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Opposites in the Bible

Dan — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:26:00 +0000

Tis the season, and as you go about your daily routine this month you will no doubt be asked to donate $$$ to various charities while shopping. The freezing cold salvation army bell ringer will tug at your conscience until you hurry past him to get into the store. As you are confronted with these opportunities to give your money, why not consider this thought from the Bible:

The Bible is full of ideas that are contrary to human common sense. Six times in the Bible do we see Jesus warn us that to save our life, we must lose it, and those that try in their own merit to save their lives will lose their life. Almost as many times we are told that the first shall be last and the last shall be first.

One of my favorite opposites in the Bible is this verse:

Proverbs 11:24 – There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

What a bizarre idea! The man that scattereth his money will increase but the man that withholdeth for himself even more than he should will slide towards poverty. Just like many verses in the Bible, I believe that this also applies to lost people as well as the Christian. Proverbs is full of general wisdom like this that applies to anyone.

How can this be? I believe this verse is talking about or attitude towards money. When we learn to give and let go of our money we are learning a valuable life philosophy that having money is not the primary goal and as a result, you learn to receive happiness and joy. This results in a greater ability to connect with people, create friendships, and have a more successful life. If you hoard your money, you will develop greedy, miserly attitudes that will develop into nasty habits that will eventually be your downfall.

Learning to give money is an essential life skill to develop. It sounds counter intuitive, but we see right here that the man who withholdeth tendeth to poverty. Learn to give, and if you’re going to give – why not give to the church of God and not some random charity this year?

Multiplication

Dan — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 10:45:38 +0000

I have always been interested in observing successful people. More instructive than their end though, is the path they took to get success. Most of the time, success at anything is simply the natural result of tireless work – not innate talent. Look at this verse:

He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. Proverbs 10:4

Notice what the Bible didn’t say would make you rich:

Talent
Charisma
Good looks
Good business sense
Networking Skills

No, none of these things will make you rich. We would prefer to think that someone who is successful in life had talent or good looks, because in a way it excuses us from not having the same success. After all, how could we be successful if we didn’t have the talent that so-and-so had? The problem though is that it is diligence that creates riches and not talent. And the interesting thing about diligence is that anyone can have that!

So talent doesn’t matter? Well, that’s not necessarily true either. Talent does help, but without diligence it is nothing. Think of it as an equation:

(t) x (w) = results
t=talent, w=work

Everyone has a little bit of talent. We all have a base set of skills that we can use, but if there is no diligence involved in this equation, the results are still pretty low even if you have a lot of talent! Talent also cannot usually be increased, but your hard work can be. Therefore the person with little talent but has diligence will outperform the person that is very talented but does not even put forth any effort.

Stop worrying about how much talent you were given and start multiplying it against a strong work ethic and you will see results in your life.

My Welfare Epiphany

Dan — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 16:49:27 +0000

Working at a pharmacy ensures that at some point during the day, I will deal with people who live off the government through welfare and Medicaid. There tends to be two types of people that use these services (that all the working people pay for). The first, is the lazy man or woman with no ambition in life. They choose welfare because it is convenient, and the benefits of getting a job aren’t nearly as good as staying on public assistance. These people deserve nothing but shame. The Bible clearly states that if you can work and don’t, you should not eat.

Clearing out all of the abusers in the system would go a long way to fixing our society that is off balance with too many people siphoning out money and too few creating it. But why do we need welfare in the first place?

Now of course, I will agree with you that there are people who are mentally or physically “challenged” (gotta be PC) who under normal circumstances would not be able to provide for themselves. Then there are children or the elderly who cannot work. I’m sure that there are other examples of people who could genuinely need welfare. But the real question is who should provide this aid? An easy answer is of course, the government but I believe this is an error from which we already see the negative fruit.

God didn’t intend for the government to tie our shoes for us, but to provide order and protection. What we end up seeing is a system that is designed to help those who cannot help themselves, but is abused by many more who should not be able to use it in the first place.

So let’s imagine a world in which government welfare does not exist. Suddenly all those able-bodied people who were sitting on their butts are starving to death, which as it turns out, is a great motivator to get a job. Sure there is a rough transition, but now we are left with the small percentage who still cannot work and maybe even through no fault of their own due to disability. Do we need a government program? Well we know that doesn’t work. So what now?

