Proverbs 13:1

The stronger person can help the weaker person.

Only if the weaker is willing.

There was a saying among the school social workers I heard when I worked at Outreach, Inc. that has always stuck with me:

“I can’t care more than you do.”

No movement will actually occur if this is the case.

You giving yourself to God is everything.

As one book title cleverly states >>

Jesus+Nothing=Everything

John 4:13-14

Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. But whoever drinks from the water that I will give them will never get thirsty again-ever! In fact, the water I will give them will become a well of water springing up within them for eternal life.”

When we drink from the Source for our thirst in life, a well is formed in our own inner self continually pouring out life. Filling yourself with truth and goodness will cause a living spring of truth and goodness to flow from you and comfort yourself as well as others.

We are at our best when our good works are simply an overflow from our inner self being filled with the divine presence.

Focus on the roots not the fruits.

John 3:3

Yeshua answered him, “Amen, amen I tell you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” [TLV]

I’ve been thinking a lot of regeneration of the heart, which only God can do. This is absolutely necessary in order to follow Him, in order for anything to do with the kingdom of God to truly make sense at all to a person. So I wonder, have I been asking the blind guy to look at the beautiful painting on the wall, then wondering why he can’t see it, or even look at it? Do I ask the spiritually blind person to follow God before his or her heart has been regenerated by God?

I grew up in a religious world that was heavy on conversion and light on discipleship. I have seen a swing of the pendulum away from this, some for good, but some seemingly away from the importance of that initial act of conversion, of the regeneration of the heart. It’s easy to slip into a saving of ourself by works of our own praxis, yet with great intention and desire for truth.

The problem with overemphasis on conversion is that it is only the beginning of the journey, necessary as it is. Then begins the life of running after God. But if God has really regenerated your heart, and you have been born from above, I believe totally that you will have a thirst for God that is both satisfying and paradoxically constant. You will automatically run after Him.

So I’m thinking out loud here, I know, but doing some good wrestling with this monumental concept laid out by our Master Teacher. Really, it takes even more pressure off us. Bearing fruit is not converting people at the heart level, but living and giving God’s truth and love. Much fruit will come of this, for sure.

Jesus told me a couple years back, “I’ll call them, you lead them to me.” This is what makes ministry pretty simple. I understood Jesus to mean a calling at the heart level, that which is impossible for me to do. All I must do is follow Him from my heart, and provide space, guidance,  and pathways for others to get closer to Him.

I leave much up to mystery.

Does any of this make sense?

Is anybody reading this?

Proverbs 12:3,12

The root of the righteous will never be moved.

The root of the righteous bears fruit.

Always concentrate on the roots not the fruits.

A tree with no roots will never bear fruit. All we generally see is the fruit of the tree, the good works of a person or church. But where do they flow from? From that which is unseen.

…we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we can see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. [2 Cor. 4:18]

All the authors I love and am encouraged by spent much time alone with God. Loving Him, being loved by Him. Much time in silence just thinking. Those are the roots from which the fruit flows.

We do not emphasize this enough I’m afraid.

What is your root system?

John 2:5

His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”

We can do whatever Jesus tells us in complete trust because He is Ben-Elohim, the Son of God. He had (has) the most intimate possible relationship with YHWH, and is our mediator between us and Him. He cares infinitely for us and loves us beyond our comprehension. So when He tells us to do something, we can rest in peaceful solidarity that it is something for our good, for our blessing. Even if it sounds a little crazy. Just do it. Trust.

“We serve a God who is infinitely good and who knows what he is doing.” -Brother Lawrence

Of course, we must be listening in order to hear His loving instruction. And we must believe that He speaks to us. A thousand distractions want to take us away from the voice of God everyday. In our culture of noise, I deeply believe that we must set aside time to just listen to Him. The competing voices are too loud and too many. We can be listening all day long in the midst of the noise, for sure. But without that down time, that sort of training, it will be very difficult to hear Him.

I have found Hannah Whitall Smith’s guidance helpful concerning our hearing from God:

How do we receive guidance from God? How can we know His voice? There are four ways in which He reveals His will to us: (1) through the Scriptures, (2) through providential circumstances, (3) through our own higher judgement, and (4) through inward impressions from the Holy Spirit. I call these four ways the four “voices” of God.

Where these four harmonize, it is safe to say God speaks.

Proverbs 11:6

The godliness of good people rescues them, but the treacherous are trapped by their desire.

Pursuing God brings freedom. Living for yourself enslaves you to your own desires.

It is horrible to live in a prison of your own desires, for they are a cruel taskmaster, demanding nothing short of your entire life for sacrifice at its oppressive altar.

