p r I d e

It goes before destruction.

It goes before a fall.

It’s growth can be phenomenal,

although it starts out small.

 

You can fall into its’ trap,

be mastered and be caught,

by thinking of yourself

more highly than you ought.

 

Of all the things God hates,

this one tops the list.

When it gets inside your spirit,

it becomes what God does resist.

 

It may start with just a look;

something that seems so small,

but as it grows and festers

it’s the greatest sin of all.

 

Only by surrender

of our stubborn human will

can this fierce beast be defeated,

and once again lie still.

 

Only through dying daily;

our flesh being crucified,

can we achieve the victory

o’er this terrible thing called pride.

written 11-3-11

Proverbs 6:16-19

These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

 

A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Proverbs 11:2

When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.

 

Proverbs 13:10

Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.

 

Proverbs 16:18

 

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

 

Proverbs 28:25

 

He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat.

 

Romans 12:3

 

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

 

James 4:6

 

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Joy Of Power Steering

 

For the past 3 or 4 weeks the power steering in my car has not been working. At times, this made driving a real challenge, especially when it came to navigating those tight turns. When doing on street parking, I needed to park in a spot where no other cars could park in front of me, because I might not be able to get out without hitting another vehicle.  In short, I just couldn’t always get to where I wanted or needed to go, because I didn’t have enough strength on my own to turn that wheel.  One day while I was driving to work, I started thinking about what my life was before I knew God. Even though I had some sense of right and wrong, I often found myself in situations where it seemed I couldn’t go the right direction, even though I was trying and had a desire. I can remember particular instances where my conscience told me that what I was doing was wrong, and yet, I persisted in the thing I was doing. My problem was that I had no power.

I’m thankful that all of that struggle started to change when I received the baptism of the Holy Ghost as a teenager! Jesus tells us in Acts 1:8

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

I found that after I received the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, not only did I have power to be a witness for the Lord, but He gave me power over the sin with which I struggled.  Almost immediately I stopped using foul language which was something I really tried to do on my own, but I found that curse words would slip out of my mouth without me even thinking about it. God just took that away! He also helped me to break off a relationship which I knew was taking me in the wrong direction. It is amazing what the power of the Holy Ghost can do in a person’s life! When my daughter was just a toddler, I remember a young man who came and visited our church one day. This guy had a shaved head, goatee beard and just looked like a trouble maker. You could tell he had lived a rough life. I learned later that he had been invovled in gangs and drive by shootings. To make a long story short, he ended up repenting of his sins, being baptized in Jesus’ name and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. If you were to see him today, you would never know that he was a former gang member. He is completely different – changed by the power of the Holy Ghost!

Since the time I received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, there have been times when I started to veer off course. Perhaps I wasn’t praying like I needed to or I had slacked off in reading the Word or I wasn’t faithful to the house of God. I would start to mess up, and I could definitely tell that the “powering steering fluid” in me was low. Thank God He gives us the opportunity to repent and get back on track when we start to go in the wrong direction! We can get a refilling and a renewing in the Holy Ghost so that we can have power to continue living in a way that is pleasing to Him.

I am happy to report that the power steering problem in my car was fixed yesterday. No more trying to crank that wheel with just my own strength!

 

 

 

But Amnon Had A Friend

I have an unusual hobby that I engage in every so often. Every time I attend a church conference, I always try to take at least one of the messages I hear and put the essence of it into poetic form. One of the messages that was preached by Elder Frazier was entitled “But Amnon Had A Friend”. It was a warning to avoid the downfall of Amnon, which was confiding in and listening to the bad, ungodly advice given by his friend, Jonadab. I am thankful for this timely message for young people.(and us older folks too)We really need to be careful about the friendships we have, because if they are not right, we could lose out with God and have our lives become a disaster.  To read about what happened to Amnon in 2 Samuel 13, click here.

Here is my poem. This form of poetry is called a quatern.

 

“But Amnon had a friend”

To whom he did attend

But what Jonadab did advise

Led to Amnon’s sad demise.

 

 

 

These words we cannot amend

“But Amnon had a friend”

May their message be your guide

Take care in whom you confide.

 

 

 

The struggle that raged in his heart

He could have taken to God at the start

“But Amnon had a friend”

Whose counsel led to a tragic end.

 

 

 

When temptation, your mind comes to haunt

Let God be your true confidant

Lest the same error make you descend

“But Amnon had a friend.

 

written 6/24/11

 

Heart and Mouth Disease

Remember me? I have no respect for justice. I break hearts & ruin lives. I’m malicious. I gather strength with age. The more I’m quoted, the more I’m believed. I flourish at every level of society. My victims are helpless. They can’t protect themselves against me because I have no face. To track me down is impossible…. I’m nobody’s friend. Once I tarnish a reputation, it’s never quite the same. My name? Gossip.  – Unknown

 

 

Oh Be Careful Little Eyes

If you went to Sunday school as a kid you may be familiar with this song.

