October 8
Praise God today for you prudent friend who did not swap you for another porcupine.
Proverbs 19
14 Houses and wealth are inherited from parents,
but a prudent wife is from the LORD.
Why would Solomon who had, as the child in Sunday school said, “Solomon had hundreds of wives and hundreds of porcupines?” Could it be that he discerned God’s blessing of wives by observing some of his subjects teaming together as husband and wife with unmitigated satisfaction?
Many of us may miss recognizing the blessing of our partners as we throw ourselves into life and the pursuit of whatever visions we have. I know it is illusive because there have been times, regrettably, when I have failed to appreciate the “prudence” and wisdom of my wife, Jan. I wonder now in the night hours of reflection how I could have survived without her tempering of my otherwise given- to- excess nature. How many times it has been her prudence and love that has called me back from the brink of overstatement, over aggressiveness, and wanton contempt for the “torpedoes” of those bent on bringing down someone to their lowly level of coping. Her prudence has been the temper of wisdom in family life, business and my ministry. After all, women are born in nurseries and men in munitions factories.
The understanding and appreciation of prudent wives can come one of two ways: in heart-felt reflections or a sudden burst in the end of a long and wasted life. I remember being in a barber shop when a discussion came up of a local rascal who was creating havoc for his family. The man in the barber’s chair was in his eighties and feeble. He suddenly burst into great sobs and tears. Apologizing he explained, “I was just like that guy. I don’t know why my wife put up with me. In all fairness, she should have divorced me. She is a saint. I don’t deserve her.”
So – what is it going to be, dear readers? Do we learn to appreciate our faithful wives (friends, partners and loyalists) or wait until it hits us on the way out? Praise God today for you prudent friend who did not swap you for another porcupine.
October 9
Proverbs 19
15 Laziness brings on deep sleep,
and the shiftless man goes hungry.
There is an old skit of a shiftless family cajoling one of their members out of bed to find out what was causing all the noise outside their cabin. When he came back and fell into bed the family asked one by one, “Whut was thet noise out there?” There was silence. Finally he replied, “Jes’ a coyote sittin’ on a cactus. He was jes’ too tired to move.”
It is clear that sometimes we need a jolt to awaken us from our sleep. At times we need to increase our intensity. In the spiritual realm this is what the law does:
…But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it (the law) produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. (Romans 7: 13b)
After we have been awakened from our laziness and realize the spiritual dullness in which we have been living we discover that Christ has given us the true rest apart from laziness (death in lethargic sleep) and the law (death in intense personal effort):
1Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. 4Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
5Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: "The man who does these things will live by them." 6But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) 7"or 'Who will descend into the deep?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." 12For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10)
Thus, after we have awakened from shiftlessness through the law we find that there is a rest in Christ which is life and it energizes us because the Holy Spirit comes to raise us from spiritual death.
8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature[a]will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 5)
Summary
1. Try harder to wake yourself from sleep. (i.e. intensify, pray, fast, press in, etc.)
2. When you have done all assess. Are things better? Not necessarily. However, you are awake again and the law has made you alive to what you were blind to in your slothfulness.
3. Receive the gift of grace and live in the rest of God which comes by faith through receiving.
4. Live in the energy of the Spirit.
October 10
Proverbs 19
16 He who obeys instructions guards his life,
but he who is contemptuous of his ways will die.
I grew up largely under the pastor-ship of one man who later became my mentor. I was privileged in his late years to visit him many times. On one of those times I was invited to his quaint little cabin in the woods. One evening as we were drinking our after dinner coffee the conversation drifted to the room in which we were sitting. The story he told me underscores the warning of Proverbs 19:16.
“Listen, as I walk this across this floor,” he said. “It was laid wrong. The man I hired to lay it wouldn’t listen to my instructions. In fact, he had a reputation of doing just the opposite. I told him I wanted the subflooring to go diagonally. He laid it lengthwise. So, now when we walk on it makes this horrific noise.” Taking a sip of his coffee he mused, “It isn’t as supportive as it should be, either!”
“Why didn’t you have him come back and do it right?” I asked.
“I would have but he died. They told me that he was in the woods one day with his sons cutting trees. One of his sons shouted at him that he should move. He didn’t. A tree fell on him and killed him.” “Yes, sir,” my host clucked, “…stubborn to the end.”
October 11
God defines true charity to be free will and from the heart.
Proverbs 19
17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD,
and he will reward him for what he has done.
There are two types of gifts enumerated in the Old Testament. One set of gifts and offerings center around the ceremonial. Those were used to recompense, feed, clothe and shelter the priests, rabbis, scholars and scribes. The ceremonial gifts were also used to maintain the places of meeting like the Temple and synagogue. The second type of offerings were for distributions allotted to help the poor, serve the infirm, distribute among the widows, orphans and other unfortunates. It appears there were times when all offerings were neglected but none so much as caring for the needy as this summary admonition of a prophet testifies:
Micah 6
6 With what shall I come before the LORD
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
The church did not continue with this approach until 300 years had past. It was at the time of Constantine that the church emerged from the shadows and copied the hierarchal structure of the Roman City State as its government and means of levying taxes for its support. Later when levies were not successful the ecclesiastical church used its theology and the threat of hell to conscript large gifts for sponsors and princes while distributing to the poor and needy what once had been “free-will” in the church.
The early church model was the closest to the heart of God. It depended upon people being led and motivated by the spirit in the care of the needy and support of all missionary and ministry endeavors. The reader is encouraged to read the New Testament closely to see how this pattern worked through the ministry of the deacons, apostles and others. Here is the quintessential encouragement on the matter of giving to God:
2 Corinthians 9
1There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the saints. 2For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. 3But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready, as I said you would be. 4For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we—not to say anything about you—would be ashamed of having been so confident. 5So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given.
Sowing Generously
6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9As it is written:
"He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever."
10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
12This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
October 13
It is only through accountability that we discover the path of life. People fail because of their own willful acts and those around them who “enable” them to escape the consequences for their attitudes and acts.
Proverbs 19
18 Discipline your son, for in that there is hope;
do not be a willing party to his death.
There are two deaths for every person. One is physical. The other is the “death,” not annihilation, of separation from God. Discipline, like the law, wakes us up. Grace can be known only after we have learned, witnessed our own self-will and bowed down. We teach our children to bow before the inevitable powers that will manifest in their lives. We teach them love by embracing them unconditionally when they first fail, then succeed. We need to be party to laying out our children’s boundaries so we may share in them really learning the meaning not of self-indulgent but unconditional love.
