GW, AK – Proverbs 4:13-18

“Take hold of instruction; do not let go. Guard her, for she is your life. Do not enter the path of the wicked And do not proceed in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not pass by it; Turn away from it and pass on. For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; And they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble. For they eat the bread of wickedness And drink the wine of violence. But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.”
Proverbs 4:13‭-‬18 NASB
https://bible.com/bible/100/pro.4.13-18.NASB

First continuing on from previous idea, instead of eating the bread of wickedness (v. 17) you see that you are exhorted to “take hold of instruction… (v. 13).” This follows the idea that all along the way the path and obstacles are fraught with distractions and divisions intended (by hell and it’s minions) to lead you and others astray but designed (by the Lord) to cause you to cling to the One Who can draw you to himself.

“Guard her for she is your life.” As you would expect, an active not passive role plays out as you and I are told to guard her and recall that wisdom is your life. Not that Christ is not your life, but just as you can be married to someone and still be an idiot, so it is with Christ! Don’t be daft, be Christlike!

But as it follows you must clothe yourself daily in the armor of the Lord (Ephesians 6:13-17). For as it states “Do not enter the path of the wicked And do not proceed in the way of evil men.” For one daily putting on the armor, a chunk in the mail or a bedding in the helmet will undoubtedly be noticed to him or her who inspects the armor. After all we are at war with an enemy who is already defeated yet thinks he can still win!

In verse 15 we read “Avoid it, do not pass by it; Turn away from it and pass on.” It is interesting to note, the natural tendency implied by the text is to gravitate towards it (folly). Thus we are told to avoid it and not pass by it. Not given nor told in the text but I recall from my upbringing that going through underbrush barefoot was dangerous not only for thorns a briars but for snakes and vermin! Again that is why we are told to take up the full armor of God!

Following in verse 16 we are told “For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; And they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.” Though we’re not given name and date, we are told leader and state. They are led by evil and thus only satisfied with more wickedness. We have an inborn desire for more. But that wicked desire can be tamed with a new desire for more of Him. But it is not both. Either run after wickedness which is natural, or run after Him! Then your sleep is peace as Psalm 4:8 tells.

And lastly “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” Such a beautiful picture. In the cool of the morning a break of dawn the world of darkness is flooded away by the rise of the Son! Oh that we might come to expect and rejoice in His arising in our hearts! Christ has risen. His light desires to shine through us on others that we might move as light bearers to the edges of the globe to bring His light to all nation’s! Then we can say with the writers of Proverbs it is the “…full day.”

And until that day, today, have a blessed one as you travel a little ways more up the path to draw others to the only road that lead to Him, Jesus. Blessings as you continue, blessings as you go!

GW, AK – Proverbs 4:1-6

“1¶Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father,
And give attention that you may gain understanding,

2For I give you sound teaching;
Do not abandon my instruction.

3When I was a son to my father,
Tender and the only son in the sight of my mother,

4Then he taught me and said to me,
“Let your heart hold fast my words;
Keep my commandments and live;

5Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding!
Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

6“Do not forsake her, and she will guard you;
Love her, and she will watch over you.”

Verse 1: First, in what way should we receive the instruction from the Lord? As verse 1 says, like a son to a father. This is not a emotionless command, or a thoughtless order. This is an instruction from the One Who loves you and created you. Thus He is tied to your well-being in that your success gives testimony to His greatness! He is great regardless. But His greatness being displayed in His creation gives testimony to His loving kindness!

The the Scripture states that we ought to give attention or literally “תַּעַזְבֶ֥הָ” which is “do not forsake.” But as you notice, the reason for this is so that you may gain understanding. In what way? Only the Lord and your life can attest. Nevertheless in an infinite and finite number on Earth God’s wisdom is displayed time and again. Thus give attention! And as you give attention you will see application as time and study permit to understand better the ways and works of Jesus!

Verse 2: Now in verse 2 we read that the writer gives us “sound teaching. That is the oversimplification of the millennia! To have the Savior and creator of time, matter, energy, life, and everything in between promise to give understanding and wisdom, LISTEN! Then as you begin to understand, you will begin to worship at the marvelous grave and forgiveness He extends all along the journey!

Following the encouragement to abandon abandonment, we are shown to cleave to the Father’s instruction! This appears to be a sort of progression of maturity. Just as a nursing child when first born cleave’s to his mother’s breast for life and sustenance after being brought into the world from her womb, the child is to outgrow to the bottle, then the baby food, then gruel (oatmeal and the like), then solid food! This is echoed in Hebrews 5:12-13 “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.”

