Category Archives: desire

May 18, 2014

It’s a Heart Issue

By Jason Sneed

Proverbs 4:23 

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

The Heart

The heart is more that just our affections, as some people think. The heart encompasses mind, emotions and will. The heart is often spoken of in God’s Word as our innermost being. You can say that our heart determines who we are.

Oswald Chambers said this about the heart…

The Bible term “heart” is best understood if we simply say “me,” it is the central citadel of a man’s personality. The heart is the altar of which the physical body is the outer court, and whatever is offered on the altar of the heart will tell ultimately through the extremities of the body.

The Bible informs us that the heart is a critical center of life which touches and impacts all we are and all we do. The NIV says it this way – “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

When it comes down to it, our heart determines who we are and what we do. That is why, over and over in scripture, God talks about how we need to protect our hearts. The Bible warns us to avoid:

  • A Double Heart – Psalm 12:2
  • A Hard Heart – Proverbs 28:14
  • A Proud Heart – Proverbs 21:4
  • An Unbelieving Heart – Hebrews 3:12
  • A Cold Heart – Matthew 24:12
  • An Unclean Heart – Psalm 51:10

We all know that when we go to the doctor that he is going to listen to our heart. Just by listening, the doctor is able to tell if there is something wrong or not.

Each and every day, we need to listen to our spiritual heart! We need to listen to see if what we are, and what we are doing is matching up with God and what he wants for our lives. Above all else, we must keep our heart focused on God!

One little sin, what harm can it do?
Give it free reign and soon there are two.
Then sinful deeds and habits ensue—
Guard well your thoughts, lest they control you. —DJD

My prayer is that each day we would pray Psalm 139:23 – “Search me, O God, and know my heart…” 

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in affection, counsel, desire

February 18, 2014

My Daughters

By Anthony Baker

Proverbs 31:29 

“Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.”

What Matters

Over the years I have met many people. Sadly, many of those cared not about the virtues praised in this chapter, only fame, popularity, wealth, and beauty. Parents are often more concerned with whether or not their daughters make the team, wear the crown, win the ribbon, get the rich husband, or fit into that certain dress.

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Alicia on her wedding day.

However, I don’t care so much about all those things. Sure, I want my daughters to be liked and well-off. It even makes me swell with pride when they win awards or turn heads with a glamorous gown. What matters to me is that they become women of honor, courage, strength, and faith. What matters most is that they honor God.

 

Praise

Unfortunately, most girls get praised for being sexy, selfish, and seductive. Instead of praising the hard-working woman who is faithful to her husband and God, who takes care of her family, we tune in each week to reality shows that make millionaires out of harlots and place a premium on vanity, not virtue.

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Katie and Haley

Moms and dads, husbands, it is our responsibility to praise the woman “that feareth the Lord” (31:30). Whether they be young and in school, or mothers and grandmothers, our “daughters” should be praised for doing “virtuously.” And what higher praise could there be than to say, “Of all the virtuous, godly, Proverbs 31-like women in the world, you are the best“?

That is the praise my wife desires. That’s the praise I hope to teach my daughters to seek.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in advice, desire, Giving Honor, Parenting, Value and Worth

February 6, 2014

Ready and Willing

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 31:17

17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. (KJV)
17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. (NIV)

Not Lazy and Ready

As we continue looking at the noble wife (or any woman, really), we see that she is not lazy.

“She girdeth her loins with strength …” or “She sets about her work vigorously …I”
She prepares herself for what she must do each day, and she does not wait to get started.

“… and strengtheneth her arms” or “her arms are strong for her tasks.”
She can do what she needs to do because she has prepared herself. She is ready for surprises because she can handle them.

It takes a level of excitement and a lot of love to prepare yourself and take care of your family and friends. This is the crux of the matter.

Ready and Willing

Jesus prepared the way for His Bride to succeed, as well. Through His ministry, death, and resurrection, Jesus set the stage for the Church with love and a level of excitement.

As the Church, we must make sure we are prepared and strong. This takes regular time reading the Bible, in prayer, and talking with our brothers and sisters in Christ. This opens our hearts and minds to the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ in us, to fulfill our tasks and be ready for anything.

May our love for Christ compel us to be prepared and strong. Then we are better prepared for and stronger in our other relationships, including as husband and wife.

Great Lord and Loving Friend, thank You for preparing and strengthening us. Help us to trust in Your wisdom and strength, and may we continually seek more strength and wisdom.

