DO THE ANSWERS TO YOUR PRAYERS LEAD TO RIGHTEOUSNESS

Have you considered that there are prayers that should not be prayed at all?

Psalm 106:13-15

They soon forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel:

But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.

And he gave them their requests; but sent leanness into their soul.

God had redeemed Israel out of Egypt.

He had performed unimaginable miracles on behalf of his very own.

He had provided marvelously for them during their wanderings across the desert.

There was never a need in the camp that was not provided by his own hand.

The people made two grievous errors.

1. They forgot. “they soon forgot his works.”

2. They were impatient. “ they waited not for his counsel.”

God had provided for them a substance never seen before -manna- “the bread of heaven” which supplied every need for physical nourishment.

The people began to despise this gift of provision.

They yielded to an inordinate appetite, they began to demand meat instead.

In response to their demands, God in his goodness, sent quail into the camp.

Quail in numbers so immense that the children waded through the quail and the refuse they emitted in depths up to their knees.

Sickness followed, as the meat was not what was needed at the time, and the droppings and waste, became a breeding ground for disease, killing many. “He gave them their requests; but sent leanness into their soul.”

How often have you prayed, knowing that what was being petitioned was not of God but was a result of the lust of flesh, yet just like a spoiled child, you trusted that God in his love and mercy would allow you to have your desire?

How often have you prayed on behalf of others who either asked for prayer or you just decided to pray for them, asking for things that were either unscriptural or unrighteous?

And after praying, seeing those things requested, being allowed and then the recipient fall even further from the better position that God had ordained.

And then to ameliorate your conscience, pointing out a weakness or flaw in the life of the one who received the gift as a reason for their failure.

We need to learn from Israel’s fate and guard against these two related errors of forgetfulness and of impatience.

We too, can be tempted to despise Gods will and to become puffed up thinking that our plan is better and quicker.

Whenever such thoughts occur, repent.

In such a situation the worst thing that God can do for us is grant our request.

For when He does, it will produce a leanness or sickness in our soul.

Suggested prayer:

May I have the wisdom to look beyond my desire for the moment, and see the perfect will of a Holy and Righteous God.

The following is a republication from August 2007

SCHOOL DAZE

READING WRITING ARITHMETIC

The excitement is building, along with the fatigue that comes with the search and shopping for all of the supplies on a list that are just the right items for back to school.

The parent-child frustration that comes with picking out appropriate clothing, the rescheduling of child care and the concern that comes when the youngest is dropped off for the first few days at pre-school or kindergarten.

A familiar concern arises whenever that same child steps out the door of the home and pulls away in the car to leave the nest for the first time to attend an institute of higher learning that you as a parent have prayed about and added more gray to the top of the head than you would have expected.

How will my child survive kindergarten, how will they manage the university life until they regain their bearings?

Come with us as we see where the word of scripture has application in the lives of our children and most certainly ours as well.

We all know that the Bible states in Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he shall not depart from it.”

That takes the worry out of the possibility of losing moral direction and not knowing the way back whenever they leave home.

What a sense of peace to know that whatever they see in us, and the things that we teach them today will guide them tomorrow.

There will undoubtedly be times of struggle academically no matter what level of education they are in either public or private.

Once again the word comes through offering direction to all who would just learn what God has to say about any and every subject.

Take heart, your child can be, no, lets make that should be, the brightest student in any classroom, because God has told us and them how to achieve academic success.

Psalm 119:99 “ I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.”

And once againin Job 32:8 “But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.”

And that is only two references, that promise without a doubt success in the realm of education if we will only understand that we ought not to have unnecessary worry and that failure is not on the horizon, if we know, and apply what God has given us as immediate help

HOW TO DESTROY THOSE YOU CLAIM TO LOVE

WANNA KNOW A SECRET?

Too many people do, and far too many people have become willing to break the trust that a secret entails.

In the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul, reveals the sinful nature and lawlessness of mankind, stating how God was pouring out His wrath upon those who were rejecting His laws.

Because they had turned away from Gods instructions and guidance, He gave them over to sinful natures.

“They are gossipers, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil, they disobey parents, they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know Gods righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them: (Romans 1:29b-32).

Nothing has changed, men still conduct themselves the same way and God still knows about it.

Many reject Him and His word, so He allows them to be ruled by their sinful nature and depraved minds.

The Apostle Paul cautioned a particular group of people against entertaining the habit of gossiping and being idle.

“Thus they bring judgment upon themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to” (1 Timothy 5:12-13).

Whenever a person spends too much time in another’s home or works too closely with others, there is a tendency to become involved in a manner not identifiable as Christ like. They have occasion to see and hear things about others that have the potential to do tremendous harm, if not kept private.

Anyone can engage in the act of gossip simply by repeating something heard in confidence.

The book of Proverbs has a long list of verses that cover the dangers of gossip and the potential hurt that results when care is not taken to think of the other person and how he/she might react if something they wanted kept private is revealed.

“A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue. A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret” (Proverbs 11:12-13)

Many times, people are asked to keep a secret, but they find the secret too good *not* to share.

So they tell just one untrustworthy person who immediately goes to another with the “secret”, who goes to another and then the another goes to another and very soon the “secret” is out and it no longer even resembles the original broken covenant.

The problem began when the person who agreed to keep a secret, didn’t stick to the promise made.

There is a saying that states “If two people know a secret, the only one to be trusted with it is dead.”

The saying did not come with out a significant amount of truth.

“A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends” (Proverbs 16:28)

Think about the times that you have witnessed the destruction of a friendship that started with the poisonous tongue of a gossip. Those who engage in this behavior do nothing but stir up dissension and cause strife among friends. There is nothing honorable in their actions, and their own struggles or shortcomings are covered up by their desire to bring someone else down rather than focusing on the areas in their own lives which need work.

Some people thrive on this and will look for opportunities to destroy others.

And when people like this are confronted, they deny the allegations and answer with an excuse for why they’ve done what they have. Rather than admit their wrongdoing , they blame some one or something else, or attempt to make it seem as if the sin committed isn’t all that bad. “A fools mouth is his undoing, and his lips are a snare to his soul. The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a mans innermost parts” (Proverbs 18:7-8)

Gossip usually cuts deep. The topics that are “too good not to share” are generally ones that end up inflicting deep and cutting wounds to a persons inner being. And the betrayal almost always comes from someone close to the person affected. Gossip is bad enough when it comes from someone who is simply looking for a source of information they can share. But, when it begins with a trusted friend or someone who has been taken into confidence, the betrayal cuts deep to the soul, making it even harder for the one on the receiving end to forgive. “A gossip betrays confidence, so avoid a man who talks too much” (Proverbs 20:19)

Those people who are considered “busy bodies” are easily spotted and are usually in the center of the action, flitting from one situation to the next, seeking out a tidbit of information they can use to spread to others.

They’ll talk to just about anyone, pretending to care or be genuinely interested in what is being said to them, when all the while, their minds are racing ahead to the first person to whom they can repeat their conversation.

Gossips are only in it for themselves and the perverted pleasure it brings them to tear others down.

God has made a promise.

A promise that will be fulfilled in both the slanderer and the slandered.

“A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will [perish] not go free.”(Proverbs 19:5) and “Those who guard their mouths and tongues keep themselves from calamity (Proverbs 21:23).

So carefully guard your tongue and refrain from the sinful act of gossip.

Surrender all of your natural desires to the Lord and allow Him to help you remain righteous.

Love your neighbors as yourself and don’t sin against them in any way that you wouldn’t also do to yourself.

God rewards the just and the righteous, so strive to remain as such.