The Law of Love

If we hate our brother we walk in darkness.   Walking in darkness implies a few things:  we aren’t walking in light, we are groping around to find our way, and we are in fact stumbling as we go.  The passage of scripture in 1 John 2:9-11 tells us these things.  But if we ‘walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another’.      Having fellowship with one another is connected with walking in light (or walking in truth).  In true fellowship, love for one another must be a prerequisite.   Hatred, or even indifference, toward one another does not constitute genuine meaningful fellowship. Fellowship – and anything else but love – would be a contradiction in the life of a Christian.  And not only that, it would be a grievous sin against another man and the God that created that other man.

Christ’s law of love as we read in Luke 10:27 states that ‘you are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength and with all your mind’.   But it doesn’t stop there, it goes on to address our relationship to others when it says, ‘and your neighbor as yourself’.    Who is our neighbor and who is our brother?  The Bible gives no narrow definition of these terms.   There is no indication that the neighbor or the brother is simply the one who lives nearby or the one who shares the same parents.  No, it is much broader than this.   Ask the man who famously became known as the Good Samaritan who his neighbor was.  He didn’t even know the person he encountered but yet came to his aid, not only disrupting his own plans, but also sacrificing his resources to make sure the injured was well taken care of.

The Holy Spirit  has furnished the Christian with the ability to love.   If the true believer is going to love God like he is commanded, then he has a responsibility to cultivate his love toward others. There are no excuses.

A Good Day

My wife always has ways of encouraging me.  Today she emailed me at work a section from a book she is reading from Warren Wiersbe regarding what a 'good day' consists of:

What God means by "Good Days":  They are not necessarily days free from problems.  For the Psalmist in Psalm 34 wrote about fears, troubles, afflictions, and even a broken heart.  A "Good Day" for the believer who "loves life" is not one in which he is pampered and sheltered, but one in which he experiences God's help and blessing because of life's problems and trials.  It is a day when he magnifies the Lord, experiences answers to prayer, tastes the goodness of God and senses the nearness of God.

Pain and Pleasure

Joy is often elusive to the Christian.  We wish it were within our grasp, but sometimes it just isn't there.  We find ourselves desperately looking for it only to come away disappointed by another exercise in futility.


It is closer than we think.  It involves a spiritual culture shift in what we think joy is rooted in.  Am I wrong in saying that if everything is fine and everything is going our way... then we have joy... and lots of it?  That may be true to some extent.  But the Bible tells us another source of joy.   Of course, God is the ultimate source of joy, as He is all other good gifts.   But consider these passages:


Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us.  Psalm 90:15


Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word.  Psalm 119:67


It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.  Psalm 119:71


The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the LORD, And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.  Isaiah 29:19


These passages indicate that gladness (joy) is sometimes related to affliction.  BEFORE affliction, the Psalmist went astray.  It appears that the affliction was instrumental in helping him keep God's word. It is GOOD that the Psalmist was afflicted... why?  So he could learn God's law.   This causes stability in one's life, and stability plays a vital part in whether or not someone is joyful.  


But the ultimate affliction was what you and I caused to the one and only Son of God because of our rebellion:

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.  Isaiah 53:7


Because of the pain that Christ endured on the cross, the one who follows Him in obedience of faith will enjoy the pleasures of heaven forever.   That should not only bring a smile to the saddest face, but that should bring everlasting joy that nothing or no one can take away.  

Turning Hearts of Stone...

I saw a beautiful waterfall. The rocks below were gouged out smooth from the decades, even centuries, of billions of gallons of water pummeling them with constant force. But even though that rock had evidently changed its shape over the years... it was still a rock. The water had been effective in eroding away some of the rock, but the rock remained a rock nonetheless.

There are a few things in life that affect our stony hearts, but do they really change them? I read countless articles this week on the orphans in Haiti. One article in particular struck me and I caught myself drying the moisture from the corner of my eye: a group of young orphans, four, five and six years old being tended to by an eleven-year-old. All of their parents are dead. That should move even the hardest, rockiest of hearts. But yet there are people who commented on the article that "this is Haiti's problem and we should not be there for any reason".

