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Proverbs 27:1-2 ESV
Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring.
Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
a stranger, and not your own lips.
Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” So, we are to guard our hearts against being conceited and arrogant. We are not to think too highly of ourselves nor to take credit for what we did not accomplish in ourselves. And, we are not to be captivated by our own sense of self-importance.
We have no control over what tomorrow will bring. We can make all sorts of plans, but ultimately God will either allow them to come to fruition or he will not, for he is the one in control, not us. So, it is better that we seek God’s counsel regarding our plans, and it is better that we have the attitude, “If God wills,” rather than to assume that our plans will prevail.
We must also guard our hearts against promoting our own sense of self-importance to others. Yet, we can certainly share with others our joys, our praises, answered prayers, and our testimonies, as long as we are giving glory to God and not to our own flesh, in our own pride. And, we need to guard against a “me, me” attitude. Rather, we are to focus our minds and hearts on God and on the needs of others.
Proverbs 27:5-6 ESV
Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
Pride stands in the way of humbling ourselves before God and submitting to him and to his purposes for our lives. Many people continue on in their sinful addictions because they want to be the ones in control over their own lives, and they don’t want to give up that control to God. They want to be able to make their own choices, and they don’t want anyone else telling them what they can or cannot do, including God.
So many people think it is loving and kind to remain silent and to not ever confront anyone in their sinful practices. They think it is more loving to pat people on the back, and to tell them they are ok, even if they know they are not, and even if they know they are living in sin. And, this usually stems from their own pride, for they do not want that person upset with them.
But, whether you are the person who doesn’t want to be confronted in your sin, or you are the person who will not confront anyone in his sin, both situations stem from pride. For, you are more concerned about your own self-image and people liking you or thinking well of you than you are concerned about the spiritual and moral condition of yourself or your friend.
So, it is better and more loving to give and to receive open rebuke, said in a loving manner, than to withhold or to reject true love from your friend out of pride or out of fear of his or her rejection of you. For, true love is willing to be rejected in order to tell a friend the truth about his sin, in hopes that he will come to repentance. But, it is pride and selfishness that flatters others, instead, so as not to offend them, so that they will like us.
Proverbs 27:8-9, 12 ESV
Like a bird that strays from its nest
is a man who strays from his home.
Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.
The prudent sees danger and hides himself,
but the simple go on and suffer for it.
Many people today are living in adultery against their spouses and against God. And, many of these profess faith in Jesus Christ, too, at least here in America. For, adultery is not just going out and having sex with someone to whom you are not married. Jesus said that if we look at another lustfully that we have already committed adultery in our hearts.
Thus, adultery comes in many forms. We can commit adultery against our spouses via addiction to romance novels or movies or TV shows, for we are fantasizing relationships with someone other than with our spouses, and this can leave us dissatisfied with our spouses and wanting someone else. Or, it can be via the viewing of inappropriate contentographic images or videos or sexually charged or seductive TV shows or movies or videos, too, that we commit adultery.
Also, via social media on the internet many people are flirting with others with whom they are not married, or they are having extramarital romantic affairs via private chats. Or, this can take place in the work place, too, for many people work side-by-side with people of the opposite or same sex with whom they are attracted, and what may start as something innocent can soon blossom into a romantic and/or sexual affair that destroys a marriage.
Pride, though, often leads to stupidity, for people get this idea that they can “handle it,” and so they don’t have their guards up, and they don’t take the precautionary measures they need to take to prevent a fall. And, pride prevents them, too, from listening to wise and good counsel, for they don’t want anyone telling them what to do. And, so they ignore good counsel and go headlong into dangerous situations, which usually ends in disaster.
Proverbs 27:19-22 ESV
As in water face reflects face,
so the heart of man reflects the man.
Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
and never satisfied are the eyes of man.
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and a man is tested by his praise.
Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
along with crushed grain,
yet his folly will not depart from him.
Scripture teaches us that it is out of our hearts that evil comes forth. So, when we are tempted to do evil, or if we give in to what is evil, then we need to take a good long hard look into our own hearts to see what is there, prayerfully, asking the Lord to show us. And, then we need to repent of all that is bad, and let the Lord cleanse us and purify us of all that is evil.
