Sacrifices (Proverbs 21:27)

There is nothing good that a wicked man can do for the Lord. His heart is wicked, therefore every intent that he has within his heart is wicked.

"The sacrifice of the wicked is exceedingly disgusting and abhorrent [to the Lord]; how much more when he brings it with evil intentions?" Proverbs 21:27, Amplified

The heart of a man must be right with the Lord in order for his sacrifices to mean anything. So if we are wicked by nature, how do we get to this point of purity? The answer is within the text.

The sacrifices of the wicked are a disgusting thing to the Lord because of the state of his heart. He has not made the effort to cleanse himself or rid himself of his wickedness. He has no desire to change. But he is even more disgusting when he brings his sacrifices with evil intent. It is like bringing gifts to placate the gods but never intending to change your ways. What is the point? There is nothing in my own possessions that the Lord would ever want above my heart. My heart is the only sacrifice that I can give to the Lord. But if I bring anything else to give him in place of my heart, it will mean nothing if I have no intent to change.

If one wishes to change, he must couple strong desire with strong will. Have a desire to change and the fortitude to do so. I am not implying that there is anything I can do to earn the love of God or to earn passage into heaven. However, I have to want to change. I have to want to make an effort to change. I have to actively make better choices in my life.

It may be surprising to some, but there are a few things that God cannot do. One of those things is to change a heart that is unwilling to change.

Choice (Proverbs 19:16)

It is important for us all to follow what the Lord has told us to do. Not only personally, but also corporately within the realm of Scripture.

"He who keeps the commandment [of the Lord] keeps his own life, but he who despises His ways shall die." Proverbs 19:16, Amplified

There is nothing in the Bible that is going to be detrimental to ourselves, whether in body, spirit or soul. Nothing bad comes out of the commandments that the Lord gives us. In fact Jesus Himself responded to a comment made from the crowd, "And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, 'Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!' But He said 'More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!'" (Luke 11:28, NKJV) We are blessed more than Mary herself when we hear the word of God and keep that commandments that we hear. Even testing the Scribes and Pharisees, Jesus turned right back to the word of God. "And behold a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, 'Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' He said the them, 'What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?' So he answered and said, '"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind," and "your neighbor as yourself."' And He said to him, 'You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.'" (Luke 10:28, NKJV) The lawyer had the answer if front of him the whole time. He was quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. What he chose to do was ignore it.

You see we have the choice to hear and obey, but we also have the choice to hear and ignore. What the Bible says is that if we ignore what it says, we shall die. Inevitably, if we follow the commandments set up by the Lord (that are not detrimental to ourselves) we live good lives and better eternal lives. However, if we choose to not follow those commandments we follow our sin nature we will inevitably die.

Offenses (Proverbs 18:19)

I will be the first to admit that I can easily be offended, and there are times when it is harder to win my love back than others.

"A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, and their contentions separate them like the bars of a castle." Proverbs 18:19, Amplified

There is something about offending family; it is like a line has been crossed that should have never been ventured toward. This verse, however, can be more applicable to our Christian family than even our biological family.

With a brotherhood comes a certain respect and trust. When those are violated, respect and trust must be reestablished. I have offended my Christian brothers with certain things I have said or done. It hurts, because the relationship that we once had has been altered for the worse all because of me.

Think of a person who just bought a brand new house. The neighborhood is nice and clean. But over the years, the quality of the neighborhood goes down. Soon the house is being broken into. Wouldn't it be stupid of the person who owns the house not to put some sort of security into the house like an alarm or security door or even bars? Of course it would be stupid. He now knows the dangers and he must protect himself. The same can be said of human nature. If we become offended, that offense often involves hurt as well. Walls and fences are erected as friendships and bonds are tested. If you decide that you need to make a decision that may jeopardize your brotherhood, be ready for a fight to win your brother back.

Knowledge is Life, Therefore Choose Life (Proverbs 18:15)

A good question to ask ourselves is what are we seeking after in this life? What drives us on everyday?

"The mind of the prudent is ever getting knowledge, and the ear of the wise is ever seeking - inquiring for and craving - knowledge." Proverbs 18:15, Amplified

To be prudent is to show care for your future. It is one thing to seek after pleasure that lasts for a few minutes or even days, but what about that substantial stuff? It is sort of like choosing between steak and sugar. One choice is very beneficial and has sustenance to it. The other choice is not detrimental, but does not have the ability to sustain like the other. So the prudent man must then seek after knowledge and the wise has a craving for knowledge.

If we are truly the Lord's, then there will be within us a desire to seek after better things. Not only are we seeking after knowledge, but there is a hunger for such things. What are you hungry for? I guarantee you are hungry for whatever you have been putting inside your body, or mind, or soul.

Remember one thing, however. Knowledge equals death; death of ignorance. The ignorant might not understand the benefits of steak when all they have had is sugar. But once we have had the steak, our eyes are enlightened to that which is good and that which is not so good. So not only is knowledge death, but it is a birthing of choice. We can choose steak. We can choose sugar. We can choose Jesus. We can choose sin. We are surrounded by choice. "I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord you God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give them." (Deuteronomy 30:19-20, NKJV)

Prayer and Supplication (Proverbs 16:25)

There are many different paths for us to take in our lives. But what paths should we choose to take?

"There is a way that seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but at the end of it are the ways of death." Proverbs 16:25, Amplified

On a daily basis, there are many different choices to make. In life, there are goals to meet. How are we to make these choices and meet these goals? Prayer and supplication. When a choice confronts us, all we can do is speculate as to the end of things. All I can do is vacillate between what may and may not happen. But there is another in my life who is omniscient. The Lord knows the end of all things just as He knows the beginning.

