Author Archives: Anthony Baker

About Anthony Baker

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Husband, dad, pastor, artist, and musician. Time Magazine's Person of the Year in 2006 (no joke!). Loves coffee (big time), good movies, and sarcastic humor. Holds a Doctorate in Ministry. Most importantly, a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. All glory belongs to Him! Matthew 5:16
July 18, 2018

Gray and Glorious Crown

By Anthony Baker

Getting old is a fact of life; it’s something all of us will experience (unless we die). On the other hand, some people get old before their time, which is truly sad.

Most people blessed with longer life will experience the graying of their hair. It doesn’t matter if it’s on one’s face or head, or even in the ears or nose, it’s going to turn gray. That’s why hair color manufactures will always stay in business. There’s big business in trying to look young.

But for those who live long lives that honor God, their gray hair (that’s what “hoary” means) can become a testimony of His faithfulness throughout the years.

The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness. – Proverbs 16:31

I am mostly bald, but I could let what hair I do have grow out. If it did, it would have a silvery sheen to it. All I’d need is a little lighting and I’d look like an old-fashioned aluminum Christmas tree, just without the top branches. On the other hand, my face has plenty of gray.

The older I get, the grayer I get. The more gray, the more stories I can tell. The fact that I’ve lived as long as I have is a miracle, and that’s why I don’t mind the gray – it tells a story for those who want to listen.

The only reason my story is one I’m happy to tell is because I’ve experienced the grace of God. If my gray hair was the result of a wasted, squandered life, I’d have nothing to say, and my “hoary head” would mean nothing.

But oh the wonderful stories that come from seasoned saints who’ve experience the continued faithfulness of our God! The gray hair then becomes a crown of honor, dignity, and glory.

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Giving Honor

June 28, 2018

Know-It-All’s Usually Don’t

By Anthony Baker

Proverbs 13:7 stood out to me this morning.

“One man pretends to be rich but has nothing; another pretends to be poor but has great wealth.” – Proverbs 13:7 CSB

The obvious meaning has to do with tangible wealth. So often we see people who give the impression of being wealthy by the cars they drive, the clothes they wear, and the houses they live in. Yet, in many of those cases, the appearance of wealth is all they have.

Sadly, the same holds true with many who appear to be spiritual and wise. Everything on the appearance seems to point toward a godly life, one full of the Spirit and one that walks daily with the Lord. However, so often what we find once the bank account of the heart becomes public is that the spiritual wealth was only pretend – they had nothing.

One red flag to look for in both cases – tangible wealth and spiritual wealth – is how much the wealth is flaunted. So many times the most unassuming are the most wealthy.

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Money and Finances, pride/humility

June 27, 2018

It Takes Diligent Work to Thrive

By Anthony Baker

This is the real world, and I’m going to share a little slice of mine with you.

Right now, as I am writing this, I have a list of business names and phone numbers to call. The purpose of this is to make sure the business is still in existence and to make sure of the current address and name of the owner.  The business that I am now doing requires that I “qualify” businesses before I try to contact them to discuss employee benefits.

In case you didn’t know, I now work with a great company named Aflac. You may know them by the duck.

But, so you don’t get the wrong idea, even though I am an agent with a Fortune 500 company, I’m still an individual business owner – I have to do all the work to survive.

The insurance business is not easy, but it can be very rewarding. The only thing is that one has to always be prospecting for new business, and in my case, I’m always looking for businesses in need of what we offer and are willing to talk about it. Consistent, diligent, measurable and trackable activity is critical to my success.

If I am not diligent in all I do, I can talk about my future in this business all I want, but I’ll have nothing in the end.

The soul of the sluggard desireth, and [hath] nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. – Proverbs 13:4

Sometimes, in order to do what we feel is important in life, we have to take risks. I chose to take the risk and return to the world of sales in order to have more flexibility in ministry. I also did it because driving a school bus has become too demoralizing, dangerous, and detrimental to my physical and mental health (I can’t risk another shoulder surgery and then have nothing to show for all the work I’ve done through the years).

In this situation, the wisdom of Proverbs is directly applicable to my life. I must be diligent.

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in discipline

June 22, 2018

Instructionless Brutes

By Anthony Baker

It might be nearly the end of the week, and one might think we’d already gotten past the first verse of the chapter, but Proverbs 12:1 stood out to me this morning, and I’d like to tell you why.

Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish. – Proverbs 12:1

There are a lot of people who feel like there is no need for preachers, teachers, instructors, professors, or pastors. I read their comments any time I write something having to do with the ministry and ministry needs.

Often, and usually with poor spelling and grammar, the irate and biblically-illiterate employ arrogant language and out-of-context verses to “prove” their point. Consider a brief excerpt I copied from one particular conversation…the write goes by the name of Paradox7:

I don’t need an operator to call my LORD , and I have been reading the Bible since I was a child , don’t need an interpreter either…

Jesus actually spoke of wolves in sheep’s clothing , referring to religious leaders of his time , the same people who set him up for murder because he asurped their authority .If you have read the Bible , you can’t really disagree with that sentiment… It is a common bibical theme to be wary of authority figures , but of course many do not get the message , even as Jesus predicted ” for wide is the gate that leads to destruction , and there are many who will walk thru it .”

There is more to being instructed than simply reading the Bible. Many people do that, just like the Ethiopian Eunuch who asked Phillip in Acts 8:31, “How can I [understand], except some man should guide me?”

Godly teachers are a gift from God to the Church (Ephesians 4:11). Some people need them more than others.

 

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , | posted in advice, discipline, Wisdom

June 21, 2018

Appreciate What You Have

By Anthony Baker

The following are three different translations of the same verse:

The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious. – Proverbs 12:27 KJV

A lazy hunter doesn’t roast his game, but to a diligent person, his wealth is precious. – Proverbs 12:27 CSB

Lazy people don’t even cook the game they catch, but the diligent make use of everything they find. – Proverbs 12:27 NLT

However you look at it, according to this verse there are two types of people in this world: those who don’t care about what they have and those who do.

The slothful or lazy hunter – lazy people in general – are so often the most blessed people in the world. I mean, seriously, isn’t it the case where so often they have more than they need, more than enough to make something of themselves, yet let it all rot?

People today are so far removed from those of “the greatest generation” that they have no idea how good they actually have it. The poorest people in America are richer than many of the wealthy in other countries, and what they can waste on a daily basis is proof positive.

But to the diligent person…the person who works hard…the person who doesn’t expect a handout, but understands the value of persistence…the one who knows that tomorrow’s hunt might not go as well…the one who is grateful for what he has…what he has is precious, because he appreciates what it took to possess it.

Remember that “the LORD your God gives you the power to gain wealth” (Deut. 8:18), and whatever you collect in the hunting trip of life is ultimately a reflection of the mercy of God. Don’t take it for granted, and for heaven’s sake don’t waste it.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in blessing, food, Money and Finances, Work

June 16, 2018

My Expectation Will Hold

By Anthony Baker
When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth. – Proverbs 11:7 KJV

This is a fascinating verse to contemplate, so please take a moment to think about these words with me.

Other Translations

If you don’t already know, I love the King James Version of the Bible, but I am not a King James Only-ist by any stretch of the imagination. However, there are times when I wish modern translators could have left well enough alone.

For example, below are four different versions of Proverbs 11:7, each from a very popular translation.

NLT – When the wicked die, their hopes die with them, for they rely on their own feeble strength.

NIV – Hopes placed in mortals die with them; all the promise of their power comes to nothing.

ESV – When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too.

CSB – When the wicked person dies, his expectation comes to nothing, and hope placed in wealth vanishes.

If you will indulge me for a moment, let’s look at the differences.

The NLT (New Living Translation) changes the word translated “expectation” in the KJV to the plural word “hopes.” Then, somehow “feeble strength” gets thrown in.

The NIV (New Internation Version) translators somehow determined that the “expectation,” or “hope,” is actually in the (wicked) mortal who dies.

The ESV (English Standard Version) seems to imply that the “hope” is not necessarily in the wicked, but they continue in the same idea that when the wicked die there is lost investment.

The CSB (Christian Standard Bible) stays closer to the KJV in the first part of the verse in that it does not overtly imply that the “expectation” is in the wicked, but a possession of the wicked. But in the second part of the verse, it sides more with the ESV and assumes that “hope” is money or “wealth.”

Like I said before, I’m not a KJV-only-ist. I have found each of the above versions useful in my study of the Bible. However, one word, in particular, makes me wish they’d kept things unchanged, or at least interpreted differently.

