Wisdom Cries...Die with hope

Proverbs 14:32  The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.


Death and taxes. Everyone knows, right off of the bat, what I am talking about. I am going to die. You are going to die. That sounds like a hopeless situation. Well, if you are trying to get out of it, it is. So since you can't avoid it, what if there were a way to make the most of it? There can still be hope. The Lord Jesus Christ rose from the tomb to provide hope for anyone willing to believe His gospel. I know it may be common to think that when you leave this life, you are just going back to dirt, or even coming back as something or someone else. Of course, there are many that believe in an afterlife or an eternity somewhere, but these all depend on some cosmic scale with good deeds on one side and bad deeds on the other and if the good outweighs the bad, then you get an eternity of bliss. My friend, that is no hope at all. How do you know? Even if you spend your entire life doing good things, your motives are all wrong. You are doing good things for others sure, but you're doing them for your own benefit. That is self-centered and selfish thinking. And so if your motives were able to be piled up on the scale also, where do you think they would go, which side?

Listen my friend, I have a hope in this life for the next. Yeah sure, I do good things, but not because I have to. My eternity isn't "riding" on my performance. My eternity is secure in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. That way, because I love Him, I get to serve Him and others without any backhanded motives. I can't earn God's love or acceptance. I don't have to. You don't either. Stop trying to tip the scales in your favor. Jesus has already done that. You just need to believe in Him and who He is, the perfect Son of God, and confess your sin to Him. Ask Him for forgiveness. Quit worrying about where you might go when you die. You can settle that once and for all. There is hope and it is found in Jesus.

Wisdom Cries...Walk with wise men

Proverbs 13:20  He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

One of the things that I am most grateful for, aside from my wife and children, is the presence of wise men in my life. I have truly been blessed by some great men. I guess I was fortunate enough to realize early on, that I was not going to just happen to be the man God would want me to be. I have always been open to direction and help. It seems that may be a dying trait. Especially among males, the thought today is, "I've got this." It is a sign of weakness to accept advice and the cool thing is to disallow any leadership in your life. Well, thankfully, my life is full of wise men that I have gleaned and grown from over the years. Let me challenge you fellas, get with an older wiser man or more than one, and allow them to rub off on you. Respect their wisdom and experience and learn from it. Appreciate it and apply it to your life. Get over yourself and your pride. Let someone in. One thing I am sure you will find out is that you are not the man you think you are. You very well may be the man society thinks you are, but if you will invest some time with a wise man or two, you will see that society has it all wrong.

I must also say that because of the blessing of other men in my life, I had a desire to be the same for someone else. To mentor and be mentored is a very special thing. To mentor is to disciple and you can not do any better work than building people. Your most effective outlet with the gospel will be that close relationship where you can challenge and be challenged. Listen to wisdom, figuratively from this scripture and literally in your life, from other men.

p.s. Ladies, the same goes for you.

Wisdom Cries...Crown him

Proverbs 12:4  A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.

Boy I love this thought. I make no qualms about it...I married up. Now, I ain't (pardon my English) ugly, but I am still amazed after twenty years, at how someone like me could have ended up with a beauty like her. Oh I hear how pretty my wife is and it makes me smile because I agree, but what really puts wind in my sails is when I am reminded by others of how nice or considerate or sweet she is. The Bible calls that virtuous. Ladies, can I encourage you, for all the primping you do to the outside, primp inside. How beautiful a lady would be if she spent as much time before the Lord in prayer as she does before the mirror. Interesting how the writer uses the word picture, a crown, for it is the crown where all of the beauty of a king's character, royalty, and greatness culminates. I have never seen an ugly crown.

Moms and dads, believe me. I know how easy it is to dote all over your little girls. I have two. I have too. And I have to. They are stunning. I am not quite sure I did it completely right, but my wife and I really tried to keep a proper perspective of real beauty. The returns are coming back slowly but surely and I believe we have raised a couple of virtuous women. We told them how attractive they are and you need to do that, especially you Dad. If you don't, she will find someone else that will. But be sure to challenge her to exude beauty from within. It really is prettier. And as much as boys just want to see pretty this and gorgeous that, be sure to instill in them a real appreciation for the inner beauty, the virtue, that will one day make him look like a king.  

Wisdom Cries...Win souls

Proverbs 11:30  The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

Every movement, organization, or winning team has a strong recruiting policy. Without it, these entities would ultimately exhaust the resources and/or the people they depend upon. It is a principle that works. It has shown itself in every aspect of our living. The negative has also been made apparent. In the absence of recruiting, there is loss of efficiency, effectiveness, and energy. People's enthusiasm for the "cause" wanes. There is nothing like "young blood" to infuse new life into an established purpose.

