Well, we've gotten through the book of Proverbs. It is my plan to start at Proverbs ` on September 1st and go through, start to finish, one more time. This time I want to develop the concepts and thoughts a little more. I also want to dig a little deeper into the complimenting concepts of each chapter.
But, to sum up my thoughts thus far in Proverbs, do the right thing. That's it. God has given each of us a sense of right and wrong. He also gave us free will. Things run a lot smoother when we use our free will to take the right path.
Proverbs tells us what happens if we take the wrong path. In that sense it is very simple. It becomes complicated when we stir in our experiences in this fallen world and the temptation Satan puts in front of us each day. Note that I said Satan tempts us, not controls us.
See, one area many Christians fall short in is the concept that Satan somehow makes us do things we don't want to do. I have used that in my past. But, that is false. Satan has no more control over our free will than God. At the end of the day, whether we listen to the Holy Spirit suggesting the right path or Satan suggesting the wrong path it is still up to us to turn one way or the other.
I watched "Scent of a Woman" last night. As with all Al Pacino movies he has a few solid speaches. At one point he says, "I have always known what was right...without exception. I always chose what was wrong."
Sounds strangely like something Paul wrote...
The point is we are a creation of God and His spirit and power are in us. It is for this reason that the book of Proverbs speaks to our core. The entire book is nothing short of words to live by.
Gods Speed,
Greg
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Proverbs 27
Verse 1: Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth. (NIV)
We have cycled through the book of Proverbs. I have missed a couple of days recently...maybe you have too. But this verse speaks volumes to me today. What will a day bring? I have no idea.
Yesterday I was riding with a friend I have known since grade school. We were talking about our 20th anniversary next summer. The question was put to me.
"Are you where you thought you'd be when we graduated?"
I laughed. "Yup," I said, "I fully expected to be living in a duplex in Plainfield and selling lumber for a living."We both laughed.
Don't misunderstand. I don't have 20 years full of regret. I have had some interesting experiences along the way. I have a beautiful wife, three amazing kids, my health, both of my parents and close relationships with both of my brothers. All is not bad...many things are good. But to say I am doing what I was made to do or what I planned to do in the summer of 1988 would be a lie.
I was to be a writer. I watched Dances With Wolves and went to the prairie to write a novel. Not exactly what happened.
In retrospect I can see the turning points in much of this journey. The catalyst for certain decisions I made then is very clear now. That's why the first verse of this chapter speaks to me so strongly.
My wife and I were talking the other night about our plan to get debt free the other night. She has stepped up like no other I know of. First a part time job, then two, plus getting the kids off to school, homework when they get off the bus and all the other stuff she does. But in that conversation we talked about the second job I am starting, the salary cuts where I work, side jobs, the budget, the plan...
The cool thing is we both realized how fast it all could change. Not in a dire way...in a good way. She's doing make up artist work. She has completed a wedding and has leads for more...that could turn into who knows what. I am desperately trying to find time to write a book and then someone to publish it.
What if one of those things hits? We're staring down this MASSIVE student loan debt I hold and wondering, when we get to it, how we will ever pay it off. All of the planning and working and everything else and it may happen in a way we can't possibly even imagine today.
That's what verse one is about...it's about life. It's about today. It's about right now. I'm not talking about a living-for-the-moment thinking here. I am talking about taking care of today bacause that's all we can do.
It's amazing how much pressure is relieved when I focus on today and leave yesterday where it is and leave tomorrow where it is until it becomes today.
Gods Speed,
Greg
We have cycled through the book of Proverbs. I have missed a couple of days recently...maybe you have too. But this verse speaks volumes to me today. What will a day bring? I have no idea.
Yesterday I was riding with a friend I have known since grade school. We were talking about our 20th anniversary next summer. The question was put to me.
"Are you where you thought you'd be when we graduated?"
I laughed. "Yup," I said, "I fully expected to be living in a duplex in Plainfield and selling lumber for a living."We both laughed.
Don't misunderstand. I don't have 20 years full of regret. I have had some interesting experiences along the way. I have a beautiful wife, three amazing kids, my health, both of my parents and close relationships with both of my brothers. All is not bad...many things are good. But to say I am doing what I was made to do or what I planned to do in the summer of 1988 would be a lie.
I was to be a writer. I watched Dances With Wolves and went to the prairie to write a novel. Not exactly what happened.
In retrospect I can see the turning points in much of this journey. The catalyst for certain decisions I made then is very clear now. That's why the first verse of this chapter speaks to me so strongly.
My wife and I were talking the other night about our plan to get debt free the other night. She has stepped up like no other I know of. First a part time job, then two, plus getting the kids off to school, homework when they get off the bus and all the other stuff she does. But in that conversation we talked about the second job I am starting, the salary cuts where I work, side jobs, the budget, the plan...
