Sometimes when Christ-followers say Jesus is our everything or that He is everything to us, it can sound a bit cliche. But for those who are in Christ, it is not just a statement we make; it is the foundation of our hope — the foundation of our life in Him.
When we are saved, He takes us from death to life (Ephesians 2:1-5). He takes our sin and exchanges it for His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our old life passes away in His death and new life is born through His resurrection (2 Corinthians 5:17, Colossians 3:9-10, Ephesians 4:17-24). He builds us up and establishes us (Colossians 2:6-7).
Not only is Jesus faithful in salvation, but He is faithful in keeping us and protecting us. Think about it: if we can trust Him to do what He says and save us — if He can bring us from death to life in Him, isn’t He powerful enough to protect us and “guard [us] against the evil one”?
The answer is yes.
As the author of Hebrews put it: “He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). And I sure am thankful He is!
Thank You, Lord, for being the One who never fails, never lies, and never changes. When He say You will do something, You do it. When You promise, You fulfill it. When You love, You don’t let go. There is no one else in the universe faithful like You — definitely not us! Thank You for being faithful to build us up and protect us from evil. Amen.
All through the month of November, our Christ Community Church family is focusing on what we are thankful for and expressing our thanks to our “great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us” (Titus 2:13-14).
This, like the #DailyWisdomChallenge we went through in October, is a challenge from our pastor John Goldwater — the #GRATITUDEandHOPEchallenge — where we have the opportunity to post Bible passages that move us to thanksgiving or in which we find hope. May this lead you to be grateful and find your hope in Jesus!
I’m thankful for the love of God! There is no other love like it. In fact, His love informs all other love — defines all other love.
In John 15:13, Jesus says that there is no “greater love” than one who will lay his life down for His friends. The day after He said that, He died on the cross for us, and proved that there is no “greater love” than His!
He loves us, and having experienced the love He has for us, we love Him in return. It is the same way that children learn what love is. They experience love from their parents and families, and they learn to reciprocate it. But it is not about the love we return. God’s love is so much more powerful and abundant than our meager offering back to Him.
I love the word that John used to describe the extent of God’s love here: propitiation. This is merely a big seminary or theology word. This is a Bible word. It describes a sacrifice that exchanges the wrath of God sinners deserve with the favor of God they don’t. Those who are saved experience the favor of God that His Son Jesus deserves because Jesus bore the wrath that our sin deserves. That’s love. And there’s no “greater love” than that!
Lord, thank You for loving me and all that You have saved. We don’t deserve Your love, especially not me, but I am thankful that You set Your affections on me despite my sin. Thank You for paying for my sin and covering me with Your blood. I love you, too, and long for the Day when we will be together forevermore.
All through the month of November, our Christ Community Church family is focusing on what we are thankful for and expressing our thanks to our “great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us” (Titus 2:13-14).
This, like the #DailyWisdomChallenge we went through in October, is a challenge from our pastor John Goldwater — the #GRATITUDEandHOPEchallenge — where we have the opportunity to post Bible passages that move us to thanksgiving or in which we find hope. May this lead you to be grateful and find your hope in Jesus!
I’m thankful that His steadfast love will never run out.
Every day brings new hardships and trials. It seems sometimes that the difficulties of life are insurmountable. Too often, the idea of merely giving up is more appealing than it should be. But just as the trouble is at its peak — when the waves seem to be flowing over our heads, God brings fresh mercy.
God has more mercy than we will ever have troubles. His love is infinitely flowing and infinitely better than the worst this world has to offer. Every day brings with it trouble, but every morning brings new mercy from the LORD. His faithfulness is great. He will take care of His people.
That’s good news!
What’s more is that trouble has an expiration date. It’s shelf life will run out when our LORD and King returns. Trouble will be over, but God’s mercies and steadfast love will still be infinite!
Lord, thank you for fresh mercy every morning and an infinite supply of Your steadfast love. Thank you for being a God who is bigger than our trouble — bigger and more magnificent than everything, yet still being willing to remember your lowly people. Help us to remember your unfailing steadfast love and mercy when the waves are crashing against us so that we can hold fast to You.
