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The Excellent Wife - Day 5 - Inner Character - Proverbs 31:25

3/22/2013

Proverbs 31:25 Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future.

As we look at the excellent wife, we now turn to inner qualities in her life. These are discussed in verses 25-28 and once again represent a godly woman who takes her role seriously before God, before her family, and before the outside world around her. In verse 25 three things characterize the inner qualities of this godly wife.

First, she is a woman of strength. Keil and Delitzsch say this about the word strength here. "She is clothed with strength, which is the power over the changes of temporal circumstances, which easily shatter and bring to ruin a household resting on less solid foundations." Hers is an inner strength derived from a relationship with God - and from the Scriptures, which guide those who know Him. Just as she would clothe herself daily with outward dress - she also turns each day to God for the inner strength she will need to face the world and love those in her family. When I think of what strength she functions from, Ephesians 6:10 comes to mind. "Be strong in The Lord and in the strength of His might." Any lady who has run a home knows that Keil and Delitzsch's comments are very true. The average home faces changing circumstances - especially when it comes to the people who live in it. The godly wife is a rock to her family - in that she faces the problems they face with the wisdom of God. The throes of a child's life - especially in the Junior and Senior High years are a roller-coaster of emotions, highs and lows, and wrestling with the world seeking to influence them negatively. She faces every battle - every situation - every new trial with strength.

Secondly, we see that she faces these things with "dignity." The word here is "glory" which here points to a mindset that thinks above that which is low, little, or common. She does not look to life as just getting by or living for the things of this world. She thinks higher than that. She is clothed with a mind and a heart that reaches higher - that desires a life that glorifies God. Some live aspiring to no glory at all. They live in the mundane and think that is all that they will be able to do. But a godly woman knows that God wants to work in those around her - and she cooperates, knowing that in doing so a touch of glory will be on the lives of those around her as a result. She is both dignified - and lives with a dignity that has others look up to her.

Because of these things the godly wife smiles at the future. There is something that is needed today. Too many look at the future and grit their teeth as they await the devastation they figure is coming. The godly woman faces all things with God's strength seeking God's glory - and as a result smiles that although much may be wrong in the world - she sees things in light of growing closer to God and doing things that glorify Him. As a result, regardless of the circumstances, she smiles at the future knowing that getting closer to God - loving Him more - serving Him better - and selflessly giving herself for those around her is not governed by anyone other than herself as she responds to God Himself. That is why while all others seem to frown at the future - she stands smiling and looking to God for His work even in the midst of a crooked and godless generation.

The inner strength, character, and outlook of the excellent wife set her apart from other women. She stands as a beacon of hope and joy in a world where too many struggle with depression and thoughts that everything stinks. Rather than let the world depress her - she seeks to live by God's purposes and designs - and then seeks to influence the world rather than let it influence her. What a delight it is to know such a woman - and an ever better one to have one blessing your home.

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What Do We See Mirrored In Our Hearts? Proverbs 27:19

10/10/2012

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"As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects man." Proverbs 27:19

How do you know what a man truly is? According to today's proverb this is known simply by knowing his heart. It is not the outside image that someone presents to us that truly reflects who they are. It is what they are in their hearts that matters - and that truly reflects who they are.

When we bend over and look into a calm pond on a clear day, we will see reflected in water the image of our face. That image will be a faithful reproduction of who we are - at least what our face looks like. We can trust what we see in that image. Then we read that just in the way that this happens - the heart of man reflects man. But the question we need to ask is this, "What do we see when we look into the heart of man?"

The answer to the above question has everything to do with when you are looking into the heart of man. At times we look into the heart of man and we see very wonderful things. The heart of man can reflect the glory of God. The heart of men can experience the depths of love, compassion, kindness, and relections of the God who created us. At other times we might cringe in horror as we see the depths of depravity in the wars and atrocities that have existed in the heart of men. The heights and depths we see from the magnificent beauty in a painting or a poem to the darkness of the most horrendous acts of violence and injustice must give pause to some who do not have the perspective of the Scriptures from which to understand these tremendous differences.

