Refections From The Proverbs: Whatever It Takes

Whatever It Takes

Proverbs Chapter Three:
11. My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke,
12. Because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

God has a way of making things uncomfortable when we begin to go in a wrong direction. The farther we stray away from him, the more uncomfortable He will make things. God wants us to come toward him. He wants us to follow his guidelines because they are good for us.

Ezekiel chapter 5 tells of a time that God got so fed up with his "children" in Jerusalem going in the wrong direction that he told Ezekiel, Verse 8 "Tell them this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations. Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again." NIV

It makes God angry when men run to other sources instead of running to him. In this instance God’s discipline was severe. He told Jerusalem, "I myself will withdraw my favor; I will not look on you with pity or spare you. A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds and pursue with drawn sword. Then my anger will cease and my wrath against them will subside and I will be avenged."

Why does it take hard circumstances to drive us to a loving God who wants to lead us to good places? It is no wonder that our straying makes God angry. The sources that we run to, the idols in our lives have no power. They are empty and worthless.

When God enacts discipline toward us it is a very real indication that he loves us very much. There is no better place to be than in the center of God’s will. There you will find the peace that passes understanding, you will find joy in the midst of pain and you will find a strength that nothing else can give.

When God looks at what he has to offer you and he sees you run away from it, it only makes sense that he will act to woo you back gently or forcefully, whatever it takes.

I think we have come to view God as something of a pushover who will understand and excuse our meanderings. But, do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the spirit will reap eternal life. Gal6:7-8

How important do you think eternal life is to God? Important enough that he would dole out some discipline to bring his children into the spiritual place they need to be.

It is later in the book of Ezekiel that we find these words: I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak......I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.

In the midst of discipline he does not leave us hopeless. He beckons us to himself. In all things he is beckoning us to himself.

Father, help us to be children that require only gentle nudging to bring us back to your leading.

Reflections From The Proverbs: The First, The Best

The First, The Best

Proverbs Chapter Three:

9. Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first-fruits of all your crops;
10. Then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

King Solomon is passing on a wise teaching that began way back when God spoke to Moses in the wilderness. God said "Tell the Israelites this:"—then he goes on to say many things about many topics. He covered everything from personal injury cases to holidays. Included in this message from God to the Israelites was this directive: "Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. You must give me the firstborn of your sons. Do the same with your cattle and your sheep. This is found in Exodus 22:29. In Exodus 23:19 it says: Bring the best of the first-fruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.

God gave us his best. His first and his best. He gave us his first born son, his only son. He wants us to give back our best. 1Corinthians 15:20 says: But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

When you plant a seed into the ground, it dies. Then by the miracle contained within it, resurrection happens and life bursts forth up out of the ground. Every crop that grows can be a picture of the resurrection. God made a big issue of the first-fruits. He even promised rewards for being mindful of his request to honor him with the first-fruits. God’s directives regarding first-fruits is a picture of what he planned to do by sending his son.

Life in the 21st century is vastly different from life in the days of Solomon or Moses. I don’t have any fields with crops growing, or vats of wine. I don’t have any cattle or sheep to give the firstborn from. Now that I have the full picture of what God has done for mankind in sending us His first-fruits, how do I give back what will honor Him?

In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–This is your spiritual act of worship. Rom.12:1 NIV

I can honor him by giving him me. I can honor him by giving him my time. Starting my day communing with him is giving him the first, the best part of my day. I can give a tithe back to Him from the increase of my labors. The words I write can honor him.

If God promises reward for honoring him with our first-fruits what do 21st century rewards look like?

Jesus said, "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. Luke 6:38

Give time, someone will find time for you. Give understanding, someone will have an understanding ear at your time of need. Give kindness, kindness will be shown to you. My barns will be filled with what I am willing to give.

Father God, help us to have generous hearts willing to give back to you the first-fruits of our lives. Help us to give to others with good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.

Reflections From The Proverbs: Spiritual Umbilical Cord

Spiritual umbilical cord

Proverbs Chapter Three:
7. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.
8. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. NIV
These verses in the KJV read like this:7. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
8. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. KJV

The word translated "navel" in the KJV and "body" in the NIV is the word "shor" and means umbilical cord, and figuratively it means the center of strength. And the word "marrow" in the KJV and "nourishment" in the NIV is the word "shiqquwy" it means beverage; moisture or refreshment. At other places this word is interpreted drink.

Picture in your mind, an unborn baby with the umbilical cord transporting all the life giving nourishment that the baby needs to grow and survive. There is, however, something important to remember about that umbilical cord. It is not producing the nourishment it is only transporting it. At the end of the umbilical cord is a placenta that is attached to the mother. The life giving nourishment is coming from the mother.

