–Psalm 23:5 (NKJV)
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               “It’s where Daddy cleaned his gun, where my homework was done, where the coffee was drink and news was read…  It all happened at the kitchen table…”
                              –Jimmy Yeary

What is it that happens around your kitchen table?  This is a song that I came across recently and speaks of all the things that used to take place around the kitchen table.  Most places I’ve lived we didn’t have room for a kitchen table, but the dining room table sufficed.  As a kid I seldom ate breakfast with the family because they were all up and at work before I went to school, but I would sit at the table to eat my breakfast.  However, most evenings (until I started playing baseball in junior high) we all sat down at the table for supper.
       My earliest memories of the table was in a small dining room that contained a buffet and Grandma’s bed which was along the wall with a window.  The furnace in the room heated the whole house and Grandma usually kept a coffee can on it filled with water.  When a cousin, Sonny, lived with us there could be found a tray of chicken hearts, livers, and gizzards warming there.  Sonny was a short-order cook.
       I can remember sitting at the table listening to the adults talk and when family came from a far distance they would talk late into the night.  Friends who came over would sit at the table, drink coffee and eat some kind of sweets that Grandma made.  Theology, politics, school, and baseball were discussed there along with many practical things.  That’s where Grandma would roll out her cookie dough.  Yes, thinking about that table brings a smile.  
       I wrote all of that background to show how a subtle change has taken place in our society.  Notice that I didn’t mention praying before meals.  That was a given, prayer was to be given thanking the Lord for the food and for His blessing.  It is a practice that to a degree is no longer practiced and one reason is because we are no longer sitting at the table.  I am doing a brief study of Leviticus, and food was to be considered a blessing from the Lord.  Meat was not always on the menu, but when it was there was a certain ritual.  The man who slaughters the animal must take it before the Lord as an offering, then he could take the meat home to eat. (Leviticus 17)  This act dignified ordinary meals, making them sacred.  Eating around the table should be part of a spiritual experience; and do not forget Paul’s words, “Whatever you do in word or deep, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” (Colossians 3:17, NASB)
       The table, the place where we eat, but it should be more.  It should be a time of family gathering and discussion.  It should be a place where we are thankful for God’s blessings upon our lives.  I think it is to our detriment that we no longer bond around the table.  Everything does not have to be a religious discussion or ritual, but everything should be done unto the Lord.  Annie and I always eat at the table.  When family comes over we eat at the table.  The table is a symbol of hospitality which should be part of our lifestyle.  It is around the table that we drink coffee and “break bread”, laugh, and once in a while shed tears.  David W. Rogers puts it this way, “One may think of this as a kitchen table spirituality–a spiritual life and way of living that mirrors the kitchen table in life.  A spirituality that is not afraid of getting soiled while preparing nutrition for others.  A place where life’s ups and downs are straightened out, where lives come together and blessing happens.  A spirituality that is real, tangible, and Biblical.”
       Then my mind goes to that grand table in heaven.  A table where we will sit with Jesus, and enjoy the feast of the Marriage Supper.  What a time that will be.  It will be a sacred time, and also a time of joy and thanksgiving.

               “When I was but a boy in days of childhood,
               I used to play tll evening shadows come
               Then winding down an old familiar pathway
               I heard my mother call at set of sun.

                    Come home, come home it’s supper time,
                    The shadows lengthen fast,
                    Come home, come home it’s supper time;
                    We’re going home at last.”
                              –Ira F. Stanphill

                         –Isaiah 4:6 (NASB)
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I go to one doctor and am told to eat plenty of this food; then I go to another of my doctors and am told to stay away from that type of food.  Who to believe?  Then I hear rumblings from China and the chatter is that they will invade and take over Taiwan before the elections of 2024.  Add to that the situation with the Ukraine, and numerous other hotspots.  Then turn to our cities–they are in chaos.  Just look at the number of deaths in Chicago alone.  And “they” tell us it’s a gun problem.  No, it’s a heart problem, and it has been that way since the days of Cain.  When people do not choose God, they choose evil even if it is not an open declaration.
       It seems that in recent weeks, I have had thoughts, readings, and verses that allude to the sovereignty of God.  One the other day said that when we see troubles on every hand, when there seems to be no way out of our plight, when we’re at the end of our rope–rest in the sovereignty of God.  That’s one reason why Psalm 91 is so comforting; it has often been called the “Soldiers’ Psalm.”

