Morning Musing: Proverbs 22:15

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“Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.”  (ESV)

We live in a culture that worships youth.  We fight the signs of aging (there are apparently seven of them).  We resist the pull of the years.  We celebrate youth movements.  We look for the young people to come and save us.  If a movement or idea is sparked by young people it is automatically assumed to be good and wise.  We are told to let children be themselves.  The truth, though, is that while it is good the humanity of young people is recognized and defended more than it used to be, most of this cultural moment is foolish to the highest degree. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 2 Corinthians 1:5

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“For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Here’s an important principle that radiates from the pages of the New Testament: If we do what Jesus did, we will experience what Jesus did.  Put another way: If we walk the path Jesus did, we will receive what Jesus did.  This is at one and the same time incredibly challenging and also incredibly encouraging. Read the rest…

Morning Musing: Proverbs 1:5

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“Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance.” (ESV)

I read a devotion a few weeks ago on the book of Proverbs from Tim Keller that I appreciated greatly.  He made this observation: You can have knowledge without wisdom.  Many people do.  But you cannot have wisdom without knowledge.  Wisdom comes only from the careful application of diligent learning. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Psalm 81:8

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“Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!  O Israel, if you would but listen to me!”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Do you listen to God?  I don’t know about you, but I can pretty easily find myself in a rut of talking to God a lot, but not stopping to listen very often.  I can get into a pattern of reading God’s word every day because I’m supposed to (especially as a pastor!), but not paying very close attention to what He might want to say to me through it.  Let’s just call it what it is: Listening to God is tough. Read the rest…

Morning Musing: Philippians 1:9-11

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“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

It is popular nowadays to talk about the all-encompassing power and importance of love.  We are sometimes led to believe that if we do nothing other than love each other, our lives will be perfectly harmonious and the world will have all of its problems resolved.  But, while love is certainly the chief of the virtues–there’s no question on that fact in the Scriptures–contrary to popular theology and the Beatles popular song, love is not all we need. Read the rest…