All through the month of November, our Christ Community Church family is focusing on what we are thankful for and expressing our thanks to our “great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us” (Titus 2:13-14).
This, like the #DailyWisdomChallenge we went through in October, is a challenge from our pastor John Goldwater — the #GRATITUDEandHOPEchallenge — where we have the opportunity to post Bible passages that move us to thanksgiving or in which we find hope. May this lead you to be grateful and find your hope in Jesus!
I’m thankful for the gospel — the good news of Jesus Christ — that tells us that He died for our sins on the cross we deserved, was buried, and rose from the dead defeating death, hell, and the grave.
That’s good news!
Literally, that’s what the word “gospel” means: good news!
Lord, thank you for the good news that we do not have to remain dead in our sins. Thank you for being willing to send Your Son to die in our place and giving the opportunity to come to You by grace through faith in Jesus and be made alive in Him.
All through the month of November, our Christ Community Church family is focusing on what we are thankful for and expressing our thanks to our “great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us” (Titus 2:13-14).
This, like the #DailyWisdomChallenge we went through in October, is a challenge from our pastor John Goldwater — the #GRATITUDEandHOPEchallenge — where we have the opportunity to post Bible passages that move us to thanksgiving or in which we find hope. May this lead you to be grateful and find your hope in Jesus!
Here we are FINALLY finished with the #DailyWisdomChallenge! What took some 31 days, only took me 56. But this challenge is not about an amount of time or some mark we check off, is it? No, it is about getting God’s Word in us and through us — Him producing results and us giving Him our time, minds, and lives to spend time with Him in His Word and share it with other. I have enjoyed spending this time with Him and sharing Him and His Word with you.
This last proverb is one that has been on my mind. I have typed and retyped this post because I just couldn’t seem to articulate it — to get my words right. Today, it is what it is and ain’t what it ain’t. Let’s dive in.
Much of Proverbs 31 (vv. 10-31) is about the virtuous wife/woman. I was tempted to pick some verses from that section and speak well of my wife, which I do as often as I can because she is amazing. But Proverbs 31:8-9 is about using our voices — in this case, my voice and platform — to speak for those who have no one to speak for them. I will always speak up and advocate for Candice, but what of those who have no advocate?
It might help to understand what it means to advocate for someone. Let’s break it down. There are two forms of the word, both spelled the same; one is a verb (meaning to support or speak in for — or in favor of — someone or something) and a noun (meaning one who supports or speaks for someone or something). To use both in a sentence: an advocate advocates for people or issues. That’s the English teacher take on it, but we need a more pastoral perspective here.
In 1 John 2:1-2 give us a good picture of Jesus as our Advocate (the ESV even using that exact word):
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
In this brief passage, we see Jesus almost as an advocate or defense attorney in courtroom. We know that Satan is known as the “accuser” in Revelation 12:10 and is “day and night” putting our sin in the form of an accusation or case against us “before our God”. Satan wants God to look at our sin and cast us out as he was so long ago. He wants to hurt God by showing Him how His children sin against Him and others. He also wants to hurt us and see us destroyed (1 Peter 5:8). We really don’t need an accuser to understand this because just like our great-great-great-great-uncle Cain, our sin cries out like Abel’s shed blood (Genesis 4:10), and God knows it, too.
Who would stand as an advocate for one who is clearly guilty? How many courtroom dramas have feature hot shot defense attorneys remarking that only a fool would ask their client if they are guilty. In this case, we know we are guilty. All have sinned (Romans 3:23) and none stand before God as righteous in their own standing (Romans 3:10). Yet John clearly says that those who are in Christ who sin (which includes any and everyone who has ever and will ever be saved) has an advocate: Jesus Christ the righteous.
Jesus stands for us when our sin cries out against us, reminding the Father that He has cast our sin as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).
