Tag Archives: Bible

July 27, 2013

Tongue-Tied

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 22:12

12 The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor.

Getting Confused

In Genesis chapter 9, immediately after the Flood, God told Noah’s family to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

So what did the people do within a few generations?

In Genesis 11 we find that they tried to settle in one place together and build a tower to live in there. It became known as the Tower of Babel, because these people transgressed God’s command. They refused to do as God commanded, so he confused their languages (the creation of different languages) and scattered them around the planet (the creation of different people groups).

In other words, God overthrew their words.

Preserved through Denial

However, God has a knack for keeping around some faithful friends.

This is the real reason Israel was established: to keep the record of God’s goodness and expectations of humanity, and to bring about His reconciliation with the world.

Israel could barely maintain a small minority of faithful followers, though. As a nation, they largely denied God’s truth.

Today, we live in a world of people who present confusing “facts.” Even when their own facts go against reason, they persist in their arrogance and often cause more confusion.

This is true within and outside of the Church.

Fortunately, God preserves sound knowledge through His Bible, through His Holy Spirit, and through a relative few who study matters and come to clear conclusions.

Are you slow to speak and quick to listen (James 1:19) and therefore grow in and preserve knowledge, or do you repeat whatever sounds good to you and spread confusion?

Wise Lord, help us to control our minds and tongues, that we may not cause more confusion and chaos but peace and understanding.

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July 25, 2013

Dealing with Troublemakers

By Chris Jordan

Proverbs 22:10.

“Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.” (KJV). 

Building the Church:

I don’t know where it has come from, but we’ve got this idea in the church today that we need to keep everyone who walks through our doors. “We don’t want to lose anyone!” However, I would like to suggest to you today that maybe this isn’t the healthiest perspective to have when it comes to building the church.

Every church is full of good people and bad people – those who love the Lord and want to honor and obey Him, and those who don’t. However, the seeker-driven church model today is so anxious to get more and more people to join the church that they give no thought to lifestyle concerns, and will let anyone in if they would simply make a profession of faith. However, this leads to all sorts of problems!

If you let people join your church who don’t believe in your mission or vision, they’re not going to help fulfill God’s purpose for your church. In fact you might even find them fighting against what the Lord is calling you to do. (Incidentally, the word division comes from two words: di meaning two, and vision. Two visions). This is one of the many different situations that wise King Solomon is addressing in today’s Proverb.

Kick out the Troublemakers:

In the Message paraphrase of our Bible verse, Eugene Peterson writes: “Kick out the troublemakers and things will quiet down; you need a break from bickering and griping!” In other words, if you have someone in your church who is a troublemaker, then it’s probably best to ask them to leave – for the good of the church!

One of my life verses is Psalm 133 which says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious (anointing) oil… For there the Lord commanded the blessing– Life forevermore.” In other words, when a church (or a family) lives in unity, that’s where God’s anointing (presence), blessing, and eternal life can be found. But where there is strife, there is every evil work. That’s why it’s better to remove the troublemaker, for the sake of the unity in the church.

The Pruning of the Lord:

Now – this isn’t easy! As a pastor, I am thankful that I have never had to actually do this, although there are times where we have had troublemakers in our church. Thankfully, the Lord in His graciousness did some pruning and removed them from our body before they could to any more damage than they already had. And in every circumstance where the Lord brought about a pruning and removed a troublemaker, we found that the church always grew again in a better and a healthier way. So maybe a good starting point in dealing with a troublemaker is asking the Lord to do the pruning, so you don’t have to!

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July 16, 2013

A Good Name

By Chris Jordan

Proverbs 22:1.

“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.” (KJV).

Choose Your Own Adventure:

When I was a child growing up in the 80’s, one of my favourite series of books was the Choose Your Own Adventure Books by Bantam. This series contained stories that were written from a second-person point of view, where the reader took on the role of the protagonist and made choices that determined the main character’s actions and the plot’s outcome. It was a very interesting concept, and depending on what choices you made, you either had a good ending, or a bad ending (often resulting in your character’s death).

