Proverbs 4:16-19 

¹⁶For they cannot rest until they do evil; they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble. ¹⁷They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.

¹⁸The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. ¹⁹But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.

Balete Tree

In the Philippine countryside, it had been believed that “Balete Tree” is a hiding place of dark elements like “Kapre.” A “Kapre” is a huge muscular and hairy creature; it has a strong unpleasant odor; and, it smokes cigar while sitting on a “Balete” branch.

A young boy was told to bring food to his father in the field very early before sunrise. At first, he was hesitant because he had to pass by two Balete trees, but he was more scared of possible scolding from his parents, if he disobeyed. A few more times that he was told to bring his father’s food in the field and passed by two Balete trees, he proved that there’s no “Kapre” or scary mythical creature sitting on the “Balete Tree.”

Have you ever had similar scary experience that you may have gone through in your life especially when you were younger? There are many unrealistic myths and unproven ideas that may cause anyone to be scared or afraid. Our “soul” is the part of our inner being that can sense aversion. Our “soul” sense fear, excitement or tranquility.

When afraid, we are less productive. Trust in Christ as Savior even from fear. He is Lord who helps us overcome aversion and enables us to be fruitful. It declares in 1 John 4:4, ⁴ The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

As believers of Christ, have you maximized the benefit of serving Christ as Lord? How? The common view is that servants serve for the convenience and pleasure of the master or lord. Right? Truly, we call Christ as Lord, and we are his servants. We serve him as Lord and master for our favorable benefit actually and not for his convenience.

Pertaining to Christ, it declares in Colossians 1:17, ¹⁶For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 

Christ can easily create servants who will obediently follow his order. He added blessing to his instructions so that anyone who cheerfully obeys him will be blessed.

We come to know his love and care for us when we obey. By faith we obey him.

One of the practical blessings of obedience to Christ is to have goodnight sleep.

1.  Sleep

¹⁶For they cannot rest until they do evil; they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble. ¹⁷They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.

Surely, you desire to have good night sleep. Right? Yet, there are nights when you just cannot sleep at night. If that happens, count your blessing and thank the Lord.

What comes to your mind right away whenever you read the terms ‘wickedness’ or ‘evil’ in the Scripture? Do you instantly think of someone who may hurt others like thieves, robbers, burglars, terrorists or swindlers? True they do evil activities but they are not specifically mentioned in our passage. So, who are the evil doers that cannot sleep until they can hurt anybody and do violence to please their craving for evil?

Politics

Many individuals have conceded that ‘politics’ is dirty, why? Anywhere around the world, politicians would devise strategies to make sure that election results will be favorable to them. The media are not always neutral; some of them have become bias to their preferred party or ideology. Their subscribers are also influenced to do what they may consider as beneficial to their favored politicians. Consequently, many have been hurt by political differences and ideologies. What can we do, as believers of God?

Can you readily accept what Apostle Paul advised to believers in 1 Timothy 2:1-4? ¹I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— ²for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ³This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ⁴who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

The phrase, “first of all,” signifies priority of prayer for everyone in authority. We pray to have peaceful and quiet lives. Prayer for authorities is good and pleasant to God. While others may occupy the streets and shout their demands for quick solutions, we as Christians should prefer to seek God’s intervention, and he will bless us even more.

When we follow Christ, our path becomes clearer and shines like morning sun.

2.  Shine

¹⁸The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. ¹⁹But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.

Morning sun shines wonderfully bright when it breaks the darkness of the night and uncovers the beauty of the surrounding. Right? God had created everything in the world very beautifully. We need light to see and appreciate the beauty of creation concealed by deep darkness. Wickedness is compared to deep darkness that masks into obscurity, so that we cannot visualize and appreciate the beauty of God’s design for us.

It says in Genesis 1:31, ³¹God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. 

Do you love to travel? Do you like to take pictures and post in your social media? When your followers see the beauty of places you enjoyed, they may appreciate it also.    Frequent travelers may not necessarily tell others about their experiences; they may not articulately describe in eloquent words about what they personally enjoyed, but their desire of visiting other places should expose their appreciation of beauty.

Do you accept that beautiful surrounding can help us sense rest in our soul?

If we can sense temporal tranquility of our innermost being when we are in a beautiful environment, you desire that feeling. Right? If that’s true, there must be better and eternal tranquil rest for our soul. What do you think? God is Creator of beautiful surroundings. We can personally experience tranquility in his presence, if we follow him.

How do you interpret Christ’s invitation in Matthew 11: 28-29? ²⁸Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

What can you imagine at that moment when Jesus invited his disciples to come to him? Was Christ sitting, standing or walking? It’s Sabbath when he invited them to come to him. They were on their way to a synagogue; the disciples followed him.

Christ implied that to come to him means to follow his lead. We can find rest in him and learn from him when we follow his examples. By his guidance and inspiration his Holy Spirit, we can personally sense restful peace in our innermost being.

What have you learned from Christ lately? Are you excited to tell others about him?

No Talk

Someone testified that in his excitement, he shared the gospel of Christ to his mother. Then, his mother stopped talking to him after that. He assumed that his mother had a very unpleasant experience with individuals who called themselves Christians. After more than a year, his mother answered his call. He did his best in every way to express love and care to his mother. His mother observed it and said, “You’ve changed!” Another year passed by, he learned that his mother accepted Christ as Lord and Savior.

Our lifestyle, behavior and attitude practically display of what we learn from Christ. Reflect on what it says in 2 Corinthians 2:15-16, ¹⁵For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. ¹⁶To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life.

Can you accept that God strategically situated you where he planned you to be the aroma of Christ to others? You might be inspirations to another believer who is growing weak in their faith. You could be instrumental for others to be saved from possible eternal punishment. Certainly, God wants us to be aroma of Christ to others.

Our prayer is that others will sense the aroma of Christ and his work in our life.

May our lifestyle, behavior and attitude be consistent to his teaching. May we find peaceful rest in him and sleep well at night and look forward to morning sunlight.

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