Timely words

Proverbs 25:11 (NLV)

A word spoken at the right time is like fruit of gold set in silver.

There are times in our lives when we get depressed.  All of us get depressed at one time or another although some get depressed more often than others.  I am not referring to clinical depression where there is some kind of chemical imbalance in the brain leading to chronic depression, but depression that occurs to all of us from time to time because of something wrong occurring in our lives.  When you think about times of depression in your life, what helped you to get rid of the depression?  Sometimes, it just goes away, sometimes a good night’s sleep helps, but many times, an encouraging word from someone else is what you needed.  Encouraging words may be spoken or, perhaps more often, written in an email message or letter.  Such words, even a single word, spoken at the right time compares to a fruit of gold set in silver.

In the Bible gold represents not only a precious and most valuable metal or gem, but also refers to the glory of God, that which is pure, rare, special, beautiful and durable.  When you think of gold in the Bible you think of gold being one of the gifts of the three wise men (representing Jesus’ kingship, Matthew 2:11) and streets of golf in heaven (Revelation 21:21).  However, the use of the word “gold” (Hebrew “zahab”) in Proverbs 25:11 figuratively means something that is clear and fair, like a clear, fair weather day.  That’s what an encouraging word does, make your life seem like a fair weather day.   Silver (Hebrew “keceph”) does not have the value of gold but still represents something of value and was common currency in biblical times (Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver).  The term “silver lining” is an idiom used to assume someone that there’s a comforting or hopeful no matter how desperate or unhappy the situation.  So an encouraging word is like gold that brightens your day and silver that gives you hope. 

When is the right time to speak an encouraging word?  There are times that it is better to be silent (Ecclesiastes 3:7).  When you don’t know what to say it probably is best that you don’t say anything.  Dionysius the Elder wrote: “Let thy speech be better than silence-----or be silent.”  Too often people feel that they have to say something and that something turns out to be insensitive.  For example, people will say “Oh, it’s going to be okay” when it would be far better to say nothing and just hold a hand or put your arm around a shoulder.  If you have not experienced what someone is experiencing it is wrong to say “I understand”.  No, you don’t understand so don’t say anything. 

However, most of the time, saying simple or few words of encouragement---“I care for you”, “I love you”, “Is there anything I can do for you”---can make a world of difference to someone who needs to hear these kinds of words.  People who are lonely, discouraged, worried, unhappy, feeling rejected, unwanted, unworthy always need to hear someone tell them something positive.  Proverbs 12:25: “Worry in the heart of a man weighs it down, but a good word makes it glad”.  Just contacting someone through an email, a phone call or visiting in person and showing that you care for them makes such a positive impact on them. 

Yet, while we all love to be encouraged, especially when times are difficult, so few of us actually do any encouraging at all.  Think about it……..how long has it been since you specifically spoke or wrote an encouraging word to someone else?  When was the last time to spoke or wrote an encouraging word at the right time to members of your family, your neighbor, your co-worker, your friends at church, your pastor, and others you know?  Have you ever, out of the clear blue, written a note of encouragement to someone?  You must know how good it feels to receive encouragement from others, but are you doing it?  Someone needs to hear from you today. 

“The world is full of discouragers.  We have a Christian duty to encourage one another.  Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet.  Blessed is the man who speaks such a word.” -- William Barclay

Our daily bread

Matthew 6:11 (NIV)

“Give us this day our daily bread.”

Christians recite the Lord’s Prayer routinely, but do you know what the Lord was really indicating when he said “give us this day our daily bread”?  What is bread?  Why does Jesus include this in His model prayer?  Why do you need to rely on the Father in Heaven for this bread?  What is the emphasis of the words “day” and “daily”? 

The word Jesus used for “bread” (“artos”) means food of any kind.  But, what kind of food?  Is it food that we eat like baked bread?  Yes, it can be.  John MacArthur made the controversial statement in his audiotape teaching on the Lord’s Prayer (he called it the Disciples’ Prayer) that nations who have not followed Christ are nations that suffer the most from hunger.  Yet, it is not God who withholds food from His creation, but those He created who, through poor planning, corruption, selfishness, and other sinful ways, cause hunger and famines in their lands.  God provides physical food for every created human being in the world.  Recall that Jesus said in Matthew 6:31-32 that God provides food.   We in America take food for granted, but this verse reminds us that it is God who provides food for our physical nourishment.  President Woodrow Wilson once said, ““Witness the fact that in the Lord's Prayer, the first petition is for daily bread. No one can worship God or love his neighbor on an empty stomach.”  Never thought of that, have you?   

 

Bread is also representative of life itself.  Jesus said that He is the “bread of life” (John 6:35) where He meant that only He is the source of satisfaction and fulfillment in life.  Note that He said in v 35 that it is His bread of life that enables His followers and believers never to be hungry or thirsty.  He’s referring to spiritual food that nourishes and sustains our souls.   This is related to His fascinating statement in John 15:5 that “apart from Me you can do nothing”.

God provides physical and spiritual bread on a daily basis.  He provided manna to His people wandering in the wilderness on a daily basis.  He tells us not to worry about tomorrow (Matt 6:34).  God only promises to provide your needs for today.  It is what you do with His daily provisions that matters, but it should be received with thanksgiving and joy every day.  Most never think that what they eat was given to them by God.  Most never think about God’s daily grace.  Sarah Ban Breathnach has a wonderful quote: “Grace is available for each of us every day - our spiritual daily bread - but we've got to remember to ask for it with a grateful heart and not worry about whether there will be enough for tomorrow.”    