When I was in junior high school, Choose Your Own Adventure put out a writing contest for teenagers, and I entered it. Although I didn’t win the writing contest, I was pleasantly surprised by a personal letter from editors Edward Packard and R.A. Montgomery, telling me how much they personally enjoyed my story, and encouraging me to continue writing.

You Choose:

As I was reflecting upon today’s Proverb, I thought about how the Bible is like a Choose Your Own Adventure Book. Especially in the Book of Proverbs, God’s Word gives us wisdom for daily living, and encourages us to choose often between two different options. In today’s Scripture, Solomon gives us two sets of options: The first one is to have a good name and loving favour (or high esteem), and the other is to have great riches such as silver and gold.

It is interesting to notice that the Bible’s contrasts of two different options are not always opposites. For example, the Proverb doesn’t say, “A good name is better than a bad name.” Rather, it says, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.” When you read something like that, it’s good to ask yourself, “Why does God contrast those two things?” Could it be because oftentimes people who pursue great riches do so to the exclusion of having a good name? How many people strike it rich, but do so at the expense of others, or by giving up their reputation, honesty or integrity?

The Choice:

In the New Living Translation of the above Scripture, Solomon plainly says, “Choose a good reputation over great riches, for being held in high esteem is better than having silver or gold.” As you’re setting a goal for your life, choose to do what is right and good, and have a good reputation that brings honour and glory to the Lord. Amen!

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July 13, 2013

Establish Your Way

By Chris Jordan

Proverbs 21:29.

“A wicked man hardens his face, But as for the upright, he establishes his way.” (KJV).
“A wicked man displays a bold face, But as for the upright, he makes his way sure.” (NASB).

Righteousness or Wickedness:

We have seen that one of Solomon’s teaching tactics includes contrasting two opposing life choices, such as wisdom and foolishness, diligence and laziness, and humility and pride. In today’s Scripture, Solomon tells us that wicked people harden their face, or put on a bold face. In other words, they pretend to be okay when they are not. The upright, or righteous, on the other hand, establish their way, and make their way sure. They don’t have to pretend to be right, but by God’s grace, choose to do what is right.

Solomon tells us: “Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, But righteousness delivers from death.” (Prov. 10:2). And “As righteousness leads to life, So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.” (Prov. 11:19). To choose a righteous lifestyle leads to life and blessing, and to choose wickedness leads to death and destruction. But – what is righteousness?

Righteousness Defined:

Righteousness can be looked at from two different perspectives. One is right-standing with God, and the other is acting in an upright, virtuous, moral way. Let’s take a look at these two different aspects to righteousness:

1.         Right-standing with God – Putting Your Faith in Jesus:

The first time we see the word righteousness used in the Bible is in Genesis 15:6 where it says, “And Abraham believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” Here we see that Abraham’s right-standing with God did not come from living a perfect, holy life (because indeed no one can or ever has lived a perfect life, except for Jesus). Rather, righteousness was credited to his account as a gift when he put his faith in the Lord.

Romans 1:17 teaches us this: “This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” (NLT). Do you want right-standing with God? Put your faith in Jesus, and trust Him to be your Lord and Savior, and forgive you of all of your sins. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ today!

2.         Right-living before God – Acting in an Upright Manner:

In addition to our positional righteousness, which comes from a personal relationship with Jesus, there is also a practical righteousness, where we choose to do what is right and good – that is, we obey the teachings of the Bible. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matt. 6:33).

Lord, help us as your people to walk in righteousness so that we can establish our way according to your righteousness. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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July 8, 2013

Soul Trouble

By Chris Jordan

Proverbs 21:23.

“Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.” (KJV).
“Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles.” (NKJV). 