In our post-modern day, the single greatest victory of the enemy seems to have taken place at the grass root level of recruitment. During lunch with a young man yesterday, listening to his defense of every other "way" to worship and serve God, I made the statement, "Political correctness has choked the gospel." While I know this to be true, we use a vast selection of other excuses to not be soul winners. To love God is to love His work. To love His work is to propagate it, or further it. If we truly desire to see Christ lifted up in our world today, then the only reasonable action to be taken isn't complain, retreat, or defer it to someone else. We promote everything we love in life, from grocery stores to doctors to web sites. Let's promote the Lord Jesus Christ. Tell someone about the great "experience" you had getting saved with the same enthusiasm you have when sharing the great experience at the newest restaurant in town. Invite someone to come with you to share in the blessings of great worship and fellowship with God's people. Distribute tracts with the same fervor as a volunteer handing out food to starving homeless people. It is that important for so many reasons, not to mention how wise it is.

Wisdom Cries...Walk uprightly

Proverbs 10:9  He that walketh uprightly walketh surely; but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.

Did you know there is no good reason for you to walk around looking over your shoulder to see who may be looking? That is of course, unless you have something to be unsure about, like untruth, deception, or impropriety that you are hiding. The smart way to live, Solomon says, is to be truthful and righteous (live rightly) at all times and you can live a life of real freedom, a life of confidence. I have found that when one is in secret sin, there is a difference in their countenance and behavior. They lack confidence. The funny thing is you/they think the secret has remained a secret, but the Bible is clear that ultimately that "secret" will be revealed.

As a driver that has enjoyed an added measure of speed at times, I have developed a "sixth sense" to detect police officers. I would like to say that I no longer need that, but I haven't arrived. Don't judge. Anyway, how many of you have been driving along, minding your own business and look in your rear view mirror to see an officer of the law following? What is your first reaction? I am sure many of you immediately take your foot off of the gas pedal before you even look at the speedometer. Why? Because, in the past you have been known to speed (translated not walking uprightly) and you now can not drive with confidence (translated surely). Wouldn't it be great to be able to drive comfortably and even live comfortably? Just do right. It will make for a confident life and a great night's sleep. As the old saying goes, "There is no pillow as soft as a clear conscience."

Wisdom Cries...Forsake the foolish and live

Proverbs 9:6  Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

Pretty straight forward challenge from wisdom today...forsake the foolish. Let's see, how can I say this so it can be easily understood? How about, "Forsake the foolish and live." I know that sounds sarcastic, but this one is totally an obvious tidbit of advice. I am surrounded, and maybe you are to, by people that do not act their age. It's everything from teens whining like six year-olds to young adults more concerned with their high score than a job or education to supposed mature grown-ups leaving the home they have built, in search of a good time with someone else. I want to just shake some people and speak directly into their face, "Just stop it!" Stop seeking attention for yourself. Stop approaching life as a game to be won. Stop putting off responsibility. Stop assuming that everyone is here to take care of you.

I am encouraged as I meet with my college and career group at church, Connections. I am hopeful as I watch a generation known for its footloose and fancy-free life of care-free days, living it up because tomorrow they'll have to grow up. These guys get it, I believe, or at least they are trying. These will be the leaders. The verse says, the ones that live. They already live, live ahead of the pack. They are leaders, many times without followers. They are walking away from the foolishness while their friends and peers continue to waller.

Can I challenge you today? Forsake the foolishness of this world and society and go in the way of understanding. No matter your age, act it. Lead wherever you are, regardless of followers. That's what leaders do. They lead, even when no one is behind them. That's the way to live. Wisdom says so.

Wisdom Cries...Hear instruction and be wise.

Proverbs 8:33  Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.

I think that people today believe that if they were to look up "wisdom" in the dictionary, this would be the definition. It's not. Wisdom is a journey, not a destination. The road there, to wisdom, is instruction. This is a problem. In a day of relativism such as ours, everyone already knows "everything". Each of us knows what is best for ourselves and, many times, even for others. This has led us to be people who talk more than listen and as we have traveled so far down that path, folks are no longer teachable.

Abraham Lincoln said, "I don't think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday." That tells me that everyone of us should be open to instruction, no matter how young or old. To be unteachable is a sure sign of arrogance and immaturity at any age. There is a certain character attached to that one who remains teachable, a humility that accepts the wisdom and experiences of others without feeling the need to get the last word or to one-up someone. This is something that should be intentional in our life. Be mindful of what others around you may have to offer in the way of instruction. Do not be so quick to discount another's thoughts, feelings, or point of view. Just as there is something to be learned in every situation in our life, there is certainly something to be learned from every individual in our life. It would be the height of ignorance to learn no more. How ironic. If you think you know it all already, you are the furthest from wisdom.