Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but one who hates correction is stupid.” Proverbs 12:1 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “A wise person seeks to learn and grow and improve, a fool does not.”

 

As Solomon explained right at the beginning of Proverbs 1, and which he has then reemphasized over and over again since then, the intention of the Proverbs is to encourage us to seek Godly wisdom and then apply it to our lives. The literary device he chose to use to help make his point is that of contrast. All throughout the Proverbs Solomon contrasts the thinking, decision-making, and lifestyle of a wise person who seeks and lives by Godly wisdom, and the fool who does not. That’s what he does again in Proverbs 12. The entire Proverb is a study in contrasts between what happens when a person is wise, and what happens when a person is a fool.

 

In verse 1 Solomon tells us that if we love Godly wisdom we will discipline ourselves in order to develop more of it. The fool won’t be willing to exert the effort or invest the time to do that. That right there is the key to developing and living by the wisdom Proverbs – you have to want it and you have to be willing to work for it. We have to train ourselves to live this way and that takes discipline and effort.

 

Discipline and effort is required for any improvement we want to experience in life. If you want to be physically fit and healthy, you have to discipline yourself to exercise every day and to eat right. If you want to make your living as a professional musician, you need to discipline yourself to practice your craft every day and to continuously improve. That’s true whether we’re talking about getting good at baseball, bowling, carpentry, or yodeling. You have to be disciplined and you have to invest the time and effort. Spiritual growth is no different.

 

And just like with all of those other endeavors, there are rewards for the investment. The health nut ends up physically fit; the musician becomes increasingly accomplished; the baseball player hits home runs; the bowler makes strikes; the carpenter builds beautiful furniture; the yodeler wins trophies for being a world class yodeler; and the person with Godly wisdom reaps spiritual benefits and rewards. But it all took work and effort.

 

I love the way the Living Bible phrases 2 Peter 1:5-8:

 

“But to obtain these gifts, you need more than faith; you must also work hard to be good, and even that is not enough. For then you must learn to know God better and discover what he wants you to do. Next, learn to put aside your own desire so that you will become patient and godly, gladly letting God have his way with you. This will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them, and finally you will grow to love them deeply. The more you go on in this way, the more you will grow strong spiritually and become faithful and useful to our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

A wise person seeks to learn and grow and improve. They invest the time and make the effort. The fool does not.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “… there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Proverbs 18:24 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.”

 

Men in military units, especially combat military units, often refer to themselves as “a band of brothers.” That’s because they’re often closer to one another than even biological brothers. The reason is that they depend on each other for their lives. In the heat of combat you have to know that your brother has your back and that he will even give his life to save yours. That’s why John 15:13 tends to be a very popular and oft repeated verse of Scripture in combat military units, “Greater love has no on than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

 

Today is Memorial Day 2017. It’s the day we set aside each year to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice by giving their lives in military service to our country. Please do not confuse it with Veteran’s Day. Veteran’s Day is in November and its purpose is to honor all those who have served our country in the armed forces. Memorial Day is just for those who have given their lives in the defense of our nation. Pause today to remember and honor them.

 

But then we must also recognize that when it comes to a “friend who sticks closer than a brother”, and one who will “lay down his life for his friends”, there is no one greater than Jesus Christ Himself. If you are a follower of His then He thinks of you like a brother or close blood relative, “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Mark 3:35. He also thinks of you as His friend, “You are my friends if you do what I command.” John 15:14. And, He willingly gave His life for you, “I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10:15.

 

On this Memorial Day remember those who died so you can live in freedom in this lifetime, but also remember the One who died so you can live in freedom forever.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “One person gives freely, yet gains more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor. A generous person will be enriched, and the one who gives a drink of water will receive water.” Proverbs 11:24-25 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “The law of Sowing and Reaping is a Biblical reality.”

