are right.  When we make our children’s training a priority over our own career or education, when we make our husbands the object of our respect and affection, when we don’t think life consists of an abundance of possessions, this will result in a blessed habitation. 

                    Wisdom will give us a glorious life but foolishness will bring shame.

Knowing God - The Lord Reigns

Psalm 96:10

Say among the heathen, “The Lord reigneth”…..

The Lord Reigns

                                                                                     

The Lord reigns.  What does this mean?  It means that the Lord is ruling.  This means that the Lord is actively involved in the affairs of men and even the spiritual realm.  We are told to tell those who don’t believe in Him, that He reigns and rules.  We are instructed to tell the non believer that, regardless of whether they believe in the Lord or not, He is the final authority on matters.  We can let them know that His rules and commands are legitimate and truly the final call.  We can let them know that He is able to rule over the mess they might have made in their lives.  What a privilege to tell someone who doesn’t know God that, not only is He real but He is powerful and a King, inviting them to yield to His authority in their life.  When non believers chide you about trials and problems in your life, have mercy on them and declare this truth about your God, “The Lord reigns!”

Proverbs - Our Relationships

Proverbs 3:27-30

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due,

 when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

Say not unto thy neighbour,

Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give;

when thou hast it by thee.

Devise not evil against thy neighbour,

seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.

Strive not with a man without cause,

 if he have done thee no harm.

                    If we can pay someone back money we owe them but would rather use it on something else, we must reject such a choice and give it to them because it is good.  If we can help someone and it is within our power to do so we must remain ready and willing to do that good.

                    We must be careful to get along with those who are around us. Our neighbors, our co-workers, roommates, and those who work alongside us in ministry should feel quite safe from any sort of plotting or plans to punish or make life miserable for them.  We must remember that the Lord is the judge of living as well and He will render to a man what discipline he needs.  We must not analyze and figure out what others need from us.  Rather, we must seek to honor the Lord with our treatment and thoughts towards others.