U2 New Album Coming Soon!

I'm a huge U2 fan, and I was excited to hear Q Magazine's Report on the new album. It sounds like it could be one of their best yet! I loved All You Can't Leave Behind, and I liked How To Dismantle...quite a bit (not as much though), but I'm excited to see the results of this one.

Proverbs Experiment: Day Thirty-One

So, here it is - the last day of my Proverbs Experiment. I enjoyed it, although it was tough at the end thinking of new things to write about. It seems like there are several repetitive themes in Proverbs - foolish vs. wise, laziness, don't oppress people, etc.

The last chapter of Proverbs are the sayings of King Lemuel. Whoever that is.

Proverbs Chapter 31:

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those who are perishing. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. (vs. 8-9)

Two of my favorite verses these days. Actually, I first learned these verses several years ago when I became involved in praying for the persecuted church. I believe that these verses were some of the main verses for Voice of the Martyrs. Now that I'm focusing on human trafficking, these verses are used frequently as well.

Tonight I had the privilege of leading worship for a New Year event that my friend Seth had for his high school and jr. high students. First, it was great to lead worship again with some people who were on my worship team for several years here in Ohio. It was fun to be together again, and we all decided we needed to do it more often.

I also had the opportunity to talk a little bit about my passion, and I left some information about Love 146 and Rapha House on a table for students to pick up. I knew that some of Seth's students went to CIY this summer and saw the same video I did that inspired me to do something. I had a great conversation with a girl who actually put together a fundraiser for Rapha House with her former student ministry, which is really great. I got her information, so now I have at least one other person who is excited to make a difference in this area. I told her that I was thinking about putting together a non-profit organization whose goal is to raise awareness among high school and college students about human trafficking, starting here in Ohio, and she got really excited. So now there are two of us who want to speak up "for those who are perishing" due to human trafficking.

Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last, but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. (vs. 30)

The last part of this verse reminds me of several women who are very strong in the Lord and have inspired me with their passion for God. Some of them are in the anti-human trafficking arena - Stephanie from Rapha House, Kathy with Love146, and Allison in Illinois. Some of them are friends here in Ohio - Rochelle, Cathy, Tammie and more. I also think of my past youth coaches who were mostly moms who helped so much in my student ministries. Thanks to all of you for your inspiration!

Proverbs Experiment: Day Thirty

Now we move out of the proverbs attributed to Solomon and into proverbs by two other men: Agur son of Jakeh, and King Lemuel. Today, we look at Agur.

Proverbs Chapter 30:

Every word of God proves true. He defends all who come to him for protection. (vs. 5)

Hmm, these are interesting already. They don't feel like they belong in the book of Proverbs; or actually, they feel more like the early proverbs rather than the last several chapters of one verse proverbs.

Every word of God proves true - Every once in awhile, I have a time of deep doubt in Christianity, in God, in the church. I have to admit that a lot of times the spark of this doubt is something that happens in the church that makes me cringe or that has hurt me. I have a hard time accepting the above verse, because there are many different interpretations of what God's word really says about certain things, and you have to wade through all the muck of denominationalism and theology and the like to really know what God intended in His word.

Verse 5 does kind of reassure me, however - because if every word of God proves true, and I can believe that, then that means that the promises of God are true, and there are some great promises to us if we continue to press on and hope.

O God, I beg two favors from you before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, "Who is the Lord?" And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God's holy name. (vs. 7-9)

I'm really liking this guy. The first favor that he asks of God reminds me of the fable concerning George Washington, when he chopped down the cherry tree and said, "I cannot tell a lie." The second one is a great prayer to pray, I think. I like that he asked for just enough to satisfy his needs, not his wants. In our culture today, wants and needs can be pretty subjective. I may want a car, but do I really need a car? And if I need a car, does it need to be a Hummer, or is that a want? (seems kind of obvious to me)

Never slander a person to his employer. If you do, the person will curse you, and you will pay for it. (vs. 10)

Does this include slandering a person to a possible employer? Because I had that happen a couple of times. When I was looking for a ministry position, I almost lost two possible jobs because a former employer slandered me. At one point, I had actually thought of suing this person because he could have cost me employment (one church I turned down; I ended up working for the other church). But I decided not to, especially because I was able to refute what he had told them.

There are three things that amaze me - no, four things I do not understand:
how an eagle glides through the sky,
how a snake slithers on a rock,
how a ship navigates the ocean,
how a man loves a woman. (vs. 18-19)

I'm glad he didn't say "when a man loves a woman."

"I'll be honest with you, I love his music, I do, I'm a Michael Bolton fan. For my money, I don't know if it gets any better than when he sings "When a Man Loves a Woman."

"I celebrate the man's entire catalog."

Yeah, I'm in a goofy mood today. This isn't going well.

Proverbs Experiment: Day Twenty-Nine

I had an excuse yesterday, my internet access was down - just got back up an hour ago.

Proverbs Chapter 29:

Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism will suddenly be broken beyond repair. (vs. 1)

Wow, is this a true statement. I think sometimes it takes others to see the weaknesses in ourselves. It's hard to hear from other people what those weaknesses are, but if we truly believe that there is something to be learned from criticism, we will grow from it and will hopefully turn those weaknesses into strengths. If we don't accept criticism, those weaknesses in our life may get too big and irreparable. Therefore, even if a criticism seems picky or little, it's good to face the criticism now and see what needs to be fixed now, before it's too late.

