Well Happy July 4th, we celebrate the freedom so many people have selflessly given for us to enjoy.
By the way, Do you know how many official versions of the flag have been flown in the name of freedom? Believe it or not there have been 27 of them, beginning June 14, 1777 to the present.
Our meditation for today is found in Prov. 20:1 “Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.”
This proverb begins with three warnings.
Wine which over indulging can
result in being made a
fool of
Alcohol (usually referred to in
scripture as more intense
fermentation) causes fights
People who are prone to
continual excessive drinking
prove themselves to make
foolish choices
Noah is the perfect example of the consequence of excessive drinking. He unknowingly brought shame to himself, and this brought out the worst in Ham his son.
Rather than attempting to assist Noah in covering his naked condition, Ham pointed this out to others Including his brothers. His brothers Shem & Japheth expressed respect for their father by covering him up.
This story has many implications that we can draw from, however, the primary lesson is the shame that drunkenness can bring upon those who over indulge.
I know this to be true, from in our own family. As my grandmothers side of our family would get drunk often and that brought out fleshly desires which were insulting, offensive & hurtful This resulted in a separation of our family from friendships due to these conflicts.
As a result after many conflicts we had to stop having party’s together (birthday, holidays, anniversary’s, even funerals) as they ended up in hurtful conflicts due to over indulging in drinking. Sadly, over a number of years this resulted in our being cut off from my uncles, and cousins on my grandmothers side.
So Go With God and He will be present in your life to alter those tendencies to fighting & conflicts. The result will be blessings, and wholesome activity, which build us up and result in our lives bringing glory to God.