Behind Every Good Man

Who can find a capable wife?
She is far more precious than jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will not lack anything good.
She rewards him with good, not evil,
all the days of her life.
She selects wool and flax
and works with willing hands.
She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from far away.
She rises while it is still night
and provides food for her household
and portions  for her female servants.
She evaluates a field and buys it;
she plants a vineyard with her earnings.
She draws on her strength
and reveals that her arms are strong.
She sees that her profits are good,
and her lamp never goes out at night.
She extends her hands to the spinning staff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
Her hands reach  out to the poor,
and she extends her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid for her household when it snows,
for all in her household are doubly clothed.
She makes her own bed coverings;
her clothing is fine linen  and purple.
Her husband is known at the city gates,
where he sits among the elders of the land.
She makes and sells linen garments;
she delivers belts  to the merchants.
Strength  and honor are her clothing,
and she can laugh at the time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom
and loving instruction  is on her tongue.
She watches over the activities of her household
and is never idle.
Her sons rise up and call her blessed.
Her husband also praises her:
"Many women  are capable,
but you surpass them all!”
Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting,
but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.
Give her the reward of her labor,
and let her works praise her at the city gates.
Proverbs 31:10-31

You know what they say, "Behind every good man is an even better woman!"

True Justice

Many seek a ruler’s favor,
but a man receives justice from the Lord.
Proverbs 29:26

No boss, supervisor, president or Earthly King ultimately has your best interest at heart; there is only one King who does, and his name is Jesus.

community

Don’t abandon your friend or your father’s friend,
and don’t go to your brother’s house
in your time of calamity;
better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away
Proverbs 27:10

Build community and find friends where you are!

fire prevention

Without wood, fire goes out;
without a gossip, conflict dies down.
As charcoal for embers and wood for fire,
so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
A gossip’s words are like choice food
that goes down to one’s innermost being.
Proverbs 26:20-22

Stopping gossip is like putting out a fire before it starts!

Indecent Exposure!

 A man who does not control his temper
is like a city whose wall is broken down.
Proverbs 25:28

In other words, everything is exposed!

Rest

I went by the field of a slacker
and by the vineyard of a man lacking sense.
Thistles had come up everywhere,
weeds covered the ground,
and the stone wall was ruined.
I saw, and took it to heart;
I looked, and received instruction:
a little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the arms to rest,
and your poverty will come like a robber,
your need, like a bandit.
Proverbs 24:30-34

Rest is necessary, but too much comes with consequences!

Dangerous Ways

Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has conflicts? Who has complaints?
Who has wounds for no reason?
Who has red eyes?
Those who linger over wine,
those who go looking for mixed wine.
Don’t gaze at wine because it is red,
when it gleams in the cup
and goes down smoothly.
In the end it bites like a snake
and stings like a viper.
Your eyes will see strange things,
and you will say absurd things.
 You’ll be like someone sleeping out at sea
or lying down on the top of a ship’s mast.
 “They struck me, but  I feel no pain!
They beat me, but I didn’t know it!
When will I wake up?
I’ll look for another drink.”
Proverbs 23:29-35

To linger & gaze leads to dangerous ways!

Bad Apples

 Drive out a mocker,  and conflict goes too;
then quarreling and dishonor will cease.
Proverbs 21:10

A bad apple will spoil the bunch, so throw it out before it can!

The Usual Suspects

The violence of the wicked sweeps them away
because they refuse to act justly.
A guilty man’s conduct is crooked,
but the behavior of the innocent is upright.
Proverbs 21:7-8

Suspicious behavior occurs for a reason!

Two-way traffic ahead!

