Proverbs 11:12 - Have Sense, Keep Silent

Proverbs 11:12

He who despises his neighbor lacks sense,

But a man of understanding keeps silent. 

Message: Have sense, keep silent

Time: Proverbs records multiple individuals as its author with Solomon as the principal author. Solomon died in 931 BC though most think the book was likely in its final form sometime before the end of Hezekiah’s reign in 686 BC. It is a book that instructs people on the path of wisdom. It speaks to all of life and living our lives under the authority and direction of God.

What the Lord is Saying: Amazing, I was just dialoguing with a person that I felt like was being a little rough to another person and sent the note. 

I am involved in an online ministry in which we I have spiritual conversations with people through a secure email client. I support other online ministries as a leader for about 25 people. One of those individuals I noticed in her correspondence she seem to be Expecting people to adhere to her conversation script, and when they didn’t, I noticed her belittling them.

Is this verse talks about despising your neighbor to me? It is partly talking about belittling your neighbor, or thinking less of your neighbor for any reason.  For doing that it lacks sense or like Good sense. The difficulty I am having with this individual, though is she does not recognize The way she is speaking. She’s having trouble understanding or taking the time to understand the individual because she’s more concerned that they simply follow the script or the intended path. She wants to walk them through. Granted that path is one of scripture and encouraging them to walk with God and trust him. But sometimes people are not receptive to that and first would like their request met. 

The counter or the opposite to this verse is a person who has understanding stay silent. I’m not thinking this means that the person does not speak, but perhaps it’s simply silent in a critical way and if anything is encouraging if a word is spoken.

The Pulpit commentary says, "An intelligent man is slow to condemn, makes allowance for others' difficulties, and, if he cannot approve, at least knows how to be silent."

Prayer: Lord, help me to remember to always be sensitive to people's needs but also have wisdom and understanding. I need to hold my tongue and be quiet and seek guidance from the Lord for what to say. 

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.

Ephesians 4:28 - Loving Neighbor Through Vocation

Ephesians 4:28 - He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.

Message: Loving Neighbor Through Vocation

Time: Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians sometime in AD 60–61, around the same time he wrote Colossians and Philemon. Ephesians deals with topics at the core of being a Christian - faith and practice, no matter the situation.

What the Lord is Saying: This passage in my bible is under the heading of 'Put on the New Self.' Paul is delivering a message to Christians on how they are to live, providing them responsibilities, their behavior, their conduct. And in these words he is speaking of how the Christian is to act toward his neighbor. 

Verse 29 was a hallmark verse for me as a Christian growing up. Coming to Christ at the age of 14, I remembered being a person that had cursing show up in my life. And so verse 29 was of great encouragement to me -- "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear." 

This passage encouraged us that work is way to encourage others. I do not think this is my first thought when it comes to work. I think first of providing for my family and fulfilling my calling. I suppose I go into work first and foremost with that in my mind, but I also take pride in doing my job well, trying to make good decisions and lead the organization in good business. 

But this passage seems to give greater light to words from 2 Corinthians 5:17 -- Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. It speaks of shedding the old things and the old ways of living and instead take on a new mission and role. Verse 25 says to "Lay aside falsehood." And in verse 26 to not sin with our anger. And now in verse 28 to no longer steal. Instead of being a thief we are to be one who shares what we have with others. 

I have found myself doing this often with people that I have met abroad. After spending time with them and testing them to see if they are reputable and then also praying about those situations, I have felt a need to help those who are less fortunate. All of these individuals are black or African American. And so Pamela and I from our labor have been of help to them. But I am not sure I have had the same idea about people here in Albuquerque and specifically at my job here at the City of Albuquerque. 

The reason I work is to give to those in need. I am to provide but also to alleviate suffering. I am to go the extra mile not simply for those halfway around the world, but those next to me. 

Summary: I am to labor diligently in my vocation as as to have resources to share with those who cannot meet their own needs. 

Promise: Christians are called to love their neighbors as they love themselves and one of the ways we can do this through our vocations. 

Prayer: O God, you are rich in mercy and you have given me so much. You have provided me a good job with good resources of funds. Help me to not be selfish in my receipt of these monies, but to be a person that is giving to others. Give me wisdom though as I truly want to help those that are going to be good with the money I share with them. Direct me to those in need and help me always to do what is right in giving. 

