Category: Proverbs

  • Don’t forget it is God in the drivers seat not us

    team of horses in snow

    Welcome to 2026, the beginning of the second quarter of the 21st century. That sounds like some futuristic time to me, not Monday morning. 

    My friend Lloyd is a cowboy and an old-fashioned teamster. That means he spends part of the year at Lake Louise taking people for horse-drawn sleigh rides (the photo today is one of his). He loves it.  I’m sure he feels the joy I used to feel back in the days when I drove dog teams on winter trails.

    Most of us love being in the driver’s seat. We like to have control over where we are going and how we get there. That’s true for a lot of things besides horses, dogs, and automobiles.

    We want to be in control of our lives, God’s in charge of our own little world. Now, we might not be so brazen as to phrase it that way, but it’s in our hearts. We like to ignore the truth that its God in the Driver’s seat.

    That desire to be like God was what caused humanity to stumble in the Garden of Eden. Eve and Adam ate the fruit (not, probably not an apple) because they didn’t trust God enough to listen to Him.

    It’s why the Bible says things like,

    Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. Proverbs 3:5-8 ESV

    and

    The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

    We’re broken people living in a fallen world. All the manmade wisdom, tools, and technology can’t rescue us and redeem us. That’s why we needed a savior to set us free.

    None of the false religions can free us. The atheists and humanists can’t do it. The trans-humanists with their vision of humanity integrated with machines won’t accomplish it. The people calling for the abolition of humanity as the cure for the world’s ills (a strange and self-destructive ideology) won’t save the planet.

    We must put God in the driver’s seat. God isn’t our co-pilot; He is the divine architect and master of everything. He has the plan to redeem creation and all His children and the power to do it.

    As we move forward into this new part of the century, let’s endeavor to put Him back in the driver’s seat, on the throne of our lives and allow Him free rein to conform us into the likeness of His Son.

    May Jesus reign. May His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

    Praise His name.

    Be blessed, 

    Kevin

    Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

    Some suggested reading

    Perseverance – a Christian virtue

    The gospel – the best news you will ever hear

    Some things’ are not as they appear

    Tribulation produces perseverance

  • Fear Factor and the forbidden fruit

    Warnings against sexual sin

    Four of us sat around the campfire talking about skydiving and  bungee jumping. Two of the four of us have jumped out of a perfectly good aircraft, but none of us had been brave (foolish?) enough to jump off of a perfectly good structure while tied to a rubber band. 

    Neither of the two skydivers was particularly experienced. My friend had jumped once, and I have two jumps to my credit (one with a problem chute and the other a crash landing). We are far from experts.

    Of the two non-jumpers, one has taken advanced helicopter survival training, which involves jumping from a substantial height into the water while wearing a specially designed flotation suit. My friend is a non-swimmer, so this literally involved a great leap of faith. It was an experience that he will never forget, but prays he will never have to repeat.

    All of us agreed that there is a critical moment of no return. You realize, if only for a second, that you have crossed a fine line and there is no going back. You have up to that exact moment to say no. Afterwards, it is too late.

    The four of us “got to pontificating” about the myriad of ways that people seek to find that adrenaline rush that pushes you to the enjoyable edge of fear. Insert too much fear, and the experience becomes simply frightening. Not enough adrenaline, and it is a waste of time.

    Some people have pushed themselves so far and so often that they have become adrenaline junkies. They seek the rush no matter what the cost. Many have died in the pursuit of it. They keep pushing the fear factor, seeking more thrills. Like any other addiction, it soon takes more and more to satisfy the “need” for adrenaline.

    I will probably never again jump out of a perfectly serviceable aircraft. Yet, the adrenaline rush was enough that just seeing someone do it actually makes my heart race a little faster, and the adrenaline kicks in. It would not have taken much more to “hook me” into the “need for the rush”. I think that sin often functions the same way.

    Many things seem all the more exciting and inviting just because they are “forbidden” or there is a risk of some form involved in getting caught. Once a person falls into the trap, they keep going back again and again. It is no wonder that the writer of Proverbs tells us to exercise godly wisdom over sin.

    The verses I have chosen to illustrate this point deal specifically with the sin of adultery, but the precepts can be applied to any sinful temptation.

    My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding,that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge.For the lips of a forbiddenwoman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil,but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol;she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it. And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house,lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless,lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed,and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.” Proverbs 5:1-14 ESV

    Run away! Take off! Remove yourself from temptation.

    If you have fallen, Christ will forgive you, but you will always carry the scarring. All sin creates scars. It wounds relationships, destroys trust, and brings consequences that will follow you. 

    Perhaps in the end, you will be able to keep it secret from everyone except God, but even that secrecy will have cost you something.

    You are far better off to have run away in the first place.

    Until next time, resist the temptation to look over the precipice into sin. You never know when the ground will collapse and suddenly find yourself someplace that you will forever regret going.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

    The importance of reading the Bible

    Why no one has an excuse. Everyone knows the truth, even if they deny it

    Seven Sayings of Christ on the cross – an introduction

    A single blade of grass – meditations on creation