9 ¶ A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.
Several similar statements regarding the false witness have preceded this.
Proverbs 6:19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Proverbs 12:17 He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit.
Proverbs 14:5 A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.
Proverbs 19:5 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.
What we say and how we say it matters quite a bit to the God of the Bible. This is understandable as Genesis chapter One states that God spoke the universe into existence (see Quantum Physics on vibrations as the foundation of matter and energy), He spoke and light appeared (sonoluminescence, first understood in the 1930’s), He spoke the stars and all the heavens into existence (man is still trying to understand the theory of sonofusion). In the Bible what we do for people is represented by the verb ‘to communicate’ in specific contexts (Galatians 6:6; Philippians 4:14; 1 Timothy 6:18; Hebrews 13:16. Our behavior is defined as conversation in certain contexts (i.e.:Psalm 37:14; Galatians 1:13; Ephesians 2;3; Hebrews 13:7; James 3;13).
We are supposed to watch what vibrations come out of our mouths.
Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Lying and being a false witness is condemned by God. As I said before, being a false witness in order to do harm is even worse than just plain lying. Buy lying and distorting the truth are not pleasing to God.
Revelation 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
God doesn’t want liars in the New Jerusalem that will come down to earth (Revelation 21:2). Satan is a liar (John 8:44). Some people define themselves by their lying. Their entire existence revolves around lying. I’ve met some in business and we know there are plenty in government. Lying to them is a tool, a way to attain a hoped for end. These people are evil, just plain wicked. We have them in the halls of power, in pulpits across America, in boardrooms, classrooms, and in every walk of life.
2Timothy 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
I’m reading a book from the very early 1900’s entitled Little Visits with Great Americans. One of the repeated pieces of advice from several of the successful inventors and businessmen for young people, the purpose of the book, was to always be honest, to tell the truth at all times. Now, whether or not you believe Thomas Edison, Andrew Carnegie, Hiram Maxim, Marshall Field, John Wanamaker, etc. etc. were truthful men is not the point. The point is that the one thing that was common among many of them was to give advice to young people and that was to be honest and not to lie.
Zechariah 8:16 These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:
2Corinthians 4:2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
Ephesians 4:25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
Most important, speak the truth with the right heart.
Ephesians 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Proverbs 19:8
8 ¶ He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good.
Its rather easy to love and care for your own flesh. It commands you to do so. Hunger, cold, heat, and pain are felt and tug at you, as your flesh demands to be satisfied and every need met or there is no peace. It takes a strong individual to deny themselves and our self denial is usually rather inconsistent. In fact, we spend so much time trying to satisfy the flesh we deny the needs of the soul.
The first need of the soul is to know the Lord Jesus Christ. The soul needs to know the One who will keep it from the eternal torment of the Lake of Fire and who will unite it with a new body and the spirit in eternal communion with Christ, the Word by which they were created.
Sadly, we teach our children by our example and our permission that satisfying the flesh is the greatest good they can do. Hours are allowed to be spent in front of a television or computer screen, perhaps a game console of some kind, just occupying our time, in no semblance even thinking of drawing closer to Christ through reading, studying, or relating what we understand of His words to another. We drive our children to endless sports activities and wish for them, if possible, the best education they can get so that they will lack nothing as an adult and perhaps “make us proud”. But, very little time is given to teaching a child to love his own soul.
We go to church, the most of us, merely to be entertained or inspired, as we sit passively in sermon after sermon. Perhaps we focus on establishing relationships and friendships at church and engage in activities that we hope will give our children a “healthy outlet” for their energy and intelligence.
Is it any wonder when a child goes astray, winds up in a nightmare of a life of his own creation, or commits suicide to escape the hopelessness and pointlessness that they feel? For, you see, the flesh offers nothing but temporary respite from discomfort and the anesthetic of pleasure. It is a blackmailer on the one hand, merely promising pain if its demands aren’t met. On the other hand the pleasure it offers gives a diminishing return so that one day, if you live long enough you’ll experience all of the old age losses that Solomon talks about in Ecclesiastes 12. We play, we love, we laugh, we are entertained, well fed, clothed, drive a nice car, live in a nice house, perhaps have the respect of people who look up to us, but then one day, we are gone. The flesh dies. Within a generation or two unless we’ve accomplished some great thing we are forgotten. It’s as if we were never born. Our names will exist on some public record or on a grave marker, but in short time, after those who knew us are also gone, we will be blotted out of all memories. This is what the flesh offers because our flesh is temporary, only a temporary habitation.
The soul, however, lives forever. It will inhabit a new body one day, one that does not control our every movement nor one that extorts time and attention. It will be able to walk through walls (John 20:19), and move great distances instantaneously (Acts 8:39-40), accomplish feats of extraordinary ability like Elijah in 1 Kings 18:46 and Samson in Judges 14 through 16, never die, never have anything to grieve, and never experience pain as in Revelation 21:4. But, that’s if the soul’s need for Christ has been met. That’s only if the soul seeks and receives Christ, our wisdom, and our salvation.
1Corinthians 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (a reference to Gentiles; non-Jews).
But the soul that does not know Christ will also experience eternity, only not in the way of the first. In the beginning, after death, there is Hell, the natural destination of all human souls (Luke 16:23). Eventually, Hell itself will be cast into a lake of unquenchable fire (Revelation 20:14). There, reduced to absolute misery the soul that has rejected Christ will spend forever (Mark 9:42-48; Isaiah 66:24).
If you love your own soul, then get wisdom. Wisdom is Christ. There is no greater wisdom than Christ. For the Christian there is no wisdom apart from Christ. For any person there is no wisdom without Christ. You may be wise in this world but one day, without Christ, it will be as if you were never born to people here. But, for you there will be unimaginable pain, regret, and sorrow as ages and aeons stretch out before you with no hope of redemption and no way of changing your fate. God will not hear your pleas for salvation or mercy. Now, He will hear you. Now, He will lift you up. Now is the time for salvation through Christ.
Understanding is counsel from God (Deuteronomy 32:28). Understanding is that inspiration that God placed in Godly men to give us His words in a Book;
Job 32:8 But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
2Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
God, who knows every second of every minute of every hour that ever was, could have conceivably written a book that we could never read or hold in our hands but He chose to give us His counsel in about 1200 pages thereabouts. Every word is important, with layers of meanings, double and triple meanings, and statements that will last for eternity.
Psalm 119:89 LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
It is the principal means by which a Christian is set apart for God’s use.
John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
God holds His word as being very important.
Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
There is no understanding apart from God’s word. Please hear me. There is absolutely no understanding apart from God’s word. If you think you don’t need the Bible but you walk and talk with Christ regularly, who walks and talks with you, let me give you a warning from the Bible.
2 Corinthians 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
Do you love your soul? What about your children? Are you depending on a visit to meet with the church once, twice, or three times per week to lift your child out of the muck and mire of life? If you love your soul get wisdom, first. There is no wisdom apart from Christ. If you have Christ’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, dwelling inside of you now then drink in His words. Consume them like food.
Job 34:3 For the ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meat.
Surround your child with that “soul food” as well. Feed his or her soul. Teach them that the flesh can only be appeased and will one day betray them. Teach them to love their soul by loving Christ. Teach them to get understanding and to feed their soul by reading and hearing His words. Teach them to “keep” or guard that understanding with a strong, daily dose of those words. Let the Word enrich you and them with the words every day. There is nothing on the glass toilet; the monster in the living room, the rock n’ rap station on the radio, or the DVD player that will save. Get wisdom, keep understanding, and find good.
