"Better things—things that belong to salvation."

One last look at the word "better". And there is no greater book than Hebrews to show us that Christ is better than everything, Christ is better than anything. Hebrews 1:3. Do you know this Christ? Read these verses slowly and really think about what they are saying.

Hebrews 6:9 
Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation.

Hebrews 7:19 
(for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

Hebrews 7:22 
This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

Hebrews 8:6 
But as it is, Christ1 has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.


Hebrews 9:23 
Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

Hebrews 10:34 
For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.

Hebrews 11:16 
But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Hebrews 11:35 
Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.

Hebrews 11:40 
since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Hebrews 12:24 
and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

A wonderful reminder of the salvation and life we have in Jesus Christ.

better things—things that belong to salvation.
better hope
better covenant.
better promises.

better sacrifices than these.
better possession and an abiding one.
better country
better life
better word

God has provided something better for us. Why settle for what this world has to offer? Thank God today for the cross of Jesus Christ... abundant life...forgiveness... Hope ... better things—things that belong to salvation.

Better Still

We’ve all heard the phrase “it doesn’t get any better than this”. There are few things that actually can live up to that hype. But here are six wonderful truths about our awesome God that certainly do.

Psalm 37:16 Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.


Psalm 63:3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.


Psalm 84:10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.


Psalm 118:8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.


Psalm 118:9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.


Psalm 119:72 The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.


May our choices today reflect we believe these glorious truths.
It truly doesn’t get any better than this.

"That's Better"

I was struck today by one little “Better”. When God says something is better than something else we would be wise to listen to him and follow that path. We all want what is better for ourselves and for our children. You could say the little word “BETTER” is in reality contrasting two opposing world views. People wake up every morning and chose what they believe to be the better way. What man says is better contrasted to what God says is better. Those are the only two options we face every morning when we get out of bed. For the next couple days we’ll take a look at that powerful word “better” in four different books of the Bible. Today verses are from Proverbs. Read them slowly and think about what they are saying is better.

Proverbs 8:11 for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.


Proverbs 8:19 My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver.


Proverbs 12:9 Better to be lowly and have a servant than to play the great man and lack bread.


Proverbs 15:16 Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it.


Proverbs 15:17 Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it.


Proverbs 16:8 Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice.


Proverbs 16:16 How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.


Proverbs 16:19 It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.


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 17:1 Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.


Proverbs 19:1 Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.


Proverbs 19:22 What is desired in a man is steadfast love, and a poor man is better than a liar.


Proverbs 21:9 It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.


Proverbs 21:19 It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.


Proverbs 22:1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.


Proverbs 25:7 for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.


Proverbs 25:24 It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.


Proverbs 27:5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love.


Proverbs 27:10 Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend, and do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.


Proverbs 28:6 Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.

"Someday, Somehow, Somewhere"

Satan has several weapons in his arsenal as he fights against the people of God. One of these is deception, and who of us has not fallen prey to this tactic. Another of his effective weapons in the life of the believer is distraction. Sometimes it is the tyranny of the urgent calling to us and pulling us away from the truly important things in life. Sometimes it is to get us chasing after good things instead of the best thing. Other times he may use the cares of this life to burden us down with worry and anxiety. There is another kind of distraction that Proverbs draws our attention to...

Proverbs 20:22 “Do not say, I will repay evil; wait for the LORD, and He will deliver you.”

The distraction of seeking vengeance for wrongs done to us. The distraction of repaying the evil done against us. “I will get even, if it’s the last thing it do, you will pay for what you did to me.” These are fighting words, these are words that are all consuming. They may never be said out loud to anyone, but in the heart they rage war, they monopolize our thoughts. It is hard to think about anything else. When we allow thoughts of revenge to take us captive, we suffer physically, our relationships suffer, our family suffers, our fellowship with God loses it’s joy. Vengeance is a terrible taskmaster.

