Category Archives: obedience to God

Zealous – Reflections on Proverbs 23

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”Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord all the day long. For surely there is a latter end [a future and a reward], and your hope and expectation shall not be cut off.“ Proverbs 23:17-18 AMPC

There is reward in obedience to God’s commands. The “thirty sayings of the wise” in Proverbs 22-24 list many of them. But the greatest reward is our hope and expectation, Jesus, will be realized. We will know Him! We will be connected to Him and not be cut off from Him.

There is nothing better than to know Jesus and to be connected to Him or in Him.

“Be zealous for the fear of the Lord,” (Proverbs 23: 17 NIV) or pursue passionately knowing God, loving God, and hating sin (i.e. wanting nothing to do with sin.)

The life of reward spoken about in the verses of Proverbs is the fruit of pursuing Wisdom. Jesus is the very Wisdom we pursue!

What’s in Your Heart — Reflections on Proverbs 21

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”A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart.“ Proverbs 21:2 NIV

What is in your heart? Your spiritual heart is the most important thing about you and me. It is very important for us to understand this. We are free to choose our ways. We often think our ways we choose are the best for us. Simply put we think we are right.

The problem is our desires often are self focused. This comes from a heart that is not entirely, totally and completely given up to God.

God weighs our heart. He examines it. If we ask Him to, He will reveal it to us. This is why David prayed:

”Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.“ Psalms 139:23-24 NIV

If we want to live the blessed life, the life that is happy in God, our hearts need to be cleansed of any offensive or wicked way it may have. Sin needs to be cut away from it!

”Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.“ Proverbs 21:21 NIV

Pursuing righteousness, purity of heart, by obedience to God and what He says in His Word is how we give our hearts to God. Pursuing love or denying all our selfish wants and desires to give ourselves to God in total obedience is how we “find life.”

The question becomes “What is in my heart? What does it desire and pursue more than anything?”

What God finds when He examines or “weighs” our hearts is very important. It is a matter of spiritual life or spiritual death.

Live It… Your Children Will Be Blessed- Reflections on Proverbs 20

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Practical wisdom, Proverbs offers plenty of it: working with diligence, living in faithfulness, dealing with honesty, avoiding gossip… even warnings of being led astray by wine and beer are just a few of the topics of this chapter.

As I read it, there is a promise that stands out to me summarizing the result of practicing all the practical wisdom the entire book of Proverbs contains:

”The righteous man walks in his integrity; blessed (happy, fortunate, enviable) are his children after him.“
Proverbs 20:7 AMPC

The righteous or Godly man is the man who lives his life set apart to God. The one who obeys what God has commanded in His Word. The promise is that his children will be blessed or happy.

As parents we want what is best for our kids. The BEST thing you can give your kids is to live your life in complete surrender to God and His ways. This comes by learning what it is that He, out of His great love, has commanded in His Word… i.e. study your Bible, and OBEY what it says. This also comes by a relationship with God. We hear Him speak through His Word, and we talk to Him in prayer throughout our day. It is a continual, moment by moment, focus on God.

Long ago, as a young mom, I heard it said, “If you want your kids to love God and know Him, you have to love God yourself. You cannot impart what you Do Not Have!” Simply put, if you want your kids to have the blessings — joy, peace , and happiness of knowing God, you must have a deep relationship with Him as well. Model it in front of them! Your children are following your lead!

Life or Death— Reflections on Proverbs 19

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We were created out of divine love, by divine love, and for divine love. God loves us and the way we show love for God is to obey.

Adam and Eve are an example for all to see of this truth. As long as they were totally obedient and totally satisfied in that obedience to God, they dwelt in perfect life in the beautiful garden God made for them. But the moment they disobeyed and chose their own way, death entered the world along with it’s darkness and destruction.

Obeying what God commands is the way to life. In fact, Jesus said He came to give abundant life. (John 10:10) He desires for us to choose His life. (Deuteronomy 30:19-20) The way we choose His life is to obey!

When we choose our own way. We are careless. We show contempt for the things God has told us to do. This only leads to spiritual death.

We are told in this chapter of Proverbs that if we get wisdom, we “love life.” (Verse 8) If we “fear the Lord”, or have reverence for God that gives us a desire to obey Him fully, we will be led “to life … (and) rest content.” We will be “untouched by trouble.” (Verse 23)

Obedience to God is love for God and the way to dwell in love. God’s love is where life is found! 

”Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life, but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.“ Proverbs 19:16 NIV

 

 

 

 

 

“God So Loved” — weekly devotion written for Women on Wednesday’s Ministry

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Women on Wednesday’s

(I am the writer for a weekly devotion that goes to the email list of a local ministry. This is this weeks devotion about God’s Divine Love”)

“…Divine love surpasses the love of my parents who sacrificed much for me. It surpasses the love of my husband who knows me and accepts me just the way I am! It surpasses my own love for my four kids who I willingly laid down my wants, my desires, and my plans in order to see them excel and succeed…”

For full devotion click on the link below.

https://mailchi.mp/wowjcmo/wow-devotion-john-6215653?e=6c56f70e45

Be Careful What You Say! — Reflections on Proverbs 18

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“I can say what I want.” … There may be truth in that statement. You can… BUT that does not mean that is what is BEST for you.

