THE LORD MY CONFIDENCE

“For the Lord will be the source of your confidence, and he will guard your foot from being caught in a trap.” (Proverbs 3:26, NET)

God is the source of confidence to those who seek Him. The promise of our passage is experimental reality of the person who strives to obtain and walk in the wisdom of God.

"The Lord is the source of our confidence" is an assurance for every believer in his or her day to day affairs - effectual in directing, protecting and perfecting their life. And no matter how things look from where you stand, when you make the Lord your confidence, "you will not be filled with fear".

“...you will walk on your way with security, and you will not stumble. When you lie down you will not be filled with fear; when you lie down your sleep will be pleasant. You will not be afraid of sudden disaster, or when destruction overtakes the wicked; for the Lord will be the source of your confidence, and he will guard your foot from being caught in a trap.” (Proverbs 3:23–26, NET)

Those who have learned to make the Lord the source of their confidence will enjoy divine security because they will not walk in the way of sinners, they will enjoy sweet sleep when we lie down, they will not be overwhelmed by terror when faced with sudden disaster that comes through the ups and downs of life -“the careless ease of fools will destroy them. But the one who listens to me will live in security, and will be at ease from the dread of harm.” (Proverbs 1:32–33, NET).

Yes, the person who has made the Lord his confidence will never be shaken: “He does not fear bad news. He is confident; he trusts in the Lord. His resolve is firm; he will not succumb to fear before he looks in triumph on his enemies” (Psalm 112:7–8, NET).

It is a manifestation of divine wisdom when we makes the Lord our confidence. The Bible exhorts us that"God stores up sound wisdom for the upright" (Proverbs 2:7a) and teaches us that wisdom is a gift of God that will enter the heart of those who strive for it through a life of obedience and commitment to the will of God.

May the Lord from whose mouth wisdom precedes, and who by wisdom created all things, direct your feet on a safe and fruitful path and fill your heart with confidence always.

LISTEN & UNDERSTAND

Some people have knowledge of the price of everything but the value of nothing; and they end up paying a great price for things that have no value because they make unwise choices. Yet a wise person will find true wealth.

The path to wisdom is clear from scriptures. The word of God exhorts us saying, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand”. Listen and understand what is of worth: “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.” (Mark 4:9; Prov. 9:10, NLT).

Start each day day on the right foundation and continue in the fear of the Lord. Make the Lord your confidence daily. Trust Him entirely in everything and, regarding all aspects of your life, obey Him. Look upon Him with the confident expectation of a child toward a loving and caring father.

God is your heavenly Father whose word, as “a lamp to your feet and a light to your path”, will equip you with good judgement and enable to make wise choices for your life. He will direct your steps into the marvelous blessings which He has planned for those who trust in Him.

Listen and understand: The reverential fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. The wealth that endures can be obtained only as a blessing by those who walk in the knowledge and wisdom of God!

May this blessing be your daily experience!

READ SIGN TO KILL TIME?

“Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people), Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil. Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:15–17, AMP)

Hanging behind the check-out register in a Cincinnati candle shop is a large sign which reads:

“There is a very good reason for this sign being here and you standing in front of it reading it. It is here to keep you busy. We realize how annoying it can be just standing around doing nothing, trying to find someone to help you. So, we have this sign here for you to read, and hope that by the time you finish reading it one of our salespeople will have found you. “P.S. If not, please read this sign again.” - (Quote culled from Encyclopaedia of 7700 Illustrations)

Be careful how you kill time, your future and indeed your life are inextricably bound with what you do with time today. Rather, God's wise counsel is that you redeem the time and make the best use of every opportunity given you!

Time, once spent can never again be reclaimed. If you are twenty years old today, for example, the implication is that you can never be nineteen again. You may feel like a nineteen year old and be equally as active, but you are no longer nineteen and you can never have that time at your disposal again. Time passes by. It moves on even if, in your mind, you may have decided to stand still. 

The great implication of this is that we must wisely try to use up each opportunity available to us as time progresses. And recognizing that God has determined a time and a season for everything under the sun (Ecclesiastes 3:1), see to it then at each stage of your life and in every moment, that you redeem the time by understanding how God wants you to utilize your time. 

The apostle Paul wrote, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; now that I have become a man, I am done with childish ways and have put them aside” (1 Corinthians 13:11, AMP). This is about the proper understanding and use of time by which all ones faculties and being are harnessed for a fully productive life.

