Meditation for May 19, 2012

Proverbs 19:1 Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.

Dissected and Defined:  Better means advantageous over another.  Poor means weak.  Walketh is the process of taking repeated steps.  Integrity is unimpaired honesty.  Perverse means to distort.  To be a fool is to know right but to choose wrong.

Paraphrased: Here we see two types of behavior.  Solomon tells us that the former is more advantageous than the latter.  Simply put, it is honesty over distortion.

Let us begin this exposé of Solomon’s “underlying meaning” by explaining the word poor.  Many think it means to be without money, and often it does.  Yet, the word is better defined as the word “weak.”  You see, a poor father or a poor Christian is not a father or Christian that is “broke” financially.  In this verse, we can assume he is speaking of money, and it does apply, but I ask you to consider every area of your life in which you may be deficient and  inspect your integrity.

Those who take repeated steps of unimpaired honesty are better…That is to say we will receive regular opportunities to impair our honesty.  Impair means to weaken.  Our enemy is constantly trying to weaken our honesty.  Every circumstance in life is an opportunity to strengthen our honesty with a step in the right or wrong direction.

The wrong step is listed as the least advantageous choice—to be perverse in our lips, to distort with our mouth.  That is dishonesty.  If we conclude that before we speak we will think, then it is safe to say that we make dishonest decisions on the inside then take dishonest steps on the outside.

He indicates that makes us a fool.  Someone who knows right (on the inside), but chooses wrong (on the outside).  Our unipaired honesty is tested on the inside but our dishonesty is revealed on the outside.

That means if I walk right, I’ll talk right.  That makes me a Walkie/Talkie and that’s the honest Truth!

Meditation for May 18, 2012

Proverbs 18:1 Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.

Dissected and Defined:   Desire is an emotion of the mind directed to attain.  Separate means to disconnect.  To seek is to go in search of.  Intermeddleth is to take part in the affairs of others.

Paraphrased:  This can be taught in two ways.   The Spirit will tell you which is right.

The first is to say that people who isolate will eventually find themselves picking quarrels with everyone.  In other words, the most separated of Christians will, at times, use their separation as a reason to quarrel with others, usually at the cost of liberty to another.  That is not to say that separation is wrong, for I am a very separated believer.  But rather to say that separation is God’s standard, but quarreling  is the devil’s standard.

My understanding of this passage, more in line with the simplified “hidden” life, is that if you want to be wise, the Holy Spirit must take the controls of your life.  To do this, you will have to consistently separate and seek it.  That means if you will “disconnect yourself” from the rigors of life temporarily during the day and use that valuable retreat to “go in search” of Holy Spirit direction, then you will intermeddle with wisdom.

Now remember, wisdom in the New Testament age is yielding your skills in life to the Holy Spirit.  So when it tells us that we will intermeddle with wisdom, it is saying that we will be taking part in the affairs of the Holy Spirit.  Thus, I conclude that if you want to be heavily involved in the work of the Holy  Spirit, you are going to have to disconnect daily and interact with only Him during that time.

One final missing element is desire.  That is an emotion of the mind that is directed to attain.  You will never take part in the affairs of the Holy Spirit if you do not develop an appetite in your mind to attain that separation.  Without the separation from others, there is no union with God.  If you don’t, then the other application may be true for you.  You may be separated, but you are probably quarreling.

Meditation for May 8, 2012

Proverbs 8:12 I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions

Dissected and Defined:  Dwell means to abide as a permanent resident. Prudence is cautious in your actions and reactions.  Witty means ingenious and an invention is the art of finding or creating something new. 

Paraphrase:  Wisdom is speaking of herself in chapter eight.  She is describing herself and giving us insight into her lifestyle.

If wisdom were a woman, she would spend all of her time with her partner prudence.  They would never be apart.  They work hand in hand together in getting to the bottom of one’s life work. Why is she so focused on her partner prudence? Because skill in living can become quite proud and arrogant when left alone. Any person with great skill in living will find it difficult to be tempered or careful.  They would have the skills to overcome mistakes and would not value the careful path. Wisdom is a great strength that could bring you great weaknesses.

However, if she were to partner with someone who is, say…much more cautious, then that would be a match made in heaven!  Guess what? It is!

When we use the skill God is giving us to live in His power, and arm it with Holy Spirit constraint, we will experiment with and experience many great things.  Our value to society will skyrocket.

Realizing that, we can better understand wisdom’s role in the secret of great inventors. Whether it be Alexander Graham Bell, Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, or even influential people of our day—they each have something in common: they used the practical wisdom God gave them and coupled it with caution.  As a result they came up with ingenious ways to make a difference.

Look at areas of your life in which you excel.  It is probably part of your occupation.  In this area of your life, does your skill compete with caution or cohabitate with caution? Oh, wisdom is too valuable to live alone!

