proverbs 12

I read Proverbs 12 yesterday.  I copied what rang out to me.

 4 A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, 
       but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.

 15 The way of a fool seems right to him, 
       but a wise man listens to advice. 

 16 A fool shows his annoyance at once, 
       but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

 18 Reckless words pierce like a sword, 
       but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

 

I really like how Solomon, the KING is encouraging people to listen to advice from wiser people. And if you read the whole Proverb he talks about how you have to be careful of who you listen to and take advice from, because some people have motives to their advice. So basically Solomon is saying, 

“Listen to advice from credible sources, and always test the advice through prayer, but always listen with a humble heart” 

at least that’s what I think he is saying. 

Verse 16 is awesome i think. I am constantly getting annoyed with people. But God has taught Solomon that if we can get over annoyance and insults we will be better off. If we can let those type of things slide off our back, we will be better off. 

Also, I love verse 18 because it comes across so true. It’s just really clear to me, because I know I have been in situations when I didn’t think about what I was going to say before I said it, and the situation turned out terrible. But, if I sit back and wait, and think about what I was going to say, and think if it would be helpful or not, my words usually come across in a less harmful way. 

 

hymns

The other day at work I was hanging out with this old lady while she played some hymns for me on the piano.  It really surprised me how quickly the words came back to me for songs that I haven’t heard in so many years.  It shocked me that they brought up so many fond memories.  I realized that a part of me actually misses singing hymns.

I just bought an album of hymns on Itunes.  They are so awesome, and I am really excited about it.  Its funny how something that I thought stagnant and cumbersome for so long can suddenly dawn on me with freshness and new life.  Let me know if you want to listen with me.  I am not opposed to breaking out the hymnals and having a sing-along one night at lifegroup.  Just a thought…

Piper on reading the Bible

Discipline and spontaneity. We need both in reading the Bible: discipline to move steadily through books of the Bible, and spontaneity to go to a part of the Bible that we sense will meet a particular need. Both can be powerful with encouragement for faith.

—John Piper, A Godward Life, p. 56.

A Letter of Recommendation

I think it is always kind of lame to ask someone to write a letter of recommendation.  I hate it.  While I was filling out my application for SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) they asked me to do it.  While we filled out our applications for NAMB, we had to do it.  I hate it. Why do you need that?  Is the information I’m providing you about myself not enough?

 

“Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all.  And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”  -2 Corinthians 3:1-3

 

God’s word is totally sufficient.  However, even still God chooses to use us for the fulfillment of His word; a testimony of what He has done.  

 

Why?  God, why would you want to use me?  I hate you sometimes.  I run away like you are trying to kill me.  Why do you continue to hold out your arms? Why?

Grace

Surprise! Its another Saturday post for Friday procrastination.

Jon and I were talking about grace the other day. We defined grace as the unmerited favor of God. Specifically, we were talking about just how good God really is to us and we often don’t even realize it.

Indeed, it is by grace that we are saved; having been reconnected with our Maker despite our rebellion. However, Jon and I were thinking about how overwhelmingly undeserving we are of everything in light of how marvelous God is. We realized that everything God sends our way is some effect is a form of grace. Life itself is grace to us. That we can enjoy meals, friends, sex (albeit I’m only looking forward to enjoying that), family, having the opportunity to work with Midtown, to be here in Columbia, to have health, to have a wife, to be single, etc, its all grace. To even have the breath in my lungs this morning to have one more day to serve Christ here is nothing but grace. What have we done to earn any of these things?

Nothing.

Calvin and others would probably call this “common grace,” but don’t let the word “common” fool you. There is nothing ordinary or commonplace about it, it is still amazing grace. Its still getting what we don’t deserve.

Our conversation led me to think about the ways God has specifically shown me grace. Here are some that I’ve thought of:

- my parents – I never deserved to have a family that stayed together and loved Jesus.

