Tag Archives: Jesus Christ
Proverbs 8:35-36
“For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.”
Choices
Wisdom speaks and pulls no punches. Either choose Wisdom and obtain life and favor, or choose foolishness and death. The choice cannot be made much clearer.
Yet, how often are wrong choices made with abandon? How often do fools choose to “miss the mark,” bringing destruction upon themselves? Even as Wisdom cries out the fools among us close their ears, going against their own consciences.
It seems that man either loves or hates Wisdom, but there is no in-between. To find Wisdom is to show one’s love for her, for only those who seek her find her, and life. Those who do not seek her prove their love of self, ironically wronging their own souls and instead of life, choose death.
Parallels
While some, such as the New American Commentary, stress that Wisdom should not be interpreted as a metaphor for the Second Person of the Trinity, I find it hard to close my eyes to the obvious parallels between Wisdom and Jesus Christ.
First, Jesus dogmatically declared: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6). Afterwards, the Apostle John reminded us that whoever has the Son has life, but whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life (1 John 5:12). And when it comes to obtaining favor, Jesus said: “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him…” (John 14:23).
In today’s world there are so many who who hate God and demand “choice.” Is it any wonder that what they choose most is death?
“For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:” – Amos 5:4 KJV
Leave a comment | tags: Apostle John, Book of Proverbs, First Epistle of John, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Son of God | posted in desire, Warnings, Wisdom
Proverbs 27:20
“Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.”
“Death and destruction are never satisfied, and neither are human eyes.” – NIV
I, I
I enjoy video games. I have done for a long long time. I have worked in a video game shop. When a new big game comes out I find it hard to resist: I want to play it, to experience it. I knew the latest Grand Theft Auto would be a well deserved 18: but I am a sensible deserving adult, right? However upon playing a portion of the game I just simply decided that I didn’t want this kind of thing in my life. I can appreciate that it is a good game: the mechanics work well but for me the mechanics are implemented in a dark fashion. So I got rid of it. To be honest it was a sacrifice. I enjoyed most elements of the game but when it forces me in a direction that I don’t want to go in and have no chance to skip, I have to make a choice.
Why? Because what I fill my life with dominates it. What I let my eyes see affects my actions. Or as Jesus put it: what I fill my heart with will eventually come to the surface. Let me be clear – I’m not suggesting that playing dark or violent video games will turn a person into a killer: just that at some point, on some level, it will have an impact on their mood and outlook. That’s why despite me enjoying parts of the game, especially the chance to play online with friends, I have decided it’s not for me. I guess it crossed a line that I didn’t want to. Now I still have games in my collection that involve things like shooting so what does this verse have to say about them?
Balance in Favour of God
The eyes are never satisfied. They take everything in and the more they see of one thing the more they want it. Be that video games, films, porn or purity. People talk about our lives being in balance but for me the key is to make sure your eyes see enough of God that they just keep wanting more. The times I have genuinely spent focusing on God are the times when all other things in my life take a back seat. You may not like video games but I guarantee there is something in your life that is your go to thing when God is not central. The thing you spend most of your time doing, or thinking about when you aren’t doing it. If we could make God that thing, a lot of our other problems would fade into insignificance.
Matthew 6:33 ‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.’
1 Comment | tags: Bible, Book of Proverbs, Christ, Christ Jesus, Christianity, faith, God, Grand Theft Auto, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Proverbs and Sayings, Religion and Spirituality, Solomon, Wisdom | posted in advice, counsel, desire, Faithfulness, Fear of the Lord, Love, Trust the Lord, Wisdom
Proverbs 27:6
Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses.
It Makes Sense
This is one of those proverbs we can look at and agree with. We all know it makes sense. It is much better to have friends who will be honest with us even when it hurts, then friends who will just pamper and flatter us even when we are clearly in the wrong.
The trouble is something making sense doesn’t guarantee we will follow the advice. In this case there are multiple reasons why we ignore this advice, our society is much more comfortable with flattery, even when it’s false, than truth; it can be hard to receive truth from a friend; we can find it difficult to speak truthfully to our friends incase they decide to ditch us.
