August 9, 2018

Spoon-fed

By dawnlizjones

study 2Dad is a retired engineer, a graduate of Purdue University, a true Boilermaker is ever there was one.  He was the first of his family to go to college, not a small accomplishment having been born at the start of the Great Depression.  After his stint in the Navy, and a bit of disgruntlement with the union’s treatment of his hard work ethic, he decided to go back to school.  So here was a seasoned vet in his early twenties heading off to classes with fresh-faced high school graduates in a post-Korea university setting.

The stories are hilarious, and quite enlightening. Continue reading

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August 8, 2018

Which Strong Man Do You Fear?

By Daniel M. Klem

Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware: and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge. -Proverbs 19:25 KJV

Why do guys like hitting each other?

It seems silly, but a lot of guys do it.

However, we see those who can knock someone out cold with one punch or kick through a brick wall, and everyone else agrees, “Don’t mess with him!”

But is that all?

Look at the recently rebranded debate over the death penalty. Pope Francis called it “inadmissable” for governments to kill using the death penalty.

But, as a friend said to me about locks on doors, it may serve to “keep the honest people honest.” Or at the very least it warns those who may want to commit a crime that there are severe consequences, and they will simply beware the dangers and avoid the crime.

Things should be different.

Why aren’t they different? We fail to live out the two greatest commandments: Love God and love others.

We get too focused on our own wants and needs, and it leads to mistreating others.

A wise person, though, will see the law or hear the admonition against things and think, “I can see how that might hurt others.” At the very least, he or she would want to learn more about why we should or should not do something. This keeps them out of trouble in the first place!

But you better believe there’s a deeper meaning to this!

A simple person will look at the cross of Christ and think “Don’t make waves” or “Religion causes problems.”

But the point of the Cross is that God has a Law that no one can meet, but Jesus did and made a way for us by sacrificing Himself on that cross. The wise person understands our sinful nature and seeks to avoid the condemnation our lawlessness brings. This person seeks out the truth of Christ to believe and be saved.

In this world, big, strong guys impress and intimidate us.

At the end of this world, The Big Guy will finally reveal His strength as His wrath is poured out on those who refuse to believe.

Who do you fear more?

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August 7, 2018

Having the Grandeur to Forgive and Forget

By M. Wiley Wilson
Hold your tongue

Hold your tongue

Holding my tongue is easier said than done some days. Someone says something and off I go. I react. I speak. I regret it.

God’s wisdom teaches me to pause. I should forgive what they say. I should forget what they say. Many times we forgive but we don’t forget.

If I can forget it, I am truly liberated and free.

His wisdom teaches me to pause. Rather than respond I need to forgive first. Then I need to forget. Then I have nothing left to say about the offense that started everything to begin with.

God’s goal for me is that I know how to hold my tongue.

Smart people know how to hold their tongue; their grandeur is to forgive and forget.

Proverbs 19:11 (The Message Bible)

Forgiveness is also an essential part of the life of disciples of King Jesus.

Ephesians 4:32 commands, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in the Messiah God forgave you.”

Similarly, Colossians 3:13 says, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Master forgave you.”

The key in both passages is that we are to forgive others as God has forgiven us.

Why do we forgive? Because we have been forgiven!

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Wisdom

August 7, 2018

How to Keep Your Soul

By Daniel M. Klem

He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die. –Proverbs 19:16 KJV

The are two ways to take this verse. Both are simple.

Don’t break the law.

Obey laws, and things should go well in your life. Break the law, and you will suffer the consequences.

Obey God’s Law.

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Matthew 22:37‭-‬40, KJV

If you truly want to keep your soul, love God and love others.

The Bible explains how. Read it.

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August 5, 2018

Because We Mess(ed) Up

By Daniel M. Klem

The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the Lord. -Proverbs 19:3 KJV

“How could a good God allow …”

This is how a popular accusation against the existence of God starts. Sometimes there are specifics (“… my son to die?”), but generally it is more general (“… evil to happen?”)

My question was “Why didn’t He stop me from making that stupid choice?”

In each of these, we are angry with God for something happening to us or to someone we love (or for evil in general).

The Thing We Fail To Understand

The root of all of this evil starts with our own human nature, with all of our boneheaded or uninformed decisions.

Boneheaded because we know better but want something now or in spite of reason.

Uninformed because of assumptions we make without all of the facts or plain ignorance.

However, it all goes back to our ultimate parents: Adam and Eve. Yes, we inherited this sinful (rebellious) nature.

But the failure to understand comes in how this applies to a good God.

The thing is, God created us with free will. It is tainted by sin, but we are still free moral agents.

This freedom to rebel against God is what allows us to freely love Him, but it also means that more often than not we choose rebellion.

And God lets the natural consequences play out.

(Still within His control, mind you.)

Why does God allow evil and sad things? Because He loves us enough to let us choose that which causes evil, but He is also just.

Death, pain, and natural disasters are a result of our ultimate parents’ sin, but we perpetuate and exacerbate the problem with our own sin.

He does intervene from time to time, but ask yourself this:

Would you want to help people who constantly complain and blame you for what others have done?

Why should we expect God to ever help us?

(The short answer: because of the grace poured out through Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross.)

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August 4, 2018

Out of the Heart …

By Daniel M. Klem

A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. -Proverbs 18:20-21 KJV

A quick read-through of verse 20 had me thinking of a salesman, making sales with his smooth talking and eating from the work of his mouth (by buying food).

Then I thought about it longer than a couple of seconds.

