Peculiar

praying for our leaders

2008-06-26T08:04:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been reading through the psalms at intervals throughout the day. Yesterday I read Psalm 72, and I keep coming back to it--as a prayer for government, it's striking and powerful.

Psalm 72 is marked "A Psalm for Solomon." David wrote it shortly before he passed the throne on to his chosen son. It is part prophecy, part glorious vision of government as it ought to be, reflecting in its ways the heavenly kingdom of God. That government should be an extension of God's rule is clear in David's opening verse: "Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son."

Recently, a good friend who works in a government office challenged me to pray for all our officials, from the Prime Minister through the MPs through everyone else who governs in this nation. Of course, we do not have a single king--but that doesn't mean we can't increase our prayers to include every man and woman in positions of governmental authority.

So what, according to Psalm 72, should we be praying for these people? David's first entreaty, that God would literally give His righteousness to Solomon, mirrors my friend's urgent request: "Pray that our government leaders would get saved." We should pray, first and foremost, that God Himself would enter the lives of individuals in government and transform them by the power of the cross.

Second, we should pray that our leaders would truly care for the needy, poor, and oppressed. This can be reflected in domestic and international policies. How best to care for such people may be a matter of debate, but that we can and must care for them is not:

"He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor ... For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence; and precious shall their blood be in his sight."

(Psalm 72:4, 12-14)

One prayer I have taken up is that our leaders would hear the cries of the unborn and others who are threatened by the growing death culture. When the blood of these very needy, who have no others to help them, becomes precious in the sight of our leaders, then we will see change.

We must pray also that justice would be truly and righteously carried out. We sometimes view justice as a personal matter, but we should not. In a just society, there is peace and safety. In an unjust society is violence, wrong, and growing chaos. David continually asks God to make Solomon wise and righteous in his judgments:

"Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son. He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and the poor with judgment ... In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth." (Psalm 71:1-2, 7) I am struck by verse 4, which declares that Solomon "shall break in pieces the oppressor." In an unjust nation, those who commit crimes against the innocent are not held truly accountable. I pray too that this will change where it is occurring today.

This morning I spent much of my prayer time entreating God for our government. Romans 13:1 reminds me that God has placed them in power: "For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." In prayer, I recognize God as King of kings reigning over all the earth and ask Him to rule through our nation so that the poor, the needy, and the righteous shall be blessed.

virtuous woman

2008-06-18T07:32:00.000-07:00

"She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."

Proverbs 31:26-27

"Who can find a virtuous woman?" Solomon begins, "for her price is far above rubies." This wise man's ideal of a virtuous woman is hard-working, full of faith, skilled, and servant-hearted. She does her husband "good and not evil all the days of her life." And although I can relate to the sting many women feel when they read Proverbs 31--none of us like to see where we are failing--I'm very glad we have her.

I am neither married nor swiftly headed (as far as I can tell) in the direction of marriage, but the heart of the Virtuous Woman is one I desire to share. We are all in relationship with others, from God to our families and friends, and in all of these my desire is to do good and not evil. Proverbs 31 reminds me that being a woman of faith and virtue is not about earth-shattering accomplishments or unflagging perfection. It's about strong character and good habits--a whole direction of life that is disciplined and others-centered.

The verses I've quoted above are an excellent example. As a young and still-foolish member of the human race, there is much wisdom I do not know--but as a general trend, do I open my mouth to rattle on or to speak good, true, wise things? Is my tongue ruled by the law of kindness, or do I allow sarcasm, arrogance, or impatience to direct what I say and how I say it? Do I look well to the ways of my household, or have my habits of procrastination and laziness caused everything to spin wildly out of control? Day by day, is my life marked by idleness or industry? What am I doing with my life, anyway?

Life is made up of hundreds and thousands of little choices, every day, every hour. I am constantly choosing between one action and another. Every choice forms habits and bears consequences. How are my choices affecting my life today?

The Virtuous Woman is not always popular among Christians. Many women see her as a mark of their own failures. They resent her for pointing them out. But the beauty of life in Christ is that our yesterday does not have to determine our tomorrow. The Spirit of God in us chastens, disciplines, loves, and molds us in the image of the Son.

If you made bad decisions yesterday, you can make good ones today. If your habits are destructive, now's the time to change them. It does not take monumental effort or herculean strength. It only takes little choices, little changes, to live as a woman of virtue.

book announcement - Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled

2008-06-14T09:52:00.000-07:00

We interrupt this regularly scheduled programming ...

My cousin Carolyn and I have written a book together, chronicling some of our experiences of the eldest children in large, homeschooling families. It is officially available for pre-order today! The announcement is below :).

* * *

Dear friends,

Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled is now available for pre-order! You can purchase your copy of Tales at www.littledozen.com/thh.html. Pre-orders close June 30. As a special thank-you to those who order before June 30, we are offering a free Ebook Edition of Theodore Pharris Saves the Universe, the novel Rachel wrote when she was 13!

Pre-orders help us cover the costs of publishing--and they get the book into your hands early! Your books will be ordered and sent to you in the first week of July, when the book is just becoming available to the world at large.

When we started writing Tales as a series of emails to each other, we didn't really imagine how much you'd share with us! We thank you for your friendship, encouragement, and support as we've worked to bring Tales to print. It's been a marvelous journey!

Blessings,
Rachel and Carolyn

authors, Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled
www.littledozen.com/thh.html

wild God

2008-06-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

"Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?"

Proverbs 30:4

Two nights ago I was sitting on our front porch. The sky had been blue all day, but as evening came in, dark clouds gathered quickly. A wind began to blow, whipping up the waves on the river at the end of our street. Lightning flashed overhead. Moments before we had lived on a calm city street, watching a few cars drive by, everything ordered and safe. Now the forces of nature invaded, making the world wild around us.

The Bible often talks about the glory of God in storms. Solomon wrote of it in Psalm 30. His words remind me of Psalm 18's powerful depiction of God riding in a storm, coming to save David from his enemies:

"He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.

He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.

The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.

He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me."

Day by day, we build little theological constructs that are much like our city street: quiet, ordered, easy for us to grasp. But then the reality of God comes like a storm, the Spirit like a mighty wind, and in the storm of His presence we're forced to worship the wild God whose power and glory are more than we can imagine.

C.S. Lewis wrote of Aslan, the picture of Jesus, that he "is not a Tame Lion." Nor is our Saviour one to be bound by small human bands. He is trustworthy, unchanging, solid as a rock--and wonderfully, beautifully wild.

out to please

2008-06-05T19:16:00.000-07:00

"Many seek the ruler's favour; but every man's judgment cometh from the LORD."

Proverbs 29:26

Like many of us, I was born a people-pleaser. I hate conflict of any kind--even a friendly debate, held in a spirit of camaraderie and used to good ends, will leave me feeling unsettled and sometimes unhappy. Sometimes I will shy away from certain courses of action or even thoughts because I know that someone else would not like it.

