In step

[RiverOL]

Steps to friendship
For reading & meditation - Proverbs 18
"A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." (v.24)

Everyone needs a small circle of friends - even those who are married. I feel deeply sorry for anyone who does not have a friend. If friendship is so important, how do we go about making friends? The first step is - be friendly. The King James Version of our text for today says: "A man that hath friends must show himself friendly." You should not, however, become friendly just in order to gain a friend. This is a wrong motive because you are more interested in gaining a friend than being a friend. Self-centeredness will get you nowhere.

Friendliness is the art of going out of yourself and appreciating others more than you appreciate yourself. It is really an attitude. Dale Carnegie in his book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, a secular approach to the subject but full of good sense nevertheless, said, "You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you." The main reason why people have no friends is because they demonstrate an unfriendly attitude. To have a friend - be one.

The second step is - allow time for friendships to develop. Force no doors open in friendship but, like Christ in the book of Revelation, stand reverently at the door - and knock. Only if the door is opened from within should you go through. Some relationships you have with people may never develop into close friendships. Don't be upset about that. If you are open and friendly, then God will guide you and show you where deep friendships are to be developed.

Prayer: Father, help me be a friend who does the knocking before I enter instead of knocking down after I have left. And show me not only how to sympathize with my friends' weaknesses, but summon up their strength. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Got Risk . . . Discomfort?

For a day in Your courts
is better than a thousand elsewhere—Psalm 84:10

Years spent in luxury and comfort can’t compare to one day spent with God—in his presence; experiencing his love; living his truth; doing his work. And, astonishingly, God doesn’t offer us just single days . . . mere glimpses, fleeting encounters. He offers himself “more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20-21). He offers all of himself, all the time—as much as we want, as much as we choose.

One proven method of choosing him is to strip away worldly comfort, strip away predictability and self-sufficiency . . . and intentionally move into situations we can’t handle on our own. Jesus sent his disciples into such situations: “I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves” (Luke 10:3). He told them to travel light and resist taking anything that could provide comfort, predictability, self-sufficiency: money, extra clothing, extra stuff (Luke 10:4). They had to rely on him. And they returned full of joy (Luke 10:17). Because they’d been willing to move, in faith, into risk and discomfort, they got to spend precious days with God. Jesus told them:

“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” (Luke 10:23-24).





Ask yourself, what am I doing—right now—that requires faith? We get used to choosing risk and discomfort by practicing. So, look for ways to practice, brother. Look today for what moves your heart. Reach out to someone who needs help. Spend time with someone who needs a friend. Commit to a service project. Sign-up for a short-term mission trip. If you do, you’ll too have great stories to tell.

 

[RiverOL]

When not a true friend
For reading & meditation - Proverbs 27
"Wounds from a friend can be trusted '" (v.6)

We continue looking at the steps we need to take in order to develop friendships. The third step is - be prepared to be hurt. No relationship is free from pain this side of eternity - so don't expect perfection in your friendships. If your goal in life is to stay safe, then don't get involved in developing friendships. Friendships demand that you leave your comfort zone and confront an unknown wilderness.

There will be times when your words or actions are misunderstood, but stay with it when this happens. This is what friendship is all about - sticking closer than a brother. It is loving as you yourself are loved. Fourth - love your friend enough to confront him or her about anything you feel is not right. Ask yourself: Am I prepared to lose this friendship in the interest of truth? If not, then you haven't got a true friendship. You are in it for your own reasons, not God's. You are not a true friend. Where you see wrong, confront it, but do it lovingly, gently and firmly.

That?s what friends are for - to help us see what we might otherwise be missing. Fifth - allow your friend to have other friends also. Don't suffocate your friend by demanding that he or she maintain just your friendship and no one else's. It is this attitude, more than any one thing, which is responsible for the death of friendships. Give your friend the freedom to move out into other relationships, make new contacts and see new people. You will desecrate a friendship if you try to dominate it.

Prayer: O Father, deliver me from being a suffocator in my relationships. Help me to have such a secure relationship with You that I can risk losing a friend if it is in the interest of that which is right. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

What Fills Your Mind?
May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the Lord.
—Psalm 104:34 NKJV
The Bible says you need to meditate on Scripture. Why? Because God’s Word is true, and it never fails. It is full of wisdom and will instruct you in the way you should go, the choices you should make.