Its rather easy to love and care for your own flesh. It commands you to do so. Hunger, cold, heat, and pain are felt and tug at you, as your flesh demands to be satisfied and every need met or there is no peace. It takes a strong individual to deny themselves and our self denial is usually rather inconsistent. In fact, we spend so much time trying to satisfy the flesh we deny the needs of the soul.
The first need of the soul is to know the Lord Jesus Christ. The soul needs to know the One who will keep it from the eternal torment of the Lake of Fire and who will unite it with a new body and the spirit in eternal communion with Christ, the Word by which they were created.
Sadly, we teach our children by our example and our permission that satisfying the flesh is the greatest good they can do. Hours are allowed to be spent in front of a television or computer screen, perhaps a game console of some kind, just occupying our time, in no semblance even thinking of drawing closer to Christ through reading, studying, or relating what we understand of His words to another. We drive our children to endless sports activities and wish for them, if possible, the best education they can get so that they will lack nothing as an adult and perhaps “make us proud”. But, very little time is given to teaching a child to love his own soul.
We go to church, the most of us, merely to be entertained or inspired, as we sit passively in sermon after sermon. Perhaps we focus on establishing relationships and friendships at church and engage in activities that we hope will give our children a “healthy outlet” for their energy and intelligence.
Is it any wonder when a child goes astray, winds up in a nightmare of a life of his own creation, or commits suicide to escape the hopelessness and pointlessness that they feel? For, you see, the flesh offers nothing but temporary respite from discomfort and the anesthetic of pleasure. It is a blackmailer on the one hand, merely promising pain if its demands aren’t met. On the other hand the pleasure it offers gives a diminishing return so that one day, if you live long enough you’ll experience all of the old age losses that Solomon talks about in Ecclesiastes 12. We play, we love, we laugh, we are entertained, well fed, clothed, drive a nice car, live in a nice house, perhaps have the respect of people who look up to us, but then one day, we are gone. The flesh dies. Within a generation or two unless we’ve accomplished some great thing we are forgotten. It’s as if we were never born. Our names will exist on some public record or on a grave marker, but in short time, after those who knew us are also gone, we will be blotted out of all memories. This is what the flesh offers because our flesh is temporary, only a temporary habitation.
The soul, however, lives forever. It will inhabit a new body one day, one that does not control our every movement nor one that extorts time and attention. It will be able to walk through walls (John 20:19), and move great distances instantaneously (Acts 8:39-40), accomplish feats of extraordinary ability like Elijah in 1 Kings 18:46 and Samson in Judges 14 through 16, never die, never have anything to grieve, and never experience pain as in Revelation 21:4. But, that’s if the soul’s need for Christ has been met. That’s only if the soul seeks and receives Christ, our wisdom, and our salvation.
1Corinthians 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (a reference to Gentiles; non-Jews).
But the soul that does not know Christ will also experience eternity, only not in the way of the first. In the beginning, after death, there is Hell, the natural destination of all human souls (Luke 16:23). Eventually, Hell itself will be cast into a lake of unquenchable fire (Revelation 20:14). There, reduced to absolute misery the soul that has rejected Christ will spend forever (Mark 9:42-48; Isaiah 66:24).
If you love your own soul, then get wisdom. Wisdom is Christ. There is no greater wisdom than Christ. For the Christian there is no wisdom apart from Christ. For any person there is no wisdom without Christ. You may be wise in this world but one day, without Christ, it will be as if you were never born to people here. But, for you there will be unimaginable pain, regret, and sorrow as ages and aeons stretch out before you with no hope of redemption and no way of changing your fate. God will not hear your pleas for salvation or mercy. Now, He will hear you. Now, He will lift you up. Now is the time for salvation through Christ.
Understanding is counsel from God (Deuteronomy 32:28). Understanding is that inspiration that God placed in Godly men to give us His words in a Book;
Job 32:8 But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
2Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
God, who knows every second of every minute of every hour that ever was, could have conceivably written a book that we could never read or hold in our hands but He chose to give us His counsel in about 1200 pages thereabouts. Every word is important, with layers of meanings, double and triple meanings, and statements that will last for eternity.
Psalm 119:89 LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
It is the principal means by which a Christian is set apart for God’s use.
John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
God holds His word as being very important.
Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
There is no understanding apart from God’s word. Please hear me. There is absolutely no understanding apart from God’s word. If you think you don’t need the Bible but you walk and talk with Christ regularly, who walks and talks with you, let me give you a warning from the Bible.
2 Corinthians 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
Do you love your soul? What about your children? Are you depending on a visit to meet with the church once, twice, or three times per week to lift your child out of the muck and mire of life? If you love your soul get wisdom, first. There is no wisdom apart from Christ. If you have Christ’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, dwelling inside of you now then drink in His words. Consume them like food.
Job 34:3 For the ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meat.
Surround your child with that “soul food” as well. Feed his or her soul. Teach them that the flesh can only be appeased and will one day betray them. Teach them to love their soul by loving Christ. Teach them to get understanding and to feed their soul by reading and hearing His words. Teach them to “keep” or guard that understanding with a strong, daily dose of those words. Let the Word enrich you and them with the words every day. There is nothing on the glass toilet; the monster in the living room, the rock n’ rap station on the radio, or the DVD player that will save. Get wisdom, keep understanding, and find good.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Proverbs 19:7 commentary
7 All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.
Before I get into the Proverb let’s review some of the Biblical meanings of hate. Hate can mean to hold in lower regard than another, to not have the affection and respect for someone that is expected.
Genesis 26:27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?
Exodus 23:5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.
Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
In context, it can also carry the further meaning of not only contempt or to despise, but to also wish to do harm to, to sin against, or to do evil upon. As we see in the case of Psalm 11:5 it can carry the meaning of not only holding in contempt but bringing judgment upon. For instance, to say the Lord hates sin is not to mean that God only holds sin in a lower regard than righteousness. It means much more than that. Here’s some more intense definitions, in context, of hatred.
Job 16:9 He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.
Psalm 11:5 The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
Psalm 25:19 Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.
In the context of this Proverb one would think, using common sense, that the relations of the poor hold him in contempt, regard him as much lower than themselves, and hate him. There is no talk of violence in this context, though. So, the enmity doesn’t go so far as an intention to do violence against. The relatives of the poor hold him in contempt, his friends try to go far from him. He goes after them, pleading for help, but they don’t want to have anything to do with him.
The person who always has his hand out, pleading poverty, eventually does get a dose of contempt from his own family and his friends do get sick of him. This is a fact. We’ve all had a relative or an acquaintance who simply refuses to live in a way that is beneficial to his or her own survival and every time we turn around, it seems, they need help financially or are in some trouble with the law. Unfortunately, perhaps, some of us have been that person. This would be a statement of fact and make this Proverb literally one of those truths that was as evident in the Israel of the early first millennium BC as it is in America today.
