Proverbs Chapter 18

Yesterday was Friendship Sunday at our church. There are a handful of verses in Proverbs that deal with friends and friendship. One of those is in chapter 18:

A man of many companions may come to ruin
  but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

This verse reminds me of something Violet taught our kids when they were young:  "Make sure you know the difference between 'playmates' and 'friends.'

Friends are not the same as 'companions' or 'playmates.'  Friends are people you can trust, people who will 'have your back,' people who will lead you closer to God.

Take a moment to thank God for those friends - especially the One you have in Jesus.
Pastor David

Proverbs Chapter 17

Verse 18 wouldn't normally have been the proverb that jumped out at me - EXCEPT it was one of the main points in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University class tonight.

Here's how it reads in the translation I've been using as I read Proverbs (NIV 1984):

A man lacking in judgement strikes hands in pledge
   and puts up security for his neighbor.

The translation used in the Dave Ramsey class (CEV) brings it a little closer (too close?) to home:

It's stupid to guarantee someone else's loan.

... you mean like what parents do for their kids college loans???

I pray that my kids have a deep-seated fear of ever making their father look stupid.

God will bless your reading,
Pastor David

Proverbs 16

There are so many verses this chapter that are variations on this theme:

Us:    "Hey, we know what we're doing!"
God:  "You haven't got a clue!"  (putting it nicely)

Verse three gives us the advice we need:

Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed.

In other words, get out of the driver's seat and let God take you where He wants instead of asking Him to just ride along while you set the itinerary.

Please leave a comment on the verses that struck you today.

God will bless your reading,
Pastor David

Proverbs Chapter 15

Verse 30 is a simple reminder that all of us need - a reminder of how the way we treat others makes all the difference in the world.

A cheerful look brings joy to the heart,
    and good news gives health to the bones.

Keep this proverb in mind with the people you interact with today - starting with your family.

Proverbs Chapter 14

Last night in the Ash Wednesday sermon on Jonah chapter 3, I commented that the Ninevites who repented in sackcloth and ashes (in true Ash Wednesday fashion) demonstrated something that seems to be lacking in our day and age: The fear of the Lord. Several times in Proverbs we have heard, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." This absence of "the fear of God" in our society may explain why there also seems to be a definite lack of wisdom. The following verse from chapter 14 reminded me of another reason why "common sense" seems to be so uncommon in our culture:

A simple man believes anything,
    but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.

One of the things I've noticed is that most of us have a tendency to believe what we hear. Especially if it was spoken by someone who is well known - or just well-known to us. We don't check out the message for logic or accuracy or against what God has told us. We simply think something like "They should know what they are talking about." But if we would simply take the next step and put an ounce of thought into what we heard, we'd quite frequently come to the conclusion that "They really have no clue what they are talking about."

I guess the choice is ours. Would you rather be known as "simple" or "prudent," "gullible" or "discerning,"  "foolish" or "wise"?     Think about it!

God will continue to bless your reading,
Pastor David

Proverbs Chapter 13

There are many ideas that get repeated 'airplay' in the Proverbs. The admonition to listen to your parent's instruction is one of those.

Here it is again in verse one:

A wise son heeds his father's instruction,
    but a mocker does not listen to rebuke.

Maybe it has to be repeated so often, because we have a natural tendency to do just the opposite. It's that rebellious nature thing - the desire to want to do it our own way. It's so common-place that God saw fit to make "Honor your father and your mother" the first commandment in the "relationships with others" section of the Ten Commandments.

It's also important, because our attitude toward our earthly fathers often mirrors the way we view our Heavenly Father.

Please leave your thoughts on this chapter,
Pastor David

Proverbs Chapter 12

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
    but he who hates correction is stupid.

The first verse of Chapter 12 kind of hits you right between the eyes. Talk about putting it bluntly. Maybe it needed to be that way, I mean who of us really likes to be disciplined? But God reminds us over and over that discipline and correction are actually good things and, in fact, are evidence that He loves us.

God bless your reading,
Pastor David

Proverbs Chapter 11

I've said before that Proverbs is "God's book of wisdom for everyday life." Money - our earning of it, spending of it, desire for more of it and attitudes towards it - is one of the things that seems to take up a huge part of our everyday lives. Quite a few of the verses of chapter 11 are devoted to giving us wisdom for dealing with money.

The Lord abhors dishonest scales,
    but accurate weights are his delight.

     In other words, don't covet money so much that you are willing to cheat in order to get more of it. (appropriate for tax time)

Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath,
    but righteousness delivers from death.

    The reference is to Judgement Day.

One man gives freely, yet gains even more;
    another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

    Again we see God's ways are "upside down" from the ways of the world. Proverbs 3:5 comes into play in a big way here: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."