Deuteronomy 5:21 - Inner Cleanness

Deuteronomy 5:21 - You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's. 

Message: Inner Cleanness

Time: This book chronicles farewell messages by Moses, the 120 year old leader of the Israelite, primarily intended for the lay person. It covers about one month, at the end of the forty-year period in the wilderness - 1405 BC. It is a renewal of the old covenant given at Mount Sinai to the plains of Moab.

What the Lord is Saying:

In these last several studies, I have been looking at offenses or crimes taken against other people. You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, and You shall not steal -- all of these are offenses toward the greater population, toward everyone in society. Then in the last lesson, it seems, at least by the wording, the commandments are more focused on our neighbor - not bearing false witness against your neighbor and then today, to not covet. I love what Jesus does as recorded in Matthew 15:10-20 as he mentions that it is from the heart, that defile man and out of the heart come evil thoughts. It is actually tough because we are so focused on what people can see. I often find that I am hiding sin often, doing it in secret, thinking it is only me that it is affecting. When the kids were younger, we read the book Shepherding a Child's Heart and this book focused on these type of thoughts, that out of the heart springs forth the child's heart and so we want to learn how to shape the heart. Clearly Jesus is wanting us to be aware that how we are on the inside and think impacts us and even those thoughts can be a breaking of the Law. 

Luke 6:45 - The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

Matthew 12:34 - You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.

Proverbs 4:23 - Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.

There are many more references, but the idea is the reason we are who we are -- is because of our heart. In my reading and studying of scripture, I am training my thinking, my heart. 

In this commandment of covetousness, it needs to be clear that the issue is not to desire something or want something, but when that desire hurts another person then something is off. I see this in me often. There is something about me that actually finds pleasure when someone my age does poorly in life. I know it happens. I feel in competition with many of my peers and often I am not unhappy when they struggle. That is sin. That is this problem of coveting and thinking that I am the one that must come out ahead. Romans 12:15 says - Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. This is how I am commanded to live to rejoice with those who rejoice. Ultimately in this situation, what I desire is to come out ahead. This is where I really struggle with this commandment.

Covetousness is also wanting something and then wanting to belittle or move others out of the way so that I can get it. At the beginning of the pandemic, I watched people in the supermarket rush to get paper towels, out of the concern they would be scarce. The concern was not with other people. The concern was only self and making sure myself was under good care. I think this is covetousness. I have seen friends want their neighbor's wife for their own, even those that ended up getting the wife of a friend. Am I always wanting hard work to pay off for everyone. Not all the time. Often, I want the raise and promotion because I feel like I work harder than others. And for me to get the promotion means others cannot. Hopefully I am not pushing people out of the way to get what I want. 

I admit it is very hard to not compare and want and be happy with other's successes while at times ours are not present. As with all of these commandments, I am to recognize it and then work to put it to death. I also need to remember the way I am being trained, often to want things through marketing that I really do not need or should not have. As I mentioned, visiting Las Vegas, Nevada, recently, I was flooded with those temptations of sin luring me in to desire something I do not need. 

My goal instead is recorded in Psalm 119:11

Your word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.

Summary: To covet is to desire something that is not rightfully ours, to unlawfully desire something that another person has. I also see it as wanting good things to only happen to me. 

Promise: Sin is a matter of the heart. Repent for those thoughts and desires that you have that do not conform to God's law. 

Prayer: Lord, create in me a heart that more consistently and deeply loves the things that You love. Change my thinking Lord so that my mind is approaching life differently, rejoicing when others rejoice and weeping when they weep. Take me far away from this feeling in me often that I must be better than others. Thank you for showing me continually the person I am and the person You want me to be. 

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of July is about the right use of God's Law; June was justification by faith alone; May about solus Christus - Christ Alone; April, salvation by grace alone; March, the sovereign providence of God; February, the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January, the doctrine of God. 

