not wise in my own eyes

Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
Proverbs 3:7

The warning here is clear: seek God's wisdom, but don't be deceived by your own heart's attempts at wisdom in the process. (see Proverbs 3:5-6 for the context.) The litmus test of wisdom is this: True wisdom leads to the proper worship of God and repentance from sin. It leads a person to fear God and turn away from evil. Anything else is a self-driven false wisdom to be avoided. Do not be wise in your own eyes!

I must see all true wisdom as God's wisdom. Even if I made a good choice, it is only because God's wisdom led me to that choice and not because I'm so great. I must guard my prideful heart from comparing wisdom to anyone but God. His wisdom is always perfect. Mine is broken and flawed.

I must check my pride by realizing only the grace of God to a sinner like me (who does not deserve God's gracious gifts) has resulted in God's wisdom in my choices. God gets the credit... I did not do it!

I am not worthy of the wisdom of God, but I am so very thankful for it. I need His direction for my life, to follow Jesus well, and as I do so, I will have God use me to show others the love of God, and the wisdom of God, in Christ. That is the best life.

I will turn my eyes from my pride as God enables me. I repent of any wisdom that is in my own eyes. I declare now that only the foolishness of the cross is all the wisdom I will ever need.

four parts to faithful ministry

This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience.
1 Timothy 1:18-19a

Paul's encouragement to his young protege Timothy has four parts to it worth thinking over. First, Paul appealed to past history. There is this interesting statement regarding "previous prophecies" made about Timothy. Evidently God has revealed some purposes in the young leader. Paul is gently reminding Timothy of these as he begins to fulfill his assignment in the city of Ephesus.

Secondly, Paul warns Timothy that the work of the ministry would be hard. The metaphor chosen to convey this was that of waging war. Ministry wages war on a world system and upon Satan's forces. Timothy needed this reminder. But it is a "good warfare" that results in the salvation of souls and the glory of Jesus Christ.

There were two things to cling to as the warfare battles blazed: faith and a good conscience. Timothy was to believe and trust God. He was to hold fast to the truth of the gospel. He was to trust that God will empower His work in Timothy for His glory. And doing so would confirm the "rightness" of the ministry efforts in Ephesus. It would help him sleep well each night doing with confidence what had been his commission with a good conscience.

Lord,
Thank you for these short pastoral reminders to Timothy. I may not have ever been the gifted young leader that young man was, but the task of ministry today carries with it the same weight. And these encouragements to faithful ministry resonate in me as I anticipate more work in your kingdom today and in my future.
Amen

consumed by consumerism

Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain;
it takes away the life of its possessors.
Proverbs 1:19

I believe the truth of this proverb. Those who are out to profit by manipulation, greed, and oppression will come to a bitter end. The justice they eventually receive will be costly. From God's view, their lives are consumed by their greed and social injustice. They are eaten up by their unjust actions. Their own sin consumes their souls.

Greediness is all around us. Our society does business counting on it. Retailers are 60 days away from Black Friday and are already stocking up to create a consumer feeding frenzy. Social media shows lifestyles of greed on display for the world... even a greed for attention is consuming people... people become brands that other people aspire to be. Pictures of daily life are advertisements for something more. People are a consumer force to influence, sell to, and gain wealth.

Politicians do little to stop this lifestyle, so don't think government will stop greed! Government is practically the definition of it these days! They make promises to end the unjust gain, but then often use their power to keep themselves in power or to gain personal advantage by their position. Ethics are squishy campaign promises forfeited for personal gain when it is most convenient.

All of this human activity in greed ends badly. It consumes the life of the greedy consumer. Unless I choose to be enamored by the gain of knowing Christ, I too can be a victim of my own greediness for unjust gain.

two reasons to praise

Praise him for his mighty deeds;

praise him according to his excellent greatness!

Psalm 150:2

This simple verse in the final psalm of over-the-top enthusiastic praise calls me to praise the Lord for two very real reasons: 1) what His power has done, and 2) what His character is. Both are important for me to remember and both bring vitality to a heart that will lead it to true worship.

