Stop Doing Wrong

"Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow." Isaiah 1:17

I am reading Isaiah again. WOW! Great stuff. So thought provoking and deep. Much to consider. It is Saturday morning, which means I am here at the church for the Neighborhood Food Ministry. This outreach is growing again. As I sit in my car with the door open, many people have come by today to thank us for allowing this to happen here. One woman spoke of her son that she gets food for. She has been unemployed since 2011. She is 61 years old and in poor health, herself. A single mom since the 80’s, she raised her kids alone after their father abandoned them. She is trying to get by and help her adult children too, especially her son who is 30. He took the disappearance of his dad the hardest. He is now divorced, unemployed, and working part-time jobs. Mom goes to Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa since she came to Christ 40 years ago.

The Three R’s

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Christ Jesus our Savior." Titus 3:5-6 NKJ

I want to know and understand the basics of my salvation according to His Word. This passage explains it simply. Back in the day, the basics of education were referred to as the three “R’s” : Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. Obviously, that is actually an “R”, a “W”, and an “A”, but they all have an “R” sound in them. Basic education has gotten very far away from the basics and so has the basic understanding of our salvation. The three “R’s” in the passage are righteousness, regenerating, and renewing. Let me share the basic understands about these terms.

Proverbs About Foolishness - Part 15

So, finally I share the last devotional about foolishness. I’m ready to move on. Hope you have learned something about you, and not just a bunch of stuff about me. I really try to be pretty transparent and to keep it real. But, this 15 part expose` of my lesser self has been exhausting. Funny how looking at yourself sure gets your eyes off everyone else.

Proverbs About Foolishness - Part 14

As Solomon shares about foolishness in the latter chapters of Proverbs, he makes sure to cover some things that should either be reiterated or addressed anew. Often, a fool makes his error either by speaking or by not listening, specifically speaking instead of listening. That is probably why when we are “pent up” we tend to lash out and make bigger problems. I know I do. “Create in me a clean heart, Oh God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

Proverbs About Foolishness - Part 13

Only a few more devotionals about foolishness. This has not been an easy task to reflect personally on each one. It has been pretty self-revealing to say the least. As encouraged as I was by the Proverbs about righteousness, I have been humbled by these about foolishness. Foolishness is not a pass or fail test, it is also not graded on the curve. It is only measured by grace, mercy and discipline.

Proverbs About Foolishness - Part 12

Aren’t we almost done with all of these “foolish” Proverbs? It seems as though we have a lot to learn about foolishness. We probably are more learned about foolishness than we would like to admit.

Proverbs about Foolishness - Part 11

You know the saying, “The truth hurts.” In my life I receive a lot of appreciation and not much criticism. I work on that ratio probably to a fault. I think I am too dependent on approval and rock the boat too little. As a leader I tend to seek more consensus than I need and let far too many little things slide by without needed input. My avoidance of conflict has led to more stress than confronting concerns. I want to change this.

Proverbs about Foolishness - Part 10

I must admit again that these devotionals on foolishness have been more convicting than I first thought. This reminds me of the old literary phrase… “Little did he think.” I should think more and deeper, especially before speaking or leaping. I pray that the Lord would open the eyes of my heart, so I could see Him, and see clearer in general. Hard to do that when I start thinking it is about me. Create in me a clean heart Oh God.

Proverbs about Foolishness - Part 9

I am a student of life. I have learned the hard way and I have avoided many troubles by learning from other’s mistakes and from heeding counsel. Some of the counsel I give comes from the school of hard knocks, some from watching the mistakes of others unfold. Much of my counsel comes from His Word and those who understand His Word. I don’t know as much as I used to, but am getting wiser about it.

Faith is like WiFi, it's invisible but has the power to connect you to what you need.

"Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from The Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight" 2 Corinthians 5:7

Just this past Sunday the women's choir sang a beautiful song during our worship time. "Bow the "Knee". As I was practicing with the choir and singing the song over and over to myself in the car, one particular line kept running around in my head. "We live by faith, not by sight". I wondered if that came from the bible. Remember I am the newbie, I haven't read the entire book. So I googled the line and well I found a lot to read. Actually an enormous amount of information. One commentary went so far as to say that it was the most researched and written about passages in Paul's writings.

Proverbs about Foolishness - Part 8

I have said before that I was raised by Ward and June Cleaver (The parents on “Leave it to Beaver”). We were the iconic family of the 50’s. What a joy and privilege to have lived back then as a little boy. There was a magical innocence to the decade. Truman and Eisenhower were my childhood presidents. TV was new and we were not at war. There was wider acceptance of right and wrong from the biblical perspective and it was easier to identify foolishness.

Proverbs about Foolishness - Part 7

We all should marvel at the wisdom of Solomon that was a gift of God. Abraham Lincoln paraphrased a proverb once and is quoted as saying, “It is better to be quiet and thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” This is a hybrid of several pieces of proverbial wisdom and certainly true. Lincoln was a wise president, and under extreme duress, remained true to his beliefs and principles.

Proverbs about Foolishness - Part 6

We should only be introspective in the light of His grace. I would never recommend taking a long hard look at yourself without being in His presence. Only by His grace and mercy can I share my weakness, rebellion and laziness. So when I sing “Oh how he loves us,” I feel it deeply, because I know I don’t deserve it. But, He paid my price so I can give Him glory. In my weakness He glorifies Himself by restoring me and strengthening me, even at my lowest moments. I can rise in Him and experience righteousness, though my old sin nature keeps trying to pull me down. Now, another five insights and reflections.

Reach One More For Jesus

Our Friday Devotion comes to us from Member, Gerry Mouzis:

"Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" Matt. 28:19-20 (NIV)

This past week, I received a copy of a Face Book post from Pastor Rick Warren, senior pastor of Saddleback Church. It is entitled Why I Do What I Do—The Theme of My Life. I am not a social media guy but, for those of you who are, I strongly suggest you read the entire post. I had heard the story many years ago. This time, however, I was so moved by the story that I was reminded of the Great Commission and our obligations to fulfill that commission.

Proverbs about Foolishness - Part 5

Can you imagine what the world would be like if all the fools repented at once? A better place. Oh how much drama and trouble our foolishness causes. We are the heart of our own problems. I am responsible for all my trouble, most of it self-inflicted or, if not, brought on by how poorly I handle other’s shortcomings. Let’s be honest, we can be extremely selfish, self-serving, smug and scurrilous. No wonder we need a Savior. I try to be transparent, but I still fall into the trap of fooling myself, even though I know I can’t fool God. Here are 5 more gems to consider and my humble reflections.

Proverbs about Foolishness - Part 4

My reflections on our foolishness continue. As I consider my folly over the years, I am reminded of two things. First, that horrible feeling that happens when you must admit you have messed up. Second, that subsequent rush of conscience that happens when you realize how you could have avoided messing up in the first place. Here are five more reminders of our humanness. Thank God for His grace. The character of fools is too familiar eh?