First Things Firsts
To see more meaningful relationships we need to be ready to be examples. We need to be people who are good at taking criticism, and also brave enough to give it. Many people mis read the plank in the eye parable. They use the excuse that as they will never be perfect, and therefore always have impaired vision, they cannot challenge other’s behaviour. I have even heard parents say that they cannot challenge their wayward ward because they were just as bad when they were children. But we only need to read to the end of the parable to see Jesus intention –
Matthew 7:5 (emphasis mine) ‘You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.’
We are to be wounded and we are to wound. And all the better our friendships shall be for it.
1 Comment | tags: advice, Bible, Book of Proverbs, Christ, Christ Jesus, Christianity, faith, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Lord, Matthew 7:5, Proverb, proverbs, Proverbs and Sayings, Religion and Spirituality, Solomon, Wisdom | posted in advice, counsel, Love, pride/humility, Temptation, Wisdom
Proverbs 25:25
25 As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
Tough Times
Nobody really likes war.
They are dangerous, costly in economically and physically, and it shows the violence and hatred within humanity.
As I write this, Syria has been in a major internal conflict, and chemical weapons may have played a role. Several countries have considered getting involved.
Fortunately, we heard recently that Russia is working with Syrian leaders to remove chemical weapons and perhaps ease tensions between the two sides.
While it is still playing out as of this moment, it is a relief to know we may not have to send our young men and women into danger and the Syrians may get a break from the bloodshed.
Refreshing Drink
If you have ever hiked a considerable distance in the heat, you appreciate a cold glass of water. As the verse today states, getting good news is like that, such as feeling the tension of a possible armed conflict and hearing it may have been averted. When your mind and body can relax after that much tension and adrenaline, it is so refreshing to drink in that kind of news.
May you do not need to imagine this, but imagine with me that you have lived a life full of troubles. You have had a string of bad relationship after bad relationship. You lost a loved one. Your finances never seem to meet all of your obligations and needs. You have been mistreated by loved ones. You struggle with trusting anybody.
You just want some rest and peace. You would love some water for your tired soul.
Jesus offers some good news. As He said to the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4 (NIV):
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Drinking of the Holy Spirit, God coming into us by believing Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for our sins, is only true refreshing we can get from the pain this world gives us.
As we trust Him, he fills our souls with Himself and releases and redeems our hurts and fears, giving us full rest. As He said elsewhere, “28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29).
Lord Jesus, grant us Your peace and refresh our souls by Your Holy Spirit. Help us to trust You and to overcome our circumstances.
Leave a comment | tags: Book of Proverbs, Holy Spirit, hope, Jesus Christ, Mercy, news, Peace, Refresh, Samaritan, Syria, Trust the Lord | posted in hope, Mercy, Peace, Trust the Lord
Proverbs 19:8
8 He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good.
Understanding Ourselves
Our world likes to teach us that we must dig down deep inside of ourselves to find the truth of ourselves. They tell us it will help us find peace and freedom.
I tend to agree.
… just not for the reasons they claim.
Their claim is that we will find the good inside of us, the things that will bring us happiness, joy, and peace as we discover our true selves.
That is where I disagree.
While we may have good inside of us (God did create us, after all), if we dig down deep we find even more that we are not so good.
We are selfish, dishonest, angry, blasphemous individuals.
Being Honest with Ourselves
If we could be honest with ourselves, we would understand that there is no way we could find good in and of ourselves.
The only way to find good in ourselves is to get wisdom.
As has been said many times during our adventures through Proverbs (one time that comes immediately to mind is my commentary on Proverbs 3:18), Jesus is the Wisdom of God. Jesus is the only good we can find in ourselves when we believe in Him.
Getting a hold of Jesus, putting our faith in the truth of His life, death, and resurrection, shows that I love my soul.
Do you love your soul?
Wise Lord, reveal Your wisdom to us. Create in us a desire to seek You through bringing us all to understanding ourselves. Help us to live within that understanding and wisdom.
2 Comments | tags: Book of Proverbs, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Knowledge, truth, Understanding, Wisdom | posted in Knowledge, Truth, Wisdom
Proverbs 19:2
‘Desire without knowledge is not good –
how much more will hasty feet miss the way!’
Desirable
It’s good to be passionate, to have strong desires to be love and to care. Without it life would be very boring, but as this Proverb hints at heart without a bit of head can lead us to miss the real path.
