(Pro 27:1 KJV) Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
Is there anything that we are to “boast” (1984b) about? We are surrounded by people boasting constantly. Politically we hear the bully pulpit and, in this election year, we hear advertisements. I was once told after a poor job interview that I should tell people my strong points and not my weaknesses. Paul boasted in his weakness.
(2Co 12:9 KJV) And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
I think this may be a matter of contrast. Our best is very little compared to what God offers. Maybe we should spend our time praising God instead of reminding people of what we have done.
James also had something to say about this in terms of “tomorrow” (4279)
(Jas 4:13-14 KJV) Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
The Bible does tell us to plan. We are to count the cost. But we are to do it with the understanding that God may have things in store we could never dream of. Jesus also spoke about making assumptions. We go forward with confidence because we trust in God, not because we are great planners.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Travel Warnings
As I have been experimenting with this blog format I have only missed a few days. For the next month I will be on the move a lot and dependent on other internet connections. I am not sure how that will work out. The adventure continues. I hope to be consistent.
Teflon Curses
(Pro 26:2 KJV) As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.
We seem to be returning to an era of superstition. The occult is coming out of the closet. Darkness is in. One place I see it is in my reading. I woke up to reading in the 7th grade when I discovered science fiction in the school library. Although I read more than science fiction today, it is still my favorite. The problem is that fantasy has invaded the field. The way that relates to this verse in Proverbs is the “curse” (7045). In fantasy people are always throwing curses. They may be called different things but they involve some invoking of magic to bring harm to other people. It is safe to assume that curses are linked in some way to the devil and his minions, even if the people throwing them would claim otherwise.
In a culture of superstition people often worry about a “curse” (7045). The bad news is that Proverbs does not deny they exist. The good news is that evidently we don’t need to worry about it much. We don’t need to worry about charms and amulets and other bits of superstitious mumbo jumbo because greater is He who is in you.... If there is no “cause” (2600) {24:28} then the curse has no power. If we are living the way God wants us to live there will be no cause.
It will not "come" (alight NASB) (935) on you. Have you ever tried to write on greasy paper with a cheap pin. It doesn’t work. That is the curse on the faithful. Does this mean that it might alight on someone else? A bird keeps going until it finds a place to stop. Are there curses out there waiting to land? Can a curse go back and land on the person who gave it? Are these nonsense questions?
Does this mean that if it is deserved, it will definitely land on us? That certainly gives us a reason to live holy lives.
We seem to be returning to an era of superstition. The occult is coming out of the closet. Darkness is in. One place I see it is in my reading. I woke up to reading in the 7th grade when I discovered science fiction in the school library. Although I read more than science fiction today, it is still my favorite. The problem is that fantasy has invaded the field. The way that relates to this verse in Proverbs is the “curse” (7045). In fantasy people are always throwing curses. They may be called different things but they involve some invoking of magic to bring harm to other people. It is safe to assume that curses are linked in some way to the devil and his minions, even if the people throwing them would claim otherwise.
In a culture of superstition people often worry about a “curse” (7045). The bad news is that Proverbs does not deny they exist. The good news is that evidently we don’t need to worry about it much. We don’t need to worry about charms and amulets and other bits of superstitious mumbo jumbo because greater is He who is in you.... If there is no “cause” (2600) {24:28} then the curse has no power. If we are living the way God wants us to live there will be no cause.
It will not "come" (alight NASB) (935) on you. Have you ever tried to write on greasy paper with a cheap pin. It doesn’t work. That is the curse on the faithful. Does this mean that it might alight on someone else? A bird keeps going until it finds a place to stop. Are there curses out there waiting to land? Can a curse go back and land on the person who gave it? Are these nonsense questions?
Does this mean that if it is deserved, it will definitely land on us? That certainly gives us a reason to live holy lives.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Love Your Enemies
(Pro 25:21 KJV) If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
Clearly the NT writers were familiar with the Proverbs:
(Mat 5:44 KJV) But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
(Rom 12:20 KJV) Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
One of the bits of ignorance that amazes me is the people who think mercy and graciousness are limited to the NT. Jesus taught what the OT said. We do no study ourselves so we fall for the nonsense that the God of the OT is different than the God of the NT.
This is also why war waged by Christians is different than war raged by followers of other gods. We are commanded to love our enemies even when it is necessary for the government to use the sword to deal with evil. That limits our actions. The love of Christ that controls us is the same love that will sit on the judgment seat. It is the same love that condemned the man not dressed for the wedding. It is the same love that did not put up with the nonsense of the Pharisees. It is the same love that went to the cross and died in our place. Biblical love is not the same as the love of the movie screen or the romance novel. This is the love that we apply to our lives.
Clearly the NT writers were familiar with the Proverbs:
(Mat 5:44 KJV) But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
(Rom 12:20 KJV) Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
One of the bits of ignorance that amazes me is the people who think mercy and graciousness are limited to the NT. Jesus taught what the OT said. We do no study ourselves so we fall for the nonsense that the God of the OT is different than the God of the NT.
This is also why war waged by Christians is different than war raged by followers of other gods. We are commanded to love our enemies even when it is necessary for the government to use the sword to deal with evil. That limits our actions. The love of Christ that controls us is the same love that will sit on the judgment seat. It is the same love that condemned the man not dressed for the wedding. It is the same love that did not put up with the nonsense of the Pharisees. It is the same love that went to the cross and died in our place. Biblical love is not the same as the love of the movie screen or the romance novel. This is the love that we apply to our lives.
Rojoice Not in Unrighteousness
(Pro 24:17 KJV) Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
This reminds me of the verse in I Corinthians13:6 which says we are not to rejoice in unrighteousness. Included in that idea is that we are not to enjoy the suffering of our enemies. We are to want the best for them and allow God to be the one who directs their path. He will bring them to repentance much better than we can. This is another difference between the teaching of the God of the Bible (Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord) and the perversion of the Koran. The Koran demands that the believer seek vengeance.
This is hard to apply. War is not condemned. Justice is demanded. We are supposed to see these activities through and not “rejoice” (8055) as the guilty “falleth" (5307). So much of what we experience is keyed to our attitudes in combination with our actions.
This reminds me of the verse in I Corinthians13:6 which says we are not to rejoice in unrighteousness. Included in that idea is that we are not to enjoy the suffering of our enemies. We are to want the best for them and allow God to be the one who directs their path. He will bring them to repentance much better than we can. This is another difference between the teaching of the God of the Bible (Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord) and the perversion of the Koran. The Koran demands that the believer seek vengeance.
This is hard to apply. War is not condemned. Justice is demanded. We are supposed to see these activities through and not “rejoice” (8055) as the guilty “falleth" (5307). So much of what we experience is keyed to our attitudes in combination with our actions.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Good Time?
(Pro 23:35 KJV) They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
I don’t drink but I have been around people who do. I personally don’t understand the enjoyment of something that takes away your power to reason and control yourself. I have enough problems with discipline as it is.
I think this is a bit of humor. We have just read several verses that talk about all of the negative qualities of too much to drink. Then they say, “Give me another drink.” It is madness. I can remember talking to people the morning after. I remembered them laying in a gutter, covered with their own vomit. I ask them what they did last night and they answer, “I can’t remember, but I had a great time!” Pardon me if I have a different definition of “good time.”
I don’t drink but I have been around people who do. I personally don’t understand the enjoyment of something that takes away your power to reason and control yourself. I have enough problems with discipline as it is.
I think this is a bit of humor. We have just read several verses that talk about all of the negative qualities of too much to drink. Then they say, “Give me another drink.” It is madness. I can remember talking to people the morning after. I remembered them laying in a gutter, covered with their own vomit. I ask them what they did last night and they answer, “I can’t remember, but I had a great time!” Pardon me if I have a different definition of “good time.”
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Credit
(Pro 22:7 KJV) The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
Finance is always a part of the spiritual life. Here and in verse 26 we see two different traps that we can fall into.
The first part of this seems obvious. Someone always “ruleth” (4910). And it tends to be the rich. Do they rule because they are rich, or are they rich because they rule? Either way, it is only logical. If poor people could rule, they would cease being poor.
The second part is a thought that we need to look at more closely. The warning here does not come natural to us but should be at the front of our mind. We should avoid being a “borrower” (3867b). This will cause us to be a “servant" (slave NASB) (5650). Unpaid debts led to slavery in those days. Today it binds us and keeps us from living free lives.
Usually we claim that we are helpless to avoid being in debt. Sometimes that may even be true but I have always wondered how we can have illegal immigrants in this country, working for low wages, supporting their families and sending billions of dollars home. At the same time the guy making three times as much says he can’t pay his bills. We are so used to the affluent life style that we don’t recognize how trapped we are.
When my son was growing up he would tell me he needed something, usually having to do with computers. I would ask him, “Do you need it or just want it?” He never liked to answer that. Think about the things that used to be luxuries: Washing machines, air-conditioning, hot running water, starters on cars, cars, refrigerators, micro-waves, etc. People lived for thousands of years without these things, but we “need” them. And often we do to live in our culture, but not as many are “needed” as we would believe.
So we go into debt. We borrow. And according to the word of God we become slaves. We are no longer free to follow where God leads. We can no longer give to those in need. Heed the warning.
We are only to be slaves to God.
Finance is always a part of the spiritual life. Here and in verse 26 we see two different traps that we can fall into.
The first part of this seems obvious. Someone always “ruleth” (4910). And it tends to be the rich. Do they rule because they are rich, or are they rich because they rule? Either way, it is only logical. If poor people could rule, they would cease being poor.
The second part is a thought that we need to look at more closely. The warning here does not come natural to us but should be at the front of our mind. We should avoid being a “borrower” (3867b). This will cause us to be a “servant" (slave NASB) (5650). Unpaid debts led to slavery in those days. Today it binds us and keeps us from living free lives.
Usually we claim that we are helpless to avoid being in debt. Sometimes that may even be true but I have always wondered how we can have illegal immigrants in this country, working for low wages, supporting their families and sending billions of dollars home. At the same time the guy making three times as much says he can’t pay his bills. We are so used to the affluent life style that we don’t recognize how trapped we are.
When my son was growing up he would tell me he needed something, usually having to do with computers. I would ask him, “Do you need it or just want it?” He never liked to answer that. Think about the things that used to be luxuries: Washing machines, air-conditioning, hot running water, starters on cars, cars, refrigerators, micro-waves, etc. People lived for thousands of years without these things, but we “need” them. And often we do to live in our culture, but not as many are “needed” as we would believe.
So we go into debt. We borrow. And according to the word of God we become slaves. We are no longer free to follow where God leads. We can no longer give to those in need. Heed the warning.
We are only to be slaves to God.
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