"The Beginning of Wisdom"

“The fear of the Lord, this is the beginning of wisdom.  It is any wonder there is so little wisdom in people’s lives today.  Where you find little reverence you will find no wisdom. Why?   Little reverence is the same as saying no reverence. You either have reverence for God or you don’t.  You are either in awe of God or you aren’t.  You either love God with your whole heart or you don’t love him at all.  God does not accept partial reverence or part time awe.  Awe, wonder and reverence are not something that we try to conjure up on Sunday morning.  If they are not evident in our lives Monday through Saturday they will not be truly be there on Sunday.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and it is wisdom that guides us through everyday of our lives and in every aspect of our lives. If we are not controlled by the Fear of the Lord in our homes, marriages, parenting, business, ethics, and morality, then our worship of God on Sunday will simply be a charade and meaningless.  It will be honoring God with our lips when in reality our heart is far from Him.   It should come as no surprise that a book that begins with the premise that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom alludes to it often throughout  the book.  Such is the case in Proverbs.  Read the following verses from Proverbs and meditate on what they are saying to you about God and the joy of knowing him and walking in the Fear of the Lord.  

Proverbs 1:7  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;  fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:29  Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
Proverbs 2:5  then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 8:13  The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.
Proverbs 9:10  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
Proverbs 10:27  The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.
Proverbs 14:26  In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.
Proverbs 14:27  The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.
Proverbs 15:16  Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it.
Proverbs 15:33  The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
Proverbs 16:6  By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.
Proverbs 19:23  The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.
Proverbs 22:4  The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.
Proverbs 23:17  Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.

Let me end with a wonderful quote from Matthew Henry

“In order to the attaining of all useful knowledge this is most necessary, that we fear God; we are not qualified to profit by the instructions that are given us unless our minds be possessed with a holy reverence of God, and every thought within us be brought into obedience to Him.... As all our knowledge must take rise from the fear of God, so it must tend to it as its perfection and centre. Those know enough who know how to fear God, who are careful in every thing to please Him and fearful of offending Him in any thing; this is the Alpha and Omega of knowledge.”

"What are You Sleeping On?"

It’s kind of funny how we change over the years.   Our perspectives on certain things change dramatically.  When I was 5 or 6 years old and I was told it was time to go to bed I used to hate that.  Who wants to go to bed?  Who wants to go to sleep.  Not many 5 year olds get excited about "bedtime".  But now I’m in my 50’s and bedtime is something I look forward to.  Now I like sleep, I need sleep, I spent big money to get a good mattress that will give me the best possible sleep.  I would like to think this change has come about because I am wiser now and see the value of sleep, but reality is this change has come about because I’m getting older.   Sleep is good..  To little sleep is unhealthy, to much sleep leads to laziness, but the right amount of sleep - priceless.  

People have a hard time sleeping sometimes.  One of the major factors is stress.  Their minds won’t shut down. There is to much to do, to much to think about , who has time to sleep.  Who will take care of things if I go to sleep? That’s a good question.  Do you have a theology that allows you to sleep?  Here is a great verse to memorize on those nights when sleep alludes you.

“Psalm 121:4  Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”

Behold, he (God) who keeps Israel (you and I) will neither slumber nor sleep.  I don’t know about you but I find that very comforting.  God does not sleep, He does not need to sleep.  God never takes a break from watching over us.  He never takes a day off or hires an assistant or farms our keeping out to someone else.  He never sleeps, He who keeps you is always awake, so get some sleep.  He knows what’s going on in your life better than you do, so get some sleep.  

There is one other thing we need to consider as well.  Sometimes we think if we don't’ do something it won’t get done or when we go to sleep God’s work, or God's care for me comes to a standstill.  Please remember this important principle.  God is not in heaven pacing back and forth waiting for you and I to wakeup so he can start running the universe again.  God works even while we sleep.  God doesn’t panic every time we take a nap. God is sovereign, God is in control, God knows our frame and that we are dust, God knows we need sleep.  God is working all things for good while we are awake and when we are asleep.  God is keeping us when we wake, when we work, when we walk and even when we sleep.  God doesn’t need me to help Him keep the stars in their orbits, so get some sleep. 

“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning.”  Psalm 4:8

What a wonderful promise.  “You alone, O LORD, make be dwell in safety”  therefore I will both lie down and sleep.

We often lie down and worry, lie down in anger, lie down and pace back and forth in our minds, lie down and get discouraged, lie down and lament our circumstances, lie down and ask why me, lie down and stare at the ceiling etc.  

A good nights sleep is a gift from the LORD to his children who trust in His sovereign and loving care over them.  Cast all your care upon him for He cares for you and the one who cares for you never slumbers or sleeps.  

Hebrews 11:6 says without faith it is impossible to please God…”  Is it not true to say also that without faith it is impossible to get a peaceful nights sleep.  Worship the Lord by trusting Him when you lay your head on your pillow at night.  Say thank- you for sleep, thank-you for keeping me, thank-you for saving me.  

