Category Archives: The Righteous

July 28, 2017

Rejoicing or Hiding

By Daniel M. Klem
Proverbs 28:12
“When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.”

Most people in our world understand what this verse is saying.

There are people in Third World countries who hide from terrorists, tyrants, and warlords who steal from, maim, kill, or worse the people in their nations or allow others to do so.

We have the past century of history with the likes of Hitler, Stalin and Lenin, and Kim, who have ruled over their empires, nations, or blocs with the iron fist of communism, suppressing freedoms and dissent from the status quo.

When someone comes along who helps relieve or end the suffering of the average person, the average person wants to celebrate.

… Or in the Workplace …

When you work with a horrible boss, it becomes easier to just duck your head down and get your work done. You hide in your work to avoid confrontation. Or you quit.

When your boss is a joy to work with, you enjoy going to work.

… Or at Home …

When you have a spouse that complains about everything or is abusive, you might hide in your work, hide with your friends, or hide in a hobby.

When you have a spouse who is loving and caring, you enjoy being with your spouse.

… Or at Church …

When your church is less of a family and more of a gossip-factory or, strangely, a pep-rally of moralism or “your best life now”, you may find that you want to hide behind a smile than confess your short-comings, failures, and sins.

When your church is a family that holds you accountable to God’s Word with love and compassion, you rejoice in the freedom offered through Christ’s sacrifice and forgiveness. You rejoice in the family of God.

Lord, give us strength and wisdom when we face wickedness in power, and help us to find support and strength through Your children in the Church.

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July 24, 2017

Planning Evil and Digging Holes

By Anthony Baker

Proverbs 28:10

“Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.”

Don’t Be Naive

The first thing we should understand from this proverb is that there are most assuredly those who want to lead “the righteous” astray. Not only do they want to cause them to sin, but they want them to fall into an inescapable pit. There are certainly evil people out there who want to see good people fall.

Those who don’t fall prey to the traps set by the wicked are the ones who are alert and on guard. They are not naive, but “sober…vigilant; because [our] adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

Don’t Be Too Confident

The second thing we should note is the result of leading the righteous astray. Solomon warns that he who does such a thing is guaranteed to fall into his own pit, just as he did in Proverbs 26:27, “Who diggeth a pit shall fall therein…”

Actually, Solomon’s words sound much like his father’s. Writing about evil men who think God will never judge them, he said…

“Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous– you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God! … If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts. Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies. He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made.” – Psalms 7:9, 12-15 ESV

If I were an evil man planning to lead the righteous astray, I would be a little nervous. Wouldn’t you?

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July 5, 2017

Leaving Mayberry

By Anthony Baker

Proverbs 28:2

“For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.”
“When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers, but a ruler with discernment and knowledge maintains order.” – NIV
Mayberry

Have you ever noticed that where you see peaceful, law-abiding, respectful, and neighborly people, you rarely see police? Who needs a patrolman at every corner, a police car on every street, and a S.W.A.T. team on stand-by when there’s no crime to speak of?

Publicity photo of Andy Griffith and Don Knott...

Publicity photo of Andy Griffith and Don Knotts from a Jim Nabors television special. Griffith and Knotts revive their Andy and Barney roles for a skit on the show. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Do you remember Andy Griffith’s old show and the town of Mayberry? Mayberry was a fictitious place where Andy was the sheriff and Barney Fife was the deputy with one bullet. The jail in Mayberry was usually occupied by a drunk named Otis, but he had access to the key and could “check out” as soon as he felt sober.

Do you ever remember Andy and Barney having to bust Meth dealers and prostitutes? Was there ever a cry for gun control or government-run healthcare? Was drunk driving a big problem? And, do you ever remember seeing a camera sitting atop the lone red light downtown?

My City

My city…your city…there’s not much difference: none are the Mayberry of the past. There are small towns here and there that resemble Mayberry on the surface, even ones that maintain low crime rates. However, I would dare say there are very few places these days where the sheriff and his lone deputy take the evenings off.

Everywhere we turn there are people calling for more police, traffic cameras, and surveillance of all kinds. Voices from every corner cry out for more supervision and less freedom – for more “princes” in a land lacking “men of understanding.”

“For the transgressions of the land…” Why are there so many laws and lawyers? Why are there so many who feel they need to rule over us? Could it be that we refuse to abide by a higher law? A law written on our hearts (Hebrews 8:10)?

It looks like we’ve left Mayberry far behind.

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June 28, 2017

The Boldness of the Lion

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 28:1

The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

Paranoid

Throughout the ages there have been people who have worried about people chasing them, trying to hurt them, or always watching them. It was recently revealed that some people were right about the United States government!

However, usually these fears are misguided or wrong.

Another form of this fear comes from the person with a guilty conscience.

I have been this person. Perhaps you have, too.

I have said and done things that I knew were against the rules, and then I spent minutes, hours, days, even weeks worried someone would catch me in my lie. I became nervous in almost every conversation with anyone, and I eventually only wanted peace and to not be afraid.

The Lion

We are all guilty of something. That something is sin – separation from God by our own actions, words, and thoughts.

