Words Start With Thoughts

“The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words.” (Pr 15:26 AV)

 Note here that thoughts and words are inescapably tied together.  It may seem like a common-sense statement, but one cannot speak words that are not first thought of.  Note also it is the thoughts that produce the words which the LORD considers and abomination.  It is suggested the words of the pure are pleasant because the thought life of the pure is pure.  This whole challenge that our great nation is experiencing has done me some good.  In the sense that it has caused me to think much deeper about what I am about to say before I say it.  This situation has caused me to examine my own heart and bring under the microscope my own feelings before a statement or position is expounded.  It has caused me to more thoroughly examine the recesses of my heart to see where I might need some conforming to the heart of my Savior.  Our Savior.

Many things are said in haste that does not necessarily reflect the truth.  What those stated things do accomplish is the reveal what is truly on our hearts.  I cannot explain it, but through all this spring and early summer, the LORD has given me a great peace where peace shouldn’t be.  He has not allowed my heart to be taken away with fear and anxiety, angst or agitation, misery or distress.  We are living in a world that has been turned upside down.  When this happens, opinions fly.  The fly too quickly without any investigation or research.  We are entering a presidential election year and the commercials have already started.  The amount of misinformation is astounding.  Words mean things.  Words have an effect.  They are powerful and can sway the events of a nation.  But I digress.  Let us come back to the point of the proverb.  A thought life.  Before we say something, we need to examine the truth of what we are about to say; investigate if we are well informed enough to make such a statement; and, what our motive might be is saying what we are about to say.

This time of trials has had a profound and growing experience for me.  The LORD is doing wonders in my heart.  Wonders for which I am truly grateful.  The examination has not been an easy one.  Many of the opinions I held have stayed true.  But the motive is the problem.  My spirit behind my thoughts matters, too.  Does what I believe hold true to the facts.  If it does, what other motives might I have for saying what I know to be true?  Does it need to be said?  Will it solve anything?  This is particularly important as we embark on another LORD’s day and I am tasked with preaching the word of God.  What is it that I will say?  How is the condition of my heart before I even enter the sacred desk of preaching?  Do I have my heart in check?  Have I confessed and forsaken all sin?  Do I love the brethren and all men?  Do I have as my deepest desire to share the love of Christ and represent our Savior as He desires to be represented?  My heart matters way before the words come out of my mouth.  My thoughts are far more important than the words I share.  If my thoughts please the LORD, then so too will my words.

There Is Favour to Win or Lose

“A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.” (Pr 12:2 AV)

 I know that I have mentioned this false doctrine in the past.  Normally in passing and not as the main subject of the devotion.  There is this idea in our contemporary Christian culture that the LORD accepts you as you are.  The idea is we can live in any way we please and the LORD accepts us unconditionally.  So much so we can continue to live as we please without any fear of the LORD passing judgment or being separated from His all-accepting love.  There is no favor to obtain because we are always in favor with the LORD.  That is the idea.  However, if that were so, the above verse would not make any sense.  To obtain hear means to secure, to draw out, or the get.  And the word for favour here means, pleasure, delight, goodwill, and acceptance.  Did you catch that?  Acceptance.  The Bible just told us that a good man will procure acceptance from the LORD whereas a wicked person will be condemned.  The LORD does not accept a person just the way they are.  This is Bible.  This is truth.  To teach otherwise is to promote a falsehood that will lead to the destruction of many.

Listen to what Paul had to say on this matter.  “Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.” (2Co 5:9 KJV)  Paul specifically states he labors so as to be accepted bu God.  Does that mean God cares if we serve Him?  Does the LORD really appreciate it when one person is faithful?  Is the LORD bothered by children who do not serve?  Paul certainly suggests that this is the case.  How about the words of Christ himself?  “For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.” (Lu 9:26 AV)  It appears how we hold the person of Jesus Christ and the word of God is the way He holds us.  If we disrespect Him or do a disservice to the written word of God, then He is ashamed of us.  Hear what Peter says in the book of Acts.  “But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” (Ac 10:35 AV)  Lastly, listen to that great missionary, Paul as he speaks again.  “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” (2Ti 2:4 AV)  If we can please Him, then we can also displease Him.  Space prohibits an exhaustive list of verses that proves God has feelings towards us based on our behavior.  To do otherwise, God would cease to be God.

