A wise man...
...humbles himself when wrong (RARE these days, from what I see)
...begs for forgiveness
...works hard, is not lazy
...does not have a perverse mouth
...does not plan evil
...does not spread strife
...does not have haughty (proud, arrogant) eyes
...does not lie
...does not shed innocent blood
...does not devise wicked plans
...does not run to evil
...observes the commands of parents
...meditates on the Word
...accepts reproofs as discipline
...is not captured by the adulteress (physically or internally)
...does not commit adultery
...is not improperly jealous
My note here, take notice of the attitudes that are prevalent in our society today, goodness, they are in our churches, too! Men wo are wrong will not humble themselves and admit it, and ask forgiveness, forget it! Much too proud for that. It should truly be refreshing to accept reproof as discipline, based on the Word. But the majority today would rather try and try and try to be right, all the time, and as a result, are not wise.
Holding Fast to the Name of our Creator
Monday, July 30, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
A Wise Man...(Proverbs 5)
A wise man...
...will observe discretion
...will not depart from wise teaching
...will keep from the "adulteress" and wicked temptation
...will not hate instruction
...will not live destructively
...is content
...is faithful priveately and publically, in his thought life, as well as his outer life
...will not die for lack of instruction
...will not foolishly go astray
Holding Fast to the Name of our Creator
...will observe discretion
...will not depart from wise teaching
...will keep from the "adulteress" and wicked temptation
...will not hate instruction
...will not live destructively
...is content
...is faithful priveately and publically, in his thought life, as well as his outer life
...will not die for lack of instruction
...will not foolishly go astray
Holding Fast to the Name of our Creator
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
A Wise Man...(Proverbs 4)
A wise man...
...will hear instruction
...will gain understanding
...will acquire wisdom
...will not forget or turn away from understanding/wisdom
...will not forsake wisdom
...will love wisdom
...will prize wisdom
...will not let go of instruction
...will avoid evil
...will put away a deceitful mouth
...will keep his eyes straight ahead
...will watch the path of his feet
Holding Fast to the Name of our Creator
...will hear instruction
...will gain understanding
...will acquire wisdom
...will not forget or turn away from understanding/wisdom
...will not forsake wisdom
...will love wisdom
...will prize wisdom
...will not let go of instruction
...will avoid evil
...will put away a deceitful mouth
...will keep his eyes straight ahead
...will watch the path of his feet
Holding Fast to the Name of our Creator
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
A Wise Man...(Proverbs 3)
A wise man...
...will not forget teaching
...will keep commandments
...will hold on to truth
...will place his trust completely in the Lord, not in his own understanding
...will acknowledge God in all ways
...will fear the Lord
...will turn away from evil
...will honor the Lord from wealth
...will not reject the discipline of the Lord
...will not hate His reproof
...will be blessed by finding wisdom and discretion
...will actively take hold of and hold fast to wisdom
...will keep sound wisdom and discretion
...will not be afraid, even when vulnerable
...will not fear the onslaught of the wicked
...will be generous
...will not envy good or bad people
...will inherit and display honor
Holding Fast to the Name of our Creator
...will not forget teaching
...will keep commandments
...will hold on to truth
...will place his trust completely in the Lord, not in his own understanding
...will acknowledge God in all ways
...will fear the Lord
...will turn away from evil
...will honor the Lord from wealth
...will not reject the discipline of the Lord
...will not hate His reproof
...will be blessed by finding wisdom and discretion
...will actively take hold of and hold fast to wisdom
...will keep sound wisdom and discretion
...will not be afraid, even when vulnerable
...will not fear the onslaught of the wicked
...will be generous
...will not envy good or bad people
...will inherit and display honor
Holding Fast to the Name of our Creator
Friday, July 13, 2012
A Wise Man... (Prov. 2)
A wise man...
