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There is something that we as Christians must always heed. No man on this earth has the authority to alter the Word of God. Yes, I know that the Bible as we know it today was written through the hands of men. However, my emphasis is on adding words to the scripture, not interpretation.

There are people out there that claim they are the embodiment of Jesus coming back to claim his bride. There are signs that will follow so that we may know the real Christ. There are people out there that will call upon you to dig down deep into your pockets so that they can expand their ministry with a new jet aircraft. They say it is God’s will for them to travel in such an elaborate style, but with Jesus not even knowing where he would rest his head at night when he came upon some cities, does a personal jet really become God’s will for an evangelist?

I’m not criticizing or being judgmental. I am merely asking you to really look for confirmation of what someone tells you by God’s own Word first. Be in prayer and seek wisdom. Don’t just believe that because someone looks like a pastor or has a title or serves within a particular capacity within ministry that they always speak God’s truth.

Proverbs 30:6 Do not add to his words,
or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

As we are about to conclude our 31 days of prayer and mediation in Proverbs this week, I ask that you will prayerfully seek the Lord’s will as you read the devotions and pray. Always uphold my words against the living word of God and follow God’s Word over my words always! May you do the same for everything that is presented to you through man that is credited to be from God.

Proverbs 29:19 A servant cannot be corrected by mere words;
though he understands, he will not respond.

This is something that I believe all of us understand in theory, but don’t always put into practice. Too many times I have heard stories from teens where their parents will punish them for their language, but their parents use worse language and that is okay. It gets even deeper. Parents will tell their children not to have sex before they are married or not to take drugs or drink alcohol, yet the kids know their parents have done these exact things. Then, the parents will say that just because they did it does not make it right and it is their hope that the kids will learn from the mistakes of the parents and benefit from their wisdom. ERRRRRRRRR! Just stop it right there! This tactic just doesn’t work. Do as I say, not as I do has no credibility in anyone’s world!

If we aren’t willing to be examples of what we teach, how can we expect others to follow our ways? That is the awesome thing about Jesus. Not only does he give us wisdom through his teaching, but he lived the life in the flesh for the world to see. He never stumbled or compromised. When Jesus teaches something we can know that he lived it himself.

What can you eliminate from your life that sets a bad example for others? Especially if you’re a parent, I would hope you would take this verse to heart. Could you give up drinking to avoid putting yourself in compromising positions? If you think taking out your co-workers for drinks after work and then saying some dumb things will help them respect your authority in the workplace, you are totally wrong. if you tell your girlfriend to be more responsible in staying in touch with you, shouldn’t you do the same thing? There are so many things we do, consciously and sub-consciously that reveal us to be somewhat hypocritical. Let’s seek the Lord, ask His forgiveness, and start being better examples of what we say. Respect cannot be demanded, but it must be earned.

It’s rare to find someone that isn’t a professing Christian that really understands this idea, but lying, stealing, cheating, and being deceitful to cover up your mistakes really doesn’t gain you anything. It has nothing to do with whether only Christians can be moral. When I was an atheist I felt I had a strong moral compass. However, when one is not a Christian it’s easy to rationalize taking advantage of others for our own personal gain or to do some things we can get away with because they aren’t smart enough to figure it out and it’s not your place to educate them. In reality, this mindset is just wrong!

Proverbs 28:13 tells us:

If you hide your sins, you will not succeed. If you confess and reject them, you will receive mercy.

If you’re an unbeliever reading this, it probably seems like it’s false. There are people that hide things and yet they are very successful, right? However, the context of this verse has to do with being successful from a heavenly perspective, not a worldly one.

Not only is confessing our mistakes to God a continual process in humbling ourselves before God, but it removes a tremendous burden from our shoulders always! We’re better off confessing our mistakes to others and taking what happens as a result than we are by trying to continually keep lying to cover it up. God doesn’t want anyone to feel guilty, yet without God we can find plenty in our lives that cause us to feel guilty.

If you’re feeling guilty about something, stop it! Confess it to God and He will offer forgiveness and remove it from his memory as if it never happened. He will never use it against you in the future or cause you to feel guilt or shame. Whatever is causing your guilt, won’t you connect with the person you were dishonest to or took advantage of and just let them know you’re sorry and ask their forgiveness? Isn’t it about time? Take the opportunity to let go of that burden and start enjoying the life God wants you to experience. Let the guilt be replaced with peace and joy.

One of the things that we tend to struggle with is giving in to anger or emotion or retribution because we are provoked by another. It’s easy to make excuses and blame others, but with Christ in us, can we really say, “Tom made me do it?” or whoever it is that you believe caused your mis-step? If we are to be a reflection of Jesus, can someone else’s words really make us look bad? Should we really stand on our own pride and ego if we are to be Christ-like in our ways?

This is one of the most difficult things to do as Satan knows we are sinful in nature and therefore we are going to be prone to be temporarily blinded when someone gets in our face and calls us out and we respond by lashing out verbally or physically as we sense a threat or damage to our pride. As Jesus told us in Matthew 5, it’s not eye for an eye, but turn the other cheek. It’s almost impossible to comprehend when someone is trying to get us riled up, but the one thing that ends this is to let them have their stupid way and eventually they leave to go pick on someone else, or they come to realize how stupid they are acting and just stop. It goes much farther than giving into their way and trying to fight back.

Just know that Proverbs 27:3 really is true:

Stone is heavy and sand a burden,
but provocation by a fool is heavier than both.

The weight of publicly feeling like we are being made to look like a fool or the butt of someone’s jokes or being asked to respond to the idiotic question, “What are you gonna do about it?” is really heavy. However, the weight of giving into the provoking from another is an even bigger burden and it sets a never-ending trap to always respond the same way. Be above the urge to play Satan’s game and just stop. Let them have their fun or appear to have the upper hand. In reality, as you have Christ on your side and his love in your heart, you will prevail. It’s a matter of trusting in God or trusting in the greatest liar Satan. The choice is yours.

Have you ever had a time--maybe even now--where things seem to be closing in on you and you don’t know what to do? You question why you of all people should have to deal with such a thing? After everything you’ve been through, you ask, “When will it all end?”

As difficult as it is going to sound, I’d ask you to just step back and believe that you are going to get through it. Whether it is a threat of something due to not having enough money or losing a job while you have debt or struggling with temptations…whatever it is, just pause and give it all to the Lord. Tell him that you’re believing this isn’t for you and that you will rise above it by trusting that God has bigger and better plans for you and that he intends to prosper you rather than harm you just like it is revealed in Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV):

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Don’t let the deceit of Satan the liar get the best of you. All sorts of calamity may appear to be raining down upon your head or your house, but do not fear. Stuff is always going to happen around you, but you have been given faith in order to have hope and know that there is always a positive outcome in the works of the Lord.

Reflect today on the words of Proverbs 26:2 this time from The Message translation:

You have as little to fear from an undeserved curse
as from the dart of a wren or the swoop of a swallow.

Believe the curse is undeserved because God would not cause you harm! Treat it as if you were being descended upon by a tiny little sparrow. Obviously, the much-smaller sparrow would not intend you to be its target so you would not be concerned. In Christ, you are bigger than anything any devil would throw at you. It’s time to take a stand and profess in the name of Christ that you are not going to give in to the lies and fear and the stress of this world. Trust in God and he will see you through anything. Even though the sky is dark and the clouds look ominous, you may see the light of day before you see any rain.