Expectation

The Hebrew word that is translated as “expectation” is a word that literally means “rope.” Consider the following definition from Strongs Concordance:

תִּקְוָה tiqvâh, tik-vaw’; from H6960; (compare H6961) literally a cord (as an attachment); figuratively, expectancy:—expectation(-ted), hope, live, thing that I long for.

The first two times this word is used in the Old Testament is in Joshua 2:18 and 21. This is the story where Rahab the harlot is given the assurance that she and her household will not be harmed, just as long as she hangs a scarlet cord from the window of her home on the wall of Jericho.

The same word translated “cord” in Joshua 2:18 and 21 is translated “expectation” in Proverbs 11:7. Now, this does not necessarily mean that the “expectation” of the wicked is a rope, but it does give me the idea that what the wicked man has is something that he’s depending on to save him.

Granted, I could be wrong in my interpretation of this verse, but it would seem to me that it’s not too much to believe that the wicked man’s “expectation” is the hope and trust he has in something that will hold on to him, guide him, or keep him after death. It could mean that when a wicked man dies all the hopes others have in him will die with him, but considering the context of the surrounding verses (11:6 and 11:8), I think my interpretation holds more water.

My Expectation

Thankfully, my “expectation” is more akin to the scarlet thread that Rahab hung from her window than anything I can come up with on my own. What I’m counting on to pull me through death into eternal life is the “scarlet thread” woven throughout all of Scripture, the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness…”

When I die, my expectation will hold.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in hope

June 13, 2018

Don’t Play Red Rover With God

By Anthony Baker
Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered. – Proverbs 11:21

I don’t know if saying “I love this verse” is the right and proper thing, but it does cause me to smile. Reading it brings a sense of comfort, sort of like God whispering in my ear, “Don’t worry, I’ll handle this.”

Mankind hasn’t really changed since the days when they decided to build a tower to the heavens and make a name for themselves (Gen. 11:4). They believe that if they can just come together, hand in hand, they can do anything. It doesn’t hurt to make a music video, either – just ask Michael Jackson.

Unfortunately, even though we humans do good things when we are unified, we tend to think the collective power of organized masses can overturn the laws of God.

Our modern versions of the tower of Babel take the shape of poll numbers, protests, million-man marches, voting majorities, screaming at the sky, and tens of thousands of pink ______ hats. They look like celebrity award shows, hashtags, and fabricated crises. All are meant to unify. All are meant to push an agenda.

Much of the time the agenda is to silence the voice of God, overturn His law, or throw Him out completely.

Yet, even though a recent survey stated that a majority of Americans (61%) are linked hand-in-hand in support of abortion, God says the wicked will not go unpunished.

When I was a kid we used to play a game called “Red Rover.” The idea was to line up in a line and hold hands, then send a kid from an opposing team into the line in order to break through. We would all line up and then call out to the opposing team to send a kid of our choosing, and if the kid didn’t break through, he was ours. We’d say, “Red rover, red rover, send Bobby (the weak kid) on over.”

No one ever yelled out, “Red rover, red rover, send Goliath on over!”

But the wicked are hand-in-hand, screaming at the sky, saying with a loud voice, “Red rover, red rover, send YHWH… the Great I Am… the Lion of the tribe of Judah… Elohim… Mighty God on over!”

“Though hand join in hand,” the wicked line of rebellion will not hold.

And I can’t help but grin.

Below is a cute video depicting how Red Rover works.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Fools, Justice, The Righteous, The Wicked

June 10, 2018

Chapter 10 Radio Version

By Anthony Baker

Even though we are already in chapter 11, I recorded the attached program to be aired today on a local radio station.

If you would like to follow along with a “study guide,” most of the program was taken from posts I wrote several years ago. You can find the links to those posts under the tabs at the top of the page.

I do want to thank Daniel Klem for pulling a lot of the weight around here, though. He’s been doing a lot of the writing, and I appreciate that. I hope to be back in the game sooner than later.

God bless, and have a great Lord’s Day!

Anthony

Clicking on the picture will link you to the recording.

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June 4, 2018

Contrasting the Parallelisms

By Anthony Baker
A New Section

You may notice that starting here in chapter 10, the verses read a little differently. The reason is that here we see the beginning of the second part of this book (Prov. 10:1-22:16) which contains what are called “parallelisms.”