There are good elements to this. I want to respect others, truly. I want to honour my parents and other authorities in my life. I want to be biblically submissive, humble and meek. But there's also a lot of bad to it. Often, following God means taking paths others wouldn't take or even understand. It means doing things that will disappoint people or sometimes upset them.

Following Jesus can mean setting yourself up for a cross.

The last few years have held a lot of trials for me--growing pains, stretching, some really hard stuff. I've come to realize that the most common experience of sainthood is that of being misunderstood--and not being able to do a thing about it. And I'm learning, though it's a painful lesson, to embrace that reality. No one was ever misunderstood like Jesus. And no one ever pleased God or did more for people than He did.

Solomon reminds us that seeking the favour of those who are somehow over us may cause us to lose perspective. In the end, it does not matter what anyone thought of your actions. It doesn't matter if people completely misconstrued everything you ever did or said. What matters is that you seek to please God. It matters that you keep your heart pure before Him. It matters that you respect people, honour people, and serve people--and that you do it, not out of fear or the desire to please them, but out of love for God.

It's not an easy lesson, but if we're going to be true followers of Jesus, sooner or later we all need to learn it. The lesson hurts, but I thank God for it. In the end, He's the only One I'm out to please.

to be faithful

2008-05-28T16:04:00.000-07:00

"A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent."

Proverbs 28:20

People tend to make much of success. Success propels us to riches, fulfillment, and fame. Underlying all true success, however, is something we often overlook--faithfulness.

In Luke 16:10-11, Jesus taught that those who are faithful in little will be trusted with much:

"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?"

True success is never achieved overnight. It's built on the back of many days of doing the right thing, the necessary thing, and the good thing. This holds true no matter what arena of life you're in.

Solomon specifically addresses riches: the usual measuring stick for success in business and career arenas. He says that while a faithful man will abound with blessings, a man who tries to "get rich quick" will not only ultimately fail, but he will likely wind up in sin. A rush to success without faithfulness leads to a loss of innocence.

This is true in our spiritual lives as well. Many people spend their time chasing "spiritual highs" or attempting to be super-Christians before they've laid a foundation of faithfulness. We hear about heroes like Billy Graham, Amy Carmichael, George Mueller, or William Wilberforce, and we want to be like them. But the fact is, their spiritual "success" didn't grow out of a vacuum. When we think of such heroes, we think of the highlights of their lives. But those highlights grew out of lives of faithfulness: faithful prayer, faithful study, faithful hard work, and faithful love.

As I pray for myself and for others, I will pray that God would make us faithful.

tomorrow

2008-05-21T19:17:00.000-07:00

"Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."

Proverbs 27:1

One of scripture's recurrent and perhaps most important teachings is that we are "but men"--we are here today, gone tomorrow, a vapour in the wind. Nothing is guaranteed us but God's love, and even that must not be taken for granted--if we spend our lives trying to run from it, as a wise man has said, someday we'll succeed.

To me, Proverbs 27:1 is a needed reminder that I can't count on circumstances to be what I expect. All I truly have is this moment: How am I using it? James echoes Solomon's exhortation:

"Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that."

James 4:13-15

This morning was a gentle reminder of this truth. I am a naturally lazy person. I knew I had work to do, but none of it felt especially pressing, and so I gave in to my too-great love affair with my pillow and slept the entire morning away. In the mail this afternoon, I received a large package I hadn't been expecting--the materials for a contest I agreed to judge and had totally forgotten about.

Now, catching up with this extra work is not going to break me. The hours I lost this morning are not, in the big picture, a major deficit. But they reminded me that my time isn't mine alone. God has work for me to do, and the time in which to do it is limited. If I am faithful in little, He will entrust me with much.

I am grateful for a God who is good enough to give gentle reminders, and I pray that I'll take them seriously. If the Lord wills, I will use tomorrow better than I have used today.

putting out fires

2008-05-07T14:16:00.000-07:00

"Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth."

Proverbs 26:20

Imagine this proverb as it might work in a family. Sister A gets mad at Sister B. She tells C, who takes up an offense and also gets mad. A and C tell D and E all about it. In the meantime, B doesn't even know anyone's mad--but by the time she comes home, she's stepping into a hornet's nest.

The tongue has the incredible power to escalate things, keep them fresh in our memories, and pass on negative emotion and prejudice. As Christians, we're called not to fuel the fires of strife, but to make peace--"If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men" (Romans 12:18).

Hebrews 12:14-15 gives more thorough instruction: "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled" (Hebrews 12:14-15).

As I grow in the Lord, I pray that God will guard my mouth, teaching me to love peace, bless others with my words, and regularly put out fires instead of spreading them. Words can fan the flames, but they can also bring new perspective, soothing, and conviction.

How are you using yours?

the power of influence

2008-04-30T16:17:00.001-07:00

Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.

Proverbs 25:5

Solomon's instruction is written specifically to kings, but it can apply to anyone in a position of authority or influence: lawmakers and enforcers, teachers, parents, pastors--even writers like me, whose words can affect others. His advice? Take away the wicked from before you.

This verse is a testament to the power of influence. The people we keep "before us" will influence the way we think and act. This, in turn, affects those who are under our authority or influence. Solomon phrases this negatively: if we take the wicked away, we will be established in righteousness. If we don't--well, that's left up to us to deduce.

Of course, none of us keeps a court full of people. But we do choose who to spend our time with. We choose the churches where we attend, the preachers we listen to, and the Bible study we engage in. We may keep TV before us, with its many faces, voices, and ideas. We may keep a court of authors whose writing shapes our perspective.

As people who recognize a difference between right and wrong, we must be careful about what influences we keep in our lives. While it is good to keep an open ear and heart, it is not good to allow "the wicked" an unbalanced place. No matter how strong we may think ourselves, none of us is immune to the subtle power of influence.

rise up again

2008-04-23T10:38:00.000-07:00

"Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place: For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief."

Proverbs 24:15-16

Let's face it ... sometimes it really looks like the wrong people are winning.

Sometimes it seems that culture has been shanghaied by the wicked, the powerful are stomping over the face of the poor, sickness and disease are tearing down the healthy, liars are being believed while truth-tellers are cast out, our strengths are too weak to make any difference, and everything we love is in jeopardy.

The Bible is very honest in telling us that life is like this sometimes. No illusions here! Our salvation was won by the horrendous death of an innocent man, and that man warned His disciples that they would face trouble in this life. Heroes of the faith are made because life tests their faith--because they have to plug their ears and keep believing while a thousand voices scream that they're wrong.

Keeping faith in times of trouble may sound romantic, but it's not. It's really, really hard. The important thing is that we keep faith anyway. Our faith isn't in our own righteousness or innate ability to overcome. It's in Jesus and His promises. If you're beginning to believe that you have fallen and will never get up again, I have news for you: there's an empty tomb in Israel that says you're wrong.

In John 16:33, Jesus said, "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." There's a powerful echo of Solomon in these words: "A just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again." No matter what comes against us, no matter how we stumble, fall, or are beaten down, we will overcome.

