There are dozens of passages in the book of Proverbs that compare and contrast ‘life or death.’ This ‘life or death’ can either be literal regarding the length of life or it can be symbolic of the quality of life. There are numerous illustrations in life of people who are ‘alive’ but smell in one or more areas of life like ‘death.’
The passages in Proverbs regarding ‘life or death’ teach that every year, every month, every day and even every hour we each make multiple choices that either lead to life or lead to death. Those choices either carry with them the fragrance of life or the fragrance of death. Jesus is continually at work to lead us, teach us and motivate us to make choices for ‘life’ but ultimately WE make the choices. He won’t make the choices for us. We choose ‘life or death.’
Here are a couple of the Proverbs that Solomon wrote down to teach future generations:
The way of the godly leads to life; that path does not lead to death. (Proverbs 12:28 NLT)
There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. (Proverbs 14:12 NLT)
The choices that you and I make with our thoughts – lean towards ‘life or death.’ The choices we make with our words, with our actions, with our attitudes, with our finances, with our habits and with our time all either lean towards ‘life or death.’
“Lord, teach us to choose life and not death. When we come to one of those moments, make us very conscience of our options and in that split second, help us to choose wisely. Amen.”
Friday, September 24, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Better peace with a dry piece of crust ...
Better a dry crust eaten in peace than a house filled with feasting--and conflict. (Proverbs 17:1 NLT)
Peace! What a wonderful word, what a wonderful idea – but not very common. Peace is not common in nations, peace is not common in states, cities, or community groups, and it’s not very common in families. Peace is something everyone wants but not something that people are willing to pay the price to get. They talk about peace and the desire for peace is high, but the sacrifice that people are willing to make to have peace is not as high.
People in our society often desire ‘a house filled with feasting’ instead of ‘a dry crust.’ Humans have a tendency to over-work, over-collect, over-consume and over-indulge all at the cost of peace. Is a ‘house filled with feasting’ really better than a ‘dry crust’?
Solomon looked out over the lives of people and over his life and made this observation: ‘Better a dry crust eaten in peace than a house filled with feasting--and conflict.’ Solomon had a ‘house filled with feasting.’ He had everything. Riches beyond imagination but was there peace? He must have noticed others who had nothing and yet there was peace in their home.
An interesting commentary people often make after having visited a country or village with much less than others have is, ‘they had almost nothing but they were so happy’ and ‘they had joy.’
Proverbs 17:1 is not really about stuff though. This Proverb is about the value of peace. Peace is way better than ‘stuff.’ If a person has a choice between peace or ‘stuff’ – it is wise to choose peace.
What are you willing to change in your life, in your marriage, in your home, in your habits so that you can have peace? Are you willing to make the trade? Will you serve your family so as to have peace? Will you stop demanding your way so that you can have peace? What are you willing to do? Do financial decisions and practices need to change? Do work habits need to change?
Better a dry crust eaten in peace ….
Make your choice today. I know I want peace and I’m willing to change to get it.
Peace! What a wonderful word, what a wonderful idea – but not very common. Peace is not common in nations, peace is not common in states, cities, or community groups, and it’s not very common in families. Peace is something everyone wants but not something that people are willing to pay the price to get. They talk about peace and the desire for peace is high, but the sacrifice that people are willing to make to have peace is not as high.
People in our society often desire ‘a house filled with feasting’ instead of ‘a dry crust.’ Humans have a tendency to over-work, over-collect, over-consume and over-indulge all at the cost of peace. Is a ‘house filled with feasting’ really better than a ‘dry crust’?
Solomon looked out over the lives of people and over his life and made this observation: ‘Better a dry crust eaten in peace than a house filled with feasting--and conflict.’ Solomon had a ‘house filled with feasting.’ He had everything. Riches beyond imagination but was there peace? He must have noticed others who had nothing and yet there was peace in their home.
An interesting commentary people often make after having visited a country or village with much less than others have is, ‘they had almost nothing but they were so happy’ and ‘they had joy.’
Proverbs 17:1 is not really about stuff though. This Proverb is about the value of peace. Peace is way better than ‘stuff.’ If a person has a choice between peace or ‘stuff’ – it is wise to choose peace.
What are you willing to change in your life, in your marriage, in your home, in your habits so that you can have peace? Are you willing to make the trade? Will you serve your family so as to have peace? Will you stop demanding your way so that you can have peace? What are you willing to do? Do financial decisions and practices need to change? Do work habits need to change?
Better a dry crust eaten in peace ….
Make your choice today. I know I want peace and I’m willing to change to get it.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
ReDiscover Church
ReDiscover Church
In your bulletin today is an invitation for you to utilize as you invite others to come to SWAG for our next teaching series. The invitation is labeled ‘ReDiscover Church’ as an encouragement to those that have dropped out of church as well as for those who have never had a regular routine of gathering with others in a church setting.
Recent surveys reveal that somewhere in the neighborhood of 150,000 people drop out of church every weekend across the country. There are all kinds of reasons why people decide to drop out of church or never begin in the first place.
Some of the most common reasons are:
• I don’t believe in organized religion.
• I have my own way of connecting with God.
• I get tired of the church always ask for money.
• My life situation changed and I just never went back to church.
• I don’t have to go to church to be a good person.
• I’m too busy and Sunday is my only day of rest.