Proverbs reminds us of something important. Evil repaid is still evil. When we seek to repay evil we have sunk to that other person’s level.

Jesus calls believers to a higher standard, His. Paul puts it this way.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:14-19 ESV)

How many servants of God have been ensnared by this desire to repay evil. This is not just a hobby , it becomes our life, every waking hour, every time we have a minute to ourselves we race back to that offense and relive it all over again.

We have all been hurt by others. We have all been the recipient of evil done to us. Satan loves to get us feeling very self-righteous and justified in seeking to repay evil because he knows It is the path to barrenness, and powerlessness in the Christian life. One of the greatest tests of faith is to trust God with the evils done against us. We want a piece of them, please don't’ rob me of that. But we must remember, pride always goes before a fall. When we fall into this well of “revenge mode”, bitterness, anger, and discontentment always come with it. But we have another choice.

Proverbs, Jesus, and Paul all tell us to wait for the LORD. Keep doing what is right and good. The LORD knows what they did, do not avenge yourselves, leave it to the wrath of God and get on with serving him, loving others, even your enemies.

The truth , this truth will set us free. Let us humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, confess our sins, wait for Him and he will deliver us in His time. This will free us to be about our Father’s business and frees us to leave the things He says He’ll take care of with Him.

“Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief.”

"Golf My Way."

I enjoy a good game of golf. I don't’ golf as much as I’d like to these days but I still enjoy getting out on the course once in a while. As much as I like to golf I must say there were very few times when I left the golf course feeling good about the way I played the game. I usually left promising myself “I’ll do better next time”, which I believe, is the lure that keeps most golfers coming back week after week. The reason I would always feel bad about my game was I was looking at this thing in golf called the “scorecard”. That tells you how many strokes over par you played the 18 holes on the course. On most golf courses par is set somewhere between 70 and 72. Every round of golf I have ever played (unless i played alone) has been significantly higher than that. To shoot 30 over par was not an unusual day of golf for me. As I walked off the course day after day my scorecard was telling me something I really didn’t want to hear. I am a terrible golfer. But one day watching a broadcast of a golf tournament on television I realized I was using the wrong criteria for determining how good a golfer I really was. I was listening to the commentators remarks about the shots the players hit and heard the interviews of the players as they came off the course. In doing so I heard things like.

“He hit a beautiful putt, it just didn’t go in”

“That was a good shot, it just came up short”

Players would say in their interviews “I hit the ball solid all day but I just couldn’t get the ball to go where I wanted it to go ”

“I’m happy with the way I played, I just couldn’t get it to roll in the hole.”

Wow what a revelation. I was always under the misguided assumption that good shots, beautiful putts actually went in, but apparently not. When I hit a putt that didn't go in I thought ,for some reason, it must have been a bad putt. I never dawned on me that a good putt wouldn't necessarily go in. I'm beginning to see it's not how yo play the game it's how you talk about how you played the game that matters.

“Hal hit a beautiful putt, it just didn’t go in”

“That was a good shot Hal hit, it just came up short”

“I hit the ball solid all day but I just didn’t show up on the scorecard ”. I lost 10 balls in 10 holes but I hit it solid every time.

“I’m happy with the way I played, I just couldn’t get it to go in the hole.” Really, ME TOO!

All of a sudden I'm starting to sound like a pretty good golfer. I Sound like the pro's. Forget the practice green, I think I'll go home and re-read "Why Bad Things Happen to Good People." Subtitle, "Why good putts don't always go in."

Apparently, It’s not the score it’s how you feel about how you played that matters. Or is it?
As we all know, getting the ball to go in the hole is the whole point of the game and if you can’t do it in the amount of shots they say it should take (Par), you aren't a very good golfer. Unfortunately, there are no style points in golf for making solid contact with the ball or making a round ball roll nicely over the green.