It may make us feel better to assume the LORD accepts us just the way we are.  It may soothe a guilty conscience.  It may give us a brief moment of happiness to think we can do as we please and be as we wish without ever putting into jeopardy God’s feeling towards us.  But this is not so.  I am my father’s son.  He will always love me no matter what I do.  That does not mean that he is always pleased with what I do or accepts what I do.  My father has had to stand strong against a few of my siblings as we aged through our teenage years.  There were a couple of times when their relationship was severed.  It didn’t change his love for them.  But it sure changed the relationship.  He may have stilled loved his children, but that doesn’t mean he accepted them.  We are arrogant or carnal if we think the LORD is obligated to accept our behavior without comment or criticism.  Solomon tells his son it would be good to obtain favor of the LORD.  He tells him it would be good to do that which is pleasing in His sight.  This is good and biblically sound advice.

Shhhh. Do You Hear That?

“Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths.” (Pr 8:1-2 AV)

 One of our biggest problems is we do not listen.  Right now, our great nation is standing opposed to one another, shouting.  Winning the argument is all we want to do.  As long as one shouts longer and louder than the other, then the battle is won.  What we do not see is listening.  In our passage, wisdom is shouting.  No one is listening.  She is shouting from the tops of the high places.  She is trying to get our attention.  She is screaming as loudly as she can that she has the answer and all we need to do is to be quiet long enough to hear and consider.  Mankind has tried to run this planet by its own wisdom.  We create laws and ordain leaders only to have our kingdoms fall.  Things do not get better; they get worse.  Yet wisdom is waving her arms and amping up the bullhorn.  As the donkey in Shrek, she is jumping up and down, “Pick me.  Pick me.”  The only way for us to fix the problems we face is to be quiet long enough to listen to the wisdom of God.

My brothers and I got into a scuffle or two.  My poor mother had her hands full.  It was always one of my sisters that tried to defuse the situation.  It wouldn’t matter what the scuffle was about, if they were near, they tried to intervene and settle the matter without fist-to-cuffs.  My sister Mary, whom I am closer in age than my other two sisters, was always by my side.  She was there when my younger brother and I hung together.  Looking at family pics, it is common to find the three of us together.  Matt and I butted heads quite a bit.  It was because he would never admit that I was always right 😉  It would not be out of the ordinary to find us going toe-to-toe as one or both of us were thrown over the front porch railing.  Most of these scuffles were not serious and Mary knew to give it about thirty seconds and it would cease.  However, there was a time or two that emotions got a little heated.  The situation was escalating to the point that someone would get seriously hurt.  Mary was always there to break it up and be the voice of reason to resolve the situation.  He was older than both of us, so she had tact and reason we did not have.  She had to get our attention.  We had to stop long enough to listen.

I know we are applying this to our national situation right now, but it applies to one’s personal life as well.  This is not merely for conflict resolution, but every choice of life.  Wisdom is not obscure.  God does not hide His wisdom as a treasure not meant to be found.  His wisdom is right out there in the open.  First and foremost, wisdom is found in the word of God.  It is there for our reading and studying.  Wisdom is found in the examples of others.  Good or bad.  We can learn from the consequences of the choices which others have made.  Third, wisdom is found in the very creation of God that sits before us.  We can learn from other creatures or principles of science that teach us about God’s priorities and laws.  All we have to do is be quiet enough to listen.  We are distracted.  We are hyped up on our own opinions and feelings.  We cannot quiet our mouths because we do not quiet our hearts.  We march right on to the ways of foolish mankind because we cannot shut our mouths and quiet our hearts long enough to listen to what God has to say.  This is wisdom’s frustration.  This is God’s heartbreak.  Mankind is on the brink of destruction because they will not be quiet long enough to let Him speak.  The One who knows all things and knows what is best is shut out of the conversation.  We need to study to be quiet.  Then wisdom can have her way.