The cool thing is we both realized how fast it all could change. Not in a dire way...in a good way. She's doing make up artist work. She has completed a wedding and has leads for more...that could turn into who knows what. I am desperately trying to find time to write a book and then someone to publish it.
What if one of those things hits? We're staring down this MASSIVE student loan debt I hold and wondering, when we get to it, how we will ever pay it off. All of the planning and working and everything else and it may happen in a way we can't possibly even imagine today.
That's what verse one is about...it's about life. It's about today. It's about right now. I'm not talking about a living-for-the-moment thinking here. I am talking about taking care of today bacause that's all we can do.
It's amazing how much pressure is relieved when I focus on today and leave yesterday where it is and leave tomorrow where it is until it becomes today.
Gods Speed,
Greg
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Proverbs 23
I was reminded the other day of one of Satan’s favorite tools…regret. I was watching “High School Musical II” with the wife and kids the other night and it made me very sad. At first I had no idea why but then I realized it’s been 19 years since high school for me and the road did not go the direction I intended.
I typical Disney style everything works out in the end. That’s one of the things I truly enjoy about many of Disney’s products. But watching that I thought of my own plans when I graduated high school. That is where the regret set in.
Verse 17: Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. (NIV)
That was a big problem for me in school. I envied the rebels. I lashed out and lived in a way that is counterintuitive to God’s plan and, therefore, can produce no lasting happiness.
I hurt many people along my path and have the scars from the hurt I caused myself. That is where the regret comes in. Some people have said to me, “Man I wish would have gotten out there and experienced life. You’re life has been so interesting.”
I don’t understand that. I mean, I get the grass-is-greener thing. I get the idea that running all over the country, living different places and, as one guy put it, “having different adventures” seems fun…like a movie. But it also produced pain.
I have to fight back those feelings and reflect on the words of the next verse.
Verse 18: There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. (NIV)
There it is. Did you see it? There IS future hope for me! But how is that possible? It is possible by living right in the present.
God didn’t want me to take all the turns I have in this journey. That was my choice. God didn’t punish me for those choices either. He did let me suffer the consequences for my actions. And God doesn’t want me to suffer inside for the wrongs I have done. His Grace covers ALL.
The fact is God can use me and my experiences to do the work He has called me to do. It may take a while to dig out of the wreckage of my choices, but God will use that experience to help others. This is true for each of us.
Satan wants us to linger over past wrongs. God wants us to confess, repent and move on.
Verse 23: Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding. (NIV)
So, despite my faults and misdeeds I am in the market today for wisdom, discipline and understanding. I will say it again; God didn’t want any of us to make the bad choices and mistakes we have made. But, on the other side of those choices God does want us to grow in wisdom and understanding to help others.
Richard Bach in his book Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah says, “Here is a test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't.”
So, if you are reading this you’re work here isn’t done. No matter what you’ve done, who you were or what happened to you God will forgive you and set you to a purpose of His design. And when we find ourselves in a place in time where we are truly in harmony with our creator then, and only then, will we experience true peace.
Gods Speed,
Greg
I typical Disney style everything works out in the end. That’s one of the things I truly enjoy about many of Disney’s products. But watching that I thought of my own plans when I graduated high school. That is where the regret set in.
Verse 17: Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. (NIV)
That was a big problem for me in school. I envied the rebels. I lashed out and lived in a way that is counterintuitive to God’s plan and, therefore, can produce no lasting happiness.
I hurt many people along my path and have the scars from the hurt I caused myself. That is where the regret comes in. Some people have said to me, “Man I wish would have gotten out there and experienced life. You’re life has been so interesting.”
I don’t understand that. I mean, I get the grass-is-greener thing. I get the idea that running all over the country, living different places and, as one guy put it, “having different adventures” seems fun…like a movie. But it also produced pain.
I have to fight back those feelings and reflect on the words of the next verse.
Verse 18: There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. (NIV)
There it is. Did you see it? There IS future hope for me! But how is that possible? It is possible by living right in the present.
God didn’t want me to take all the turns I have in this journey. That was my choice. God didn’t punish me for those choices either. He did let me suffer the consequences for my actions. And God doesn’t want me to suffer inside for the wrongs I have done. His Grace covers ALL.
The fact is God can use me and my experiences to do the work He has called me to do. It may take a while to dig out of the wreckage of my choices, but God will use that experience to help others. This is true for each of us.
Satan wants us to linger over past wrongs. God wants us to confess, repent and move on.
Verse 23: Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding. (NIV)
So, despite my faults and misdeeds I am in the market today for wisdom, discipline and understanding. I will say it again; God didn’t want any of us to make the bad choices and mistakes we have made. But, on the other side of those choices God does want us to grow in wisdom and understanding to help others.