"It" shall be health and nourishment, moisture, refreshment and drink coming through a spiritual umbilical cord. What is the "It" that this spiritual umbilical cord is attached to?

"It" has three parts:

1. To not be wise in your own eyes.

2.To fear the Lord.

3. To shun evil.

How do you see yourself? Do you handle everything without God’s input? Are your ideas and ways adequate? If so you may be a little too wise in your own eyes. Over and over God emphasizes to us the huge difference between Him and us. He wants us to be in fear or reverent awe of His untouchable excellence, His power, His majesty. It is because of His limitless compassion that he says Let me lead. He knows full well that He is the one qualified to lead. We need to recognize where true wisdom lies.

If we seek wisdom from wisdom’s source and not from our own selves, God will pour into us strength and health, nourishment and refreshing drink.

There is another scripture that says something very similar. It is found in John 15:5-7 I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

Without that connection to the true vine, to the source of true wisdom, we will wither. It will be as if we are without nourishment. The amazing thing is that it is out of His immense love that He desires to nourish us.

Dear Father, help us to always recognize that you are wise and worthy of our fearful awe and respect for the magnitude of your wisdom. Help us forfeit the leadership role to you so that our faith will be like an umbilical cord bringing health and nourishment.

Reflections From the Proverbs: Worshiping With Trust

Worshiping with trust

Proverbs Chapter Three:
5. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. NIV

God tells us in Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you declares the Lord, and will bring you back from captivity. NIV

Finding God is a heart search not a mind search. Common sense tells us that it took supreme intelligence to create the complex universe we live in and the earth that we live on. This supremely intelligent creator God tells us that we can have a relationship with Him and it comes by finding Him with our heart.

Trust is also a heart thing. These verses tell us to trust the Lord with all our heart and to not depend on our own ability to comprehend things. Our abilities to understand are very limited. while God’s understand is complete and perfect. The message is, let God be God.

We want to run our lives. We even want to run other peoples lives. God says "Let me have the reigns, let me do the leading. I know what tomorrow is going to be like. I know what will make you ready for the things of tomorrow. I know what will bring true joy in your life. You think you know what will bring fulfillment, but you don’t know all the things I know. There are things your mind can’t even comprehend that I can bring into your life if you let me lead."

Trusting the Lord with everything is a form of worship. It is a form of worship that He rightly deserves. It is saying, " I know who you are and who I am in comparison. I honor who you are by letting you lead. I bend my will to your will acknowledging that you are worthy of this manner of worship."

How many blessings have we missed because we were on roads of our own choosing instead of the path God would lead us on. His love is so relentless. He pursues us. He continually beckons us back toward his leadership, to the path of his choosing. Life seems to be a continually meandering back and forth across his chosen path slowly learning how to stay on it more and more. It is finding that it is on his chosen path that the blessing fall. Some learn more quickly than others that being where the blessings are is the wiser choice.

The verse says in all your ways. In the way that you relate to your spouse, in the way that you relate to your children and grandchildren, in the way that you are a friend, an employee or employer, in the way you do ministry. In the way that you are a neighbor. In the way that you use time and resources. In all your ways, if you acknowledge him as Lord, he will give trustworthy direction.

Dear Father, you are certainly worthy of our trust. We acknowledge the greatness of who you are. Please increase our faith to trust you in all our ways. Help us to find the blessings you have marked out for us on the paths of your choosing.

Reflections From The Proverbs: Consistently Caring, Forever Faithful

Consistently Caring, Forever Faithful

Proverbs Chapter Three:
3. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
4. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. NIV

I am what I would call a word person. I have always been a word person. I can get pretty excited about how words fit together shedding color and feel and intensity. In comparison, my husband can be watching a sporting event and see a play that to him is just a beautiful thing, bringing strength and skill together to culminate in a goal. Others must get the same thrill because it is then replayed over and over from every imaginable angle to derive every bit of thrill from it. That is how I feel about words, and discovering the perfect word to convey a thought or feeling or message.

This is how I feel about the word "bind".These verses say to take love and faithfulness and bind them around your neck. Let me first say that it isn’t telling us to make necklaces out of them to hang around our neck like trinkets for ornamental value. Although adorning oneself with love and faithfulness is a beautiful thing.

The word bind is a wonderful word. It is translated here from the Hebrew word "qashar" The words used to translate this particular word are, "to bind up", "to join together", "to knit", "stronger", and "work".

Love and faithfulness are to become a part of our being. Joined together as part of our character. Knitted into the fabric of who we are, worked into us. When we do this we become stronger.