Have you been "reading the sign to kill time" or "redeeming the time" in the shop of life? Time is such a precious gift and must be used wisely to the glory of God. As a sensible, intelligent person, make the very most of your time. Be careful to observe how you walk, endeavouring to live purposefully and worthily in Christ!

God bless you as you heed his counsel to use time wisely. It is a challenge to faithful stewardship of time.

NOT BY SIGHT

“For we live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7, NET)

The preferred way for a Christian to live cannot be stated in a more obvious fashion than as emphatically expressed in our text.

There are two ways a person can live his life: either “by faith” or “by sight”; and there is a world of difference between both. Indeed our text compels us first of all to acknowledge the obvious, that is, that “Faith” is not “Sight”. Secondly, it challenges us to persist in living life by faith.

The original word translated “Sight” implies “External or outward appearance, form, figure, or shape”. In other words, “sight” speaks of things that exist in the realm of physical senses, things that we can experience physically.

Consequently, Christian, you are here exhorted not to allow the evidence of your senses, what you see and feel, to determine your estimation of your own worth and dictate how you conduct of your life. The things your physical sense can experience (i.e., “sight”) are, according to scriptures, changeable, temporary, and limited. So, “we live by faith”!

Faith is not sight! To be precise, the Bible defines faith as “...the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). The things that exist in the realm of faith are “things not seen”, and we are told to live by faith, live by the things not seen.

You may have heard people say, “What you see is what you get”, and that may sounds really intelligent, but such acceptance that evidence revealed by the senses is final is no doubt the inevitable conclusion of the carnal mind, and indeed a barrier to change. Thomas famously attracted the Lord’s rebuke because he insisted on seeing before he believed. Jesus then used that encounter to teach us the fundamental Christian truth that those who would live a blessed life “are those who have not seen and yet have believed” what God's word reveals to be true (John 20:29).

Faith that will change things eternally, and transform and restore situations in your life cannot be effectual if based on what you can see, touch and feel. It must be based only on the realities revealed by God’s unchanging and eternal Word, and we know that “Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17).

Faith gives the believer an assurance of that which is “not seen” so that a certainty of the things hoped for can be apprehended now, and the substance of the invisible grasped as being more real than anything the senses can contact. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

To “Live by faith” is to be spiritually minded and be guided by divine purpose - the things that God have set before you, who God says you are, what God says you can do, the things that give God delight! Don’t limit yourself by basing your life on the evidence of your sense.

Let your life be based today on the truth and realities that flows from God’s unchanging Word. Live by faith, not by sight; unlock all your life's potentials and breakthrough every barrier and limitations forever!

CHRISTMAS BEGINS WITH “CHRIST”

Christmastime is a season of great joy and celebration! But this joy and celebration will be hollow if we fail to hold in tension the “who” and the “why” behind Christmas.

“Who” are we celebrating and “Why” are we celebrating this obviously important person? Why the Christmas dinners, the exchange of gifts, the rejoicing and general sense of goodwill all around? In one word: CHRIST!

Jesus Christ gives Christmas its meaning: A Saviour is born! HE IS the Redeemer SENT to buy our freedom from sin. And so the angel declared most appropriately, “joy to the world” to herald the birth of the most important person to enter the history of humankind!

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10–11, NIV)

At Christmas the whole world is suddenly enwrapped in the spirit of love and of joy just as the angel declared at that first Christmas. And it is no coincidence that this is the case, even if the actual celebration has been tainted somewhat. Ultimately, the “idea” of Christmas is God’s – “when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” (Galatians 4:4–5, NIV); this is not man’s invention.

This “good news” and “great joy” which the birth of Christ represents must then have pride of place and take centre stage in everything we do, not only at this unique date reserved for special celebration, but all year long and for all time. And we read in the Gospel of John –

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NIV)

As believers, we must endeavour then to emulate and reflect the nature of and motive for the gift which God has given us as we exchange gifts at Christmas and in all our giving in general. We are exhorted, “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11, NIV). And the joy of the new and living way which Jesus has opened to us for unfettered access to the Father should now fill our hearts with joy.

At the heart of Christmas is Christ: anything less is alien to the Christian’s renewed mind. Jesus Christ is God's precious gift sent by God Himself to meet man’s greatest need - Eternal Life.

Rejoice! It’s all about Jesus Christ, the express revelation of the love God has for us.

May the indwelling life of Christ shine like light through you this Christmastime to powerfully impact someone by your act of unconditional love! 

