Tag: neck

34.y. “They do all their deeds to be seen by others. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility.”

 

Matthew 23:1  Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others.

 Luke 11:46    And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.

 Acts 15:10   Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?

 Philippians 2:3     Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

 John 12:43    for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

 Luke 16:15    And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

 Proverbs 3:3    Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.

 Proverbs 6:21-23    Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck.  When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.  For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,

Then spake Jesus to the multitude,…. To the common people that were about him in the temple; the high priests and elders, Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees, having left him, being all nonplussed and silenced by him: and now, lest on the one hand, the people seeing the ignorance and errors of these men detected by Christ, should be tempted to conclude there was nothing in religion, and to neglect the word and worship of God, on account of the concern these men had in it; and on the other hand, because of their great authority and influence, being in Moses’s chair, lest the people should be led into bad principles and practices by them, he directs them in what they should observe them, and in what not: that they were not altogether to be rejected, nor in everything to be attended to; and warns them against their ostentation, pride, hypocrisy, covetousness, and cruelty; and, at the same time, removes an objection against himself, proving that he was no enemy to Moses, and the law, rightly explained and practiced. (Gill)

Legalism in any form of justifying ourselves before God is a lie continually proclaimed by satan, always wrong, and temps those that seek redemption apart from complete reliance on Jesus Christ. It does not take much tempting by satan to get a person to wear good deeds in pride. As good of deeds as they may be, they are wasted in that person’s heart for the glory and honor of Jesus Christ alone. Do we think that counting and keeping track of our good deeds in some way puts God in our debt?  Likewise, do we do good deeds out of fear of God or because we love God? Do we expect more of others than we do of ourselves? 

There are many who proclaim many do’s and don’t’s for a Christian to follow. Let these be summed up in a few. Love God with your whole heart, mind, and soul. Do that which honors and glorifies Jesus Christ in all you say, think, and do. Do not be conformed to this world and what it has to offer. Do love others above yourself. Do read scripture with an expectant heart and mind for the purpose of gaining more understanding, wisdom, and knowledge of Jesus Christ and how you might honor and glorify Him more and more each day. 

181. Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear

2 Kings 17:7  And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods and walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced. And the people of Israel did secretly against the Lord their God things that were not right. They built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city. They set up for themselves pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, and there they made offerings on all the high places, as the nations did whom the Lord carried away before them. And they did wicked things, provoking the Lord to anger, and they served idols, of which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this.” Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.”

But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the Lord their God. They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them. And they abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God

Deuteronomy 31:27   For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the LORD. How much more after my death!

2 Chronicles 36:13     He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD, the God of Israel.

Jeremiah 7:26    Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.

Romans 2:4-5   Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?  But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

Hebrews 3:7-8     Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice,  do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,

The starting point for avoiding a hardened heart is to recognize and submit to God’s authority through His inspired Word.  To learn from God, we must submit to His inspired Word. As Paul says, these things “were written for our instruction”. We disobey or ignore them to our own peril (harden our heart). The starting point is that we hear His voice with a heart soft to the voice of God, the word of God. Thus, to avoid hardness of heart, we must submit to the authority of God’s Word and we must do business with God on the heart level.  The only way that we can know God’s ways are as He has revealed them to us in the Scriptures.  We can’t plead ignorance. We can’t protest, “But, God, I didn’t know”.  When we have time but choose to neglect His word in our life, in our thoughts, in our heart, we have chosen to harden our heart and stiffen our neck against God.  We follow the crowd and what is approved by society/culture rather than being led by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God.  Your heart is either hardening against God because you are resisting His sovereign ways with you, or it is growing softer toward God because you are submitting to His Word and His ways.  For God’s word to be active in your life, it must be actively desired in your heart and in your daily life.  If it is only an occasional reading there is no softening of your heart to His word. Choose to be led, encouraged, strengthened, empowered, and softened by His word each day

134. Walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul,

1 Kings 2:2 Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, that the Lord may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

Deuteronomy 29:9   Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.

Joshua 1:7    Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.

1 Chronicles 29:19    Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes

Deuteronomy 4:1     “And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live,

Deuteronomy 5:1    And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.

Psalms 19:7    The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;

Psalms 119:2    Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,

Proverbs 3:1-4     My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,  for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.  Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.  So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.

We have the liberty to walk in the way that we choose.  We are given this liberty/choice to test our heart and mind. Walking in God’s way is taking a narrow path and is full of promises, truth, grace, mercy, strength, hope, joy, love, courage…… but the path that leads to destruction is wide and comes with promises but they are for the pleasures of the flesh. They are for this world and this side of eternity with no eyes on eternity, no eyes on coming judgment, no eyes on God, and living for the liberty of doing what pleases fleshly desires.

I wonder if we take liberty with our walk with God.  We walk with Him on Sunday, at least for part of the day, but for the rest of the week, there is nothing different in our walk and those who are not walking with God at all.

