Published November 30, 2010 | 
Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep. NAS
That pictures the only way to true security and success. It’s relying on the Lord’s oversight, the Lord’s blessing, the Lord’s provision. Continue reading
Published November 30, 2010 | Here is a word for you from the Word.
Morning by morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; morning by morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. NIV
How do you begin each day? Does your day begin with a scramble, with a flurry, with trying to do three different things at the same time? Continue reading
Published April 27, 2010 | Here is a word for you from the Word.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. NIV
The psalmist there speaks about two wonderful qualities, qualities which are very rare amongst men and women today—the qualities of wisdom and understanding. The psalmist points out that each of these has a moral foundation. The foundation for wisdom is the fear of the Lord; the foundation for understanding is following the Lord’s precepts. So it’s fear of the Lord, expressed in obedience, that is the key to true wisdom and true understanding.
We need to observe a distinction between wisdom and understanding on the one hand, and education and cleverness on the other. There are many educated, clever people who do not have wisdom or understanding. Cleverness is a matter of the mind, but wisdom goes deeper than that. It’s possible to have high education and in many ways to be a fool. An American president once said that if a man is a thief and uneducated, he may steal a railroad car, but if you educate that man he’ll steal the whole railroad!
So you see, cleverness and education are no substitute for the moral foundation of wisdom and understanding which are the fear of the Lord and obedience to His precepts.
Published April 27, 2010 | Here is a word for you from the Word.
Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor. NIV
The Bible always speaks well of generosity but it has nothing good to say about stinginess. The Bible teaches that wise and judicious generosity is the way to blessing and prosperity, but that stinginess leads to poverty.
The psalmist here pictures a righteous man. He says, “He will never be shaken; he will be remembered forever.” Why? What are the causes of that man’s stability? He’s generous, he lends freely, he has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor. Therefore the psalmist says, “His righteousness endures forever.” I believe that many of us today need to recall how central to righteousness is our attitude to the poor, to those who are in need. God has nothing good to say about those who neglect the cry and the need of the poor. Let’s remember that that’s essential to establishing our righteousness.
Published December 7, 2009 | Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law; you grant him relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked. NIV
God is the greatest of all teaching psychologists. As you study the Scriptures,you will learn how profound the discipline and the psychology of God are in the field of teaching.
The words of the psalmist there bring out one great basic principle: without discipline there can be no real teaching. That’s one of the great problems of many aspects of our modern educational system. Discipline has been abandoned and with it teaching has gone. I know from my own experience as a business trainer, if a teacher cannot exercise discipline, he cannot really teach. God is wiser that that; He never tries to teach those who refuse His discipline. “Blessed is the man you discipline” and whom “you teach.” Continue reading