Monthly Archives: July 2021

(Isaiah 1-3) I Feel Sorry For Him

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God is always speaking to His children. He’s either revealing Himself through His Word, or through His creation, or sometimes in circumstances of life – both good and bad – and sometimes He speaks through the words of a friend.

God spoke to me through the words of a dear friend this week, and then reinforced what He wanted me to understand through the vision Isaiah wrote about in these chapters I read this morning. The other day my friend, who is reading in Genesis, said she realized how much sin breaks God heart; how He created a perfect world for Adam and Eve whose sin destroyed the perfection; how He started over with Noah and his family whose sin once again destroyed what could have been the perfect relationship with God.

My friend said she felt sorry for God because we just keep failing Him. I agreed with her, knowing I’m guilty of failing Him, too.

So when I read Isaiah this morning I read what God thinks about sin, and about His judgment. I heard anger and frustration in God’s voice. But then I read what Warren Wiersbe said on page 453 in “With the Word” (Thomas Nelson Publishers; 1991):

“Sin breaks God’s heart, cheapens a nation or an individual, and invites the judgment of God. God graciously offers His forgiveness if we will repent. (1:18-20)”

So I re-read what Isaiah shared in chapter one, and I heard God’s heart breaking. Instead of reading anger, I read a Father’s pleading with His children to come to Him, to obey and be blessed by Him rather than having to be punished by Him. And then to know that He Himself took on the punishment my sins deserve. I am overcome.

Sin breaks God’s heart. My sin. Your sin. The sin of a nation. Are you ok with that? Am I? We might think our sin is no big deal. Maybe we need to look at our sin through God’s eyes. Shame on us if we don’t. Shame on us if we allow our choices to break His heart.

(Song of Solomon 5-8) Love Is Not All There Is

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Yesterday my prayer was that I would love God like He deserves, with a passionate, all-consuming, pure kind of love. Today, I am reminded that’s not enough.

I need to act on that love. A former pastor always said, “Love is something you DO.” So reading these chapters today I realize how important it is that I GO when He calls, I need to INVITE Him to come to me. I need to GIVE to Him, SHOW my love in private and in public, LISTEN to Him, choose to STAY with Him.

I am reminded that simply feeling love for and even feeling loved by Him, isn’t love at all. I mean I love my piano. But if I don’t play it, it’s just furniture gathering dust.

My prayer today is that my love for my Beloved Savior will be something you could notice in the words I say, the things I do, even the look on my face. Let it be known that I love the Lord. Let me show you what that looks like.

(Song of Solomon 1-4) A Love Like That

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I’ve never been in love or have been loved by a man like Solomon describes in this book; that exclusive, protective, wanting the best for and seeing the best in each other kind of love. I have come close.

During those times I thought about the man, made decisions with him in mind, wanted to be with him every minute, defended him, and saw the best in him. And I wanted others to see the best in him, too. I kind of viewed the world through his eyes.

So why am I not as passionate about my love for God? He is the one who loves me more than anyone ever could. Why don’t I seek Him as fervently as Solomon seeks his loved one, and she seeks him? Why don’t I hang on every word He speaks through Scripture like I see happening between Solomon and his beloved?

Look at the lengths Solomon went to in order to be with this woman. Look at the lengths Jesus went to so this woman (Connie) could be with Him.

As I read Solomon’s Song I pray that it will re-ignite my passion for my God and make me a more loving bride of Christ. He loves me in such an extraordinary way. I want to love Him like that.

(Ecclesiastes 5-7) Guard Your Steps

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Solomon is speaking as a man who literally had an abundance of everything. The wisest, richest, most powerful, most respected, most famous person of his time had a thousand women at his beck and call, and was miserable.

His search for happiness and fulfillment apart from God could not be found no matter how hard he tried or how much money he spent. Much of the wisdom he spoke came from a dark place in his life.

That being said, there is much we can learn from the king’s experience.

Things about worship: “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.” (5:1) Approach God in obedience, don’t be hasty to speak, don’t promise God something you can’t fulfill.

Things about wealth: use what you have to help the poor, don’t allow gaining wealth prevent you from enjoying what you have, live a balanced life with both work and rest.

Things about wisdom: pursue it, but don’t accept everything you hear. Know the difference between wise and foolish counsel by knowing God.

Yes, Solomon was in a dark place when he wrote this book. Scripture tells us that toward the end of his life he actually began worshiping the pretend gods of his foreign wives.

Let this be a warning. And let Solomon’s experience and his questions encourage us to “guard our steps” as we approach God, as we protect our walk with our Savior. Because the further we get from Him, the darker our world becomes.

(Proverbs 28-31) Read It For The Change

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These proverbs – any proverb, really – aren’t meant to be taken materially as much as figuratively and, more importantly, spiritually. You don’t read verses like 29:15, then go out and buy a metal rod or a wood dowel to beat your child with. 28:27 isn’t promising financial wealth for people who give to charity.