Beginning with a recognition of His mighty deeds, my heart turns to the power that I know in two very real ways: Creation and New Creation. I love seeing God’s power in the world He has made. I see the expansive heavens and marvel at His poser to simply speak them all in to being. Each star in the night sky is a glowing atomic furnace of incredible power, and there are billions of them scattered across an apparently boundless universe. That’s just one facet of His might in creation.

His power in “re-creation” in Christ is also mind-boggling. I have experienced this by faith in the good news that Jesus Christ died for my sin, and rose again giving new life and eternal life to all who believe. This is the spiritual equivalent of those billions of stars shining in the night sky. I have this new life in Christ. I sense it. I know it. I can feel it. It is a mighty deed of new creation.

How and why did God show such mighty work among us? Because He is excellently great. He is not great in a political or popular sense of that word. Rather, God is essentially great as a part of Who God is. He is great in holiness and perfection. That drives all God is and all God does. And that makes God alone my worthy worship.

It’s going to be worth it.

Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.

Luke 12:37

This is the promise that Jesus makes to those who will live seriously with the gospel and be ready for His return. We are called to work and watch, and to know that faithful gospel service will find us rewarded. The Master returns to serve us in giving reward. But first we must serve faithfully, even as the day turns to night, we must be ready all through the night. We must not forget that we steward our lives for the returning Master and Savior.

I love that Jesus turns the table on the expectation for His return. He returns so that He might reward those who awaited His appearance. Jesus becomes a servant to those committed to serving Him. He should have a feast in His honor, but instead He throws the feast in honor of those faithful to Him. It will be worth it all on that day!

I will continue to live for this blessing. As a servant of Jesus Christ, I have the best job in the world, and I await His return. I hope to give a good account to Him, having brought the gospel to the forefront in my conversations, my convictions, and my carrying on of my life. I want to see the joy on Jesus’ face as he finds me awake in His work. 

praise from the earth

Praise the Lord from the earth,

you great sea creatures and all deeps,

fire and hail, snow and mist,

stormy wind fulfilling his word!

Mountains and all hills,

fruit trees and all cedars!

Beasts and all livestock,

creeping things and flying birds!

Psalm 148:7-10

I enjoy listening to this orchestra of praise described in this psalm. It walks through all the wonderful design and beautiful life that God has put upon His earth. And all of the environment and all of its occupants bring praise to their Maker. The beauty of this world calls out to the majesty of God. And one only needs to get just a little wild to soak in this song and join in.

As I meditate on this psalm, sunrise is hitting the foothills of the front range of the Rocky Mountains right before my eyes. The golden hues on the forested rolling range draw my thoughts to praise my Creator. 

God,

Thank You for the life I have and the majesty that calls my soul to the strength and comfort of knowing You. As I view the majesty in front of me, I worship. The creation is not my focus... it points to You. And in You, Lord Jesus, all things come together for Your glory as the apex of all that God has made and done for me. I am thankful my soul can rest in You as I contemplate this world You have made!

Amen

Stuff

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Luke 12:15

I certainly believe these words of Jesus. But I also realize that compared to Him in His earthly ministry, I have just a ridiculous amount of stuff. And my culture wants me to have even more of it! The struggle is real. In fact, the current hot trend of “simplifying” is only a way to covet and value the very best stuff, and doesn’t prevent people from wanting or being obsessed with material things. Tidying up my stuff in neat organizations can still be a form of covetousness!

Jesus used cautionary language when talking about materialism’s deadly lullaby. He warned for us to take care (make effort) and be on guard (stay vigilant) against the constant call of our hearts to want more stuff.

Then Jesus told a story to illustrate the soul-destroying dangers of a heart consumed with a wealth of stuff. A rich man had abundant harvests in his fields. He was pleased with it all. He hatched a plan for his stuff to be ALL of his life. He would build bigger barns, store it all up, sit back, and take it easy. Settled in his plan for wealth to provide, he went to bed dreaming of more stuff and the good life. That night he died. And none of his stuff could stop that.

Jesus said to keep an eternal view on what our hearts treasure (Luke 12:21). We want to know riches that are directed toward God. We want to use the gifts and the means that God has given us for His glory and purposes. We want God, not stuff. We are blessed with what we have so that we can do God’s work in the world, sharing, caring, and finding satisfaction in giving our lives, and our things, away. That is what great life consists of for eternity.