Bringing me to Christ

The Restraint of the Law - the law is given for lawless, unholy, disobedient people, to restrain us from acting on our sinful thoughts. Restraint and Guilt - the law is meant to restrain Christians and non-Christians alike; so that others may see Christ. The Law's Revelation of Sin - The Law reveals sin, at times making it more desirable, and show the sin which people commit and the complete standard it expects. The Law and Our Powerlessness - We are powerless over the Law and Sin revealed. It is in Christ that we receive forgiveness and the power to resist sin. The Law our Guardian - The law is not a tool of justifying me, but rather it is an instrument to bring me to Christ and show me my need for Him. 

Guiding our Lives

The Guidance of the Law - The Law is a guide in our lives for what pleases God and what it looks like to walk in holiness. The Antinomian Error - We were slaves to sin, but now we are slaves to obedience and righteousness. Judaizing Legalism - The error of Judaizing Legalism is the idea that obedience brings about God's acceptance of us for salvation. The Deadliest Form of Legalism - This legalism is that one would get too focused on external practices instead of focusing on the heart.

The Law is our Guide

The Centrality of Love - Love and the law go hand in hand. We do not belong to God unless we love our neighbor, and we cannot love our neighbor without knowing and doing God‘s law and loving him. Finding Guidance in the Law - God's Word, all if it, is a guide to my life and I am to meditate on it continually. 

Caring and Protecting Us

The One and Only God - I seek to trust and love God above all else today. Images and Idols - Pictures, statues, symbols, art, people are not bad; but be careful about placing too much emphasis on these things I see. Using God's Name Frivolously - Blasphemy or using God's name frivolously are examples of taking God's name in vain. Keeping the Lord's Day - It is vital that we are setting apart a day to gather for worship and fellowship, resting from our ordinary vocations. Honoring Father and Mother - Parents are to rear their children in faith, teaching them to respect authority and children are to follow. Murder, Self-Defense and Hatred - Murder is not unforgivable and yet like any other sin, even hatred, we need to avoid it. It has consequences in this life. Adultery - Breaking the covenant of marriage by replacing what God has commanded with our own choices. The Many Forms of Theft - Any time we take anything from another, a store, another person, our employer, or another owner of those goods or services, we are committing the crime of thievery. False Witness - say something about another person that is not true or accuse someone who has committed no crime. 

Deuteronomy 5:20 - False Witness

Deuteronomy 5:20 - You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 

Message: False Witness

Time: This book chronicles farewell messages by Moses, the 120 year old leader of the Israelite, primarily intended for the lay person. It covers about one month, at the end of the forty-year period in the wilderness - 1405 BC. It is a renewal of the old covenant given at Mount Sinai to the plains of Moab.

What the Lord is Saying:

In Matthew 22 is the record of the Pharisees asking Jesus what is the greatest commandment. Jesus starts by saying - "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." But then he says there is a second commandment that is like the first one and that is "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." I've always found it interesting that he puts on part with loving God, loving others. And so while the 10 commandments are numbered, it also seems like there is an equality given for all of the commandments, that not any one is greater than the other and that they all work together. 

Today I look at this commandment about "not bearing false witness against your neighbor." There are different relationships mentioned in the commandments - our relationship with God, the church, children, parents, husband and wife, others in society, and more distinctly our neighbor. Granted, everyone can thought to be our neighbor but it seems like there is some distinction between our neighbor in these last 2 commandments. 

In a simple way, telling a lie can be bearing false witness against your neighbor though I do not think these are all lies. But it is fair to say that in this commandment is the expectation that our speech needs to be truthful about others. In my life, I've noticed this being rather difficult in the workplace. At times as a manager my job is to listen to employees and one area is listening to how an employee believes or thinks or hears other employees are talking about him or her. Obviously, if the employee has been offended directly then I must take this seriously, but when an employee hears through another employee something about oneself, it reminds me that these are rumors and potentially gossip. When I am feeling wronged by a person, often the first thing that I will do is want to tell someone else. I do this because I think I want others to sympathize with me or agree with me. This is clearly a sin though. At its core this is gossip. And in this communication is often sometimes a tendency to slander the person as well - so when I share I go beyond the comment and even have a tendency to make the situation sound worse that it was. I need to be more careful with my speech for my words can have lasting results. 

From a lying standpoint, when I say something about another person that is not true, I am lying. Often I will tell people what they want to hear. It would be better for me probably to not speak. But I also see this as a problem in the workplace and at home in family relationships. 