Meditation for April 24, 2012

Proverbs 24:1-2 Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.  For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.

Dissected and Defined:  Envious is a desire to possess that which belongs to another.  Studieth is to set the mind upon a subject.  Destruction is to demolish.  Mischief is damage by design.

Paraphrased:  This verse appears to discuss our interaction with bad people.  That is good advice.  But if Solomon’s proverbs must begin at such elementary logic as this, they would not be very applicable to most of us.

Rather, the “underlying meaning” in this verse is found in the description of those whom Solomon is calling evil.  It is not someone who is overtly wicked or miserable in their drive to thrive.

Rather, he describes these wicked people as men whose heart studieth destruction and speak of mischief.   Realizing that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, we can conclude that this evil man is discussing his mischief because it is pouring out of an abundance of destructive thoughts.

Mischief is damage done by design.  If he is talking mischief, it indicates this designed damaged was first dwelt on in his heart to such a degree that it became abundant and began to spill out in his conversations.  There is no indication that these evil thoughts are for others.  They are usually designs that lead to one’s own self destruction!

Solomon is teaching that people who are thinking destructive designs will eventually begin to speak of destructive designs.  Over time, they will act upon them!

Do not envy these people?!  Why would we?  It’s very simple.  These evil people could be—US!  As believers we possess two natures: the natural (which thinks evil) and the supernatural (that possesses the mind of Christ).  Only believers are double minded.  And when we are, it is because we are thinking designer thoughts that will destroy, but before those designs could destroy someone else, they will probably destroy us.

I encourage each of us to avoid ourselves.

Meditation for April 20, 2012

Proverbs 20:7 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging:  and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

Dissected and Defined:  Wine is the fermented juice of grapes.  A mocker is someone who imitates with contempt. Strong drink is strongly distilled solutions, usually containing alcohol.  Deceived is to be misled.

Paraphrased:  The key word in this verse is mocker—someone who imitates with contempt.  Contempt is a strongly held and mean opinion.  So using the double-defined meanings we see that a mocker imitates another while possessing a strongly held mean opinion.  

Now who is behind such mean mockery? We are told in 2 Corinthians that Satan likes to transform himself into an angel of light.  Transform means to change in form.  

This is the same word used in Romans 12:2.  It is the process God uses to conform us to the image of Christ. He first transforms our mind. Satan cannot transform man. He can influence man, but he cannot change man’s form. We have a free will and it will yield to one of two masters.  If we give him our mind, will or emotions (soul) he may control us or influence us away from God, but he cannot change our form.

So, instead he has created alternative influences that he can change in form, or transform.  He can change a weed used for rope into marijuana.  He can use leaves from a Erythroxylon tree to create Cocaine. He can change a medicine used in the Civil war into Heroine, or a medicine used in World War I to create opiate-based pain killers that would be sold in bulk to believers with a doctor’s permission, without regard to the role of the Great Physician.  He will transform tobacco plants to kill millions and he will transform grapes to deceive the entire world! Why? To mislead the world.

Why would anyone do something so cruel?  Because he lives to imitate someone—to be a mocker.  He will be “just like the most high.”  Yet his envy and pride causes him  to do this with contempt—a strongly held mean opinion toward us and God.

Do you realize how much the devil hates you right now?

Meditation for April 17, 2012

Proverbs 17:1 Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.

Dissect and Define:  A morsel is a small piece of food.  Quietness is a state of stillness.  Sacrifices are something offered as a loss to the offerer in hopes of a future gain.  Strife is a contention for superiority.

Paraphrase: I would like to remind you that Proverbs means underlying meanings. And boy, does this verse have one! Almost everyone makes sacrifices.  Some reasons are right, some are wrong. A right reason for a sacrifice is because God is leading us to respond in love to a perceived need. With a sacrifice such as this, you will eventually be greatly rewarded by God.

Unfortunately, many people are looking for immediate return on their sacrificial investments. This is usually manifested in self-love: a willing sacrificial giving of one’s self for the benefit of others with selfish thoughts of return.  We know that those that lend to the poor are repaid by the Lord, but there are some who lend their services to others, but they’re looking for ill gotten gain.

These types of people think they are doing good but their search for prosperity in their sacrificial giving will usually cost them the harmony God intends for their home. “Struggles for superiority” means that there will be authority problems in the home. Solomon thinks it would be better to gain no benefits, even struggle to eat, yet have harmonious contentment in the home than it is to give our all to the church or the world with hopes of finding satisfaction in our selfish sacrifices.

I know many homes that made great sacrifices, but yet nobody could get along.  This resulted in no peace in their home and rebellious hearts in their children.

To paraphrase another proverb, most men will say they are good, but good men are hard to find.  But for those who walk in integrity, their children are blessed because of it.