Jesus stands for us when the accuser comes before the Father and reminds him that He has exchanged our sin and shame for His righteousness and standing as a son (1 Corinthians 5:21).
He speaks for us when the recollection of our sin silences us and shuts the mouth of accuser, reminding us that He has saved us and him that his doom is sure.
What a joy it is to have someone speak for you when you are in trouble (Psalm 34:17)! What a relief it is to have someone advocate for you to receive help in your time of trouble (Psalm 46:1)!
That’s the point of our final proverb together: use the voice and platform God has given us to be an advocate for those in need and in trouble, people who do not have anyone to speak for them. Worldly wisdom says mind your business and stay in your lane when it comes for helping folks in precarious situations. God’s wisdom says speak up for those who have no one to speak up for them (“the destitute”) and no voice of their own (“the mute”). God’s wisdom says that we are to “defend the rights of the poor and needy” — to make sure that people can get the help they need.
Now, the argument that comes up here is always something like “What about those who are misusing the help they receive?” or some citing of something like 2 Thessalonians 3:10 and some variation of “if you don’t work, you don’t eat”. Remember this is not a blanket statement of foolishness or reckless speech; it says “judge righteously” right here in the proverb. But we are to err on the side of help rather than stinginess — advocating for help rather than silence.
So, what about you? Are you silent for the suffering or speaking for them to receive help? Does Jesus the righteous advocate for you and yet you remain silent for others?
This is the culmination, not only of the #DailyWisdomChallenge for me, but the pinnacle of the challenge of whether I will yield to God’s wisdom or roll with the world’s. John has challenged us to speak and share God’s Word with others. Now, God in His Word has challenged us to speak and share God’s Word FOR others, too.
Won’t you join me?
For the month of October (and finally finished 25 days into November), we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
This proverb struck me as a poignant example of the perspective God gives us through His wisdom that counters the anti-wisdom of this world.
Whatever you revere or fear drives you, or at least steers you. Think about it. If there are certain holidays or people that you revere, you will act a certain way around them. Your life and behavior change in their presence or on those days. It works the same with fear. If you are afraid of someone or something, your body does its own thing in their presence. Your heart rate will elevate; your skin may grow clammy and/or sweaty; and your fight-or-flight response kicks in.
We live in a day and age when the powers-that-be use fear to motivate. This can be in the political arena as we have seen recently in many political ads and politically-driven social media posts. The news is always doom and gloom – and changes depending on the political leanings of one channel to the next. We have become accustomed to making decisions based on fear, and per the wisdom we see here, that sort of fear is a snare.
A snare is a device meant to catch something, and often carries with it the purpose of restraining something in order to kill it. If a hunter puts out a snare to catch an animal, it is often so that the animal can be caught, killed, and eaten. This reminds me of the description of Satan in 1 Peter 5:8 as one prowling “around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour”. Satan likes snares because they catch people unaware using camouflage and trickery. 2 Corinthians 4:4 describes this work as him blinding “the minds of unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” He has no glory of his own and nothing of worth for people to follow, so he tricks and hoodwinks people, trying to keep them from seeing the Light.
While Satan is on the prowl seeking to devour and destroy, God offers His mighty hand to lift us up and offers the opportunity to cast “all [our] anxieties on Him, because He cares for [us]” (1 Peter 5:6-7). You can trust the Lord and be safe (Psalm 62:8). There is a big difference between prowling around like a lion and being the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5)! Jesus is the genuine article and came to seek and save the lost instead of seeking destruction (Luke 19:10, John 3:17)!
Your fear of what man can do to you lays a snare. But trusting in God brings safety – from the snare, from destruction, from being devoured.
That’s good news to those who trust in the Lord! How about you? Will you be driven by your fear of man or your trust in God?
For the month of October (and November for slowpokes like me), we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
This #DailyWisdomChallenge has been convicting for me. As I have walked through these proverbs, God’s wisdom has outshone the anti-wisdom of the world – the anti-wisdom that lures us to sin instead of illuminating our understanding that there is a God who loves us and made a way for us to come to Him. Proverb 28:13 is a good example of this.
