Author: astherainandsnow

“About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James with the sword, and… proceeded to arrest Peter also. He put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him,.. but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

“Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, ‘Get up quickly.’ And the chains fell off his hands. The angel said to him, ‘Dress yourself and put on your sandals… Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.’ And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out.., and immediately the angel left him.  

“When Peter came to himself, he said, ‘Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod…’ He went to the house of Mary,.. where many were gathered together praying.” Acts 12:1-11a,12b

The early church was growing in numbers and power, but so was sentiment against it. New converts meant increasing suspicion among government and religious leaders, and consequent persecution. None of this was lost on our sovereign God. He was working all things- even death and imprisonment and the prayers of His people- for the ultimate good purpose of all who loved Him. (Romans 8:28)

We do know not know why the Lord takes some young and others later in life. We wouldn’t order the desperation or injustice we encounter. We cannot fathom God’s broad and mysterious and sometimes painful ways. But even when we do not understand, we can trust His intentions and believe He is actively fulfilling His purpose. He appoints the number of our days, our place and pattern of service to Him, and whether it means martyrdom, public teaching, serving tables, or praying behind the scenes, we are called to follow Him. (John 21:18-21; Acts 17:26)

Following may lead to prison- literally, for those under oppressive regimes, or figuratively, for those condemned or constrained at work, or among friends or family. Our faith may imprison us loneliness, or being misunderstood. But in these places, as we pray, we learn contentment, and God’s faithfulness and sufficiency. We trust Him for deliverance, discernment, strength, and hope. God uses it all to accomplish in us and others what He desires. (Philippians 4:11-13)

In my hard place, from what does He intend to unshackle me? What is He teaching about His trustworthiness, or expectant prayer? How can I follow Him more closely to join in His work?

Lord, you have set me apart for specific work, in this specific time. Fill me with your Spirit to fulfill that call, and to encourage others to do the same, for the building up of Your kingdom and the magnifying of Your glory. (Acts 13:2-5)

“Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,’
even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you.” Psalm 139:7-12

Before the sun had risen, before any shadow crept into the day, rays appeared spraying up from the eastern horizon. Piercing and eradicating the dark in an indeterminable instant. Sublime. All-encompassing. Reaching as wide as angles allow, they spread their arms and shouted their message that all is held, and covered. There is not an iota of space untouched by God’s light and influence and radiant love.

Nothing is hidden from His notice or involvement. We burn with no desire He does not understand, expend no effort He does not measure, struggle with no temptation He has not felt, and languish in any failure He has not overcome. Our God is limitless in compassion, grace, and power toward His own. He bursts forth in perfect light to uncover the recesses of our heart secrets, and perfect timing to meet our soul needs. He knows all that lies before us, and is sufficient for our journey. (Isaiah 53:3; 1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Corinthians 9:8; 12:9; Hebrews 4:15-16)

As we live weighted under hard circumstances, would we consider poking our heads above them, where the sun rays warm and enlighten and the air is free? Would we escape the frenzied treadmill of earthly duties, and take seriously God’s admonition to rest, and His example to get away alone with him? It may not be possible to extricate ourselves from very real responsibilities and limitations of poor health or ongoing societal conflict, but the Lord’s light can reach every hidden place and restore supernaturally in the moments we do have. (Exodus 20:8-11; Matthew 14:23; Mark 6:31)

What areas of our thought and practical life do we withhold from God’s penetrating rays? Do we give lip service to surrender, but fret with fears about our health, the welfare and choices of loved ones, or security for the future? Worry has no place in Christ’s embrace. Have we compartmentalized certain areas we want to keep control of, claiming we know best when it comes to scheduling, finances, and entertainment? Pride does not get along with humility, vulnerability, and dependence. If we truly believe that Jesus’s light is the life of men, we would trust Him enough to expose all of ourselves to its penetrating power. (John 1:4)

Lord, nothing is concealed from the reach of Your light, and one day all will be exposed and rectified. So shine that You uncover my sin, purify my heart, light my way, and reflect Your beauties abroad in this dark world. (Psalm 36:9; 119:105; Luke 8:17; 1 Corinthians 4:5)

“‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone… I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” Ezekiel 11:16-20

The Lord does not dismiss or cancel His own when we wander. He has His eye on us when we suffer exile as a consequence of sin. He remains our sanctuary in every place we are scattered, His door open to our seeking, return, and trust. He is present in our inward prisons. He is the great Rescuer, Remaker, and Redeemer.