This reminds me of an old asian story I had heard. There was a young man who fell in love with the kings daughter. The princess loved this young man as well, but the father was against it. So he offered the young man a challenge. There were two doors. Behind one of the doors was a tiger and behind the other door were beautiful women. The challenge was set for the next day. That evening the father told the daughter what door lead to the tiger and what door led to the women. The daughter stole away that evening to meet her love and told him what door to pick. When the next day came the young man awoke with confidence. He made his way to the door and chose, walked through it and died from a tiger strike. Why would his love choose the tiger? She was afraid of losing him, she did not trust the lust in man with the beautiful women that were behind the second door. She had no faith or trust in him and she saw the finite ending of things.

The Lord sees all and knows all. When choices make their way to us, lay them before the Lord. We should never take the position of knowing what is best for us. Pray and supplicate. Jesus prayed three times in the Garden to allow for the cross to pass and to find another way. He was afraid. When the Father's position was clear to Him, He went to the cross knowing it was the Father's will. Pray and supplicate bothers and sisters.

Are Some Destined for Hell? (Proverbs 16:4)

There are some real difficult verses in the Bible. This happens to be one of them.

"The Lord has made everything [to accommodate itself and contribute] to its own end and His own purpose; even the wicked [are fitted for their role] for the day of calamity and evil." Proverbs 16:4, Amplified

What this verse is essentially saying is that there are certain human beings who were created for Hell. God is holy. In fact this is the only adjective ever used to describe God multiple times: holy, holy, holy.

Do not misinterpret what I am saying. This is not the scenario that this verse is describing. A man meets a woman and they fall in love. The love they have for one another surpasses all others who have gone before them. The two decide to get married. Soon a child is born. God, in His infinite wisdom, did not "ordain" that child to go to Hell.

So what is this verse all about? One of the qualities of God is that He is omniscient, He knows everything. Before the foundation of the world was laid, He knew that man would ultimately fail. Before the first words were spoken, He knew that His own creation would turn on Him and deny Him. Yet He still created humanity. God created human beings knowing that there would be some who would eventually have their end in Hell. Why? Because He is a holy God. Hell was not made for humans, it was made for the devil and his angels. Hell exists simply because He cannot tolerate sin, it exists because His holiness allows it to.

In creating human beings the Lord instituted free will within them, within us. Hell is ultimately another choice. It exists as the proverbial fork in the road, either Heaven or Hell. To assume that there are some persons created specifically to fill Hell is naive and Calvanistic. If there are some created to go to Heaven an some to go to Hell, then free will is abolished. Today, choose life.

Choices (Proverbs 15:24)

The life of the righteous and wise has a natural inclination toward heaven.

"The path of the wise leads upward to life, that he may avoid the gloom in the depths of Sheol (Hades)." Proverbs 15:24, Amplified

The "wise" in this verse are none other than those who have made the choice to follow Jesus. The reality of Hell is one that they are trying to avoid. Maybe trying is to bleak of a word. In the choice that they have made, they will avoid Hell. The choices that he makes on a day to day basis lead him closer to Heaven. Will he make wrong choices? Yes, we all do. Remember, however, that we are created in the image of God. We are a reflexion of Him. A reflexion shows the image of a reality, though it is not the actual thing. For example, as you look at yourself in the mirror, you can see yourself, it is not real but it shows an image of the real thing, you. We, as humans are that same reflexion, though we are not God, we reflect God. That reflexion is shone through the lives that we live and the choices that we make. "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set you mind on the things above, not on things of the earth." (Colossians 3:1-2, NKJV) Be careful as to what you place into your mind, for what we expose ourselves to and immerse ourselves in, that we become.

The Company We Keep (Proverbs 13:20)

It is Christmas morning. Almost one year has passed us by again. What does the Lord want us to know this morning?

"He who walks [as a companion] with wise men shall be wise, but he who associates with [self-confident] fools will [be a fool himself and] shall smart for it." Proverbs 13:20, Amplified

It is the company that we keep which defines who we are. Some say that we are a product of our environment. I believe this to be true to a point. Inevitably, we are who we are because of choices that we make. Those choices can definitely be inspired or influenced by the company that we keep.

If the company that we keep is with wise men, then the choices we make will be wiser. This is not just because we want to please the crowd around us, rather it is because of the conversation and make up of the crowd. In High School, everyone became a part of a clique. Whether you liked it or not, we were immediately stereotyped and placed into our peg or we were one of the fortunate ones who almost understood who we were and hung out with the crowd of our own choosing. That crowd influenced our way of life for the next four years. We dressed as they dressed and spoke as they spoke and did as they did because that was the crowd we were with. To surround ourselves with wise a God-fearing persons greatly influences the outcome of our day. As we get older, the stereotypes remain, but we become more self-aware and are able to better define our own beings and associate with the persons of our own choosing.

However, if that crowd be of the foolish persuasion, then we ourselves become fools and act foolishly. "For the foolish person will speak foolishness, and his heart will work iniquity; to practice ungodliness, to utter error against the Lord, to keep the hungry unsatisfied, to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail." (Isaiah 32:6, NKJV) We do have to choice of who we surround ourselves with. It can either be God fearing men and women or foolish men and women. Never forget, however, that we do have the choice. One of the greatest things that the Lord installed inside of man at his inception was free-will. We have the choice.

Merry Christmas