What are you sleeping on? The greatest mattress in the world or the most powerful sleeping pill will never give you the rest David talks about in these verses. So lie down and go to sleep “for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety."  Is who or what you are trusting in allowing you to sleep peacefully?  Maybe what you are sleeping on needs to be exchanged or re-examined.  When I trust in the LORD I can lie down and SLEEP peacefully and restfully knowing that the LORD alone will make me dwell in safety. Whether your 6 or 96 that is a wonderful promise to sleep on.

Thanksgiving Attitudes

Give Thanks.  Seems like an easy thing to do.  Have a holiday set apart for such an occasion.  But are we truly thankful.  There are several verses in the Psalms which exhort us to give thanks.  

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.  Psalm 9:1

Give thanks, whole hearted thanks, nothing left out, nothing held back.  Thanksgiving is really about attitude isn’t it.  Are you having trouble giving thanks in every circumstance as Paul exhorted the church at Thessalonica to do. 1 Thessalonians 5;18

Thanksgiving with the whole heart flows from these attitudes that take root deep in our hearts.

Humility - we don’t deserve the blessing we enjoy, give thanks.  Proud people are not thankful people.  It is hard to give thanks if you think you deserve everything you have. 

Brokenness - Aware of our own sinfulness we are thankful for God’s grace in giving His son to die in our place on the cross. Brokenness is the doorway to true thanksgiving. 

Dependance - we depend upon God for everything, we are not self made people. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture and without him we can do nothing.   Give thanks 

Prayer - A thankful heart is a praying heart. 

Contentment - God’s care for us is perfect.  God will take care of us.  Discontented people are seldom thankful people. 

Peace - God is in control, we can rest in that control and give thanks. Anxious people are not thankful people.

Worship - The Lord is good and his steadfast love endures forever, give thanks.  Thanksgiving and Worship are inseparably linked in Scripture. 

Watchfulness - Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our Great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.   I’ve been watching the news for the last two hours and I am reminded of what Paul said in Colossians 3:1-3- If our eyes are earthbound we will have a hard time giving thanks.

Faith - without faith it is impossible to please God  Hebrews 11:6.  We believe that God is in control and that all things are working for our good and God’s glory.

Rejoicing - rejoice in hope, in Christ’s forgiveness, in God’s work in your life and fellow  believers.  Thanksgiving should be a time of rejoicing.  God is in control.

Service - Serving the Lord is an expression of thanksgiving.  'Serve the Lord with gladness...'  Psalm 100

Hope - Has your hope given way to despair?  Is your hope in government?  Is your hope in yourself?  “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness, I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus name.”  Giving thanks in hope, assurance that we have a home prepared in heaven, God is in control, our sins have been forgiven in Christ.  Do you have such hope?  Hebrews 6:18-20

I’m sure there are more attitudes to add to this list. But let us this thanksgiving and every day Give thanks with our whole heart.  Are you having trouble giving thanks? Check your attitude.

Psalm 79:13  But we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever;
from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
Psalm 86:12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.
Psalm 92:1  It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
Psalm 97:12  Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!
Psalm 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

"Don't Take Candy From Strangers!"

This is a phrase kids have heard for a long time.  I’m sure they heard it numerous times a few weeks ago during Halloween.  My parents used to tell me that all the time.  Not exactly sure why.  I’ve never had a stranger offer me candy.  When I was growing up I couldn’t even get people I knew to give me candy let alone strangers.  Obviously in our day, this is good advice for any parent to give their children because sadly you cannot trust everyone.  There are actually people who deliberately taint candy and we have to protect our children from them. 

We don’t want our children to eat candy from strangers, but what about the advice and counsel they get from strangers?  Are we as determined and deliberate in our attempts to warn our children about the things strangers may tell them?  Listen to their advice but don’t eat their candy doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense does it?

Children need to learn how to be careful who they take candy from and they also need to be discerning in who they take advice from. 

The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps. (Proverbs 14:15 ESV)

To paraphrase using our candy illustration - the simple eats candy no matter who gives it to him., but the prudent or wise checks it out first.   Sadly there are people, they may be well meaning, but people who will give your children advice which can harm them.   We need to teach our children how to think. 

In order to do this we need to teach them the Bible.  We need to give them the truth so they can see the errors so prevalent in the thinking of the world today.  Proverbs says in 1:10 if sinners entice you do not consent.  That means a child has to learn how to evaluate what they are being told.  They have to have a frame of reference.  That frame of reference needs to be the truth of the Word of God.  It is up to us a parents, not the school or church, but us as parents to give them this instruction.  There are some very deadly truths wrapped up in some very attractive and appealing packages specifically designed for kids.  Hollywood is a master at this.  The music they are listening to makes it even deadlier because music tends to weaken and deaden our ability to process the words we are listening to.  We listen to people sing things in their lyrics that if the music was turned off and they were just saying those words to us we would turn and walk away in disgust.  Satan is an angel of light and he knows how to package lies.  He will sometimes come disguised as a friend, using flattery and kindness to get your child to take a bite, but hidden beneath the surface is the poison of sin and bondage. 