”The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.“

Proverbs 18:21 NIV

The words that come from our mouths have power. The come from deep within us. They can be encouraging, life giving, etc.

”The words of a [discreet and wise] man’s mouth are like deep waters [plenteous and difficult to fathom], and the fountain of skillful and godly Wisdom is like a gushing stream [sparkling, fresh, pure, and life-giving].“

Proverbs 18:4 AMPC

BUT, Foolish words “bring strife”, “invite a beating”, undo us and are “a snare to our very lives.” (Proverbs 18:6-7)

We must be careful what we say. What we feel is not what we go by and certainly can not be the source of our speech. Our words from our mouth will produce fruit. Good words based off of God’s Word will produce a good “harvest of our lips.”(verse 20). It will be fulfilling and satisfying.

Let us resolve to be careful what we say!

The Testing Fire- Reflections on Proverbs 17

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What’s inside of us will always come out… It will be displayed in our words, our actions, even the way we present ourselves to others — our body language.

We were meant to display or bear the image of God. When we come to God and allow Him to pour Himself into us, His image of peace, joy, and love will reflect everywhere we go. But if we are full of sin and selfishness that image of death, darkness, and destruction will be reflected everywhere we go as well.

God’s desire is for our lives to reflect Him. This is why He tests our hearts.

”The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.“ Proverbs 17:3 NIV

Things we go through can be unpleasant at times. Sometimes they are downright hard, but God does not waste anything in our lives. He uses our circumstances to purify us as silver is purified. The heat will remove the impurities so the silversmith can see his reflection in the silver. Our reactions to our circumstances are opportunities to have what is not of God, sin, repented of and cleansed from us so we can display the image of our Divine Silversmith, God. His image reflected in us is always for our good. Because He alone is goodness!

Commit My Way— Reflections on Proverbs 16

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I want to control… it’s in my nature. I want things to go my way. Following Jesus does not work well if I am bent on being in control.
We have our plans. We think our ways are the right ones. But ultimately what we want, when and how we want it must submit to the Lord. (Verses 2-3)

The way to peace, success, and the blessed life is summed up in this verse:

”Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.“
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

To commit is to give in trust or to put in the hands of the power of another. Our lives put into the hands and power of God as our Lord is the way to have our life established and secure.

May we seek to give Jesus ALL and follow Him alone!

Who is the Lord? — Reflections on Proverbs 14 and the Fear of the Lord

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“Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD…” Exodus 5:2

“Who is the Lord that I should obey Him?” This is the disposition of heart that many have. It springs from the truth Pharaoh spoke about himself, “I do not know the Lord.” Simply put… Pharaoh did not fear the Lord. Many in our time do not fear the Lord as well.

There is much said in Proverbs about the fear of the Lord. Today’s Proverb talks about why it is so important.

”Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death.“ Proverbs‬ ‭14‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The fear of the Lord is a “secure fortress… a refuge…a fountain of life.”

When we fear the Lord, we have a reverential awe of Him. This comes from a just view of Him. We see Him rightly. If we truly see Him for who He is, we will love Him. Then we will hate sin and aim for perfect obedience. We will not want anything to separate us from such a great and awesome God. (Websters 1828 Dictionary)

When we see God rightly, we know that we are secure in Him. He is our fortress. We know that our God is the place we can hide away and can experience His protection and provision because He is the greatest love. He is always working for our good!

As we shun evil or love God/Hate sin, we will know Him as the “fountain of life.” Because sin destroys and causes nothing but death, darkness, and destruction in our lives.

Pharaoh missed so much because he refused to know God for who He is and worship Him. We will miss so much as well if we refuse Him.

To Know God
Is to
Love God
Is to
Trust God
Is to
Obey God

May we come to a greater understanding of what it is to fear the Lord and to walk in His ways!

The Benefit of Righteousness— A Blessed Life — Reflections on Proverbs 10

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Many are seeking for a life of success. Our libraries are filled with self help books that give “The key to happiness, fulfillment, wealth, etc.” Google search after Google search will point you to the ways to happiness, peace of mind, prosperity, etc. But Proverbs 10 lays out THE TRUE KEY to what we are all looking for— a blessed life. That key is “righteousness”.

Righteousness is defined as having a holy heart, a heart set apart for a sacred use, God’s use. When our thoughts, our decisions, and our feelings are completely submitted to God, obedient to God and depending upon God, we experience a life of fulfillment, joy, and happiness. (Verses 6, 7, 16) We experience the blessed life!

The blessings of a righteous person are many: The righteous person is delivered from spiritual death. (Verse 2) They are spiritually fulfilled. (Verse 3) A righteous person’s mouth is a fountain of life. It is life giving. (Verse 11) It has the good fruit of wisdom (Verse 31). The prospect— hope or expectation — of the righteous is joy…” They are firmly planted not uprooted. They know what finds favor (Verse 32).

How do we experience this blessed life of righteousness? This righteousness that pours out blessing after blessing in our lives isn’t found in all the good works we may do. It is found in Jesus alone! He give His righteousness to us so we can live the blessed life. Our role is to receive what He has given and live His way— submitted to Him. This is the only place we can experience what so many are searching for the true life of blessings in His righteousness.