NOVEMBER 2010

November 1



…never take the give and take too seriously or you will lose your good humor.




Proverbs 20
14 "It's no good, it's no good!" says the buyer;
then off he goes and boasts about his purchase.
This image takes me back to my first experience in bartering in Old Jerusalem. Watching a shrewd buyer I heard these same words. He denigrated the product, found tiny flaws, an offered the seller half of what he was asking. He got the product and was showing it to the whole tour group boasting of their great buy. It was an education for me on a method which is as old as bargaining itself.
Try pawning something. This is a page out of the pawnbroker’s booklet of negotiations. Know what your product is worth, set a fair price and hold your ground or you will fall victim to the same deception. However, never take the give and take too seriously or you will lose your good humor










November 2


With knowledge we can develop, grow, achieve and survive when all else is failing.


Proverbs 20
15 Gold there is, and rubies in abundance,
but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.
In the society of human exchange it is good to keep perspective. Gold and rubies may be the symbol of wealth. However, it is important we do not lose our sense of real value. Knowledge is the rare jewel. It is also the goose that lays the golden egg. With knowledge we can develop, grow, achieve and survive when all else is failing. Listen for those who have real knowledge and learn. Ask of those who have wisdom and find out how to live meaningfully. How do you know such people? They are persons with certain humility. They seem to know what they do not know because knowledge brings with it such knowing.








November 3




Holding the creditor accountable is the wisdom of lending in any circumstance…



Proverbs 20
16 Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;
hold it in pledge if he does it for a wayward woman.
This doesn’t make a lot of sense to the modern reader. What does to hold a garment as a pledge mean? A person’s garment was the same as leaving your driver’s license with a dealer when you are promising to come back to pay for a purchase. Outer garments were the most expensive part of one’s dress and representative of the owner. They were used as pledges. The act of leaving a garment was probably mostly symbolic but in a culture where honor was still a virtue it apparently worked as security.
This saying is related to a situation where a man is borrowing money in order to help his mistress financially. The warning then becomes a matter of simple understanding. It is this, a person who is entangled emotionally and who has already compromised their reputation is not a good credit risk. If you don’t require something of value from your creditor you will probably lose your money. Holding the creditor accountable is the wisdom of lending in any circumstance but particularly if you lend to someone who is a greater risk.





November 4


Proverbs 20
17 Food gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man,
but he ends up with a mouth full of gravel.
I have come to have a new perspective of proverbs as I have been nudged by proverbs like this one. I believe many of these sayings may have been inspired as Solomon presided over court hearing the legal cases of the populace. They just sound like the comments a judge would make to a felon or a misguided person. They most certainly are inspired words of wisdom and grow from knowledge of God’s ways as he has revealed himself and the laws of creation. Yet, they were given by the sage as he watched a constant train of people pass before him. In this case it may have been someone who defrauded someone else and used the defense that he was only trying to put food on the table for his children.
Can you imagine a story, perhaps a play, written around proverbs with character after character entering the story line the way Chaucer told his ancient tales of the common folk? The perpetrator comes before the judge with his head bowed to hear his sentence. His head is low, his hands are folded as if in silent petition, and the judge speaks:
“I have heard your case and find that the evidence is against you. You may tell me that you robbed this merchant in order to feed your family. Yet, it has been shown that you took this cart of sweetmeats and wine and held a party for your friends. And then you had the gall to boast that ‘stolen wine is the best wine.’ You have been found guilty and I sentence you to be flogged with 40 lashes and cast into prison for one year. Perhaps that will teach you that:
Food gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man,
but he ends up with a mouth full of gravel.”






November 5




In the issues of life it is not necessary to get agreement or a specific direction from your advisors. They are there to give you insights.