Our flesh is never satisfied. So, this is why daily we must, by the Spirit of God, be putting our flesh to death. And, we must be putting on the armor of God with which to fight off Satan’s evil attacks against us, too. For, we are in a spiritual battle here, and we have an enemy who is out to destroy us any which way he can. So, we need to not let pride get in the way of wisdom, or else stupidity will take over, and then we will surely fall.
Those who are bent on continuing on in their sinful addictions, though, will not respond to wise counsel, and they will not take the necessary precautions or steps to ensure that they don’t fall. So, they continue on in their sinful course, and no matter how many times they fall, or how many times they suffer the consequences, if they do, still it does not stop them. No appeals for compassion, no common sense, no spiritual guidance, and no fear of consequences ever prevents them from their sinful course.
Nonetheless, Jesus Christ died on that cross, not just so we could be forgiven our sins and have the hope of heaven when we die, but in order to free us from our bondage (slavery, addiction) to sin. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us.
He died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live with him to righteousness. He died so that we can die to our flesh and our pride, and so that we can humble ourselves before him, repent of our sins, and now follow him in obedience to his will, and to his ways (Rom. 6:1-23; 2 Co. 5:15, 21; 1 Pet. 2:24; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 5:19-24).
Full Release
An Original Work / April 15, 2012
Walking daily with my Savior
brings me joy.
Loving Father; precious Jesus;
He’s my Savior and my Lord.
Gently leads me; follow Him.
I’ve invited Him within.
Now abiding in His presence,
oh, what peace.
From my self-life
He has brought me,
By His mercy, full release.
Hope and comfort,
peace and safety Jesus brings
When I daily bow before Him;
Obey freely; do His will.
Follow Him where’er He leads.
Listen to Him; His words heed.
Now obeying his words fully,
oh, what love
That He gives me
through salvation,
By His Spirit, from above.
Loving Father; precious Jesus,
He’s my friend.
With my Savior, by His Spirit,
I will endure to the end.
Share the gospel, tell what’s true.
Witness daily; His will do.
Tell the world of how their Savior
bled and died.
On a cruel cross He suffered
So that we might be alive.
Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring.
Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
a stranger, and not your own lips.
Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” So, we are to guard our hearts against being conceited and arrogant. We are not to think too highly of ourselves nor to take credit for what we did not accomplish in ourselves. And, we are not to be captivated by our own sense of self-importance.
We have no control over what tomorrow will bring. We can make all sorts of plans, but ultimately God will either allow them to come to fruition or he will not, for he is the one in control, not us. So, it is better that we seek God’s counsel regarding our plans, and it is better that we have the attitude, “If God wills,” rather than to assume that our plans will prevail.
We must also guard our hearts against promoting our own sense of self-importance to others. Yet, we can certainly share with others our joys, our praises, answered prayers, and our testimonies, as long as we are giving glory to God and not to our own flesh, in our own pride. And, we need to guard against a “me, me” attitude. Rather, we are to focus our minds and hearts on God and on the needs of others.
Proverbs 27:5-6 ESV
Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
Pride stands in the way of humbling ourselves before God and submitting to him and to his purposes for our lives. Many people continue on in their sinful addictions because they want to be the ones in control over their own lives, and they don’t want to give up that control to God. They want to be able to make their own choices, and they don’t want anyone else telling them what they can or cannot do, including God.
So many people think it is loving and kind to remain silent and to not ever confront anyone in their sinful practices. They think it is more loving to pat people on the back, and to tell them they are ok, even if they know they are not, and even if they know they are living in sin. And, this usually stems from their own pride, for they do not want that person upset with them.
But, whether you are the person who doesn’t want to be confronted in your sin, or you are the person who will not confront anyone in his sin, both situations stem from pride. For, you are more concerned about your own self-image and people liking you or thinking well of you than you are concerned about the spiritual and moral condition of yourself or your friend.
So, it is better and more loving to give and to receive open rebuke, said in a loving manner, than to withhold or to reject true love from your friend out of pride or out of fear of his or her rejection of you. For, true love is willing to be rejected in order to tell a friend the truth about his sin, in hopes that he will come to repentance. But, it is pride and selfishness that flatters others, instead, so as not to offend them, so that they will like us.