The other side of this commandment deals with legal testimony as to bear false witness or accusing someone who has committed no crime. In other words, falsely accusing an innocent person. Deuteronomy 19:16-19 says:

6 If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, 17 then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. 18 The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, 19 then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother.

I think of the workplace as well and a desire sometimes to assume people are in the wrong. Again, there is a desire in man to be better than another person. This is a source of competition and can be a good thing, but given the situation, I think we must also recognize the other side of the coin or stand in the other person's shoes. Again, I think it is important to remember the command that we are given overall and that is to you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Even in competition we can have love. And we can consider the other person. 

Summary: To bear false witness against your neighbor is to think or say something about your neighbor that is not true. 

Promise: Gossip and slander are the calling cards of this sin. Rather than speaking to people face to face and understanding their situation, we like to place ourselves above the person through gossip and slander and lessen the worth of a person. We really need to repent and ask God to help put this sin to death. 

Prayer: O God, I need help with this sin that I often struggle with in my life. I do have this temptation to make myself look better than another person, to set myself on a pedestal, especially when I feel wronged. I've struggled with this during my life. Help me to be a person of truth and to know when not to speak. These are little momentary choices I can make each day, but give me the courage and the discipline to make those decisions so that I honor you with my words and in my heart with my thoughts. Change me. Turn my wrongs into right. 

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of July is about the right use of God's Law; June was justification by faith alone; May about solus Christus - Christ Alone; April, salvation by grace alone; March, the sovereign providence of God; February, the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January, the doctrine of God. 

Bringing me to Christ

The Restraint of the Law - the law is given for lawless, unholy, disobedient people, to restrain us from acting on our sinful thoughts. Restraint and Guilt - the law is meant to restrain Christians and non-Christians alike; so that others may see Christ. The Law's Revelation of Sin - The Law reveals sin, at times making it more desirable, and show the sin which people commit and the complete standard it expects. The Law and Our Powerlessness - We are powerless over the Law and Sin revealed. It is in Christ that we receive forgiveness and the power to resist sin. The Law our Guardian - The law is not a tool of justifying me, but rather it is an instrument to bring me to Christ and show me my need for Him. 

Guiding our Lives

The Guidance of the Law - The Law is a guide in our lives for what pleases God and what it looks like to walk in holiness. The Antinomian Error - We were slaves to sin, but now we are slaves to obedience and righteousness. Judaizing Legalism - The error of Judaizing Legalism is the idea that obedience brings about God's acceptance of us for salvation. The Deadliest Form of Legalism - This legalism is that one would get too focused on external practices instead of focusing on the heart.

The Law is our Guide

The Centrality of Love - Love and the law go hand in hand. We do not belong to God unless we love our neighbor, and we cannot love our neighbor without knowing and doing God‘s law and loving him. Finding Guidance in the Law - God's Word, all if it, is a guide to my life and I am to meditate on it continually. 

Caring and Protecting Us

The One and Only God - I seek to trust and love God above all else today. Images and Idols - Pictures, statues, symbols, art, people are not bad; but be careful about placing too much emphasis on these things I see. Using God's Name Frivolously - Blasphemy or using God's name frivolously are examples of taking God's name in vain. Keeping the Lord's Day - It is vital that we are setting apart a day to gather for worship and fellowship, resting from our ordinary vocations. Honoring Father and Mother - Parents are to rear their children in faith, teaching them to respect authority and children are to follow. Murder, Self-Defense and Hatred - Murder is not unforgivable and yet like any other sin, even hatred, we need to avoid it. It has consequences in this life. Adultery - Breaking the covenant of marriage by replacing what God has commanded with our own choices. The Many Forms of Theft - Any time we take anything from another, a store, another person, our employer, or another owner of those goods or services, we are committing the crime of thievery.

Mark 12:28-31 - The Greatest Commandments

Mark 12:28-31
28 One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; 30 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ 31 The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”


Message: The Greatest Commandments

Time: Mark's personal connection with Peter gave him the source material for this book. This book was composed probably between AD 57 and AD 59. It's a book that is on the move, leading to the cross. 39 times is the word 'immediately' used. Mark reveals Jesus as God's servant, reaching into the lives of people and effecting physical and circumstantial change.

