Reconciled

Wisdom and Reconciliation

I guess the central theme of my thoughts looking forward into 2009 have revolved around the topic of wisdom and grasping the truth that Jesus Christ is God's wisdom for us. A secondary topic that stays in my heart is the topic of reconciliation. As a nation there are so many areas in which we are broken and disconnected. Government is broken, the economy is broken, homes and families are broken. Even in our churches there is a brokeness and a profound need for reconciliation.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. and he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5: 17-19 NIV

Wanted: Ministers of reconciliation. Apply within.
Every church should be running this want ad in their bulletin. Those of us who have become children of God, appreciate this wonderful reconciliation that reconnects us to God. We are not, however, according to some statistics, as excited about reconciliation with each other. According to the Barna Group, from 1991 to 2004 there was a 92% increase in the number of unchurched Americans. In 2006 statistics showed that 44% of unchurched persons claim they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today. These statistics would indicate that a good number of these unchurched people are people who have probably been in church at one time.
In Matthew 5:23-24 Jesus tells his disciples "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you. Leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift." NIV

God says, "If you are at odds with a brother, don't bring me anything. There is something more important to me than your gift. It is more important to me that you be reconciled with your brother."

Maybe it would be better if we would bring our tithe to the altar instead of dropping it into a plate that passes by, or like me, doing an online transfer once a month sending my tithe to the church.

At the altar a person is more apt to think about his issues. At the altar we are reminded of things that need to be attended to. Attending to reconciliation is important to God.

In 40 plus years of churchgoing, I have often seen believers who were somehow wounded in their spirits, became disheartened with the church and either moved on to another church family or joined the ranks of the unchurched. Sometimes calls were made, or cards were sent, but for the most part very little effort was made to keep the church family in tact. And, never have I seen a reconciliation ministry within a church whose sole purpose was to restore unity between church family members.

Scripture speaks so strongly about reconciliation. Maybe it is because the Holy Spirit requires unity to work. It is my concern that in order for this present generation to witness an awakening, we may have to get a handle on reconciliation.

The first step toward achieving regular active reconciliation in the church, (or anywhere,) is to acknowledge each person's worth, viewing each individual as God sees them. In 1 Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul compares the church to a physical body, emphasizing the value of each member. Verse 18 goes even further by reminding us that, in fact God has arranged the parts in the body every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. It is probably best that we not take this lightly. If, in fact, the big church puzzle that is being put together piece by piece is by God's design, we must work hard not to disrupt it. How very important it is for us to listen well to Paul's words regarding unity found in Ephesians 4:2-3, Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.NIV A disjointed, broken body is not able to accomplish what a body that is intact and un-fractured can.

Each person comes into the church family with both strengths and needs. the church should be a place for both to be discovered. Each person who leaves a church family leaves with their strengths that could have been used, and their needs that could have been ministered to. This loss should be recognized as loss. The ministers of reconciliation should be all about loss prevention.

The second step is more difficult. Step two involves examining the obstacles to reconciliation, obstacles such as pride, the desire for power, fear, or apathy. The cost is so great when there is no reconciliation, and the benefit is so great when there is. The sweetness of unity and the power that is unleashed is incredible and attainable. A church can become like a powerful magnet that draws and keeps the persons that God brings its way.

The potential of a church willing to search out the strengths and needs of each person that God places in their care is limitless, and the church that is willing to fight hard to resolve any and all conflicts understanding and conveying the great value of each individual will be blessed pressed down and running over.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Reflections From The Proverbs

Wisdom’s Reward
Proverb Chapter 1
20. Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares;
21. At the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech:
22. "How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?
23. If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you.

In these verses wisdom is given a personality and a voice to speak to us. She wants to be heard. She wants to be found. Wisdom does not hide from us. She makes herself available to us. We only have to open our ears to hear her. She points out that mankind seems to like a wisdom-less life. I think it could boil down to an attitude of "no one is going to tell me what to do." We are like toddlers demanding "I do it myself". It even reminds me of the words of Jesus that men like darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. People tend to want to be accountable only to themselves.
What powerful words are found in verse 23. If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you. We know that the wisdom-giver is God. We were told back in verse 7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline".
The word "fool" here refers to one who is deficient morally. Wisdom says, if you would not be a fool, if you would get off of your high horse of self importance and bend your knee to the authority and sovereignty of God I would pour my heart and mind into you. Wow!
Why do we find it so difficult to put God in his rightful place and put ourselves in our rightful place, especially when the rewards are so great. Why? Because it takes faith to give up control of our lives. Hebrews 11:6 says: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
We must believe that He exists, and that He is personally interested in us individually. He promises that if we seek him with our whole heart we will find him. Having the heart and mind of God poured into our life is a reward of priceless value. Don’t settle for a life without the blessing of wisdom poured into your life, a life without the heart and mind of God poured out into your life.
Ask God to help you keep Him in that place of sovereign authority. If you struggle with faith and trust issues, ask God to increase your faith. It is the desire of his heart for you to have a strong faith and trust in him. It is a prayer He will be glad to answer. It is the desire of his heart to pour out his heart and mind into you. I pray that we will be a nation of wisdom hungry people.

