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7 Follow my advice, my son; always keep it in mind and stick to it. 2 Obey me and live! Guard my words as your most precious possession. 3 Write them down,[a] and also keep them deep within your heart. 4 Love wisdom like a sweetheart; make her a beloved member of your family. 5 Let her hold you back from affairs with other women—from listening to their flattery.
6 I was looking out the window of my house one day 7 and saw a simpleminded lad, a young man lacking common sense, 8-9 walking at twilight down the street to the house of this wayward girl, a prostitute. 10 She approached him, saucy and pert, and dressed seductively. 11-12 She was the brash, coarse type, seen often in the streets and markets, soliciting at every corner for men to be her lovers.
13 She put her arms around him and kissed him, and with a saucy look she said, “I was just coming to look for you and here you are! 14-17 Come home with me, and I’ll fix you a wonderful dinner,[b] and after that—well, my bed is spread with lovely, colored sheets of finest linen imported from Egypt, perfumed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18 Come on, let’s take our fill of love until morning, 19 for my husband is away on a long trip. 20 He has taken a wallet full of money with him and won’t return for several days.”
21 So she seduced him with her pretty speech, her coaxing and her wheedling, until he yielded to her. He couldn’t resist her flattery. 22 He followed her as an ox going to the butcher or as a stag that is trapped, 23 waiting to be killed with an arrow through its heart. He was as a bird flying into a snare, not knowing the fate awaiting it there.
24 Listen to me, young men, and not only listen but obey; 25 don’t let your desires get out of hand; don’t let yourself think about her. Don’t go near her; stay away from where she walks, lest she tempt you and seduce you. 26 For she has been the ruin of multitudes—a vast host of men have been her victims. 27 If you want to find the road to hell, look for her house.
Proverbs 7
OVERCOMING MORALTEMPTATION
April 24, 2020
There is nothing quite so devious as moral impurity. But there is also nothing quite so predictable. Our great Enemy knows that he doesn’t have to be creative with immorality. The bait is so strong that it just needs to be placed within our reach. If we do not immediately apply God’s remedy, we will be ensnared. Sweet for a moment, the end results are always excruciating.
DAVID’S GREAT FAILURE
There was no one like David who was “a man after God’s own heart.” Perhaps the story of David’s failure is included in the Scripture to remind us that no one is immune to moral temptation and its possibilities. Even the most godly can fail if unguarded. In all that is recorded of David’s 40-year reign as a spiritual King in Israel, just four short verses chronicle his greatest fall.
1 Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.
2 Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance.
3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
4 David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.
PAYING ATTENTION TO THE VERBS
There are an important set of actions that describe David’s progression into sin. These verbs show us David’s defeat and forever give us insight into what we must do to avoid moral failure.
1. David STAYED in Jerusalem (verse 1).
David should have been in battle with his army. Instead, he shirked his responsibilities, perhaps thinking that he had now risen to a place of such importance that he was above these tasks.
Idleness gives the Devil the greatest avenue for moral sin. Satan doesn’t care how long it takes to get you; he just wants to catch you. He often comes in the most unguarded moments.
*WINNING THE BATTLE: Give yourself fully and continually to the tasks God has before you. Resist random idleness. Even in moments of rest, give yourself to the pursuit of God’s will.
2. David AROSE from his bed and WALKEDaround on the roof (verse 2).
There was nothing inherently wrong with this action, which reminds us that the Enemy can present temptation at the most innocent of times. We must not assume temptation is not lurking at the door at any moment.
*WINNING THE BATTLE: Be always aware that sin can present itself when you least expect it.
3. He SAW a woman bathing and the woman was very beautiful in appearance (verse 2).
The gate that opens the door to immorality is almost always the eyes. “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes,” a wiser David would later say in Psalm 101:3. “It shall not fasten its grip on me.”
This is not hard to understand. Evaluate your struggle with lust and you will find this predictably true. An image, a person of the opposite sex can come within your line of sight. This is called “temptation” and temptation is not sin. Jesus was tempted in all ways just like us, yet He did not sin.
There was nothing wrong with Bathsheba taking a bath. There was nothing wrong with David innocently seeing her (although, if he had been at war he would not have seen her). But there was something drastically wrong with David not being wise enough to avert his eyes. To turn and walk away. God’s consistent instruction to us when we are confronted is summed up in one word: FLEE!
When my sons were coming to an age when temptations took on new meanings, I taught them the little trick I’d learned in ROTC military training in college. When the military leaders would say “Eyes right!” or “Eyes left!” on a battlefield march, you snapped your eyes in that direction. This was a choice you made to obey the Commander. To this day my sons and I practice “Eyes right (or left)” when moral temptation comes into our view.
*WINNING THE BATTLE: Don’t go places that provide visual temptation. And when presented with moral temptation, instantly avert your eyes.
4. David SENT and INQUIRED about the woman (verse 3).
David now makes a deliberate choice to pursue sin. Gone was the innocence. David might have rationalized this moment. “I’m just going to search the internet, or browse the television, or walk by her desk at the office.” We are no longer innocent when we take the next curious step. This step is described in the foolish man in Proverbs 7:8-9.
