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THIS APPLIES TO BOTH!… Proverbs 31: 10-31

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Proverbs 31– the most famous chapter in the book!   The one about the perfect wife.  The one who can do it all.  There’s nothing she won’t try… and succeed at.  Cares for her husband and family.  An astute businesswoman.  Respected in the community.  Never a complaint.

The women reading this, including my own wife, are wondering what I’m going to say next?  Fear not, the wisdom in this section of Proverbs 31 could apply to BOTH women and men.  Have I straddled the fence rather well?!  As I read Proverbs 31,  I place myself as a man alongside this model woman.

Why not read verse 10 like this:  ‘a husband of noble character who can find?’  Some of the attributes of this woman may not easily apply to a man, but much of it clearly does.  I want to be a good provider, a godly example.  I hope my family has lots of mercy to toss my way!  I’ve wanted to work hard.  To love the Lord above all,  and be a witness for Him.

Let me recommend another verse.  It’s Leviticus 23: 22.  The entire chapter talks about the festivals the Lord wants His people to celebrate during the year.   Some are weekly like the Sabbath or monthly like the new moon, but most are annual events.  Describing the Feast of Weeks(Pentecost), there comes the command to harvest as much grain as you can, but  leaving some around the edges for the poor.  Proverbs 31 people, male and female, are active and busy in their lives.  Leviticus people are generous and giving.  I do notice in Leviticus that the poor need to gather their own grain,  what was left for them.  Not delivered to their homes as they sit around and wait to be served.  No, they too must work and gather.  Like the adage about giving someone a fish being less effective than teaching them to fish themselves.

Of course, some people need direct help.  But in other cases, we must be cautious and discerning.  I love giving mini-loans through mission organizations, where a poor woman or man will be lent money to buy a sewing machine to do mending that will provide for the money-needs of the family.   In addition,  they can start to pay back the loan a penny or so at a time so that others will have money that they can borrow to buy flour and open a neighborhood bakery.  Not a handout,  but a hand up in life.  Now they can be productive like the woman in Proverbs 31.  Great chapter for great followers of our great God!  For men and women.  Agree?

Prayer:  Lord, for as long as possible,  I want to be active serving you.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

WHAT IS THE BIG DIFFERENCE?…Proverbs 22: 17-29

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Bible scholars say that this section of Proverbs is very similar to common thinking in ancient times. They reference similarities to the ‘Instruction of Amenemope’, written in Egypt about 1250 BC.  Solomon himself lived about 950BC, so if there are commonalities,  it’s because these wise sayings were ‘in the air’, you could say.

These ’30 sayings’, beginning in Proverbs 22, seem like an expansion of the Ten Commandments.  Reading from verses 19 through  29,  we see many commands–like not robbing anyone.  Especially the poor.  Also, be cautious about going to court.  Don’t do it.  Then we’re told to lead separate lives…away from people with anger problems, vengeful types.  Stay away from those who drag you down.  Sin is highly contagious.  Proverbs says that such schemes and schemers wind up tied up in knots of their own making.

I’ve been trying to prove this wrong most of my life.  Still true nevertheless!  Moving on–be very careful with the things you own.  Take care of them.  They’re not ‘only things’.  And don’t get roped into co-signing for someone else, especially family.  Could cost you dearly.  Care for your own things, and don’t try to take someone else’s away from them.  Work hard…do your best.  Give it your all.  Apply what God has gifted you with…for others and for Him.  You’ll benefit as well.

There’s lots of good advice in this world of ours.  Lots to learn from many different sources.  This section in the book of Proverbs may be a close reflection of other’s wise thoughts.  But what is the big difference for us as believers?  Is there any?   It’s found in verse 19–‘that your trust may be in the Lord…’  Whatever you do in life, center it in the Lord.

When I was a financial planner for 20 years, I looked for opportunities to help as many people as I could.  Couldn’t think of any other way to make a decent living!  I listened to others–to their hopes and dreams and worries.  I listened.  And I kept looking for more people to help.  Also to share the Lord whenever I could.  Not hitting them over the head with my Bible.  Sometimes they’d ask me why I was doing what I was doing since I was no longer a pastor.  Good question.

Many times I became a pastor to people who had neither church nor minister.  And I could tell them about trusting in the Lord Jesus.  That’s the big difference in this world.  He’s the big difference. How big is He in your life?

