{"id":3515,"date":"2015-09-12T00:00:56","date_gmt":"2015-09-12T07:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/?p=3515"},"modified":"2015-09-11T23:38:09","modified_gmt":"2015-09-12T06:38:09","slug":"912-how-to-stay-on-gods-paths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/2015\/09\/12\/912-how-to-stay-on-gods-paths\/","title":{"rendered":"9\/12: How to Stay on God’s Paths (\u8bd7107:1-9 \u6797\u540e12:11-21 \u8d5b29:1-30:18)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u8bfb\u7ecf\uff1a\u8bd7107:1-9 \u6797\u540e12:11-21 \u8d5b29:1-30:18<\/h2>\n

How to Stay on God’s Paths<\/h2>\n
\n

I remember reading years ago about an incident that occurred on the Italian Riviera. A young man was driving his sports car along a road near the sea. It was a beautiful and scenic route. But the road was not what it seemed.<\/p>\n

All along the way were warning signs. Yet, to the young man, the road seemed perfectly good. Disaster awaited him. A landslide had recently created a precipice. No one should have been on that road. He continued at great speed. He ignored all the warning signs. He went straight over the cliff.<\/p>\n

Sometimes we are not sure where a path will lead. At other times, we are well aware of where it leads, but choose to follow it nevertheless.<\/p>\n

Jesus said that there is a path that leads to life. There is also a path that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13\u201314). Warning signs are not put up as a threat, but out of love. The signs on the Italian Riviera were erected to keep people safe. The words of Jesus, the New Testament and the Bible as a whole, are designed to keep us on the path that leads to life.<\/p>\n

How do you make sure that you are on the right path? Once you are on that path, how do you stay on it?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

1. Don\u2019t wander in a desert \u2013 get on the \u2018wonderful road\u2019<\/h2>\n

Psalm 107:1-9<\/a>You cannot improve on God\u2019s purpose for you. God is good. He loves you. He wants the very best for your life. He has a \u2018wonderful road\u2019 for your life. \u2018Oh, thank God \u2013 he\u2019s so good! His love never runs out\u2019 (v.1, MSG).<\/p>\n

He wants you to walk on his paths: \u2018He put your feet on a wonderful <\/em>road that took you straight to a good <\/em>place to live\u2019 (v.6b, MSG). He doesn\u2019t want you wandering for \u2018years in the desert, looking but not finding a good place to live, half starved and parched with thirst, staggering and stumbling, on the brink of exhaustion\u2019 (v.4\u20135, MSG).<\/p>\n

The good news is that, wherever you are, you can \u2018cry out to the Lord\u2019 (v.6a). When you do so, he pours \u2018great draughts of water down parched throats; the starved and hungry\u2019 get \u2018plenty to eat\u2019 (v.9, MSG).<\/p>\n

Four times in this psalm of thanksgiving for God\u2019s many occasions of deliverance of his people, the psalmist says, \u2018Then they cried out to the Lord<\/em> in their trouble\u2019 (vv.6,13,19,28). Each time, God rescues them.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, nothing that you have done in the past disqualifies you from being part of God\u2019s people. The only qualification is that you should call out to God and be redeemed (v.2). Redemption means to be \u2018set free by God\u2019. Jesus came to make this redemption possible.<\/p>\n

The \u2018redeemed of the Lord\u2019 are to \u2018say so\u2019 (v.2). Speak out and tell others how the Lord has rescued you.<\/p>\n

Lord, thank you so much for the many times in my life when I have cried out to you in my trouble and you have brought me out of my distress. Lead me, I pray, on a straight path.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n

2. Leave the old ways \u2013 live on the path of love<\/h2>\n

2 Corinthians 12:11-21<\/a>The apostle Paul was absolutely determined to do the right thing. He wanted to follow the right path (v.18).<\/p>\n

He had been falsely accused. The \u2018super-apostles\u2019 (v.11) had tried to undermine him. As a result he had been misunderstood and attacked by those who ought to have known better. Absurdly, he had been accused of not wanting to take money from the Corinthians because he didn\u2019t love them (v.13).<\/p>\n

Paul points out that the reason he didn\u2019t take money from them was because he did not want to be a burden to them. He says, \u2018What I want is not your possessions but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children\u2019 (v.14b).<\/p>\n

It was because of his love for them that he would have gladly spent everything for them and indeed expended himself as well (v.15). He always acted in a way that was \u2018aboveboard\u2019 and \u2018honest\u2019 (v.18, MSG). Everything he did was for their benefit (v.19). He was not interested in their money or possessions. He was interested in their souls.<\/p>\n

