Proverbs 25

***Proverbs 25***

Verse 20 "Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on a wound, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart. "

It has been a rough couple of weeks. So much bad news, so much pain and suffering.

A 22-year old friend of my family was killed in a car crash last week. A friend and his wife lost their baby. Another friend's wife ran away. So many people I know are struggling with illness. Tornadoes ripped through downtown areas killing hundreds and leaving thousands homeless.

Lots of people are hurting, but people are always hurting. What do you say to people who are hurting? What can you possibly say to make them feel better?

"It's God's will."

"God won't give you more than you can handle."

"I know how you feel."

"It's time to move on."

Truth is, none of these things should be said ever again. We don't know God's will and shouldn't pretend to. If we believe that pain comes from God, then He does give us more than we can handle sometimes, that's why we live in community. You don't know how they feel, you may have been through something like this before, but you don't know how they feel... let them own the fact that we have no idea how much they are hurting. No one can ever tell someone else to move on, everyone heals at different speeds.

While these words are often spoken with the purest and best of intentions... they are like taking a coat from someone on a cold day. They only make things worse.

So what do we say?

Nothing at all. We just bring food, listen and hug. And if they don't feel like talking, we sit with them... but we don't say anything.

In those moments people do not remember what you said, (unless you say something dumb) they remember that you were there.

We can't solve each others problems, but we can journey through them together.

***Proverbs 24***

***Proverbs 24***

Today is one of my most favorite days of the year... the beginning of the NFL draft. It is a day that college kids spend their whole loves working towards and a day tht NFL teams spend months preparing for.

Tonight my Detroit Lions picked another defensive lineman... just like last year. At first I wasn't sure about it; defensive line is one of their strengths... why wouldn't they draft something they needed? Like a cornerback? Or a linebacker? They didn't need another defensive lineman... but the guy they drafted may be the best player in the draft.

It is easy for me to sit on my chair and tell people what they should do... it's harder to actually make the right decisions. It's hard to place a bet on a 21 year-old kid.

Verse 5 "The wise prevail through great power, and those who have power muster their strength."

Wisdom comes with great power...

The power to find peace.

The power to be happy.

The power to love.

The power to accept forgiveness and let go.

Unfortunately it's not easy to be wise. The world we live in does not promote wise living. Instead we are encouraged to go in debt, to eat terrible food, and to lust after a certain body type. We conitnually focus on that which don't have.

Wisdom is understanding and cherishing what's important... the things that money can't buy.

Wisdom is not trusting in a lousy football franchise to finally figure it out... that is hope!

Proverbs 23

***Proverbs 23***

Those who drink wine "will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging."

Many years ago I went to Fiji with Habitat for Humanity. It was a great trip but I never want to go back because it took forever to get there. There is no direct flight from Detroit to Suva. I had to go to Cincy, then LA, then Honolulu, the Somoa, then Nadi, Fiji and finally to Suva. And each change of planes included a 4-6 hour lay-over. I think I was up for 46 hours. But the worst part was when I got sick on the plane as we were landing in Somoa in the middle of a typhoon... they had to land the plane while I was in the bathroom. I never thought my stomach would stop spinning.

We probably all have a story or two like this, some of which may include alcohol... but we all know what it feels like. The worst part about feeling like that is that we are no longer in control of our bodies... we can't get comfortable.

That's what sin does. When we can't control our actions, when we give in to the temptations, we give control to that which will always let us down. It might be alcohol, it might be drugs, maybe food or an unhealthy relationship... but we sacrifice the long-term for immediate gratification.

The only way to know that we will be in a good, healthy place is to give control of our lives to God... God will never let us down.

And we can skip alcohol and air planes.

Proverbs 21 & 22

***Proverbs 21***

I wonder if Solomon was having marital issues when he wrote chapter 21... but I'm not going to take any marriage advice from a guy that had 700 wives.

Instead let's talk about verse 3 "To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice."

Sacrifice was a part of worship for the Israelites and it still is for us. That's what the offering is all about. Instead of bringing bulls and lambs to sacrifice we bring our dollars to give to God.

There are a number of times in the bible where it says that God is less interested in our sacrifice, less interested in our worship and more interested in how we live our lives.

God did not want their bulls and God does not want our wallets unless they come with our hearts... God desperately wants our hearts.

If I bought flowers for Michelle and told her that the only reason I got them was because they were on sale, she probably wouldn't be very excited when I gave them to her. Instead I would say something like "I love you so very much and wanted to surprise you today with this gift." That would work much better.

It's the same with God. God is not interested in half-hearted worship... "well I had nothing else to do on Sunday morning." God wants worship to be motivated by love. The same love that motivates us to be good people, people who do what is right and just.

***Proverbs 22***

When we get to the thrirty sayings of the wise I am reminded of Jethro Gibbs' rules for being a special agent on NCIS... if you follow these you will make it through.

I am interested that he says in verses 26-27 "do not be one who shakes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; if you lack the means to pay your very bed will be snatched from under you."

Thousands of years ago borrowing money was bad idea, and money then was loaned without interest. They used to think loaning money with interest was a sin, it was called usury. Now we have an entire economic system based on borrowed money and interest.

C.S. Lewis wondered how an economic system that was based on a sin could ever survive. I'm not saying that the sky is falling, but it interesting that these problems are not new.

The solution is to be better stewards, don't borrow so much, save more money and live below our means.

But it's hard to do, the goal of advertising is to get us to part with that which we should be saving... and we will never be able to escape the influence of advertisers.

Plus it's good to stimulate the economy right? Or is it better to stimulate our savings account?

I'll ponder that while I am paying my bills after I post this blog.

My truck sure is nice.

Proverbs 20

***Proverbs 20***

Verse 30: "Blows and wounds cleanse away every evil, and beatings purge the inmost being."

I am reminded of a t-shirt I once saw that said "Beatings will continue until morale improves." It's such a ridiculous statement that it makes us laugh. Evil isn't purged away by beating people... children don't learn to be good because they are beaten, they just learn not to get caught the next time.

Solomon lived in a different time though... a time when justice had a far different definition. People were not sent to prison for a specified amount of time based on their crime, they were beaten, maimed, or killed.

While this text may not relate perfectly for our context, it is the perfect text for Good Friday. The day that the beating and crucifixion of one man cleansed a whole world of sinners. And while our inmost beings are still stained by sinful desires, the blood that he shed protects us from the beatings we deserve.

What Jesus went through was terrible... I put this video here so that we can all undertand the magnitude of the day. I understand if you don't want to watch it, but I encourage you to do so.

Proverbs 19

***Proverbs 19***

Verse 6 "everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts."

I went to a private high schoolwith and had many classmates with wealthy parents. These kids drove nice cars and always had more money than I could imagine... they had more money in their wallet than some of our teachers made in a month.

Some of these kids figured out that they could be friends with the cool kids if they were generous to the right people. It used to make me laugh... but it is a universal truth... people with money, that give nice gifts have many friends.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy exchanging gifts but it is not the foundation that any of my relationships is built on. When the gifts stop, so does the relationship.

I guess there is one relationship which is founded on a gift, my relationship with Jesus. Today is Maundy Thursday, the day that Christians around the globe gather to worship our risen Lord because of the gift that he gave... his life. When we break the bread and pour the wine we begin to understand the power of God's love.

His body was broken for you.
His blood was shed for you.

Made me think of this video...

Proberbs 18

***Proverbs 18***

Verse 17: "in a lawsuit the first to speak seems right, until someone comes forward and cross-examines."

When I was in high school I was messing around with one of my friends... and as boys do I pushed him into a wall... unfortunately he went right through the wall. We were immediately escorted to the Assistant Principal's office... meaning I had about 3 minutes to put a good story together. By the time we got to his office I was convinced that he went through the wall because he jumped into the wall as I was pushing him... it had nothing to do with me. And the Assistant Principal actuall ybelieved the story, kind of. We didn't get into trouble, but we had to split the cost of a new wall. (Which they never fixed while I was still a student, instead they put a huge poster of a Koala bear... I wonder if it has ever been fixed. If not, I want my money back!)

We are good at telling stories in a way that favors us. We are good at telling our side of the story. I'm not saying anything controversial... cnn, msnbc and foxnews will all report the same story three different ways, and they slant the story depending on what they believe. There is no such thing as un-biased reporting anymore... everything is opinionated. It's part of who we are.

We must realize that there are two sides to most stories. For instance, when two people get divorced things get ugly, stories and rumors begin and all of a sudden two people that were once madly in love are now bitter enemies. The stories that circulate often tell one side of the story and as a result family and friends end up taking sides. Things get ugly... fast.

What most people don't realize is that those who love you will support you through difficult times. It's ok to accept some blame for what went wrong, it's ok to admit that they aren't so bad and that things just didn't work out. It's ok to tell both sides of the story... to tell the truth. Those who love you will still love you if they find out you're not perfect... Lord know they aren't.

But... that is most cases. Some people are just mean... the stories about them are all true. If you know someone like that, do not let them ruin another day of your life... God loves them, you don't have to.

Proverbs 16 & 17

***Proverbs 16***
Verse 2 "People may think all their ways are pure, but motives are weighed by the Lord."

Michelle and I are finally moved in... it has been a long weekend! We have met our neighbors and are excited about living next to them, they seem like really nice people. Actually, they told us they are really nice... he said "I'm a really nice person, let me know if you need anything." I had to laugh at that... but they do seem like good people.

What does it mean to be a good person? I think we all have our own definition of what that means. What I might think is good, others may not like at all. For example, suicide bombers think that they are doing the will of God... but you and I think that they are horrible people. I understand that is an extreme example, but there are many Christians on tv that make me cringe when I see what they are doing and saying... yet they think they are doing what God would have them do. As if God would want anyone's funeral to be protested!

So how do we define good? I think the answer is in verse 7... "When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone's way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them."

Nobody can argue with or dislike someone when they are doing what God truly desires... no one can look love in the face and see an enemy. But then again we did crucify Jesus.

***Proverbs 17***
Verse 6 "Parents are the pride of their children" The older I get the more I appreciate my parents... I have Hall of Fame parents. They were always there for us, always supporting us, and gave us every opportunity under the sun. It's not as though we were wealthy growing up, we didn't want for anything but nothing ever came easy... but they did all they could to give us a good life, a good foundation.

The older I get, the more mature I become (and Lord knows there is still a lot maturing to be done) the more pride I have in them. The reason I am so proud of them is that they have a good story to tell. Their lives are that of good people, doing their best to raise their kids to be good people, helping their neighbors whenever they could and being there for their extended family 24 hours a day. They weren't motivated by wealth, they were, and are motivated by love.

I realize that I am blessed, that not everyone has the kind of parents that I did. Not everyone is proud of their parents. Some parents are bad parents, bad people that do bad things. As a result, some people do not wish to refer to God as father, because they had a bad experience with their father. We shouldn't let our human understanding of father define our divine understanding. God is good all the time. God is worthy of our pride.... all the time.

Taking a day off from the blog

My wife and I are moving today... we have been packing all morning and the movers will be here soon. I hope to have internet in the new house tomorrow. I can't wait for this day to be over!!

Proverbs 14 & 15

***Proverbs 14*** Verse 9: "Fools mock at making amends for sin..." Last night at our weekly bible study, the group briefly discussed sin in our culture. One example was brought up... the daughter of an Abiding Grace family is getting married soon in another state. The daughter went to pre-marital counseling with her finace and many other soon to be married couples, and they were surprised that they were the only couple in the group that wasn't living together. Of all the couples that are getting married in this church, they are the only couple not living "in sin". Rumor is that 20 or 30 years ago that would have been an issue. But times have changed and so has society. We no longer base our morals on what the bible says, but on what the culture says. The result is that we become oblivious to our own sins. We don't feel guilty and we don't feel like we need forgiveness. Church has become more about "meaning" and "purpose" than grace and forgiveness. But we are missing something huge... we are missing out on the purpose of Christ's suffering... to forgive sins. The gospel gives us "meaning", but it does so through grace, love and forgiveness. "Meaning" without forgiveness is meaningless because forgiveness isn't just about God, it's also about us letting go of the mistakes that have effected our lives. Holding on to our sins leads to a path of personal destruction... hold on to the cross instead. (I got a little carried with the quotation marks, but I had fun doing it)********************Proverbs 15************************* Verse 23: "A person finds joy in giving an apt reply." There is a member of my congregation whom I love dearly that gets out of bed around 4am everyday. Often times in the peace of the morning he strolls to his computer and sends out a couple emails. I love it when I am up in the middle of the night and one of his emails come, because I can respond right away and surprise him... then I go back to bed. There is something about being able to reply immediately to someone's question, especially through email, that makes you feel good. It makes you feel good because it means you are being productive and efficient. And it makes them feel good because you thought their note was worth reading and replying to immediately. I wish that was the case for all my emails. I have received 30-some emails today that I will try and reply to some time tonight, but I just don't have the time to read them all and reply to them immediately. And I'm sure the same is true for emails I have sent out today. I wonder if the same can be said for God and answering prayers? I don't think God is too busy to respond to us... but like so many other things in life, we just have to patiently wait for a response.