...will receive words and commandments, and treasure them
...will incline his heart to understanding (literally, do everything possible to understand, as in bending down to hear a small child, that's the picture)
...will cry for discernment
...will eagerly seek wisdom
...will be shielded by God if he is wise and maintains integrity
...will discern righteousness, justice, equity
...is guarded by discretion
...is delivered from the perverse man
...is delivered from the strange woman (this is a picture of faithfulness)
...remembers his promise with God
...will keep to paths of righteousness
Holding Fast to the Name of Our Creator
...will receive words and commandments, and treasure them
...will incline his heart to understanding (literally, do everything possible to understand, as in bending down to hear a small child, that's the picture)
...will cry for discernment
...will eagerly seek wisdom
...will be shielded by God if he is wise and maintains integrity
...will discern righteousness, justice, equity
...is guarded by discretion
...is delivered from the perverse man
...is delivered from the strange woman (this is a picture of faithfulness)
...remembers his promise with God
...will keep to paths of righteousness
Holding Fast to the Name of Our Creator
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
A Wise Man... (Prov. 1)
My family is studying through the first nine chapters of Proverbs, and we are basically and simply listing the qualities of the wise, specifically men, as Scripture describes. These nine chapters lay the solid groundwork comparing wisdom and foolishness. Along the way, ask yourself this question. If the Bible says to pursue wisdom, and we regularly partake in activities or behave in ways that are not wise, is that sin? In short, is it sin to not be wise? So often, I think of wisdom as a gradual process of making the best decisions with complex situations, getting it "right" finally. Proverbs seems to make the case that complexity is not the issue, but rather obedience. So with that, here is the first chapter. Is there any of this we simply cannot do, if we'd only try?
A Wise Man...
...will hear and increase in learning
...will acquire wise counsel
...will not hate/despise wisdom and instruction
...will not consent to sinners' enticement
...will not walk in sinners' ways
...will not ambush his own life
...will repent
...will change direction based on reproof
...will pay attention
...will not neglect wise counsel (se above, assumption that wise counsel was sought)
...will love knowledge
...will CHOOSE the fear of the Lord (CAPS mine)
...will not be wayward
...will not be complacent
...will listen
Holding Fast to the Name of Our Creator
A Wise Man...
...will hear and increase in learning
...will acquire wise counsel
...will not hate/despise wisdom and instruction
...will not consent to sinners' enticement
...will not walk in sinners' ways
...will not ambush his own life
...will repent
...will change direction based on reproof
...will pay attention
...will not neglect wise counsel (se above, assumption that wise counsel was sought)
...will love knowledge
...will CHOOSE the fear of the Lord (CAPS mine)
...will not be wayward
...will not be complacent
...will listen
Holding Fast to the Name of Our Creator
Monday, July 9, 2012
Hold Fast Without Wavering
It is so clear that God, at various times, uses things such as circumstances, preaching, and relationships to force one to squarely focus on His truth. And then He uses perfect timing to illuminate His Word, evoking that awe-inspiring, Spirit-filled joy that belongs to believers.
Let me back up a moment. I share this blog with some people via e-mail, a few others follow along in different ways, and from its beginning the intention was to simply share devotional thoughts as I read Scripture. At times I guess it gets “preachy”, but let me make this clear, I preach to me more than I ever mean to preach to anyone else. The danger for me is to put on like I have it “all together”, and what I really hope to convey is that we are all in this Christian life together, each of us with our struggles, and I am simply trying to encourage us all to be in His Word and honestly evaluate our walk.
When confronted with sin, there are two options. Ignore it, or correct it. When the Bible is used to point out sin, God’s goal is not to put down or destroy someone, but rather to challenge toward correction. When that correction is begun, we can then see the Bible’s take on forgiveness. Very few people, even Christians, truly understand forgiveness. When God forgives sin, He does not “forget it” but rather He “remembers it no longer”, literally speaking, He does not bring it up again. And so when we forgive, we are to follow likewise, we do not bring it up again to the other person, to ourselves, or to God. It is done with. Think about our salvation. God has forgiven us the penalty of our sin. When we leave this world, He will look on us, and then look on Christ, and “remember our sin no more! That is an unspeakable gift, to be sure. And speaking personally now, when I see and know that someone here on earth has forgiven me when I do not deserve it, it really drives home God’s forgiveness; that is, when we get a glimpse of true Christian behavior here, God’s glory is on display so clearly!