The Risen One lives within us, and because of His justice, His righteousness, His love, we too will rise up again.

a degree of truth

2008-04-17T19:01:00.000-07:00

"Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge ... Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding."

Proverbs 23:12, 23

Yesterday evening my cousin and I took a walk down her dirt road, enjoying the cool spring twilight and talking about life. Our conversation touched on the world of academics. As homeschool graduates, we've both approached this untraditionally. We discussed the good or ill a university degree might do us in this day and age.

Solomon put great value on knowledge, nor did he differentiate which kinds of knowledge were "spiritual" and which weren't. In our day and age, knowledge (what we call "an education") is freely available in an astounding way. We live in a society that is mostly literate, that gives us access to books, experiences, and people, that flings school doors open to us.

Yet, our society's style of knowledge is off-kilter. We put much stock in knowing things. We put less stock in practical, hands-on, heart knowledge. Most tragically of all, in our rush to get educated, we often overlook truth. It happens on an individual level and on a societal one.

As Christians we should seek wisdom and understanding, praying and asking God for wisdom as James urges us to, but always with the desire to seek out TRUTH. Knowledge of truth is worth putting time, money, and resources into. Knowledge for the sake of knowledge is worth practically nothing.

In your life, are knowledge and truth working together or opposing each other? Which do you value most? How are you pursuing it?

The Beautiful Piano: new CD from a friend

2008-04-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

Debbie Fortnum, a wonderful indie singer/songwriter who has worked with our fledgling ballet company, Soli Deo Gloria, has just released her CD The Beautiful Piano to WalMarts across Canada! This is beautiful music with a heart of worship. I encourage you to check it out! The next few weeks will determine whether WalMart sees this as a viable CD or not. You can hear clips from The Beautiful Piano here.

cast out the scorner

2008-04-02T08:24:00.000-07:00

"Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease."

Proverbs 22:10

Merriam-Webster defines "scorn" as "open dislike and disrespect or derision often mixed with indignation; an expression of contempt or derision." Scorn is an attitude: a proud, disrespectful way of treating others and their views, requests, and actions. It's not hard to see why it leads to strife, because others react badly to being treated this way!

I always imagine some prince, ruler, or employer reading Solomon's words and realizing that the continual problems among their underlings stem from a scorner in the ranks. That fictional ruler would waste no time ousting the problem: with a confrontation and a figurative kick in the pants, the scorner be out the door. The image always makes me smile, like that scene in every good story where the bad guy gets his comeuppance.

But my own life has seen the effects of scorn, and in my case there's no one I can boot out the door. As in so many cases, the root of my problems is me--my own attitude of disdain toward others. If I'm to quell strife and reproach in my own circles, I can begin by casting out the scorner within.

Casting scorn out of my heart doesn't mean adopting a sort of false "tolerance" that puts every idea or action on equal footing. Right is right; wrong is wrong; and true and false are still opposites. Instead, casting out the scorner means ridding myself of disdain toward others. It means loving the people who cross my path and realizing that I am no better than they are. If I have any extra light, it's only because God has graciously chosen to shine it in my life.

golden diligence

2008-03-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

"The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want."

Proverbs 21:5

We live in a culture that hurries everything. Pre-preschool hurries our alphabet; cars and airplanes hurry our travels; microwaves hurry our dinners. But Solomon warned against living a "hasty" life, saying that hastiness would lead only to want--that is, lack and great need.

The opposite of hastiness is diligence. Diligence means taking things steadily, sometimes slowly. It means getting up every single morning and laying the bricks that will shelter you tomorrow. It means spending more time reading the Bible than chasing spiritual highs. It means forming good habits, doing the best things, keeping at it.

Diligence is not natural to our culture, and apparently it wasn't natural in Solomon's time either. But it is godly. Jesus' life was a diligent one. He got up every morning and did what God called Him to do. He didn't try to rush the program or skip the hard parts. And because He was diligent, we are saved.

An attitude of diligence can make an immeasurable difference, not only to your own life, but to the lives of those you influence in family, friendships, work, and ministry. Diligence is golden. What are you doing to develop it?

gifted

2008-03-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

"The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them."

Proverbs 20:9

I wrote the fantasy novel Worlds Unseen six years ago. At the time, I had some loose ideas about what it could say--besides telling a good story, which was my first priority! It touched on some of my beliefs about life: the spiritual realities behind the physical world, nature's allegiance to its Creator, and the way most of us live our lives ignorant of the world's true history and what it means to us today.

Worlds is primarily about Maggie Sheffield, a very normal young woman who stumbles into the spiritual realities of her world by accident and must learn to deal with them. However, equally important to the story are the two Gifted: a wanderer named Nicolas Fisher, who hears things no one else can, and Virginia Ramsey, a blind girl who sees visions.

Proverbs 20:9 made me think of these two immediately: "The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them." In Worlds Unseen, Virginia and Nicolas are not only Gifted, they are gifts--gifts to the world. Those who believe what the Gifted tell them will arrive at the truth about life, and with it, real freedom.

In the story, though, Nicolas and Virginia are both outcasts. One wrestles to accept his own gift and thus refuses to live among people; the other is feared and ultimately betrayed because of the truth she sees. It's not easy to be the only people in all the world who understand what life really is--especially when the truth shatters everything we have believed.

Nicolas and Virginia aren't without parallel in our own world. They are my fantasy version of the Old Testament prophets, of the New Testament apostles and saints, of everyone to whom God has given clarity of vision and ears that understand. Often, these real-world Gifted were despised and rejected, driven out and even crucified. Isaiah was one such Gifted man. David, king and psalmist, was another. Mary; Anna; the Apostle Paul. John the Beloved, witnessing the Revelation while in exile on the Isle of Patmos, was one. And ever since their days, God has not ceased to send to us people who see and hear, and who will open our own understanding if we let them.

Perhaps you can think of someone who has filled this role in your life. A parent; a sister; a friend; a teacher. A singer or poet. Such people do not create or renew truth. They simply show us, through scripture and by the Spirit of God, what has always been there.

Perhaps, in the darkness of the world around, the one who sees and hears is you.

Like my fictional Seventh World, the people around us live in darkness and deception. We who have the Word of God at our fingertips and the Spirit of God in our hearts are in this world, not just as passers-by, but as gifts. In prayer, Jesus said of His disciples, "As thou [Father] hath sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world" (John 17:18).

You, believer in Jesus, are in this world not as an accident and not as a judge. You are here as a gift, bearing the gifts of sight, hearing, and true reality.

May we use these gifts well: to bring into the darkness a burning, holy light.

* * *

Worlds Unseen is available for purchase or as a free ebook from www.LittleDozen.com. It's sequel, Burning Light, is due out December 2008.

stand

2008-03-12T22:15:00.000-07:00

"There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand."

Proverbs 19:21

So many plans; so many dreams. I scheme, plot, plan, lay out goals and steps. I spread out financial sheets and try to fit every penny in the right slot. I fall asleep guessing at the future, trying to figure out how it'll all go.

There are many devices in my heart; nevertheless, the counsel of the LORD shall stand.

