11/11/19

"THE BOOK OF PROVERBS" The Folly Of The Fool by Mark Copeland


"THE BOOK OF PROVERBS"

The Folly Of The Fool

INTRODUCTION

1. The goal of Proverbs is to impart wisdom...
   a. To know wisdom and instruction - Pr 1:1-2
   b. To receive the instruction of wisdom - Pr 1:3

2. One way to learn about something is to consider its opposite...
   a. Want to understand what is wisdom?  Then know what is folly!
   b. Want to be wise?  Then don't be a fool!

[In studying the wisdom of Proverbs, then, we learn much about
"The Folly Of The Fool."  Exactly what is a fool...?]

I. THE FOOL DEFINED

   A. THE HEBREW WORD...
      1. 'eviyl; it appears primarily in wisdom literature - Vine's
      2. An adjective meaning foolish in the sense of one who hates
         wisdom and walks in folly, despising wisdom and morality 
          TCWD
      -- A fool thus despises wisdom and walks in folly

   B. DEFINED FURTHER...
      1. The word is used in Scripture with respect to moral more than
         to intellectual deficiencies - Unger's Bible Dictionary, p. 375
      2. The 'fool' is not so much lacking in mental powers, as one who
         misuses them... - ibid.
      3. In Scripture the 'fool'...is the person who casts off the fear
         of God, and thinks and acts as if he could safely disregard the
         eternal principles of God's righteousness - ibid.
      -- A fool thus chooses to disregard God and His wisdom

[To help us to further understand "The Folly Of The Fool," let's 
now consider...]

II. THE FOOL DESCRIBED

   A. ONE WHO TRUSTS IN HIMSELF...
      1. In his own eyes, he can do no wrong - Pr 12:15
      2. Foolishly, he trusts in his own heart - Pr 28:26
      -- Conversely, we should trust in the Lord, not lean on our own
         understanding - Pr 3:5-6

   B. ONE WHO IS DEAF TO INSTRUCTION...
      1. Fools despise wisdom and instruction - Pr 1:7
      2. Even the instruction from one's father - Pr 15:5
      3. Thus fools die for lack of wisdom - Pr 10:21
      4. A fool cares only to tell others what he knows - Pr 18:2
      5. For a fool thinks he knows every thing - Pr 18:13
      6. What fools know is soon known by all - Pr 14:33
      7. Their foolishness becomes apparent to all - Pr 12:23; 13:16
      -- Therefore we waste energy in trying to share wisdom with 
          a fool - Pr 23:9

   C. ONE WHO CANNOT BE DISCIPLINED...
      1. Fools are destined for much punishment - Pr 19:29, 26:3
      2. Yet they are unlikely to learn from attempts to correct them-
          Pr 17:10
      3. Such hatred of correction is the height of folly - Pr 12:1
      -- Trying to correct a fool is folly within itself - Pr 16:22

   D. ONE WHO IS IMPULSIVE...
      1. A fool is one who vents all his feelings - Pr 29:11
      2. His wrath is soon known - Pr 12:16
      -- His impulsiveness makes his folly worse - Pr 14:29

   E. ONE WHO COMMITS EVIL...
      1. Evil is like sport to a fool - Pr 10:23
      2. They even make fun of sin - Pr 14:9
      -- Thus it is difficult to get fools to depart from evil - Pro 14:16

   F. ONE WHO IS VIRTUALLY UNCHANGEABLE...
      1. Despite the most extreme efforts to rehabilitate him - Pro 27:22
      2. Because he considers it an abomination to depart from evil
         - Pr 13:19
      -- Truly a fool is like a dog that returns to his own vomit 
        - Pro 26:11

CONCLUSION

1. In summary, then, a fool is a person who...
   a. Trusts in himself
   b. Is deaf to instruction
   c. Cannot be disciplined
   d. Is impulsive
   e. Commits evil
   f. Is virtually unchangeable

2. Reinforcing these qualities of a fool...
   a. Let's now read Pr 26:1-12
   b. Where we find several observations about fools and their folly

Hopefully, such observations and warnings about

 "The Folly Of The Fool" will encourage us to choose an alternative
path in life; especially when we consider the final contrast between 
the wise and the fools:
   "The wise shall inherit glory, But shame shall be the legacy of
   fools."
                                                      - Pr 3:35

What shall we inherit?  What shall be our legacy?  It depends on our
willingness to listen to God...


Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2016

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New Study Supports Biblical Record by Kyle Butt, M.Div.





New Study Supports Biblical Record

by Kyle Butt, M.Div.