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January 14, 2014

Bloodsuckers!

By Anthony Baker

Proverbs 30:15-16

“The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough: The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.”

Leaches

Different sources disagree as to what a “horseleach” actually is, at least in the context of this verse. However, the general consensus is that what this proverb is referring to is a leach of some sort. Either way you put it, however you define it, a leach is a leach.

I am not a leach expert, so what I am about to say about the nasty parasite should not be taken as the gospel truth, but it seems that leaches have suckers at both ends. This could be why this proverb describes the horseleach as having two “daughters” that cry, “Give! Give!”

Unsatisfied

Verse sixteen describes four things that are never satisfied. The first is the grave, followed by a “barren womb,” the dry earth, and then fire. All four are linked to the leach, the bloodsucker, that is never satisfied, always wanting more and more.

The grave yards are not getting smaller. As a matter of fact, in some places like Japan grave spaces are rented because space is so limited. Death and the grave keep crying out, “More! More!”

I have known women that cannot have children, yet their desire never goes away. I have watched water get soaked up by dry ground. I have often witnessed the insatiable desire of flames as they burn with increasing fury, yet are never satisfied with what they have destroyed. Perpetual unsatisfaction is a pitiful thing to witness.

I Can’t Get No

Do you remember the old song by the Rolling Stones, “Satisfaction?” In my mind I can hear the famous phrase Mick Jagger repeated over and over throughout the song, “I tried, and I tried, and I tried, and I tried.” And no matter how hard he tried, still he would say, “I can’t get no satisfaction.”

But that’s the world for ya’. Nothing in this world has any lasting effects. No thirst is ultimately quenched…no burning desire is ever fully satisfied…no expectation is ever completely realized. Even when people get what they think they want, they find they “can’t get no satisfaction.”

The Well

However, there is hope. There is hope for the weary, the heavy-laden, the lonely, the wounded, the hungry, and those whose thirst is beyond anything a mountain spring can quench.

In the book of John, chapter four, we read about a woman that came to draw water from a well. She was thirsty. But at that well she met Jesus.

Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again.”  But then he said, “whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13-14).

What is the answer to an undying thirst? The Water of Life.

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in contentment, desire

January 4, 2014

Which Side?

By Katie Marie

Proverbs 29:27

“An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.”

Vampires, and humans, and wolfs! Oh my!

Twilight is a very popular series of books that has been turned into various movies in recent years. To summarize in as little words as possible, it is about the “love” between a human female (Bella) and a male vampire (Edward), and a ware wolf guy (Jacob) who comes in later to steal the human from the vampire because the wolf man loves the human, too. You may have seen T-shirts and posters with “Team Edward” or “Team Jacob” on them. Whoever is on the side of Jacob wants Bella and Jacob together, and same goes for Edward.

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Edward (left), Bella (center), Jacob (right)

Sadly, these two sides are both wicked because they not only focus on the good of witchcraft and darkness, but they support the sinful and erotic love between a human and a beast, or a human and a soulless being. Neither side supports a moral lifestyle or legitimate love.

Those who are not on “Team Edward” or “Team Jacob,” but oppose Twilight from a Biblical perspective – because of the immoral lifestyle and values that come with it – are usually against those who support Twilight in the same way as Proverbs 29:27 explains. Those who support Twilight could say things about how it is just a sweet love story, or how it is all fiction. The fact still remains that there are serious problems with evil being portrayed as righteousness.

Either way, we have a book full of laws and reasons for those laws that help guide us in the way we should live. That should be where we look to find answers when being questioned about “sides” to stand on.

God’s Word is always valid and just; people are not.

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in desire, Law, Paths of Life, Relationships, sin, The Righteous, The Wicked

December 26, 2013

Unturned

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 29:18

18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
18 Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law. (ESV)

Writer’s Block

I spent several days writing and re-writing this entry. It could have gone several different ways, and it has. However, in the mean time I attended a Christmas Eve Mass with a Roman Catholic friend.

Sick Churches

There has been a sickness in most churches for a long time.

It does not matter if we are talking about Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Protestants, Evangelicals, or any other form of Christianity.

The sickness has many symptoms: a denial of the works of the Holy Spirit, a lack of passion to serve others, a lack of desire to serve others, a lack of passion for the things of God, a lack of a felt need of the things of God, a denial of certain passages of the Bible or truths of God, and on and on.

It is the root cause that is the real issue: the people are not inspired to turn.