Proverbs 20
18 Make plans by seeking advice;
if you wage war, obtain guidance.
When we seek advice we will often get as many ideas as the people we ask. At times those ideas will coincide. In the issues of life it is not necessary to get agreement or a specific direction from your advisors. They are there to give you insights. They will often disagree with one another and that will give you a chance to seek the final wisdom from God and know your own heart.
In any case, you are ultimately responsible for the consequences of you decision and you cannot be faulted if you have done your best. When all is said and done you listened, you learned and you concluded, hopefully, following the counsel of God. When you have done this you have no need to second guess because the consequences were not as sunny as hoped. Few plans take us through waters or directly to green pastures. They often take us through the valley of the shadow, even the shadow of death past perilous forces.
When it comes to life and death issues the stakes are higher as in the case when you plan to “wage war.” For the results of that we do not have to go far in American history to learn what happens when a commander does not consult with others before he rides into trouble. In 1870, George Armstrong Custer, send men rushing into a newly discovered Indian encampment at Rosebud Creek, Wyoming, with guns blazing. It was not only a serious blunder on his part but it was against a direct order from General George Crook and without consulting with the able officers he had with him. As a result of this bit of arrogance Custer’s men were surprised too late to find the encampment to be 100 times larger than they thought and were all slaughtered. He may be a hero to some but he was a wanton, self-indulgent and over confident commander whose personal flaws and ambition caused the deaths of many people including the Lakota, Cheyenne and the Arapaho Indians who might have acquiesced to superior forces.



November 6



Proverbs 20
19 A gossip betrays a confidence;
so avoid a man who talks too much.

Prosecutor: “Did you ever hear the defendant say he was going to rob a bank?”
Witness: “No, I did not. But I did hear him say he was going to come into a lot of money soon because he had just bought a gun.”
Prosecutor: “Well, I’d say that was the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The prosecution rests, your honor.”




November 7


Proverbs 20
20 If a man curses his father or mother,
his lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness.
Cursing is more than words. It is falsely and maliciously demeaning the personhood and integrity of someone. It is a hateful act or words that are intended to bring harm. (It is even occasionally invoking extra natural powers to bring harm.) When one does that to people to whom they are indebted for their love and sacrifices they are placing themselves in jeopardy. It is like cutting oneself off from a root and we know what happens when a root is severed from the shoot. This is a fundamental law of nature and in the kingdom of God.

Numbers 23:8 (New International Version)
8 How can I curse
those whom God has not cursed?
How can I denounce
those whom the LORD has not denounced?

Proverbs 30
11 "There are those who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers;
12 those who are pure in their own eyes
and yet are not cleansed of their filth;
13 those whose eyes are ever so haughty,
whose glances are so disdainful;
14 those whose teeth are swords
and whose jaws are set with knives
to devour the poor from the earth,
the needy from among mankind.
15 "The leech has two daughters.
'Give! Give!' they cry.
"There are three things that are never satisfied,
four that never say, 'Enough!':
16 the grave, [c] the barren womb,
land, which is never satisfied with water,
and fire, which never says, 'Enough!'
17 "The eye that mocks a father,
that scorns obedience to a mother,
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley,
will be eaten by the vultures.
Matthew 15
Clean and Unclean
1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2"Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"
3Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' 5But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' 6he is not to 'honor his father' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.' "





November 8




It takes real spirituality to handle money wisely.


Proverbs 20
21 An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning
will not be blessed at the end.
Here is another truism learned at the bar of public justice. The young seldom know how to handle instant wealth. In fact, few people can handle instant wealth and many a person who has won the lottery has found his or her life ruined by irresponsible spending. One should pray, “O Lord, bless me with enough to provide daily bread and the means I need. However, do not bless me with more than I can handle to prosper in body, soul and spirit. “
The wisest benefactors of their beneficiaries often build codices to their wills which restrict the inheritance until they have gained preparation, responsibility and accountability. It takes real spirituality to handle money wisely.











November 9




Those who seek vengeance will often commit wrongs greater than the wrong delivered to them.


