Category Archives: Bible

June 4; Cutting Ties

Provers 25-27

Solomon doesn’t have anything good to say about fools, lazy people, or troublemakers. In fact, he advises us to avoid them, not to get caught up in their drama, and certainly not to try to debate them into changing. In fact, sometimes old Solomon is pretty harsh when he talks about these folks.

But there is wisdom in what Solomon says. We can expend our energy, our resources, and our time on people who are toxic and who have no intention on changing. We end up enabling their poor attitudes and unhealthy lifestyles. Solomon warns us about the likelihood of their sin rubbing off on us.

That’s kind of contrary to the wisdom of the day. We’re told to be inclusive, tolerant, accepting, welcoming anyone and everyone into our lives, and in turn, our fellowships. Jesus, however, did say that if someone isn’t interested in hearing the Truth, walk away. Cut ties. Shake the dust off your feet and move on. Then, I believe He would tell us to pray for that person, and ask God to soften that hard heart and prepare that person to accept the Truth in the future.

What kind of people have you surrounded yourself with? Fools? Sluggards? Troublemakers? It might be time to be cutting some ties.

June 3; Train Up A Child

Proverbs 22-24

We as Christians have a serious charge. We know the truth. We have had an encounter with the living Jesus. And we can know for sure that we will see Him face to face when this life is over. Life – eternal life – is ours.

However, we Christians also know that people without that encounter with Jesus have no hope. Their eternity promises to be more awful than any of us can imagine. Solomon tells us we need to rescue those being led away to death. (23:11)

In other words, share what you know. Introduce people to their only Savior. None of us can say we didn’t know the seriousness of their choice to reject God. The question is, what are we going to do about that knowledge?

Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it. (22:6)

Our church is having Bible School this week. Starting today, about 80 kids will come and sing songs, play games, make crafts, and hear about Jesus. (and this from a church that has about 5 total kids who regularly attend Sunday School with us.) Will you pray with me?

We take this responsibility very seriously. There may be children who have never heard that Jesus died to save them from the penalty their sin deserves. There may be children who will make a decision this week to follow Jesus, or reject Him. We are praying that as we train up these kids in the truth of Scripture they will accept it, and cling to it the rest of their lives.

May Proverbs 22:6 be true for every boy and girls who hears the Word this week as we look at “The Incredible Race.”

June 2; Character

Proverbs 19-21

Rich, poor. Honest, dishonest. Righteous, wicked. Humble, proud. Wise foolish. Lazy, industrious. God has a lot to say to us through Solomon about these characteristics. What we assume is success, or a good heart in someone, may only be a smokescreen for a sinful heart. And just because we see someone who seems to have it all together, it doesn’t mean that person isn’t going to face serious consequences for sin.

“All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart.” (Proverbs 21:2)  Only you know if you truly love and fear God, if you’ve given that heart to Him by repenting of sin and accepting what Jesus died to give you.

I hope your character is above reproach. More than that – I pray your heart is.

 

June 1; Who Are You?

Proverbs 16-18

Solomon gives us a chance to do a spiritual exploratory surgery on ourselves. When you read these Proverbs, when you make each of them about you – what do you find? Who are you?

Proverbs 16 has us looking at our hearts, our motives, and attitudes. Are we committed to God, humble, loving and faithful, kind, honest, wise and discerning? Is what is in our hearts pure, so that what comes out of our mouths, and through our actions also pure?

Chapter 17 takes a closer look at our speech. Do we say wicked things? Do we lie, mock, gloat? Are we arrogant, gossips, quarreling people, perverse? Solomon says, “Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.” Have we learned that truth for ourselves?

Proverbs 18 explores humility. Solomon calls prideful people unfriendly, fools, wicked, foolish. “Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.”

God, through Solomon, tells that what is in our hearts is revealed by what we say and do. If I am prideful, is my heart pure? If I use vulgar language, or gossip, is my heart pure? If there is any wicked way in me, can my heart be pure?

I’ve had several surgeries in my lifetime, and I know it’s not pleasant. It hurts. But sometimes you just have to find what is making you unhealthy, and cut it out.

I hope you’ll do some spiritual exploratory surgery today. Who are you?

 

May 31; Joy and Health

Proverbs 14-15

My prayer for you today is Proverbs 15:30. May you have joy in your heart regardless of circumstances. May you be surrounded by people who love you and love the Lord. May their smiles put a smile on your face. And may you be encouraged and strengthened with the Good News that your sins are forgiven, that Jesus is your Savior, that God is your Father, and that His Spirit lives in you.

A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.

May 30; The Loving Kind Of Parenting

Proverbs 11-13

I read an article posted by a former student who is now the director of a large pre-school. In the article, the author cited numerous studies that say bad behavior in a toddler is a cry for help, an unspoken emotional crisis that needs to be met with kindness, calmness, and gentleness. The author claims that studies prove that sitting the child down and speaking in a soft, mono-tone to explain which behaviors are acceptable, and why their behavior is harmful to them and others, results in behavior change. Reasoning with a toddler produces the desired behaviors, the author claims, even though that flies in the face of other studies that say humans are unable to reason until their brains are more highly developed than that of a three-year-old.

Isn’t what the author proposes kind of like teaching Algebra 2 to a child who can’t recognize the number “1” yet?