Powerful Words:

The Book of Proverbs has a lot to say about the words we speak – our mouth, our tongue, and our lips. I don’t think many people realize just how powerful our words are, but Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.”

What do you think would happen if, for the next 24 hours, every word you spoke became a reality? If you said, “I wish you were dead!” to someone, and they dropped dead. If you said, “I’m so fat and ugly,” and poof! Instantly you became fat and ugly. I think if we experienced one day like that (assuming we survived it), it would radically change the way we speak.

Although what we say may not always literally or instantly come to pass, there is still a supernatural power or energy behind those words. Proverbs tells us that our words can be pleasant like a honeycomb, words of wisdom, knowledge and understanding, or words can be deceitful, wicked, perverse, or foolish. Words can bring life or death, blessing or cursing. Today’s Proverb tells us that if we guard our mouth and tongue – and speak only words of life – we will keep our soul from trouble.

Idle Words:

Jesus Himself said, “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matt. 12:36-37). Now that’s a sobering thought, isn’t it? When we get to Heaven, we will have to give an account of every word we have ever spoken.

Lying words.              
Gossip words.
Slanderous words.     
Curse words.
Hurtful words.           
Critical or judgmental words.

Knowing that truth, shouldn’t we be motivated to guard our mouth and tongue? In doing so, we will be guarding our soul from trouble.

Graceful Words:

The Bible says, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” (Eph. 4:29). Not only do our words bring death and destruction, they can also bring life, peace and blessing, and even impart God’s grace to other people’s lives.

Loving words.            
Kind words.
Helpful words.           
Encouraging words.
Accepting words.       
Forgiving words.
God’s Words.

What kind of words are you speaking?

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July 2, 2013

Addicted to Thrills

By Chris Jordan

Proverbs 21:17.

“He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.” (KJV).

Living in the Last Days:

In a letter the Apostle Paul wrote to a pastor named Timothy, he described the signs of the times of the last days: “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money… lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (2 Tim. 3:1-5).

Those words aptly describe the world we’re living in today! People love themselves, they love money, and they love pleasure – more than they love God. Paul says that we need to turn away from such people, because bad company corrupts moral character. The reason for the warning comes through clearly in the Proverb: If we love pleasure, we will become poor.

The Pursuit of Pleasure:

The Message Bible translation of the above Proverb paraphrases the text: “You’re addicted to thrills? What an empty life! The pursuit of pleasure is never satisfied.” (Message). Now does this mean that Christians can’t enjoy life? That the call to follow Jesus is equated with joyless boredom and drudgery? Sadly, some people have interpreted the Christian life in such shallow terms. They say that Christians can’t have fun, because anything fun is sin. But nothing could be further from the truth! Jesus said that the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus comes to give us an abundant, joy-filled life.

Sadly, many people think of the Christian life as being comparable to this scene from Monty Python:

It reminds me of one of my favourite quotes by C.S. Lewis: “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” You see, the Bible never says that pleasure is wrong; rather it condemns the love of pleasure. When we love pleasure more than God, when we love the gifts more than the Giver, we’ve missed the point.

The Pleasure we seek:

Before I became a Christian, I loved pleasure and looked for satisfaction in the bars, at parties, and in relationships with girls. For the first 18 years of my life, that’s where I sought pleasure. But after coming to know Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, I experienced a joy I had never known before.

The Bible says: “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11). When we seek God first, and His kingdom, we experience fullness of joy and rivers of pleasure. Don’t be satisfied with the world’s cheap substitute of drunkenness, sex and drugs, when God offers indescribable, glorious joy. He offers His very presence. That’s the pleasure we seek!

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June 28, 2013

Hear the Poor

By Chris Jordan

Proverbs 21:13.

“Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.”

Youth Serve at Union Gospel Mission:

One of the privileges that I have as a pastor is being able to work with the youth group in our church. I have always loved working with teenagers, and love their passion for life. A couple of weeks ago, we took a team of youth from our small town of Beausejour, to serve at Union Gospel Mission, a street outreach in Winnipeg.