Loyalty and faithfulness deliver a king;
through loyalty he maintains his throne.
Proverbs 20:28

Loyalty is a two-way street;  a safe, wide, and smooth one to travel!

the seed and the soils

 My name is Trey Holmes. My wife is a musician, and our home is full of singing and music almost all the time. I however, am not a musician, nor can I sing, but I do it enjoy it. Having three kiddos under six, a lot of the songs are nursery rhymes and other little diddies. A lot of my time is spent reliving my own childhood as we read stories and sing songs. One character we’ve recently rediscovered is a guy named John Chapman. You don’t know who he is? Maybe you know him by his nickname, Johnny Appleseed. Oh yeah, the lightbulbs just went off! Johnny Appleseed was originally born in Massachusetts, but he would travel West when he came of age. He really did spread apple seeds wherever he went, but he did so in orchards, which he would start and then leave a neighbor to tend while he returned every few years for his share of the profits from the trees and produce. He died in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and if you ever happened to be in Leominster, MA, or Fort Wayne, IN, you can visit his birthplace, see his gravestone, play in Johnny Appleseed park, and watch the minor league baseball team, the Tincaps as they play. John Chapman the nurseryman wove himself into American folklore as he travelled about, and grew quite famous. That tends to happen when someone is doing work that people appreciate. As a matter of fact, Jesus gained quite a following as he travelled around the area of Galilee, preaching the word of God, healing the sick, and performing miracles. He became so popular that he didn’t need to travel- the crowds came to him by the thousands. Let’s look in Luke chapter 8 to see one particular time Jesus drew a crowd, and what he had to say.

When we pick up in verse 4, Jesus had a large crowd around him. We know from Mark’s gospel that Jesus was by the sea of Galilee, and the crowd was so large that he had to climb in a boat and go out on the lake for the crowd to hear him.  Along with the crowds, a close group of his followers (including the 12 disciples were with him), and they probably rowed him out far enough for Him to be seen and heard by the crowd. As the boat stopped and one of the disciples threw out an anchor, the crowd hushed, and he began to tell the following parable. “A farmer goes out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell on the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the sky ate it up. Other seed fell on the rock; when it sprean up, it withered, since it lacked moisture. Other seed fell among thorns; the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. Still other seed fell on good ground; when it sprang up, it produced a crop: 100 times what was sown.”

When we think of agriculture today, we think of big tractors and equipment, seedbed prep, exact measurements, fertilizer, and specially selected seed to produce the highest yield. But the farmer of Jesus’ day would have had a much simpler setup. He would have walked along the area covering his field with a loose bag slung over his shoulder, rhythmically throwing handfuls of seed out as he walked up and down the field. (Perhaps it was planting season as Jesus taught the crowd, and they watched farmers in the distance as he spoke.) They wouldn’t have needed the visual, though. Most of them lived as farmers and farm workers, and would place themselves right in the story. They would know the land they lived in and probably recalled memories of sowing seed, watching it bounce on hard paths and eaten by birds. They would feel the coolness of the breeze on their sweaty brow as the chopped weeds. Their nostrils would recognize the smell of the freshly plowed soil as they walked over it. The bright green of the early sprouts would be seen in their mind’s eye, and the dry stalks as it died in rocky areas. But they would also know the camaraderie of men who work hard together during harvest. Perhaps they rubbed their lower back, remembering sore muscles and aching backs from sleeping on threshing floors. The feeling of accomplishment as the harvest was finished, and they celebrated Firstfuits.

There was one thing they wouldn’t know, though- what it was like to bring in a hundredfold harvest. The average yield was tenfold, and their ears must have perked up and they leaned in when Jesus told of such a bountiful harvest, hoping to hear where they could get such seed!

But as they leaned forward with interest, shushing children and neighbors sitting near them, Jesus yells out, “Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!”  Then he sat down in the boat and instructed the disciples to row him to shore. The crowd must have been confused. They came to hear about the kingdom of God, and they were told a farming story- one about a seed they would never hold, and a bountiful harvest they would only see in their dreams!

Fortunately, the disciples save us all, as in their bewilderment one of them pipes up to ask, “What does this parable mean?” Jesus replies, “The secrets of the kingdom of God have been given for you to know, but to the rest it is in parables, so that Looking they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. Even in their confusion, the small crowd in the boat would have recognized the reference to the prophet Isaiah, who preached to the nation of Israel, a people who would hear, but not listen to the word of God that came from his lips, and they would ultimately perish because of their hardness of heart- just like many of the people in the region Jesus had been preaching in!