It will reveal the Father’s heart and help you understand His will for your life. It will cause your love for Jesus to grow and bring peace even when your heart is filled with fear and turmoil. It will help you remember that God is still in control, and He is working everything out to your benefit.
Meditating on the Word will bring rest to your weary soul and body. Try this: Before you close your eyes at night, read one or two Bible verses. Let your mind dwell on them for 15 minutes or so—and see if your sleep isn’t sweet!

God is still on His throne! His Word is true! Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV) says it is “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
When the pressures of life weigh you down, meditate on the Word! When you are worried and fearful, meditate on the Word!

 

[RiverOL]

No one has a double
For reading & meditation - Proverbs 27:10-16
"Do not forsake your friend '" (v.10)

Stay loyal and loving to your friends as far as you possibly can. I say "as far as you possibly can" because they may commit and continue in some sin - such as adultery - and this demands action by the church as described in Matthew 18. Discipline may have to be given and you have to be willing to be part of that by withdrawing from that friendship until repentance is demonstrated. Loyalty and love in this case would mean continuing in prayer for your friend - prayer, by the way, that may take hours, not minutes. The opposite of friendship is - isolation.

And how much emotional damage is the result of that? "The world is so empty," said Goethe, "if one thinks only of mountains, rivers, and cities, but to know someone here and there who thinks and feels with us and, though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth an inhabited garden." God made us for relationships and it is His will and purpose that we cultivate a circle of friends.

Every friend is different. No one has a double in friendship. The more we have, the richer we are. Dr. Lawrence Crabb says, "Every day we ought to move out from our base in the home and say to ourselves: Lord, help me reach out and touch someone deep in their being today, not for the rewards it brings me in terms of good feelings, but for the blessing I can be to them." Jesus lived and acted like this. Perhaps this is why they called Him "the Friend of sinners." He hated sin, but loved the sinner.

Prayer: Father, one thing is clear - the wise are those who know how to make friends. Guide me in my future days so that in every relationship I may be able to apply some of the principles I have learned. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Old Relics—New Threats
"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice." 1

Melvin McDonald served in the Canadian Navy during World War II. One Monday, the 79-year-old McDonald and his wife showed up at the front desk at police headquarters in Winnipeg. His opening line to the police officer who offered to assist him was, "I got a grenade." He wasn't making a threat, mind you—just stating a fact. With that, he took a hand grenade out of a brown paper bag and gave it to the officer.

The shocked constable kept his head. He did, however, call the bomb squad immediately. Then things really started to happen. Most of the main floor of the Public Safety Building was evacuated, the fire department was put on alert, and the bomb squad showed up with all its sophisticated paraphernalia.

The grenade was still primed with explosive, and its fuse was intact. "I've had it in the house all these years," the veteran said. "I used to have it on a stand." His nephew had suggested it ought to be turned over to the police.

An embarrassed McDonald apologized for all the commotion he caused. It was only a keepsake from a training exercise in Scotland in the early 1940s.2

A very unhealthy way, one of the worst, to live is by burying and denying unresolved anger, hurts, bitterness, etc., from the past. These are the supercharged, repressed, negative emotions that, like an old live hand grenade, when triggered can cause an emotional explosion and severely damage or destroy close relationships. On the other hand, if these emotions stay buried and get triggered, they can cause an implosion and destroy a person's health and well-being.

Like all of God's directives, it is not without good reason that the Bible advises us to get rid of these destructive emotions. And we don't get rid of them by burying them and denying their existence. It is imperative that they are recognized, expressed in creative rather than destructive ways, and resolved.


Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for your Word that admonishes us to, 'Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.' Please help me to recognize any of these destructive emotions and attitudes in me and show me how to resolve and get rid of them forever. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

 

[RiverOL]

Take another path
For reading & meditation - Proverbs 5
"Keep to a path far from her '" (v.8)

We look now at the seventh and final pillar of the seven pillars of wisdom - personal purity. This, too, is a major theme in Proverbs for throughout the book we come across statements that encourage us to be chaste, virtuous, self-disciplined and pure in our relationships, especially as they apply to the opposite sex. First, I want to deal with the subject of chastity, as Proverbs speaks particularly to this.

We live in an age which scoffs at the biblical teaching which enjoins us to keep sexual intercourse until marriage. Some sections of the Church now accept "the new morality" which says that sexual relationships outside marriage are fine providing they are conducted in a loving and a non-manipulative relationship. I have no hesitation in condemning this, both as antibiblical and antirelationship. The passage before us today describes most clearly the destiny of sexual relationships outside marriage. They are seen as fundamentally destructive.

