Rev. Patrick Vincent
“and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” – 2 Tim. 3:15
Timothy had been taught the Scriptures from childhood (no doubt from Momma Eunice & Grandma Lois; 1:5) How important it is to teach our children the word of God to make them wise for salvation through faith in Jesus.
I let my kids play in the busy street today. They wanted to really bad and who am I to tell them what they ought or ought not do? So I let them.
I also let my kids eat as much candy as they wanted. I told them it was bad in the long run, but they complained saying I didn’t really know what I was talking about. So I let them.
Then I let my kids out in the woods with a pack of wolves. I explained that the wolves looked soft & cute, but were actually extremely dangerous, but they said I was just being silly. So I let them.
Am I a good parent? Of course not! Those actions wouldn’t prove that I love my kids – it would prove that I don’t love them. It would be irresponsible and disqualify me as a parent.
So why do we doubt, second-guess, and complain about God’s ways?
GOD’S BOUNDARIES & GUIDANCE ARE FOR OUR GOOD, NOT HIS.
“For the Lord corrects those He loves and disciplines those He calls His own.” – Heb. 12:6 (Deut. 8:5; Psa. 94:12; Prov. 3:11)
Insights from Proverbs 22 & 23 for the 22nd and 23rd:
Kids have got to be trained. You don’t have to teach a kid to be bad; No, you have to teach them to be good. I’ve heard if you toss 1 ball in with 3 kids, you’ll immediately see 4 of the 7 deadly sins: greed, envy, wrath, and pride. Sharing is like the toughest thing to get your child (and some adults) to do, right?
The rod of discipline is necessary. Whatever that “rod” is: time-outs, taking away things for a disclosed time, and yes: spankings. Whatever it is, pick something and be consistent with it. Trust me: Your future self thanks you! (22:6 & 15, 23:13-14)
Time flies and so does money. All you have to do is look at $ and it’s gone. Solomon says your money will grow wings & fly away! (23:4-5) What’s more important is your relationship with the Lord, who will NEVER forsake you.
23:17-18 is a tender moment between a father and son. He brings his son in tight & encourages him. “It’s ok, son. God has a bright future planned for you. Chin up. Remain zealous for the Lord. He will be your hope.”
Wow. Fathers, take note.
Last thing – Solomon offers a scary image for those who like to party too much. It seems like fun, but in the end, it will bite you. It’s like sleeping on a raft in a raging sea. What a rough way to go through life! (23:29-35)
22:12 is interesting. Read it for yourself. Comment on what you think it means.
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Insights from Proverbs 4 for the 4th:
As a parent, we strive to raise wise, compassionate, and strong kids. Our highest responsibility is to point our children to a personal relationship with Jesus.
This is especially true for fathers.
Fathers are their son’s first hero and their daughter’s first love. A fatherless home or a home where the father is not intentionally leadership in spiritual development is tragic.
This Proverb is like eavesdropping on a father advising his son. He is imploring his son to pursue wisdom & avoid the path of the wicked.
There is time given to watching how you talk; “put a corrupt mouth far from you.” Words have power, be careful how you use them! Ever been around a negative person? Their words are like poisonous daggers. It gets old. Don’t be that guy.
Instead,
“above all things, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it.” (v. 23)
You know, we guard stuff that is important to us, but we let anything & everything into our hearts. We guard our phones better than we guard our hearts. Solomon tells his boy; more treasured than $$$ or career – is your heart: is it left out in the open & exposed? A sitting duck? Or is it Fort Knox? Is it the Iron Dome?
He talks about how the unrighteous eat & drink violence. Their path is in the dark. Literally. Since they can’t see what’s in front of them, they constantly trip and fall into holes. Don’t follow their blind lead.
However, the path of the just is like the light of dawn. It shines brighter & brighter until it is full day.
One trail is pitch-black, one is well-lit; which would you like to take?
He warns not to be enticed off the just way. Isn’t that what the world is doing to our youth; baiting them to turn to the left or right? They don’t care which direction – as long as it gets our children away from God.
Fathers, we must be diligent in which direction we are aiming our precious arrows.
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I heard this saying attributed to either Chip Ingram or Greg Laurie:
“Christians are like TEA BAGS; you don’t know what they’re made of until you put them in hot water.”
Isn’t that about the truth!
Is the heat being turned up in your life?
This is where “the rubber meets the road,” right? Anyone can act nice when everything is going their way, but what seeps out when things aren’t? What comes out of that teabag?
Something you may never have thought of is the fact that teabags are useless without hot water, aren’t they? It’s actually IN the hot water that teabag finds their purpose and usefulness.
Try to remember this the next time you find yourself in proverbial hot water. Pray for me as I pray for you.
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Ref: https://www.facebook.com/moodyradio/posts/848812451813491
ttps://www.goodreads.com/quotes/1944-a-woman-is-like-a-tea-bag-you-never-know
How can a loving God send anyone to Hell? Why unlimited punishment for a limited behavior? Isn’t Hell cosmic overkill? Too harsh! Not fair!
I’ve heard this objection many times and it seems reasonable… at first.
John Bunyan said, “No sin against God can be little, because it is against the great God of heaven and earth.” Jonathan Edwards said, “The greatness of a sin is determined by the greatness of the being against whom it is committed.”
Erwin Lutzer gives the following scenario:
To throw a snowball at a mailman is one thing; to throw one at a policeman is another. And if you throw a snowball at the President of the United States, you will be arrested. Using that analogy, think of the infinite crime of sinning against an infinite God. Sin is much more serious to God than it is to us.
