June 4, 2021 – I'm Following Jesus

King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]

Date: Friday, June 04, 2021
Chapters: Proverbs 4-6
Message: Ponder The Path Of Your Feet

Hello My Friend,

We are not perfect by a long shot, we sin every day, we do not always walk by faith, we have doubts or fears, we get tired and worn out, nor are we always in His will. Yet, God, our Father, knows every step that we take, and as long as we are true to our faith in Christ then we will receive the crown of life, [Revelation 2:10-11 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. 11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.]

Can you imagine standing before Jesus and Him giving you praise, honor, and glory for enduring those trials of faith with Him? Yes, we do face trials in order for God to see our true faith. Trails of faith, though they be tried with fire, are what conform us into and image resembling Christ. Without trials of faith we do not grow in the knowledge, wisdom, and strength of Christ. God has given His Word to His children so that we have more knowledge and understanding of His ways. We do not need God’s Word to teach us that some things are just wrong, we do need it to understand that while He wants us to follow His commands, He also wants us to live.

[Proverbs 4:1-4,11-12 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. 2 For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. 3 For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. 4 He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live. 11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. 12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.]

[thy steps shall not be straitened;] There is a reason why steps go up and down, they take us to places that we cannot get to on our own. We may be able to walk straight on our own pretty well without knowing God’s Word, but there are some things that can only be taken care of through the power of God. Jesus is our steps, He takes us up higher than we will ever climb, yet brings us down low to make sure the higher we climb we keep ourselves humble. And without His Word we will not be able to handle those tried by fire trials. We literally need to hide His Word in our heart not only to keep us from sin, but keep our heart right.

[Proverbs 4:20-27 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. 21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. 22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. 23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. 24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. 25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. 26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. 27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.]

[Ponder the path of thy feet,] [Ponder; To weigh in the mind; to consider and compare the circumstances or consequences of an event.] Every step we take needs to be thought out, and by far, taken with the Word of God upon our heart, especially when we are facing trials. Life is full of surprises, we need God’s words to learn how to handle them, otherwise, we will end up making rash decisions that could lead to dire consequences. Trials of faith tend to bring a lot of temptation, all the devil needs is a little inch of pride, jealousy, envy, lust, anger, or whatever it is that weighs on our heart for him to introduce temptation. Remember, God will never allow the devil to tempt us above what we are able, and will always give us a way out. Anytime we do fall it into temptation is not because it was not avoidable, it is because we did not ponder the path of our feet. And while we who are faithful may trip over our feet at times, Jesus is the one who picks us back up, [Luke 17:1-4 Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! 2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. 3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.]

You see, Jesus knows our true faith, and we are going to trip more times than we care to admit. However, this is where the trial of our faith reveals whether or not we are true in our faith to those who are true. Those who are not true in their faith will stumble mostly due to the fact that they are full of pride and envy, [Proverbs 5:14-17,21-23 I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly. 15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. 16 Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. 17 Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee. 21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings. 22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. 23 He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.]

[and he pondereth all his goings.] There is that word, “Ponder” again, and this time it is God who is pondering. God takes in every detail of what is in each persons heart, no one ends up in hell because God put them there, they put themselves there because they were too foolish to learn of and accept Christ, [Acts 17:30-31 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.]

There is not one person who has not taken a look at their lives and ponders what they have done or missed in life, I call them the shoulda, coulda, woulda’s, but we cannot dwell on the past. If there are things we want we need to press forward, seek the will of God, and make that happen. Those who are not grounded in the Word of God will take not only their feet, but their entire lives into places that bring dire consequences. In fact, it will lead them down a steep and dark path bringing them a hatred toward Christ and will destroy themselves.

[Proverbs 6:12-19 A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth. 13 He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; 14 Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord. 15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy. 16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.]

[and he that soweth discord among brethren.] Do you ever wonder why the world, and sadly, this includes many Christians as well, goes to such great lengths to exposes Christians who got caught up in sin? The gossip, the false accuser, the kill joy, the pessimist, these are forms of people who a filled with so much envy of their faith that they resort to attacking those who are being blessed through their obedience to God, but just tripped. Faithful Christians may fall into temptation sometimes, but they bounce back. And we cannot avoid all those fiery trials of faith, but we can endure them through Christ, [1 Peter 4:12-13 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.]

Jesus Christ Magnified: [Proverbs 4:20,22 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. 22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Proverbs 5:21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings. Proverbs 6:3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.]

Today’s Prayer: God, You tell us time and time again that if we want a blessed and prosperous life then we need to follow Your commands. While we are saved by grace, You still want us to follow Your commands and live in a way that pleases You and not our flesh. And it is really the only way we can truly enjoy the gifts that You give us. Lord, lead me and guide me on the paths that You have for me, search my heart, try me, and see if there be any wicked way in me. Let me ponder all the paths I take and if they are not led by You, turn me around and get back in the right direction. Fill me with Your wisdom, understanding, mercy, grace, love, and let me never become forward in my actions. Also give me Your power and strength to endure the trials of my faith, so that You may look up me and give me glory and praise for having endured them with you. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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