Proverbs 19
20 Listen to advice and accept instruction,
and in the end you will be wise.
October 14
Rage is like a bomb. It destroys quickly, completely and the damage is often irreparable. Rage is the cardinal attitude of the criminal mind.
Proverbs 19
19 A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty;
if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.
It is only through suffering consequences that we discover the defects that lead to destruction. One with an over-heated temperament must get control. Sometimes that comes from being confronted as one would confront anyone who is an addict. Hot tempers are fed by an addiction to the feelings that accompany temper which rages because of the chemistry of the brain to which the angry one has become addicted. Merely getting such a person out of a scrape is not enough. They need accountability. Those surrounding them, who love them, must gently but firmly let them know that they will not cover for their mistakes. They need to be mentored by someone who will not allow them to rage on uncontrollably. Often they need a radical deliverance.
October 15
Proverbs 19
21 Many are the plans in a man's heart,
but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.
This is the most repeated principle in scripture and the most ignored. The whole of human willfulness, control and sheer arrogance is a testimony that sin is all about people forcing their wills on circumstances, others and God. It will not work with God. So, there!
October 16
Proverbs 19
22 What a man desires is unfailing love;
better to be poor than a liar.
This is a curious juxtaposition of ideas. That one “desires unfailing love” is to be equated with truth speakers or liars. We take love, as used here, is to be equated with the fact that it is better to be a poor person, who tells the truth and is loyal, than being a liar, who professes love.
The Biblical idea of love is more aligned with commitment than with feelings. It is very much a part of any covenant relationship and covenants are commitments made by two or more parties that they will be faithful to one another. In a feeling base culture, like ours, commitments come and go with the tides of our feelings. This is a sorry state of a society, whether church or otherwise, and it leads to insecurity, suspicion and fear. As long as we see love as a feeling instead of a decision we will never grasp the significance of the love Christ gives.
Do we feel God loves us because he has certain affection for what we are? He does not. He loves us because he has promised to love us and faithfulness is the character of his person and His commitment. Until we grasp that we will not be secure in any love.
Proverbs 19
23 The fear of the LORD leads to life:
Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
October 17
Proverbs 19
24 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he will not even bring it back to his mouth!
Little quitters are cute. No one relies on him. Large ones are a danger to themselves and their families.
October 18
When one begins to establish their authority on fear they have already lost.
Proverbs 19
25 Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence;
rebuke a discerning man, and he will gain knowledge.
“Flog a mocker and the simple will learn prudence” is a methodology of leaders from time immemorial. Powerful people often make an example of critics in order to frighten others into submission. What shall we say? It often works. However, it is unjust. It is the way the world works but it is not fair. Mockers will eventually fall prey to the events they set into motion. They will eventually fall crushed without remedy.
When one begins to establish their authority on fear they have already lost. In the end they have gained sycophants but not loyalists who will move culture forward.
October 19
Perhaps the thoughts of Solomon were first a notation in the margins on some clay tablet but they give us a pattern of thought of a judge who is reflecting as he observes and listens.
Proverbs 19
26 He who robs his father and drives out his mother
is a son who brings shame and disgrace.
27 Stop listening to instruction, my son,
and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
28 A corrupt witness mocks at justice,
and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.
29 Penalties are prepared for mockers,
and beatings for the backs of fools.
Solomon was not a king in the common understanding. In his days kings were also judges. Even as princes they learned how to hear the complaints of the people and solve their problems. Thus when they were raised to kingship they were the Supreme Court, the final word and the arbitrator of weightier matters.
All one has to do is visit a courthouse to understand how this litany of offenders Solomon has addressed in our verses came about. The words of the Proverbs came about by observation. They grew from his understanding of accountability in God’s world of laws and relational decency. Perhaps the thoughts of Solomon were first a notation in the margins on some clay tablet but they give us a pattern of thought of a judge who is reflecting as he observes and listens. They may even have been words of instruction as he passed sentence on offenders. Observe:
1. An Elder son with inherited right of “Power of Attorney” is brought to court by his brothers and found guilty of abuse of position:
26 He who robs his father and drives out his mother
is a son who brings shame and disgrace.
2. A juvenile delinquent stands before the judge for getting in trouble with some friends and performing local mayhem:
27 Stop listening to instruction, my son,
and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
3. A liar has perjured himself and addressed by at sentence:
28 A corrupt witness mocks at justice,
and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.
4. A ruffian stands before the judge in bonds, pulling away from his guards and cursing. The judge silences him and speaks:
29 Penalties are prepared for mockers,
and beatings for the backs of fools.
This ancient King of Israel, considered in his time the wisest of men, understood the law of God. He arbitrated that law in the matters of society. He knew it took the wisdom of God to do so. Through him we hear the voice of God echoing down through the ages that God, as the great King of the Universe, has ways we need to discover and understand. These laws are as sure as those of science which we understand so well that we can bring measures out of the laboratory into the arena of life and discovery
October 20
Proverbs 20
1 Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler;
whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
This almost sounds like a modern day assessment of the vices of beer and wine. Beer was always the commoner’s drink and was probably always drunk in great quantities beginning with food and continuing into the night by the depressed masses. It is still considered the commoners drink by old time purists who prefer to push wine forward as the drink of the refined class of society. The latest effort in advertising has been to thrust both forward by changing their images as they promote pictures of “beautiful” people enjoying these drinks. It is, after all, a misleading image. It does not show those who lie in gutters or dirty flats passed out from too much drink.
Wine is still a mocker. Taken in quantities it is sandpaper to the brain. Of course, beer is the same and over indulgence in either lead to the consequences observed by our sage. Here is the point. Whatever is done in excess is dangerous, especially alcoholic beverages which lower inhibitions. It can be argued that with food alcohol is tempered in its effect. However, socially it is often a snare and will reduce the influence of wisdom.
Have you ever considered why cocktail parties are a staple event with politicians? It is a way of getting people into compromising positions. We also know its affect on the young and amorous.
The argument regarding total abstinence from drink is problematic scripturally. However, this is not problematic and it is the counsel to the spiritual person to always remain sensitive to the Holy Spirit in all matters:
12 "I have the right to do anything," you say—but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything"—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, "Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both." (I Cor 6:12-13)
October 21
There are in all corners of any society dedicated to order a need for authority.
Proverbs 20
2 A king's wrath is like the roar of a lion;
he who angers him forfeits his life.
Here is another one of those proclamations which is almost funny. Remember, “Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee?” Have you ever watched an advertisement of two wrestlers confronting one another? “I’m gonna take you down, man!” In fact, this type of braggadocio is taking over the sports world. Such statements are thought to bring terror to all opponents. However, here it is a little different.