Proverbs 20
22 Do not say, "I'll pay you back for this wrong!"
Wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you.
Those who seek vengeance will often commit wrongs greater than the wrong delivered to them. That is simply because it is in the nature of humankind to compete and to exceed what has gone before. Therefore, in such a world where power dominates there is no stopping the “upping of the ante.” Excesses have to stop somewhere and it will only stop when God exacts his rule.
When we consider “getting even” we should stop and realize we cannot do so. No one who is insensitive enough to cause harm to another will ever learn. Such people will not evolve; they will not change; they will not learn until they have faced a power which they cannot defeat. Therefore, wait upon the Lord. He is quite capable of exacting justice and whenever possible his purpose is redemption. That is why we pray for our enemies. We may resist. We may speak the truth. However, we pray above all that they will come to understand the limits of their power and ability. Then and only then will any redemption of the perpetrator or of the social situation be possible.














November 10



In our dealings with others we will go a measure beyond what is expected or required when we are living in the Spirit of God.



Proverbs 20
23 The LORD detests differing weights,
and dishonest scales do not please him.
Most people are driven for equilibrium and fairness. Why is that? Is it not because we are made in the image of God? At least this is the central declaration which the Bible presents us.
When things are wrong there is something in us that seeks to balance the differences. We seek symmetry. We seek unity. We seek justice. We seek coherence. Things have to make sense, to have meaning and to work out to some kind of predictability. None of these things seem to exist in the animal kingdom anywhere else but in mankind.
It is clear that there are a lot of differing weights used among humankind. This proverb does not speak about the variation between pounds, kilos, daks or puschas. It is speaking to us about honesty with the measures we use. When we say something is a pound then it must be a pound. God does not approve of slighting our neighbor with the measures we use. If we want to please Him as we live in His character we will seek to go a measure beyond what is expected in our dealings with others. That, after all, is expressing His nature and character.









November 11





…God’s ways are good.



Proverbs 20
24 A man's steps are directed by the LORD.
How then can anyone understand his own way?
Recently we took a trip which was a leap backward and then forward in time. Jan and I returned to the places of our roots. First, we visited with friends of recent years. Then we visited with family, some of whom we had not seen for 47 years. Next I took a journey back to the home of my grandparents which abides 70 years in my memory. Finally, we ended up at a 50th reunion of Jan’s college classmates. The journey was pleasant and illuminative.
There is nothing like hindsight to remind one that we have very little foresight no matter how hard we try to design our lives. Of course, it was never my intention to design my life and the whole concept of career planning is an enigma to me. Considering my past I do not think there is anyone who knew more what they would do with their lives. From the age of 17 I knew God had called me for ministry and there would be no going back on that commitment. Still, my life has had many twists and turns which have surprised me. I can also happily say those turns were better than anything of which I could have dreamed.
The fact is that those who design their own lives do so at their peril. Career pursuit can often blind one to the most important things in life and a stubborn commitment to a human plan is the surest way to alienate and hurt other people. We will do better when we consider that God has a plan for our lives and are patient to seek his mind and understanding on a step by step basis That mean get on the general path and let him lead you in the byways. When we do that He will do better than we could ask or think.
Are you still wondering what we discovered on our trip? We had some surprises. Some who were insignificant seemed to have developed into wonderful human beings. Others who were promising seemed to have become disillusioned. Almost everyone had a testimony of strange and sometimes wonderful twists in their lives. How can we understand other people’s journeys when we cannot even understand our own ways? We will leave such evaluations to God who has known us from the time we were in our mothers’ wombs. We will just say God’s ways are good.


November 12



Commitments are important to God.