Richard Bach in his book Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah says, “Here is a test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't.”
So, if you are reading this you’re work here isn’t done. No matter what you’ve done, who you were or what happened to you God will forgive you and set you to a purpose of His design. And when we find ourselves in a place in time where we are truly in harmony with our creator then, and only then, will we experience true peace.
Gods Speed,
Greg
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Proverbs 22
Several themes come up repeatedly in Proverbs…truly in the Bible. Money is one of the most popular subjects because it has both the power for much good and tremendous evil.
As a gun is only as dangerous as the person holding it, so too it is with money. Money can provide food and shelter but it can also satisfy our lusts and desires of the flesh. It can feed our vanity and quell our insecurities. In a society as shallow as ours is today it can provide a pretense for assessing our value and the value of others.
The 22nd chapter of Proverbs starts by slaying that pretense.
Verse 1: A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. (NIV)
A discussion of what a “good name” really is could take up an entire chapter in and of itself. So, for our purposes today we will operate with under the assumption that most of us understand the concept of “good name”. Much like we understand the concept of freedom or liberty.
The point, I guess, is that character and how we interact with those around us is far more important than what we drive, where we live or how much we have in the bank. That’s not to say we should all live in old vans down by the river. But to say that money and the acquisition thereof shouldn’t be the priority.
Verse 7: The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.(NIV)
So, the rich get all that money from lending money to people that want to buy stuff they can’t afford and the way to stop that is to stop borrowing money to buy things you can’t afford. Man, I wish I would have gotten that a few years ago!
Think about the truth in that though. I am a slave to SallieMae, my van payment, etc. It’s pitiful. The fact is we could buy two vehicles for half of what we owe on our van. We don’t need it. We’d own a house today if it wasn’t for my student loans. I am a slave. A slave to a job that is not my calling but is based on financial need.
Sometimes that look in the mirror sucks!
But to those who have made their money the right way, through hard work and saving, Proverbs talks of their blessing.
Verse 9: A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.
I read that verse and realize that there is absolutely no need for welfare, socialism or any of the government sponsored social programs. If we would live this principle of giving generously and helping those in need we would essentially take care of one another. Imagine each one of us bringing our gifts to the table to help one another.
Instead we are a society of debtors. Debtors whose main focus is the latest and newest thing. We spend what we don’t have and pay for what we spend several times over. The answer, like so many answers in this life, is so simple it hurts. If you can’t pay for it don’t buy it.
Verse 27: If you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you.
I will never forget the night about five years ago we had a late-night knock at the door. We were broke. I had been “downsized” a little less than a year before and at that point we were up to our ears in debt. We tried hard to climb out of it but could not. See, we had become slaves.
Anyway, there was a knock at the door. Two guys stood on my porch. They were there to take my wife’s van but wanted to let us get the car seats out. Thoughtful of them I must admit. But, the point here is I bought that van for Stacey because the old van we bought for $1000 wasn’t good enough. I disguised it in my mind with thinking that is was about safety and reliability and all that. It was. But it was also about something else.
There in my drive stood two painful reminders of what happens if you have the lack of means to pay for something. They didn’t snatch our bed form under us that night…they took our van. So there I stood, two small children and a baby inside with my wife crying into my shirt. It was and will ever remain one of the most painful moments in my life. Not because of the van, but because my ignorance and arrogance had caused us so much pain.
We’ve talked about it before but just to hit that dead horse one more time…debt bad. Cash good.
Gods Speed,Greg
As a gun is only as dangerous as the person holding it, so too it is with money. Money can provide food and shelter but it can also satisfy our lusts and desires of the flesh. It can feed our vanity and quell our insecurities. In a society as shallow as ours is today it can provide a pretense for assessing our value and the value of others.
The 22nd chapter of Proverbs starts by slaying that pretense.
Verse 1: A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. (NIV)
A discussion of what a “good name” really is could take up an entire chapter in and of itself. So, for our purposes today we will operate with under the assumption that most of us understand the concept of “good name”. Much like we understand the concept of freedom or liberty.
The point, I guess, is that character and how we interact with those around us is far more important than what we drive, where we live or how much we have in the bank. That’s not to say we should all live in old vans down by the river. But to say that money and the acquisition thereof shouldn’t be the priority.
Verse 7: The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.(NIV)
So, the rich get all that money from lending money to people that want to buy stuff they can’t afford and the way to stop that is to stop borrowing money to buy things you can’t afford. Man, I wish I would have gotten that a few years ago!