So help your kids be as careful in choosing who they take advice from as they are in who they take candy from.  Be as concerned about what they put in their bodies as what they put in their heads and hearts. Help them to learn to give thought to their steps.  We do that by taking thought to our own steps as parents.  Where are you headed?  Where are you going to end up if you keep on going down the path you are currently on?  

The simple believes everything.  If that describes your child, they need to learn wisdom, they need to learn what this book will give them, they need learn to be prudent, wise, discerning.  They need to learn the fear of God.   They need to know Jesus Christ, walk with him and live for him.  He will guide their steps, he will watch over them and protect them.   

Memory Lane's "Million Dollar View"

His name was Arnold Smith, his wife’s name was Ruby.  Most people knew them as just Arnold & Ruby  I had the honor of knowing them as gramps and grammy, they were my grandparents, my moms mother and father.  They lived on a farm about 9 miles from where we used to live..   He was a potato farmer. He used to plant around 60 acres of potatoes and for many years milked around 15 - 20 cows.  As you drove onto his farm the farmhouse he was born and still lived in was the first thing that would catch your attention.  The other attention getter was a big Barn and on that barn was s sign someone had given him years ago-

"Million Dollar View"

My grandfather’s farm was situated on one side of a valley and as you looked across the valley it truly was a beautiful "million dollar" view.   He was a quiet man, gentle, and soft spoken.  He had one tractor for most of his years on the farm,  he eventually got another to add to the fleet towards the end of his farming years. He had one car,  never owned a pickup,  had one  truck that could haul 50 barrels of potatoes and the necessary machinery to take care of the land. 

I got to go up to their house and spend many many memorable times on that farm.  As a little child, around 7-8 years old, I remember laying in bed in the morning.  I'd hear gramps get up around 4 to milk the cows, then come in for breakfast around 7, and then go back out around 8:30 to start farming the potatoes.   There was one particular sound on that farm I will never forget.  I can still hear it today just a plain as day, the sound of that old "H" tractor starting up first thing in the morning. It meant one thing, gramps was going out to work in the field and if I hurried I would get to go with him.  So I’d grab a quick bite to eat  knowing it took a few minutes to get the machinery hooked up, then I’d run out and ask if I could go with him.  He was a grandfather so he had to say yes and he always did.

I can’t tell you how many hours I spent on that tractor with him.  There wasn’t much room on those old tractor seats. I’m sure it would have been far more comfortable for him to go alone ,  but he would take me with him anyway.  

Then one day, It happened.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  One spring day he was tilling up the ground getting ready to plant in a field just above the farmhouse.   I was about 12 or 13 riding with him when he stopped the tractor, got off and said he had some work to do at the house and then in the barn.  He then said to me words i’ll never forget. “you can finish tilling the field”.     Alone on the tractor - WOW - I eventually stopped smiling but I’ll never forget him walking down that hill out of sight , it was just me and the tractor.   I’m sure he probably watched me from somewhere.  But it was a day I will never forget. 

For the next 6 or 7 years until I went to college I spent hours working on that farm .  One of the special times back then was harvest time.  Potatoes were still picked for the most part by hand so the farm would have all kinds of annoying, lazy kids around “picking potatoes” to earn some cash for candy.  Inevitably at some point the machinery would break down and there would be a great cheer from all the kids.   I’m sure my grandfather was sometimes frustrated with his machinery but I never once saw him lose his temper.  

My grandparents didn’t have an easy life.  They had two babies die shortly after they were born.  They never talked about it much but you could tell they knew what the word “heartbreak” meant. 

That is the stuff I remember as a child  and young adult.  As I grew older I began to think about some of the other sounds I heard when I was on the farm.   Every morning around 7:00 AM   you could hear these noises coming up from the vents in that old house. Voices, hard to make out, but definitely voices.  What were they doing?   So I’d tip toe downstairs to see what was going on and there on there knees were my grandparents praying.  They did this every morning.  

My grandfather  was a farmer, but farming wasn’t his life. When people remember my grandfather, when I remember him, it is never for the legacy he left as a farmer.   He wasn't’ trying to leave that kind of legacy.  When I remember my grandfather I remember the kind of person he was,  not the kind of farmer he was.  He attended a little Pentecostal church just down road from their home. He served as a deacon for 50 years.  My grandmother played the organ there for 50 years even though she could’t read a note of music, she played all the hymns by ear.    Gramps loved that church and went just about every time the doors were opened.   I’m not sure if he ever taught a Sundays School class or ever preached a sermon  but his home was a place where you would always find young people and young adults and they were always welcome. 

I remember at his funeral one of the former pastors, a young man at the time,  standing up and talking about my grandfather.  He said  that when he pastored there the church was little and didn’t have much money.  On a few occasions the church could not afford to pay him. He then said that even though no one knew my grandfather would come and pay his salary out of his own pocket.  My grandparents didn’t have much and that would have been  a huge sacrifice to do that.  I remember sitting there hearing this thinking to myself -wow. 

You see my grandfather never taught me how to be humble - but he showed me the value of being humble. 

He never taught me how to be generous - but he showed me the value of being generous.