Teaching Turning Teaching

For all of the negative things ingrained in many of us raised in Protestant or Evangelical churches, the truth of this passage was revealed during a Roman Catholic Christmas Eve Mass.

The Church comes alive when the Spirit of Truth is free to flow through the people. The problem with many churches is they have a tendency to quench the Spirit.

This is not to say that all of these churches are on the wrong path. It is to say that too many times we try too hard to help God. Sometimes we get too busy to let God work through us. Sometimes we do not trust the promises of God or that His promises are for today … or for “me”.

Sometimes He works through us to get it right.

During the Christmas Eve Mass, we were reminded of some of the prophecies given about the coming Messiah born over 2000 years ago. We were reminded of the promises we have been given in this life. We were reminded of the prophecies of the second coming of Messiah and challenged to believe and share these truths.

We were not guilt-tripped. We were not given a teaching on morality or how to be happier. We were not told to step through certain hoops to accomplish anything.

We were only given the Word of God that transcends time, circumstances, and our understanding.

The Holy Spirit of God was given freedom to move.

All present felt the Word of Life challenge and strengthen us, rebuke yet encourage us, to turn from our selfish desires to pursue His Kingdom and His righteousness.

That is what this verse is talking about today.

Awesome God, give us the vision and understanding to know Your Word. Move by Your Spirit in our lives to seek You and share You with others. Help us to find our fulfillment in You alone!

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in desire, hope, Law, Promises, Word of the Lord

November 21, 2013

Somebody’s Watching

By Anthony Baker

The following is a previously unpublished post, but someone needs to read it. I was supposed to have been posted this a long time ago, but there was a glitch. Evidently God knows for whom this was meant.

Proverbs 5:21-33

“For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings. His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.” 

Reality TV

Reality television has taken over the airwaves. Nearly every one of the fourteen billion channels have at least one reality show, and there are even whole networks devoted to them. As I read the proverb for today, I couldn’t help thinking of a particular one involving security cameras.

It seems that criminals never learn. Either that, or they never watch reality TV. Do they not know that when they steal gasoline, rob a bank, or mug a toddler at the candy store, someone is watching? Have they never looked up? Have they never noticed that electronic eye mounted in a corner above them?

Never Looking Up

The same question might be asked of us with regards to sin. When will we ever learn that Someone is watching us? When will we look up? When will we notice the “eyes of the Lord?”

Addressing the issue of adultery, Solomon warns his sons that sin is not done in secret. No matter how dark the room, or secluded the hotel, “the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth” (2 Chron. 16:9a). Even though one’s husband or wife may not know, God does.

Why doesn’t the sinner look up? Too often he suffers from a form of tunnel vision. He is so focused on the temptation that he becomes blind to everything else, including that heavenly security camera above.

Bound by Sin. 

It may seem crazy that a criminal would forget cameras are watching his every move; but some the excuses they give, once caught, are equally insane. Some will literally watch video of themselves committing a crime, then deny it. They say, “That wasn’t me!”

In one program called “Bait Car,” police rig an automobile with hidden cameras. They also wire the care so that it can be remotely shut down and locked. When criminals steal the car, not only do they get filmed, but they get trapped.

Sin has a nasty habit of not letting go. The one who says “Just this once” usually gets bound by his actions. Once the fun is over, there is always a price to pay. Unfortunately for the wicked, most “die without instruction.”

Don’t Get Trapped

The Apostle Paul could have been speaking of the car thief or the adulterer in 1 Corinthians 3:19. The wisdom of the world leads the wicked to think he can get away with sin, but God “traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness” (NLT).

Yet, for those who have sinned – for those who have forgotten to “look up” – Jesus offers you freedom from the chains of sin. When one “sees Jesus” (John 12:21), he will not only “turn from his wicked ways,” but he will find One who can break the “cords of sin.”

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” –  Luke 4:18 KJV

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November 9, 2013

A Wise Parallel

By Anthony Baker

Proverbs 8:35-36

“For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.” 

Choices

Wisdom speaks and pulls no punches. Either choose Wisdom and obtain life and favor, or choose foolishness and death. The choice cannot be made much clearer.

Yet, how often are wrong choices made with abandon? How often do fools choose to “miss the mark,” bringing destruction upon themselves? Even as Wisdom cries out the fools among us close their ears, going against their own consciences.