Charging ahead, I halt behind a man-made blockade. Suddenly people who never had much to do with my life are acting as my adversaries. I do all I can to counter them, even as they do all they can to prevent me.

There are many devices in their hearts; nevertheless, the counsel of the LORD shall stand.

I watch as the world around me spirals deeper in rebellion; thumb their noses at their Creator and try to ignore Him. They write books to prove He does not exist. They assert their independence by destroying themselves. They set up scientific paradigms that exclude Him completely and invent religions that misrepresent Him.

And yet, He is still there, looking at them every time they look in the mirror. Image-bearers of God, doing their best to deface Him.

Yet, though there are many devices in their hearts, the counsel of the LORD shall stand. In the end we shall see Him as He is.

Sometimes I worry. About little things; about big things. About who I'll be in twenty years; about what the world will be. So many people are trying to do so many things, and I am only one of them. Our plots and plans clash now and then, and threaten to bring the world down around us.

And yet, in the end, the counsel of the LORD shall stand.

In that I take comfort and rest.

upside down

2008-03-05T08:12:00.000-08:00

"Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility."

Proverbs 18:12

Have you ever compared yourself to someone else?

I certainly have. It's a bad habit, but a very natural one. I measure myself against family, friends, and complete strangers. Morally, physically, intellectually: my comparisons build me up or tear me down. They lead, often, to haughtiness. (Just as often, they lead to something that is not humility but pretends to be: a negative fixation on self that we sometimes call "poor self image.")

Jesus' disciples, we read, often indulged in comparisons. But shortly before He went to His crucifixion, Jesus did something that changed their view of themselves and of others forever. He dressed Himself as a slave, knelt down, and washed their filthy feet.

John writes,

"So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?"

In that moment, Jesus turned His disciples' world upside down. He laid a responsibility on them that they probably never expected to carry. That responsibility brought with it a whole new view of the world. Remember, the disciples believed Jesus would usher in a kingdom, with them as princes in it. They expected to rule--not to wash the feet of others who were, perhaps, beneath them.

But Jesus did not allow them to think of themselves this way. After washing their feet, He said,

"Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.

"If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet."

John 13:12-14

God fully intended to honour Jesus' disciples. He honoured them in their lifetimes, and He has continued to honour their memory and work. But before God would bestow glory on His servants, He first taught them humility. Haughtiness, a view of life which is based on comparing ourselves with others, leads to destruction. Humility leads us to God, to love, and to honour.

The striking fact is that Jesus was superior to His disciples in every way. There was nothing in them that was greater, purer, or more righteous than He. He deserved their service; they did not deserve His. Yet He gave it.

Real humility is not about measuring ourselves against others at all, whether we see ourselves as better or worse than those around us. It doesn't matter who's "better," whose choices are more godly, whose life is more fruitful. What matters is that Jesus has loved us and washed our feet. In every relationship in life, no matter how deep or how cursory, God matters first. My relationships with my family and friends are not just about me and them: they're about God and me, and then about those He asks me to love.

Jesus, who died for us, reconciled us to God, and still serves us in a thousand little ways every day, looks at us and asks, "Know ye what I have done to you?"

I know a little: He has changed everything. My world is officially upside down.

loving the fire

2008-02-26T12:53:00.000-08:00

"The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts."

Proverbs 17:3

For many years my prayer has been, "Lord, I want to know You. Draw me close. Reveal Yourself to me." A good prayer--but like Lucy stepping into the wardrobe, we can hardly imagine how far such a prayer may take us.

Myths about God are as common in our society as they have ever been elsewhere. The white-bearded, half-blind God who sits in the clouds and shakes His head over our misbehaviour is as much as myth as Santa Claus. The true God has revealed Himself to be someone very powerful, very beautiful, and very holy. No one will ever enter a relationship with Him without being changed.

In Revelation 1:14-18 , the apostle John saw Jesus as He truly was:

"His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

"And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
"And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."

Gold and silver, two of earth's most precious metals, are both purified in the same way: by being melted and refined over intense heat. Proverbs 17:3 is an allegory. Our hearts are like silver and gold. The LORD Himself is the purifying fire.

We who walk with God will often find ourselves in uncomfortable circumstances. Our lives will know pressure and fire; darkness and doubt. We will know the deep passion of a heart in love with fire, and we will sometimes know the pain of a heart purified by it.

The author of Hebrews wrote, "Our God is a consuming fire." His character is so righteous, so holy, that to know Him is to come under His transforming influence. God doesn't leave us as He finds us. But this should encourage us, for no matter how lowly we are, God sees our hearts as gold and silver. We are worth a great deal to Him. Worth loving, saving, and transforming.

To God, we are worth it.

Is He worth it to us? We were created to know God. In His presence is joy and glory we have hardly dreamed of. He is the awesome, beautiful, glorious God; and no pursuit in life can ever equal the pursuit of Him.

Sometimes, knowing Him burns. But it is more than worth it to love the fire.

the king's countenance

2008-02-20T14:37:00.000-08:00

"In the light of the king's countenance is life; and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain."

Proverbs 16:15

You know you're loved when someone looks at you and their eyes light up. In your presence, they quietly glow. Likewise, you know you love someone when they have that effect on you. It's this kind of light that Solomon speaks of: "in the light of the king's countenance"--in the light of his eyes, his face--"is life."

The second half of the verse is just as simple, just as relatable. Have you ever experienced drought? The long, dry parching near the end of summer when yellow dust climbs the air and coats everything, the grass turns brown, and the trees droop with exhaustion? Have you ever felt the oppression of unrelenting heat? And then, one day, a cool breeze begins to blow; and on it rides rain... gentle, cool, sweet rain that turns the earth green and brings life back. Such is the "latter rain" that comes like a mist; and such is the favour of the king.

To men and women living in Solomon's day, this had immediate and practical application. To be singled out for the king's favour was life indeed! It meant material blessings, safety, provision, honour.

Few people in our society today have the power of ancient kings to so lift us up. But we who live in a kingdom will find these words have just as much immediate application for us. Through Christ, the countenance of God looks on us with light. We are given His favour, freely, as a gift.

Jesus' words in John 14:23 drive this reality home:

"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have made their home with me. They dwell with me. Each day they look on me with favour and love. It is true for all who believe and love Jesus the Christ. May our eyes be open to the light that shines from His face--may our every sense be cooled by the touch of His latter rain.

better is

2008-02-12T14:26:00.000-08:00

"All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast."

"Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith."

"Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith."

Proverbs 15:15-17

The Bible is a book of "better is." Our lives are all about choices, and Scripture is eager to point us in directions that will bless our lives and fill them with good things.

Most of the better things, according to God, have little do with material concerns. In fact, when we compare them, the treasures of the heart are seen to be far greater than those of the belly or the pocketbook. Solomon points to this truth in these, three of my favourite verses in Proverbs.

His first "better is" is a merry heart. This verse always reminds me of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Scrooge possesses an afflicted heart: he is miserly and miserable. His poor-as-a-churchmouse nephew Fred, on the other hand, lives a golden life because the merriment in his heart overflows and turns every smile and streetlamp into a feast. Life feeds him because he greets it with cheer.