It was Matthew 25:40 in action: Jesus said: “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” I was so blessed to see a group of teenagers taking their Saturday night and – instead of staying home and playing video games or watching TV – they came to serve. And serve they did! They washed chairs in their chapel in preparation for their evening service, cleaned windows, worked in the kitchen, mopped floors, and greeted street people at the door as they came in for their meal. I was so proud of our amazing team!

Our youth at Union Gospel Mission in Winnipeg, MB

Our youth at Union Gospel Mission in Winnipeg, MB

God Loves the Poor:

Many people wonder why our young people would give up their Saturday night to go and serve the homeless, and the answer is simple: God loves the poor! There are so many Scriptures that reveal to us God’s heart for the poor, the lonely, the orphans and widows, and the strangers:

  • Leviticus 19:10: “And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger.”
  • Deut. 15:7: “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren… you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother.”
  • Psalm 41:1: “Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.”
  • Psalm 82:4: “Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of the wicked.”
  • Gal. 2:10: “They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do.”

Don’t Ignore the Poor:

In today’s Scripture, Solomon says, “Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in their own time of need.” (NLT). This is echoed in another Proverb: “He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given.” (19:17).

God loves the poor. But some would say, “Aha! If there is a God, and He is all-powerful and all-loving, then why are there so many needy people in the world?” The answer to that is simple. As Christians, we are called to be God’s hands and feet in the world. If the poor aren’t being helped, it’s because we aren’t doing our part in reaching them with the love of God. Let’s hear the poor!

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June 20, 2013

Get Rich Quick

By Chris Jordan

Proverbs 21:5.

“The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.” (KJV).
“Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.” (NLT).

What’s Wrong With That?

It’s amazing to me how many people chase after the latest get-rich quick schemes. “Make money fast from home and become a millionaire this year! Small investment, big return!” And don’t even get me started on lottery tickets: They are aptly named an “idiot tax.”

In the small town that I live in, we have a corner convenience store just down the street from my house, and it’s amazing to me that almost every time I walk in there, someone is buying a lottery ticket or scratch-and-win ticket, hoping to be the next big winner. What’s going on here? It seems we have created an entire culture that is devoted to trying to get something for nothing, to get rich without having to do any work for it. But some might be asking – is there really anything wrong with that? Well, that depends on whether or not you believe the Bible.

Poverty or Prosperity?

In today’s Scripture, Solomon tells us that we can choose plenteousness or want, prosperity or poverty. To reach each destination, there are two very different roads that lead there.

If you want to be prosperous, the road is called good planning and hard work. No shortcuts here! You need to be diligent. Get a job and work hard. And as Matthew Henry says, “The thoughts of the diligent are as necessary as the hand of the diligent. Forecast is as good as work.” It’s good to plan ahead if you want to prosper and do well financially! Plan a budget. Honour the Lord with your tithe. Be generous and give to the poor. All of these will help you succeed.

If you want to be poor, it’s a whole lot easier to get there. Don’t be diligent. Don’t get a job. Don’t work hard. Don’t plan ahead. Spend foolishly. Waste your money on things lottery tickets and other things you don’t really need. You’ll be poor before you know it!

Lord, help us as your people to make good plans and work hard, so you can bless us financially. Not just so we can be blessed, blessed, blessed, but we know you bless us so that we can be a blessing to others. To help the poor. To build the Kingdom of God. To make a difference in the lives of others. Help us to make wise choices with our finances, and be good stewards of all of our resources. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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June 18, 2013

More Pleased

By Chris Jordan

Proverbs 21:3.

“To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.” (KJV). 

Justice and Judgment:

What does the Lord want us to do? To do justice and judgment. Or, as it says in the New Living Translation: “The LORD is more pleased when we do what is just and right than when we give him sacrifices.” That tells us that – contrary to popular belief in the world today – there are certain things that are right and certain things that are wrong. And God wants us to do those things that are right. He wants us to be loving, forgiving and gracious people.