Let your kids in on the real blessing.  Serve selflessly, but only under the Spirit’s leading.

Meditation for April 12, 2012

Proverbs 12:2 A good man obtaineth favour of the Lord: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.

Dissect and Define: Good means sufficiently meeting the standard in a particular situation.  Favour is giving or getting good pleasure.  Devices are that which is formed through schemes. Condemn is to pronounce a sentence of being utterly wrong.

When we speak of a good man, we mean that when compared to another, they sufficiently meet the standard. They hit the mark! However, in spiritual terms, no one can hit the mark. Actually, we have all fallen short and the Bible tells us there is none good. In heaven, we can be considered good. Good, in the age of grace, means righteous.  To be good, we must be made righteous.  That takes place in heaven, where we become righteous through justification.  To do good, we  must behave righteously.  The only way to live righteously (and godly) in this world is to live under the power of the Holy Spirit.

To this end, the underlying meaning in this proverb is that if we accept Christ as our Saviour, we will be good in heaven and if we yield to His Spirit in the circumstances of life we will do good on earth.

Thus, if we are good (saved and influenced by the inner promptings of the Holy Spirit) we will get good pleasure from God and give good pleasure for God. What a wonderful way to live—giving and getting good favor.

Yet there are those who instead of being good (saved) and doing good (led), choose to live their life through various series of self determined schemes. They are not under God’s control. They are in soul control, or personal auto pilot. These people could be good in heaven (possibly saved) but are not being good on earth. They are wicked and the day will come when God will pronounce them as being  “utterly wrong”  for their choice in how they lived life.

Thus, I have concluded that yielding to the Holy Spirit will give you a flavor for favor!

Meditation for April 10, 2012

Proverbs  10:1 The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

Dissect and Define: Proverbs means a story with an underlying meaning.  Wise is skilled in living.  Glad is joy used in moderation.  Foolish means to know right, but to choose wrong.  Heaviness means to place pressure downward; that is to say, to depress.  Heaviness is an old English word for the modern English word depression.

Paraphrase:  This chapter begins with a reminder from Solomon that his truths have underlying meanings. They are proverbs. He tells that a son that has skill in life will bring a father a type of joy that is used in moderation. It’s much like happiness, except it is more permanent. I guess you could call it fatherly pride. But a son that knows right and chooses wrong will depress his mother.

Growing up, I had never heard my dad tell me he was proud of me. As I started to backslide, my mother became very concerned. I remember one night, I returned home from an all-night party and saw her bedroom light on. Dad was leaving for work, so I asked him what she was doing. He replied, “She wakes up every morning at 4:30 to pray for you and your brothers to come back to church.” It broke my heart to hear of the heaviness of my mother. Wow! I had never experienced such sorrow as I did that day.

Years later, I gave my life to the Lord and RU began. One day my dad looked at me and said, “Son, I am proud of you!” Wow! I never had experienced such joy.

My dad provided me with my most joyous moment in life and my mother my most discouraging moment in life. Yet both moments were caused by my behavior, whether good or bad.

Thus, I believe the underlying meaning in this verse is teaching us that our fathers focus on our high points in life and help us get there.  But mothers focus on our low points in life and help us get out of there.

I think I’ll call my Mom and Dad today.

Meditaiton for April 4, 2012

Proverbs 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

Dissected and Defined: Wisdom means having a skill in living.  Principal means the most important.  Understanding is knowledge applied.

Paraphrase:  In Proverb 1, we saw three keys words:   Instruction, Knowledge and Understanding.  Each one has a distinct meaning that evolves into wisdom, or skill in living.

Let’s look at how you progress in these four stages.  Instruction is simple information received.  When someone gives you information and you receive it, it is instruction.  Instruction accepted becomes knowledge.  You know it when you accept it as reality and with intention of using it whenever necessary.  Finally, we see our word understanding.  It is knowledge applied.  When you apply what you know, then you are proving that you understand it.

This process leads to a real skill in living, otherwise known as wisdom.  In review, we receive instruction, accept it into our knowledge database, and apply it in an understanding way and we are expressing wisdom in life.

This process is true in not only the wisdom necessary to be skillful in this life, but more importantly, to gain wisdom in the things of God.

In the New Testament, we learn we should not live our lives in our power, but in Christ’s power (Gal. 2:20).  We know Christ already has the wisdom to live life, so we must experience understanding of the Christ-like life.  To do this we must have knowledge of Him, not only about Him…but OF Him!  This comes from solid instruction and promptings of your inner teacher—The Holy Spirit.

Thus, to be wise in Christ, we allow the Spirit to instruct us (Ps. 32:8).  We, then  accept His leading and yield to it in our soul.  This  shows we not only know Him but we understand Him, as well.  Now, that’s a wise guy!

