Having A Good Name - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Proverbs 22:1,

"A good name is more desirable than great riches;
    to be esteemed is better than silver or gold."

This proverb deals with things of relative value: a good name and to be esteemed over great riches, silver and gold.

If someone has to choose between the two, those things that bring us into healthier and more meaningful relationships with others are more valuable than riches.

To have a good name with others and to be esteemed by them requires a good relationship with them. Not "using" others, not taking advantage of others, not being dishonest or deceitful toward others, being available to them when in need of help, all those kinds of things enter into that kind of an equation.

Unfortunately, there are those who pursue wealth in a manner that treats others in a way they would not want to be treated. Those who do so ultimately find themselves without a good name, without being esteemed by others.

Hence, from this "better than" proverb, I learn that how I treat others is much more important in life than the pursuit of wealth.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

God Weighs The Heart - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Proverbs 21:2,

"A person may think their own ways are right,
    but the Lord weighs the heart."

I'm sure you recall the rape case of the Duke University lacrosse team members in the news from years ago (2006, now 19 years ago!). The prosecutor, Mike Nifong, called it a hate crime and went after the lacrosse players with the zeal of a crusader. Many were caught up in the quest to see punishment inflicted against the players, including many of the faculty at the university.

It turned out to be a bogus charge as the rape never took place. Within this past month the supposed victim confessed she lied about it and that it never took place.

While Mike Nifong's motives eventually became crystal clear to the nation, (that he was more concerned with his flourishing career as a prosecutor than whether justice was served or not), many in the news media and on the faculty at Duke University had some soul-searching to do when things came to light. There never was any evidence that a crime had taken place, only the self-contradictory testimony of a woman of very questionable character. Yet many piled on with enthusiasm to eviscerate these young innocent men. What were their motives?

"A person may think their own ways are right,
    but the Lord weighs the heart."

The prosecutor, the faculty members at Duke University and the media that jumped on what they thought was some kind of moral crusade actually had other motives that were not at all honorable, moral and lofty.

While I may find it easy to focus on the weakness of others, (such as the culprits above) I have to admit to myself and God that were he to weigh my heart, he just might find motives there that may not be so honorable as well.

Something for me to think about..

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

Where Is The Honor In Quarreling? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Proverbs 20:3,

"It is to one's honor to avoid strife,
    but every fool is quick to quarrel."

How do we measure honor? Among those things we might list (foolishly at times) as contributing to that would be the ability to establish our own perspective over another's. When we are challenged with opposing ideas we may feel a need to "protect" our honor by engaging in a dialog that just might reduce itself to a quarrel. When we go there, we lose any sense of honor. Just the opposite: it is honorable "to avoid strife..."

That isn't to say we should not make every attempt to help someone else understand our point, it is just that when that effort devolves into a quarrel, it becomes something else. We particularly may look foolish if we engage in a quarrel with a half-wit... that doesn't seem like an honorable enterprise!

When we are quick to quarrel we are communicating we don't want to understand another's thoughts and feelings and that we already know all we need to know. Arrogance and conceit do not wear well as being honorable.

Unfortunately, I know all too much about this!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

Misplaced Rage - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Proverbs 19:3,

"A man's own folly ruins his life,
   yet his heart rages against the Lord."

I suspect many of us have been in the position of listening to someone rant and rave about something gone wrong, the accusations they make of others for causing the failure, and the whole time we can clearly see that this someone himself was the cause of the failure. I believe I have been that culprit at times.

Sometimes the failure reaches the important issues in life and God gets the blame for things gone wrong and the embittered complainant rages against the Lord.

A fool exposes his folly by blaming others for the disappointments and hardships they have brought on themselves. It is hopeless to help them see the error of their ways, as in their foolishness they will never see it.

We have been given a heads-up by God himself that life does not operate in the way we might think it should. He says, "'My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" Isaiah 55:8-9.

We might think life ought to work a certain way, but God has designed it his way. Our only hope of knowing how to live life successfully depends entirely on embracing whatever it is God has to say and not leaning on our own notions.

I have certainly found this true in my own life!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

A Fool Airing His Own Opinions - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Proverbs 18:2,

"A fool finds no pleasure in understanding
   but delights in airing his own opinions."

The arrogance of the sinful nature within us leaves us prone to think we know it all. I know mine does at times and it rears its ugly head just a little too often. It is what Proverbs calls "pride", the bad kind of pride. It exposes the myth that I know better than you do, etc.

The proverbial fool takes this to the point of delight "in airing his own opinions." Another verse in this chapter reveals why the fool remains just what he is (that is, he finds no pleasure in understanding). In verse 13 we read, "He who answers before listening— that is his folly and his shame." The fool is too busy airing his own opinions because he simply has no time to listen to others. After all, when we know it all, why listen to others?

The wise are just the opposite. They know the value of listening to others. They have the time to listen to others, since in their wisdom they recognize that they, in fact, do not know it all. So in verse 15 we read, "The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out."

In their humility, the wise recognize their need and acquire knowledge: "the ears of the wise seek it out."

Sometimes it is just better to give our mouths a rest, use our ears, and learn something.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

"Better Than" - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Proverbs 17:1,

"Better a dry crust with peace and quiet
    than a house full of feasting, with strife."

There are a number of "better than" proverbs in the book and this is one of them. Certainly feasting is better than a dry crust, and peace and quiet is better than strife.

The best of all things would be feasting without strife, having peace and quiet. The worst of all things would be only a dry crust to eat with strife.

However, when it comes to an unavoidable combination, peace and quiet with not much to eat is certainly better than much to eat with strife.

According to this proverb, these are the priorities to pursue!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

We Plan, The Lord Determines - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Proverbs 16:1,

"To humans belong the plans of the heart,
    but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue."

People should legitimately make plans, strategize and look for their best options for the future. This proverb is not telling us to not do so.

What it does tell us is that within the framework of our plans, God's will is definitive as to what actually happens.

It appears to me from this proverb that we plan for the best but only the Lord can determine definitely what happens. We can't do that and we should have a certain humility that reflects that.

Our plans may come to nothing without God's concurrence as he has the final say in things.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

Who Is Speaking? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Proverbs 15:2,

"The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge,
    but the mouth of the fool gushes folly."

When wise people speak, those who are listening will grow in their knowledge and understanding of things. On the other hand, if it is a fool that is speaking, all that is heard is stupidity.

This places us all in a situation where we have to distinguish between wise people and fools. I suspect it is easy to do so in many cases, but it might be challenging at times. This is where the value of the book of Proverbs comes in. In Proverbs 1:1-6 we read,
"The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
for gaining wisdom and instruction;
    for understanding words of insight;
for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
    doing what is right and just and fair;
for giving prudence to those who are simple,
    knowledge and discretion to the young—
let the wise listen and add to their learning,
    and let the discerning get guidance—
for understanding proverbs and parables,
    the sayings and riddles of the wise."

Proverbs is an inspired book and one of those wonderful works that feeds itself in our lives as we spend time in its pages! It is an invaluable and necessary tool for us to distinguish the wise from the fools as we listen to what people say.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.