God- forethought or afterthought

Pro 1:20 Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
Pro 1:21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
Pro 1:22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
Pro 1:23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
Pro 1:24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
Pro 1:25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
Pro 1:26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
Pro 1:27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
Pro 1:28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
Pro 1:29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
Pro 1:30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
Pro 1:31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.


Wisdom cries out to be heard.


God would have us be wise.


Pro 8:33 Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.


Pro 19:20 Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.


Pro 23:19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.


Dan 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.


1Co 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.


We must be wise in the ways of the Lord. We must love knowledge of the Lord. We must choose the Lord in all our ways. We must be willing to take counsel from the Lord and to learn from the reproof given to us. God's way is being wise in knowledge of Him and that knowledge bring Salvation because it's only through knowledge of our Savior that we are saved. Through learning of His grace we are saved.


Make no mistake though… the people who do NOT listen, the people who do not seek God's wisdom, those who don't look to God will one day face desolation and destruction of the likes they can't even imagine in their worse nightmares. And then, when they realize they should have sought God it will be too late. They might even be able to recall every single missed opportunity to come to the knowledge of the Lord and know they had the chance and refused. They turned their back on salvation. They wouldn't listen to the wisdom of God but rather chose the wisdom of man over God's. The wisdom of man is pure foolishness to God. None of us should seek to be considered wise in man's ways and if we find ourselves longing to be touted as a wise person, let us seek forgiveness and choose only to long for the wisdom of God.


Destruction will come.
Desolation will come.
Anguish will come.
Agony will come.
Eternal death will come.


If you are not wise unto God, you will face terror unlike anything you've ever experienced. This is the truth and as much as people would love to believe that everyone in the world is automatically guaranteed eternal life, they're wrong.


People cannot deny their Creator and Redeemer then expect to be saved by Him.
People cannot reject their Creator and their Redeemer and expect to be accepted by Him.


I'm not talking about people who have denied and rejected God only to repent of their actions, but those who do not repent, those who never repent.


Too many people want to believe that God and His ways, God and His love, don't really matter beyond perhaps a half-hearted belief. Too many people do NOT have God as an integral part of their lives. God is an afterthought, not a forethought to way too many people. God is fit into a schedule rather than a schedule fit around God.


Where does God rank in your life? In your EVERYDAY life? Does God only rank in your weekly thoughts? Your monthly thought? Your yearly consideration? Is God REAL to you? If He isn't a real force in your life then it's truly time you get down on your knees - even if it's only mentally you are on those knees- and pray to God that He becomes real to you and then take steps to ensure He's there in your life by daily reading, daily studying, daily praying, daily praising, daily thanking your Lord and Savior, your God, your Creator. Left to our own devices we will not automatically choose to follow our Savior, why? Because of sin. We have to choose to follow God and choose daily to do so, not hope that automatically we will be His. God will NOT force us. God will NOT coerce us. God will wait for us. God will open His arms to us. God is there always for us to choose but He will not make the choice for us.


This is real, very, very real.


People will be saved and people will be lost. We choose our eternal destination it is NOT chosen for us.


May God help us to be wise unto salvation through our Lord and Savior. May we be among those who listen to the wisdom of God in reproofs, in chastisements, in any and all ways God chooses to open our eyes and our hearts to Him and His amazing LOVE.


Amen.