Prayer:  Lord, thank you that we are yours.  Your children whom you love so much.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER, REALLY?… Numbers 6: 22-27

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I own a framed piece of calligraphy of the Lord’s Prayer.  No, not the prayer you’re thinking of.  The ‘Lord’s Prayer’ (Luke 11)is more aptly called the ‘Disciples’ Prayer’,  a model the disciples would use for their prayers.  Read in the book of Numbers 6 to find ‘The Lord’s Prayer’.  This is what the Lord prays for us.

No doubt you’ve heard this prayer said many times, possibly as a benediction concluding a worship service.  Brief… but packed with meaning.  ‘The LORD bless you and keep you;  the LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;  the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace'(verses 24-25).  This is His prayer over us.  This is the LORD’s prayer.  I capitalize the word ‘LORD’ for in Hebrew this is the very name of God.  Probably pronounced Yahweh.  His name.

What He gives us,  first-and-foremost,  is His name.  His identity and character–all wrapped up as a gift.  I can’t imagine having direct and welcome access to the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings.  But that is precisely why He gives us His name.  To welcome us into His presence.  The welcome mat is always out.

After giving us His name,  He gives even more.  Blessings cascade from His throne right into our hearts.  We see His face shining with joy as He looks at us, welcoming us as His precious children.  Once I went to see grandson Jackson at tumbling and gymnastics.  The class is held in a large hall which had only one folding chair way off in the corner where I could sit and watch.  I got there a bit early.  Soon Jackson and brother Ace and Mom arrived.  Jackson came into the large hall looking around not seeing me.  But then he could see me waving at him way off in that distant corner.  And his face lit up like you can’t believe!  Waving back at me, excited to see me there… for him.   Papa was there for Jackson.  Gave ME such a thrill.

That’s what God gives us.  His shining face lovingly gazing at us, His children.  His face– filled with warmth and love.  We may imagine that He’s turned away from us due to our sin, but in fact He’s right in front of us, having turned toward us when Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead.  He faces us with love and forgiveness.

But there’s even more– God wants to give us His peace, His ‘shalom’.  The world can’t give it.   Only from Him.   From Jesus… the Prince of Peace.  A wonderful prayer, this Lord’s Prayer… from the Old Testament.  His wishes… for us!

Prayer:  Thank you, Lord, for all your blessings that keep coming our way.  We love you.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

TIME TO BE AN UNBELIEVER!… Matthew 21: 21-28

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An unbeliever?  Shouldn’t I be encouraging belief and trust in the Lord?  Of course.  But I’m quoting Jesus.  Name dropper!–“then if anyone says to you, ‘look, here is the Christ!’  or  ‘there he is!’ do not believe it”(verse 23) and “so, if they say to you, ‘look, he is in the wilderness’, do not go out.  If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms’, do not believe it”(verse 26). You didn’t believe me!   Charlatans and conartists will try to trick you as if we’re gullible.   In fact, don’t believe them at all.  Be an unbeliever.  Hang tough with what you believe in.   The Bible must be our hitching post.  Without a doubt.  Everyone else pays cash, no out-of-town checks accepted!

I remember with  sadness years ago seeing all those billboard signs advertising a certain date on them,  guaranteeing that a specific day would be the last one,  then Jesus would return.  Guaranteed.  Indisputable.  Baloney!   I couldn’t believe it.  Time to be an unbeliever!  We were staying in Ocean City, New Jersey at the time.  People were giving out fliers on the boardwalk warning of that date.  The sad part for me was that their leader  was a Bible teacher I would listen to on the radio every night when I was a new believer.  He would teach the Bible, answer questions that listeners would call in.  I loved the program.  I learned so much.

But now–what was this?   Guaranteeing the exact day of the 2nd coming,  absolutely for sure?  I know the Bible enough now to shake my head at such arrogance.  Jesus said that only the Father knows when.  That’s enough for me.  No one will know for sure… until it happens.  No one.  I’ll be an unbeliever to all who say that they now know.   Also, to all who think that the Bible is old wives’ tales.  Or those who mocked  the Bible when that day came… and then went by rather uneventfully.  And to all who think the human mind alone can comprehend and solve the complexities of this life.  I don’t believe them either.

I don’t even believe in the power of prayer.  Like it’s some impersonal force or a bunch of positive vibes.  No, I believe in the One who has the power to answer our prayers.  Trust in the Lord.  Believe in Him.  Lean on God’s Word,  the Bible.  You can trust every word of it from Genesis to Revelation.  Believe in Jesus and you won’t fall for any claptrap, even from a retired devotional book writer!  I too must pay cash!

Prayer:  Thank you, Lord, for the anchor of our soul that your Son Jesus truly is.  Amen.