The second half of the chapter is given over to a description of how fulfilling the sexual relationship can be within marriage. The emphasis of Proverbs at this point is to avoid putting yourself in a position where too great a strain is placed on the sex impulse. The words, "keep to a path from her," mean, "avoid an immoral woman as you would a plague." A man once went to the great preacher D. L. Moody with a tale of moral disaster and said, "Now, Mr. Moody, what would you have done if you had got into such a situation?" Moody replied, "Man, I would never have got into it." That's more than just common sense - that's wisdom!

Prayer: O God, help me to help myself. Show me how not to subject myself to conditions that make a fall almost inevitable. For I cannot ask You to help me out of situations unless I help myself not to get into them. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

God's Amazing Love
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! —1 John 3:1a NKJV

God loves you as much as He loves everyone in His Kingdom. You are no less important to Him than your pastor or any other leader in the Church. St. Augustine said, “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.”

God loves you so much that He has called you to do great things in Jesus’ name. But you won’t fulfill that calling unless you are walking in faith, not fear. Living in fear is like living near a poisoned stream. You can take a drink from it and perhaps satiate your thirst for a moment, but the end result is sickness or death.

Some think fear is an effective motivator, but fear doesn’t motivate anyone to grow, spiritually or otherwise; it only leads to deeper deception and greater bondage. Throughout your life, you will deal constantly with faith and fear. With faith comes power; with fear, paralysis. The Bible describes many individuals who were conquerors in life: Noah, Moses, Daniel, and many others.
What do the words of your mouth reveal about you? Do they reflect your faith in God, or do they indicate your bondage to fear?

 

[RiverOL]

Don't go on his ground
For reading & meditation - Proverbs 4:10-27
"Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you." (v.25)

We continue looking at the issue of sexual experience and its need to be kept within marriage. Some temptations cannot be avoided; some, however, can. Anatole France has a story in which God and the devil are talking of a beautiful young girl. God asks: "How dare you tempt such a lovely creature as that?" The devil replies: "Well, she came on to my ground." R. W. Everrood tells this story: A young man seeking his fortune was travelling across a desert when he came across an oasis at which a beautiful girl sat spinning on a loom.

He asked for a drink and she said, "Certainly, providing you let me put these threads around you that I am spinning." He agreed, thinking he could easily brush away the thin gossamer threads as one would brush away a spider's web. After drinking the water, he fell asleep and awoke to find himself tied by thick, strong cords. And what was more, the beautiful young girl had changed into a disgusting and ugly hag.

The best way to deal with temptation is not to go toward it. Paul's advice to young Timothy was this: "Flee from all this" (1 Tim. 6:11). John Ruskin says: "No one can honestly ask to be delivered from temptation unless he has honestly and firmly determined to do the best he can to keep out of it." My advice to every unmarried man and woman reading these lines - and married people, too - is this: Keep out of the devil's territory. Don't go on to his ground.

Prayer:
O God, make me alert to the dangers that beset my path and when I move toward them unsuspectingly, grant that all the warning bells may ring within my heart. I know You will do Your part; help me do mine. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

When Darkness Threatens

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. —1 John 4:4 ESV
How do you respond to the dark times in your life? Do you face the darkness as a soldier in God’s victorious army, as an overcomer? Do you face the darkness with a tender and repentant heart? Or do you retreat from the darkness? Does the pressure expose your anger and unbelief?

When darkness threatens to overtake you, do you lash out at God and others? Do dark moments make you want to compromise your faith?
How do you respond to the dark times in your life? Do you face the darkness as a soldier in God’s victorious army, as an overcomer? Do you face the darkness with a tender and repentant heart? Or do you retreat from the darkness? Does the pressure expose your anger and unbelief?

When darkness threatens to overtake you, do you lash out at God and others? Do dark moments make you want to compromise your faith?
God has given you the strength and power to overcome the Enemy. Put on the whole armor of God, and when you have done all to stand—stand, therefore, secure in Him.

 

[RiverOL]

Take it on faith!
For reading & meditation - Proverbs 6:16-26
"My son, keep your father's commands and do not forsake your mother?s teaching." (v.20)

The real truth about sex and sexual satisfaction is difficult to see or understand outside of marriage. Many young people say to me: "Why all these negatives in the Bible concerning sex before marriage? Isn't sex a beautiful thing?" I say to them: God doesn't give His prohibitions because sex is a bad thing; they are there to protect us from doing the good and beautiful thing in the wrong context.

