Proverbs 10
19 When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable,
But he who restrains his lips is wise.
In light of today’s verse, I’ll keep this one very short. In addition to keeping you from sticking your foot in your mouth, restraining your lips has another valuable effect. It makes your words heavy, it makes them mean something. Someone with ‘flood of the mouth’ disease’- honestly I end up ignoring most all of what they say. Basic supply and demand says that if there is an abundance of something, the price or value will be lower than if there is a shortage of something. But a quiet person- when they talk, I’ll listen because they’re talking with purpose, with weight behind it. If you want to have weightier words, use them less often.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Acceptance
Proverbs 9
2 She has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine;
She has also set her table;
Our puppy died yesterday. It is sad, and tragic in every sense of the word. My daughter loved that little puppy like it was her own little baby, and now he’s gone, and honestly I want to help her so much. I want to be able to take the weight she’s carrying, and carry it for her. I want to give her peace and comfort. I want to give her the life she had before the accident occurred, before her heart was broken.
I can’t help but think that God feels the same way when he looks at us. I can’t help but think he must feel exactly like I feel when I look into the big green eyes of my daughter and see the pain and the hurt behind them. We try to comfort her, but she won’t accept, at least for now, that accidents happen.
Wisdom prepared lavish food and drink, and set a table from which we could live well. Wisdom made the preparations, but we have to respond, we have to accept, in order to enjoy what’s been prepared for us. In the same way, God made preparations for us. In his infinite wisdom, he saw the pain, the hurt, the burden that we all would be carrying around. He looked in our eyes and saw the shame and guilt.
He prepared a way to take our heavy burden, our guilt, our shame, our pain. He prepared a way for us to have life, and have it more abundantly. He prepared a way for us to have peace even in the worst storms of life. He prepared Jesus just for you and me. Just as we have to respond and accept wisdom’s call and invitation, we must also, if we’re to free ourselves from sin and the heavy weight that comes with it, accept God’s call and the preparations he made through the sacrifice of his Son.
I’m not God. I can’t take away Kaili’s hurt. I can’t restore the peace and joy she had before. But God can. And he can do the same for you. I’m hoping that you, and Kaili experience the fullness of His peace and comfort today through Jesus.
2 She has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine;
She has also set her table;
Our puppy died yesterday. It is sad, and tragic in every sense of the word. My daughter loved that little puppy like it was her own little baby, and now he’s gone, and honestly I want to help her so much. I want to be able to take the weight she’s carrying, and carry it for her. I want to give her peace and comfort. I want to give her the life she had before the accident occurred, before her heart was broken.
I can’t help but think that God feels the same way when he looks at us. I can’t help but think he must feel exactly like I feel when I look into the big green eyes of my daughter and see the pain and the hurt behind them. We try to comfort her, but she won’t accept, at least for now, that accidents happen.
Wisdom prepared lavish food and drink, and set a table from which we could live well. Wisdom made the preparations, but we have to respond, we have to accept, in order to enjoy what’s been prepared for us. In the same way, God made preparations for us. In his infinite wisdom, he saw the pain, the hurt, the burden that we all would be carrying around. He looked in our eyes and saw the shame and guilt.
He prepared a way to take our heavy burden, our guilt, our shame, our pain. He prepared a way for us to have life, and have it more abundantly. He prepared a way for us to have peace even in the worst storms of life. He prepared Jesus just for you and me. Just as we have to respond and accept wisdom’s call and invitation, we must also, if we’re to free ourselves from sin and the heavy weight that comes with it, accept God’s call and the preparations he made through the sacrifice of his Son.
I’m not God. I can’t take away Kaili’s hurt. I can’t restore the peace and joy she had before. But God can. And he can do the same for you. I’m hoping that you, and Kaili experience the fullness of His peace and comfort today through Jesus.
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
God doesn’t Play Favorites
Proverbs 8
4 “To you, O men, I call,
And my voice is to the sons of men.