If God’s mercy is withholding what we do deserve, and His grace is giving us what we do not deserve, then these benevolent attributes are best seen, understood, and experienced when we go astray. To pray for loved ones to comprehend God’s grace is to ask for the bittersweet- a heart in the far country stricken by its own unworthiness, yet captivated by the worthiness and lavish love of Christ. It is the prodigal who is irresistibly drawn by his Savior, the unfaithful bride who tastes the sweetness of reconciliation with her bridegroom. It is God’s nature to visit us in our ruin and do what He does best. (Hosea 3; Luke 15:11-24; John 1:14,16)

When God in His mercy turns stone hearts to flesh, He revolutionizes us all inside and over. He kneads out impurities in our impulses, intensions, and desires. He softens us toward the unlovable, dissolves long-held bitterness, and transforms destructive habits. We want to put away detestable reading material and entertainment, to get rid of divisiveness and empty distractions, to remove false lovers from our affections. The Lord strives with His people with holy purpose and faithfulness.

Where have I wandered in rebellion, shrugged off discipline, or ignored biblical instruction? Has my heart grown cold and calloused with impatience, rudeness, pride, boasting, resentment? Where do I need fresh vitality in my spiritual life? Am I in a rut of habit, with no depth, no real scrabble of application, no wrestling in prayer for God to convict and change me? When the Lord changes us, He supplies what we need to walk with Him. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7; 2 Corinthians 9:8)

Father, gather me daily to You, and conform my heart to Yours. May I serve and obey in Your Spirit, so all may know I am Your child.

“I will hope continually
    and will praise you yet more and more.
My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
    of your deeds of salvation all the day,
    for their number is past my knowledge.
With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come;
    I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

 O God, from my youth you have taught me,
    and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
Even to old age and gray hairs,
    O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
    your power to all those to come.
 Your righteousness, O God,
    reaches the high heavens.
You who have done great things,
    O God, who is like you?
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
    will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
    you will bring me up again.
You will increase my greatness
    and comfort me again.

I will also praise you with the harp
    for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre…
My lips will shout for joy,
    when I sing praises to you;
    my soul also, which you have redeemed.
And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long.” Psalm 71:14-24a

The Lord God has a good, solid record, long and consistent. His deeds are numberless, His strength and power inexhaustible, His character faithful. And what He has done in the past we can count on Him to do again and again and again. (Psalm 40:5; 147:5)

Beginning the morning with praise and thanksgiving fills our minds with the gracious, immutable God. Recounting His works, recording His wonders, listing answers to prayer, and singing His attributes settle us in contentment and serenity, and prepare us with expectancy for the day ahead. We are reminded and ready, buoyed by His goodness, and buttressed against any oncoming storm.

But when we take our focus off of Him, and allow challenges and problems to blur our spiritual vision, we regress to worry and complaint. We fret with busyness and fail to pray. We make plans that disregard Him, and muster up flesh strength. We set up new idols and take back our trust. We absorb fear and trouble from the media, and neglect His good news. We whine and grumble rather than rehearsing His greatness to ourselves and others. The enemy delights in blinding our vision and sullying our witness.