GOOD GIFTS OF GOD’S LOVE

God expresses His Fatherly love in the things He gives His children, when He gives it and how. The evidence of Scriptures is that He gives good gifts:

“If your child asks you for bread, would any of you give him a stone? Or if your child asks for a fish, would you give him a snake? Even though you’re evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. So how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him?” (Matthew 7:9–11, GW)

Do you consider the Lord God to be your Father in heaven? If so, let me assure you with these few words that you can wholly rely on His word and truly expect this promise in our text to be your reality, that your gracious Father in heaven is righteous and will “give good things to those who ask Him”.

God has revealed Himself to us “The Father of Lights” and Scriptures attest that from Him alone comes “every good and every perfect gift”, assuring us also that in His character and nature “there is no variation or shadow due to change”. He gives freely and graciously; He gives according to His own will. (See James 1:16–18, ESV).

This is the God to whom we direct our righteous requests and before whom we stand, expecting to receive “good things”.

What good thing do you desire? No loving human father will ever give his children something he knows will be detrimental to their general wellbeing or welfare. He will not give them stone when they request bread, nor will he accede to their request if what they desire will ultimately harm them. He will use he will use good judgment to give them fish should they unwittingly request “snake” (which I use here to symbolize something that is ultimately harmful). Parents who allow their children to have whatever they want fail their children in many ways.

Now if our human parents care for us so much, how much more do you imagine that your heavenly Father cares for you? He died on the cross in order to give you the greatest thing you will ever need: Your salvation.

“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32, ESV)

What the Father withholds from us is as important as what He allows us to have. They all express His gift of love to us. Be grateful for both what He releases and what He withholds - they are both different sides of the “good things” and the “good gifts” that come from the Father. If He gives us everything we long for, some of them will inevitably overwhelm us, destroy our faith and, ruin our lives.

“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him”. (1 John 5:14-15)

Expect the perfect will of God to be done in every situation in your life. Ask according to the will of God; believe that you receive the will of God, and your needs will be met according to His will! Your heavenly Father loves you, and His love will determine what He gives, when He gives it and in what proportion!

BEWARE OF IDLE WORDS

“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment.” (Matthew 12:36, NKJV)

The clear thought of the passage can be summed up thus: God assesses the value of every word YOU utter; YOU are responsible for every word YOU speak and therefore will give account of each one of them - whether they are idle or otherwise; and it’s the will of God that every word YOU speak is fruitful in the sense of being worthwhile and making a positive difference.

The word “idle” in this passage is a translation of the Greek word “argos”, which also denotes “inactive, unfruitful, and barren”. Argos is a compound word made up of “a” meaning ‘negative’ and “ergon” meaning ‘work’. So the word can be used in the sense of something having the potential to produce a negative outcome or a worthless result.

The message is clear: Be careful of the quality of your words. It matters that we are not careless with our words; that the words we speak are such as would activate the move of the Holy Spirit and not license the devil or give him room.

Words produce results; the question is what kind of results are your words producing? When you speak “idle” words you equip your adversary the devil with effectual weapons of attack – your own words. Ephesians 6 describes these enemy weapons as “the fiery darts of the wicked one”.

Idle words by their nature are contrary to the will of God and negates our faith in any given situation or circumstance. You are as likely to speak idle words into your own life as in the lives of others too - perhaps into your spouse’s life, your children’s lives, indeed the lives of everyone you come in contact with, even total strangers. What you say, how you say it, and why you say it matters. You will give account.

A mouth trained in talking foolishness, filthiness, or negatives cannot be proficient in speaking life and faith. The Bible enjoins the believer:

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29)

As a believer, every word you permit to come out your lips should be words that the Holy Spirit can use to work God’s purpose. God has put the power of life and death in the tongue, and He wants His children to speak words that are alive and active, not dead and worthless words.

However, our words cannot be alive and active unless their content and the motive of our hearts line up with God’s purpose and plan. Then will our words we take on the character of God’s word and receive the backing of the Father, for only the word of God has the attribute of being alive and active. Jesus said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).

How have you been using the creative power that God has invested in your tongue? Train your mouth to speak life not death, to speak fruitful words not words that produce a negative work. Eschew idle words and learn to speak as your heavenly Father speaks.

Beware; you will be accountable for the outcome of your words. Speak life; speak the change that is ordained by God. Impact your world with God-breathed words and not with idle words!