Human beings mess up. A lot. When we mess up and our actions go against God’s righteous standard and expectation, going directly against what God has said, this is called sin. We all do it. First and foremost, we sin against God (Psalm 51:4). This is the case even when we are sinning against other people as well, which is the second point here. This is important to know because sometimes we like to subscribe to the idea that our sin only affects us. It doesn’t. The consequences of our sin affects others, especially when there are people who receive some of the sin we commit.
If we lie, we have sinned against God and the person we lied to. If the lie is about someone else, that adds to it.
If we murder, we have sinned against God. Clearly, we have sinned against the victim, but the sin extends to his or her family, friends, and so on. The toll can be catastrophic in some circles.
If we sin, we sin against God and others. Period.
The reality of sin is that judgment and condemnation is deserved. A holy God created this world and has the authority to say what is right and wrong, holy and righteous. We might not like it. We might wish He had decided that our pet sins were ok or to let something slide, but He is holy and cannot abide with sin. If He did, He would not be holy – definitely not righteous. The good news is that God has made a way for us to be reconciled to Him and not receive that wrath that is due for our sin (Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 15:16-21).
The word “reconcile” is helpful here in our understanding of sin. You see, when people talk about sin deserving death, they balk and try to explain how their sin does not warrant such a penalty. But reconcile does not leave room for that. Because we have sinned against God, we are in need of reconciliation because the relationship has been damaged. Sinning against Him puts enmity between us (Romans 5:10). Things need to be put right.
Our proverb today says that the only way for things to be made right between people, where one has done wrong and the other been wronged, is for the transgression to be confessed. Concealing it only allows it to fester – think along the lines of a boil beneath one’s skin. Reconciliation cannot happen unless the transgression is confessed and dealt with. This is essentially the message that Paul shared with the church at Corinth when he shared with them about how God through Christ offers opportunity to be reconciled to Him where He does not count “their trespasses against them” (2 Corinthians 5:19). And He explains this in one of the most beautifully succinct examples of the gospel – the good news of Jesus – in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Just as it happens between people, reconciliation means confession needs to be made. 2 Corinthians 5:21 gives us a picture of the God we have sinned against putting His perfect, sinless Son forward in our place to bear the punishment of sin. Those who believe in Him exchange their sin and the debt due for it for Jesus’s righteousness and favor. Jesus, the God we sinned against, puts forth the offering that makes our relationship right. He trades our sin debt for His eternal riches of grace, mercy, and love. He trades our rightful wages of death with a gracious portion of His eternal life. He trades our rap sheet for His righteousness.
Concealing our sin and acting like it does not exist only delays the inevitable. Confessing it – confessing Jesus as Lord and believing He rose from the grave (Romans 10:9) – gives opportunity for reconciliation and salvation. One side leads to death and the other to life.
The advice of Proverbs 28:13 points us toward God’s wisdom and counting all we have as loss for the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:8) and forsaking the anti-wisdom of the world that leads us to think there is no consequence for sin.
Lord, thank you for offering reconciliation when we don’t deserve it – when no one else in the world would. Reconciliation is hard to come by, but it reflects Your heart toward those who turn to you. Help me to confess my sin to you instead of concealing it. Help me to do the same for others I sin against as well. Amen.
For the month of October (and *hopefully* the early part of November), we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
I don’t know about y’all, but I can’t wait because I need it.
I need to be reminded fresh that we gather in remembrance of Jesus’s resurrection (Luke 24:1-6). The reason we gather on the first day of the week is because that is when the stone was rolled away from the tomb, and Jesus, the Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53:3), rose from the dead by His own divine power (John 10:17-18, John 2:19-21). He fulfilled His promises to return, and His body just stopped being dead (Matthew 28:5-6, Romans 6:9). As Peter put it, “God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it” (Acts 2:24).
