Acts 9

Have you ever heard from the Lord? Some people hear an audible voice. Others just know the Lord has spoken, through His word, or through another person. Either way, when God speaks, we should listen!

Saul was on his way to harass and arrest the Christians in Damascus, bringing them back to Jerusalem to be placed in prison, and put on trial. Jesus meets Saul outside of Damascus in the form of a bright light. Saul was sure he was doing the will of God arresting and putting Christians to death. That is until Jesus shines the light on him…literally! Jesus asks Saul why he is persecuting Him. Saul responds with a question, “Who are you, Lord?” Saul knew that the Lord was speaking with him, and then when he finds out it is Jesus speaking to him, he asks: “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Good question!

Shortly after Jesus speaks to Saul, He speaks to a disciple in a vision. He calls him by name, “Ananias.” Ananias responds to the Lord with, “Here I am, Lord.” We aren’t sure if Ananias had heard from the Lord in a similar manner before, or if this was the first time, but his response shows that he was listening! In v.11 we are told: “So the Lord said to him…”. The implication is that BECAUSE Ananias was listening, the Lord was speaking.

Are we expecting to hear the Lord speak to us? How often has the Lord spoken to us but we missed it because the music was too loud…or the TV was distracting us? I believe it is important to spend quiet time before the Lord, so when He speaks, we will be able to hear His still, small voice. Keep a journal nearby to record what He speaks to your heart.

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. – Colossians 2:8

Have you ever received godly advice from someone, and it turned out bad?  One reason for the negative result could be that the instruction wasn’t followed precisely, so you may not have experienced the desired result.  Another reason may be because the advice was contrary to the Word of God, and you were applying a worldly solution to a spiritual issue.

As we consider our walk with the Lord, we should separate ourselves from the deception of the world, and trust in the faithfulness of our God.  The traditions of men lead people to believe in things like evolution, or a list of genders beyond male and female that encompass more than 50 new genders.

There is nothing new in the world.  Hebrews 13:8 confirms that Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever.  If we believe anything else, we are being cheated of the truth.  The Bible tells us what to expect in the last days…and we are seeing how accurate the Bible is right before our very eyes!

Proverbs 5

For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, a​nd He ponders all his paths. ​​His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, and he is caught in the cords of his sin. ​​He shall die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

Does anyone really believe they are fooling the Lord? Do they think He isn’t aware of what they do in private? It is folly to think the things we are doing on earth are going unnoticed by God. He sees everything…nothing gets by Him. We need to keep this wisdom close at hand so we don’t end up regretting our actions and despising the law of the Lord.

This proverb speaks of the immoral woman; the one who would distract a man with flattering and sweet words, but in the end they steal your honor and your wealth. Many families are destroyed due to adultery that breaks the bonds of marriage, destroys families and causes bitterness in the lives of all involved.

One of the best ways to avoid falling into sexual sin is to keep yourself aware of situations that lead to sin. We get drawn into sin by entertaining it first in our minds, and then by our actions. It would be very near impossible for someone to fall into sexual sin “accidentally”! So avoid the folly, and keep the word of God in your ears, and in your hearts. That way you can avoid regret!

Proverbs 4

​​My son, give attention to my words; ​​Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; ​​Keep them in the midst of your heart; ​​For they are life to those who find them, ​​And health to all their flesh. (Proverbs 4:20 – 22)

Have you ever given someone godly advice, but they chose not to take it? Here is a father encouraging his children to hear what he is telling them. Many times our children don’t want to listen to the advice of their parents because they think their parents are too out of touch with their world to understand what they’re going through. It isn’t until the children grow up when they realize that their parents were giving them good advice. For some children, they have to learn many hard lessons on their own before they begin to listen.

I was one of those kids…always learning the hard way. But as we see in this proverb, if we listen and adhere to the good advice, they are life and health to our flesh. We can’t force someone to take good advice, but we can encourage them with the Scriptures God has given us.

And while we are taking the opportunity to give good advice, we should also set the example by FOLLOWING good advice…the wisdom that Scripture offers. When we are applying the word of God to our own lives, it will be easier for us to offer advice, and then give our testimony of how it has benefited us in the past. Even if they don’t listen, we still have the blessing of walking in the wisdom of God ourselves, knowing it keeps us in the center of His will.

Proverbs 3

It’s good to know where we are going. When I was in the Navy I was a Hovercraft Navigator. The crew of the craft trusted that I was guiding us to the correct location, whether it was a beach to land on, or a ship we were receiving a load from.
If a navigator becomes confused or unsure of the destination, the whole mission may be affected.

In the same way, our walk with the Lord may be impacted by our lack of understanding of what the will of God is. That’s why we are told to bind mercy and truth around our necks…and write them on the tablets of our hearts. When we do that, we find favor with man, and God.

This proverb also tells us to trust in the Lord with all our heart, and not to lean on our own understanding. We should trust the instructions God has given us in His Word. When we live our lives for Him, we acknowledge Him as God, the Master of our lives. That’s when God is able to direct our path…when we are fully committed to Him.

Sometimes we like to try things on our own. We ask God to bless the things WE want to do. When those things fail we may blame God for not fulfilling the things that we wanted to accomplish. The problem is that we were heading in the wrong direction, and God won’t help us get to a destination that will be hazardous to our spiritual life.

So let’s trust in Him and follow His leading, because when we do, we will never be disappointed with the final outcome!

“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:2-3

Jesus tells us that He is preparing a place for us in heaven. He said that He will come for us and receive us to Himself. Why are people so confused about what Jesus means here. He’s going to return, and we are going to leave with Him. The question we have to ask, who was Jesus speaking to? Even though He was literally speaking to the disciples, I believe He was also speaking to the church as a whole. Jesus hasn’t returned to receive us to Himself, so this must be a future event. But when will this event take place?

The fact is, Jesus WILL return to receive both them AND us to Himself! That’s what Paul explains in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 – 17 when he writes: For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

When will this happen? No man knows the day or the hour…but we can know the season. We know it will be in the last days…when the world will be living as in the days of Lot, and as in the days of Noah. I believe we are seeing the days of Lot and the days of Noah being lived out right before our eyes. Are you waiting for and excited to see the day when Jesus fulfills His promise and returns for us? I know I am!

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1 – 3

We can take this encouragement from Paul to the Ephesians personally as it applies to us today. We are reminded to live as examples of Christ, and to be at peace with one another. Paul is not implying that we have to keep the peace at the cost of denying or ignoring the Word of God. There are some people who want to argue that Jesus isn’t who He said He is, and that we should disregard what the Bible tells us. One way we prove them wrong is to walk worthy of the calling with which we were called. We remain humble and bear with them in love, but we don’t compromise our belief.

The unity of the Spirit is revealed in the truth of the Word of God. We can agree with our brothers and sisters in Christ about who Jesus is, and how we are saved by His sacrificial offering on the cross. When we agree on the essentials, the non-essentials of our faith don’t get in the way of our unity with the brethren in the bond of peace.