A generous man will prosper;
    he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

   In God's world you reap what you sow.

People curse the man who hoards grain,
    but blessing crowns him who is willing to sell.

    If you need a biblical reason to give up hoarding, here it is.

Whoever trusts in his riches will fall,
    but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

    The bottom line on money. It is not evil until it replaces God as the object of our trust.

Please leave your comments on this chapter - and enjoy the snow!
Pastor David

Proverbs Chapter 10

Since we endured another snowstorm today it may be natural that the verse that caught my eye was this one:

When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone,
    but the righteous stand firm forever.

I don't think God had blizzards in mind, but rather troubled times of whatever nature. The point is that those who seek refuge in God will weather the storms of life. Those who seek refuge in anything else will be blown away by those storms.

God will bless your reading,
Pastor David

Proverbs Chapter 9

Chapter 9 presents us with a choice. A choice that each person who has ever lived faces on a daily basis. The choice between Wisdom and Foolishness. In reality this is a choice between the ways of God and the ways of the world (which are Satan's ways in disguise). It is no less than a choice between life (v6) and death (v18). It is a choice between lasting pleasure that truly satisfies and fleeting pleasure that never delivers on the promised satisfaction.

Please leave your comments on this chapter.

God will continue to bless your reading,
Pastor David

Proverbs Chapter 8

Personification is a literary device whereby writers attempt to help readers understand a concept (like wisdom) by portraying it as a person. Wisdom is "personified" from beginning to end of chapter 8.

As I read this chapter I found myself thinking that "wisdom" in vv1-21 could easily be God the Father (except, of course, that 'wisdom'  is referred to in the feminine sense). And in vv22-36 "wisdom" sounds a lot like Jesus. I guess that makes sense, because the Father and the Son (along with the Spirit) are the source of perfect wisdom. If you want to know what wisdom "looks like" look no further than God.

The last two verses are a great summary of the result of finding both wisdom and Jesus.

For whoever finds me finds life
   and receives favor from the Lord.
But whoever fails to find me harms himself;
   all who hate me love death.

God will bless your search for wisdom when you seek it in Jesus,
Pastor David

Proverbs Chapter 7

It's not too tough to come away with the idea that God is REALLY serious about this adultery stuff. Here we have a whole chapter devoted to warning about adultery just two chapters after a similar warning. Faithfulness to our promises is foundational for all relationships, but none more so than the marriage relationship where "two become one."

The key section for me was once again a comparison to a similar situations in the animal world:

With persuasive words she led him astray;
    she seduced him with her smooth talk.
All at once he followed her
    like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer stepping into a noose
 till an arrow pierces his liver,
like a bird darting into a snare,
    little knowing it will cost him his life.

Satan loves to deceive us by "Photoshopping" things until what is bad for us looks enticingly good. Thank God He has given us the Proverbs to show us the true, unre-touched picture of adultery.

God will bless your reading His Proverbs,
Pastor David

Proverbs Chapter 6

In the middle of warnings to about the bad results of taking responsibility for someone else's debt and of committing adultery is a warning against just plain being a "low-down, no good, dirty rotten, yellow-bellied varmint." (That would be from the old FFG translation - "Festus From Gunsmoke" translation. Talk to someone who's over 50 if you are confused by this.)

But what really stuck out for me is the list of seven things the Lord hates at the end of that section.

There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:
         haughty eyes,  (pride & arrogance)
        a lying tongue,
        hands that shed innocent blood,
         a heart that devises wicked schemes,
        feet that are quick to rush into evil,
         a false witness who pours out lies
        and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

The surprising thing is that three of those seven things come from our mouths - and lying is in there TWICE !

In a day and age when lying is commonplace - and seemingly expected both from those in public office and private business - it is good to be reminded that God is really not 'ok' with 'putting your own spin on' something. Maybe it's because one of His most basic characteristics is truthfulness and it was Satan's lies that led to Adam and Eve's downfall (which, of course, led to every problem in the world today).

Please leave your comments about the passage that stood out for you.

Thanks,
Pastor David

Proverbs Chapter 5

Most of the chapters of the book of Proverbs are filled with short, wise sayings that normally only a couple of verses long. Many times there will not be a central theme, just a collection of wise sayings. Chapters four and five, however, have a different format. Both are focused on a central theme from start to finish. Chapter four highlighted the supreme value of attaining wisdom - finding out what God would have you do in everyday situations. Chapter five's focus is on one of those situations: Marriage.

Drink water from your own cistern,
    running water from your own well.

For me, verse fifteen above (from the NIV 1984 translation) sums up the message of the chapter with a catchy metaphor.  That message is simple: Remain 100% faithful to your spouse. Great blessings will result from such faithfulness. Anything less will bring big trouble for everyone involved.

