September 16

Discomfort Zone


Discernment requires that you get uncomfortable…


Proverbs 18
15 The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge;

the ears of the wise seek it out.

People hear what they want to hear. That is plain and amply illustrated in countless ways especially in this “form before substance” era of ours. In every generation there have been people who searched out the truth. However, in this present age if something makes us uncomfortable we tend to dismiss it. Just try to inform someone of something that is discomforting and you will find what I mean! In fact, if you push too much you will probably find that you will be attacked or insulted for your trouble.

It is important to ask yourself if you are a discerning person. Discernment does not mean you have a certain feeling about something. Many things we felt bad about turn out to be good and many things we feel good about turn out to be bad. That is a fact. Just think on your life a little and you will find something somewhere that proves this point. Discernment requires that you get uncomfortable and that you make others uncomfortable if you will do anything with what you have discerned.

A truly discerning person, one who is interested discernment, will seek out the facts, and acquire the knowledge before settling on a conclusion. They will not so much be in the posture of arguing but in the mode of listening until they have enough knowledge for wisdom to rise to the top of the brew of gathered knowledge. Knowledge is just a collection of information but wisdom is a gift of God which comes when we have become informed. Discernment is simply the gift of God which allows us to assimilate knowledge until we have a path of procedure.

September 15

Cheer Power


We should be agents of grace and cheer to those who are ill by doing all we can to encourage them through their suffering.


Proverbs 18
14 A man's spirit sustains him in sickness,

but a crushed spirit who can bear?

It is a known and proven fact that attitude has everything to do with how one recovers from an illness. That is why everything must be done to relieve stress and to bring good cheer to those who are ill. I have known families who refused to leave the bedside of their unconscious relative but stayed by then when all medical hope was supposed to have been exhausted. However, they did not give up. The read the Bible and other uplifting literature, played music, and spoke to the unconscious one continuously of their love. In several of those cases the patient recovered and said they had heard every word It was the attention that attention called them back from the brink of death. Whether or not God chooses to give someone back their physical life is problematic but one thing is certain. We should be agents of grace and cheer to those who are ill by doing all we can to encourage them through their suffering.

September 14

Listening to Understand


…a tragedy could be avoided when there is a willingness listen.


Proverbs 18
13 He who answers before listening—
that is his folly and his shame.

A fundamental rule of counseling is that the counselor must become a listener before he is able to help someone. Furthermore, when the problem being discussed involves more than one person the counselor needs to hear from all parties. It is folly to give an answer otherwise and many a tragedy could be avoided when there is a willingness listen. This includes listening to God and in the light of His counsel through the scriptures and by the Spirit all the so call “facts” are brought into the fullness of the light available.

September 13

Influence


Vulnerability and confession are keys to honor.


Proverbs 18
12 Before his downfall a man's heart is proud,

but humility comes before honor.

The most powerful testimonies are those of people who have made huge mistakes and repented of their folly. Such humility brings honor. Vulnerability and confession are keys to honor. Why? People seldom identify with strength as much as they do with those who are demonstratively humble. This is one of the prevailing principles for those who value influence for good over power. It is the basic lesson of the Beatitudes.[1]

Luke 6 (NIV)
20Looking at his disciples, he (Jesus) said:
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
23"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy,
because great is your reward in heaven.
For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
24"But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.


[1] The Beatitudes uses the word “woe” which really is not a word. It is an expectative and rightly spoken would be like a cry of grief- almost a howl. When Jesus cries out for the proud he is grieving because he knows the honor they seek will only come after a downfall or a great “wake-up call.”

September 12

Proverbs 18
11 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city;

they imagine it an unscalable wall.

Bragging Rights?

The babble at Babel reached Titanic proportions.

September 11

Whatever Works for What?

Pragmatism in practice leads to broken lives ,destroyed economies and disruption of establishments regardless of whether those institutions were founded on solidly universal principles or not.


Proverbs 18
1 An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends;
he defies all sound judgment.

At the turn of the 20th century John Dewey[1] popularized the philosophy of pragmatism, another name for moral relativism. . His concepts became the driving engine of modern education and politics. No longer are Western cultures driven by values and principles of godliness but they are driven by expediency or doing whatever gets us the thing we want to achieve. The way to live, we are told, is by the dictum that “the end justifies the means.” This whole philosophy is driven by selfish ends. As such it sets the standard of getting what we want by the stated Utopian ideals established by whoever is in power.
The end result of such thinking is that we make change, perceived as good change, by doing what ever will work. We no longer have any guiding principles with general application: wisdom goes out the door; judgment is reckless abandon to experimentation; and raw power rules to bring about self-perceived visions.