Proverbs 20
25 It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly
and only later to consider his vows.
There is something about claims, boundaries, covenants, promises and deals that are important to the ways of God. God watches over these things because they have to do with order and meaning. In fact, God laid out boundaries, declared covenants, made promises and requires His people to do the same. Just start reading in the Bible and discover this fact for yourself.
Jesus warned his disciples about the cost of commitment. (See Luke 14:28) Covenants are the same. They are unbreakable. Furthermore, when something is dedicated to the Lord or a contract is made with others believers are not free to initiate changes without consequences.
There are a lot of people wandering about in a daze because they do not understand how God watches over vows. Their lives are shambles. Their efforts are doubly hard. The very thing which they once gave through promise they tried to take back without permission or consent. Such patterns have their root in God’s order and can only be set right before Him which will usually involves some restitution withy a clear cut and detailed reconciliation. Until we understand this we will not find the freedom to move on in the power of His grace.



November 13


Some will only change when threatened. Others will have to be crushed.


Proverbs 20
26 A wise king winnows out the wicked;
he drives the threshing wheel over them.
How can this proverb be transliterated? It would seem that it has something to do with justice and rehabilitation. A wise king or government will extract the good wherever possible with discipline and until that work is complete he/it will not stop. It is simply foolish to be naïve about the unrepentant. Some will only change when threatened. Others will have to be crushed. That is the sad truth about the nature of some people.





November 14


God knows our hearts and he is always searching within our inmost being for a way to connect with us.



Proverbs 20

27 The lamp of the LORD searches the spirit of a man ;
it searches out his inmost being.
Visualize going down into the interior of the earth and the darkness there which covers the landmarks and features of this underground cavern. This is the image of the Spirit of man. The Bible says God knows this territory and he is able to see what we cannot see as He searches our hearts. This is both comforting and threatening. However, is it meant to be comforting.
God knows our hearts and he is always searching within our inmost being for a way to connect with us. In order for Him to do it we must recognize that which he illuminates. When we do we can reach to him and seize the opportunity for his fellowship. That illumination may call for repentance. It may call up wonder and awe. It may even touch a chord of grief. However, when God puts his light on some aspect of our nature we are wise to respond with the willingness to respond with the appropriate emotion. This, after all, is the path to wholeness.
That is the general revelation of scripture and it is no less here. Are you ready to respond to God appropriately and be uncomfortable in His illumination? Are you prepared to respond wholeheartedly with understanding and emotion? When you are willing, you will be found by Him. God is searching your heart for redemptive landmarks in your inmost core. Respond to Him today. He is searching for the real you in your soul.






November 15




A loving authority is patient, kind, merciful and firmly grounded to being true to principles that have stood the test of time.


Proverbs 20
28 Love and faithfulness keep a king safe;
through love his throne is made secure.
Those in authority may rule through fear or they may rule by love. It is a clear choice.
The world has often been ruled by those who use power and fear to dominate: some are teachers; some are politicians; some are parents; some are employers but all are authorities within society. Yet, those who have used their positions to serve have become cultural heroes.
Ruling by love does not mean giving people what they want. This is weakness; it is barter. It means doing what is wise and good for the long term for those under our care. Such love does not compromise authority in order to appease. Neither does it presume to consider the authority or power one possesses for personal enlargement. A loving authority is patient, kind, merciful and firmly grounded to being true to principles that have stood the test of time. In short, such principles are illuminated in the words of scripture on almost every page and they will never be supplanted by false pretenders because they are true.







November 16




…we all have a learning curve that lasts from birth to death.


Proverbs 20
29 The glory of young men is their strength,
gray hair the splendor of the old.
Here is comparison and contrast. Young men take pride in physical strength. This is natural. However, prospering in this world, even survival, depends upon some degree of wisdom. According to this proverb, to live long enough to have gray hair is a sign of these facts.
All societies do not think elders are necessarily the epitome of wisdom or possess a splendor of any kind. This is a fault of the society that does not value it. In God’s economy a great deal of is placed upon aging. He knows that according to His economy we all have a learning curve that lasts from birth to death.






November 17



…pain is a great teacher for the hard hearted.