Our Only Hope For Peace

“For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;” (Eph 2:14 AV)

 Considering what we are all going through, I thought the above verse was very appropriate.  The context of this verse lends perfectly to what we are all experiencing.  Paul is not speaking of a middle wall between sinful man and a holy God.  He is speaking of the middle wall that was erected between the Jews and the Gentiles.  This was a wall built on prejudice and persecution.  This wall had its first stone laid when God called out Abraham, settled him in Canaan, and five kings invaded.  Over the years, both sides added bricks.  When the LORD made a separation between Jews and Gentiles, it was not because the Jews were a better or more perfect people.  In fact, their situation was quite the opposite.  Yet, being God’s chosen people led to prejudice.  God intended the Hebrew nation to be a nation of ministry to the world, bringing them to God.  In response, the Gentile nations repeatedly attacked, conquered, and enslaved the Jewish people.  Now Christ, having died for all men, we have a church that is a mixture of Jewish and Gentile believers.  The book of Romans and Galatians testifies to this truth.  There were several struggles that the early church had to overcome as it sought to be unified.  But reader, please notice what the scripture says.  Our peace has always been, and always will be, the LORD Jesus Christ!  As we realize we are all one in Christ, we can enjoy our separate cultures.  We can celebrate them.  We can be proud of them.  But our greatest heritage is not in the nations from which our ancestors came, but rather, in the heavenly conversation we share.

Paul said, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Ga 3:28 AV)  To make the point even more poignant, Paul repeats the same idea in the book of Colossians. “Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.” (Col 3:11 AV)  In the search to find solutions to our troubled world, there is only one.  That solution is in Jesus Christ.  When bad things happen between people, we can chalk it up to one thing and one thing only.  SIN.  Sin has been, and always will be, humanity's greatest problem.  Sin is universal.  Whether someone wears a badge or not, sin is the issue.  No matter where one was born, where they live, what they do for a living, or what gender they may be, sin is our problem.  It is universal.  It is unbiased.  It is not one person’s problem more than another’s.  We are all equally fallen.  As we see above, the only way to break down the walls that have been erected between us is repentance from sin and salvation in Jesus Christ.

The LORD has been good to me is allowing be several experiences of ministry outside of my own culture.  I grew up in a mixed cultural city.  The neighborhood in which I grew up was lower-middle class.  Which meant there was a good mixture of different cultures represented.  I grew up in the northeast.  A few years after salvation, the LORD moved me to the Midwest.  We served in an inner-city church whose focus was military families and individuals.  However, our youth group more accurately reflected the culture in which our church was located.  My wife and I served these youth who came from very diverse backgrounds.  My son played baseball on an inner-city high school baseball team and I witnessed first hand the prejudice that came with our situation.  From there, the LORD moved us to the south.  It was a whole new experience as a northerner serving among those who have a unique culture all their own.  Now, we are back up north in a large metropolitan area that is multi-cultural.  We have gone on several trips to assist missionaries.  I have served with a Canadian church, and two churches in Ireland.  My sons have visited Venezuela, Ireland, and Slovakia.  They attended a Christian school that was multi-cultural and played sports with their classmates.  One would think that all that cultural mixing would be a challenge.  The funny thing is, a relationship with Jesus Christ breaks down all those barriers.

Cultural differences fad away as two or more people are gathered in prayer.  All of a sudden it the differences we have pale in comparission with the shared human experiences we feel.  When a leader and a student from two extremely diverse backgrounds can bow their heads and pray with one another, the middle wall of partition evaporates.  Several months back, before the Wuhan Flu pandemic, my soul-winning partner and I knocked on a door.  There stood a lady from a completely different culture.  Given today’s atmosphere, the visit may not have gone as good as it did.  We chatted with her and she confessed she was saved by the blood of Christ.  We had a special time there on her porch.  We shared the blessedness of being saved.  We offered to pray with her.  We left with joy in our hearts and a knowledge that Jesus can bridge the gaps too wide for mere mankind.  Let us remember Christ!  If He is lifted up, then we can solve the differences that threaten to tear us all apart.  Jesus Christ was the foundation upon which this great nation was founded.  He is the only way we can survive.  He is the only peace we can share.

