A Life Worthy

When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever (Proverbs 10:25).

What storm are you weathering today, Beloved?

Career?  Relational?  Health?  Financial? Emotional?

You will survive it.  The promise is right here in this verse.  

The wicked—the children of this world—are swept away by the storms of life.  That makes sense, because this life, this world, is everything to them.  Literally, it is all they have.  When it blows away, they go with it.

But you are different.

You are his.

Your roots are sunk deep, not into the shifting sands of this world, but into the solid rock of Christ.

Aren’t they?

If that question gives you pause, you may want to spend a little time before the Throne of Grace this morning, getting your righteousness on.

By the way, don’t let that word, “righteousness,” spook you.  It doesn’t mean you have to be perfect.  Righteousness simply means you have a right relationship with God, that when the Father looks at you, he sees past the sin to the Son who died to pay for that sin.  Your sins are forgiven, your debt is paid, and you are right with God—righteous.

So, if you have any business to do with God this morning—any confession, any repentance, any receiving of grace—do it.  Make sure, before you step out into the storm, that your roots are deep in the Rock.

Stand firm, Beloved.

Happy Tuesday

When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise (Proverbs 10:19).

I talk too much.  That revelation comes as no surprise to those of you who know me.  I find that this Scripture could easily be my life verse, and probably many of yours as well.  We have all experienced that moment of wishing we could “unsay” that ill-timed, unkind, ungodly word.

But we can’t.

So I’m going to take God’s advice today, and hold my tongue.  Obviously, that will make it difficult to type without getting the keys all wet, so I’ll make my typed words few, as well.

See, now there’s an image you didn’t need.  I just proved my own point.

Enjoy the quiet today, Beloved.

Happy Friday

Above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life (Proverbs 4:23).

The wellspring  

The source

If you live in the desert, a clean, pure water source is something to treasure and protect.  If it dries up, you are lost.  If something gets in that pollutes it, you are equally doomed.  Actually, one great way to defeat an enemy in days of yore was to poison his water source, often by throwing dead things into it.  

Lovely image, hmm?

God has given each of us a new heart, and it is a spring of his living water, nourishing and refreshing us.  

We’ve gotta guard that wellspring, Beloved.  If we fall out of fellowship with the Father, he cannot replenish the spring, and it dries up.  Do you know what happens to life in a desert with no water?  Yes, you do.

If we let the world in, the wellspring gets polluted, fouled, undrinkable.  If we let our Enemy poison it with his lies, it produces death rather than sustaining life.

Guard your heart today, my friend.  Be oh so careful what, and who, you let in.  Keep in close contact with the One who refreshes and replenishes.

Drink deeply, Beloved. 

Happy Wednesday

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and correction (Proverbs 1:7).

Given the date, I thought a little exploration of Proverbs might be apropos.

Fear can be a good thing.

In our culture, we act like fear is something to be avoided at all costs.  Maybe it’s our rebellious, pioneer, Westward Ho! roots.

Perhaps we just don’t understand the healthy side of fear.

Fear is an acknowledgment that something is beyond our scope, beyond our ability to command.  It doesn’t have to be blind, cowering terror; it’s more a healthy respect for power.  I fear lethal doses of nuclear radiation.  I fear rabid dogs.  I fear really bad haircuts—as a middle-school teacher, this is by far the most dangerous of the three.

I fear God.

But I’m not afraid of God.

Of course, nonbelievers have every reason to be afraid; indeed they’re foolish not to, when considering the consequences of an eternity without Christ.

But I believe.  My name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

I fear God’s power, because I know that he could erase me with a thought.

I am not afraid, because I know he won’t.

He has given us many promises that we who are his are his forever.  Still, that power is there, and he has no qualms about using it to keep me in line should I stray.

Which makes me want to stay very close to him.

And that, Beloved, is the beginning of knowing him.

And that, Beloved, is the beginning of wisdom.

Happy Monday