There is more hope for a fool than for someone who speaks without thinking. (vs. 20)

This is where I'm glad that I'm an internal processor, rather than an external processor. Someone who processes information internally thinks through options and responses before saying something. Someone who processes information externally uses their words to help them process options and responses. And external thinker is usually pretty popular in staff meetings and committees, because it seems like they are more involved and engaged in the conversation. We internal thinkers can be viewed as aloof or disinterested, but that's not the case: we are simply taking in all the information given and thinking through everything before responding.

Of course, I'm sure the above proverb has nothing to do with staff meetings or the like - but being an internal thinker does have its advantages sometimes!

Proverbs Experiment: Day Twenty-Eight

Nearing the end...

Proverbs Chapter 28:

When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But with wise and knowledgeable leaders, there is stability. (vs. 2)

I used to get Time magazine - dropped it because it's not a necessary item - thankfully, my father-in-law gets it, and when they came to visit us for Christmas, he left a few of them. One of my favorite issues every year is the "List" issue. This year's list issue included the top 10 scandals this year. There were some celebrity ones of course, but the ones that always intrigue me the most are the political scandals. Two that were mentioned were the Eliot Spitzer "madame escort" scandal that cost the New York governor his job; and the one that has hit the news quite a bit lately, with the governor of Illinois trying to sell Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder. Unfortunately, in Illinois, I guess this isn't a new thing with governors; the one before the present one had a staff full of corruption and problems.

Some people may say that morality doesn't have anything to do with legislative or governor ability, but according to this verse, it does.

Young people who obey the law are wise; those who seek out worthless companions bring shame to their parents. (vs. 7)

This proverb reminds me of all the athletes that have been in the news this last year - Michael Vick, Cedric Benson (surprisingly, the Bengals picked him up - okay, no surprise there), Pacman Jones, and now Plaxico Burress - because of incredibly stupid decisions. One of the problems with these athletes is that they have surrounded themselves with people who they think are their friends, but really they are just leeches who either want to get their money, or they may be childhood friends who continue to drag their friend down with them. The companions that some of these guys hang out with are most certainly worthless, and I'm sure that when the athlete gets in trouble, their "friends" abandon ship and find someone else to feed off of.

When the wicked take charge, people hide. When the wicked meet disaster, the godly multiply. (vs. 28)

I just read a story about a man who escaped one of North Korea's prison camps - supposedly, he has been the only one who has escaped and live to tell about it. There are thousands of North Koreans who have fled their country into China and South Korea because of the wickedness of their government. This man, who now lives in South Korea, was born in a prison camp, watched his mother die by hanging, had one of his fingers cut off because he dropped a sewing machine at age 14, and has burns all over his body by being tortured. He has no money, his refugee money from South Korea has run out. He has printed something like 5000 copies of his story, about 500 have sold. He doesn't understand what it means to be loved or have goals in his life or anything. I just don't understand how this kind of stuff happens in our world today. As we become more and more "civilized," it looks like the world is becoming more and more cruel.

Proverbs Experiment: Day Twenty-Seven

Proverbs Chapter 27:

Don't praise yourself; let others do it! (vs. 2)

This verse is interesting to me, because I live in a constant paradox when it comes to praise. I think that out of the "love languages" that Gary Chapman talks about in his book, the "regular praise" is the one that I most identify with. For some reason, I crave the encouragement of my wife, and even of my daughter. But at the same time, I have a hard time accepting praise - at church, when someone tells me I did a good job leading worship, or for example on my last day in Colorado, when I had to stand up in front and have the lead pastor say all kinds of good things about me and then after service with the many people who came up and told me how much they appreciated my ministry. It's strange, isn't it? I don't think I'm bad in the "praise yourself" category though. The only one I really brag about when I think I do something well is my wife.

If you shout a pleasant greeting to your neighbor too early in the morning, it will be counted as a curse! (vs. 14)

Since I don't get up early in the morning, this one isn't too hard for me. But on those occasions that I do have to get up early, I totally agree with this proverb. I will probably seem to be grumpy for the first couple of hours, so if you greet me cheerfully, I may not return the favor. But don't worry, I'll warm up after some time!

As iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a friend. (vs. 17)

Had to include this one, since it's one of the most well-known proverbs. This verse reminds me of a song on one of my favorite CDs, which is The Fires Of Life by Cool Hand Luke. This is what the song (called Friendly Jas) says:

It was a blessed day--
The day that I met you
Though at the time
I didn’t have a clue
As iron sharpens iron so does one man another
And that’s what God intended us to do (Psalm 27:17)

Flowers fall and seasons change (Isaiah 40:8)
And you know how we treat the rain
In times of drought we pray it comes
And when it falls we turn and run
The moon is new, you’ve left your seat (I Samuel 20:18)
The time has come to go in peace (I Samuel 20:42)
With my own hand the bow was strung
The arrow shot now falls beyond (I Samuel 20:36)

I thank my God for every (Philippians 1:3)
Memory of you
The lessons learned and
The way the Spirit moved
I remember hearing “church is more than just a building”
I remember when we proved it true

Flowers fall and seasons change
And you know how we treat the rain
In times of drought we pray it comes
And when it falls we turn and run
The moon is new; you’ve left your seat
The time has come to go in peace
With my own hand the bow was strung
The arrow shot now falls beyond

That day, I could have stared at the ocean forever
With a song for every grain beneath my feet
We were so young and brilliantly naïve
To the joy and the pain and the days that we would see

Everything has changed
But our hope remains the same
I want you to know that I’ll be here
Through a hundred years of rain

Together we run into what we do not know
Trusting our God who made tomorrow

--

It's hard to find that quality of a friendship - I've had only one in my life and miss it - but it's definitely worth the hard work and time to develop a friendship like it.

