Tag: Proverbs 29:25
Week 24–Day 1–Don’t fear men
Scripture reading for June 8: Luke 12:4-5“”I tell you, My friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear; fear Him Who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him!”” Proverbs 16:6 “By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.”
Fear is a hidden force that lurks in the minds and hearts of human beings. Our enemy, the devil, thrives in an atmosphere of fear because he works through lies and deception. His lies bring about fears of punishment or rejection that allows for manipulation and control. A fear of failure holds man back from obedience to God and locks them in lifestyles of addiction and slavery to the flesh. Behind these fears, the devil works through men and women to plant fear and division instead of the faith and obedience that comes from hearing God’s Word. Proverbs 29:25 states that “The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”
Jesus warned His disciples concerning the fear of men and their manipulations. They were not to fear those who threatened them with death because those who can kill the body do not determine a person’s eternal fate. God Alone holds that authority and He is the One we must fear (respect) and obey. Through Jesus Christ’s steadfast love and faithfulness our iniquity has been paid for and fear of death and punishment is removed. Through a relationship with Him and the indwelling Holy Spirit, we turn away from sin and evil.
First responders who are also faith responders understand this admonition of Jesus. We act in faith, trusting God to keep us safe as we deal with those who are hurting or those who through fear seek to manipulate or control others. We can be free from the fear of man and the fear of death and punishment through resting in Christ Jesus. We are then free to more effectively do our jobs.
Prayer: Father God, thank You for delivering us from the fear of man and his manipulation and threats. Help me to live each day trusting in You Alone for safety and wisdom to effectively deal with each incident in the courage of faith. Amen.
Day 3–Courage to Confess Jesus as Lord
Scripture reading for February 25: Matthew 25:28-32“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him Who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I also will acknowledge before My Father Who is in heaven, but whoever denies Me before men, I also will deny before My Father Who is in heaven.”
A common fear in all mankind is a concern for what others think. But Scripture teaches that the fear of man is a snare. (Proverbs 29:25) Jesus taught His disciples not to fear men or their positions of power or opinions. Even rulers who have the authority to take your life are not to be a source of fear. They can only kill the body but have no power to sentence you to eternal punishment.
The only ones we are to fear is God our Father and Jesus His Son. These hold our lives in Their hands and our eternal destiny depends on Their mercy and grace. If we hold this to be truth, then we should not be ashamed to declare our trust. Jesus plainly stated to His disciples that everyone who would confess faith in Him before men, He would confess before His Father in heaven. On the contrary, if we deny faith in Jesus then He will deny us before His Father in heaven.
As first responders who trust in Jesus, our first responsibility and priority in our life is our relationship with our Lord. But in a secular culture, we must be wise in how we conduct ourselves and in our speech. We should first seek to live a life of humility and serving others in such a way as to demonstrate Christ’s love and character. Our speech and attitude should be free from vulgarity and gossip. We should be ready to share the reason for our hope and joy, never denying Jesus as Lord. (1 Peter 3:15)
Prayer: Father God, I never want to deny You before men. Forgive me for sometimes having a fear of man concerning the sharing of my faith. Open doors for me to share my faith by displaying in me Your love and compassion and joy and hope. Amen.
Let all nations trust the Lord for mercy!
Scripture reading for July 20: Isaiah 17-20
“Those who trusted in Cush and boasted in Egypt will be afraid and put to shame. In that day the people who live on this coast will say, ‘See what has happened to those we relied on, those we fled to for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?” (Isaiah 20:5-6)
The fear of man is a snare (Proverbs 29:25). When we rely on military power, political influence, money, or knowledge to provide a measure of safety and security we are trusting man. We are taught that ‘might makes right’ and that the ‘fittest will survive’. In the natural, this appears to be the smart way to live but it is a trap that catches many!
Americans have had a lot to boast about in this regard. We are a nation that boasts of one of the most powerful militaries in the world. We have vast resources and technology that enables us to use our resources to protect us and to free oppressed peoples in other parts of the world. But can our great military power and technology bring us security? The Bible says that God alone is our source of safety!
Isaiah spoke an oracle against Egypt. Egypt was a powerful nation during this period of time. They were a nation of idolaters who consulted sorcerers and mediums instead of God. God’s prophet Isaiah warned them that they would find these leaders very unreliable and unstable and His judgment would expose them as false! (Isaiah 19:1-4) God would cause drought and famine to reduce the people to despair. He would expose their officials as senseless and fools! (Isaiah 19:11-14) God would pour on them a spirit of dizziness causing them to stagger in their own vomit! Trusting in men is futile!
God’s mercy was extended to His Egyptian people through Isaiah. He encouraged them that as they were going through judgment they should turn to the Lord, He would have mercy on them! (Isaiah 19:19-22) He would raise up a deliverer for them and make Himself known to them. As they acknowledged the Lord, He would heal them! This passage ends with God declaring a blessing over Egypt and Assyria: “Blessed be Egypt My people, Assyria My handiwork, and Israel My inheritance.” (Isaiah 19:25)
God’s amazing mercy and love for all nations cause us to worship Him and willingly serve Him! Take time today and repent of any ‘trust in man’ and thank God that He is trustworthy! He alone is our source of protection and our way of escape! Pray for our enemies that they would cry out to God for mercy!
Ancient civil disobedience
Scripture reading for January 19th: Exodus 1-2
Exodus 1:18-20 “So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” So God dealt well with the midwives.”
Shiphrah and Puah were ordinary Jewish women who had a job to do. As midwives, they would go to the homes of pregnant Israelite women and sit with them during labor and delivery, washing off the baby and attending to the mother and child. Pharaoh gave an order to these god-fearing women to kill all the male babies. It was a form of late-term abortion being practiced in Egypt 1500 BC.