 

We’re only in May but this morning my thoughts are on Christmas – specifically the story “A Christmas Carol” and especially the contrast between the two main characters Ebenezer Scrooge and Bob Cratchit. Scrooge was a rich man who greedily clung to his money. He refused to share it with others or to even spend it on himself. The man was a miser who lived so sparingly that he couldn’t bear to spend any money at all. And despite his great wealth, Scrooge was a miserable old man who was intensely unhappy.

 

Bob Cratchit was a poor man in terms of money and possessions, but he was generous with what he had and he was also an upbeat and happy man. He seemed to genuinely enjoy life despite his impoverished circumstances.

 

Scrooge was rich but miserable. Bob was poor but happy. Scrooge had lots of money that he refused to share. Bob had little money but he cheerfully shared what he did have. Their respective examples give us some insight into God’s law of sowing and reaping. In its purest form the law simply holds that if you bless others, God will bless you. Sow a blessing and you will reap a blessing, but sow bitterness and you will reap bitterness. Be nice to people and they will be nice to you, but if you are mean to people then they will be mean back. You reap what you sow.

 

Again the examples of Bob and Ebenezer help us to understand. Bob blessed others. He blessed them with kindness, he blessed them with good cheer, he blessed them by sharing what little he had with those in need, and God blessed him in return. He had a life filled with love, he had a cheerful disposition, his basic needs for food, clothes, and housing were met, and by all measures he was a happy person.

 

Ebenezer, on the other hand, sowed bitterness. He was a cranky old man, he was mean to people, he took unfair advantage of others, he refused to share from his riches with those in need, just to name a few examples. And in return he was a deeply unhappy person who lived a miserable little life. He sowed seeds of bitterness in his dealings with others, and he therefore experienced bitterness in his own life.

 

When Solomon writes in Proverbs 11:25 of a generous person being enriched, he did not necessarily mean that if you give a dollar to a needy person God will find a way to give you back two dollars (although that does sometimes happen). Instead Solomon meant that if you bless others, God will find ways to bless you in return. And God’s best blessings are usually spiritual rather than material. For instance, when a generous person blesses others they usually end up having an increased experience of the fruit of the Spirit in their own lives, “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23.

 

The law of sowing and reaping is a Biblical reality. You cannot out-give God and you cannot out-bless God. You bless others and He will bless you.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Without guidance, people fall, but with many counselors there is deliverance.” Proverbs 11:14 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “You’re not as smart as you think you are.”

 

We don’t get very far in our study of the Proverbs before we realize there are certain themes Solomon repeats numerous times. The reason he does that is because the subject is so important. Our need for wise counselors is one of those themes.

 

In Proverbs 3:5-6 we learned that one of the ways God communicates with us is through the advice of wise and spiritually mature counselors. But if you’re living life like a one-man show, if you think you know it all and therefore don’t need the advice of others, then you’re missing key guidance from the Lord.

 

The editors of the Daily Walk Bible note that “Proverbs is more than a book on how to be wise. If you choose, it can also be a book on how to be foolish. Every wise course of action to pursue is contrasted with a foolish course of action to avoid.” That’s true and so it’s up to you to choose the wise course and reject the foolish one. In the case of seeking counsel and advice from others, you’re wise if you do it and you’re a fool if you don’t.

 

History is littered with the wreckage left behind by foolish leaders who were so self-confident that they ignored the advice of their advisors, and therefore ended up making terrible decisions about important issues. Or worse, leaders who were egomaniacs and couldn’t tolerate having people around them with strong and differing opinions. Therefore their circle of advisors was all “yes men” who simply told the leader what he or she wanted to hear.

 

This applies to individuals too. You can go it alone, as if you already know everything there is to know about everything, or you can seek the advice of spiritually mature counselors. Seeking advice is wise. Going it alone is foolish.

 

The truth is that none of us are as smart as we think we are. We all need other people to help us think through important decisions and to see things from other perspectives. I encourage you to make it a practice to seek the advice of others. Just be sure to choose those advisors well.  Make sure they’re well qualified to give advice and counsel about the issue you’re dealing with.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “When there are many words, sin is unavoidable, but the one who controls his lips is wise.” Proverbs 10:19 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Sometimes the best use of the tongue is to keep it still.”

