It is imperative that men speak the truth, for “he that speaketh the truth sheweth forth righteousness,” and his lip “shall be established for ever.”
The Bible does not always paint man in a positive light, yet it always paints him accurately. According to scripture, there is no man that sinneth not.
Everything in the Christian life is dependent upon prayer. Thankfully, we serve a God who hears, answers, and has respect unto prayer.
The Bible says that God is angry every day. Yet, at the same time He may display His anger, the Bible also says that He is love (1 John 4:8), and righteous (Ezra 9:15), and compassionate (Psalm 86:15), and just (Deuteronomy 32:4), and merciful (Deuteronomy 4:31). The source of God’s anger and the means by which He acts upon His anger sets the standard for what is truly a righteous anger. If man’s righteous acts provoked God to anger, this would signify a sinful nature. The Bible is clear that the opposite holds true. God is provoked to anger by sin (1 Kings 16:2), vanity (1 Kings 16:26), and idolatry (1 Kings 22:53). His righteous anger in each case plainly declares God’s righteous nature. The source of His anger sets forth the only sources by which men should become angry.
David prayed that the Lord would watch over his safety but also prayed that the Lord would hinder the efforts of the wicked. He asked God to refuse to grant the desires of the wicked and return their mischief upon their own heads. Within this context, he also prayed that the evil conceived by the wicked might “hunt the violent man to overthrow him.” He spoke of a similar theme when he sang of the wicked, “His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate” (Psalm 7:16) or crown of his head. David knew the reward eventually yielded by violence was the return of violence upon the offender.
Prayer is an important subject that has unfortunately been tainted by men’s traditions. Some teach that in order to truly pray, you must bow your head and close your eyes. Others have added that you must also kneel in order to pray properly. The problem with both of these practices is that the Bible does not demand either. In fact, in Bible times, prayer was often made by the lifting up of one’s hands (Psalm 141:2). In other Bible passages, we see that believers might both kneel and lift up their hands (1 Kings 8:54). The Bible also teaches that the bowing of the head was an act of worship (Genesis 24:26). What does all of this mean? The most important aspect of prayer is not the position of the body but the condition of the heart.
Most Christians have an incorrect concept of the meaning of the word praise. Perhaps one reason for this is the fact that some believers have labeled many charismatic tendencies as praise in order to justify their behaviour. Historically, the word was understood to have a connection to value or worth. Even today, people understand this connection when considering the word appraisal. In fact, many verses that deal with praise also include some statement of the Lord’s worth. 2 Samuel 22:4 says, “I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised.” One must declare the worth of the object of praise in order to praise someone or something. If an action fails to declare the personal value of a person or thing, it cannot rightly be considered praise.
Many people claim to confess their sins; yet, confession not followed by action remains fruitless. Several verses in the word of God indicate the truth of the matter. Consider the next four examples: (1) Confession of sin is connected to forsaking sin (Proverbs 28:13); (2) Confession of sin is followed by recompense of the trespass (Numbers 5:7); (3) Solomon connected confessing sin with turning from it (1 Kings 8:35); (4) Confession is followed by doing the Lord’s pleasure (Ezra 10:11). True confession involves much more than simply receiving the Lord’s forgiveness; it involves making wrongs right. True confession is never accomplished by merely opening one's mouth and spouting forth some meaningless words. True confession always produces change in the confessor.
It is important to realize that the perception of peace in a person's life can be truly deceptive. Those who live for the Devil and for themselves may seem to prosper and enjoy peace. They may even testify of the peace that they seem to enjoy while those living for the Lord honestly exhibit trials and temptations associated with such a relationship. Yet, we have God's word on the matter: the wicked have no peace. This truth is so important that the Lord repeated the thought of the wicked having no peace in Isaiah 57:21. The wicked may enjoy times of calm in their lives, but these times are not the true and enduring peace that only comes from a relationship with the Saviour. Consider this vivid description before embarking on such a life: “the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt” (Isaiah 57:20). Peace comes from God!
Words always have associative properties with other words; the word joy is no exception. When considering a definition of joy, many people would assume it is being happy or happiness in general. However, the Bible does not associate joy primarily with being happy. God provided another word to enable the Bible student to define the word joy. In each of the three verses in our passage, the scripture makes reference to joy, either indirectly: rejoiced (Esther 8:15) or directly (Esther 8:16, 17). A careful consideration will identify that joy is associated with the words glad (Esther 8:15) and gladness (Esther 8:16, 17). This connection is consistent throughout the Bible (Psalm 51:8; Psalm 105:43; Isaiah 16:10) and is specifically connected to gladness of heart (Deuteronomy 28:47; 1 Kings 8:66; Esther 5:9).