Just as Paul has done the right thing and stayed on the right course, he wants the Corinthians to do the same. He is afraid that some of them may be going off course: \u2018Quarrels, jealousy, flaring tempers, taking sides, angry words, vicious rumours, swelled heads, and general bedlam\u2019 (v.20, MSG).<\/p>\n

He is afraid that when he comes to them he will find that crowd \u2018that keeps sinning over and over in the same old ways<\/em>, who refuse to turn away from the pigsty of evil, sexual disorder and indecency in which they wallow\u2019 (v.21, MSG).<\/p>\n

Turn away from these things to be sure that you are on the path that leads to life. The path that leads to life is a path of love \u2013 the kind of love that Paul has for the Corinthians.<\/p>\n

Lord, help me to seek always to do the right thing, whatever the consequences may be. Help me always to act in love and out of concern for those to whom I am ministering. May I never seek my own personal gain. Rather, may my only motivation be love. Keep me, Lord, on your paths.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n

3. Don\u2019t rush off in your own direction \u2013 ask God about his plans for you<\/h2>\n

Isaiah 29:1-30:18<\/a>Sometimes we make our own independent plans or run straight to other people for help. We don\u2019t ask God first. As Joyce Meyer says, \u2018When you\u2019ve got a problem: don\u2019t go to the phone, go to the throne.\u2019<\/p>\n

The prophet Isaiah criticises God\u2019s people for the way in which they made their plans. They failed to consult God (30:1\u20132). As a result they had gone off in the wrong direction. They had gone off to Egypt without so much as asking God.<\/p>\n

The trouble is, they didn\u2019t really want to know God\u2019s plans. Their worship is a mere formality (29:13): \u2018These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their hearts aren\u2019t in it. Because they act like they\u2019re worshiping me but don\u2019t mean it\u2019 (v.13, MSG).<\/p>\n

Jesus says these words were not written simply for the people of Isaiah\u2019s day. He says to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, \u2018You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: \u201cThese people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules\u201d\u2019 (Matthew 15:7\u20139).<\/p>\n

Because their hearts are not right with God, they go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord: \u2018You pretend to have the inside track. You shut God out and work behind the scenes, plotting the future as if you knew everything… You treat the potter as a lump of clay. Does a book say to its author, \u201cHe didn\u2019t write a word of me\u201d? Does a meal say to the woman who cooked it, \u201cShe had nothing to do with this\u201d?\u2019 (Isaiah 29:15\u201316, MSG).<\/p>\n

As a result, \u2018You make plans, but not mine. You make deals, but not in my Spirit\u2026 Going off to Egypt without so much as asking me\u2019<\/em> (30:1b\u20132a, MSG).<\/p>\n

They are \u2018unwilling to listen to the Lord\u2019s instruction. They say to the seers, \u201cSee no more visions!\u201d and to the prophets, \u201cGive us no more visions of what is right… leave this way<\/em>, get off this path <\/em>and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel\u201d\u2019 (vv.9a\u201311).<\/p>\n

They did not want the prophets to give them any warnings. They ignored the warning signs. In fact, they wanted to take the warning signs off the road and \u2018leave this way, get off this path\u2019 (v.11). They said, \u2018We\u2019ll rush off on horseback!\u2019 (v.16, MSG).<\/p>\n

Sometimes in my own life I have messed up by not consulting God and charging ahead with my own plans.<\/p>\n

But this passage also contains hope that \u2018those who got off track will get back on track\u2019 (29:24, MSG). God says, \u2018Your salvation requires you to turn back to me and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves. Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me (30:15, MSG).<\/p>\n

God is actively looking out for people to bless: \u2018The Lord longs to be gracious to you\u2019 (v.18a) \u2018and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and <\/em>show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and <\/em>look and <\/em>long for Him [for His victory, His favour, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship!]\u2019 (vv.18b\u201318c, AMP).<\/p>\n

Lord, I want to know your plans. Help me to hear your voice. Help me to come to you in \u2018repentance and rest\u2019, to walk in your paths \u2018in quietness and trust\u2019 (v.15).<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Pippa Adds<\/h2>\n
\n

Psalm 107:4,6\u20137<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle\u2026 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle.\u2019<\/p>\n

Thousands of refugees are fleeing war torn areas, desperate to find safety, often with tiny children and so many lives lost. As they pour into our country we need compassion and wisdom to know how to best help them recover from their trauma and rebuild their lives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u8bfb\u7ecf\uff1a\u8bd7107:1-9 \u6797\u540e12:11-21 \u8d5b29:1-30:18 […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":148,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bibleinoneyear"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3515"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3515\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3516,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3515\/revisions\/3516"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}