Keep in mind, the people the interviewers are talking with are the losers. Being able to put a good spin on a bad game of golf does not change the final outcome. You didn't win. The winners are determined by the scorecard not by who felt they played the best.
Who wins at golf is not a subjective decision it is an objective one based on a scorecard.

Now I’m back to feeling bad about my game again, because I really should feel bad about it, I stink at golf at least according to the scorecard.

Isn't it amazing how we can justify ourselves - how we are good at making a terrible round of golf sound like we did everything right but the ball, or the course, the wind just didn't’ co-operate. But that is how we are getting in our society. It’s not the grade you get on your report card it’s how you feel about the grade you get.

Same is true in Christianity. There are no style points for trying to do the best we can with God. I try to love, I try to go to church, I try to keep the law, I do my best. I really did some good things last week that I feel good about. The way I treat people and the time I give to God makes me feel good about myself.

When we stand before God he is not going to ask us how we feel we did here on earth. The score card says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God Romans 3:23. The final verdict is already in, we are guilty, lost sinners who are terminally over par (short of being perfect) in God’s eyes and we have no one to blame but ourselves.

The only answer is Jesus Christ. Our only hope is (if I may use the golf analogy) to accept the fact that Jesus has played the game for us and he was perfect. He perfectly kept God’s standard (the law) and payed the penalty for all our wayward shots (sins) on the cross. We cannot add anything to what Christ has done. He said “it is finished”, all we can do is reach out with an empty hand, bringing our sin and nothing else to the cross and he will save us, He will forgive us every sin, past, present and future.

Those who seek to justify themselves, who hide their sin behind a good feeling may feel good about themselves here on earth, but when they go to the scorers table all he is going to look at is the scorecard. There will be no interviews at the judgement of God. We either hand in Christ’s score card (his righteousness) which we have received by faith or our own (our righteousness) which is filthy in God’s eyes. Where is your hope for that day?

Say What?

I find it interesting that a TV station broadcasting a ball game will not show a fan running on to a baseball field because it may encourage others to do the same, but during the broadcast they will show people enjoying vodka, beer, casual sex, etc. Apparently those thing are ok and should be encouraged, just don’t violate the shrine of our idol, Sports. What’s wrong with this picture.

The whole world was upset over the verdict of Casey Anthony. (not guilty?) Casey, a young mom who allegedly killed her 2 year old daughter so she could party and pursue her reckless lifestyle. Yet millions of babies have been aborted,( murdered) in the womb for much the same reason. The child will be or is a detriment to the lifestyle I want to live. Where is the justice for that child?

These two things and many others seem to imply we live in a culture with a double standard. We live in a culture that loves to hurl the hypocrisy label at those in the church, but our culture is permeated with such double mindedness.
Is this a commentary on our culture? IF so, our culture is in a sorry state. Lost, without hope. The only hope for the world is Jesus Christ, the one who bore the iniquities of us all, and now offers forgiveness to any who will come to Him in faith alone. No matter who we are or what we have done, there is hope at the foot of the cross. Jesus is our only hope.

Proverbs 15:3 “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good”.

Something to think about.


"Your Call is Important to Us!"

They call it a help line, I need help, I think I’ll give them a call. So I call to find help in my time of need, only to be met by those reassuring words, “your call is important to us!” I know it’s a recording but I want to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they really do care. As I sit waiting, listening to some annoying background music, every 3 or 4 minutes a voice breaks through to remind me “your call is very important to us”. After about an hour of this I’m beginning to reconsider the benefit of the doubt I gave them earlier. Twenty times over the last hour I’ve heard “your call is very important to us”. I’ve had it, I’m irritated, annoyed, and I think “us” is out to lunch, or “us” really doesn’t care, or maybe “us” and his buddies are sitting around laughing, taking bets on how long I’ll stay on the line before I hang up. I think if there was truth in advertising this would be engraved on those electronic gadgets we love to buy, "if it doesn’t work, find a quarter and call someone who cares."