 

“Oh, be careful little eyes what you see. Oh, be careful little eyes what you see. For the Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little eyes what you see.”

 

There are also verses that deal with our ears, mouth and feet too, which are other members of our body that can get us into trouble. While this is considered a fun kiddie song, there really is a lot of truth to it. I’ve been thinking lately about how easily influenced we can be by the things we see. Advertisers know it all too well, and we are bombarded daily with a host of images through television (if you happen to own one –we don’t have one, and I don’t miss it at all) the Internet, magazines and billboards. I wonder if people are influenced to sin more through sight than any of their other senses. Sight definitely played a part in the first sin in the Garden of Eden.

 

Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

 

I know that Eve was deceived by the serpent, and what he said to her not only got her looking at the tree, which God commanded her and Adam not to partake of, but thinking about how good it would be to partake of it.  Looking at forbidden things can definitely lead to lusting, and this is played out in several instances in Scripture.

 

Consider the case of Achan recorded in the book of Joshua.

 

Joshua 7:1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.

 

Achan partook of something that God said was accursed, and as we read of his story, we can see the steps to his downfall.

 

Joshua 7:19 And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.

7:20 And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:

7:21 When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.

 

Achan first looked upon the accursed thing. (the city and everything in it was accursed according to ch. 6:17,18) Next he coveted the things that he saw. Desire for those things began to take hold of his heart. Then he took them, and finally we see that he hid them in the earth.

 

This seems to be a pattern when it comes to sin involving the lust of the eyes. In Eve’s case she looked upon the fruit, desired it, took it, gave some to her husband, and then they both tried to hide from God. This scenario even played out in the life of David, king of Israel, writer of many of the psalms and a man whom the Bible calls “a man after God’s own heart.”(Acts 13:21,22)

 

2Samuel 11:1 And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.

11:2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

11:3 And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

11:4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.

 

As we read on in this chapter we learn that Bath-sheba became pregnant from this encounter. David tried to “hide” what he had done by getting Bath-sheba’s husband Uriah to come home from battle and spend some time with his wife, so it would appear that she was with child by her own husband. When this didn’t work, David gave orders to put Uriah in the forefront of the battle so he would be killed.  Unfortunately, this plan worked, and now that Uriah was dead, David could take Bath-sheba as his wife, and his sin would be “hidden.” It wasn’t hidden from the eyes of God.  God in His mercy sent the prophet Nathan to David to confront him concerning his sin.  David made the right choice and repented. Psalm 51(one of my favorites) is the record of his repentance 

 

Even the most spiritual person can fall prey to temptation. None of us are immune to it, but I believe we can be less likely to be tempted in this fashion if we consider the things we allow ourselves to view. If looking is the first step in sinning through the lust of the eyes, then should we not carefully consider the things we allow ourselves to see? Do we look upon things that we know would be displeasing to God? Things that he forbids in His Word? Things that we would be ashamed to view if others knew that we were looking at them? May God help us to make a covenant with our eyes!

 

 

Make a covenant with you eyes

to shield your gaze from satan’s lies.

For pondering on forbidden fruit

can lead to sin, your soul pollute.

 

Imagery oft makes alluring cries.

Make a covenant with your eyes.

Let you sights be turned away

from temptations that lead the heart astray.

 

Captivations of the mind

may spring from seductions, the visual kind.

Make a covenant with your eyes

not to look on the things that can lead to demise.

 

Sometimes it just takes only a look

to lead us away from God’s holy book.

The way that is right, the way that is wise

make a covenant with your eyes.

 

8-1-09

 

Psalm 101:3 I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.

 

Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

4:24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.

4:25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

4:26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.

 

Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

 

Job 31:1 I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?

 

Lord, Please Heal Me Of My Procrastination…………

tomorrow.

A few days ago, it was one of those dark and dreary mornings. My daughter didn’t feel like doing any school work, and I didn’t feel like doing much of nothing either. She was laying across my bed when I blurted out this statement.

“Lord, please heal me of my procrastination…………….tomorrow.

The strange thing about procrastination is that it assumes there will always be a later time or a tomorrow to accomplish something. Not knowing when our time on earth will be up, we just don’t have that guarantee. I can certainly understand putting off unpleasant or frustrating tasks, like housecleaning, sorting through old mail, etc., because I do my share of it.  There is an instance of procrastination however, that I read about in the Bible that doesn’t make much sense to me.

Exodus 8:8  Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD.

8:9  And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only?

And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God.

