Skip to main content

Ponder the Path

We need to give careful consideration to the way we choose to go. 

Things have definitely improved for me thanks to GPS, but before we had these technologies we needed to plan ahead. If we didn't know how to get somewhere, we needed to ask for directions or look at a map. We also needed to think about things like road construction, traffic patterns at different times of day, or whether or not we wanted to pay tolls. The GPS allows us to consider these options, but we still have to make choices about our route. 

That is the idea behind what Solomon told his son. In Proverbs 4:26 he wrote, "Ponder the path of your feet, then your ways will be sure." 

The Hebrew word translated as ponder is used four times in the Bible, and each time it is translated into a different English word. The best definition seems to be "to weigh," so the instruction in this proverb is to weigh all the options, then make the best decision. 

We might plan on going a certain way, or leaving at a certain time, and then we remember rush hour will congest the roads, so we call an audible. We weigh the options, then decide what we think is best. 

That is why our Creator gave us free will. He didn't program us like robots, but allows us to weigh all the options--Buddhism, atheism, Islam, etc.--and then choose what we think is best. If there were no other options on the table, we didn't really choose the God of Heaven. Even Adam and Eve had to make this choice, and they initially chose the serpent and the wrong tree. 

So which route should we choose? In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus said,"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."

Ponder the path of your feet, and after weighing all the options, choose Jesus. 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

To Save a Life

(Like my blog about the peace symbol, this blog was written as a default response to all the parents, students, and other people who are asking my opinion of To Save a Life.) By now you have probably heard of the movie To Save a Life, which opened nation-wide in theaters on January 22nd. The movie deals with so many issues that teens face today, like suicide, cutting, drinking, drugs, premarital sex, teen pregnancy, and abortion. At first glance this movie looks like an awesome resource that we should recommend for our teens, parents, youth pastors, and youth workers. But a closer look at the movie reveals a few disturbing things. For starters, according to pluggedin.com, there are 2 uses of the “A” word, 5 uses of hell (used as a curse word), and once the “D” word is used. There are other crude terms used to describe a girl, and crude terms for referring to sexual activity. There is also a bedroom scene that shows a girl removing a boy’s shirt, then afterwards the girl putting he...
38 comments
Read more

All Things To All Men

One of our favorite verses to use in our evangelism methods is where Paul said that he “becomes all things to all men” so that he might “by all means save some (I Corinthians 9:22).” This is certainly a good idea if we keep it in its proper context and application. For example, I remember a time in high school where I knew a kid that loved skateboarding. Being the chicken that I am, I was never a skateboarder. All he would talk about was skating, and I knew none of his lingo. But to help develop a relationship with him (he was new to our church and didn’t know many people), I brushed up on my skating lingo so I could ask if he had done any sick ollies lately (impressed?). This would be like Paul saying “to the skateboarder, I became a skateboarder.” This is effective and necessary. But then there are the people that use this verse to justify doing sinful things in the name of evangelism. The first one that comes to mind is about drinking. Some people will go into the bars to evan...
23 comments
Read more

What is a Curse Word?

I know. Stupid question, right? But lately I have heard Christians begin to debate what actually makes a word a curse word. Since the Bible never says, “Thou shalt not say the ‘s’ word,” how do we know that a word is bad? Because of this I have heard Christians justify cursing. The Bible gives a broad command for Christians to adhere to: let no corrupt word come out of your mouth (Ephesians 4:29). The word corrupt means rotten; therefore, we should never say a rotten word, whether it is on the list of curse words or not. First, we have to realize that there are curse words. On the night of Jesus’ arrest Peter was found guilty of using one himself. Matthew 26:74 tells us that when Peter denied knowing Jesus that he began “to curse and to swear.” This verse shows that there are curse words, and that they are wrong to use. I’m sure whatever words Peter said were not the same curse words that we have in our culture today. Here is the point: a curse word (or rotten word) is any wo...
18 comments
Read more