Chastening Chaseth Not

“My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:” (Pr 3:11 AV)

 The command to not be weary suggests if we are weary of correction, it is because we have chosen to be.  If we are weary of correction, it is not because the correction was too much to bear.  The meaning of this word is interesting.  It means to sever oneself from.  It means to be disgusted or anxious regarding correction.  The word means to abhor, be distressed, be grieved, loathe, or be vexed.  Nowhere in the definition does it mean to be overwhelmed or overtaxed.  Correction is always appropriate to the fault and sufficient to cause a change.  Correction is never punitive.  Punitive affliction is reserved for God’s wrath.  The child of God is not subject to the wrath of God because God’s wrath was satisfied at Calvary.  Therefore, if we feel the correcting hand of God is too much to bear, it is not because of God’s hand we feel this way.  It is because we have chosen to be weary.

I know that I have shared this story before, but it bears repeating.  I grew up in a fixer-upper.  My father, with the help of all his children, completely remodeled the home in which we lived.  When it came time to remodel our personal bedrooms, we were very much involved in the process.  From hanging the sheetrock, to finishing it, to painting the walls, we were very involved.  It came time to remodel the bedroom I would share with two other brothers.  We had taken a break for lunch.  Everyone but myself was downstairs around our very large table eating sandwiches.  I, however, was upstairs, admiring the work we had accomplished and dreaming of the finished product.  With my hand resting on a panel of sheetrock suspended between two sawhorses, it snapped in two.  Immediately, I felt a pit in my stomach.  I knew right away my father was going to be very angry.  So, I escaped down the back set of stairs into the garage, got on my bike, and rode.  And rode I did.  For six hours.  No one knew where I had gone.  I didn’t speak to a soul.  I knew Dad had a tongue lashing waiting for me.  I was too old for spankings, but I would much rather have one of those than a dress down.  I missed lunch.  I missed dinner.  Hunger got the better of me and I returned for my medicine.

I am a grown adult.  I have received my share of spanking and verbal assaults.  I have survived all sorts of time outs, groundings, and extra chores.  I am no worse for wear.  My father, although stern when needed to be, was not abusive.  If there was any failure, it would have been mine.  I left the chastening I deserved because I believed I had reached my limit.  Of course, that was not so.  I am still here today.  God knows what we can handle.  He knows how much correction we can endure and still produce a positive change.  He is not a tyrannical God bent on making our lives miserable.  He is a loving God who corrects His children so they might live a blessed life.  If our punishment seems like it is too much to bear, the problem lies with us.  Our pride has gotten in the way and repentance has not been made complete.  Repentance accepts correction as the minimum of what we deserve.  Just look at Jonah.  He readily admits that he has gotten what his rebellion requires.  Ezra writes, “And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;” (Ezr 9:13 KJV)  If we are tired of correction, the best way to get over the exhaustion is to repent.  Then we will see the mercy of God in all of it

What Makes Jesus So Special?

“What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?” (So 5:9 AV)

 As any cursory student of the Bible knows, the Song of Solomon is a picture of the wooing and marriage of Christ to His church.  The song of Solomon is a canticle.  What that means is some singers sing parts back and forth.  It is a play written in song.  A musical, so to speak.  To get the full impact of the book, one should find a resource that can break down the verses and instruct the reader who is speaking and to whom.  It really makes the book come alive.  In our passage above, it is the daughters of Jerusalem who are responding to the Shulamite’s request to find her new husband.  Her new husband comes to her in the evening for a night of marital bliss, but she rebuffs him.  He leaves at her spurning and now she is trying to find him.  In her desperation, she asks the help of the daughters of Jerusalem.  Their question sheds light on what changes their attitude from curiosity to commitment.  What makes Him so different that we will want to find Him?  She responds in verse of that which she loves most of her new husband and what separates Him from all the rest.  Her response to their question makes seekers out of them.  But that is another devotion.  This morning, let us ask the question, “What makes our LORD so different from all others that we desire all to seek Him?”

