Tag: bible

Person walking on a gravel path at dusk surrounded by lit lanterns and trees

The Fruits of Wisdom

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“Maintain sound wisdom and discretion. My son, don’t lose sight of them. They will be life for you and adornment for your neck. Then you will go safely on your way; your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; you will lie down, and your sleep will be pleasant. Don’t fear sudden danger or the ruin of the wicked when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from a snare.” (Proverbs 3:21-26 CSB – Read the chapter)

Security is a big deal in our world today. Our need for it keeps all sorts of companies in business. We want our homes to feel secure. We want our health to feel secure. We want our finances to feel secure. We want our spiritual lives to feel secure. We want to know that everything is going to be okay, and we’re willing to go to pretty great lengths to make sure that it is. But while a certain amount of feeling secure is related to a variety of physical things we do, a significant portion of it is also a state of mind. It is a state of mind that wisdom can help address. Let’s talk about it.

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Hiker walking on rocky mountain path towards sunrise with trekking poles

The Secret to Happiness

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“Happy is a man who finds wisdom and who acquires understanding, for she is more profitable than silver, and her revenue is better than gold. She is more precious than jewels; nothing you desire can equal her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left, riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant, and all her paths, peaceful. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and those who hold on to her are happy.” (Proverbs 3:13-18 CSB – Read the chapter)

There are many things we are taught to pursue in this life. Money, celebrity, and power are chief among them. These, we are told, are the kinds of things that will make us happy. When we can afford whatever we want, when everybody likes us, and when we can get our way, all the bad feelings associated with not having those things will disappear. Perhaps…but the greater likelihood is that they will just take a different form. The Scriptures offer something else as the real pathway to happiness. It doesn’t look or work the same as what the world offers, but its success rate at achieving its ends is far higher. Let’s talk about what it is.

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Man running on rural road wearing blue tank top and orange running shoes

When Straight Paths Turn Hard

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“Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest; then your barns will be completely filled, and your vats will overflow with new wine. Do not despise the Lord’s instruction, my son, and do not loathe his discipline; for the Lord disciplines the one he loves, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.” (Proverbs 3:9-12 CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the uniquely American contributions to religion around the world is the Prosperity Gospel. This is an insidious, heretical movement that masquerades as a kind of Christianity. The truth, though, is that it has little to do with the Gospel, but instead uses Gospel concepts to inflame greed and envy. Mammon is the real god it worships. It is one of the more cunning deceits the devil ever created to keep people out of God’s kingdom. The challenge is that verses like these exist which seem to give credence to its central claims that God wants us to be happy, healthy, and wealthy. Let’s talk about what we should do with sayings like this in the Bible, and why taking things fully in context matters so much.

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Man in leather jacket and gloves sawing a tree branch outdoors

Knowing You Are NOT Wise

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“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight. Don’t be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. This will be healing for your body and strengthening for your bones. (Proverbs 3:5-8 CSB – Read the chapter)

Men are infamous for not wanting to ask for directions. Personally, I hate not knowing where I am, but I also don’t like getting directions from another person. But this is because I need to see a map. Verbal directions are mostly meaningless to me. If I can see it, I do much better. My weakness is that if I actually do think I know where I’m going, I can be pretty stubborn about it. It’s easy to convince ourselves we know where we are going when we really don’t. That’s true on the road, and it’s true in life. Solomon has some wisdom here for the latter. Let’s take a look.

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A diverse group of people singing and reading from books outdoors near a church building

A Community Supporting Itself

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“But you are to proclaim things consistent with sound teaching. Older men are to be self-controlled, worthy of respect, sensible, and sound in faith, love, and endurance. In the same way, older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not slaves to excessive drinking. They are to teach what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children, to be self-controlled, pure, workers at home, kind, and in submission to their husbands, so that God’s word will not be slandered. In the same way, encourage the young men to be self-controlled in everything. Make yourself an example of good works with integrity and dignity in your teaching. Your message is to be sound beyond reproach, so that any opponent will be ashamed, because he doesn’t have anything bad to say about us.” (Titus 2:1-8 CSB – Read the chapter)

I’ve been thinking a lot about the church this week. I mean, more than normal. Being a pastor, I’m thinking about the church all the time, but this week has been a bit different. I’ve got some ideas rolling around in my head this morning, and I’m going to take just a minute to start to flesh some of them out here. I had thought about writing about the new Punisher special from Marvel on Disney+, but there just wasn’t much to say there. This idea, though, has been nagging at me for a couple of days now. It will probably be explored even further as my sermon for next Sunday, but this will just give you a bit of a preview of coming attractions. I’m thinking today about what makes a church strong and impactful over time. The answer is Jesus, of course, but it’s also more than that. Let me explain what I mean.

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