So if I have taken the easy and evil road it is not because I didn’t have sound advice.”
–Ernest Haycox (Whispering Range)
“In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.”
–Job 1:1 (NIV)
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I recently started reading a book by Bryce Dominic Valor, and right off the bat it had this: “We are drowning in information but starved for wisdom.” That is the part of the premise we see in Proverbs 8. People do not understand wisdom, and that is clear because if they did they would not shun or mock the things of God. We see in the two verses below that wisdom is tied directly to the fear of the Lord. “Coming to wisdom requires coming to God, and coming to God means turning away from all that God hates…” (NKJV Study Bible)
12 — I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge and discretion.
13 — The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate. (NKJV)
Wisdom is personified and speaks to the way of holiness. Do not listen to false teachers, those who would deceive. The true worship of Christ is distinguished by the call to holiness. He alone is altogether righteous and holy. He hates evil and every evil work (Beasley). Know this that man is sinful and undone. “The way of holiness leads only by the cross of Christ, where the holiness of God met the sinfulness of man.” (Beasley).
We see in these verses that wisdom is a person; the person of Jesus Christ. He is wisdom personified. Wisdom, then, is part of the grand character of God. When people reject God they are rejecting wisdom. Evil and wickedness are hateful to Him; therefore, if we belong to Him, we will hate these things also. (McGee) Those who partake of them show that they in reality hate wisdom and refuse to be guided by it.
Prudence means discretion; that is, being cautious in one’s actions. This is necessary for wisdom. J.L. Flores says that it is “the best manner in which to carry out what wisdom has designed.” For example, “wisdom decrees that a certain word is to be spoken. Prudence decides upon the best time, place, and manner in which to say it.” (Flores) Adam Clarke adds this, “wisdom applies to practice; wherever there is true wisdom it will lead to action.” So wisdom is not passive.
Wisdom and prudence then act in union for the promotion of moral ends. Satan will try to deceive by offering false wisdom and prudence as he did Eve in the Garden. Scripture declares, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12, NKJV) Man’s wisdom and judgment are often misleading, that is why diligent study and knowledge of God’s Word is vital.
We know what is “that good, and holy, and acceptable will of God” through the use of holy, godly wisdom. Stephen Charnock states that “Whatsoever wisdom there is in the world, it is but a shadow of the wisdom of God.” We are to avoid evil, and Paul goes further by saying we are to “avoid the appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonian 5:22, NKJV) The ESV puts it this way, “abstain from every form of evil.” (Hmm, good thing to remember as we enter this devil’s holiday of Halloween). We read in Romans, “Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.” (12:9, NKJV) This means that we are to be repulsed by something that they shun and avoid it at all costs (Renner). Evil–that is “anything that is full of destruction, disaster, harm, or danger” (Renner) to the physical, mental, or spirit. To honor the Lord is then to hate evil.
What then will you do with wisdom? Do you listen to it or turn from it to your own ways and opinions? Do you fear the Lord enough, honor Him enough, to hate and shun the things that He hates? The choice again belongs to us. Choose godly wisdom or choose man’s and the ways of the world. One keeps and leads to life eternal, the other is the way of perdition.
Author: Ira Paine
The Saga of Miles Forrest
People who live only for wealth come to the end of their lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day they were born.” –Ecclesiastes 5:15 (NLT)
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We had just finished a fine diner with Reverend and Betty Chapman after church services. She prepared a wonderful fried chicken dinner along with pickled beets and baked beans. She profusely apologized for not having any potatoes, but the season was past and they didn’t have any in their root cellar. Molly was the pie baker, but Betty Chapman was known for her cakes and she outdid herself with a chocolate cake of which we were now partaking in the living room.
“Miles, I hope my coffee suits you. I know you like it strong. I don’t make it often as I prefer tea,” she paused to look over at Molly. “Would you care for a cup of tea or would you prefer coffee?”
“I don’t often make tea just for myself, so if you don’t mind I share your tea. Oh, and I might say, that’s an exquisite tea set.”
