“Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.” (ESV)
Growing up in the Midwest, I was used to thunderstorms. We regularly had thunderstorms of all kinds. There were gentle storms when the thunder rumbled low and long. There were storms with occasional big booms mixed with longer rumbles. And then there were the big ones when the lightning seemed to be hitting close and the thunder blasts rattled the windows. The next morning things always smelled like rain. It was one of my favorite things. Read the rest…
“I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
This is perhaps one of the greatest gifts that God gives to His people. One heart. The NIV renders the Hebrew here “an undivided heart.” How often has a divided heart resulted in trouble in your life? It has done plenty in mine. When our heart is divided, we are trying to give our devotion to more than one thing. That never goes well. As Jesus observed, when we try that we invariably wind up hating one thing at the expense of the other. Read the rest…
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Paul was called to receive the gift of salvation so that others might come to a saving faith as well. We know this is true from Paul’s own testimony, but also from the example of his life. Do you know who else was saved so that others might come to a saving relationship with Jesus? You were! So was I. So was every person who is a follower of Jesus or who has ever been in the past. God gives us the gift of salvation not only for ourselves, but so that others might come to a saving knowledge of Him through us. In other words: If you have been blessed by God, the purpose of that blessing was so that you might be a blessing to others. Read the rest…
“Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here,’ than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.” (ESV)
We live in the day of the self-made, internet-created celebrity. YouTube has been the source of numerous stars today. So have Instagram and Snapchat. To become such a person you must promote yourself. Relentlessly. You must be constantly on the lookout for opportunities to get other people to pay attention to you. And, if you have the right blend of talent, gumption, and luck, you can make a lot of money this way.
And yet, what is ultimately the fruit of such an endeavor? Given the stories about or often the character of such folks, it’s not good. We live in a celebrity-worshiping culture. We are constantly on the lookout for people to elevate to celebrity status in order to give them our devotion. In doing so, we not only debase our own lives, but also the lives of the people being worshiped.
Still, many recognize this celebrity worship and crave it. They crave it and so they do whatever they can to gain it for themselves. Yet again, what good does this do? Wisdom and observation would again answer: Very little.
What Solomon calls for here is a much better way: Do your best where you are and let it be recognized naturally. Let your godly character be the thing everyone notices about you first and foremost. Become known as a person who can be depended upon when things get tough. Produce work that lifts people up and points away from you to God.
If you are advancing yourself and your image, you just may get the acclaim you seek, but there is a very good chance it will come at the expense of your soul. And with that sold away, when the acclaim departs (for self-sought acclaim nearly always departs much sooner than we expect it to) what will you have left? Instead, glorify God in all things and let the chips fall where they may. He will receive the acclaim now, and you will receive acclaim from Him when the time is right. That will be a fame that won’t fade.
“Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Over and over again in the prophets we see that God’s chief concern for the people was not that they got religion right, but that they got justice right. He complained about their offerings and sacrifices not because they weren’t done strictly according to the guidelines set out in the law, but because they pursued them without the accompanying set of behaviors (namely, a generous pursuit of justice for the least, last, and lost in their midst). Read the rest…
The Nexus 