OUT OF THE MOUTH OF A LITTLE 4 YEAR-OLD… John 3: 16

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Our 4 year old granddaughter loves our seashell collection.   She tells us multiple times how much she loves them.  You guessed it.  We’re giving her our precious seashell collection!  But we tell her that she’ll get them a little at a time, everytime she visits us.  Aren’t we sneaky?  Dangling a shell in front of her eyes to keep her coming back!  Are we not enough of a draw?

I was telling her that it’s fun to share.  Immediately she told me what she had learned at  pre-school– ‘sharing is caring’.   I like that.  I found our children’s Bible that we’ve read to our grandchildren.  Wanted to share with her the Easter story.  The ultimate story of sharing because Someone is caring.  Not just someone.  God– sharing His only Son.  Giving Him for us who deserve nothing but the back of His hand.  Wanting to give us His salvation.  Wanting to because He loves us so very much.

What a strange story.  Strange in that none of us would ever give any of our children to die for someone who could care less, who would spit in our face given the opportunity.  Would you?   I wouldn’t.  But He did.  As the verse says, ‘For God so loved the world…’  Loved.  Not just liked or tolerated.  That would be me on a good day.  No,  He loves us– all who are in this world.  All who receive Him into their hearts.  Is that you?  It was me when I was sixteen hearing this message for the first time–that God loved me and cared about every itsy-bitsy part of my life.  I couldn’t believe it.

But I did believe it– that it is true.  As best I could,  with the little mustard of faith that I could muster up and offer Him, I accepted His love in Jesus.  But it’s not about my faith as much as His sharing because He’s so caring.  It’s about Him.  He accepts the little I give Him, and He makes that something really big.  Thank you,  Lord!  My little light gets infused with His to make all the sunshine I’ll ever need for all my days here on earth… and beyond.  For you also.  Plenty of light to go around.

He gave His only Son.  Think about that.  Praise Him for caring and sharing.  May this Easter, as sweet as the candies can be, be ever sweeter with our loud praises to the One who gave His life for us!  Happy Easter!  He is Risen!  He is Risen indeed!  ‘Sharing is Caring’… indeed!

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, we praise you, our living Lord!  Alive forevermore!  And living for us!  We thank you and praise you and love you.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? … Matthew 21: 28-46

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Our Lord Jesus is in the final week of His life.  The time between Palm Sunday and Easter.  Matthew recalls that Jesus tells a few parables during that week.  Here’s two of them.  Jesus puts it right to His listeners, including a group of chief priests and Pharisees.  He’s taking every opportunity to reach out to people.  He never gives up.  Always trying to reach everyone all the time.  Do you realize that?  When I first heard someone make that statement, I really had to think about it for awhile.  But he’s right.

The story of the two sons shows that God gives second chances in this life.  Jesus tells about a father who asks both his sons to work in his vineyard.  The first says ‘no way’,  but then thinks better of it and goes to work.  The second son says ‘yes’, only to placate his father, and winds up not lifting even one finger.   Who obeyed?   The first son, of course.  This is a parable about God’s second chances.  The ‘yes’ of today and not the ‘no’ of yesterday.  When we fail Him,  get up    Let Him give you His hand to help,  and get going for Him NOW.

For the person who glibbly shakes his head ‘yes’ without any intention of following through, the outcome will not be very good.  The religious folks thought that saying ‘yes’ was enough.  But it wasn’t.  The proof would be in the pudding.  Jesus tells the story of tenant farmers who rent land from their Master,  owing him a portion of the crop as payment for working his land.  The tenant farmers decide to revolt.  When the Master sends his officials to collect the rent,  they beat them, even kill some.  The tenants want to keep all the crops.  But they really have none.  Only renters, after all.  That’s the deal.  But they want it all.  The Master figures that his son will be able to talk some sense into these senseless rebels.

No, they kill him as they had the others.  How foolish–for he is the Master and he exacts justice in the end.   Those ‘wretches (will come)to a wretched end’ (Matthew 21: 41).   This story is clear.  God keeps sending His messengers to ‘knock on the door’ of everyone’s heart.  In all kinds of ways.  God looks for the open door.  Welcome Him in.    Welcome…welcome…welcome!  So sad that so few make such an offer.  Embrace His loving arms.  He died on that cross for you and for me.  How could I ever turn my back on Him?

Prayer:  Thank you, Jesus, for going to the Cross for us.  To forgive all our sins.  In your name.  Amen.