This same word is found in Nehemiah 4:6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof; for the people had a mind to work. KJV

It is also found in I Samuel 18:1 regarding the friendship of David and Jonathan, And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. KJV

Returning to our verses in Proverbs, they goes on to further emphasize the importance of these two qualities, it says write them on the tablet of your heart. Notice it doesn’t say put them in your memory. This is about what really matters to you, what you really care about. It is about heart things.
Do you want to make a good impression before men, and even before God? Become a person of mercy and trustworthiness. A man or woman with the attributes of loving mercy and continual trustworthiness knitted into the fabric of their character will be a person who will be looked upon with admiration. This person will also receive God’s favor.

God is a God of love and faithfulness. When we bind these to our being and imprint them on our hearts, we become more like God.

"Dear Father, help us to make these two qualities of love and faithfulness part of who we are. Help us to become more like you."

Reflections From The Proverbs: If You ___ It, They Will Come

If You______It, They Will Come

Proverbs Chapter Three:
1. My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,
2. For they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. NIV

We all know the fill in the blank above. From the movie "Field of Dreams" If you build it they will come. Here the fill in the blank is If you keep it they will come. The word "keep" here is the word (natsar) in the Hebrew. The meaning goes further than to store the commands in our hearts. It also means to guard, protect and maintain them. God knows how weak and feeble we are. He knows that His teachings need to be refreshed daily. He knows that there needs to be a daily renewal of relationship with Him. In the movie, if you build the stadium, the people will come. Here the message is if you keep God’s teachings and commands in your heart, prolonged life and prosperity will come.

This refers to much more than the ten commandments given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. God has given us much teaching about who He is, about who we are to Him, about the plans He has for us. He could be telling us I want you to love everything about me. Keep me in your heart. Keep all that I am and all that I care about in your heart. Love what I love, hate what I hate, respond the way I would respond. When you live your life in this manner your life and days will be enriched.

It might be easy to think that doesn’t really pan out when we remember that most of the prophets of God were not treated so well, and neither were the disciples and early Christians. How does long life and prosperity fit together with these saints who became martyrs keeping the teachings of God in their hearts.

The words of Jesus might shed some light on this. In Matthew 6:19-21 he says: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."NIV

We need to remember that we are eternal souls living in temporary bodies. I believe that the verses above can mean that even in this life length of days and prosperity come to us from wise choices and godly living. But we must understand that this life we are living is like the cartoon snippet that precedes the main attraction. Our eternal destiny is the main attraction. This snippet of time that we are allotted sets the course for our eternity. We are given choices that determine our eternal destiny.

Precious are the teachings of God. Keep them, guard them, treasure them in your heart for they will bring life and prosperity. Maintain them with daily attention. It is interesting to note that if you are reading this, that is what you are doing. May God bless you richly as you keep His teachings in your heart.

Reflections From The Proverbs: Harsh Words

Harsh Words

Proverbs Chapter Two:
20. Thus you will walk in the ways of good men and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21. For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it:
22. But the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be torn from it.

So often in scripture we see two paths set before us and are given the opportunity to choose which path we will take. We are even told the consequences of each possible choice. The words to those who chose paths away from obedience can seem so harsh. We like to keep our focus on His love and forgiveness.

A while back we had a Sunday School lesson that brought this to light. It was from the book of Ezra. Ezra, one of the minor prophets, was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses. God was with him because he had devoted himself to the study and observance of the law, and to teaching it’s decrees and laws in Israel. In other words, he was obedient.

The actual lesson was about leaders, and it centered around how God used King Artaxerxes, (not a worshiper of the one true God) to accomplish the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, and how the people rallied around the godly leader Ezra. I found my interest increase as the lesson continued.

When Ezra got to Jerusalem he learned that the people of Israel had not kept themselves separate from the surrounding people as they had been told to do. These surrounding people were people who had detestable practices. The people of Israel had intermarried with these people. This intermarrying resulted in the acceptance of the worship of other gods.

Ezra was devastated at the news, he tore his clothing and pulled his hair. He prayed, O My God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens. While Ezra wept and prayed throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites gathered around him. They too wept bitterly.

Then a man named Shecaniah made a suggestion. Now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and their children. His suggestion was taken and that is what was done. All the foreign women and the children born to them were sent away.

I have to admit that I had mixed feelings about this. It didn’t feel good. Mentally picturing these young women and children being torn from their home their husbands and fathers. It just didn’t feel good. The result of sin never feels good.
We are so quick to absorb the wondrous love from a God who would send His own son to die for us. But we are slow to remember that our God is holy and without compromise when it comes to sin. We want the consequences of sin to disappear, but they don’t. Sin has always hurt people and it still does, and it always will. Yes God forgives, but the fallout of sin still affects those around us. Oh God help us to be a people with obedient hearts willing to follow your wisdom. Help us to understand the ramifications of our choices and how they will affect our families.