#11 - The Road that Leads to Life

God continues to amaze me. Another beautiful morning. I'm out on the porch...screened in away from bugs, in the open enough to be enjoying the shade of the nearby tree, the light breeze & the playful talking of the birds nearby. I cut some purple & blue hydrangea flowers from some of our bushes yesterday, so they sit in a vase here at my table. A special date, just me and my Bible. Can this time just continue forever? It's also a "HORRAY" morning! Our Kahve coffee has arrived, so no more "Black Tiger" and I cut up some melon yesterday, so that has been yummy too! While I sit here, the baby monitor has an occasional dancing of "red lights".... when I turn the volume up, I can hear my boy talking in his bed. It makes me laugh to just listen to it. He is so cute & funny! Then... when I do go and get him up, as I walk into his room, his little face will just turn my way and immediately light up! The big smile, the twinkling eyes & his adorable little dimples.... the boy is simply hard to resist sometimes!!

Well, I have a full day, so lets get rolling!

Proverbs 7:16 - I have spread my couch with rugs and cushions of tapestry, with striped sheets of fine linen of Egypt.

Proverbs 31:22 - She makes for herself coverlets, cushions, and rugs of tapestry. Her clothing is of linen, pure and fine, and of purple [such as that of which the clothing of the priests and the hallowed cloths of the temple were made]

Hum.... sound similar? It sure does.


Let me set the stage.... when you read the preceding 15 verses in Proverbs 7, you know that this woman mirrors the opposite our Proverbs 31 friend. Further down in the amplified of Proverbs 7:22, it talks about how the Proverbs 7, loose woman is leading men like a dog enticed by food to the muzzle. 


When we look at our main verses Proverbs 7:16 and 31:22, the rewards look the same. The rewards of the loose woman (or man), seem the same of the faithful, blessed, virtuous woman of Proverbs 31. They both have the trappings of what looks like success....in that day it was: fine cushions, rugs & tapestries, fine linen. Today it may be the clothes, car, house, jewelry, eating at the fine restaurants. From the outset, it appears that whatever path you choose, the blessings remain the same! UNTRUE! The last verse in Proverbs 7 tells us where the loose woman's house is, Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death. (KJV)


The gifts, the blessings, the possessions look the same, but the life is completely a different one. 


I rewind in my life and think to a time where I was at a crossroads. I was a Christian, but had been led astray by a Proverbs 7 person.... a man in my case....someone not following the Lord, not after God's own heart. I remember being at a crossroads... I had traveled so far down this road that I got to the point of decision. I stood overlooking a lake, his white truck in the distance..... and their I stood with God & my Christian life in one hand and in the other hand the choice of giving up what I had held on to for so long, the last straw that I held of my purity. If I chose this guy, I would choose the way of the world, I would give up my beliefs and I would run with reckless abandon into sin & what it offered. It would be a world of sex, obsession, partying... I would finally be "All-In" in this relationship. It was such a battle, such a hard decision. I know my husband must have been praying for his wife, the woman whom he hadn't even met yet. I chose the way of my God. I drove away, I didn't look back. But I saw how close I was to a life far from God. 


Avoid that road! Proverbs 7:7-8 say, "...I perceived among the youths a young man void of good sense, sauntering through the street near the (loose woman's) corner...." I had many opportunities to avoid getting to that pivotal decision. I could've avoided the danger of almost forsaking my faith by NOT EVEN TRAVELING THAT ROAD, not even visiting that "Corner"! When temptation started to arise in my friendship with this person, I should've began to set boundries. When my guard started going down, when ties & the heart strings in this "unequally-yoked" relationship started happening..... I should have and could have seen the flags along the way and NOT EVEN TRAVELED THAT ROAD! I have seen a visual demonstration of this take place...a person standing on a chair & a person standing on the ground. It was much easier for the person on the ground to pull the person down from the chair and almost impossible for the person standing on the chair to pull the person from the ground up to their level. Same with life. If you are in a relationship or associating with people who are inluencing your life in negative ways, there is a good chance they will pull you down to their level. 


What areas in your life are you beginning to establish habits that aren't good? Is it spending too much time surfing the internet, playing games, spending hours on your Facebook.... are you wasting time on the unimportant, neglecting the important??? Where have you taken the first step on the wrong path? The first step down the road of hard decisions? 


I guaranty it is easier and less painful to make changes now before you get to the point where you have to make a choice...do you forsake your faith for this "addiction" or for  this ungodly relationship? 


Today....take an inventory of your life. In all areas of your life, are you traveling the road that leads to life?