WHEN IT'S GONE IT'S GONE

(Proverbs 5:3)  “Her mouth drops as a honeycomb and her moth is smoother than oil.”  This is how the wisdom of the world sounds.  It is sweet and smooth.  It is difficult to in over come because it sounds as if it is good (honey) and it sounds so logical and solid (smoother than oil).  But it is death (v5).

The wisdom of the world is movable (v6).  It has no standard upon which it is based, so it is free to drift in any convenient direction.  Also, when you shine the light of scripture and logic upon it to show that is is incorrect, it moves aside avoiding discovery.

The wisdom of the world will cause  you to:
- - Give your honor to others.  Your sense of worth and dedication will be among the humanists and evolutionists.  It will not be with God's people or family.
- - Give your years to the cruel.  Your time will have vanished among the humanists and evolutionists.  It will not be with God's people and family.
- - Strangers will be filled with your strength.    The materialists will have the effect of your strength and not God's people or family.
- - Your labors will be in the house of a stranger.  Your  labor will be in the house of people you don't know or own and not with God's people or family.
- - Your flesh and body will be consumed.  Your body will have been spent for your evolutionist education and in the service of the humanists and materialists.  Your possessions will have decayed and your career will not have furthered God's kingdom.

When you seek your occupation in place of your family, when you seek your automobile and other toys in place of God's will and at the expense of your character, when you select your fulfillment in place of your proper relationship to others - - then at the end you will find your honor gone to others, years to the cruel, strangers filled with your strength, labors in the house of others, flesh and body consumed.  At that point you will no longer be able to correct what you have done.

SEARCHING FOR TREASURE?

(Prov 2 . . .) “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures . . .”

It seems that it takes a lot of continual effort to get knowledge, understanding and wisdom. These things don't come easy and they don't come quick. It takes work - - it takes work every day. Receive, Hide, Incline, Apply, Cry, Lift your voice, Seek, Search.

When you seek for silver and search for hid treasure it's not done in five minutes of idle time before watching a video. To seek you must decide where, go there and inspect every rock formation. To search you must do diligent research and then methodically comb the area, balancing your resources while doing it. It takes time and it takes resources. You have to spend something.

So it is we have to spend something for God's word. The application of seeking understanding, knowledge and wisdom is to know the right paths, the right way. Both men and women, who are wicked, walk in wrong paths. The knowledge of the truth would deliver them. A great place to find it is in the Bible

WHAT'S THE CAUSE?

By looking at Genesis one I wonder if we can make an observation:  All things that appear to have a cause and effect may not have, or may not always have had, a cause/effect relationship.  God first made the light, then he divided it from the darkness, then he named the darkness “night” and the light “day”.  Then the evening and the morning were the first day.  It was after that (three days later, on the forth day) that God created the lights and attached them to the day/night cycle (“rule over the day and over the night”).

– There was light without a  “source” for it (i.e the sun, stars)
– There way have been “day and night” without the rotation of the earth (i.e. since there was yet no Sun and stars there was no need for the earth to rotate on it's axis, nor was there a need for the earth to revolve about the sun).
– Things may become associated into cause and effect after they both are brought into existence (there was light, then there were sources for the light, then the sources were made to rule over the light).

– Might there be other things that seem to be in a cause and effect relationship which really may not be that way?
– Were other energies made before the sources for them came into being?
– Is it natural for us, in a human sense, to create “energies” before we create the “sources?
     – Spirit  --->  Soul?
     – Idea  --->  Thought?
     – Feeling  --->  Thought?

ABOUT PLANNING

The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.
- - You should understand your way.  You should know what you are going to do and how and when you are going to do it.

There is a way which seemeth good to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
- - In your plans make sure you are going where God wants, and not some other way.  Many ways seem good, not all are.

The simple believeth every word, but the prudent man looketh well to his going.
- - Look well to the way you go and be wary of your counselors.  Every word of counsel should be examined and re-examined.  All should match the building of God's kingdom.

The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
- - The simple inherit folly because they have not made any plans.  They get whatever Satan, or some other non-godly element, brings their way.  The prudent see their plans accomplished.

In all labor there is profit, but the talk of the lips tendeth only to poverty.
- - Plans are good, but if you only talk of them (or just write them), and never work them, then they are useless.  You have to take action on our plans.  You also have to evaluate, re-evaluate and adjust them.

THE EFFECT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Righteousness doesn't just happen, it is built step by step on a daily basis.  It is not an “unchangeable” part of out character – something, like our body type or sex, that has been given us from the start.  When we need righteousness, if we haven't been working to build it, it will not be there

The act of righteousness is staying on a prescribed path.  Righteousness is like a pathway across a field, we know what is “path” and what is “field”.  To walk off the path is to walk into what is not known as righteousness.  At the best it is undefined, at the wort it is wickedness.  Someone has established what is right and what is wrong.  God has told us both: what is right and what is wrong.  Other sources can tell us this too.  However, other sources may only tell us what, according to them, is right; still others may tell us only what is wrong.  If the others are not God what they define for us as right may be, in fact, wrong.