Proverbs 20
30 Blows and wounds cleanse away evil,
and beatings purge the inmost being.
This proverb is problematic for the Christian and modern reader. We are living in a post Christian culture that has been defined by grace and mercy. While secularists may think nothing of destroying the reputation and character of another they do denigrate the use of force, capital punishment, or even imprisonment as means of societal control.
We must remember, however, that pain is a great teacher for the hard hearted. Furthermore, few of us live in a world where the slightest mistake may determine whether we live or die; survive or are destroyed; thrive or are injured. The closer we get to nature we must understand that the laws that govern are those of “tooth and claw” and there are still such cultures today where various forms of capital punishment rule an otherwise ruthless society. In essence, any society not informed by the living Christ is a culture whose means of cohesion is win/lose, not win/win.
Anyone who has travelled in Singapore will recognize that it is probably one of the most beautiful and cleanest cities of the world. It also has a low crime rate. In this same culture capital punishment still rules. A few years ago an American youth was caught dealing in drugs. His punishment, much to the protest of our press, was to suffer a beating with bamboo rods. While such punishment may disgust the gentler side of our natures, one cannot ignore the fact that it works in a society where the values influenced by Christian charity are less than in our culture. In such a legalistic society, which is still informed by naturalistic ways of life, blows, wounds and beatings are a great purgative.
I do not believe that this proverb is meant to give us the divine pattern of life. However, I can appreciate that brutal people often seem to only understand and conform to force. Likewise, , in the primitive hunting cultures of the world corporeal punishment of a youth by a father can literally be the teaching aide which an aspiring hunter/gatherer may need to teach the needed cautions to survive an even worse fate at the paws and fangs of a wild beast. This is somewhat the conditions of the time when this proverbial observation was spoken.
Cultures that are informed by Christian concepts of mercy, love and kindness should understand that such values depend upon willful acceptance of the Holy Spirit who comes to change us. His way is to entreat, appeal, and woo us into such a society. However, those who live by the law (without a faith informed reference to Christ) should understand that force is the only way the law works.
The law is based on dominance. It is all about power and control. Therefore, it uses the primitive forms of wresting right, justice and truth by force. Therefore, in a world where people are always thinking of winning and losing, or the politics of power, there is often no alternative but to enact judgments grounded in harshness. Only naïve secularists will deny this until they face the law of tooth and claw in their own lives.
The gentle society can only come by a union with Christ. It is only the Kingdom of God that can be the gentle society. It is the perfect world for which the entire world longs and will not be achieved by human legislation.









November 18



God guides those who are submissive to Him.


Proverbs 21
1 The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD;
he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.
There are two ways of taking this proverb. It can be a statement of belief in determinism. On the other hand it may be a declaration of faith by Solomon in the willingness and power of God to give direction to rulers of the nations, who trust in Him. Which is it?
I believe it is a profession of faith. Solomon was merely stating he was submissive to God. The plain truth is that God has made a choice to allow men to act and follow their own consciences and judgment. In as much as they act wisely, God blesses. When they rule wrongly, God will find a way to bring judgment and correction in their path. Does God exert puppet control of the unwilling ruler? No. He can and will guide those who submit to Him and those are the ones who will be seen to rule well. Every ruler will stand before him on judgment day to give an account and bow before His majesty.






November 19




Winning isn’t justification; being accounted as righteous is.


Proverbs 21
2 All a man's ways seem right to him,
but the LORD weighs the heart.

What happens after God weighs the heart? We may think we are right but if our conclusion is different from God’s what happens? We should give careful thought to that one. We may think we have won the argument but be standing in the need of mercy. Winning is not everything. Being on the right path is. It makes the difference between having a full friendship with God or an infantile relationship.














November 20




In a legal exchange things of equal values are given by respective parties to make the deal. Therefore, in a legal sense a life must be given in order to get a life. That is the meaning of Hebrews 9:22: “and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Jesus took care of that for all of us by offering up himself as the final, true and eternal sacrifice. Now we can have God’s life through faith in Christ’s offering of himself to satisfy the necessity we feel to give a value for a value received.


