Today is the first of July, so I thumbed over to Psalm 1, the first of today's five Psalms, and I contemplate what it might truly mean to be a righteous man planted by streams of living water. I look back from verse 3 into verse 2 and see that my delight must be in the laws of the Lord and meditation on how they apply in my daily walk if I want to be that man. I realize with humble gratitude, that though most of the time I'm all too aware of my failures and shortcomings, I have shown a constancy resembling firm planting in God, He has yielded fruit in due seasons, and in spite of all my struggles and challenges, I prosper in the things I put my hands to, though frequently God's economy and that word prosperity aren't dollar signs the world around me (and let me be transparent, I would like to see more of) longs to see as proof. So I happened to grab my NASB MacArthur study Bible from the kitchen table when I stepped back out on the deck. After a few minutes with Psalm 1 I flipped the pages over to today's chapter in Proverbs, 1 of course. I was reading introductory commentary to the whole book of Proverbs when MacArthur noted a tangent I frequently chase down throughout the Bible. Jesus is personified as Wisdom in numerous places, especially throughout the OT if we have eyes to see. I strongly suspect that Elihu in the book of Job was a personification as well, though it isn't wholly relevant. Anyway, John MacArthur writes "The sum of this wisdom is personified in the Lord Jesus Christ (1Cor1:30)." And that's all it took to get me off to the races flipping over to the NT in search of that reference.
A.W. Tozer said "The word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection." Perhaps for that reason, I rarely read a single verse reference by itself, I almost always end up reading the chapter(s) or paragraphs surrounding it for context and then revisit the reason for the reference. I suggest you make that a practice as well, it will greatly deepen your understanding of Scripture's proper applications in so many facets of daily life - Scripture never just says one thing for one time to one person or people group in history, there is always more if we'll listen and meditate as Psalm 1:2 tells us this morning. Paul wrote "these things were written as examples, for our admonition, for our instruction, etc.," (1Cor10:11). Keep that verse in mind as you find Jesus and the Disciples pulling single verses and combinations of verses (seemingly) out of context and going down tangent laden roads you would have never seen if you were reading that particular passage of Isaiah or the Psalms or the Pentateuch for yourself with a mindset of "God's talking to the tribe of Judah here and they're in this historical frame of reference...blah blah blah...snoozing snore." Both sides of this manner of thinking are good and necessary and instructive, but don't ever forget there's more in that dry confusing passage than you might ever know if you get stuck on one side of the coin. The Bible is a living Word, not a history book you are forced to read or get a failing grade in some meaningless general education class. As a living Word it isn't most concerned with history per se, it is concerned with your relationship to a living God who created and loves you in spite of... well, in spite of every willful rejection you've made over the years. If you prayed before reading one verse or section of Scripture a day you would be blown away within a weeks time at how much more He will open to you in just a few days as you earnestly seek His wisdom through His Word, as you trust Him to open it to you. You don't need to set out three or four translations and read 11-20 chapters a day like some of us strive to. Transparent side note here: my wife says things to me like I've "...got to be the only idiot on that kind of track with your seven ribbon book mark spread from the Torah to the Epistles - and the rest of us humans are lucky to get 20 minutes in on one passage a day a few times a week..." [This is my paraphrase - think Message - mind you, she's never called me an idiot (out loud, anyway) to my face]. She always says the sweetest things, with a gentle chiding smile to soften the blow as she jerks me back to reality for everyone else. I asked her yesterday riding in the car if she always had to be the seamstress walking around with the little wristband tomato full of pins popping peoples balloons - and my 9 year old daughter Kira chimes in from the back seat: "yeah, seamstresses are just mean... really." I love my girls :-D
Here's where I need to come back to my reading and the things I received as I sat there prayerfully considering the whole of the situation with life today... fires devastating Colorado, storm damage destroying cars, homes, and lives elsewhere; numerous random diagnoses of cancer in healthy people; our government giving sign after sign of complete departure from all foundations of right governance and the apathetic defeat with which we the people shrug our shoulders; the economic uncertainty even those of us currently employed face... there will be no rain from these clouds, I know as sure as I'm breathing that the lightning did land and spark fire though no one has realized it yet, the winds will move on and dismantle the potential of what I'm witnessing from my patio deck. All of this wrapped in the context of the reference I flipped over to chase regarding Jesus embodying wisdom.
1Corinthians 1:30He became the very definition of wisdom.
But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.
He became righteousness, 'right relatedness' of humanity to God, 'right relatedness' of humanity to humanity.