Cheer is not something we talk much about these days, preferring to discuss deep, spiritual joy. But while transcendent joy is important, Solomon reminds us that cheerfulness has value, too.

The second "better is" is the fear of the Lord. I talked about such fear in my last post, where I said that we fear God because He is who He is--and He is good. The fear of God fills our lives with awe and wonder. It protects us from making decisions that would bring harm. Ultimately, it moves our lives away from unreality and makes us authentic.

The third "better is" of Proverbs 15 is love. Christians have known and celebrated this truth since Jesus first lived it for us so gloriously. Love, for God and each other, is the deepest need of our hearts and the greatest joy of our lives. I'm reminded of a line from Fiddler on the Roof. Tevye, speaking of his daughter and son-in-law, says, "They're so happy they don't know how miserable they are." They had nothing but love, and that was more than they could contain.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13 that if we have faith enough to move mountains, if our understanding is perfect and our tongues eloquent, we are nothing if we have not love. The beauty is that no Christian need be without it. Jesus Christ has given His life for us in the greatest act of love anyone could possibly imagine. Through His Spirit, that love is given to touch us, to indwell us, and to pour out to others.

Better is life with Christ, I say, than the treasures of heaven and earth without Him.

strong confidence

2008-02-05T04:39:00.000-08:00

"In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge."

Proverbs 14:26

Of all the verses in Proverbs, this is one I relate to very personally. People now remark on my confidence, but it wasn't always that way. A daydreamer, I was never much good at practical things--nor did I always quite live in the world others did. As a young teenager, I had the usual struggles with inadequacy.

I do remember what prompted the change. God brought new circumstances and people into my life that stretched me. They forced me to take all the training my parents had given me and really apply it. I was in love with the Lord and wanted to serve Him, and I saw how my old worries and fears would hamper that. But they didn't just go away.

Into that came Proverbs 14:26. In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence. His children have refuge in Him. He was offering me confidence. When I did fall, He offered me refuge. So there was no cause--no cause at all--to be insecure.

Fear of God does not mean cringing terror. We insult God by "fearing" Him the way we would fear a cruel tyrant. We know, from His Word and His acts in our world, that He loves us. To fear God is to recognize who He is, to acknowledge His Lordship, to act accordingly. We fear Him because He is who He is--because He is good.

When the fear of God is the central focus of our hearts, circumstances and worrisome things can fade into relative unimportance. We can be confident, not in who we are, but in who He is.

richly poor

2008-01-30T14:11:00.000-08:00

"There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches."

Proverbs 13:7

The scene is Jerusalem, at the height of Jesus' ministry. Days ago He raised Lazarus from the dead. Hours ago He rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey and was hailed by the people as King. "Hosanna!" they cried. "Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord."

Jesus' fame was at a fever pitch. So was the anger and fear of His enemies. In the midst of all this, John writes that some Greeks, who were in Jerusalem for the Passover, came to the disciple Philip and asked to see Jesus. (The whole story is found in John 12:20-26.)

This was unusual. These were Gentile converts from a distant land. Apparently they had also heard of Jesus' fame and the incredible miracles He had done. Here, in this gloriously Jewish setting, a few Greeks dared approach.

Jesus responded, "The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified."

What did Greeks have to do with the Son's being glorified? The key is in the name Jesus gives Himself: "Son of man." He didn't think this up Himself. It has a clear Old Testament precedent in the incredible visions of Daniel. In fact, Daniel describes the Son of man rising to heaven on the clouds, there to be fully glorified. He writes,

"I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
"And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."
Daniel 7:13-14

As these first few Gentiles approached, timidly, wanting only to see Jesus, the kingdom to come was foreshadowed. Jesus knew the glory that would be His: the glory of welcoming us all, Jew and Gentile, Greek and barbarian, into the fold of God.

It is staggering that Jesus should count us as riches--as a reward. Yet He does. All that He did was for this purpose, that He might redeem mankind and make us His own. So great is this love that makes so much of us! But Jesus did not gain riches the American way--the human way--the natural way. He is the epitome of Solomon's long-ago words: "There is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches."

Jesus gave up His position on the Father's right hand. He gave up the invincibility of Heaven, the wideness of life outside of this world. He came into our narrow sphere and impoverished Himself, making Himself poor even by earthly standards. Yet great riches were His, even here. He had the riches of the Father's love. He had the riches of doing God's will. And He had the riches of salvation in His hands: His privilege, and His unspeakable gift to us.

Jesus' next words to Philip were, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."

Jesus alone had the untainted friendship and favour of God. Jesus alone had eternal life. Jesus alone had the joys and riches of fellowship with the Highest. But He was not content to abide alone. He suffered, died, and rose again, that He might forth fruit in us. All of His riches, He gives us freely.

I leave you with Jesus' next few words. They are a challenge to us. How will we respond to them?

"He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour."

a lightening word

2008-01-22T18:17:00.000-08:00

"Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad."

Proverbs 12:25

My dad is a musician who listens to music of every stripe, so I've always had my finger on the pulse of society. Listening to contemporary music will tell you a lot about how people think and feel! When I was a little kid, I didn't understand why the radio expressed so much weariness--hurt--bitterness. I get it now. To live in this world is exhausting. Even those of us who walk with God can be affected.

Sometimes the heart is heavy. That's just the way it is.

But God, in His goodness, has given us many ways to care for each other and lighten the load a little. When another's heart is heavy, we can help! Solomon said it well: "A good word makes the heavy heart glad."

We don't often realize how much power there is in the words we speak. The Apostle Paul did, which may be why he wrote, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers" (Eph. 4:29).

To minister is to serve. When we speak truly good words, we bring grace in our hands and pour it over the heavy-hearted. Through our words, we can wash the world's dirt away. We can heal hurts. We can encourage and shore each other up in faith. We can point others to Jesus.

Spoken with sincerity and truth, good words are power. "I love you." "God loves you." "Just hang on a little longer." "I'm here for you."

If we follow Christ, we hold the evangel--the good news--in our hearts. This same evangel is the best word we can speak to anyone. I love how the Christmas carol "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" puts it:

And ye, beneath life’s crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow,
Look now! for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing.
O rest beside the weary road,
And hear the angels sing!

I want to be a woman of the gospel--someone who always has grace and good news in her tongue. The good words of Jesus and of those who follow Him have lightened my own heart and strengthened my faith more times than I can count. By His grace, I'll do the same for others.

the source of riches

2008-01-18T04:49:00.000-08:00

"He that trusteth in his riches shall fall; but the righteous shall flourish as a branch."

Proverbs 11:28

A new year has begun, and out of mercy for my tax helper I've started going through my financial records for 2007. Alas, I wasn't as organized as I thought! It turns out I didn't keep careful track of what currency my income arrived in, so I don't actually know how much I made in Canadian dollars--which is what I need to report.