Proverbs 21
3 To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
This is the lesson of the prophets after the people had been performing sacrifices to the Lord for years. It was Micah who said this clearly repeating the essence of the words of this proverb:
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.
I offer this quote from the September edition of Servants on Point as an expansion of the Biblical approach to sacrifice:
“We may have been taught that God wants sacrifices and even gave them to Israel to satisfy some blood lust in his nature. Not true! It appears that the sacrifices of animals were already invented pagan rituals to prevent disaster, guilt and the foreboding of the human soul. (Angst) They were an innovation of men as are “religions” and all systems imagined by human kind.

Sacrifices were very attractive because they gave false comfort. Since they were so attractive, God gave the Israelites more than they could handle to cover every occasion…He gave them a great slaughterhouse in which to make their offerings. He devised intricate rituals to satisfy their perverted drive to do something to make themselves pleasing. He even told them must wear white garments and keep them and themselves immaculate so that they could be outwardly pure to approach him in his holiness. Do you want to be perfect? Go ahead and try to be so.

In essence Temple worship was simply a great butchery!…The Temple was always meant to be the human heart. See the irony? God gave “his called out ones” all the religion they needed to make them sick of their own devices.

All these things were mere symbols of outward perfection. They did not touch the heart and the people never got the message. They went about their activities in the Tabernacle sandbox and in the front yard workplace of the Temple oblivious they were not pleasing God. So He sent the prophets to clarify. They were still dense. Their teachers took even the basic commandments of God and made them so complicated no one could keep them. They still did not get the message: We cannot please God. If we require a sacrifice God has given one. He is perfect. He is the ultimate. He is the son of God. What of the sacrificial system? “It is finished.”

The believers in Christ are known in the New Testament as the people of the Way. The believer is liberated through a relationship with Christ by trusting in Him: his words, his life, his sacrifice, his resurrection and the promise of his coming again. Religions tell us that we must measure up. The good news of the gospel tells us that God treats us as having qualified to come into his fellowship by faith in Christ’s completed work on our behalf. He has given us grace which is spirit of justice, mercy and fundamental humility before our Creator which Micah the prophet said God required of his people. “

Scripture

Hebrews 9
20He said, "This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep."[e] 21In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
23It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. 25Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.








November 21



The eyes are not only the light by which we see but they, like mirrors, reflect the image of what we look at.


Proverbs 21
4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart,
the lamp of the wicked, are sin!
The eyes are not only the light by which we see but they, like mirrors, reflect the image of what we look at. If we gaze upon things that produce pride and arrogance we will reflect haughtiness outward through our eyes. However, this proverb is not so much about facial language as it is a statement that a proud heart is sinful. In this case it means a presumption of superiority, of unassailable rightness, or of demeaning countenance on all other persons. It is sin because it separates us from God who is superior. It is sin because it separates us from others who have been bought with the price of God’s love through His son and though not all know they are bought all are His possessions.









November 22


When we exercise a little reflection and wisdom we can foresee trends and those trends help us to prepare for the future.



Proverbs 21
5 The plans of the diligent lead to profit
as surely as haste leads to poverty.
We can go two ways in the business of life. We can plan or be caught by surprise and miss our opportunities. When we exercise a little reflection and wisdom we can foresee trends and those trends help us to prepare for the future.
I have an eleven year old grandson who is already planning to market a product when a movie promoting it comes out about six months from now. He has his stock ready. He is now anticipating the demand. Now that is diligence! There is no haste; only a plan, preparation and patience.








November 23




…if the deal sounds too good to be true it probably is.