          1 — He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
          2 — I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.”
          3 — Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.
          4 — He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
          5 — You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day,
          6 — Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.  (NKJV)

       We do not know who the author of this Psalm is, but it is surely someone who had a firm trust in the Lord.  Listen, we live in a very insecure world.  Just look back at the virus pandemic, and still in our midst is the looming threat of cancer and heart disease, along with myriad other maladies.  Trust in God when these things occur.  Wait a minute, I hear you say.  I had loved ones die from COVID, I had loved ones killed in battle in Afghanistan or other regions of the world.  Wait a minute, a loved one was killed in a drive-by shooting.  Wait a minute…!  Trust in the sovereignty of God.  He is in control.  When we don’t understand we must lean on the sovereignty of the Almighty.

               “A sovereign Protector I have,
               Unseen, yet forever at hand,
               Unchangeably faithful to save,
               Almighty to rule and command.”
                        –Augustus M. Toplady

       Nothing can harm you, child of God, unless the Lord allows it.  Take heart in that even in the midst of your suffering.  Rest well in His plan though you might not understand it.  This Psalm shows that the basis of security for the believer is found in God’s character (1-2), care (3-8), protection (9-13), and love (14-16).  The key is to dwell in the presence of the Most High.  The closer we get to Him, the more we trust Him.  We must fix ourselves to Him in the midst of threatening and perplexing circumstances.  Steven Lawson said, “True faith is committing of oneself to God with full reliance on his ability to provide and protect.”
       Perhaps we should have put more faith in God during the COVID crisis rather than the government and CDC.  Maybe we should have read Psalm 91, carving it deep into our hearts and minds rather than listening to the voice of the media hollering their advice.   Read those chilling words of Paul, “For to me, living is for Christ, and dying is even better.” (Philippians 1:21, NLT).  Hmm, perhaps the problem is that we are not living for Christ in our daily lives, so when a tragedy strikes, or a pestilence comes stalking we are fearful instead of trusting the One who is faithful.  We should take to heart the words of W. Graham Scroggie, “The Lord is our refuge for safety, our fortress for defense, and our God for everything.”
       Plagues may come–trust in God.  Disaster may strike at noon–trust in God.  Predators may come at midnight–trust in God.  Wickedness and evil lurk at every corner waiting for me–go about your business trusting in God.

               “Under His wings I am safely abiding;
               Though the night deepens and tempests are wild,
               Still I can trust Him; I know He will keep me;
               He has redeemed me, and I am His child.”
                          –William O. Cushing

                         –Jory Sherman  (Dawn of Revenge)

       “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

                         –Psalm 27:1 (NKJV)
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We live in a crazy turbulent world.  Confusion reigns and more than ever we need wisdom and the ability to pass it on to our children and grandchildren.  The devil will do his best to dupe them.  He will attempt to deceive as he did in the Garden of Eden, challenging them with false truth.  There is a great need to learn to deal with and accept life’s questions; to live with life’s tensions and to do that wisdom is needed.  

               “Wisdom strengthens the wise more than ten rulers of the city.  For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.  Also do not take to heart everything people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you.  For many times, also, your own heart has known that even you have cursed others.”
                              –Ecclesiastes 7:19-22 (NKJV)

       How do we succeed in this world of chaos?  How do we find strength?  We find wisdom, for wisdom gives inner strength.  It gives us the strength to walk through the mayhem of the world, to battle through the issues that confront us.  Listen, each of us bears a cross, Jesus says to pick it up and follow Him.  Nowhere does it say that sanctification will be an easy lot; rather it is a hard road to follow at times.  Didn’t we read earlier, “Who makes the paths crooked”? (7:13)  Jesus knows the way we travel and we are told that if we need wisdom we should ask God and it will be given to us. (James 1:5)
       One of the most important facets of wisdom is that it gives us the strength to avoid gullibility–wisdom has a filtering system.  This is true whether you are dealing with a used-car salesman or dealing with one of Satan’s imps.  The world has many glittering things to offer.  Watch out for sales; you usually get what you pay for.  Watch out for the lights and glamour of advertising.  I read once, where a casino owner in Las Vegas said that because of the allure that once a person enters they have been “got.”  There are shysters of all kinds and wisdom gives us the strength to say “NO!”
       Some wise man (word choice intended) once said, “When a mule kicks you, just consider the source.”  Wisdom gives us the strength to handle criticism.  When people shun and laugh at your ideas, your lifestyle, your way of walking this journey of life, we consider the source.  Wisdom also helps us to keep our mouth shut when we see a fool fall in a ditch and not to say, “I told you so.”  It will keep us humble.
       I will advise you to read the rest of Ecclesiastes 7, stopping especially to contemplate verse 29.  We see here that wisdom gives insight.  It shows that some relationships are often unsatisfying.  It helps us determine the difference between thrills and true satisfaction.  It lets us know regarding alien relationships–being unequally yoked.  It helps us to realize that sometimes those we depend upon fall flat and apart.  It is wisdom that flashes out the warning–Beware of Synthetics!
       The world would have you live a synthetic Christianity.  It would have you depart from the principles and virtues of the Bible.  The Word of God is our manual of arms, our policy manual to help us through this world.  Our covering is the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  The world would have you think that you are outdated, especially in the realm of family rights and status.  As Christ is our covering, so is the man (the father/the husband) the covering for his family.  Where is that man?  C.S. Lewis says that society has been clamoring for “men without chests.”  If that happens, and it is happening, what will happen to the covering of society?