                                                                                                                                  

Have you ever thought about all the different kinds of food that God provides---grains, nuts, vegetables, fruit, animals, dairy products, condiments, etc---God created it all.  Without God’s created food, you would die.  In the same vein, have you thought about all the spiritual food God has created---grace, mercy, forgiveness, salvation, His Holy Spirit, prayer, power, and His Holy Word.  Without these spiritual foods, you will die for eternity.  In fact, Jesus described God's Word as spiritual food---"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4).  And while proclaimed Christians will not face eternal death, it is sad to write that most Christians are spiritually undernourished.  They do not study or follow the Word of God; thus, are too weak to overcome temptation and inadequate to serve God and others.

May you start each day for the rest of your life with this prayer and realize the depth of its meaning and significance in your life and the lives of your loved ones.

Foolish decisions, e.g. Lust for instant gratification

Genesis 25:28-34(NIV)

Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished.  He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”  “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”  But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.”  So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.  Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.

Human lust for instant gratification often has terrible and irrevocable future consequences.   In this story the older twin brother, Esau, gave up his birthright to Jacob, his ownership of Isaac’s inheritance that involved a lot more than riches (e.g. his place in Jewish history---the common Old Testament phrase should have been “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Esau”).   Esau regretted his decision after his lust (appetite) had been fulfilled, but his rash and irrational decision had been made and was irretrievable.  He gave up everything to satisfy an immediate need and, in retrospect, that need was ridiculous—a bowl of stew.

You might be thinking, “I’d never make a foolish decision like that”, but you’re wrong.  Not only would you, but you already have.  Maybe the consequences of your decision for instant gratification did not have the same losses as Esau experienced, but nevertheless you suffered consequences.  Some examples:

·  Choosing to eat junk food rather than food better for you in the long run.  This might be the best example of fixing your mind on the want/need of the moment rather than keeping a future perspective in mind. 

·  Yielding to a sexual temptation that costs you a marriage, a relationship, financial loss, loss of happiness and contentment, etc.

·  Choosing the spend more time on the job than being with your children.

·  Attempting to make the “quick buck” through gambling, business shortcuts, the lure of unscrupulous investors or other “hawkers” who deceive you and you end up losing huge amounts of money and time. 

·  Buying too much on credit, later costing you far more in interest payments and debt that you cannot pay, costing you credit rating problems and other financial problems.  Plus indebtedness disables you from giving to God.

·  Taking the easy way out (e.g. not studying while in school, not disciplining yourself while young to establish your future, not practicing enough in whatever talent or skill you have), then paying the price later with a job you don’t like or a skill or talent forever unfulfilled.

·  Sacrificing friendships because of being deceived that for some reason you are better than your former friend (you see this a lot in the business world where once a person is promoted, he/she forsakes former friends/colleagues).   

Satan is called the great deceiver and these are some example of why “deceiver” so accurately describes him.  The urgency of the present, the need for instant gratification, the tendency to fulfill your lustful appetites now, the lack of wise thought about potential future consequences of decisions made in haste and in lust all are the result of satanic deception either directly or indirectly through self deception.

The wise person learns from his/her mistakes that often involve sacrificing future glory for instant but short lived gratification (the “Esau moment”).  The wiser person is one who rarely makes a mistake like this in the first place, primarily by putting your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and leading your life modeled and guided by Him through His Word.  May you choose right now never to succumb to an Esau moment again.  Live your life and the decisions you make through daily and constant communication with the Lord through His Word and prayer.  

Two are better than one

Ecclesiastes 4:9 (NIV)

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work

J. I. Packer once said, “Ecclesiastes is the one book of the Bible that is expressly designed to turn us into realists.”  This verse is a good example.  Can anyone deny the reality that two working together get more done and profit more than just one working by himself? 

If you read verses 9 through 12 of Ecclesiastes 4, you will learn that there are four examples of the truth that “two are better than one”

1.   working together (v 9)

2.   walking (physically present) together (v 10)

3.   warmth together (v 11)

4.   watching over one another (v 12).

In marriage, these truths are essentially “self-evident”.  A husband and wife working and walking together will make the other even better.  Don’t you agree with the truth of verse 10 that one either of you falls, the other will lift up his/her companion.  Isn’t it true that when one spouse is down, discouraged, or depressed, the other spouse is not?  If you are married, in a successful marriage, haven’t you witnessed this kind of dynamic? 

A husband and wife certainly provide warmth when they lie together, no question about that.  And, when verse 12 talks about how one who is alone being overpowered, could this be referring to your #1 enemy (Satan…..did you know that the word Satan means “adversary”?).  In a strong marriage relationship, it is much more difficult for Satan to overpower both husband and wife than it is if either of them is alone.   After all, what did God say after creating Adam?  “It is not good for man to be alone”.

When Ecclesiastes 4:12 concludes with the statement; “A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart”, who do you think are the three strands?  The husband, the wife, and the Lord in the center.  If you are married, is Jesus Christ at the center of your relationship with one another?  If you are not married, will Jesus be at the center whenever you enter such a relationship?  The choice of your future spouse should depend on his or her willingness to allow Jesus to be Lord of your marriage.