Proverbs Experiment: Day Twenty-Six

Proverbs Chapter Twenty-Six:

An employer who hires a fool or a bystander is like an archer who shoots recklessly. (vs. 10)

Which is why employers are so stinkin' careful and deliberate when hiring someone, right? Hopefully I'm the "top fool" out there!

As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. (vs. 11)

I will always remember this verse because of my friend in high school. At my home church, we used to have Sunday night services, something rather typical my age and older (nowadays, does any church still do that Sunday night service where you invite a missionary you support or someone from the congregation to talk, or basically anything else you could think of that was different from Sunday morning?) - and one time one of my friends was invited to give the short talk before prayer time, I believe. He said that he was trying to find a good verse to bring to the church that night, but he kept on thinking about the verse above and so he used it. Let's just say that people laughed and I'm sure those who were there never heard that verse mentioned in church again!

Smooth words may hide a wicked heart, just as a pretty glaze covers a common clay pot. (vs. 23)

This reminds me of where we get our word "sincere". Back in biblical days, an honest potter would let the imperfections in his/her pottery show rather than covering them up. They would then stamp the words "sin cera", or "without wax" on the pot, to let everyone know that they did not use wax to fill the cracks. I think if you're a person who always uses smooth words, but you're actually not a very good person - at some point you're going to slip up and people will see your true intentions and who you really are.

Proverbs Experiment: Day Twenty-Five

Merry Christmas! (Yesterday)

Proverbs Chapter 25:

Just because you see something, don't be in a hurry to go to court. You might go down before your neighbors in shameful defeat. (vs. 7-8)

That's much needed advice in our sue-happy world today. Can you imagine how much money is spent on either lawsuits, or protecting oneself from lawsuits? Do you realize that there actually was a time when a hot drink didn't have the words "Caution: May Be Hot" on them?

I looked up "silly lawsuits" on Google, and picked three of my favorites:

- Jan 2002. Police in Vermont stopped a man. After running his name, it came back that there were warrants for his arrest from Florida. Before the police could arrest him, he fled into a nearby forest (in the middle of winter). The police searched for him, but were unable to find him. Three days later, the suspect turns himself in to police and was taken to the hospital with frostbite. He ended up having several fingers and toes amputated. He is now suing the police. Why? The police didn't look for him hard enough! He stated in an interview, 'If they had searched harder, they would've found me'. He's accusing the police of dereliction of duty leading to his loss of limbs.

- A former waitress has settled her lawsuit against Hooters, the restaurant that gave her a toy Yoda doll instead of the Toyota she thought she'd won. Jodee Berry, 27, won a beer sales contest last May at the Panama City Beach Hooters. She believed she had won a new Toyota and happily was escorted to the restaurant's parking lot in a blindfold. But when the blindfold was removed, she found she had won a new toy Yoda - the little green character from the "Star Wars" movies. After the stunt, Berry quit the restaurant and filed a lawsuit against Gulf Coast Wings Inc., the restaurant's corporate owner, alleging breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation. David Noll, her attorney, said that he could not disclose the settlement's details, although he said Berry could now go to a local car dealership and "pick out whatever type of Toyota she wants".

- October 1998: Terrence Dickson of Bristol, Pa., was leaving a house he had just finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the garage door to go up, because the automatic door opener was malfunctioning. He couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the house and garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation. Mr. Dickson found himself locked in the garage for eight days. He subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found in the garage and a large bag of dry dog food. Mr. Dickson sued the homeowner's insurance, claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The jury agreed to the tune of a half million dollars.

Awesome.

Do you like honey? Don't eat too much of it, or it will make you sick! (vs. 16)

Solomon, Solomon. You obviously never went to Casa Bonita with their amazing sopapillas (honestly, about the only thing good about the place). If you had their sopapillas, you would have most definitely eaten too much honey.

By the way, the record for our family is still my brother Aaron with 18 sopapillas. I tried to beat it my last time there, but was unsuccessful. And actually, I did feel rather sick.

If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat. If they are thirsty, give them water to drink. You will heap burning coals on their heads, and the Lord will reward you. (vs. 21-22)

I actually know these verses quite well because (1) Paul quotes these verses in Romans 12, which contains some of the best advice, especially verses 9-21; and (2) this is one of the verses I would use whenever I would get into a debate with someone who believed that the Old Testament showed the uncompassionate, wrathful God vs. the compassionate, loving God. I would say that God has remained the same, and I would point to these verses to show that God demanded compassion of his people back then, just as he demands it of the New Testament Christians and today. And if we are created in His image, then He was a compassionate God back then too.

