Solomon's mother advised him not to give his strength unto women. He ignored this advice and his wives turned away his heart after other gods.
Some believers err on the side of laziness while other believers err on the side of taking no rest. Both can be life threatening in one’s walk with God.
Few people grasp the purposes or the benefits of suffering affliction. Instead, most individuals place a great premium upon trying to avoid troubles of any kind.
In the tribulation, there will be many who will love “not their lives unto the death.” Their love for the Saviour will surpass their love for life itself.
Interestingly, the Lord actually commands His people to be angry! This may surprise or concern some believers who fail to study the entirety of scripture within context, but the Lord admonished believers at Ephesus to be angry. No doubt this was a call for a righteous anger with a cause, but nonetheless it was a call for anger. Why? The Bible points out that a godly anger can put a stop to sin. According to Proverbs 25:23, “The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.” This directly correlates to the context of Ephesians 4:26 as the surrounding passages speak of ceasing from sin. Simultaneous to the Lord admonishing believers to be angry, He also cautioned them not to let their righteous anger turn into sin.
Stewardship requires one predominant trait, that being faithfulness. People are gifted with many assorted skill sets requiring varying degrees of expertise. Yet, stewardship demands only a single element—faithfulness. The master of the house can teach his steward how to think ahead or how to deal with problems and even problem people, but the master cannot teach faithfulness. A wise master knows that his greatest need in a steward is faithfulness (Luke 12:42). In like manner, believers, as stewards of God, may be inadequately qualified for every needed task, but the importance of faithfulness must never be underestimated. No man can be a good steward if he lacks faithfulness.
Problems are a reality of life. The Lord cautioned concerning this truth when He said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation” (John 16:33). Simon Peter echoed this sentiment when he said, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you” (1 Peter 4:12). Problems, trials, and tribulations occur because of sin’s presence, and so long as sin remains within this world, men will face difficulties. Though the nature of these problems varies, the foundational solutions are the same: problems must be faced, and spiritual, scriptural solutions must be sought. Failure to do so only increases the presence and impact of the problems.
No doubt about it: the world is full of problems. Every day, people choose to say and do things that they should not say or do. Their actions contain all of the necessary ingredients for strife. The Bible says a wrathful man looks for the possibility of strife and does whatever necessary to stir it up (Proverbs 15:18). Why does he do this? The Bible points out that he is proud of heart (Proverbs 28:25) and full of hatred (Proverbs 10:12). The Bible further describes this work in Proverbs 26:20-21 where it says, “Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.” A contentious man seeks to rekindle the flames as he notices the fires of strife beginning to be extinguished.
Paul and Barnabas admonished the heathen to turn from “vanities unto the living God.” One cannot trust in the Lord and simultaneously trust in anything else. In order for an individual to be saved, he must repent of trusting in anything other than the Lord. One aspect of repentance involves ceasing to trust vanity and turning one’s faith toward the living and true God. This saving faith needs to become a living faith following salvation. Believers should consistently turn from “vain thoughts” and love the law of God (Psalm 119:113). They should turn from the vain labours that spend their strength for nought (Isaiah 49:4) and be “steadfast . . . in the work of the Lord” knowing that their “labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). Additionally, believers should turn from “vain words” (Ephesians 5:6) and hold “forth the word of life” (Philippians 2:16).
Few people would readily admit to trusting in lies; however, any individual placing his trust in something outside of the words of God is in danger of doing so. Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord warned His people of this danger on numerous occasions (Jeremiah 7:4, 8; Jeremiah 13:25; Jeremiah 29:31). Even today, people all over the world choose to bow down to idols and images, thinking these creations of wood, stone, or metal can assist them in some way. Other people who would never think to bow to an idol place their trust in education or something similar. Unfortunately, there are going to be multitudes sorely disappointed for they have unwittingly placed their trust in the lies of this world.