He never taught me lessons on how to live life in the sight of God - but he showed me the value of living such a life.

Never taught me the importance of being with God’s people and going to church, prayer and Bible study -  but he showed me the value of it by the way he lived.

My grandfather impacted hundreds of people simply by being a man of integrity on the farm, in the church, in his home .  No matter where he was or who he was with he was the same person.  Same was true of my grandmother.  After he died - were going through his clothes and I was looking through the pockets of one of his jackets and found this letter that was written to him by one of the young people in his church who had grown up around him,  picking potatoes on his farm - seeing him in the church - being in his home. She wrote this when she was 40 years old and gave it to my grandfather about a year before he died.  He kept in in his jacket.  This is what it said...

“Dear Arnold and Ruby,  Many times I remember all the things that we have shared, such as ice cream & camp; singing your home, cutting seed and the time by brother AL and I spent in your barn rolling barrels, picking rocks, and of course all the church activities.  It seems to me that you have always been. As a child, I watched you and listened and heard your testimonies.  As a pre-teen, teen-ager and young adult, I was molded spiritually by your words, attitudes, actions, love and prayers. Sometimes we go through life never knowing of the positive influence we’ve been in another’s life.  This message is a small attempt to make you aware of how I care for and appreciate you both.  Several times when I’ve questioned, doubted, fallen, and been discouraged, your faces have come before me and been a real uplift and encouragement.  It s my desire that I will be able in some small way to influence my would positively as you two have, I love you .  

The reality for me as I look down memory lane at my childhood is this.  My grandparents house is gone,  the barn is torn down,  and the Million Dollar View sign is gone. 

But I now realize that the million dollar view was not what you saw as you looked OUT my grandparents window - It was what you saw when you looked IN my grandparents window.

The million dollar view was their lives! 

May we give our kids and grandkids such a view.    The memory of the righteous truly is blessed...

"Have I Lost My Mind?"

I remember a familiar saying a long time ago that said, “Of all the things I’ve lost in life, I miss my mind the most.”  The first time I read that I laughed out loud, but now some twenty years later it’s not as funny as it used to be.  It’s starting to hit a nerve that wasn’t exposed when I was “younger”.  Let me explain.  The other day I came to work as I always do. When I got into my office I looked down at my feet and noticed I was wearing two different shoes.  The one on my right foot was a dress shoe, the one on my left foot was a sneaker.  I’ve put on mismatched socks before but never mismatched shoes.  Fortunately no one saw me except my wife (sadly to say).  I’m sure it’s not all that reassuring to see your husband, the father of your children walking around with two different shoes on. (unless he’s in a circus).   As I was driving back home to try my matching skills again, a phrase kept going over in my head , have I lost my mind?    How hard is it to put on two shoes that look the same? Who does that? should I be driving a car? I wonder how thick the walls are in those rubber rooms? Can you have visitors? Well, you get the point. On a brighter note, I’m happy to say that so far I have managed to avoid a repeat.  However, I’m not so worried about my socks matching anymore, now I just concentrate on getting the shoes right.  

The Bible has a great deal to say about the mind.  The mind is where we think, it’s where we reason, it’s where we remember. The mind is where we draw conclusions about life, God, other people and how we should live in this world.  The mind is where we determine how we will live and what or who we will live for. The mind is where we store facts, feelings, smells, events etc. The mind is where faith takes root, it’s where what we believe is stored.  It’s where we process the information we get bombarded with every day.  The Bible says our minds and our hearts are very closely connected.  “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.”

The Bible also says something else very important about the mind as well.  The mind of the person outside of Christ (the unbeliever or the natural man) has been tainted by sin.  It is not neutral when it comes to the things of God, when it comes to looking at life and it’s purpose and who it should be lived for. Let me give you some verses that underscore this.  

“Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.”  Ephesians 4:17-18

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools,  Romans 1:19-22 

There are many more verses we could consider but these drive home the point.  When we think about what these verses are saying about how we process information and how we reasoned before we came to Christ we see the wisdom in what we read in Proverbs 28:26 “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.”

To trust in our own mind is in some way a parallel to Proverbs 28:11.   The man who is wise in his own eyes is the man who trusts in his own mind.  To trust in your own mind, your own reasoning, your own conclusions, your own understanding, your own way of looking at life, death, religion, God the Bible is to understand these things with a mind polluted by sin.  The unregenerate mind is ignorant of God and His ways.  It is a mind darkened by the hardness of the heart.  

Proverbs says some very unflattering things about the fool in Proverbs 26:1-11.  But as bad as those things are and as hopeless as it seems for the fool,  Proverbs 26:12 talks about a person worse off than the fool. “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes, there is more hope for a fool than for him.”  Do you see a man trusting in his own mind there is more hope for a fool than for him.  This guy has everything figured out. He’s got all the answers. He’ not interested in facts his mind is made up.  His darkened heart is feeding his pride and his trust is in himself and he is blind to everything else - willfully so.  Romans 1:22  When you hear what some people are willing to believe, such as evolution, it is evident that their minds are operating in the dark.  It is not a man’s mind that causes him to deny God’s creation, God’s power, and God’s existence it is his morality.  Never forget that!

