Tuesday, 5 May 2020
Proverbs 5:21-23 New Living Translation (NLT)
21 For the LORD sees clearly what a man does,
examining every path he takes.
22 An evil man is held captive by his own sins;
they are ropes that catch and hold him.
23 He will die for lack of self-control;
he will be lost because of his great foolishness.
In Proverbs Chapter 5, Solomon continues to warn his sons of the deadly enticement to sin with immoral women (5.1-14), and then he reminded them not to neglect the wives of their youth by keeping and protecting the sacred bond of marriage (5.15-20); Today, we look at the last 3 verses 5.21-23. Solomon warns of the consequences of not listening to the warning, will result in bondage and death.
There are many reasons why we should not fall into the temptation and sin, in this context is sexual sin. GOD IS WATCHING! “For the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes.” V 21. God sees all we do. He will bless our appropriate decisions but he will also deal with inappropriate ones. The knowledge of His watching should affect our conscience. He walks with us too. Whenever we forget the Omnipresence of God, our thoughts and ways will easily stray from Him. Solomon in Ecclesiastes 12.14 the last verse of this book, reminds us all, there will be judgment. “God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing whether good or bad.”
We like to say, “I am free to do what I like.” God gives us this precious freedom to choose but the consequences of our choice we have no choice but to accept. Sin is very attractive. But once we fall into sin we lose your freedom. “An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him.” Pro. 5.22. Once we sin, we are tied up with ropes. We are bound or under bondage by that sin. We become addicted and enslaved to that sin. Sin brings suffering. We suffer not because of God but our own folly. It is the natural result of our own foolish decisions. We cannot blame anyone except ourselves.
The sad reality is that we will die for living the way we want. When we refuse to listen to Wisdom we will “die for lack of self-control, and will be lost because of his great foolishness.” Our demise is not due to the lack of wisdom but the lack of personal discipline.
That is why it is so important for us to ponder carefully over what we do and where we go. All of us have made bad decisions and have gone on to forbidden paths. But we don’t have to keep on living that way. We can turn to God for deliverance. Jesus is the only One who can set us free from the bondage of sin. “Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8.36)
The scripture says that the Devil is like a roaring lion waiting to pound on us. Jesus taught us to pray, this way, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil (one)” (Matt. 6.13). Our failure to watch and pray will land ourselves in the snares of our own making. Keep our heart and minds on Jesus by doing so the Holy Spirit will lead us to walk in paths that pleases Him.
Prayer for today
Abba, Father, we thank you for making us your children. We thank you for giving us the privilege to call you our Father, in heaven. We praise you for you are Omnipresent. You are with us daily. We are not out of your sight even for a second. Forgive us, Father, often we live our lives as if you don’t even exist, because of this, we stray into sinful ways. We ask for your forgiveness.
Lord, we come to you to ask you to set us free from the bondage of sin or different kinds of addictions that affect our relationship with you and the people around us. Lord, forgive us and set us free from the bondage of addiction, In Jesus Mighty Name, we pray.
Let’s pause for a moment. Let’s us examine this past week, where did our minds wander, in our loneliness and isolation what type of websites we go into? Are there moments that you have forgotten His presence? Prayer is not always talking to God, but is also being quiet before God and listening to what He Is saying to us. Let’s remain silent before God a little longer until we feel that God impresses His thoughts on us.
Lord, we thank you for the MCO, today many may have to go back to work and while others have to continue to stay at home. Many are just bored and tired like being locked up in a cage. Some of us are enjoying having a wonderful time with our family. Lord, we know life will never be the same again. Help us to know how to adapt to the new things you are doing in and around us.
Lord, the thought of change, will be tough for some families where both mom and dad have to work. While children still have to stay home. Lord, some may have no work to go back to, we may be made redundant. Oh, Lord, we are anxious about our finances to keep things going. Grant us the wisdom as to how to juggle with our limited resources.
Remind us Lord of your promise, “FEAR NOT FOR I AM WITH YOU”.
Philippians 4:6-7 New Living Translation (NLT)
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Amen. Amen. Amen.