In our society there are people that will always be poor, not because of disease or infirmity, but because of the choices that they insist on making. In fact, the way we celebrate “rights” that our forefathers never even imagined, some would say that they have a “right” to do the things they do that harm their health and their finances. So, therefore, as it is their right to live the way they do, it is their right to have the consequences of that lifestyle supported by the rest of us through taxes or private charity. This wickedness, I would hope, represents a minority of those on welfare and receiving foreign aid from the taxpaying public. But, a perfectly healthy person who always has his hand out, who spends almost his entire life on the public dole, or a country that can never seem to exploit its own resources or pull its own people up from the misery of poverty in which they live, eventually becomes a nuisance. Those related to them by blood or marriage, ethnicity or treaty, will eventually just turn their backs on them, and, obviously so will others in a position to help, only relenting for the sake of mercy. Of course, I exclude from this countries that are being manipulated and exploited by international, corporate neocolonialism or people who are simply prepped to always be poor and the perfect political football. But, I’m not arguing about welfare or foreign aid.
Are you one of those who always has their hand out either financially, emotionally, or spiritually? Do you always seem to find yourself in a situation where you just can’t make it? Why is that? Have you considered? Whether it be financial need or emotional need, do you always seem to be clinging to others for support and strength? It’s time for you to make a change. You may realize that family and friends have abandoned you and no one is listening to your supplications any more. I have a suggestion for you. Start depending on God. God is the only person in the entire universe who welcomes people to be completely and totally dependent upon Him.
Family will get sick of you, the constant suppliant. Friends will eventually turn their back on you. All of your pleading and begging will fall on deaf ears after you have used their kindness so much. But, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, as the Son (capital S) of God, or God in the flesh, who as God the Son, is the second part of the Trinity, the physical image of the invisible God, will not abandon you. Even if you come to Him over and over again with your hands out and your eyes filled with tears, He will never turn His back on you.
But, you must first come to Him. Do you find yourself all alone? Have you perhaps gone to the well too many times and have no one to help you. Turn to Christ. Believe on and trust in, and simply believe.
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Christ will in no way, cast you out, or leave you, because you come to Him again and again for deliverance, mercy, and aid. There is no limitation to His charity or generosity.
Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Certainly, adjustments will have to be made to your attitude and the way you live but if you are willing to be changed God will Himself do the changing, if you submit yourself daily to His words. Remember, Jesus, in His human existence, prayed to God the Father in heaven;
John 17:17 Sanctify (to set apart for God) them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
My point is, to the poor man or woman physically, emotionally, or spiritually, is that if you turn to Christ, He will never be tired of hearing your pleas for help like the relatives and friends who have abandoned you. He will change your life so that you are stronger, but He welcomes a Christian’s complete and total dependence on Him. Talking to Paul, who was plagued with sickness, perhaps an eye ailment, throughout his ministry, Jesus said;
2Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
In His earthly ministry, Christ said;
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
God’s power is limitless. He doesn’t have to rob anyone through confiscatory taxes at the point of a gun to help you. He doesn’t have to get a consensus from a political body to help you and He doesn’t need anyone’s vote to approve of His effort on your behalf. He’s not a follower of Ayn Rand and will never tell you that if you can’t make it on your own you deserve to die. Now, is the time to turn to Christ and depend on Him for everything. I’m not just talking now about the person who is perpetually needy either in physical, emotional, or spiritual sense. I’m talking to all of you, even the strong. Even you people, who like the church at Laodicea in the book of Revelation, who think they are strong and rich. Maybe you think you’re all that and a bag of chips but don’t realize how wretched and miserable and impoverished you really are. The poor man you turn your back on has one up on you. At least he realizes his poverty. You, like the emperor with no clothes, prance around all proud and full of yourself. We’ll get to you later. Better turn to Christ, unbeliever and Christian alike, because judgment is coming, if not for the world system as yet, then certainly for you personally. There is only one hope.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Before I get into the Proverb let’s review some of the Biblical meanings of hate. Hate can mean to hold in lower regard than another, to not have the affection and respect for someone that is expected.
Genesis 26:27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?
Exodus 23:5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.
Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
In context, it can also carry the further meaning of not only contempt or to despise, but to also wish to do harm to, to sin against, or to do evil upon. As we see in the case of Psalm 11:5 it can carry the meaning of not only holding in contempt but bringing judgment upon. For instance, to say the Lord hates sin is not to mean that God only holds sin in a lower regard than righteousness. It means much more than that. Here’s some more intense definitions, in context, of hatred.
Job 16:9 He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.
Psalm 11:5 The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
Psalm 25:19 Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.
In the context of this Proverb one would think, using common sense, that the relations of the poor hold him in contempt, regard him as much lower than themselves, and hate him. There is no talk of violence in this context, though. So, the enmity doesn’t go so far as an intention to do violence against. The relatives of the poor hold him in contempt, his friends try to go far from him. He goes after them, pleading for help, but they don’t want to have anything to do with him.
The person who always has his hand out, pleading poverty, eventually does get a dose of contempt from his own family and his friends do get sick of him. This is a fact. We’ve all had a relative or an acquaintance who simply refuses to live in a way that is beneficial to his or her own survival and every time we turn around, it seems, they need help financially or are in some trouble with the law. Unfortunately, perhaps, some of us have been that person. This would be a statement of fact and make this Proverb literally one of those truths that was as evident in the Israel of the early first millennium BC as it is in America today.
In our society there are people that will always be poor, not because of disease or infirmity, but because of the choices that they insist on making. In fact, the way we celebrate “rights” that our forefathers never even imagined, some would say that they have a “right” to do the things they do that harm their health and their finances. So, therefore, as it is their right to live the way they do, it is their right to have the consequences of that lifestyle supported by the rest of us through taxes or private charity. This wickedness, I would hope, represents a minority of those on welfare and receiving foreign aid from the taxpaying public. But, a perfectly healthy person who always has his hand out, who spends almost his entire life on the public dole, or a country that can never seem to exploit its own resources or pull its own people up from the misery of poverty in which they live, eventually becomes a nuisance. Those related to them by blood or marriage, ethnicity or treaty, will eventually just turn their backs on them, and, obviously so will others in a position to help, only relenting for the sake of mercy. Of course, I exclude from this countries that are being manipulated and exploited by international, corporate neocolonialism or people who are simply prepped to always be poor and the perfect political football. But, I’m not arguing about welfare or foreign aid.
Are you one of those who always has their hand out either financially, emotionally, or spiritually? Do you always seem to find yourself in a situation where you just can’t make it? Why is that? Have you considered? Whether it be financial need or emotional need, do you always seem to be clinging to others for support and strength? It’s time for you to make a change. You may realize that family and friends have abandoned you and no one is listening to your supplications any more. I have a suggestion for you. Start depending on God. God is the only person in the entire universe who welcomes people to be completely and totally dependent upon Him.
Family will get sick of you, the constant suppliant. Friends will eventually turn their back on you. All of your pleading and begging will fall on deaf ears after you have used their kindness so much. But, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, as the Son (capital S) of God, or God in the flesh, who as God the Son, is the second part of the Trinity, the physical image of the invisible God, will not abandon you. Even if you come to Him over and over again with your hands out and your eyes filled with tears, He will never turn His back on you.
But, you must first come to Him. Do you find yourself all alone? Have you perhaps gone to the well too many times and have no one to help you. Turn to Christ. Believe on and trust in, and simply believe.
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Christ will in no way, cast you out, or leave you, because you come to Him again and again for deliverance, mercy, and aid. There is no limitation to His charity or generosity.
Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Certainly, adjustments will have to be made to your attitude and the way you live but if you are willing to be changed God will Himself do the changing, if you submit yourself daily to His words. Remember, Jesus, in His human existence, prayed to God the Father in heaven;
John 17:17 Sanctify (to set apart for God) them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
My point is, to the poor man or woman physically, emotionally, or spiritually, is that if you turn to Christ, He will never be tired of hearing your pleas for help like the relatives and friends who have abandoned you. He will change your life so that you are stronger, but He welcomes a Christian’s complete and total dependence on Him. Talking to Paul, who was plagued with sickness, perhaps an eye ailment, throughout his ministry, Jesus said;
2Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
In His earthly ministry, Christ said;
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
God’s power is limitless. He doesn’t have to rob anyone through confiscatory taxes at the point of a gun to help you. He doesn’t have to get a consensus from a political body to help you and He doesn’t need anyone’s vote to approve of His effort on your behalf. He’s not a follower of Ayn Rand and will never tell you that if you can’t make it on your own you deserve to die. Now, is the time to turn to Christ and depend on Him for everything. I’m not just talking now about the person who is perpetually needy either in physical, emotional, or spiritual sense. I’m talking to all of you, even the strong. Even you people, who like the church at Laodicea in the book of Revelation, who think they are strong and rich. Maybe you think you’re all that and a bag of chips but don’t realize how wretched and miserable and impoverished you really are. The poor man you turn your back on has one up on you. At least he realizes his poverty. You, like the emperor with no clothes, prance around all proud and full of yourself. We’ll get to you later. Better turn to Christ, unbeliever and Christian alike, because judgment is coming, if not for the world system as yet, then certainly for you personally. There is only one hope.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Proverbs 19:6 commentary
6 ¶ Many will intreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.
In older days many a person who needed the power of a king or a prince to help them out in some way would line up to wait for the chance to speak to him, to plead with him, for help. Today, people might go to their Congressman’s office or even their Senator’s, state or federal, to ask for help on some matter of importance to them. For those who weren’t in poverty it may have been customary to bring some kind of token gift or something more valuable to soften the heart of the prince. Today, in our nation’s and state’s capital there are people we call “Lobbyists” who lobby and petition our government leaders for special favors. These “gifts” they bring are more along the lines of bribes.
With regard to our Christian faith, many Christians, most I would think, don’t so much as adore and praise the Lord Jesus Christ as they do seek some kind of help from Him in times of trouble. There may never be a prayer that leaves a person’s mouth but “Help me, Lord”, other than one of those non-prayers we would make before meals when I was growing up, “Thank you, Lord, for this food. Bless it to our bodies and our bodies to your service, Amen.” What a joke. That isn’t a prayer. It’s a mantra. You didn’t mean it, you weren’t speaking to anyone, and it was a total worthless ritual. The other one that was taught to children, teaching them a meaningless chant that did not come from the heart but from habit was “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake I pray the Lord my soul to take, Amen.” If you have taught your children that you haven’t taught them to pray but to chant. Prayer is a heartfelt speaking to the God who created you, who sustains you, and who has all authority over every function of the universe and your body and mind.
So, for most so called Evangelicals its either no prayer at all or a meaningless repetition or chant that doesn’t come from the heart and then the occasional plea for help. This is something Jesus condemned.
Matthew 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Then, Jesus goes on to give a model prayer to His disciples. In verse 9 He begins with “After this manner…” showing that this prayer which we mistakenly call “The Lord’s Prayer” (it wasn’t a prayer for Him to make, it was for us. Jesus never called God the Father ‘Our Father’) is the structure and method He gave for His disciples to pray. It was not meant to be chanted or recited without feeling or meaning, as He said in verse 7 by His use of the phrase “vain repetitions”.
One of the many ways people have suggested we use as a format for prayer so that, as we speak out of our heart but not chanting, is the formula, A.C.T.S. First you offer up Adoration by praise and an admission that you understand who you’re praying to, then Confession where you admit openly that you know fully well what your sins have been, then Thanksgiving where you declare the things you are thankful for today, right now, and finally, Supplication where you “intreat”, as it says in the verse here in Proverbs, or plead your case, requesting the help you would like. Your prayer should never be formal or ritualistic. You are not a Hebrew under the Law. Upon the new birth, when you received Christ as your personal Saviour, God became your Father. Pray to Him. Talk to Him. Do it often and regularly at certain times if you need that kind of order. Be genuine, open and real. If you are a Christian you have the Spirit of God, which is the Spirit of Christ as He was God in the flesh, living inside of you along with your spirit which He has made alive. Pray in conjunction with His Spirit, who knows already what you need.
Many will intreat a prince and everyone loves the gifts that flow from the seat of power, but our God craves a relationship with us. You don’t have a relationship with someone who you only speak to when you have a desperate need. The atheist will tell you that you are talking to yourself when you pray. Some when they pray are talking to other people and not God. This is a pet peeve of mine in public so called prayer. But, you should be talking to God daily and often and listening to Him speak to you through His word. Then, it is not so dishonest and selfish when you ask for a gift, for help. You would never do that to a flesh and blood person, only speak to them when you’re in trouble, if you loved that person. Also, God is not like some kind of human potentate for whom you must stand in line and hope for attention or a politician with whom you must make an appointment. You have 24/7 access to the throne of God and existing outside of time, He has eternity to hear all prayers and answer them according to His will. Why do you only speak to Him when you need to intreat Him for help?
Among the list of our daily marching orders given in 1 Thessalonians 5, we are told in verse 17;
Pray without ceasing.
That’s pretty simple to understand, isn’t it? Always to be in a prayerful state? There was a promise under the Dispensation of the Law that is applicable in all times for all people who belong to God.
Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
There is no better way to keep your mind focused on God than to be in constant prayer to Him. All who truly believe in God want His approval and His blessing. We appreciate, at least for the moment, the gifts of health, peace, and success He gives us in our daily lives. But, do we expect that our God will only hear from us when we need something? How would you handle that if you knew that someone would only acknowledge your existence or authority over their lives only if they needed something and the rest of the time they ignored you?
In older days many a person who needed the power of a king or a prince to help them out in some way would line up to wait for the chance to speak to him, to plead with him, for help. Today, people might go to their Congressman’s office or even their Senator’s, state or federal, to ask for help on some matter of importance to them. For those who weren’t in poverty it may have been customary to bring some kind of token gift or something more valuable to soften the heart of the prince. Today, in our nation’s and state’s capital there are people we call “Lobbyists” who lobby and petition our government leaders for special favors. These “gifts” they bring are more along the lines of bribes.
With regard to our Christian faith, many Christians, most I would think, don’t so much as adore and praise the Lord Jesus Christ as they do seek some kind of help from Him in times of trouble. There may never be a prayer that leaves a person’s mouth but “Help me, Lord”, other than one of those non-prayers we would make before meals when I was growing up, “Thank you, Lord, for this food. Bless it to our bodies and our bodies to your service, Amen.” What a joke. That isn’t a prayer. It’s a mantra. You didn’t mean it, you weren’t speaking to anyone, and it was a total worthless ritual. The other one that was taught to children, teaching them a meaningless chant that did not come from the heart but from habit was “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake I pray the Lord my soul to take, Amen.” If you have taught your children that you haven’t taught them to pray but to chant. Prayer is a heartfelt speaking to the God who created you, who sustains you, and who has all authority over every function of the universe and your body and mind.
