Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death.” Proverbs 19:18 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Spare the rod, spoil the child.”

 

I once saw a movie called “The Boy in the Bubble”. It was about a boy with a compromised immune system and he could not safely be exposed to ordinary life. Therefore he lived his life shut away in a protective enclosure that shielded him from anything harmful.

 

I think that’s a good illustration of how children are being raised in our society today – they’re being raised in a protective bubble, shielded from anything unpleasant, anything challenging or disappointing. So rather than the winners getting a trophy and the losers applauding them at the banquet, now everyone gets a participation trophy and nobody ever loses. College campuses have been turned into “safe spaces” where young people don’t have to hear ideas they don’t like or which they disagree with. And if you spank your child you might just get a visit from agents from Child Protective Services.

 

There are many other examples I could site but you get the point – our society is pampering our young people. To borrow a phrase from columnist George Will, “We’re raising a generation of delicate little snowflakes”. And as Bill Gates once said in a college commencement address, “The lessons learned from that kind of an upbringing bear absolutely no resemblance to anything in real life.”

 

In the Bible God is much more realistic about what it takes to raise a child well. It’s what Christian child psychologist Dr. James Dobson once called “tough love”. It is love that’s soft, warm, kind, and compassionate most of the time, but also tough when it needs to be.

 

The Bible is clear that children need rules and guidance so they understand exactly what behavior is good and acceptable, and which is not. They should be complimented, encouraged, and sometimes rewarded when they behave well, and they need fair but firm correction when they don’t.

 

In recent years I’ve spent a lot of time working with young men in jails and prisons. These are young men who have been caught-up in the drug culture and who are doing time for associated crimes. A common part of many of their stories is the lack of discipline and correction they received from their parents when they were growing up. In some cases these young men even learned how to do drugs and commit crimes from their parents. So now, as a young man who is incarcerated but trying to turn his life around, he needs to learn the lessons he should have been taught as a child.

 

It has been observed that if a child doesn’t respect and obey a teacher today, he won’t respect and obey a police officer tomorrow. And if parents don’t ’discipline and correct their children now, jail guards might have to do it later.

 

As Solomon said in Proverbs 19:18, if you will discipline your child now, there’s hope for tomorrow. If you don’t, you are setting him or her up for a lifetime of failure.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Kindness to the poor is a loan to the Lord, and he will give a reward to the lender.” Proverbs 19:17 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Err on the side of compassion and generosity.”

 

Have you ever struggled with the decision of whether or not you should give a couple of dollars to a homeless person? From time to time we all have. On the one hand, you don’t want to enable bad behavior. You don’t want to give them money for a meal, only to have them spend it on drugs or alcohol. On the other hand, you don’t want to be heartless and unresponsive to genuine need. So what should you do?

 

The Bible doesn’t actually make the decision for us, but it does provide us with general guidance. In numerous places in the Proverbs Solomon teaches against laziness and irresponsible behavior. The Apostle Paul even goes so far as to instruct us to let someone go hungry rather than enabling their bad behavior and poor decisions (2 Thessalonians 3:10). So on the one hand, Scripture is clear that we are to allow people to suffer the consequences of their own bad choices, even if that means saying “no” to their request.

 

However, more often the guidance God gives us in the Bible leans in the direction of kindness, compassion, and generosity. In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus teaches that kindness and compassion to those in need is such an important act of ministry that when we do it, He receives it as if we did it for Him personally, “I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.” (Matthew 25:40)

 

In James 1:27 we read, “Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” There are numerous other passages in both the Old and New Testaments which teach the same lesson but God’s point is clear, He wants us to be kind and generous.

 

In Proverbs 19:17 Solomon tells us that compassion and generosity to someone in need is actually “a loan to the Lord.”, and that “He will give a reward to the lender.” This is the same truth expressed by Jesus in Matthew 25:40 just in slightly different words.

 

It’s true that we are to be good stewards of the resources the Lord has entrusted us with so we don’t waste them. We also don’t want to be taken unfair advantage of and we don’t want to be enablers of bad behavior. But we can trust that God will honor our good intentions and that in the end He will somehow make it right.

