Proverbs 28:13 Just admit it!

When I was growing up, I would have been considered one of the “good” girls. I pretty much did as I was told, and behaved in the classroom and at home. I was a leader at school and had a good reputation. Yet, I occasionally did things with my friends that were downright wrong. And my parents never found out about most of them. By the time I was in college, I had collected a bunch of unconfessed sin! And it gnawed at me inside! How freeing it was to receive Christ, finally, and to be able to deal with all that sin - to realize that He had already knew all about it and had paid that debt for me! I was overwhelmed by His grace!

Our verse in Proverbs this morning talks about the idea of unconfessed sin weighing us down: 

Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper,

    but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. (Proverbs 28:13)

The Bible makes it very clear that we are all sinners in need of mercy and grace. Yet, the world hates the word “sin.” Many religions do not acknowledge that there is such a thing. John, in his first letter, says that when we take that stance, we are lying, and worse, we make Jesus a liar, because we deny what He has done for us:

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (I John 1:8-10)

It’s so irritating when I know a student has done something wrong, but he won’t ‘fess up! I always manage to get the truth out of students, but it takes up so much wasted time as they insist on making excuses or deflecting the blame with, “But they were doing it, too!” I heard a commentator on a news program complaining about the current culture in Washington in which no one fully owns the blame for misdeeds, but will begrudgingly admit “meaningless responsibility.” The ones who should be held accountable will say something like, “Well, of course the buck stops here, but it was not my fault.” I have always called those kinds of excuses “sorry buts.” “I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t have done it if...” 

Why is it we are so unwilling to call a sin a sin and repent of it? Is it because we have a wrong image of our Father? Do we think He’s waiting to pounce on us and extract the last measure of punishment? The reality is that He is just waiting to pour out His mercy and grace on us. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness! 

The truth will set you free - and when it comes to confessing sin - it frees you indeed! Confessed sin brings the problem to the Light - where the darkness is completely dispelled. Unconfessed sin keeps us in bondage and in darkness, because we want to keep it hidden - away from the light. Satan loves to hold these secrets over our heads - He whispers, “If they really knew about you - what you are really like - they would cast you out!”

King David, who knew a lot about sin, knew he could confess to his Father, because he understood the LORD’s heart:

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

    and all that is within me,

    bless his holy name! 
Bless the Lord, O my soul,

    and forget not all his benefits, 
who forgives all your iniquity,

    who heals all your diseases, 
who redeems your life from the pit,

    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,... 
The Lord is merciful and gracious,

    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 
He will not always chide,

    nor will he keep his anger forever.  
He does not deal with us according to our sins,

    nor repay us according to our iniquities. 
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 
 as far as the east is from the west,

    so far does he remove our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:1-4, 8-12)

Whatever burden of guilt you may carry, whether something that currently ensnares you, or a boatload of guilt you have carried around for years, lay it at His feet! He knows all about it anyway! So let it go and receive the mercy of the LORD!  

Proverbs 27:21 Success is tough!

The final verse we’ll be looking at in Proverbs 27 is a simple one, but it caught my eye:

The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,

    and a man is tested by his praise. (Proverbs 27:21)

The analogy of being tested in the fire is used often in the Scriptures.

“...And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’” (Zechariah 13:9)

Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. (1 Corinthians 3:12-13)

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. (Malachi 3:3)

We are used to hearing that our trials are meant to refine us. God allows us to experience them in order that when we have come through, we might be more like him, shining like gold and reflecting His glory. So we tend to think of that testing coming from some major trial. But today’s verse indicates that sometimes, even more intense than a test of fire (failure, rejection, financial loss, hardship, illness, etc), is the test of praise and success!

When we experience a taste of success, when people are praising us for our accomplishments, when we get the promotion and the accolades, we are especially vulnerable to a fall, because we are tempted to be prideful! We may think that our victories and fame are the result of our own strengths and abilities. We might think, “My business is so successful because I am a talented entrepreneur, and my ideas are so creative!” Or we may reason, “My leadership skills have naturally brought me to this position.”