Proverbs 27:8-9, 12 ESV
Like a bird that strays from its nest
is a man who strays from his home.
Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.
The prudent sees danger and hides himself,
but the simple go on and suffer for it.
Many people today are living in adultery against their spouses and against God. And, many of these profess faith in Jesus Christ, too, at least here in America. For, adultery is not just going out and having sex with someone to whom you are not married. Jesus said that if we look at another lustfully that we have already committed adultery in our hearts.
Thus, adultery comes in many forms. We can commit adultery against our spouses via addiction to romance novels or movies or TV shows, for we are fantasizing relationships with someone other than with our spouses, and this can leave us dissatisfied with our spouses and wanting someone else. Or, it can be via the viewing of inappropriate contentographic images or videos or sexually charged or seductive TV shows or movies or videos, too, that we commit adultery.
Also, via social media on the internet many people are flirting with others with whom they are not married, or they are having extramarital romantic affairs via private chats. Or, this can take place in the work place, too, for many people work side-by-side with people of the opposite or same sex with whom they are attracted, and what may start as something innocent can soon blossom into a romantic and/or sexual affair that destroys a marriage.
Pride, though, often leads to stupidity, for people get this idea that they can “handle it,” and so they don’t have their guards up, and they don’t take the precautionary measures they need to take to prevent a fall. And, pride prevents them, too, from listening to wise and good counsel, for they don’t want anyone telling them what to do. And, so they ignore good counsel and go headlong into dangerous situations, which usually ends in disaster.
Proverbs 27:19-22 ESV
As in water face reflects face,
so the heart of man reflects the man.
Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
and never satisfied are the eyes of man.
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and a man is tested by his praise.
Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
along with crushed grain,
yet his folly will not depart from him.
Scripture teaches us that it is out of our hearts that evil comes forth. So, when we are tempted to do evil, or if we give in to what is evil, then we need to take a good long hard look into our own hearts to see what is there, prayerfully, asking the Lord to show us. And, then we need to repent of all that is bad, and let the Lord cleanse us and purify us of all that is evil.
Our flesh is never satisfied. So, this is why daily we must, by the Spirit of God, be putting our flesh to death. And, we must be putting on the armor of God with which to fight off Satan’s evil attacks against us, too. For, we are in a spiritual battle here, and we have an enemy who is out to destroy us any which way he can. So, we need to not let pride get in the way of wisdom, or else stupidity will take over, and then we will surely fall.
Those who are bent on continuing on in their sinful addictions, though, will not respond to wise counsel, and they will not take the necessary precautions or steps to ensure that they don’t fall. So, they continue on in their sinful course, and no matter how many times they fall, or how many times they suffer the consequences, if they do, still it does not stop them. No appeals for compassion, no common sense, no spiritual guidance, and no fear of consequences ever prevents them from their sinful course.
Nonetheless, Jesus Christ died on that cross, not just so we could be forgiven our sins and have the hope of heaven when we die, but in order to free us from our bondage (slavery, addiction) to sin. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us.
He died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live with him to righteousness. He died so that we can die to our flesh and our pride, and so that we can humble ourselves before him, repent of our sins, and now follow him in obedience to his will, and to his ways (Rom. 6:1-23; 2 Co. 5:15, 21; 1 Pet. 2:24; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 5:19-24).
Full Release
An Original Work / April 15, 2012
Walking daily with my Savior
brings me joy.
Loving Father; precious Jesus;
He’s my Savior and my Lord.
Gently leads me; follow Him.
I’ve invited Him within.
Now abiding in His presence,
oh, what peace.
From my self-life
He has brought me,
By His mercy, full release.
Hope and comfort,
peace and safety Jesus brings
When I daily bow before Him;
Obey freely; do His will.
Follow Him where’er He leads.
Listen to Him; His words heed.
Now obeying his words fully,
oh, what love
That He gives me
through salvation,
By His Spirit, from above.
Loving Father; precious Jesus,
He’s my friend.
With my Savior, by His Spirit,
I will endure to the end.
Share the gospel, tell what’s true.
Witness daily; His will do.
Tell the world of how their Savior
bled and died.
On a cruel cross He suffered
So that we might be alive.