Unbalanced
A lot of people these days are driven purely by emotion. They go after things they want with reckless abandon. When we are totally driven by emotion we often end up making bad decisions and hurting people in the process. People driven by emotion will throw away relationships on a whim because they have seen the next best thing, they will chase promotions at the expense of colleagues, they will attempt to satisfy every whim and fancy in any way possible, and worst of all usually be blind to the trail of destruction in their wake. Our emotions need to submit to our common sense, and both need to submit to Jesus.
Counting the Cost
We need both desire and knowledge to make our decisions as we do not want to miss the way. Consider the words of Jesus:
Luke 14:28-33 ‘Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, “This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.” ‘Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.’
May we learn the power of passion and desire guided by wisdom and knowledge.
Leave a comment | tags: Book of Proverbs, Christianity, God, Jesu, Jesus Christ, Knowledge, Luke, Proverbs and Sayings, Religion & Spirituality, Religion and Spirituality, Wisdom | posted in advice, counsel, desire, Faithfulness, Knowledge, Wisdom
Proverbs 15:8
“The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked,
but the prayer of the upright pleases him.”
What God Wants…
God hates the sacrifice of the wicked, but he isn’t to keen on the sacrifice of the righteous either, especially when it becomes the be all and end all. Countless times in the Bible God makes the point that He isn’t interested in sacrifices, the idea of coming and making a payment for your transgressions. No, what He is interested in is your behaviour, how you will respond to His grace and forgiveness in your own life, and how that will inspire you to treat others.
Inspired by?
In Matthew 18 we see the story of a servant who owes his master a huge amount of money. He’s panicking, how will he pay this back? What will happen to his family? He goes before the master and begs for more time, and incredibly the master let’s him off. Scot free. Let’s not miss the huge significance of this – this is truly incredible and as counter cultural now as it was then.
I sometimes watch Undercover Boss, now I am not naive I know it’s probably scripted, but I can’t help but be moved when some big CEO enters the life of a low level employee, sees their struggles and their debt, and does something about it. What we never see is how this affects the person in question. They seem very grateful in the moment, but we never see the lasting change.
Not so with this servant. The Bible tells us that straight away he went looking for another servant who owed him a considerably smaller amount. We’d be entitled to think that he had in mind to set this servant free from his debt, to share the grace he had experienced. But in fact all he wants is the money owed to him. How sad that this servant was even more enslaved to money than he originally thought.
Washing feet
At the opposite end of the spectrum we find Jesus. Jesus the entirety of God squeezed into man form, denying His deity to inspire humanity, relying fully on the Father to further the future of the broken. We all know Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, we all know this should blow our tiny minds, but I’ll be honest it was just one of those things I accepted, until I reread the account and came to these verses in John 13:3-5 ‘Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.’
Why did Jesus do this? BECAUSE He knew who he was. Because He wanted to show the world a powerful image of what happens when we take the lowest place.
Prayer
All very good and well you may say but how’s this connected to the proverb? Prayer changes everything. If you want to be a person who shares grace rather than shrugs grace then you need to start on your knees.
Leave a comment | tags: Book of Proverbs, Christ, Christ Jesus, Christianity, faith, God, God the Father, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Lord, Matthew, prayer, Solomon, Wisdom | posted in counsel, Faithfulness, Fear of the Lord, Giving Honor, Love, Wisdom
Proverbs 14:10
“Each heart knows its own bitterness,
and no one else can share its joy.”
Know Thy Self
The only person who knows your heart better than God is you. You know how it feels to be you. You know what what it feels like to hurt like you hurt. You and God are the only ones who know the depth of the bitterness contained in your own heart. Other people might have been through similar things, they might have some level of understanding but the only other person to know the full picture is God.
All by Myself
So is this proverb suggesting we should shut up shop, keeping our bitterness and joy to ourselves? I would like to suggest not. This proverb isn’t saying no one should share it’s joy, it is just making the observation that the natural state of play is that no one knows what is truly going on in someone’s heart (except God) unless we learn to share our hearts with others.
