Luke 19:27 But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

Harsh words from a loving Savior. Surely He isn’t talking about me! My Lord is gracious and merciful. My Lord understands me, my situation and is so forgiving. I cannot believe He would talk that way about me. I love the Lord.

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

But I do lord. I keep your commandments.

Luke 18:20-23 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

Obedient but with reservations. Jesus struck at the heart of the rich man’s devotion. While this example is easy to see, it speaks to a particular reservation which many of us do not face, extreme wealth. I’m not like that. I am not wealthy.

I knew a man strong in the Lord, gifted, wise, sound in faith, a pillar of the church. He refused to be baptized. His reasoning; baptism is not a requirement for salvation. It gains you nothing. OK, I understand that and I agree. Jesus said be baptized, it is a simple request. If this man reserved the right not to be baptized over such a simple matter, what did he reserve in his heart which was even harder to let go of in obedience of faith? I do not know, that is for the Lord to say.

“Reader, if there is a reserve in your obedience, you are . . .” I will not finish that quote for you. Allow the Holy Spirit to finish it in truth.

Job 31:27 And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand:

Secretly enticed? Really? Don’t we know enticements by now? Free! Interest free for 90 days. No payments due for a year. Nothing down. For the young and inexperienced that sounds fine but for many of us that have been there done that, not so much.

Let me ask you this then, you wise and well-traveled brothers and sisters in the Lord, what catches your eye? What perks up your ear to listen? You have avoided obvious enticements but what are the secret enticements of your heart to which you give approval?

The mouth kissing the hand is a sign of approval of action. It is to consent that a thing does not weigh heavily on your conscience. It is the secret of the heart, but it is still an enticement.

Romans 14:22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.

Allow me to ask you to test these things you allow by conscience, happily. Are they by faith? Does God consent to the enticements of your heart? Are you in danger of happy consent turning into temptation? It is like window shopping for a new car when the one you have is serviceable and not yet paid off. I am just looking and yet as I see what is offered, I compare those new features against my older model and it begins to stir discontent with a perfectly good car. How long do I have to “window shop” before I find myself wanting that new car.

That is just one example, safe enough, but how many things secretly entice our hearts that are not safe? If I consent to look but not to touch, how far off is that first test drive? In this I am not specifically speaking about a new car. It could be any enticement of the heart. Knowing God as I do, I do not believe consent to this is by faith.