Life – Page 3 – Instructions To A Young Life

A Life with Understanding

The Lord is good and there is nothing twisted in His ways. However, if you do not know Him then you may think that He is not fair or that He may even be twisted in what He does. Not so, He is just and He is good all of the time. This is His nature and who He is. All of the utterances of His mouth are right and there is nothing crooked or perverted in them. Those who have understanding know this.

Proverbs 8:8,9 “All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness;
There is nothing crooked or perverted in them.
“They are all straightforward to him who understands,
And right to those who find knowledge.

A person who has understanding will come to Him daily and even moment by moment will commune with Him. They will want to live in His presence and will not have to be like the horse or mule that requires something to make them come to God.

Psalm 32:9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you.

The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding and it is sweeter than honey to the soul. There is no comparison to knowing Him and when you learn to live in His presence and in the knowledge of Him then you will truly know that nothing compares with the knowledge of Him.

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

The way to get more understanding is to keep his commandments. Many people want to understand His commandments before they do them but actually the obedience comes first and then the understanding. The Lord tells us to “not speak in the hearing of a fool lest he despise the wisdom of our words” so if He tells us to be that way then how much more will He not teach a fool His ways. It is foolish to not obey Him and do what He says.

Psalm 111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever.

Understanding is what is supposed to characterize the people of God.

Deuteronomy 4:6 So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’

What characterizes a person who understands and knows the Lord is that they will keep His commandments. To the degree that you keep His commandments is to the degree that you know Him.

I Chronicles 22:12 Only the Lord give you discretion and understanding, and give you charge over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God.

To depart from evil is understanding. If you tolerate sin in your life then not only does the Lord not “understand” or excuse it but it is you who does not understand and know Him. How easy it is to say when we sin, “God will understand”. That is a lie from the devil.

Job 28:28 “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.’”

The Lord loves you and He wants you to depart from evil because He knows that is for your good and for the good of everyone else. The Lord hates evil and wants us to hate it as well. Evil causes grief and He sent His Son to save us from evil. He has compassion on all.

Job 36:5 “Behold, God is mighty but does not despise any; He is mighty in strength of understanding.

Do you know Him and have understanding? Go to the Lord and ask Him for understanding that you might know Him. Read His Word and pray that you might understand it. He loves you and has come to give you light, life and understanding, which is the knowledge of Him. He makes your life sweet and brings life to the spirit and healing to the soul.

Psalm 119:130 The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.

A Life of Understanding but Misunderstood

Often one who understands life will be misunderstood by others in this life. Other people will not understand why they do what they do because those who misunderstand have a lack in the knowledge of God. God is the basis of all knowledge and understanding and without Him true wisdom, knowledge and understanding will even seem like foolishness.

I Corinthians 1:18-21 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

The beginning of true wisdom and understanding is to realize that we have no wisdom and understanding on our own.

Proverbs 26:12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.

There is more hope for a fool than for one who is wise in his own eyes. There is no wisdom and no understanding apart from the Lord.

Proverbs 21:30 There is no wisdom and no understanding
And no counsel against the Lord.

The way of a fool is that he is wise in his own eyes. Turn to the Lord and you will receive counsel, wisdom and understanding.

Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.

Once you turn to the Lord then He will give you wisdom and understanding. Your life will be different because He will set you apart for something far bigger and greater than you can imagine. You will understand others but you, yourself, will not be understood.

I Corinthians 2:14-16 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.

The natural man, which is another name for a nonChristian, will not understand. That is alright that they do not understand now. You be faithful to the Lord and pray that one day they will come to know the Lord and understand. When you act on the mind of Christ, which is His Word, then you will be light and light brings understanding. You will be salt and salt preserves knowledge. The works that you do in His name will bear witness of who He is and will point others to Him. This is what it means to know Him and to make Him known.

A Life that Has Understanding

When you have understanding then you will enjoy life so much more and will be much less frustrated than others without understanding. Understanding will give you insight in decisions and make you more successful because of your right choices in life.