Think about the truth in that though. I am a slave to SallieMae, my van payment, etc. It’s pitiful. The fact is we could buy two vehicles for half of what we owe on our van. We don’t need it. We’d own a house today if it wasn’t for my student loans. I am a slave. A slave to a job that is not my calling but is based on financial need.
Sometimes that look in the mirror sucks!
But to those who have made their money the right way, through hard work and saving, Proverbs talks of their blessing.
Verse 9: A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.
I read that verse and realize that there is absolutely no need for welfare, socialism or any of the government sponsored social programs. If we would live this principle of giving generously and helping those in need we would essentially take care of one another. Imagine each one of us bringing our gifts to the table to help one another.
Instead we are a society of debtors. Debtors whose main focus is the latest and newest thing. We spend what we don’t have and pay for what we spend several times over. The answer, like so many answers in this life, is so simple it hurts. If you can’t pay for it don’t buy it.
Verse 27: If you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you.
I will never forget the night about five years ago we had a late-night knock at the door. We were broke. I had been “downsized” a little less than a year before and at that point we were up to our ears in debt. We tried hard to climb out of it but could not. See, we had become slaves.
Anyway, there was a knock at the door. Two guys stood on my porch. They were there to take my wife’s van but wanted to let us get the car seats out. Thoughtful of them I must admit. But, the point here is I bought that van for Stacey because the old van we bought for $1000 wasn’t good enough. I disguised it in my mind with thinking that is was about safety and reliability and all that. It was. But it was also about something else.
There in my drive stood two painful reminders of what happens if you have the lack of means to pay for something. They didn’t snatch our bed form under us that night…they took our van. So there I stood, two small children and a baby inside with my wife crying into my shirt. It was and will ever remain one of the most painful moments in my life. Not because of the van, but because my ignorance and arrogance had caused us so much pain.
We’ve talked about it before but just to hit that dead horse one more time…debt bad. Cash good.
Gods Speed,Greg
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Proverbs 21
Let’s consider “religious” action.
What I mean by that is acting religious. We’ve all witnessed artificial humility, service with ulterior motives and feigned piety. Yet none of this is Biblical. In fact, one could argue such behavior is what Jesus railed on the Pharisees about.
Verses 2-3: We justify our actions by appearances; God examines our motives. Clean living before God and justice with our neighbors mean far more to God than religious performance. (Message)
Many times we show up to church or some other religious function and we try to “look” right. We dress a certain way, we know Christian-ease, we talk to the right people in the right fashion and yet it is all meaningless. God knows our motives behind those actions.
If we are covering anger and resentment with the “nice-guy” facade God sees the anger and resentment as well as the lie of the role we chose.
We put on an Italian suite and yet our skin crawls beneath the fine imported fabric. God sees the dirt we are hiding inside. Our fears are realized. We are found out. We hid it from many but not God.
We ask how people are doing and pray they don’t really tell us. We have shallow conversations with “brothers and sisters” and grow uncomfortable when it gets real. We can talk about whatever; God knows how we feel and what we think.
Something I have recently learned is that God is not concerned with where I “serve” at the church. God is concerned, in order, with my relationship with Him, my wife, my kids and then my ministry.
But let’s take that a step farther. “Clean living before God and justice with our neighbors mean far more to God than religious performance.” So, in all the priorities above resides my ministry. It is in my walk with the Lord and my ministry to my family. That spills over to “clean living….and justice with our neighbors.”
How we truly live our lives day in and day out is our ministry. That is why God is most interested in that. What have we gained if we go to church every week and serve on the deacon board and yet treat our spouse with contempt, are intolerant of our children and gossip about those around us? We have gained nothing.
Verse 23 tells us, “He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.” (NIV) This, then, is our charge today and each day we live on this Earth. If we pursue righteousness instead of acting righteous we will find life.
The cool thing about God is that even if we have gotten that wrong every day up until today we can begin to change now.
Gods Speed,Greg
What I mean by that is acting religious. We’ve all witnessed artificial humility, service with ulterior motives and feigned piety. Yet none of this is Biblical. In fact, one could argue such behavior is what Jesus railed on the Pharisees about.
Verses 2-3: We justify our actions by appearances; God examines our motives. Clean living before God and justice with our neighbors mean far more to God than religious performance. (Message)
Many times we show up to church or some other religious function and we try to “look” right. We dress a certain way, we know Christian-ease, we talk to the right people in the right fashion and yet it is all meaningless. God knows our motives behind those actions.
If we are covering anger and resentment with the “nice-guy” facade God sees the anger and resentment as well as the lie of the role we chose.
We put on an Italian suite and yet our skin crawls beneath the fine imported fabric. God sees the dirt we are hiding inside. Our fears are realized. We are found out. We hid it from many but not God.
