King James Bible Study – [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. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Tuesday, June 18, 2024
Chapters: PROVERBS 27-29
Message: Today Is The Day
Hello My Friend,
I am not going to lie, my mind has been all over the place this morning as different things would come to mind through not only my praying, but in the reading of the chapters for today. It is no wonder why Paul, wrote one of the biggest tongue twisters that could ever be written right here in the Scriptures.
[Romans 7:14-20 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. 17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.]
In other words, if we have received Christ as our Saviour then the Holy Spirit that indwells us is always contending with the sin nature flesh that holds our soul until the day Jesus comes for us and gives us our new glorified body, [1 Corinthians 15:51-52 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.]
If you are anything like I am you can relate to what Paul is saying in regards to how the Spirit of God and our flesh are at constant odds with each other. It is a good thing that our sin debt was bought and paid for through Christ’s sinless death, burial, and resurrection because we truly are at constant war with our own spirits, minds, and bodies, which is why Paul had also drawn the conclusion that he is nothing without Christ, [Romans 7:24-25 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.]
Now, with that said, there are some people who believe that anyone who was here before Christ came here in the flesh is not among those today who are saved through Christ. There are also those who believe that God picks and chooses who gets saved. These are false assumptions, and while God does know who will receive His Son, He never denies anyone that opportunity as Jesus gave His life for all, [John 3:16,18-19 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.]
Look at the Scriptures, all throughout the Old Testament you will find that it is almost identical to the New and here is the thing, the reason it is the same is because the author is the same person. Yes, God used men to pen down what He had to say to His believers, but it was all inspired, meaning the Holy Spirit was their guide, including King Solomon. And as we continue in the reading of Proverbs we see some very familiar statements that we find written in the New Testament.
[Proverbs 27:1-7 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. 2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips. 3 A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both. 4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy? 5 Open rebuke is better than secret love. 6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. 7 The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.]
[Boast not thyself of to morrow;] Since we do not know that we do have tomorrow it is important to do what we need to do today, [James 4:13-17 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. 16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. 17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.]
[but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.] In order for us to understand just how precious we are to God, even though it angered Him that we sinned, we need to have a hungry soul. A hungry soul is what leads us to understand that we are sinners and that hell is the punishment for sin, [Luke 6:21,25 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. 25 Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.]
Did you ever notice that the more time you give to someone or something that has no real potential the more time you waste? The older I get the more I understand the importance of not only making each day count, but each second of the day. However, I do not believe that everything we do that seems like it was a waste of time actually was since God has a purpose for everything. With that in mind, God, also lets us know that we must move forward because time is short.
[Proverbs 27:10-14,17 Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off. 11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me. 12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished. 13 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman. 14 He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him. 17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.]
[neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity:] Calamities are what is known as great misfortunes, generally applied to events or disasters which produce extensive evils, but is applied also to the misfortunes which bring great distress upon individuals. It is not so easy to get to family and while my brother is only ninety minutes away, it is not always feasible for me to come to him with all of my problems because he has his own family. However, there is a friend that we have who sticks closer than a brother, and He will always be there in our time of need, [John 15:13-15 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.]
[that I may answer him that reproacheth me.] I began thinking about the many times that God intervened in my life and while there has been some chastening, there has also been some reckoning. This is my testimony of not only how merciful God is, but that He will never let go of anyone who received His Son as their Saviour. He is my hope and I will forever tell the world who my hope is in, [1 Peter 3:14-15 But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:]
While God does not mess with freewill, that does not mean He will not nudge or influence us to make the wiser choices that He wants us to make. We really are like sheep, and when we belong to Jesus, and walk with Him, He will know us, He will speak to us, and we will hear Him calling us. However, to those who are not His, they will continue to fall into their own snare, and the one thing that is never full is hell.
[Proverbs 27:20-27 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied. 21 As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise. 22 Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him. 23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. 24 For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation? 25 The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered. 26 The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field. 27 And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.]
[so the eyes of man are never satisfied.] Think about it, how often have you craved something and as soon as you got it you craved something else because it was not what you really needed? Those who accept Christ as their Saviour will learn that He satisfies that hunger, but those who reject Christ will always be hungry, [John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.]
[And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food,] Prosperity is a blessing from God with diligence and care of the things that He has already blessed us with and it will pour out to those around us. I am not going to lie, I am struggling with this because money is so tight that I can barely make ends meet. Then again, God does supply so I need to be grateful for that. It is time for me to start valuing what I have and using it before they will not be usable, but at the same time I do need to let go of things that just sit there collecting dust with no intention of using them. Jesus, said it this way.
[Matthew 6:19-21 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.]