So, for most so called Evangelicals its either no prayer at all or a meaningless repetition or chant that doesn’t come from the heart and then the occasional plea for help. This is something Jesus condemned.
Matthew 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Then, Jesus goes on to give a model prayer to His disciples. In verse 9 He begins with “After this manner…” showing that this prayer which we mistakenly call “The Lord’s Prayer” (it wasn’t a prayer for Him to make, it was for us. Jesus never called God the Father ‘Our Father’) is the structure and method He gave for His disciples to pray. It was not meant to be chanted or recited without feeling or meaning, as He said in verse 7 by His use of the phrase “vain repetitions”.
One of the many ways people have suggested we use as a format for prayer so that, as we speak out of our heart but not chanting, is the formula, A.C.T.S. First you offer up Adoration by praise and an admission that you understand who you’re praying to, then Confession where you admit openly that you know fully well what your sins have been, then Thanksgiving where you declare the things you are thankful for today, right now, and finally, Supplication where you “intreat”, as it says in the verse here in Proverbs, or plead your case, requesting the help you would like. Your prayer should never be formal or ritualistic. You are not a Hebrew under the Law. Upon the new birth, when you received Christ as your personal Saviour, God became your Father. Pray to Him. Talk to Him. Do it often and regularly at certain times if you need that kind of order. Be genuine, open and real. If you are a Christian you have the Spirit of God, which is the Spirit of Christ as He was God in the flesh, living inside of you along with your spirit which He has made alive. Pray in conjunction with His Spirit, who knows already what you need.
Many will intreat a prince and everyone loves the gifts that flow from the seat of power, but our God craves a relationship with us. You don’t have a relationship with someone who you only speak to when you have a desperate need. The atheist will tell you that you are talking to yourself when you pray. Some when they pray are talking to other people and not God. This is a pet peeve of mine in public so called prayer. But, you should be talking to God daily and often and listening to Him speak to you through His word. Then, it is not so dishonest and selfish when you ask for a gift, for help. You would never do that to a flesh and blood person, only speak to them when you’re in trouble, if you loved that person. Also, God is not like some kind of human potentate for whom you must stand in line and hope for attention or a politician with whom you must make an appointment. You have 24/7 access to the throne of God and existing outside of time, He has eternity to hear all prayers and answer them according to His will. Why do you only speak to Him when you need to intreat Him for help?
Among the list of our daily marching orders given in 1 Thessalonians 5, we are told in verse 17;
Pray without ceasing.
That’s pretty simple to understand, isn’t it? Always to be in a prayerful state? There was a promise under the Dispensation of the Law that is applicable in all times for all people who belong to God.
Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
There is no better way to keep your mind focused on God than to be in constant prayer to Him. All who truly believe in God want His approval and His blessing. We appreciate, at least for the moment, the gifts of health, peace, and success He gives us in our daily lives. But, do we expect that our God will only hear from us when we need something? How would you handle that if you knew that someone would only acknowledge your existence or authority over their lives only if they needed something and the rest of the time they ignored you?
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Proverbs 19:5 (chapter 19, verse 5) commentary
5 ¶ A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.
A false witness tells lies but is more than just a liar or distorter of the truth.
Deuteronomy 19:16 If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong;
Deuteronomy 19:18 And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother;
Proverbs 6:19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
A false witness tries to do people wrong and in that even drives friends, family, and business associates apart. Not bearing false witness is one of the Ten Commandments.
Exodus 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Jezebel arranged for two false witnesses to slander Naboth so that his vineyard could be taken for wicked King Ahab to enjoy (I Kings 21) and two false witnesses slandered the Lord Jesus Christ as He stood before the Jewish leadership (Matthew 26:60). In Job, his friends are slammed by God for misrepresenting Him to Job (Job 42:7).
Have you spread some tale about someone to their hurt that either wasn’t true or was embellished to make them look bad? Or do you know someone who has? God knows the truth of what you’ve done. You shall not escape but will answer for it.
Bible translators refer to manuscripts as witnesses. There are often two false witnesses mentioned in the Bible referring to people. Two false manuscript witnesses like the two ships from Alexandria, Egypt that carried Paul, the Christian evangelist and church organizer, to his doom (Acts 27:6; 28:11) have their origin in Egypt; Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus ( a Codex is an ancient form of book). Vaticanus was “found” in the Vatican library in the late 1400’s and Sinaiticus was “found” being burnt as trash at St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai in the 1800’s. Although the two books disagree with each other in many places and some scholars insist that the same person who wrote one penned at least a few leaves of the other, they are thought also by some to be two of the 50 Bibles ordered prepared by Eusebius for the Emperor Constantine who created the Roman Catholic Church as the authority in political Christianity. Details may vary depending on who you talk to but these are the general facts as I remember them.
Vaticanus was in perfect condition, obviously not having been used by Christians through the ages, which practice wore most of the older manuscripts out and it contains many things not found in the Bibles that have always been in use such as the Old Latin, Gothic, Syriac, and later English and German Bibles. Sinaiticus was claimed to have been a forgery perpetuated on the antiquities market by a successful forger of “antiquities” named Constantine Simonides.
Why do I bring up these two false witnesses? Because modern Bible scholars will overthrow many verses in the Bibles they create based often on the work of these two false witnesses. Many a Christian has had his or her Bible taken away from them, the power of God’s word on their lives, by the testimony of two false witnesses, Vaticanus and Sinaiticus, having their origins probably in Alexandria, Egypt where worldly Greek philosophy, Jewish occultic mysticism, and corrupted Bible manuscripts were created. There are too many obvious errors in these two phony Bible manuscripts to go into in detail here but I would gladly argue my point with anyone in another venue.
Woe be it to the Bible translator or to the preacher who relies on modern unsaved scholarship to determine what is or isn’t supposed to be in the Bible and to depend on Lexicons written by unsaved men, even perverts, and based on definitions found in secular Greek works. For a neutral reference, someone who was a Christian scholar but not a promoter of the King James Bible, I would recommend reading, for those who are interested, Anglican college Dean of Chichester Cathedral in Sussex, England John Burgon’s books, The Revision Revised and The Last Twelve Verses of Mark. Here you will find someone whose scholarship is beyond reproach, who will lay out the truth for you. I believe the man was a true Christian. You can find the latter book on Gutenberg.org for free. From my own perspective, I would also recommend Dr. Samuel Gipp’s book, An Understandable History of the Bible and Dr. Gail Riplinger’s In Awe of Thy Word and Hazardous Materials: Greek and Hebrew Study Dangers.
Those who would be false witnesses or promote false witnesses of God’s words will not get away with it, I am sure.
Psalm 119:89 LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
And;
Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
Paul warns us by way of the Holy Spirit’s inspiration;
2Corinthians 2:17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
Now, back to a literal view of the verse. In the world, it is clear that the advent of the new DNA technology has proven many on death row to be innocent and called into question the guilt or innocence of some who have already been executed. The fact that false witnesses have been able to condemn so many shows a glaring weakness and injustice in our system. Under God’s standard of justice given to Moses for the Hebrews the fact is that if a prosecutor, a witness, or a police officer KNOWINGLY sends an innocent man to death then he or she should receive the same punishment when found out. This would apply even if the person were freed at the eleventh hour by DNA evidence.