Why is it we get into impossible situations and think He won’t meet us there? Why do we doubt He’s made a way of escape from temptation, or a path of redemption in a broken relationship? He does not change! His promises still stand and His plans can’t be thwarted. His deeds are ongoing, and His attributes are infinite. He always finishes what He’s begun, and proves faithful over and over. Will we today implement this refrain? (Job 42:2; Psalm 33:10-11; Lamentations 3:22-23; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Philippians 1:6)

“‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, 
and to take him at his word; 
just to rest upon his promise, 
and to know, ‘Thus saith the Lord.’ 
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him! 
How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er! 
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! 
O for grace to trust him more!” ~Louisa M. R. Stead (1882)

Father, may my living and praise be as constant as You, so You are magnified.

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“The king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place. And David said, ‘I will deal loyally with Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father dealt loyally with me. So David sent by his servants to console him concerning his father… But the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, ‘Do you think, because David has sent comforters to you, that he is honoring your father? Has not David sent his servants to you to search the city and to spy it out and to overthrow it?’ So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved off half the beard of each and cut off their garments in the middle, at their hips, and sent them away. When it was told David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, ‘Remain at Jericho until your beards have grown and then return.’

“When the Ammonites saw that they had become a stench to David, [they] sent and hired the Syrians- foot soldiers and… men. When David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the host of the mighty men. And the Ammonites came out and drew up in battle array…

“When Joab saw that the battle was set against him both in front and in the rear, he chose some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Syrians.  The rest of his men he put in the charge of Abishai his brother, and he arrayed them against the Ammonites… ‘Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to him.’ So Joab and the people who were with him drew near to battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him. And when the Ammonites saw that the Syrians fled, they likewise fled before Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.” 2 Samuel 10:1-10,12-14

David and his military leaders behaved in stark contrast to their pagan counterparts. They displayed the vivid disparity between God’s people and those who live for other gods. Our perception of others, our values, and our life strategies differ according to whom we perceive as in charge. Self-rule elicits very different results from outlook and days that are surrendered to Christ. One suspects the worst, one expects the best. One demeans, the other shows deference. One wants to ruin, the other strategizes for what is right. One fights for self preservation, the other for God’s honor. One bullies in his own strength, the other leaves all results to God.

Pride breeds a myopic view that can blur our perspective of the broader good. Motives turned inward sully our manners toward others, while generous care for those in our workplace, community, and world informs gracious choices. It is vital we compare ourselves to and align with the Lord, not those around us. His is a high and holy standard, and remaining fixed on Him yields godly thinking and impulse. (Psalm 1:1-3; Proverbs 3:3-7)

Is greed, favoritism, or the smack of superiority coloring my assessment of others? Are my aims set for the good of self, or many?

Lord, purify the deepest part of me to effect godly behavior that reflects You in every way. (Psalm 19:13-14)

“In [the heavens] he has set a tent for the sun,
    which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat.” Psalm 19:4-6

“The Mighty One, God the Lord,
    speaks and summons the earth
    from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
    God shines forth.

 Our God comes; he does not keep silence;
    before him is a devouring fire,
    around him a mighty tempest.
He calls to the heavens above
    and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
‘Gather to me my faithful ones,
    who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!’
The heavens declare his righteousness,
    for God himself is judge!..

The world and its fullness are mine.” Psalm 50:1-6,12b

There’s much beauty and comfort in the regularity of each day. We know in the dark that it is coming, we order our lives by the rhythms of nature and 24-hour cycles. The earth’s spinning and sun’s course, majestic as they are, are often simply a dependable backdrop to our hectic lives.

But not so to God. Each hour is purposeful, each morning a brilliant reminder of His faithfulness and a gift of promise and hope, each course of the sun a display of His ordered, exquisite glory. If God is supernaturally orchestrating behind and above our scenes, His glorious will and providence encompass all we endeavor. As we get caught up in minutiae and the finite, we can trust His sovereignty in the magnificent and everlasting.

In the hum and frenzy of our earthly business, do we lift our heads to take note we are in God’s chamber? In the cacophony of opinion and persuasion, do we hear His clarion summons? When prospects appear bleak, or decisions are unjust, or ugly rudeness abounds, do we take time to marvel at God’s beauty?