“You’re kind,” replied Betty. “It belong to my mother who died just before we left St. Louis to come here.”
Now, I don’t mind a cup of tea now and then, but I do prefer my coffee. I could see the Parson watching me as I took my first sip. He was grinning so I reckoned I should say something. “Not bad, Betty, not bad at all. I can drink this.”
She gave a little chortle, “So you can drink it.”
“It goes well with this delicious cake,” I quickly added.
“Well done, well done, Miles,” enjoined the Parson. “Now what it this I hear about a new position?”
I quickly finished the cake, then held my cup out to be refilled which brought a smile from Betty. I took a sip, to wash the rest of the cake down my throat. “That’s what I want to talk with you about. It’s with the Colorado Rangers and I would be in charge of this district.”
“So what do you want from me?” he asked. “It seems that a door is open. Why are you hesitant to step through it?”
Glancing over at Molly I answered him, “Well, it will take me away from home more often, but not as long. As a marshal I could be away for longer periods. This would be a circuit similar to what a sheriff does with the county.”
Rev. Chapman looked over at Molly. “And what do you think?”
She sighed before answering, “I have the same concerns as Miles. The pay is steady, but knowing him he would take it seriously,” she paused to smile at me. “Overall, I think he would be home more.”
Laughing, I interrupted, “I should have partnered in with Lot Smith with the wild horse business when I had the opportunity.”
“Miles,” began the preacher, “we don’t live in the past with regrets, but look to what the Lord has for us in the future. I hesitate to say anything for if it doesn’t work out I don’t want you saying that the Rev. Chapman told me to do this or that.”
We all chuckled, but I told him that he had no worry regarding that. Since he was our pastor we thought we should run the idea by him. “One other thing, I could be called to Denver once in a while, something that I don’t relish. For sure whenever there is an election of governor.”
“I will say this…there is a door open and the Word of God says that the steps of a righteous man are ordered by him. However…”
Echoes From the Campfire
Nor could he bear to leave the lands of immense distances, the purity of the air, the vast sweep of the mountains, plains and forests, the smell of his lonely campfires, the feeling of a good horse under him, and the song of the lonely winds. It was in his heart now, in his blood and bones, and in all the convulsions of his brain.”
–Louis L’Amour (The Rider of Lost Creek)
Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah”
–Psalm 24:10 (ESV)
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What did Paul and Silas sing while in prison? What was it that caused the bars to shake so hard that they broke open? We know it was the power of God, but was it their singing of His praises that brought it on? Perhaps it was like this little song that is found in Philippians 2:9-11. Some call it the “Hymn on Christ’s Exaltation.”
9 — Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 — That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 — And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (NKJV)
I might add here that we need to understand that singing and music has evolved over the years. It was more of a strum on a stringed instrument and then the voice in some sort of tonal quality would recite something. Not quite the advance of the progressive chant of the monks (I’m being facetious).
Look at what is being said in those three verses! Here is power! Here is the rule of the sovereign Lord God Almighty! Here is the recognition of His glory and deity! William Petersen reminds us that “We say the three names–Lord Jesus Christ–very casually, almost as if we were talking about someone named John Henry Doe… But if you were living in the first century, you would realize that there was nothing at all casual about the name.”
Jesus was His given name, the Greek of Joshua. It means “Savior,” and it was not uncommon nor unusual in first-century Israel. Now add to that Christ and the name and meaning changes. He is now Jesus, God’s anointed Messiah. Peter proclaimed, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God’ (Matthew 16:16). The Jews couldn’t quite handle that much less accept it, and it led to His crucifixion.