I need to be reminded that I am not the only one struggling with sin and this fallen world (Romans 7:18-25). Part of gathering together is reminding each other that the God who saves and raised from the dead — who promised that He would save, die for our sins, and rise from the grave — is faithful to keep His promises (2 Corinthians 1:20, John 10:28-29, Hebrews 10:23). Part of gathering together is having my brothers and sisters “stir me up” to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24-25). I need to be stirred up or else I will get stuck like a noodle to a hot pot, so I need my faith family to stir me — to lift me — up (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, Galatians 6:2).
I need to be reminded that none of this is all about me. Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2:9-11). Jesus is God (John 1:1-3). All that there is belongs to Him (Colossians 1:16-17, Psalm 24:1). In fact, I belong to Him (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). But rather than be humbled to despondency or insignificance, I get reminded that the King of kings and Lord of lords, God Most High, set His affections on me and saved me because He loves me (Deuteronomy 7:7-8, Ephesians 2:4-5). We all get reminded that He looks upon the weak and lowly with compassion and saves all who call upon the name of the Lord (Psalm 34:18, Romans 10:13).
I need to be reminded that all of this — my life and this world and everything in between — belongs to Jesus (Colossians 1:16-17, Psalm 24:1). I need that specific time set apart specially to worship and focus on Jesus to remind me that all my times should be so set apart (Psalm 46:10, Colossians 3:1-2). I need my focus reoriented. I need my eyes lifted up from the mire and the weights of this world and set on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2, Psalm 121:1-2). I need this reorientation turning my life back toward Him like a compass to the north (Psalm 25:4-5, Isaiah 26:3).
Simply put, I need Jesus, and my brothers and sisters in Him need Jesus, too.
Tomorrow, at Christ Community Church, that is what our focus and effort will be aiming at: pointing people, pointing each other, to Jesus.
Our songs will be focused on seeing Jesus as the Bible presents Him. We will see Him as God and be overwhelmed by His magnitude and magnificence (Colossians 1:15-17, Hebrews 1:3). We will see Him as the prophesied man of sorrows who bore our sin and shame to give us life (Isaiah 53:3-5, 1 Peter 2:24). We will see Him as the reigning King who promised to return to rescue us in power and finality (Revelation 19:11-16, Matthew 24:30). We will Him lifting us up and fighting our battles (Romans 8:37). We will see that He has a frightening level of power that humbles us and moves us to worship Him all the more, in awe of what He has done, can do, and will do (Job 26:14, Revelation 5:12-13).
Our time in the Word will see our pastor, John Goldwater, open God’s Word and point us to Jesus.
Our time spent in worship together will remind us of the solidarity that comes from being in a family — dysfunctional as we be — who is bound together by love and common-purpose. I cannot wait to stand to raise my voice in the crowd and hear my brothers and sisters singing to Jesus and proclaim His gospel to me.
What about you?
What are your plans for the LORD’s day?
If you are in or around Grenada, MS, we at Christ Community would to invite you to gather with us and allow us to introduce you to King Jesus.
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 For He grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
One of the greatest joys I have had while walking through the Proverbs in this #DailyWisdomChallenge is finding little gospel nuggets like Proverbs 20:6. I have to remind myself, still after years of knowing Christ and studying His Word, that learning Him is not an academic exercise or wisdom for wisdom’s sake (Ephesians 4:20-21). No, time spent in study of God’s Word is time spent with Him. And as we walk through it, Old Testament or New, it is Jesus we know more and more.
Proverbs 20:6 does not directly point to Jesus, but He is such a stark contrast to this rhetorical question that He appears. Before the question of “a faithful man who can find?” comes a statement: “Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love…”. That word translated “steadfast love” here is the Hebrew word hesed (or chesed depending on your pronunciation). It, like the NT word agape is used throughout the OT to describe the great love of God – His never failing, never giving up, eternal love that He has for His people. This is where the contrast comes in: the proverb states that there are “many” men who are proclaiming their own “steadfast love”.