Pastor Isaac Yim
xxx
每日灵粮
5/5/20
作者：严以撒牧师
箴言5：21-23
21 因为，人所行的道都在耶和华眼前；他也修平人一切的路。
22 恶人必被自己的罪孽捉住；他必被自己的罪恶如绳索缠绕。
23 他因不受训诲就必死亡；又因愚昧过甚，必走差了路。
在箴言第5章中，所罗门继续警告他儿子们关于跟淫妇/不道德的女人行淫致命的诱惑（5：1-14），然后提醒他们不要忽略幼年所取的妻，要保护并遵守婚姻神圣的约（5：15-20）；今天，我们来看最后三节经文5：21-23。所罗门说到，不听警告的后果将导致奴役和死亡。
我们为什么不应该陷入诱惑和犯罪的原因有很多，这里说的罪是性。神在看！ “因为，人所行的道都在耶和华眼前；他也修平人一切的路”。（5：21）上帝看见我们的所作所为。上帝会按照我们所做的对错选择祝福或管教我们。知道上帝正在观看应该对我们的良心有所影响。每当我们忘记上帝是无所不在时，我们的思想和行为就会轻易地偏离上帝。所罗门在传道书12：14中 提醒我们，将来必有审判：“因为人所做的事，连一切隐藏的事，无论是善是恶，神都必审问。”
我们喜欢说：“我有自由做自己喜欢做的事。”上帝赋予我们这种宝贵的选择自由，但是我们选择的后果是我们不得不接受的。罪恶非常诱人。但是一旦我们陷入犯罪，我们就失去了自由。 “恶人必被自己的罪孽捉住；他必被自己的罪恶如绳索缠绕。”箴5.22。一旦犯罪，我们就将被绳索缠绕。我们被那罪束缚。我们沉迷于这个罪恶。罪恶带来痛苦。我们受苦不是因为上帝，而是因我们自己的愚蠢。这是我们自己愚蠢决定的自然结果。除了自己，我们不能怪任何人。
可悲的现实是，我们将为自己想要的生活（犯罪的生活）而死。当我们拒绝智慧时，我们将“因不受训诲就必死亡；又因愚昧过甚，必走差了路”。我们的灭亡不是因缺乏智慧，而是因缺乏个人纪律。
这就是为什么认真考虑我们的工作和去向是那么的重要。我们所有人都做出了错误的决定，并走上了神禁止的道路。但我们不需要继续这样活下去。我们转向神释放我们。唯有耶稣能够使我们摆脱罪恶束缚。 “所以天父的儿子若叫你们自由，你们就真自由了”。（约翰8.36）
圣经记载，魔鬼如同吼叫的狮子，等待攻击我们。耶稣教导我们要如此祷告：“不叫我们遇见试探；救我们脱离凶恶（恶者）”（太6：13）。不警醒祷告将导致我们陷入自己创造的陷阱。当我们在主里保守我们的心怀意念时，圣灵必领我们走神喜悦的道路上。
今天的祷告
阿爸天父，我们感谢祢使我们成为祢的孩子。我们感谢祢赐我们称呼祢我们在天上的父的权柄。我们赞美祢，因为祢无所不在。祢每天与我们同在。没有一秒祢的注意力不在我们身上。天父求祢原谅我们，我们的生活过得似乎祢不存在一样，因此我们走入了罪恶的道路。我们求祢的饶恕。
主啊，我们到祢面前求祢把我们从各种影响我们跟祢和众人关系的罪恶的沉迷和束缚中释放。主啊，求祢原谅我们，使我们摆脱束缚或成瘾，我们奉耶稣伟大的名祷告。
让我们暂停片刻。让我们省察我们过去的一周，我们的思念飘荡何处，在孤独中进入了哪种类型的网站？是否有片刻你已经忘记了上帝的存在？祷告并不总是与上帝交谈，而是在上帝面前保持沉默，并倾听祂对我们说的话。让我们在上帝面前保持沉默，直到我们能够感受到上帝感动为止。
上帝，我们为行动管制令（MCO）感谢祢，今天许多人可能不得不复工，也有些人不得不须继续待在家里。许多人就像被关在笼子里一样无聊无力。我们中间也有人享受与家人在一起的美好时光。主啊，我们知道生活将不再一样。帮助我们适应祢在我们里面和周围所做事情。
主，“改变”对于某些工作夫妻是艰难的，因为孩子们必须待在家里。主啊，有些人可能已经没有工作了，也许也有一些人工作职位已经变得多余、可有可无。主啊，我们为我们的经济状况感到忧虑。赋予我们智慧，有善地利用我们有限的资源。
提醒我们祢赐给我们的应许：“不要害怕，因为我与你同在”。
腓利比4：6-7
6 应当一无挂虑，只要凡事藉着祷告、祈求，和感谢，将你们所要的告诉神。7 神所赐、出人意外的平安必在基督耶稣里保守你们的心怀意念。
阿门。阿门。阿门。
杨仕涵译