Gym class. Nothing sums up Middle School like gym class. A couple people were picked to be team captains, and then you had to wait, and sometimes wait a long time, to be picked for a team for whatever game we were playing. Kick ball, I was always picked early. Dodge ball, that’s a different story. I was always a little guy, so hurling a dodge ball at great speed wasn’t a strength of mine. But, regardless of which game we were playing, the cool kids got picked first. It was more of a “who do you like” more than “who is good at this game”. Kids pick their favorites, and a lot of times grownups pick their favorites. But does God play favorites?
This verse tells us that wisdom, and God himself, calls out to all men. The offer of wisdom, the offer of God’s Son is for anyone who will stop, listen, and receive. I think that’s important to note. The verse doesn’t say Israel and the Sons of Israel. It says men and the sons of men. Though the Hebrew people hold a special place in God’s plan, I think his call is to all men. He sent his Son so that all men could be reconciled to him. His Holy Spirit backed up that statement in Acts ch. 10 when he baptized the household of Cornelius.
So, my thought today is this: God’s call is to everyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re poor or rich, tall or short, thin or not so thin. Today, God is calling out to you. I pray that you’ll stop, listen, and receive what he has for you. He wants you on His team.
4 “To you, O men, I call,
And my voice is to the sons of men.
Gym class. Nothing sums up Middle School like gym class. A couple people were picked to be team captains, and then you had to wait, and sometimes wait a long time, to be picked for a team for whatever game we were playing. Kick ball, I was always picked early. Dodge ball, that’s a different story. I was always a little guy, so hurling a dodge ball at great speed wasn’t a strength of mine. But, regardless of which game we were playing, the cool kids got picked first. It was more of a “who do you like” more than “who is good at this game”. Kids pick their favorites, and a lot of times grownups pick their favorites. But does God play favorites?
This verse tells us that wisdom, and God himself, calls out to all men. The offer of wisdom, the offer of God’s Son is for anyone who will stop, listen, and receive. I think that’s important to note. The verse doesn’t say Israel and the Sons of Israel. It says men and the sons of men. Though the Hebrew people hold a special place in God’s plan, I think his call is to all men. He sent his Son so that all men could be reconciled to him. His Holy Spirit backed up that statement in Acts ch. 10 when he baptized the household of Cornelius.
So, my thought today is this: God’s call is to everyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re poor or rich, tall or short, thin or not so thin. Today, God is calling out to you. I pray that you’ll stop, listen, and receive what he has for you. He wants you on His team.
Monday, July 7, 2014
Treasure Hunt
Proverbs 7
1 My son, keep my words
And treasure my commandments within you.
2 Keep my commandments and live,
And my teaching as the apple of your eye.
3 Bind them on your fingers;
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
I remember when I was a kid, my little brother, me, and my best friend who lived down the street would have Nerf battles. We had Nerf guns, Nerf Ball Canons, and even a Nerf Bow and Arrow. The battles were epic. We even mixed it up into a hide and go seek kind of game. One time my best friend hid in my little brother’s closet. We had been playing for a while, running around and being wild little kids. I guess he got too hot sitting in the closet waiting for my little brother to find him, and he passed out. He fell on my little brother’s Ninja Turtle Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Turtles game and crushed it. Was my little brother concerned that our friend had passed out and that something might be wrong? Nope. “Get off my toys.”
Like most little kids, his toys were his treasure, and I’ve been guilty of the same. I’ve treasured musical instruments, toys, and other things. But what if I treasured God’s word and his commandments? What if I treated his word as if it were a 1959 Les Paul ( a rare guitar worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and highly sought out in the guitar world). At the start of this new week, lets recalibrate what we regard as treasure, and turn our hearts and minds to God and his word.
1 My son, keep my words
And treasure my commandments within you.
2 Keep my commandments and live,
And my teaching as the apple of your eye.