We ask how people are doing and pray they don’t really tell us. We have shallow conversations with “brothers and sisters” and grow uncomfortable when it gets real. We can talk about whatever; God knows how we feel and what we think.
Something I have recently learned is that God is not concerned with where I “serve” at the church. God is concerned, in order, with my relationship with Him, my wife, my kids and then my ministry.
But let’s take that a step farther. “Clean living before God and justice with our neighbors mean far more to God than religious performance.” So, in all the priorities above resides my ministry. It is in my walk with the Lord and my ministry to my family. That spills over to “clean living….and justice with our neighbors.”
How we truly live our lives day in and day out is our ministry. That is why God is most interested in that. What have we gained if we go to church every week and serve on the deacon board and yet treat our spouse with contempt, are intolerant of our children and gossip about those around us? We have gained nothing.
Verse 23 tells us, “He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.” (NIV) This, then, is our charge today and each day we live on this Earth. If we pursue righteousness instead of acting righteous we will find life.
The cool thing about God is that even if we have gotten that wrong every day up until today we can begin to change now.
Gods Speed,Greg
Monday, August 20, 2007
Proverbs 19
Today I want to key on two verses.
Verse 2: It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way. (NIV)
This made me think of when I was first saved. It was like a buzz. Actually, there is a set of addiction characteristics about religion but that, perhaps, is for another time. When I first got saved it was as if a large stone was lifted off of my shoulders. I felt peace and excited and nervous...I was on top of the world. That is the most vulnerable time for a new believer. Why?
Because the buzz wears off. The Bible doesn't promise a peachy-keen life full of happiness and no worries after we accept Christ. If anything the opposite is true. Life will get tougher as we try to live the lessons taught by Jesus...not easier. And the Bible does guarantee that.
So, the knowledge comes from reading the Bible, meditating on what you read and asking the Holy Spirit to come in you and give you discernment to draw every morsel from God's wisdom. Keep in mind all in the sentence above. It's not just reading. It takes quiet time alone with God to really hear the message of His Word. Oh, how long it took me to get that! I was full of head knowledge and read much scripture and many books without the quiet reflection. The reason is simple. Fear. See, the Bible tells us to examine our ways. In the quiet reflection and meditation time the doors hidden in the depths of our souls are flung open. I wasn't ready to deal with the hurt, sin and pain from my past life. It's still tough but it is a necessary process.
The other verse goes right along...actually follows verse two in number and thought.
Verse 3: People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord. (NLT)
Boy, I resemble that remark! I got saved. I had zeal. I lacked knowledge. I was hasty in gaining knowledge and missed the point. I made foolish mistakes. I blamed God.
I can laugh about it now but at the time I really thought it was God's fault. He told me the route to take and gave me a map. I went the other direction, fell in a home and blamed God!
I sometimes picture God looking down on me at those times and saying, "C'mon! Are you serious?"
Today I am working to not only have zeal, but measured zeal. To take both the knowledge in and the time to digest it. And, most importantly, when I do make a bad step based on my own foolishness, to not blame God.
This is the key to my peace. Truth, passion, self-actualization, ownership, grace.
Gods Speed,
Greg
Verse 2: It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way. (NIV)
This made me think of when I was first saved. It was like a buzz. Actually, there is a set of addiction characteristics about religion but that, perhaps, is for another time. When I first got saved it was as if a large stone was lifted off of my shoulders. I felt peace and excited and nervous...I was on top of the world. That is the most vulnerable time for a new believer. Why?
Because the buzz wears off. The Bible doesn't promise a peachy-keen life full of happiness and no worries after we accept Christ. If anything the opposite is true. Life will get tougher as we try to live the lessons taught by Jesus...not easier. And the Bible does guarantee that.
So, the knowledge comes from reading the Bible, meditating on what you read and asking the Holy Spirit to come in you and give you discernment to draw every morsel from God's wisdom. Keep in mind all in the sentence above. It's not just reading. It takes quiet time alone with God to really hear the message of His Word. Oh, how long it took me to get that! I was full of head knowledge and read much scripture and many books without the quiet reflection. The reason is simple. Fear. See, the Bible tells us to examine our ways. In the quiet reflection and meditation time the doors hidden in the depths of our souls are flung open. I wasn't ready to deal with the hurt, sin and pain from my past life. It's still tough but it is a necessary process.
The other verse goes right along...actually follows verse two in number and thought.
Verse 3: People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord. (NLT)
Boy, I resemble that remark! I got saved. I had zeal. I lacked knowledge. I was hasty in gaining knowledge and missed the point. I made foolish mistakes. I blamed God.
I can laugh about it now but at the time I really thought it was God's fault. He told me the route to take and gave me a map. I went the other direction, fell in a home and blamed God!
I sometimes picture God looking down on me at those times and saying, "C'mon! Are you serious?"