THE TUSSLE OVER THE TASSEL!… Matthew 23: 1-12

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It was Tuesday of Holy Week, the days between Palm Sunday and Easter, and Jesus is in the Temple precincts speaking.  These will be some of His last earthly words.  Poignant and pointed.  Previously,  we referred to the tassels Israelites wear on their garments.  Four tassels, with a blue cord woven-in, were worn on the 4 corners of a man’s garment.  Reminders to remember… and to obey the Lord( Numbers 15).

In Matthew, we witness Jesus warning against pride and arrogance that can rear their ugly heads.  He mentions pious folks who brag, comparing how long their tassels are, grabbing the best seats in the house, longing to be looked over and not overlooked.  Called highfalutin’ names with noses high in the air.

In 2010 Sue and I took a wonderful Holy Land tour with friends from the Cannon Beach Christian Conference Center.  One of the archeological sites we visited was from the time of the Prophet Abraham, near the modern city of Beersheba in southern Israel.  In this 4000 year old site there was an area of raised earth with seats formed out of the clay walls where people could sit.  This was where the judges would gather, hearing cases brought before them.  Some of our group were asked to sit up there.  They really couldn’t wait to step up ‘high and mighty’!  I was the one on trial for some trumped up charge, of course! There they were, big-shots one-and-all, seated many feet above poor railroaded me.  Cross-examining poorer me.  Passing poorest judgement on wrecked me!  All for fun… but a point was made.

They were above me.  It was intimidating.  I felt totally at their mercy,  of which I received none as it turned out!  The Lord warns us about getting too much into ourselves, too much above it all.  Jesus must having been thinking about how much He gave up coming to this earth.  He showed the way.

We easily get lost in ourselves.  Jesus wants us to shy away from inflated titles, excessive pandering for applause.  Tussling over the tassel!   So, move aside… and take a towel.  A somewhat non-descript one.   Wrap it around your waist.  Wash and then dry each other’s feet.  Maybe not literally.  Deferring to others as Jesus did in leaving the glory of heaven to come to earth… to die for us,  forgiving us of all our sins.  If He coveted His rightful place in glory, we’d be condemned to you-know-where.  ‘The greatest among you shall be your servant.  Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted'(Matthew 23: 11-12).  Let’s not have a tussle over the tassel!  Pray for ways this week to lift someone else up.  Sounds simple, doesn’t it?  Is it?

Prayer:  Lord, we get on our knees today to thank you for coming to earth to save us.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

THE HASSLE WITH THE TASSEL… Numbers 15: 37-41

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A few years back, we rented a condo in Brooklyn from which to tour the Big Apple.  We love the City!  The condo was amazing for the low price.  I got a bargain and a lot more than I ever bargained for!  Needless to say, we were out-and-about every day touring and enjoying the City, dreading coming back to that dive.  While riding the elevated portion of the subway to Coney Island, we could see lots of Jewish men wearing strange clothing with stranger additions to them.  Tassels on their shawls.  Tassels with a lovely blue colored-stripe through them.  Garments,  tossed in the city air,  as these men walked briskly along.  Seemed like a hassle to us to have to wear such a garment.  But not to them.

It’s found right in the pages of our Bibles…about those tassels.  They’re trying to be faithful to what God said in His Book.  What does it say?  That they are to wear tassels on the four corners of their clothing as a reminder of the commands of the Lord.

Why the hassle with the tassel?  Must we ask?   It’s so easy to forget our Lord.  We have such short memories.  We wander off on our own.  I need to be reminded.  Something to keep Him right in front of my eyes.   You too?  Of course you do.

Whatever you can do to remember God and His Word, do it.  Even if it’s a hassle.   For God is all there really is to hold onto in this life.  Everything else will pass away.  The Bible is a book like no other.   That’s where that blue thread comes in.  To remind us that God is Holy, and wholly to be obeyed.  The blue dye came from the gland of the Murex snail found in muddy, shallow waters of the Mediterranean Sea in Northern Israel.  They say 12,000 snails’ glands produce 1.4 grams of dye.  I had to look it up– 1 ounce equals about 28 grams!  That’s a lot of snails for little dye.  Very rare.  Very pricey. More expensive than gold or silver.

That little thread in the tassels will cost us.  It’s a sacrifice to follow the Lord.  But wear the tassels, be bold and testify to the Holy God we worship and follow.  After all, those 10 commandments are for His glory and our good.  If all His commands were followed all the time, it would be heaven on earth.  On St Patrick’s Day we’re not ashamed to’ wear the green’, Irish or not.  Every day, for Jesus,  wear your figurative tassels with the blue thread of our Holy God.  Share your good news with someone else who needs the Lord. No  matter the cost.

