Tag Archives: love

May 9, 2014

Trip Planner

By Anthony Baker

Proverbs 4:5-6

“Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.”

 Get a Travel Agent

Today I had conversation with a co-worker about going to Disney World. Even though she was an adult, this was going to be her first time visiting the park, and she was very excited. But once she got to hear me share my experiences, she got even more excited. She really had no idea what to expect.

One bit of advice I gave her, however, was “get a travel agent.” When I explained to her how a good travel agent could help her get better deals, make more use of her time, etc., she was so grateful. She even said, “I have got to tell my sister what you just told me . . . she needs to know this.”

I can only imagine the advice Solomon was giving his son in verse five had the same imperative. Instead of a travel agent, Solomon said, “Get wisdom, get understanding…” Of all the time savers, money savers, and life savers, wisdom and understanding can’t be beat. Like a good travel agent, Wisdom will direct your paths (Prov. 3:6).

Love Her

No, not the travel agent; I am referring to wisdom. Solomon said to first “get wisdom,” then later “love her.”

The word translated “love” is a word that could be used in describing one’s feelings for another human being (Gen. 24:67), truth and peace (Zec. 8:19), or a good steak (Gen. 27:9). But in this passage it is used of wisdom.

Interestingly, according to one Hebrew lexicon*, one meaning of the original word was “to desire, to breathe after anything.” How much better off would we be if we sought wisdom and understanding in the same way? Do we love wisdom so much that we chase after it; breathe deeply and longingly at the mention of it; desire it as much as the very air we breathe to live?

Do you know what it is like to love someone so much it takes away your breath? Get wisdom, and love her even more.

*http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=H157&t=KJV&page=1

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in affection, Wisdom

January 16, 2014

Beyond Me

By Anthony Baker

Proverbs 30:18-19

“There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.”

Too Wonderful?

In this modern age there are a lot of wonders to behold. The majority of those wonders consist of man-made technologies that capture and hold our attention only as long as they are new. Once the newness is gone and another gadget or upgrade hit the market (which is about every thirty seconds), the “wonderful” suddenly becomes boring and old.

Is there anything in this world that is made by man that is “too wonderful” to understand? For some people the answer would be “yes.” For example, I will probably never understand how a person can manage to play a whole symphony on a horn with just three valves, much less how a rocket gets to the moon and back. But anything that is made by man can be understood by man, duplicated, and marketed. And once something is fully understood, the awe is gone.

Yes, Too Wonderful!

However, there are some things, no matter how much we learn, that will still be “too wonderful,” so much so that it will elude the wisest men alive (or ever lived). Not even the writer of this proverb could figure these things out.

Some things seem simple on the surface, but wind up far more complicated and intricate once we begin to examine them more closely. But even when we figure out the mechanics of some things, we later realize that there is a “way” about them that defies explanation: the way of a soaring eagle; the grace of a serpent moving across a rock; how a little boat survives in the midst of the sea; how ugly men attract beautiful women (Seriously!).

There are some things that are just beyond me, and I’m glad.

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Animals, Creation, Paths of Life

October 14, 2013

Fiery Strife

By Chris Jordan

Proverbs 26:20-21.

 “Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.”(KJV).

The Most Important Things: Love and Unity

In John 13:35, Jesus made it abundantly clear what one of the most important aspects of discipleship is love: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” In other words, walking in love is one of the surest signs that we are true Christians. A few chapters later in this same book of the Bible, John records for us the high priestly prayer of Jesus that He prayed right before going to the Cross:

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:20-21). Wow! That’s one of the most sobering thoughts in the entire Bible. Here Jesus essentially says, “If Christians could become one in love and unity towards one another, the whole world would be saved.” That tells me that love and unity are the most important things we can learn as believers!

The Most Dangerous Things: Strife and Gossip

If the two most important things for us to learn to do as followers of Jesus is to walk in love and unity, then guess what the enemy is going to try to get us to do? To keep us from walking in love and unity! We shouldn’t be surprised then when we find the enemy coming and sowing seeds of strife and gossip… even (nay, especially) in the church.

In today’s Proverb, Solomon says, “Fire goes out for lack of fuel, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops. A quarrelsome person starts fights as easily as hot embers light charcoal or fire lights wood.” (NLT). In other words, people who gossip and stir up strife are firestarters. In the same way that a fire can destroy anything from a house to an entire forest, so too a little gossip and strife can destroy relationships and unity.

So how do we guard against stripe and gossip? Fire needs fuel to burn, and so too strife needs the fuel of gossip to keep raging. Therefore, if we want to stop strife, we need to stop gossip. If we want to see the church of Jesus Christ prevail in the world, then we must contend for love and unity. We must refuse to gossip or talk negatively about another believer, and we must also refuse to listen to gossip about another Christian. And remember this truth: If someone will gossip to you, then they will likely gossip about you as well.

T.H.I.N.K.

T.H.I.N.K. before you speak: Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it inspiring? Is it necessary? Is it kind? If not, then remember the wisdom from Thumper’s mother from the Bambi movie: “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Church – let’s let love, acceptance and forgiveness become our banner! As we do this, we will show the world that we are true disciples of Jesus Christ. Amen…

think

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September 27, 2013

Being Broken

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 26:3

3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back.