The oldest sections of the Bible date back almost four thousand years to about 1600 B.C. There is no question about the fact that the Old Testament is an ancient book. Due to its antiquity, many in the modern “scientific” world have accused the Bible of being outdated, out-of-touch, and out-of-line with our “current” state of advanced information and knowledge. The interesting thing about this allegation is that it is patently false. In fact, rare is the week that some new study or finding does not verify some aspect of the biblical record.
For example, in January of 2006, the results of a technology known as Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) began to show that those who drink alcohol excessively are damaging important parts of their brain. Scientists working with this technology have shown that alcohol can damage nerve fibers known as white matter. This damage potentially affects “working memory,” which is described as “a form of memory [that] allows one to remember, say, a phone number long enough to dial it (Singer, 2006). Other studies are looking into the negative effects on white matter of alcohol consumption by teenagers, due to the fact that much white matter growth occurs during these years (2006).
These “new findings” correlate perfectly with the description of drunkenness giving in the ancient biblical record. In Proverbs 23:29-35, a very accurate description of the effects of alcohol is recorded. The text explains that those who “linger long at the wine” have sorrows, woes, complaints, and various other maladies. The writer urges his readers to avoid the temptation to drink, because the effects of alcohol bite “like a serpent” and sting “like a viper” (vs. 32). With a catalog of such negative effects, it is no wonder that the New Testament also instructs its readers to avoid drunkenness: “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation” (Ephesians 5:18).
The Bible is not an outdated book of human invention. It is the inspired Word of an all-knowing God whose descriptions of natural phenomena remain as relevant and accurate today as they were thousands of years ago. It is no wonder that accurate, scientific findings continue to corroborate the veracity of the biblical record.

REFERENCES

Singer, Emily (2006), “Your Brain on Booze,” Technology Review, January 26, [On-line], URL: http://www.technologyreview.com/BioTech/wtr_16197,304,p1.html.

Mythology and the Bible by Eric Lyons, M.Min.





Mythology and the Bible

by Eric Lyons, M.Min.


Over the last several centuries, many have attempted to mythologize the inspired Word of God. Atheists vigorously attack the Genesis account of creation, calling it nothing more than a fictitious story that should be placed alongside (or even “behind”) myths like the Babylonian creation account. Liberal theologians similarly labor to make Scripture conform to secular sources, claiming that the Israelite religion is a mere “Yahwization” of pagan religions (i.e., attributing to Yahweh what pagan religions attributed to their gods). Such attempts to mythologize Scripture represent a blatant attack upon God’s Word and should be refuted with every ounce of energy we possess. In defending the Bible against such attacks, however, Christians must realize that even though the Bible is not based on pagan mythology, on occasion it does contain allusions to it.
Sometimes Bible believers go the extreme and claim that the Bible never would contain such highly imaginative and creative language. But consider Isaiah 27:1. In this passage, Isaiah wrote: “In that day Jehovah with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan the swift serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent; and he will slay the monster that is in the sea.” Here, the inspired writer makes reference to leviathan in a prophetic passage depicting the future victory of God over His foes. From his book, we can be assured that Isaiah was a strict monotheist. But he did “draw upon the common stock of poetic imagery known to his people just as contemporary writers allude to mythology to illustrate a point without thereby expressing or encouraging faith in the story so used” (Pfeiffer, 1960, 32:209). In explaining the language of Isaiah and other Bible writers who may have alluded to mythology from time to time, John Day commented: “Canaanite mythic imagery was the most impressive means in that ancient cultural milieu whereby to display the sovereignty and transcendence of Yahweh, along with His superiority over Baal and all other earthly contenders. Although the Hebrews did not borrow the theology of Canaan, they did borrow its imagery—here the imagery of Baal’s enemy…Leviathan” (1998, 155:436).
A mythological element also can be seen in the poetic language of Job 3:8: “Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to rouse up leviathan.” [The KJV rendering “who are ready to raise up their mourning” misses the reference to leviathan, which is obvious in the original language.] In this verse, leviathan can be identified properly with a mythological creature described in Ugaritic myths called Lotan. According to such mythology, a marine monster named Lotan was capable of altering the entire world order by eclipsing the Sun or Moon with its body. Does this mean that Job was a believer in mythology, or that the book of Job is a mythological production? Certainly not! Throughout the book that bears his name, Job is presented as a devout monotheist who rejected then-popular mythological concepts (cf. 31:26-28). Within the context of chapter 3, Job, who is “cursing” the day of his birth, employs the most vibrant, potent, and proverbial language available to call for the elimination of that day. Job was “probably doing nothing more than utilizing for poetic purposes a common notion that his hearers would understand. This would have been similar to modern adults referring to Santa Claus. Mentioning his name does not mean that one believes such a person exists” (Zuck, 1978, p. 24).
Even though the Bible may make allusions to mythology, “neither the book of Job nor any of the Old Testament has the slightest hint of belief in any such mythology” (Smick, 1970, p. 229). To suggest that the godly men and writers of the Bible believed in these mythological creatures is to make an abrasive and completely unwarranted assumption that should be avoided at all costs.