Prayer:  Lord, we worship You alone, our Holy God.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

HIDE AND SEEK…Proverbs 25: 2-3, and Matthew 11: 25-28

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I used to love playing the kid’s game of ‘hide and seek’.  Run around the old neighborhood trying to find the right place to hide where hopefully the person who was ‘it’ could not find you.  When I read Proverbs 25: 2-3,  I was puzzled.  What does it mean that God is glorified when He conceals things?  God hides things from us?   It is ‘the glory of God to conceal things,  but the glory of kings to search them out.’  God hides…we search them out.

What gives?   There is something about searching,  finding out for ourselves.  When I was a financial planner,  I had some clients who enjoyed considerable inheritances.  Some were young people with money dumped into their laps.  I can’t think of any that weren’t worse off after they got all that money.  They found themselves aimless.

Is that what’s meant in this verse about God hiding some things and our needing to search them out?   We appreciate more what we have to work hard for.  A ‘free ride’ is often not that at all.  Proverbs 25 says to get with it!   In college, my parents helped me with expenses–tuition and room/board.  When I entered graduate school at Princeton, my parents announced that I was on my own.  No more money!  Oh, the pain and suffering!  I was being weaned off of their largesse.  It hurt.  I was confused…and possibly a bit greedy as well.   Maybe?  Probably!

I learned that it’s good to study and work hard.  After all,  I was now paying for it!  I did quite well at Princeton.  I paid back my student loan over a 10 year period, never missing one payment.  Like burning a mortgage when that last coupon was clipped, the final payment made!   My parents were right.  I needed to search it out, paying for it myself.

God holds back so we can get busy for Him.  Searching and seeking… all He has for us.  Will mean so much more.  Not served on a platter… but after climbing mountain clefts, stretching weary muscles and scraping knees.  Even in the troubles that don’t seem to go away, seek Him.  Seek…He will be found.  Crack open the pages of your Bible… and find out for yourself.  It’s well worth the effort!  Good reading… good digging!

Prayer:  Lord, we need You so much.  Thank you that life is worth the living because you live.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

BURYING YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND…Leviticus 19: 31

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We live in a world that has almost no awareness of the Bible.  Really pathetic.  Read almost any author up until the mid-20th century, from Shakespeare to Milton,  Dostoyevski to Tolstoy,  Eliot to Dickens, and their works are laced with biblical references.  The light of God’s Word shines so dim in our modern world.

So, where do people turn for guidance?  Horoscopes and pseudo-scientists, economists and politicians.  As if they know everything.  Did you know this?  The Lord God speaks more in the Book of Leviticus than in any other book of the Bible.  Leviticus?  Yes.  And He says plainly in chapter 19: 31 to stay far away from ‘mediums and spiritists and necromancers’.  The word for ‘mediums’ in Hebrew language refers to someone who digs a hole in the ground that unleashes infernal deities and spirits of the deceased to enter the upper world, communicating with the living.  Wow, how informative can you get?!

Look at 1 Samuel 28:7 where King Saul foolishly consults a ‘medium’ for direction.  The Witch of Endor.  An owner of a hole in the ground.  That’s the best he can do?  A hole with his head in the sand?  Where the dead are buried?  The haunt of demons, disembodied spirits and Satan himself?  This is serious business.  Where do we look for guidance in life?

Don’t get me wrong.  We dare not put our heads in the sand, cutting ourselves off from the outside world as if there’s nothing there for us to benefit from.  There is.  But, our skepticism must be on high alert.  Drop your horoscope reading–stop now, right this moment.  Never again go near a ouija board.  Never again darken the door of a fortune-teller.  Take economists and politicians lightly, sifting them like grains of sand.

Hang around the Bible neighborhood.  Your neighbors will be the very best.  Streets are safe and well-lit all hours of the night.  Truth hangs out on every corner.  The food is abundant and already paid for.  Leviticus 19:31 says that if you consult mediums, who are just dirt-diggers mucking around in the mud on a rainy day, ‘you will be defiled by them.’  Be careful, the Lord says, you could get sucked into what turns out to be quicksand.  People without the Lord wind up digging a big hole, looking into its depths only to fall in and disappear where they least want to be… forever.  Stay away.  The signs have been posted.  Pay attention.  Spread the Word!

Prayer:  Lord, we turn to you for guidance and help.  We ask for your strength to stay far away from what we know is not for us as believers.  In Jesus’  name.  Amen.