Today I am working to not only have zeal, but measured zeal. To take both the knowledge in and the time to digest it. And, most importantly, when I do make a bad step based on my own foolishness, to not blame God.
This is the key to my peace. Truth, passion, self-actualization, ownership, grace.
Gods Speed,
Greg
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Proverbs 18
There are two verses I want to key on from Chapter 18 today. One is verse nine. It reads:
"One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys." (NIV)
I know I have been convicted by this verse. The term work can apply to anything. It is not limited to a job. Remember the Bible cannot be viewed with such a narrow scope. So, what is one's work?
Sure there's the job. Later in the Bible we are encouraged to work as unto the Lord. Commitment is very important here. Be slack here and your company could crumble...no matter what your position.
Then there is work at home. If you are the keeper of the home this is your "work". Anyone question how important the work of the stay-at-home parent is? I spend more time away from home during the week than I do at home but the time I spend there can be made the best hours of my day by my wife.
How about being a parent? It's a job. Probably the most important one any of us will hold. Being slack as a parent can destroy a young life and we've all seen it. Disengaged parents destroy their children. Look in any prison around the country and you will find the vast majority of inmates are the product of slack fathers...or absent...which is slack.
Then there's the work of Believers. This work involves serving others with whatever gifts God has given us. As a good friend of mine said, it does not involve everyone "converting" the unsaved...not directly anyway. See, we bring people to Christ by living His example; not by beating folks over the head with Christ's words.
This is why I am more and more aware of the need to live the life God planned for me. Each day I realize that the events of that day are all relevant...all important. And that each event presents an opportunity to learn, teach and work.
The last verse I want to talk about today is verse 24.
"A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." (NIV)
Anyone care to guess who the "friend" is that sticks closer than a brother? I gotta go with Jesus on this one. See, Solomon covers a lot of things in this chapter but it all comes down to someone that sticks closer than any brother.
I read that as I consider my "work" this day and I realize that I have help in my work. That help is my brother. He tells me I will share in his inheritance. Shortly before he left he said he was "going to prepare a place for me." I can do all the work set before me today and more because of who's on my side.
Gods Speed,Greg
"One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys." (NIV)
I know I have been convicted by this verse. The term work can apply to anything. It is not limited to a job. Remember the Bible cannot be viewed with such a narrow scope. So, what is one's work?
Sure there's the job. Later in the Bible we are encouraged to work as unto the Lord. Commitment is very important here. Be slack here and your company could crumble...no matter what your position.
Then there is work at home. If you are the keeper of the home this is your "work". Anyone question how important the work of the stay-at-home parent is? I spend more time away from home during the week than I do at home but the time I spend there can be made the best hours of my day by my wife.
How about being a parent? It's a job. Probably the most important one any of us will hold. Being slack as a parent can destroy a young life and we've all seen it. Disengaged parents destroy their children. Look in any prison around the country and you will find the vast majority of inmates are the product of slack fathers...or absent...which is slack.
Then there's the work of Believers. This work involves serving others with whatever gifts God has given us. As a good friend of mine said, it does not involve everyone "converting" the unsaved...not directly anyway. See, we bring people to Christ by living His example; not by beating folks over the head with Christ's words.
This is why I am more and more aware of the need to live the life God planned for me. Each day I realize that the events of that day are all relevant...all important. And that each event presents an opportunity to learn, teach and work.
The last verse I want to talk about today is verse 24.
"A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." (NIV)
Anyone care to guess who the "friend" is that sticks closer than a brother? I gotta go with Jesus on this one. See, Solomon covers a lot of things in this chapter but it all comes down to someone that sticks closer than any brother.
I read that as I consider my "work" this day and I realize that I have help in my work. That help is my brother. He tells me I will share in his inheritance. Shortly before he left he said he was "going to prepare a place for me." I can do all the work set before me today and more because of who's on my side.
Gods Speed,Greg
Friday, August 17, 2007
Proverbs 17
Verse 1: Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.
First time I read this verse I thought about a much more personal "house". Around a year ago I read it with the thought of a "church home" in mind.
After last night that verse speaks to me in a much deeper, all-encompassing way. You see, our house is America and we have been feasting with strife for decades now. Literally for years we have been living at a standard of living based on credit lines. starting in the 1970s our manufacturing base began to shrink to the point where today it looks like the top worn by our Baby Huey of an economy. Desperately trying to cover our ever-bulging mid section of overindulgence.
I have been reading Thomas Jefferson's "Notes on Virginia" and I can't help but wonder how his vision for America would have worked out. A society of farm families and small communities with the Federal Government providing only the most basic of civil needs. That may be a dry crust of bread but it beats the tar out of the feast before us now.
