Skip to main content

April 2 Take It Out of Park


The truly righteous attains life, but he who pursues evil goes to his death. The Lord detests those who have a perverse heart, but He delights in those whose way is blameless. Be sure of this: the wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free. ~Proverbs 11:19-21

Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have my law in your hearts: do not fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their insults. For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like wool. But my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations. ~Isaiah 51:7-8

This is truly a main theme for Solomon, assurance that evil will not prevail, that God does disapprove. He is in control and we must be confident in that as a fact in Him!! This is now the third day in a row that we are hammering on the same theme. First, we said that kindness will triumph over evil. Then, yesterday, we talked about staying the righteous course that God has laid out will triumph over deceptive wages and practices. Today, the proverbs could be seen as just more of the same. Good triumphing over evil is definitely one of Solomon’s main themes. That is probably so because we are so easily discouraged and tempted to question our resolve. We easily begin to wonder. Did I really hear God? Am I really going the right way? We often don’t trust ourselves and wonder if we understood God correctly. Confusion and self-doubt are tools of satan to take us off course.

So, Solomon reassures us that those who pursue righteousness will gain life. It’s not possible to be, “truly righteous,” and be evil. If the heart is not intent on evil, but wants to be righteous and pleasing to God, the righteous one will succeed in their goal. Sure, we can make mistakes, or falter, God can work with that. In this case, the truly righteous is pitted against the one who, “pursues,” evil, those deceptive wages again, because they see it as the fast track to obtain their goals.

Sometimes, I think that Christians are afraid to start, out of fear that they will make a mistake, or get it wrong. They are afraid to share their faith because they might get asked a question that they don’t know the answer to. They are afraid to serve because they might get criticized. They can be afraid to give because…etc. etc. etc.

Christians are good at self-doubt and talking themselves out of putting the first foot forward. It’s not up to us alone though. God is guiding and consider this, when is a car easier to steer, when it is in park or when it’s moving? God can steer, if we let Him, when we are on the move. We don’t want to run ahead of Him and put our own foot on the gas or brakes. Let Him be in control, for His righteousness sake. Put your fears in the trunk and let Him give you the ride of your life.

It’s all about the heart. It’s all about what you’re focused on. That is what is being addressed here, but consider God’s direct words to us through Isaiah: “Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have my law in your hearts:” Is that you? “Do not fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their insults.” They’re in the trunk now, remember?”

“For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like wool.” Good riddance!

“But my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations.” Yea!

Prayer: Father, thank You again for Words of Truth. Your wisdom and Your righteousness are more correct than my natural conscience. Help me to be transformed by the renewing of my mind to think the way You do, with love, mercy, kindness and generosity towards all. Strengthen me to act according to the convictions that the Holy Spirit places in my heart and soul, to act by faith even when it goes against the “common sense” of the natural mind, and to trust that Your righteousness will prevail, even when it looks like it couldn’t possibly work, just like Jesus’ death on the cross looked like the end and the world’s greatest loss, but was really the beginning of the world’s greatest victory! In Jesus’ name, amen.

Song: God Is on The Move

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

211. The Sons of Thunder's Request

Matthew 20:20-28 , Mark 10:35-45 , Key verse: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43B-44 In our readings for yesterday, in which Jesus outlined what was about to happen to Him, for His disciples, the passage in Luke ends: "The disciples did not understand any of this. It's meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about." ( Luke 18:34 ) Now, we see just how truly clueless they were. Jesus had laid out a plan before them of pain and suffering and death and now James and John are focused on a promotion. The disconnect is so obvious. It's really not important to know whether James and john came up with this request on their own or if their mother put them up to it. The request was made and James and John thought that they could handle the responsibility that would come with it. What is that saying, "Fools rush in where angels fe...
Post a Comment
Read more

201. All for God's Glory

John 9 & 2 Corinthians 12:7-12 Key Verse: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." John 9:3 In this event John records my personal favorite from all four gospels. I love it for its detail. I love it because it demonstrates so much of our human frailty. It shows us how powerful our fears can be in the midst of God's amazing grace and glory. First, we have the disciples who are suffering under the misconception that sickness and unfortunate circumstances are the result of sin only. They are thinking like Job and his friends. If you obey you will always be blessed and if you sin, God will punish you for it. They couldn't imagine that God could have possibly designed this man, blind, for His own glorious purposes. Then we have the neighbors who are all amazed, but then what? What do you do when the mold has been broken? This man was blind and now he...
Post a Comment
Read more

204. Come Like a Child

Psalm 127 , Matthew 19:13-15 , Luke 18:15-17 , Mark 10:13-16 Key Verse: Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 The attitude of the disciples isn't much different than the attitude of many people, even Christians, today. Instead of seeing children as a blessing from the Lord, too many regard them as a burden to bear that gets in the way of our own selfish happiness. Family size is determined by what we think we can afford rather than openness to God's blessing, trusting God to provide. Satan hates children. Children represent innocence. The sooner he can corrupt and or damage a child, the happier he is. This is why Jesus warned in Matthew 18:6: "If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drown in the depths of the sea." To corrupt or damage ...
Post a Comment
Read more