3 Bind them on your fingers;
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
I remember when I was a kid, my little brother, me, and my best friend who lived down the street would have Nerf battles. We had Nerf guns, Nerf Ball Canons, and even a Nerf Bow and Arrow. The battles were epic. We even mixed it up into a hide and go seek kind of game. One time my best friend hid in my little brother’s closet. We had been playing for a while, running around and being wild little kids. I guess he got too hot sitting in the closet waiting for my little brother to find him, and he passed out. He fell on my little brother’s Ninja Turtle Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Turtles game and crushed it. Was my little brother concerned that our friend had passed out and that something might be wrong? Nope. “Get off my toys.”
Like most little kids, his toys were his treasure, and I’ve been guilty of the same. I’ve treasured musical instruments, toys, and other things. But what if I treasured God’s word and his commandments? What if I treated his word as if it were a 1959 Les Paul ( a rare guitar worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and highly sought out in the guitar world). At the start of this new week, lets recalibrate what we regard as treasure, and turn our hearts and minds to God and his word.
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Net Worth
Proverbs 6
12 A worthless person, a wicked man,
Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth,
13 Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet,
Who points with his fingers;
14 Who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil,
Who spreads strife.
At the time, Bill Gates is the richest man in the world with over 79 billion dollars estimated net worth. Billion. With a B. The youngest billionaire in the world is a 24 year old from Hong Kong. The oldest is a 99 year old American. We’ve talked before about how God’s math is different from ours. In our society, net worth is a handy number to quantify someone’s wealth. And wealth in our society, more often than not, equates to worth.
Take Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. Mr. Zuckerberg is 30 years old and has an estimated net worth of 29.3 billion dollars. He is, for all intents and purposes, a rock star. Companies and individuals would, and probably do, pay lots of money for his time and attention. Warren Buffet, with an estimated net worth of over 66 billion, is an incredibly influential person in the finance world. When he speaks, people listen. When he acts, people follow behind.
This is no slam against wealth, or the incredibly wealthy. I mention these folks merely for perspective. Either Mr. Zuckerberg or Mr. Buffet could buy the city I live in a dozen times over; their influence is immense. But you can be a man, or a woman, of high worth and have a relatively meager net worth. My net worth is laughable, especially compared to Mr. Buffet and Mr. Zuckerberg, but when God looks at you and me, he doesn’t look at our bank account, our ledger sheet, or our corporate achievements. He looks at our character.
A man could be rich beyond my imagination or means, but God’s word says that a man’s word can render him worthless. A man who’s words and intent don’t line up, winking with his eyes and signaling with his feet, can bring a man’s net worth down to the gutter. I encourage you to keep striving in your walk to be a man or woman of God. And I hope that you find encouragement in knowing that just a little talk with Jesus can bring your account back into the black.
For those interested, here is a list of the world richest men and women.
12 A worthless person, a wicked man,
Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth,
13 Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet,
Who points with his fingers;
14 Who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil,
Who spreads strife.
At the time, Bill Gates is the richest man in the world with over 79 billion dollars estimated net worth. Billion. With a B. The youngest billionaire in the world is a 24 year old from Hong Kong. The oldest is a 99 year old American. We’ve talked before about how God’s math is different from ours. In our society, net worth is a handy number to quantify someone’s wealth. And wealth in our society, more often than not, equates to worth.
Take Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. Mr. Zuckerberg is 30 years old and has an estimated net worth of 29.3 billion dollars. He is, for all intents and purposes, a rock star. Companies and individuals would, and probably do, pay lots of money for his time and attention. Warren Buffet, with an estimated net worth of over 66 billion, is an incredibly influential person in the finance world. When he speaks, people listen. When he acts, people follow behind.
This is no slam against wealth, or the incredibly wealthy. I mention these folks merely for perspective. Either Mr. Zuckerberg or Mr. Buffet could buy the city I live in a dozen times over; their influence is immense. But you can be a man, or a woman, of high worth and have a relatively meager net worth. My net worth is laughable, especially compared to Mr. Buffet and Mr. Zuckerberg, but when God looks at you and me, he doesn’t look at our bank account, our ledger sheet, or our corporate achievements. He looks at our character.