Think of the King in this case as a representative of the court. He is one who hears evidence and passes judgment. It is his duty and his purpose. What Solomon is saying here is watch out when you appear in court. What you say and how you act may have dire consequences if you perjure yourself or prove to be anti-socially dangerous. “My court,” says the king, “is not to be messed with.” There are in all corners of any society dedicated to order a need for authority. God help us when that authority is not aware of its serious duty of keeping the citizenry safe whether that authority be a monarch, parliament or congress. Inconsistency and arbitrary rule results in dissolution of security and humane interaction.
October 22
People who are always argumentative end up arguing alone.
Proverbs 20
3 It is to a man's honor to avoid strife,
but every fool is quick to quarrel.
It is not difficult to find someone who loves to argue. Not only does every village have such people but they may be found on almost any civic board, community organization and club. They are the controlling ones. And, the sad truth is that after we are exposed to them we usually distance ourselves from them as much as possible. Invariably such individuals find themselves alone they wonder why. As a result of being socially shunned they get angrier than ever without every discerning why. Their reputation, as the proverb says, is firmly fixed.
October 23
In a real sense time and nature have been the instructors of civilization.
Proverbs 20
4 A sluggard does not plow in season;
so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.
What makes the farmer get up in the morning? The rooster? No, the chickens and the cows get him up. The cows have to be milked regularly and the chickens lay eggs and will hatch them if you don’t gather. The good farmer is probably one of the most self-motivated people on earth. If he doesn’t work he doesn’t eat and neither do we. If he doesn’t recognize the seasons, the ebb and flow of things and move with nature he will not be prepared for the future. It only takes one lousy harvest to wake the farmer up to reality the simple truth that when nature rests we cannot. I believe the saying is “time and nature wait for no man.” In a real sense time and nature have been the instructors of civilization. The closer we are to understanding how nature works the closer we are to truth because it is in nature that God has revealed his mind.
October 24
You learn when you question.
Proverbs 20
5 The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters,
but a man of understanding draws them out.
One would think Solomon has taken his cues from an attorney or a journalist. He seems to be saying, “ask a question and never take the answer at face value.” Once again we find that this wise man learns God’s and man’s ways from observation and life.
How many times have you asked a question and assumed the answer was the one you perceived it was only to find out that the person speaking had not given the whole story? Sometimes people answer us the way they do to reveal. However, that is rare. Usually their answers are quickly given to move the conversation along. Sometimes they are concealing. Sometimes they are diverting attention away from the subject in which we are interested. Sometimes they think they have answered our questions. Sometimes such people have not thought out their answer deeply enough.
Questions are a good way to carry on a conversation. You learn when you question. Often you make others feel good because you are interested. If you really want to “kick up the conversation a notch” after you have the questions “who, what, when, where and how” ask the question “why.” It is the why that leads either to a deepening relationship or uncomfortable pauses. It is the question “why” that will either make or break a relationship even when it is done in the right spirit. However, you will never know where you stand until you ask.
October 25
Friendship is not just a declaration but a manifestation.
Proverbs 20
6 Many a man claims to have unfailing love,
but a faithful man who can find?
Who can find a faithful man? Here is a poignant reminder that declarations mean little apart from action. Faithful people are present to when they are with you. That is the best thing that one can say of them. They are present in the moment and present in the future. They are mentally present to you when you are opening your heart and revealing your inmost thoughts. They are mentally present when you need a counselor, a listening ear or even confrontation. Faithful friends are willing to risk their comfort to be present. Friendship is not just a declaration but a manifestation.
October 26
Those who seek to be faithful to God’s way will find that they can leave a legacy of life…
Proverbs 20
7 The righteous man leads a blameless life;
blessed are his children after him.
The unrighteous leave a black hole in the soul of their children which must be filled. At first there is often an undercurrent to rage or indifference swirling within this void. It is a hole that quickly collects pain and it must be addressed and filled with positive feelings in order to enable the child becoming an adult to grow and advance positively in life.
When a child is exposed to unrighteous behavior they will often act out passivity or anti-social behavior. They will eventually blame their emptiness on God or on His perceived “absence.” However, when we all face this void courageously and wrestle with our demons we find that we can fill that hole with God who comes through us by faith in Jesus Christ who sends the Holy Spirit.
Those who seek to be faithful to God’s way will find that they can leave a legacy of life, hope, and love to their children. The children grow up knowing the love of their parents, confident in their own worth and value. They grow up knowing that there are boundaries to attitude and behavior which keep them on paths that are paved with benevolence. While there is never any guarantee where every individual has free will a parent can rest assured that good seed grow and their children will enjoy the blessings of righteousness whether they have the insight to recognize its source or not. Hopefully, the children of the righteous will realize the Spirit which their parents had within them was like a river of blessing that never runs dry and connect to its source so they have life to pass along.
October 27
We are judged by the righteous One by just being in His presence.
Proverbs 20
8 When a king sits on his throne to judge,
he winnows out all evil with his eyes.
This may be the first reference to interpretation of non verbal behavior in the world. More than likely it is a broad statement that the King means business when he is in judgment. He will ferret out and deal with evil behavior.
In a greater sense this may easily be applied to God upon his throne. In his righteous presence everyone will cringe before Him. We will know our souls are laid bare.
Where will the mockers be then?
In the last day we will all appear before Him and who will stand in his presence? Thankfully, we can deal with our accounts of offenses early by recognition, confession, and repentance and rely upon the imputed righteousness atonement of Jesus to commend us before Him.
Proverbs 20
9 Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure;
I am clean and without sin”?
October 28
Relativism Stinks!
Proverbs 20
10 Differing weights and differing measures—
the LORD detests them both.
The whole idea of changing measures, using euphemisms, making up the rules as we go along fit well into this statement by our ancient pundit. God hates the arbitrariness of human nature whereby the dishonest seek to gain advantage by deception over others. We need to ferret out every inclination of our own to fall into the relativism of our age and repent. Such a disdain for and rebellion against scales and measures intended to make us honest and person who value order is against the God of the universe who commanded the laws that hold things together in the natural order and society.
October 29
Maturing does not give us a license for liberty without bounds.
Proverbs 20
11 Even a child is known by his actions,
by whether his conduct is pure and right.
These words remind us that is no “adult behavior.” Adults fool themselves at times with the notion that when you get to be a certain age, whatever that may be, the rules change that guide a wholesome change. Nothing could be more wrong.