This is my third year working as a freelance writer/editor/writing coach/publisher. Each year at tax time my sisters dig out a handful of T-4 slips while I march out with the equivalent of Mt. Vesuvius in paperwork. It's a lot of work, but I don't mind it that much--largely because I'm still getting used to the idea of regular income.

I make money! Every month! It's consistent, even. This isn't normal for me for various reasons, and the fact that I do it without even having a normal job sometimes makes me giddy with glee.

I'm highly aware that I have this income because God takes care of me. Because He meets my needs, as He always has. I remember a song we used to sing when I worked in volunteer ministry: "My God shall supply all my needs/According to His riches and glory/He shall give His angels charge over me/Jehovah Jireh cares for me."

It applies in a spiritual sense, of course, but also physically. It is God who gives me the strength and talent to work. It is God who blesses my efforts. I'm grateful.

Grateful and careful to keep my trust in Him.

Before I had a regular income or the ability to earn one, I trusted wholly in God for every little detail of provision--and He never failed. Solomon was a very wealthy man, but he was clear on this: "He that trusts in his riches shall fall, but the righteous shall flourish as a branch."

A flourishing branch never stops producing. Do you know why? It's because it's connected to a source of life. God is the source of life to us; the source of all things. As believers in Jesus, we are specially connected to Him. When He provides for us by external means, it's important that we don't transfer our trust to those means!

As I pour over paperwork and try to get all those numbers to line up, I'm in awe at the way God has provided for me. I pray that I will keep my trust in Him. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." Not now--not ever.

words to live by

2008-01-09T14:33:00.000-08:00

"The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked."

"In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding."

"The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth."

Proverbs 10:11, 13, 20

Solomon writes, over and over again in the book of Proverbs, about the power of the tongue for good and ill. We live in a physical universe that was created by the Word of God--it stands to reason that words, whether spoken or written, are more powerful than almost anything available to us.

Words inspire love or hatred. They stir up revolution and give revelation. They calm us, rile us, edify us, or get us into trouble. They set us apart from all other creatures. They enable us to open our very hearts.

For all that, sometimes I get sick of them. It's no secret that most people misuse their words. That's why Solomon was so harsh about "the mouth of the wicked"--even declaring that "the froward tongue shall be cut out" (Prov. 10:31).

In glorious contrast is "the mouth of a righteous man," "the tongue of the just." Life flows from a righteous man's words like water from a well. The just man's speech is richness--like well-tempered silver.

I'm currently reading the Gospel of John, and nothing strikes me so much as Jesus' words. They're powerful. Convicting. Sometimes confusing. Always, if we look at them in the light and don't just shove them under a religious bushel, shocking. The claims He made are beyond the scope of any mere man.

Yet, they give life. My spirit rises up to meet them, even the words I don't understand. In John, Jesus continually proclaims Himself. "I am the bread of life." "I am the light of the world." "I am the way, the truth, and the life." "I am the resurrection." "Before Abraham was, I am."

He is the Just One with eternal riches in His tongue. He is the Righteous Man whose words are a well of life. As He told the Samaritan woman, "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life" (Jn 4:14).

As this new year begins, I challenge you to spend a great deal of your time listening to the words of Jesus Christ, especially in the four gospels. Read them. Memorize them. Let them sink in.

After Jesus claimed to be the food and drink that alone gives us true life (read John 6), many of those who had followed Him went away. His words were simply too much for them to handle. Jesus turned to His twelve disciples then and said,

"Will ye also go away?"

"Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God."

This year, may the words of eternal life cause you to see Jesus more clearly.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T08:20:00.001-08:00

And Zacharias, father to John the Baptist, "was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people...

That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

The King has come! Praise God and Merry Christmas!

(Luke 1:67-68, 74-79)

Worlds pre-orders about to close!

2007-11-28T20:42:00.000-08:00

Note: Very rarely do I cross-post from my writer's blog, but I'm releasing my first fantasy novel and thought you all might like a head's up :).

The proof copy of Worlds Unseen arrived today, and it's gorgeous! It needed a little tweaking, but that's now done and the finished product will be ready-to-order before this month is out. In the interest of getting this book on Amazon in time for Christmas, I will only be taking pre-orders until November 30. If you'd like an early, autographed copy of my first fantasy novel, place your order on LittleDozen.com today!

Shameless though it is, I'm going to mention that Worlds would make a great Christmas gift for the pre-teen/teen/young adult in your life who enjoys Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, et al. This is clean fantasy with a backbone of truth and a lot of heart. Copies are $15.00, and like I said, they're beautiful! Deborah's cover art and design are gorgeous.

the truth about us

2007-11-21T19:38:00.000-08:00

"Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding."

Proverbs 9:8-10

It struck me as I read these verses that God, who dares reprove us for our evil ways, has endured a great deal of hatred from the race of beings He created. God has been the reprover of mankind since the day He called Adam and Eve out of hiding to face the consequences for their sin. He dared our scorn, dared our hatred, to tell us the truth about what we have become.

In doing so, He opens the way of wisdom to us. It is not until we begin to fear God that we truly become wise. Those who will listen to God's judgment and accept it as true become like little children who love the One who disciplines them--who grow in His grace, because He does not give up on them no matter how often they continue to fall.

I once read a comment from someone who said they'd tried to read the Bible but didn't care for it because it was too "didactic" (Merriam-Webster: "intended to convey instruction and information as well as pleasure and entertainment"). I had to chuckle at this--of course the Bible is didactic. It is a book of Law and Prophecy. It is a book of judgment and of grace that only has meaning because of judgment. It is a book about sacrifice and the cost of true, redeeming love. It is a book of Truth, stated in a black-and-white way that is out of fashion in our world of relativity and reigning nonsense.

Many today would like to take God's words and make a storybook of them. We would like to impose our own culture and personal feelings on the written wisdom of God so that we needn't learn to fear Him--so that we might come to Him as equals and not as children. If we are honest with the Word, it will not allow us to do this. It will continue to tell us the truth about ourselves. Sometimes it will hurt.

The scorner will plug his ears and sing, refusing to hear. The wise man, Solomon tells us, will love his reprover.

Yes, the Bible tells us the truth about ourselves. But it also tells us something much greater: the truth about God. It reveals the holy to us. If we will believe it, it will tell us of a God who loved those who hated Him to such a degree that He took their judgment upon Himself and suffered to give them freedom--who died to give them life.

If we will come as children, we will find that God is a Father eager to receive us.

the rejoicing wisdom of God

2007-11-14T15:50:00.000-08:00

"The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was... Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men."

Proverbs 8:22-23, 30-31

When I wish to exult in God as Creator, I turn to two passages of Scripture. One is Job 38-41. The other is Proverbs 8. It is Wisdom who speaks in this passage, personified as a woman who remembers the days of Creation and fairly sings forth the joy of them.

In the Bible wisdom is not just a matter of making good decisions. "Wisdom" also means skill, creativity, the understanding to make a thing that is beautiful, and good, and useful. So often we go through life without recognizing the creative wisdom of God, this attribute of His which fills the world--our world, for wisdom's greatest delights are with the sons of men--with joy.