What the Lord is Saying:

Preface - Jesus has answered his critics questions. Most recently the question was about the resurrection and what it would like to us upon resurrection in the way of marriage. We will not be married. We will have everything that we need in Christ. For God is the God of the living not the dead. His ways are always the same. He is the God of the now, not simply then. He says, "I AM" not "I was." Jesus is in Jerusalem on his way to die and then be resurrected as he has predicted 3 times.

One of the scribes came and heard them arguing - I believe they were discussing, not necessarily arguing. This one scribe comes to Jesus with a reasonable question. This scribe recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him. So this scribe is different from the others, accepting the words of Jesus. When Jesus answers the scribes question What commandment is the foremost of all? his response is actually not real different from anything he has said previously. In fact, when He and the disciples walked back into Jerusalem and Peter saw the fig tree and that it was withered Jesus responds with a two-fold response of Have Faith in God or believe me, believe me what I say and then soon after tells them to forgive their neighbors. The message is a little different but the focus is on God, then neighbor.

This is what Jesus mentions again now in the 2 greatest commandments - Love God, Love Neighbor. That is easily the central message of our lives that really stands in contrast with any other message of this day from any religious body or group: Love God, Love Neighbor. Have Faith in God and Forgive. This is what needs to motivate my life each day. This is it.

I love that message. HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; 30 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH. It is interesting here. RC Sproul comments that we love God in 4 ways - with our heart, with our soul, with our mind, with our strength.

The second commandment is somehow simpler. There is a contrast in the type of love we have for God and the type of love we have for neighbor. It is a given that we love ourselves. We don't simply love our neighbor, but we do it AS YOURSELF. This is very true. We love ourselves. And this love gets greater when we realize who we are in Christ and that God loves us so much.

I was listening to a message yesterday from Tom Nelson of Denton Bible Church, an older message maybe from 10 years ago he did in Matthew and it reminded me of how rules based we are in our lives and how heart-based God is. God is most concerned about our hearts. And this message of loving God and loving neighbors begins in the heart. It can't simply be a rule will follow. But rather it is a condition of our heart. I often struggle to understand or communicate to people what living for Jesus is really about and somehow I think it is this notion that God wants to change our heart, not just change how we do a few things in our lives.

Sometimes i have difficult figuring out what sin I have broken. I get to this point at times where I don't think I've done anything bad but at its core I don't really love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. And I definitely don't love my neighbor as I do myself. What I want is often what is most important.

Summary - Jesus responds to the question from one of the scribes, a scribe that believed Jesus had responded well to the the Sadducees question. He asks for the greatest commandment and Jesus gives two commandments, thus though there are 2 they are together. We cannot truly love God without loving our neighbor and we cannot truly love our neighbor without loving God.

Promise: Love for God on account of who He is in Himself is the highest form of love that creatures can show. It is love God with all of the power that we can muster; with our mind it is studying His ways and His character as revealed in His Word; with our soul it is means loving Him passionately; with our heart it means loving God from the very root of our being.

Prayer: Lord, first of all, forgive me God for the way in which I have loved you. Each day I seek out first ways to please myself or love myself rather than loving You. Yesterday was church and I find that church is only good if it pleases me, but you remind me that it is about loving You with all that is in my being. So forgive me for thinking that I know better. I want to be in that place to Love you with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I admit I don't know what that looks like much of the time. Help me to know how to communicate this with others. And I want to love others the way I love myself. It's easy to have this love for my wife, but sometimes not as easy with even my kids and then those that I would call neighbors. I should be sacrificing more of myself for them. You are Savior and Lord. You are king. You are Lord of All. I want to praise You.

Ecclesiastes 4:4-6 - Pursuing Contentment

Ecclesiastes 4:4-6
I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is vanity and striving after wind. The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.

Message: Pursuing Contentment

Time: Solomon's authorship is not stated. Solomon's reign as king of Israel lasted from around 970 B.C. to around 930 B.C. The Book of Ecclesiastes was likely written towards the end of his reign, approximately 935 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

This message is entitled contentment, which for me, is a difficult concept. I am not sure what it means to be content. I think I know what it means from an economic stance. I need to be content with what God has provided me and not feel like I need more. In fact, it seems like in life, the more I have the worse off I am. Every time I get a raise, the money is gone before I know it, being spent on other commitments.