Walking with God is an intentional lifestyle choice for every moment of every day.  It is a humble walk of desiring and seeking to serve, glorify, honor, follow, and obey Jesus Christ.  There is no way this is possible if His word is not active in your life every day.  There is no way this is possible if there is not an intentional commitment each day.  There is no way possible if there is not a desire to know and be known by Him.  There is no way possible if there is no desire and want to listen to His word speak into your life.  Liberty and freedom of choice do not mean we are guiltless of the choices we make in this liberty and freedom.  “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart”

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65. How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

Deuteronomy 32:46   he said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

1 Chronicles 22:19    Now set your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God.

Proverbs 3:1-4     My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,  for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.  Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.  So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.

Ezekiel 40:4     And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.”

Hebrews 2:1     Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.  For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution,  how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,  while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Proverbs 4:20-22     My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.  Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.  For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.

Take heart, set your mind and heart, look with your eyes, hear with your ears, pay much closer attention, do not forget, be attentive, incline your ears, keep them within your heart, be careful to do, and seek the Lord your God, are all words to encourages us to keep our faith pure, our walk straight, and our heart, mind, and soul clinging to, relying on and trusting in God.  Why?? Because of God’s steadfast love, mercy and grace, atonement, redemption, salvation, and eternity in heaven.  To neglect or become complacent in our commitment and walk with Him allows us to drift away from Him and straight into the warnings rightly given.  Today is the day to commit.  Tomorrow is always too late.

41. We must pay much closer attention

Deuteronomy 4:9   “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children— how on the day that you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’ And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone. And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules, that you might do them in the land that you are going over to possess.

Proverbs 3:1    My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,

Proverbs 4:20-23     My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.  Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.  For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.  Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Proverbs 3:3     Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.

Psalms 119:11    I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Proverbs 3:21    My son, do not lose sight of these— keep sound wisdom and discretion,

Proverbs 7:1     My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you;

Joshua 1:18    Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”

Revelation 3:3    Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.

Proverbs 4:1-13     Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight,  for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching.  When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,

  Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.

Hebrews 2:3     how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,

Hebrews 2:1    Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees when He said: “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” We choose what goes into and stays in our heart. Our heart reflects the treasures that are held, dear.  Our heart treasure is often spoken of.   Likewise, that which is not cherished or treasured or chosen will never find a place in our heart and will not be spoken of.

These verses today speak of choice, a choice to be diligent, steadfast, remembering, attentive, guarding, keeping, faithful, storing, receiving, and holding and clinging onto God’s word with the single purpose of honoring, glorifying, and obeying Him.  We get to choose what comes into and stays in our heart.  What we feed into our heart is what is going to be abiding and directing our thoughts, words, and actions.

Jesus stands at the door to our heart seeking to be invited in forever.  I fear the door to many hearts is shut and Jesus is viewed through the peephole.  They wrongly assume that viewing Him on the other side of the door is the same as having Him inside.  And you know what is so sad about this, they are happy and content to live this way.

Inside their heart, they live for themselves and every now and then when the confusion, chaos, and troubles of this world affect them they run to the door and peep through the hole to make sure Jesus is still out there.  They don’t invite Him in but rather speak through the door to Him and ask Him to fix what is on the other side of the door.

Be intentional with your choice to keep in His word, live for His word, cherish His word, honor His word, obey His word, speak His word, remember and meditate on His word.  Open the door to your heart and invite Jesus into your heart forever.

Do not lose sight of these

Deuteronomy 32:47  For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

Leviticus 18:5    You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.

Proverbs 3:1-2     My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,  for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.  for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.   Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.  Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.  It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.  Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce;  Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding,  for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.  She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.  Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.  Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.  The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens;  by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew. My son, do not lose sight of these— keep sound wisdom and discretion,  and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck.  Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble.  If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.  Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes,  for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.

Matthew 6:33     But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

1 Timothy 4:8    for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

1 Peter 3:10-12    For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;  let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.  For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

It does not take much time to understand the way of the world has a way of creeping into the life of those opposed to it.  Slowly it finds cracks and sets root into the heart.  Keep these ways out of your heart and mind.  Stay in His word.  Live to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey Him alone.  Do not this culture’s wisdom of what is right and wrong be your guide, but rather allow His word to be your light and path this side of eternity.

Sinking

Psalms 69:1   Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck.  I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.   I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.  O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you. Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel. For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face.

Lamentations 3:54     water closed over my head; I said, ‘I am lost.’

Psalms 69:14  Deliver me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.  Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me.

Jonah 2:3  For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me.  Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God. When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.

Isaiah 43:2   When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

Can you hear the cry in David’s words.  The anguish and heart ache.  Yet in this notice his want to continually honor God.  “Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me,”  Through the trails he faced he did not want others to bare shame or dishonor because of him.  David trusted God with his whole heart, mind and soul.  It would have been easier to think only about himself.   On this side of eternity we will face many things beyond our control and at the consequence of others actions.  We will also face things as a consequence of our own actions.  Coming to God, crying out to Him, is our hope, our refuge, our fortress, our power and strength to face what is before us.  We stand on His promises and we wait for His perfect purpose and timing.  Commit to spending time in His word for the purpose of knowing Him and how to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey Him.