Once again, I ask who is the authority on which these opinions are based? Because THE AUTHORITY has a lot to say about rules, about right and wrong, and about discipline. Here are just some of what God said through Solomon:

He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored. (Proverbs 13:18)

He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him. (Proverbs 13:24)

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid. (Proverbs 12:1)

Make no mistake about it, discipline according to Scripture involves a swat on the bottom. The Bible tells us that’s the loving kind of parenting.

May 29; The Wisdom Cycle

Proverbs 8-10

Solomon seems to talk a lot about the relationship between wisdom and righteousness. First of all, he says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Not the love of the Lord. Not doing things for the Lord. Not a cleaned up life. And not the philosophy of today which tells us love of self is the beginning of wisdom.

Fear of God.

For those people who don’t know Him, that fear ought to look like the cowering, petrified, scared to death kind of fear that ends up in the attempt to escape Him. He is THAT God.

For those who recognize that, who realize the fearfulness of God, PLUS His great sacrificial love, their’s is a fear that looks more like obedience, respect, and awe. Now that’s the beginning of wisdom!

Solomon says that kind of wisdom leads to righteous living. Righteous living is blessed by God. One of those blessings is more wisdom which leads to more righteous living, then blessings, and wisdom, etc.

The “wisdom cycle.”

It’s the never ending cycle of the sanctified life, growing  in grace and knowledge of Jesus. It’s the yieldedness that produces a vital, productive life blessed by God, and used by Him to share the wisdom with others.

Do you fear God? You should. That fear should make you want to resist Satan in every way like I talked about yesterday. Living a righteous life is blessed by God, draws us closer to Him. Living a righteous life is wisdom – with benefits.

Jumping on the “wisdom cycle” is the wise thing to do.

 

May 28; The Right To Resist

Proverbs 5-7

Yesterday we remembered the sacrifices so many men and women have made to insure the freedoms we enjoy here in the United States. Our freedom is a privilege bought at a great price. But those freedoms are a blessing – and a curse.

Because the freedom of free speech has turned into an entertainment industry of violence and depravity, a news and social media full of lies and hate. The freedom to pursue happiness has resulted in aborted babies, mutilated bodies, and an unprecedented demand for individual rights at the expense of the rights of the majority. The abuse of our rights and freedoms have rendered us slaves.

It didn’t happen overnight. Solomon warns us that the “adulteress,” (sin), entices, woos, comes innocently enough until she leads her victims down to the chamber of death. Her victims go like deer stepping into a noose.

Does one drink cause an alcoholic? Does one look at pornography cause an addiction, or rapists and child molesters? Does one glance cause an affair?

No. But hear Solomon’s warning. One leads to two, to three until the “adulteress” has you in her clasp. What starts as innocent curiosity, winds up enslaving her victim in sin.

I’m glad I live in the Unites States of America. I’m thankful for the freedoms that are ours at the costly price of the lives of men and women who wore the uniform of our armed forces. I’m sorry we’ve abused the rights their injuries and deaths insured. And I pray that Christians will heed Solomon’s warning, recognize the temptation to misuse our freedom, and be the people God intended us to be. May we see the “adulteress” for what she is, Satan, the enemy who wants nothing more than to destroy us.

And may we exercise our right to resist her.

May 27; Gold, Silver, Rubies, and Wisdom

Proverbs 2-4

Yesterday I realized that Solomon’s wisdom, as extraordinary as it was, has nothing on the wisdom that is ours in the pages of God’s Word. What a privilege is ours to have access to God’s wisdom every day!

In Proverbs 3:13-15 Solomon reminds us that, like gold, silver, and precious rubies, wisdom comes from digging. He continually encourages us to “get” wisdom, or “find” wisdom. These and similar phrases tell me that just reading a few verses every day cannot produce wisdom.

In order to receive what God has available to His children, we have to ingest his Word, read it then read it again, think on it, pray about it. Understanding something requires effort.

Has anyone really ever learned a foreign language by playing a recording while they sleep? Let’s just say, I doubt it. Because if that were true, schools would be equipped with bunkbeds and earphones instead of desks and computers.

Learning takes effort. Gaining wisdom takes effort. Mining gold, silver, and rubies takes effort. And what we have in the pages of God’s Word is so much more valuable than metal and stone.

May 26; Wisdom At Our Fingertips

I Kings 10:1-13, 4:1-19, 29-34; 2 Chronicles 9:1-12; Proverbs 1

Solomon’s wisdom was legendary. People came from all over the ancient world to get a glimpse of Solomon’s wisdom, to sit at his feet and learn about the things he knew. Solomon’s wisdom came from God. And it showed.

The Queen of Sheba said, “How happy your men must be. How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom.” It would seem so, wouldn’t it? Those men and officials had easy access to the wisdom others had to travel a great distance to hear. They were privileged to be in the presence of this great wisdom, this fathomless knowledge every day.

The same wisdom that was given to Solomon has been given to us. The same God who bestowed Solomon with that amazing gift has gifted us with His Word. How happy God’s children must be, who have His own Words in a book on a stand right next to their beds. How happy God’s children must be to be able to open those precious pages any time of the day or night, and drink in God’s wisdom like those ancient kings and queens drank in Solomon’s.

Or are we? Do we truly realize what we have in the Bible? Every chapter, every verse is God-breathed, God inspired, from His heart to ours. God’s wisdom at our fingertips!