Meditation for April 3, 2012

Proverbs 3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

Dissected and Defined:  Mercy is not getting what we deserve.  Truth is what is right.  The Truth in human form is Jesus.  Forsake means to abandon.  Bind means to tie together with a cord.  Write upon the table of thine heart is an old English way of saying to meditate on something that you have previously memorized. 

Paraphrased:  First, I would like to point out that something memorized is of no value if it is not meditated on in times of need.  I have memorized the equation 2+2=4.  Now, I no longer need to meditate on this regularly.  However, when I do most math equations, it is something I need to think about.  But, not as I did as a kid.  It comes quite naturally because I have meditated on it often enough that it has become second nature to me.

I know a lot of people that memorize portions of the Bible.  Yet, they meditate on a significantly small amount and seldom apply what they have learned.  Why?  Because the phrase “hid in our hearts” that keeps us from sin is not only to be memorized, but meditated on, as well.

Our passage mentions a two part equation that we must never abandon or fail to dwell on when faced with the shortcomings of others:  Mercy +Truth.

It is mentioned in this order 17 times in the Bible, never in the inverse order.  Why?  Because to get someone to hear the truth you must first offer them the gift of mercy.

To get people to listen to what is right, especially about Jesus, we need to withhold what they deserve when they have failed us.  This equation should bring godly sorrow and repentance in most people.  It is God’s preferred equation when dealing with the failures of others.

Don’t ever forget it.  Get yourself an outward symbol to remember this (a neck tie?) and then meditate on it so that you can apply it when faced with the dissipointment of another.  The Lord has mercy, do we?

Meditation for March 28, 2012

Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

Dissect and Define: Wicked is evil in principle or practice.  Flee means to run with rapidity from danger.  Pursueth is to follow after another.  Righteous in the New Testament church age can be those who are saved (righteous in heaven) and those who are under the Spirit’s leading (living righteously..in this present world). God’s intention is for us to be both.

Paraphrase:  Fear is a terrible thing to experience.  There is  no feeling that is more oppressive than fear.  Not the fear that exhibits respect, but the fear that is demonstrated through the anxiety of terror.

Solomon tells us that the natural response to fear is to flee.  The supernatural response to danger is boldness.

So, when faced with apparent danger, do you respond properly?  It depends if you respond in the natural or in the supernatural.

The natural man is under his own control.  He rejects the internal influences of the Spirit.  He may not be wicked in his lifestyle choices; he is just following principles or practices out from underneath the Spirit’s control.   This will lead him to develop a fear of the unknown.  This fear will cause us to reject expressions of our faith because we believe it will plague us with danger.

However, the supernatural man realizes that he is under the influence of the Spirit of God and is being conformed to the image of God’s Son (Romans 8:29).  He can conclude with confidence that everything that happens to him is for his good (Romans 8:28).

This promise is for those who follow in principle and practice the simplified “hidden life.”  They can be sure that anything pursuing them is intended by God to bring them benefit.  The choice is thus, supernatural confidence in God or a natural fear of man.  Simply put, if you’re not being led, you will feel as if you are being followed.  So, lean on the supernatural and take your lion’s share of life.

Meditation for March 26, 2012

Proverbs 26:1 As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly for a fool.

Dissected and Defined:  Honor is a position of exaltation.  A fool is someone who knows right but chooses wrong.  Seemly is to be suited.  Since it is “not seemly,” it means it is not suited.

Paraphrase:   Summer is not suited for snow.  Snow in the summer is a waste. There would be no purpose for it.  Likewise, rain is intended for the planting and growing seasons.  When it rains during harvest, it serves no real purpose.  If it doesn’t rain until harvest, it’s too late.  It won’t bring benefits.

Solomon uses these two analogies when describing the exaltation of a fool.  Honor is to grant esteem.  Honor can be anything from public praise to positional promotion.  God doesn’t want us to honor foolish people.

We know that God teaches us that we ought to have a high degree of respect and service toward our fellow man.  We should never esteem ourselves over others.  The old analogy that joy comes from placing Jesus first, Others second and Yourself last, is true.  The same should be true for those whom we honor through praise or promotion.

Solomon taught us elsewhere in Proverbs that “before honor is humility.”  Humility is the absence of pride and arrogance.  Pride is an undue esteem of one’s self and arrogance is an undue disregard for others.  This wise king taught us to never praise or promote a person who thinks too much of themselves and not enough of others.

We know “others first” is right, but do we choose it?  If not, we are fools—one who knows right but chooses wrong.  We do not deserve promotion from God by man if we do not place others in front of ourselves.  To do so would be foolish.  Like unseasonable snow or rain, it is a waste of time and will not fulfill its purpose to honor a fool.  So, remember, if you have a fool on your hands, you will not make them wise through undue esteem.  You’re better off humbling them by overlooking their accomplishments.