Pharaoh and the Egyptians had this terrible plague of frogs in their land. Pharaoh calls for Moses and Aaron, because he knows that their God is responsible for this plague, and tells them to ask the Lord to take this plague away.  Moses responds with(my own paraphrase)”Okay, when would you like me to ask the Lord to remove the frogs from your houses and send them back to the river?” I think if I were Pharaoh, I would have screamed, “Duh, RIGHT NOW!”  What does Pharoah say? To morrow. Why put up with those lousy frogs for one more night? Maybe Pharaoh didn’t want Moses to think that him and his people were really that bad off, so he said tomorrow to seem not too desperate. I’m not really sure what to think.

I think it’s normal for all of us to procrastinate some, but I believe the Bible speaks of certain things that should not be put off until the later time.

2Corinthians 6:2

 

(AMP)  For He says, In the time of favor (of an assured welcome) I have listened to and heeded your call, and I have helped you on the day of deliverance (the day of salvation). Behold, now is truly the time for a gracious welcome and acceptance [of you from God]; behold, now is the day of salvation! [Isa. 49:8.]

 

The best time to consider and tend to the state of our eternal souls is always today. We don’t have the promise that we will have tomorrow to do this, although it is so easy to live as though we do.

Act 24:24  And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.

Act 24:25  And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.

Felix and his wife had opportunity to hear Paul preach concerning Jesus Christ, but at the conclusion of  his reasoning, Felix informs Paul that he will call for him again when he has a convenient season. I wonder if he ever had another convenient season to hear Paul or to apply the gospel to his life. The Bible does not record this happening.

Luke 12:16  And he(Jesus) spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

12:17  And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

12:18  And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

12:19  And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

12:20  But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

Luk 12:21  So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

In this parable that Jesus told, we see a man that is very industrious, working hard to make sure that he has ample storage for the abundant fruit that his land has brought forth. He decides to build bigger barns to assure that he has more room for his plentiful crop. He feels assured that with all this surplus, he will be well taken care of for years and has nothing to worry about. The problem is that he has procrastinated concerning the need of his soul and where he stands with God, and he doesn’t realize that time has run out for him. All that he has labored so hard for will now go to someone else, and what will he say when he stands before God?

I believe that once we have received Biblical salvation, there is another area in which God would like us to cease from procrastinating and that is in our efforts to reach out and share the gospel with others.

John 4:34  Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

4:35  Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

Sometimes we think of evangelism as being part of an outdoor crusade or going with a group from our church on Saturday to pass out flyers for a few hours, and reaching out to people can involve these things. However, we shouldn’t feel that we can put off our outreach efforts just because we’re involved weekly or occasionally in an organized outreach effort. If we pray and ask God to lead us, there are opportunites every day for us to be a witness to somebody. What about our neighbors, co-workers, schoolmates, grocery store checkers, bank tellers, relatives that do not know God and people we meet as we go about our daily business? Jesus said in Acts 1:8 that after we received the Holy Ghost, we would receive power to be His witnesses. I once heard a preacher say that we need to develop a mindset that wherever we go, we are a witness. I am His witness while I grocery shop. I going out to witness while I do my banking, etc. (The Lord knows I need some work in this area, and I’m glad He’s talking to me about it.)

I really don’t know how to end this post other than saying that I don’t want to be a procrastinator when it comes to doing the things that are important to God. May God help us that are striving to live for Him to order our priorities with Him in mind.

 

Clash of the Canines

          

I’d like to dedicate the following quotes to 2 very special canines that have jealousy issues.  The dog on the left is Princess, a beautiful Sheltie owned by our friends Paul and Eva.  The dog with the ball is Misty, our Lhasa Apso who thinks she is the center of the universe.  We have been watching Princess this week while our friends are on vacation.  Our dog is so jealous that if she is upstairs and I’m downstairs and just speak the name of “Princess” that she will come running to where I am, in fear that Princess is going to get attention, a treat, etc. that Misty might miss  if she’s not right there.   If they are both in the same room, you can’t give one of them attention without the other one waltzing over for a pat on the head or a belly rub.  Sometimes I wish I could take both of them down to the altar and “pray ‘em through”, but they’re dogs, and they just wouldn’t get it.  I’d love to give them a Bible study on this destructive vice, but they would not comprehend that either.  So, for the time being, I just laugh, and we all do what we can to give both of them the TLC they desire.

I hope you like the quotes.

“Jealousy is the tie that binds, and binds, and binds”  Helen Rowland

 

 

“Nothing is more capable of troubling our reason, and consuming our health, than secret notions of jealousy in solitude.”  Aphra Behn

 

 

“It is not love that is blind, but jealousy.”  Lawrence Durrell

 

 

“Jealousy is a tiger that tears not only its prey but also its own raging heart”  Anonymous

 

 

“Jealousy is all the fun you think they had.”  Erica Jong

 

 

“To cure jealousy is to see it for what it is, a dissatisfaction with self”  Joan Didion

 

 

“The jealous are troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves”  William Penn