What makes a heart that rock-hard? Is there any effective remedy? What would change that cold stony heart into a heart of compassion and love? Water. Water?! The washing of the water of the Word! Ezekiel 36:25 says "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness". He continues in verse 26, "I will give you a NEW heart and put a NEW spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes..."

This sprinkling of water is the washing of the water of the Word. Continual feasting and drinking of the Word of God. This is what changes the rock-hard heart. While the waterfall may change the shape of the stone with its powerful force - it is still a stone. But the Word of God powerfully and effectively transforms the cold, stone heart into a loving, compassionate heart... a heart that was once an enemy of God is now a friend to God.

God's Wrath and God's Kindness

The coverage of the sad unfolding of events continues in Haiti. It's so hard to watch the pain. It's also hard to listen to all the comments from different talking heads... including one Pat Robertson who says this happened because the Haitians 'had made a pact with the devil'. Pat, that's a little harsh, don't you think? Pat, you're an evangelist - do you think you could have pointed your audience to some words of truth and hope from God's Word? We never know exactly why these kinds of things happen, but we can look to the truth from scripture to get a glimpse of some ideas, rather than relying on Pat Robertson. Romans chapter 1 tells us that the 'wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness'. So how is that wrath shown? Natural disasters could be one way, couldn't it? If God is omnipotent, then He could have stopped that earthquake from happening. So He's either not omnipotent, or He chose to let it happen. My Bible boldly teaches His omnipotency, so I believe He let it happen... and for a reason. That reason can possibly be found in an account in Luke 13, where a tower fell on some people and killed them. And Jesus tells the survivors, 'unless YOU repent, YOU will all likewise perish'. So there's a warning in tragedy. The warning is a clarion call to those onlookers - REPENT. Many people in Haiti have rejected Christ and have followed false religions. This is their call to repentance. And this call is not only for the Haitians, but for anyone and everyone who does not follow the God that could have stopped this earthquake. And so we pray for the Haitians in their hour of desperation. We pray for people's kindness to go far in the relief effort. And we pray that they see the kindness of God amid the disaster, for it is the kindness of God that leads people to repentance.

Who is the Fool?

The term ‘fool’ is defined in a variety of ways in Proverbs.  The simple, the fool and the scoffer.  

 The Simple.   This is the person who is lazy in thought.  He is mentally naive.  He is irresponsible, gullible and silly.  He has an indifferent self-sufficiency about himself. 

Proverbs 14:15 says ‘The naive believes everything, but the prudent man considers his steps’.   This verse is the perfect contrast between the gullible and the discerning person.  Proverbs 15:21 says ‘Folly is joy to him who lacks sense’.  Naivety is FUN to the simple. 

The classic ‘simple’ one is found in Proverbs 7, where the harlot is looking out her window and sees the ‘naive’ youth - a young man lacking sense.  By the end of the chapter an arrow has pierced through his liver.   The example shows us the serious and perilous condition in which the simple person tragically finds himself.  A ‘simple’ (gullible, lazy, irresponsible) person could be changed from his foolish condition if he pays heed to instruction and turns from his willful laziness.    (Proverbs 14:18 - the prudent are crowned with knowledge)  But often, a ‘simple’ person remains in his foolish condition because he prefers to reject discipline and wisdom.  They remain that way if they don’t develop discernment (Proverbs 22:3 - The prudent sees the evil and hides himself, but the naive go on, and are punished for it).    More on the 'fool' and the 'scoffer' in future posts.  

Faith that Pleases God

How exactly does faith manifest itself in our lives? Does full contentment in our station in life constitute the kind of faith that pleases God?  What then is contentment?  Is it derived externally from getting one more material thing?  Or is it the internal peace we get from knowing that God orders our steps, regardless of what we own...  A.W. Tozer says that "things... were made for man's use, but they were always meant to be external to the man and subservient to him.  Our woes began when God was forced out of His central shrine and things were allowed to enter... God's gifts now take the place of God."   And so discontent reigns because one more material thing can never satisfy.  However, when we've learned to put 'things' and God in the proper order in our lives, then contentment reigns... and then we've come a long way in having a kind of faith that pleases God. 