October 3rd will start a new teaching series that I want to encourage you to invite those in your circle of friends, co-workers, co-commuters, neighbors, family and business associates to join you for the series. The series is called “Portraits of Jesus.” Each of the teachings will be a glimpse into who Jesus is directly from his description of who he is. My hope is that you and those you invite to join you will see Jesus in ways that he may not have been seen before.
Oct 3rd we are going to kick off the Portraits of Jesus series with breakfast and one service at 10:00 AM.
We will continue our normal service times of 8:30 and 10:30 on Oct 10th.
Next week we will have booklets available that might help those that you are spending time with think through ReDiscoving Church. Please pray and consider who to invite and then invite them.
In your bulletin today is an invitation for you to utilize as you invite others to come to SWAG for our next teaching series. The invitation is labeled ‘ReDiscover Church’ as an encouragement to those that have dropped out of church as well as for those who have never had a regular routine of gathering with others in a church setting.
Recent surveys reveal that somewhere in the neighborhood of 150,000 people drop out of church every weekend across the country. There are all kinds of reasons why people decide to drop out of church or never begin in the first place.
Some of the most common reasons are:
• I don’t believe in organized religion.
• I have my own way of connecting with God.
• I get tired of the church always ask for money.
• My life situation changed and I just never went back to church.
• I don’t have to go to church to be a good person.
• I’m too busy and Sunday is my only day of rest.
October 3rd will start a new teaching series that I want to encourage you to invite those in your circle of friends, co-workers, co-commuters, neighbors, family and business associates to join you for the series. The series is called “Portraits of Jesus.” Each of the teachings will be a glimpse into who Jesus is directly from his description of who he is. My hope is that you and those you invite to join you will see Jesus in ways that he may not have been seen before.
Oct 3rd we are going to kick off the Portraits of Jesus series with breakfast and one service at 10:00 AM.
We will continue our normal service times of 8:30 and 10:30 on Oct 10th.
Next week we will have booklets available that might help those that you are spending time with think through ReDiscoving Church. Please pray and consider who to invite and then invite them.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Grace and Truth
Grace and Truth
The Apostle John wrote: “The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
(John 1:17 ESV)
Grace the Truth, what a great combination. The two aspects of the work and the nature of God are held in perfect tension in Jesus and are seen in Jesus ministry on this earth. Jesus is not ‘grace’ alone and He is not ‘truth’ alone. He is ‘grace and truth.’
These two aspects of the nature and work of God are seen in perfect tension in the account of the ‘Woman Caught in Adultery.’ The religious leaders found a woman who was at the time committing adultery with someone. They brought the woman to Jesus demanding that Jesus uphold the Old Testament Law and sentence her to execution by stoning. Jesus, in the end of the account, says to the woman: “I don’t condemn you;” [mercy and grace] “go away and sin no more.” [truth] Jesus extended amazing grace to her, yet he confronted, in truth, her sinful actions, exhorting her to change her heart and her way of life.
Often people, especially religious people, lean in one direction or the other. They lean towards grace or they lean towards truth. Only through the work of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God over a period of time do believers begin to, at times, hold grace and truth in tension.
Grace is giving someone what they don’t deserve. The person who leans towards ‘grace’ loves people and communicates a non-judgmental spirit. They accept others, extending a hand to people no matter what.
Truth is the reality about self, others and life that is held in opposition to falsehood. The person who leans towards truth loves truth and judges everything and everyone by what they see as truth. There are no extenuating circumstances, there are no excuses and there are no reasons. There is no room for mercy nor grace.
This is not the case with Jesus. Jesus held truth and grace in perfect tension. As you and I grow in our faith journey – Jesus wants to create in you and me – grace and truth in tension. Lord Jesus, create it in my life!
The Apostle John wrote: “The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
(John 1:17 ESV)
Grace the Truth, what a great combination. The two aspects of the work and the nature of God are held in perfect tension in Jesus and are seen in Jesus ministry on this earth. Jesus is not ‘grace’ alone and He is not ‘truth’ alone. He is ‘grace and truth.’
These two aspects of the nature and work of God are seen in perfect tension in the account of the ‘Woman Caught in Adultery.’ The religious leaders found a woman who was at the time committing adultery with someone. They brought the woman to Jesus demanding that Jesus uphold the Old Testament Law and sentence her to execution by stoning. Jesus, in the end of the account, says to the woman: “I don’t condemn you;” [mercy and grace] “go away and sin no more.” [truth] Jesus extended amazing grace to her, yet he confronted, in truth, her sinful actions, exhorting her to change her heart and her way of life.
Often people, especially religious people, lean in one direction or the other. They lean towards grace or they lean towards truth. Only through the work of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God over a period of time do believers begin to, at times, hold grace and truth in tension.
Grace is giving someone what they don’t deserve. The person who leans towards ‘grace’ loves people and communicates a non-judgmental spirit. They accept others, extending a hand to people no matter what.
Truth is the reality about self, others and life that is held in opposition to falsehood. The person who leans towards truth loves truth and judges everything and everyone by what they see as truth. There are no extenuating circumstances, there are no excuses and there are no reasons. There is no room for mercy nor grace.
This is not the case with Jesus. Jesus held truth and grace in perfect tension. As you and I grow in our faith journey – Jesus wants to create in you and me – grace and truth in tension. Lord Jesus, create it in my life!
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