Begining of Wisdom

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." Proverbs 1:7

There are a lot of difficult questions facing our world today. How do we organize our spending priorities to change the economic crisis we are in? How do we resolve the problem of world wide terrorism? Should we continue with the war in Iraq or move to Afghanistan? On the medical front, in the classroom, on Capitol Hill and in the cities and towns across America, we seem to have more questions than good answers.

Fundamentally, we have failed to look to our best source for answers the one true God. The most wise man to ever have lived was King Solomon. He was wealthy beyond his wildest dream but the one thing he asked God for was to gran him wisdom and God did. Solomon wrote the Book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. Each is filled with tremendous insight and wisdom for young and old alike, for leaders, for married couples and a host of other professional disciplines and social situations.

However, Solomon starts his writings with what I believe is his most profound revelation for the God, the spiritual author of everything he wrote. All knowledge begins with fear (respect and reverence) of the Lord. One can spend a lifetime studying and become a scholar and recognized expert in his or her field, but without a genuine reverence for God, all of it is for naught.

Isaiah 29:14 says, "I (God) will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." Paul says in 1 Corinthians that God has "made foolish the wisdom of the world."

What scholar has figured out where the earth came from? Why are no two snowflakes the same? Who or what caused "Old Faithful" to erupt like clockwork for thousands of years? In the thirty-eighth chapter of the Book of Job, God conducts a four chapter final exam for which Job cannot answer a single question after which he concedes "I know that you can do all things (Lord); no plan of yours can be thwarted." Job 42:2

As much as we try to find the answers to life's most difficult questions and debate over Darwin Theory, our minuscule attempt at gaining knowledge cannot advance until we first concede like Job "and repent in dust and ashes." Job 42:6 God is the Creator, the author and he knows the beginning from the end and until we grasp that knowledge we will be hopelessly searching for wisdom and find ourselves miserably lost and ignorant.

My Prayer. Father, please forgive us for thinking we are wise when we fail recognize you as our loving and gracious redeemer. Forgive our arrogance and our pride and gently nudge us back from our aimless wandering. Help us to realize like you did with Job that it is only through your plan that our life will be lived. Help us to understand that we are your hands and feet and that your purpose will be fulfilled no matter how hard we try to do things on our own. Thank you Lord for continuously bringing us back as a shepherd rounds up his strays. Thank you for loving us enough to give us your Son as redemption from our sin and mediator for us when we wander away. I love you Father and I ask you for a double portion of wisdom beginning with a deep reverence for your goodness and mercy. In Jesus name I pray, Amen

Intent of the Heart

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Heb 4:12

Yesterday we celebrated the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ, the Word of God "made flesh." I have spent the last three weeks trying to unpack what God was doing when he used a little baby in a non-descript manger in a little known town to fulfill prophecy that had been spoken of since the beginning of time. His Word made flesh, Emmanuel (God with Us) a baby? My pastor said on Christmas Eve, "if we had a million years to unpack the story of Christmas we could never fully comprehend everything God did in Bethlehem on that day." I agree!

Jesus came and dwelt among us, and forgave our sins by dying on a cross but, he did something else, he showed us what God was like. Jesus gave us a frame of reference around which we mortals could hope to understand the infinite and in doing so, he altered how we look at our faith and what God really requires from us as believers. Jesus made us look at more than the "rules;" he forced us to look at our hearts (our motives). No longer can we just look at we do outwardly (when others are watching), we must now truly change our motivations because God knows the intents of our hearts even when we don't act upon our desires.

For example, Jesus said to his disciples gathered on the Mount of Olives in Matthew Chapter 5, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: (Ex. 20.14 · Deut. 5.18 ) but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; (Ex. 20.13 · Deut. 5.17) and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."

How can we now possibly be obedient to God, given Jesus' new interpretation? Are we now doomed to a fiery death in hell because "God was made flesh and dwelt among us"? How can this be? Why would God do this?

The answer is quite simple yet extremely complex. Belief in Jesus is the simple answer yet God's choice for redemption is so elegantly complex that a thousand of the world's best minds taking a million lifetimes of thought could not unravel its mysteries. God knew that his Creation could never live up to his standards, so he had to develop and air-tight means to remain true to his Word and yet allow us a way to eternal ("sinless") life. He sent himself in the form of a baby who would grow into a "sinless" mortal man to take our sins upon himself and die so that we maybe sinless in His sight. The only thing now that anyone needs to do is to have faith in what happened and believe that God gives this gift freely to anyone who asks at any time in his or her life! Amazing love!

As I consider the enormous love God has for us and his exacting standards as expressed in Hebrews 4:12, I must constantly fall to my knees and thank Him for his mercy because I know I am doomed without his grace!

My prayer. Father, thank you that your word is quick and powerful and that it gets straight to our sins and exposes them in plain sight. Thank you Lord that we cannot hide from our unclean hearts, because our hearts makes us realize there is no hope except through the blood of Jesus Christ. He is "the Way the truth and the life" and I praise you for it. Forgive me Lord in my sinfulness and lead me back to you. My prayer goes out today to all Christians who are struggling may they return to you and stop their wandering in darkness. I pray Lord, earnestly, for those who have yet to come to know you as their Lord and Savior. Change their hearts Lord and whisper to them through your saints here on earth, that they may hear your call and lay themselves at the foot of the cross and ask you to give them new hearts. All this I pray in the Name above all names, Jesus Christ, Amen!

Goodness and Mercy Have Followed Me

"Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Psalm 23:6



My Aunt Emily died last month. At her funeral was read an epitaph that she wrote:



"I hope to be remembered as being family-oriented, friendly, compassionate and kind.

I hope to be remembered as being very grateful for enjoying many years on this beautiful earth. 'Surely goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life'."



Emily lived 97 years. She married and raised children. She traveled with her husband and lived in overseas locations. She experienced many joys and faced many personal tragedies. She suffered through illness and dealt with devastating losses. She also worked and lived alone for a number of years.



Through all of life's mountains and valleys, many of which should have destroyed her, Emily was grateful to have enjoyed what God provided. She understood that "if God is with us , who can be against us." She knew that He would never "leave or foresake" her no matter how devastating her loss. She had faith in her Redeemer and knew that He loved her.



At her funeral with children, grandchildren, neices, nephews and friends gathered to remember her, not a dry eye could be seen as we remembered her strength, character, and long life. I am sure each one of us had our own memories of her, some good and, I'm certain, some not. However, to a person, what I remember most said was that she had a quiet strength that held her up even when life was coming at her very hard. Now I understand why.



Father you held up Emily on "eagles wings" so she could soar above the storm. You carried her so that she would not strike her foot against a stone. But most importantly Lord, her faithfulness in you, allowed us to see what a good God you are and I praise you for it. Your goodness and mercy did follow her, all the days of her life and now I can rest easy knowing that she is now dwelling in Your house forever. Thank you Father for taking care of her and say hello for me. Amen!