                    –1 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV)
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Sometimes I get confused.  I know that the ancient Jewish people enjoyed riddles, but that is what Ecclesiastes does to me.  I read of wisdom, and wickedness, then wonder what in the world is Solomon telling me.  Then I recall the words of Paul, “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:25, NKJV).  When I am wise, I am really foolish in the ways of God, but then I ask, what does that make a foolish man?  More than a fool?  Try with me, to contemplate the words of Ecclesiastes 7:15-18.

               15 — I have seen everything in my days of vanity:  There is a just man who perished in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.
               16 — Do not be overly righteous, nor be overly wise:  Why should you destroy yourself?
               17 — Do not be overly wicked, nor be foolish:  Why should you die before your time?
               18 — It is good that you grasp this, and also not remove your hand from the other, for he who fears God will escape them all.  (NKJV)

       What is Solomon saying to us?  There is the truth that all men die whether they be righteous or wicked.  Perhaps it is the timing of death, or the manner of death.  Remember, in the time of Solomon all went to Sheol–the place of the dead.  Now with the resurrection of Jesus the righteous, born in the Spirit and washed in His blood go into the presence of the Lord.  Solomon didn’t have the privilege of knowing this.
       Wisdom, we all wish we had it.  Wisdom, to make those proper choices in life.  Charles Swindoll defines wisdom this way, “Wisdom is the God-given ability to see life with rare objectivity and to handle life with rare stability.”  I like that.  The ability to see objectively, and then to handle the everyday woes and cares and storms of life with stability.  We must also remember that there is a natural wisdom, one that comes with experience and the totality of life.  There is also supernatural wisdom, one of the gifts given to the Church (1 Corinthians 12).
       I have often wondered why the wicked seem to prosper and live the “abundant” life.  We as Christians often do not have that “rare objectivity,” but see life as a person of the world does.  Wisdom is practical.  It is not some wild, far-off daydream.  “Look with wonder, admire, and silently wait for the result of God’s work!  The contrasts of life are deliberately allowed by God so that men should ultimately develop a simple trust and dependence on God.  For prosperity and the goods from God’s hand, be thankful and rejoice.  But in adversity and the crookedness of life, think.  Reflect on the goodness of God and the comprehensiveness of His plans for men.” (Walter C. Kaiser)  This wisdom is to help us view life with proper perspective.  Look with kingdom eyes–what is God doing in the circumstances of your life?
       One thing I have seen through the years of my life are the extremes.  There is often and “out-of-balance” form of Christianity.  Wisdom gives us balance.  Some say “don’t be too holy” while others will say “don’t be too wicked.”  Today, the thinking often among Christians is “sin to a moderate degree, enjoy the world.”  In the verses above Solomon is saying that neither are right.  He is warning about pseudo-religiosity and showy forms of worship.  Walter C. Kaiser puts it this way:

               “The danger is that men might delude themselves and others through a multiplicity of pseudoreligious acts of of sanctimoniousness; ostentatious showmanship in the art of worship; a spirit of hyper-criticism against minor deviations from one’s own cultural norms, which are equated with God’s righteousness; and a disgusting conceit and supercilious, holier-than-thou attitude veneered over the whole mess.”

In other words, keep proper balance–view everything through God’s Word.  Don’t be the “holy-Joe” but don’t dabble in the things of the world.  People have said that he is “so heavenly-minded that he’s no earthly good.”  But I would reply, if a man is truly heavenly-minded, he will do earthly good.  Be wise then–not in the ways of the world, but with the eyes of God.  Try to see the situation with the perspective of the Lord.  Perhaps reading these verses with the Amplified translation might be of help.

               “Be not [morbidly exacting and eternally] righteous overmuch, neither strive to make yourself [pretentiously appear] overwise; why should you [get puffed up and] destroy yourself [with presumptuous self-sufficiency]?  [Although all have sinned] be not wicked overmuch or willfully, neither be foolish; why should you die before your time?  It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withdraw not your hand; for he who reverently fears and worships God will come forth from them all.”