I’ve never had the opportunity to throw a snowball at the POTUS, but I’m sure if I tried – the Secret Service would tackle me faster than you can say Barry Allen. And that’s just the President! Imagine throwing a snowball at God? Unthinkable.
God doesn’t send anyone to Hell, they send themselves.
Heaven is God giving people want He wants. Hell is God giving people what they want. C.S. Lewis said that the doors of Hell are locked from the inside.
God wants ALL PEOPLE to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4). He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 18:23, 32). He patiently wishes that NONE perish (2 Pet. 3:9).
Does a doctor enjoy telling her patient: Hey, you have asthma; smoking is not healthy. You should stop. Does she enjoy it year after year, telling the patient the same diagnosis? You should stop. Here is the medicine. Please take it! Of course not. Is God any different? But He won’t force the medicine on us. He loves us too much for that.
Here is justice in its purest form: You reap what you sow.
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. – Gal. 6:7-8
You wouldn’t let just anyone come into your home, would you? Would you let in a thief? A murderer? A rapist? No. You have a standard. So does God. Unfortunately we can never meet that standard. So He made it easy on us: we come in with His Son (1 Cor. 6:9-11).
It all comes down to how you respond to Jesus.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. – John 3:17
The real question is: Why would God send anyone to Heaven?
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Ref:
http://www.biblebb.com/files/bunyan/sayings.htm
https://www.monergism.com/jonathan-edwards-we-are-inclined-sin
Remember CliffsNotes? I’m not sure if they still even have them now or not. Kids probably just use Google. But anyways for those too young (or for those who actually DID do their homework), CliffsNotes were the abbreviated version of literature classics. If you didn’t read the actual thing, you could buy the CliffsNotes and get the gist of it.
Are you getting Jesus or the CliffsNotes?
“The right understanding of Jesus Christ is essential to understanding many other vital truths, particularly the gospel and salvation. There’s no good news apart from Christ.” – John MacArthur
Let me give you just one verse. It is short and easy: “I and the Father are one.” – John 10:30.
I was at a restaurant once and they poured my Ginger Ale over a ton of ice. I could hardly taste it. It was gross, really. I have harsh words for anyone who waters down the Gospel to make it easier or more user-friendly. Its gross, really.
MacArthur also admonishes those who make their faith a “private” matter: “If your faith is ‘a private thing,’ it’s not the Christian faith.” I have heard this defense as I’m sure you have too.
Nothing about the Great Commission sounded “private” to me.
“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among people by which we must be saved [for God has provided the world no alternative for salvation].” – Acts 4:12 (AMP)
Don’t make that private. Make it public!
Don’t settle for an abridged rendition of Jesus. Demand the full version!
Don’t read the CliffsNotes. Read the original!
Ref:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CliffsNotes
MacArthur, John. Good News: the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Reformation Trust Publishing, 2018.
Let’s say someone comes up to you, removes your coat, and sends it away. Would you say you still had your coat?
No. It was removed. It was sent away. Literally, the coat is no longer here.
Jesus takes our sins away. (1 John 3:5). When John the Baptist saw Jesus he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:19)!”
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to FORGIVE US OUR SINS and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9 (Emphasis mine)
Just like that coat; they’re gone. Now, of course we don’t miss the coat or go shopping for new coats, right?
“No one who is born of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin,” – 1 John 3:9 (AMP)
Therefore, if we repent and turn to Him, Jesus forgives our sins (something only God can do, by the way).
The Greek for “forgive” carries the word picture of discharging something so as to leave.
I note it because:
Therefore, because of Jesus’s wonderful Love & Grace, your sins have been:
Let go; fired, dismissed, sacked, axed, laid-off, and canned. They have been given their “pink slip” and “walking papers.” Like Elvis, your sins have left the building.
Brother and sister, they are not even there! (Heb. 8:12, Rom. 11:27, Mic. 7:19, Psa. 103:12)
To pretend otherwise is to act like you still have that coat on that someone removed from you and sent away.
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Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear. Whoever has Twitter to tweet, let them tweet.
We are straight-up addicted to our phones. I mean, seriously: this is going to be a real problem in the not-too-distant future. Think this just… sorta… happened? Google “Brain-Hacking on 60 Minutes.”
Dear children, keep yourselves from phones, errr, I mean – idols. – 1 John 5:21 [Sic]
Anything that takes the place of God is an idol. Have phones taken the place of God?
Well, riddle me this: How many times do YOU touch your phone a day?
(In fact, you are probably reading this from your phone right now.) Are you ready for this:
“The typical cellphone user touches his or her phone 2,617 time every day, according to a study by research firm Dscout. But that’s just the average user: The study found that extreme cellphone users — meaning the top 10% — touch their phones more than 5,400 times daily (July 13, 2016).”
I know I am a tiny minnow swimming up a mightily roaring RIVER here, but: How many times do you touch your Bible a day?
I dare you to compare those numbers. Write them down next to each other: are you crying?
I know this is something we cannot solve right this minute, I know that you know that I am just as guilty as the next person, and of course I know phones can be used for good too, but it is something we should not be ignoring.
What do we do about this?
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Ref:
Addendum:
Phones make us break the first two commandments:
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. – Exd. 20:3-6
Phones also repeatedly make us break the 3rd commandment: OMG, anyone?
That’s 3/10 right off the bat. And of course, if you break just one, you’ve broken them all (James 2:10).
A Verse A Day 