The basic things of life we learned as toddlers, if we are instructed at all. No family can tolerate a child who runs wild so why would any parents tolerate behavior in themselves which makes them angry and frustrated with their children? The coming of age really means we have learned how to live by the constructive values our parents, the church and instructors taught us. Maturing does not give us a license for liberty without bounds.
Proverbs 20
12 Ears that hear and eyes that see—
the LORD has made them both.
October 30
Myopic vision is the vision of sleep.
Proverbs 20
13 Do not love sleep or you will grow poor;
stay awake and you will have food to spare.
Being awake is more than not sleeping. It is being alert and being able to see the implications of things. Anyone is asleep who lives only in the present with no reference to the past and only to the future as they conceive it. Any person who only “dreams” with no reference to the realties of the present or understanding of the past is asleep. Sleep is lack of understanding and lack of environmental consciousness on a broad scale. There is an old saying that some people cannot see the “forest for the trees.” Myopic vision is the vision of sleep.
October 31
FOR MY WIFE…
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAN!
Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character
10 [c] A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 "Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all."
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
September 17-30
September 17
Power of Giving
“take a gift.”
Proverbs 18
16 A gift opens the way for the giver
and ushers him into the presence of the great.
We have seen this one before. Gifts work to open doors. It is an old method of visiting Ambassadors. It is a means of softening the edges and demonstrating and open and generous spirit.
When I was a high school senior I invited a very popular girl to go with me to a “sock hop.” The weekend of the prom my family had a visit from my uncle and aunt who were travelling north from Florida. In their car they had a trunkload of coconuts they had picked up on the beach and were distributing along the way. Of course, these coconuts were still encased in their natural husk but what did that matter. They were novelties to many of us. As I was leaving my house for the dance the family pressed me to take two of the coconuts for my date’s grandmother, the girl’s chief care-giver.
The dance was a semi-formal affair in socks and I was decked up in my new light grey sports jacket, new gabardine trousers, polished shoes and spiffy tie. When the grandmother opened the door to greet me there I stood, dressed to the hilt and holding a large coconut under each arm. The grandmother was gracious but I learned later that she was puzzled on how to get the fibrous hull off the coconuts. However, but it was a gift neither her nor the girl ever forgot and which, I might add, brought them and me the gift of laughter for many years. Where were you Normal Rockwell when I needed you?
The moral of this story is “take a gift.”[1] Take any gift, well, almost any. You never know how it will open doors until you try it. Make it nice, make it thoughtful, make it strange but make it memorable as a heartfelt gesture of appreciation.
September 18
Question
When you want to learn, ask.
Proverbs 18
17 The first to present his case seems right,
till another comes forward and questions him.
When I was in college I majored in Literature. Since I knew I would repeat all Bible studies in Seminary I thought literature would be a good preparation for unfolding texts. I was right. One of the things I like about good literature is that there are layers beneath the words on every page. So it is with every story. Stories are interpretations of how people see reality. Sometimes they see clearly, fairly and with keen understanding of how their stories came about. At other times people who tell stories are inventive or downright dishonest. In any case, no story need be taken at face value especially when they are advocating innocence or guilt. Questions need to be asked. When in doubt, ask. When you want to learn, ask. When you need to understand, ask. When you want to know someone better, ask. Don’t worry about making “ask” of yourself.
September 19
A Flip of the Coin
Flip a coin for fun but never in matters that count.
Proverbs 18
18 Casting the lot settles disputes
and keeps strong opponents apart.
Two “good ole boys” were hunting and had an argument on which direction they should walk to get to their truck. After all, it was important to really know. They were dragging a large carcass of a deer one of them had killed. Finally, after almost fighting with their fists they decided to settle the issue with the flip of a coin. It turned out to be heads which led them in the opposite direction of their truck. As they dragged the heavy carcass darkness suddenly came on and they kept bumping into trees and falling down as they tripped over logs and fallen debris. Suddenly they walked right over a cliff. As they were falling one of them shouted to his partner, “Do you think this is a shortcut to the truck?” It is amazing how a flip of the coin can forge partnerships.
What is the moral of this story? Flip a coin for fun but never in matters that count. Until we resolve matters of the heart we only delay our downfall by casting lots or by legal devices. What is unresolved in the heart will come back to bite you.
September 20
Necessary and Unsatisfying
The law settles nothing but regulates action by force and that is why Jesus addressed issues as issues that have to be resolved in the heart.
Proverbs 18
19 An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city,
and disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel.
Solomon was a judge. It is surprising how much revelation he got after observing what happens when people have to resort to the law. After all, the law is God’s school master. The law settles nothing but regulates action by force and that is why Jesus addressed issues as issues that have to be resolved in the heart.
September 21
Treasure Trove
One can uncover wonderful insights by just inquiring …
Proverbs 18
20 From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled;
with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.
I have noted that many people who have very dull jobs and lonely jobs like paleontologists, archeologists, physicists, clerks and administrators when given a chance to speak can very entertaining and animated. They are a reminder that everyone appreciates the opportunity to speak. However, many silent people need to be enticed to speak out. There is an old saying, “still water runs deep.” One can uncover wonderful insights by just inquiring of such people. Furthermore, we can add dimension to such people who are merely waiting to share the wealth of insight they have gathered. Satisfy someone today. Set them free by asking questions designed to probe the wealth they have collected. Just remember what it meant to you to have someone show an interest in your particular field of interest.
September 22
Power of Speech
What we speak can cause untold misery or energize others to live with verve.
Proverbs 18
21 The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit.
What we speak can take us one of two ways. One way is constructive. It brings life and all that contributes to our well being and that of others. The other way is destructive. What we speak can cause untold misery or energize others to live with verve. What we say is what we get. That is the simple but powerful message of this Proverb. Each day our greatest challenge is to watch what we speak because that will result in how well our soul flourishes and our social relationships prosper.
September 23
A Good Wife
Good men will find good spouses
Proverbs 18
22 He who finds a wife finds what is good
and receives favor from the LORD.
I am presently enjoying a biography of John Adams. He is a much misunderstood man, was a true Christian with devout life practices: honest, wise .thoughtful, loyal, stalwart, diligent and sacrificing. He was not alone in these virtues which were shared by his faithful, intelligent and patriot Christian wife, Abigail. For years he was separated from his family while he gave attention to his civic calling to serve this nation. While he spent many years away from home his wife remained behind to keep up the family farm, raise the family and be an earnest friend and support to him.