Learning

When I was a young believer, in my late teens, I was hearing about and seeing many people and friends going into the ministry. I began asking, “Are they asked by those in authority, ‘When were you broken?'”

My reasoning was and is simple: we are born with a sinful nature (Romans 1-3). Just like a wild stallion or donkey, we want to do our own thing and not listen to anyone else!

To get these animals to learn, we have to discipline them, break their stubborn spirit (to a point, at least). A horse may need a quick whip or kick to learn to follow our commands to move or turn. A donkey needs a bridle to learn to follow us and eat everything in front of it.

Learning from God

However, God treats us the same way we treat these wild animals.

Just like these great animals a fool keeps going back to the same bad behavior, until he understands the consequences. Whether those consequences come through danger, pain, or incarceration.

To help us get control over our sinful nature, God disciplines us (see Deuteronomy 8, specifically verse 5; Proverbs 3:12; and Hebrews 12).

We want to go our own way, so He has to guide us with limitations. We want to stay where it is comfortable, so He has to kick us into gear. We want to consume so many things that are not good for us (and in abundance!), so He has to remove the possibility of our consuming. Sometimes, He keeps us right where we are to teach us to be content.

He would like us to choose for ourselves, and His directions and discipline help to get us there. They frequently hurt and are uncomfortable, but it is to break our stubborn spirit to get us to listen to Him.

It is because He loves us and wants us to stand with Him in love.

Accept your circumstances as opportunities from God to grow closer to Him, to become more Christ-like.

Heavenly Father, thank You for your discipline and love. Help us to see these opportunities to grow, to learn from them, and to become more like our Lord Jesus Christ!

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Animals, Fools, Mercy

July 26, 2013

Friend of the King

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 22:11

11 He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.
11 One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend. (NIV)

God does not change

People say the Old Testament is no longer necessary, because we have the New Testament with the Gospels and the Apostolic letters.

However, passages like this merely demonstrate that God has not changed over the millennia or between the Testaments. In fact, it was Jesus who said this during His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:

6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Essentially, if we love the goodness found in people and seek it within ourselves, and if we show grace and mercy to others, we will see God face to face one day.

We just need to remember where this purity and grace comes from:

14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
John 15:14-17, NIV

Loving Lord, create in us a pure heart and fill us with Your grace, that we may love purity in and show grace to all others.

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in conversation/speech, desire, Friendship

July 17, 2013

People Preferences

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 22:2

2 The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all.
2 Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all.

Personal Preferences

We all have people we like more than others. This is why we have friends and families. There are just some people we like having around more than other people.

There is nothing wrong with liking some people more than others. Even Jesus had close friends (see His Twelve Disciples, and of those Peter, James, and John who were His closest friends).

The real danger comes when we show preferences for others for selfish reasons, when love for others is not the primary cause.

Favoritism

We must remember that God sees all people equally: as His loved children.

He does not love one more for having money and possessions or for not having money nor possessions.

God cares most for those who express their love and devotion for Him, yet He still shows love and grace to all people in some fashion.

We should do likewise, and, in fact, we are commanded to.

1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
James 2:1-4, ESV

Our Great God, thank You for Your love and grace. Help us to live out that love and grace with all people, regardless of wealth or social standing. Help us to love everyone as You have loved us through the cross.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in affection, desire, Giving Honor, Love, Relationships, Value and Worth

June 25, 2013

Evil Neighbors

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 21:10

10 The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.
10 The wicked crave evil; their neighbors get no mercy from them. (NIV)

Wild Neighbors

Several years ago my parents bought their first house. By this time, we were a fairly good Christians, and we were looking forward to meeting new neighbors.

One of our next door neighbors proved more difficult to know. Most weekends they would have loud, wild parties with drugs and alcohol; both the parents and the daughter would take turns throwing these parties. They would let their lawn grow wild. Even their dog frequently escaped and ran wild around the neighborhood.

No matter what we said or how many times the authorities were called, they persisted in their wild behavior. They had no concern about their neighbors being kept up all night, having to look at their uncared-for property, and dealing with their dog.

Two Paths

This verse tells us one thing: it is not good to pursue evil and not care about others. Not only will others not like us, but our life may be more bitter and difficult than we might care to admit.

However, the Bible tells us another thing, something my parents have lived out well: no matter how evil our neighbors may be, we must still love them.

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Galatians 5:14

An evil neighbor is not a reason to be evil to others, even to those who are evil to us. Instead, we must rise to God’s standard, and we must give love and mercy where we receive evil and no mercy.

Good Lord, keep us from the evil we are so apt to commit against each other. Help us to grow in Your love and mercy toward others.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Friendship, Love, Mercy, The Wicked

April 16, 2013

Repentant Sinner vs. Unrepentant Christian

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 18:23

23 The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly. (KJV)
23 The poor plead for mercy, but the rich answer harshly. (NIV)

This could easily be about the differences between the wealthy and those in poverty.