“Passing through the street near her corner; and he takes the way to her house. In the twilight, in the evening, In the middle of the night and in the darkness.
*WINNING THE BATTLE: Realize that when you take a deliberate next step you are headed to almost certain failure. Resist the next curious step and the casual closeness to temptation.
5. David SENT messengers and TOOK her and … LAY with her (verse 4).
Here was the killing blow. Now determined to sin, David deliberately pursued his immorality. The end was inevitable. Almost no man nor woman can turn away when they have taken multiple steps towards their sin. To PURSUE immorality is to DO immorality. Jesus is clear about this.
You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27-28)
* WINNING THE BATTLE: Even if you have not consummated your immorality, you have already committed the sin if you take steps to pursue. Resist the next step! The heart-sin is the issue before God. He knows that the consummation is sure to follow.
Each time we read the account of David’s sin we want to scream at him to flee. We know the end of the story and it’s not pretty. David’s sin had great consequences for himself, his friends, his family, and the entire nation. Immorality takes you farther than you want to go and makes you pay a price higher than you want to pay.
But be encouraged. You can win this battle! Millions have by consistently applying God’s remedies. In heaven one day, you will be eternally grateful that you resisted moral temptation.
Our overcoming God, help us. Make us wise regarding immorality. Keep us vigilant. Help us master the tools that defeat this deadly temptation. And give us “running” grace! Help us to not put ourselves in vulnerable positions and give us the power to flee at temptation’s slightest presence.
I started this series on my letters and postcards to Hugh Hefner back in September when I read of the passing of Mr. Hefner. There are many more to come. It is my view that he may have taken time to look at glance at one or two of them since these postcards were short and from one of Hef’s favorite cities!!!!
Feb 7, 2017 letter B Proverbs 7
12 As I stood at the window of my house
looking out through the shutters,
Watching the mindless crowd stroll by,
I spotted a young man without any sense
Arriving at the corner of the street where she lived,
then turning up the path to her house.
It was dusk, the evening coming on,
the darkness thickening into night.
Just then, a woman met him—
she’d been lying in wait for him, dressed to seduce him.
Brazen and brash she was,
restless and roaming, never at home,
Walking the streets, loitering in the mall,
hanging out at every corner in town.
13-20 She threw her arms around him and kissed him,
boldly took his arm and said,
“I’ve got all the makings for a feast—
today I made my offerings, my vows are all paid,
So now I’ve come to find you,
hoping to catch sight of your face—and here you are!
I’ve spread fresh, clean sheets on my bed,
colorful imported linens.
My bed is aromatic with spices
and exotic fragrances.
Come, let’s make love all night,
spend the night in ecstatic lovemaking!
My husband’s not home; he’s away on business,
and he won’t be back for a month.”
With much seductive speech she persuades him;
with her smooth talk she compels him.
22 All at once he follows her,
as an ox goes to the slaughter,
or as a stag is caught fast[e]
23 till an arrow pierces its liver;
as a bird rushes into a snare;
he does not know that it will cost him his life.
___________
I wrote to Hefner in an earlier letter these words:
Don’t you see that Solomon was right when he observed life UNDER THE SUN without God in the picture and he then concluded in Ecclesiastes 2:11:
“All was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained UNDER THE SUN.”
Notice this phrase UNDER THE SUN since it appears about 30 times in Ecclesiastes. Francis Schaeffer noted that Solomon took a look at the meaning of life on the basis of human life standing alone between birth and death “under the sun.” This phrase UNDER THE SUN appears over and over in Ecclesiastes. The Christian Scholar Ravi Zacharias noted, “The key to understanding the Book of Ecclesiastes is the term UNDER THE SUN — What that literally means is you lock God out of a closed system and you are left with only this world of Time plus Chance plus matter.”
The answer to find meaning in life is found in putting your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. The Bible is true from cover to cover and can be trusted.
Article below is from Tom Beaman
About
My name is Tom Beaman. When I was 38, as a confirmed skeptic of all things religious, I had a life-changing encounter with Jesus. Within a couple of years I sold my concert sound company and enrolled in Denver Seminary, preparing for a new career as a pastor and preacher. One of the biggest surprises for me was how rich and fascinating the study of the Bible can be when you strip away all the stuffiness and formality. It is astonishing that this collection of – individual writings, written by dozens of authors from differing cultural situations, over a span of hundreds of years, fits together with such precision. Recently retired, I’ve begun this blog as a way of continuing to share my love and amazement for God’s Word.
I live in Longmont, Colorado, am recently single, after the death of my wife of 47 years in 2015. We raised two kids and now have four grand-kids. My hobbies include camping, playing guitar, woodworking and baking bread.