However, when a person comes to faith in Christ a glorious transformation takes place, they become new creatures in Christ.   People who love the Lord their God with all their soul, all their strength, and all their mind.

“to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,”  Ephesians 4:22-23 

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.  For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. Romans 12:2-3 

The Christian is not a person who has lost his mind, he is a person who for the first time knows what it means to use his mind in the way, and for the purpose God intended.  God wants us to learn, to know, to think, to reason and draw conclusions but with minds informed and transformed by the Word of God.  Christians are not people who trust in their own minds.  Christians are people who are not leaning on their own understanding, they are trusting in the Lord.   Proverbs 3:5-6  The Christian is one who has as his final authoirty in life the Word of God not what is right in his own eyes.

David’s words to his son Solomon should still ring true today in the heart of every believer.  As you read these words note the phrases 

1 Chronicles 28:9  “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

KNOW the God of your father

Serve Him with a WHOLE HEART 

and a WILLING MIND

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 

Jeremiah 17:10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

What are we filling our minds with?  Are our thoughts flowing from a mind saturated with God's Word or from a mind saturated with the ways and wisdom of this world?  How we think is evidenced by how we life.

Now I've got to go lay out my shoes for work tomorrow. 

"Have You Met Mr. Right""

Have you met Mr. and Mrs. Right?  Chances are you have, but just in case you haven't  Proverbs 21:2 introduces them to us. 

“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes…”

Yes, I’m sure you’ve seen them around, (The Rights)  but now you have been formally introduced.  It is that person looking back at you when you stare into the mirror every morning.   I’m Mr Right, or at least I think I am.   We all think we are right, right?  I do what I do because I think it is right.   The problem is that what I am using as my standard of right is one I have conveniently drawn up myself.  The standard is basically this - if I’m doing it, then it’s right.  If I am accused of doing something that is not right I have a set of excuses to explain why what I did, though it may appear wrong, was in fact right after all.  We may do wrong but we do it for the right reason so it all works out for the best.  “Yes I lied but it was to protect their feelings.”   We are masters of the spin cycle, everything always comes out “right”. 

We all masters of self-justification.  If our only standard of right and wrong is one we have established it’s not all that hard to do.  Judges says “that in those days every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”  Judges 17:6  Judges 21:25.  If you read that book you’ll see it was not a great time to be alive.  

Think about it,  if every man’s way is right in his own eyes, if there is no standard of right and wrong other than our own opinions, if there is no absolute truth, who’s safe?  “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes…”  sounds like the anthem of absolute freedom, but in reality it is a journey to bondage, fear and anarchy.   Maybe you’re married to Mr. Iam Right or Mrs. Neva Wong, how do you like them so far?   

No matter where they are fought, wars are ultimatley a fight over who’s right and who's wrong. 

 “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes…”      

However Proverbs 21:2 doesn’t end there , it goes on 

“but the Lord weighs the heart.”  

 The Lord is not all that interested in our opinion of right and wrong.  The Lord goes beyond the actions of a person to the heart, the seat of our will and motives. The heart is the “real” you.   God knows what is in our heart. God knows who you  really are.  Romans 3:10-19.   God has a standard, It is a standard we have all fallen short of.  The things we do that seem right to us fall short of God’s standard. The sinner’s motivation or reason for doing  even “right things”, is for the wrong reasons.  He does them not to glorify God but to satisfy self.  So his motivation is wrong, but that is not all that is wrong. Mankind does not have a heart that longs to keep the law of God. He mocks God’s law, he thinks it is irrelevant, they have no intention, desire or ability to keep God’s law.  So man can be right in his own eyes yet wrong in God’s eyes.    

The man who is right tin his own eyes is a hard man to reach with a gospel that says  “there is none righteous no not one.”  It doesn’t say sometimes you’re not right , it says you’re NEVER right.  Everything man does falls short of God’s law.  This is why the gospel is attacked, Mr. Right does’t’ like what it says, it contradicts how he thinks about himself.   But to those who will humble themselves and confess they are sinners, broken God’s law and fallen short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23, there is real forgiveness and freedom like they have never know before.  

The gospel is a glorious exchange.  Jesus Christ taking all my sin and bearing the wrath of God for my sin in his body on the cross, and giving to me His righteousness, so that in God’s eyes I am perfectly righteous but it is not my righteousness but Christ’s.  That is why we can sing “Blessed Assurance” because my acceptance with God is based not on my life’s work but upon Christ’s life work.  It becomes mine by grace through faith, not of works lest any man (Mr. Right) should boast.   Ephesians 2:8-10   Romans 3:20-26   Romans 10:1-5  

Is your home a constant battle ground over who is right?  Who is the man or woman looking back at you in the mirror?  Mr. or Mrs Right are not very good listeners.  Do you listen.? Do you want to listen?  Are the conversations in your home, your marriage all one sided?  We all need to listen to what James tells us.   James 1:22-25  Remember “The LORD weighs the heart.”   

What's for Supper?