Jesus explains the parable to his followers, noting that the seed is the word of God. The seeds on the path are those who have heard the gospel, but the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so they do not believe. These would be people who brush the gospel off like water off a duck’s back- it may penetrate to the heart, but they’re not going to let it get that far. The rocky soil is those who hear and welcome the word with joy, but they have no root. When troubles come, they depart. You may recognize this type of believer- they “dive in” to Christianity, but soon become disenchanted by the effort, and when things get hard, they are out. The seed that grows among thorns are those who hear the word, but are choked with worries, riches, and pleasure of life. These are people who lead double lives, talking a good game, but playing a bad one. Then there is the good soil- the ones who, having hear the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it and by enduring, bear fruit. (100 times more than they began with.)

The disciples must have looked bewildered because Jesus changes illustrations: “No one, after lighting a lamp, covers it with a basket or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in may see its light.” For Jesus, it is common sense, because “gospel seed that takes root grows fruit.” “For nothing is concealed that won’t be revealed, and nothing hidden that won’t me made known and come to light. Therefore, take care how you listen. For whoever has, more will be given to him; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.”

The “seeds” of the gospel- the good news that Jesus, the son of God, died for our sins, was buried, and resurrected, are for everyone- but not everyone will believe the Gospel. The good soil, the person who takes ownership of the gospel message and is steadfast in living with gospel intentionality will bear fruit. This doesn’t mean that you will go around with a pocketful of tracts asking everyone if they know Jesus, but you will live with intentionality! Because “gospel seed that takes root bears fruit!” Sure, we will face rejection, but we shouldn’t give up because of it. Jesus, like the farmer casting seed upon the field, and wasn’t worried the loss of some of the seed, or the hard work of sowing, because he knew harvest time would come! His disciples must have had a check in their spirit, though, as he told them to watch their own lives to make sure they “good soil.” It should give each of us a check in our spirits.

Most people know the stories of Johnny Appleseed, and think of a somewhat goofy looking caricature from the Disney cartoon, throwing apple seeds right and left as he walked through the forests of North America. Most people don’t know that John Chapman travelled because he was a missionary, and he used his nursery business as a catalyst for missions. Unfortunately, John Chapman was a missionary for a heretical sect that called themselves The New Church. If John Chapman, who spent his life preaching a false gospel, could persevere, shouldn’t followers of Jesus be able to endure hardship for the gospel, looking forward to the harvest? Don’t be discouraged when people reject the message of our Savior, because “Gospel seed that takes root bears fruit!”—and there will be a harvest! Let me pray for us!

Inigo Montoya

There is one who speaks rashly,
like a piercing sword;
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Proverbs12:18

Shooting your mouth off leaves deep wounds; don't do it!

Scaredy cats!

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One  is understanding."
Proverbs 10

A little fear goes a long way!

Looking for Trouble

Looking for Trouble

6 At the window of my house
I looked through my lattice.
7 I saw among the inexperienced,
I noticed among the youths, 
a young man lacking sense. 
8 Crossing the street near her corner, 
he strolled down the road to her house 
9 at twilight, in the evening, 
in the dark of the night. 
10 A woman came to meet him
dressed like a prostitute,
having a hidden agenda.
11 She is loud and defiant;
her feet do not stay at home.
12 Now in the street, now in the squares,
she lurks at every corner.
13 She grabs him and kisses him;
she brazenly says  to him,
14 “I’ve made fellowship offerings;
today I’ve fulfilled my vows.
15 So I came out to meet you,
to search for you, and I’ve found you.
16 I’ve spread coverings on my bed —
richly colored linen from Egypt.
17 I’ve perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s drink deeply of lovemaking until morning.
Let’s feast on each other’s love!
19 My husband isn’t home;
he went on a long journey.
20 He took a bag of money with him
and will come home at the time of the full moon.”
21 She seduces him with her persistent pleading;
she lures with her flattering  talk.
22 He follows her impulsively
like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer bounding toward a trap
23 until an arrow pierces its  liver,
like a bird darting into a snare —
he doesn’t know it will cost him his life.

If you go looking for trouble, you'll often find more than you ever wanted!

8 hours

How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.
Proverbs 6:9-11

A warm bed is comfortable, but if you use it too much you'll soon not have it!

No U-turns Allowed

For the turning away of the inexperienced will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them.
Proverbs 1:32

When we turn away from wisdom, we invite ruin.