my burg

Bible reading for April 7 -- 8 Apr 7 -- Proverbs 25 and 1 Thessalonians 4 Apr 8 -- Proverbs 26 and 1 Thessalonians 5 "It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out." (Proverbs 25:2)  THE GLORY OF KINGS (ch 25). The chapters that follow make up another collection of Solomon's proverbs, put together during the reign of King Hezekiah (726--697 BC). It begins with a series of sayings about kings and rulers, then moves on to proverbs about inter-personal relationships, such as with neighbors, friends, and spouses. The Bible assumes a worldview where there is authority and hiearchy. In the postmodern world we have not abandoned that view totally, it's just that it has been individualized. Each person is autonomous, a king to himself. "No one ever dispenses with authority -- one only relocates it" (John Warwick Montgomery). Further, fools are described in this chapter as those who seek their own glory, full of empty boas...

Bible reading for weekend March 26 -- 28 Mar 26 -- Proverbs 13 and Ephesians 6   Mar 27 -- Proverbs 14 and Philippians 1 Mar 28 -- Proverbs 15 and Philippians 2 "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life." (Proverbs 13:12) HOPE DEFERRED (ch 13). What do we do with our desires in life? Do we merely seek to fulfill them, or should we deny them? Proverbs addresses what the wise person does to manage, and ultimately fulfill, his desires in life. Solomon is writing on the theme of wealth, along with the related topics of being teachable and preserving good speech (vv 1-10). Look at this one portion (vv 11-20) which repeats the phrase "a desire fulfilled" toward beginning and end. What do we learn from the proverbs recorded between those statements?   We do not deny all of our desires, because life from God includes fulfillment of good desires (v 12, 19). Fulfillment of desires (especially wealth) comes incrementally, and we should not...

Bible reading for March 22 -- 23 Mar 22 -- Proverbs 9 and Ephesians 2 Mar 23 -- Proverbs 10 and Ephesians 3 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight." (Proverbs 9:10) TWO INVITATIONS (ch 9). The invitations from Lady Wisdom (ch 8) and the Woman Folly (ch 7) are again proclaimed. We hear these voices almost every day, and we must make, and keep making, the right choice. The two invitations are similar regarding what is promised, but the final results are so different. One is true, the other is a lie. One leads to life, the other to death. Those seeking wisdom from God must be humble, willing to receive correction. Someone once said, "There are two types of pain in this life; that of discipline, which lasts a short while, and that of regret, which can last a lifetime." To know God -- to bow before his will and his ways -- this is the fear of the Lord which leads to wisdom.  This chapter concludes the introduction ...

Bible reading for weekend March 19 -- 21 Mar 19 -- Proverbs 6 and Galatians 5 Mar 20 -- Proverbs 7 and Galatians 6 Mar 21 -- Proverbs 8 and Ephesians 1 "Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death." (Proverbs 8:34-36) BAD CHOICES (ch 6). Here's a question I have often faced: when should we rescue people from their foolish decisions? For example, when should we bail out our children, or our friends, from the consequences of their bad choices? This requires wisdom. Chapter six begins with a warning about being surety, or co-signing on a loan, for someone who will likely leave you with the burden of debt (6:1-5). This will result in personal loss, while releasing the other person from responsibility. Labor and laziness (vv 6-11) will be a recurring theme in Proverbs, too. Though indolence is a...

But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:4-6 ESV)  For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools...   (Romans 1:21-22 ESV) "Their [ Adam & Eve's ] disobedience entailed two things that are now characteristic of all of us as humans. On the one hand, for each of us, sin is the claim to the right to myself, and so to my way of seeing things, which—far more than class, gender, race and generation—is the ultimate source of...