Dams

On May 12, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 3: 9 – 10

Honor the Lord from your wealth, and from the first of all your produce, so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

Sometimes humans are the dullest form of intelligent life. This verse couldn’t get much simpler, and yet there is tremendous resistance within the church to giving. God has told us how to have abundance. He wants us to experience overflow. Overflow is when you have more than enough. That is a typical God plan. He never stops at just filling a cup. He runs it over. So, if we are not experiencing overflow, what is damming the flow?

It turns out that we use our intelligence quotient to construct dams in our lives. We are blocking our own flow, in other words. The principle pointed to in today’s proverb is no different than what Jesus taught. It is the principle of sowing and reaping. God is a multiplier. He multiplies what we give Him and gives it back to us. In the old days they taught us that a hundred times zero was not a good yield. A hundred times one is better but if I understand God and His ways, I can use the kingdom principles He put in place thousands of years ago and receive whatever yield I need or want.

So how do we honor the Lord from our wealth and the first of our produce? One of the obstacles some people face is that they are happy to bless the Lord but they don’t like giving to person in order to accomplish that goal. Well, as I have said before, if you cannot trust your minister with your money then you probably want to look for another church home. Secondly, I find it hard to believe we can’t find one minister in all the world who we believe will use God’s money in the way He directs them. Third, pray over your giving. God will honor and multiply your gift without regard to what the person you give it to does with the money. Your part is just to give. When you let go of it, then the rest is up to God.

So, what I want to say to you is, “Don’t worry about it.” I want you in overflow. I want no financial stress on you whatsoever. Therefore, I encourage you to pour out your gifts to the Lord, even if they go through a person, so that God can overflow your cup. Tear down the dams in your life and let God bless you.

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Kindness and Truth

On May 11, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 3: 3 – 4

Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, so you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man.

If we were to have a Word of the Day on every verse in Proverbs which is highlighted in my Bible we would be here for a while. Today’s verse is one of the more well known proverbs. It is typical of the Proverbs. It shows a cause and effect, a result and the means by which to attain that result. The result we gain today is favor and a good reputation with God and man.

The thing I particularly like about today’s verse is the translation of truth into “Jesus”. In John 14: 6 Jesus calls himself the truth. So then I read this verse as, “Do not let kindness and Jesus leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” I think when people read proverbs like the one for today, there is an immediate acceptance of the ideas contained within. This verse sounds like a good idea but how do you apply it? How do you bind kindness and truth around your neck?

One of our responses may be, “be people of kindness and truth” and that seems to make sense. Thinking about Jesus as the truth creates a more dynamic model. Because we also know that Jesus is the Word, we can actually write this truth on our hearts. That makes today’s proverb less of an esoteric idea and more of an applied model. That is good for us.
What a pleasant idea it is thinking about binding Jesus around our necks and writing him on the tablet of our hearts. He is our Bible partner. As we seek him through the Word, meditating on Biblical precepts as we do, Jesus becomes more and more ingrained into every part of us. He is his word and he is truth and when we make kindness and truth a part of us then God’s favor becomes part of as well. In addition the favor of man and a good reputation with God and man become ours. All of that makes life here on this earth better and easier.

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Free Wisdom

On May 10, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   1 Comment

Proverb 2: 6

For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity.

All wisdom, knowledge and understanding are God’s and He freely gives it to His children. But like children, sometimes we forget that we have a parent with knowledge and wisdom who is willing to help us if we will only allow ourselves to be led. The irony is that it takes a great deal of maturity for us to begin to realize that we do not have all of the answers and to accept help from others. It may seem ludicrous that we would value our own advice and knowledge over God’s but that is the way we behave. Little children are proud of doing things for themselves and it takes a while for them to learn when to ask a parent for help.

Well, I like that God gives wisdom. He doesn’t sell wisdom but instead gives it away. When we listen to Him, we receive knowledge and understanding because that is what comes from His mouth. He has stored up the wisdom you need for every situation in your life. Will He not give it to you if He has been saving it for you? Of course, He will.