Why Study the Book of Proverbs - Part 2

In addition to 'knowing wisdom and instruction', 'obtaining understanding', and 'gaining prudence', there are four more good reasons to study the book of Proverbs.  They are:

4).  To acquire knowledge 

Knowledge. The Hebrew root comes from ‘skill’ (yada).  When Esau grew up, he became a ‘skillful’ (yada) hunter (Genesis 25:27).  He was skillful, or ‘knowledgeable’ in his work.   Similarly, when an evil spirit was terrorizing Saul (1 Samuel 16:15-16), the people were seeking a man who was ‘skillful’  (yada) on the harp.  “Then one of the young men said, ‘Behold I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful (yada) musician...”  (1 Samuel 16:18)

5).  To get discretion

Discretion.  The ability to scheme, devise and execute a plan of action based on a proper understanding of a matter.   This is a characteristic that is generally lacking in young Christians.  Discretion is developed by a steady diet of the Word of God. 

6).  To increase in learning

Learning. Comes from the word to seize, to grasp, to acquire, to buy, to take.  When the mind begins to ‘grasp’ something, then we are increasing in learning. 

7).  To acquire wise counsel 

Counsel. Direction, wise guidance.  If we are to be steered in the right paths in life, wise guidance and ‘counsel’ is very important. 

Now, a wise man will seek after these things.   The fool?  The next posts will deal with the fool.  

Why Study the Book of Proverbs - Part 1

Why study the book of Proverbs?    The first verses of the first chapter give several good reasons, here are the first three:

1).  To know wisdom and instruction 

Wisdom.   Wisdom is defined as ‘skill in living’.  

Instruction.   The meaning is to teach by discipline, as a parent disciplines a child in order to produce a fruit of righteousness.

2).  To obtain understanding

Understanding.  Careful consideration.  Ability to grasp with insight.  Has the idea from the original language of ‘to bereave’ or ‘to miscarry’.   The sayings of bereavement might not exactly express the thought, but it conveys the idea of learning through the unhappy experiences of others, or of oneself.

3).  To gain prudence

Prudence. The word actually means ‘crafty’.  It’s Hebrew root word was used describing Satan in Genesis 3:1.   Shrewd, cunning.   We are to be ‘Wise as serpents...’ (Matthew 10:16).  To have ‘prudence’ would be to have the ability to detect craftiness in others.  Prudent people are able to think through complicated matters and make wise decisions about them. 

  1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

  2 To know wisdom and instruction,

To discern the sayings of understanding,

  3 To receive instruction in wise behavior,

Righteousness, justice and equity;

  4 To give prudence to the naive,

To the youth knowledge and discretion,

  5 A wise man will hear and increase in learning,

And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,

  6 To understand a proverb and a figure,

The words of the wise and their riddles.

7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

More next time!  

An Introductory Look at Proverbs

In coming weeks, I'll be posting some of my notes from my study in Proverbs.  The commentaries I'm looking at include works by Charles Bridges, Warren Wiersbe, Derek Kidner, H.A. Ironside and other miscellaneous sources.   Here are some introductory notes that I'll be eventually sharing in my Sunday School class:

Although there are many subthemes, the main theme of the book of Proverbs is 'being wise'.  Gaining wisdom vs. remaining foolish. 

Wisdom - means being skillful in one’s relationships and responsibilities... observing and following   the Creator’s principles of order in the moral universe. 

Who wrote the book of Proverbs (and when)?   

• Solomon is credited with creating and compiling most of the Proverbs (1:1; 10:1).  
• Agur and Lemuel also wrote Proverbs 30 and 31 respectively. 
• Approximately 971 to 686 B.C.

What is a proverb?   An online dictionary defines a proverb to be “a wise saying or precept; a didactic sentence”.  Pastor and teacher Dr. John MacArthur defines proverbs as “simple, moral statements or illustrations that highlight and teach fundamental truths and tendencies in life”.

Why study the book of Proverbs?    The first verses of the first chapter give several good reasons.   I will look at those in the coming days.