I don’t know about you, but any time I go to proclaiming my excellence or how good I have something or can do something is right about the time that I am humbled (or humiliated). For many to profess their own steadfast love is recipe for a letdown. That is the reason for the question about who can find a “faithful man”.
Human beings are not capable of “steadfast love” on their own. Our love is all too often the opposite of steadfast. If agape is “unconditional love”, our human love is conditional. Sadly, our love for our own selves outweighs our love for others. Our love for comfort outweighs love for others. Our love for our own honor and what we deserve or feel entitled to outweighs our love for others. I could keep going, but I am guessing you get the picture.
The “steadfast love” of God is different. He is kind of defined by His “steadfast love” as it is part of the way He introduced Himself to Moses in Exodus 34:6 – that He is a God who is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness”. We see that identity solidified in the NT in 1 John that “God is love” (1 John 4:8) and that He shows us His love by sending “His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9). His love motivated Him becoming the “propitiation” – the wrath-bearing atoning sacrifice – for our sins (1 John 4:10). And, if we are to be capable of that kind of love it is because “He first loved us” (1 John 4:19)!
You may have experienced hurt from someone who proclaims love for you and disappoints. It’s a pretty common thing. People fail at this, even people who have experienced the saving love of God in Jesus. You may have been – or are now – at a point when you found yourself asking like Proverbs 20:6 who can find “a faithful man”. Rest assured, Jesus is the “faithful man”! He described this great love Himself on His last night with His disciples before He was crucified for our sin: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down His life for His friends” (John 15:13).
Thankfully then, in Jesus we can turn the question in Proverbs 20:6 into a definitive declaration of God’s love and faithfulness. God proclaims His own steadfast love, and He is truly faithful!
For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
I love this proverb because it shows hope in a couple of ways that I think we really need to see in this day and age.
First, there is hope to be found in Jesus that is greater than any darkness or depression or depravity. Hope in Jesus is not hypothetical hope, but it is instead fixed and sure, resting on the foundation of what Jesus has done, is doing, and will surely do. His victory transcends everything that remains unknown because He has already “overcome the world” (John 16:33).
In the context of Proverbs 19:18, there is obvious reference to trouble. Why else would there be need to discipline one’s son? Whatever trouble is pointed to here, it must be bad or represents the sum total of the bad a kid can get into because God in His wisdom advises the parent not “set [their] heart on putting him to death”. Kids, just like their parents, get sideways in sin sometimes. All of them, just like all parents, do. But when you are in the midst of having to discipline this child that you have raised and tried to point in the right direction, some trouble seems like it leaves no room for hope.
The Jesus-hope this proverb’s God-wisdom points to is pictured well in Romans 5:1-5: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
This sort of hope – hope only found by those who have been “justified by faith”, those who have received “peace” from God stemming from standing in His grace – works differently than worldly hope. Wordly hope is hypothetical and fails when suffering hits. Jesus-hope starts with suffering and grows as God’s Spirit gives endurance. That endurance produces fruit of the Spirit that defines one’s character. And once God has worked Himself into and out through your character, hope is a way of life. It is a byproduct of the eternal life He gives those who believe in Him.
The second hope is one that many do not agree with: as long as a child lives, I believe there is hope. Are there troubles and sins and crimes that have longlasting consequences? Absolutely. Are there things that can happen and be committed that can forever alter the life of a child? Yes. But the hope shown above is for sinners. It is hope for the ones who messed up. It is hope for those whose works earn death. It is hope for children like me – and children like you.
I find myself having to remind myself of this often as I work with students.
I find myself having to remind myself of this often as I parent my kiddos.
I find myself having to remind myself of this often because of my parent’s oldest kid (and to a lesser degree my inlaws youngest).
So, if you find yourself in the rough times of parenting and you wonder whether its worth keeping on keeping on with your kiddo, it is. God tells us here in His wisdom that there is hope in bearing with them in discipline. Things may look hopeless from your vantage point, but from the throne of the King of kings, He sees what we can’t. He sees and tells us to hope. And as He told us in Romans, hope will not put us to shame.
Just Keith Harris 