I Chronicles 22:12,13 Only the Lord give you discretion and understanding, and give you charge over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. Then you will prosper, if you are careful to observe the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed.

The more understanding that you have the more wise counsel that you will have to guide your life and to help others.

Proverbs 1:5 A wise man will hear and increase in learning,
And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,

When you have understanding then it will watch over you.

Proverbs 2:11 Discretion will guard you,
Understanding will watch over you,

When you have God’s understanding then you will learn more and more to trust Him and to not trust your own understanding. Your own understanding is limited to what you see or feel about a situation. God’s understanding is impartial and is based on His knowledge of life.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.

Understanding calls to us to live according to her ways. The word “folly” means stupidity. When we lack God’s understanding about life we have a tendency to do stupid things. Stupid decisions and stupid activities rob us of life.

Proverbs 9:6 “Forsake your folly and live,
And proceed in the way of understanding.”

When one has understanding then they will recognize those that do not and will not fall into the snares of people who will get them into trouble and bring grief to their lives. Many a man’s life was made very sorrowful because of the woman he married. Understanding will keep a man from the woman of folly. A person lacking in understanding is naive.

Proverbs 9:13-18 The woman of folly is boisterous,
She is naive and knows nothing.
She sits at the doorway of her house,
On a seat by the high places of the city,
Calling to those who pass by,
Who are making their paths straight:
“Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,”
And to him who lacks understanding she says,
“Stolen water is sweet;
And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
But he does not know that the dead are there,
That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

A godly mother will teach her sons to avoid the woman of folly. A wise son will listen to his mother. A man can not see through women and in the same way a female can not see through males. A young lady needs her father’s counsel and a young man needs his mother’s counsel when it comes to choosing a life partner. If you do not have a mother or father in your life then go to an older godly person who has understanding so that they can give you wise counsel. Other than choosing who will be your Master in life the next most important decision that you will make will be who your mate will be. Choose wisely and you will be blessed. Choose foolishly and that choice will become a curse to you.

A Life that Becomes Great

You must be taught by One who is great if you want to become truly great. Since there is only One who is truly great when we are taught by Him then He will lead us into greatness.

Luke 6:40 A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.

You must learn to sit at the feet of Jesus everyday and allow Him to teach you His ways. When He speaks to you do what He says. He will speak to you through His Word and you will find that as you obey His teaching that He will teach you more.

Luke 16:10 He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.

Faithfulness is what is necessary to become great. Faithfulness in the little things will bring more truth so that you can learn faithfulness in the bigger things. Righteousness is doing what is right. We learn to do what is right by doing what Jesus teaches us. Yes, when we become a Christian we receive the righteousness of Christ, since He always did what was pleasing to God, but He also tell us to do righteousness that we might represent Him to the world.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

As you allow yourself to be taught by Him then you will learn to practice righteousness and will become more like Him. As you learn from Him then He will also lead you. You will see that as you follow Him that He will also teach you to be a servant, for Jesus came not to be served but to serve.

Matthew 20:26-28 It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

As you learn to follow Him and be led by Him then He will lead you into the good works that He prepared beforehand for you. He has made you unique and no one else can do what He has called you to do. He wants you to follow Him.

Matthew 4:19 And He *said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Follow Him and you will be His servant and you will see His kingdom built. Your cup of joy will overflow as you learn to walk in His ways, do righteousness, love kindness, do good to others and see Jesus and His glory.

John 12:26 If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

Do you want to become great? Then you must learn to become like the One who is truly great. Jesus came to serve and those who follow Him, He will lead and will teach them to serve. All of our service to others is an expression of our service to Jesus Christ. Whoever serves Jesus, the Father will honor him and he will become great like his Teacher, the Lord Jesus Christ.