The Word of God helps us understand why mankind has such a Jekyll and Hyde history. We are the direct creation of Almighty God, and as such have astrounding capacities that reflect His character and person. Yet, we sold our birthright for a mess of porridge, when our head, Adam, chose to disobey God. That moment in history is called, the Fall. Without the Scritpures we will not grasp how far we fell in that moment. The glory of God we were to reflect was marred. The result is a world in which death reigns - and in which we see the heart of man at one moment blessing someone, and in the next cursing them. James tells us, out of the same mouth comes blessing and cursing, my brothers, this should not be. Yet because of sin that is what happens. This reflects our hearts - for Jesus Himself said, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."

The heart of man reflects the man. That is the reality in which we live every day. And if we are honest with ourselves, we are often shocked at the things that are in our hearts. We may want to do the good, but in the end the very evil we hate seems to rule in our hearts. We may do good one moment - and in the next find ourselves with the most heinous of thoughts running through our minds. What are we to do? The heart reflects to us that we are fallen - we are sinful - we are in need of change. In this regard, and this one alone, I encourage you to listen to your heart. You will not hear such things unless the Holy Spirit is convicting you of the sin which is indicatve of our fall from God. Listen to what God is saying to your heart - and embrace the truth. This truth is that your heart reflects that you are guilty before God - in need of His mercy and grace. The truth is that you need the grace of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ. You need your sins to be forgiven and to be made acceptable in God's sight by what Jesus Christ did at the cross. You need new life - to be born again - and to experience God's life which is the only life that can change us and reflect a different image in our hearts.

Jeremiah the prophet brought us a message from God. His message was that the heart of man is deceitful above all else, and is desperately wicked. No one can understand his own heart. But God is the one Who searches the heart - Who helps us understand our need - and Who then meets that need in what He has done through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If we can only see our hearts in that light - in the light of the mirror of God's Word - then as our heart is reflected to us, we'd see our need and run to Jesus Christ for forgiveness, grace, and new life.

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Wasting Our Time Searching for What Cannot be Found - Proverbs 25:27

9/18/2012

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It is not good to eat much honey, Nor is it glory to search out one's own glory.
Proverbs 25:27

Humans are a proud lot. Therefore it is not a profitable thing to "search out one's own glory." Such a pursuit will only result in excessive pride and arrogance. Since God resists the proud, it is unwise to embrace something that God hates. Today's proverb gives us some very wise counsel on this subject. Let's take a closer look at it - and - at some examples we can learn from so that we don't fall into this sin.

Eating too much honey can make you very sick. Honey is great for you - but in excess it can cause bloating, stomach cramps, and diarrhea. This is an interesting truth - because if you applied it to what Solomon is saying to us we learn the following. Too much thought about your own glory will cause you to bloat spiritually - and can make you sick in your spirit.

We are warned that it is not glory to search out one's own glory. What does this mean, "to search out one's own glory?" When we speak of glory - we are talking about seeing ourselves as glorious - or our own works as worthy of glory. The truth is that we don't deserve ANY glory whatsoever. Scripture tells us that our condition is not glorious. "All have sinned and fallen short of true glory - the glory of God." (from Romans 3:23) The absolute truth is this - God alone deserves glory. Any glory we ever receive - is only reflective of the glory that God deserves for Who He is and what He has done.

Searching out "one's own glory" is synonymous with being prideful. Paul said in Galatians 6:4, "But may it never be that I would glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." There is no reason to glory in anything or anyone other than Jesus Christ. Paul also wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that we are to eat, drink, and do all that we do to the glory of God. Therefore to glory in searching out our own glory is not just unwise - it is the ultimate foolish pursuit. We will get sick to our spirits - we will find a bloated ego - and we will disgust God, Who alone deserves glory.

Glorying in searching out one's own glory is about as profitable to us as having a unicorn round up. Unicorns don't exist, therefore such a search is fruitless and stupid. But then again so is searching for how much we shold be glorified. Our time would be better spent glorifying the only One who deserves to be glorified - our Lord Jesus Christ! May our days be spent therefore searching out new ways to bring glory to Him and to His wonderful name.

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The Greatest Pursuit of All - Proverbs 21:21

7/15/2012

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He who pursues righteousness and loyalty Finds life, righteousness and honor. Proverbs 21:21

What are you pursuing in life? It is not unusual to hear someone say that they are pursuing a career in some field of endeavor. When we hear someone say this we know that they are puting their energies and their time into study and practice of that discipline. It means that they have a goal in front of them and that goal is what guides them in much of what they do. Thus the question begs to be asked, "What are your pursuing when it comes to spiritual things?"