Proverbs 21
6 A fortune made by a lying tongue
is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.
Charles Ponzi invented a fraudulent investment scheme that pays off returns to separate investors from money invested by new investors rather than from profits earned by the investments. This bit of chicanery has been done in many ways but most recently it was the practice of a man named Bernard Madoff. Both Ponzi and Madoff went to jail for their fraudulence but not until they had destroyed the fortunes of many people and lost much of their own.
It is interesting that the scheme in question was once called a Ponzi Scheme. Now it is quickly being eclipsed by the term Madoff Scheme while both men remain anathemas to their respective generation. (I can’t resist the temptation: One was a pouncer and the other made off with the fortunes of others.) Both men laid a deadly snare for themselves and others with their “lying tongues” The devastation is enormous and catastrophic. The moral of this story is that if the deal sounds too good to be true it probably is.









November 24



Something sad always happens to those who resort to violence.


Proverbs 21
7 The violence of the wicked will drag them away,
for they refuse to do what is right.
Violence is one way for some people to get what they want. Many use it instead of bowing before a greater right. It is the way of running one’s life and the lives of others and, as we know, it is control taken to the extreme.
In thinking of violence we should not take pleasure in the fact that we have never struck someone. The spirit of violence is in the human heart and the right conditions could bring it out in any one of us. Its real root is pride in one’s own way and controlling others to get what we want. There are people who can stone others to death with “nerf” (sponge) rocks. The rock we throw may only be popcorn but a sea of them can drown.
Something sad always happens to those who resort to violence. They lose their souls: their sensitivity; their ideals; their direction; and their ability to enjoy the fruit of the true values of life like faith, hope and love.






November 25




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.
7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah






November 26

Proverbs 21
8 The way of the guilty is devious,
but the conduct of the innocent is upright.
I have a friend who says Christians should be fruit inspectors. They should be able to observe behavior, style and methods and learn to discern the motivational attitudes of others. This is not judging others. It is evaluation. It is judging only when we assume an attitude of superiority and condemn the guilty to the prison of “Never Change.” It is simply wise of us to pay attention to fruit:
18 A good tree can't bear bad fruit. And a bad tree can't bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down. It is thrown into the fire. 20 You can tell each tree by its fruit. Matthew 7:18-20
A devious person has a problem at the core of personality and motivation. An innocent person, on the other hand, will demonstrate it in his/her relationships.



November 27


Wicked is may be wicked does but it is first “wicked is” in the heart.

Proverbs 21
10 The wicked man craves evil;
his neighbor gets no mercy from him.
When is wicked, wicked? We are not familiar with the term wicked people whether applied to men or women. When we do apply it we do so to all of those who have crossed the line by doing some horrendous, unexplainable thing and passing into “scum- hood.” Then we will apply the term wicked. But, is it not wicked also to accord no mercy mentally to our neighbor or to crave a painful slow tortuous death for our enemies? We may not be so wicked as to actually cause such a thing but we can desire it. Some may even encourage others to carry out such a desire.

Again, wicked is a heart matter focusing first on the heart that craves hurt, injury and judgment on others and the refusal to understand and accord mercy in thought word or deed. Wicked is may be wicked does but it is first “wicked is” in the heart. If we must crave let us crave the good, true and the beautiful and pray for our enemies as such prayers cleanse our hearts and minds.

James 3
9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt[a] water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.