Deuteronomy 19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. 16 If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; 17 Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; 18 And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; 19 Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. 20 And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you. 21 And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Leaders have lied to get us into wars, witnesses and authorities have lied to have men and women condemned to death, and friends, relatives, and coworkers have lied to ruin lives. Judgment is coming on all false witnesses.
Revelation 22:15 For without are dogs (false male religious teachers, see Philippians 3:2 in comparison with chapter 2 of 2 Peter), and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
A false witness tells lies but is more than just a liar or distorter of the truth.
Deuteronomy 19:16 If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong;
Deuteronomy 19:18 And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother;
Proverbs 6:19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
A false witness tries to do people wrong and in that even drives friends, family, and business associates apart. Not bearing false witness is one of the Ten Commandments.
Exodus 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Jezebel arranged for two false witnesses to slander Naboth so that his vineyard could be taken for wicked King Ahab to enjoy (I Kings 21) and two false witnesses slandered the Lord Jesus Christ as He stood before the Jewish leadership (Matthew 26:60). In Job, his friends are slammed by God for misrepresenting Him to Job (Job 42:7).
Have you spread some tale about someone to their hurt that either wasn’t true or was embellished to make them look bad? Or do you know someone who has? God knows the truth of what you’ve done. You shall not escape but will answer for it.
Bible translators refer to manuscripts as witnesses. There are often two false witnesses mentioned in the Bible referring to people. Two false manuscript witnesses like the two ships from Alexandria, Egypt that carried Paul, the Christian evangelist and church organizer, to his doom (Acts 27:6; 28:11) have their origin in Egypt; Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus ( a Codex is an ancient form of book). Vaticanus was “found” in the Vatican library in the late 1400’s and Sinaiticus was “found” being burnt as trash at St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai in the 1800’s. Although the two books disagree with each other in many places and some scholars insist that the same person who wrote one penned at least a few leaves of the other, they are thought also by some to be two of the 50 Bibles ordered prepared by Eusebius for the Emperor Constantine who created the Roman Catholic Church as the authority in political Christianity. Details may vary depending on who you talk to but these are the general facts as I remember them.
Vaticanus was in perfect condition, obviously not having been used by Christians through the ages, which practice wore most of the older manuscripts out and it contains many things not found in the Bibles that have always been in use such as the Old Latin, Gothic, Syriac, and later English and German Bibles. Sinaiticus was claimed to have been a forgery perpetuated on the antiquities market by a successful forger of “antiquities” named Constantine Simonides.
Why do I bring up these two false witnesses? Because modern Bible scholars will overthrow many verses in the Bibles they create based often on the work of these two false witnesses. Many a Christian has had his or her Bible taken away from them, the power of God’s word on their lives, by the testimony of two false witnesses, Vaticanus and Sinaiticus, having their origins probably in Alexandria, Egypt where worldly Greek philosophy, Jewish occultic mysticism, and corrupted Bible manuscripts were created. There are too many obvious errors in these two phony Bible manuscripts to go into in detail here but I would gladly argue my point with anyone in another venue.
Woe be it to the Bible translator or to the preacher who relies on modern unsaved scholarship to determine what is or isn’t supposed to be in the Bible and to depend on Lexicons written by unsaved men, even perverts, and based on definitions found in secular Greek works. For a neutral reference, someone who was a Christian scholar but not a promoter of the King James Bible, I would recommend reading, for those who are interested, Anglican college Dean of Chichester Cathedral in Sussex, England John Burgon’s books, The Revision Revised and The Last Twelve Verses of Mark. Here you will find someone whose scholarship is beyond reproach, who will lay out the truth for you. I believe the man was a true Christian. You can find the latter book on Gutenberg.org for free. From my own perspective, I would also recommend Dr. Samuel Gipp’s book, An Understandable History of the Bible and Dr. Gail Riplinger’s In Awe of Thy Word and Hazardous Materials: Greek and Hebrew Study Dangers.
Those who would be false witnesses or promote false witnesses of God’s words will not get away with it, I am sure.
Psalm 119:89 LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
And;
Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
Paul warns us by way of the Holy Spirit’s inspiration;
2Corinthians 2:17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
Now, back to a literal view of the verse. In the world, it is clear that the advent of the new DNA technology has proven many on death row to be innocent and called into question the guilt or innocence of some who have already been executed. The fact that false witnesses have been able to condemn so many shows a glaring weakness and injustice in our system. Under God’s standard of justice given to Moses for the Hebrews the fact is that if a prosecutor, a witness, or a police officer KNOWINGLY sends an innocent man to death then he or she should receive the same punishment when found out. This would apply even if the person were freed at the eleventh hour by DNA evidence.
Deuteronomy 19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. 16 If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; 17 Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; 18 And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; 19 Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. 20 And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you. 21 And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Leaders have lied to get us into wars, witnesses and authorities have lied to have men and women condemned to death, and friends, relatives, and coworkers have lied to ruin lives. Judgment is coming on all false witnesses.
Revelation 22:15 For without are dogs (false male religious teachers, see Philippians 3:2 in comparison with chapter 2 of 2 Peter), and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Proverbs 19: 4 (chapter 19, verse 4) commentary
4 ¶ Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour.
Proverbs 14:20 The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends.
Take the case of two neighbors, both poor but both friends. One man’s increase in circumstance, the sudden acquiring of wealth or position, will lead him to have many new “friends” and often leads him away from his old friends from his poorer state. You just don’t hang around with the same crowd when things go well for you. In America everyone assumes they have the chance to be rich. Other than winning a lottery that’s simply not true for most. Most don’t have the energy, intellect, passion, genius, education, background, emotional intelligence, thrift, or connections to make it big. Most of us are average, by the definition of average. We aren’t going to found a multi-million dollar concern, invent something more popular than sliced bread, discover a cure for a horrible disease, or a way to accomplish some great technological marvel. It’s just not going to happen. Get over it. But, if you do manage to do well, to accomplish something unique, awesome, or fantastic, to acquire great wealth, or even just wealth, don’t forget the people you grew up with, relatives, friends, etc. The greatest men and women that I’ve known have made something important of themselves and then reached down and given a hand up to someone who couldn’t have done it themselves. I have been on the receiving end of such a gift, even recently, and I must say it will bring tears to your eyes when you realize that the friend or relative who has “done well” has a big enough heart to look back where he or she came from and help someone move forward. Don’t forget people if you become blessed enough to move up the socioeconomic ladder. You might not make the papers but I am pretty sure God will be pleased.
Now, for another turn for this Proverb. In America, we have come to expect certain things in the last eighty or ninety years with regard to the nature of our society. We still value wealth and success and we still admire or sometimes envy (Christians should never) people of renown. But, the bulk of us also expect a decent opportunity, a decent job, at a decent pay with the ability to purchase our own home, send a child to college, and maybe take a vacation to visit Uncle Buford in Ozark, Alabama in our own car. We would like the chance to grow old but to not have to eat pet food because we’re starving or to burn our furniture in the fireplace for heat. We hope to be able to go to the doctor when we inevitably get sick, not be a burden on our children, and to die with as little pain as possible. There are some who say those are unreasonable expectations, that the country can no longer afford those conditions of life. The common man, the poor man, is separated from his neighbor who has been blessed enough to rise above. We don’t talk about being responsible for each other anymore. We elevate the gospel of ‘me firstism’ and ‘what’s mine is mine and keep your paws off’. Sometimes it’s called the Free Market, or sometimes Objectivism, but whatever it is, the Proverbs stands at all times, that the wealthy makes many friends in powerful places, in government even, and the poor is separated from his neighbor.