Righteousness and wickedness start from within.  For the righteous what is within will preserve him when trouble comes, when the outward, uncontrollable, hurtful situation occurs.  However, what was internal to the wicked will have no worth for his deliverance.

The righteous would have been doing good acts and gaining a reputation for it.  Perhaps that is what helps save them.  Perhaps right internal responses results in the right outward responses in the time of trouble.

TO DO

These are some of the things to do to understand the fear of the Lord and to find the knowledge of God (Proverbs 2 vs 3-4):

Do:  Receive God's words.
Result:  Believe what you read as for what it says and expect it to take authority.

Do:  Hide his commandments with you.
Result:  Memorize, keep them tucked away in private places.

Do:  Incline your ear to wisdom.
Result:  When you hear wise things focus your attention on them, tilt the head, hear more clearly.

Do:  Apply your heart to understanding.
Result:  Work for understanding, spend time at it, “stick to it”.

Do:  Cry after knowledge.
Result:  Call out for knowledge, arrest knowledge's attention by calling after her in public.  Visibly point out the facts, be a witness.

Do:  Lift up your voice for understanding.
Result:  In public make a plea for the true relationship among ideas, things, situations.  Cause true things to be presented in the courtroom.

Do:  Seek wisdom as silver.
Result:  Search for wisdom, it is of utmost value.

Do:  Search for her as hid treasures.
Result:  Search by overturning seemingly unrelated things, perhaps she may be behind them.

Remember:  The right way is obvious, the obvious is the right way.

THE DEAD TREE

Years ago when we lived on Blackwood Avenue in Gotha, Florida, there has a tall dead tree in your front yard.  I was very worried about it and feared what would happen if it fell over.  I did not have the money to pay someone to take it down and it was too tall for me to do myself.  But God sent along a wind storm which snapped the tree midway up the trunk and laid the top part neatly in the open part of my yard.  Only a few twigs were taken off the Sweet Gum tree, and a few minor branches off the Laurel oaks toward Timothy's yard.  Everything I was afraid might be damaged was spared:  the trees, the power lines, the well, Fannin's fence, the road, our cars.  Everything was fine.  All I had to do was buy a chainsaw ($260.00), saw up the the remains, and cart it off to the burn pile in the back yard (this was before laws against open burning).

How many things of great convenience does God do for us that we do not even recognize?  How many that we know of do we fail to thank him for?

GOD SAYS, WORLD SAYS

God says: “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.”
World says: Put yourself forward and listen to your own standards to get riches and honor; for riches and honor are life.

God says: Think of others
World says: Think of yourself

God says: Do what is right
World says: Do for yourself

God says: Give others the way when it seems to be their time
World says: Take your chance, don't let others get in the way or you will miss out

God says: Obey God's rules
World says: Stick by whatever set of standards works for you as long as they suit your goals

God says: Respect authority
World says: Use the authorities to suit you, or get around them, or bribe them.

And you would add . . . ?

God says:
World says:

God says:
World says:

THE STRANGE WOMAN

Proverbs 5 speaks of the “Strange woman”. Here is what happens to the man that goes after her:

• He gives his honor to others
• He gives his years to the cruel
• Strangers are filled with his wealth
• His labors are in the house of a stranger
• His body is consumed (and he knows it did not have to be consumed).
• He knows he did not listen to instruction, his folly is on his own hands.

Think of the “strange woman” as the way of thinking that is not after God's way. It is without regard to God's instruction. In this way a woman (female) can also go after the “strange woman” (ungodly thinking).

BACK-AND-FORTH ON IMAGINATION

I have an active imagination. In my Journal of 1995 I was thinking the following:

I have been trying to do away with my imaginations. I wonder if they do not short circuit good that I might do. I live vicariously through the imagination. I imagine it, therefore I have “done” it, therefore I do not really have to do it.

Yet God says “without vision the people perish”. Some sort of thinking about what will happen is good. How can an event take place without there first being an idea? But I wonder if my imagining takes away from positive action. Certainly the negative imagining is not good for it sets an evil cast upon events which have not actually happened.

Maybe my mind being so full of imaginations keeps me from hearing from the Spirit of God. For example, I imagine “others do not want me around” and I launch my imagination off in that direction. What I should rather say is, “I resist that [negative] thinking; God said, 'resist the Devil and he will flee from you, draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh unto you'. In the name of Jesus I resist that thought.”

I need to walk “by faith and not by sight”. But surely “by faith” has a good deal to do with inward thought and therefore imagination. Perhaps God's inward voice to us originates partly through the imagination. Is it not possible he can use this tool?

