"Apples of gold in pictures of silver"

Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket.

I'm not sure exactly what a picture of Proverbs 25:11 looks like. Maybe that's the point. I checked some resources, one said, "gold apples set against a silver sculpture or carving, or like a gold earring or other ornament.* Another, "either real apples of golden color, in a silver network basket, or imitations on silver embroidery."** I don't know Hebrew and so I can't decipher the precise meaning. A look at various translations shows a variety of ideas. Could it be that all of that precision is beside the point? That what we are being confronted with is something of exquisite beauty, something in which the color, the preciousness of the materials, the balance, symmetry and aesthetic appeal are breath-taking? Something that to look at is to feel a pleasure so intense that it approaches pain? Have you heard such a word, a word fitly spoken, advice that is timely, a thought distilled into communication that absolutely hit the spot, and caused you to give an, "Ahh" of satisfaction? Such words are rare. They are to be treasured. That well thought out, carefully considered, properly framed, "I love you," especially if the precious metal of the words has been refined by patience. An, "I'm here," without needless explanation, in particular when the actions in which the words are contained leave no doubt that this is from someone who is there for the long-haul. The words can be wrapped in temporary pain. Their short translation is, "I love you too much to let you do this. You may hate me for saying this, but I love you so much that I'm willing to take that risk."*** In my imagination, I see Solomon in his royal palace, some extravagantly beautiful work of art before him, contemplating a well-chosen word. He thought, meditated, gazed at the thing of beauty, and said, "Yes, that is what it is like." Three thousand years later having heard such a word, I say, "Amen." The well-chosen word that fed, and continues to feed my soul, is a carefully chosen, brief exposition of scripture. It fit the occasion. It was delivered to meet the need of the hearer, not display the ability of the speaker, and it penetrated into my heart to meet the need of the hour in my life.   Lord, as one who dares to speak words on Your behalf, may they be the right words. Guide me Holy Spirit, so that what I say will be valuable not only now, but for eternity. Amen STTA ________________________ *Walvoord, J. F., & Zuck, R. B., Dallas Theological Seminary. (1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 960). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. **Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 400). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. ***Proverbs 27:6

You Might Want to Stay Ignorant

Inquiring Mind, or Wise Heart:

"Inquiring Minds Want to Know." A few years back that was the advertising slogan for a tabloid newspaper. It is also an accurate observation. It is healthy to want to know, to grow in understanding, and to gain a better command of the world around us and how it works. In the Western world, we speak of knowledge as being power. Indeed in this digital age, some of the most successful businesses deal in nothing but information, knowledge, data. Those who can successfully tap into that natural human tendency to quest to know more, find that knowledge is wealth. Sometimes, though, knowledge isn't a good thing. I've seen situations when: Knowledge is pain. Knowledge is corrupting. Knowledge is guilt. or, Knowledge is maddening. Some people-groups tend to live with a view of knowledge that is far different than mine, as a senior American. They aren't nearly as open, and they respect the closed-ness of others. Perhaps in those cultures, inquiring minds still want to know, but I see a realization there that says, "Wise hearts care enough to leave it alone. Many of us are so connected that our lives are like a reality TV show, where cameras are on us 24/7. We don't eat without posting a picture of our food. Every move we make leaves a digital footprint and often a tweeted prediction. The most intimate details of life are dumped out before millions like breadcrumbs thrown to pigeons in a park. On the other end of those feeds are those who become annoyed, even indignant, when they aren't fed. Some of us are old enough to remember when people would make major trips without ever calling back home. My wife and I carried out a courtship largely through the US Postal Service. I have noticed that as we have more, cheaper, and faster means of passing on information that the demand--and I mean that in its most demanding sense--to know more has increased. "Minds addicted to knowledge demand to know," and they will make you pay if you don't feed them. I'm not suggesting that you throw your iPhone away, or cancel your Twitter account. I am suggesting that perhaps we ought to think more and know less. The book of Proverbs speaks of discretion, the quality of behaving or speaking in such a way as to avoid causing offense or revealing private information. In 1:4 discretion--the ability to make proper decisions--is a goal of the book. Discretion guards a person (2:11). 11:12 speaks of an aspect of discretion, " a man of understanding keeps silent." (See also 11:22) Instead of being so eager to know the latest, let's try to understand what we already know. Let's create some space between the deed done, or the word said, and its announcement to the world. Let's exercise some discretion. Let's emphasize wisdom in our hearts. It's STTA.

