Proverbs 4:14-16 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

This morning my good friend and fellow writer has presented a good warning about dangers which are real and prevalent in today’s society. They are not external, they are internal. They are driven by choices we make every day because we think we are better than others at dealing with evil. We have judged ourselves as righteous.

Allow me for a moment to take you back in time to when you did not serve the Lord. I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you know the Lord. If you do not, then these words apply even more so as a warning.

We did not know then, our path was wicked. We lived our lives based on the moment, the circumstance, and our encounters. We did not know the Lord and have no righteousness which is based on a relationship with the living God.

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

If you take this encouragement to declare yourself righteous before God, then you have failed to divide the Word of Truth righty. We will and do use the truth as a weapon of judgment to wound and cause others to fall just as we are warned in the opening verse from Proverbs.

Righteousness is a right standing before God and there is only One who can stand, Jesus Christ. If you are in Christ, then you can show yourself approved by obeying Christ in all that He does. God is not interested in what you do apart from Christ, only in Him is your righteousness found, not based on effort but relationship.

Are you in Christ?

Deuteronomy 21:17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

Proverbs 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

The Lord gave me a word this morning, acknowledge. With it I had an understanding, a direction, and the hopes for a meaningful devotional. So I searched the scriptures for meaning.

The uses here are derived from two different Hebrew words with many similar meanings. The context will render different meanings only if you study deep enough to understand how those words were received in a moment of time.

What did the Lord tell me in that moment?

Forsake what I know for who I know.

Don’t bother to understand in context, you will not find it. The message was relational. It is within my heart, within my experience, and is meant for me at this time with purpose. It is personal.

Do you take the Word of the Lord personal? Does it speak into your heart, your experience, in the moment, with purpose and power? We get so caught up in being theologically correct that we miss the greater opportunity to see God getting personal with us.

I do not know what is in your heart, God does. I do not know what you are going through, God does. I do not know what your personal needs are, God does.

Having said that, why should we rely on anyone but God for personal relational needs?