We all have a right to feel paranoid about someone watching us, and it is understandable for people to live in fear. It should break our hearts and cause us to tremble at the thought we have forsaken our Creator … and Savior.

Fortunately, we can find boldness and peace:

Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.
Revelation 5:5, NIV

We find our boldness and peace, we find righteousness in Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah!

Confess your sins, repent of your sins, and trust in the fullness of Jesus. Find boldness in Him!

Gracious Lord, help us to overcome our fears and failures. Help us to trust in Your grace and forgiveness, and embolden us to live a life for Your glory!

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March 9, 2017

Muddied Water

By Anthony Baker

Proverbs 25:26

“A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.”
“A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.” – NLT

Well Water

Years ago, when I was young (many years ago), we got all of our water from a well. Instead of “purified” city water, we had an electric pump that drew water from deep down inside the ground. The water was cold and sweet – and free.

However, the only problem with our well was that when it rained really hard, especially after the weather had been dry for a while, the water from the well would turn a muddy red. Runoff from the mountains would somehow find its way into the underground stream from which our water was drawn.

Red Rice

Once, when I was single, poor, and living on my own, all I had to eat one evening was some Uncle Ben’s white rice. That day it had come a hard rain, and as usual, the water was as red as Georgia clay. Since I had no fancy bottled water, the only option I had was to boil my rice in muddy water, which, as you can imagine, also turned my rice red.

I have had red beans and rice, but red rice, especially muddy-tasting red rice, is not particularly appetizing. It’s not something I would recommend.

Dirty Water

There is nothing more naturally refreshing to one who is thirsty than cold, clean, fresh spring water. And when it comes to those who are thirsty for clean, pure truth; for hope that sustains; for counsel that refreshes; there’s nothing more helpful than a word of wisdom offered by a righteous man of God.

However, a righteous man who has given in to the influence and pressures of the world “is as useless to society and as harmful to the good cause as a spring that has been defiled by mud stirred up or extraneous matter introduced is unserviceable for drinking and prejudicial to those who use it.”[1]

Be Careful

The saddest thing is that unless one knows the source of a spring, or unless one is able to determine the water’s purity, polluted water can go undetected until it is too late. Water doesn’t have to be visibly muddy to be unhealthy, or even deadly. Therefore, unless the source of wisdom is Wisdom himself, then the well must be suspect.

How many thirsty men and women, boys and girls, have been sickened by “polluted springs?” Even worse, how many of us have allowed ourselves to be polluted by sin, only to poison others?

The only water guaranteed to “spring up into everlasting life” comes from Jesus (John 4:14), and He said: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (John 7:37).

Don’t muddy the Water.

[1] H. D. M. Spence-Jones, ed., Proverbs, The Pulpit Commentary (London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909), 485.

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June 18, 2016

Justice

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 21:15

“It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.”
When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers. (NIV)

Following the Rules

It is very easy to not fear a judge if you are obeying all the rules and living a consistent lifestyle.

It should be common sense that to avoid trouble, do not break the rules! Be nice to people!

How hard can that really be? We even expect children to behave and treat others with respect!

God’s Justice

We have made it hard in our world. We see evil being committed and tend to live by the mantra of “an eye for an eye” (Exodus 21, Leviticus 24). We want to get even!

As a world, there is certainly an increase in people who want to live better. The new (and old) mantra is that we can be nice to each other.

The dangerous consequence of this increase in being nice to others is that many people think that doing enough good to others will get them into heaven.

However, according to God’s justice, we can never earn our way into heaven, because one blemish on our record is enough to keep us out. It took God coming to cleanse us of our sin for us to be seen as innocent and righteous. God helps us believe through the Holy Spirit that His Son, Jesus, lived a perfect life, died for the forgiveness of our sins, and rose back to life.

When Jesus returns to the world, He will enact His justice on this world. Without His forgiveness in our lives, we are still seen as “workers of iniquity” and evil. All that will be found in that day is terror and destruction.

With the Holy Spirit leading us in all righteousness, we will find joy in that Day!

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your justice. Thank You for Your grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Help us to live in Your justice and grace, that we may be found righteous in Your sight!

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April 26, 2016

Human Resources

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 20:26

26 A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.
26 A wise king winnows out the wicked; he drives the threshing wheel over them. (NIV)

I have worked for many companies over the years. One of the great differences between some of them were how employees were handled.

A good human resources (HR) department handles issues with employees really well.

At one of those companies, the HR Manager volunteered to take all of the difficult situations no one else wanted (hence her being the manager!) Whenever there was an employee who caused more problems than good work, she would convince them that they wanted to work in a different area.

If they still did not improve, she would remove them from employment (fire them, lay them off, however you wish to say it).

Separated

God is our wise King and the greatest at handling human resources.

Jesus told us that at the end of the Age all of humanity would be separated out.

In Matthew 13, He tells the parable of the wheat and weeds. The wheat and weeds grow together, and then after the harvest they are separated with the weeds sent to the fire.

Likewise, when Christ returns, the righteous will be separated to go with Him, but the wicked will be sent to the Lake of Fire.

