Knowing God - He Writes on Our Hearts

Heb 8:10

…I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts:..

The Lord gave commandments in the Old Testament and orders concerning the building of the tabernacle and the temple.  The Lord tells us in Hebrews that these things were shadows of heavenly things and were intended to set the stage for a clearer understanding of what God wanted to do with His people.  We read in this verse that the Lord was planning on writing His laws in the hearts of the people rather than writing them on tablets of stone.  The time for this is at hand.  The new covenant gives us hearts of flesh that are no longer stone needing harsh etchings to put His ways there.   Those of us who are born again, now have new hearts with His DNA in them.  There is something within us that bears witness when things are of Him and there is something within us that is troubled when a stranger’s voice is trying to lead us.  We have God’s laws in our mind and in our hearts.  We are living in a time where our intellect and affections can be guided by His mind and His heart.  God said He would do it and most assuredly He has.  We should stop and thank Him for this deposit and trust that He will use this to protect and lead us.

Proverbs - What NOT to be Like

Proverbs 7:10-12

 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.

 (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:

 Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)

                        Once again we can take a look at how we, as Christian women, should not present ourselves in this world.  This woman was not necessarily a harlot but certainly her dress was similar.  When I was a young single Christian I was frustrated because it seemed that all of the godly guys were never interested in me and only those guys in my church who wanted one thing would approach me.  I came before the Lord and asked Him about this matter.  He led me to a book by my pastor at the time and through the book told me that you catch whatever fish you bait your hook for.  I was reminded that if I looked like I was carnal, others would perceive me as this.  Although the Lord does truly look on the heart, we must realize that “...man looketh on the outward appearance.” (1 Sam 16:7)

                        Modesty is an issue always in vogue among Christian ladies, single and married. A Christian guy friend of mine in college once told me to use John the Baptist’s motto as a guideline. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30 ) When we are at the beach on a hot August day and we wear a long-sleeved turtleneck and sweats we will draw attention to our bodies.  If we show up in even modest shorts and a t-shirt at a wedding we will increase in presence and get people’s eyes upon us.  One thing we can do is to take a portion of time and seek the Lord on His standards for our clothing based on our shape, culture and frame.  Take some time to sit in your room and ask Jesus to be the final authority on all in your life.  Ask Him for a humble mind and open heart for His instruction in righteousness.  Go to your closet and dresser and lay each item of clothing out and ask Him what He says about it.  He will guide you continually and truly if we acknowledge Him in all our ways, even clothing, He will direct our paths.

                        Another attribute we see in this woman is that she is loud and stubborn.  This word ‘loud’ tells us that she draws attention to herself in word and action.  Her presence intrudes on those who approach her.  This is very desired by the world we live in.  We must resist the temptation to make a name for ourselves, to speak all of our mind, to demand our own way and be the center of attention.  This is not the way of a woman who wants to please her Lord.  This loudness has to do with clamor, rage and moaning.  Do we complain and seek our own interests above others?  Do we have to be heard or we will make others listen to us?  Let us stop and in the quietness of our heart receive the Lord’s steadfast love allowing ourselves to take back seat to His presence and others’ interests.

She is also described as stubborn. The same Hebrew word used in this proverb is also used in Psalm 78:8: “And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.”  We see that stubbornness is associated with a heart that is not right as well as a spirit who is not steadfast with God.  As women of Christ we must be sure to have our hearts open and searched by His Spirit and Word.  When we do this and encounter His correction we find ourselves much more ready to admit when we are wrong and yield to better ways.  When our spirit is not set to receive from our God and we have interrupted fellowship with the Lord we will be tempted to lean on our own understanding.  This will result in having a higher opinion of ourselves and creating a stubborn self-willed attitude.

                        This woman is found out in the streets.  Our culture tries in every way to get us away from the home.  We must know why we are leaving our home and that the Lord has sent us there.  This woman was wandering without purpose and because of that she entered into a dangerous place of flirting with sin.  We don’t need to ‘hang out’ at the mall or ‘hang out’ at church.  Go there with a reason.  Whether it is to purchase a specific item or spend time with your children, do it with a purpose and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading in reaching your world for Christ.