Satan comes only to kill, steal, and destroy but God is a life-giver and life-saver! These Hebrew women knew God and feared Him more than they feared Pharaoh. They chose a path of civil disobedience that is a good model for us today. They simply ignored Pharaoh’s order and did what was right in God’s eyes. They continued to do what was right before God. They knew that abortion was murder of God’s children. God was kind to them, protected them, and He rewarded them with families of their own. If you are faithful with the little, God can give you much! ( Luke 16:10-12)
Do an inventory today of the things God has given you stewardship over. One thing is your influence and vote in our democracy. Are you voting for those who will authorize abortion? Are you giving approval to those who would perform abortions and kill off human beings made in God’s image? Do you call the politicians that are trying to enact more laws to abort children? Are you like Shiphrah and Puah, staying strong for God and protecting life whenever and wherever you can? God rewards well and is pleased with “civil disobedience” that promotes His life-giving plans.
The fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord will be kept safe. (Proverbs 29:25)
Sons (and daughters) of God!
Scripture reading for March 24th: Galatians 3, Psalm 60, Proverbs 29
Galatians 3:24-29 “So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.”
Paul likened the law of God to a guardian that watched over God’s people until faith in Christ Jesus was revealed. Legally, younger children were under their parent’s guardianship or a guardian was appointed for them if they had no parents. This guardianship was to instruct them and protect them until they reached the age of adulthood and could receive their inheritance. When Jesus Christ came, the promised “Offspring” of Abraham, through which all nations would be blessed, the law was no longer over God’s people as a guardian. Now faith in Christ brought adoption as full sons (and daughters) of God. All who believed on Him would become heirs of eternal life by faith just like Abraham! Hallelujah!
Psalm 60:4-5 “You have set up a banner for those who fear You, that they may flee to it from the bow. That Your beloved ones may be delivered, give salvation by Your Right Hand and answer us!”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, today I rejoice in Your great love and perfect sacrifice for me! Thank You for the blessing of righteousness and adoption into God’s forever family! Thank You that this promise is for all nations, sexes, and every man-made social status. I have been baptized into Christ Jesus and gladly ‘put Him on’ in joyful thanksgiving! You have answered our deepest need of salvation and everlasting life!
Proverbs 29:25 “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”
Obeying God, not men!
Scripture reading for April 12th: Acts 5
Key Scriptures: Acts 5:27-33 “And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this Name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, Whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree. God exalted Him at His right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, Whom God has given to those who obey Him.””
Obedience to God has rewards now and in eternity. The high priest was in authority over Israel and had brought the apostles in earlier and sternly commanded them to not speak or teach in the Name of Jesus. The apostles, in opposition to these instructions from spiritual authority, had continued to boldly preach repentance and forgiveness in Jesus’ Name. Many signs and wonders were also being reported through the Name. Peter, when directly confronted, plainly told the high priest that they must obey God rather than men. He then accused them again of crucifying the Lord Jesus Whom the Father had raised from the dead and exalted to His right hand. This was the ultimate position of spiritual authority. Listen to the witnesses!
Acts 5:38-39 “So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, . . “
Faith confession and prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for the Holy Spirit and the boldness of Your witnesses recorded for us in Scripture. Deliver me from the snare of fearing men and empower me to obey You alone.
Proverbs 29:25 “The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”
Hold fast your confidence!
Scripture reading for October 25th: Hebrews 10, Psalm 64, Proverbs 29
Key Scriptures: Hebrews 10:23-27 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer is a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.”
Because God is faithful and His promises are sure to be fulfilled, God’s people must hold fast to the confession of their faith. This includes meeting faithfully together and encouraging one another. The Day of Christ is coming quickly, each day is one day closer! Living in deliberate sin after coming to truth in Jesus will only leave a former believer in fear of judgment and eternal fire.
Faith Confession: I confess my complete and total trust in Jesus Christ, Son of God and soon-coming King. I will meet regularly with God’s people and encourage others to stand firm, warning about deliberate sinful conduct and its dire consequences.
Proverbs 29:25 “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”
Our sufficiency is in Christ!
Scripture reading for July 31st: 2nd Corinthians 3, Psalm 2, Proverbs 28-29 (two chapters of Proverbs today to enable going to odd Psalms every other day)
Key Scriptures: 2nd Corinthians 3:3-6 “And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
Paul, writing again to the Church in Corinth, contrasted his own ministry with those who boasted of their own sufficiency. His ministry had produced the fruit of changed lives through the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit had written God’s law of love on human hearts to bring about the change. Effort to keep the letter of the law produced only death but the Spirit gave life. The only boast Paul had was in God’s faithfulness and work by the Holy Spirit.
Faith Confession: I thank God that He has declared me sufficient as a minister of the new covenant of the Holy Spirit. He works through me by the Holy Spirit and God’s Word to bring about heart change in those who believe.
Proverbs 29:25 “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”
Beware of fearing men!
Scripture reading for April 21st: John 12
Key scriptures for over-comers: John 12: 42-46 “Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God. Then Jesus cried out, “When a man believes in Me, he does not believe in Me only, but in the One who sent Me. When he looks at Me, he sees the One who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should stay in darkness.”
Jesus came into the world to bring the light of revelation of the Father to all who would receive Him. There were some who believed in Him among the leaders of Israel, but for fear of man, they would not confess their faith. They wanted approval from the leaders more than the approval that came from pleasing God. Today, this same fear causes many to shrink back from a public commitment to follow Jesus. They believe in Him, but fear men and desire acceptance more than God’s approval. Because of this, they stay in darkness and miss the full revelation of light!
Observations for over-comers: Over-comers boldly confess their faith in Jesus Christ, loving the approval of God over that of men. “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” (Proverbs 29:25)