Within marriage, sexual activity is the doing of the right thing in the right place. It is only when you are within marriage that you begin to see the point and purpose of all those do's and don'ts. Christians are people, or should be people, who take God on trust. There's not much point in confessing to be a follower of Christ if you don't believe what He tells you in His Word and change it to suit your convenience. Passion has always been a problem, but wisdom and passion must be properly related. You must become acquainted with the principle of deferred pleasure which is one of the first evidences that you are becoming a mature person.

An infant desires immediate gratification and will cry and howl until he gets what he wants. When he grows older, and becomes more mature, then the desire for gratification is brought under control. The concept of deferred satisfaction is a vital one for every young person to get hold of, for without it there can be no real maturity. You must learn to deny yourself now in order to experience the right thing in the right way in the future.

Prayer:
Father, You will have to take me by the hand lest I be lost in the jungle of immediate satisfaction. If I get off the track here, I will find myself in a jungle that gets more and more tangled every moment. Help me and hold me. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Agree with Your Adversary Quickly
"Agree with your adversary quickly."1

I have read how, on one occasion, the English evangelist George Whitefield (1714-1770) received a very critical letter accusing him of doing something wrong. His reply was brief and to the point: "I thank you heartily for your letter. As for what you and my other enemies are saying against me, I know worse about myself than you will ever say about me. With love in Christ, George Whitefield."

Whitefield didn't defend himself, probably because he wasn't guilty of what he was being accused of doing. Very often the guiltier we are, the more defensive we become. Or we can become very defensive if we are more concerned about our image than we are about pleasing God, or if we are very insecure and have a need to appear "perfect" in our own eyes and those of others. In so doing the only person I fool is me.

I've been called a few rather demeaning things on more than one occasion. My immediate response has been, "Yes, sometimes I am." On these occasions I had no need to get defensive because I didn't feel threatened or guilty. Even if I had been guilty of what I had been accused of doing, it would have been more constructive to admit my guilt and do all I could to put things right.

I think what today's Scripture is saying is that in all conflict situations it is much more constructive to find a point of agreement with your adversary as quickly as possible.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me when I am being accused or criticized, not to be defensive, but to find a point of agreement, and also to admit when I am in the wrong and do what I can to put things right. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name. Amen."

1. Matthew 5:25.

 

[RiverOL]

Keep on Sowing Your Seed
"If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done. Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow. Perhaps it all will."1

One of William Barclay's friends tells the following story: In the church where he worshiped there was a lonely old man, old Thomas. He had outlived all his friends and hardly anyone knew him. When Thomas died, this friend had the feeling that there would be no one to go to the funeral so he decided to go, so that there might be someone to follow the old man to his last resting-place.

There was no one else, and it was a miserable wet day. The funeral reached the cemetery, and at the gate there was a soldier waiting. An officer, but on his raincoat there were no rank badges. He came to the graveside for the ceremony, then when it was over, he stepped forward and before the open grave swept his hand to a salute that might have been given to a king. The friend walked away with this soldier, and as they walked, the wind blew the soldier's raincoat open to reveal the shoulder badges of a brigadier general.

The general said, "You will perhaps be wondering what I am doing here. Years ago Thomas was my Sunday School teacher; I was a wild lad and a sore trial to him. He never knew what he did for me, but I owe everything I am or will be to old Thomas, and today I had to come to salute him at the end." Thomas did not know what he was doing.2

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, again today I am available. Please make me usable and use me today to be 'as Jesus' in some way to every life I touch so that I will have an influence on others, not only for time, but also for eternity. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."

 

[RiverOL]

Prepare!
For reading & meditation - Proverbs 6:1-11
"Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!" (v.6)

We continue looking at the vital principle of deferred satisfaction. We see this in the animal kingdom and it is brought out in the text that is before us today. The ant doesn't spend all its time eating. It runs back and forth carrying food into the nest so that it may survive the winter when there will be no food. Keep this picture of the ant continually in your mind. It is one of those images put into the Word of God to bring instruction to the heart. If you are young, prepare for the future in every way you can, not only by denying yourself to the things that God puts out of bounds, but also by giving yourself to the things you need to know about your chosen profession. Whatever you plan to do in life - prepare for it. Prepare by study and also by prayer.

