Reflections From The Proverbs: Wisdom Ignored

Wisdom Ignored

Proverbs Chapter 1
24. But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand,
25. Since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke,
26. I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you–
27. When calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
28. Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me.
29. Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord.
30. Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke,
31. They will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
We discussed earlier the wonderful reward available to us when we have a reverent acknowledgment of the sovereignty of God. Today we will look at the results when wisdom is rejected and godly advise is ignored.
These verses don’t say if your life becomes a disaster or if calamity overtakes you, or if disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind. It says when calamity overtakes you and when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, and when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
These things are guaranteed to happen apart from the leadership of God. God knows where all the land mines are. He can guide you around them. On our own we will probably hit every one.
Difficulties come even in the lives of those who are following the leadership of God. He allows these times to be times of teaching and growing. But going through difficult times with a strong hand to hold is better than going through difficult times all on your own.
God tells us the outcome of following our own way instead of his way. And, when we follow our own way and arrive at the for-warned outcome of calamity God finds it laughable that we are surprised and overwhelmed,. He is not heartless, it is just that truth will be so obvious. And he reminds us that He is not found in the midst of disobedience. We have a choice. We can choose to fear the Lord, or we can choose to not fear the Lord. Our choice will affect our life with either reward or with calamity.
The New Testament says you will reap what you sow. These Old Testament verses say you will eat the fruit of your ways. There is a law here that will not be interrupted. If you plant corn, corn is the only thing that can come up. No matter how badly you want peas, the corn will only produce corn. The fruit of our ways will bear fruit after the likeness of our ways. No matter how we wish the outcome were different.
The good news from these sad verses is this. We do have a choice. Joshua 24:14-15 says: "Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
We have a choice. It is my prayer that we will be a nation of people choosing the wise leadership of a wise and loving God.

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.