I came to Hebrews 10 today, and read this.
“Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin…and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;”
To say that God is faithful is a major understatement. He is faithful to us, even when we are not reciprocating of that to Him. The phrase that gave me pause, though, was “hold fast…without wavering.” The ‘hold fast’ is good lip service on its own, but the ‘without wavering’ is what shows how tightly we indeed cling to His Word. I have found myself wavering at times (the NIV says ‘swerving’), and God has used events and others in my life to help me. He has used His mighty Word to keep the path well-lit, and He has left it up to me to draw on His power to make decisions that honor Him and reflect His glory.
I hope you can say the same, and yet that is between you and the Lord.
Holding Fast to the Name of Our Creator
Let me back up a moment. I share this blog with some people via e-mail, a few others follow along in different ways, and from its beginning the intention was to simply share devotional thoughts as I read Scripture. At times I guess it gets “preachy”, but let me make this clear, I preach to me more than I ever mean to preach to anyone else. The danger for me is to put on like I have it “all together”, and what I really hope to convey is that we are all in this Christian life together, each of us with our struggles, and I am simply trying to encourage us all to be in His Word and honestly evaluate our walk.
When confronted with sin, there are two options. Ignore it, or correct it. When the Bible is used to point out sin, God’s goal is not to put down or destroy someone, but rather to challenge toward correction. When that correction is begun, we can then see the Bible’s take on forgiveness. Very few people, even Christians, truly understand forgiveness. When God forgives sin, He does not “forget it” but rather He “remembers it no longer”, literally speaking, He does not bring it up again. And so when we forgive, we are to follow likewise, we do not bring it up again to the other person, to ourselves, or to God. It is done with. Think about our salvation. God has forgiven us the penalty of our sin. When we leave this world, He will look on us, and then look on Christ, and “remember our sin no more! That is an unspeakable gift, to be sure. And speaking personally now, when I see and know that someone here on earth has forgiven me when I do not deserve it, it really drives home God’s forgiveness; that is, when we get a glimpse of true Christian behavior here, God’s glory is on display so clearly!
I came to Hebrews 10 today, and read this.
“Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin…and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;”
To say that God is faithful is a major understatement. He is faithful to us, even when we are not reciprocating of that to Him. The phrase that gave me pause, though, was “hold fast…without wavering.” The ‘hold fast’ is good lip service on its own, but the ‘without wavering’ is what shows how tightly we indeed cling to His Word. I have found myself wavering at times (the NIV says ‘swerving’), and God has used events and others in my life to help me. He has used His mighty Word to keep the path well-lit, and He has left it up to me to draw on His power to make decisions that honor Him and reflect His glory.
I hope you can say the same, and yet that is between you and the Lord.
Holding Fast to the Name of Our Creator
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Know God...then what?
I'm kind of camping in 1 John these days, partly because of a Bible study, and partly because I never before realized just how John picked up where he left off in his Gospel. The Gospel of John was complete all on its own, don't get me wrong, and it focuses heavily on Jesus' divinity, and captures our major teachings on being born again. That is, understand that Jesus is God, trust in Him for salvation, and then follow Him, as He tells Peter at the close of John 21.
OK, good plan. What does that "following" entail? I last touched on the "do not love the world..." aspect of 1 John 2, and I need to step back a bit to really grasp what John is teaching.
1 John 2 makes a great transition from knowing God in the Gospel, and even in 1 John 1, where He defends Jesus again as God, since there were many then, as now, who denied Jesus for who He is. 9 times in the chapter John mentions the word "abide". It is simply not enough to know God, we must abide in and with Him.
Simply put, we are to be saved and then draw that supernatural power which we have been given by way of the Holy Spirit, and then walk moment by moment in the Spirit's leading. Sounds good, right? Wish we knew just what that implies? Well, John tries to help us out.
