Knowing God - He Wants You to Come to Him

Matt 11:28

 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rest.

The Lord wants us to come to Him.  He is commanding those of us who are weary and burdened to come to Him.  He gives us the solution to those times when we find ourselves discouraged or tired.  He tells us to come to Him.  Come to Jesus.  He then promises to give us rest.  What a great exchange!  I bring Him my burdens and heaviness and then He gives me rest.  What a deal!  Sometimes when we are weary, we go to people, to alcohol, to entertainment or other things.  Jesus tells us to come to Him.  Take that time at your lunch break today.  Go for that walk after dinner and come to Him!  

Proverbs - Instruction in a Book

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 with in 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 - He Is Holy, Harmless...

Heb 7:26

 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;

This verse is describing Jesus.   At first we learn that He became us.  This is an Old English word that is similar to when we say that a certain outfit is ‘becoming’ on a person.  It means it suits us well. He was a high priest that was just what we needed.  He is holy and harmless.  He is undefiled.  He is separate from sinners and made higher than the heavens.   Our Jesus is the high priest with whom all of the other high priests couldn’t compare.  These attributes qualify Jesus to be interceding for us and caused Him to be able to sit down after His sacrifice on that cross.  He WAS the perfect sacrifice.  He IS the perfect high priest.  Everything commanded in the Old Testament to cover our sins was fulfilled in the One who could take away the sins of the world.  We must realize who we are dealing with.  Jesus fits our needs, is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners and declared higher than the heavens.  His work on our behalf is backed up by who He is!  Worship Jesus today and may your confidence in Him be increased through the knowledge of these great truths!

Proverbs - Envy Not the Oppressor

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 - He Prays For Us

Heb 7:25

Wherefore he is able also to save them

to the uttermost that come unto God by him,

seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

Jesus lives to make intercession for us.  This means that He is praying for us.  He is standing in the gap to pray for us.  He is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto God through Jesus.  We have a twenty-four hour prayer meeting going on for us by Jesus Christ.  THIS is absolutely incredible.  If you and I ever feel forsaken or lacking the kind of love and support we wish we had from His people, we can rest in the fact that Jesus, Himself, is praying for us – as you read this!  What a glorious and comforting truth.  He is interceding for us according to the will of His Father and we know that the Father hears Him.  We can find great strength and comfort in knowing that Jesus Christ lives forever to pray for us.  Enjoy this truth today and be sensitive to how the Lord may be leading you based on His prayers and intercession.

Proverbs - Owe No Man Anything

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.

Knowing God - He Knows Our Frame

Ps 103:14

For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

Here we learn that the Lord knows how we are constructed.  He knows what pressures seem to really put a strain on us and He knows that we are mere men in and of ourselves.  This is a great comfort.  We do not have to explain ourselves to the Lord.  He knows we are but dust.  He created us.  We can be at peace knowing the Lord is more familiar with our structure than we ourselves.  He is a God who deals with us as created beings and He loves us.  He is the one who formed man from the earth and gave man his life.  We are being cared for by someone who understands and knows our weaknesses and will NEVER take advantage of those.  Thank You Lord that You know our frame and we are in the hands of a tender and understanding God!