Whatever your age, whenever you have to do anything in public, like speaking at a church meeting - prepare. Deny yourself pleasures, like watching television, and give yourself to the task in hand. There are no short cuts to success. I prepared myself for years by filling my heart and mind with the Word of God, and then, when the time came, God called me to launch these Bible notes that you are now perusing. People say to me, "How can you continue to write year after year?" I know I would not be able to do so had I not, many years ago, denied myself many things so that I could prepare. Whatever God asks you to do, don't take His blessings for granted - prepare.

Prayer:
Father, Your knife cuts deep but Your cuts are always redemptive. Forgive me for taking so much for granted and for not giving myself to the task to which You have called me. Help me be a prepared person. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Giving all to God
For reading & meditation - Proverbs 8
"Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold." (v.10)

Christians who struggle with the concept of deferred satisfaction ought to consider the contestants who prepare for such things as sports competitions - especially the Olympic Games. Young men and women push themselves almost beyond endurance in order to gain a prize for themselves, their club or their country. I know that all the groaning and gasping that goes on as they train is not unmitigated pleasure.

Why are they doing it? They are demonstrating the principle of deferred satisfaction. They are willing to ensure suffering now in order to win in the future. The pressure, the denial of legitimate pleasures, the strong self-discipline, the rigorous training, are all outweighed by the hope of winning. The idea of deferred satisfaction is not a uniquely Christian idea. It has been recognized by reflective people throughout history

. Plato talks about it, and so does Socrates - and they lived more than two thousand years ago. Greek philosophy talks about the control of the passions by self-discipline and encourages the development of virtue by self-denial. Christianity teaches that God has come to this world in the person of His Son in order to set up a rescue mission to save us from an everlasting hell. We are saved, but not that we might sit back and indulge ourselves in the thought. We are saved to serve. If non-Christians can deny themselves present satisfaction for future gains and go to such lengths to win a prize, how much more ought we, who serve the risen Christ? Dare we stand by and watch them do for gold what we are not prepared to do for God?

Prayer:
Father, Your school is strict but the end is redemption. Your instructions, however hard and uncompromising, are in the end my salvation. Help me to see the end from the beginning and to use all my powers in reaching for the goal. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. —John 19:30 NIV

When Jesus breathed His last and gave up the ghost, Matthew tells us that “the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom” (Matthew 27:51 KJV). The temple’s high priest must have been terribly frightened. As he made his way into the Holy of Holies to sprinkle the blood for the evening sacrifice on the horns of the altar, the veil that separated man from God had been ripped from top to bottom.

Why was that important? It was a symbol that we no longer have to wait to be represented yearly by the high priest:
Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. —Hebrews 4:14–16 KJV

You, as a Believer, now have free access into the presence of God so that “by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6 KJV).

 

[RiverOL]

Learning to Love
"'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?' Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."1

Someone else said with tongue-in-cheek, "Heaven help your neighbor if you hate yourself!" They were right.

Every normal person wants and needs loving relationships, but if we hate ourselves we are not going to experience loving relationships. We will unconsciously project our self-hatred onto others and set them up to reject us, for what we project is what we get back!

Actually, only to the degree that I have learned to love and accept myself in a healthy sense am I able to love and accept others in a healthy sense. What I hate and have rejected in myself, I will also hate and reject in others. My relationships will only ever be as healthy as I am.

Healthy self-love and acceptance isn't a prideful thing, but rather, it is learning to know and accept ourselves as we are—dark side and all. Only then are we able to change and keep growing to become healthier and more loving persons.

To grow in self-love we need to be fully known by at least one other loving and accepting person—a person who will not put us down, judge or criticize us, tell us what we should or shouldn't do, try to fix us, give unsolicited advice, or preach at us, but accept us just as we are. It is through their knowing, accepting, and loving us as we are that, little by little, we learn to love and accept ourselves. This truth cannot be over-emphasized for we can only feel loved to the degree that we are known, accepted, and loved by at least one loving, trusted person. This is not to imply that this person approves of any negative or destructive behavior. Not at all.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please give me at least one safe, loving and accepting person whom I can trust with my total life—dark side and all—and through their loving acceptance of me, help me to learn to love and accept myself as you love and accept me, so I can truly love you with all my heart, soul, and mind, and love my neighbor as you want me to. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

 

[RiverOL]

Sin Breaks God's Heart
For reading & meditation - Proverbs 6:27-35
"But a man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself." (v.32)

We have talked about chastity; let's talk now about faithfulness. Chastity is purity prior to marriage; faithfulness is virtue within marriage. God wants everyone who enters into marriage to be loyal and true.

