Avoiding those who entice us into sin

Proverbs 1:10-19
My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason; like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder; throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse”— my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths, for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood. For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird, but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives. Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors.

If sinners entice, and they will, do not consent. I remember how my "friends" would try and drag me back into the taverns with them when I quit drinking. "Just one beer", they would say. Well, for some, popping that top is like pulling the pin on a grenade; its going to cause a lot of damage.

When we reject the counsel of our God, we set an ambush for our own lives.

Proverbs 1:32-33 

For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.

Studies in the Psalms - Psalm 150

I have a t-shirt that I purchased at a hiking store in the Smokey Mountains many years ago that has on the back, these words, The Journey IS the Destination. This morning I have arrived at the final psalm of the wonderful journey in the Book of Psalms. Certainly, the journey has, in a sense, been a destination each day. But regardless of a saying on a shirt, there is an end to all earthly journeys and I have arrived there today.

The Book of Psalms is a journey of emotions and in the psalms, we find all of the emotions of the human life. David, who wrote a good portion of the psalms, was, like us, an emotional man. As one who battles with the demons of depression, as David certainly did, the Psalms are a great comfort. But in the end of it, I think there is a final concluding thought that Psalm 150 sums up about the book. That thought is this; we are to praise and worship God every day and every moment of this life, for that is what we will do in eternity. No matter what our feelings and emotions are, we must still be praising God, even in the worst of the battles and no matter where we are.

Psalm 150:1-2
Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!  Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!

Music is a gift from God and it is one of the ways we are to praise Him.

Psalm 150:3-5
Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!  Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!  Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

Psalm 150 uses the word praise thirteen times. It commands us to praise God. All of us.

Psalm 150:6
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!

Everything that has breath is to praise God. Everything. That would mean everyone. Conclusion? Praise God. Praise Him everywhere you go and in every circumstance; good or bad.

To God be the glory.

I end this journey with the place of its beginning.

Psalm 1:1-6
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;  but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.  The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.  Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Be blessed.

Amen

Studies in the Psalms - Psalms 149

Psalm 149 is another great lesson on praise.

Psalm 149:1
Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly!

Psalm 149:2-4
Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!  Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!  For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.

God wants to be in a relationship with His people. We worship Him and we rejoice because He loves us first. He adorns the humble with salvation and in humility, we offer back our praise. We praise Him in song and dance.

Psalm 149:5-9
Let the godly exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds.  Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands, to execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples,  to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron,  to execute on them the judgment written! This is honor for all his godly ones. Praise the LORD!

The Christian life is a life of warfare, but the weapons we yield are not physical. Our battles are spiritual and we fight with praise, with prayer, and with the Word of God as our sword. Those who are in Christ are already the victors, for Jesus has overcome the great enemy of man, death.

This very day we have much to praise and thank God for. Romans 8:37 tells us that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

So, if you are struggling in your personal battle this very day, if you are having a hard time finding cause to praise God, then stop and remember the truth of the Apostle Paul as written in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Nothing can separate us from the love of God in our Lord, Christ Jesus. Nothing. So, right now, Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly!

Studies in the Psalms - Psalm 147

Psalm 147 is another psalm of praise.

Psalm 147:1
Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.

If you woke up this morning wondering why you should praise God, this psalm gives us three reasons.

Psalm 147:2-6
The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel.  He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.  Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.  The LORD lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.

We can praise God because we know He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. “Not me”, you proclaim. Yes, He does do this and will heal you as well. The problem does not lie within His ability. If God numbers and names each star, then He certainly knows you and your struggle. The problem lies within us. We say we believe and trust in him and yet, as soon as we face adversity we say God isn’t there. He is. Read the story of the healing at the pool in John, chapter five. Jesus simply tells the man, “Pick up your mat and walk.”, and the man does. The truth is we are not living in obedience to Jesus. We are not walking in faith. The Lord lifts up the humble.

Psalm 147:7-11
 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre!  He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills.  He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry.  His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

Rather than focusing on our pain and our difficulties, we should sing to the Lord every day, declaring to Him our faith and reverence for Him. When we look at the creation, we see that God provides. He feeds the land with rain and the beasts with food. Yet, we put our trust in everything but Him. The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His steadfast love.

Psalm 147:12-20
Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!  For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you.  He makes peace in your borders; he fills you with the finest of the wheat.  He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.  He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes.  He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs; who can stand before his cold?  He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.  He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and rules to Israel.  He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his rules. Praise the LORD!

God sends out His Word and through His Word, even the weather obeys. This is the reason I try not to complain about the weather. If we have snow and frost, it is a result of God commanding it. If we have wind, (my personal least favorite), it is because God made it blow. If it rains? Yes, it is God’s doing. Who are we to complain? And just as God’s Word commands the weather, His Word comes to us. Israel was chosen by God to preserve God’s Word so that we could be saved by it. Yet, the world does not know His laws and judgments. Do we?

This morning if you are struggling, the best thing you could do is fall before Almighty God in humility. Offer up your praise and worship. Yes, you can go to Him in your pain and pray for healing. But you must open up His Word and read the promises. You must open up the Word and read the commands. You must believe that when the God of the universe speaks, it is the truth and you can know that what He says will be. Do this and you will see the power of God in action. You will know Jesus has come to heal us. This is faith. Then you can pick up your mat and walk.

This morning start here: Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.