Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
Proverbs 23:6-7, “Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.”
I am reminded of these important passages of Scripture often. My favorite Bible verse is Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” I love this Scripture passage because it admonishes us—to constantly GUARD against what we choose to see, what we choose to hear, what we choose to dwell upon in our mind and the type of friends that we choose to have—because they all affect the decisions that we make.
Prisons are full of people who choose to hang around the wrong kind of friends. When that bad friend commits a crime, and you are with them, you will go to prison too! We all know that a group of people is much more likely to do evil things that as individuals. That is because as human beings we are very impressionable, influenced by others. I refuse to have any close friends except at church. I don't want to get close to someone who drinks booze, smokes pot, does illegal drugs, gawks in lust at women, has a greedy mindset or doesn't like to talk together about the Holy Bible. I love talking about God's Word, all the time. I have learned that the fastest way to get rid of unwanted acquaintances is to simply start talking about the things of God. The inspired Word of God is near and dear to my heart, because it is THE TRUTH.
One of my favorite quotes is from Dr. Jack Hyles:
“If you want to never do anything that is terribly wicked, then you never do anything that is slightly wicked.” —Pastor Jack Hyles, 'Unjust In The Least'
Amen and amen! I don't want to do anything terribly wicked. I value my freedom. I don't want to be locked up like an animal in a cage, behind bars in a prison. That is cruel! I am against prisons in the first place. The following sermon by Pastor Steven Anderson is one of my favorite. I love this guy, that he is objective and thinks for himself. This is such a needful sermon for Americans today...
The Criminal Injustice System
(Pastor Steven Anderson)
(Pastor Steven Anderson)
The Bible teaches us how to overcome sin in our life so we can live right. 2nd Corinthians 10:5-6, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” This is not brainwashing; but rather, being led by the Holy Spirit. When a sinful thought enters into our mind (which we cannot prevent), we must immediately seize that bad thought, bringing into submission to the written Word of God.
This is why it is of paramount importance that we abide in and memorize the inspired Holy Scriptures, committing many Bible verses to memory. What saith the Scripture? Psalms 119:9-11, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” I cherish this passage of Scripture, because it tells us how to live right.
We need to memorize Bible passages. Anybody can memorize the Bible. You simply start by reading the verse a dozen times. Then break it down in your mind into separate phrases. After familiarizing yourself with the passage for awhile, try to recite it without looking at the verses. I also like to write those Bible verses on 3 x 5 cards to carry around with me, so I can look at them when I forget. If you do this regularly, you WILL memorize Scriptures. Psalms 11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” David had it right! If we want to overcome the temptations in our life to sin, then we must saturate our thinking with the inspired Word of God. The Bible will keep us from sin, or sin will keep us from the Bible.
There are men and women rotting in American prisons today, unfortunately serving life sentences for crimes they have committed, who would give anything just to have a second chance. I have watched interviews of such men, who profess that they found the Lord while in prison, but it was too late for them, because they will never get out of prison. Oh, how sad it is that so many people don't learn life's lessons until they end up rotting behind bars. Dear friend, please don't let that happen to you. Be careful what influences you allow into your life. Fear God! When the Bible speaks of “the fear of the Lord,” it literally means to be afraid of God. If you are not saved, you should be afraid (John 3:36). If you are saved, but living a life of disobedience to your Lord, you should be afraid (2nd Corinthians 5:11; Psalms 6:1).
I don't know about you my friend, but I want to think right, live right and do right. Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Any sensible person should fear going to prison. But a wise person fears God more. Hebrews 10:31, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
If you are a born again child of God, then you have nothing to fear regarding going to Hell. There is NO CONDEMNATION for the redeemed saint (John 3:18; Romans 8:1).
However, there is cause to fear at the Judgment Seat of Christ for those saints who have squandered their lives in sin and selfishness, who have never shared the Gospel with anyone, who have defrauding others financially, committing adultery and shaming the name of Christ. 1st Corinthians 11:31, “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.” If we make restitution and reconciliation with those whom we have hurt here on earth, then God won't need to deal with it in eternity. But for those believers who have hurt others, and have refused to make it right them with, God will avenge them. 1st Thessalonians 4:6, “That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.” God is bound by His promises to make all things right.
A good way to look at the future judgments of God is this...
- Judgment Seat of Christ — Civil court for all saints. We will all be judged according to our works (but as believers, not the damned). Unfaithful believers will lose rewards and suffer shame, tears and sadness. Many will be strongly rebuked and embarrassed by their sins. Those who failed to go soulwinning will not shine as other saints will, who won many souls to Jesus (Daniel 12:3). At this judgment sin won't be judged; but rather, good and bad done in the body (2nd Corinthians 5:10). Jesus has already paid for all our sins with His blood, so there is no danger of going to Hell for any child of God.
- Great White Throne Of Judgment — Criminal court for all the unsaved. The dead will be judged according to their works and cast into the Lake of Fire forever.
What a joy to live upright to please our heavenly Father. Proverbs 28:1, “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.” If we do everything that we are supposed to do, then we can keep our head high with confidence (before both God and men), knowing that no one can accuse us truthfully. But if we are guilty, then we lose our confidence and live in constant worry and fear of being caught, tried and punished. I don't know about you dear reader, but I have the same proper attitude as Joshua, who said:
Joshua 24:15, “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Last year I watched several dozen episodes of Forensic Files and Cold Case Files. It is nothing short of astounding, the technology and wisdom that police detectives use to catch criminals. I was so impressed by how they work. In this day and age you have to been stupid to even try to get away with committing crime. They will catch you! Something that I noticed, because I was paying attention for it, is that nearly every time someone committed a big crime (murder, rape, bank robbery, et cetera), they were already committing lesser evils (lying, drunkenness, going to strip clubs, slandering, stealing, lust, et cetera). Dr. Jack Hyles is so right:
“If you want to never do anything that is terribly wicked, then you never do anything that is slightly wicked.” —Pastor Jack Hyles, 'Unjust In The Least'
We must all answer to God someday in eternity, whether saved or unsaved. NO ONE can escape God's judgment. Hebrews 4:13, “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” Some thief stole my new $75 propane bottle from my barbeque. The thief also stole all my solar-powered lights on my front lawn. That thief cost me $150. That individual will be judged by God. He, she or they will answer to God. The Bible warns and promises that NO ONE ever gets away with doing evil. The eyes of the Lord are upon the evil and the good. So if you have been hurt or defrauded by someone (known or unknown), God knows exactly who they are and what they have done (whether it be good or evil). God will judge everyone!
With these helpful truths in mind, by God's grace, may we all think right, live right and do right.
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