The wisdom that builds mathematical properties and sound waves. The wisdom that enables a man to understand these things, to string a bow or a harp or a fiddle, and then to pour out music as emotion and artistry. The wisdom that plays with light, varying a single colour a thousand times, giving us depth and texture and indescribable beauty. The wisdom that creates a human face, with its telling eyes, its sweet smiles, its unique lines. The wisdom that imagined taste and perfected it, giving us all good things to eat with joy and gratitude.

This is the wisdom of God.

I see His wisdom in the way a child is formed in the womb. I see it in the human capacity for language: in all the many tongues spoken by man, in their tones, their rhythms, their vocabularies and sounds. I see it in gravity and the laws of physics which hold us here, suspended in space, following a carefully choreographed dance with the heavenly bodies all around us.

I see it in salvation. In the truly, truly good way God has reached down in love to take up those who have been so long blind to Him. In the way He opens our eyes and teaches us to love Him. In Christ.

The wisdom of God is everywhere. Where do you see it?

chambers of death

2007-10-24T19:24:00.000-07:00

"With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life."

Proverbs 7:21-23

I don't want to write on this topic. I've spent most of the week trying to glean something else out of Proverbs 7, and tonight I considered skipping the chapter altogether--but if you're going to write a series on Proverbs, you can't escape this. Solomon devotes entire chapters to it.

The topic is sexual sin, what used to be called fornication. Nowadays that word is out of favour; the only people who use it are the ranting lunatic preachers we see caricatured on TV. I don't like to write about it for several reasons, chief among them being that I can hardly walk out the door without this Sin of our Age bombarding me, and I see no reason to drag readers through the mud again.

And yet we can't ignore it.

We can't ignore what Scripture says about it. Now more than ever we need to listen up. Now more than ever we need to tell the truth about this sin and what it does to people. Now more than ever we need to say with Solomon that "she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death" (Prov. 7:27-28).

Of all the damaging, destructive lies sold to our society, none is so pervasive as the lie that freedom is found through breaking God's sexual laws, that there are no consequences to sin. The incredible thing is that so many people have bought this, when every unwed teenage mother, every child without a father, everyone struggling with an STD, every man staring at the wreckage of his family, wishing somehow he could undo things--everyone who has broken God's law--knows better. We know it hurts. We know it destroys. We know it promises fulfillment and leaves us empty and broken.

Yet we won't admit it.

As believers it's easy to look at society and shake our heads, wagging our fingers and tsk-tsking. But what about us? What are the standards in our own lives, among our congregations, among our groups of friends? Do we display the fear of God in our actions, words, and thoughts? Do we approach relationships in a way that honours others and proclaims the truth of God? Furthermore, when we do speak out against sin--and we should--do we come down from on high, smugly informing sinners that they should have listened, or do we say with Solomon's passion and urgency, "Listen, my son!"

Listen. Hear this. The path you take leads to the chambers of death. If we are dishonest about this, we betray ourselves and others. Compassion, and the Compassionate God, call us to live purely, to speak out, to confront this Destruction and tend the wounds inflicted by it.

the law is light

2007-10-17T13:16:00.000-07:00

"My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually on thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

"For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life."

Proverbs 6:20-23

In Proverbs 6, the son is not merely urged to remember that his father always said "shut the gate" and his mother upheld toothbrushing as law. Rather, it speaks of the commandment by which a father in Israel was to live; the law which gave shape to a mother's life. The law of God was to be passed down from generation to generation, and Solomon urges the son to keep it: to eat, sleep, and breathe it.

Moral law has a bad rap in our culture. Philosophically we don't believe in it, because everything is relative. Practically, many people build whole lifestyles out of fighting against it. But Scripture praises the law of God--not as a way to salvation, but as a light.

God's moral law shows us right from wrong. In doing so it shows us the nature of God. Every time I step out the door I'm confronted with a culture that's rapidly coming apart. In the name of freedom our culture grows more grotesque by the minute. By contrast, scripture takes me back to the mountain air of real freedom: to a world where a promise is a promise, where marriage is sacred, where impurity is condemned, where life is valued.

On a mountain outside Jerusalem, Jesus spoke to the Jewish people, to whom God's moral law had first come, and said, "Ye are the light of the world. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 5:14-16). As Christians, we have also received the light of God--not only in the law, but more clearly in the person of Jesus Christ.

"For the commandment is a lamp," Solomon writes, "and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life." It's more important than ever that Christians uphold moral law. If we don't, we help plunge the world into greater darkness. Let the world hate us because we are holy, but let us not give them reason to name us hypocrites.

the beauty of fidelity

2007-10-10T05:28:00.000-07:00

"Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. Let them be only thine own, and not strangers with thee.

"Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and as the pleasant roe... and be thou ravished always with her love."

Proverbs 5:15-19

I was listening to my favourite internet radio station, RadioCelt, last night. The playlist was depressing. Every other song dealt with the loss of love. It's struck me lately how many popular songs are like that. One laments, "I'm sorry/It's just too late/It wasn't meant to be like this at all." Great Big Sea, a Canadian East Coast group, says it most hauntingly: "How did we get from saying I love you/To I'll see you 'round some day?"

Genesis 2 gives the origin of woman. Unlike the animals, who were created by a word, and Adam, who was molded by God's hands, she was taken out of Adam's own flesh. The material that made her was warm and alive. She was created for relationship. For this reason "shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."

We need each other. Maybe it's the primal nature of this need that makes us so vulnerable in it. Songs and poems, stories and tears testify to the pain involved when a spouse or significant other stops loving and leaves. It rips people apart. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon describes wrong "love" as "more bitter than death."

On the flip side, fidelity is beautiful. Monogamy is a powerful thing. It means cleaving--clinging, sticking--to one person, no matter the adverse circumstances or changing feelings that come our way. Monogamy says that the relationship between man and woman isn't just about satisfying ourselves. It's about taking two and making them one.

Equally, celibacy in singleness is beautiful. It pays honour to the relationship between man and woman by refusing to play around with it. It puts the fire on a pedestal where it can give light and heat to all, rather than taking it down and tossing it around until it burns the whole world down.

ponder the path

2007-10-03T12:15:00.000-07:00

"Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established."

Proverbs 4:26

Our society was not designed to create philosophers.

To ponder a thing--to think deeply, carefully, logically, with a mind open to new discoveries--is an intrinsically human thing to do. It's just as human to avoid doing it. We can drown out thought with a million different distractions.

The fact is, most of us need to stop and do some serious pondering. It was true in Solomon's time and it's true now. We're all on a path. We may not be sure how we got on it. Maybe we got swept up with our peers, maybe our parents set us here. However we got here, we'd do well to stop and ask where it's taking us.