 

Have you ever known someone who can’t seem to stop talking? They just ramble on and on and on endlessly, often mindlessly. Not only do you find yourself having a hard time listening to them, but you wonder if they’re even listening to themselves. When I was a kid we used to refer to such a person as having a “motor-mouth”.

 

As annoying as a motor-mouth person can be, a worse situation is the person who uses their tongue as a weapon. Some people are simply mean with the things they say and the way in which they say them. They use their words to criticize, belittle, cut down, wound, slander, and spread gossip.

 

In Proverbs 10:19 Solomon warns us that excessive talking eventually leads to sin. So whether you’re the motor-mouth who just rambles on and on, or the mean-spirited person who uses the tongue as a weapon, the more you talk the more your speech is likely to turn sinful.

 

In the Bible, towards the end of the New Testament, James, the brother of Jesus, provided us with a great little tutorial regarding the tongue. The entire book is only five chapters long and is worth the time to study carefully, but here’s a brief summary of what James teaches regarding the words we speak:

 

1. We should be quick to listen but slow to speak. (James 1:9)
2. Anyone who cannot control his or her tongue has a spiritual problem. (1:26)
3. Your words need to be backed up with deeds. (2:14-24)
4. We have an inborn natural tendency to boast, and we must therefore resist it. (3:5)
5. The tongue has the potential to be the source of great evil. (3:6-8)
6. A Christian should not use profanity. (3:9-12)

 

There’s more but you get his point. In the opinion of James if you can’t control your tongue then you shouldn’t even profess to be a Christian (1:26). For one thing, you dishonor the Lord with your speech and therefore it would be much better for you to just be silent. But more to his main point in that verse, if your speech is that bad then James doubts that your professed faith is even genuine.

 

Back to the point that Solomon was making in Proverbs 10:19, it’s better to talk too little than too much. It has been said that we have two ears and only one mouth, therefore we should listen twice as much as we speak. And also, “Remain silent and you may be thought a fool. Open your mouth and you remove all doubt.”

 

Sometimes the best use of the tongue is to keep it still.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “The one who lives with integrity lives securely, but whoever perverts his ways will be found out.” Proverbs 10:9 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Living with integrity is its own reward.”

 

In Proverbs 10, like in many other Proverbs, Solomon contrasts good and evil people by the way they live and the consequences they suffer. Moral living is good for us, evil living is not. A person wise in the ways of God will have a life that is blessed by God. A person who lives contrary to the ways of God is a fool who will be punished and allowed to suffer the consequences of their own evil choices.

 

Proverbs 10:9 assures us that a lifestyle of integrity is a path to security, but the one who is not trustworthy will be exposed for who they really are and they will suffer the appropriate consequences. Are you a person of integrity? There is a way you can tell. In Psalm 15 King David gives us a list of Biblical standards of integrity which we can use to evaluate ourselves. Let’s go there and look at it:

 

1. Live honestly (15:2). In other words you do not practice deceit or deception nor do you treat people unfairly. You are an honest person and people know this to be true of you.

 

2. Practice righteousness (15:2). You actively promote good in the world. You’re willing to take a stand for what you know to be right.

 

3. Speak the truth (15:2). Your “yes” is “yes” and your “no” is “no”. You say what you mean, mean what you say, and let the chips fall where they may. You are known for speaking the truth.

 

4. Do not slander (15:3). You do not gossip or talk about others behind their backs. You do not spread false stories about people nor do you attempt to damage their reputation.

 

5. Do no harm (15:3). You do not engage in actions that will bring harm to others.

 

6. You are loyal (15:3). Your family, friends and neighbors know they can count on you.

 

7. A friend of Christians (15:4). You honor and support those who honor the Lord, rather than those who don’t. You are a friend to those who are friends with Jesus.

 

8. Keep your word (15:4). If you say you’re going to do something then you do it. People know they can count on you to keep your promises.