Adams could not have been the man he was without Abigail and he said so. After being elected President he went to alone though he was separated from his family for many years as he carried out the duties of shaping the Republic, was first ambassador to France and England and later vice-president and President of our new Republic. Once, after being elected vice-president he wrote her with these words:
“I must go to you or you must come to me. I cannot live without you…I must entreat you to lose not a moment’s time in preparing to come on, that you may take off from me every care of life but that of my public duty, assist me with your councils, and console me with your conversations…The times are critical and dangerous, and I must have you here to assist me…I must repeat this with zeal and earnestness, I can do nothing without you.”[2]
It may well be said that this great man was only great because of his virtuous, intelligent and sacrificing wife. This is but an illustration. It cannot be underscored enough. Good men will find good spouses and “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.”
September 24
The “Poor” Get Rich
We are rich only when we are as rich with the riches of the king of all things.
Proverbs 18
23 A poor man pleads for mercy,
but a rich man answers harshly.
While this proverb is probably and observation it could just as well be applied to our spirituality. Those who are poor in spirit and realize it will plead for mercy. It is the arrogant, the self-sufficient, and the vainly secure who cast God’s words back into his face, who are likely to challenge his mercy or to mock his name. That is probably why Jesus sorrowed over the rich who had already received their reward. Their reward was what? It was the sum of what they spent their lives gaining.
Until we recognize our poverty in the presence of the King of heaven we are likely not to cry out for mercy. It is time to find the right measure. We are not rich when we are richer than someone else or in the things of this world. We are rich only when we are as rich with the riches of the king of all things. When we understand this we will then cry for mercy and find more riches than we can “ask or think.”
September 25
Pop Tart or Guard Pard
It is fairly easy to be popular. It is more to find a true friend.
Proverbs 18
24 A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
It is fairly easy to be popular. It is more difficult to find a true friend. To be popular smile a lot, joke a lot, do crazy things, flatter and give away a lot of free stuff. However, where do you find a true friend? You find them on the periphery of many social circles. They are the thoughtful, virtuous and kind ones. It is difficult to find them because in our pride we are tempted to walk right past them. Happy is the person who has a real friend. Happy is the person who recognizes that the pillars of a temple are more important and lasting than the idols within.
Proverbs 19
1 Better a poor man whose walk is blameless
than a fool whose lips are perverse.
September 26
A Tempered Nature
Too much emphasis on zeal is not good. Likewise, too much emphasis on reason leads to dry, lifeless faith.
Proverbs 19
2 It is not good to have zeal without knowledge,
nor to be hasty and miss the way.
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem and the people shouted his praises the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
I will confess that when I went to seminary I had some professors who were agnostics. They didn’t say so. I formed my perspective largely by what they did not say or the way they countered the doctrines of the faith. This is also not just my opinion. Years later, after I befriended one of my old teachers, he told me of several of my teachers who professed their agnosticism. After all, it was vogue to dissent in order to be a part of the counter culture in those days. Even though this was true, I managed to glean some good things from my seminary studies and compensate by leaning into the wisdom of my godly professors. I might even add that once in that place God spoke to me through a stone.
Each day as I was going to class I had to pass the library. Ensconced in that library is a cornerstone. (That stone is there to this day if someone hasn’t allowed the hedges to cover it.) On that that stone is a quote by John Wesley. It says, “Unite the two so long disjoined: knowledge and vital piety.”
Wesley realized that in his day that “knowledge” had superseded the passion of faith. It was his conviction, therefore, that people needed to recapture their passion for Christ. However, it is a fact, that all of us waver between the two extremes: reason and zeal. Too much emphasis on zeal is not good. Likewise, too much emphasis on reason leads to dry, lifeless faith. A friend of mine puts it this way:
“When you stress doctrine without the Spirit you dry up. When you stress passion without the Spirit you burn up. When you live your life in the Spirit you grow up. “
We may likewise recognize that “to be hasty” in our pursuit of faith we may “miss the way.” Too many believers are ready to believe the first convincing presentation made to them. Such people do not search the scriptures, nor do they trust their first responses. They want so much to be a part of Christian societies that they will plunge ahead without examining what they are taught. We need always to be like the Bereans who searched the scriptures to see if what Paul taught was true. The Holy Spirit knows your inclination. He is the patient and timely teacher. There is no golden ring we must hastily grab in order to be on the right course.
In short, be diligent to search out the truth and when you have it commit yourself to respond to it with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control..” (Galatians 5: 22-26)
Acts 17:11 (New International Version)
11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Galatians 5
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
September 27
Whose Fault?
When we can’t control things or they get messed up because of our stupidity we blame God.
Proverbs 19
3 A man's own folly ruins his life,
yet his heart rages against the LORD.
This is pretty clear. When we can’t control things or they get messed up because of our stupidity we blame God.
Have you ever noticed how much ridicule general society mocks Christians for believing God can intervene while at the same time calling nature’s cataclysms “an act of God?” “‘Nough said”, said the feller.
September 28
Proverbs 19
4 Wealth brings many friends,
but a poor man's friend deserts him.
Remembrance of the Prodigal
When the son had funds for lavish gifts and great parties he had friends. And so, he lived it up in the distant city but soon discovered he had exhausted his inheritance. Then his creditors came for him. His friends deserted him. He was in trouble. So, he hired himself to work for a pig farmer in the region.
He was not familiar with working conditions like this. In this place he slept near the pigs, fed the pigs, medicated the pigs, delivered their young and guarded the pigs from predators. After awhile he began to smell like the pigs. He longed to eat the husks of the pigs so he could have his stomach filled with food just once because his debts were great and no one was there to help.
For months the lad labored in this condition. He could not bear to go home. He could not bear thinking of the anger he would confront, the mockery he would endure or the rejection of his Father. After all, he had brought it upon himself. He had demanded that his father give him his inheritance. With tears in his eyes, his father had done so. Now the son had no recourse. He had no friends. He had no intact family ties. He had no one to blame but himself.
As the months passed the boy dreamed of home. He couldn’t help it. It was the only place he had ever known sanity and security. It was the only place where he had known love.
He remembered the clean sheets, the clear waters of the brook in which he bathed. He recalled how the breezes blew down the valley to drive the hot and humid air away as he lay in white linen gazing at the stars in summer from his Father’s roof. He remembered the last and first coos of the dove as he fell asleep and awakened to the rising sun.