 

Sometimes the decision about whether to give or not will be clear to you and you will have peace about it. However since the weight of Biblical instruction on the issue leans in favor of kindness, compassion, and generosity, if you’re unsure of what to do and you’re struggling with the decision, the safe bet is to err on the side of compassion and generosity.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Better a poor man who lives with integrity than someone who has deceitful lips and is a fool.” Proverbs 19:1 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “It’s better to be poor and honest than rich and dishonest.”

 

Today’s lesson from Proverbs 19:1 teaches that a wise person is honest and has integrity, even if that doesn’t seem to be to their advantage in worldly terms, but a fool is dishonest and deceitful.

 

Deep down we know that Proverbs 19:1 is true. In the end righteous conduct will pay dividends, and dishonesty will reap unpleasant consequences. Richard Nixon had to resign from the office of President for being dishonest. Brian Williams lost a multi-million dollar job as a network news anchor for telling lies. Bernie Madoff is spending the rest of his life in prison for defrauding people out of millions of dollars. Maybe it’s true that you never had the fabulous wealth that Bernie enjoyed for a time, but you’re also not spending the rest of your life in prison either; as Solomon told us in Ecclesiastes 9:4, “A live dog is better than a dead lion.”

 

I once knew a man who was in an important position in an organization. He was held in high esteem by people who didn’t know him too well but for those who had to work with him closely behind the scenes, they knew that he had a bad habit of tip-toeing along the line between right and wrong, between ethical and unethical. He lived in that grey area of questionable conduct, seeking always to somehow get maximum advantage for himself. And, he would occasionally cross the line into unethical and even illegal conduct. He also frequently shaded the truth, or sometimes even told outright lies, in an effort to manipulate people and situations.

 

As a result, over time there were multiple audits by the IRS of both his personal and organizational tax returns; there were a couple of lawsuits regarding questionable personal business deals; there were frequent conflicts with staff members; and those closest to him could never really be sure if he was telling them the full truth in any given situation.

 

Early in his ministry years Billy Graham established a high bar of conduct for himself and for his closest associates. He said that not only did they have to avoid any inappropriate conduct, but they had to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. They had to stay so far away from the line dividing right and wrong that there would be no chance of ever crossing it. That’s a pretty good standard for all of us.

 

It is always better to be squeaky clean and above reproach in your conduct, even if doing so means sacrificing a little personal advantage. I encourage you to be a person of honesty and integrity.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.” Proverbs 18:12 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Pride comes before a fall.”

 

Pride comes before a fall. It’s a truth we see played out over and over again in life every day. And the more pride there is, the greater the fall. The reason this is true is because pride blinds us. It prevents us from seeing ourselves and our situations as they truly are.

 

“The Life Recovery Bible” is a study Bible specifically written for men and women struggling with addictions. Excessive pride, denial, and a lack of humility are key character traits which often result in people succumbing to addictive behaviors. In the study notes that go with Proverbs 18:12 the editors offered this insight:

 

“When we are filled with pride, we cannot see our weaknesses. We build walls of denial that are almost impregnable. If we cannot admit our faults, they will never be corrected, and we will suffer the consequences. On the other hand, humility opens the door for correction. When we honestly evaluate our life, we can see our weaknesses and take steps to improve and correct them. This may be painful now, but it will be much more bearable than the pain of a life destroyed by a dependency and a compulsion.”

 

Pride itself is an addictive and self-perpetuating behavior. The more we allow pride to rule over us, the harder our heart gets and the less receptive we become to the possibility that there could be anything wrong that needs correction. The Pharaoh of Egypt in the book of Exodus is a classic example. He was prideful and unreceptive to the message of correction Moses attempted to deliver to him. In Exodus 7:22 we read that “Pharaoh’s heart became hard.” That was the starting point for prideful and arrogant stubbornness that would lead the Pharaoh and his nation to catastrophic consequences.

 

As the story unfolds, and Moses continued to attempt to get through to Pharaoh, we read of Pharaoh’s increasing stubbornness. Six times we read that Pharaoh dug in his heals and purposely hardened his own heart even more. No matter how bad the consequences got, he refused to give in. Finally, in Exodus 9:12, after Pharaoh had stubbornly rebuffed Moses six times, we read that “The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart.” In other words, God finally gave Pharaoh over to the consequences of his own prideful and stubborn heart. And that of course, led straight to his downfall.

 

Pride comes before a fall. The more pride there is and the longer we cling to it, the greater the fall we’re setting ourselves up for. I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal to you any prideful attitudes that you need to repent of.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “One who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound judgment.” Proverbs 18:1 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “You need others and others need you.”

 

In the beginning Adam was all alone in the Garden of Eden. But God declared that it was not good for him to be alone, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18). From that point forward the entire Bible is a story of companionship and community. It is all about relationships with God and with others.

 

It wasn’t good for Adam to be alone then, and it’s not good for us to be alone now. Human beings are relational by nature. God created us to be together. We so need the companionship of others that Solomon says that the person who isolates him or herself is rebelling against sound judgment.

 

But Solomon also writes in that verse that such isolationism is selfish as well. In other words, the isolated person is thinking primarily of themselves and not of others. The implication is that not only is it not good for us to be alone, it’s also not good for others to be alone and we have a responsibility to ensure they are not alone. The way we do that is by being there for them.

 

People who isolate themselves weaken community. They weaken families, they weaken neighborhoods, and they weaken churches. That’s why in Hebrews 10:24-25 the writer urges his readers, “And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

 

According to Solomon in Proverbs 18:1, and the writer of the letter to the Hebrews in 10:24-25, skipping church is not only unbiblical but it is also selfish. Not only are you supposed to be there for you, and not only are you supposed to be there for God, but you’re supposed to be there for others too. Not only do you need the companionship and community that comes from believers gathering together, but so does everyone else. When you skip church you have diminished the gathering and that hurts others.

 

Also, attending church is not just about what you will get out of it, but it is also about what you will put into it. You go to church in order to offer your worship to God in a group setting, and you go so you can be there to bless and encourage others. Isolating yourself is actually an act of selfishness. You need others, but others also need you. I encourage you to attend your church this Sunday.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Eloquent words are not appropriate on a fool’s lips; how much worse are lies for a ruler.” Proverbs 17:7 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Leaders must speak the truth.”

 

Today the vast majority of people in our society have lost faith in elected officials and in the news media. There’s a widespread belief that our elected officials lie to us frequently and that the news media is heavily biased in their reporting. In the most recent poll by PolitiFact, only 9% of Americans have confidence in our members of Congress to tell us the truth, and only 20% trust the news media. In other words, 91% of Americans don’t believe members of Congress are truthful and 80% don’t believe the news media is either. President Trump fares a little better. He has a 39% approval rating – so only 61% of the American people distrust him.

 

Clearly there’s a crisis of confidence in our nation today. We don’t know who to believe. Maybe we shouldn’t believe anyone. This is why Christians must have a Biblical worldview. The only reliable standard of truth is the Word of God. Therefore we must weigh and measure everything against the Bible. When trying to ascertain the truth about anything our first question should be “Is it true Biblically?” and then go from there.

 

How did we end up with such a crisis of confidence anyway? There are multiple reasons. The primary one is that we have drifted far from our Biblical roots. The ninth Commandment tells us that lying is a sin. But if as a society we no longer care what the Ten Commandments say, then lying isn’t such a big deal anymore. We’ve evolved into a society which now relies on subjective truth and situational ethics. What’s true for you may not be true for me, and what’s right or wrong in any particular situation depends on what’s most convenient for me at the moment and how it impacts me personally.

 

That has become especially true for politicians, and when leaders routinely lie to the people, the people then no longer have faith in their leaders. Lying is always wrong, but it’s especially wrong for those entrusted with positions of leadership.

 

This is why I believe it’s so important for us to know about the faith of those running for elected office. Some people claim that faith is a personal thing and should not be an issue in an election. I disagree. I believe it’s the most important thing we can know about any person, and it’s the first thing we need to know about anyone running for high office.

 

As Solomon teaches in this Proverb, leaders must speak the truth. If they won’t, then we need to get new leaders.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Better a dry crust with peace than a house full of feasting with strife.” Proverbs 17:1 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “What price will you pay for peace?”

 

I was once involved in a work situation that was very much a love-hate relationship for me. On the one hand, there were aspects of the work that I enjoyed. But on the other hand, it was a work environment that involved what seemed like an endless stream of drama, complaining, bickering, backbiting, gossip, and behind the scenes maneuvering driven by self-interests. And it never seemed to stop.

 

Because there were aspects of the work that I liked, I was reluctant to leave it. But because of all the behind-the-scenes nonsense, it was a toxic environment that brought out the worst in me. I knew I needed to remove myself from it for my own good. It was the price I needed to be willing to pay for my own peace of mind.

 

That same scenario plays out every day in life in thousands of different ways. There are plenty of people who, like in my own example, are in a toxic work environment but they stay for the money, or the prestige, or for some other reason, but they would be better off if they left. There are families with large incomes, living in expensive homes, and enjoying the best of every creature comfort, but they are constantly fighting, and arguing, and hurting each other. Their house is fabulous but their home is a war zone.

 

This is what Solomon was writing about in Proverbs 17:1. Peace is better than prosperity. You will be happier in a small home with limited resources but with peace, than you will be in a large home with lots of creature comforts but constant fighting.

 

There’s an old saying that goes, “Less is more.” What that means is that sometimes having less is better than having more. Sometimes giving something-up results in gaining something better. Giving up that high paying but high pressure job may result in you earning less money, but it could also result in a better quality of life that is more peaceful and therefore more satisfying. Likewise, getting away from people who are creating a toxic situation in your life may involve you having to make big changes, but it could result in much more peace of mind for you.

 

So what price are you willing to pay for peace? It really is true that peace is better than prosperity, less is often better than more, and giving something up can result in gaining something better.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “A wise heart instructs its mouth and increases learning with its speech. Pleasant words are a honeycomb: sweet to the taste and health to the body.” Proverbs 16:23-24 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “What comes out of your mouth reveals what is in your heart.”

 

In Proverbs 16:23 Solomon tells us that a wise heart will instruct its mouth. In other words, the heart controls what the mouth speaks. That’s true in more ways than one.

 

First we need to remember that when the Bible speaks of “the heart” it is not talking about the physical organ that pumps blood through the body. “Heart” is a metaphor that refers to the center of a person’s inner and personal life. It’s the place where thoughts, emotions, imagination, wisdom, and conscience all come together to form the person we truly are.

 

One of the most revealing and helpful truths about the human heart was given to us by Jesus in Luke 6:45 when He said, “A good man produces good out of the good storeroom of his heart. An evil man produces evil out of the evil storeroom, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.”

 

In the NIV that verse reads, “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.” What Jesus means is that whatever you have in your heart, sooner or later it will work its way to the surface and come out of your mouth. Many people have all sorts of evil stored-up in their heart. They try to keep it bottled-up and hidden, and they usually can, for a while. But if your heart is filled with profanity, pornography, anger, bitterness, envy, or greed, no matter how hard you try to keep those things bottled-up and hidden from view, sooner or later, in an unguarded moment, they will pop out. Everyone can fake-it for a little while, but sooner or later what’s really in your heart will come out of your mouth.

 

That brings us back to Solomon’s point about the heart instructing the mouth. The heart controls the mouth. Therefore what comes out of the mouth is being driven by the heart – good or bad. The heart can instruct the mouth by teaching or training it. Even if a person has a heart that’s filled with ugly things, if the person wants to change that, they can begin to flood the heart with good and righteous influences. Then over time the evil things will be flushed out. In the meantime the heart can exercise control over the mouth and train it to speak only that which is good and righteous.

 

Solomon also said in those verses that a wise heart speaks words that increase learning, are pleasant to hear, and which are healthy and helpful. Such things come from the good storeroom Jesus was referring to.

 

So, if you want to know what’s really in a person’s heart, listen closely to what’s coming out of their mouth.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Better a little with righteousness than great income with injustice.” Proverbs 16:7-8 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Don’t live too close to the edge.”

 

This morning I was reading the story of Abraham and his nephew Lot in Genesis chapters 13-19. In terms of right and wrong, Lot was a young man who liked to live life close to the edge. Lot was the nephew of Abraham. Abraham was known for his righteous behavior. He was wise, he was honest, he had integrity, and God honored him for it. Unfortunately Lot didn’t seem to inherit those character traits.

 

When it came time for Abraham and Lot to go their separate ways because their respective families and herds had grown too big to stay together, Abraham kindly offered Lot first choice of all the lands before them. Lot looked around and then chose what he thought was the best land for himself. Abraham graciously accepted the leftovers.

 

Lot then moved to the wicked neighborhood of Sodom and Gomorrah. The way the story unfolds, Lot first began by living in tents outside the city. Then we find him owning a house inside the city; and before long we see him sitting in a place of honor at the city gates with the town elders (19:1). Not long after that, Lot finds himself in the middle of a near-riot that consisted of a large crowd of Sodomites intent on raping two male visitors to their town. In an attempt to save the visitors, Lot shamefully offered the sex-crazed crowd his two virgin daughters.