So how do you receive it? You ask Him for wisdom. Ask Him to give you understanding. Then you have to be quiet long enough to hear. For me that means turning off the television and the stereo because I cannot hear Him when my environment is full of sound. You may have to slow down a bit. Find some quiet time and let Him give you the answers you seek.

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Wisdom is for the Wise

On May 9, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 1: 5

A wise man will hear and increase in learning.

If a wise person hears and increases in learning, what does an unwise person do? What do we call an unwise person? Who is that person, what does it look like to be unwise? One of the first tidbits Solomon offers us is that we have the choice to increase in wisdom.

Honestly, do you find people teachable? Would you consider yourself teachable? When did we get so smart that we have nothing left to learn? One of the lessons I was fortunate enough to learn very young in life is that everyone has something to teach me. Even a homeless person can teach us how to survive the mean streets.

I sometimes wonder if our society is becoming more arrogant and self-impressed or if we were always this way and I have only just now begun to notice. Sometimes I think that if I really believed in the Holy Spirit and really believed that he is moving in the environment today, then I wouldn’t be so convinced that I have the answers or that I even need to. Perhaps I would be more willing to listen to the counsel of others. After all, God used a donkey twice so he ought to be able to use the people around us. Of course, maybe he had to use a donkey because we humanoids are too stubborn to listen to one another.

All kidding aside, I really do think this is an epidemic. I have noticed how people have less respect for professionals and for pastors as well. Though we believe that God is willing to talk to each one of us, there is still a role for ministers and I believe we are well advised to seek their wisdom. I also think there are people in your life right now who are able to hear the voice of God, and who are willing to share with you. I also believe there are people with life experiences and wisdom who can make our journey easier. I also think others can see, with a cleaner perspective, what we cannot see for ourselves. If we can coach ourselves into humility, we can take advantage of their perspective and not be slaves to recurring patterns.

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The Proverbs

On May 8, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 1: 1

To know wisdom and instruction,
To discern the sayings of understanding,
To receive instruction in wise behavior, righteousness, justice and equity;
To give prudence to the naïve, to the youth knowledge and discretion.

Above are four objectives. These outline the reasons Solomon gave us the Proverbs. I had a friend one time, who was quite versed in the Bible but one day as we were talking, confessed she had never found the attraction to the Proverbs. I was flabbergasted. This is the first book I discovered in the Bible and to this day, one of the most highlighted books in my Bible. I guess I just needed more instruction than did she.

When I began my deep discovery of the Bible my pastor instructed me to read a chapter from the New Testament beginning with Matthew 1, a chapter from the Old Testament, a Psalm and a Proverb. That advice served me well. The Old Testament gave me my history and the grounding of my faith. The New Testament brought me salvation, grace, the New Covenant and Jesus, the Psalms speaks to my heart and the Proverbs inform and instruct me in the way to go. They are a floor beneath my feet preventing me from falling into the depths while the Psalms give me wings to fly.

I was young when I discovered the Proverbs and was aware of my naivety and ignorance. That was a grace because I was not too arrogant or proud to receive instruction. When we become unteachable, the Proverbs call us fools. I can be foolish, as we all can at times, but foolishness is something I would rather avoid. There are consequences with foolishness. A proverb is a “wise saying or precept.” So, the Proverbs, I think, guard us from the distasteful consequences of foolishness.

God offered Solomon anything he wanted. Solomon chose wisdom and now through the Proverbs he offers us this prize from God. Join me as I take a sojourn through the Proverbs. Let us see what we may and glean from Solomon, the wisdom of God.

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Desert Days

On May 5, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Luke 4: 1 – 2

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led about by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days; and when they had ended, He became hungry.