Proverbs Experiment: Day Twenty-Four

Proverbs Chapter 24:

If you fail under pressure, your strength is not very great. (vs. 10)

DUH!

But it's a good reminder. I think one of the keys to not failing under pressure is to be flexible. If you think about it, if an object is flexible, it can endure more stress to it, than something that is inflexible (within reason, of course, I know there are examples where this isn't the case.)

I had a "soft interview" a couple of weeks ago, and I was told that the position required someone with thick skin, because they had to endure the criticisms and bad comments of all that came into the church. Not that those comments and whatnot were personally for that individual - they were usually for leadership of the church - but that this individual would have to be the first person to read all of them. I can see how someone who wasn't good under stress would fail that part of their responsibilities.

I think that I'm a pretty flexible person, which was good for student ministry - because it seemed like there were situations every day that required flexibility - but not so good for worship ministry. A lot of worship team members are drawn to music and such because it's a rather inflexible proposition, and there's a certain personality that is attracted to that. So someone like me, who is flexible, can be infuriating to those kind of people, who want structure and all that.

I used to be horrible at "pressure-packed" situations (speeches in high school come to mind), it took a lot of failure to be able to endure those kind of situations.

Do not rejoice when your enemies fall into trouble. Don't be happy when they stumble. For the Lord will be displeased with you and will turn his anger away from them. (vs. 17-18)

This is hard for most of us - we can get a real sense of satisfaction and thoughts of comeuppance when people who are our "enemies" fall on hard times or bear the consequences of their actions. I think one of the best ways to take these verses to heart is by forgiving people for their offenses against us, and move on. I think I might have learned some of this the hard way because I have had some tough things happen in the past few churches I've been in, and it's hard to let go of those things. I sent an email to one of the people I felt wronged by, and told him that I had forgiven him and that I just needed to get stuff off of my chest and tell him what I thought he had done that was wrong but that it was okay now. He wrote me back and admitted that he had made some wrong decisions and that he wished he would have done things differently. It made me realize that a lot of times, those who wrong us really had no idea what they were doing and had no idea how much their decision would affect us. It was good clearing things up with him. It's not like we became best friends or anything, but I was able to let go of a lot of anger and resentment that was holding me back.

Of course, there's still some work needed on more recent issues. Take them one issue at a time, I guess!

Proverbs Experiment: Day Twenty-Three

Whoa, do I have some catching up to do. Christmas will do that to you.

Proverbs Chapter 23:

Don't steal the land of defenseless orphans by moving the ancient boundary markers, for their Redeemer is strong. He himself will bring their charges against you. (vs. 10-11)

These verses remind me of a story I heard when I went to a luncheon in Colorado to help raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic in Africa. One of the speakers of the luncheon was Scott Lewis, an executive vice president and COO of International Justice Mission. He told a little bit of his own story, which is heart-wrenching in and of itself - but he also talked about different stories of injustice, and how those injustices were fought against and won. One of the stories involved a widow who was bullied by a local land owner, who basically took over her land and house and subjected her to slavery in order to pay him back for "taking care" of her property. Thankfully, IJM workers built a case against him, and he was jailed and the land given back to the woman. She then opened up her own business in order to support her family, and is doing well.

I know the above verses talk about orphans, and not widows, but the idea remains the same - don't deprive the needy, the weak, and the defenseless justice, and don't take advantage of their situation for your gain. In fact, the best definition of injustice I've heard is "the abuse of power."

I looked up how many times the word "redeemer" is used before these verses, and there aren't many. Obviously there are a few references to redeemer in the book of Ruth, because that's what Ruth calls Boaz - but as for God being a redeemer, it's only mentioned three times before here: once in Job (the famous "My Redeemer lives" verse) and twice in Psalms (which interestingly also calls God a Rock in both verses). I like the idea of God being this redeemer for those who are disadvantaged, abused, and weak.

Don't envy sinners, but always continue to fear the Lord. For surely you have a future ahead of you; your hope will not be disappointed. (vs. 17-18)

These are some good verses to pay attention to. Especially the last part. I have a hope that soon I will be employed again, and I have a hope that I can find some way to make a difference beyond myself and my family's needs. I just need to "fear" and respect God and know he has a plan.

Proverbs Experiment: Day Twenty-Two

Proverbs Chapter Twenty-Two:

Choose a good reputation over great riches, for being held in high esteem is better than having silver or gold. (vs. 1)

Or you can have it both - right Bill Gates? Well, I don't really respect his products, but I do respect the fact that he and his wife are now the biggest philanthropists to ever grace this planet.

I think I could do a good job of balancing both as well, so umm...God? What do you think?

The deceitful walk a thorny, treacherous road; whoever values life will stay away. (vs. 5)

I've noticed in my own life, that deceit is exactly as described above. Your life becomes wayyy too complicated. For example: you lie to someone about something. It may start out as something small. But then, you have to lie to cover up that lie. And then lie again about something else that's related to that lie. Pretty soon, you have to almost have this huge diagram or chart system of all the lies you've told so that you know what you've said to whom and what you haven't said to whom, and it's a lot of hard work.