God will bless your reading,
Pastor David

Proverbs Chapter 4

When I began this exercise of reading a chapter of Proverbs each day, I said that the book of Proverbs is God's 'book of everyday wisdom.' And I defined "wisdom" as having two parts: 1) Knowing what God wants you to do and 2) Doing it!  All of Chapter 4 highlights the supreme value of wisdom, but verse seven sums it up:

Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.
    Though it cost all you have, get understanding.

Good motivation to keep on reading a chapter a day from God's book of everyday wisdom.

God will bless your reading,
Pastor David

Proverbs Chapter 3

God                                        Your own understanding

There are a lot of great proverbs (brief words of wisdom) in this chapter. Please leave a comment below about with one stuck out for you. Here's a summary of what I said about my favorite in the sermon message from yesterday...

If the government made it illegal to have a Bible, and someone came in here right now to confiscate all of them... and I had only time to memorize proverb from Chapter 3 before they scooped up my Bible it would be this one:

Trust in the Lord with all you heart - and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

It seems to me that we have two basic choices of what to lean on -
       1) God or
       2) something else.

To lean on God is to lean on a solid stone wall. To lean on your own understanding is to lean on, for example, a banner pole. It's good for holding up some stuff - like banners - but not your life.

God gave us the ability to reason, and it is good for lots of things. But when our reason conflicts with what God says (and it seems to quite often), our own understanding will topple like a banner pole when you or I lean on it.

Here's just one example of when we need to "Trust God with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding":

"Our own understanding" tells us that being disciplined means God doesn't love you - or that disciplining your child is not being loving. But God says....like He did in our chapter today, discipline means Love. Trust God when He says that.

This proverb is so important that I think we need to tatoo it onto our brains. Memorize it. We already have a memory verse for February, but I think now we have one for March.

Where do you need to trust God this week?  Don't forget what happens when you lean on your own understanding (the banner pole) and what happens when you lean on God (the rock-solid wall).   Amen.

Proverbs Chapter 2

If there was any doubt about the source of wisdom after reading Chapter 1, Chapter 2 puts that doubt to rest:

For the Lord gives wisdom,
    and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Thankfully, God doesn't keep His wisdom to Himself. He has made it available for us all in His Word -
especially here in His "Book of Everyday Wisdom," the Proverbs.

God will bless your reading,
Pastor David

Proverbs Chapter 1

The opening verses of the book of Proverbs give a great summary of their purpose:

For attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight;
for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair;
for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—
let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—
for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.

If it sounds like a pretty important book, it is! That's why I suggested that we get into the
habit of reading a chapter each day.

The first actual proverb ("wise saying") tells us the foundation of real wisdom:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
    but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

In other words, there can be no true wisdom apart from trust in God.

God bless your reading,

Pastor David

Proverbs Chapter 31

Recently in both our Mom's and Women's study groups we went through a study entitled: Unglued: Making wise choices in the midst of raw emotions. The study was led by a woman named Lysa Terkeurst. Lysa is the president of Proverbs 31 Ministries which seeks to help women become more like the wise woman described in Proverbs chapter 31. Of all the desirable characteristics listed, the most important one is found in the second-to-last verse:  a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.  Doing what God has called us to do - whether it be as husband or wife or single person - must start with fear, love and trust in God. And that foundation is a gift given by God.

Proverbs Chapter 30

In my Bible I have brackets drawn around verses 7-9 (the result of a previous reading of the chapter) with this note written in pen:  "Great Wisdom."

Here are the verses:

Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die:

    1) Keep falsehood and lies far from me;

    2) give me neither poverty nor riches,
        but give me only my daily bread.

       Otherwise I may have too much and disown you
           and say, "Who is the Lord?"
       Or I may become poor and steal and so dishonor the name of my God.

To which I must repeat:  "Great Wisdom."

Please leave a comment about the verse(s) that stood out for you from this chapter.

God bless your reading,
Pastor David

p.s. I added the numbers, they are not in the original text.

Proverbs 29

It seems that a lot of attention is being paid - and rightly so - to those who lead our country. It's important to keep track of what our leaders are doing, because of this principle that shows up over and over again in the Bible:

        "As go the leaders... so go the people."

For example, if the leader seeks God, the people will tend to also seek God. If the leader is 'godless', the people will tend to become that way as well.

The proverb from chapter 29 that I chose for today says basically the same:

"If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials become wicked."

The officials take their lead from the one who rules. If he listens to lies, then they will line up to feed him lies, and in the process become nothing but liars.

Take time out right now to pray for our leaders (and for 'the people') to listen to God and not to lies.

