Ox In The Stall

Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crop come by the strength of the ox.  (Proverbs 14:4, ESV)

I really like this verse. Not only can it be applied to many different situations, It fits really well with marriage. I like to break the verse down like this:

no oxen / no dung

have oxen / have benefit - along with dung

What is necessary is to realize that while a relationship brings problems we wouldn’t have to deal with as singles, there is much benefit that comes from being in relationship with someone.

Without an ox, the stall stays clean. It does not get dirty. The dung does not have to be cleaned out because there is no ox in it making a mess.  But there are some things that the strength of the ox can bring that would be of great benefit. It does make plowing a lot easier, and a much larger area can be worked. The harvest is more plentiful.

In our analogy here, the husband is the ox. And most husbands do make messes.  They are not much help around the house, and even make the house more messy than it would be if they were not in it. Hopefully though, they do bring benefit to the marriage and household that outweighs the disadvantage of the messes they also make.

What the wife needs to focus on, is the benefit of the husband (ox), the strength he brings to the relationship and household.The harvest should be more plentiful because of what the husband supplies. 

What the husband needs to remember is that he does make the wife’s life a bit more difficult, and he better make sure he is using his strength and abilities to bring benefit and abundance to the home.

What the wife needs to remember is that dung is not all there is to her husband.  He brings good to the life they have together, supplying things she can’t, and overall, making her life better.

Of course, my wife sometimes gets me confused with the dung!

Thought of As Wise

“Even fools are thought to be wise when they keep silent; when they keep their mouths shut, they seem intelligent.“ (Prov 17:28, NLT)

This verse really brings a smile to my face.  When I read it, I feel good!  I wish I could say that I am sure it is a spiritual reaction, but I am pretty well convinced it is my flesh.  My natural inclination seems to be towards shyness, quietness, and saying dumb things.  I am sure you now understand my reaction to this verse.

I haven’t shared it with a lot of friends, but after hearing it one did say, “Something about my flesh really likes that verse!”  Let’s face it, who doesn’t like to be thought of as better than they really are. I can remember a couple times this came to play in my childhood.

The first happened with baseball. It was my turn to toss the ball up in the air and hit it out to the guys in the field.  There were comments like “back up guys.”  I really like those comments! I tossed the ball up in the air quite a few times and never did connect to it with the bat. Sometimes I dream of tossing a baseball up in the air and trying to hit it with a bat. I can’t even do it in my dreams!

Next there was football. I was punting to cries of “Better back way up guys!”  Pride rose and fell very quickly. How it is possible to miss the ball completely when punting, I do not know. Much less when you try it as many time as I did and never got a foot on it.

Of course we are supposed to be talking about spiritual things, so who doesn’t like to be thought of as more spiritual than they really are? Or more holy? Or more connected to God? Or wiser? Or more learned? We could go on, but I am sure we all get the point. I don’t know how it goes in your life, but in mine, when people get those notions about me, they’ve only to hang with me a short time to get over them.

I have been an example of this verse many times in my life, not by playing it out as written, but by being a poster child of the opposite. I have heard it said that it is better to be thought of as a fool, than to open your mouth and prove it.

I guess the only way to finish this up is to say that sometimes it is wiser and more intelligent not to say anything at all.

Determined Times & Places

“ … he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live … ”

(Acts 17:26, NIV)

Growing up and in my younger years, I always felt like I had been born out of time, born too late as it were.  I felt that living in an earlier generation would have been much more to my likings and leanings.  One of my passions, in those days, was reading and thereby somehow experiencing the early frontier days. What adventures were had!

Now that I am older and sunset is on a coming horizon, I feel just the opposite. As I look to the future, what is emerging out of the Church, and the mindset of the coming generation, I again feel out of place and out of time. Something inside of me cries out to be part of what is coming and to be among those who will live there. There is a cry in my heart that says, “these are my people and my time is yet to come.”

But reality has always and will continue to play out differently in my life. I am only part of a past generation in how it has influenced me, and I’ll only be part of a future generation in how I have influenced it. My life must be lived out in this generation, in this place, and at this time. God’s Word says:

“ … he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him … “

(Acts 17:26-27, NIV)

Now we can take this to only mean that God determined beforehand where the different nations would live and the types of governments they would have, or we can bring a much more personal application that says God has determined beforehand at which precise time each of us would live and where we would live, based upon the knowledge that this would be the time and place where we would seek and find Him, and accomplish His purpose for our lives.

The personal application brings much more security and certainty to my life. I am not a random egg that happened to get fertilized. God actually put thought and planning into my existence and just as there is a genetic pattern as to who I am, there is also a divine pattern not only as to who I am, but also as to where I am and what my purpose is.

Let’s determine to live in the here and now, knowing this is where God has placed us, and it is He who will blossom us. This is our time, our generation, our place, and our adventure. 

 

The Lord will fulfill His purpose for us!  (Ps 138:8a, NIV)

Love Covers

” … love covers over a multitude of sin”  (1 Pe 4:8, NIV)

 

I was listening to one of my friends the other day and he mentioned that he had hurt his finger some how and there was some skin missing off of it.  He went a few days complaining about it, nursing it, and flinching when he would accidentally hit it against something.  Then he finally put some liquid band-aid on it.  At first he said it really hurt, really burned when he applied the liquid.  He then demonstrated how he could now hit it against something with no pain.  There was a protective coating where the skin was missing, keeping out dirt and bacteria, and cushioning the wound.