To add the third name, “Lord,” would also get you into trouble with the Romans and other Gentiles. “Lord” was an imperial title acknowledging the divinity of Caesar. It could have also referred to other deities. The name “Lord” was sacred among the Jews as well. Jews would not use the name of Yahweh as it was considered sacred, so they often used Lord. Now comes the clincher, when Christians spoke of Jesus as Lord they meant He was Deity Himself. (Petersen). Barclay says that “When men worship the Lord Jesus Christ, they fall at His feet in wondering love.” The words of Isaac Watts cause me to tremble in awe, “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all.” This is worship “founded, not on fear, but on love.” (Barclay)
To be a Christian, from the first century until now, was to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! A Christian believes that Jesus is who He said He was; it was to believe in the totality of the three names. We need to ask, who/what is Jesus to you? To me? To all? Is He the Messiah, God’s promised Redeemer? Is He the Lord, the divine Son of God? Get it right now! “One day all of creation will bow before Him and acknowledge, with full meaning, that threefold name.” (Petersen)
“One day all creation shall bow to our Lord,
Even now, among angels His name is adored.
May we at His coming, with the glorified throng,
Stand singing His praises in heaven’s great song:
Jesus, Jesus, Savior adored
Of all men and angels, forever our Lord.”
–Dutch Hymn (translated by W. Kuipers)
Coffee Percs
He pulled a rag from his coat pocket and used it to lift the coffee pot from the fire. He poured the hot brew into two tin cups, put the pot back in place, and then handed a cup to her.”
–James Leonard (The Good Guy)
Pard, there’s strange things happenin’ in the land. And let me tell yuh something else, there’s a bunch of fools and I’m rightly thinkin’ some of them are demon possessed. Oh, sorry, let me be fillin’ yur cup. Don’t mean to be givin’ yuh the grief of my thoughts before yur coffee’d up. How’d we get to the place where we’d pull such folk in office and then to see some folk there that don’t care a hoot about this country, an’ one of them’s runnin’ for mayor of New York City. Oh, Lord, help us through the jungles!
At least the coffee’s good, but don’t yuh see the connection. There’s a bunch of them tryin’ to replace honest coffee with cinos–compromise on the taste, or give it a twang of something sweet. Did yuh happen to see this? I had to shake my head a couple of times. One of the leaders of our country, in fact he ran for president said, “We’ve got to cut down on farming due to climate change or people are going to starve.” Huh? Stop farmin’ so people don’t starve. Listen we’re a-headin’ for the pills of the Jetsons faster than we think. In fact, with the help of AI soon we’ll be eatin’ something that tastes like beef steak only when yuh bite into the pill. As one ol’ boy put it, the west wasn’t won by eatin’ tofu an’ a salad.
Pard, when folks throw God to the wayside or forget Him altogether there is a price to pay, and we’re seein’ it now. But Pard, just like yur drinkin’ good ol’ hot black coffee there’s hope. God will bring a remnant through, and oftentimes He’ll use them to bring a revival. But if not, the price will be terrible. I saw a photo of an ol’ rancher that said, “We are livin’ in a day where people are proud of what they should be ashamed of.” Gay pride, transgender or multiple genders and I’ve seen that yuh can even be changin’ gender back an’ forth as it suits yuh. Warped, demonic, and yuh don’t hear many preachers takin’ a stand. An’ let me tell yuh that’s one of the problems–the pulpit has let this country down. Don’t be gettin’ me wrong, not all of them, some fine preachers are doin’ their job, they’re bein’ watchmen, but there’s a whole bunch that ain’t.
Then when people runnin’ for public office say that others should be shot. Why, that a threat! Others won’t keep the people of their cities safe because of a political agenda. Jeremiah, where are you? Amos, where is your cry? An’ let me throw something at yuh, one reason there isn’t a voice of a true prophet like in the Old Testament is that we have the Bible. Preach and live the Bible and many problems will be solved.
Whew, I’ve done did my spoutin’ for this mornin’. But I see we still made it through a pot. Pard, be warnin’ yur kids an’ grandkids, don’t let up no matter what, even if’n they get to whinin’. It’s jist like me a-tellin’ yuh to check yur cinch everytime I see yuh. It only takes one slip to put another lump on yur noggin’. Be ridin’ tall in the saddle, keep yur gun oiled, and Bible handy. No tellin’ what kind of varmint or demon yuh might be meetin’ on the road.
Vaya con Dios.