God points us to wisdom by telling us that there are two things that are very worthy of pursuit when it comes to spiritual matters. These two things are righteousness and loyalty. Today we will take a closer look at what it means to pursue these two things. We will also see in the rewards that God says come to those to follow this pursuit the reason why this is exceedingly wise.

When God says to pursue these things He uses the word, "radaph." This word means to chase or to follow after closely and with great effort and energy. The idea is that one is not just to pursue - but one is to overtake these things. The mindset is that we will not be content with a life without righteousness and without loyalty. These are things we must have - and thus in our pursuit we are passionate and totally committed. This is not a hobby or just something to add to our resume. This is a hot pursuit that is pleased only with the eventual 'catching' or 'having' of these things. Nothing else will do.

We pursue righteousness - which in Hebrew is "tsedequah." This word means righteousness abstractly - but when applied to how we live our lives it speaks of moral rectitude - of a desire to have our lives measure up to a standard of right and good that is found in God and in His Word. It speaks of living a life of justice in how we relate to others and especially how we relate to the poor and unfortunate. The word refers to a moral standard that is not set according to the world and its views. The moral standard and sentiment we embrace is that which is found in the pages of Scripture. Yet the righteousness we seek is not by law. The Scriptures which speak of this righteousness say that we obtain it by faith. It is not a set of rules - it is a person - the Lord Jesus Christ. Ultimately we pursue Him for only He can transform us and make us righteous.

We also pursue loyalty. The Hebrew word used here is "chesed" which refers to more than just a loyalty. This is the word that most closely relates to the New Testament word grace. It is the word that is used to describe God's love and commitment to His covenant people. It is easily translated, "covenant-love." Paul says to us in the New Testament to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. What we are to pursue in life is the grace of God. We live by grace - and advance in life by grace. In pursuing grace - we are kind of pursuing the One who is pursuing us. We pursue love and commitment. We pursue a selflessness that is evidenced by the love of God in Christ Jesus. Kind of cool here to see that even in an Old Testament proverb we are told to pursue righteousness by faith and a God who gives us such a righteousness by His loving, selfless grace.

What will we find when we give ourselves to such a pursuit? We are told of three things. First is that we will receive life. "Chayim" is the word for life here - and it simply means life itself. We are made alive when we pursue these two wonderful things. Consider the New Testament call to us - that when we pursue Christ, Who is the ultimate source of life - the ultimate way of life - and who is the life itself - we receive eternal life. This is the life of God, Who alone is eternal. We have a quality of life that can only be received from God Himself. Second in our set of three blessings is "righteousness." This is the same word as was used earlier - and it simply means that in seeking and pursuing righteousness - we receive righteousness as a gift by faith - through the grace of God. This does not mean we attain righteousness by our own choice of lifestyle. The fact is we are given righteousness by a gift of God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We are stunned to learn that when God gives us this gift - we are just as righteous as Jesus Himself - by God's wonderful gift - and as a result of that - we can be transformed to reflect that righteousness in all our ways. The third in this list of glorious benefits is honor. The word for honor here is "kavod" and it is the word God uses for glory. When we pursue the proper things - it is to the glory of God - and we receive from it the honor of His working in our hearts. What a glorious gift is ours - to receive the glory of salvation - the glory of God's righteousness - the glory of being at peace with God - the glory of His marvelous transformation of our lives. This is ours when we pursue the One Who in His mercy pursues us by grace.

Want to know what to pursue in life? Pursue God! That is the ultimate answer when all is said and done with today's proverb. It is a wise thing to pursue God - and to pursue His righteousness by His grace. This is both the ultimate pursuit in life and the ultimate prize! Oh the glories of pursuing the One Who pursues us! Oh the joy of capturing the One Who by grace captures our hearts. Pursue, dearest saints - pursue for you will find as you do - that you are gloriously pursued by the One Who loves you more than you could ever dream of being loved!