REFERENCES

Day, John N. (1998), “God and Leviathan in Isaiah 27:1,” Bibliotheca Sacra, 155:423-436, October-December.
Pfeiffer, Charles F. (1960), “Lotan and Leviathan,” Evangelical Quarterly, 32:208-211.>
Smick, Elmer (1970), “Mythology and the Book of Job,” Sitting with Job, ed. Roy B. Zuck (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).
Zuck, Roy (1978), Job (Chicago, IL: Moody).

Moses and the Art of Writing by Eric Lyons, M.Min.





Moses and the Art of Writing

by Eric Lyons, M.Min.


Some time ago, a young lady from a local university visited our offices at Apologetics Press and requested to speak to someone about a “new theory” she had been taught in her freshmen literature class. For the first time in her life, she was told that Moses could not have been the author of the first five books of the Old Testament. Supposedly, Jesus, Ezra, Paul, and others were wrong in ascribing these books to Moses (cf. Mark 12:26; Ezra 6:18; 2 Corinthians 3:15). This impressionable young freshman was beginning to think that what she had learned regarding the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch in her Sunday school classes and at the Christian school she had attended nearly all of her life was wrong.
The idea that Moses did not write the Pentateuch—a theory known as the Documentary Hypothesis—actually has been thrown into the faces of Christians for more than two centuries. And yet, amazingly, one of the first assumptions upon which this theory rests was disproved long ago. From the earliest period of the development of the Documentary Hypothesis, it was assumed that Moses lived in an age prior to the knowledge of writing. One of the “founding fathers” of the Documentary Hypothesis, Julius Wellhausen, was convinced that “ancient Israel was certainly not without God-given bases for ordering of human life; only they were not fixed in writing” (1885, p. 393, emp. added). Just a few years later, Hermann Schultz declared: “Of the legendary character of the pre-Mosaic narrators, the time of which they treat is a sufficient proof. It was a time prior to all knowledge of writing” (1898, pp. 25-26, emp. added). These suppositions most certainly had an impact on these men’s belief in (and promotion of) the theory that Moses could not have written the first five books of the Old Testament.
One major problem with the Documentary Hypothesis is that we now know Moses did not live “prior to all knowledge of writing.” In fact, he lived long after the art of writing was already known. A veritable plethora of archaeological discoveries has proven one of the earliest assumptions of the Wellhausen theory to be wrong.
  • In 1949, C.F.A. Schaeffer “found a tablet at Ras Shamra containing the thirty letters of the Ugaritic alphabet in their proper order. It was discovered that the sequence of the Ugaritic alphabet was the same as modern Hebrew, revealing that the Hebrew alphabet goes back at least 3,500 years” (Jackson, 1982, p. 32, emp. added).
  • In 1933, J.L. Starkey, who had studied under famed archaeologist W.M.F. Petrie, excavated the city of Lachish, which had figured prominently in Joshua’s conquest of Canaan (Joshua 10). Among other things, he unearthed a pottery water pitcher “inscribed with a dedication in eleven archaic letters, the earliest ‘Hebrew’ inscription known” (Wiseman, 1974, p. 705). According to Charles Pfeiffer, “The Old, or palaeo-Hebrew script is the form of writing which is similar to that used by the Phoenicians. A royal inscription of King Shaphatball of Gebal (Byblos) in this alphabet dates from about 1600 B.C.” (1966, p. 33).
  • In 1901-1902, the Code of Hammurabi was discovered at the ancient site of Susa (in what is now Iran) by a French archaeological expedition under the direction of Jacques de Morgan. It was written on a piece of black diorite nearly eight feet high, and contained 282 sections. In their book, Archaeology and Bible History, Joseph Free and Howard Vos stated:
    The Code of Hammurabi was written several hundred years before the time of Moses (c. 1500-1400 B.C.)…. This code, from the period 2000-1700 B.C., contains advanced laws similar to those in the Mosaic laws…. In view of this archaeological evidence, the destructive critic can no longer insist that the laws of Moses are too advanced for his time (1992, pp. 103,55, emp. added).
    The Code of Hammurabi established beyond doubt that writing was known hundreds of years before Moses.
As early as 1938, respected archaeologist William F. Albright, in discussing the various writing systems that existed in the Middle East during pre-Mosaic times, wrote:
In this connection it may be said that writing was well known in Palestine and Syria throughout the Patriarchal Age (Middle Bronze, 2100-1500 B.C.). No fewer than five scripts are known to have been in use: (1) Egyptian hieroglyphs, used for personal and place names by the Canaanites; (2) Accadian Cuneiform; (3) the hieroglyphiform syllabary of Phoenicia; (4) the linear alphabet of Sinai; and (5) the cuneiform alphabet of Ugarit which was discovered in 1929 (1938, p. 186).
Numerous archaeological discoveries of the past 100 years have proved once and for all that the art of writing was not only known during Moses’ day, but also long before Moses came on the scene. Although skeptics, liberal theologians, and college professors will continue to perpetuate the Documentary Hypothesis, they must be informed (or reminded) of the fact that one of the foundational assumptions upon which the theory rests has been shattered by archeological evidence.