This could easily become an indictment against many parts of the Church around the world.

Instead, this is based more on the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14), and it is a call to follow the Greatest Commandment (Matthew 22:35-40).

Unrepentant Christian

When one has believed they have become saved by grace through faith in the redeeming work of Jesus Christ through the cross, it can become easy to forget those humble beginnings: you were a sinner in need of a Savior.

The danger comes when we change everything in our lives to cut off any attachments to our sinful lives before Christ. It is not that we have removed any danger of temptation and sin, rather that we surround ourselves with Christians. Sometimes this is to the point that we do not know any non-Christians or Christians from other churches/denominations. We surround ourselves only with the riches of God’s mercy, grace, and love.

This is dangerous, because we can forget how to act around non-Christians. We see the sinful behavior, the effects of sin, and dangerous lifestyles and choices. We see the ways of living and interacting with others that remind us of our own sins or what the Bible says about certain sins.

And we judge them and thank God we are no longer like them. Which is good … to a point …

… but we forget to love them.

Repentant Sinners

What is easy to forget is that non-Christians, and even some who were raised in the Church, are pleading, sometimes begging, for a demonstration of mercy. They have not partaken of the riches of God’s mercy, grace, and love.

They may be painfully aware of how their lives are not perfect. They may understand what they are doing is wrong.

They do not need more reminders.

They need mercy, grace, and love.

And all we seem to show them is distaste and superiority. We seem to show them they do not deserve what we have been given.

Saved Sinners

May we remember that we are sinners saved by grace. We are the saints of God having been washed in His blood.

May we remember that God has entrusted their salvation to us.

May we remember to show the same mercy, grace, and love God has shown to us and not hold onto these riches to the detriment of those around us.

Merciful God rich in grace and love, remind us that we need You every day. Help our hearts to long for You. Remind us to share Your love and mercy every day. Help us to not answer harshly to the lost as You have not answered harshly to us.

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Love, Mercy, pride/humility

February 14, 2013

Everyday Valentine

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 16:23

23 The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.

As I write this, St. Valentine’s Day is approaching.

Do you know who Valentine was?

Valentine was a man who was killed by the Roman Empire on February 14 in 269 or 270. Why?

His biggest crime was helping Christians get married (which makes St. Valentine’s Day make some more sense). At that time, Christianity still was not recognized as a legal, and, in fact, it was illegal for Christians to marry.

It was also illegal for Christians to do many things.

Valentine, on the other hand, loved God more than he loved the Roman Empire.

Learned and Spoken

The more Valentine learned the love of God for people, the more he had to share it.

The closer his heart got to the heart of God, the more spoke up for people society said were worthless.

The more he attained of God’s wisdom in his heart, the more he spoke of the need for peace and grace.

The more wisdom taught his heart of God’s purity, the more he taught chastity to single men and women.

Valentine taught what he knew: God’s love and grace for all people at all times.

Will you be my Valentine?

Do you think you can live like Valentine?

It is really quite simple: Love everyone.

This is accomplished by letting the love and wisdom of God fill your heart, and “out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45, ESV).

Let the love and wisdom of God flow through and out of you to reveal to others the truth of God’s love. There is no greater learning you can get. As Valentine would attest.

Loving God, teach us to be wise by Your standard: to learn to love as You love; to share Your words of love; to show love to all people.

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in conversation/speech, Knowledge

December 6, 2012

Poor Friends

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 14:21

21 He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.

This verse goes with yesterday’s, and David did a great job with the lead.

Here are the ways the verses work together:

Hating the Poor Neighbor

“The poor is hated even of his own neighbour“. A poor man is hated by his neighbor, because many people immediately think about those who borrow money or things with promises of returning them but never do. In other words, they see the poor, even friends of theirs at times, as moochers and robbers.

Is it fair? Sometimes, in the case of those who really are moochers and robbers. However …

“He that despiseth his neighbor sinneth“. As mentioned previously, when asked by an expert of the law about loving your neighbor, Jesus’ answer essentially was that all people are our neighbors. Regardless of how people live their lives or their level of prosperity (or lack thereof), we are to love them.

Friends to All

“… but the rich hath many friends.” Many rich people seem to give money to make friends, buy their friends, if you will. I posit that this is not the intent of that verse.

“… but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.” This verse explains why the rich have many friends. It is the person who looks on that friend down on his luck and helps. It is the person who looks on the person in need and is there.

Jesus is the Answer

Anyone is capable of doing merciful things for others. Jesus basically said so in Matthew 7 and Luke 11.

The difference for the Christian should be love. Not just any love, but the love of God as expressed through Jesus Christ. We must be willing to sacrifice for others. 1 Corinthians 13:3 (NIV) says “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

We can all make friends, but, to use a phrase that has been over-used in recent times, the best friend to make is Jesus. Most people come to meet Him through our mercy and generosity.

Merciful Lord, thank You for loving us through Your richness of grace, mercy, and love. Though we were poor in these, You reached out for us. Through Your Holy Spirit, increase Your grace, mercy, and love in us, that we may reach our world for Your glory.

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Mercy