Act

     Proverbs 2:12-22  To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things,  (13)  From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness;  (14)  Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked;  (15)  Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths;  (16)  To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words,  (17)  Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God.  (18)  For her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead;  (19)  None who go to her return, Nor do they regain the paths of life-- (20)  So you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness.  (21)  For the upright will dwell in the land, And the blameless will remain in it;  (22)  But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.
     I know that there are a lot of verses today but, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. I want to connect three IBSs together, this being the last one. Identify, Acknowledge, and Act. Please go back and read the others if you need to. That is one of the reasons I call this one "Act".
     So, as we remember what was said in the first two IBSs, Identify and Acknowledge, we come to the reasons for them. Starting in verse 12 all the way up to verse 19 are some solid reasons why we should know who God is and acknowledge the fact of who He is. Verses 20, 21, and 22 are good reasons as well. These aren't the only reasons mind you. I can think of more reasons but, these will do for now.
     Ok, let us begin in verses 12 to 15. Read those verses again with me please. These are not nice people, nor are they "cool" as some might think they are. And those who think they are "cool" are those talked about in verse 14! People who speak perverse things are not easy for me to be around. Especially when they know what they are saying! The actual meaning of the word perverse is "to turn away, to distort, twist, to transform into something of an opposite character, and/or to turn inside out"! I tell you this because most of us hear the word perverse and think of people who speak about a woman's body parts or something like that. No, speaking perverse things can mean a whole lot more. Then we see that these people have left the paths of uprightness, purposefully, to walk in the paths of darkness! "How crazy is that!", we think, when we ourselves are capable of doing the exact same thing. All of are capable of turning away from what we know is right. Never think you are incapable of turning. That thought will sober you up and get you back to acknowledging the One who holds you in His arms. It is Him who keeps us from crooked paths and saves us from all manner of evil. Identify, Acknowledge, and Act.
      Now we come to the second reason this chapter gives us, the immoral woman as seen in verse 16-19. Now, immoral could mean more than just a seductress. Immoral means "wicked, unjust in practice, vicious, dishonest, and/or someone who habitually breaks the law". On a side note we are all immoral, for we all break God's laws but, through His Son we are not. However, back to the text. The thing that scares me about this woman is that her house leads to death and her paths to the dead! Then, if that's not enough, it says that "none" who go to her return, nor do they regain the paths of life. However, there is a small glimmer of hope for those who go to her. Not that we should ever ponder her paths, for the are unstable and we don't know them. As I said, the is hope but, it is small because once ensnared by this woman, it is extremely hard to get back on the right path. I've known people who fell to this kind of woman and have their lives back because they went to the only One who could give it back to them. However,  they have to live with the consequences of their actions. They don't live with the guilt so much but, they live with the pain they caused others. Some may have seen or heard they did this and say "he did it, why can't I?" or "I won't get caught like he did, I'm smarter than he is". No, no one gets away with this sin as well as all other sins! Identify, who is God? He can see everything that goes on! No one escapes His righteous judgment! Acknowledge, who He is and what He does for us and finally. Act upon what you know to be true!
     Which brings us to the last part of the chapter verses 20-22. These verses have another reason to Identify, Acknowledge, and Act upon what we have learned. They are also pretty easy to understand. Doing these three things helps you walk well, remain upright, and not get uprooted from the land. In following God, by faith, you save your soul. Notice the last verse, the wicked will be cut off and the unfaithful will be uprooted. These verses refer to the punishment of living this way. Being cut off or uprooted is like a capital offence punishment. Death sentence kind of stuff. Which also leads me to think of end times, when the entire world will be judged for how they have conducted their selves! Hell is the punishment for sin. All who have sinned will be sent there! That means all of are going to Hell! However, there is a great light that shines through our dark hour! Jesus came and paid the price for everyone! All we have to do is accept His sacrifice and, in faith, follow Him. Identify who Jesus is. Acknowledge what He has done. Then Act upon it! It is your choice to go to Him and ask for forgiveness and go with Him to heaven or go on living they way you have and pay for it later and forever, after you pay.
     I pray you choose Jesus, I pray you have taken the right path that goes to our saviour and leads to heaven. I don't want anyone to go to Hell.
     I will continue to go through the Proverbs and hope you are still with me as I go. We only just came to the end of chapter 2, 29 more chapters to go! I'm having fun, crying, and turning to God, how about you?
     Praise be to God for His love and His righteousness!