Knowing that God’s panoptic view of our lives encompasses His glory and perfection, might we see each day differently? Not as mine, but His? How can I magnify His glory in my hours? How can I run my course with vigor and fruitfulness? (2 Timothy 4:7; Hebrews 12:1-2)

“God, all nature sings Thy glory, and Thy works proclaim Thy might;
Ordered vastness in the heavens, ordered course of day and night;
Beauty in the changing seasons, beauty in the storming sea;
All the changing moods of nature praise the changeless Trinity.

“Clearer still we see Thy hand in man whom Thou hast made for Thee;
Ruler of creation’s glory, image of Thy majesty.
Music, art, the fruitful garden, all the labor of his days,
Are the calling of his Maker to the harvest feast of praise.

God of glory, power, mercy, all creation praises Thee;
We, Thy creatures, would adore Thee now and through eternity.
Saved to magnify Thy goodness, grant us strength to do Thy will;
With our acts as with our voices Thy commandments to fulfill.” ~David Clowney (1960)

Mighty Creator, catch me up in Your eternal rhythms, and keep me marveling at Your overarching majesty. May all I do and say reflect Your beauty and divine glory.

“David arose and went with all the people… to bring up the ark of God… Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart,.. and Ahio went before the ark.

“David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark. And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah… And David was afraid of the Lord that day…

“David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing… David danced before the Lord with all his might… with shouting and the sound of the horn.

“As the ark of the Lord came into the city, Michal [his wife] the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart. They brought in the ark and set it in its place… David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord… and blessed the people in the name of the Lord…

“David returned to bless his household. But Michal came out to meet David and said, ‘How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!’ And David said to Michal,.. ‘I will celebrate before the Lord.'” 2 Samuel 6:6:2a,3,5-9a,12b,14-18,20-21

The emotions in this account are potent- thick and varied, measured and impulsive, hot and cold. David swings from glee to anger to fear to calm back to joy and then stern resolve. His wife Michal stews in disgust and loathing (from jealousy?) that manifest in fiery sarcasm and vitriol. Only God is not capricious or reactionary, but steady and calmly benevolent. His anger is righteous and controlled, His holiness upheld.

Emotions are a magnificent and many-faceted gift from God, enabling us to experience life with pathos, intensity, and meaning. They enrich our relationships and interactions with the world and with our Savior. But they can also wreak havoc with our psyche, disrupt reason, pollute vision, ignite suspicion, threaten friendships, ingrain grudges, and instantaneously ruin the best of situations.

In a day when feelings often trump reason, allowing our emotions free rein is a dangerous habit. Aligning them with the Holy Spirit and tethering them to solid truth- about ourselves, others, and our circumstances- will keep them in check and channeled in the right direction. They should not drive our behavior, but enhance it, not unsettle our security, but affirm it.

When God rules our emotions, He touches the deepest initial heart reactions and attitudes, as well as our verbal and non-verbal expressions. What pride and self-asserted rights trigger our feeling ‘put upon,’ and spouting off in irritability, frustration, or rage? Where are we allowing godless jealousy, impatience, insolence, or snarkiness to divide relationships? What personal swings of emotion need the Lord’s overriding control and calm?

Father, please dictate, steady, and channel my emotions in Your perfect, righteous character. May their expression magnify Your beauty and holiness. (Psalm 19:13-14; 55:1-3)

“The word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them? Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols, that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their idols.

“’Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations. For any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, who separates himself from me, taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to a prophet to consult me through him, I the Lord will answer him myself. And I will set my face against that man; I will make him a sign and a byword and cut him off from the midst of my people, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 14:2-8

“I am the Lord; that is my name;
    my glory I give to no other,
    nor my praise to carved idols.” Isaiah 42:8 

We may think we can coddle idols in our hearts, and conceal our iniquities before our faces, and still seek and hear from the Lord, but He says not so. No mixed affections. We will hear from Him, but it will be a call to repent from dual allegiances. He see us clearly, even those secrets we think we hide. He knows well what lurks in our hearts, and wants to lay hold of them. Though He is invisible, the omniscient and all-seeing holds us before His unobstructed face, and promises to set that face against us unless we come clean. (Jeremiah 17:9; John 2:25)

What things have vied for our heart’s affection and allegiance over the Lord, and won? To what habits and trinkets are we beholden, devastated if we cannot get our fix? Do we worship at the altar of connectivity, comfort and safety, financial security, or approval so often that we do not recognize our addiction as idolatry?