The reality is that our only strength is in our weakness. Because, when we are weak, and know it, we need to rely on God’s strength - and then we truly are strong! It’s in humbly admitting we cannot do it on our own, when we are actually overwhelmed by the odds against our success, that God displays Himself best on our behalf.

Paul affirmed this in one of my favorite passages:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

The LORD has been speaking to me so loudly about learning to appreciate and even exult in my own weaknesses. We are currently studying Gideon in our women’s Bible study, and the message has been that God wants us to be in places where only He can get the glory for results.

You may recall that, in the book of Judges (ch.6-8), Gideon went to battle the Midianites, the enemy of the Israelites, taking 32,000 troops with him to face more than 135,000 enemy troops. God made him whittle down the forces to the point that he ended up with only 300 men, because God did not want the Israelites to think that a victory was accomplished by their strength. Sure enough, God miraculously gave the Midianites over to Gideon and his men. A great reminder that our battles, as well as our victories, are the LORD’s!

So, whatever God calls us to do - no matter how huge the obstacles seem, or how unqualified we appear to be - we do not need to fret, because God will receive glory from our weakness as His strength is made evident through us. I needed to be reminded of that. How about you?  

"You've been chosen!"

Don’t we love it when we hear that we have won something or that we have been chosen out of a group for some honor or position? Well, my younger daughter, Emmy, and her husband, Nathan, just learned yesterday that they have been chosen by a birth mom to adopt another little Blakely into their family! We are so excited and so grateful to this woman, who made the choice of life for this little one. More than that, we are praising God who chose, before this child was even conceived, that he/she would be the little brother/sister to Beau and Penelope!

We don’t know yet what the gender is, but we know that this baby will be a perfect fit for this family! The due date is November 15, so there will be plenty of scrambling to get to Utah for the birth. Please pray with us that the LORD will be in all of the details, making the way straight for them as they make all of the necessary arrangements. Please also pray for this birth mother and her family as they make this gift. Pray that God will comfort their hearts and that she will be blessed for this decision. Pray for her emotional and physical health, for the health of this baby, and for a safe delivery.

And please pray for Beau and Penelope as they adjust to another sibling! Pray that their hearts will be enlarged to receive this little one with joy and tenderness.

God is so good - and adoption rocks!  

Proverbs 27:6, 9-10, 17 Faithful are the wounds of a friend...

Remember when you were in junior high and you wanted more than anything to be in the “popular crowd?” You wanted to collect friends like candy! And in high school we garnered signatures in our yearbooks like trophies! The reality is, that no matter how many people we knew, most of them were mere acquaintances, not true friends. This chapter of Proverbs talks about the quality of a true friend: 

Faithful are the wounds of a friend;

    profuse are the kisses of an enemy. (vs 6)

Oil and perfume make the heart glad,

    and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel. (vs. 9-10)

Iron sharpens iron,

    and one man sharpens another. (vs. 17)

While I am so grateful for the many who have touched my life in real ways {co-workers, neighbors, former students, parents of students, Bible study buddies, church friends}, the reality is that time and distance limit the number of people with whom I have real intimacy - and most of those are family members! But God has given me a special handful of women who truly know the real me. And for some reason, they have stuck around over many years!

I treasure these women! They have been my encouragers and confidantes through many stages of my life. We raised our children together, they cheered me on through years of finishing college and getting my teaching credential (at the age of 42). They watched my girls get married, and rejoiced with me at the births of my grandchildren. They have hung in even when I’ve been unavailable due to my work. And now, we are approaching the Medicare years together!

They have seen me at my worst, and they have been faithful to be truthful to me. When I need counsel, they have given it - even if it was painful to hear. They will tell me if I have spinach in my teeth. They won’t let me go out in public if my zipper is down or my mascara is smeared. They will pass me an Altoid if I need one! And they will redirect me to the LORD and His Word if I need an attitude adjustment.