It's important to know what God says and believe it is true (the faith part) and thereby order my behavior. If I listen to only what I say, I have a motor but no rudder. If I also listen to what other men say, I have a motor and rudder but no map or compass. If I listen to what I think, what other men say, and primarily to what God says, I have a motor, rudder, a reliable map and compass. I must use all sensibly.

NEITHER SEEING NOR HEARING

(Of idols:)
Psa_115:5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
Psa_135:16 They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not;

(Of people:)
Jer_5:21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
Eze_12:2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house.
Mat_13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

TREE TRUNK

When you look at me think of looking at the trunk of a tree. I am the stem, the trunk. Above me are the branches: my children and grandchildren. These will grow out to ever more branches as long as there be human existence on earth. Below me are the roots: all my ancestors. These would be my Parents, Grandparents, Great Grandparents, etc. These go out ever wider into numerous sub-roots.

We, as a human society, divide ourselves into various categories: country of origins, ethnic groups and races. Let’s think about country or origin as a root system. Because my Father’s parents came from Sweden, I could say “I am Swedish”. But what about the heritage I received from my Mother? I could not exist without her, so, if I am like a trunk of a tree, I am not just “Swedish” but I am a blend of “English” and “Swedish”. I am more like a candy cane: a spiral of two things (mother and father) that flow up into all subsequent branches.

However, If I say only “I am Swedish” I deny being English. If I say “I am English” I deny being Swedish. To name one and ignore the other is an insult to the one I fail to mention. It is not a complete description of who I am. If someone wants to know more about my national heritage than just that I am an American I would say I am a mix of Swedish and English.

Think about race. The same issue (mentioning one and ignoring the other) arises when talking about our racial heritage. In fact I am a blend of whatever racial background my parents provide. In this country this seems to be an issue for people of mixed African and European racial origins. Some seem to prefer to refer to themselves only as “Black”. True, a few others choose to refer to themselves only as “White”; but when they do that we say they are "passing".

What of their true heritage? Why is there shame in having a white heritage? Why is there shame in having a black heritage? In fact every one of us has a complex mix of cultural, ethnic and racial diversity that serve to make us the unique person we are. This has become an issue with charged emotional content in this country resulting from our national history infected with slavery and racial discrimination. It really doesn’t much matter to most of us in the USA when we divide ourselves by country of origin. But when we divide ourselves by the notion of race it becomes a big deal to some.

The trouble with the tree analogy I used at the first is that my branches don’t stay branches. They become trunks themselves as they unite with someone else’s branch. My children get married. They (the two of them, man and wife) become a trunk that produces branches: they have children. I love my children. I love my grand children, and cherish who they have become. They are a mix contributing to the makeup and future of the Clan. We are a tree: roots, trunk and branches. My grandchildren, as much as my sons, are my blood. And through the blood of my grandchildren my sons' wives have become my daughters.

If at some future point someone were to inquire for a more perfect definition of my grand children's heritage than simply "American" I would feel slighted if the grandchildren or great grandchildren identified themselves solely as "White" or “Black” or “English” or “Swedish” and ignored their other roots.

There is too much to accomplish in a family that is positive, that builds and feeds and shares all that has made this “tree” healthy and beautiful.

WHEN “REGULAR” IS NOT ENOUGH

I once attended a church where where it appeared that I made two of the clergy angry.  One was older.  He never smiled at me or ever gave any indication of welcome, let alone kindness.  Once or twice he reached around behind me to smile and welcome another.  If I had committed some great offense I was never shown what it was.

The other was younger and phoned me up to ask why I had not provided an “Exit Interview”.  He seemed quite put out about it.  I neither executed any “Membership Document” nor verbally expressed an interest in becoming a “Member”.  I thought being a member of the Body of Christ was enough.  If there was a contract written, stated or implied I was ignorant of it.  Perhaps I was wrong by being a regular participant in the worship and providing them with a portion of my tithe.

WHAT DO WE DESERVE?

Jude 11 says: “Woe unto them for they have gone in the way of CAIN and ran greedily after the way of BALAAM for reward, and perished after the gainsaying of CORE. (emphasis mine)

CAIN – The sacrifice of works rather than the sacrifice of blood.

BALAAM – Seeking to become rich in the doing of God's work.

CORE – putting up themselves to take the place of God's appointed leaders.

What does this say about us? Do we place our toil before God and expect him to honor it? Do we expect riches and honor to flow from our doing of God's assignments? Do we believe we can do something better than the one that God seems to have already placed there?

DRESSING THE WOMAN

Where is the sin when women don't dress right? It is in the mind of the one who describes it as sin. There are one of three that make this determination: God, the man, and the woman.