This is where I had my epiphany. The family and the church are the two institutions that God designed to care for these people – not the government. And the disintegration of the family unit and the neglect for God and the church is where we fail as a nation so badly that the government has to step in.

Proverbs 22:9 – He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor
Proverbs 28:27 – He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.

Galations 2:10 – Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.

1 Tim 5:1-5 – Honor widows who are widows indeed

These verses show our personal responsibility to help the poor, but also the church’s responsibility. It should also go without saying that families should care for their own that are incapable of doing so for themselves. Remember that if you don’t provide for your own house you are worse than an infidel. If families would provide for their own children, elderly and mentally challenged there would be no need for the government to do so. The problem is that families are more fractured, disjointed, and dysfunctional than several decades ago.

In a situation where a family could not care for someone, the church should help (with some qualifications). In 1 Tim 5, we see this exact situation. A widow without family and no way to provide for herself should be cared for by the church. But in order to qualify she has to have no other means of providing (re-marriage) and also be a dedicated, faithful member of the church. I think those are good stipulations for anyone seeking assistance from the local church. The problem again is that Americans do not care about God like in times past. God is far from our thoughts as is church attendance. We would rather get free handouts from the church then be dedicated faithful members.

The welfare problem needs a big dose of Christianity before it will ever be solved.

Is Anger Ok?

Dan — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:05:19 +0000

I find that there is a common belief among Christians that while in general anger is to be avoided, there are times when “righteous” anger or “justified” anger is appropriate. After all Jesus was angry when he overturned the money changers tables right?

And what about that verse in Ephesians that says “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:” ? Other (mis)translations of the Bible go even further with this verse. The Message bible even says, “Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.”

Thats right. Go ahead and be angry – it’s all good!

Well, the Bible actually has a lot more to say about anger than is found in Ephesians 4:26, but I find that verse is singularly quoted in support of “godly”, “christian”, or “righteous” anger.

Can anger be amoral? Is it just a neutral emotion that God gave us that can be used for good or for evil? I think this is a silly argument.

COLOSSIANS 3:8: But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

Is anger amoral, but wrath, malice, blasphemy, and filthy communication are not? This is just the tip of the iceberg of what the Bible says about the topic of anger.

Anger is primarily a tool that the devil uses to destroys families. Above all else this is where the destructive power of anger is most evident. In most of our day-to-day living when we put on our show for everyone else, most people don’t have an anger problem. We don’t want people to see us as short-tempered or out of control. But inside the home, without the inhibitions of what others will think, anger will often rear its ugly head.

Personally, I do not have an angry temperament. At least I thought I didn’t. But as a man with his own home and a family, I am utterly shocked at how easy it is to become angry. The temptation of a quick fix makes anger look so appealing, but as I quickly discovered, the end of anger is always destruction.

This new discovery put me on a quest to find out exactly what the Bible says about anger, and whether or not it can be used in a righteous manner as I had previously thought.

In my next few posts, we will look at all the verses the Bible uses to teach us what to do with our anger. In the end I hope you will discover a few things with me:

There is never any justification to become angry.
Anger, when wielded by people, is never used appropriately and is always sinful.
The only person who can be angry appropriately or have “righteous” anger is God himself.

Come Thou Fount – Video

Dan — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 05:00:56 +0000

Not much to say here. This is regretfully amateurish rendition of Come Thou Fount, but I hope you are blessed anyway. I am disappointed with the camera angle as well and will most likely re-record in the future.

Guitar Recordings!

Why Christians Should Practice Their Instruments!

Dan — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:17:31 +0000

I was recently talking to a teenager at my church in Hudson Falls, NY and he was telling me how he had just started learning the French horn.

“Cool!” I said, “How much do you practice?”

He gave me a quizzical stare before saying, “Maybe three hours a week?”

“Pffffffffffffttt……….!! that’s it?”

“Yeah I thought that was a lot!”

Honestly, though he’s right. Three hours is a lot for most people just learning an instrument. But unfortunately mastery of an instrument does not come in three hours a week. How much time do you need? Well there is not definite answer, but one source (Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers) suggests that 10,000 hours is the required amount for mastery. That’s the equivalent of working 8 hours a day, 7 days a week for 3.5 years. The problem is that most people need to eat, work, attend school, and fulfill other responsibilities during that time.