 

9. Do not take advantage of people (15:5). You bless people in distress rather than taking advantage of their situation.

 

10. Do not take bribes (15:5). You cannot be bought. You cannot be enticed into doing something you know is wrong.

 

When you are a man or woman of integrity people will know it to be true about you because of how you conduct yourself, and they will respect you for it. Living a life of integrity is its own reward.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son, heartache to his mother … The son who gathers during summer is prudent; the son who sleeps during harvest is disgraceful.” Proverbs 10:1; 5 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Wise children are a blessing to their parents; rebellious children grieve their parents.”

 

Rebellious children often grow to be rebellious teenagers who then become adults whose lives are a train wreck. Inappropriate conduct in childhood, if not corrected, can become a pattern of behavior that escalates in severity as the person ages. We all know parents who have gone through years and years of struggles with a child and now as an adult, the person is addicted to drugs, or going through their third divorce, or in prison, or worse.

 

What’s a parent to do? First, parents have a responsibility before God to raise their children in a Christian home according to Biblical principles. That includes more than just lecturing them; it must involve more than just teaching them; even more than just sending them to church. It has got to involve the parent modeling a Christ-like life. We must first be the kind of person we want our children to be.

 

But then we must remember that every person is a free moral agent. Each person has been endowed by God with a free will and therefore that person will make their own choices. The older the individual gets, the more the free will becomes an issue. We cannot live someone else’s life for them and we cannot make their choices for them.

 

That then leads to the final point I want to offer here this morning and it is that if you have a strong willed child / teenager / adult in your life with a pattern of unacceptable conduct, you have to be willing to allow them to suffer the consequences of their choices. That’s the only way they will learn and grow and ultimately make better choices. If you intervene to minimize or eliminate the consequences for them, they have no incentive to correct their behavior. You must use tough love and let them experience the consequences of their choices.

 

But do it without giving up on them. Don’t enable them in their bad behavior, but also don’t cut them off and cast them out of your life either. Make sure there is always a door open for restoration to occur when the inappropriate behavior stops. The story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32 is the best Biblical example of this.

 

Wise and obedient children (of all ages) are indeed a great blessing. Rebellious children (of all ages) are a cause for worry and grief. Praise God for all of them, do your best as a parent, and then entrust them all to the Lord.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will learn more.” Proverbs 9:9 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “A wise person has trusted counselors they will listen to.”

 

Solomon was the king, and his word was law. Nobody could tell him what to do and he didn’t have to listen to anyone. And yet, the custom for all kings and leaders was to surround themselves with a circle of wise and trusted advisors who would help them to consider situations from all angles, and then to make wise and well-informed decisions.

 

Having advisors we will listen to and whose advice we will follow is crucial. Even Solomon, the wisest man of his day, couldn’t possibly know everything about everything. He needed other people to help him see things from different perspectives and then to think through the issues so he could arrive at wise decisions.

 

Not only is this practice important for kings and rulers and others in positions of leadership, but for the rest of us as well. In my role as a Pastor I have a Church Council, a group of five men elected by the church, to be my closest advisors. They help me to think through the issues of church life and to make good decisions.

 

Also in my personal life I have a small circle of close friends who are spiritually mature and whose counsel I trust (the first of whom is my wife). I frequently rely on those people to help me see things clearly and to make right decisions.

 

Proverbs 9 – the entire thing – is intended to create a contrast between a fool, who refuses all advice and correction, and a wise person who not only accepts it, but seeks it.

 

One of the distinguishing hallmarks of a foolish person is that they are overly confident in themselves. They are wise in their own eyes and resistant to any input that conflicts with what they have already decided must be true and right. Conversely, one of the outstanding character traits of a truly wise man or woman, one who has godly wisdom, is their willingness to listen to others, considering different opinions and other points of view.

 

This willingness to seek and accept counsel is a subject that was so important to Solomon that he addressed it multiple times when writing the Proverbs. We have seen it already in our study and we will come back to it several more times before we are done.

 

A wise person has trusted counselors whom he or she will listen to. Do you?