PS – When I quote from the Bible, most of the time it will be from: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984, Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Very good below
The Quest for Meaning – Part 3
Being Elvis was not enough. He needed more. Why? You might think singing for a living would be satisfying. Throw in vast wealth, Graceland, being known as “the King” and worshiped around the world would pretty much cover all your needs. But all that was not enough. Why not? Solomon (introduced in Part 1) never met Elvis (so far as we know…. wink, wink…) but he applied himself to figure it out. There must be a reason we humans work so hard to achieve money, fame, power, pleasure, success – you name it – and when we do, we discover those things don’t satisfy.
He didn’t just read up on the topic; Solomon held his nose and cannon-balled into the quest. But nothing he tried was enough. Wisdom didn’t satisfy:
I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief (Ecclesiastes 1:16-18)
Carnal pleasure didn’t satisfy. His life that would have been the envy of Donald Trump, HUGH HEFNER and Bill Gates:
1 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” 3 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives. 4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
and this was the reward for all my toil. (Ecclesiastes 2:1-10)
And yet, none of that was enough:
11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:11)
Why is it that none of these things we strive for pay off in a lasting, satisfying way? You can read ahead in Ecclesiastes to discover what Solomon concluded. Hint: One is the “D word,” the great equalizer that awaits us all. The second thing is a matter of having the wrong perspective. There is a solution.
See you next time…
21 Pictures That Show Just How Crazy Hugh Hefner’s Life Really Was
“Life is too short to be living someone else’s dream.” —Hugh Hefner
Helmut Kretz / Getty Images
Millionaire publisher of Playboy magazine Hugh Hefner poses with Playmate Bunnies at one of his clubs in 1962.
Keystone Features / Getty Images
Exterior of Hefner’s Playboy Club in midtown Manhattan, circa 1966.
Bettmann / Bettmann Archive
Hefner inspects new and improved fabric for the Playboy Bunny costumes in the main room of the Playboy Mansion in Chicago, circa 1966.
Edward Kitch / Edward Kitch / AP/REX/Shutterstock
Hugh Hefner “rescues” one of the swimmers in the indoor pool of his Chicago apartment in 1961.
Bettmann / Bettmann Archive
A crowd of partygoers inspect Hefner’s stereo system at his Playboy Mansion in Chicago, circa 1966.
Pa Images / Getty Images
The “badge of the bunnies” on a Rolls-Royce picks up Hefner after arriving from the US in 1966.
Anonymous / Anonymous / AP/REX/Shutterstock
Hefner makes a telephone call aboard his private plane in 1970.
George Brich / AP
Playboy Bunnies welcome Hugh Hefner on the inaugural flight of his new DC-9 jetliner, The Big Bunny, on March 17, 1970.
Mirrorpix / Getty Images
Hefner arrives with an entourage of Bunnies at London Heathrow Airport on June 25, 1966. During this trip to Britain, he opened his 16th Playboy Club, located in Park Lane, London.
Herrmann / AP / REX / Shutterstock
During a press conference, a little “Bunny” offers sweets to Hugh Hefner and his girlfriend Barbara Benton after they arrived in West Berlin to shoot the film What Is A Nice Girl Like You Doing In This Business, in 1969.
Araldo Di Crollalanza / ARALDO DI CROLLALANZA/REX/Shutterstock
Hefner speaks to an audience during the release party for the Playboy 25th anniversary issue in 1979.
Lennox Mclendon / Lennox McLendon / AP/REX/Shutterstock
Hefner dances with playmate Sandra Theodore, alongside actress Rita Hayworth and her former choreographer Hermes Pan, during a fundraising party to save the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles in 1978.
Ron Galella / WireImage
Hefner and Playboy Bunnies celebrate as he receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1980 for his achievements in television.
Anonymous / AP / REX/ Shutterstock
Hefner poses with a group of current and former Playboy Bunnies at the Los Angeles Playboy Club in 1986.
Kip Rano / REX / Shutterstock
Luxury and high-end sports cars line the driveway of Hefner’s Playboy Mansion during a party in 1991.
Brad Elterman / Getty Images
Hefner sits with his wife Kimberley and two children during an event at the Playboy Mansion in April 1994.
Reed Saxon / ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hefner poses next to a laser-generated image of his head on a computer screen following a laser scanning session on Sept. 26, 2000, at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. The resulting image was used to create an exact wax model of his head for a figure at the Hollywood Wax Museum.
Michael Bezjian / WireImage
Hefner and model Crystal Harris, later Crystal Hefner, attend a signing in Los Angeles on Dec. 10, 2009.
Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic, Inc
Hugh Hefner shares a moment with Pamela Anderson during the launch party for Spike TV at The Playboy Mansion in 2003.
Denise Truscello / WireImage
Hefner looks at past Playboy covers during a Las Vegas party celebrating Playboy’s 50th anniversary in 2009.
Michael Kovac / FilmMagic
Hefner arrives at the 2011 Playboy Jazz Festival at the Playboy Mansion on Feb. 10, 2011, in Beverly Hills.
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Hefner poses for a portrait at the Playboy Mansion in 2010. He died in September 2017 at the age of 91.
Photograph: Reuters
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