If this young man wants to become an expert at the French horn, he will need about 65 years to do so if he is going to practice only 3 hours a week.

One of the main reasons that I play and practice the guitar is so that I can use that talent for the Lord. I am a firm believer in doing things for the Lord as first class as possible and that includes playing music. I feel sometimes that Christians will practice more for a recital at school or some other performance and not invest much time or effort in performing at church. This is completely the opposite of the Biblical approach to music.

Remember Psalm 100 that says we are to make a “joyful noise” unto the Lord? This is in the context of sining with our voices and the Lord’s priority is that we are singing and making noise to praise him. That’s biblical and people shouldn’t be afraid or embarrassed of their voice when they sing out unto God. However let’s also add another verse into the mix:

Psa 33:3
Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.

While we should always be singing and making noise, God wants us to also play skillfully! Do your best for the Lord!

Unfortunately that means a good dose of PRACTICE is in order. What!?!? Yes practice.

I recently posted a video of myself playing “Power in the Blood” and I intend to play this as a special in church. But I decided that I could do much better than my first video and kept at it for a couple of weeks. Now the song has improved quite a bit. I’m still not an expert by any means, but I am a lot closer to “playing skillfully” than I was several weeks ago.

Compare the two versions and let me know what you think:

New:

Old:

Parents in the Bible: Prodigal’s Father

Dan — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 12:39:58 +0000

As a new father to be, my goal is to be as prepared as possible for the monumental task of raising a “man child” into a responsible adult. I say responsible adult, but what I really mean is someone who realizes our temporary condition here on earth and that there is no higher calling, but to please God with your life.

So naturally I have begun to read some books on this subject. One book that I recommend whole-heartedly is To Train Up A Child by Pearle. It is well balanced and comes straight from the man’s experience in raising his children who are all serving God with their lives. Of course the best book on this subject is the Bible. I’m going to take a look at all the parent examples in the Bible and come up with a list of all the good and bad things that they did raising their kids.

The first in this series is a relatively simple example. The prodigal son’s father in Luke 15:11-32. I believe that this was a true account. Any time in the Bible, when Jesus says, “A certain main…” I believe that this is real life account. These are the words that Jesus used in the next chapter in reference to the rich man and Lazarus, who we are told are real people.

Lack of Anger: The first thing that I notice, is that the father in this story doesn’t get angry. As a father, there are bound to be plenty of things that will make you mad, not the least of which is a foolish son (Prov 17:25, 19:13). But in this story, the foolish son took his inheritance early and ran out of the house and wasted it with harlots and drunkenness. I know that would make me mad. But notice in verse 20 that instead of an, “I told you so/you disappointed me/how dare you…” speech, the father ran out and was filled with compassion for his son. What a tremendous example.

My kids will never be perfect (they are related to me after all!) and so it is important to realize that they will sin and do dumb things. That is guaranteed! The only thing I can control is how I react when they do make these mistakes. I think I learned here that compassion is the key. Now of course, the compassion only came after the son truly repented of his error. We should never condone sin in the lives of our children and furthermore we should always try to rebuke them and give them the truth.
Wisdom in Allowing His Son to Leave. These two boys in this story were older sons at this point in their life. As our children get older it is necessary that we allow them more freedom of choice. It is a natural thing for their independence to grow with age even though it may be difficult to allow this.This father showed wisdom by allowing his son to make his own error.

While it is not specifically mentioned in this account, I believe this father did warn his son about the dangers of leaving home with so much money as a young man. But instead of refusing and allowing rebellion to take control of his son’s spirit, this man wisely allowed his son to learn this lesson the hard way. In the end, it produced a much wiser son. Eventually your kids will have to be independent and make their own decisions in life. Don’t be afraid to lovingly and bluntly advise, but then back off and allow them to experience life. You cannot protect your children from everything.
The father didn’t ignore a bad attitude. At the end of this story, the other sibling who stayed at home with Dad had a bad attitude. He wanted to know why great rejoicing was being made for the foolish son who had returned home, but nothing had been done for him though he had been faithful all this time.