 

I was reminded of the above verse.  In reference to it Strong’s Concordance says ‘to hide, veil, to hinder the knowledge of a thing.’  In the Amplified Bible this verse reads: Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others.)  In my bible, beside this verse, in relation to the word ‘covers‘, I have written “to wrap around as bark; skin, plaster, shell, protective coating.”  Love would keep us from rehearsing sin to the guilty party, to others, and to ourselves.  We would neither tell others about it, nor hold it against the guilty party, but would help them to overcome it.  We would protect them and their reputation, while giving them help and hope for the future.

 

I didn’t say this was a natural thing to do because it isn’t.  Only the supernatural love that God puts in us can enable us to walk this out correctly.  The effect of this is the difference between life and death, blessing and cursing.

 

One of Noah’s sons dishonored him,  ridiculed him,  and told others of his nakedness.  The two other sons humbly went in to their father and in honoring him refused to even look upon his nakedness, and put a cover over him so that no one else would be able to look upon his nakedness.  The one son and his offspring were cursed.  The other two sons and their offspring were blessed.

 

The principles taught us in the Word of God, when applied to our lives result in life and blessings for us and others.  Ignoring the same principles brings cursing, lack and death.

 

What Were YouThinking...? Part 2

“ … there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes” (Ep 4:23, NLT)

If we are going to act correctly, then we have to think correctly. If self-gratification and self-preservation are at the center of our thinking, we will continue to make wrong decisions, take wrong actions, and say the wrong things. It is about far more than what we think - it goes to how we think, what is at the center of our thinking.  (From What Were You Thinking…? Part 1)

In Ephesians 4 we are told to put off the old man and put on the new man, but sandwiched in between is the admonition to “be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”  Without our minds being renewed (being made new again by a redefining of what we know as truth and what our set course of action is to be based upon that truth), our motivation will continue to be self-preservation and self-gratification. We will continue to act out of the old man instead of the new man who is constantly being renewed into the image of Christ.

If we want to act (respond) out of the new man and live a transformed life that brings glory to God, we will have to move in our thinking from self-preservation and self-gratification to self-sacrifice.  Romans 1:1-2 says “

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Emphasis mine)

Living a transformed life requires that we must think differently. What we know as truth must be in agreement with the Word of God. We can no longer be the center of our lives and thoughts with everything revolving around us, but God must be at the center. Our decisions must be based upon His will and not how it will affect us and our lives.

We must think His thoughts after Him, and desire that He receive glory in all that we think, say, and do. We must sacrifice our self-life, the old man/nature, for His glory and live out the sacrificed life, the new man/nature, which is constantly being transformed into the likeness of Christ.

The AND Principle

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves”  (Php 2:3-4, NASB)

 Some years ago, I read a book by Charles Swindoll called Laugh Again.  It is on the book of Philippians and is about joy.  In a bible study, we were discussing Php 2:3-4 and I shared that in this book, speaking of these scriptures he gave three principles, something along the lines of:

1.     Never do anything prompted by pride or selfishness

2.     Always consider others as more important than yourself

3.     Don’t only consider your own interests but also the interests of others

Considering these to be really good principles, we thought it would be a good idea to remember them.  Someone suggested switching the first and second principles, thereby making an acrostic with the word AND, which would be an easy to remember, and so that is how the AND Principle came about.

 

1.     Always consider others as more important than yourself

2.     Never do anything prompted by pride or selfishness

3.     Don’t only consider your own interests but also the interests of others

If we would but do these three things, our lives and the lives of those around us would be drastically changed!  It takes a rich relationship with Christ to be able to walk these out, a relationship that takes time and focus, and which must be valued above all else. Of course, if we are so important that we have to be at other places, have the wrong motivation, or are too interested in our own cause, we will never be able to walk the And Principle out.

I believe that this principle, correctly applied, would remove a lot of the stress out of our lives, resulting in us having more joy and God receiving more glory. Now That’s a good thing!

Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. (Php 2:3-4, MSG)

Storm Preparation

A Strong Foundation Needed

I will show you what it's like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then obeys me. It is like a person who builds a house on a strong foundation laid upon the underlying rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against the house, it stands firm because it is well built.  Lk 6:47-48, NLT)

Well, this certainly is not a hard one to figure out.  The problem is, it’s the following through that brings the desired results, not the knowing how.  Like about anything else in life, “know how” without application will get you “no where.”  The wise pay attention to what they hear and act upon it.  The foolish  do not pay attention to what they hear and do not act upon it

“But anyone who listens and doesn't obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will crumble into a heap of ruins." (Lk 6:49, NLT)

If we want to have the type of foundation necessary for living the abundant life that Jesus came to give us, here are a few thoughts that will help:

“ … he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice.”

(Lk 6:47< NIV)

In the words of Jesus:

Ÿ  Come to Me - We must deliberately seek out Jesus, spending time with Him daily, getting to know Him, getting to know His word, and developing an intimate relationship with Him.

Ÿ  Hear My Words - We must spend time listening for and learning His voice, sitting in His presence, and interacting with and in the Word of God.

Ÿ  Put them into practice - We must believe and do what the Word says.  Not just one time, but over and over, all the time, as a lifestyle.

In this way we will develop a solid foundation that will enable us and our families to stand firm and safely come through the storms of this life.