The most important of the three is God. How does he define appropriate dress? He started clothing people at the garden of Eden. He said we should wear some type of clothing. My guess is he wanted to inhibit promiscuity. He did not want us going about exciting sin in the heart of another person or group. Notice he also established the marriage relationship which drastically reduces sex opportunities.

Dressing well for the woman can mean many things. She wants to look good, to be attractive, to be in style and to be comfortable (not too hot or too cold). She wants to attract a man's attention for companionship, to impress him, and to be respected.  However, some women merely want to appear sexy.

The man looks at the woman's clothing to appraise her for many reasons. What are her intentions? Does she want companionship? Does she want attention? Is she doing it for lust?  He thinks: what can I get from her, companionship, a cooperative workmate, sexual favors? How should I treat her? Should I treat her with respect, with disdain? Should I avoid her; should I befriend her?

Sin in dressing does not originate with the woman alone.  More frequently it starts in the man's heart. I really resent men who require women to be clothed in draperies because she may incite men to lust. A man should control his own mind and where he looks. He should not lay the blame for his sin on a woman. That being said, I doubt we would get along well as a society with no dress codes at all.

HAS HE BEEN THERE?

Much of what we know about God comes from how he has worked with other men. We know when  God works in men because they write about it. Of the writings we have available to us men decide some are true, some are not. What we should look for in these writings are:

They are eye witnesses
They have known eye witnesses
They have lived within 200 years after Christ lived,

THE ILLUSION OF PREDESTINATION

God is the God of all time. He exists in the past, present and future. For him time is just another created entity that is controlled by him. I can somewhat comprehend the foreknowledge of God in this manner: I am 71 years old. I know at 71 that I have been in the Navy, have married, have three children who are married, and am retired. If I was like God, and time was something I created, I (being god) would exist also at the time I was born as well as I do at this time, and for eternity. Time is like a dot moving along a line.

- - >Birth===========>.(Now)==========>Death - - - - - - - - ->>

Creatures subject to time must stay on the dot, but God stands back a distance from the line and can see the dot, the beginning and end of the line. So if I were like God, I could stand back from the line, while the dot was at 71 years and see clearly at the spot on the line of me at zero years. I would know that in the “future” I would join the Navy, get married, have children, work and retire.

If I were like God, I could proclaim all this to the zero year spot on the line and it would sound to the zero year old creation me like predestination. However, the 71 year old me had been making choices all along the way to the present, and will make choices into the future. But I can not stand back from the line, like God, to see the extent of it. God may know what my choices will be but I do not. I must make them when I arrive at them with the best of my knowledge, experience, intelligence and ability. And It is possible for me to make bad choices, even sinful ones. God does not strong-arm me to decide certain ways. The finest proof of that is: God gave me the choice of whether to accept Christ as Savior and Lord or not. I did not have a place in heaven until I chose it.

FROM THE WELL OF HUMANISM

Here is a quote I recently saw: "Your ability to generate power is directly proportional to your ability to relax." Will someone explain this to me? What is “your power”? It seems to me it could be many things. Your “power” would be directed toward something or things or purpose. What are they? This sentence, “Your ability . . . “, would require many paragraphs to explain it, perhaps a book. The sentence does not convey usable guidance as would a verse (any verse) from Proverbs. The sentence comes from the well of humanism.

SERVING IS NOT AN OPTION

Jesus speaks to his disciples when they did not want him to wash their feet, “. . . if I wash thee not, thou hast no part in me.” He was saying that it is not an option about accepting the service of God. We must accept his personally serving us. Even though we know him to be God - - greater than any other person, object or force - - we must allow him to serve us. Even if he is very much higher in station and privilege than us we accept his service as if he were one very much lower.

So our serving others is not an activity we should avoid. We do it because we are to be like him, as commanded. We should do as he does. Right after talking about serving, Jesus tells us “. . . the servant is not greater than his lord . . .” Why does he say this? Is it because he knows as we get to serving one another we will begin to think how noble and giving we are? Perhaps more noble and giving than anyone else in the whole world ever was? Perhaps more a servant than God ever knew how to be?

We can never serve as God has served us: by taking the punishment for a misbehaving creation to demonstrate the extent of his care for us. Yet he wants us to be like him in serving. In doing so we must remember we are made to serve, not to be served. And, may I add, when being served we show sincere appreciation for it.

24 CARROT GOLD MIRACLE

Jesus wanted to allow Lazarus to die so he waited four days before he went to him. If Jesus had been there when he was alive, a sick man would have been healed. This still would have been a miracle, but a lesser one. Some would have said, “Lazarus was sick and just got well; he would have recovered even it Jesus were not there.”

By letting him die and raising Lazarus from the dead he performed a much greater miracle, a 24 carrot gold miracle, a miracle almost as good as it gets. Who could argue with it?

The Pharisees could, and did. Their solution to the problem was to seek to put Lazarus to death (John 12:10). If you can't argue with the truth, avoid it.