by David Brenneman
"My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path," Proverbs 1:15.
"Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me, Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord." Proverbs 1:28-29.
"They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof. So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices. For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them. But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil.” Proverbs 1:30-33.
For most people the hard core truth about themselves is something they loathe knowing. Ignorance is bliss for them. They would rather just not know.
Would you be one of them?
That you would rather just not know that what you've embraced in your life might be something that God doesn't approve of?
Are you in a strained relationship that is only like that because of your pride?
Are you wasting your time, energy and money on things that will mean nothing in the plans that God had in mind for you?
Do you at all consider the things of God as they relate to you?
As Believers we are not our own. We were bought with a price, the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
From individuals to whole churches people are compromising the word of God to supposedly turn people to Christ.
To show people one thing that their idea of living out Christ and in reality they've watered down the message of salvation to the point that its not even the milk of the Word of God that's consumed let alone the meat of the Word of God.
Are your habits, hobbies, your ideas on entertainment so close to the world that there's no difference between you and the world?
Are you possibly harboring resentment towards people that's unfounded and it's really costing you a relationship that could have been?
Things like these are a part of the lives of people with their eyes closed their ears covered from hearing from and obeying the Spirit.
Possibly could be called the Jonah Syndrome.
How far did Jonah really get?
How much effort did he put into doing things God's way from the onset?
Broken relationships are the hallmark of the characteristics of sins influence.
Broken between us and each other and us and Jesus.
As you wrap up 2024...what do your relationships look like? Are you avoiding certain people because of pride or because of real situations?
Are you honestly avoiding the Spirit? Going about your day in only your own way?
What are you doing? Are you seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness or your own?
Ask the Spirit to show you the truth and wait for His response. Receive what He shows you with gratitude. The good, the bad and the ugly. Scripture says that in everything give thanks.
Repair relationships with the help of the Spirit of God. Remove what amounts to worldly idols from your life. Double-down on your commitment to live Godly in Christ Jesus. Replace the worthless things of this world with the worthwhile things of God.
Stop thinking that your compromises aren't so bad. ANY compromise that at ALL impacts your walk with Jesus is more than bad. No matter how good it may seem.
Ask for open eyes and ears to only God's truth. Try that for 2025.
Your life is supposed to be material for a crown of righteousness to give back to Jesus. Is there anything worthy to make a crown from you?
All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.
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