Parallelisms are grammatical and poetical devices which both help make a point and make the point easier to process while including an easier-to-remember element.

Sometimes parallelisms are antithetic (Prov. 10:1-15:33), while others are synthetic (Prov. 16:1-22:16). The first use two lines of prose to make a contrast; the second uses two lines to point out similarities.

A good extra-biblical example of antithetic parallelism can be seen in the words of Sir Winston Churchill (House of Commons, 22 October 1945):

“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.”

A good example of antithetic parallelism from chapter 10 might be the following verse:

Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. – Proverbs 10:12

Churchill made a positive point about capitalism, but he did it by contrasting the “vice” of capitalism with the “virtue” of socialism. Solomon highlighted the caring and peaceful value of love by contrasting it with strife: false love can be exposed by the debris it stirs up.

However, neither kinds of parallelisms are meant to be understood as all-encompassing. Some are best understood as being more “rule-of-thumb” than absolute (i.e., Prov. 22:6 says: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it,” yet some children leave and never return).

Unpacking It All

Because there is no real way to connect all of these parallelisms into one coherent message, unlike the previous chapters which addressed particular themes, we could take a long time unpacking each one. Therefore, I would encourage you to go back and check out our past commentary on Proverbial Thought which dealt with each individual verse. You can do that by clicking on the tabs at the top of the page (chapters 9-12 will be uploaded soon).

But for now, since this time we are going through Proverbs in a more condensed fashion, we will only be addressing the verses which most stand out to the particular writer.

I’m looking forward to reading what the Holy Spirit shows the other writers. It should be interesting.

That being said…

Thinking of Proverbs 10:12 (as seen above), isn’t it wonderful when we choose not to bring up past wrongs, but rather let things lie, even cover them with a blanket of grace?

Solomon isn’t talking about sweeping guilt under a rug or denying wrongdoing or sin (such as abuse); he’s talking about forgiveness.

Sometimes the better part of forgiveness is to keep some things packed away and forgotten. Real love seeks healing; false love (hatred, selfishness, pride) demands a never-ending string of “I’m sorry’s” and never lets the dust settle on the past.

Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. – 1 Peter 4:8 CSB

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Love, Mercy

May 26, 2018

“Before Abraham…I Am”

By Anthony Baker
I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. – Proverbs 8:23

Before we leave Proverbs chapter 8, I want us to notice one of the most glorious truths displayed in all of Scripture: the eternality of Jesus Christ.

Notice in verses 22-31 that at least six different times Wisdom is mentioned as having been with God from before the foundation of the earth. Carefully read through these verses in Proverbs while you consider the following:

  • In John 1:1-2 Jesus is called the Word of God who was with God and was God.
  • In John 8:58 Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am.”
  • In John 17:24 we read where Jesus was praying to the Father and said: “My glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.”
  • Speaking of the coming Messiah, Isaiah 9:6 calls Him “the Everlasting.”
  • Micah 5:2, also speaking of the coming Messiah, said: “His goings forth have been from old, from everlasting.”
  • In Hebrews 13:8 we read that Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”
  • In Revelation 1:11 Jesus says of Himself, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last…”
  • And if it was ever a question that Jesus claimed to be God, when you compare John 8:58 and Revelation 1:11 to Isaiah 48:12, then there should be no doubt: “I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.”

Make no mistake, the parallels are too similar to deny…Jesus, the Power and Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24), is being prophetically referenced here in this chapter. As the Holy Spirit moved through the prophet David, Solomon’s father, to write Psalm 22 in anticipation of the crucifixion, so does He move through Solomon to describe the glorious, eternal nature of the Messiah, Jesus.

But there’s one more thing I want you to see… His delights are with the sons of men (Proverbs 8:31).

The Word of God made flesh…the Wisdom of God who was there before the foundation of the world…the Savior who came and dwelt among us (Emmanuel – see Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23)…

He delights to be with you and me! He literally wants to spend time with us because he loves and cares for us.

Therefore, considering what we’ve read, we should all the more take seriously the closing verse in this chapter.

But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death. – Proverbs 8:36

To seek Wisdom is a choice, but failing to do so can have eternal ramifications.

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in advice, Creation, Jesus