But, contentment in life, on a time standpoint, as far as what I spend my time on, is also difficult. In my present job I could easily stay at work all night, but I know that I need to leave the office and get home. At home, I wonder how much time each day should really be spent in relaxation, sitting in front of a screen watching something. That is where I struggle to this day, often not real satisfied with just sitting in front of a TV, so I can get through such and such TV show that my wife and I have decided we like. I think about reading a book instead during that time or even doing a Bible Study. I think about the early days of dating and courting and how much time was spent in the Word, and now, it happens individually, but not very often as a couple.

In my TableTalk, the write-up begins with this idea of seeking contentment or balance in our lives.

The Preacher here in verse 4 brings up an interesting point to begin by stating, "every labor and every skill which is done is rivalry between a man and his neighbor." To me, he may be using this to set up a point because I am not sure this is the focus of man, but rather there is the potential of man to think that his work is basically the result of envy and we work because we want something better than our neighbor. I think I work hard to work for the Lord and provide for my family. Sure, there are times when I think my providing isn't enough and that "isn't enough" thought often is there because I look out on the landscape at other people and what they have been able to provide for their families and immediately, I think what I am doing is not good enough (and yet more is not always what I think is needed, but rather the right balance).

After this statement he remarks that this is vanity and striving after wind. This makes sense, if our desire is simply to do better than our neighbor then this is a losing battle. We will never be satisfied and even if we think we are accomplishing it, what does it matter, but temporal enjoyment.

So, that is the laborer, but then the Preacher mentions the fool or the lazy man. The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. The fool does nothing but sit idly. This is the person that equally disturbs me. This is the person that seems content to live off the government or their parents or both. If given the opportunity this person is going to do whatever it takes to basically do thinks that feed his flesh. The flesh likes to be entertained and fed -- once again spent time doing things that are fleeting and will pass away. In the end, the laborer and the fool or lazy person have the same outcome in their lives. They both are living an empty life of seeking after things that don't really matter. The hard worker amasses toys, the lazy person amasses nothing, but both are seeking things that will result in little. 

Verse 6 provides the conclusion. What is it that we should desire in life? One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind. It is better to possess what you can handle or what your one hand can hold versus living life wanting to fill up both hands or even folding his hands (verse 5). Rest is important in our lives and rest is often about trust. I should work hard six days and then the 7th rest and feel fine that I am resting because I do not have to be busy all the time.  

Promise: Pursue contentment, accepting what God has provided.

Romans 15:1-3 - Bearing with the Weak

Romans 15:1-3 - ¹We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. ² Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. ³ For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”

Message: Pleasing my neighbor

Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome

What the Lord is Saying:

It's funny. In my post on the previous verse, from Chapter 14, I made mention that Paul chose to close that chapter not with verse 22, but with verse 23, and yet, reading this first verse reminds me that Paul was just writing, verse divisions and chapter divisions came much later. 

So here I am looking at a new set of verses, even though, I will call it a new chapter. What was said in the previous verses: 

• Remember the weak in faith and do not quarrel over opinions. 
• People have different convictions. Respect those differences. Let God be the judge. 
• If you have a conviction, be fully convinced. 
• If you have a conviction, honor the Lord and give thanks to Him. 
• Make sure your acts in response to your conviction don't cause other brothers to stumble or hinder their walk. 
• Don't let what you call as good be called evil by someone else.
• The goal in all of this is peace. 
• Everything is clean, but that doesn't mean partaking of everything is correct. Look at your motives. 
• Be careful, what is good may in fact be sin if it is done with the wrong motives. 

This is quite interesting, Paul goes from don't quarrel to don't judge to honor the Lord to not causing your brother to stumble to spreading peace to right motives. The bottom line is a message that I see throughout scripture and that is, be careful.  

Thus, verse 1 of chapter 15, looks for like a conclusion. This is something Paul does often. He restates something he has said earlier. Yet, he is a little clearer here. It is those that are strong that must be sensitive to those who are weak. I think he is talking about maturity levels and young versus more mature Christians. 

