Keeping God’s Words

“My son, keep my words, and treasure my commands within you.” (Proverb 7:1)

The word “keep” in this term “keep my words” is an interesting one.

It is the Hebrew word “shâmar” (pronounced “shaw-mar) and it means “to hedge about (as with thorns), that is, guard; to protect, to attend to.”

It has built into it the idea of being wary, being circumspect (Webster: “careful to consider all circumstances and possible consequences”), to take heed, to look narrowly upon, to observe, to preserve, to regard (value), to watch over.

Valuing God’s Word is a wonderful thing to do. However, in contrast to what most Christians practice when it comes to “keeping God’s Word”, the term does not JUST mean to somehow revere God’s Word.

It is MUCH more active than that.

For instance, one sub-definition of “keep” means “to observe.” The definition of that word “observe” means to do what it says and NOT do what it does not say.

Almost 2000 years have passed since Jesus ascended back to heaven. In that time the devil has been VERY active in saturating the Lord’s Church with his own ideas, all designed to rob the Body of Christ of its power in Christ and control the minds of people.

For this reason it is VERY important that we approach God’s Word AWARE that our understanding has been polluted by the world system which is directed by our enemy, the devil. This also includes all we think about God, His people, HIS CHURCH and how we practice the Christian life and worship.

Brothers and sisters, we cannot trust our understanding of these things.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and HE SHALL DIRECT YOUR PATHS. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil.” (Proverb 3:5-7)

That term “lean not on your own understanding” literally means to “not support yourself and rely upon what you (in your fallible humanness) understand.”

Hearing this, one might think, “But I HAVE to live based upon what I know to be true so I can KEEP MYSELF safe!!!”

I disagree. There is a better way:

RELY UPON GOD’S UNDERSTANDING! And what will be the result of this?

“He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:6b)

I have challenged myself to do something that has resulted in seeing the Word of God come alive for me. You might consider it as well.

I have asked the Lord to bring me to anything I read in the Word, to anything I think I believe about HIS one Church, His ways, the Christian lifestyle…ANYTHING…and give me the ability to ignore what I THINK I know. I’ve asked the Holy Spirit to, instead, guide me into HIS truth about all these things.

I’m not at all looking for “new revelation.”

I AM looking for God’s revelation that has always been there but which has been covered and obscured by MAN’S traditions, habits, assumptions, teachings, and doctrines – all of which have either been outright invented by or, at the very least, steered by satan.

This means that when I read God’s Word I am not only trying to be aware of what it says. I am also trying to be aware of what it DOES NOT SAY but which we tend to think it says because “things have always been this way.”

No human can do this effectively and consistently in his own, limited power.

(Jesus speaking:) “…when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth." (John 16:13a)

I’m convinced that if we would, as a Body, turn to God’s Word in all its majesty and simplicity and depend upon the Holy Spirit to guide us through HIS intentions for us and God’s Church we would see the greatest moves of God the world has seen since the first century. After all, it WAS the Holy Spirit Who WROTE it through the hands of yielded people (2 Timothy 3:16).

To do so, we must shrug off man’s traditions and understandings of God’s Word and words.

“My son, keep my words, and treasure my commands within you.” (Proverb 7:1)

We, instead, must KEEP His words.

What an exciting adventure THAT will be!

It is my hope that we will see an upsurge of this in ourselves individually and as the Body of Christ.

What say you?

Pastor Mike McInerney

Mike McInerney Ministries, Inc.

© April 7, 2019

(for use with permission)