How we all need the counsel of a godly friend when we are making life changes, or when we are struggling with an issue! I love friends who will challenge me and who will tell me to my face if I’ve hurt them or if I am swerving off of God’s path.

As a teacher of fifth grade girls, I am frequently having to intervene in girlie conflicts. Fifth grade girls can be mean! While boys will punch each other - and then go play basketball together, girls carry grudges and gather others around them to join them in their outrage. So one of the things I am constantly saying to them is, “If you want to have friends and maintain friendships, you need to learn to be VERY forgiving! Know that your friends will let you down over the years and you will let them down, but you need to give them the benefit of the doubt and welcome them back, or you will have NO friends left!”

Thank God today for the special friends He has given you. Then thank them for being so faithful and forgiving over the years! When I think of the many women who have been so dear to me, I thank God that we will have eternity together! We will need all of that time just to get the talking and laughing in!

 

Proverbs 26:18-28 Don't stoke the fire!

The last half of this chapter of Proverbs is devoted to the devastation done by gossipers and liars. Now, it seems to me that this is such a universal problem which plagues all of us, since we know that our hearts are the source of our words, and our hearts, according to Jeremiah 17:9 are filled with deceit:

The heart is deceitful above all things,
 
    and desperately sick;

    who can understand it?

So, having acknowledged that we can’t point the finger at another without directing it right back at ourselves, let’s look at the strong condemnation gossip receives here in Proverbs:

For lack of wood the fire goes out,

    and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.  
As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,

    so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.  
The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;

    they go down into the inner parts of the body.  
Like the glaze covering an earthen vessel

    are fervent lips with an evil heart. 
Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips

    and harbors deceit in his heart; 
when he speaks graciously, believe him not,

    for there are seven abominations in his heart;  
though his hatred be covered with deception,

    his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. 
Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,

    and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling. 
A lying tongue hates its victims,

    and a flattering mouth works ruin. 

What strikes me first is that the antidote to spreading gossip is right there in the first verse: if we don’t add wood to the fire, it will go out! When we pass it on, we are “kindling strife.” The problem with gossip is that it truly does encourage strife between people. If we would not stoke that fire by listening and then whispering it forward, we could help bring peace.

Note how gossip is whispered. Generally we don’t shout it from the housetops, because we inherently understand that it is evil, so we keep it low. We share it behind hands or behind closed doors. What we whisper becomes part of the one who hears it. Verse 22 says gossip is like “delicious morsels” that actually are digested in our “inner parts.” Once spoken the damage begins, and we can’t take it back. 

The gossiping heart is not motivated by love. It “harbors deceit... abominations ... hatred.” “The lying tongue hates its victim.” And here is the scary part for us when we participate:

Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,

    and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling. (vs. 27)

And the problem with Christians is that we so easily justify gossip as concern! I find this such a challenging passage! The condemnation is as clear as day! We cannot get around this problem with our tongues. James devoted much of his letter to this issue. It IS a problem - not just in the world, but within the church. Can we admit that? Can we admit that we almost daily participate in it? The Bible has promised us that we are new creations in Christ Jesus and that we no longer live under condemnation. We have available to us the power of the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. Surely He can deliver us from our own tongues. But we first have to admit we have a problem. 

What is the solution? The Bible tells us that we need to be transformed from within:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

When we intentionally set our minds on the things of God by reading His Word consistently, we WILL be transformed. God’s Word will do its work in us. These Proverbs have been in-your-face confrontation to me, because there is so much repetition, you can’t miss His messages. And once we have looked into that mirror, we just can’t turn and walk away and do nothing about the condition of our hearts. These passages demand repentance!