Verse 3: “When I was a son to my father,
Tender and the only son in the sight of my mother,”

When the author was a son to father, meaning his relationship to world was interpreted through his upbringing by his father, his reputation and existence was tied to his parents. But now that he is grown, he has to answer for his decisions! This is why his relationship to the world and testimony matured! As verse 4 indicates.

Verse 4: “Then he taught me and said to me, ‘let your heart hold fast my words;
Keep my commandments and live;'” Not that the Father’s instruction was general but specifically aimed at his child. Here we see that it is the heavenly Father to His children! Solomon is told to keep the commandments of the Lord and thus live!

I wonder at the power in the simple phrase “keep my commandments and live.” Not for justification but for glorification in the Father! If we love Him, then our walk with Him should grow closer and our dependence on Him stronger! Truly, “keep His commandments and live!”

Verse 5: “5Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding!”

Acquire form the Lord and the wisdom from Him! As elsewhere it says “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge… (Pro. 1:7) Thus if we are to acquire wisdom we should fear and honor Him more! Not as an outsider to the alien in our midst but as a child who has finally come home to His family!

Then acquiring wisdom consists of learning from Him and others the individual testimonies of His faithfulness to them! Likewise, as others are sharing with you, you can share with them His faithfulness to you! And in so doing, you will “get understanding” in seeing how God intimately and individually worked your your life interwoven with others all for a greater body to worship the Father!

Finally, 6“Do not forsake her, and she will guard you; love her, and she will watch over you.”

As you gain wisdom and get understanding, do not forsake her meaning learn from our past mistakes so that in the future we can help others avoid the same! Then as we hear from heaven, the Lord will guard our steps as we walk!

Lastly, as we love the Lord more, we will love His correction and wisdom. With that wisdom we will be guarded by Him as Jesus was wanting all along! We must understand as we walk that we are not going to meet Jesus. We have already met Him for those who have received Him. Thus walking with Him is a journey of gaining wisdom and knowledge in how to help others walk. As I understand, technically we are not seeking Jesus. We are seeking others to walk WITH Him out into the fields white into harvest!

Blessings as you go!

The hard way

Matthew 7:13-14 NASB “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Bold added)

As the original language goes the word used for “small” is στενὴ. This literally translated as small. The KJV renders it as “strait.” I suppose narrow would give some sense of that. Yet as English is an ever-evolving monster, it quite literally means “small.”

Then as you see the way (road or strait) is narrow, a clearer picture I hope comes into view. The way of the cross is not one that has alternate destinations. Though you may come from a thousand different locations, all roads lead to the cross. That is what the word stenhes (from the Greek) is used! The cross is the exclusive way to Jesus. It is reminiscent of the words of encouragement a little later on in Matthew 16:24 where Jesus admonished His disciples “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.'”

I can recall, a number of times, being questioned “do you want to learn this the easy way or the hard way?” It seems an easy answer! In fact, it seems the obvious answer! But I think in “doing life” this way (brain injured) this long, I’m starting to prefer the hard way.

Now let me be clear, by saying the hard way doesn’t mean always the longer way. In fact I started at Auburn in 1999 to be a software engineer. By next summer, 2000, I was relearning to walk, talk, read, and write from a brain bleed. That was not the easy way. That was not the shorter way. But by the grace and purposes of the Lord, it was the harder and right way. By this right way I enrolled at Dallas Baptist University. By this harder way I met my now wife of 16 years. By this harder way I obtained my bachelors from DBU, masters from Liberty U, and education specialist degrees to help the hurting from the same. By the harder way I by the grace of the Lord He has brought me to today.

With it being the harder way though, I lost my job in Alabama as an IT worker because the position was dissolved. I lost my job in Lynchburg as I couldn’t pass a certification exam. I lost my vision in my right eye from a brain bleed. I lost my driver’s license from the loss of vision. I lost a bit but gained so much more!

Notice specifically what the verses say. In verse 13, the word used for “way” is ὁδὸς or hodos. This literally means “A way, road, journey, path. Apparently a primary word; a road; by implication, a progress; figuratively, a mode or means.” (Strong’s Concordance) A few words down in the next verse we read “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

We have here further use of “way” that maybe helps materialize a mental image for your. The road the Christian walks is small, narrow, and a journey leading to the destination of Jesus. Moreover, it is the journey with Jesus that the Christian learns precisely Who this Jesus is and the plans He has for you and I.

As I was studying this morning, I came across an additional gem. In Proverbs 13:15 we read “Good understanding produces favor, but the way of the treacherous is hard.” Since the whole counsel of Scripture should be considered, how does this figure into the context of Word of the Lord in Matthew 7? Well by my estimation, if you look at the word used for “hard” in Proverbs 13, that would give us a clue. In Proverbs the word translated “way” is וְדֶ֖רֶךְ (wə·ḏe·reḵ). This can be used “way, road, distance, journey, manner 1a) road, way, path 1b) journey.”