A Life that Finds Rest for Their Soul

The Lord has made man upright but he has sought out many devices. He made man to know Him and to seek Him. For this reason, the heart of a child wants to pray and learn to talk to the Lord. A child wants to hear the stories of God and wants to know God. A child knows that God is real and when they are told about God then often they will give their hearts immediately to Him.

Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

The Lord is God and He has made us to know Him. There will be no excuses when we see Him. He says that He has spoken to us so that we are without excuse. He speaks to us through creation, He speaks to us through our conscience and He speaks to us through people and circumstances.

John 15:22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.

The Lord says that not only has He put within the heart of man to know Him and has made it evident to man that He is the Creator and created all things but He has also done things for man that there is no other explanation for it but God Himself.

John 15:24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin;

Our sin is basically that we do not come to Him. We hide from God and we try to hide our problems from Him. He knows everything and sees everything.

I Samuel 2:3 Boast no more so very proudly,
Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;
For the Lord is a God of knowledge,
And with Him actions are weighed.

He wants us to come to Him. He loves us and wants us to come to Him so that He can save us from ourselves, our sin and our messes that we have created because we did not come to Him at the first. He wants to take the turmoil in our souls and give us rest. He is gentle and humble of heart.

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

A Life with No Excuses

Since the Lord created the earth and made it evident to man that there is a Creator then man is without excuse for not acknowledging the Creator. All atheism and agnosticism is a result of not coming to the light that God has given to man. The light of God begins through creation and when man comes to God then the Lord gives him more light.

Romans 1:19,20 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

Man is without excuse because the Lord created man to know Him and made it evident within Him. However, if man does not turn to His Creator then his foolish heart becomes darkened.

Romans 1:21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

God made man to know Him but when we do not honor Him or thank Him then we start speculating about God. Often it will begin with “My God would not…”. Any speculation about God will only bring greater darkness to the foolish heart that does not turn to God. Finally, the one who does not acknowledge God, honor Him or thank Him will cease to even believe that He exists.

Romans 1:22,23 Professing to be wise, they became fools,and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

The person who turns from God will think that he himself is wise. Once he thinks of himself as wise then he has even less hope than when he was only a fool and turned from God. Now, the wise in his own eyes person will exchange the glory of being made in God’s image and think that he is made in the image of creation, which is a summation of evolution.

Proverbs 26:12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.

A Life that Chooses the Light

Life can be narrowed down to two basic choices and these choices determine the quality of our lives, the direction of our lives and the end of our lives. The two choices are that we can either go towards the light or we can go towards the darkness. If we go towards the light then we will receive more light and will eventually reflect the light to others.

John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

In Christ alone is life and His life is the Light of men.

John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

When we receive Christ then we receive the life and we receive the light.

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

Jesus Christ is the light that gives light to everyone who receives Him and He enlightens every man.

John 1:9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.

You can come to the light through believing in Jesus Christ or you can remain in darkness. The choice is yours.

John 12:46 I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.

If you choose to remain in darkness then your “world” will become darker and darker and you will not be able to see life clearly. You will live in a state of confusion and will stumble through life without peace.

I Corinthians 14:33a for God is not a God of confusion but of peace,

The reason why people do not come to the Light is because they want to go their own way and do what they want to do. The end is frustration, defeat and death.

John 3:19,20 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

After death, those who chose darkness with receive judgment for the choices of sin they made. They could have chosen light and life but they chose darkness, judgment and eternal torment and death.

Hebrews 9:27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,

Those who chose the light and the life of Jesus Christ will see Jesus when He appears a second time for salvation without a reference to sin to those who eagerly await Him. They chose to turn from darkness to the light and received light, life and eternal salvation and life.

Hebrews 9:28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

A Life of Great Worth

The value of anything is what someone would pay for it. If this is true then what is your life worth? It is of great worth if you know the Lord because you have been bought with a price, which is the blood of Christ. He paid for you with His life.

I Corinthians 6:20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

The incredible price that you were bought with is the blood of Christ. You have been redeemed and bought out of slavery into freedom through the blood of Jesus.

