Psalm 75-82: Silence is golden?

Psalms 81:11-12   But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.  12 So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels.

It is common today to hear people expounding the life philosophy "Follow Your Heart".  It is even common for people who say they are Christians to suggest the same philosophy to people seeking godly wisdom.  The psalmist sheds some light on the danger of a life lived in such a manner.

First we see that it is not God's will for us in that God's desire is that every Believer would harken to or obey the voice of God.  Now that is real simple for us to understand.  God uses anthropomorphic language to describe God's word.  God desires to utilize the Bible to direct our lives.  Like Israel we can choose to ignore the offer of direction that God gives us. 

The psalmist also explains to us how God deals with our failure to be governed by His voice heard through the words of Scripture.  In this passage God gives Israel up to follow their own heart's desires and to live according to their own wisdom.  Does this sound familiar?  Many who profess to be Christians are living this way today.  They are doing what they feel is right and what they know God would want them to do though these things cannot be found in the Scriptures and often times are contrary to Scripture.

Maybe we should take a few moments and examine our decision making process that is governing our lives.  Are we following our hearts or God's word?  Are we doing what we feel is right or what we know to be right because it agrees with God's word?  Could it be that so many are able to live contrary to God's clear instructions in the Bible without a hint of conviction or discomfort simply because we have neglected the voice of God from the word of God until the voice of the Spirit of God has become silent as well?  Perhaps silence really isn't golden.

Daily Devotion:  Proverbs 11

Psalm 59-66: Me And My Big Mouth

Psalm 66:13-14  I will go into thy house with burnt offerings:  I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.

We are presented here with a strange concept for our thoughts today.  The psalmist announces that he will go into the house of God with burnt offerings.  He is declaring that he will worship the Lord.  He next declares that He will pay his vows unto the Lord.  As we read Acts chapter five yesterday in family devotion, we were reminded of the great emphasis that God puts upon our integrity.  Since we are ambassadors of God, we must represent God before the lost world.  One way we do that is by being honest in all our dealings.  This is especially important in our dealings with God.  Now we have here the sum of man's obligations.  The burnt offerings represent our obligation to obey all that God has commanded, and then the vows represent our obligation to follow through on all that we have promised.

Now here is the thought for us today.  What ever happened to all those promises that we made to God when we were in trouble?  You see the psalmist identifies the vows that he is speaking of as the vows "which my lips have uttered and my mouth hat spoken, when I was in trouble".  There is a funny thing about when we are in trouble.  We seem to remember what we should be doing that we are not doing or what we should not be doing that we are doing, and suddenly we feel impressed to let God know that we finally see things His way and are happy to comply-- IF  HE WILL GET US OUT OF TROUBLE.  It is strange that, unlike the psalmist, when the trouble is forgotten the vow is forgotten as well.

Let's do this.  Let's sit down and ask the Lord to remind us of those vows that we made while we were in trouble and determine that we will pay the vows to which we have obligated ourselves.  I wonder how much of a difference it would make in our lives and the work of God if we got that area of our lives right .  I am sure there would be quite a few more laborers for the Lord if we thought about those promises we have made and determined to fulfill them.  I am sure there would be more money available to carry out the work of God if we just remembered the promises that we made in the time of trouble and determined to fulfill them.  I know someone is going to say God knew I was lying when I made that promise to Him, so He can't possibly expect me to really keep my word.  Well, maybe if you went over to Acts chapter five and asked Ananias and Sapphira, they would tell you a different story.

Daily Devotion:  Proverbs 9