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God, the Ultimate Straight Shooter . . . Proverbs 8:8-9

6/8/2010

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"All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing crooked or perverted in them. "They are all straightforward to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge. Proverbs 8:8-9

Ah yes, that sticky doctrine of infallibility of Scripture rises again with a statement made by Wisdom. God is speaking in this passage as wisdom is personified. God is calling out to men and women everywhere to listen and to open their hearts to receive the wisdom that God wants to grant to them. Wisdom is awaiting them at home, in the workplace, in the market, where the two roads diverge in the wood (with thanks to Robert Frost). But the question should rightly be asked, "Can we trust what Wisdom says to us in all these situations?"

ALL the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness! Well there is an answer for us. Wisdom cannot lie to us - cannot mislead us - will not deceive us! Every utterance - every word from the mouth of God given in wisdom is righteous (that means they are all in a state of being RIGHT!). What is even better is that we next read, "There is nothing crooked or perverted in them." Crooked here means to twist something - and it speaks of those who are shrewd and cunning - those who are devious and who wrestle the truth in a direction that is to their liking. God does not work like this. Holiness means that God's motives are utterly transparent. He may speak things in a mystery - but He never speaks things with devious or cunning intent. What drives Him is His love - and His passion for righteousness and for His own glory. Perverted here is the Hebrew word "iqqesh" which means something crooked and perverse. It describes one with a deceitful, perverse, and evil heart. The person like this perverts morals, social graces, even religious things for underhanded purposes. Once again - God knows nothing of this kind of mindset or motive. We read further of His heart in verse 9.

All God's utterances - His Word - are straightforward. In the vernacular of our day - God shoots straight with us. The idea behind this word is honesty. It also has with it the idea of someone who is incapable of being perverted or being partial in their judgment. Something we all need to grasp is that ultimately God is worthy of all glory - therefore - what He does is ultimately to display His own glory. What we don't grasp is that God is not being in any way conceited by doing this. To be conceited, God would have to be gaining or seeking glory that is not rightfully His. The truth is - all glory is rightfully His - all the time - in every situation - and from every person that has ever lived or ever will live - period! Therefore God speaks the truth - and He does so with absolute honesty - and with a view to the absolute best at all times.

Now there is something that would be nice to have. Someone Who will never be partial to anything but the very best. Someone Who knows what needs to happen, what needs to be said, what needs to be addressed - and does so every single time with wisdom, with tact, and with razor sharp accuracy. But we need to note that this ability to see God in this way is for those who "understand." There is a discernment that takes us beyond fleshly, earthly wisdom that is necessary for men to understand the straightforwardness of God at all times. You see all the time in liberal circles men and women who don't understand - and who accuse God of the most horrific sins and the most terrible motives. The fact is that they DON'T udnerstand and are blind the true nature of God. This understanding comes from the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds. Without Him and without God's gracious work in us - we will never understand. Our minds and hearts are perverted and twisted by sin. It is only when God's grace is manifest to us that we are transformed - and that our sinful tendencies are no longer dominant in our thinking.

God is offering wisdom to us every day - in a myriad of situations where we need it. The truly wise man is the one who submits himself to God - and learns to listen at the crossroads as God instructs him in how to live and how to walk. May we be such men and women - and may we be blessed by the wonderful straightfoward words of God!

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The Glory of God and Kings . . . Proverbs 25:2

2/25/2010

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It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. Proverbs 25:2

Why is it that God conceals Himself and the things He says so often? Think about this for a moment in regard to Scripture. The later half of Old Testament Scripture is prophecy, in which much of what God said was hidden for their time - and some remains to be fulfilled in ours. Think about Jesus Christ and His statement that much of what He said would be in parables, so that seeing they would not see and hearing they would not hear. Then there's the common practice of Jesus to answer a question with another question. What's that all about? That is what this proverb helps us to understand. Let's take a look at it today.

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter.  So we learn that it is actually to God's glory that He reveals Himself by parables, prophecies, allegories, metaphors, and similitudes. God reveals His will and His ways in the Word of God. He Himself tells us in Isaiah 55 that "My ways are above your ways, and My thoughts your thoughts." In fact God describes His own ways as being so much higher, that the only example that is fitting is of how much higher the heavens are than the earth.  Contrary to popular opinion today, God is not just "the man upstairs" or "our divine buddy." It is entirely fitting to honor God and properly think of His majesty and glory.  If we see the pomp and glory afforded an earthly king or president, which is fitting for their position and station in life - how much more honor, majesty, and glory should be given to the King of the universe - the very God of creation itself?