If a proverb speaks of a man, and another speaks of a woman, neither verse is gender specific. The lesson can and should be applied to all of us. But… if you read a proverb like 29:3, and are offended at the example of a man, a father, and a female prostitute because of the wording of the proverb, Satan has successfully thrown a barrier between you and the truth God wants you too see.

If you read Proverbs 31:10-21, and limit yourself to thinking these verses are intended to teach young women how to be good wives, Satan has placed a barrier between you and the truth God wants you to learn as you consider your own walk with Him.

You, men. You, women. You, Church.

Because those verses are not just about being a good wife, although that is absolutely what it is teaching. It is also a beautiful picture of what I as a follower of Jesus should look like to my neighbors. It’s a beautiful picture of what the Bride of Christ, the Church – your church fellowship – needs to look like to the world.

A while back I was in a class where the teacher was using these verses, speaking quite literally about how wives need to treat their husbands. It was a good and challenging lesson to the married women there. But the teacher had no application for those of us who were unmarried.

At the end of the lesson, she asked for comments or questions. I complimented her on her lesson, then shared that I had heard a sermon years ago on these same verses in regard to the Church as the Bride of Christ. I said it had challenged me in my own walk with the Lord, and my role in my church fellowship.

She was silent. Then she said, “We need to be careful not to make Scripture say what it doesn’t say.”

Now, I agree with that 100%. But I also think we need to be careful not to ignore the lessons the Scripture teaches by limiting ourselves to a material interpretation only.

I share that to challenge you to read God’s Word and how it applies to you. I don’t want you to read verses like these in Proverbs and think God doesn’t have something He wants you to consider for yourself. All Scripture is God breathed and profitable to instruct, correct, and equip you for serving Him.

There is something in every verse that can encourage or convict you, cause you to rejoice or mourn. Don’t just read it for the knowledge. Read it for the change God wants to see in you.

Let Him speak to you, discipline you, equip you to be the servant you are. If you read it, and it doesn’t speak directly to your heart, read it again. That just means you weren’t paying attention the first time, because there IS a lesson for you in the pages of God’s Word every time you read it.

Read it. Read it again. Let it change you.

(Proverbs 24:10-12) How We Care

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We hear that the neighbor down the street has received a devastating medical diagnosis. We shake our head and sigh, “I’m so sorry to heart that.” And we mean it.

We find out our friend is leaving her husband, and say, “I had no idea things were so bad.” And we really didn’t know.

A married couple you’ve gone to church with for years goes MIA for a few weeks. You say something to the person who normally sits near them during Sunday morning worship, and find out they’ve started going to another church. You’re surprised because you didn’t know they were even thinking about leaving.

Whose fault is it when we don’t know what’s going on in each other’s lives? Yes, the one who is going through hard times, is unhappy or dissatisfied ought to speak up, ask for prayer, talk things through. But let’s face it – you don’t do those things, either.

The wisdom of God tells us we have the responsibility to know. Not so we can spread the word like some gossip, or so we can have the satisfaction of being “in the know.” We need to be invested in each others lives so that we can be the chauffeur, or chef, or babysitter, or yard maintenance worker, or maybe an ear. We have the responsibility to know so that you and I can be the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus in the lives of people who are hurting.

It’s not enough to say we care. God will hold us accountable for how we care.

(Proverbs 23) A Question of Alcohol

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People have interesting reactions when I tell them I don’t drink alcohol. Most common reaction is surprise. Doesn’t everyone have a glass of wine now and then? Sometimes I see a wall go up. One person actually responded with, “So you think I’m going to hell?” That was extreme. Most of the time my abstinence makes drinkers uncomfortable, and sometimes there is no reaction at all.

It’s not my intention to make anyone uncomfortable. However, if God convicts someone by my choice about their own drinking, I’m happy to be used by God that way.

Let me say as I often do: the Bible doesn’t list drinking alcohol as a sin. So no, you aren’t going to hell just because you have a glass of wine, unless your drinking is an act of rebellion toward God, unless your glass of wine becomes two – then three – and you get drunk, which is addressed in Scripture. (Eph 5:18)

It’s also addressed here in Proverbs, and it’s one of the reasons I choose to refrain from drinking alcohol. The wisdom of God says:

Don’t gaze at wine because it is red, because it gleams in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper. (23:31-32)

I don’t have to be bitten by a poisonous snake to know it will make me sick or kill me. I don’t have to be bitten by a viper to know I should stay clear of it at all costs. And I don’t have to drink alcohol to know it can harm me, either.

Did you know that your body, so intricately created by God, recognizes any amount of alcohol in your system as a poison? Your organs immediately begin fighting that poison in the same way it does arsenic. Read the science. It’s true.

And, although people say they can drink alcohol without it effecting them, those same people will say, “I need a drink” after a hard day. If it doesn’t effect you, why do you need it? For what reason? Doesn’t make sense.

If I am going to be an effective witness for Jesus, I want my brain working at 100%, not dulled by alcohol even a little. I want to be ready to give an answer for the hope I have in Jesus without slurred speech.