Or you can just be honest. And there's a lot less to remember. Which means a lot more brain power towards good things.

A youngster's heart is filled with foolishness, but discipline will drive it away. (vs. 15)

The other day, one of my "facebook friends" - a woman who I vaguely remember from high school who remembers me way more - posted some pictures of some guys and girls who graduated with me from high school getting back together for a fun night in downtown Denver. I was looking at these pictures, and there were a couple of people I vaguely remembered by name only. And then there were a couple of people who kind of looked similar to what they looked like in high school. And then there were a bunch whose names I didn't recognize and whose faces didn't look familiar. So then I started wondering if maybe I was actually plugged into a Matrix, where I vaguely had these memories but really I was in some nasty goo with a weird contraption plugged into the back of my head. Or maybe I was really a replicant robot who was pursued by Harrison Ford and I had all these memories of my childhood, but they were really just fake memories.

And then I realized that I'm a lot older than when I graduated from high school - twenty years next year older - and that the reason I don't remember some of the people in the pictures is because a lot of stuff has happened since then. And the reason I don't recognize some of the people in the pictures is that they've gained some weight or lost some hair or gained some wrinkles. Because it's been almost twenty years. And then I started thinking about myself and I wondered if I looked twenty years older. My wife told me that we all think we look younger than we really are. But I've been told pretty much ever since I got out of high school that I look a lot younger than my age.

When I see this verse, how it talks about a youngster's heart, I wonder "When is that age officially over?" I mean, I do a lot of adult things: I pay a mortgage and I have a child and if something breaks down I fix it (okay, not really) and most of the time I have a job and make money, but not right now. But then I do some non-adult things: I still read Terry Brooks books and I play my X-Box and I dream big dreams and I say silly things to my cat and I let little things bother me and I struggle with self-esteem and basically sometimes I act like a seventh grader.

When are you no longer young? When are you supposed to stop being foolish? At what point should you stop dreaming dreams and stop thinking of lofty goals and just accept the fact that you're old and past all of that and maybe if you would have been more responsible earlier on those dreams would be realized?

Weird thoughts.

Proverbs Experiment: Day Twenty-One

Sorry this is late, as Christmas gets closer and family come in, it's hard to carve out some time to do this...

Proverbs Chapter 21:

The Lord is more pleased when we do what is just and right than when we give him sacrifices.

I wonder if Solomon thought of this proverb while thinking about the guy who was king right before his father David. Saul was Israel's first king, and he did a ton of things wrong - but I believe the first recorded wrong thing is in 1 Samuel 13. Israel is at war with the Philistines, and Saul is getting anxious because only a priest was supposed to make sacrifices to God, but being the superstitious guy that he is, believes that only victory can come through offering sacrifices - so he goes ahead and does it himself.

Samuel finally arrives, and is obviously displeased that Saul decided not to wait for him. In fact, as a result of this first disobedience, Samuel tells Saul that God is going to take away his kingdom from him. It looks like God is rather serious about doing what is right and just over offering him sacrifices.

Now, obviously the meaning of this proverb changes a little bit for us in our time - we don't offer burnt offerings anymore, except at tailgate parties - but the idea still stands. God would rather have us do what is right, than to give our "sacrifice" of worship. Later on, in the books of Isaiah and Amos, God calls out his people, the Israelites, and tells them he actually hates their sacrifices, their burnt offerings - because on one hand they're supposedly doing these things for God, yet on the other hand they are depriving people in their land of justice and mercy. It reminds me of something I read in a Harper's magazine article, where the governor of Alabama was trying to make the state tax code fair, because the state tax was hurting poor families and helping rich families. The Christians of Alabama for the most part fought the tax change, because it meant that they would be taxed more - even though it wasn't that much more - and as a result the law was not passed. If I remember correctly, one of the Christian organizations who lobbied against this tax increase said something to the effect of: "the good Christians of Alabama are some of the most giving people in the nation, they just don't want it coming out of their pockets." Umm, okay.

Proverbs Experiment: Day Twenty

Proverbs Chapter Twenty:

Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling. (vs. 3)

Who knew that Mr. Miyagi could be so right? And the Kobra Kai could be so wrong? It even says it in the Book of Proverbs.

Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is really faithful? (vs. 6)

Hard to know what to say on this one. I do know that I appreciate those friends who have stuck with me, especially over this past year. The past several years have been hard on me friendship-wise. I have had some situations where people who I thought were my friends turned their back on me during real times of need, I have also had situations where people who I didn't realize were real friends helped me through some of those times. I have had really close friends of mine fade away because of time, distance, different ways of looking at things, lives going in different directions, and dumb quarrels. I am in particular grieving the loss of one friend who for the longest time was "closer than a brother." My wife asked me the other day about the last time I saw him, which was right before I left Colorado. I told her, "It just isn't the same. I don't know what happened a few years ago - maybe my perspective on things is different than his perspective on things - but it hasn't been the same since. Even when we were in different states before, we would always make sure we stayed in touch. Now, it's like the plug has been pulled on a dying friendship. Maybe it just needs to die, and either be gone for good, or maybe something will come to life."

