Wisdom

Proverbs 1:7 NIV

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Based on what we know about God, fearing Him should almost be a given. The fear that I believe the verse is referring isn't horror movie fear, well at least not completely. The reality of Hell can just about get you there. But the fear in this verse is a healthy fear like a child has of his parents. The child knows (at least they should) that doing anything against the parents' desires will result in punishment and sometimes that fear is enough to cause them to take the right path. That fear can lead to wise decisions.

Shouldn't our fear of God be all the more intensified? Well the truth is, too often it isn't. Maybe its because we take his grace for granted or maybe because He's chosen to Klein himself invisible to us, but for whatever reason we don't consider the consequences of our actions great enough to change them. Even more, we fail to see the benefits! We miss out on the wisdom that cones from trusting Him.

Is it possible that we fear God but just in the wrong context? I believe part of this fear is understanding the nature of the one you're fearing. He's a loving God, bot seeking to punish us but to bless us, if we'd only obey. Children often sneak behind their parents back so they can do the wrong thing. They obviously fear the consequences but the benefits of doing what's right doesn't outweigh the temptation of doing what is wrong.

God, help us to fear You and to know wisdom. Give us a healthy fear of you that leads to righteous living, not paranoia. Lead us, in Your word, to understand the benefits of obedience. The peace it brings and the blessing we can be to others. Let us not be foolish in trusting our own desires. When we fall away, cause us to learn from Your discipline. Illuminate within us the right perspective of you - a loving Father who wants what's best for his children.

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1 Chronicles 29:10-15

10 David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,
“Praise be to you, O Lord,
God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
12 Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
13 Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.
14 “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 15 We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.

God, everything comes from you. Every blessing, every lesson, every good thing comes from you and we thank you for it. Help us remember that. Help us to understand that our money is not ours nor is our time. Every dollar and minute spent is all possible because of your grace. Let all of our works bring you glory. Help us to gain the perspective that David had in verse 15 - we are pilgrims in this land and our time on earth is very short. Let us place our hope in things that have eternal value.

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Isaiah 45:9-13

“Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker,
to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,
‘What are you making?’
Does your work say,
‘He has no hands’? http://read.ly/Isa45.9.NIV

Too often we get caught up in our own thing & the work God set out for us to do becomes an inconvenience or down-played as a "nice to do". Our priorities become our focus rather than God & His work. Just like Adam, we want to lead instead of follow. Knowing intellectually that we are clay, we would never say - "God, what are you making?" - our actions show it.

God, teach us to trust & follow you. We know your ways are perfect but we don't always show it. Help us believe this truth & live it out.

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Psalm 103:11-16

Psalm 103:11-16 NIV

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.

God is merciful. He knows who we are & how we behave yet he still loves us. He has compassion on those who fear Him; those who sin yet are humble enough to repent.

Our days here are short. Let them be filled with praise toward our merciful maker. Thank you Lord for another day.

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Comfort Zone - 2/22

Our greatest call as believers is to share the gospel. Most of us would characterize the day we were saved as the most significant day in our lives. If we were to sit back and consider the implications of that moment - our eternal destiny, our new-found purpose, the new direction in our lives, the freedom we attained - it wouldn't compare to any other moment in our lives. In that instant where we surrendered our lives to Jesus, our report card in heaven changed from condemned to forgiven. We became eligible for God's greatest promises (John 5:24, Matthew 28:20, James 1:5, John 15:7, Matthew 11:28-29, etc.)

I found a great deal on some Bengals gear at the mall a few weeks ago, I mean items were marked down 60% (happens a lot when your team loses). So I couldn't wait to get to work & tell a couple of my friends about it. News as good as this just gets better once you share it with people...you see where I'm going here. The people I shared my great deal with - not once have I shared with them the best deal I ever received. I know that sharing about Jesus is way more risky and uncomfortable than sharing about Jesus - my own fears confirm it. But isn't it worth it? Isn't a little discomfort, maybe a little awkward conversation worth it to please the One who did all that stuff in the first paragraph?

In our Bible study we've been discussing how we need to depend more on the Holy Spirit in order to get the results we desire in our spiritual lives. The thing is, we rarely put ourselves in situations where we even need God. We want our finances to be perfect before we give to others. We want our careers in perfect position before we take any risks. We want our words to be perfectly crafted and scriptures memorized before we talk to anyone about Jesus. What we really want is a backup plan just in case God doesn't come through.

Instead of living lives so we don't need God or his Holy Spirit, let's instead look for uncomfortable situations - where you don't know exactly what to say or do - and allow the Holy Spirit to work. So when something supernatural happens you'll know it had nothing to do with you and all the glory will be God's alone.

Matthew 10:19-20

1/12- A Good Conscience

Reading 2 Timothy 1 today and stopped on verse 3:

"I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day."

Paul urges Timothy to serve God in a similar way in 1 Timothy 1:5. It can be safely assumed that in order to serve God with a pure conscience that one must live a certain way to attain that sort of security, namely, by the will of God. When we simply do what God asks of us, it frees us to serve Him in a much more effective way and thereby be led to further live out His will. It's almost like a never-ending cycle - serve God, He honors you, by the Holy Spirit you're compelled to serve more, He honors you, repeat....

The notes in my Johnny Mac (John MacArthur Study Bible) lay this principle out pretty well:

"The Greek word for "good" refers to that which is perfect and produces pleasure and satisfaction. God created man with a "conscience" as his self-judging faculty. Because God has written His law on man's heart (Romans 2:15), man knows the basic standard of right and wrong. When he violates that standard, his conscience produces guilt, which acts as the mind's security system that produces fear, guilt, shame and doubt as warnings of threats to the soul's well-being. On the other hand, when a believer does God's will, he enjoys the affirmation, assurance, peace and joy of a good conscience. "

1/1 - Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all! I hope everyone had a safe & fun night. I know we did - got to finally hang out with our neighbors of 3 years that somehow we still hadn't spoken to yet. Cool stuff & I'm looking forward to experiencing why God put them in our lives. As for the new year, I think I had given up on resolutions a while ago. Instead I wanted to make a resolution just for that day, and it's the same one I'll make today: to be more faithful. A year long resolution is easy to lose sight of but one for today makes things more defined and clear. I'm not even sure how to gauge how faithful I was in 2009, but it's a little more defined if I consider how I did yesterday.

So I'm still in 1 Timothy, chapter 4 this time. Verse 6 points out something really cool. Paul explains to Timothy that if he'll instruct believers in truth that he'd be a good minister for Christ, "nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which [he has] carefully followed." In recent weeks, I must admit I've been a pretty slack in my devotional time and now I realize that I've been malnourished. Proper nourishment happens on a regular basis. Any healthy person would know that they didn't get where they are by a few healthy choices here and there but rather by a lifestyle of healthy eating. Every day, consistent, almost second nature. Spiritual nourishment is no different. Consistent time with God & investment into that relationship will produce the results of a well-fed individual.

So choosing the right diet is key, I think, to this whole being faithful thing. What I've learned in this time of malnutrition is that I didn't go hungry. I just replaced the good stuff with stuff that wasn't good for me and the benefits, well, didn't turn out to be benefits at all. Logically it makes sense - do what God says and you can be satisfied. Don't do what He says and end up in the midst of confusion and chaos. I think Romans 6:21 put it best, "What fruit did you have in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death."

So here I am in a place of rededicating myself and Lord knows this ain't the first time. So often, in fact, that sometimes I wonder if God is bored with the whole act. In any case, I'm still resolved to press on.