Lastly, my choice not to drink alcohol has sparked conversations about my Savior that would not have happened if I’d poured a glass like everyone else. The fact that I declined has given me the opportunity to share why I did.

If we “come out from among them and be separate,” like the Bible says, people will notice. (2 Corinthians 6:17) And if people notice, they may just give us an opportunity to share the Gospel.

There’s another benefit. I can have a great time sober AND remember it the next day with no regrets! 🙂

So go ahead and have a drink. I will not condemn you. I am not better or more holy than you. I believe God has prompted me to honor Him in this way. And I will not tell you you have to do the same. How you choose to honor God is between you and Him. May we all be obedient.

(Proverbs 14-17) Do You Compromise?

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If you don’t have a copy of Warren Wiersbe’s “With the Word, Chapter-by-Chapter Bible Handbook,” I highly recommend you get one. Not to be used in place of reading Scripture for yourself, of course. I often will read a chapter (or several) in my Bible during my morning devotional time, then look to see how Wiersbe summarized them. Many times reading what Wiersbe said prompts me to go back to my Bible and re-read all or parts of those passages again, and let God be the final authority.

This handbook has been especially useful for me as I’ve been reading Solomon’s proverbs. Today, Wiersbe pointed out Proverbs 14 challenges the words I say, Chapter 15 challenges me about my heart’s condition.

It’s a question Wiersbe asked in his comments on page 423 concerning Chapter 17 that has me thinking. Actually, a series of questions:

What do you listen to?
What do you rejoice in?
What do you talk about?
What do you get angry at?
What do you give in to?

He points us to the verses in Chapter 17 that speak to each of those questions. It’s been a good study for me this morning.

But it’s his last question I find myself considering as I examine my heart today. It has me asking myself if I compromise on what I know to be true according to God’s Word. Wiersbe asks:

“Is your conscience for sale?”

Is yours?

(Word by Word; Warren Wiersbe; Thomas Nelson Press; Nashville; 1991; pages 421-423)

(Proverbs 10-11) Interpreting Proverbs

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Proverbs can be confusing if we try to interpret them though a material lens. A proverb might say a good person lives long and an evil person dies young (10:27) when experience tells us that is not always so. A proverb may suggest good people are always rewarded and evil people are always punished (10:16) but that’s not necessarily true, either…

IF we are only considering our physical life on this earth.

The greater truth of proverbs is 100% true 100% of the time. For instance, the righteous ARE rewarded, maybe not with checks in the mail, but with peace and joy and forgiveness and fellowship with God, AND they will never die!

Those who reject God live in bondage to the sin they refuse to confess, and life on this earth will end in an eternal death – where they will be conscious of their excruciating punishment forever, according to Scripture.

Yes, many of the proverbs apply to the physical, day to day living, and tell us how we should treat each other, what our character ought to be. Most of the time we read those and get the message pretty easily. But even the proverbs that seem to contradict what the rest of Scripture teaches, or what our experiences have taught us, can and do apply to our spirit. They give us a bigger picture of the result of how we live in this life, our choices to be honest or dishonest, kind or unkind, generous or stingy, good or bad.

John MacArthur said somethings that helps me look at the proverbs with greater understanding:

“Given the context that surrounds Proverbs – the rest of God’s Word – a student’s failure to grasp a proverb ought not to lead to the conclusion that there’s something wrong with the proverb. A better conclusion would be that the student doesn’t know enough yet or hasn’t paid enough attention. A wise person puts an elusive proverb on hold for further understanding rather than rejecting it as useless. God’s further lessons in that person’s life may well cast a new light on parts of the Bible that have been difficult to interpret.” (The MacArthur Bible Handbook; Thomas Nelson, Inc; Nashville; 2003; p 166)

So let me encourage you to not give up on the proverbs just because you run across some that seem confusing, or even contradictory. Slow down. Look up and consider the bigger picture, the rest of God’s Word. And when necessary, move on. God will give you the interpretation and application at exactly the right time for you.

(Proverbs 8-9) Logic and Folly

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It’s funny to me that while this apologetics study Bible I am using this year has an article about logic, logic is not always applied in its commentaries. On the page facing the article entitled “Is Logic Arbitrary?” by David K. Clark (CSB Apologetics Study Bible; Holman Bible Publishers; Nashville; 2017; page 758), the commentator (probably not Clark) wanted us to know that 9:13-18 weren’t intended to demean women. They, the author explained, apply to a “certain type of woman,” a foolish and immoral woman.

Logic tells me these verses are not about any woman at all. These verses are about folly, foolishness, and applies to humans. Solomon could have used a silly man as an example and the verses would mean exactly the same.

We are all tempted by foolish desires. We all listen to lies and wonder if they are true. Every one of us can be lured into acting foolishly, believing foolishness to be true, and not even realize that we join the ranks of the condemned when we do.

This whole gender sensitive narrative being touted these days is an example. It’s foolishness, lacks logic, and is blindly accepted by foolish, illogical people – men and women.

Sadly, it seems you can even find it in our Study Bibles.