My wife embarrasses me sometimes.  But I’ll take the embarrassment!  She never, ever, ever criticizes me in public or when I’m not around.  That is great.  My heart doth safely trust in her.  But she takes her devotion to a level that can be embarrassing.  She praises me in front of others.  If she only knew the real me.  She supports me with all my faults fully exposed to her eyes and ears.  She knows me in ways no one else ever would.  Yet, when it comes to people who ask of me, she does nothing but represents me as the cream of the crop.  The best of the best.  Serving as a pastor to the LORD’s sheep, this is very important.  Her devotion, as embarrassing as it may be, is paramount to the effectiveness of the ministry.  If she readily shared my faults with others, those whom I am supposed to be leading would magnify them beyond their true level.  If she complained about me to others, it would make the sheep uncomfortable and they would probably scatter.  At the very least, they would join the chorus of complaints.  If she mocked my mistakes, others would look for mistakes that they may make light of as well.  My wife’s character, devotion, and passion for her husband is what makes it possible for me to have the liberty to minister to those who would come to church.  In a sense, they see what she sees and this attracts others to a beneficial leadership and ministry in their lives.

When it comes to Jesus Christ, how much do those without Him know of Him?  They are only going to find out at the mouth of the bride.  So, what makes your Savior different from all other relationships, interests, or pursuits?  Is it enough to hold your undying love and attention?  If you were separated from your Savior, how desperate would you be to find Him?  What makes Jesus so different that you would turn the world upside down just to have a passionate moment with Him?  The world is looking for such a passion.  They want to know what you say you love Him more than all others.  What makes God different from all others?  What benefit is there in turning your life over to Him?  What sweet times do you have with the LORD that would draw the interest of others to seek the same?  Why is going to church better than any other place you could be?  Why is reading your Bible better than any other input one might choose?  What makes these things so special?  If we cannot answer these questions, we will not make seekers out of wanderers.

Sleepless on Purpose

“Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word.” (Ps 119:148 AV)

 There are ways to have sleepless nights.  Then there are ways to have sleepless nights.  David determines to go without sleep that he might meditate upon the word of God.  David decides he can go without a little sleep if it means refreshing the soul by the word of God.  David writes these words while in distress.  In verse 146, the writer is asking for the salvation of God.  From what in particular, we do not know.  But we do know he hoped in the word of God to be the source of his comfort while seeking salvation from something or someone.

I know a bit about sleeplessness.  For better or worse, there have been many of those. Some for reasons of anticipation or joy.  Most, however, over anxiety, fear, guilt, or exhaustion.  It is during those sleepless nights our minds entertain all sorts of thoughts.  Most of these times are not productive at all.  When I was in my teen years, I worked at a pizzeria.  On the weekends, we were legally allowed to work until two in the morning.  I would get home around three.  However, my father had a hard and fast rule that we were to be up at breakfast time and ready for household chores.  Working at the pizzeria was not mandatory.  But our household responsibilities were.  He required we work part-time to pay for our share of car insurance and any additional needs we felt we had to have that he was not able to provide.  When I returned home from the restaurant, I was hyped on cokes and mountain dews.  Know that I had to get up in a few hours, I stressed about sleep.  I stressed so much that it became a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Sleep was precious and didn’t come easy.  Now, during my adult years, there are other worries.  There are other anxieties.  There are sleepless nights over the safety and success of my children.  There are sleepless nights over the health of my wife and myself.  There are sleepless nights over church folk and church growth.

We can take a page out of David’s life here and learn a lesson.  Prayer is certainly essential.  Equally essential is the word of God.  We can pass the hours, if we must, doing one of two things.  We can occupy our minds with whatever we can imagine.  Or, we can pass those hours meditating on the word.  It doesn’t necessarily have to be subject matter germane to our problem.  It could be anything that will occupy our minds with anything other than the anxieties which are causing the sleepless night.  We can meditate upon what it will be like when we arrive in glory.  This is what I did just the other night.  The Spirit brought to memory the passages in Revelation speaking of the glory of the Son and the Father being so bright there will be no need for the sun, moon, or stars.  Then I imagined arriving under such brightness.  I realized it was a real possibility that when I arrive in glory I will not be looking around at the glory that is new Jerusalem.  Rather, the glory and brightness of my Savior might gender the same response Moses had when the voice of God spoke from the burning bush or when Paul encountered Christ along the road to Damascus.  Fallen flay on one’s face with no desire to look up might be exactly what happens.  This brought me to Genesis chapter one wherein the word of God says, “Let there be light.”  If the Father and Son are brighter than any created light, what were they before Genesis chapter one?  If the God whom I cannot figure out and whose glory I cannot behold loves me, then He is more than capable to handle whatever I might be facing.