Tag: counsel

Foolish or Wise?

On By vickleaIn Scripture6 Comments

Have you ever met anyone who thinks that they know everything and try to convince you that they do? I have and it’s very annoying. Nowadays, there are those who think that they know everything because they can “google it.” Well, if Google were in tune with God’s Word, that might help, but that’s not knowing everything, is it?

The foolish person is determined to go his/her own way and declares that it is the right way to go. We are seeing a lot of that in today’s society, one in which gender is determined by saying what you are instead of accepting how God made you. Unfortunately, many follow along behind the foolish and are also led down the wrong path.

The wise, on the other hand, are willing to listen but I would caution that the counselors need to be godly people. When I need advice or wisdom, I first seek the Lord by praying and reading His Word. If I need a person to talk things over with me, I call a Christian friend whom I trust. I don’t call someone that I know will agree with me…I call someone who will ponder with me and pray with me as they listen to my dilemma.

Listening is a skill that we all need to develop, but we also need to know the heart of the one to whom we are listening. Are they sold out for God and His truth? Or do they buy into the lies of Satan that truth is relative and there are no absolutes? Listen, but beware of who your advisers are listening to for their counsel. And once you have listened, go back to God and pray some more.

Teaching and Learning

On By vickleaIn Scripture9 Comments

One would think that these two concepts go hand in hand, but as I learned in the classroom, this is not always the case. I could create the best lesson ever, with all kinds of visuals and other bells and whistles and yet there would still be students shaking their heads and telling me that they did not understand.

God is and always has been the best teacher. He promises in His Word to teach us the way we should go. But sometimes, like the stubborn students, we are determined not to learn and want to go our own way. It is to our benefit to go the way God is instructing us to go so that He can help us along that way when we run into tough times. No matter which path we choose, our own willful one or God’s, He always keeps His eye on us. There are some students who learn by looking at the teacher’s eyes and observing what he/she is saying and doing. In teacher lingo, we call it “modeling” what we want the student to learn. God does that for us daily. He shows us the way He wants us to go, the best path for us, but it is up to us to choose to go on that path.

This is one of my favorite verses and is in the same Psalm in which David recognizes that God is teaching and guiding him. God is also our hiding place, our refuge that we can always depend on during the hard times. I think that sometimes I create my own hard times and places because I didn’t follow God’s path that He wanted me to take.

Finally, the Psalm concludes with the exhortation to rejoice and sing. We who are following the Lord’s instructions and hiding in Him as we encounter difficulties can always find a reason to rejoice. Always!

Have a wonderful and blessed New Year! May you find the path the Lord wants you to take and follow it, being willing to be counseled by the Great Counselor, and finding refuge in His comforting presence. Rejoice in the New Year because God is still KING!

A Loving Eye

On By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

www.bible.com/111/psa.32.8.niv

Every parent knows that the best thing we can do for our children is to prepare them for life by consistently instructing them and teaching them, leading them in the right way. So this verse really touched my heart, especially the part about God’s eye being on us to counsel us. I remember my kids saying that I was giving them “that look” which they knew meant that whatever they were doing needed to stop immediately and they needed to make a choice to change their actions before I changed it for them. I also recall my students telling me that I had that look in my eyes that showed them that I meant business and that they needed to listen. They called it “the teacher eye.” With this Scripture today, it verifies that the look and the teacher eye were real and they are gifts from God, the One who loves us and uses that eye to counsel us. With just a look from the Father, we are advised to change our path, to go the right way, to choose wisely. Just as my children and my students knew exactly what I expected when I cast my eyes upon them, so do we when God looks at us and clearly speaks through His Word that we need to straighten up and fly right!