Judging by the magazines that seem to be the most popular and the TV programs that permeate the airwaves it would appear we have a fascination with the lifestyles of the rich and famous.  As a matter of fact a few years ago there was a TV show dedicated to that very subject.   As we all know the lifestyles of the rich and famous can be quite intriguing.  The cars they drive are amazing, the homes they live in boggle the mind.  The fences they build to protect their stuff are intimidating.   I  must admit I enjoy seeing how the “other half”  (the half I’m not in) lives.    But a beautiful homes and nice things really only tell us one thing.  They tell us that these people make a lot of money.   The life style of the rich and famous is usually a tour where we get to see their "stuff".  But if you've ever done the tour of Beverly Hills all you really see are the vine covered fences that keep us away from the people who own the "stuff".  While we may sometimes admire the things rich and famous people have, once you get behind the fence and see the personal lives of some of these people the fascination often ends.  It becomes more of a spectacle, like seeing a car wreck.  It’s horrible to watch but you can’t turn away.  So we buy the magazines and watch the shows which keep us informed of the latest break up, drug overdose or jail sentence and think to ourselves "if I had all that money that wouldn't happen to me.  If God would just give me a chance I'd prove it." 

Yes, there are many rich people with wonderful marriages and loving families.  But these people will tell you themselves, if they are honest,  their families are not strong because they have a lot of money.  Money can buy a lot of things but it cannot buy wisdom, a good marriage or a loving family.  

Proverbs 17:1  “Better is a dry morsel with quietness, Than a house full of feasting with strife.” 

Better is a dry morsel with quietness.  This will never become a the plot for a TV show. They will not be selling tickets to see this house.  This home will not need a fence around it to keep the paparazzi out.  But the people inside would not trade what they have for anything they see in the house full of feasting.They have quietness.  They have contentment, they love and care for one another.   They have learned that the quality of our lives is determined by the quality of our relationships.  They have found something money can’t buy.  

• It is caring not cash that makes a house a home.
• It is wisdom not wealth that makes a house a home.
• It is forgiveness not finances that makes a house a home.
• It is the time we spend with our children not the things we buy for our children that makes a house a home.

Bottom line - it is Christ that makes the difference.  Christ gives us all we need to have a home where there is quietness, joy, and contentment.  All these are found in a personal relationship with Him.  How sad that so many families have sacrificed the important for the trivial. They have traded quietness for strife because they have believed a lie. Life does consist in the abundance of the things we possess. Our kids will not be happy unless they have more stuff.  That is a lie.  Our children need us not the things we can buy for them.  I don't know if there are any stats to back this up but I would dare say there are many families sitting down today to a feast, who would trade it all for a "dry morsel with quietness", trade it for a meaningful relationship with their spouse, or their children. 

If we know Christ we have all the wisdom, strength, and love to turn our house into a home that the kids will want to be part of and always want to come home to.  Certainly it is not a sin to be rich.  If you have been blessed by God financially, be generous, be thankful, be wise and do not set your heart on riches and remember this...  

• It is faith not a feast that makes a house a home.     

It's better to have a dry morsel with quietness than feasting with strife.  Are you choosing the better of the two?   What's it like around your table?

Proverbs 22:1-2

  

Yes I'm Angry... Do You have a Problem with That?

Being a book on wisdom it is not surprising that Proverbs has quite a bit to say about anger.  Nor is it surprising that a book written to be read by ordinary people has a lot to say about anger.  We know anger all to well.  If we look around and listen to others and to ourselves it becomes obvious that anger is everywhere.  Read the papers and listen to the news - anger is a rampant. Listen to people talk in the lunch room, watch how people treat one another you will find that anger is often the driving force.  We live in a selfish world consequently we live in an angry world.  Because we live in an angry world we live in a violent world.  See what Proverbs says about anger, read these verses slowly really think about what they are saying to us. 

• Proverbs 14:17  A man of quick temper acts foolishly, and a man of evil devices is hated.
• Proverbs 14:29  Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.
• Proverbs 15:1  A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
• Proverbs 15:18  A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.

• Proverbs 29:22  A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression.
• Proverbs 30:33  For pressing milk produces curds, pressing the nose produces blood, and pressing anger produces strife.

• Proverbs 16:32  Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
• Proverbs 19:11  Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

• Proverbs 22:24  Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man,

It is true there is a righteous anger, but that anger is a selfless anger.  It is anger due to man’s blaspheming God and his utter disrespect and contempt for the things of God.   Jesus was angry but never because of the way people treated him.  When Jesus cleansed the temple he was angry because they had turned His Father’s house of prayer into a den of thieves.  Matthew 21:12-13

Remember people do not make us angry.  People simply draw out the anger that is in us.  

If any of us are wondering if we have an anger problem we need to ask ourselves this question.  Are we surrounded by strife?   If our relationships are battle grounds, if we are constantly wounding people with our harsh words and outbursts, we  have a problem.  We don’t need medication or lengthy counseling sessions.  

We need to avoid being with angry people, choose your friends wisely. 

We need to practice good sense.  

