If something is evil, then it is the duty of good men to stand firm and try to correct the situation.”
–D.C. Adkisson (Mal de Ojo)
“My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise.”
–Psalm 57:7 (NKJV)
———————————-
Our study in Proverbs this week takes us to 10:29-30:
“The way of the Lord is strength for the upright, But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity. The righteous will never be removed, But the wicked will not inhabit the earth.” (NKJV)
The way of the Lord is a path of righteousness; do not kid yourselves if you think you can walk any other way and find the Father waiting to greet you. It is a way in which our feet should be firmly planted, and our steps should be steady. On our journey to glory we have the assurance that God is our strength (other translations use–refuge, stronghold, fortress) and as the psalmist wrote, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (46:1, NKJV) This trek is taken one step at a time, daily by faith, and Charles Bridges reminds us, “The habit of grace increases by exercise. One step helps on the next.”
“Each step I take I know that He will guide me;
To higher ground He ever leads me on.
Until some day the last step will be taken.
Each step I take just leads me closer home.”
–W. Elmo Mercer
A great hope is ours as we journey. As our steps are firm we have the comfort of knowing that no power or person can remove us. Dan Dick gives us this reminder, “As we dwell in Christ over the years, we lay roots which form a foundation in which makes it impossible for us to be moved.” I am reminded of the hymn by John T. Benson:
“In my Christ abiding, I shall not be moved;
In His love I’m hiding, I shall not be moved,
Just like a tree that’s planted by the waters,
Lord, I shall not be moved.
I shall not be, I shall not be moved;
I shall not be, I shall not be moved;
Just like a tree that’s planted by the waters,
Lord, I shall not be moved.”
Wicked men, those in darkness, do not need or want the strength of the Lord. They do not struggle within themselves (unless the Holy Spirit brings conviction). In this time of evil we can take heart that it will not last. All the demagogues in history have failed in their attempt to inhabit the earth for death surely comes. They now await, in terror and fear, their eternal fate. J.L. Flores states, “Unforgiven sin breaks the bones of the soul.” It is not so much the sin that dooms the wicked, but that they have turned their back upon Christ; they have spurned the sacrifice and shedding of His precious blood. “The message of love can never come into a human soul, and pass away from it unreceived, without leaving that spirit worse…” (Flores)
Yes, the way may grow weary at times, but look up, glory is near. The Lord is waiting to receive us at the end of the journey. As Winston Churchill proclaimed, “Never, never, never give up.”
“My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise.”
–Psalm 57:7 (NKJV)
———————————-
Our study in Proverbs this week takes us to 10:29-30:
“The way of the Lord is strength for the upright, But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity. The righteous will never be removed, But the wicked will not inhabit the earth.” (NKJV)
The way of the Lord is a path of righteousness; do not kid yourselves if you think you can walk any other way and find the Father waiting to greet you. It is a way in which our feet should be firmly planted, and our steps should be steady. On our journey to glory we have the assurance that God is our strength (other translations use–refuge, stronghold, fortress) and as the psalmist wrote, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (46:1, NKJV) This trek is taken one step at a time, daily by faith, and Charles Bridges reminds us, “The habit of grace increases by exercise. One step helps on the next.”
“Each step I take I know that He will guide me;
To higher ground He ever leads me on.
Until some day the last step will be taken.
Each step I take just leads me closer home.”
–W. Elmo Mercer
A great hope is ours as we journey. As our steps are firm we have the comfort of knowing that no power or person can remove us. Dan Dick gives us this reminder, “As we dwell in Christ over the years, we lay roots which form a foundation in which makes it impossible for us to be moved.” I am reminded of the hymn by John T. Benson:
“In my Christ abiding, I shall not be moved;
In His love I’m hiding, I shall not be moved,
Just like a tree that’s planted by the waters,
Lord, I shall not be moved.
I shall not be, I shall not be moved;
I shall not be, I shall not be moved;
Just like a tree that’s planted by the waters,
Lord, I shall not be moved.”
Wicked men, those in darkness, do not need or want the strength of the Lord. They do not struggle within themselves (unless the Holy Spirit brings conviction). In this time of evil we can take heart that it will not last. All the demagogues in history have failed in their attempt to inhabit the earth for death surely comes. They now await, in terror and fear, their eternal fate. J.L. Flores states, “Unforgiven sin breaks the bones of the soul.” It is not so much the sin that dooms the wicked, but that they have turned their back upon Christ; they have spurned the sacrifice and shedding of His precious blood. “The message of love can never come into a human soul, and pass away from it unreceived, without leaving that spirit worse…” (Flores)
Yes, the way may grow weary at times, but look up, glory is near. The Lord is waiting to receive us at the end of the journey. As Winston Churchill proclaimed, “Never, never, never give up.”