Well Said

A person is satisfied by speaking well of and to others. When a person uses their words to lift up, praise, and edify another – especially by sharing the gospel – there is a satisfaction that fills every part of the body. (Also, church potlucks!) And this comes out of the love of God within us.

But when we do not have God’s love compelling us, all sorts of evil easily flows out, and that usually (and ultimately) leads to receiving the same.

And [Jesus] said, “That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”
Mark 7:20‭-‬23, KJV

We need to have our hearts and minds changed by the power of Christ’s blood washing us clean. Then our words shall become sweet and evidence the change.

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August 3, 2018

Shut Your Mouth!

By Anthony Baker
A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes. – Proverbs 18:6

Let’s be real, OK? Sometimes people get into trouble because they can’t shut their mouths.

Years ago, while driving a school bus in Kentucky, I had to stop and have the police come on board to search for drugs. As we had been going down the road there were some kids in the back who had lit up a marijuana joint and the smell was obvious.

However, when the police came onto the bus and began to search the bags of the suspected teens, a young girl who was sitting nowhere near the smokers started cursing at the police. Her complaint was that the suspected teens were black, that they were just being profiled, and that she wasn’t going to stand for it.

Needless to say, before long the one who ended up getting taken off the bus in handcuffs was the loud-mouthed, belligerent, unruly white girl. The other kids – the ones who said “Yes, sir,” and “No, sir” – just got a warning… no drugs were found.

What happened on that bus that day is nothing unusual; it happens all the time. Foolish people can’t help but run their mouths whenever they feel wronged or disrespected. Then, when strokes come, they act surprised.

 

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August 2, 2018

Don’t kill the mockingbird (just shut him up)

By dawnlizjones

tree-46766_1280I’m sitting on the back porch as the birds herald in the morning when I hear the cat-bird.  Yea, he’s back!  I love that odd avian sound truly mimicking a cat. 

Oh, wait.  Now I’m hearing a jumble of sounds (including the cat-bird’s) all mixed together, all different.  There seems to be a cacophony of twitters all coming from the same bird in rapid fire succession.  It’s still pretty dark, so I can’t see the perpetrator, but it’s got to be a mockingbird—that strange creation that can’t seem to find a voice of its own.  Continue reading

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in conversation/speech, Uncategorized, Wisdom

July 31, 2018

Caring for Thoughtful and not Foolish Discourse

By M. Wiley Wilson

Fools

I am a fool. Many times I run off at the mouth.

I think what I have to say is important and I don’t care what others have to say. I know that is sad but it is true.

Fools care nothing for thoughtful discourse; all they do is run off at the mouth. ~King Solomon

Source: Proverbs 18:2 (The Message Bible)

Discourse involves asking questions (wise ones) and listening.

The best conversations are where I ask lots of relevant questions and really listen. God’s goal for me is to be wise. That requires “wise” listening.

That is wisdom. I need more of that.

The good news is that Jesus teaches me. I have been redeemed from missing God’s goal (aka sinning) and can break away from my natural inclinations.

I don’t want to be foolish. The following is a partial list of some characteristics of a fool from the book of Proverbs:

  • A fool hates knowledge (1:22)
  • Takes no pleasure in understanding (18:2)
  • Enjoys wicked schemes (Proverbs 10:23)
  • Proclaims folly (Proverbs 12:23)
  • Spurns a parent’s discipline (15:5)
  • Speaks perversity (19:1)
  • Is quick-tempered (12:16)
  • Gets himself in trouble with his proud speech (14:3)
  • Mocks at sin (14:9)
  • Is deceitful (14:8)
  • Despises his mother (15:20)
  • A foolish child brings grief to his or her parents (17:25; 19:13)
  • A foolish man commits sexual immorality (6:32; 7:7–12)
  • A foolish woman tears down her own house (14:1)

Yikes! A great case to WISE UP!

The ultimate description of a fool is one who “says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ We are told they are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good” (Psalm 14:1; 53:1). Although fools can choose to become wise by heeding wise counsel and applying it (Proverbs 8:5; 21:11), the Bible warns against associating with fools (Proverbs 14:7).

Proverbs 13:20 says, “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”

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July 30, 2018

Crushed or Broken?

By Daniel M. Klem

The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear? -Proverbs 18:14 KJV

A man’s spirit will endure sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? -Proverbs 18:14 ESV

This will get … heavy.

We hear stories all the time about the two kinds of people who deal with deadly illness, such as cancer:

  1. Those who barely survive or even give up and die, or
  2. Those who not only fight but seem to thrive!

How do we describe these people?

By their spirit!

A fighting spirit. A spirit of life. A strong spirit.

Or a frail spirit. A tired spirit. Even a crushed spirit. Those who have given up on hope.

As Christians, we are encouraged to encourage those who have lost hope. We are expected to be more strong-spirited, if for no other reason than to encourage others.

I think of my mom, who passed away from cancer in August 2014. It was sudden and a shock, but she was strong. We saw more people turn to God as she abruptly faded away because of her unwavering faith in God.

I think of Jesus’ words:

But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
Luke 20:17‭-‬18, ESV

My mother’s body was broken. But my mom fell on Christ and certainly was not crushed. I know my father nearly felt so, but he was emotionally broken.

The great thing about being broken for God is that He can use you for great things.

But being crushed . . .

. . . all that is left is to be ground into powder (Luke 20:18, KJV).

Do you have hope, or have you abandoned all hope?

Do you fall on Christ, or or are you waiting for His crushing return?

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