Get ready to start a journey…a journey through the pages of the Bible and the pages of your life.
Lives are at stake. Fools on the road ignore the rules of the road. And that is how it is with all of life. When you ignore life’s road rules, you will end up doing some foolish and dangerous things.
Our passage today reminds us that the beginning of true knowledge and understanding begins with a proper awe and reverence for God.
Road signs…they are everywhere. Did you know 500 federally approved road signs are in use today? They tell us when to stop, slow down, and yield. Some tell us to change lanes or take an exit. Others tell us the road we need to take is closed, or the road we don’t need to take is now open.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the bestseller, Prayer of Jabez. It’s a book about an honorable man in the Old Testament who cried out to God, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” (1 Chron. 4:10). We like prayers that ask for more influence, impact, and opportunity, don’t we? But I doubt you are familiar with the prayer of Agur.
So, it’s time to change course. God’s great mercy is just a step away from secret sin. When you admit your sin and walk away from it, you will find the relief of forgiveness. Instead of the stress of hiding your sin, restoration will come to your contrite soul. Instead of hiding in the darkness, you can walk openly in the freedom of obedience. It’s time to stop the secret games and make the journey home to God’s welcoming arms of mercy.
So how are you doing? You up there on the mountaintop of career…you up there with the trophies of accomplishment. Be careful up there in the heights! A slippery slope surrounds the peak of success. It’s a long, hard, painful slide to the bottom. If you are not careful, success will produce pride, and pride always comes before a fall.
Becoming a Christian is a gift. Growing as a Christian is hard work. It calls for sacrifice. Your time, talents, and treasures belong to God. It calls for an engaged mind and ignited heart. It calls for rekindling the fire in your soul.
The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone. We need others who will build into our lives as we build into theirs. A true friend is like a safe harbor providing security and protection. Best of all, a good friend “loves at all times.”
The problem with the talker? Sooner or later, they tell a story they shouldn’t. They take a “just between you and me” and make it headline news. They contradict themselves, leaving people scratching their heads. They exaggerate or embellish the facts. They say some things they regret and many things they can’t remember.
God is not silent about sexual sin. He doesn’t whisper the needed truth. He doesn’t spell out the words to protect our “innocent” ears. In this section of Proverbs, God slams the hammer down with four important warnings.
The proverb bluntly says, “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool.” But when you walk in the wisdom of God and his Word, you will save yourself from some devastating decisions.
God knew the danger of people pleasing long before Psychology Today. Pleasing people is a no-win proposition that leaves you exhausted, distracted, and wandering far from God’s path.
An unloved child is an undisciplined child. Someone doesn’t care enough to help form the child’s spirit. But our heavenly Father loves us with a love that he initiates, that’s free and guaranteed. God sent Jesus to deliver you from a road of sin that would have destroyed you and separated you from God for eternity.