Every day, we put one foot in front of the other in a definite direction. Where are you going? Is the road you're on a useful one? Is it a path of praise? Are you walking in a way that invests in the future, both temporally and eternally? Ponder the path of thy feet, Solomon urges, and let all thy ways be established.

in all thy ways

2007-09-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

Proverbs 3:5-6

Just as pressure tests strength, adversity shows us where our trust lies. I'm not talking about making a conscious decision in the midst of trouble to trust God. I'm talking about discovering where we're already leaning. When rough situations come up, do we rely on ourselves to fix everything or panic because this is beyond our understanding? Or is our first thought one of trust in God?

Trust isn't just a one-time choice. It's a lifetime thing, built up every day as we relate to the one we're trusting.

Solomon tells us to acknowledge God in all our ways. Not only in good times or in bad, not only in our religious observances, but in all our ways. This relates to the choices we make. If we acknowledge God in our choices, we will work from a moral foundation and do what is right. We will look beyond our own desires and seek to please our Father in Heaven.

It also relates to the way we think. It means paying attention to God's hand in the world. Do you acknowledge God in the sunrise? Do you acknowledge Him in the breaths you take? Do you see His wisdom in your studies and His goodness in your relationships? When you react against an evil thing, do you consciously acknowledge God's judgment and righteousness?

As we acknowledge God's presence, we will come to trust Him more. We can't help it, because His very nature inspires trust. And He promises, in turn, that He will direct our paths.

turned away

2007-09-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

"When wisdom entereth thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee;

"To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths."

Proverbs 2:10-15

Solomon speaks from the position of Master: a teacher, a father, one who has seen things and desires, with all his heart, that his children should also see them. But it is not enough--it is never enough--to force wisdom in front of a child's face. Unless it enters his heart, it will not change him. Unless he takes pleasure in what he sees, he'll stop looking at it.

I hear a father's heart in Solomon's teaching. It's not wisdom for wisdom's sake he promotes here, but the true understanding that will preserve, keep, and deliver his children from the ways of darkness.

This passage uses a good old word that has fallen almost entirely out of use, but in Proverbs it could be seen as a more deliberate and aggressive sort of foolishness: "froward." According to Merriam-Webster, "froward" comes from Middle English and literally means "turned away." It describes one who is "habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition."

We use many words to describe froward people. Stubborn. Rebellious. It's tragic because froward people turn away good things from themselves just as assuredly as they turn away from others. Have you ever watched people deliberately, knowingly make destructive choices?

Ultimately, the froward person only wants "his own way"--and his own way, invariably, is whatever everyone else does not want for him. Our culture idolizes people who are so thoroughly independent, but in real life most of us don't like to be around them. Solomon calls the way of the froward crooked, evil, and dark. In the end, the way of those who have turned aside is no way at all.

covering

2007-08-17T12:18:00.000-07:00

"Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins."

Proverbs 10:12

So many of Solomon's proverbs are self-evident. He's not revealing deep hidden truths, he's just pointing out the reality of things. When we really love others we identify ourselves with them. When they're hurt, so are we; when they do wrong, we're embarrassed and ashamed for them, and more than anything, we want to see them forgiven and free and able to move on.

Knowing that, I realize all the more how God loves us. He covered our sins, not by patting us on the back and saying "That's ok," but by taking those sins on Himself, crucifying His only Son, breaking His heart over us--so that He can take us in His arms again, call us His children, and say, "Now it's ok. Your sins are covered. You are forgiven." We're free to move on--to move higher, into relationship with Him.

Romans 8:31-34 says it so well:

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

"Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."

riddlemasters

2007-08-08T15:33:00.000-07:00

A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
(Proverbs 1:5-6)

Long ago riddlemasters were praised: men who could see the connections between things that others couldn't, men who saw harmony in apparent confusion. He who understands a proverb or parable is wise.

We over-spiritualize wisdom in our churches. We think it a spiritual quality when really, it is just a matter of hearing and seeing and correctly understanding a thing. Scientists are modern riddlemasters; historians may increase learning if they hear the lessons of history and apply them.

But one needn't be a scholar to seek after wisdom. One only needs eyes and ears; the humility to learn and the curiosity to seek.

soon to come

2007-08-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of Heart to Heart: Meeting With God in the Lord's Prayer, I want to spend a lot more time writing about the scriptures themselves. My chief aim is that my readers would be inspired to spend more time in the Word, searching things out and learning more about our Great God as He's revealed Himself.

I recently finished studying through the Book of Acts, and I'm just heading into Proverbs. I'd like to start posting here once or twice a week with writing based on these very different journeys.

Unto the Lord

2007-07-31T18:47:00.001-07:00

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ."

Colossians 3:23-24

In the hard cover edition of Letters to a Samuel Generation, I included an anonymous poem called "Commonplace" which reads,

"A commonplace life," we say, and we sigh,
But why should we sigh as we say?
The commonplace sun in the commonplace sky
Makes up the commonplace day.

It goes on, but that's all I can remember off the top of my head. I included it in Letters because I so often have a hard time believing that "commonplace" is good enough for me, or for God--that serving God does not necessarily mean single-handedly saving the world.

The verse in Colossians above is a smack in the head for me because of the first word--"whatsoever." It doesn't say to do missions heartily, or teach Sunday school with all your heart, or be Mother Teresa because you are the servant of Christ. No, it tells us to do "whatsoever ye do" heartily, as unto God, because in reality you are the servants of the Lord Christ, and all your work is measured as work commissioned, directed, and rewarded by Him.

transformed by what we love

2007-07-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

My cousin recently lent me The Liberty of Obedience by Elisabeth Elliot. I finally got a chance to read it yesterday. Recently I've been trying to find God's will on a difficult subject, and this quote from Elisabeth reminds me of why such struggles are necessary--not only to discover the truth, but also to grow us as Christians.

Why did He not summarize all the rules in one book, and all the basic doctrines in another? He could have eliminated the loopholes, prevented all the schisms over morality and false teaching that have plagued His Church for two thousand years. Think of the squabbling and perplexity we would have been spared. And think of the crop of dwarfs He would have reared!

He did not spare us. He wants us to reach maturity. He has so arranged things that if we are to go beyond the "milk diet" we shall be forced to think. We must train our faculties by practice to distinguish between good and evil. We are fond of quoting Romans 8:28. But this verse is nearly meaningless without its following verse, in which lies another definition of maturity, "to be shaped to the likeness of his son" (NEB). Unless we see this as the true "good" referred to in verse 28, we shall wonder how Paul could possibly have been so naive. We shall be forced to regard him--perhaps with affection and certainly with pity--as a misguided Pollyanna, trying to prove to himself that there is always something to be glad about, and shutting his eyes to the sad and the bad. But, given the definition of verse 29, we see that all our spiritual education is directed toward God's idea of good, this "conformity to Christ."

... This was Paul's personal goal, though he stated it even more comprehensively, "to know him." For to know Christ is to be made like Him. It is in beholding the image that we are changed into it, transformed by what we love.

Elisabeth wrote this book when her life among the Auca tribe in Ecuador forced her to reexamine some of her cultural presuppositions about what it means to be righteous. It's challenging; a brief but worthy read. Her thoughts on the true meaning of worldliness were particularly interesting.