Focus Your Pittance

(Psa 41:1 KJV)  To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.

(Proverbs 11 also read)

As I breezed through this the first time I thought that “considers” (7919a) had a picture of someone sitting, looking wise and stroking their beard.  It turns out that the word is essentially to be prudent, not just thoughtful.  We are surrounded by people who love to tug our heartstrings for the poor and needy.  We should be doing what we can to help them but the buzzword here is prudence, not sympathy.

If you are one of those independently wealthy people who don’t need to worry about budgeting or priorities then rejoice as you give $1,000 to a needy cause and don’t bother asking yourself if $999 will go to pay a six figure executive.  Give away.  I am not in that boat.  I need to be a steward, which means prudence.  I need to ask myself, “Should I give my pittance to a drug addict begging in front of the 7-11 or would it be better to pass it on to the family at church that is having a hard time providing Christmas for their children.  The answer is obvious to me.

So?  Stewardship is more than giving.  It involves giving wisely.  Give.  Wisely. 

The Embrace

(Psa 40:6 KJV)  Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

(Proverbs 10 also read)

Read that again.  It points out that God is after more from us than empty ritual.  Notice the location of the text:  Right in the middle of the Old Testament.  Before the temple was built God is telling His people that it is not all about the Law.

Some things never change.  Does God want us to live holy lives?  Yes.  Does He expect us to avoid sin?  Yes.  Are we expected to do that by following a list of rules and going through a set ritual every Sunday?  No.

So?  God is a person, not a machine.  Salvation is not only to save us but to bring us into a relationship with the living God.  He is so powerful, holy and omnipresent that we cannot comprehend Him.  That is why He had Jesus come to show us what we need to know.  Embrace the living God, or rather, let Him embrace you. 

Good Speak

(Psa 103:1 KJV)  A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

(Proverbs 9 also read)

As I was worshiping this morning the phrase “bless the Lord” came to mind and with it the question of how could we possibly “bless” (1288) almighty God?  The mere mention of such a thing almost seems like blasphemy.  Yet here in Psalms we see that David is doing it.

So it must be possible, even desirable.  

Somewhere I got the idea that blessing means to speak good about something.  I think it comes from looking at the Greek word translated “bless” ( g2127) [eulogeo] which is a compound word meaning good speak.

So?  Speak good of the Lord.  It is like a combination of praise and thanksgiving.

Start a File

(Pro 8:13 KJV)  The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

The first time through this today had it saying to me “God hates evil.”  That is not even a paraphrase.  This is a clear declaration that we are to “hate” (8130) “evil” (7451b).  I think that sometimes we tend to water down the meaning of evil so we don’t have to experience the disturbing influence of hatred.

We should be able to recognize evil when we see it.  In today’s world we don’t need to look far.  We don’t need to try to analyze the motives of our neighbors for putting a Santa Claus on their lawn or celebrating Halloween.  As someone said, “don’t major on minors.”  We live in a world full of evil activities from the scourge of abortion to the mutilation of young children.  We have schools infiltrated with satanic philosophy and it is almost impossible to find a book that does not include perversion.

So?  Maybe we need to stoke up a little hate for the evil around us.  Recognize it.  Put it in a category.  Do what you can within the limits God has put on us to destroy it and take away its influence.  Speak out.  Boycott.  There are many ways to act after you bath all in prayer. 

Strange

(Pro 7:5 KJV)  That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.

What I want to think about today is the concept of foreigner/stranger as opposed to one who is part of your world.  I noticed a difference as I read through this chapter.  The different words used to translate this woman’s relationship to the community have the idea of someone who does not belong.  For our understanding that would be someone who was non-Jewish or a non-believer.  Okay.  Avoid those kinds of people.

If you keep reading you find that she says she had just offered her peace offerings, which is a Jewish thing.  It is keeping the law.  It is living in obedience.  Make whatever parallels you want for today.  That means that she was not actually a foreigner or stranger.  She was part of the official religious community of the day.

And we are warned to be alert.

So?  It would be nice if we could assume anyone who is in church on a regular basis could be trusted.  It would seem that is not the case.  Again we see that our judgements and decisions need to be rooted in the unchanging word of God, not the personalities and gurus around us. 

Dealer’s Choice

(Pro 6:15 KJV)  Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.

We need to get over the idea that there will always be “healing” (4832) from God.  There will be a time when it is too late to seek forgiveness.  Why?  One reason is that God does not play games.  He can read your heart like I can read the books written to be read to my grandchildren.  Don’t mistake His patience for ignorance.  

The person being described here is a game player.  His biggest fallacy is that he thinks he is the dealer.  I had a brief brush with the game of poker.  I loved it but it did not love me.  One of the rules of the game is that the dealer gets to chose what type of poker is happening on that hand.  He can modify it to his pleasure.  In life the person described here has become so indoctrinated into being the dealer that he has lost his ability to repent.  

So?  Make sure that you want healing while it is still possible.  I find that the best way for me to resist the temptation of certain foods is to not buy them in the first place.  It is much easier to say “no” that way.

One of Those Days

(Psa 35:11 KJV)  False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.
(Psa 35:12 KJV)  They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.

(Proverbs 5 also read)

Have you ever had a day like this?  You are in good company.  The man who is referred to as “a man after God’s own heart” seems to be in the midst of one.  If you have time read the whole chapter.  David has his ups and downs and manages to end with an up.  It is a good lesson for us.

If David the giant killer, king of Israel, God’s anointed could feel this way then don’t be surprised if you want to join him.  At the same time notice that he keeps calling on the Lord and being answered.

So?  I hope this is not you today but the odds are it will be you eventually.  Keep trusting, praying and listening.  It will make a difference.