A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Thursday,
July 1,
2021
Sows in wallow.
(Click on photo to enlarge)
(Click on photo to enlarge)
Oh, to grace how great a debtor daily I’m
constrained to be!
Let Thy grace, Lord, like a fetter, bind my wan-d’ring heart to Thee:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it; seal it for Thy courts above.
Let Thy grace, Lord, like a fetter, bind my wan-d’ring heart to Thee:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it; seal it for Thy courts above.
"The
Peril Of Returning To The Wallow"
Listen
to this message on your audio player.
"For if, after they have escaped the defilements of
the world through the knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in
them and overcome, the last state has become worse
for them than the first. For it would have been
better for them never to have known the way of
righteousness than after knowing it to turn back
from the holy commandment delivered to them. What
the true proverb says has happened to them: 'The dog
returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing
herself, returns to wallow in the mire'" (2 Peter
2:20-22). "But now that you have come to know God,
or rather to be known by God, how is it that you
turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary
principles, to which you want to be enslaved all
over again?" (Galatians 4:9).
Yesterday
Ester joined the Lapp family for a visit to Hershey
Park, a large amusement park in Hershey, PA about 15
miles from our home. Brooksyne and I drove over to the
Old Windmill Farm mid-morning to pick them up and took
two vehicles to the park to fit everyone in.
It was
hot, hot, hot! Temperatures yesterday afternoon were
in the hi 90's with a RealFeel® of 106° and a new (to
me) measurement called RealFeel Shade™ of 100°. I have
heard the expression "a 100° in the shade". But they,
along with thousands of others in a very crowded park,
had a great time although we sure had some sleepy
riders on the way home!
When we
picked them up at the farm in the morning it was
already hot and we witnessed a view that Peter alluded
to in the Bible. I doubt if
many of our readers have purposefully memorized
today's first Bible verse, unless you've spent a
significant amount of time on a farm! It's just not
the type of verse we draw from to receive
encouragement and assurance.
But as
part of the Holy Scriptures which are all profitable (2 Timothy 3:16,17) let us
consider it today.
Peter uses two rather unseemly Bible animal illustrations in our text, both still observable today. He is warning against the peril and foolishness of returning to the miry mud of sin. It is a warning that Peter's initial readers not turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. We do well to heed Peter's illustrative warning as well.
"It
has happened to them according to the true proverb".
When we think of Proverbs we may rightly consider the
sayings in the Biblical Book of Proverbs but the
definition of a proverb is "an easily memorized nugget
of wisdom" and that is the sense we get from this
verse made even more understandable by Peter's second
saying, "the sow, after washing herself, returns
to wallow in the mire". This verse is not found
in the Biblical Book of Proverbs. *
"Wallow"
is not a word we commonly use. Of animals as a verb it
means to "roll about or lie relaxed in mud or water,
especially to keep cool, avoid biting insects, or
spread scent". As a noun a wallow is "a muddy area or one filled with
dust used by animals for wallowing".
"Wallow"
has also been used of humans as well such as the
phrase "wallow in self-pity" and also a verb
describing those mired in some sort of destructive
sin.
Vance Havner comments in his typically colorful way, "Jesus says that His sheep know Him and that sheep follow the Shepherd; a sheep is not at home in a mud puddle and a Christian is not satisfied to live in sin. There is an animal that feels at home in a mud puddle; the Bible classifies the false teachers who return to their native habitat of sin with sows wallowing in the mire".
Ultimately we have all, in one way or another and certainly to different degrees, wallowed in sin, some more visible outwardly for sure but the Bible says, "we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6).
Vance Havner comments in his typically colorful way, "Jesus says that His sheep know Him and that sheep follow the Shepherd; a sheep is not at home in a mud puddle and a Christian is not satisfied to live in sin. There is an animal that feels at home in a mud puddle; the Bible classifies the false teachers who return to their native habitat of sin with sows wallowing in the mire".
Ultimately we have all, in one way or another and certainly to different degrees, wallowed in sin, some more visible outwardly for sure but the Bible says, "we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6).
The
focus of Peter using these proverbs is that we do not
go back to our old way of life and beliefs. In
Galatians Paul uses this theme as well. "But now that you have
come to know God, or rather to be known by God,
how is it that you turn back again to the weak and
worthless elementary principles, to which you want
to be enslaved all over again?" (Galatians 4:9).
Are you a faithful follower of Jesus Christ and seeking to live by His commands? Always be aware of the peril of going back and returning to the wallow!
Are you a faithful follower of Jesus Christ and seeking to live by His commands? Always be aware of the peril of going back and returning to the wallow!
So we
say:
I won't go back, can't go back, to the way it used to be
Before Your presence came and changed me
I won't go back, can't go back, to the way it used to be
Before Your presence came and changed me
Be
encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen
& Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
how grateful we are that You saw us at our
greatest time of spiritual need and did not turn
us away. Instead Your love saved and lifted us
from the pit of despair and eternal damnation.
Our lives have never been the same. And yet
there is that horrible reality that at times we
are prone to wander, even tempted to return to
the wallow in the muck and mire of our previous
sin-ridden state. We wholeheartedly offer to You
our heart, mind and our soul. Take and seal that
which we have for Your courts above and for Your
kingdom here on earth. Through Christ Jesus our
Lord we pray. Amen.
Daily
prayer: Father,
how grateful we are that You saw us at our
greatest time of spiritual need and did not turn
us away. Instead Your love saved and lifted us
from the pit of despair and eternal damnation.
Our lives have never been the same. And yet
there is that horrible reality that at times we
are prone to wander, even tempted to return to
the wallow in the muck and mire of our previous
sin-ridden state. We wholeheartedly offer to You
our heart, mind and our soul. Take and seal that
which we have for Your courts above and for Your
kingdom here on earth. Through Christ Jesus our
Lord we pray. Amen.*
Proverbs 26:11 states "Like
a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who
repeats his folly."
Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental
Resources
"I
Have Decided To Follow Jesus" Video
No turning back!
Pigs
may wallow in the mud to cool down, but
these heifers congregate in the shade on
Harvest Road! Take notice of the middle
heifer straddling two other lying heifers.
Let's hope they don't decide to stand up
suddenly causing the straddling heifer to
have a belly ache for the rest of the day.
The
grain is harvested, now they are baling
straw on Grandview Road north of Mount
Joy.
A
freshly harvested field with straw bales
on Grandview Road.
(Click on photo to enlarge)
(Click on photo to enlarge)
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Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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