Our mortgage system is toast...kind of. See, all of these cheap track homes that have exploded onto the sceen like vinyl shanties were sold to people using "creative financing" which means they can't afford them but the banks are going to give 'em the keys anyway.
This led to those same people loosing the homes they couldn't afford anyway. This is what happened to us a few years ago. So, few are building today and the mortgage companies are flaking out because they have goten a lot of houses back and have no where to selll them.
Add to that the fact that we make very little in way of products in this country today and you can see we have a problem. Our economy has no base...none. This gets worse folks. I am a sales rep in the building industry and I can tell you it's going to get worse. This is the house we live in.
Throw in the strife in our collective house now. Watch political talking heads. The Left or Right, Democrats or Republicans...doesn't matter. They are both full of the same hateful rhetoric. But the talk stirrs up hate for one another...it brings strife. It also serves as a distraction. Our government started doing this with the Irish and the, black slaves some 300 years ago...divide and conquer.
I say we all sit down over a crust of bread and a cup of water.
Gods Speed,Greg
First time I read this verse I thought about a much more personal "house". Around a year ago I read it with the thought of a "church home" in mind.
After last night that verse speaks to me in a much deeper, all-encompassing way. You see, our house is America and we have been feasting with strife for decades now. Literally for years we have been living at a standard of living based on credit lines. starting in the 1970s our manufacturing base began to shrink to the point where today it looks like the top worn by our Baby Huey of an economy. Desperately trying to cover our ever-bulging mid section of overindulgence.
I have been reading Thomas Jefferson's "Notes on Virginia" and I can't help but wonder how his vision for America would have worked out. A society of farm families and small communities with the Federal Government providing only the most basic of civil needs. That may be a dry crust of bread but it beats the tar out of the feast before us now.
Our mortgage system is toast...kind of. See, all of these cheap track homes that have exploded onto the sceen like vinyl shanties were sold to people using "creative financing" which means they can't afford them but the banks are going to give 'em the keys anyway.
This led to those same people loosing the homes they couldn't afford anyway. This is what happened to us a few years ago. So, few are building today and the mortgage companies are flaking out because they have goten a lot of houses back and have no where to selll them.
Add to that the fact that we make very little in way of products in this country today and you can see we have a problem. Our economy has no base...none. This gets worse folks. I am a sales rep in the building industry and I can tell you it's going to get worse. This is the house we live in.
Throw in the strife in our collective house now. Watch political talking heads. The Left or Right, Democrats or Republicans...doesn't matter. They are both full of the same hateful rhetoric. But the talk stirrs up hate for one another...it brings strife. It also serves as a distraction. Our government started doing this with the Irish and the, black slaves some 300 years ago...divide and conquer.
I say we all sit down over a crust of bread and a cup of water.
Gods Speed,Greg
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Proverbs 15
Verse 1: A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare. (NLT)
Is this true for you? It is for me. I used to believe, in my arrogance, that if I spoke the truth in whatever form it was not my responsibility to worry about how the other person took it. Look at the above verse. A gentle answer or harsh words can be the exact same thought. At the right time and in the right place an anger deflector but the wrong time and place the same thought spoken can make tempers flare.
In fact, this entire chapter blows my theory right out of the water ..smokes it.
The Message translation puts verse 2 this way: Knowledge flows like spring water from the wise; fools are leaky faucets, dripping nonsense.
Oh how many times have I been the leaky faucet! I have alienated friends, family, my children at times...
See, it is the way you express the truth you have to communicate and when you choose to let it out. Part of it for me when I was younger was keeping people at bay. I was given the gift of discernment (not of spelling) and with any gift God gives us comes responsibility. It was easier to focus my knowledge and discernment on others so as to take the focus off of me.
A few months ago a friend and I had the opportunity to engage in a conversation with an atheist...a drunk atheist at that. The subject of religion came up. 20 minutes later we were arguing with this drunk atheist about God.
What could have been an opportunity to plant a seed in this young man turned into a Savior Brawl. Not good. And that's a great example of having the truth but not sharing it at the right time and the right way. All we did was show us to be what he thought of Christians anyway.
Verse 23: Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time! (NLT)
That night I didn't know that joy of a fitting reply at the right time.
Verse 28: The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil. (NIV)
Think before you speak is the phrase that comes to mind. And it is true and something I practice more and more every day. I mean just look at verse 31: He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise. (NIV)
Join me today as we strive together to be more at peace with rebuke, quick to listen and slow to talk. After all, a person who listens more than they talk possesses a humble heart...ready to be taught.
As the chapter closes with "Fear-of-God is a school in skilled living— first you learn humility, then you experience glory" (Message)
The atheist from earlier would have been spoken too via my listening and my Christ-like heart and actions than he was by my mouth.
