Proverbs 11:8 - The Righteous Is Delivered From Trouble.
Proverbs 11:8 - The Righteous Is Delivered From Trouble.
Proverbs 11:8 (ESV) The righteous is delivered from trouble, and
the wicked walks into it instead.
Proverbs 11:8 (AMP) The [uncompromisingly] righteous is
delivered out of trouble, and the wicked gets into it instead.
Proverbs 11:8 (MSG) A good person is saved from much trouble; a
bad person runs straight into it.
How The Righteous Is Delivered From Trouble:
Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the
flesh. Galatians 5:16 (NKJV)
Walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to
and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly
not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature
without God). Gal 5:16 (EAV)
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle
that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between 2
wolves.
"One is Evil. It is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed,
arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride,
superiority and ego.
The other is God. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity,
humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion,
and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his
grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed." [source
unknown]
We can learn a great deal from the Alaskan Bull Moose. Each
fall, during the breeding season, the males of the species battle for
dominance. They literally go head-to-head, antlers crunching together as
they collide. When antlers are broken, defeat is ensured since a
moose's antlers are its only weapon.
Generally speaking, the heftiest moose with the largest and
strongest antlers wins. Therefore, the battle is nearly always
"predetermined" the summer before. It is then that the moose eat nearly round
the clock. The one that consumes the best diet for growing antlers
and gaining weight will be the victor. Those who eat inadequately
will have weaker antlers and less bulk. The fight itself involves far
more brawn than brain, with more reliance on bulk than on skill.
The lesson for us? Spiritual battles are inevitable. We each
experience "seasons of attack" in our lives. Whether we are victorious or
fall victim depends not on our skills or brainpower, but on our
spiritual strength. What we do in advance determines the outcome of the
battle. Now is the time to develop enduring faith, strength, and wisdom.
Now is the time for prayer, reading, and memorizing God's Word, and
hearing the Gospel preached! [God's Little Devotional Bible re
Psa.119:40]
To "walk in the Spirit" means to have our daily lives under His
control, and this means under the direction of the Word of God. "If we
live in the Spirit" (this is salvation, being made alive by the
Spirit), "let us also walk in the Spirit" (this is sanctification,
allowing the Spirit to command and control our lives). Compare Eph.
5:18-24 with Col. 3:15-19 and you will see that to be filled with the
Spirit is to be controlled by the Word of God, for the results are
identical. "Walking in the Spirit" is not some emotional experience,
detached from everyday life. It is the daily experience of the believer
who feeds on the Word, prays, and obeys what the Bible says.
[Wiersbe Expository Outlines]
If prayer is an interruption to our lives, then something is
wrong. The fact that we sustain an attitude of prayer does not mean we
avoid regular times of prayer. It is the regular occasion of prayer
that makes possible the constant attitude of prayer. We do not enjoy
Thanksgiving dinners or holiday feasts at every meal; but we are able to
enjoy those special times because we have eaten our regular meals
three times a day. We begin the day with prayer; we pray at mealtime;
we lift prayers to God during the day as the Spirit prompts us; we
close the day in prayer. Like our breathing, our praying becomes so
much a part of our lives that we are often not conscious of it. [from
Prayer: Basic Training by Warren W. Wiersbe re 1Th.5:17]
Remember that prayer is the source of your strength. A worker
cannot gain success while he hurries through his prayers and rushes
away to look after something that he fears may be neglected or
forgotten. He gives only a few hurried thoughts to God; he does not take
time to think, to pray, to wait upon the Lord for a renewal of
physical and spiritual strength. He soon becomes weary. He does not feel
the uplifting, inspiring influence of God's Spirit. He is not
quickened by fresh life. His jaded frame and tired brain are not soothed
by personal contact with Christ. 7T243 re Pro.19:21
Mark the grand characteristic of true prayer--"In the Holy
Spirit." The seed of acceptable devotion must come from heaven's
storehouse. Only the prayer which comes from God can go to God. We must
shoot the Lord's arrows back to him. That desire which he writes upon
our heart will move his heart and bring down a blessing, but the
desires of the flesh have no power with him.
Praying in the Holy Spirit is praying in fervency. Cold
prayers ask the Lord not to hear them. Those who do not plead with
fervency, plead not at all....
It is praying perseveringly. As one prays he gathers force as
he proceeds, and grows more fervent when God delays to answer. The
longer the gate is closed, the more vehemently does he use the knocker,
and the longer the angel lingers the more resolved is he that he
will never let him go without the blessing. Beautiful in God's sight
is tearful, agonizing, unconquerable supplication.
It means praying humbly, for the Holy Spirit never puffs us
up with pride. It is his office to convince of sin, and so to bow
us down in contrition and brokenness of spirit. We shall never sing
Gloria in excelsis except we pray to God De profundis: out of the
depths must we cry, or we shall never behold glory in the highest.
It is loving prayer. Prayer should be perfumed with love,
saturated with love--love to our fellow saints, and love to Christ.
Moreover, it must be a prayer full of faith. A man prevails
only as he believes. The Holy Spirit is the author of faith, and
strengthens it, so that we pray believing God's promise.
O that this blessed combination of excellent graces,
priceless and sweet as the spices of the merchant, might be fragrant
within us because the Holy Spirit is in our hearts! Most blessed
Comforter, exert thy mighty power within us, helping our infirmities in
prayer. Morning and Evening by Charles H. Spurgeon re Eph.6:10
Christ in us can manifest His holiness if we will yield our
flesh to Him. This is not a human operation; it is a spiritual one.
Jesus installs His holiness in us by grace. Not a once-for-all-time
transaction, this is a daily, moment-by-moment striving to live more by the
Spirit and less by the flesh.
Though becoming more holy is God's work in us, it is not a
passive enterprise. Our part is active, to strive and stain toward the
high calling we have received. God's part is to forgive our failings
based on the merit of Christ's atoning death.
His will is that we become holy ... This kind of holiness is
not the result of our own best effort...
The forgiveness of Christ makes us holy; He washed away our
sin. In reality, God in us - the Holy Spirit - makes us holy. There
is no possibility of holiness apart from His grace. He calls us,
He justifies us, He sanctifies us (makes us holy), and He will
glorify us - all by His grace.
Our part is to surrender in faith; God's part is to implant
the sanctifying Holy Spirit in us. "So I say, live by the Spirit,
and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature"
(Gal.5:16). Because of His everlasting love, we know Him, and He is
faithful to mold us into the character of His Son Jesus Christ - to make
us holy. Patrick Morley; [Time with God SB]
In learning to walk with God, there is always the difficulty of
getting into His stride, but once we have done so...the individual
person is merged into a personal oneness with God, and God's stride and
His power alone are exhibited. [In His Time; My Utmost For His
Highest]
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT:
A Better Way to Live: http://www.itiswritten.com/betterway/
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Grace Notes: http://www.e-gracenotes.org/index.php
Excellent Spiritual Resource Site:
http://www.christianlifemediacenter.com/
More Spiritual Resources: http://www.aBible.com
