God's Wisdom In A Nutshell

Hello,

Today I want to talk to you about Honor.  Let me start with the definition:

noun: high respect, great esteem; adherence to what is right

verb: regard with great respect; fulfill or keep an agreement

When we look at the Ten Commandments we see that the first four honor the Lord and the remaining six commandments involve honoring other people, their family members and property.

The Ten Commandments
You shall have no other Gods but me.
You shall not make for yourself any idol, nor bow down to it or worship it.
You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
You shall remember and keep the Sabbath day holy.

Respect your father and mother.
You must not commit murder.
You must not commit adultery.
You must not steal.
You must not give false evidence against your neighbour.
You must not be envious of your neighbor’s goods. You shall not be envious of his house nor his wife, nor anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Many do not believe that we need to honor the Ten Commandments. The Bible teaches us that we will be blessed if we are obedient to God’s word.

You can tell a lot about a person by looking at who or what they honor. Here are some examples:

When we refuse to do any work on Sunday in order to spend time with family and read the Bible, it shows we honor our family and the Lord.

When we put down our cell phone as our kids enter the car at school, it shows that we honor our children.

When we choose to stay home with a school aged child who is sick, instead of attending an evening event, we are showing that we honor our child more than our social life.

When we choose to end a social phone call when our spouse walks in the house after a long day- we are showing that we acknowledge their presence and this shows honor.

When we forgo a job with a high income and excessive hours and take a job with less hours and less income in order to be home for our families- we are honoring our family more than money.

So let’s take it one step further. Sin is a form of dishonor. For instance when we lie, we are dishonoring the Lord.  Also, when we change our mind to follow the secular moral rules instead of God’s ways so that we don’t “appear” judgmental- we are dishonoring the Lord by not following His created ways.

The definition of “Lord” is someone or something having power, authority or influence.  Why then do we dishonor the teachings of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords? What good is it to believe in an authoritative, powerful person and then not use what He tells us? Do we think that He won’t step in and guide us back to His ways? The Lord loves us too much to let us walk repeatedly in the wrong direction and scripture demonstrates that anything we refuse to learn from the Lord we will learn through pain.

Curses for Disobedience

 However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you: You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out. The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you…(Deuteronomy 28:15-21)

In a nutshell, the aforementioned  verse is saying that we will not have long term success anywhere we go. Our income, possessions and our children will be cursed.* (*cursed= destined to fail or have bad luck) We will be confused and disillusioned and will receive sharp disapproval from the Lord. Lastly we will come to sudden ruin with diseases that will end our lives. The New Testament tells us that if we repent and decide to follow the Lord, He will have mercy on us. Also, if  His grace period is not up as it pertains to our sins, we won’t suffer the consequences of them.

It does matter to God whether or not we honor His teachings. Not because He is an egotistical Lord, but because He knows using our mind, feelings and emotions to navigate through life, instead of using the guidance in the Bible- will lead to sudden ruin!  God has left us His Word- The Bible, to protect us! He loves us so much He wants us safe, secure and happy. If we go out forging our own way based on our feelings -disaster is sure to follow. The verse below tells us that even in the New Testament, God wants us to keep His commands.

“If you love me keep my commands” (John 14:15)

The Bible is God’s handbook for life. It contains all the wisdom necessary to be successful in all things. This does not mean to say that you will become a millionaire, celebrity or CEO of a fortune five hundred company.

“Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you.”(Heb 13:5)

It also doesn’t  mean that we will be free from problems. It means that God’s ways provide for us. He provides substance to live on and provision for rest. Our lives will be free from the dog eat dog pace. We will have more than money can buy. We will have adequate rest and adequate time. Time that we can use to take care of our needs and spare time to help others. Lastly, we will have less stress which equates to better health.

…For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it. You will indeed go out with joy and be led forth in peace..(Isaiah 55:10-12a)

God gave us His powerful Words so that by following them we will know that nothing- no illness, financial set back or anything will destroy our future.  Build you life on the Rock- the Lord Jesus Christ, by honoring His teachings at all times. Then you will have nothing to fear.

Have a wonderful week!

Lisa