Morbid, I know. But I do feel like there is a missing piece in my life when I lose a friend. I guess it just makes me more interested in keeping my friendships going, not taking them for granted, and being as faithful and loyal to them as I hope they are to me.

The Lord despises double standards of every kind. (vs. 10)

Yay God! We have something in common!

One of the biggest issues when it comes to double standards for me is when someone I'm working for expects more of me than themselves. I'm all for working hard and doing my best - which I strive to do - but when you get yelled at for something you do once by someone who continually does the same thing but lets it slide in their own life, well I'm not a big fan of it. I lose a lot of respect for that person. I remember one person I worked for wanted us to write down a daily schedule of the things we were doing so that he could keep tabs on his staff and make sure they were working hard and honest; but then when a leader who was over him asked him to do the same thing, he was hurt and didn't understand why that leader couldn't trust that he was doing his job.

Good to know God is not a big fan of it as well.

It is dangerous to make a rash promise to God before counting the cost. (vs. 25)

Ouch.

I have done this countless times in my life. I will ask God to get me out of a tough situation, either caused by my own stupidity or sin, or some other type of situation, and I will promise to be different, or do better, or read the Bible more, or pray more, or...or...or...you know the drill. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

This new promise usually lasts for awhile, and then it's on to life as usual.

This verse reminds me of what Jesus said when it came to counting the cost of a person's commitment before they became one of his disciples. I think I'm pretty good at haphazardly throwing out promises and commitments - perhaps like Peter - without really thinking through and deciding that I'm at that point of commitment and promise fulfillment. I'm hoping that with my own situation right now - no job and nothing on the horizon - that as I get to that desperation (and perhaps "despairation") point, I will not make glib promises to God in return for deliverance and provision.

Proverbs Experiment: Day Nineteen

Proverbs Chapter Nineteen:

Zeal without knowledge is not good; a person who moves too quickly may go the wrong way. (vs. 2)

This verse totally hits me where I'm at right now.

I have an incredible zeal to want to do something in the area of human trafficking. I feel like God is telling me to do something. For awhile I was thinking that His plan was for me to join an already-started organization. However, there is really nothing in Ohio that I can find where someone is doing something about human trafficking. So now I feel like His plan is for me to start something up. I don't think he wants me to move somewhere else; otherwise, wouldn't it have been easier for my house to sell? Or am I just looking into this too much?

So now I have this idea that he wants me to start a non-profit organization. But that's all I have so far. What is the mission of this organization? Is my goal to partner with already-started organizations? Who is my "target audience?" What am I trying to accomplish? Am I supposed to focus on human trafficking within this state? Within this country? In other countries? (I'm assuming that Cambodia is somewhere in the equation, since that's been one of the God-echoes I've been receiving for the last several months.) Is this supposed to be a hobby? Or is this an actual career change, one where I can earn a living?

That's why this is a good verse for me to read. I need to know more about starting up an organization. Which brings me to another God-thing. When I was in Colorado, I had the opportunity to reconnect with a cousin, someone I hadn't seen in almost twenty years. She and her family invited me over to their house for dinner before I left Colorado, and I was telling her about this passion God had given me. She told me that a couple of years back, she had this idea for a different "social entrepreneur" type of business, but she never really got around to starting it up or even really researching it. However, she did buy a program that would probably help me set something up. She gave it to me, and I looked at it today. It really does help you set everything up and give you a lot of information about being a social entrepreneur.

(Which begs the question: could one of the main reasons for me going back to Colorado for such a short time is so that I could reconnect with my cousin, who found me online after years of searching and somehow found me in the year I was back, and so that I could get this program from her, which will help me setup something I'm extremely passionate about? Interesting.)

I have the zeal, but I want to do it the right way. I need the knowledge. I also need to continue to pray that God would continue to guide me on this path - especially after all those verses in previous chapters of Proverbs about allowing God to direct our ways, not ourselves.

If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord - and he will repay you! (vs. 17)

Reminds me of Matthew 25, where we find out that when we help the sick, the hungry, those who are in prison - we are really helping Jesus. When we are serving others, we are serving Jesus and to me this is the highest act of worship we can give.

Discipline your children while there is hope. If you don't, you will ruin their lives. (vs. 18)

I've obviously heard this verse before, and every time I go into a store and a kid is throwing a temper tantrum because he isn't getting his way; or when I'm in a restaurant, and a child is embarrassing themselves by screaming or causing a scene; or when I'm at a park with my daughter, and another kid comes up and pushes her off the slide or something else - and yet the parents of those misbehaving children just smile and give me that "Aw shucks, kids will be kids" look - I think of the consequences of their stupidity.

Obviously we need to be kind in our discipline of our kids, and we need to find ways of discipline that work with them (for me, it was the belt; if my parents would have given me "time out" for my discipline, I would have loved being in my room by myself, thank you.) - but too many parents these days let their kids get away with so much, and then - just as the verse says - later on in life, their children haven't learned any boundaries and they amazingly become worse terrors, just in different ways.

Proverbs Experiment: Day Eighteen

Proverbs Chapter Eighteen:

A recluse is self-indulgent, snarling at every sound principle of conduct. (vs. 1)

I have no idea what this means. Which is why I thought it was interesting. What happens when you get to a verse, and you have no clue what it's trying to say? Do you pray that God would reveal to you what it means? Or do we just pretend we get it?