A man could be rich beyond my imagination or means, but God’s word says that a man’s word can render him worthless. A man who’s words and intent don’t line up, winking with his eyes and signaling with his feet, can bring a man’s net worth down to the gutter. I encourage you to keep striving in your walk to be a man or woman of God. And I hope that you find encouragement in knowing that just a little talk with Jesus can bring your account back into the black.
For those interested, here is a list of the world richest men and women.
Friday, July 4, 2014
Distractions and Habits
Proverbs 4
25 Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.
26 Watch the path of your feet
And all your ways will be established.
27 Do not turn to the right nor to the left;
Turn your foot from evil.
Birds singing right outside the window, kids playing and laughing and talking, dogs barking, the TV, the radio. It seems like they are all pulling at me at some point or another. It’s easy, at least for me, to get distracted. It’s easy to get my eyes off God, and onto things and situations.
I wish I had a secret trick to stay focused: some kind of process or button I could press to get straightened back out. The closest thing I can think of is habit. Habits are powerful, and they don’t have to be bad. You can have good habits, too.
Make it a habit to get in the word every day. Make it a habit to look to God and to ignore distractions. Make it a habit to trust and hope in Him. Make a habit of stepping back each day and recalibrating your life to God.
25 Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.
26 Watch the path of your feet
And all your ways will be established.
27 Do not turn to the right nor to the left;
Turn your foot from evil.
Birds singing right outside the window, kids playing and laughing and talking, dogs barking, the TV, the radio. It seems like they are all pulling at me at some point or another. It’s easy, at least for me, to get distracted. It’s easy to get my eyes off God, and onto things and situations.
I wish I had a secret trick to stay focused: some kind of process or button I could press to get straightened back out. The closest thing I can think of is habit. Habits are powerful, and they don’t have to be bad. You can have good habits, too.
Make it a habit to get in the word every day. Make it a habit to look to God and to ignore distractions. Make it a habit to trust and hope in Him. Make a habit of stepping back each day and recalibrating your life to God.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
The God of Little and Lots
Proverbs 3
9 Honor the Lord from your wealth
And from the first of all your produce;
10 So your barns will be filled with plenty
And your vats will overflow with new wine.
I remember as a kid, my mom taught me about tithing. I’d get a little bit of money for my allowance, and she taught me how to figure out how much to tithe and all that. I’ve tithed on every paycheck I’ve ever had: from my first job as a teenager to my current job in IT.
Some of my paychecks have been pretty meager. Does that matter to God? Does he honor my larger tithe checks more than he did my small checks? No. He honored the Widow’s two copper coins above the lavish gifts of the rich. He honored my tithe when it wasn’t much, and blessed us abundantly. I guess the though that I get from this verse is that God doesn’t care about the amount, it’s about the act and obedience. It’s about honoring God first. Whether your 10% is a lot or a little, when you honor God with it, he will bless you. He is true to his word. I’m praying that today your vats will overflow and your fields provide you with plenty.
9 Honor the Lord from your wealth
And from the first of all your produce;
10 So your barns will be filled with plenty
And your vats will overflow with new wine.
I remember as a kid, my mom taught me about tithing. I’d get a little bit of money for my allowance, and she taught me how to figure out how much to tithe and all that. I’ve tithed on every paycheck I’ve ever had: from my first job as a teenager to my current job in IT.
Some of my paychecks have been pretty meager. Does that matter to God? Does he honor my larger tithe checks more than he did my small checks? No. He honored the Widow’s two copper coins above the lavish gifts of the rich. He honored my tithe when it wasn’t much, and blessed us abundantly. I guess the though that I get from this verse is that God doesn’t care about the amount, it’s about the act and obedience. It’s about honoring God first. Whether your 10% is a lot or a little, when you honor God with it, he will bless you. He is true to his word. I’m praying that today your vats will overflow and your fields provide you with plenty.
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