America no longer thinks what America thought for that brief period of time in history, that we, as a nation, are our brother’s keeper, a Biblical response based on what went on between Cain and Abel. We’ve forgotten about Joseph’s reign over Egypt beginning in Genesis 41 in a desperate time. We don’t like to read how the early Jewish Christians lived in Jerusalem (Acts 2:44-45) or about Paul’s admonitions to the churches in 2 Corinthians 8:7-15. We, as Christians, have rejected the notion, far too often, the fact even, that all of our money is in actuality God’s money, not our own, and we think that my desire to get wealth is more important than my brother or sister’s or even the elderly brother or sister’s need.
Now, to the Christian specifically: you have received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, have believed Him and believed on Him, and now His Spirit, the Spirit of the Living God, dwells inside you. You understand things that unsaved people do not. You know someone they don’t know. Maybe you have an advanced understanding of the Bible as you’ve read the true Bible over and over again. You have great spiritual wealth, a fantastic inheritance, and you’ll have an eternity to enjoy it. Don’t forget those people who are still poor; either the unsaved among your friends or relatives and acquaintances who haven’t been blessed with the salvation from God. Don’t forget those Christians who are still babies, poor in spirit, who maybe aren’t where you are spiritually but certainly are where you were. Don’t forget what it was like when you didn’t know Christ or when you did know Him but weren’t sure about things or didn’t understand the Bible or were naive and easily deceived by tricksters and manipulators. Reach back, reach down, take someone by the hand and lift them up, help them along. You have many new friends now, and many people have been added to your spiritual family, or rather you to theirs, but don’t separate yourself from those less fortunate, less blessed. Don’t forget the ones you left behind.
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Proverbs 14:20 The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends.
Take the case of two neighbors, both poor but both friends. One man’s increase in circumstance, the sudden acquiring of wealth or position, will lead him to have many new “friends” and often leads him away from his old friends from his poorer state. You just don’t hang around with the same crowd when things go well for you. In America everyone assumes they have the chance to be rich. Other than winning a lottery that’s simply not true for most. Most don’t have the energy, intellect, passion, genius, education, background, emotional intelligence, thrift, or connections to make it big. Most of us are average, by the definition of average. We aren’t going to found a multi-million dollar concern, invent something more popular than sliced bread, discover a cure for a horrible disease, or a way to accomplish some great technological marvel. It’s just not going to happen. Get over it. But, if you do manage to do well, to accomplish something unique, awesome, or fantastic, to acquire great wealth, or even just wealth, don’t forget the people you grew up with, relatives, friends, etc. The greatest men and women that I’ve known have made something important of themselves and then reached down and given a hand up to someone who couldn’t have done it themselves. I have been on the receiving end of such a gift, even recently, and I must say it will bring tears to your eyes when you realize that the friend or relative who has “done well” has a big enough heart to look back where he or she came from and help someone move forward. Don’t forget people if you become blessed enough to move up the socioeconomic ladder. You might not make the papers but I am pretty sure God will be pleased.
Now, for another turn for this Proverb. In America, we have come to expect certain things in the last eighty or ninety years with regard to the nature of our society. We still value wealth and success and we still admire or sometimes envy (Christians should never) people of renown. But, the bulk of us also expect a decent opportunity, a decent job, at a decent pay with the ability to purchase our own home, send a child to college, and maybe take a vacation to visit Uncle Buford in Ozark, Alabama in our own car. We would like the chance to grow old but to not have to eat pet food because we’re starving or to burn our furniture in the fireplace for heat. We hope to be able to go to the doctor when we inevitably get sick, not be a burden on our children, and to die with as little pain as possible. There are some who say those are unreasonable expectations, that the country can no longer afford those conditions of life. The common man, the poor man, is separated from his neighbor who has been blessed enough to rise above. We don’t talk about being responsible for each other anymore. We elevate the gospel of ‘me firstism’ and ‘what’s mine is mine and keep your paws off’. Sometimes it’s called the Free Market, or sometimes Objectivism, but whatever it is, the Proverbs stands at all times, that the wealthy makes many friends in powerful places, in government even, and the poor is separated from his neighbor.
America no longer thinks what America thought for that brief period of time in history, that we, as a nation, are our brother’s keeper, a Biblical response based on what went on between Cain and Abel. We’ve forgotten about Joseph’s reign over Egypt beginning in Genesis 41 in a desperate time. We don’t like to read how the early Jewish Christians lived in Jerusalem (Acts 2:44-45) or about Paul’s admonitions to the churches in 2 Corinthians 8:7-15. We, as Christians, have rejected the notion, far too often, the fact even, that all of our money is in actuality God’s money, not our own, and we think that my desire to get wealth is more important than my brother or sister’s or even the elderly brother or sister’s need.
Now, to the Christian specifically: you have received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, have believed Him and believed on Him, and now His Spirit, the Spirit of the Living God, dwells inside you. You understand things that unsaved people do not. You know someone they don’t know. Maybe you have an advanced understanding of the Bible as you’ve read the true Bible over and over again. You have great spiritual wealth, a fantastic inheritance, and you’ll have an eternity to enjoy it. Don’t forget those people who are still poor; either the unsaved among your friends or relatives and acquaintances who haven’t been blessed with the salvation from God. Don’t forget those Christians who are still babies, poor in spirit, who maybe aren’t where you are spiritually but certainly are where you were. Don’t forget what it was like when you didn’t know Christ or when you did know Him but weren’t sure about things or didn’t understand the Bible or were naive and easily deceived by tricksters and manipulators. Reach back, reach down, take someone by the hand and lift them up, help them along. You have many new friends now, and many people have been added to your spiritual family, or rather you to theirs, but don’t separate yourself from those less fortunate, less blessed. Don’t forget the ones you left behind.
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Proverbs, Chapter 19, verse 3 (19:3), commentary
3 ¶ The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD.
Most of our troubles we have brought on ourselves by our own foolish and wicked behavior. I know there are people who aren’t capable of admitting that the mess they’ve made of their lives, if it is indeed a mess, is their own fault. But, if most of us would just sit back and think about the decisions we’ve made and the ways we’ve chosen to live, and if we’re honest about it, we’d see that our stubbornness and insistence upon doing wrong has led us to many of our problems. Then, some of us will compound our misery by blaming God for what we’re not happy about. This is our foolishness, to do wrong, suffer for it, and then to blame God.
Here is a Book written by how many? Forty men? Under God’s inspiration, who gave them understanding (Job 32:8) that presents the Christian the attitude he or she is supposed to pursue and the way he or she is supposed to respond to every type of situation and we reject it, pursue our own twisted way, and then complain to God or about God, or even deny Him entirely. Here is the proof, the fruit of having Christ’s Spirit inside of you.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Yet, many of us choose not to live that way, to pursue that path, to pray for these fruits. It’s much more satisfying in the flesh to live along the paths of the sentences just before the “But”.
Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery (marital unfaithfulness including looking at porn), fornication (any sex outside of a lifelong commitment before God to one partner, i.e. Christian marriage, not the state’s), uncleanness (constantly focusing on sexual things, being obsessed by them), lasciviousness (acting and showing off, dressing immodest and suggestive sexually to attract attention), 20 Idolatry (placing anything on an equal par or higher plane than Christ including money, education, success, material possessions, a political philosophy or party), witchcraft (defined also as like rebellion towards God in 1 Samuel 15:23 with you trying to manipulate events and people without God, apart from Christ for your own purposes and not God’s, not just someone wearing black and chanting over a cauldron like in a movie), hatred (seems pretty obvious doesn’t it?), variance (I was told when I was young that I’d argue with a sign post. Are you argumentative and always against every decision made?), emulations (There is little more pathetic than someone trying to act like something or someone they are not, putting on airs, so to speak), wrath (Anger, when left unattended, grows into abiding wrath and wrath can kill you from the inside out, destroying your heart and body. Paul says not to let the sun go down on your wrath in Ephesians 4:26), strife (I know so many people who seem to love drama in their lives and if they don’t have any will start some and you know them, too, as you may be one.), seditions (At work and at church and in the family or among friends they aren’t satisfied unless they’re forming alliances, creating cliques, standing always opposed to everything those in responsibility decide, with every rule being an injustice, every law wrong.), heresies (Anything but the clear admonitions of the Bible, making it up as they go along, usually to suit some perverse desire for power, money, or self justification, constantly spreading lies about God and about His words), 21 Envyings (They are never happy for the person who gets the promotion, the pretty wife, the successful husband, the new car, the nice home because, after all, they deserved them more. If someone at work beats you out for a promotion, do you, Christian, congratulate them or do you just fume and vent at how you should have gotten it?), murders ( Even being angry without justification with someone in your heart is like murder. Do you foster bitterness in your mind and heart against someone? You don’t have to physically end someone’s life to have murder in your heart.), drunkenness (Alcohol was one of those vices that proved the limits of government’s ability to save us from ourselves. Are you a drinker? Do you drink alcohol apart from meals? Is drinking alcohol an end in and of itself? Many people kid themselves and say they don’t drink to get drunk when almost every time they do drink they get drunk. Alcohol is behind a great many episodes of child abuse and spousal abuse and crime in general. Is it worth it? Are you so owned by it that you can’t turn your back on it and walk away?), revellings (Party, party, party. How’d that work out for you? How’d the ecstasy, the coke, the pot, the booze, dancing that simulated sex, and sex totally without any meaning, like it was just something fun to do, work out for your life? Perhaps you have a little person you didn’t plan on as a result. Perhaps an STD that will never go away? Maybe a train wreck of a life.), and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Okay, so maybe you have wrecked your life, limited your opportunities, hurt your health, or exposed someone innocent to your wrongdoing. Now is the time not to blame God, not to demand an answer from Him for your pain because “I ain’t so bad.” Now is the time to turn to God. Receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour if you haven’t already and, if you are a Christian, seek the Fruit of the Spirit. Pray for God’s mercy and to be filled with the Spirit of God. And, and, and, READ THE BOOK! Pray over it. Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and to teach you.
Most of our troubles we have brought on ourselves by our own foolish and wicked behavior. I know there are people who aren’t capable of admitting that the mess they’ve made of their lives, if it is indeed a mess, is their own fault. But, if most of us would just sit back and think about the decisions we’ve made and the ways we’ve chosen to live, and if we’re honest about it, we’d see that our stubbornness and insistence upon doing wrong has led us to many of our problems. Then, some of us will compound our misery by blaming God for what we’re not happy about. This is our foolishness, to do wrong, suffer for it, and then to blame God.
Here is a Book written by how many? Forty men? Under God’s inspiration, who gave them understanding (Job 32:8) that presents the Christian the attitude he or she is supposed to pursue and the way he or she is supposed to respond to every type of situation and we reject it, pursue our own twisted way, and then complain to God or about God, or even deny Him entirely. Here is the proof, the fruit of having Christ’s Spirit inside of you.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Yet, many of us choose not to live that way, to pursue that path, to pray for these fruits. It’s much more satisfying in the flesh to live along the paths of the sentences just before the “But”.
Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery (marital unfaithfulness including looking at porn), fornication (any sex outside of a lifelong commitment before God to one partner, i.e. Christian marriage, not the state’s), uncleanness (constantly focusing on sexual things, being obsessed by them), lasciviousness (acting and showing off, dressing immodest and suggestive sexually to attract attention), 20 Idolatry (placing anything on an equal par or higher plane than Christ including money, education, success, material possessions, a political philosophy or party), witchcraft (defined also as like rebellion towards God in 1 Samuel 15:23 with you trying to manipulate events and people without God, apart from Christ for your own purposes and not God’s, not just someone wearing black and chanting over a cauldron like in a movie), hatred (seems pretty obvious doesn’t it?), variance (I was told when I was young that I’d argue with a sign post. Are you argumentative and always against every decision made?), emulations (There is little more pathetic than someone trying to act like something or someone they are not, putting on airs, so to speak), wrath (Anger, when left unattended, grows into abiding wrath and wrath can kill you from the inside out, destroying your heart and body. Paul says not to let the sun go down on your wrath in Ephesians 4:26), strife (I know so many people who seem to love drama in their lives and if they don’t have any will start some and you know them, too, as you may be one.), seditions (At work and at church and in the family or among friends they aren’t satisfied unless they’re forming alliances, creating cliques, standing always opposed to everything those in responsibility decide, with every rule being an injustice, every law wrong.), heresies (Anything but the clear admonitions of the Bible, making it up as they go along, usually to suit some perverse desire for power, money, or self justification, constantly spreading lies about God and about His words), 21 Envyings (They are never happy for the person who gets the promotion, the pretty wife, the successful husband, the new car, the nice home because, after all, they deserved them more. If someone at work beats you out for a promotion, do you, Christian, congratulate them or do you just fume and vent at how you should have gotten it?), murders ( Even being angry without justification with someone in your heart is like murder. Do you foster bitterness in your mind and heart against someone? You don’t have to physically end someone’s life to have murder in your heart.), drunkenness (Alcohol was one of those vices that proved the limits of government’s ability to save us from ourselves. Are you a drinker? Do you drink alcohol apart from meals? Is drinking alcohol an end in and of itself? Many people kid themselves and say they don’t drink to get drunk when almost every time they do drink they get drunk. Alcohol is behind a great many episodes of child abuse and spousal abuse and crime in general. Is it worth it? Are you so owned by it that you can’t turn your back on it and walk away?), revellings (Party, party, party. How’d that work out for you? How’d the ecstasy, the coke, the pot, the booze, dancing that simulated sex, and sex totally without any meaning, like it was just something fun to do, work out for your life? Perhaps you have a little person you didn’t plan on as a result. Perhaps an STD that will never go away? Maybe a train wreck of a life.), and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Okay, so maybe you have wrecked your life, limited your opportunities, hurt your health, or exposed someone innocent to your wrongdoing. Now is the time not to blame God, not to demand an answer from Him for your pain because “I ain’t so bad.” Now is the time to turn to God. Receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour if you haven’t already and, if you are a Christian, seek the Fruit of the Spirit. Pray for God’s mercy and to be filled with the Spirit of God. And, and, and, READ THE BOOK! Pray over it. Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and to teach you.
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