Knowing God - He is to be Our Strength

Lam 1:14

…he hath made my strength to fall, the Lord hath delivered me into their hands, from whom I am not able to rise up.

The Lord delivered His people into the hands of their enemies.  He made their strength to fall because that which they were seeking to find their strength in, could in fact, not hold them up.  He was letting their choices show themselves.  God is not mocked.  Whatever a person chooses to trust in, will show whether it is trustworthy.  God alone is to be our strength.  Our strength will always fall and it is much better if it falls under the Lord’s chastening than in a situation where the consequences might be even more devastating.  Make the Lord your strength today and when your own strength fails, turn to the Lord and say; “Lord, You are the strength of my life.”

Proverbs - Void of Understanding

Proverbs 7:6-9

 For at the window of my house I looked through my casement,

 And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths,

a young man void of understanding,

 Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,

 In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:

                        The word ‘simple’ in the Word of God means void of understanding.  We must not be ‘simple’ women.  We must be women who desire to understand the heart of God on matters.  The Lord would have us be prudent - able to assess a situation and make choices led by the Lord’s wisdom for our lives and others.  If we remain simple and not grow in wisdom we might, like this young man, walk too close to compromise and the traps our adversary has set for us.

Knowing God - He Cuts Off, He Grafts In

Rom 11:22-23

Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.

There is a lot of debate about a believer’s security.  Can they lose their salvation?  Can their name be blotted out?  Can a believer, through sin or other situations, end up having an evil heart of unbelief and depart from the faith?  If we are saved by faith, but a believer no longer believes, is he still saved?  I will not begin to answer these questions here; rather I want us to look at the promise in this verse.  If someone comes away from not believing and believes, they shall be grafted in because GOD is able to graft them in again.  The truth here is about the Lord Himself!  He is able to do this.  He wants us to know that His mercy endures forever and He is willing that none should perish but ALL should come to everlasting life.  Our God loves to forgive, heal and restore.  He loves to make all things new.  What might seem impossible with men, IS possible with God.

Proverbs - Protection From Unfamiliar Love

Proverbs 7:1-5

             My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.

             Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.

            Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.

             Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:

             That they may keep thee from the strange woman,

 from the stranger which flattereth with her words.

                        We are instructed here to take the words that the Lord has for us and save them up within us.  We are commanded to keep them and regard them as precious and valuable.  We are told to write them down and cherish His word as a part of our very being.  His Word is to be deposited into the account of our very identity and the dividends are sure and full of life. 

            I see you are treasuring the Word of God enough to be looking at it now.   That is great.   Take it with you and gaze into the words your read today.  As a newly engaged girl gazes at the diamond on her finger enjoying every facet and display of its beauty and all it represents, let us take the words He has for us and turn them over in the light of his love.  Let us keep them as the apple of our eye and esteem them more authoritative than the ‘experts’ of this world.

            In order to enjoy the book of Proverbs we have to believe that wisdom is a good thing and that we need it.  Here we need to say to wisdom that it is related to us.  We need to want that family resemblance with wisdom.  Understanding and wisdom are to be associated with us and live with us in our choices.

           Wisdom and understanding will protect us from the strange woman who flatters with her words.  This strange woman can be anything that tries to lure us away from a sincere devotion to Christ.  Wisdom and understanding will help us make choices and priorities that will free us up to hear our Good Shepherd’s voice.  Wisdom and understanding will protect us from following pursuits that result in unfamiliar love with its dangers and damaging repercussions.

Knowing God - God Makes You Stand When Judged

Rom 14:4

Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

When a believer judges another believer based upon individual conviction and conclusion, the Lord will defend that person if the person is not in error.  This verse is not talking about blatant sin but that which one believer has concluded is not at the level he or she thinks another believer should live up to.  We learn from this verse that the Lord is able to make him stand.  A believer does not have to defend himself to another believer when it comes to matters of conscience.  A believer answers to His own Master and it is His Master that will make him stand.  We don’t answer to everyone else’s expectations on our lives.  We are seeking to obey Jesus.  When you are judged or criticized, go to your Master.  Ask Him what He thinks of the judgment and then focus on pleasing Him.  When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.