As a philosophy pragmatism fails to be coherent, consistent, sound or grounded. All that it accomplishes is change for change’s sake and great insecurity. This leads to endless crashes and burnings of the prevailing assumptions. The pragmatist believes Truth is relative and God is no longer needed. The wisdom of which the scripture speaks gives way to a continual march of lemmings heading for cliffs unseen and unknown.

Is pragmatism unfriendly? You bet it is. It is a win/lose way of life purporting to be win/win. It is unfriendly because those who tout it do not care how much destruction they create as long as they remain on the top of the heap. Pragmatism in practice leads to broken lives ,destroyed economies and disruption of establishments regardless of whether those institutions were founded on solidly universal principles or not.

The ordinary person knows that we cannot live without measures and that to abandon Biblical measures is to forsake any hope of finding an airy utopia. The ordinary person also understands that there is no reason to trust those who have no history of success in the ventures which they undertake. The ordinary person knows what brings peace, tranquility and prosperity while pragmatists trample those very things to build castles out of air.

Proverbs 18
1 An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends;
he defies all sound judgment.
***
3 When wickedness comes, so does contempt,
and with shame comes disgrace.
4 The words of a man's mouth are deep waters,
but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
5 It is not good to be partial to the wicked
or to deprive the innocent of justice.

[1] Jonah Goldberg , Liberal Fascism, The Secret History of the American Left, from Mussolini to the Politics of Change,,(Broadway Books, New York 2007), p.88.

September 10

Destruction!

The slackness in one contributes to the effectiveness of destruction.


Proverbs 18

9 One who is slack in his work

is brother to one who destroys.

In WWII bored German soldiers were assigned to watch hundreds of Jewish prisoners working in the German V2 Rocket program. Day after day they watched these haggard slaves labor build and carve out caverns in the mountain which hid the deadly rockets intended for launch against Britain. Because this was lackluster duty the soldiers gradually slacked in their duty, grew careless in their watch, smoked their cigarettes and joked as Jewish slaves passed them by like so many nameless ants.

What they didn’t know was that the unusual amount of unsuccessful launches could not be attributed to poor engineering. They were not diligent in observing the prisoners. What the soldiers didn’t know was that while they relaxed the slaves were sabotaging the German rocket program. The prisoners, on the other hand, were going deep into the cavern where the rockets were stored.

As a result of slackness the German guards did not observe that their captives were urinating on the delicate electronic circuit boards. Consequently the rocket circuits failed and sent the deadly rockets careening off course or into the ocean. The slackness in one contributes to the effectiveness of destruction. In this case destruction was good because it was thwarting evil. Furthermore, it saved Britain from worse destruction by the Nazis.

Proverbs 18

9 One who is slack in his work

is brother to one who destroys.

September 9

Trusting Our Towers

It is one thing to say the Lord is our strong tower so that we can run to him and be safe and quite another to trust Him.


Proverbs 18
10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower;

the righteous run to it and are safe.

It was the morning of April 28, 1758 and the fog settled on the low ground in the valley below Ft. Seybert, (West) Virginia. Though it was reported that the Shawnee was on the prowl in regions nearby Sarah Dyer Hawes cautiously set out from the small Fort to find a missing Ewe. In her hand she carried a set of sheep shears to cut the creature from the brush should she need to. However, that fateful morning she was interrupted in her errand by a Shawnee brave who accosted her as she made her way down a slight slope to a crude log bridge across a creek. She was taken prisoner but managed to push the brave down a bank and flee to the fort where she took refuge with other settlers who had seen her plight and begun to shut the gates after welcoming her to safety.

That fateful day 40 persons were in the Fort. They had come from their neighboring cabins precisely because they were alarmed. The Fort was their community refuge and though it was not a huge safety net it provided adequate protection against such attacks as they were now facing.

As the morning advanced, the settlers gathered on the ramparts. Most of the able bodied men were off on a trip to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Gathered here were a few older men, the women and children all of whom could fire a rifle. They were safe and the fact that the Indians crouched behind rocks attested to that fact. Yet, the ever cautious and aging Captain Dyer was fearful. As a result, he believed the Indians who approached under truce and promised they would let the settlers go unharmed if they were given some provisions for the trail. As a result of believing Indian Chief Kilbuck, Captain Dyer opened the gates, was overwhelmed by the small Shawnee force and was slaughtered with several other persons. The Fort was burned and my wife’s great-great-great-great grandmother, Sarah Dyer Hawes, was one of several taken prison and trekked off to the Pittsburgh, PA area where she later escaped.

The moral of this story is simple. You can have a tower of refuge but if you do not put your trust in that refuge you will find no safety. Many died that day because of the naïveté and fear of one man who allowed the enemy to entice him to submit his strength to weaker forces. Why? Who knows?! We can be sure he meant well but it cost him everything to relinquish all. If he had taken a stand he would have been rescued hours later by the returning militia who, instead, found only bodies and a ruined settlement.

No student of this even is in a place to really pass judgment on Captain Dyer. Yet, we cannot help but wonder if things would have been better if he had not opened the gates to the Shawnee. Better still, what would have happened if he had relied upon his God?

It is one thing to say the Lord is our strong tower so that we can run to him and be safe and quite another to trust Him. The Lord is your strong tower if you put your faith in Him. He is your safety when you bring him the issues that test your resolve.

September 8

Sagacious

Speak and show you are a fool or remain silent and you can be a counterfeit sage.


Proverbs 17
28 Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent,

and discerning if he holds his tongue.

This Proverb is true for everyone. However, politicians and other people in the limelight often say outrageous things to boost their popularity, so they think. This is the exchange of fame for infamy but only a wise person would know the difference.

Speak and show you are a fool or remain silent and people will often think you are a sage. Perhaps you will only be a counterfeit sage but you will be considered a sage nonetheless.

Proverbs 18
2 A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.

September 7

Wise Judgment

…people of understanding know their priorities.


Proverbs 17
27 A man of knowledge uses words with restraint,

and a man of understanding is even-tempered.

Elias had not slept well. He woke on the roof of his house in a sweat. There had been no breeze, a donkey had brayed throughout the night and his head ached. Besides, the pressure at his small pottery business was extracting a toll on his patience.

It was just the day before that he had wounded his own son with a long litany of invectives because the youth had broken a large amphora. Taxes, competition, failing business and years of hard labor had deposited sand in his temperament and left him short on delicate familial sensitivities. That is why he had lost his patience and hurt the pride of his life.

His son was not the only one to suffer the edge of his wrath. His wife, friends and even his neighbors were part of a growing list of offended ones. Elias knew he had to get his focus once again on the things that are important in life. He knew better and had forgotten what he knew. He had once understood people are more important than pots and determined to never lose his understanding again. He had accounts to settle and apologies to give and this would be the deal he would strike before he laid a hand to the wheel or fired the oven of the kiln. He was a man of understanding and people of understanding know their priorities.

Where was he to begin? He knew that people are like his pots. When you make a mistake in molding you address a problem early. Sometimes you even stop what you are doing and start all over again. When things have gone on long and the clay has hardened the potter does not fire it in the kiln with more fire. You rebuild. You take the time to reconstitute the clay and reshape it on the wheel. Yes, he thought, people are like pots or....or pots like people? “It doesn’t matter!” he spoke out loud and his resolve shocked even him. “I have to address the problem…all of the problems. Let’s see…where to begin? Oh, yes.”

He closed the shop, dropped the latch and called to his son. “Come, Bartholomew, let us take a little walk. I have some friends to visit today. After that, we will make some beautiful amphorae!”

September 6

Injustice Amplified

When the innocent and honorable are punished or slaughtered in the mills of human expediency the risk and danger of all mankind is amplified.



Proverbs 17
26 It is not good to punish an innocent man,

or to flog officials for their integrity.

When we read these words all we can say is that it is one of the greatest understatements since the morning Adam blinked his eyes and was dazzled by the sun lighting a world of unfolding wonder. This earth all his to enjoy without paying taxes; his to command with masterly gaze; his to walk about with commanding footfall; and his to indulge his senses to unimaginable tastes, smells, and tactile experiences.

When the first man decided he would be as wise as God and live forever humankind lost its innocence with him. It is in the genes! From that moment on all innocence for every human became relative. Furthermore, all integrity was likewise defined when first man and woman attempted to cover their stark nakedness with the flimsy leaves of the fig tree. Humans have been reaching for whatever is close at hand ever since.

In the eyes of God no one of us are innocent and none have absolute integrity. However, it is still painful to us to see those we know as “innocent people” suffer injustice. It is also a painful thing to see people of “honor and virtue” get “flogged” with lies and scurrilous and false accusations. It grates upon every sensibility of humanity remaining and elicits an immediate scream of foul and unfairness. Why does it hurt? It hurts because we have a memory of Eden written into our very DNA. We long for that purity and we value it so much we even label some of our own number as innocent or honest “as the day is long.”[1]
In this world of relative innocence and honesty we will do well to cling to the words it is not good to “punish the innocent” or “flog officials for their integrity.” Why is it not good? Because they are mirrors of the only “good” most of humanity has.

When “good people” are destroyed or removed there will be no standard to an unbelieving society. When the innocent and honorable are punished or slaughtered in the mills of human expediency the risk and danger of all mankind is amplified.

Oh yes, the proverb we began with is an understatement. How should be the news line for one of our major newspapers? It describes of the negativism and political climate of modern American society. Therefore, it must be time for another Christ-centered great awakening. We need to import some righteousness from another realm!

Maranatha, Lord Jesus!

[1] When the son of God appeared emulating true innocence free of self serving and admirable integrity government and religion claiming a corner on assaying purity and truth crucified Him without resistance by the “salt of the earth” who received Him. There was no innocence or integrity apparent except on the cross and validated at the resurrection.

September 5

Keeping Wisdom in View

The discerning person always knows that there are questions to be answered before we undertake action.


Proverbs 17

24 A discerning man keeps wisdom in view,

but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

The discerning person always knows that there are questions to be answered before we undertake action. Those questions are summarized in our basic ones for writing a good informative article. They are: who, what, where, when, how and why? Each of these questions have an application to wisdom. Furthermore, they apply to whether or not one gets to the place they intend to go. Sometimes the answer to a question voids the projected action. That is what wisdom is all about.

The fool, on the other hand, only sees what he wants and disregards all rules to achieve that end. He cares not for the character of those with whom he associates, what he does to accomplish his desire, where it will take him, the timeliness of his action, the means by which he accomplishes his task or why he is acting. He only knows what he wants, likes and what will satisfy his personal appetite for power, prestige or possession. He is driven by a wandering eye and lust for more.

When we are discerning we will find that the truth hurts and is sometimes restrictive. But if we are discerning and wise we will find that in the long term wisdom will lead us to a happier and secure future.

September 4

“He’s alive! He’s alive!”

God is dynamic and not static…


Psalm 46
1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

This Psalm has always fascinated me. Its images of waters, fluid and flowing, crashing and drowning, fluid and flowing, eroding and sweeping, summon up images of power and dynamism. The Psalmist was a poet, after all. He caught the essence of things in nature and through them sees characteristics and ways of God. God is dynamic and not static; he is a verb and not a noun; he is interactive and not withdrawn and he is with us and not apart.

September 3

Being Present

To be present, really present, is the art and nature of heaven’s lover of our soul.


Proverbs 17
24 A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

I believe we use the term Attention Deficit Disorder too much as an excuse for the failure of developing the discipline of focus. Who doesn’t have this disorder? It is human. Whether it is driven by the physical constitution or the human constitution is driven by it is not the question. The facts are that it may be hard but we can improve our ability to keep focus, to ponder the wisdom of a thing and to get power over the human tendency to be distracted.

The bane of our modern age of mass communication works against our need to focus upon the wisdom of life. In meetings we find people tinkering with their devices, texting on their “Blackberries,” driving and talking on the phone and watching TV when they should be listening to their partners and family members. Where are you? Are you here or are you there when you are here? To be present, really present, is the art and nature of heaven’s lover of our soul.

September 2

September 2

Warfare

It is wise for believers to be aware of the ways of the world so that they will not put too much confidence in the integrity of people or systems.


Proverbs 17
23 A wicked man accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the course of justice.

Most of us understand that perverting the course of justice is a sin against mankind. However, few of realize that the giving of receiving of bribes is a sin against God. When we manipulate, obfuscate, bribe, or otherwise mindfully or prayerlessly interfere to divert the course of justice we may be interfering with the providential hand of God. Believers know they are not just to do something just because they feel “the heat.”! They are to humbly act according to the commands of God. They trust and if they do not get the end they desire they do not give up when they believe justice is on their side.

It is wise for believers to be aware of the ways of the world so that they will not put too much confidence in the integrity of people or systems. I once had a former judge tell me in a candid moment that there is no such thing as justice. “Justice”, he said, is not determined by truth but by who has the most money to fight.” Now- what does that mean?

The honest person should have no illusions about the outcome of events in the social order. Our confidence should never slack in prayer. It is our only defense and is does not always mean we will get instant answers. It is clear that much prayer for social change is a form of “spiritual warfare.” People are sinners and will be until their hearts are changed and they gain spiritual enlightenment. The believer will find resistance to truth, disappointment, the temptation to disillusionment and discern painful and disturbing things until Christ comes again. In the meantime we do battle by faith that moves the heavens and brings shakings on the earth. This is our purpose when we believe in Christ, to hold the darkness at bay and to be a light to those victimized by the wickedness of the human heart. In this we share the good work of the angels.

Ephesians 6

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people.