When your kids have a bad attitude, you must NEVER ignore or allow it. This wise father, decided to deal with it immediately and cut it off before it became a much bigger root of bitterness and anger. Never allow your children to pout or stew. Attitudes CAN be controlled and since they dictate our direction in life, they are vitally important.
The father gave a reason why. How many times have you heard a child ask, “Why not?” Kids always want to know why they are told to do things. As really young kids, they must first learn to obey without knowing why. Obedience is something that must be trained without questions. Later, as our children get older, the “why” becomes vital. They can’t just say, “I don’t drink alcohol because my dad said not to” when they are being pressured by their friends to have beer. They must know the reasons why so they can believe the truth for themselves.

This father didn’t just stop at telling his son not to have a bad attitude, he told him why he needed to shut up and put a smile on his face. The foolish son had already lost several years of his life, his inheritance, and his dignity. The least that could be done was a welcome home party. The wise son still had all these things because of his wisdom in staying put, but he was too blinded to realize that he was really far richer than his foolish brother. Instead of griping he should be thankful that he was spared what his foolish brother had to endure, and realize that what he still had intact was worth far more than any fatted calf.
The father was fair. Notice in the first verse of this account, the father gave them their portion. As a Dad, if you are planning on doing something exceptional or out-0f-the-ordinary for one of your kids, be prepared to do the same for the rest of the kids.
The father had an inheritance to give to his kids. In Prov. 13:22, we see that a good man will lay up his wealth to give as an inheritance to his children’s children! In today’s society that is virtually unheard of. Very few people bother to save even for their own retirement, much less for their children’s sake.

There isn’t a real end to this story, but we can be sure that the wise son got his act together, the foolish son learned his lesson, and a wise father had his family back together again. Let’s learn from this man’s example and apply these principles to our own children.

Power in the Blood!

Dan — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:51:36 +0000

This is a quick “by ear” arrangement of this great hymn inspired by my wife who suggested that I learn how to play it. Thanks babe!

This was my first take, and although it’s not perfect, it does the job.

Nearer My God to Thee

Beauty is Vain

Dan — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:45:46 +0000

Popular culture has some pretty strict standards for being considered a “beautiful” person. Advertising, television, and music all boldly proclaim that your body need to be primped, brushed, waxed, tanned, cut, and anorexic before you will be successful in life.

What a shame.

This incredible pressure from popular culture has sharply increased our rates of eating disorders and no doubt, many other depressive symptoms and probably even suicide rates.

What makes me nervous is that this thinking has been making its way into teen groups in good baptist churches. Yes I understand that we have a duty and a responsibility to take care of our bodies since they are on loan from God. I wouldn’t want him to come back and be disgusted at how I’ve kept up the place! But with that said, we were all given different bodies with different shapes, sizes, and looks.

What does the Bible say about our outward appearance?

One good example that comes to mind is the well known story of Samuel looking for a new king for the people of Israel. God doesn’t care too much about how our outside looks. Anyone can put on a good show, but this blip of life is so transient when viewed within the scope of eternity that a few extra pounds, a zit, or braces hardly have even the smallest significance.

Psalm 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Maybe we should all go back to the Bible and realize that our souls are more important than our bodies.

Every woman should read Proverbs 31 and focus on verse 30: Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised

No related posts.

A Few “What Ifs…” From the Bible

Dan — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 03:46:36 +0000

Did you ever wonder why God decided to leave us sinful people here on this earth and send his son to die for us? I mean, he could have easily just scrapped the universe and started over right? That’s one of the many odd questions that really don’t matter much here on earth, but will be fun to ask God when we see him on the other side of this life.

Today I was reading through Genesis and noticed an interesting phrase:

Genesis 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

It’s common knowledge that God has placed the man as the head of the home. Not better than the wife, just a different role. Somebody has to lead and God decided it should be the man.

However, it is interesting that in this verse, Eve did not have to follow her husbands leadership it seems until after the fall because that was part of her curse. It just makes me wonder what things would have been like in the husband wife relationship if man has not cast himself into a sin nature.

What do you think the wife’s role was before the fall? Equal? Leader? Something completely different that I didn’t even mention?