“The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing. ” (Proverbs 9:13, ESV)
Folly, personified in Proverbs as a woman, is the muse of the Fool. This is what makes one a fool. The Fool chooses the reasoning of Folly instead of the Wisdom of God. And it is tragic indeed.
Three things are brought to our attention in this verse, and they are vitally important…
“By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.” (Hebrews 11:4, ESV)
This text contains one of the most important truths about worship one can ever learn: It is not the sacrifice that makes the one who offers it acceptable, it is the acceptance of the one who offers it, which makes his sacrifice acceptable…
“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. ” (Proverbs 2:1–5, ESV)
Spiritual wisdom is not a natural faculty. Even those wisest in the ways of the world can be without it. It must be valued as treasure, paid attention to, inclined toward (fondly desired), asked for, and sought for like mining for silver or other hidden treasure. And in our day of instant gratification, that frankly sounds like too much work. No wonder then, we have little success against our sins. For as our text will show – unless we are desperately seeking God’s wisdom, our own hearts and minds will only lead us with the wisdom they already have. And – how’s that been doin’ for ya?
“Better is open rebuke than hidden love.” (Proverbs 27:5, ESV)
It has taken science, in the fields of Psychiatry and Psychology, thousands of years to catch up to this passage. In Psychological terms, this would be stated as : “Children would rather be disciplined than ignored.” Its true.
This is Ivan Kellogg. In the world’s words, he WAS a great man. In God’s, by grace, he IS a great man. Not as the World counts greatness, but as God does. For he never sought human accolades all the days I knew him. At least never as much as I could tell. He was my brother-in-law, youth leader (when I was young and REALLY a pain), fellow quartet member, my co-elder, and the best friend in life and ministry one could ever hope to have as a gift from God – because he would tell me the truth. Even when it really hurt. I loved him. And I can’t wait to see him again in glory. I will miss him everyday until then.
I wrote the following for him based upon: Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed – 1 Cor. 15:51
John 13 is an extraordinary passage as everyone knows. This account of Jesus washing the Disciple’s feet, releasing Judas to his wicked work and preparing His inner-circle for His departure is filled with rich food for the soul.
“He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?”” (John 13:6, ESV)
RAF: Peter’s objection might have arisen from several causes. But we must note that he seems not to have objected at Christ’s washing the feet of the others, only when it came to him. Perhaps he thought – “I do not need cleansed like this – I’m not that dirty.” Maybe he was implying he was cleaner than the rest. Who knows but that they had washed their own feet already when they came in? Men hate to own the depth of their own uncleanness. Then again, perhaps the issue was that this was simply too humbling. To have the one he wanted to serve, serve him, was a challenge to his pride. How much we want to have a part in grace – and not to be purely a recipient of it.
Proverbs 12:16 – The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult.
RAF: Knee-jerk reactions are the reactions of a jerk – or more properly, a fool. The one who is easily provoked, is the slave of the provocateur. The only buttons someone else can push, are the ones you give them access to. And if you cannot set the provocative aspects aside to stay focused upon the real issues at hand, you will be forever barred from arriving at solutions to problems. I know. I’ve been there. I have played the fool. Heaven help me to be more like my King, Jesus.
Justice and evenhandedness are attributes of God mankind is meant to display. In John 10:34 where Jesus cites Ps. 82 He notes that the Law says “you are gods” in the context of Israel’s leadership having perverted justice while being the recipients of God’s Law. We are meant to be His vice-regents here. And nowhere is that more manifest than in judging right and wrong, based upon God’s own just nature communicated in the rights and wrongs He delineates. Whenever people pervert justice, we openly and graphically deny God. This is true for those apart from Christ – and especially true for those who own Him. Christians above all ought to be concerned with miscarriages of justice in our society – and even more within the Church. (Scroll all the way down to click for the rest.)
Tim Challies over at CHALLIES.COM has written an excellent resource for those wrestling with sexual purity – which in our day can be almost all of us.
What is exciting, is that Tim went on to produce this in e-book format, and then posted it – which means you can download it free of charge from his website. You can click on the various links here or on the book image to the left.
If you are struggling in this area, or know someone who is – get this or recommend it to them.
If you are a parent, this ought to be on your own reading list, and made available to both your sons and daughters. Tim has produced something practical, Scriptural, helpful and sound. Everyone of us ought to go through it once. Know it or not, we ARE interacting with folks every day – even in our own homes for whom this is vital. Get it today. TIM CHALLIES.COM
“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8, ESV)
If there is one question I am asked frequently by folks it is this: “How can I get closer to Christ? How can I get more intimacy with Him? How can I know and experience His love better?”
ResponsiveReiding 