If I go through each day with the ever-present realization that I have much more to learn than I have to teach then I have learned humility.
Gods Speed,
Greg
Is this true for you? It is for me. I used to believe, in my arrogance, that if I spoke the truth in whatever form it was not my responsibility to worry about how the other person took it. Look at the above verse. A gentle answer or harsh words can be the exact same thought. At the right time and in the right place an anger deflector but the wrong time and place the same thought spoken can make tempers flare.
In fact, this entire chapter blows my theory right out of the water ..smokes it.
The Message translation puts verse 2 this way: Knowledge flows like spring water from the wise; fools are leaky faucets, dripping nonsense.
Oh how many times have I been the leaky faucet! I have alienated friends, family, my children at times...
See, it is the way you express the truth you have to communicate and when you choose to let it out. Part of it for me when I was younger was keeping people at bay. I was given the gift of discernment (not of spelling) and with any gift God gives us comes responsibility. It was easier to focus my knowledge and discernment on others so as to take the focus off of me.
A few months ago a friend and I had the opportunity to engage in a conversation with an atheist...a drunk atheist at that. The subject of religion came up. 20 minutes later we were arguing with this drunk atheist about God.
What could have been an opportunity to plant a seed in this young man turned into a Savior Brawl. Not good. And that's a great example of having the truth but not sharing it at the right time and the right way. All we did was show us to be what he thought of Christians anyway.
Verse 23: Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time! (NLT)
That night I didn't know that joy of a fitting reply at the right time.
Verse 28: The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil. (NIV)
Think before you speak is the phrase that comes to mind. And it is true and something I practice more and more every day. I mean just look at verse 31: He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise. (NIV)
Join me today as we strive together to be more at peace with rebuke, quick to listen and slow to talk. After all, a person who listens more than they talk possesses a humble heart...ready to be taught.
As the chapter closes with "Fear-of-God is a school in skilled living— first you learn humility, then you experience glory" (Message)
The atheist from earlier would have been spoken too via my listening and my Christ-like heart and actions than he was by my mouth.
If I go through each day with the ever-present realization that I have much more to learn than I have to teach then I have learned humility.
Gods Speed,
Greg
Proverbs 16
Not to dig right in but...
Verse 2: Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; God probes for what is good. (Message)
Reading this I really felt The Message translation spoke to me. The GMT (Greg Mayo Translation) would go something like "You may think it's a good idea but God knows better."
This is supported by the next two verses which tells us that we should commit everything to the Lord and it will be fine because God has made everything for His own purpose.
So, verses 2-4 are three ideas that support each other and are intertwined together. I may think something is a good idea but God alone knows for sure. OK, so if I commit what I am doing to God and seek His wisdom on the subject then it will work out because God has made everything for His own purpose.
For many of us this is a daily lesson. I often think I should staple it to my visor in my truck. As I have mentioned before I worry about things. I am much better than I ever have been and continue to grow every day in that area. But those three verses say to me that if I follow God's plan it will be OK...no matter if I get it just now or not. That's comfort.
Finally in verse 33 we read: We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall. (NLT)
I breathe deep.In my mind I am leaning against a Sycamore on the banks of a river as the sun sets in mid October. The bill of my hat over my eyes. The sound of the water dancing over the rocks and the wind through the kaleidoscopic leaves are the only sounds. That's the kind of Peace I feel when I am conscious of the fact that God is in control..and that God has my best intentions at heart.
Gods Speed,Greg
Verse 2: Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; God probes for what is good. (Message)
Reading this I really felt The Message translation spoke to me. The GMT (Greg Mayo Translation) would go something like "You may think it's a good idea but God knows better."
This is supported by the next two verses which tells us that we should commit everything to the Lord and it will be fine because God has made everything for His own purpose.
So, verses 2-4 are three ideas that support each other and are intertwined together. I may think something is a good idea but God alone knows for sure. OK, so if I commit what I am doing to God and seek His wisdom on the subject then it will work out because God has made everything for His own purpose.
For many of us this is a daily lesson. I often think I should staple it to my visor in my truck. As I have mentioned before I worry about things. I am much better than I ever have been and continue to grow every day in that area. But those three verses say to me that if I follow God's plan it will be OK...no matter if I get it just now or not. That's comfort.
Finally in verse 33 we read: We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall. (NLT)
I breathe deep.In my mind I am leaning against a Sycamore on the banks of a river as the sun sets in mid October. The bill of my hat over my eyes. The sound of the water dancing over the rocks and the wind through the kaleidoscopic leaves are the only sounds. That's the kind of Peace I feel when I am conscious of the fact that God is in control..and that God has my best intentions at heart.
Gods Speed,Greg
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