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: Wednesday, June 08, 2022
Chapters: PROVERBS 16-18
Study: Sometimes Foolish, But No Fool
Hello My Friend,
I spent two hours with God this morning, just talking to Him, taking Him with me to pay some bills and order some groceries, and discussed with Him my plans and also asking Him for some help in what to do. Of course, it is not really my plans that God will bless, unless they are actually His plans. I have not done that sadly in quite some time, which I believe God missed also. We think that God does not want to be a part of those little things that we do every day, but He does, He wants us to take Him wherever we go. And I tell you what, when we do realize that God wants us to take Him everywhere, which by the way, since He lives inside of us and He is going anyway, we might think twice of where we are going [1 Corinthians 3:16-18 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. 18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.]
Would God really destroy a saved, born again Christian who defiles the very body of the one He dwells in? We may not like the answer to that question. You see, the second that we accept Christ as our Saviour, our soul is saved eternally, and that means that there is nothing that we could ever do to take that away, [Romans 6:15-16,22-23 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.]
One the other hand, our flesh is another thing, and I will tell you this, a repentant sinner can fail God all day long and as long as they are sincere in their efforts, He will continuously forgive them because they are acknowledging that they sinned against Him. Now, a proud sinner, these are those who is just hanging on by the thread of their salvation, living in a mountain of sin, without one morsel of guilt, and it is not God who will destroy them, they will literally destroy themselves unless they repent. And as we continue in the reading of Proverbs, we are reminded that God a proud heart is an abomination to Him, and they will not go unpunished.
[Proverbs 16:1-7 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD. 2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits. 3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. 4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. 5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. 6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil. 7 When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.]
[yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.] This reminds me that even the most wicked person on earth, Satan himself, is used for a purpose, and we dare not say, which I have had people tell me, that God is evil because He created Satan and all evil people. That is not how Satan actually works, and no one needs him to commit sin, man does that perfectly fine on their own, which is why God uses Satan to separate the proud from the true believers, [Romans 9:21-23 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,]
I have been teaching my church kids the allegiance pledges that all Christians should know, which are, to the American flag, the Christian flag, and the Bible. I did not have a Christian flag so I made one temporarily until I could purchase one. Well, I happened to find a set an American flag and a Christian flag, both on their own little stand, and I tell you what, that excited me to no end, and I cannot wait to show them to my kids this Sunday. The most exciting thing about it is that I am doing something for God and it pleases Him because I am helping build some strong Christian girls and boys who are going to make a difference in this world while we still have that option. I always say that I rather God use me a vessel to show God’s mercies than His wrath. And yes, it is very true that God will use the wicked to show His wrath, and He does this to both judge His people and lead the lost to His Son. All saved, born again Christians ought to have the desire to be used as a vessel of honor for God, He is going to direct our steps one way or another, we might as well be on His good side.
[Proverbs 16:9,17-20,25,31-32 A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps. 17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul. 18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. 19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. 20 He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he. 25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. 31 The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness. 32 He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.]
[but the LORD directeth his steps.] Remember what I said earlier about talking to God about what I want to do, but it will only be blessed if it is in His will? While God does give us freewill, and quite often, we end up doing what we want anyway, there are limits, and He will get us in His will one way or another. I do not know how many times I hear people say that they do not believe in fate and will often tell you that they want the freewill to choose their own fate. Well, the truth is, they do. God gives us two choices, follow His will and accept that His Son is the only escape from the fate of hell or choose our own will and end up in hell, [1 John 5:9-12 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. 10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. 11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.]
I tell you what, this entire year has been one big struggle for me, from my finances to my health, and now these issues with my house, it seems like the struggles just do not want to end. It took the reminder of God living inside of me for me to realize that I have been approaching all this the wrong way. I am not alone in all this, God is right beside me, and in fact inside of me. He knows all my struggles, and here I am trying to handle most of them in my own will, rather than give them all over to Him and let Him show me how He will lead me. Oh, and He also reminded me, that is case I forget, this has been time for Him to do some refining of me.
[Proverbs 17:3,5,9-11 The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts. 5 Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished. 9 He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends. 10 A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool. 11 An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.]
[but the LORD trieth the hearts.] You better believe that God is going to get our heart right one way or another, and it often needs to be put through the fire to get rid of some of the things that defile it. God does know our heart, and it is the very struggles that we face that reveal to us what has been inside for a while that we need to get rid of, [Psalms 11:5-7 The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. 6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. 7 For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.]
[than an hundred stripes into a fool.] Did you ever notice those fools who keep doing the same thing over and over again, each time gets worse for them, but they are too stubborn to stop? Well, I suppose that is me sometimes when it comes to things like eating gluten. I tell myself that I am a glutton for punishment because every time I start feeling better I ruin it by eating something that brings me right back where I started. Well, I really do not think that that is what God means when He speaking about the fool here, the true fools are the ones who, as God puts it, needs to always discover themselves. Watch how the fool is described here.
[Proverbs 18:1-3,5-8 Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. 2 A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself. 3 When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt, and with ignominy reproach. 5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment. 6 A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes. 7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. 8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.]
[Through desire a man, having separated himself,] There is a very good reason why God separates His faithful from the fools. Why? Because we do not want to be around them when God brings them to their shame. I do not have to tell you that we all are guilty of doing some foolish things at times, but the righteous do start to learn, even if they did get knocked on the head a few times. By the way, does that remind you of something? It reminds me that we are like the very sheep that Jesus says we are, [John 10:14-16 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.]
[A fool hath no delight in understanding,] True fools do not want to listen to reason and often find themselves going the deepest paths that are the very abominations that God wants nothing to do with, [Romans 1:22-24 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:]
[and with ignominy reproach] [Ignominy; Public disgrace; shame; reproach; dishonor; infamy.] The difference between the sometimes foolish and the true fool is that eventually we learn, but the fool will in fact become worse and a disgrace to themselves, [2 Peter 2:20-22 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.]
What a sad state to be in, and as much as we who are faithful to God struggle, can you imagine what those who are not struggle with? I have seen some who do suffer in their sin and for the life of me I cannot understand why they do not listen. It breaks my heart actually and is too painful to keep seeing them struggle, and I will tell you what, many times when God’s faithful struggle it does have to do with other people who are not faithful. People are so selfish and can care less about the heartache they bring to those who are seeking God’s will for their lives, but we can rest assure that all we need to do is run to Jesus and will be safe.
[Proverbs 18:10,12-14,19-21 The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. 12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility. 13 He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. 14 The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear? 19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle. 20 A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.]
[the righteous runneth into it,] Did you know that if a sheep wanders off too many times from the shepherd that he will break one of its legs? Do you know what else he does? He will bandage it up and carry it over his shoulders until it is healed. And guess what? That sheep will stick close to the shepherd like glue once it is healed and never wander off again. That is what Jesus has to when we become foolish, but what the most incredible thing is, we do run to the safety of our Father though His chastening, [Hebrews 12:11-13 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. 12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, I know that I have done some foolish things over the years, but I am so glad that You broke my leg and took care of me while I healed so that I would stick close to You like glue. Now, I know that I am still capable of doing some foolish things, but I know that as long as I stick close to You and trust You that You will lead me right where You need me to be. Thank You, for Your promise to not only give me eternal life and an escape from hell, but never leave nor forsake me as well. Lord, Lead me and guide me, fill me with Your mercy and grace, and Your strength, not mine to endure the struggles that I face, and forgive me for trying to carry these burdens all by myself. I know that You will gladly help me and want to as well. Keep my heart tender and close to You and let me be a vessel of honor that will lead others to You. I ask these thing in Your name, Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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