In keeping with the majesty of God - the Lord makes known His ways and wisdom by putting it in a way that must be seriously studied to be understood. This is so that we will prize the wisdom and will of God when we discover it.  God Himself is unsearchable and unfathomable, thus aspects of His being and ways would never be understandable to us if we spent a myriad of lifetimes studying Him. Thus we are to be filled with awe and wonder as we consider how He has revealed Himself - how He reveals His will - and how He reveals His ultimate purposes. Paul, when receiving a little light on God's ultimate purposes with the salvation of Israel and the Gentiles, found himself in such awe that at the close of Romans 11 he wrote the following:

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD , OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen."

Thus we see one of the greatest minds in all of history bursting with spontaneous praise at the consideration of the mind of the Lord. It is a sad thing to see many in our culture wanting to drag God down to our level - or having no sense of awe or honor of Him at all.  We need to see God as He is - Someone higher and more glorious than ourselves and our own limited finite minds.  We need to consider the vast limitedness of our own comprehension of things. Think about this a second - can you fathom the glories of the universe God has given us? Do you fully grasp how very little we know of it.  Yet manking has an unbounded pride in his pitiful little accomplishments. Pardon my Shakespearian moment but, Methinks we glory in the pittance of our knowledge too much. God knows all that there is to know in every corner of the universe. Our tiny halls of learning are but a single utterance, a mere passing thought, compared to the eternally infinite lecture that God could give based upon His perfect knowledge of all things everywhere. He conceals matters because we would understand them about as well as an infant would understand a lecture on Newtonian physics. He calls us to learn - to study - to mine His Word to gather the vast array of priceless jewels of wisdom available to us. It is to His glory and everlasting praise that He does so.

But Kings . . . there is a different thought presented here referring to them. "But the glory of kings is to search out a matter." The purpose of a king is to be wise in matters of state so as to create a stable soceity in which his subjects can prosper in relative safety. Being finite in nature, a king needs to search out matters. He should confer with wise counsellors when making decisions in the best interests of the kingdom. Presidents and potentates should be learned men who possess both knowledge from men and the knowledge of God. It is a blessed country who has such - and who has a king who applies such wisdom (especially the wisdom of God) to the matters pertaining to the state.

When kings and presidents do not properly search out matters great harm comes to their kingdoms and countries. One of the great plagues of state is a king or president who is filled with pride and an agenda not based upon God's wisdom or truth. Pride causes kings to be more concerned about maintaining power than manifesting prudence. They make decisions that concentrate their power and absolute rule over the populace, which unfortunately leads to abuse. They mistake domination for dominion, and surround themselves with sycophants rather than sages. In a representative republic like our own, you have a recipe for disaster when rulers decide it is more in their interest to maintain power than make prudent decisions in the public welfare.

Consider, for a moment, the recent incidents of climate fraud that permeate the psuedo-science of the global warming hoax. Rulers who desired power more than truth surrounded themselves with supposed men of science to justify their radical plans. We learn later that these scientists did not submit themselves to peer review, they falsified findings, and destroyed data that did not fit their pre-determined conclusions. Presidents and kings should "search out" a matter - not pre-determine it and make their plans regardless of the facts. Here is why having a leader committed to truth regardless of the consequences, political or otherwise, is important.

The glory of God and kings is important both to understand and honor. It may seem difficult to the king to study out matters diligently before making decisions - but truth is always an ally to the wise man. It also may seem troublesome at times to faithfully search out the mysteries of God - but as we have learned from Proverbs itself - the knowledge of the Lord is wisdom!

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The Excellent Wife - Day 5 - Inner Character - Proverbs 31:25

What Do We See Mirrored In Our Hearts? Proverbs 27:19

Wasting Our Time Searching for What Cannot be Found - Proverbs 25:27

The Greatest Pursuit of All - Proverbs 21:21

God, the Ultimate Straight Shooter . . . Proverbs 8:8-9

The Glory of God and Kings . . . Proverbs 25:2

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