Grieving and Rejoicing Together
Romans 12:15 tells us to “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” This is only possible if we open our hearts to others. Now I am not saying we should share our intimate secrets with all and sundry but it is healthy to have a few trusted confidents to open our hearts to.
Extended Family
When we first found out that I had a low sperm count we had to decide whether to keep this news to ourselves or share it with our church family. When I got up and told our church I said something like this: “I tell you this now not for your pity, but so that as you grieve with us presently you will rejoice with us when we have our children.”
5 Comments | tags: Christ, Christ Jesus, Christianity, faith, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Proverb, Proverbs and Sayings, Religion and Spirituality | posted in advice, counsel, Knowledge, Love, Peace, Trust the Lord
Proverbs 13:13
13 Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.
Scorn and Respect
There is a danger in avoiding responsibility and not listening to a warning.
Are you aware that we are each responsible for all of our decisions? Are you aware that every choice has a consequence?
The NIV states this verse thusly: He who scorns instruction will pay for it, but he who respects command is rewarded.
If you are told not to do something, and you do it anyway, you will pay for it. If you are told to do something and you do not do it, you will pay for it. Whether it be having an upset stomach for eating too many sweets before dinner, losing a friend for breaking trust, going to jail or prison, or losing your life, being told not to do something and doing it will cost you. It may not happen immediately (Think about heartburn! It comes hours after you ate that chili-cheese hot dog with hot sauce, not immediately!)
However, if you show respect and heed what you have been told, you will be paid back for that trust. Whether that comes through enjoying a great meal, growing closer to a friend, staying out of trouble, or having great health and/or wealth, it will go well with you in life.
Sometimes the consequences come later … much later.
I like the King James Version for the implication that comes through.
God has sent us commands by which to live. We all failed at keeping them perfectly.
God sent His Son, Jesus of Nazareth, the Jewish Messiah and the Word of God, to keep those commands perfectly and then suffer the ultimate price for our failure. In doing so, the commands are summed up in two simple commands:
- Love others!
- Love God … by loving others and believing that Jesus died that you may live.
If we “scorn instruction” and “despiseth the word” of God, we have the promise that we will be destroyed. While there is debate on what this means, there is a guarantee that it is not pleasant nor desirable (Revelation 20:14-15).
However, if we respect and fear God’s commands, we will be rewarded with eternal life and peace with God (Galatians 6:8).
Gracious God, forgive us for despising Your word and commands. Give us the grace and power to overcome our sinful desires and follow You. Help us to love others for Your glory.
Leave a comment | tags: advice, Book of Proverbs, Desire, Fear, Fear of the Lord, God's Word, honor, Jesus, Jesus Christ, New International Version, paths, Respect, Reward, Word | posted in advice, Fear of the Lord, Reward, Word of the Lord
He who works his land will have abundant food,
but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment.
Uh Oh
Hmmm. This is a proverb I usually avoid. Why? Because I have been labelled as a bit of a dreamer. Some have called me a visionary. That might sound great, but visionaries are often the one’s with ideas who never seen them through to completion! Who wants that?
Vision vs Fantasies
I guess there has to be a distinction between vision and fantasy. The Bible tells us that without vision the people perish. But how do we know that we have the right vision? Vision will give you food, and abundant food, it will also involve work – work for you to do. But if you are chasing the wrong vision? A man-made fantasy? Then there will be no pay out of any real value. It will provide no sustenance. You will spend your days chasing one fantasy after another to try and find your fill, to make your million, and all to no avail.
Leaning on Webs
What about the times when we are pretty sure we have a God given vision and yet seem to be making no progress? Does that mean we are chasing fantasy? Don’t ask me! Go back to the source – ask God. Have you stopped trusting in Him? Have you moved the goal posts? Cherish the vision He has given you. Work at it and never stop trusting.
Job 8:13-15 ‘Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
so perishes the hope of the godless.
What he trusts in is fragile;
what he relies on is a spider’s web.
He leans on his web, but it gives way;
he clings to it, but it does not hold.’
Lean on God.
Leave a comment | tags: Bible, Book of Proverbs, Christ, Christianity, faith, Fantasy, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Lord, proverbs, Religion and Spirituality, Righteousness, Wisdom | posted in Faithfulness, pride/humility, Trust the Lord, Wisdom
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Proverbial Thought 