 

What happened to Lot? How did things get so bad so fast for him? While his uncle Abraham was doing very well and was being blessed by God, Lot found himself drowning in a cesspool of sexual sin, attempted rape, murderous intent, and later, incest. He also got to experience fire and brimstone raining down from heaven.

 

It happened because Lot allowed himself to be lured by the things of the world. He thought he could live on the edge of sin, enjoying it just a little bit without getting fully sucked into it. But he wasn’t able to withstand the attraction of that lifestyle. It was just too strong to resist. And so, he was drawn deeper and deeper into it until he was eventually faced with catastrophic consequences. This is what happens when we try to toy with sinful situations – we sink deeper and deeper into it.

 

In Proverbs 16:7-8 Solomon constructed a contrast that fit the situations of Abraham and Lot to a tee. Abraham was the man of verse 7 whose ways pleased the Lord and who therefore enjoyed the Lord’s blessings. Lot was the man of verse 8 who thought he saw a better opportunity for comfort and riches and chose to go after it, even though his choice was leading him to a place like Sodom and Gomorrah.

 

When you live close to the edge you’re always just a step away from going over it. So the lesson is, “Don’t live close to the edge.” Stay well away from it. See the world of Sodom and Gomorrah for what it is and don’t go there! You will always be better off having less while living righteously, than having more but living in sin to get it.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “A joyful heart makes a face cheerful, but a sad heart produces a broken spirit.” Proverbs 15:13 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “The glass is half-full”

 

“Is the glass half-full or half-empty?” The answer of course is “yes”. It is both half-full and half-empty. It’s all a matter of how you choose to look at it. Typically the person with an optimistic personality will say it is half-full and the pessimistic person will conclude it is half-empty. The glass contains the same volume of liquid for both of them; the difference is in how they choose to think about it.

 

A joyful heart is a matter of choice too. It’s a matter of how you choose to view and think about the circumstances of your life, and it’s a matter of where your sense of joy comes from. Where does your source of joy come from?

 

Many people believe the source of joy is external and works its way into the heart. Therefore their joy is dependent on circumstances and people. If the circumstances of life are pleasant, if they have lots of money and nice things, and if the people around them are cooperative and kind, then they are joyful. But if circumstances are not to their liking, and if people do not behave in the way they want them to, then they’re not joyful. Such a person is allowing external influences to reach into their heart and control them.

 

The Bible teaches that true joy is actually internal and works its way out. In Galatians 5:22-23 the Apostle Paul taught that true joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit who lives inside the heart of the follower of Christ. That being the case, joy then originates inside, bubbles up, and flows out. A person like that is not under the control of external circumstances or other people. Instead, they’re under the control of the Holy Spirit.

 

Ok, now let’s consider the issue of choice. Can you really choose to experience joy or not? Yes you can. First, you must make a choice to cultivate the joy that is within you. You do that by growing in your Christian faith and allowing the Holy Spirit to have greater and greater control over your heart. The more you do that, the more the spiritual fruit of joy becomes a deep-seated part of who you are as a person.

 

Second, you can also train yourself to be optimistic instead of pessimistic. You don’t have to see the glass as being half-empty. You can train your thoughts to consider things from an optimistic point of view. I know this to be true because I had to do it myself. By nature I used to be a pessimist. For me the glass was always half-empty. But I didn’t want to go through life thinking like that and so I embarked on a training program to change my way of thinking.

 

In addition to diligent Bible study, especially of the book of Philippians, I also studied books like “The Power of Positive Thinking” by Norman Vincent Peale; “Life is Tremendous” by Charlie Jones; “How to be Happy” by Andrew Matthews; and of course, “The Traveler’s Gift”, “The Noticer”, and “The Butterfly Effect” all by Andy Andrews. All of those books are Christian and extremely helpful.

 

In Proverbs 17:22 Solomon comes back to this theme of joy when he writes, “A joyful heart is good medicine.” It’s true! On average, joyful optimistic people tend to live longer and they have a better quality of life. If you’re not seeing your glass as half-full I encourage you to take the steps and do the work to cultivate a joyful heart.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim