Teflon Saints

(Proverbs 7:8 KJV)  Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,

There is a difference in the “through’s” of life and the “to’s” of life.  We must go through life.  It is the only way to get to the other end.  We need to be very wary of what we allow in this life to influence our choices and directions.  We have a goal and certain distractions can exclude us from success. 

But it works both ways.  Some people manage to walk through the garden of grace without being touched by the beauty.  I think back to my youth.  I sat under some of the most solid preaching anyone could hope for.  I had some awesome teachers.  I lived in a town of 100,000 that had seven libraries.  What a place to grow and get established.  Yet at least one in the group committed suicide.  Most rejected Jesus.  Many have been divorced.  They were the Teflon attenders. 

So?  What is God giving me as an opportunity today?  I have already decided to follow Jesus.  He continues to offer me choices that determine the path I will take.  I pray to be listening, learning and alert. 

Forgiveness and Scars

(Proverbs 6:35 KJV)  He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.

America is the land of second chances and that is glorious.  I met a man last year who had dropped out of high school and been a total failure.  He got his act together, earned his GED and eventually was accepted as a student at Cal Tech.  He was given a second chance, big time. 

God is big on second chances.  We have the promise,

(1 John 1:9 KJV)  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

At the same time this passage implies that there are some results of our sin that might never go away.  We may be forgiven but still be forced to live with the consequences of our actions.  If you get high on drugs and have an accident that cripples you, God can forgive you.  What will usually not happen is the restoration of the use of your legs.  You may go to heaven but you can’t go up the stairs.

So?  Don’t assume.  Don’t play games with God.  Get serious.  Forgiveness waits but sometimes the scares won’t go away. 

Be a Bucket

(Proverbs 5:15 KJV)  Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.

Modern Americans are generally ignorant of “cisterns” (953a).  Before the days of indoor plumbing water was always a problem.  You might get a lot of rain for half the year but nothing the other half.  Streams could dry up.  In some areas wells were impossible to dig but most people could dig a pit, which is the basic meaning of the Hebrew word.  I was listening to a TV program about houses in Central America that had cisterns holding enough water for a family of four for a year.  The modern equivalent might be the water towers that you see above many towns as you drive across the country.

This is a metaphor about being faithful in marriage.  Each person is to have their own sustaining relationship with one other person.  We used to call people butterfly when they went from relationship to relationship.  We are supposed to be buckets connected to one source.

So?  God’s plan is one man and one woman, for life.  This is just another expression of it. 

Live the Speech

(Proverbs 4:4 KJV)  He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.

What is sad to me when I read this passage is that it didn’t work.  This is Solomon.  He is the one whom God gave the gift of wisdom.  He ruled Israel when it was at it’s greatest.  He wrote Proverbs and probably Ecclesiastes.  He shared his wisdom with his sons.  They didn’t listen, or if they did, they were like all children when they are told to take out the garbage.  How do I know?  Read how Solomon’s children broke up the kingdom and led Israel away from God.

I am thinking of one of the great preachers I have had the opportunity to hear.  He proclaimed truth and he did not water it down.  He is revered by millions.  He had three children and as far as I can tell, none of them are serving the Lord.  We all know examples of this.  My father had four boys and all of them are Servants of Jesus.  He was a blue collar worker.  He could interact well with clients but I would never think of him as a preacher.  We all know examples of this. 

So?  Might I suggest that it is the daily way in which we apply what we speak that makes a difference in the people around us.  Know the truth.  Speak the truth.  Live the truth. 

Solid Foundations

(Proverbs 3:13 KJV)  Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

Knowledge is a good thing.  It is used forty times in Proverbs.  Accurate information and a good reference library or data base are important.  But here it is talking about “understanding” (8394).  What is the difference?  A computer can have knowledge but at this point, no real understanding.  You might have flawless spelling but not know what the words mean. 

Of course the goal is wisdom.  Wisdom is more illusive but requires accurate information and the mental acuity to understand what you know. 

So?  Keep seeking the information you need but never forget that it requires the help of the Holy
Spirit to make the information yield wisdom. 

Doctrine Matters

(Proverbs 2:13 KJV)  Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

There is a doctrinal point here that I think is important.  It has to do with the possibility of leaving the fold of the saved.  Some call it backsliding.  Some call it apostasy.  Others call it impossible.  Many Christians believe that once you have been saved by grace there is no way you can depart from that grace.  Many of those people live upright lives.  It works for them.  I can’t help but believe though that there are people who look on that kind of doctrine as an excuse to live wild and dissipate lives.  Then people say they were never saved in the first place.

I find it hard to understand how you could “leave” (5800a) something without having been there in the first place.  There is a similar verse in Galatians with the same issues. 

(Galatians 5:4 KJV)  Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

How do you fall from a tree you have never climbed?  How do you leave a party you never went to?

So?  For sincere believers it won’t make much difference in their eternity.  For those on the border it can have eternal consequences. 

First Fear

(Proverbs 1:7 KJV)  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

I often hear that love is stronger than hate.  Is love stronger than “fear” (3374)?  Is it possible to really love God without fearing Him?  Although the context here is “knowledge” (1847) we are seeing a formula that is repeated several times in Proverbs.  A healthy fear of God is the basis for important spiritual growth.  I emphasize, “healthy”.  This is not the fear that holds a frog motionless while the snake slowly puts its mouth around it.  This is not the fear of the refugee creeping through barbed wire on a border.  This is the fear that is based on a desire not to offend a loving parent, the fear that keeps us from doing something stupid, even when no one is watching.

God is love.  We know that because the Bible tells us so.  He is also holy and His wrath burns toward those who defy Him.  He also wants us to serve Him out of the love of our hearts.  Sometimes it is fear which makes us aware of His love.  My wife still remembers a movie called “Thief in the Night” and reading The Late, Great Planet Earth.  The fear instilled by those tools brought her to love the God of the universe.

So?  Don’t turn into a bowl of quivering jelly but be aware that the God of love is also an awesome being whose wrath is only held in check by His love.