He became sanctification - setting us apart for good works prepared beforehand.
He became redemption, our redemption from our broken relationship with God. He made redemption possible for whosoever would call on the name of the Lord.
And all that is available if Jesus lives in you - if you are in Christ Jesus.
And as a culture, as individuals demanding independence - we all want to be "Independent Businessmen" in charge of our own destination, our country (and world) as an overall majority wants nothing to do with a God who might have something to say about their conduct or the rightness thereof. We have a wrongful image of God's righteousness that we're terrified He will rob us of all fun and joy in our daily life. He came that we might have joy and peace to the full, but we can't reconcile those verses with not being allowed to do whatever we want however we want whyever we want and under whatever justifications we might manufacture. And that's why even while it looked to have the potential for drenching rain, I knew in my core being we would see maybe teaser drops and nothing more.
He has allowed us the fill of our ways in every arena beloved, the consequences of our own actions are what we reap, He has bound us but still we do not cry out for healing.
Proverbs 1:23-33(emphases mine)
Turn to my reproof, behold I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; and you neglected all my counsel and did not want my reproof; I will also laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your dread comes; when your dread comes like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but they will not find me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD. They would not accept my counsel, they spurned all my reproof.
SO SHALL THEY EAT OF THE FRUIT OF THEIR OWN WAY AND BE SATIATED WITH THEIR OWN DEVICES.
For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.
BUT HE WHO LISTENS TO ME SHALL LIVE SECURELY AND WILL BE AT EASE FROM THE DREAD OF EVIL.
By the way, in keeping with wisdom being personified and likely being the representation of the preincarnate Jesus, Wisdom is the one 'shouting' in that last passage.
There will be no community lament and repentance, and therefore our land will not be healed. And the righteous trapped right up here in the middle of it all will be impacted accordingly. Each day is a new day, each day dawns with the possibility of redemption, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification - all readily available. All freely given by the Giver of all good gifts, but the cost is more than we are willing to pay. Surrender. Surrender of our own broken ways, exchange for His life giving ways, and walking daily with His Holy Spirit living in you and guiding your steps. Too costly indeed. If we keep doing the same things expecting different results, well, twelve steppers of all persuasions call that 'insanity'. That's also one of the things praying Christians are called by those who don't understand - insane. That's fine, I can live with that.
Job 34:21-22
For His eyes are upon the ways of a man, and He sees all His steps. There is no darkness or deep shadow where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
Job 36:8-13
And if they are bound in fetters, and are caught in the cords of affliction, then He declares to them their work and their transgressions, that they have magnified themselves. He opens their ear to instruction, and commands that they return from evil. If they hear and serve Him, they will end their days in prosperity and their years in pleasures, but if they do not hear, they shall perish by the sword and they will die without knowledge. But the godless in heart lay up anger; they do not cry for help when He binds them.
We are boiling in our own ways - this is what the heat is trying to tell us. "Yet you said, 'I am innocent; surely His anger is turned away from me.' Behold I will enter into judgment with you because you say, 'I have not sinned.'" Jeremiah 2:35
We have left the streams of living water that only come from God - this is what the droughts are trying to tell us. "For my people [and that is what the USA in particular is, although ultimately Ps 24:1 lays out that the whole earth and all its people are his as well] have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water." Jeremiah 1:13
Sin is uncontrollable once unleashed - this is what the wildfires are trying to tell us. Sin will always cost more than you are willing to pay, take you farther than you were willing to go, and leave you stranded down a dead end street with the only way out being to walk back through the carnage and havoc you chose to wreak on your way by the first time. We're all in this together, so understand others will lay down their life to put out the fires of your sin... are you okay with that?
We can have no idols and false means of security - this is what the storm damage is trying to tell us.
Will we, will you listen? Or will we, will you, cherish anger and flip God off? The choices are yours. You are only responsible for you at the end of the day, you can have it however you want and God will allow you to eat the fill of your own ways.
God is gracious and polite, He knocks and waits for you to invite Him in - He will never push in and demand His way, He only accepts what you willingly surrender. Our country has demanded He get out of our business, so He obliges and we cry at injustice and suffering at each others hands. He allows us to be Independent Businessmen.
2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."So which side of the patio door do you want to be on beloved? By the way, the sirens are sounding as the fire department's trucks are rolling to put out that lightning sparked fire someone finally noticed. I think I'll step back on the other side of the patio door. Come on Sophy, let's go in...
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all Scripture quotations in this post taken from (NASB).
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