Maybe I'm just tired - but again, I have no idea what this verse is trying to say. I can be reclusive at times, so I would like to know what it means, just in case it applies to me. I'll look in a commentary and see what I can find.

Intelligent people are always open to new ideas, in fact, they look for them. (vs. 15)

Have you heard about the seven word phrase that kills a church every time it's said?

"We've never done it this way before."

(Okay, I checked again. It is seven words. Whew!)

Why is the church so afraid of change? Why is it so hard for the church to adopt new ideas, new strategies, new ways of thinking? I was talking with someone the other day, and he told me that the most controversial, most emailed topic that comes into Focus on the Family is not abortion; it's not homosexuality; it's not politics; it is church music. Why is it that when a church decides it's going to "get contemporary" or change from hymnals to powerpoint or add drums and a guitar - that such changes can split a church?

It's not like the first century church were gathered around an organ, singing hymns written by Charles Wesley out of a hymnbook!

In Isaiah somewhere (too lazy to look it up right now), God says, "Do not dwell on the past. Behold, I am doing a new thing. Do you not perceive it?"

Is it because of the memories that the past reminds us of?

It reminds me of what happened today. I put in a CD that I found in a box, and it had on it a bunch of pictures from my first student ministry (you can see them on my facebook). It got me thinking about those days, and what great memories I have of those days, and how hard it is to compare anything else ministry-wise to those days, because they were special and different and amazing and...then I realize I'm dwelling on the past. And if I compare what's happening now in my life to what happened back then, I will never get over those days and will never live in the present. I think one of the reasons I had such a hard time in Dallas - even though we did some great things in the student ministry there - is that I was always comparing those kids to the kids I had in Colorado. I was comparing the sponsors (or lack of) to the sponsors I had in Colorado. I was even comparing the trips, and Dallas was always falling short. Could it be that the reason those trips fell short in my mind is because I didn't put in a full 100% because I was comparing?

God wants to meet us in the here and now. He has provided in the past; he will provide in the future. Some great things have happened in my life in the past, great things will continue to happen in the future. He wants me here in the present, meeting with me in the here and now, growing me today, at this moment, at this time of my life.

Penn Gillette on Getting A Bible

I thought this was an interesting video. I don't know much about Penn and Teller, I know they do magic and stuff - but I've never been interested.

In his video, Penn talks about the time when somebody gave him a Bible, and how it affected him. He has an interesting take on what he called "proselytizing" (we would call it evangelism).

Anyway, check it out.

For Fun: My Spinning Head.

Here.

Proverbs Experiment: Day Seventeen

Proverbs Chapter Seventeen:

Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart. (vs. 3)

I do feel that I'm going through a testing time right now. I love the concept that just as fire brings out the impurities of silver and of gold when they are molten, so God brings out the impurities in our lives when "the heat is on." I'm reading a book by Henry Cloud called "Changes That Heal" - a book that I've had for a long time but have never read. I was going through a bunch of boxes in my closet, and a couple of books stood out to me - this one and another one called "Healing Damaged Emotions."

I think there is some stuff in my life - past and present - that I haven't really gotten around to deal with. Hurts, guilt, other stuff that needs to be dealt with before I can grow. Perhaps this is one of the reason why my life is at a standstill - so I can work through some of these issues and then grow enough to not let them affect me.

In Changes That Heal, Cloud talks about time and how we want our lives to change right away. The problem is that real life doesn't work that way. I thought this was interesting from that book:

This passage illustrates an important truth about the growth process. It cannot be willed. It can only be enhanced by adding grace, truth, and time, and then God produces the growth. If we are depressed, for example, it does not good to try to be "undepressed." It does help, however, to cultivate the soil of our soul with the nutrients of grace, truth, and time. Only then will be transformed to greater and greater stages of joy.

Going through a testing, fiery time is not fun - but it helps purify us and helps us deal with our impurities.

Those who mock the poor insult their Maker; those who rejoice at the misfortune of others will be punished. (vs. 5)

I wish that the oppressors of the last several years, in places like Rwanda, Bosnia, Darfur, and now Zimbabwe, could have read this verse and taken it to heart before doing the stuff they have done. Of course, some of these oppressors were supposed Christians who probably had read the book of Proverbs sometime in their lives. In Rwanda, Hutu priests hacked their Tutsi neighbors to death with machetes. Tutsis fled to churches, where they were burned alive.

There is a DVD out that I need to watch called "On Our Watch." This is the description of the DVD:

The world said "Never Again!" after the Holocaust and yet FRONTLINE asks why the genocide in Darfur was allowed. Meticulously chronicled, endlessly debated at the UN, and allowed to proceed unabated for years, more than 200,000 killed and 2.5 million driven from their homes. As governments failed to act, private citizens and celebrities protest the carnage. FRONTLINE profiles the activists, including actress Mia Farrow, to chronicle devastation.

Disregarding another's faults preserves love; telling about them separates close friends. (vs. 9)

Good advice, don't you think? In a healthy marriage, we should disregard the other person's faults because we know our faults as well and we know they disregard ours. And yet still love us.

A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need. (vs. 17)

One of the things that I want to change about myself (which I know will take time, is that I want to be a better friend to my friends. I was thinking about this the other day when I was at a friend's house. This person volunteered on my worship team sacrificially and gave his time to help me out whenever he could. And yet I have the opportunity now to do the same for him and yet I find myself making excuses. He is my friend, and I need to help when I can. It's what true friends do.

The other part about this verse is that sometimes I don't let my friends help me in my time of need. For example, this past year I moved to Colorado and I had some stuff I needed to unload from my car to the house I was staying, and one of my friends asked me if I needed help. I could have used the help, I was tired from the drive and kind of sick. But I downplayed everything and told him I would be fine. I gave up a great opportunity for my friend to help me, because that's what friends do, because I didn't want to inconvenience him. Which is another fault of mine - not asking for help because I don't want to inconvenience someone. Sigh...another thing to work on.

Proverbs Experiment: Day Sixteen

Proverbs Chapter Sixteen:

People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives. (vs. 2)

I thought this was an interesting verse. I'm trying to figure out what the writer meant: does he/she mean that sometimes we may even think we're doing something right, but God knows the real intentions in our hearts, intentions that we may not even know are in there? Does it mean that we justify ourselves and think we are pure, by either (1) weighing our purity vs. someone else, or (2) honestly thinking we have it all together?

Sometimes I wish I could ask the writer of Proverbs what they truly meant behind what they said.

Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. (vs. 18)

For some reason, this verse reminds me of Tom Cruise. I happened to see a trailer for his new movie coming out on Friday, so that could be a reason as well. I read on Yahoo! News that after a few years, he has finally come out and admitted that he regrets treating Matt Lauer badly and talking down to him when the subject of psychiatry came up in their interview. I never really saw the interview, only snippets, but it was amazing how condescending he was of people with depression and people who needed help psychologically. And I think that this attitude he displayed - not to mention the erratic behavior he showed on Oprah - has led to a definite drop in his appeal and popularity as an actor. I hope that his regret is not due to a publicist telling him it would be good for his career, that he truly and honestly feels that he was wrong to act the way he did.

There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. (vs. 25)

I have always heard this verse used in the context of salvation and heaven and hell, but is this really what Solomon meant? If you read certain scholars, they make the claim that in the OT, there really isn't a well-developed "theology" of hell, eternal damnation, and eternal punishment for sins. I'll have to dig deeper into this, but if anyone else has an opinion on what this verse really means, I would love to hear it.

Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a godly life. (vs. 31)

Hmm. Okay.

I now have a few gray hairs - mostly in the sides of my hair. Perhaps I'll look like the dude from The Fantastic Four before going completely gray. I'm not sure about that last part of the verse, sounds kind of sketchy to me. There are a lot of people with gray hair that I would not put into the "godly life" category.

Proverbs Experiment: Day Fifteen

Proverbs Chapter Fifteen:

Gentle words bring life and health; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. (vs. 4)

I thought it was interesting that this proverb contrasts "gentle words" with "deceitful tongue". Does this mean that Solomon, when he says "gentle words", really means "truthful words?" Because if that's the case, then what I've always thought about this verse is wrong. It then reminds me of the verse in the New Testament that tells us we need to speak the truth in love. Both parts of that instruction, speaking the truth, and in love, have to be there for us to do what is right. Unfortunately, I know there have been times in my life when I've done one of those parts without the other part.

The second half of this verse is interesting to me as well. As a parent, there are times when you feel like you have to be a little deceitful in order for your child to not freak out or whatever. Case in point: my daughter likes school, but for some reason - which may have to do with the fact that this is her fourth school in a year - she is clingy to my wife and doesn't want to leave her to walk down the stairs to her classroom. My wife tells her that she'll be waiting for her in the parking lot until school is over.

This isn't true.

But if my wife told the truth - that she is leaving right after our daughter goes into her classroom - she would probably freak out and not want to go to school. We are being deceitful. But is it sometimes okay to be deceitful, like in this situation?

Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time! (vs. 23)

Wouldn't our lives be a whole lot easier if we could actually say the right thing at the right time all the time? It reminds me of one of my friends who in college always stuck his foot in his mouth. He was always saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. One time we walked into an ice-cream shop, and we noticed that the specialty flavor that month was pumpkin ice cream, and he blurts out "Pumpkin ice cream? That's disgusting! Who in their right minds would eat pumpkin ice cream. You would have to be a complete moron..." and then he turned around and there was a family of four who all had big bowls of pumpkin ice cream looking at him.

There have been times in my life when I didn't know what to say to a person - like when a family member had died or they came to me for advice and I honestly had no wise words to say to them. Other times, like my friend, I have put my foot in my mouth, which at certain times were just embarrassing moments, and at other times actually have strained friendships.

I can think of a couple of ways to try and say the right thing at the right time all the time: (1) think before speaking - which for me is possibly easier because I'm an internal thinker anyway (in other words, I process things internally before I speak out vs. someone who processes things externally and uses conversation to solve problems and figure out answers); (2) don't say anything most of the time. That would be hard for a lot of people. Perhaps another way is to learn how to pantomime. All though most people hate mimes. I guess I'll go with number one!