God bless your reading,
Pastor David

Proverbs Chapter 28

Almost every time I read a chapter of Proverbs there is something different that stands out from the last time I read it. Today there were a couple of verses that stood out for me from Chapter 28. Verses 9 and 13:

 If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law,
    even his prayers are detestable.

 He who conceals his sins does not prosper,
    but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

The first verse gives us a great reason to humble ourselves and confess our sins at the start of our prayers. The second verse reminds us that confessing is, as the old saying goes, "Good for the soul."

Please leave your comments about the verse or verses from Chapter 28 that struck you today.

God bless your reading,

Pastor David

Proverbs Chapter 27

For those of you who started reading Proverbs on the 27th, here's the verse that seemed to hit home for me when I read chapter 27:

He who is full loathes honey,
    but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.

It seems to me the first part of that verse describes those of us who live in the U.S.  We have so much stuff, (we are so 'full') that we don't even appreciate the "sweet" things God gives us on a daily basis. On the other hand, those people who have so little appreciate the "bitter" things we wouldn't even consider eating.

The season of Lent is just around the corner (Ash Wednesday is February 13). It may be a great time for some kind of 'fasting' that will help us to have a greater appreciation for the abundance God has blessed us with - and maybe to share from that abundance with those who have little.

Please leave a comment about the passage from chapter 27 that stuck out for you.

God bless your reading,
Pastor David

Proverbs - A Chapter A Day

In yesterday's sermon I said that I wanted to challenge each of us to make 2013 the year that we dedicate ourselves to

 "keeping the darkness at bay by doing the small, everyday things the way God wants,"

           - in other words: Using Wisdom in our everyday activities, words and attitudes.

Right in the middle of God's Library (the Bible) is a book that has been called The Book of Everyday Wisdom - the book of Proverbs.

Proverbs has 31 chapters, so it is perfect for reading one chapter a day each month (at least for 7 of the 12 months).  I invited everyone to read the chapter of Proverbs that corresponds to the day of the month. For example, read Proverbs 27 on January 27th. Read Proverbs 28 on January 28th, etc...

As you read, you will discover that most of the chapters of Proverbs contain many short, one or two verse "wise sayings" designed to help you make godly choices in everyday situations.Since these "proverbs" or "bits of wisdom" were written close to 3000 years ago, there will naturally be some references that we won't understand. (Much like the people 3000 years ago - or even people 30 years ago - would not understand a reference we might make to "Facebooking" or "Googling".) As you read I'd suggest not worrying about those verses that you don't understand, just focus on the vast majority of verses that are self-explanatory.

I also promised to write a blog entry each day to let you know which of the everyday bits of wisdom jumped out at me - and gave the invitation to add a comment about the proverb that 'stuck out' for you.

Let's get reading...

Pastor David

A Letter From Jade Dols...

Hey guys!

 

Here is my October Newsletter.  Life has changed pretty dramatically these past few months, so this newsletter gives you an overview of what that looks like. If you would like to learn more about any of the issues (prostitution, persecution, asylum seekers/refugees, or simply being friends with your neighbors), please let me know.  I would love to chat or Skype with you.

 

I really want to encourage you to learn more about the persecuted church around the world. This issue is SO close to my heart.  It is something that I have been interested in for quite some time, but it always seemed so far away that it was almost surreal.  Now this reality has been brought near as I join hands with Pakistani brothers and sisters through prayer, worship, tears, fears, and breaking of bread.  Something changes when you see the face behind the story.  These are our fellow brothers and sisters in desperate need of prayer, friendship, encouragement, resources, and financial support.  If you would like to get involved in their lives in any of these ways I can help you do that (thanks to technology you can talk with them face-to-face!). 

There are 2 non-profits that I have been partnering with, Life Raft International and In Search of Sanuk that are very reputable.  They are small organizations that emphasize relationship and a holistic approach to helping these families. Life Raft is the organization that is currently helping my families.

 

Oh yes, and I'll be back in MN this December!  I fly in on the 18th, then out to CA on January 15th before returning back to Bangkok on the 23rd.  I would love to hang out with you while in town.  Let me know if you would like to get together during that time. 

 

Also, I do not have a vehicle when I return.  If you have an extra one laying around that you wouldn't mind lending out, let me know! I would greatly appreciate it.

 

Above all, thank you so much for your support. It comforts my heart and strengthens me knowing that I'm not in this alone, but that I have an army of people behind me.  Please continue to pray. I need it more than ever.  Things have been pretty overwhelming as I go deeper in relationship with the bar girls and refugees.  I am seeing, hearing, and experiencing so many new things; things that are difficult to understand and process. Through all of this I need to see what the Father is seeing, and do what He is doing.  Being moved by emotion can be a dangerous thing.  At the same time I want to remain sensitive to those emotions, never hardened in heart.

 

Thank you so much.  I love you dearly.

Jade