While we all have a little bit of laziness once in a while, it is actually in our human nature to work, when we put that labor to good use, we will prosper by the blessing of God upon our honest work, and we may expect to enjoy as much of the earthly blessings that He gives us as is good for us. We are to never lose hope of what is to come tomorrow, but we must live for today because we do not know if we will even have tomorrow. Jesus, could get the call from our Father that it is time for Him to come and get us, then all of our sorrows will be over. The key to getting what we need today is praying and actually waiting.
[Proverbs 28:1-6,9 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. 2 For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged. 3 A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food. 4 They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them. 5 Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things. 6 Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich. 9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.]
[The wicked flee when no man pursueth:] Is that not the truth? The wicked do not want to get caught, even if they are not found out yet they a long gone before they are found out. And another thing, [They that forsake the law praise the wicked:]. My goodness, I am so tired of hearing the term gay pride, white pride, black pride, pro-choice, narcissist, homophobic, racist, bigot, white supremacist, the list goes on and on, these are all derogative terms set to bring hatred. Look at all these fools who fight over things like gun control, women’s rights, black rights, gay rights, they are some of the most mean spirited people on the earth, full of so much pride and sin, yet they praise each other all the more for it.
[Proverbs 28:12-14,17-19 When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden. 13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. 14 Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief. 17 A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him. 18 Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once. 19 He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.]
[but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once.] Did you ever notice that people who envy us are bullies? They think that they can push us around and abuse us into get the things that we have. While some of them do get away with it for a while, in the end they will suffer greatly for what they have done, and we would not want to envy them for anything.
[Proverbs 28:21-26 To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress. 22 He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him. 23 He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue. 24 Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer. 25 He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat. 26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.]
[he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat.] It really is in God’s will to give us the things we need and even our desires, but two things must happen. One; we must do it His way, and two; we must be willing to fight with faith for them. No one truly understands the mercy of God until you are at a point in your life that you have no other option, but to repent and turn to Jesus for help. Let me tell you, none of us are without sin, so we need to be careful not to act like we have no sin at all because that will bring a snare.
[Proverbs 29:1,6-13 He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. 6 In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare: but the righteous doth sing and rejoice. 7 The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it. 8 Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath. 9 If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest. 10 The bloodthirsty hate the upright: but the just seek his soul. 11 A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards. 12 If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked. 13 The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the LORD lighteneth both their eyes.]
[He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck,] The more those who do not desire to hear God’s Word are made known of their sin the worse they get. It is just like the Bible says, [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.]
[The bloodthirsty hate the upright:] The blood thirsty are what I call people who have no life, even though they have everything, Christian or not, they strive at causing an uproar with others because they are not happy with the life that God has given them. Let me tell you, if we stop worrying about everyone else, and take care of our own affairs, we would be better able to help those in need, instead of tearing them apart, [Galatians 5:14-16 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.]
And there is the key right there, walking in the Spirit that indwells us. Now, I am not saying that everyone who lives in sin after they are saved falls away from God and turns out worse, but I am going to say that those who remain in their sin will suffer quite a bit until they either repent or God brings them home before their time because they are suffering in that sin. We should all desire to know God’s will and until we do, we will only bring shame to ourselves and our faith for that matter. Do you want to know why Christianity is on a decline? It has to do with the fact that many Christians live more sinful lives than they do.
[Proverbs 29:18-21,24-26 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. 19 A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand he will not answer. 20 Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him. 21 He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length. 24 Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth it not. 25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe. 26 Many seek the ruler’s favour; but every man’s judgment cometh from the LORD.]
[whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.] When we have no vision we do perish, life has no meaning, we lose the passion and strive we once had to keep going. Not one person, not even God, can change a persons situation until they get hungry to do the will of God. Things happen that take visions and life out of people, but we cannot let those things stop us. If we want things to change we must be content with what we have, and yet always be hungry for the vision that God has for us, [Philippians 4:11-13 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Proverbs 29:14 The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever.]
Today’s Prayer: God, You knew me before I was even thought of, You knew the things that I would be exposed to, the choices I would make, the failures, the shortcomings, and yet, You love me still the same. Thank You, For loving me and not giving up on me, and for Your promise to never leave nor forsake me through my faith in Your Son. You want us to trust You to provide us with everything we need and desire, and with that trust You give us much more than we can ever dream of. You instruct us to be full with the amazing things that You have blessed us with, but to always be hungry for what we have need of. Lord, I need You, I know I am nothing without You, and that everything I have comes from You. Forgive me where I failed You. Lead me and guide me, show me Your vision for my life, and give me Your power, wisdom, mercy, and grace to see it through. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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