When we say that God is love, we are also saying that God is faithful, because love cannot be love unless it has faithfulness in it. Marriage is a covenant. A lot of people say, "It's just a piece of paper and fifteen minutes of someone's time."

But hold on a minute. If life is based on relationships, then the only ethical relationship is love, and love is faithfulness, then the marriage covenant is the most precious thing in life.

The thing that constantly comes out in both Old and New Testaments is the covenant aspect of love. And when you study the covenants of Scripture you will find this - that God keeps His covenants even though they are broken from the other side.

The relationship between Jehovah and Israel is often pictured as that of a husband and a wife. Israel becomes the wayward, unfaithful wife who commits adultery. But God is still faithful to His covenant. God says, "I will never break my covenant.

You can count on it. I am God." Young people don't want entangling relationships today. They want to be free to love. With all the conviction of my heart, I say to you that there is no such thing as "free love." only free exploitation.

Love is commitment and when men and women indulge in fornication or adultery, they have not just broken God's laws; they have broken His heart.

Prayer:
O Father, in an age when anything goes, help me be an exhibition to the world around of what it means to be a follower of You. Help me keep all my relationships pure. For Your own dear Name's sake. Amen.
​

​

 

[RiverOL]

Conclusion
For reading & meditation - Proverbs 9:10-18
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." (v.10)

I hope that what I set out to do in this study of Proverbs has been accomplished - namely, that from now on and as much as possible, you will steal, drink, lie and swear. I mean, of course, that you will steal time out of your schedule to read continually from the book of Proverbs; that you will drink regularly from its clear refreshing waters; that you will lie on your bed at night and meditate on its great themes; and that you will swear by the grace of God to put its powerful principles into daily practice. If you consider that I have not touched on some aspect of Proverbs, then I have served you well.

It will stimulate you to deeper and further study. The "seven pillars of wisdom" I have suggested, you must remember, are the dominant themes I see in Proverbs. Others will have different observations. Read them too - it will help you gain even more perspective. I am praying that these meditations will stimulate you to pursue that most glorious of all qualities - divine wisdom. But remember, do not seek wisdom for its own sake.

Seek it that you might more effectively represent the Lord Jesus Christ. And beware of legalism, that soul-destroying attitude that takes pleasure in principles more than in the Person who is behind them - our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. If you still don't know Him, then bow your head this very moment, repent of every sin you have committed and quietly surrender your heart and life into His hands. Committing your way to God is the beginning of wisdom; continual trust in Him will see it develop and grow.

Prayer:
Father, grant me this wisdom, not that I might have an advantage over others, nor to fulfil selfish needs, nor even to advance my fortunes. I seek it that I might know You better, love You more and do Your perfect will. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Be That Guy

Humble yourselves . . . under the mighty hand of God
so that at the proper time he may exalt you—1 Peter 5:6

Building community in the social context—in the context of our friendships—means reworking existing friendships into authentic friendships. It means dismantling false images, the ones we’ve worked so hard to construct. It means humbling ourselves in front of our friends by showing them our undisguised, unguarded brokenness—our flaws and failures, our mistakes and fears. Hard stuff, no question. What’s even harder, though, is that doing this often requires that we go first. You see, authenticity is counterculture. Look around. Few people live in authentic friendship. And so, when and if we choose to, we’re likely to be out in front, all alone . . . for a time, at least.

So why then? Why would we do it? Well, it’s only through authenticity that transformation-to-Christlikeness happens. It certainly doesn’t happen when we’re hiding, impersonating, posturing. It just doesn’t. It’s the way we come into the character of Jesus Christ. And, it’s the way we help our friends to, as well. You see, while very few of us men are willing to go first, most of us will follow those who do: “If he can do it . . .” So, when one of us steels himself and humbles himself, others follow. Going first is, therefore, both holy and heroic. Going first puts us squarely at the front of God’s offensive: healing the brokenhearted and setting the captives free (Luke 4:18).


Someone must go first. Somebody always does. Be courageous. Pray boldly, brother: “If someone must, let it be me.” Among your group of friends, be that guy. It’ll be scary, sure. It might not go really well. But, that’s okay. We men are built for this kind of stuff. We’d wither without opposition. And it’s all worth it. This can be some of the most important work we’ll ever do.