Stupidness is a deadly disease.”
–Lou Bradshaw (Dead Mule Valley)
“…Man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.”
“…Man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.”
–Deuteronomy 8:3 (NKJV)
————————————-
I don’t understand “hackers”. Why in the world would someone want to spend their time breaking into others’ computers, accounts, and lives? It is an obsession as well as a crime, along with lack of integrity. Yes, you might have guessed, I was hacked this week. With threats, and a tinge of scoffing that I should have done a better job of protecting my passwords. But, I ask, why prey on the feeble (and I am feeble when it comes to working with computers). Get a job and put your talents to good use for the benefit of others. Perhaps it is because of a hard heart.
“Happy is the man who is always reverent, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. –Proverbs 28:14, NKJV
“Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.” –Proverbs 28:14, NIV
The fear of the Lord, what is it? We could give several answers and be on the right track. Some say it is just what it says, “fear.” Others say it means “to be in awe.” I like what Bob Beasley says, “It begins with an understanding of the gospel: who I am and who God is, and the great gulf between us that has been bridged by Jesus Christ. It means to live in utter dependence upon His law and to obey it.” Note that we who have been born again never need to fear the Lord’s condemnation. However, there should be a fear within us because He is a holy God. The person who fears the Lord recognizes the purpose of the Law, that it is part of the factor in God’s grace. It is the Law that shows our failure and the need to turn to a Savior.
“The person who fears the Lord wants to keep the moral law for two basic reasons. First, he stands in awe of his God and he wants to please Him. Second, he realizes that God, in His infinite wisdom, has given people His Law as a guide to a happy, fulfilling, and productive life. The Christian puts God’s wisdom above his own and relies completely upon God’s judgment.” (Beasely) We realize that we are not our own and want to please our heavenly Father by following His commandments. Jesus said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:21, NKJV) John develops this a little first in his first epistle, “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” (1 John 2:3, NKJV)
Then there is that portion of the proverbs that speaks of the hardening of one’s heart. I have wondered about that often, especially when reading the account of Moses dealing with Pharaoh. What does it mean to harden one’s heart? Simply this, the hardness of heart is simply unbelief. Sin can cause a person to harden their hearts. The writer of Hebrews warns about hardening the heart. Get rid of unbelief–today–lest there be an evil heart of unbelief…lest any be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:12-13)
Turning your back on God, on God’s commandments (Word) is a way to harden your heart. Lacking faith and rebelling against the promises of God is a way to harden the heart. Not trusting in God, and in His direction is a way to harden the heart. See, it wasn’t only the stiff-necked, proud Pharaoh who hardened his heart, it was the people of Israel when they refused to enter the Promised Land. Do not be like them. “…Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned whose corpses fell in the wilderness?” (Hebrews 3:15-17, NKJV)
The person who hardens his heart will not listen to the words of the Lord; he will not be guided by the Holy Spirit. Woe to that person, for the Lord declares that when the day of calamity comes He will laugh. Because He was mocked when He reached out, the person with the hard heart will receive no help from the Lord when terror comes. (Proverbs 1:23-27). “Then they will call on men, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.” (Proverbs 1:28, NKJV).
Therefore, fear the Lord and thrive on every word that proceeds from His mouth.
————————————-
I don’t understand “hackers”. Why in the world would someone want to spend their time breaking into others’ computers, accounts, and lives? It is an obsession as well as a crime, along with lack of integrity. Yes, you might have guessed, I was hacked this week. With threats, and a tinge of scoffing that I should have done a better job of protecting my passwords. But, I ask, why prey on the feeble (and I am feeble when it comes to working with computers). Get a job and put your talents to good use for the benefit of others. Perhaps it is because of a hard heart.
“Happy is the man who is always reverent, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. –Proverbs 28:14, NKJV
“Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.” –Proverbs 28:14, NIV
The fear of the Lord, what is it? We could give several answers and be on the right track. Some say it is just what it says, “fear.” Others say it means “to be in awe.” I like what Bob Beasley says, “It begins with an understanding of the gospel: who I am and who God is, and the great gulf between us that has been bridged by Jesus Christ. It means to live in utter dependence upon His law and to obey it.” Note that we who have been born again never need to fear the Lord’s condemnation. However, there should be a fear within us because He is a holy God. The person who fears the Lord recognizes the purpose of the Law, that it is part of the factor in God’s grace. It is the Law that shows our failure and the need to turn to a Savior.
“The person who fears the Lord wants to keep the moral law for two basic reasons. First, he stands in awe of his God and he wants to please Him. Second, he realizes that God, in His infinite wisdom, has given people His Law as a guide to a happy, fulfilling, and productive life. The Christian puts God’s wisdom above his own and relies completely upon God’s judgment.” (Beasely) We realize that we are not our own and want to please our heavenly Father by following His commandments. Jesus said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:21, NKJV) John develops this a little first in his first epistle, “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” (1 John 2:3, NKJV)
Then there is that portion of the proverbs that speaks of the hardening of one’s heart. I have wondered about that often, especially when reading the account of Moses dealing with Pharaoh. What does it mean to harden one’s heart? Simply this, the hardness of heart is simply unbelief. Sin can cause a person to harden their hearts. The writer of Hebrews warns about hardening the heart. Get rid of unbelief–today–lest there be an evil heart of unbelief…lest any be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:12-13)
Turning your back on God, on God’s commandments (Word) is a way to harden your heart. Lacking faith and rebelling against the promises of God is a way to harden the heart. Not trusting in God, and in His direction is a way to harden the heart. See, it wasn’t only the stiff-necked, proud Pharaoh who hardened his heart, it was the people of Israel when they refused to enter the Promised Land. Do not be like them. “…Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned whose corpses fell in the wilderness?” (Hebrews 3:15-17, NKJV)
The person who hardens his heart will not listen to the words of the Lord; he will not be guided by the Holy Spirit. Woe to that person, for the Lord declares that when the day of calamity comes He will laugh. Because He was mocked when He reached out, the person with the hard heart will receive no help from the Lord when terror comes. (Proverbs 1:23-27). “Then they will call on men, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.” (Proverbs 1:28, NKJV).
Therefore, fear the Lord and thrive on every word that proceeds from His mouth.