Bragging On Jesus

Proverbs 15:16 Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it.

What is better than trouble tethered to treasure because of sin? To tell the truth… just about anything you can think of. I would rather live in a small one room house with peace walking in the joy of the Lord… I would rather be able to connect to people with genuine love and be a giver… When I fall into some self centered trap I would rather be able to quickly repent and be reconciled to God and man…. I would rather all these things than to be rich beyond measure, walking with the devil, always burning bridges in relationships, in bondage to sin, miserable, unsatisfied… unrepentant… The riches from above are worth more than anything the world gives.

Today’s text talks about the fear of the Lord as though it is a good thing to prize above the greatest earthly treasure.

Why?

It is not like the fear of a father who beats his children or abuses his wife but rather it is a loving kind of fear… a fear one would have towards a loving father who works his fingers to the bone for his family… He would go without so they could have food and schooling… he would give his life for his children. What kind of fear would you have towards a father like that? It is a fear that you might hurt him by disobedience… It is a fear that he might love you so much to discipline you when you rebel for your own good in life… He loves you enough not to let you go down the wrong path even if it means discipline.

The Lord loves you so much that he gave his only Son to die for you… He loves you enough to show you he is the only good news for your soul… he loves you enough to show you he is the best treasure in the Universe worth turning away from all for… He loves you enough to adopt you into his family and discipline you as his own child for your own good…

Here’s a couple verses I’ll close with:

Psalm 103:11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

Psalm 111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

Proverbs 12:19 Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.

The Truth About Lying

Robin Aylor

Lying tongues sing songs of dung

They turn sweet melodies to scum

Their words are better left unsung

You can’t retrieve them once they’re flung

The serpent lied to mother Eve

Eat and then like God you’ll be

She ate the fruit from off the tree

He still lies to you and me

Liar’s have to rearrange

Their words and context to explain

Pretend, defend and shift the blame

While truthful words will never change

So liar’s come and liar’s go

No good fruit last’s from seeds they sow

Save creepy songs on old banjo’s

That teach the truth of all their woes

For more go to braggingonjesus.com

Proverbs 12:23 A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly.

To be prudent is to think about the future before you act… it is to consider what you do before you do it.

But I wonder why and when would it be a good thing to withhold knowledge from others?

Well it is surly good to withhold some things from others… A wise loan officer at the bank will not give funds to those who would use them foolishly even if they were in need. A pawn shop owner should never sell guns and bullets to someone without taking the time to get a background check… So yes, there are times to withhold even things that can be used for good… Why? because they can also be used for evil. A wise person needs to discern how knowledge will be used by others before they share it.

Do you think a prudent man would share the mistakes and sins of people he knows with all his neighbors? Of course not! Whether true or not this is called gossip… and it serves no benefit to the person who sinned or those who hear it or the one who shares it… Again, our text says: A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly.

So yes, it is the fool who blurts out gossip…

But a prudent man may share knowledge in the right circumstances… because being prudent he considers wisdom… He does share truth and knowledge for the benefit of others and God… He may choose a trusted friend to share with and to pray for the person who has sinned or the prudent man may ask someone to go with him to visit the person and help them see their sin and how Jesus is the greatest treasure in the Universe.

Let us be people who pursue prudence instead of proclaiming foolishness.

Proverbs 12:28 In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.

What's in your Path? / robin aylor

At times, I have come across various things in my path… Once riding a motorcycle I came across a piece of wire which wrapped around my wheel and flung me off to the ground… Another time on my cycle a tree seemed to appear out of nowhere right in my path… I have come across a snake… a cubby of quail… even a 20 dollar bill… but life? What does that even mean? “In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.”

Of course every honest person on the globe would have to agree that human beings are not righteous. And I expect we would all agree that everyone dies. And so, it is conceivable, isn’t it that there might not be death for someone who is righteous because as sinners who all die we cannot argue against it.

The bible agrees that it is unrighteousness that brings us death. Romans 6:23 says: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

You see, Jesus is able to give us this gift of life because he never sinned and never had to die for any sin of his own… and yet he willingly was paid the wages of our sin in death on the cross that all who delight in him might have his righteousness and be accepted by God. Then Jesus defeated death and gives us that same power that raised him from the dead to overcome sin in our life… This is good news wouldn’t you say? And one day he will come to raise us up with him never to die again.

So yes, in the path of the righteousness of Christ is life, and in its pathway there is no death. It’s a good path to be on and I hope that in believing in Jesus you are walking that path today.

Sin's Intent A Poem by D. Castor

Bow Down 1 Samuel 4-5 / A Poem

Noah, The Ark, Worldwide Flood and Jesus

Jonah, A Big Fish and Jesus

David, Goliath and Jesus

One day the armies of the Philistines gathered themselves against the armies of Israel. Both armies had weapons like swords and knives… but it was before guns were invented… so none of that… still it looked like there would be a big bloody battle ahead.

But then the Philistines sent one man over to talk to the armies of Israel… He was one of their champion fighters… As he approached Israel the soldiers noticed this man was big… even humongous... His name was Goliath and yes... he was a giant… He stood around 9 feet 9 inches tall.

Goliath shouted to the ranks of Israel:

"Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants… ...I defy the ranks of Israel this day”.

When Israel heard his words they were very afraid!

They needed one strong courageous man who would stand up against Goliath and defeat him…

Not long afterwards, a boy walked into Israel's camp. His father had sent him to bring food to his brothers who were soldiers in Israels army. The boy's name was David.

He wondered why none of the soldiers would trust God and fight the giant.

Young David was only a shepherd but he had killed both lions and bears.

He said he would fight the giant… David received an audience with the king and he finally agreed to let the shepherd boy face the giant Goliath head on.

David wore no armor… The king let him try on his own armor but it didn’t feel right… He had no sword or spear… Only his sling shot… And as he went out he picked up three smooth stones that would fit in his sling and put them in his pouch. Then… David and Goliath met face to face.

.........

43 ...“Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?”... 44 ...“Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.”

45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”

This young lad David stood up to the giant… He trusted God… But did you notice who he stood up for and why?… He stood up for the one true God… He wanted the soldiers to see that their power does not come from their own strength or swords or spears and Goliath power did not come from himself or his weapons but all power comes from God…

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God made a promise to David that one of his descendants would set on the throne of the true Israel… which would consist of people of every nation in the world. This would be the Son of God… Jesus, the promised Messiah who would be the only hope for mans sin… He would die for our sins and then defeat death… Through this he would give forgiveness to all who believe in him and one day raise us up like him never to die and be with him forever.

Something else God gives us through Jesus is that while on earth he sends his Holy Spirit to come and live inside all who believe in him. They will have the same power living in them that raised Jesus from the dead. This same power can give them victory over temptations of evil in their own life and also help them as they stand up against the giants of evil in the world like the young shepherd boy David stood up against evil in his day trusting not in himself but in the strength of the one true God.

What Do We Preach? We Preach The Glory Of God by Podcast startup by Robin Aylor