Forethought

Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.

We live in a day and age when people are doing all kinds of dangerous things on camera in order to be noticed by the world. It began with the introduction of the television, but has gotten far worse with the age of the internet. They want to find their five minutes of fame and will do just about anything to make it happen. They will climb out onto extremely dangerous cliffs, or scale huge skyscrapers just to be able to take a video of themselves and post it online. Some people will do just about anything to be seen, regardless of their own personal safety. People have done stunts like these for years, everything from jumping motorbikes over vehicles, or walking across a tightrope at a circus. For whatever the reason, whether it’s income, the desire to be famous, or to sell advertisements, these people really don’t have any fear of the potential consequences for their actions, which can ultimately result in their own fatality. 

This reminds me of the Christian Life

As a Christian, you are supposed to be circumspect, which means to understand the consequences for certain behavior, before you engage in them. You must think about things before you do them, examining beforehand if it’s the right action to take. Refusing to consider the repercussions for one’s choices, can have devastating consequences both here upon the earth, and at judgment day.

Ephesians 5:15-17  See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

Granted, each of us our children, who at one time followed the god of this world. We lived in sin and participated  with others in sinful activities. I’m no different than you, in the fact that we all have come short of the glory of God.  None of us are exempt from that fact because the Bible concludes that each of us are sinners. But once we begin to walk the narrow path of Christ, we must readily accept the error of our way. We must learn that there are consequences for the things that we do. 

If you were to stand outside in a blizzard for a few hours, wearing nothing but a pair of swimming trunks, the flesh can suffer. If you were to hold your hand on a hot wood stove, it’s going to get burned. If you drive 100 mph in a school zone, the sheriff can give you a ticket. This is why we must think before we act. In the world, people act before they think, but as a Christian we are never to make rash decisions. We must pray about them first, considering what God would have us do. Some of the most foolish decisions that are ever made in life happen because God was never a part of one’s equation.

In order to make the correct decisions, we need to be filled with scriptural wisdom. This is so that we can understand the will of the Lord. Throughout the teachings of Holy Scripture the Lord gives us directives that we are to follow. God wants to guide us through the dangers of this world, but we must cooperate with His leading, and walk in faithful obedience. God can and will certainly punish rebellion. This is because He is a respecter of no one, and will distribute perfect Justice upon all. God cares for us, but like most Earthly dads, if you choose to disobey Him, consequences can quickly follow. This is why we need to think before we act. You need to consider your behavior, in light of the teachings of scripture. You need to consider your actions, to see if they align with God’s will. Ananias and Sapphira didn’t consider the serious consequences for their behavior, and when they wilfully and openly lied to Peter, their actions resulted in their immediate deaths.

Acts 5:1-11  But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.  And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.

To be circumspect means to think before you act. A president of a country might sit down and consider the opinions of those who surround him, so that he can make a wise decision that is based on numerous other points of knowledge. Ultimately he must make the final decision, but more often than not, the more information that you have regarding a certain matter, the better a decision that you will be able to make. The New Testament has been written by many different men of God, but they all say the same thing, because the Holy Spirit does not conflict with the Holy Spirit. Before we make any kind of decisions in our lives, no matter how trivial, we need to listen to the opinions of these men of God who were in the faith thousands of years before we were. True wisdom will consider all consequences. 

Proverbs 1:7  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 3:35  The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

Proverbs 9:13  A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.

Proverbs 13:20  He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

Circumspect is defined in the dictionary as considering all possible consequences before acting or deciding on a matter. Before doing anything in your life, you want to consider what the final results are going to be. How the future unfolds can come down to the decisions that you make today. Think before you act, and always apply some Godly…..

…..Forethought

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️

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