Proverbs 12 & 13

***Proverbs 12 & 13*** I put the two together today because they both have the same message. 12:1: "Whoever hates correction is stupid." 13:1 "A wise son heeds his father's instruction." The cable music channel VH-1 has a program called Crossroads. The idea of the show is to bring in a hot, young artist and team them up with an older, well-known artist and let them play together. I've seen the show a couple times, and there is always a point where they show the two singers or bands having a conversation. I remember one well known band giving advice to a young singer, and she just kind of let it go in one ear and out the other. Often times young folks don't like to take advice, we think we know it all... and yes, I would put myself in that category at times. But Solomon has one word for that thinking... it's stupid. It's even harder to take advice when a young person experiences a certain measure of success in life. As I get older I realize that there is so much that I don't know... I am starting to think that holds true for a church too. This little church we started in Southlake has been a smashing success in our first 8 months... and we are proud of what God has done through us. But it's easy to think that we have this thing figured out and don't need any advice... but we're ready to give it. It starts with the pastor.

Proverbs 11

***Proverbs 11*** Verse 7 "Hope placed in mortals die with them." If I were alive 50 years ago, I imagine that I would have voted for JFK. I like what he had to say; I think he was politician that placed the best interest of the country before his own. I imagine that a lot of people put their hopes for a brighter future in him. He was elected at a time when the world and country was changing. The civil rights movement was exploding, Vietnam was becoming an issue and the US and Russia were entrenched in a decades long battle of democracy v. communism. JFK was young, had young kids, had fresh ideas and some progressive beliefs. And then he was gone... a day so many will never forget. When my mom heard that I was going to Dallas for internship 3 years ago, her first thought was "that's where JFK was killed." The hopes of a generation destroyed on a November morning in 1963. Then Dr. Martin Luther King, then JFK's brother Bobby. With their deaths, a lot of hopes died too...................................................................................................... In Acts 5, some of the apostles were put on trial when a pharisee named Gamaliel stood up and gave examples of previous movements that were started by humans that failed after the leader was gone. Then he said, "Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them." Jesus started a movement, a church. People put their hopes in him, and he too was assinated. But our hope is not in his life, but in his death and resurrection, in his eternal life. People ask why I believe in Jesus. Among many reasons is Gamaliel's argument, if this movement was begun by a man then it would have failed a long time ago. This church came about becuase God worked through 12 men... 12 men started a church that over the past 2,000 years has included bilions and billions of people. And God is still working... come and visit Abiding Grace and see what God has done in 8 short months.

Proverbs 10

***Proverbs 10*** Verse 9 "Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out." When I worked for Chrysler I was responsible for over 40 dealerships in Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire. It was a good job that included a lot of traveling... I had to go to all the dealerships. When I visited a dealership I would always meet with the owner of the dealership and talk business. I met a lot of interesting people in the dealerships. Some I wouldn't trust enough to buy a AAA battery from and others that were honest and good. But there was one man in particular that I had tremendous respect for. His name was Tom and he sold Jeeps. I have no idea if Tom is a christian or not, I know that he played golf every Sunday in the summer, so he must not have been a regular church member. But Tom was, and still is an incredible person. I spent more time at his dealership than any other, it was a place where I always felt welcomed, a place where everyone always felt welcomed. Tom and I would sit and talk more about life than business. He told me that money doesn't mean much to him, but his goal in life was to protect his name. He lives in a small town, where people recognize each other when they go to the store and out to dinner. His biggets concern was that people would see him walking around town and would be reminded of a bad experience at his dealership... He sleeps well at night because he has done everything he could to be fair with every customer. I'll never forget him telling me that... it was refreshing to hear someone in his position say such a thing. But it's bigger than just the auto industry, it's a great way to live your life. Each day our lives are full of opportunities to treat each other fairly, or to treat each other poorly. How well do you sleep at night?

Proverbs 8 & 9

***Proverbs 8*** Proverbs 8 says that wisdom is eternal. Wisdom was God's first creation, wisdom was there before time when the world was created. This chapter sounds a lot like John 1, except John is talking about Jesus... The Word of God. The Word of God is the mind of God, the wisdom of God... and Jesus is the wisdom of God become flesh. Jesus was there at the beginning of all thing and with God during creation. And you know what the crown jewel of all creation was... you and I. Whether the world is 6,000 years old or 14 billion, God waited for you and I to be here now... God waited to love us. And God waits for us to love Him, to be in relationship. Even if you love God, He is still waiting to be in a deeper relationship with you. And God will wait and wait and never give up. Until we are face to face with our maker... only then will our relationship be as He intended...... I love this song. ***Proverbs 9*** "Let all those who are simple come to my house." I'm not real sure what Solomon means by his definition of simple, but I think that there is some different understandings of simple today. What is a simple life? What is the opposite of a simple life? Maybe a complex life where there are more questions than answers. I believe that today the simple life is falling in line with society's expectations. Letting the world we will live in dictate how we live. Instead God calls us to a more complex life, a life of faith, where questions far outnumber answers... A couple years ago I was asked to come to speak to the young adults at a Lutheran church. We talked about everything... God, life, love, heaven, hell... it was a great time. The question came up "how we do know what decisions God would have us make." I thought about it for a minute and replied, "in my life I have found that most of the time God would prefer I picked the most difficult choice." God would prefer I take the road less traveled. God prefers that I focus on relationships not wealth, humility not honor, love not pride. I wouldn't say that this is true for every decision, but it has gotten me where I am right now. It was hard to walk away from Chrysler and go to seminary and it was hard to turn down full-time opportunities to wait for Abiding Grace to grow... but it's what I chose to do, and I am fully confident God has placed me where I am supposed to be.

Proverbs 7

***Proverbs 7*** This past weekend I performed a wedding for one of my good friends on a yacht. It was a beautful ceremony in a beautiful boat in Newport Beach, CA. As I read about the yacht, the information kept referring to the boat as "she." We often do that, refer to things we own as "she." That's what Solomon is getting at in this chapter. He isn't concerned with a man only having one partner, he had 1,000, he doesn't want his children taking what belongs to another man. It makes me shutter to think that such a chapter is in the bible. ****So I was going to do two chapters tonight, but I just got a call from a friend that I was supposed to meet for dinner 30 minutes ago. Uh-oh!

Proverbs 6

***Proverbs 6*** One of my seminary professors told me a story about a previous seminary student. This student and his girlfriend went on a camping trip and slept in the same tent. The seminary faculty heard about their trip, and because they were not married but slept in the same place they considered that breaking the rules... so they kicked him out of seminary. The point of the story was simple, never put your future in someone elses hands, because you never know who doesn't like you. I could hardly believe that someone may not like me... but I guess it's true, everyone on earth has someone that doesn't like them. That's what the first half of this chapter is all about. Do not give others so much authority over you that you're enslaved by them. I don't think that we give our neighbors this authority today, but credit card companies and mortgage companies... have you ever felt like you're just working to pay off debt. At the end of the month all you have left is a few dollars to order a pizza and see a movie. It's the American way. And work, good old work. Most of us have to work for someone, we have a boss. So it's kind of hard not to put our future in someone elses hands. Some bosses are better than others, but there are those bosses where you feel like you have to walk on eggshells. And you do all you can to keep their attention away from you. But sometimes it doesn't even matter, you can be the best in the business at your trade, and still they let you go. They downsize or outsource and it doesn't matter how much your boss likes you. And while some lucky few get some kind of a severence, many people are just thrown into the street like Fred Flintstone throwing the family pet through the window. Don't put your future in anyone elses hands. Put your future in Jesus' hands. He never downsizes or outsources. You never have to worry about giving Jesus a reason to fire you or kick you out. When you put your future in his hands you'll notice the holes in his hands... and that is price he paid so that you don't have to worry about your future. ************************************************************************************ I've been on vacation today and yesterday, so I only did one chapter. Next week I am back to 2 chapters a day. Have a great weekend!