He thought of the tables in his Fathers house: heaped with delicacies, groaning under roasted legs of lamb, huge slabs of veal, great trays of fish and fresh produce. He dreamed of how the greens and grapes, figs and dates, nuts and pomegranates, onions and olives, garlics and luscious herbs, greens and that were piled so high that they sloped and often fell from the table making great thumps as servants rushed to gather them up. This is the way he remembered it. At least, that is the way he dreamed of home. And, although he knew in all sincerity that he was compounding the memory of 10 feasts into one he wanted to remember it this way and he knew his dreams reflected the life of his Father’s house.
After many months of such dreaming the boy decided to attempt to return home. He imagined that when he appeared at the door of his home the servants would turn him away, or that the Father would come out with cane in hand to drive him from the place or that they would all pretend they did not know him. He imagined all of this and more. But he set out on his journey anyway. He would throw himself on their mercy, he concluded. He remembered how his Father’s servants lived as partakers of the gleanings of luxury and was better than he. So he determined to humble himself this time. He would confess his sin and beg to be taken back into the household as a hired hand. And so, he stumbled down the road kicking up little clouds of dust as he dragged his feet ever so slightly.
As the boy grew near his home he rehearsed a little speech. He would confess his sin against his father and his home. He would beg to be taken back as a servant and he would do the most menial work, he thought, just to live in the shadow of such order, such cleanliness, and such security. However, his musings were interrupted because there was a commotion in the yard of his father’s house. People were milling about. Then someone was running toward him, no there were more strung out in a long line like ants heading fallen morsel.
September 29
Proverbs 19
5 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and he who pours out lies will not go free.
In 1544 the Greek professor and preacher George Wishart was part of the Protestant movement in Scotland. When he first arrived in Scotland from studies abroad he dared to challenge the corruption in the Roman church and royalty of his day. Like many he became a marked man and in due time, after avoiding several assignation attempts, was taken to prison. He was betrayed by his former protector, an earl, and was delivered by him into the hands of the Cardinal David Beaton. In the course of Wishart’s “trial” it was decided he should die for heresy. Thus Wishart, the mentor of John Knox, became one of many Protestant martyrs of that time.
As Wishart died at the stake he looked at the balcony to the cardinals and princes who were watching. His words rose on the columns of smoke that swirled about his body:
This flame hath scorched my body, ye hat it not daunted my spirit. But he who from yonder high place beholdest us with such pride, shall, within a few days, lie in the same as ignominiously as now he is seen proudly to rest himself. ”[3]
Within in a few days the Cardinal had been murdered and his body was displayed to an angry township. The prophecy or the words of Wishart came to pass. Therefore, was he speaking out of inspiration? More than likely there was a bit of inspiration here. The inspiration was related to the “few days” before judgment came on the evil perpetrators of death. However, Wishart also believed the scriptures and trusted them and their promises for the resolution of divine justice in a time of horror and on the people of unspeakable evil. Wishart understood that the scriptures speak of a judgment that is higher than that of human courts.
This is what one author says of Cardinal Beaton:
“The wickedness of the particular cardinal was notorious. He was not simple corrupt, but bloodthirsty as well. To take just one example of his character, once while traveling, he instigated the governor to hang four honest men for eating a goose on Friday. He even had a young woman drowned, because she refused to pray to “our Lady” during the birth of her child.”[4]
False witness by evil men will not go unpunished. It is as much a fact as gravity is an effect which exacts its toll on a falling object.
[1] A friend of mine and associate pastor of my former church school used to carry “tic-tacs” to hand out to people. It opened doors for him even among children and even those senior adults he visited in the hospital.
[2] McCullough, David,. John Adams, Touchstone Rockefeller Center, New York, NY 10030, 2001, p. 479.
[3] Thomas McCrie, The Story of the Scottish Church (1874; reprint, Glasgow: Free Presbyterian Publications, 1988), 20-1.
[4] Wilson, Douglas, For Kirk and Covenant, The Stalwart Courage of John Knox(Highland Books, Cumberland House, Nashville, TN,2000, 24.
Power of Giving
“take a gift.”
Proverbs 18
16 A gift opens the way for the giver
and ushers him into the presence of the great.
We have seen this one before. Gifts work to open doors. It is an old method of visiting Ambassadors. It is a means of softening the edges and demonstrating and open and generous spirit.
When I was a high school senior I invited a very popular girl to go with me to a “sock hop.” The weekend of the prom my family had a visit from my uncle and aunt who were travelling north from Florida. In their car they had a trunkload of coconuts they had picked up on the beach and were distributing along the way. Of course, these coconuts were still encased in their natural husk but what did that matter. They were novelties to many of us. As I was leaving my house for the dance the family pressed me to take two of the coconuts for my date’s grandmother, the girl’s chief care-giver.
The dance was a semi-formal affair in socks and I was decked up in my new light grey sports jacket, new gabardine trousers, polished shoes and spiffy tie. When the grandmother opened the door to greet me there I stood, dressed to the hilt and holding a large coconut under each arm. The grandmother was gracious but I learned later that she was puzzled on how to get the fibrous hull off the coconuts. However, but it was a gift neither her nor the girl ever forgot and which, I might add, brought them and me the gift of laughter for many years. Where were you Normal Rockwell when I needed you?
The moral of this story is “take a gift.”[1] Take any gift, well, almost any. You never know how it will open doors until you try it. Make it nice, make it thoughtful, make it strange but make it memorable as a heartfelt gesture of appreciation.
September 18
Question
When you want to learn, ask.
Proverbs 18
17 The first to present his case seems right,
till another comes forward and questions him.
When I was in college I majored in Literature. Since I knew I would repeat all Bible studies in Seminary I thought literature would be a good preparation for unfolding texts. I was right. One of the things I like about good literature is that there are layers beneath the words on every page. So it is with every story. Stories are interpretations of how people see reality. Sometimes they see clearly, fairly and with keen understanding of how their stories came about. At other times people who tell stories are inventive or downright dishonest. In any case, no story need be taken at face value especially when they are advocating innocence or guilt. Questions need to be asked. When in doubt, ask. When you want to learn, ask. When you need to understand, ask. When you want to know someone better, ask. Don’t worry about making “ask” of yourself.
September 19
A Flip of the Coin
Flip a coin for fun but never in matters that count.
Proverbs 18
18 Casting the lot settles disputes
and keeps strong opponents apart.
Two “good ole boys” were hunting and had an argument on which direction they should walk to get to their truck. After all, it was important to really know. They were dragging a large carcass of a deer one of them had killed. Finally, after almost fighting with their fists they decided to settle the issue with the flip of a coin. It turned out to be heads which led them in the opposite direction of their truck. As they dragged the heavy carcass darkness suddenly came on and they kept bumping into trees and falling down as they tripped over logs and fallen debris. Suddenly they walked right over a cliff. As they were falling one of them shouted to his partner, “Do you think this is a shortcut to the truck?” It is amazing how a flip of the coin can forge partnerships.
What is the moral of this story? Flip a coin for fun but never in matters that count. Until we resolve matters of the heart we only delay our downfall by casting lots or by legal devices. What is unresolved in the heart will come back to bite you.
September 20
Necessary and Unsatisfying
The law settles nothing but regulates action by force and that is why Jesus addressed issues as issues that have to be resolved in the heart.
Proverbs 18
19 An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city,
and disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel.
Solomon was a judge. It is surprising how much revelation he got after observing what happens when people have to resort to the law. After all, the law is God’s school master. The law settles nothing but regulates action by force and that is why Jesus addressed issues as issues that have to be resolved in the heart.
September 21
Treasure Trove
One can uncover wonderful insights by just inquiring …
Proverbs 18
20 From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled;
with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.
I have noted that many people who have very dull jobs and lonely jobs like paleontologists, archeologists, physicists, clerks and administrators when given a chance to speak can very entertaining and animated. They are a reminder that everyone appreciates the opportunity to speak. However, many silent people need to be enticed to speak out. There is an old saying, “still water runs deep.” One can uncover wonderful insights by just inquiring of such people. Furthermore, we can add dimension to such people who are merely waiting to share the wealth of insight they have gathered. Satisfy someone today. Set them free by asking questions designed to probe the wealth they have collected. Just remember what it meant to you to have someone show an interest in your particular field of interest.
September 22
Power of Speech
What we speak can cause untold misery or energize others to live with verve.
Proverbs 18
21 The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit.
What we speak can take us one of two ways. One way is constructive. It brings life and all that contributes to our well being and that of others. The other way is destructive. What we speak can cause untold misery or energize others to live with verve. What we say is what we get. That is the simple but powerful message of this Proverb. Each day our greatest challenge is to watch what we speak because that will result in how well our soul flourishes and our social relationships prosper.
September 23
A Good Wife
Good men will find good spouses
Proverbs 18
22 He who finds a wife finds what is good
and receives favor from the LORD.
I am presently enjoying a biography of John Adams. He is a much misunderstood man, was a true Christian with devout life practices: honest, wise .thoughtful, loyal, stalwart, diligent and sacrificing. He was not alone in these virtues which were shared by his faithful, intelligent and patriot Christian wife, Abigail. For years he was separated from his family while he gave attention to his civic calling to serve this nation. While he spent many years away from home his wife remained behind to keep up the family farm, raise the family and be an earnest friend and support to him.
Adams could not have been the man he was without Abigail and he said so. After being elected President he went to alone though he was separated from his family for many years as he carried out the duties of shaping the Republic, was first ambassador to France and England and later vice-president and President of our new Republic. Once, after being elected vice-president he wrote her with these words:
“I must go to you or you must come to me. I cannot live without you…I must entreat you to lose not a moment’s time in preparing to come on, that you may take off from me every care of life but that of my public duty, assist me with your councils, and console me with your conversations…The times are critical and dangerous, and I must have you here to assist me…I must repeat this with zeal and earnestness, I can do nothing without you.”[2]
It may well be said that this great man was only great because of his virtuous, intelligent and sacrificing wife. This is but an illustration. It cannot be underscored enough. Good men will find good spouses and “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.”
September 24
The “Poor” Get Rich
We are rich only when we are as rich with the riches of the king of all things.
Proverbs 18
23 A poor man pleads for mercy,
but a rich man answers harshly.
While this proverb is probably and observation it could just as well be applied to our spirituality. Those who are poor in spirit and realize it will plead for mercy. It is the arrogant, the self-sufficient, and the vainly secure who cast God’s words back into his face, who are likely to challenge his mercy or to mock his name. That is probably why Jesus sorrowed over the rich who had already received their reward. Their reward was what? It was the sum of what they spent their lives gaining.
Until we recognize our poverty in the presence of the King of heaven we are likely not to cry out for mercy. It is time to find the right measure. We are not rich when we are richer than someone else or in the things of this world. We are rich only when we are as rich with the riches of the king of all things. When we understand this we will then cry for mercy and find more riches than we can “ask or think.”
September 25
Pop Tart or Guard Pard
It is fairly easy to be popular. It is more to find a true friend.
Proverbs 18
24 A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
It is fairly easy to be popular. It is more difficult to find a true friend. To be popular smile a lot, joke a lot, do crazy things, flatter and give away a lot of free stuff. However, where do you find a true friend? You find them on the periphery of many social circles. They are the thoughtful, virtuous and kind ones. It is difficult to find them because in our pride we are tempted to walk right past them. Happy is the person who has a real friend. Happy is the person who recognizes that the pillars of a temple are more important and lasting than the idols within.
Proverbs 19
1 Better a poor man whose walk is blameless
than a fool whose lips are perverse.
September 26
A Tempered Nature
Too much emphasis on zeal is not good. Likewise, too much emphasis on reason leads to dry, lifeless faith.
Proverbs 19
2 It is not good to have zeal without knowledge,
nor to be hasty and miss the way.
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem and the people shouted his praises the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
I will confess that when I went to seminary I had some professors who were agnostics. They didn’t say so. I formed my perspective largely by what they did not say or the way they countered the doctrines of the faith. This is also not just my opinion. Years later, after I befriended one of my old teachers, he told me of several of my teachers who professed their agnosticism. After all, it was vogue to dissent in order to be a part of the counter culture in those days. Even though this was true, I managed to glean some good things from my seminary studies and compensate by leaning into the wisdom of my godly professors. I might even add that once in that place God spoke to me through a stone.
Each day as I was going to class I had to pass the library. Ensconced in that library is a cornerstone. (That stone is there to this day if someone hasn’t allowed the hedges to cover it.) On that that stone is a quote by John Wesley. It says, “Unite the two so long disjoined: knowledge and vital piety.”
Wesley realized that in his day that “knowledge” had superseded the passion of faith. It was his conviction, therefore, that people needed to recapture their passion for Christ. However, it is a fact, that all of us waver between the two extremes: reason and zeal. Too much emphasis on zeal is not good. Likewise, too much emphasis on reason leads to dry, lifeless faith. A friend of mine puts it this way:
“When you stress doctrine without the Spirit you dry up. When you stress passion without the Spirit you burn up. When you live your life in the Spirit you grow up. “
We may likewise recognize that “to be hasty” in our pursuit of faith we may “miss the way.” Too many believers are ready to believe the first convincing presentation made to them. Such people do not search the scriptures, nor do they trust their first responses. They want so much to be a part of Christian societies that they will plunge ahead without examining what they are taught. We need always to be like the Bereans who searched the scriptures to see if what Paul taught was true. The Holy Spirit knows your inclination. He is the patient and timely teacher. There is no golden ring we must hastily grab in order to be on the right course.
In short, be diligent to search out the truth and when you have it commit yourself to respond to it with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control..” (Galatians 5: 22-26)
Acts 17:11 (New International Version)
11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Galatians 5
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
September 27
Whose Fault?
When we can’t control things or they get messed up because of our stupidity we blame God.
Proverbs 19
3 A man's own folly ruins his life,
yet his heart rages against the LORD.
This is pretty clear. When we can’t control things or they get messed up because of our stupidity we blame God.
Have you ever noticed how much ridicule general society mocks Christians for believing God can intervene while at the same time calling nature’s cataclysms “an act of God?” “‘Nough said”, said the feller.
September 28
Proverbs 19
4 Wealth brings many friends,
but a poor man's friend deserts him.
Remembrance of the Prodigal
When the son had funds for lavish gifts and great parties he had friends. And so, he lived it up in the distant city but soon discovered he had exhausted his inheritance. Then his creditors came for him. His friends deserted him. He was in trouble. So, he hired himself to work for a pig farmer in the region.
He was not familiar with working conditions like this. In this place he slept near the pigs, fed the pigs, medicated the pigs, delivered their young and guarded the pigs from predators. After awhile he began to smell like the pigs. He longed to eat the husks of the pigs so he could have his stomach filled with food just once because his debts were great and no one was there to help.
For months the lad labored in this condition. He could not bear to go home. He could not bear thinking of the anger he would confront, the mockery he would endure or the rejection of his Father. After all, he had brought it upon himself. He had demanded that his father give him his inheritance. With tears in his eyes, his father had done so. Now the son had no recourse. He had no friends. He had no intact family ties. He had no one to blame but himself.
As the months passed the boy dreamed of home. He couldn’t help it. It was the only place he had ever known sanity and security. It was the only place where he had known love.
He remembered the clean sheets, the clear waters of the brook in which he bathed. He recalled how the breezes blew down the valley to drive the hot and humid air away as he lay in white linen gazing at the stars in summer from his Father’s roof. He remembered the last and first coos of the dove as he fell asleep and awakened to the rising sun.
He thought of the tables in his Fathers house: heaped with delicacies, groaning under roasted legs of lamb, huge slabs of veal, great trays of fish and fresh produce. He dreamed of how the greens and grapes, figs and dates, nuts and pomegranates, onions and olives, garlics and luscious herbs, greens and that were piled so high that they sloped and often fell from the table making great thumps as servants rushed to gather them up. This is the way he remembered it. At least, that is the way he dreamed of home. And, although he knew in all sincerity that he was compounding the memory of 10 feasts into one he wanted to remember it this way and he knew his dreams reflected the life of his Father’s house.
After many months of such dreaming the boy decided to attempt to return home. He imagined that when he appeared at the door of his home the servants would turn him away, or that the Father would come out with cane in hand to drive him from the place or that they would all pretend they did not know him. He imagined all of this and more. But he set out on his journey anyway. He would throw himself on their mercy, he concluded. He remembered how his Father’s servants lived as partakers of the gleanings of luxury and was better than he. So he determined to humble himself this time. He would confess his sin and beg to be taken back into the household as a hired hand. And so, he stumbled down the road kicking up little clouds of dust as he dragged his feet ever so slightly.
As the boy grew near his home he rehearsed a little speech. He would confess his sin against his father and his home. He would beg to be taken back as a servant and he would do the most menial work, he thought, just to live in the shadow of such order, such cleanliness, and such security. However, his musings were interrupted because there was a commotion in the yard of his father’s house. People were milling about. Then someone was running toward him, no there were more strung out in a long line like ants heading fallen morsel.
September 29
Proverbs 19
5 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and he who pours out lies will not go free.
In 1544 the Greek professor and preacher George Wishart was part of the Protestant movement in Scotland. When he first arrived in Scotland from studies abroad he dared to challenge the corruption in the Roman church and royalty of his day. Like many he became a marked man and in due time, after avoiding several assignation attempts, was taken to prison. He was betrayed by his former protector, an earl, and was delivered by him into the hands of the Cardinal David Beaton. In the course of Wishart’s “trial” it was decided he should die for heresy. Thus Wishart, the mentor of John Knox, became one of many Protestant martyrs of that time.
As Wishart died at the stake he looked at the balcony to the cardinals and princes who were watching. His words rose on the columns of smoke that swirled about his body:
This flame hath scorched my body, ye hat it not daunted my spirit. But he who from yonder high place beholdest us with such pride, shall, within a few days, lie in the same as ignominiously as now he is seen proudly to rest himself. ”[3]
Within in a few days the Cardinal had been murdered and his body was displayed to an angry township. The prophecy or the words of Wishart came to pass. Therefore, was he speaking out of inspiration? More than likely there was a bit of inspiration here. The inspiration was related to the “few days” before judgment came on the evil perpetrators of death. However, Wishart also believed the scriptures and trusted them and their promises for the resolution of divine justice in a time of horror and on the people of unspeakable evil. Wishart understood that the scriptures speak of a judgment that is higher than that of human courts.
This is what one author says of Cardinal Beaton:
“The wickedness of the particular cardinal was notorious. He was not simple corrupt, but bloodthirsty as well. To take just one example of his character, once while traveling, he instigated the governor to hang four honest men for eating a goose on Friday. He even had a young woman drowned, because she refused to pray to “our Lady” during the birth of her child.”[4]
False witness by evil men will not go unpunished. It is as much a fact as gravity is an effect which exacts its toll on a falling object.
[1] A friend of mine and associate pastor of my former church school used to carry “tic-tacs” to hand out to people. It opened doors for him even among children and even those senior adults he visited in the hospital.
[2] McCullough, David,. John Adams, Touchstone Rockefeller Center, New York, NY 10030, 2001, p. 479.
[3] Thomas McCrie, The Story of the Scottish Church (1874; reprint, Glasgow: Free Presbyterian Publications, 1988), 20-1.
[4] Wilson, Douglas, For Kirk and Covenant, The Stalwart Courage of John Knox(Highland Books, Cumberland House, Nashville, TN,2000, 24.
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