An excellent wife is faithful to her husband (Prv 31:11-12). She has never given him one single reason not to trust her complete faithfulness to him. She never flatters another with her eyes. She never flirts with another by her speech. She’s faithful, and he knows it.
An excellent wife cares for the needs of her household (vv13-15). She does not exist to be served but to serve. Her delight is in the upkeep and maintenance of her home not as one who needs to be kept and maintained.
An excellent wife is prudent and a good steward (vv16-19). She’s not wasteful. She’s not afraid of work. She plans ahead.
An excellent wife is giving (v20), prepared (v21), and pleasing (v22).
An excellent wife makes her husband a better man (v23)!
An excellent wife is a true woman! She is strong in character, wise in heart, kind in word, and never idle (vv24-27).
An excellent wife is loved most by the ones she loves the most, her children and husband (v28).
She didn’t get this way overnight. Her character is not beyond reach for today’s women. All of these traits are outgrowths of an inner core beauty, deeper than outward beauty which fades. She loves and fears the Lord, and this has fashioned her into a lovely, beautiful, excellent wife (vv29-31).
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Friday, December 31, 2010
Don't Trust Yourself! Proverbs 21-25
There is nothing that you do that you do not have a good reason for doing. Even if you know it is wrong, you at least have a good excuse. There is nothing that you believe that you do not have good reason for believing, or at least sufficient reason to convince yourself. We always believe our opinions are right or else they would not be our opinions. We always believe our actions are justified or we would not pursue them. We always believe our convictions are true or they would not be our convictions.
The point in all of this is very simple: We always believe we are right!
The truth of the matter though is that we seldom are. We need to get outside ourselves to form our opinions, convictions, beliefs, and test our actions and motivations.
Proverbs 21:2 “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.”
By the time our “ways” are out in the open, we have justified them perfectly, its the manufacturing going on in the heart that is the problem! We need to set up guards in our lives to keep our “hearts” and “ways” pure. Here are a couple of ways to do so. Keep ourselves open before the Word. Whether private study or corporate worship, incline our hearts to the Word. It is the proper standard to test our actions and beliefs. Secondly, keep ourselves open to one another. Allow brothers and sisters to lovingly offer correction and insight. An accountability partner can see what we cannot see, and in order to keep our way pure, we need his insight. Whatever we do, we must not let ourselves be our only guide!
The point in all of this is very simple: We always believe we are right!
The truth of the matter though is that we seldom are. We need to get outside ourselves to form our opinions, convictions, beliefs, and test our actions and motivations.
Proverbs 21:2 “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.”
By the time our “ways” are out in the open, we have justified them perfectly, its the manufacturing going on in the heart that is the problem! We need to set up guards in our lives to keep our “hearts” and “ways” pure. Here are a couple of ways to do so. Keep ourselves open before the Word. Whether private study or corporate worship, incline our hearts to the Word. It is the proper standard to test our actions and beliefs. Secondly, keep ourselves open to one another. Allow brothers and sisters to lovingly offer correction and insight. An accountability partner can see what we cannot see, and in order to keep our way pure, we need his insight. Whatever we do, we must not let ourselves be our only guide!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Plans and Lots - Proverbs 16-20
What are your best laid plans? Ever have them totally disrupted? We all have. The answer is simple. We make plans; God makes reality! And sometimes those two are headed in opposite directions.
Is it wrong to make plans? Absolutely not. Plans keeps us moving instead of becoming slothful, helps us be good stewards instead of wasteful. At the end of the day, though, God’s plan is the one that will unfold. Therefore, we should seek the Lord’s plan rather than developing our own. God’s purpose for us is always better than our best laid plans. Because He ensures that His purposes never fail, we are always the beneficiaries! It’s really a good thing that we don’t get our way and chart our own course!
Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”
Not only is the Lord directing our lives towards His purpose, He is also directing the seemingly unimportant details of life so that everything works to His glory and our good!
A lot is something like a dice. In the ultimate scheme of things, who really cares where the lot falls from a thousand different casters? God does. Every outcome has a role to play in the grand scheme of things! God is directing all of history and everyone in it! He is truly an awesome, Sovereign God!
Proverbs 16:33 “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”
Is it wrong to make plans? Absolutely not. Plans keeps us moving instead of becoming slothful, helps us be good stewards instead of wasteful. At the end of the day, though, God’s plan is the one that will unfold. Therefore, we should seek the Lord’s plan rather than developing our own. God’s purpose for us is always better than our best laid plans. Because He ensures that His purposes never fail, we are always the beneficiaries! It’s really a good thing that we don’t get our way and chart our own course!
Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”
Not only is the Lord directing our lives towards His purpose, He is also directing the seemingly unimportant details of life so that everything works to His glory and our good!
A lot is something like a dice. In the ultimate scheme of things, who really cares where the lot falls from a thousand different casters? God does. Every outcome has a role to play in the grand scheme of things! God is directing all of history and everyone in it! He is truly an awesome, Sovereign God!
Proverbs 16:33 “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Loving Discipline - Proverbs 11-15
In our day, spanking is viewed as an out-dated, abusive form of punishment. The question is posed, “How do you teach kids not to hit by hitting them?” Of course, it’s a loaded question. Spanking is not hitting. The words convey two very different notions. When you hit someone, you do so out of anger or self-defense. When you spank a child, you are punishing bad behavior and correcting them, out of love.
Proverbs 13:24 “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.”
The Bible is not advocating child abuse. There is a vast difference between conforming behavior and bodily harm! What the Bible is advocating is the necessary tough love in order to mold character and develop a child’s worldview. Loving discipline teaches a child that some barriers are not to be crossed. Loving discipline teaches a child that wrong behavior results in consequences. Loving discipline teaches a child that those consequences are undesirable. Loving discipline teaches a child that self-denial and submission to authority are expected and rewarded while selfishness and disrespect are punished. Loving discipline fosters maturity. Most importantly, loving discipline provides Gospel opportunities with children. The first Gospel lesson a child needs to learn is that breaking the law results in punishment. They need to be taught that they are lawbreakers in need of God’s grace in Christ.
“Time-out” just does not convey these lessons. The loving way is the biblical way. If you are still not sure, just observe the child who has no loving discipline in his life and the one who does!
Proverbs 13:24 “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.”
The Bible is not advocating child abuse. There is a vast difference between conforming behavior and bodily harm! What the Bible is advocating is the necessary tough love in order to mold character and develop a child’s worldview. Loving discipline teaches a child that some barriers are not to be crossed. Loving discipline teaches a child that wrong behavior results in consequences. Loving discipline teaches a child that those consequences are undesirable. Loving discipline teaches a child that self-denial and submission to authority are expected and rewarded while selfishness and disrespect are punished. Loving discipline fosters maturity. Most importantly, loving discipline provides Gospel opportunities with children. The first Gospel lesson a child needs to learn is that breaking the law results in punishment. They need to be taught that they are lawbreakers in need of God’s grace in Christ.
“Time-out” just does not convey these lessons. The loving way is the biblical way. If you are still not sure, just observe the child who has no loving discipline in his life and the one who does!
Monday, December 27, 2010
The Grass is Not Greener - Proverbs 6-10
Oh it sure seems to be much greener. It has every appearance of complete and utter satisfaction. The more you look at it, the more you think about it, the more lush that field grows. It is the field of sexual immorality. The field of crossing the line before marriage or outside of marriage. It is enticing. It is pleasing to the mind and body. It promises to fill you. It charms you. It wines and dines you. And once you give in, it destroys you!
Adultery, fornication, pornography, and all sexual perversion are malicious facades. The outer shell gives the appearance of excitement, fulfillment, and understanding. The outer shell pretends to know you and offers itself for your needs. The outer shell promises to secretly satisfy. The outer shell, however, is very thin.
Once you enter into a forbidden relationship, the consequences follow you the rest of your life! What promised to fulfill, excite, and satisfy now haunts and destroys. Trust is broken. Covenant is transgressed. Sacred lines are crossed. People are abused. Marriages are corrupted and severed. Sex is perverted. Emotions are twisted. Sometimes lives are even taken. The grass on the other side of sexual fidelity is not greener. It just looks that way. It’s just painted by a fallen world, a selfish flesh, and a sworn enemy!
Proverbs 7:21-23 “With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him. All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life!”
Keeping oneself pure is the greenest, most satisfying, joyful field!
Adultery, fornication, pornography, and all sexual perversion are malicious facades. The outer shell gives the appearance of excitement, fulfillment, and understanding. The outer shell pretends to know you and offers itself for your needs. The outer shell promises to secretly satisfy. The outer shell, however, is very thin.
