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Self-Control

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“A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” Proverbs 25:28   A city which builds walls around it does so to protect itself from its enemies. If the wall is in disrepair or broken down, it leaves itself open to attack. There is no longer any reasonable sense of security. The comparison to a man without self-control follows. He has no reason to believe that he will be protected from his enemies. The interesting twist is that his enemies come from within instead of without. His lack of self-control keeps him unprotected from the evil that is within his heart. The things that Jesus talked about in Mark 7:21-22, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.” When we receive Jesus as the Lord of our life, he begins a work in our hearts which puts a hold on the evil that comes from within. Self-control is a frui
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Rescue The Perishing

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“Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.” Proverbs 24:11   This proverb highlights two different ways that people are heading to their deaths. Certainly it is talking about physical death, but it can also apply to spiritual and other kinds of deaths. Some are having life forcibly taken from them. Others are stumbling to their own death, unaware where they are headed. Both need an intervention. One of the terms used to describe the Lord Jesus is advocate. 1 John 2:1 says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Because sin affects us all, we all need an advocate. Thank God that he is merciful and advocates for us. As Jesus is our advocate who rescues us from death, we in turn as his followers are called to follow his same example and advocate for those who are headed that direction. Our ver
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Speak Lord, I Am Listening

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“Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge.” Proverbs 23:12   One of the most challenging things I have discovered in my ministry as a pastor is the personal application of biblical truth. It’s tough to do it myself, and it’s tough to help others do it also. There are also layers of application. Asking someone to help bring food in for the Men’s Homeless Shelter is a good thing to do, but digging down into the reason why we should give to someone in need is a deeper level of application. It is also one that we tend to avoid because it’s more difficult. Here’s the reason why we should go deep. Real life flows out of our heart. Fullness of life comes from our heart being filled with the fullness of God. If our heart is not in it, then we are cheating ourselves of the blessing that the Lord wants to give us. We are standing in the way of knowing God as fully as he wants us to know him. Now there are many things in this life that are not worth putting our
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Train Up A Child

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“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6   When our son was young, we had this verse displayed in his room. The picture that went with it was a train. Although that was a play on words, there is something to be said about how an actual train works that is insightful in our walk with Christ. A train does not deviate from predetermined tracks, unless there is a bad accident. The train is not like a car that can choose its’ own route. In order to go anywhere it must have the two rails to guide it. In the same way our spiritual direction has been pre-determined by the Lord. If we are to go anywhere, spiritually speaking, it must be in line with the Word of God and the Spirit of God. We must have both. The Pharisees had the Word of God, but their hearts were hard. They were not led by God’s Spirit. The Corinthians were led by the Spirit, but the apostle Paul had many words of instruction for them because they were no
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Strongholds

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“A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.” Proverbs 21:22   A stronghold is in fact something that has a strong hold over us. Strongholds are not easily dislodged otherwise they would be called weak-holds. It takes more than strength of will to bring down a stronghold. It takes wisdom. Wisdom can be defined as “knowing what the greatest goal is in any situation, and what the best way is to achieve it.” (John Piper) When you talk about pulling down a stronghold, courage must also be involved. Knowing that a stronghold must go does not make the act of getting rid of it any easier. It takes hard work and great skill to scale the stronghold, whatever it may be. It would seem that the greater the stronghold, the greater the wisdom is needed to bring it down. Every stronghold is different. Therefore, the solution to each one is different. Wisdom that is effective in one area will not be sufficient for another area. This is one rea
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A Pure Heart

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“Who can say, ‘I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin’?” Proverbs 20:9   No one who falls into the mud thinks that they can clean themselves up without water and soap and a clean change of clothes. Yet, there is a brand of foolishness which toys with the idea that outside help is not needed to clean up the sin in a person’s heart. Even more foolish is the notion that the heart is basically good instead of basically evil for it denies the reality that sinful actions stem from what’s in a person’s heart. Into this “enlightened” worldview the Bible speaks a word of truth. “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12) The wise understand that this is the reality of the human sinful nature. The wise know that there is nothing they can do to change the condition of their heart to make it pure. The wise know, however, that Jesus can.
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Generous to the Poor

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“Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.” Proverbs 19:17   The heart that is inclined toward the Lord is compassionate to the poor. A generous heart does not turn away, but rejoices in the opportunity to help someone in need. There is giving, and then there is generous giving. It does not focus on what is being lost but is pleased with thinking about what the one in need will gain. It is interesting that from the Lord’s perspective, generosity is a loan that will be repaid. Because the gift comes out of the well of grace, there will be a continual filling of the well by God for being generous in the future. The repayment does not need to be financial gain, and in fact the generous giver is not moved by whether it comes as a financial boon or a spiritual blessing. If financial, the generous only see such rewards as further opportunity to be generous. In contrast, the reluctant giver has no such promise. There is no expectation of
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