REFERENCES

Albright, W.F. (1938), “Archaeology Confronts Biblical Criticism,” The American Scholar, 7:186, April.
Free, Joseph P. and Howard F. Vos (1992), Archaeology and Bible History (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).
Jackson, Wayne (1982), Biblical Studies in the Light of Archaeology (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press).
Pfeiffer, Charles F. (1966), The Biblical World (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).
Sayce, A.H. (1904), Monument Facts and Higher Critical Fancies (London: The Religious Tract Society).
Schultz, Hermann (1898), Old Testament Theology (Edinburgh: T&T Clark), translated from the fourth edition by H. A. Patterson.
Wellhausen, Julius (1885), Prolegomena to the History of Israel (Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black), translated by Black and Menzies.
Wiseman, D.J. (1974), The New Bible Dictionary, ed. J.D. Douglas (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).

TWO BAPTISM FALLACIES BY STEVE FINNELL




TWO BAPTISM FALLACIES BY STEVE FINNELL



Two fallacies, among many, about water baptism. 1. That under the new covenant terms of pardon Christians are baptized in water. 2. That unbelievers are baptized in water.

 1.There is not one example of any Christian being baptized. There is no Scriptural example of that occurring. Believers in Christ are baptized. Believers are not in Christ until they are baptized in water. Demons believe in Christ, however, that does not make them Christians.

Men are baptized into Christ. Those already in Christ are not baptized.

Galatians 3:26-27 For you are sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.(NKJV)

Men are baptized into Christ. Christians are not baptized into denominational churches.

Galatians 3:26-27 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.(NASB)

No man is a Christian until he has been clothed with Christ in water baptism. It would be redundant to baptized someone who has already been clothed with Christ.

Galatians 3:26-27 Since you are all sons of God  through that belief, by Jesus Christ. 27 For as many of you as have been immersed into Christ, have put on Christ.(The Better Version of The New Testament by Chester Estes)

Men are believers in Christ when they believe, however, they are not Christians until they put on Christ through immersion in water.

2. The is no example found in Scripture, after the new covenant was in force, were a nonbeliever, an atheist, nor a unbelieving infant was baptized by choice or by force.

Mark 16:16 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved...(NKJV)

Belief always precedes being immersed in water.
Examples:Acts 10:47-48, Acts 16:16-34, Acts 2:38-41, Acts 8:26-40, Acts 22:16, Acts 19:3-5, Acts 8:5-12, and Acts 16:15.

The New Testament account is clear: NO CHRISTIANS WERE BAPTIZED AND NO UNBELIEVERS WERE BAPTIZED.

Christians pray for God's will to be done by Roy Davison



Christians pray for God's will to be done

Jesus taught, “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9, 10).
We need to pray this because God's will is not done on earth as it is in heaven. Earth is a hotbed of rebellion. Satan is making his last futile stand against God.
In the Revelation, John writes: “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, 'Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time'” (Revelation 12:7- 12).
Jesus came to enforce the will of God and vanquish Satan by first saving those who believe and then, when He comes again, by “taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel” (2 Thessalonians 1:8).
Christians participate in this battle to overcome evil. When the seventy returned from preaching, Jesus said: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18).
Paul wrote to the saints at Rome: “And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly” (Romans 16:20).
God wants us to pray: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). We pray that Christians might stand firm in the will of God: “Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God” (Colossians 4:12).
When we pray that God's will be done on earth, we must of course begin with ourselves. Like David, we pray, “Teach me to do Your will” (Psalm 143:10).

Man's will conflicts with the will of God.