November 28

Proverbs 21
11 When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom;
when a wise man is instructed, he gets knowledge.
Judge Solomon speaks again. Perhaps he was in chambers and talking to a young prince. Here we have sage advice to a novice prince and judge. It might sound something like this in modern terms:
King Solomon settled onto the settee in his private chambers and removed the crown from his head,” That thing is hard against my skull. I must see if I can have some new padding put where it touches the forehead.” Taking a towel from a servant he wiped his head and leaned back against the arm of the settee. “Now son, you were asking me something earlier…what was it again?”
The prince waited as the king took a fig and a few sweetmeats from the tray passed between the two of them. Then assured that the king was finished serving himself the prince took a few for himself and leaned back imitating the king’s posture. “I believe the question I have is in reference to repeat offenders. How do you keep people from coming back to appear before you time and again? I mean some of these people seem to be very child-like folk and, dare I say, ten dollops short of a full crock of butter.”
The king turned his head to the open window scanning the distant hill which dropped off in a series of hills to the Jordan valley and smile. “I have to admit many of the people who appear in court have little education but they are good people and can learn. Discerning their character is the work of a good elder. You see,” he said as he moved forward, “the common folk are not always articulate but they are smart and pick up things very quickly if they are given a little instruction.”
The prince squinted, “And, you are saying a good judge gives instruction…that we are supposed to teach? How can we do that when we have so many people waiting for their case to be heard? We could wear ourselves out trying to teach everyone what their elders in the city, the rabbis and others should have taught them!”
“That is true,” the king replied. “However, we do not have to teach the basics of life in every detail. People will learn only when they have an example that there are consequences to their actions…I am speaking of the principle of accountability…do you understand?”
“Tell me more!” The prince leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.
“Well,” said the king, “when a true rebel, a mocker of the system comes before me, I make sure everyone gets the message. Such a person deserves a harsher punishment and a public one at that! I see to it that the people in my court get the word that there is no room for mercy with someone who has deliberately forgotten the lessons of the past. ‘Once spared is mercy received.’
The prince nodded and smiled. The proverb was an old one.
The king took a sip from his goblet and set it down before continuing. “When someone comes before me twice for the same offense I usually render a sharp rebuke with moderate judgment. Once again, this is merciful but it is important to demonstrate a sterner side of that mercy. However, if a person comes a third time for the same offense I consider him a mocker of the law. That is when I really lay out a severe judgment.” The king leaned back. “Do you get what I am implying?”
The prince smiled. “I think I do. You make that one an example and anyone with good sense will learn from the example.”
That is right, said Solomon. “When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom; when a wise man is instructed, he gets knowledge.”
In the distance a donkey brayed as his owner shouted insults barely audible as the wind stirred the leaves of the eucalyptus trees edging the palace compound which were planted to block out sounds like this.

Proverbs 21
12 The Righteous One takes note of the house of the wicked
and brings the wicked to ruin.




November 29



Hardness is infectious.


Proverbs 21
13 If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,
he too will cry out and not be answered.
There are several ways this may be understood and I suppose the most common one is that when we shut our ears to the poor the Lord will shut his ears to us. However, I do not personally agree with that concept. It is not in the character of God to bargain his love that way. Love is love. Mercy is mercy. The fact is that Jesus taught us that the Father wants us to enter into a sharing of his character by engaging in kindness and prayers of benevolence for others. It is simply not God’s nature to trade off mercies received for mercies given:
44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:44-45)
When we shut our ears to the poor we are more likely to contribute to the general hardness of mankind than to cause God to react to such hardness in retaliation toward us. Hardness is infectious. What happens with such callousness is that others will be unlikely to hear us when we have a need. It is the human race that has the tendency to trade off deed for deed; kind for kind; tit for tat and to think “even Stephen.” On the other hand, it is God who encourages us to be merciful to others that we may “be sons (and daughters) of our Father in heaven.” Such a state of being is its own reward as it is the fullness of life to be a child of God.





November 30



Bribes are band aids, temporary fixes, and a very inadequate way of living.


Proverbs 21
14 A gift given in secret soothes anger,
and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath.
Don’t we know by now that paying people off under the table is not the way the child of God lives? Therefore, this proverb is not recommending that we pay a bribe in order to prevent the anger of an enemy. This is an observation of the way things work in the world. It is the culture of this world operates. It is a culture that is, invented by humans, protected by humans and “controlled” by humans. It is this world system that uses such techniques as the making of bribes.
Bribes are band aids, temporary fixes, and a very inadequate way of living. Is it not better to treat persons with respect, to face anger with kindness and honesty than to be pushed around by hollow treaties, secret gifts and pacifying bribes? General society may have to pay off their personal enemies but it is not the way of those who live by the higher law of Christ. We should be aware of the ways of the world but never subject to them in our personal lives.