Someone abiding in Christ would be walking in the same manner as He did. Yielding to the Father's will in life, having control over one's thought life, guarding our actions and testimonies, being properly angry without sinning, and the list goes on.
One abiding in Christ will love his fellow Christians, as John states that doing the opposite (hating) is indicative of walking in darkness, not light.
Abiding means knowing that sins are forgiven for the asking, and for demonstrating repentance. John reminds the readers that he writes these things because they know the Father. They are or claim to be Christians. He does not imply that they are to be satisfied with sinning, since they are forgiven, but rather to appreciate that forgiveness and use it as a motivation to fight against sin, to truly desire to live a life pleasing to God.
One who abides has as the primary object of his love the Father, not the world and its systems. God Gave us the world, true, and He did not have John writing to show how evil the world is. Rather, He wants to demonstrate that we tend to make anything good an idol, including Creation. Romans 1, as mentioned before, shows that we have shifter our worship away from the Creator and toward what He created.
Finally, though not exhaustively, one who abides has a clear focus on the life yet to come. Christ will return suddenly, and it could be at any moment. We should not fear that return, but rather eagerly, yet patiently, wait for it. Eagerly, meaning nothing else really matters. Patiently, meaning we have work to do while He tarries.
So, do we know God? If so, do we abide in Him? For the Christian, the first question is settled. The second, well, that is where our battle lies each and every day, actually, each and every moment. Join me in praying today that we would stop to challenge ourselves on where it is we currently abide, and where it is we'd like to. Let's pray that we make better choices today than we did yesterday, and thus grow closer to God. It's what He expects.
Holding Fast to the Name of Our Creator
OK, good plan. What does that "following" entail? I last touched on the "do not love the world..." aspect of 1 John 2, and I need to step back a bit to really grasp what John is teaching.
1 John 2 makes a great transition from knowing God in the Gospel, and even in 1 John 1, where He defends Jesus again as God, since there were many then, as now, who denied Jesus for who He is. 9 times in the chapter John mentions the word "abide". It is simply not enough to know God, we must abide in and with Him.
Simply put, we are to be saved and then draw that supernatural power which we have been given by way of the Holy Spirit, and then walk moment by moment in the Spirit's leading. Sounds good, right? Wish we knew just what that implies? Well, John tries to help us out.
Someone abiding in Christ would be walking in the same manner as He did. Yielding to the Father's will in life, having control over one's thought life, guarding our actions and testimonies, being properly angry without sinning, and the list goes on.
One abiding in Christ will love his fellow Christians, as John states that doing the opposite (hating) is indicative of walking in darkness, not light.
Abiding means knowing that sins are forgiven for the asking, and for demonstrating repentance. John reminds the readers that he writes these things because they know the Father. They are or claim to be Christians. He does not imply that they are to be satisfied with sinning, since they are forgiven, but rather to appreciate that forgiveness and use it as a motivation to fight against sin, to truly desire to live a life pleasing to God.
One who abides has as the primary object of his love the Father, not the world and its systems. God Gave us the world, true, and He did not have John writing to show how evil the world is. Rather, He wants to demonstrate that we tend to make anything good an idol, including Creation. Romans 1, as mentioned before, shows that we have shifter our worship away from the Creator and toward what He created.
Finally, though not exhaustively, one who abides has a clear focus on the life yet to come. Christ will return suddenly, and it could be at any moment. We should not fear that return, but rather eagerly, yet patiently, wait for it. Eagerly, meaning nothing else really matters. Patiently, meaning we have work to do while He tarries.
So, do we know God? If so, do we abide in Him? For the Christian, the first question is settled. The second, well, that is where our battle lies each and every day, actually, each and every moment. Join me in praying today that we would stop to challenge ourselves on where it is we currently abide, and where it is we'd like to. Let's pray that we make better choices today than we did yesterday, and thus grow closer to God. It's what He expects.
Holding Fast to the Name of Our Creator
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
"I love________"
How would you or I complete that sentence? "I love ______". This is an inescapable thought when reading 1 John 2, or at least it should be.