Only God brings true soul-level freedom.

What you really want is for desires to take their proper place so you don’t have to bow to them, worship them, and feed them. This is what running after God will bring for you.

Following Jesus does not mean you suppress all you want to be with Him, all the while telling yourself to not do or have the things you really want. What happens is, through genuinely following Him, your desires for all that is not Him or of His kingdom fade away over time. Things you thought were so great and important actually lose their appeal. You see them for what they really are.

Now that is freedom. And that is what He will do for anybody who believes and follows Him.

Proverbs 10:3

The Lord will not allow the righteous soul to famish, but He casts away the desire of the wicked. [NKJV]

The Lord does not let good [righteous] people go hungry [starve], but he keeps evil people from getting what they want. [EXB]

The Lord will not let the righteous go hungry, but He denies the wicked what they crave. [HCSB]

God won’t starve an honest soul, but he frustrates the appetites of the wicked. [MSG]

The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked [NIV]

The Lord will not let the godly go hungry, but he refuses to satisfy the craving of the wicked. [NLT]

The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked. [NRSV]

The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked. [KJV]

Filling yourself with God will not leave you wanting anything.

John 1:18

No one has ever seen God; but the one and only God, in the Father’s embrace, has made Him known. [TLV]

Nobody has ever seen God. The only-begotten God, who is intimately close to the Father–he has brought him to light. [KNT]

The phrase “in closest relationship with the Father” (eis ton kolpon, John 1:18) conveys Jesus’ unmatched familiarity with the Father, which enabled him to reveal him in an unprecedented manner. The expression serves as an idiom for greatest possible intimacy, showing how close the evangelist considered Jesus’ relationship with the Father to be. While no one, including Moses, has ever seen God, Jesus made him known in a unique, climactic, and definitive way.

-from A THEOLOGY OF JOHN’S GOSPEL AND LETTERS

We follow Jesus because no human has ever been in closer intimate relationship with God. If you want to be close to God, get close to Jesus. If you want to know what God is like, He’s just like Jesus.

Jesus was and is the ultimate revelation of God. He is the mainline to YHWH.

You will never exhaust the person of Jesus Christ in this life. You cannot study Him too much. Our life is to be characterized by our fostering of an intimate, loving relationship with Jesus of Nazareth.

This is peace.

There is no Plan B.

A life of joy and shalom will flow only from your intimate connection to Jesus Christ. And it will happen. If you live from the center out. Spending time alone with Jesus will manifest in more good works than you could possibly do on your own by trying hard.

Center your life on the person of Jesus the Messiah, then live from your center.

Proverbs 9:10

Wisdom begins with respect [fear;awe] for the Lord, and understanding begins with knowing the Holy One. [EXB]

Knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Kinda like watching a movie on a disc with the director’s commentary selected. If you want true insight into the film, you watch it with this on. The director walks you through his or her thoughts behind each scene. Or, you can sit around with all your nerd friends coming up with your own dorky interpretations, some of which, admittedly, may actually be close to the filmmaker’s intention.

But why not just go to the Source so readily available if you want some actual insight? Press the freaking button!

If you want some real insight, select the Director’s commentary. Our Director’s clearest and most revealing commentary concerning Himself is available in Jesus Christ.

The more you get to know Jesus, the more you get to know God.

Directly.

Directly get to know the Director.

You don’t need a bunch of other people to show you God. You need God to show you God. Seek Him and you will find Him. I promise you this. He rewards those who diligently seek Him.

Luke 24:27

So He began with Moses, and with all the prophets, and explained to them the things about Himself throughout the whole Bible.

This is one of my favorite verses in all of Scripture.

The risen Messiah introduces a new, Christological interpretation of the Old Testament. Just another day at the office for Him.

This is how we are to read the OT, with Jesus and redemption always in mind, for that is how it was written according to our Master, Jesus Himself.

Last nite at Barnes & Noble I noticed The Gospel Transformation Bible which is written with commentary for this purpose of reading the whole Bible with redemption thru Jesus at the center. It looks awesome, I must say.

Luke 24:46-47

“This is what is written,” He said. “The Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and in His name repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, must be announced to all the nations, beginning with Jerusalem.”

Repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed.

Repentance is good, necessary, and powerful.

Turn away from that which takes you away from God.

He wants you. And He wants you to have His joy. So anything that robs you of joy, of intimate relationship with Him, He wants you to walk away from, not to deprive you of what you want, but rather to give you what you really need, and deep down, what you ultimately desire.

What we all truly desire is connection and belonging. There’s no escaping this, it’s just science. Even so-called “secular” science has shown this to be true, that we are all hard-wried for this–connection.