At time, the young Christian has the freedom of Christ and so thinks that this freedom allows them to do what they want. The last thing that young Christian wants to see is their new faith be a long list of do's and do not's. And yet this is often what they see and in seeing that, they often turn away. The mature Christian needs to be careful in how he approaches the weaker one. Verse 1 says it great, "We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves." The goal isn't self-gratification for the Christian. It isn't supposed to be about me. I am my brother's keeper. 

Further, verse 2, "Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up." The reason we don't get baptized and go down and never get raised is because my life is about not me, but my brother. We are selfish creatures. We go to church thinking it is about us and getting our needs met. It is about the other person. That doesn't mean that every message is for someone else, because I can take personal application, but the music, preaching, church government, it's not about me. I am to please my neighbor. 

And what better example do we have than Christ? Verse 3, "For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”" Christ took on the sins of all. All the sins of mankind fell on him. He is our royal ambassador that my walk is about other people. 

I need this reminder daily. Selfishness and pleasing yourself is slammed into us day after day.  

Promise: I can hold onto the promise that I am serving God and my goal is to please Him and not myself, so I can look past my personal comfort and instead, focus on my brother or sister in Christ.  

Romans 13:10 - Fulfilling the Law

Romans 13:10 - Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Message: Love your neighbor

Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome

What the Lord is Saying:

From Tabletalk: Love consists mainly of warm affection, and often means whatever people want it to mean. If someone doesn't feel love for someone, then they can do such things as divorce a spouse. And then also love allows anything to happen. If two people love each other, then they should be allowed to be together (married or not, any choice of sexual lifestyle). Even polygamy is viewed okay because it is based on love. What does love demand? If we are the people of God, then we must follow the law of love as presented in the Bible. Paul in the previous passage tied love to our neighbor to our love of God. God did this, obviously with purpose, in the giving of the 10 commandments. How we treat others has an affect on our relationship with God. We need to be guided by God's spirit as we love.  (Note, Tabletalk doesn't really offer an answer to the observation that they made that we do anything in the name of love. But, what I need to do is continue be guided by God's definitions of love and not the world's because love will mean many things to people.)

I think the big thing I see from this thought and these verses is God is still love and He still defines love and He created love in us. And love has parameters. It is true that my life needs to be more about love than discipline or correction. I admit, I struggle with this. I am selfish and want my way and want what I think is best. I am often not driven simply by love. I want to define it in my way. 

I was watching an episode of Good Wife and Alicia, in response to a woman thinking that she should get a divorce because her husband slept with another woman, and a woman shouldn't stand for that, made the comment that she doesn't care about what the world thinks or what people think is the right decision, she must make the right decision for her family. Now, there are other issues with her life and decisions on that show and adultery that takes place, but my life needs to be guided by Truth and her character was saying, that her decisions shouldn't be affected by the worlds. 

"Love does no wrong to a neighbor." If I lived this way and other people lived this way, how different our world would be. I live my life wanting to escape bad decisions, but often am bothered when other people escape those bad decisions. I was sitting at a graduation party the other night, looking at all of these wealthy people and realizing that they can do so much (because of all the money they have) and money is never an issue in their life. Megan would get a car in that scenario and I could provide it. We could buy things for the house, windows, a yard, things to make it more appealing to us and more enjoyable to be in. We would have money for vacations, rather than trying to figure out how to live the cheapest way we can. I have a lot of envy and jealousy in me and it affects me. Help me God to be freed from this. That is not love for my neighbor. That is not what this verse is talking about.

Albert Barnes makes the statements: The gambler desires the property of his neighbor without any compensation, and thus works ill to him. The dealer in lotteries desires property for which he has never toiled, and which must be obtained at the expense and loss of others. Many employments work ill toward others. 

Isn't this what I often want? A free pass? I hate the decisions I have made. But, the above is true. My boss made the statement that, even after all his hard work, he still thinks the ultimate is winning the lottery. Money still is what we think takes away all the problems of life. We believe the lie. It dangles in front of us and we believe it. 

But, what I need to do is really be motivated by love. I have a lot of problems with my neighbors and I have a hard time thinking great things about them. It is too much of a competition with me and that is sin.

Promise: Love is the fulfilling of the Law