We need to learn to act not just react to people.    Romans 12:17-18

We need to learn self-control.

We need to die to self daily. 

But ultimately and most importantly to do these things  We need to walk in the Spirit and we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.  Galatians 5:16     Galatians 6:19-20

"Anger blows out the lamp of the mind. It’s a child’s reaction to an adult situation."

Author Unknown

"Do not say, “I cannot help having a bad temper." Friend, you must help it. Pray to God to help you overcome it at once, for either you must kill it, or it will kill you..."  C.H. Spurgeon

"Thanks I Needed that"

“ 

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.”  Proverbs 12:1 

This is a very humbling verse. Why?  Because according to this verse I’m stupid. To admit stupidity is a humbling thing.  It is an all to common thing for me and it is always humbling.  He who hates reproof is stupid.  Nothing subtle about that.  I don’t like to be reproved or corrected.  I do not love discipline.  But there are things that I do love. I love my wife, I love to spend time with her, talk with her.  I look forward to those times.  I must admit, the thought of spending a nice quiet evening around the fire with “discipline” does not elicit the same feelings as spending that time with my wife. Discipline and reproof are not my idea of a good time.  Discipline can be painful, restrictive, humbling, corrective, frustrating and that is why we are all tempted to despise it. Hebrews 12:5-8 

To help us see what the writer is saying I think we need to move past seeing "love"  as having romantic undertones  in this verse.  To love something is not necessarily to be attracted to someone so you can spend time with them. To love can be to see the value in something. We love money because we see the value in it, we see what it can do.   In this case  to love discipline means to see the value in discipline.  To see the value in discipline means we see the value in knowledge.  I do not like to be corrected but I see the value in it.  It is humbling to be confronted about an action or something said, but if I long to grow in Christlikeness I see the value in it.  

Do you long to grow in holiness?  Do you long to know more of God? Do you long to be used by God?  If so you will see the value, (love) of discipline.  We cannot grow without it.  We cannot learn obedience without it.  

The person who hates reproof is stupid.  He sees no value in it.  He wants to be left alone, he’s not interested in anyone’s opinion but his own, he despises reproof and instruction.  It’s a “don’t confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up” attitude.  How foolish to go through life so proud that you have no time for instruction or correction. Proverbs calls this person a "fool". 

If we long to be wise, if we have a heart that fears God and longs to know him and follow Him we will love discipline.  We will see the value of correction.  Not because it is enjoyable or “fun” but because it is helping us understand and know Him whom we truly love Jesus Christ.  It is helping us grow in His likeness.  So if God sends someone into your life with a correction or you experience some pain because of a sinful choice see the value in the pain.  Don’t critique the messenger. "He wasn’t loving or caring but rude so I'm not going to listen to what he said".  Learn to love discipline, learn to see the value in it regardless of how it is administered or how lovingly it is carried out.  Sometimes God can teach us some very valuable lessons through some very unlikely sources.    Sometimes God even uses our enemies to discipline us.  Their motivation is to hurt us, there tone is harsh and their words are sharp as daggers.  If we are wise we will see past all that to see if there is any truth in those harsh, piercing words. If so, as much as it hurts, we will receive it and learn from it and repent because we see the value (we love) of discipline.   

Ask God to help you to have a heart of wisdom.   We are all hard wired to hate reproof because we are hardwired to be selfish and proud.  However In Christ we are a new creation.  2 Corinthians 5:17     We need to humbly come into God's throne of grace  when we have experienced discipline or correction saying, "Thanks, I needed that."   That was a good thing,  sent for a good purpose by a loving and good God.    Psalm 51

“Lord today, please help me not to be stupid.  Help me to love  discipline, because I love You and want to know you more each day. "

"Pay Attention"

I was never what you would call a hyper active child growing up.  I didn't’ have a great deal of trouble sitting still in classes.  I was brought up back in the day when if you didn’t sit still in school and your parents found out you wouldn't’ feel like sitting for a while when you got home. Sitting still isn’t much fun but it does have its advantages.   Sitting still can give the teacher the impression you are really paying attention even though in your mind you’re a million miles away.  Sitting still means you will not have to hear the constant reminders to pay attention, because it looks like you are.  But as I said, looks can be deceiving. I was sitting still but not paying attention, I was in the room, but not paying attention, I could hear the teachers words, but wasn’t paying attention, I had my book open but I wasn’t paying attention. 

I don’t think this is a problem that is found just in the school system.  The inability to pay attention is becoming an epidemic of our age.  The ability to focus on one thing for a long period of time is becoming a thing of the past.  The gadgets we have in our pockets, constantly want our attention. All these things compete for our attention and in an undisciplined world we don’t seem to have the ability or the desire to say no to any of them.  It is one thing to ask a person to put there cell phone on silence mode so it will vibrate instead of ring.   But I often wonder what would happen in church if people were asked to turn off there cell phones for an hour.  Cut off from the outside world.  Cut off from tweets, Facebook, messaging with no chance of feeling that vibration in your pocket . . .   Sounds like something out of a horror movie.  When was the last time yoiu sat in any class or meeting at church or in your business with your smart phone turned off?  Unthinkable for some. 

