The Heart of The Humble!

“Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar. “Two things I ask of you, LORD; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.  “Do not slander a servant to their master, or they will curse you, and you will pay for it. Proverbs 30: 5-10 NIV

The heart of humble speaks!

Think for a moment about the speaker in this passage of scripture and then read the entire chapter. Agur–acknowledges his human failings and speaks to them to others.

He understands The Word of God and warns people about attempting to change it.

He understands that lies and falsehoods–however they are cloaked with deceptive language are not acceptable.

He understands that neither riches or poverty will make a difference in how God treats people.

He understands what most people–especially our politicians, don’t–the deceptive practices–on behalf of both parties–are not acceptable to God.

Though my thoughts this morning were not to make a political statement with the scriptural reading, this fits so well, especially in light of the so-called, “regret” uttered by a person who smirks as he speaks. No humility shown whatsoever and no real apology made about all the things he’s said. And in the next breath, focuses his attention on his opponent to talk about her.

What was even more amazing to me was to see his new campaign manager, lie with a straight face, but her eyes gave her away along with the false smile that didn’t come from within.

The humble heart–speaks from the heart–and the sincerity is seen and heard. The humble heart–when it knows a wrong has been committed, will apologize–specifically–to the wrongs done. The humble heart–seeks private as well public exoneration of any act in which they are sincerely sorry about and want to make amends. The humble heart–does not seek public attention for acts of charity or compassion. The humble heart–knows God and wants to please Him, not people or a political party.

That’s what the humble heart does!

When we see what people do–in the public eye–we know whether or not they  have read The Word, understand The Word, and live The Word. We know, by what we see and hear–who truly has a humble heart and who doesn’t.

Americans are smarter than some give us credit for. We know humility when we see it and when we don’t.

 

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On The Journey–Daleth

My soul clings to the dust;
Revive me according to Your word.

I have declared my ways, and You answered me;
Teach me Your statutes.

Make me understand the way of Your precepts;
So shall I meditate on Your wonderful works.

My soul melts from heaviness;
Strengthen me according to Your word.

Remove from me the way of lying,
And grant me Your law graciously.

I have chosen the way of truth;
Your judgments I have laid before me.

I cling to Your testimonies;
O LORD, do not put me to shame!

I will run the course of Your commandments,
For You shall enlarge my heart. Psalm 119:25-32 NKJV

For the fourth letter and segment, we see a continuous plea and acclamation by Psalmist–acknowledging the need for God’s guidance through His Word and honoring Him for what He does.

When our soul thirsts for truth–what do we do? We know that our souls dry out when we lose hope–and it seems like we cannot breathe for the dust of unrighteousness clogs our ability to breathe without struggling.

Do we struggle with unrighteousness or better yet, do we recognize when we are struggling with unrighteousness? Are we convicted by Holy Spirit when we plan to do wrong or actually do or say something we shouldn’t? Are we mindful of what God has said is good and true or do we simply muddle through life, doing our own thing, not considerate at all of others and how what we do impacts their lives?

When we study God’s Word, are we revived by what we study? Do we understand that within His Word is the key to life–living according to His Word and benefiting from its content? Have we chosen to follow the path of truth over lying? Are we manipulators and deceitful, twisting truth for our own benefit?

The Psalmist understands that by keeping God’s judgments (the blessings and curses) in front of him, he will eventually understand how God wants him to live. And he is choosing to follow Truth and is opening his heart to God for greater understanding and willing to allow God to lead him.

Too often many Believers get caught up on just studying the “good stuff” in God’s Word and we ignore the warnings. Simply put–if we understood Deuteronomy 28 (the blessings and curses) and kept the commandment to love, we would never have to worry about the judgments, but since we do not demonstrate understanding–we must constantly be aware that judgment begins in the household of faith–with the Believers.

If we would simply obey God, we would have no need to be fearful of being put to shame before others.

Are we willing to follow the path of Truth or will we just continue to deceive and lie to others, thinking we are more than we are, and putting ourselves in position to be exposed, openly?

Perhaps, now would be a good time for some deep introspection-asking God to show us ourselves and give us a chance to clean up our acts, before He allows us to be “seen” as we truly are.

As we end this year–2015–let us plead with God to enlarge our hearts with understanding of His word and give us courage to live His Word on a daily basis, for the rest of our lives!

 

Nothing Hidden From God!

“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” (Ecclesiates 12:1,14 NIV)

Closed doors, under the sheets, in the dark, disguised, cloaked, lies, manipulations, deceptions–nothing can keep anything hidden from God–it all comes to light, eventually.

When we do things we think no one knows about but us, we truly deceive ourselves. Those of us who know God, know He is all seeing, omnipresent, and omniscient. He sees all, He hears all, and knows all–and why not–He’s God. For those who don’t know Him, or at least won’t acknowledge His existence–it doesn’t matter–we’ll all be judged by the same standards whether we Believe or not.

Think about these things! No child has ever done anything that God didn’t know about and eventually parents discovered–even when the child thought no one would ever know. What one of the marvelous attributes about Holy Spirit is that He’ll reveal truths to all who are willing to listen so that none of us are taken unaware of the things going on around us that we may not see.

Adulterers and fornicators who think no one knows what they’re doing behind closed doors and under the sheets deceive themselves for when God allows them to be exposed, they have no defense. No hidden thing shall remain hidden–God will bring it all to light.

For the politicians who make shady deals with those who are seeking to control others and consumer goods–making sure the rich stay rich–God sees it and that, too will be judged according to God’s standards. They have forgotten that God knows the heart and He knows when the poor and needy, and vulnerable are put at a disadvantage–to keep others rich.