There’s really no negative to repentance when you think about it. It essentially liberates us from enslavement to our own ignorance.

We go from thinking that playing with toys in the sandbox is the greatest thing in the world, then years later we think sex is the greatest thing in the world, then you experience the presence of God….and you realize there is nothing in this world that can compare. But until you genuinely experience God’s love, you are just playing in the sandbox.

Luke 23:27-31

A great crowd of the people followed Jesus, including women who were beating their breasts and wailing for Him.

I sit with this and try to picture it.

Imagine this scene, the sounds, the sights….

And then, even in His time of extreme agony and fatigue, Jesus still sees the larger picture and can care for others. He tells the women to mourn for themselves because of the awful things coming upon Jerusalem.

It is only the most mature person who can see past their own agony and still care for others in the midst of it. Only a person closely connected to that which is beyond him or herself.

Proverbs 8:13

The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

“Do I really hate evil?” I ask myself.

Hatred of evil, which we see here is the fear of the LORD, is the starting point of wisdom.

Wisdom hates pride and arrogance. I like how one preacher points out here that pride, self-importance, and sneakiness are the very sins to which gifted people are prone.

Matthew Henry, in his beautiful devotional commentary, says, concerning this verse, that true religion teaches us “to hate all sin, as displeasing to God and destructive to the soul…Wherever there is an awe of God there is a dread of sin, as an evil, as only evil.”

Do we really hate sin? Evil? If not, it seems that we are not even at the beginning point of wisdom. We all hate the sins of pride and arrogance in others, but do we hate them in ourselves? Without hating ourselves?

How clearly He marked His hatred in the days of His flesh by the full exhibition of the opposite grace! “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” [Mt.20:28;Lk.22:27]. A proud disciple of a lowly Savior! How offensive is this contradiction to our Master! What a cause of stumbling to the world!

-Charles Bridges

Proverbs 7:1-3,24

My son, remember what I say, and treasure my commands. Obey my commands, and you will live. Guard my teachings as you would your own eyes. Remind yourself of them; write them on your heart as if on a tablet. Now, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say.

Remember.

Treasure.

Obey.

Guard.

Remind.

Write.

Listen.

Pay attention.

Reading the Bible in this manner is the most practical thing we can do. The reason it is so practical and life giving is not because of the words on the page so much as it is God speaking thru those words into the heart of the reader. But only when we read at this deep, listening, open level.

It is of monumental importance how we approach God’s written word. In my opinion, if we are not reading for transformation, it is a notch above pointless and possibly even dangerous. For it was written by Spirit and therefore should be read in spirit, not solely with the mind.

I say a notch above because it is the word of God and can penetrate even when you’re not expecting. I leave much up to mystery. But I do know that much is missed by reading lazily or with a checklist mentality.

The morning sky has been exquisietly beautiful lately on our way to school. We take time to notice it. To pay attention to it. To thank God for His wonderful artistry and gift of splendid grandeur He gifts us with every morning. It speaks of Him and enhances our appreciation, for He is a God of beauty and variety. We could merely drive to school, head down, grumbling at other drivers, missing much. So very much. Our drive to school could be a notch above pointless. Or it can be seventeen minutes of appreciation and listening to YHWH.

Luke 22:20

“This cup is the new covenant, in my blood which is shed for you.”

Here we see Jesus’ establishment of the new covenant with Israel and the entire world.

This is huge.

Here is the turning point in human history, the fulfillment of the prediction by Jeremiah (31:31-34). YHWH is the Covenant Maker, the pursuer of relationship with His image bearers. He longs for us to be in right relationship to Him and will go to any length to restore us who have broken off from Him.

Is there any more indication and manifestation of love ever known to humankind? Jesus seals the new covenant between YHWH and all people with His sacrificial death and shed blood.  It is poured out for all.

The covenant between YHWH and human is no longer Temple, Law, land, or nation. It is written on the heart of every person thru the blood of the ultimate Lamb, Jesus of Nazareth. Yeshua.

Performance not necessary. Only intimate relationship. Only then will performance be beautiful. Is this not what we deeply desire from our own children?

“God comes to terms with humans thru the internal work of the heart and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.”  [from the Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible]

All of the hard work has been done by YHWH thru Yeshua for us. All we have to do is recognize what already is and live into this grand new covenant relationship with Him who loves us and gave Himself for us.

Everyday can be one of peace and joy, not because of anything we have done or have to do, but because of what has already beed done.  A life of abundant satisfaction is available right now to you.

Live as if you are infinitely and perfectly loved and cared for by the ultimate Person in existence, the One who matters above all exponentially, the One from whom your very life was birthed, for indeed YOU ARE!

