Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.—Proverbs 4:26
Every path has a destination and decisions determine destiny. You need to think about that. There is no road to nowhere. Every path leads somewhere. And God has given us the privilege and responsibility to choose. Where we end up is the culmination of choices. If we are wise we will “ponder the path” we take.

Chilon of Sparta was said to be one of the wisest men of the ancient world. He was called one of the Seven Sages of Greece. One of the sayings for which he is remembered is, “Consider the end”. Although he lived six centuries before Christ that is still good advice. It is in fact a scriptural admonition, as our text shows. We are to “ponder” (weigh) the path we take, rather than wrecklessly proceeding down life’s road.

The path of righteousness leads to a great many things to be desired. The path of rebellion leads to destruction. The choice is yours— choose wisely! Consider the end at the very beginning. Consider the consequences of your choices and it will save you much pain and suffering. The Psalmist said, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD—“(Ps. 37:23), so let us look to God for guidance throughout life’s journey. But to do His will we must search His Word—“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path”(Ps. 119:105). It is the means whereby He guides us. Those who neglect it will find themselves on the wrong road.

There are a lot of things in life that we can’t control or change, but with God as our guide we can make choices that will lead us to the best possible place. No one ever went wrong by going right. When we consider the end and choose the right route we never end up on the wrong road — a road that leads to ruin.

The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me (Ps. 138:8).

“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”–Matthew 7:3-5

A pastor was once speaking at a large conference in Washington. Being the main speaker, his sessions were always full and everyone was very attentive, except for one man. One man always sat in the same seat in the front row of his sessions, and halfway into the sermon he would fall asleep. The first time it happened, the pastor thought the man had experienced a tough day of driving to get to the conference and accidentally fell asleep. But night after night the same thing happened. Annoyed by the occurrence, the pastor had developed a bitter spirit toward this man. After the conference, the man’s wife approached the pastor and apologized for the man’s actions. As she explained, he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and the new medicine made him drowsy. But his one wish was to hear that pastor preach before he died, so they had made the long, painful journey to be at the conference.—

Notice the parable Christ gives—“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” How often have we judged others about sins or shortcomings that are in our lives as well? Why can’t we see our own failures before seeing those of others?

Many times we ignore sin in our lives because we don’t want to deal with the sin. It’s easier to see the problems that other people have rather than dealing with our own problems. If we were honest with ourselves, we probably have more problems than the people we judge!

Notice the symbolism Jesus uses. While a mote refers to a dry stalk or twig, a piece of grass, or a straw; a beam refers to a large plank of wood, similar to a 2×4. Christ says, “While you’re scrutinizing the small issues of other people, there are large looming sins in your own life!”

Do you sometimes act like the Pharisees, pointing out the sins of others while ignoring sin in your life? Have you become accustomed to judging others without judging yourself? Take time today to open your heart before God and let Him judge you. Lay out your actions, thoughts, and motives before Him and pray as the Psalmist, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts” (Psalm 139:23). The next time you’re tempted to point out someone else’s sins or failures, be reminded of your own shortcomings and pray that God will help both of you.–Paul Chappell

“God is jealous.”—Nahum 1:2
Your Lord is very jealous of your love, O believer. Did he choose you? He cannot bear that you should choose another. Did he buy you with his own blood? He cannot endure that you should think that you are your own, or that you belong to this world. He loved you with such a love that he would not stop in heaven without you; he would sooner die than you should perish, and he cannot endure that anything should stand between your heart’s love and himself. He is very jealous of your trust. He will not permit you to trust in an arm of flesh. He cannot bear that you should hew out broken cisterns, when the overflowing fountain is always free to you. When we lean upon him, he is glad, but when we transfer our dependence to another, when we rely upon our own wisdom, or the wisdom of a friend—worst of all, when we trust in any works of our own, he is displeased, and will chasten us that he may bring us to himself. He is also very jealous of our company. There should be no one with whom we converse so much as with Jesus. To abide in him only, this is true love; but to commune with the world, to find sufficient solace in our carnal comforts, to prefer even the society of our fellow Christians to secret intercourse with him, this is grievous to our jealous Lord. He would fain have us abide in him, and enjoy constant fellowship with himself; and many of the trials which he sends us are for the purpose of weaning our hearts from the creature, and fixing them more closely upon himself. Let this jealousy which would keep us near to Christ be also a comfort to us, for if he loves us so much as to care thus about our love we may be sure that he will suffer nothing to harm us, and will protect us from all our enemies. Oh that we may have grace this day to keep our hearts in sacred chastity for our Beloved alone, with sacred jealousy shutting our eyes to all the fascinations of the world! –C. H. Spurgeon

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works.– Heb.10:24

A young boy waited anxiously to hear what part he would have in his 2nd grade school play. The boy had told his mother that every child in the class would be given a special part, but she didn’t want to overly encourage him. She knew he probably wouldn’t get a speaking part and feared that he might become discouraged. Therefore, she simply smiled and kept her worries to herself.

It was a good thing she did. The next day when her son came home from school, she was standing by the door.  As he approached, he was beaming from ear to ear. “Did you get a part?” she asked, trying to mask her surprise. “Oh, yes—I did!” “Well, what part did you get?” his mother wanted to know. “You won’t believe it, Mom!” he responded, “I’ve been chosen to cheer!”

Wow, what an attitude! I don’t suppose this is the answer his mother was expecting to hear, but I’ll bet she was humbled by it and very proud of her son.

Wouldn’t it be terrific if we were a lot more like that little boy? Oh, how different our homes would be then . . . not to mention our churches.

What would the church be like if people came to cheer everyone else on? Sunday morning would be more like a pep rally than a funeral procession; instead of spilling out our own problems and frustrations, victories and successes, we would be quiet and listen, and encourage others.( Copied)