But – what does Solomon mean when he says that doing justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice? What kind of sacrifice is he talking about here?

The Sacrifices:

Under the Old Covenant, when the people would sin, they would have to make a sacrifice to atone for their sin. Under the New Covenant, when we sin, we confess our sins to God and tell Him we’re sorry for what we’ve done, and when we do, He forgives us.

However, some people have taken the grace of God and used it as a license to sin. They think that because God is good and forgiving, they can go out and sin all they want, as long as they make a sacrifice / confess their sins to Him. Some people try to make up for their sin by trying to balance it out with good deeds. Because they feel guilty, they go out and do something good like go to church, worship, fast or pray.

But God is more pleased when we do what is just and right in the first place, rather than going out and doing bad things then having to offer sacrifices to try to make up for our wrongdoings. Yes it’s true that God is gracious and will forgive us when we sin, but we cannot let that be an excuse to be a Sunday Christian, doing our religious duty at church, then forgetting about doing what is just and right the rest of the week.

A Story from Spurgeon:

I think this story by Charles Spurgeon best illustrates our motivation for doing what is just and right, even though God forgives us when we sin:

Spurgeon“There is the story of half-a-dozen boys who had severe fathers, accustomed to beat them within an inch of their lives. Another boy was with them who was well beloved by his parents, and known to do so. These young boys met together to hold a council of war about robbing an orchard. They were all anxious to get about it except the favoured youth, who did not enjoy the proposal. One of them cried out, “You need not be afraid: if our fathers catch us at this work, we shall be half-killed, but your father won’t lay a hand upon you.” The little boy answered, “And do you think because my father is kind to me, that therefore I will do wrong and grieve him? I will do nothing of the sort to my dear father. He is so good to me that I cannot vex him.”

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June 2, 2013

Sweet Stolen Bread

By Chris Jordan

Proverbs 20:17.

“Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.” (KJV). 

The Pleasures of Sin:

I’m not going to lie to you – sin feels good. If it didn’t, people wouldn’t sin all the time, would they? The Bible says that sin is pleasurable… for a season (Hebrews 11:25). In the above Proverb, Solomon tells us that the bread of deceit is sweet to a man. In a literal sense he is saying that stolen bread tastes sweet, but in a figurative sense, I believe he is also talking about sin.

The term the bread of deceit reminds us that sin is deceitful. It looks and tastes good, but in the end it leads to death. When the devil first tempted Eve to disobey God in the Garden of Eden, it says that “when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.” (Gen. 3:6).

Before I became a Christian, I used to go out and get drunk with my friends. And I had fun doing it! Eating, drinking and being merry, getting drunk, dancing and partying was fun. For a season. A season that usually lasted until the next morning.

The Consequences of Sin:

When I woke up the next morning after a night of drunken partying, I was often hung over and feeling sick. There was one night when I had gotten so drunk that I blacked out and didn’t even remember the things I had done the night before. (Apparently I threw up in the backseat of a friend’s car, and they took pictures of me passed out in a ditch. Thank God they didn’t have Facebook back then!). I often felt guilty and ashamed of my behaviour while drunk.

Sin had promised pleasure, but instead provided pain and destruction. I think this is what Solomon means by the bread turning to gravel in your mouth. Sin may be pleasurable for a season, but in the end it leads to death.

A Harvest of Blessing:

So how should we respond to this warning? I believe Paul gives us a great application point in Galatians 6:8-9: “Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful desires will harvest the consequences of decay and death. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.” (NLT).

I spent the first 18 years of my life serving sin and Satan, and enjoyed the fleeting pleasures of sin. But I can honestly say that for the past 22 years, I have had more fun serving God, loving people, and doing good. There’s a joy that comes from a life that is surrendered to Jesus Christ. Live for Him today!

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