A BIT OF ADVICE Larry W Peebles February 18, 2022 22.05
As a young boy growing up, I probably was influenced more by what my dad and grandpa did than by what they said. I only had one living grandpa when I was a boy, from my mother’s side of the family. My dad’s father died shortly after my mom and dad married, so I never knew him. My grandpa became the adopted dad for my dad, who called him “pop”. I didn’t realize it at the time, but as I grew older I began to remember more of what my dad and grandpa modeled in front of me. I began to understand their influence on my life. For instance, they handled money well, they saved money when they could, and they paid their bills on time.
They both worked hard, doing whatever it took to support their families. Weekends and holidays were spent with family, often large gatherings at my grandpa’s farm. Family time together was preferred over vacations away from family. They worked when they didn’t feel like it, and they worked when they were sick. They loved the outdoors, and they loved to fish. They attended church regularly, though they never spoke much about their faith. They never attended college- indeed dad finished high school only after serving in WWII; grandpa only finished the third grade. Yet they both celebrated when the grandkids completed college. They never offered advice unless they were asked; rather they demonstrated a certain level of trust in letting me make my own life decisions.
Between the two of them, they remained standing through two world wars, the great depression, the Korean conflict, and the war in Vietnam. They guided their families through crisis, and lived within their means. They did the best they could with what they had, and never gave up during difficult times. They were both “rock-solid successes” in my eyes.
Neither of them is alive today. God once told me that the seeds of my Christian faith came from them, so now I turn to the Holy Spirit for advice. I encourage my children to do the same. Jesus said Holy Spirit would be our Counselor, and would teach us concerning all things. My wife and I could tell some amazing stories of how the Spirit led us each time we moved from state to state, or bought or sold a home (seven different homes in total). Where and when we moved was Spirit-led, but then the Bible says He “places us in times and places”. We asked, and He gave us Godly advice. The same is true of job and career changes. The best job I ever had resulted from a direct word to my wife from Holy Spirit that I should take the offer. When the two of us began to travel internationally on ministry trips, we waited until we had a word from Holy Spirit- “I’ll go with you when you go, and I’ll be there when you get there.”
Recently in prayer I asked Holy Spirit to make my prayer time effective and powerful by leading me to pray for things on His heart. He did exactly that. Then I asked His advice for a scripture to write about for this article, and He gave me Psalm 15, which reads as follows:
“1. Lord, who may abide in your tabernacle [sanctuary, temple, secret place, tent of meeting]? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? 2. He who walks uprightly
[blameless], and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart; 3. He who does not backbite [slander] with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach [slur] against his friend; 4. in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honors those who fear the Lord; He who swears to his own hurt, but does not change [keeps his oath even when it hurts]; 5. He who does not put out his money at usury, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved [shaken].”
Let’s start at the end of this Psalm to begin to understand it. The promise is that we will not be “shaken”. The Hebrew word for shaken is mot (Strong’s #4572), which means to slip, fall, stagger, topple, or to bring down. No doubt in these times there is great “shaking” that is happening. On planet earth, the number of major earthquakes per year that is considered normal is 16. This includes 15 of magnitude 7.0 or greater, plus 1 of magnitude 8.0 or greater. The year 2010 was well above normal at 23, with 12 of the past 40 years showing above normal activity. With more reporting equipment and better connectivity, we actually report an average of 55 minor earthquakes per day around the world.
This is not the only shaking we are considering. Rather, we are considering the life shaking that comes when one is called into the boss’s office and is told they are being laid off. They no longer have a job. Perhaps the phone rings and the report from the doctor’s office is not good, or the school reports a child did not come to school that day, or is failing. On a larger scale, perhaps the curriculum at the school is becoming increasingly perverse and inappropriate, or the laws of the land are doing the same, and we seem helpless to stop it. The whole country is headed in the wrong direction, and everything is shaking. Elected leaders are caught in lies, and news anchors are dropping on all sides. Gasoline prices double, while merchants’ shelves are half full. Evil is called “good”, and good is mocked and called “evil”. This is shaking, and it seems to be accelerating.
This is why we want to abide, not merely visit, in the secret place with the Lord. I think of the tent of meeting where Moses met with the Lord and talked “as a friend talks to a friend”. (Exodus 33:11) Twice Moses spent 40 days on Mt. Sinai (the holy hill) alone with the Lord (Exodus Chapters 32, 34). This is where he received vital instruction on how to do what had never been done before- form one nation (Israel) out of another (Egypt), and change five million people from slaves to free persons, from idol worshippers to God worshippers, and do it complete with a set of laws and judges. This was not easy for Moses, but the Lord had committed Himself to do it, going back to a promise He had made to Abraham. (Genesis 15:13)
Who can have that kind of relationship with the Lord? Who can receive that kind of divine advice to navigate the traps of Satan which would cause one to fall? King David, who wrote Psalm 15, knew what he was writing about when he offered this wisdom/advice:
- Walk in righteousness before the Lord, blameless, and speak the truth. We know that our righteousness comes by faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. His death on the cross washes away the guilt and shame of our sin, allowing us to be righteous and blameless before God. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, comes to live in our heart, and only truth comes out of our heart and mouth.
- We do not backbite with our tongue, nor speak a slur against a friend. Our speech is under control, and our tongue is tamed. The Bible says that out of the mouth flow the issues of the heart (Luke 6:45), so with the Holy Spirit in residence in our heart, there should be no issues that would cause the tongue to stumble. Once the heart is under control, the tongue will follow.
- Evil should be considered vile, and the fear of the Lord is to be honored and respected. The word vile means morally base, depraved, or impure. Evil should be avoided at all costs, to the point of running away from it if necessary. (Proverbs 3:5-7) On the other hand, Psalm 25 gives a number of benefits that accrue to those who fear (revere, respect) the Lord, including dwelling in prosperity, inheriting the earth, and sharing in the secrets of God. Evil is properly called evil, and good is properly called good.
- We should keep our word, or oath, even when it hurts. God says He puts His word above His name (Psalm 138:2). He has bound Himself to an eternal covenant to love us, and cannot break His word. We are to do the same. Jesus said “let our yes be yes, and our no be no”. We must keep our word. It is critical for us to participate in the covenant.
- We must not charge unreasonable interest for our money. All of our possessions come as a gift from God, but they do not own us. We should use our resources to help those in need.
This is great advice. When we do these things, we can abide in the secret place of the Lord, and dwell on His holy hill as Moses and David did. Psalm 91 speaks of the “shaking” that may be going on all around us, but says “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.” (v.1-2) We will not topple or fall to the ground in defeat when we feel the shaking around us. God will uphold us. Hebrews 12:28 says- “We are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken.” My best advice is this-may we make up our mind to have faith in the Lord, trust in His strength and protection, stand with our feet firmly planted, and walk righteously before Him and those around us.