LORD, search our hearts and reveal to us the areas that need purifying! Thank you that we are new creations in Christ and do not have to be slaves to our old selves. Help us to turn away from whispers and deceit. May we never be the ones who add wood to the fire, but instead may we be the peacemakers you called us to be! Help us use our mouths to build up the body!  

Proverbs 26:1-12 Fools rush in...

This chapter of Proverbs is a collection of harsh denouncements of fools, sluggards, meddlers, and liars. Verses 1-12 warn us to not waste our time with fools. Solomon says to honor a fool is as senseless as “snow in summer” (verse 1). Verse 3 equates the fool to a horse or donkey. To trust a fool to deliver a message for you is like cutting off your own feet (verse 6). Hire one and you may as well shoot yourself in the foot (verse 10). Two verses, in particular, jumped out at me. The first is verse 11:

Like a dog that returns to his vomit

    is a fool who repeats his folly.

Only fools continue to make the same mistakes over and over without learning the lesson! Hmmm... how many times do we repeat the same behaviors that get us into trouble? Wouldn’t it be great if we could learn the lesson the first time and then move on???  

Here’s my confession of a sin that I keep repeating:  I am the world’s worst back-seat driver!  My poor husband has put up with this for 42 years!  Well, maybe not the entire 42 years, because when we were first married I thought he could do no wrong, so I completely trusted him to get us where we needed to go!  :)  Seriously, though, this is a wretched sin, because it shows not only a lack of faith in my wonderful husband, but also a lack of faith in the One who gave him to me!

Now this may not seem like a big deal to you, but you should hear my deep sighing and constant nudging with, “You need to get over.”  I’m now praying as I get in the car, that I will just relax and know that Don will actually get us to where we are going in God’s time - not necessarily mine!  Don is a saint to put up with me!

The final verse about fools resonates with me as a teacher:

Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? 
   There is more hope for a fool than for him. (v.12)

The older I get, the more I know that I DON’T know! How foolish to think that we already know it all! Remaining teachable is a must for a disciple. I continue to have so many “Aha!” moments in God’s Word - even passages I’ve read over and over! And what I gain from the fellowship of other believers who pass on their wisdom is invaluable! It’s one of the reason I so love women’s Bible studies. For the past year I’ve been leading small groups of much younger women at my church’s nighttime women’s Bible study. This “old broad” has gained so much insight from these precious younger gals! What a blessing to see younger women so excited to get to know God more and to grow in their faith! No fools around that table! :)

LORD, we so desire to know you better and to be people of wisdom! Help us to see our foolish ways and to turn from them! Keep us from returning to make the same mistakes over and over. And help us to share you with other "fools" who need to know the Truth!  

Proverbs 25:21-22 Motivation matters!

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,

    and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,  
for you will heap burning coals on his head,

    and the Lord will reward you. (Proverbs 25:21-22)

I must have learned this verse years ago, because I have referred to it so many times! Paul picks it up in Romans 12 when writing about how Christians ought to live:

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.  Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.  Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.  Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.  If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.  Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”  To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:14-21)

The clear theme of these verses is to do the supernatural thing when you have been hurt by an enemy. The natural thing would be to lash out, defend yourself, and even cut down your enemy, all the while justifying your anger. The supernatural thing is to agree with Jesus: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” When we overcome evil with good we glorify God. And at the same time, we leave our enemy confused and feeling like garbage! :) The Message paraphrases Proverbs 22 this way:

Your generosity will surprise him with goodness,

    and God will look after you.

The Living Bible puts it this way:

This will make him feel ashamed of himself, and God will reward you.

I will confess that I have viewed this idea of heaping coals on someones head with a little bit of glee! But Paul makes it clear that my heart attitude stinks! He tells me to “give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all,” which tells me to check my heart and motives. God’s desire is always to lead men to repentance, because He wants all of them to come to Him. So my motivation in being kind to my enemies must be their redemption, not merely to see them ashamed!

Oh, LORD, I fall so short! Thank you that you are not finished with me yet! Help me to remember that you are also not finished with my enemies yet!