Life is filled with disappointment and one of the greatest disappointments is to have a problem and can’t find someone who cares enough to listen. We live in a world packed with knowledge but very little wisdom. We live in a world filled with takers but few givers. We live in a crowded but lonely world. When we reach out for help we get blank stairs, or opinions but little truth. We live in a very individualistic society where every one is lost in their facebook, ipods, twitter, Skype, cell phones and video games. Surrounded by people but they are all somewhere else. We have questions, we need help, but no one has any answers and the people who do keep saying our call is important to them but I need more than that, PICK UP THE PHONE. So we hang up go to our room wondering does anyone care, does anyone have time to listen, does anyone have the answers I need.

There is a wonderful verse in Proverbs that every Christian should rejoice in. It is a simple verse, sets forth a principle we all know but can easily forget.

Proverbs 15:29 “The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.”

God hears the prayers of his saints. God hears the prayers of his saints immediately, no need to wait, no need to wonder, no need to worry. When believers go tho the throne of grace to find help in their time of need God hears their prayer. That is His promise to his children. God has answers, God has power, God has wisdom, and God wants to give it to us. WE are never truly alone.

In the office facing that tough decision God is there and he hears the prayer of the righteous, have you asked Him for wisdom. In that relationship that is struggling and we don’t know how much longer we can go on, God hears the prayer of the righteous have you asked him for strength to carry on? Books have been written on prayer, so I don't’ need to go on. But just a reminder for us today.

Our God cares about us and He always has time for us and we have a direct line to the Father through his son Jesus Christ who opened up the way through the blood of his cross. The LORD hears the prayer of the righteous.

So talk with him. Thank him. Yes we can go to God in our time of need, but sometimes we just need to go and talk to Him because we can, because we love Him, we don't need anything or want anything, we just want to be with Him. What a friend we have in Jesus, our prayers are always important to Him.

I'll Do it This Way.

It is amazing how many principles in the book of Proverbs are stated more than once. If God takes the time to say something twice we really need to snap to attention and take heed because there is something here God does not want us to miss. One such example is Proverbs 14:12 and 16:24 where we read these words


“There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.”

God has a warning here for us. For me. It is a warning about the kind of person I am by nature.
You see there is a way that seems right and I know what that way is he’s talking about. It is the best way, it is the logical way, it is the way everyone else does it, it’s the popular way, but to boil it down to two words - the way that seems right is “MY WAY”. I love my way, I think my way is best. The way I drive the car is the right way to drive it, the way I choose to raise my children is the right way to raise children, the way I choose to do church is the right way, how I choose to educate my children is the right way, how I choose to live morally is the right way. How I choose to “do religion” is the right way. But here is the key point - It’s the right way because it is “MY WAY”. And I’ll get very upset if someone tries to convince me otherwise. But maybe that’s just me!

That’s how we think is it not? No one deliberately tries to raise their children the wrong way. No one deliberately chooses to believe a false gospel, etc. We make choices because we believe they are right, and often our reasoning is as simple as this - we deem our action right because if it wasn’t I wouldn’t have done it that way.

That's the reasoning of a deluded heart and mind blinded to truth, a person wandering around in the dark making choices about things not truly understood. Yet man, blinded by his pride, chooses to stake his life, his children, his eternity on the fact that if it seems right to me then it’s right.

We don’t like to be wrong. We don’t like to stand corrected. There is a way that seems right to a man and we take it every time. “MY WAY”.

That ‘s how fallen man reasons in his heart. That’s how the children of Israel lived in Judges where it says “that every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”

If you had a world filled with people who all thought like this imagine the horror, the violence, the wars and lawlessness, the immorality, the false religion, it would be like living, well it would be like living in our world today. Imagine how the newspapers would read in such a world. If your wondering pick up today's paper and read it. The end of such thinking leads to destruction, heartache, despair, loneliness, death, and ultimately hell.

The writer of Proverbs says and all of scripture affirms, that those who sing “I did it my way” will face death, not just the grave but eternal condemnation if they die without saving faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ said I am the way, the truth and the Life no one comes to the father but by me. John 14;6
Jesus says follow me, follow my way and you will find life. It is not something earned it is a gift of grace purchased for us on the cross of Jesus Christ where he died for our sins, our “MY WAY” anti God, life style and all the baggage (sins) that goes with that.
The way that seems right ’MY WAY” is wrong, the way that seems wrong “GOD’S WAY” is right. Which way will you choose?

Age Limits

I think everyone would agree that the people we choose to hang out with have a great impact on our lives. Certainly the book of Proverbs has several verses that drive this point home. One such verse in Probers 13:20

“Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”

Walking with the wise helps us become wise. This happens as we listen to the words of the wise, as we learn how they make decisions, witness their thought process. When you walk with a person you learn to walk at their pace, you witness their priorities, you see the places they frequent, people they choose to hang with. You see the principles they live by in their lives, marriage, parenting and in their walk with the Lord. All very important lessons for people to learn. But I’m afraid this is a dynamic few seem to be experiencing.

We live in a very segregated society. We are a society segregated by age. Sadly this attitude has even worked its way into the Church. Adolescents hang around adolescents, teens hang out with teens, young adults hang with young adults seniors hang with seniors. The Church keeps these groups separated from each other. Our socials, teaching, even our worship sometimes is aimed at these age groups separately instead of seeing how we can integrate them for the benefit of all. When this happens the whole dynamic of what Proverbs sets forth in this verse is lost.

I think one of the great needs today is integration not segregation. Discipleship or mentoring happens when those with experience, (wisdom) teach those who are younger and less experienced. If 10 adolescents get together to discuss life and what is important, or just hang out, there is not going to be a whole lot of useful information shared that is going to increase the wisdom of those in the group. Wisdom implies experience, maturity, spiritual understanding, knowledge of the Word of God etc. But take the same group and add a few mature saints into the mix, and if these kids are willing to listen they can learn a great deal about life.

Proverbs says foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. Filling a room with children does not alter that principle. If foolishness = 0 wisdom, it doesn't matter what you multiply that number by, 2 or 200, the total = 0. For example, A football team of 40 men who have each played football for one year does not add up to a football team with 40 years of experience. 20 couples meeting together who have been married for 1 year does not add up to 40 years of marital experience and wisdom. 10 Parents with a one year old child getting together to talk about parenting are not bringing 10 years of parenting to the table. One couple married for 40 years will have more wisdom than 20 couples married for one year.

Lack of experience x lack of experience does not equal experience. But sadly in our churches we seem to think it does. These kinds of segregated groups often translate into nothing more than the pooling of ignorance not wisdom. I understand that it is nice to be with people who are in the same stage of life, there is nothing wrong with that. But add some couples with grown children, to the mix or add a couple who’ve been married for 40 or 50 years to the mix and now you have something that is going to lead to wise parenting, some good marriage counsel. You have the receipt for wisdom being passed down to the next generation.

I’ll admit it is more enjoyable to hang with people your own age. There are times when that is advisable and perfectly understandable. But listen to what The Psalmist says in Psalm 71:18
“So even to old age and gray hairs,O God, do not forsake me,until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.”

Who does this old, gray haired saint want to proclaim God’s might to? Other old, gray haired saints? No, but to another generation, a younger generation who needs to learn what experience and walking with God for years have taught this wise old saint.

Churches should be a place where ages are integrated. Wisdom is passed on from generation to generation. Segregating by age may be culturally acceptable, easier and less threatening, but it destroys a very important spiritual dynamic that needs to take place in all of our lives. The need to learn wisdom. The need to walk with the wise. A young couple with young kids would do well to befriend an older couple who have raised their own children well. Spend time with them, listen to them, ask them questions . Older couples need to befriend young couples to help and encourage them.
Something to think about.