I want you to notice a few words in this passage, those being, “being tempted by the devil.” You see, right after this verse begins the telling of the three temptations with which we are all familiar. Has anyone else missed this part though, that he was tempted for 40 days before those famous three temptations? It certainly had eluded me.

Here is another question for you. How did the devil tempt him? Jesus wandered around in the desert, presumptively alone, for 40 days not eating. As if that was not enough, apparently the devil was pestering him the whole time too. Do you think the devil appeared to him? Did he just whisper in Jesus’ ear? We know next to nothing about this forty day period.

I also find it interesting that he wandered around in the desert for forty days being led by the Holy Spirit. That is very reminiscent of the forty years the Israelites roamed around in the desert though they were led by God. Were they also tempted in the desert for those forty years like Jesus was for the forty days he was in the desert? Jesus never failed, he never gave into the temptations. He made it to the promised land without succumbing to the devil’s machinations. It is as if he put to right the disastrous journey of the Israelite nation by making his forty day sojourn.

Whatever the devil dishes out, there has always been the power available to overcome him. The Israelites had God with them. He was in the cloud by day and the pillar by night. Somehow, though, they were unable to connect with the power which accompanied them day and night. Jesus showed that people can overcome the temptations of the devil. He connected with the power which accompanied him, namely, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gave him company so that he was never really alone and he empowered Jesus with everything he need to succeed.

All the Israelites had and all that Jesus had is with us today too. We can access the power of the trinity at all times because they are always with us. We no longer need wander around in the desert lost, alone and afraid. We have a redeemer and a comforter. We have an overcomer. They have led us to the oasis. Hallelujah.

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Word Speak

On May 4, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Mark 2: 2

And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them.

Jesus’ public ministry began when he stood up to read in the synagogue. Opening the book of Isaiah, he read his commission (see Isaiah 61: 1 – 3 and Luke 4: 18 – 19). He came to preach the good news, proclaim liberty, recovery, and the year of the Lord and to free the downtrodden. In a sound bite, that is his mandate from God. Notice that his assignment included preach and proclaim. It is no wonder, then, that his ministry involved speaking the word.

Jesus’ proclamation, his preaching was of the Word of God, not of himself. Isn’t that interesting? Of all of the ministers and priests of all of the ages, if there is one who should be qualified to preach of his own knowledge, wisdom and intelligence it would seem to be Jesus. Yet, his preaching was, and is, proclaiming the Word of God. Apparently his message was so good that there was no even standing room. The Word ministered to people’s need and it still does today.

None of the things Jesus did on this earth were of himself. He always relied on the wisdom and guidance of the Father. Do you remember the story of the woman who was cast at his feet by the Pharisees, accused of adultery? They pitted Jesus in a quandary between grace and law wondering what he would choose. Either way, they figured, they would win. Jesus did not answer them immediately. Instead, he stooped down and began to write in the dirt. Finally, when they pressed him, he stood and gave such an enlightened answer that all of their guile folded back upon them. So, my question is this, “What was Jesus doing when was stooped over writing in the dirt?” We don’t really know but I believe he was inquiring of his Father.

My point is this, everything Jesus used for his ministry is available to us and even more. When Jesus spoke the Word, he only had the Old Testament writings. Think of how much we have in the New Testament with all of the stories about Jesus, words he spoke when he lived here and the writings of the apostles. I believe the power of Jesus’ ministry was that he was grounded in God’s Word. That is what he gave to people and out of that flowed the healings and miracles.

Don’t you wonder what Old Testament wisdom He spoke when he sat down to teach? Which stories did he retell? Think about it this way, we have in our hands, the substance of Jesus’ every sermon. That awes me. What did he see in those ancient texts? Whenever he preached, lives were changed. Wouldn’t every pastor in the world love to be able to make that claim. It is all there for us all, the leading of the Holy Spirit and the thoughts and wisdom of God as recorded in the Bible. Those are the tools with which Jesus changed the world. What can we do with them?

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