Proverbs 6:12

Worthless people are people of iniquity, who go around with crooked mouths.

Some people are worthless.

People who make their life out of doing evil are without profit.

This is what the Hebrew here indicates-Belial-“without profit”-translated into “worthless” in our English version to start this verse. “Belial” in the NT, as you may recall, is an epithet for the satan. It’s not good, in other words.

A crooked mouth.

In the context and original language, we can expect lies, rumors, slander, and gossip from these mouths. They are destructive of relationships because of their ever flowing falsehoods.

While in this state, a person is worthless.

Harsh, yes. But so is our speech. And it is not to be taken lightly.

What comes out of your mouth on a regular basis?

That which is good and true and beautiful?

Edifying and encouraging for the building up of others?

Hopefully.

Luke 21:34

Be careful not to be dulled by carousing, drunkenness  or worrying about worldly things.

We are definitely here. Being dulled. Being lulled.

Being distracted by a great many things.

So much competes for our attention, to draw us away from what matters. This is why we get together. To remind each other why we’re here, what is really true and of lasting value.

To remind us where true joy comes from.

The world and its surfacey BS is seen for what it is after experiencing the love of Christ and the abundance of life He brings.

Do not be fooled and lulled to sleep by the many distractions of this world.

Don’t have your nose in your phone and miss out on the Life that really is Life.

That word “dulled” is so perfect. I was mentioning to a friend today how I read that brain scans on some monks who practiced regular meditation revealed that they literally live at higher level of consciousness. The world looks at their life as dull. But perhaps the world has been so dulled that it cannot even recognize a vibrant, peaceful and joy-filled person when it sees one, because its eyesight is so very shallow.

Jesus offers us a deeper, more satisfying life than this world can ever come up with. It’s just that so few have really experienced it.

Proverbs 5:23

Death is the reward of an undisciplined life; your foolish decisions trap you in a dead end.  [MSG]

Repetition forms habit. Habit becomes ruling principle. And so punishment is a certainty, not a matter of chance.

What are your habits?

What do you find yourself doing everyday? Every week?

What do you find yourself thinking about most often? Or at least with frequent regularity?

Do your habits of action and thought lead to more life–peace, joy, love?

Or do your habits lead to death–anger, fear, pain, discontent, wanting what you don’t have, holding on too tightly to what you do have?

Luke 20:19

The religion scholars and high priests wanted to lynch Him on the spot, but they were intimidated by public opinion. They knew the story was about them.  [MSG]

These religious guys did not live out Proverbs very well. They didn’t exactly “embrace reproof.”

There’s a lot going on here.

Do you find you are often wanting to defend yourself?

Do you become angry at people who challenge you?

Are you intimidated by public opinion to a degree that outweighs your desire to please God?

Luke 19:11-27

The more you use your gifts for God, the more responsibility He will give you in the Kingdom and the more rewarding your life will be.

Wasted opportunity and neglect of what God has gifted you to do results in loss of reward and possibly even privilege of service to Him.

A good practice is to wake up each morning asking yourself, “What is the point of my entire life?” And then living that day accordingly.

The faithful servants in this story obeyed their master out of trust in him. The unfaithful servant was scared of his master.

“Nothing twists and deforms the soul more than a low or unworthy conception of God.”            -A.W. Tozer

Proverbs 4:18-19

It’s actually easier to live a life of righteousness than one of sin because that is the way God designed life. To be lived for Him. It’s a challenge to live for Him in this world, but not overly difficult. What’s hard is what we’ve got–the world’s given way.

The challenges are summed up well, I believe, in this paragraph by Thomas Keating:

The consequences of original sin according to traditional theology are three: illusion, concupiscence, and weakness of will. Illusion means that although we are irresistibly programmed for boundless happiness in a way that is inherent to human nature, we do not know where true happiness is to be found. Concupiscence means that we seek happiness in the wrong places or too much happiness in the right places. And finally, if we ever reach the point of finding out where true happiness is to be found, our will is too weak to pursue it.

True help comes only through metanoia (repentance), which is where we turn from where we are looking for happiness, to God alone for it, and for everything. Redemption comes when you realize and admit that you really cannot redeem yourself. When you consent to God and rely on Him, in trusting faith, for energy and for the animation of your very life.

When we do live for Him, we are in line with His purposes, and therefore at peace in all circumstances.

In living for self, you are looking over your shoulder to see who might be trying to steal what you feel is yours or take your place. You’re always looking ahead in order to locate who may be higher than you in some coveted area of life. This is a life of toil and a burden of the heaviest kind.

Yeshua’s burden is light. [Mt.11:28-30]