I Peter 1:18,19 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

All the money in the world could not have bought your freedom. It took the life of One who loved you and have His life for you.

Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—

Not only did He redeem you and set you free but He has made you to be a kingdom and to represent men and women before the Father Himself as His priests.

Revelation 1:6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

However, not only are we to be priests to the Lord but we are His spokesmen to the world. We are to share the Good News of God’s love for mankind and His redeeming work of the blood of Jesus on the cross and how He was raised again to live forever and to give eternal life to those who believe in Him.

Jeremiah 15:19a Therefore, thus says the Lord,
“If you return, then I will restore you—
Before Me you will stand;
And if you extract the precious from the worthless,
You will become My spokesman.

The Bible says that those who do not know the Lord are worth less.

I Samuel 2:12 Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the Lord

The heart of the wicked is worth little.

Proverbs 10:20 The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver,
The heart of the wicked is worth little.

Only Jesus Christ can restore the image of God within a person who has been destroyed through sin. Only Jesus Christ can give us a new heart and take our old sinful heart. Only Jesus Christ can transform our lives into the image of God according to how He designed and created us. Only God can do the work of salvation but He has chosen those who know Him to be His ambassadors and to tell others.

II Corinthians 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Jesus Christ is the King of kings and He has made us to be His kingdom, His priests and His ambassadors to the world that the world might be reconciled to God. What an incredible privilege and joy.

II Corinthians 5:18,19 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

A Life Blessed by Love and Truth

It was God’s love and His truth that was His gift to us in Jesus Christ. He took the initiative and loved us and made known the truth to us and made it available to us to become right with God.

Proverbs 16:6a By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for,

Our sin was atoned for through the death of Jesus Christ. He took the punishment and penalty for sin that we deserved. We are forgiven through Him and it was His love and His righteousness that we received. Atonement was made for us that we might have the gift of forgiveness and our guilt removed.

Leviticus 14:31 He shall offer what he can afford, the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. So the priest shall make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the one to be cleansed.

Jesus was the lamb of God that took our guilt away and cleansed us from our sin.

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

As many as will receive the gift of Jesus Christ, the lamb of God, who died for the world shall receive the gift of salvation, the removal of their guilt and the cleansing from their sin and they will become “at one” with God and become His child and a part of His family. God, the Father, receives those who receive Jesus Christ because of what Jesus did.

John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

A Life Living in Love and Truth

As you learn to live in God’s love and truth then you will soar in life. Your life will have purpose and meaning and you will experience great joy and fulfillment.

Psalm 138:8 The Lord will accomplish what concerns me;
Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

God’s love and God’s truth are eternal.

Psalm 117:2 For His lovingkindness is great toward us,
And the truth of the Lord is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!

As you live in His love and truth then you will being living the eternal life that He came to bring to you. You will have eternal values and eternal treasures.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

As you walk in His truth and His love then you will be doing what He has called you to do.

I John 2:3-6 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

His commandments are love and truth. If you love Him then you will keep His commandments and if you keep His commandments then you will be loving others as He has loved you. Jesus was full of love and truth and kept His Father’s commandments. He wants us to walk in the same manner as he Himself also walked.

I John 2:10 The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

When you love others then you will not make them stumble nor will you stumble. For this reason there are some activities that are not a right or wrong issue but they are “love” issues because they would make someone stumble. If you love your brother then you will not do anything to make Him stumble. You will restrict your “freedom” out of love for your brother.

Romans 14:15-21 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.

If you eat certain foods (that were sacrificed to idols) or drink wine and make your brother stumble then you are not walking according to love. The word “good” in this passage means the highest form of love. If you are not loving your brother then this issue is not just a love issue but has become a sin issue. Even though the activity may not be “sin” for you, the very action has become sin because it is not loving your brother.

I John 3:10b anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

If you are a Christian and belong to Him then the commandment that He has given you is to love your brother. If you keep His commandments then you will abide in His love and His love will abide in you.