Proverbs From The Message

I have read the book of Proverbs dozens of times over the years.  It is easy to read cause for the most part the chapters line up with the day of the month.  Example: today is June 26th so I read Proverbs 26.

Proverbs are profound, quick words of wisdom that help guide our thoughts and actions.  I believe Jesus, the Living Word of God, read the Proverbs and showed us what they looked like fulfilled in a life.

Today I read them from an English version of the Bible that I have never used with Proverbs before.  I usually read from the New International Version(NIV).  But today I read from a paraphrase version of Scripture, The Message(MSG).  The Message helped me see these words I have read dozens of times in a brand new way.  They jumped off the page.

Eugene Peterson, the author of The Message translation, is a biblical scholar and genius.  I highly recommend his translation of the Scriptures, especially Proverbs.  Here is a comparison of a few verses from the NIV and the MSG versions.  See how they jump.  I think so anyway.

What do you think?

What versions do you recommend?       

Proverbs 26:4
NIV Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.
MSG Don’t respond to the stupidity of a fool; you’ll only look foolish yourself.

Proverbs 26:17
NIV Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own.
MSG You grab a mad dog by the ears when you butt into a quarrel that’s none of your business

Proverbs 26:22
NIV The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.
MSG Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy; do you want junk like that in your belly?

You Have Never Been This Way Before

-Read Joshua chapter 3

-The verses that stood out to me tonight were verses 3 and 4.
3 giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. 4 Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits[a] between you and the ark; do not go near it.”

1. You have never been this way before.

-I many times feel like I am going in a direction I have never been before.

-That is a little bit scarey, many times confusing, and worrisome.

-The good news is you are not bored at all, the bad news is you can't stop yourself from thinking about the uncertainty that lies ahead.

2. Follow the Lord.

-The people could not move until the ark moved, thus the focused presence of God moved.

-I am glad I don't have to make the first move.

-It is critical I read the Word daily.

-It is critical I have silence during the day in God's presence.

-It is critical I pray the prayers(spontaneous prayers, the Psalms, and even pray the prayers that are well written like from The Book of Common Prayer.)

-If I don't do what's critical when I have never been in that direction before, then I am moving ahead of the ark and the Jordan will not part.

3. Stay humble.

-Keep a distance between you and the ark, don't go near it.

-This is not easy, I like to be out front, I think most people do.

-I want to be seen leading the charge.

-God made Joshua great, I dare not try and make myself great.

No One, Sir

John 8:1-11
1But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees (Romans 8:31 If God is for us, who can be against us?)brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery(Romans 8:33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?). 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women(Romans 8:34 Who is he that condemns?). Now what do you say?" 6They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

11"No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you,"(Romans 8:35 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?) Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

Jesus is for you. When you believe and receive this...

-Who can be against you? Answer: No one, sir.
-Who can bring a charge against you? Answer: No one, sir.
-Who can condemn you? Answer: No one, sir.
-Who can seperate you from the love of Christ? Answer: No one, sir.

The Good Book

The Bible is often called "The Good Book." One of the reasons for this is that the word good, depending on the English translation, is mentioned a minimum of 720 times and a maximum of 1120 times. The Bible mentions the word "good" more than it mentions the words: faith, joy, hope, salvation, or love. In the first chapter of the Bible alone, the story of creation, God looks at His creation and says it is good, seven times. Seven in the Bible means completeness, and God was saying His creation was completely good because He is a completely good God. His creation fell into sin and God is now in the business of restoring His creation to it's original goodness. That is what salvation is all about, restoring mankind to it's original goodness through God's salvation plan of His Son Jesus.

God's Word is good, because God is good.

I love you guys.

In Jesus' Service

Preach the Word.

I use to go with a college group to feed and minister to the homeless in Orlando Florida. I was still very wet behind the ears when it came to preaching and felt quite nervous and unsure that I could preach. A friend of mine on our ministry team named Jason would slap me on the shoulders, look me right in the eye, and raise his voice and say, "PREACH THE WORD!" His confidence was infectious. His confidence came from the Word not from his self. That lesson has always stuck with me. I often will say to myself before going into the pulpit, "PREACH THE WORD!"

I would encourage all of us when we feel like we cannot make it through our day, our circumstances, and our life to "PREACH THE WORD" to our day, circumstances, and life. Find the confidence you need from God's Word and not yourself. Speak God's truth throughout your day, speaking directly to your day. You don't have to be a master theologian to do this either.

I no longer feel that same nervousness that I felt 11 years ago when it comes to preaching. It is the Word that has brought me this far. I will continue to trust in God's Word to take me where God needs me to go over my next years. I believe you can trust God to do the same for you through his Word.

I love you guys,

In Jesus' Service,

Applying the Bible Part 3-humbleness, Col 3:12-17

Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

The next thing Paul tells us to clothe ourselves with is humility. We divide people between good and bad, it seems like God divides people between humble and proud. We are all bad sinners. The question is are we proud, not recognizing our need for God and our dependence on others. Or are we humble, grateful for all that God and others have done for us.

If you see a turtle on a fence post you know someone helped it there. We are on our posts in life, and there have been a lot of people that have helped us to get to where we are. There are no self made people.

Humble people do not think less of themselves, they just think of themselves less. So my challenge for us is for the next half hour think of someone else that is close to you. What they are going through. The challenges they face. How they feel about a situation.

The only time Jesus describes himself, he tells us he is humble. So what was Jesus like? He was humble.

Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Jesus help us to be humble like you.

In Jesus' Service,

Applying the Bible Part 2-kindness, Col 3:12-17

Col 3:12 12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

The second thing Paul tells us to do after we have a tender regard for people is to be kind to them. The word kindness in Greek is, khray-stot'-ace. It means kindness but it also means usefulness. Are our actions and words useful to our spouses, children, family, neighbors, and friends? Do I go out of my way to say and do the right thing?

The great theologian Jimmy Buffet said, "It takes about the same amount of time to be a nice guy as it does to be a jerk." We have to act anyway, why not act kind.

"Be kind, everyone you meet is fighting a tough battle," is a quote I enjoy. I often want to be rude to others when I see the way they are treating me or those close to me. I ask myself what is wrong with them, assume the worst of them, then treat them accordingly. I need to remember that everyone is in as tough of a battle as I am and treat them kind.

Jesus praying from the cross about the people who had put him on the cross said, "Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing." Jesus is our ultimate example of kindness.

Tomorrow, everyone you meet ask, "how can I be useful to them?" God will help us.

In Jesus' Service,

Applying the Bible Part 1-compassion, Colossians 3:12-17

God's Word says we are to do what his Word says and not just be hearers. So my hope is to help us become a doer of God's word. I am going to take Col 3:12-17 and break it down into little bit size pieces over the next few days.

3:12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion.

We will focus on being compassionate people. The word compassion can be translated mercy. A good working definition of compassion/mercy is, a tender regard to persons in misery or need. We were in misery and in need and God gave us tender regard by becoming one of us. Jesus weep when he saw his friends Mary and Martha at their brother Lazarus' funeral. Jesus was always feeling compassionate towards people. Who do we have tender regard for?

Tonight I visited Reta in a nursing home. She is very weak and having a difficult time breathing. I want to have tender regard towards her. I do not want to be distant. She needs compassion and I need to be a person who is compassionate. Who can you have tender regard for? My guess is they live in the same house as you. So, think about that person for a moment, think about a need they have, then act in an appropriate way towards them.

Since God has given us His compassion please find others to give compassion to.


In Jesus' Service,