To be saved, we must seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness, believe in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for our forgiveness, and believe in His resurrection. His Holy Spirit takes care of all of the hard work of preparing us for the final harvest.

Trust in God, and follow Him.

Wise God, thank You for saving us and in Your judgment preparing places for all of us. Help us to find and root out the evil in our lives wherever we encounter it.

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March 29, 2016

Inherited Blessings

By Anthony Baker

Proverbs 20:7

The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him. (KJV)
The righteous lead blameless lives; blessed are their children after them. (NIV)

Walking in Integrity?

You may have noticed that there are not many people who walk with integrity in our world.

Many people find an error on their receipt and keep the excess change (although recently a relief pitcher for the baseball team the San Francisco Giants, Jeremy Affelft, discovered a half million dollar mistake in his paycheck, and returned it!), though it could cost someone their job.

Many people cut off others in traffic to save themselves time or drive slower to “keep themselves safer,” when in truth they may be causing accidents and delays.

There are a myriad of ways people do not walk in integrity, from relationships to finances to business even to church.

However, those who walk in integrity are held blameless by their families, friends, and communities. Whether it is financial, moral, or relational, those who walk in integrity leave many blessings for their children.

A Blessing with a Warning

The children of a person of integrity find that they are blessed with some influence.

People are willing to trust them because of who their parents were. Some people find they have enough money to influence others’ responses.

The wise will use this influence to make their world better. The godly will use this influence to make an impact for Christ.

However, as David and Solomon’s children demonstrated, that influence can also be used to burden and curse others.

The choice is ours how we use what our parents have left for us.

If they left us an example of integrity, may we follow that example.

If they left us an example of selfishness, pride, and violence, may we choose to follow the example of Christ and set a new example of integrity for our children.

Wise Lord, help us break the cycle of our families to walk in the integrity of Christ. Help us to live lives that are pleasing to You and blameless in the sight of our eyes, for Your glory.

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January 7, 2016

The Weighed-Down and the Beaten

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 17:26

“Also to punish the just is not good, nor to strike princes for equity.”
“If imposing a fine on the innocent is not good, surely to flog honest officials is not right.” (NIV)

There are many ways to go with this verse.

We could look at the injustices between the rich and the poor, the government and the people, or families.

Here is another track:

Religious Leaders

Jesus said, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.” (Luke 11:46, NIV)

Many people may think of the likes of the Catholic Church with all of its rules and traditions. Others may think of cults with their crazy rules and restrictions.

In some cases this may be true. However, any leader from the Pope all the way down to mom and dad at home can place restrictions on people that may be unfair or difficult, things which they may be exempt from obeying.

The other danger comes from giving too much freedom.

It is as though we all take Paul’s words to heart: “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:20-21)

All we get from this much freedom, without any restriction, gives us the old burden of our sin. We still have no freedom.

Our Lord

The only true freedom we get comes from Jesus Christ, our good and perfect Judge.

And how did we treat Him:

But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5

The Prince of Peace and the highest official in the universe, the only One righteous, was flogged, beaten, struck by us.

It may not have been right, but God used it for our sake and His glory. He used our hatred and violence to show His love, forgiveness, and grace to us.

Righteous Father, thank You for redeeming our hatred and violence with Your sacrifice. Teach us to be just and merciful. Help us to love each other, even when we are unjust, by Your power.

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September 18, 2015

Can You Hear Me Now?

By Jason Sneed

Proverbs 15:29

The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.

220px-George_MullerHis name is one that many people may not know. It sounds like any other name and if it was said aloud, most would scratch their heads and wander who is this gentleman. His name was plain, but to a group of children that depended on him every day for their well-being, he was a saint. His name was George Muller.

George Muller was a christian evangelist and director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England. It is said that during his time as director, that more than 10,000 children were cared for and loved.

More importantly, George Muller was a man that loved the Lord. No, I am not saying that George Muller was a religious man, I am saying that he had a personal relationship with God.

Our verse today talks about the “prayer of the righteous”. I can assure you that the Lord heard the prayers of George Muller. Am I saying that George Muller was perfect? Far from it, but I know by his fruits that he loved the Lord with all his heart and it showed.

James 5:16b says these very powerful words, “…the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

Mr. Muller never once asked for donations from the public to help support the orphanage. He always prayed and depended on God to supply the need. On one occasion, when there was no food in the orphanage at all, Muller had the children come to the tables for breakfast and sit down and pray. At the end of the prayer, a baker and a milkman showed up at the front door with both bread and milk to meet the need.

The Lord heard the prayers of George Muller and He can also hear the prayers that comes from you and me, but we must have the correct connection.

Several years back, Verizon Wireless had a commercial that showed a guy walking around everywhere asking the question, “Can you hear me  now?” The point of the commercial was to show the consumer that Verizon’s coverage was strong and that the connection between two phones was always going to be there and that both parties would be heard.

God has laid out for us some requirements in order for Him to hear our prayers – WE MUST BE RIGHTEOUS! Does this mean that we have to be perfect, no, but we must strive to fear Him and be faithful to Him in everything we do.

Do you want God to hear your prayers? Then strive to be a righteous person – not religious, but righteous!

“The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them” (Psalm  145:18,19).

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