For those who commit crimes–cloaking their faces with hoodies and masks–God knows who they are. They cannot hide from Him and eventually, because most criminals are stupid enough to brag about what they do, they’ll be exposed and receive the appropriate consequence for their actions. Nothing is hidden with a piece of fabric or plastic from God.

For students who cheat on tests and think they’ve gotten away with something, God knows and every observant teacher or professor knows, too. I’ve always laughed to myself when I know people have cheated because they have the same answers–right or wrong–and it’s always the students who never take notes or study who try to cheat on those who do. When i grade their papers, I always comment that they’re better off using their on brains, in red ink beside the “zero” and then I let them see their paper, but I keep them for my records.

For those who engage in digital misbehavior, there is nothing hidden from God. Emails and text messages are retrieved and the misdeed exposed. Phone conversations are recorded, photos taken and publicly aired so all the world can see, what they thought was hidden. There is nothing hidden from God!

Even conversations held with some “in confidence” find their way to the surface of the subject of the conversation; especially in the heat of anger and frustration. Nothing hidden from God or others, even when we think it is.

Truth–as I stated yesterday–is very liberating. Unfortunately, many don’t like hearing truth, when it means they need to reconsider how they do things. I’d rather be found in truth than in a lie so the truth will be exposed and I never have to fear a lie being exposed. There is nothing, absolutely nothing hidden from God!

They Tell Lies!

This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let your prophets and fortune-tellers who are with you in the land of Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams, because they are telling you lies in my name. I have not sent them,” says the LORD.(Jeremiah 29:8,9 NLT)

Who was Jeremiah talking to then and does it apply, today?

Jeremiah, God’s chosen prophet, was talking to the children of Israel who had been taken captive by their enemies. He was warning them and encouraging them as we can see if we continue reading this chapter. If we really think about current events and all those who “falsely” prophesy anything, we can most assuredly say, what was said then, applies now.

While I know there are many people who believe in fortune-tellers, astrological charts, luck and the counterfeit prophets, I stand firmly in the wisdom of God–knowing that “luck” has nothing to do with God. We are warned to stay away from fortune-tellers because many simply manipulate others with false hope (as seen in ACTS). Those who profess to “read tea leaves” play on the vulnerabilities of those who are seeking answers, but from the wrong person. And the counterfeit prophets–there are so many out there I cannot begin to count. Wise people know better than to believe in “a horoscope” that seldom changes and is usually written by people on a whim, who have no knowledge of astrology, but consider themselves expert in reading the stars and making predictions.

Now, I will be the first to admit that when God gives people gifts (as outlined in 1 Corinthians 12), He does not take them back, even when we do foolish things with them. And some are doing foolish things with the gifts God intended to be used by the Body of Christ, for carnal profit. Even though the gift remains theirs, so too is the reward they will receive for misusing His gifts.

Those who try to make themselves something when they are not, lie! The fortune-tellers lie; the false prophets lie, the horoscopes lie, the tea-readers lie and anyone who claims “good or bad luck” lies because there is no “luck” with God. We are either blessed or cursed.

How do we recognize the liars? Easily! When we know The Word, we can spot a liar about The Word because what they say, won’t align with The Word. Now, some are clever! They will use just enough of The Word to make some believe they know what they’re talking about, but it is deception–cleverly devised to deceive and know it is from the devil--that master of deception.

Don’t believe the hype when “prophets” tell you things that God has not spoken to your heart. If you have a heart to hear God, He’ll speak to you and confirm through others who don’t even know you. Those prophets chosen by God speak truth whether it is warning or encouragement and what they say, aligns with The Word.

Don’t believe the “horoscopes” like some have and become so addicted to them, they won’t leave home without reading them. Read The Word–therein lies the truth! Horoscopes are mass-produced with slight changes–designed to convince and they are so vague and general, what is said could apply to anyone, born at any time.

Don’t believe the “tea-readers” who can fool only the foolish who believe that tea leaves forming a certain pattern in liquid means anything.

Believe The Word–because God is not a man that He should lie and since He hates liars–He will not oppose Himself who is Truth.

Got problems and need answers? Seek Him early while He may be found and know the Truth. The others–tell lies!

God’s Voice Should Be Louder!

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Genesis 3:1

Satan (as depicted by the serpent in this segment of scripture) will always attempt to undermine God’s word. He did it in Genesis–influencing Eve’s thoughts about the fruit of the tree; he did it with Jesus, trying to tempt The Word with the Word of God right after Jesus had fasted for 40 days), and he’s yet doing it with the people of God and those who deny Him.

He uses subtlety and half-truths to convince those who acknowledge God and then he blatantly lies to those who deny God.

How does he get away with it? Too many people who know God are not speaking loud enough to drown Satan’s lies with Truth! Too many who know God are not actively trying to counter the lies that Satan spreads. Unfortunately, too many who claim to know God have also fallen under the spell of the master of deception’s ploy to deceive. When people attempt to be God and choose to live outside of Godly principles, then we know Satan has deceived–“even those whom God has chosen” to do His bidding.

Know God and don’t be ashamed to proclaim His Goodness from the Rooftops and the Valleys and all points in between. Our God Reigns! And it’s time for us to put Satan in His place–back under our feet so he cannot be heard!Remember–in the end–We–the people of God–Win!

Lord Jesus, give us the courage to be bolder than Satan in spreading the Good News–about salvation, repentance, forgiveness, Your Grace and Mercy, and ever enduring Love. We thank You for hearing and responding to our requests so that only You may get the glory in the lives we live!