Proverbs tells us something I think every generation needs to hear but especially this one.  

Proverbs 4:20  “My son, be attentive to my words, incline your ear to my sayings.” 

My son “PAY ATTENTION”  Pay attention to my words.  Read them, study them with your whole heart.  Read them and as you do so cut down the possibility of interruption as much as possible.  When you go to church and the Word is read, PAY ATTENTION.  When you go to church and the word is preached PAY ATTENTION.  When your parents are speaking to you PAY ATTENTION. 

God tells us to pay attention to His Words.  They are life, they are wisdom, they are protection, they are direction, they are truth, they are all we need.  They tell us about God, about our lives, marriage, families, relationships.  They tell us the good news of the gospel, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.  They give us good counsel, they give us strength, hope and courage.  Joshua 1:7-9

When I read God’s Word during the day, am I paying attention to what I’m reading or is it just reading to get the reading done?  

They’ve banned talking on cell phones in cars because people were getting hurt if not killed due to lack of attention.  When your driving the most important thing is not who is on the phone, the most important thing is to pay attention to the road.   You can do one or the other but not both.   When the word of God is opened there is nothing more important.   

Countless lives, marriages, families, and churches have been destroyed because people opened up the Word of God but they did not pay attention.  They were distracted.  Sitting still but not paying attention, In the church but not paying attention, can hear the words  but not  paying attention, have their bible open but not paying attention. 

 “Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.  For they are life to those who find them and healing to all their flesh.”   Proverbs 4:21-22

If we really believe that we will make every effort to PAY ATTENTION to God’s Word.  If we don't, someone could get hurt.


That's enough for now, i just noticed,   "I'VE GOT MAIL". 

Concealment vs Confession

Getting ready for our study in Davids life I spent the morning studying 2 Samuel chapter 11.  As I read these verses over and over again I could not help but think of this verse. in Proverbs 

Proverbs 28:13 “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

 In 2 Samuel 11  we are told about David’s adulterous relationship with Bathsheba. Not only are we told about his sin but we are given some insight into his attempted coverup of this sin.  David made several attempts to keep his sin covered. He resorted to lying and murder and for a while it seemed like it worked.  However there is a little phrase at the end of chapter 11 vs 27   “but the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.”  

Try as we will we can never hide our sin from God’s eyes.  God is a gracious God, a loving God and a caring God.  He is our Father and tells us to come boldly to the throne of grace to find help in our time of need.  He promises to answer our prayers, he tells us to ask, knock, seek and we shall find.  However there is one thing God will never help us do.  God will never help us hide or conceal our sin.  It is ironic that the sin David tried the hardest to cover up is the sin for which he is most well know.   Scripture says be sure your sin will find you out.  Numbers 32:23  That is not a threat it is a promise.  God loves us to much to allow us to live with hidden sin.  He knows the consequences.  Psalm 32 is David’s testimony of what it is like to live with unconfessed sin in your life.  

“For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.”  Psalm 32:3-4

God is a merciful and gracious God and he loves us to much to allow us to live with the torment of unconfessed sin.  If we do not confess it and choose to cover it up God promises that our sins will find us, it will be exposed.  

When we sin the temptation is always to cover it up, hide it, to excuse it or justify it.  But he who does so will experience the torment of a guilty conscience. However, we serve a God who tells us … “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  1 John 1:9 

David tells us what happens when we choose to confess rather than conceal our sin. 

“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 

I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”  Psalm 32:1- 2, 

I takes humility and brokenness to confess but if we do we find cleansing, forgiveness, renewed joy and fellowship with God.  As hard and humbling as confession is, concealing our sin will be even harder and cost us more than we ever imagined. 

Confession does not cancel the consequences of our sin but it removes the torment of a guilty conscience.  He who confesses find not judgement, rejection or scorn.  But He who confesses finds mercy.  What a wonderful promise.  One we need every day to remember.  

If you are a true believer in Jesus Christ, born again by the Spirit of the living God and are trying to conceal or cover up a sin in your life.   I believe, based on the authority of Gods' Word, I can say two things for sure...

1. You are miserable.   
2. Your sins will find you out.  It may take a while but they will.   

You need to go to the throne of grace to find mercy today.  Humble yourself, turn from your sin, (repent) and God will cleanse you wash you, God will forgive you.  “God will once again instruct you in the way…” Psa 32:8   Therefore ...

Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD. Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!  Psalm 32:9-11 

David would sing again and so will you. Forgiveness comes to us through the death of Christ on the cross where he bore the punishment for our sin, and bore the full extent of God’s wrath against my sin.  God laid on Jesus Christ the iniquity of us all.  Isaiah 53:4-6   Now he offers that forgiveness to us.  I comes to us by trusting in what Christ did for us on the cross .  We cannot undo our sin by our good works.  The wages of sin is death, Christ has paid that penalty, we just accept the free gift by faith alone.  Romans 6:23

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10

2 Samuel 12  

For further reading read Psalm 51   Davids prayer of confession and repentance.