Once you enter into a forbidden relationship, the consequences follow you the rest of your life! What promised to fulfill, excite, and satisfy now haunts and destroys. Trust is broken. Covenant is transgressed. Sacred lines are crossed. People are abused. Marriages are corrupted and severed. Sex is perverted. Emotions are twisted. Sometimes lives are even taken. The grass on the other side of sexual fidelity is not greener. It just looks that way. It’s just painted by a fallen world, a selfish flesh, and a sworn enemy!
Proverbs 7:21-23 “With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him. All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life!”
Keeping oneself pure is the greenest, most satisfying, joyful field!
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Trusting for Direction - Proverbs 1-5
I’ll take care of this. I need to make an informed decision. I have to do something about this right now. I feel like I’m lost. I don’t know which way to go. How did I end up here? Where do I go from here? I’ll never get out of this. What am I going to do with the rest of my life?
These are all reactions to crossroads and chaos. On our own, we make wrong turns down the road of life, choose wrong paths, avoid seen dangers only to fall into unseen pitfalls. We end up at dead ends. We end up in a world of turmoil. Or maybe we just need wisdom for life. Discernment for a decision. Wisdom to make the most excellent choice. Whatever the cause, we need God’s direction but words do not appear written in the sky!
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Having your paths made straight is music to our ears! It’s the three preceding conditions that trouble us! Trusting the Lord with all of our heart is difficult because we always want to keep a little corner for ourselves. To not lean on our understanding is not easy when our way seems to make so much sense. Keeping God in charge of every detail of life seems too intrusive because we want to do it our way!
The lesson is plain. As long as we keep holding back, the road keeps dead-ending! When we surrender everything to His will, the fog lifts, the sun shines, and the path is made clear. Trust and obey. There really is no other way!
These are all reactions to crossroads and chaos. On our own, we make wrong turns down the road of life, choose wrong paths, avoid seen dangers only to fall into unseen pitfalls. We end up at dead ends. We end up in a world of turmoil. Or maybe we just need wisdom for life. Discernment for a decision. Wisdom to make the most excellent choice. Whatever the cause, we need God’s direction but words do not appear written in the sky!
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Having your paths made straight is music to our ears! It’s the three preceding conditions that trouble us! Trusting the Lord with all of our heart is difficult because we always want to keep a little corner for ourselves. To not lean on our understanding is not easy when our way seems to make so much sense. Keeping God in charge of every detail of life seems too intrusive because we want to do it our way!
The lesson is plain. As long as we keep holding back, the road keeps dead-ending! When we surrender everything to His will, the fog lifts, the sun shines, and the path is made clear. Trust and obey. There really is no other way!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
It's Good to Know - Psalm 145-150
It’s good to know that God is good! He is not some detached Deity. He is not some unfeeling force. He is not an Almighty Dictator. He is Divine. He is the greatest force in the Universe. He is completely Sovereign. And . . . He is much more!
The Creator of the Universe is a Personal God who is personally involved in His creation. He is Triune. Therefore, He is and always has been relational! He did not create in order to pass the time. He created for purpose, our good and His glory.
He is not only ultimate existence, ultimate presence, and ultimate power, He is also ultimate love, ultimate grace, and ultimate mercy. The one true God of all is in Himself goodness and truth. He is a good God!
Psalm 145:17-19 “The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His works. The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him; He also hears their cry and saves them.”
Yes, He is good and He does good. We rightly fear Him because He is God. We rightly long to be near Him because He is Good and He is God! What joy and comfort to know He is righteous and kind, He will come near to those who call on Him in truth, He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him, and He saves them!
Praise Him today for He is a good God. He is good in His very nature, and He is good to us in Christ! God is good—all the time!
The Creator of the Universe is a Personal God who is personally involved in His creation. He is Triune. Therefore, He is and always has been relational! He did not create in order to pass the time. He created for purpose, our good and His glory.
He is not only ultimate existence, ultimate presence, and ultimate power, He is also ultimate love, ultimate grace, and ultimate mercy. The one true God of all is in Himself goodness and truth. He is a good God!
Psalm 145:17-19 “The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His works. The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him; He also hears their cry and saves them.”
Yes, He is good and He does good. We rightly fear Him because He is God. We rightly long to be near Him because He is Good and He is God! What joy and comfort to know He is righteous and kind, He will come near to those who call on Him in truth, He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him, and He saves them!
Praise Him today for He is a good God. He is good in His very nature, and He is good to us in Christ! God is good—all the time!
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