This is obviously true of those who outright reject the will of God. But it is also a problem for those who want to do God's will! Paul warns: “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish” (Galatians 5:16, 17).
Although Jesus foretold His crucifixion, He did not want to die! “He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, 'My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.' He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, 'O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will'” (Matthew 26:37-39).
It is not wrong to be sorrowful and distressed when we face suffering and death, even though we know it is, or may be, the will of God. Nor is it wrong to pray for deliverance. Yet, we must qualify our prayer, as Jesus did: “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done” (Matthew 26:42).
Jesus warned: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).
Jesus told Peter: “Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish” (John 21:18). Peter was willing to die for Christ, but he did not wish to die.
Later Peter wrote: “For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:17, 18).
“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God” (1 Peter 4:1, 2). “Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19).

Time and chance happen to them all.

The Scriptures do not teach that everything is a direct result of God's will. Many things happen by chance. Solomon wrote: “I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all. For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, like birds caught in a snare, so the sons of men are snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them” (Ecclesiastes 9:11, 12).
Although God intervenes to ensure that His ultimate purposes prevail, He often allows things to run their course, but with the promise that “all things work together for good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28). God will take care of his children, no matter what happens to them. Jesus said: “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:28-31).
One man whom Jesus healed, showed great insight in this: “And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, 'Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.' Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, 'I am willing; be cleansed.' Immediately the leprosy left him” (Luke 5:12, 13). This man knew Jesus could heal him. Yet he also understood that it might not be according to His will. In this case it was, but in many cases it is not. As Jesus told the Jews: “And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian” (Luke 4:27).
Paul recounts his own experience: “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness'” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).

How do we pray according to the will of God?

We must have the attitude of Jesus: “Not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39).
To the extent that God has revealed His will in Scripture, we can pray with full assurance that we will receive what He has promised: “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14).
In everyday matters, however, we often do not know God's will. We pray according to our best insight with the humble realization that we do not know what to ask, but also with confidence in this promise: “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26, 27).

What have we learned from the Scriptures about prayer and the will of God?

We are to pray that God's will might be done and that Christians might stand firm in the will of God. Realizing that man's will conflicts with the will of God, we pray that God's will be done rather than our own. It is not wrong to pray for deliverance but we must understand that it can be God's will that we suffer, even if we do not understand why. God is not directly responsible for all that happens. Time and chance happen to them all. Just because God can heal someone, does not mean that it is according to His will. For those who love God, all things work together for good. We can pray with full assurance that we will receive what God has promised in Scripture. In everyday affairs, however, we depend on the Holy Spirit to intercede for us according to the will of God. Let us pray for God's will to be done. Amen.

Roy Davison

The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers.
Permission for reference use has been granted.


Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

From hindsight to trust by Gary Rose




Now, this is a way to consider hindsight that never, ever occurred to me. In this case hindsight has nothing to do with the past, just recognition. Dogs are such unique creatures. A little sniff here and there, then using their nose, they do a close up sniff to see what the other dog (s) are all about. Then, they just move on.

As human beings, we have to rely more on what we already know about our culture, our surroundings and what we think will happen. Sadly, more often than not, we do the wrong things at the wrong time and in hindsight, we often regret our actions. But, what if there was another way to live; one that was not just self-motivated. Could it be that we humans really do need directions?
The Bible says…


Not in Man
Jeremiah 10 ( World English Bible )
[23] Yahweh, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. [24] Yahweh, correct me, but in measure: not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.

Look around us, our society is full of the woes of sins: broken families, a record number of incarcerations, drugs abuse, political corruption and human being being killed (aborted) before birth. With all this, it seems obvious that we as a nation are doing something wrong. In short, not following God’s directions on how to live. Consider a man after God’s own heart – David.


The Example of David
Psalm 23 ( WEB )
[1] A Psalm by David. Yahweh is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing. [2] He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. [3] He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
[4] Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. [5] You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. [6] Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in Yahweh’s house forever.


David was not a perfect man, he sinned. However, as even a cursory read of the 23rd Psalm will show, he lived life seeking God and seeing God at work in him. He was in fact a man after God’s own heart, in that he continually tried to please God and repented when he did not. So, what about us? Can we change our self-motivated lifestyles to God directed ones. I think we can and should. We can begin by learning to trust God and taking him at his word. It is written in the book of proverbs...

Trust is necessary
Proverbs 3 ( WEB )
[5] Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding. [6] In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. [7] Don’t be wise in your own eyes. Fear Yahweh, and depart from evil.

Yes, trust is necessary, but it is a learned attribute. How do we arrive at a point in our lives where can trust God? One answer is we read God’s word, reflect on it and put it into practice. Try God and see if He doesn’t change your life.

I have a challenge for you: Read one chapter of the book of Proverbs a day for the next month and put it into practice. In 31 days your life will change and once you see that change – you WILL WANT MORE. I promise.