If we fast forward to Matthew 7:13 the word used for “way” is ὁδός, which means “a travelled way, road.” Though not an exact transliteration, it is in meaning, Hebrew to Greek this word choice should help you and I understand though there is a definite point of conversion/salvation. After the conversion, the journey just begins! We have a lifetime of experiences and interaction with a lost and dying world where you and I have the opportunities to speak and interact in a redeemed fashion with a dying world!

But remember, I said it was the hard way. What is that all about? Well the road less traveled is fraught with traps, dangers, and unforeseen setbacks. What’s more is that if we take our eyes off of Jesus, many of these traps and snares cannot be avoided! The way is narrow because Jesus is the ONLY way to enter into eternity with Him forever. That is why all the self-help, all the meditation on emptying your mind, all of the distractions to numb your mind is precisely the dangers that Jesus warns us about!

In Colossians 3:1-3 the Apostle Paul admonishes “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Back to Proverbs 13:15 the word translated “hard” (etan – אֵיתָֽן׃ for you Hebrew persons) means , figurative permanent, as substantive steady flow, permanence. But interestingly enough, it also means “a perennial, ever-flowing.” If you place the definition into the word’s place you have, “Good understanding produces favor, But the way of the treacherous is a steady permanent flow of bad!

If we consider that the life of a Christian rarely is constant in one’s health, vigor, and vitality, how would this affect the believer? If the Christian’s life is hidden in Christ, it would follow that speaking with Christ would be the best way to obtain the who, what, where, when, and how of one’s day! What’s more, to properly scale the crags of life, one must be anchored to the only Rock that doesn’t shift nor change, Jesus!

If the way of the wicked is treacherous, is hard, and subjected to steady ruin, what hope is there? If the way of the righteous is destined for trouble (In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world cf. John 16:33) what do you ad I have hope to make it through this life? It seems darned of you don’t and darned if you do! Ah but Christ!

You see friend, the promise of heaven is one which begins today! The health, vitality, and income you either have or don’t have today will not last! In fact, I can say with certainty that you and I will not live forever in these bodies. We are destined for communion with Jesus for eternity for all who have called on Him. However, if you have not called on Jesus for salvation, you are destined for eternal punishment for rejecting Him.

Life is hard. Jesus told us that. The rocky crags are treacherous. Jesus told us that. These bodies we are in will wilt and decay. Jesus told us that too! But one thing I’m looking forward to that is not far off at all! Prophesied by Isaiah and echoed by Jesus we read in Isaiah 65:

“17“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
            And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.

      18“But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
            For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing
            And her people for gladness.

      19“I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;
            And there will no longer be heard in her
            The voice of weeping and the sound of crying.

Therefore, I will rejoice. The Christian’s day with Him is soon to come. The night is nearly over. And the joy overflowing can begin today! Blessings as you continue!

Turn the page.

In the New Testament, specifically 1 Corinthians 5, we read a suprising “solution” for believers that have “ventured too far away” from the kingdom. Here’s what I mean, in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 the apostle Paul is writing regarding believers who stray from the solid foundation of the faith. We read:

“It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” (1 Cor. 5:1-5, NASB)

What’s going on here? It would appear that a man within the congregation who is a redeemed child of God was participating in some grevious sin that was breaking the heart of the local church and maligning the heart of God openly. Now sin is sin to be sure, but the nature of this departure from the tenants of the faith was such that it was suprising, duplicitous at its core, and outright sin openly!

And if I may one further statement, even though the sin is vile and demoral, note the persons involved in that sin are still to be saved! As the apostle notes in verse 5b “…so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” Now the purpose of the message and frankly the purpose of the blog is encouragement so at this point you may be wondering, “how is this encouragining? I know for me, I have been at the low end of sin more often that I care to admit yet Christ loves me even still!

Perhaps not in this specific sin, but with sin in general, we have all been in similar situations. Whether embezzlement of the funds from our financier position, or cheating on taxes from a citizen’s perspective. Whether cheating on a game of cards with our friends or whating on our spouse by impure thoughts of another, we have ALL sinned! That is why we ALL need Christ!

Writing today’s blog post, I have been overtaken by the thought that Christ died for each of us at the right time in history that He might make the most impact for His kingdom regardless of whether we agree to His blessing or reject His care. His mercy is evident to all. Thus to return to the opening of the post, we should “turn the page” daily to be forgiven, restored, and recommissioned to go out into the fields white for harvest. And in doing so, we will find His forgiveness, His mercy, and His kindness extended to all who believe!

Blessings as you go!