As we continue our series going through each book of the Bible, we arrive at Proverbs, the book of practical Christian living. Although we all may sometimes wonder what the Bible has to say to us in our modern day-to-day lives, Proverbs answers this by teaching us simple truths that we can savor, as we make decisions. Proverbs calls to us to evaluate situations in our lives in the light of who God is and who He has redeemed us to be: a transformed people who are sent to transform others.

The beginnings of a foundation for being wise is to know God. Proverbs 9:10 starts the building process for us: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This fear is not one of terror but of awe. It is recognizing that God is greater than us not simply in terms of power but in goodness, and that awe ought not to scare us but compel us, beckon us with an inviting hand to say “God is good. Trust Him”. From that solid base we begin to build how we view everything in the world, and we also begin to grow in grace and in holiness. 

There is one point to make about Proverbs. They are insights about life and the world around us, and they reflect the belief that God has placed an order in the world around us. Sadly, this world is also broken by sin, throwing the order haywire, but God’s grace has always kept it from collapsing. As such, many Proverbs are not “guarantees” as much as they are increasing the odds of getting the desired result. It is as though the authors are saying to us, “Heed our advice, and this probably will work. Fail to listen and this certainly won’t work”. At the same time, however, we ought to live wise lives because we are thankful to God rather than only being worried about the results. Leave the results to God. He will take care of all of it. 

If you think this living wisely is a nice but unattainable goal, God has given us an example of a human doing just that, living in perfect wisdom because He is wisdom: Jesus Christ. God became human in the person of His Son to free us from the power of sin and restore our relationship with Him. For this to happen, Jesus Christ needed to be sinless. As such if we look at His life, we see how a human being should live as God intended: to be wise. Jesus is wisdom from God, and so to become truly wise is to embrace Jesus, to surrender and allow the Holy Spirit to transform us down to our very thinking (Rom. 12:2). When we are shaped by Christ’s Spirit, we get the wisdom God desires because we become like His Son. To become wise is to become like Jesus. In Him we have both the power and the example to live as God intended us to live, to bear His image clearly, and to live our lives for the sake of others. In short, we have both the freedom and the strength to live as the church God intends for us to be: a holy nation, a kingdom of priests, bringing God to people and people to God. 

Your Brother,

Craig

Music can speak to us in ways that mere words fail to do. I am sure that most of us can recall our favorite hymns or songs and maybe even sing them without missing a beat! Music is one of the greatest gifts God has bestowed upon humanity, and it can communicate the deep truths of Scripture so powerfully that even the best sermon pales by comparison. As we continue our travels through the Bible during our newsletter series, we encounter such a collection of music that for some is their favorite book of Scripture, the book of Psalms. 

The Psalms are the hymnbook of Israel, and now of the Church. There is so much that is contained within this book spanning 150 different chapters that we won’t have time in this short newsletter article to cover it all. Yet, I will highlight a few points that I pray will stir in us a desire to not only read this book but to also incorporate it into our daily lives as it teaches us about God and his ways. 

First, as one of my study Bibles points out,  “the Psalms have become for the Church, as for ancient Israel, a book of prayer and praise. All reach their fulfillment in Christ, the Son of God. Not only do the Psalms predict specific events of Christ’s life, but in them He Himself intercedes for and with His people before the Father. The Psalms could also be seen as a dialogue between the Church (the body of Christ), and Christ (the head). Therefore, they make the most sense to us when they are prayed, not simply read.” 

If you have been noticing, I have tried to put a “psalm reading” at the beginning of our worship service after the announcements. This was done intentionally for two reasons. First, I wanted our church to have more exposure to more weekly Scripture so that we would know God’s Word. Secondly (and more importantly), the Psalms are a way that we as a church can ready our hearts and minds to worship the Lord, to answer His summoning call for us to stop our busy lives, pause, and lift our hearts in joy and honor to Him.

Second, the structure of the Psalms, with its five books (Ps. 1-41; 42-72; 73-89; 90-106; 107-150), calls to our minds the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, which is “sacred history”, recalling not just a bunch of one time events (the exodus out of Egypt), but also pointing the way to our own exodus from sin. The Psalms-with their many forms and voices-are to be understood together as the law of God in song. 

Finally, most importantly and more personally, the Psalms follow one basic pattern: knowing that God is good, questioning the evil in the world, and then circling back to resting and trusting in Him. This too is a pattern for our lives. We may believe, but we see the hurting world around us and in our own hearts we cry out, and that is where God meets us with the reassurance that He, not death, suffering, or evil, but He is the strongest, most good in the universe and that we can trust Him. 

The Psalms can build our individual relationships with God by lending language, expression, and emotions to our prayer lives. If when you pray, you find your words stagnant, unengaging, repetitive, or dull, then turn to the Psalms. I guarantee you for every hardship, tragedy, joy, struggle, pain, or ecstasy, there is a Psalm out there that matches it. Take comfort knowing that believers who have come before us have faced what we face and have found courage to remain faithful to God by looking at the Psalms and rediscovering His faithfulness. 

May you be blessed in your reading,

Your Brother,

Craig

During uncertain times like this, it is natural that many of us cam be overcome by fear. The truth to remember is that Jesus is not only “God with us” or Immanuel only at Christmastime, but throughout the whole year. This means God’s very presence through the Holy Spirit goes with us, comforting us, guiding us, walking alongside us in both our best and worst moments of life. 

This Scriptural truth is important to ground us firmly as we continue to travel through the Bible and reach the book of Job. Job was a righteous man, yet disaster came upon him in the form of his children dying, his wealth vanishing, and his health failing. The entire rest of the book he and his three “friends” wrestle back and forth with the “why” behind Job’s struggle. Has he sinned? Surely God must be punishing him? Job maintains innocence. What Job truly desires is what we all desire when life knocks us to the ground for no reason…answers. Why has this happened to us? Have we done something wrong? 

Job does finally receive an answer at the end of the book, as well as a happy ending. However, the answer wasn’t what he was expecting. Instead, God presents a resume of all His creation and then in doing so, is asking Job, “if I can handle and govern and rightly rule and guide all of this, can I not care for you as well?” 

Interestingly enough, another way to view Job in light of the whole Bible is to look a bit further in God’s story. What Job wanted is for God to put Himself “on the dock” or but subject to human questioning. In other words, Job wanted God not to hide behind His mighty power, but to lower Himself. In Jesus Christ, God did exactly that. If Job could travel forward in time, he might have gotten jealous of Pilate because Pilate did exactly that: questioned God Himself and found nothing wrong with Him. Still, this God was willing to suffer the consequences of what He did not do so that we would not have to suffer the consequences of what we did do. 

Do not be afraid to struggle in your walk with God. I know I do. Do not be afraid to question and even to doubt, yet when do you, press in hard to find the answers. Job wrestled with God as was finally vindicated, given back double what he had lost. God is also with you through your struggles, and He is more that capable of taking care of you, even in your worst of pain. Jesus Christ teaches us that God is both with us in our struggles and has the power to bring us through them. 

Your Brother,

Craig