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Psalms”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Accept my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold. For wisdom is better than jewels, and nothing desirable can compare with it.” Proverbs 8:10-11 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Nothing in life is as satisfying as being right with God.”

 

The Old Testament prophet Haggai ministered among the Jews in Jerusalem after they were allowed to return to the city following seventy years of exile in Babylon. It was around the year 520 B.C.

 

The people were sent into exile by God because of their unfaithfulness to Him. For generations they had pursued other gods and worldly pleasures instead of living faithful lives of holiness and righteousness. Through the prophets God had warned them repeatedly but to no avail. So finally he sent them into exile. But then, after seventy years, they were allowed to return to Jerusalem, pick up the pieces of their shattered lives, and start again. Unfortunately they had not learned their lesson. After a good but brief start, they stopped the rebuilding of the city and the temple, and began to lapse back into their old ways of seeking pleasure, comfort, and wealth rather than God. Enter Haggai.

 

Through his preaching he asked the people to notice that no matter how much material wealth they managed to acquire, no matter how many creature comforts they had, nothing ever seemed to be good enough and they where in a continuous state of always wanting more, more, more. “You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough to be satisfied. You drink but never have enough to become drunk. You put on clothes but never have enough to get warm. The wage earner puts his wages into a bag with a hole in it.” Haggai 1:6.

 

Haggai’s message is clear and simple: “Shortchanging God reaps shortchanges in life.” If you are right with God, nothing else will matter. And if you’re not right with God, nothing else will matter. Honor God and you will be blessed. If you don’t, it won’t matter how much you have because you will never really be happy or satisfied.

 

Simply observing life proves this to be true. We all know of people who have great fame and fortune but whose lives are a train wreck and they are miserable. And we all know of others who, although they don’t seem to have a lot in terms of worldly possessions, they are rich in the things of God and their lives clearly show it. All of this proves once again that nothing in life is as satisfying and fulfilling as being right with God.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Doesn’t wisdom call out? Doesn’t Understanding make her voice heard?” Proverbs 8:1 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “God wants to be heard and understood by His people.”

 

One of the most exciting and promising truths in the Bible is that God wants to be heard and understood by His people. It’s why He gave us the Bible to begin with. “Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great an incomprehensible things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3. “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously …” James 1:5

 

Again in Proverbs 8:1 God makes it clear, this time through the writings of Solomon, that He wants to be heard and understood by people; and that if we will seek to hear Him and learn from Him, He will respond to us.

 

And beyond just us calling out to Him, Proverbs 8:1 reveals that God calls out to us. He is the One who takes the initiative in this. He is the One who created the Bible and made it available to us. He is the One who established churches and who sends prophets and preachers and writers. He is the One who brings trusted counselors into our lives, and who speaks to us in dreams, or in a small voice in the quietness of our heart. Wisdom calls out to us. God makes His voice heard.

 

But many people don’t listen. Instead we rush through life at warp speed, so focused on the things of the world that we don’t stop to focus on the things of God. Or we make excuses for not going to church on Sunday and therefore we don’t hear the word God had prepared to speak to us through the lips of the preacher. Or we engage in behaviors that are clearly unbiblical and we choose to ignore Gods’ clear teaching on the subject.

 

As has been noted in a previous devotional message, wisdom is more than education. It’s more than just knowing things and accumulating knowledge. Wisdom is the ability to take what we know and apply it to the ordinary events of life in such a way that we end up living a truly outstanding life. In terms of Biblical wisdom, it’s more than just the knowledge of what God has said, it’s the practiced ability to apply what God teaches us so that we are living lives that are noticeably holy and righteous.

 

There is no trick to this. God has made it fairly easy. He has gone to extraordinary lengths to make Himself heard and understood. Wisdom begins with listening and is completed in application. We must listen to God, hear what He says, and then apply it to our lives. Do that and you will discover the truth of what Solomon then wrote in Proverbs 8:10-11:

 

“Accept my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold. For wisdom is better than jewels, and nothing desirable can compare with it.”

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim