A Proverb: Choose Your Students Wisely

As I read the following Proverb yesterday I knew I had to share some thoughts on it.

Here's the passage:

"Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt. So don't bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you. Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more."
Proverbs 9:7-9 NLT

A couple of thoughts:

• This passage implies that there are only two types of people:  the mockers and the wise.
• This passage implies that I'm instructing/supposed to be instructing people how to live.
• What "mockers" am I wasting my time and wounds on? Because I can only take so many wounds before those wounds start killing me
• If I'm going to "correct" anybody, it should be those who are already "wise" because it's a better return on investment. (I'd rather get love than wounds back for my instruction efforts)
•  I think this passage speaks against those Christians who dedicate their lives to boycotting companies like Disney or public schools. Again, you might be wasting your efforts and wounds on the wrong people!

What do you think?

Take A Pause

...to eat some Bread.

Take A Pause

Because of His Love.

Remember the story of Jesus raising the young girl from the dead?
Here's the ending:

Then Jesus took her by the hand and said in a loud voice, "My child, get up!" 
And at that moment her life returned, and she immediately stood up!
Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.

(Luke 8:54-55, NLT)

Jesus physically raised up a young daughter from her death bed! What a miracle!

He didn't have to do it. She was already dead. But He did it because He loved. 

I believe, just like Paul, that he is still doing the same thing and that he can raise anybody from the dead:

"But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions; it is by grace you have been saved."

(Ephesians 2:4-5, NIV)

Why Would Jesus Rebuke His Own Mother? (Or Because We're All In This Together)

I promise I'm not as boring as I may sound.
Ok.
You may continue.


To set it up, Jesus has just rebuked his concerned mother (she thought he was going a little overboard with this whole Savior-thing) in front of a crowd of his disciples because it was so crowded that she couldn't get close enough to him. So, she basically tells a random disciple, "Hey, please get Jesus's attention & tell him that his mother & brothers are here to get him."(Ouch!)
Jesus essentially replies, "These are my mothers & brothers; the ones following me, listening to me, & obeying me."

Now, the explanation.
As I read this portion of commentary from the Life Application New Testament Commentary (by the way, one of my favorite resources) I knew I had to share it's contents which explain the story.

"Jesus gave a respectful rebuke to his overly concerned mother; he was not severing ties with his earthly family. Through this incident, Jesus gave another lesson to his followers by explaining that spiritual relationships are as binding as physical ones. This would be the basis for the new community that Jesus was building--the Christian family [aka. The Church]...In these words, Jesus was explaining that in his spiritual family, relationships are ultimately more important and longer-lasting than those formed in one's physical family." (in reference to Luke 8:19-21, emphasis added)

I love it!
Shouldn't this then change our attitude & behavior towards the people in our church communities?
Now, let these words sink in:

"Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." (John 13:35, NLT)

Thoughts On Luke 7:44-47 (Am I Simon or The Immoral Woman?)

The actions that were skipped by Simon the Pharisee were missed opportunities to show Jesus great love. The actions that were showed by the immoral woman were taken opportunities to show Jesus great love. Which one, by their the actions, loved Jesus?
So, by my actions, do I love Jesus?


My capacity to be more like Simon or the Immoral Woman today will be determined by my remembrance of my great forgiveness.

Sometimes The Prince of Peace Stirs Up Trouble On Our Behalf

Just read this intro & ending to a horrific Old Testament story found in Judges 9:


"22 After Abimelech had ruled over Israel for three years,23 God sent a spirit that stirred up trouble between Abimelech and the leading citizens of Shechem, and they revolted.24 God was punishing Abimelech for murdering Gideon's seventy sons, and the citizens of Shechem for supporting him in this treachery of murdering his brothers...56 In this way, God punished Abimelech for the evil he had done against his father by murdering his seventy brothers.57 God also punished the men of Shechem for all their evil. So the curse of Jotham son of Gideon was fulfilled." [Judges 9:22-24,56-57 (NLT)]


Ouch and Dang!
This just reminded me of a powerful New Testament passage. In it, Paul reminds the Christ-followers in Rome of a passage that comes from Deuteronomy. The Christians in Rome were being highly persecuted and often had to make the life-or-death choice between following the emperor & Jesus. These next few words take on a completely new level when you are on the brunt end of such evil:


"Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, 'I will take revenge; I will pay them back,' says the LORD." [Romans 12:19 (NLT)]


So I can see why they had to be reminded to trust that God can & will take vengeance.
Because sometimes The Prince of Peace has got to stir up some trouble on our behalf.
And I would much rather have God fighting for me than me fighting for me.

A Jewish Priest Touches An Outcast...That's Not Normal!

Jesus was Jewish. Not only Jewish, but a Jewish priest. And the norm for a Jewish priest was NOT to touch people with leprosy. Heck, they weren't even AROUND people with leprosy! Lepers were quarantined to live in their own sick towns as to not infect anybody else with their mutilating disease. So when a guy with leprosy comes running up to Jesus (a Jewish priest) you can bet people's heads turned & they were most likely expecting Jesus's head to turn too.
All eyes on Jesus.
What does he do?
How would He choose to handle & react to such an outcast, such an unclean person?


"Jesus reached out and touched him. "I am willing," he said."Be healed!" And instantly the leprosy disappeared." Luke 5:12 (NLT)

Jesus does the unthinkable. He touches the man THEN heals him with his words. Catch that. Jesus didn't heal the leper with His touch, yet He chose to touch the man while the leprosy was still there and THEN heal using His word.


I'm so glad Jesus chose to touch me, while I was still riddled with the infected sin throughout my body, and then heal me. He didn't expect me to come to Him already clean because He is the One who does the cleaning.

A Strong Rebuttal For Charges Against Your Lack of Age

"Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."

-Timothy 4:12 (NLT)

Instead of getting a bad attitude when this happens (the getting-thought-less-of), get stronger in your example. Let your words, actions, motives, faith, and pure living be the rebuttal to the charges made against you and your lack of age.

Being The Man of The House (Competing Desires)

"...And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared."
[Luke 1:17 (ESV)]


I love that phrase and passage. It comes from an Old Testament passage from Malachi. It is describing the coming of John (The Baptizer) and his job description. Isn't it interesting that a father's heart aimed at his children is a major indicator that a man is living like He's ready for the coming of Jesus?


Here's a simple litmus test for us dads who want to live like we're living for Jesus:
"How much focused time & energy do I spend towards my kids in comparison to my other desires?"
It's not about bible studies, breakfasts, sermons, events, church volunteer work, sports, TV, Facebook, phonecalls, coaching, working, schooling, hobbies, etc. Grow up and realize that THAT STUFF SHOULD COME AFTER THE FAMILY!

"What am I leading better than my kid's?"
Love & lead your kids like nothing else because this will leave the greatest, longest, and largest impact and my guess is that it will bring the most rewarding life too. Trust God's Word enough to live it out.

Good Morning Class, Time For A Pop Quiz

If the aforementioned title scares you, continue reading for some help:

"22 I did this to test Israel—to see whether or not they would follow the ways of the Lord as their ancestors did."23 That is why the Lord left those nations in place. He did not quickly drive them out or allow Joshua to conquer them all...4 These people were left to test the Israelites—to see whether they would obey the commands the Lord had given to their ancestors through Moses." [Judges 2:22-23, 3:4 (NLT)]

I was reminded (again) of the importance of the little pop quizzes (aka. pivotal moments) that God allows/orchestrates in our lives. He's been doing it since the beginning, you know! The whole run-in with the fruit and Adam & Eve wasn't some sort of accident it was their pop-quiz; a pivotal moment that could only end in 1 of 2 ways:  pass or fail. They obviously failed. (And the funny thing is that it wasn't one of those "trick" quizzes that aren't even on the material covered in class, it was right out of the Teacher's mouth.) And, as I'm reading the book of Judges

The only people who don't like these "pop quizzes" are the people that don't understand that a pop quiz is the best way to see if we've got this whole free-will-love-and-trust-in-God-thing down. There is always a purpose behind it; if God has everything in control, then he is orchestrating the pivotal moment(s) that faces you right now.

It's time for a pop-quiz. Are you going to pass or fail?

Pure Luck Or Divine Intervention? You Tell Me

Here's a couple passages from the introduction of a book by C.S. Lewis titled Reflections On The Psalms that I thought is worth sharing. Read it then tell me your answer:

"The Psalms are poems, and poems intended to be sung:  not doctrinal treatises, nor even sermons...Their chief formal characteristic, the most obvious element of pattern, is fortunately one that survives in translation. Most readers will know that I mean what the scholars call "parallelism"; that is, the practice of saying the same thing twice in different words...

It is (according to one's point of view) either a wonderful piece of luck or a wise provision of God's, that poetry which was to be turned into all languages should have as its chief formal characteristic one that does not disappear (as mere metre does) in translation...

By giving to truths which are infinitely worth remembering this rhythmic and incantatory expression, He made them almost impossible to forget."

 
Pure luck or divine intervention?
My verdict:  God knew what He was doing!

Hitting The Pause

Had to share this passage.
Take it. Use it. Put it on your desktop. Let it remind you to pause and refocus.

Activating The Getting

I was just reminded of a difficult truth while I was reading more of Joshua.
It's a principle I actually don't like because it's not easy for me to accept.
And I'm guessing that you, just like me, need a reminder of this particular truth because somehow we tend to easily forget (very conveniently) the difficult truths.
Here's what I read:

"So the LORD gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they conquered it and settled there." (Joshua 21:43, NLT)

Gave. That little word packs so much punch. It (the word gave) seems almost like an inappropriate word here because it's not like the Israelites just sat around and God just rained down a wrapped gift. Israel had to work their butts off in order to receive this gift. Just because God wants to offer something as a gift does not mean we don't have to do anything in order to receive that gift. We will often have to take the step of obedience in seemingly ridiculously overwhelming situations, much like the Israelites did (i.e. conquering Jericho was no normal situation) in order to activate God's gift. Afterall, God loves to stack up the odds against us so that He can receive more credit for the gift in the first place.

Stop sitting, wishing, waiting to receive God's blessings in your life. Go, get off your butt, trust God, and watch the miracle theater begin! He has specific blessings in store that He'd love to give to those of us who have enough trust, obedience, and character to receive it.

Strength of An 85 Year Old

Of course, not your typical 85 year old.
This passage has put a brand new spin on how I view 85 year old's:

[Caleb speaking] "I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land of Canaan...Now, as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise. Today I am eighty-five years old. I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then."
Joshua 14:7,10-11

Hope I can say the same thing when I'm in my prime of 85 years.
Only got 59 years to go until I can have the strength of an 85 year old.

PS. I don't want to hear anymore complaining from you "old" people anymore.

Watch Out For The Big Buts

(Warning: the word "but" and the word "butt" will be used.)

We've all heard about a city called Jericho. Many of us have even heard about the walls of Jericho falling down after the Israelite army marched around them for 7 days (that's a total of 42 laps!). If you don't know the details read the Biblical account here, then continue reading 'cause you'll miss the impact of the big but. Here's the beginning of the next day after the victory of Jericho:

"But Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for the Lord. A man named Achan had stolen some of these dedicated things, so the Lord was very angry with the Israelites..."
(Joshua 7:1)

OUCH! Did you see that but? Now that has got to be one of biggest, stinkiest, dirtiest buts I have ever seen! Just when you thought the party was getting started, here comes a big but to ruin all the fun. Let me explain. You see, God gave Israel very detailed instructions of what to do once they attacked Jericho. He told them who to save, what to keep, what to destroy, and what to dedicate to him as a sacrifice. And 99.9% of all of Israel obeyed the details. However, one butt (yes, with two t's) named Achan ruined all the fun and now the great story of Israel's victory over Jericho is maimed forever with a big but because of a big butt named Achan.

There is so much to learn from this story of victory in Joshua 6 and defeat in Joshua 7 regardless of who you are AND regardless of if you believe the story to be true or not. (I personally believe it and so should you, by the way) Here's what this big but reveals to me: your decision to disobey God's instruction directly affects others in your life.

99.9% of Israel listened to God's instructions when they attacked and destroyed Jericho, but the .1% didn't. And the consequence? People died, Israel's army was crushed by a little army they should have annihilated in their sleep, they became fearful and all their courage melted away.

Think your decisions don't affect others?
Think again, before you make a big butt of yourself and maim your entire church, family, business, band, or team with a big, stinky, dirty but in the middle of people who are actually doing the right thing.

Let this be an encouragement to you to not be the but.

A Rant: Fascination & Questions & Scripture

(Listened to an interview with Rob Bell & it just ignited a flame inside of me. The guy overflows with fascination for all things Scripture. He asks questions. It inspired me.)

When you're in a class in school, don't you ask questions in order to learn more?
When you're in the presence of a professor or professional, don't you want to ask questions so you can try to get some insights that may help you on your journey?
When you're around kids, don't they just seem to explode with fascination & questions?
Isn't a kid who asks questions better than a kid who thinks she knows EVERYTHING?
If you sat down with Barrack Obama, don't you think you'd want to ask a few questions?

SO...

When's the last time you questioned The Scriptures while you had your "quiet time"?
Aren't we actually supposed to ask questions EVERY TIME we read it? If we don't, aren't we just reading for entertainment or out of legalism or habit. At the very least, shouldn't I ask at least one question? For CRYING OUT LOUD, isn't a "quiet time" a time when I, lowly student, sit at the feet of The Professor of The Universe?!!

I believe that when we stop asking questions we've lost our fascination with Scripture. I think MOST OF THE TIME when we read Scripture we miss out on SO MUCH because we're way to quick to skip over our questions. After all, WHO HAS TIME TO ACTUALLY ASK A QUESTION & SEARCH FOR AN ANSWER?!?!

For me, no questions = no humility & no desire to learn something new.
I was inspired to ask questions, I hope you're inspired to do the same.

There...rant is over.

Stand Up, Be Strong!

I hope these words from The Word bring you as much encouragement as they bring to me. There is something powerful behind this command. Regardless of who you are, where you've been, or what you've done, this is God's desire for each of us:

"7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do.8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
-Joshua 1:7-9, NLT

Now go, be strong, and strengthen someone else.

Quick Highlight Reel

He...could...go...all...the...way!!!
It's going...going...gone! That ball is outta here!!!

In case you didn't get it, those are highlight-reel quotes.
Here are some Highlight Reel worthy verses I just read:

• "The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions." (Deut.29:29)
  
• "The Lord your God will delight in you if you obey his voice and keep the commands and decrees written in this Book of Instruction, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul." (Deut.30:10)
• "This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you to understand, and it is not beyond your reach." (Deut.30:11) (by the way, so cool that God makes things easy for us and not over our heads!)
• "Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!" (Deut.30:19)
  
• "So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you." (Deut.31:6)

If those aren't highlights, I don't know what a highlight is!

More Questions Than Answers

That is my conclusion.
Five minutes ago I just read Deuteronomy 17 thru 25.
If you want to read about specific Jewish laws, then read what I just mentioned.
If that doesn't sound life-altering, then don't. (hint: it wasn't life-altering for me)
But here's my take away:

Although these passages raise about 10 times as many questions about the details of God's ways than giving me solid answers , I cannot deny, and nobody else who reads the Scriptures can deny, the answers that prevail:

The God of the Scriptures demands justice for everyone, mercy to everyone, holiness of His people, forgiveness for each other, and kindness towards everyone.

P.S. Just because I have more questions than answers doesn't mean that the answers I have been given are to be crowded out and counted as loss.