- my sister – I never deserved to have someone love me so unconditionally

- Midtown – its not my right to be able to be here in Columbia and work with a church I believe in

- the brothers I live with – how many people go home to an empty house every night with only Michael Scott on NBC/TBS to keep them company? I get to share life with men I’d take a bullet for and I know would do the same for me.

- my sin – that sounds weird, I know. However, how fantastic is it that God doesn’t let me go unaware of my sin, but rather brings it to my attention and forces me to deal with it. He could just leave me to my destruction but He doesn’t

- to live in America – I’ll confess, sometimes I think this is more of a curse. Nonetheless, I live in a place where I don’t have to worry where my next meal is coming from. I live in a place where there is clean water. I live in a place where I can write about God’s grace freely and publicly. I don’t deserve to be here.

I’m a pretender.

“Let love be genuine.” (Romans 12:9a)

Earlier today as I was listening to a sermon on community. He brought up this passage. The only problem is, this is the nice way of interpretting this passage. Some versions of the Bible say it like this,

“Let love be without HYPOCRISY!”

Let that resonate with you for a moment.

Hypocrisy is simply a pretender. It is someone who pretends to act one way when at the core of their being, they are completely different. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE THE BODY IF WE WALK AROUND PRETENDING! If we are consistently pretending to do this or that, then you will never be able to receive the love that people are giving you because YOU KNOW that it is all a lie. The Church has to be a place where it is okay to not be okay. Until then, pretenders beware; there is no room in the Church for you.

The funny thing is this, I’m the biggest pretender of all.

-Beau

from the “Of First Importance” blog

“We can think of forgiveness as something real only when we hold that sin has betrayed us into a situation where we deserve to have God inflict upon us the most serious consequences, and that it is upon such a situation that God’s grace supervenes.

When the logic of the situation demands that He should take action against the sinner, and He yet takes action for him, then and only then can we speak of grace. But there is no room for grace if there is no suggestion of dire consequences merited by sin.”

- Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross (London, England: The Tyndale Press, 1955), 185.

Welp, there goes my feet…

Today, as we sat in teaching team meeting, I got to thinking about Philippians 2:13.

“For it is God who works in you, both to will and to do his good pleasure.“

Why is it that so many times I feel like I’m the man because of something that happens in ministry. Today we were riding back from North Carolina and talking about all the great ideas we had for this summer with the interns and I thought back to this verse and I was like, “Welp, there goes my feet.” When I get the slightest feeling of pride for something I’ve done it seems like God swoops in, takes my feet out from under me, and puts me back on my face where I belong.

Even now, as I sit and listen to this Snow Patrol cd and think about life and Midtown and how we’ve grown and will continue to grow, all I can think about is God looking down on me and saying, “Beau, you think you could make this happen on your own? You think you could do this without me? You think you could put a person in a seat? You think you could make music good enough for them to stay? Speak a message good enough to bring them back? You think you can save anyone? Nope. You can’t. If you do anything, remember this…

…for it is I who works in you…

…you will do MY will….

…you will work for MY pleasure…”

As an American I love to stick it to the man, to authority. But somehow, this feeling of helplessness is what I need. It is where I belong.

-Beau

P.s. I know this isn’t my “day” but if something strikes me, will anyone be upset if I post it? Let me know.

good lord show me the way

 

i have yet to not cry when watching this. 

 

unrelated:

oswald says “the only way to keep the life uncrushed is to live looking to God. Ask God to keep the eyes of your spirit open to the Risen Christ, and it will be impossible for drudgery to damp you.”

jay.

insanity.

It has been a crazy weekend.  Some good stuff.  Some crappy stuff.  I’m real tired from it all.

I missed church a lot tonight.

I really wish there were more than 24 hours in a day.  Or that I could just get by without sleeping.

I hate it when I have to learn the same lesson over and over because I am so stubborn.

Jesus is unbelievably patient.  So much faithfulness against my faithlessness.

I hope tomorrow is a better day than today was.

I miss you guys, and I love ya’ll.

I think we need to all go on a weekend beach trip soon.  That would be hot diggity.