ECCLESIASTES 4:1-6:12
2 CORINTHIANS 6:14-7:7
PSALM 47:1-9
PROVERBS 22:16
Ecclesiastes 5:4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. 5 It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. 6 Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? 7 Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.
The common vow that is made on a regular basis is a marriage vow. This is a great example of how little meaning a vow has to those who make them. All you have to do is look at the divorce rate. As Christians we are not just making a vow to the one we marry but we are making a vow to God. Marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman and God. It is not a conditional contract, it is a lifetime commitment that is binding regardless of how we feel. We vow to love, honor and cherish one another forsaking all others and we make that promise in the presence of God and to Him as the creator of marriage.
What are some other ways that people make vows to God that are broken? I think of when someone is worried about something or in danger and they bargain with God. When you say "God if you will ... then I will ...." Whatever you are stating for your dots is a vow that you have made to God. If you say "Then I will go to church every week." Then you must start going to church that first week and not miss another one or you are breaking that vow. Can you think of any other examples of ways we make vows to God that we don't fulfill?
When we make rash promises like we are letting our mouth lead us into sin. When we open our mouths rashly without giving real thought to what we are saying our words have no meaning. And we will be known for that. Have you ever said or heard someone say that words mean nothing without the action to go with them? It is better to be silent before the Lord than to make a promise that you will not keep. So, hold your tongue before you ....
Because, as Christians all we need to do is be honest. Do what we say we are going to do and don't do what we say we will not do. Which I think the later is harder to do, especially when it comes to sin.
Matthew 5:33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
I forgot to copy the exact address of the verses below. :/. But these stood out to me today.
14
“When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
as well as the other.”
This is a hard truth for some, but if your heart is full of Jesus, you know that He works all things out for good. At times I struggle with this, when the bad times keep rolling in and in the struggles I can also be blinded by them and miss the good times. I’m working on this, thankful for His patience and provision s as I move about each day.
He has planted perseverance deep in…