John has taken great effort to reaffirm Jesus' deity, and then describes the light vs darkness aspect of the Christian walk. We are in the Light, and as such, it should be evident, correct? He says in 1 John 2:9 "The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now." We say we walk in the Light, and yet we (yes, we all can do this) treat our fellow believers in a way that puts darkness on display. So the point is made to maintain a testimony that is consistent with that Light.
And then John delves into a passage of Scripture that should be mounted on every mantle in every home, posted on billboards, shouted from the mountaintops. "Do not love the world nor the things in the world." (v. 15) My take on this passage is this: we cannot avoid what this world has to offer, what we need from this world, and indeed, God gave us this world to enjoy and to use as a means to fellowship with and glorify Him. Romans 1:25 is clear; mankind has traded the worship of our Creator for the worship of the creation, "...worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever." In short, people love this world instead of loving God, and that is the point of John's command.
We have to live in this world, and we are to impact those around us by pointing them to an eternal future that is not of this world. Indeed, we are simply passing through, and if you look at the end of that paragraph, John says "The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever." Why would we ever want to give our primary love to something that is passing away, things so temporary?
I cannot personally see using this verse merely as a command to identify worldly "things". If it is here, on this planet, it is worldly. Creation by definition is worldly, and it has a divine purpose. We are to avoid evil (1 Thess. 5:22), and we are to NOT love this world or its things (1 John 2:15). Skim through the Bible, and see how often God gives people a blessing of land, food, protection, etc. and they turn whatever is given to them into an object of worship. So, let's see, I have a worldly vocation to allow me to obtain some worldly currency, I drive a worldly vehicle...you get the point. If I love ANY of those things, I become an idolater.
The strong Christian will balance out life's tasks and properly order his/her priorities. It takes great effort, and yet, when we devote our love to the proper Source of our very existence, and push all this world has to offer in a subservient position, we are not focused on what is passing away, but what is yet to come!
Holding fast to the Name of our Creator.
John has taken great effort to reaffirm Jesus' deity, and then describes the light vs darkness aspect of the Christian walk. We are in the Light, and as such, it should be evident, correct? He says in 1 John 2:9 "The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now." We say we walk in the Light, and yet we (yes, we all can do this) treat our fellow believers in a way that puts darkness on display. So the point is made to maintain a testimony that is consistent with that Light.
And then John delves into a passage of Scripture that should be mounted on every mantle in every home, posted on billboards, shouted from the mountaintops. "Do not love the world nor the things in the world." (v. 15) My take on this passage is this: we cannot avoid what this world has to offer, what we need from this world, and indeed, God gave us this world to enjoy and to use as a means to fellowship with and glorify Him. Romans 1:25 is clear; mankind has traded the worship of our Creator for the worship of the creation, "...worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever." In short, people love this world instead of loving God, and that is the point of John's command.
We have to live in this world, and we are to impact those around us by pointing them to an eternal future that is not of this world. Indeed, we are simply passing through, and if you look at the end of that paragraph, John says "The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever." Why would we ever want to give our primary love to something that is passing away, things so temporary?
I cannot personally see using this verse merely as a command to identify worldly "things". If it is here, on this planet, it is worldly. Creation by definition is worldly, and it has a divine purpose. We are to avoid evil (1 Thess. 5:22), and we are to NOT love this world or its things (1 John 2:15). Skim through the Bible, and see how often God gives people a blessing of land, food, protection, etc. and they turn whatever is given to them into an object of worship. So, let's see, I have a worldly vocation to allow me to obtain some worldly currency, I drive a worldly vehicle...you get the point. If I love ANY of those things, I become an idolater.
The strong Christian will balance out life's tasks and properly order his/her priorities. It takes great effort, and yet, when we devote our love to the proper Source of our very existence, and push all this world has to offer in a subservient position, we are not focused on what is passing away, but what is yet to come!
Holding fast to the Name of our Creator.
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