It seems that man either loves or hates Wisdom, but there is no in-between. To find Wisdom is to show one’s love for her, for only those who seek her find her, and life. Those who do not seek her prove their love of self, ironically wronging their own souls and instead of life, choose death.

Parallels

While some, such as the New American Commentary, stress that Wisdom should not be interpreted as a metaphor for the Second Person of the Trinity, I find it hard to close my eyes to the obvious parallels between Wisdom and Jesus Christ.

First, Jesus dogmatically declared: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6). Afterwards, the Apostle John reminded us that whoever has the Son has life, but whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life (1 John 5:12). And when it comes to obtaining favor, Jesus said: “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him…” (John 14:23).

In today’s world there are so many who who hate God and demand “choice.” Is it any wonder that what they choose most is death?

“For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:” – Amos 5:4 KJV

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November 7, 2013

The Eyes Have It

By Nick

Proverbs 27:20

“Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.”
“Death and destruction are never satisfied, and neither are human eyes.” – NIV

I, I

I enjoy video games. I have done for a long long time. I have worked in a video game shop. When a new big game comes out I find it hard to resist: I want to play it, to experience it. I knew the latest Grand Theft Auto would be a well deserved 18: but I am a sensible deserving adult, right? However upon playing a portion of the game I just simply decided that I didn’t want this kind of thing in my life. I can appreciate that it is a good game: the mechanics work well but for me the mechanics are implemented in a dark fashion. So I got rid of it. To be honest it was a sacrifice. I enjoyed most elements of the game but when it forces me in a direction that I don’t want to go in and have no chance to skip, I have to make a choice.

Why? Because what I fill my life with dominates it. What I let my eyes see affects my actions. Or as Jesus put it: what I fill my heart with will eventually come to the surface. Let me be clear – I’m not suggesting that playing dark or violent video games will turn a person into a killer: just that at some point, on some level, it will have an impact on their mood and outlook. That’s why despite me enjoying parts of the game, especially the chance to play online with friends, I have decided it’s not for me. I guess it crossed a line that I didn’t want to. Now I still have games in my collection that involve things like shooting so what does this verse have to say about them?

Balance in Favour of God

The eyes are never satisfied. They take everything in and the more they see of one thing the more they want it. Be that video games, films, porn or purity. People talk about our lives being in balance but for me the key is to make sure your eyes see enough of God that they just keep wanting more. The times I have genuinely spent focusing on God are the times when all other things in my life take a back seat. You may not like video games but I guarantee there is something in your life that is your go to thing when God is not central. The thing you spend most of your time doing, or thinking about when you aren’t doing it. If we could make God that thing, a lot of our other problems would fade into insignificance.

Matthew 6:33 ‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.’

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in advice, counsel, desire, Faithfulness, Fear of the Lord, Love, Trust the Lord, Wisdom

October 17, 2013

Digging or Rolling?

By Anthony Baker

Proverbs 26:27

“Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.”
Spit

Spitting is a rude and disgusting habit. I can’t stand it when people, men and women, spit on the side walk or out a window while driving. Seeing spit on the ground all bubbled up about makes me want to puke. It’s just gross.

That being said, my dad was probably not the first one to say to his son, “Never spit into the wind.” I would be willing to guest that is a saying that has been repeated all over the world for centuries. When you spit into the wind, spit is going to hit you in the face.

Sowing and Reaping

There is a rule of thumb in the universe, and it’s called, “What goes around comes around.” The Apostle Paul put it this way: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7). In other words, be careful, or what you do may come back and bite you in the end.

Solomon wrote this proverb a long time before Paul wrote to the Galatians, but Author was the same. God is warning us that when we set out to trap or hurt others, too often the trap we lay will ensnare ourselves.

Haman and Mordecai

In the book of Esther we read the story of how a very prideful dignitary, Haman, planned to have Mordecai killed. Because Mordecai would not bow down before Haman, he built gallows in his own yard just to see him hung.

However, after a remarkable turn of events, some of which were quite humorous, Haman’s plot against Mordecai gets discovered. The king under whom Haman and Mordecai served ordered Haman to be hung from the very same gallows he built to kill Mordecai. Talk about irony!

Haman dug a pit and rolled a stone.

Digging or Rolling?

Are you in the process of getting someone fired in order to take his/her job? Are you in the process of destroying a relationship in order to have the love of your life? Are you rigging the numbers in order to win the game? Listen to wisdom and change your ways.

What you have planned for someone else may happen to you, first.

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in advice, desire, Warnings