The Lord's Prayer, Preacher Boys, & Old Cabinet Makers:

Something To Think About, The Lord's Prayer, Preacher Boys, & Old Cabinet Makers:

It used to be common in my part of church-world to refer to young men in Bible college as "preacher boys."  I can remember some sweet blue-haired ladies referring to me that way.  It was a good thing.  If they referred to you as "My preacher boy,"  you could figure some homemade cookies were on the way.  I was privileged to spend about five hours with a group of preacher boys, lecturing on the art of preaching, and some basic survival skills for pastors.  If any of you preacher boys are reading this please don't be insulted.  I was really impressed with how much they don't know.  That's why I was invited to share with them.  If you pay even a moderate amount of attention to something that you do all your life you learn something about it. Yesterday I was privileged to preach from Luke 11, The Lord's Prayer.  (You can watch a video or download an mp3 here.)  As I worked through this thirty-seven word prayer I was impressed with how much I don't know.  I don't mean about my attempt to preach this message, though that is abundantly true.  The ignorance I am talking about is at the core of the overall teaching of the Bible on prayer.  This sample prayer from our Lord is in the mainstream of that doctrine.  It is abundantly clear that prayer is not about me getting what I want, but God getting what He deserves.  That makes sense, even on a self-serving level, because I'm too ignorant to know what I need. The prayer opens with the word "Father."  While we may begin our prayers in a similar way, if we are honest, we'll admit our initial thought is not about God, Who He is, and what His plans are for this world, rather we begin with thoughts of ME, what I want, and my plans to mold this world into a place that will give me the most fun.  If we think of God at all, it is along the lines C. S. Lewis expressed, We want Him to be not a Heavenly Father, but a Heavenly Grandfather--somebody less interested in making us endure something that is good for us, and more willing to indulge us by allowing us to get what we declare as good--as in FUN.  Fathers make us eat vegetables.  Grandfathers take us out for ice cream.  Several times I told my young preacher friends that they needed to know they don't know.  They would be wise to listen to someone who knows more than them--at this point I was referring to their real teacher and the author of a book they were assigned to read.   One of the problems with being ignorant is we are ignorant of our ignorance.  As my late father-in-law told me about a master cabinet maker he was privileged to work for, the old craftsman said, "You forget what you know, and let me teach you." The Lord's prayer in Luke 11 begins with two requests that have to do with God.        "Father, may your name be honored;      may your kingdom come.” (Luke 11:2, NET)   "But," I hear myself saying, "there is all this stuff I want, even things that I need.  People treat me badly.  I brought my list."  As I preached yesterday I heard a voice.  It sounded a lot like what I told the preacher boys, or the counsel the old master shared with my Father-in-law, "Child, trust me, you don't know how to do this.  This is how you start."   Seeing my impatience my Father looks at me with loving eyes.  "Trust me.  This is really what is most important." I won't preach the message again.  I'll just leave you with this. Do you really think that you know better than the God of the Universe what ought to be happen in this world? It's STTA. You can read the Lord's lesson on prayer here.  The Lord's Prayer as recorded in Matthew is found here.

Wisdom:

. . . you can't rollerskate in buffalo herd.   Last night one of the small groups at my church sponsored an evening around the campfire.  The weather was such that except for those roasting marshmallows for s'mores everyone stayed well back from the fire.  It was a nice gathering, though.  Our purpose was to pass wisdom from the older generation to the younger. Between times when some of our seniors took opportunity to articulate some lessons learned--some learned in the school of hard-knocks, and others a day late--we had times of singing.  Old favorites like "Amazing Grace" pointed us to the fount of all wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).  Some of the songs were far less serious.  One of them, that passes on some obvious truths, is this pearl that declares you can't skate with Bison.  Even Kevin Kostner recognized this.  He danced with wolves, but never tried rolling with the tatanka. Though it is obviously not wise to recreationally covort with Bison, that reminder hardly qualifies as wisdom.  True wisdom addresses that which pertains to real life.  It takes on issues that aren't obvious at all.  It serves to "give prudence to the naive, to the youth knowledge and discretion."  (Proverbs 1:4) We heard that kind of counsel last night. God's word is full of true wisdom.  Here is how James describes it. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.  (James 3:17) Wisdom, don't miss it! It's Something to Think About.   To find out more about CBC at our website. God's Story in His Own Words. a message composed of nothing but Scripture that presents the flow of Divine Revelation from "In the beginning," to the final "Amen." You can find the most relevant message of all time here.