We are considering verbal strife. Scripture teaches that such strife has certain preconditions. “Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife” (Prov. 26:20-21). The fire department tells …
Harvest and Sons
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 60 “He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame” (Prov. 10:5). In Scripture business is closely related to family. But this is not a ancient truth, relevant …
Also An Act of God
When disaster befalls a city, the prophet Amos tells us, the Lord is the one who has done it. What has happened to New Orleans this past week is not something that slipped past God, or somehow got away from Him. He is the divine author of all things, and this truly was an act …
A Slow Burn
It takes wisdom to understand the origins of strife. The Scriptures tell us that one source of strife is anger. “A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife” (Prov. 15:18). But often this is missed because the one who vents his anger succeeds in browbeating people into a …
The Experience of Obeying
Worship is not to be thought of primarily as an experience, after which we can say that we felt worshipful. Rather, worship is an act, after which we can say, or not, that we were obedient. When experience is sought after in worship, we destroy the very thing we mistakenly exalt. When obedience is rendered …
Proverbs and Beyond
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 59 We have already addressed the fact that Proverbs is full of generalizations, and the fact that they are generally true. We also have to reckon with the fact that the substance of some of these generalizations is repeated over …
Absolutely Uninterested
Although we are a Christian people, we still have a tendency to hide from the sheer goodness of the gospel. One of the ways we have of doing this is to turn the word sinner into a technical theological one, meaning that no one is perfect, and despite this, any one can call on God …
Ceasing From Strife
We learn from Proverbs that it is an honor for a man to cease from strife (Prov. 20:3). This is one of many examples in Scripture that show how the wisdom of God is 180 degrees out from the wisdom of man. In how many fruitless quarrels have participants refused to back down from the …
Jumping to Conclusions
We all understand what the phrase “jumping to conclusions” means. But we sometimes do not appreciate what the alternative–reserving judgment–actually means. As we live together in covenant community, it is essential that we master the art of “not jumping,” even if the conclusion looks to us like a safe landing place. This is particularly the …
Renewing Covenant
We are here in a service of covenant renewal. We know that this covenant contains blessings for obedience and chastisements for disobedience. We also know that all of us stumble and are disobedient at times, and so we wonder what is the good of renewing a covenant that we constantly break. The glorious news is …