When the Holy Spirit exposes our idols, are we quick to name and renounce them, and repent? Do we ruthlessly put them away, turn them off, find accountability, and let Jesus set us free from their tyranny? We cannot serve two masters. (Matthew 6:24; John 8:34-36; 16:8)

Fall on God’s grace! His mercy responds to our repentance, by which He steals and seals our hearts.

“Oh, to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee:
prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart, O take and seal it;
seal it for thy courts above.” ~Robert Robertson (1758)

Lord, take hold of my heart and its every longing and love. Cause it to pulse for You alone.

“What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.  But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars…

“So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body…

“Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven… For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass:

‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’
‘O death, where is your victory?
    O death, where is your sting?'” 1 Corinthians 15:36b-44,49,53-55

While the prospect of death looms dark and unappealing, there are days we struggle to be released from repeated failure, temptation, and weakness of will and body. Our Maker has placed eternity in our hearts, so it is in our wiring to long for more and better, to grapple with constraints of flesh and time, and to desire the ‘not yet’ restoration of unsullied beauty. For now, we know simply in part, and dimly, but we desire what is yet to be. (Ecclesiastes 3:11; Romans 8:19-23; 1 Corinthians 13:9-10,12 ; Revelation 21:1-5)

We will be changed. We will see Jesus face to face. But death must come first. We are kernels of wheat called to lay down our lives so Christ lives through us. One day, death and all its attending fear and pain and grief will be swallowed up in eternal, never-ending life. This is our sure hope as Christians- we were made for glory. (John 15:13; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; Galatians 2:20; 1 John 3:2)

Knowing this to be true, how are we to live, and die, today? Would we see, as Amy Carmichael coined, in every temptation, every opportunity, every experience of life, a chance to die to self? This frees us to live to Christ, and for the sake of others. Are our hours and efforts sown for this purpose?

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly,.. unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” John 12:23-24

Lord, teach me to die to self and live to You in every aspiration, impulse, plan, and action. May I honor You as I draw closer to the life that is to be.

“’Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy from their own hearts: “Hear the word of the Lord!” Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!  Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel. You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the Lord. They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, “Declares the Lord,” when the Lord has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, whenever you have said, “Declares the Lord,” although I have not spoken?’

“Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, I am against you, declares the Lord God.  My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord God. Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace… And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 13:2-10a,14

The prophet Ezekiel speaks words many would rather avoid or shun. After all, truth often convicts, and requires a change of direction or behavior or way of thinking. How insidiously we slide into embracing false lovers who whisper words we want to hear. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

But God is gracious to warn us against messages that seem more palatable at present but actually, or eventually, bring shame and destruction. False teaching flows from those who speak from their own hearts, and follow their own spirit, not the Lord’s. It disheartens the righteous falsely, and encourages the wicked instead of warning them, to God’s consternation. (Ezekiel 13:22)

So whose wisdom do we trust, and tell? Whose message do we follow, and promote? When we research options, or need to make a decision for the future, whom do we consult? Do we turn to our own heart for guidance, and follow our feelings for answers? Or do we turn to the Holy Spirit who gives personal insight, and discernment over who else carries His truth and understanding. What steps can we take to be more careful in what we espouse and pass along? Are we diligently asking for divine wisdom, and boldly heeding it? (James 1:5-6)

“Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:1-2

Lord, help me listen to and know Your words, and heed You always. Permeate my mind, heart and spirit that I believe and follow You, my Source of truth. Bring falsehood to light, and to naught, for the sake of Your honor and Name.