Reflections From The Proverbs: A Bird's Eye View

A Bird’s Eye View

Proverbs chapter 1
Verse 10. My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them.
Verse 11. If they say "come along with us; let’s lie in wait for someone’s blood, let’s waylay some harmless soul;
Verse 12. Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
Verse 13. We will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder;
Verse 14. Throw in your lot with us, and we will share a common purse"
Verse 15 my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths;
Verse 16. For their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shed blood.
Verse 17. How useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds!
Verse 18.These men lie in wait for their own blood; the waylay only themselves!
Verse 19. Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it.
It is almost easy to think that verses like these are unnecessary. Don’t people just know that it is not wise to cast their lot in with thugs, thieves, and those who would do harm to others? Not necessarily. These types of enticements will be camouflaged and will look more like "Hey you, want to have some REAL fun?" "Let’s see how brave you are." "If you want to be in with us, this is what you gotta do." People want and need to be a part of something. They need a place to fit in.
Most people know that it is not wise to play in a street with heavy traffic, but babies and small children don’t know that. There is something enticing about the street. Something that makes it look fun. They have to be taught, restrained, and disciplined for their own good. As they grow and learn they get new perspective of the dangers of the street. Then they choose on their own not to play in the street because they see the danger.
People can be spiritual babies not able to see the dangers around them. Those involved in mischief don’t wear shirts that announce "Beware of me I am a potential hazard. I’ll lead you astray." There is enticement in power and gain when the consequences are hidden. The goal of these verses is to make very clear the consequences. To give the bird a view of the net. If a bird sees a net it won’t go there.
The net is this; if you go after gain in ways that hurt people, or misuse people there will be a high price to pay. It will never bring the enjoyment you hope for.
God wants us to be able to see the nets around us. His deep love for us is the kind of love that will teach us, restrain us, and discipline us for our own good, just like a father keeping a toddler from a busy street. Instead of the famous line "show me the money" we should be crying out "show me the nets."

Reflections From The Proverbs: Teaching and Learning

Teaching and Learning

Proverbs Chapter 1
Verse 8. Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
Verse 9. They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.
On the heels of telling us that a reverent fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, Solomon goes immediately to the next important factor, parental instruction. The King James Version says: hear the instruction of thy father and forsake not the law of thy mother.. The word hear is the Hebrew word (shama), it means to hear intelligently with the implication of attention and obedience. The word instruction is the Hebrew word (muwcar), it means chastisement, reproof, warning or instruction. The word law is the Hebrew word (towrah) or (torah) this word denotes a precept or statute especially the Decalogue or Pentateuch.
This passage takes for granted that mothers were teaching their children the ways of godliness and that fathers were backing it up with discipline and reproof.
The flip side of this "obey your parents" coin is the not so subtle message to parents to be sure to teach the Word of God to your children. Do not depend on Sunday school teachers or youth directors or pastors, and do not leave them on their own to find God. It is the responsibility of parents to pass on to the next generation a knowledge of the Creator and how to have a relationship with him . There would be very few parents who don’t want the best for their children. I like how the New Living Translation words this section of scripture, it says: Listen, my child, to what your father teaches you. Don’t neglect your mother’s teaching. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and clothe you with honor.

In my mind, I can picture Olympic winners being adorned with wreaths on their heads and chains of gold around their necks.
The twofold message here is to teach well and to learn well. We might remember that we continue to both learn and teach as long as we live
I want to add one final note. Not everyone is blessed with parents who teach godly ways. You may be thinking, no way do I want to follow the ways of my parents. If this is your situation, ask God to place people in your life that you can look to and learn from. God wants you to have godly instruction and good examples. Ask Him to direct you to godly surrogates. It is God’s desire that we receive an ornament of grace unto our head and chains about our neck.

I pray that parents will will understand the great importance of passing the torch to the next generation.

Reflections From The Proverbs: Wisdom 101

 Wisdom 101

Proverbs Chapter 11. The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2. For attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight;
3. For acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair;
4. For giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young–
5. Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance–
6. For understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
If there was a "Hall Of Fame" for the wise, King Solomon, who authored a book to be used for gaining wisdom and self-discipline, would certainly be among the inductees. The wisdom Solomon writes about in the book of Proverbs, can lead the reader to a life adorned with righteousness. A book written for the old and wise as well as the young and unlearned. After stating the purpose of the book and telling who it is for, Solomon announces the first step to this wonderful life of wisdom. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline."
Solomon demonstrated that he had a reverent fear of God. When God came to him in a dream and said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you."
Solomon answered with respect in his words that showed he understood the servant/master role. He said, "You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. Now O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong."

He understood who he was and who God was. He did not refer to himself as "me or I" he referred to himself as "your servant". He was king over many people but he understood that God was King over all. He also knew that it mattered how well he did his job.
God was pleased with Solomon’s request for a discerning heart. He didn’t ask God for intellect, he ask for God to work in his heart. The job at hand, leading a people too numerous to count, was overwhelming to him. Solomon understood that he could only get a discerning heart from a discerning heart. It pleases God when we want our hearts to be like His.
Sometimes we too can feel overwhelmed by the job at hand, by the needs of our little kingdoms, or the responsibilities of our callings. Marvelous change would come if leaders, and parents, and teachers, and pastors, and neighbors would pray for discerning hearts filled with compassion and fairness.

I pray for an outpouring of a hunger and thirst for the wisdom of God in this new year.