daily java

Daily Java:

Rich people may think they are wise, but a poor person with discernment can see right through them. (Proverbs 28:11)

When I read this verse, it thought back to the other day. I was listening to a movie star blathering about something they knew nothing about. And the only reason they were talking was because they were a popular movie star and thought that gave them extra wisdom.

However, it was not hard to see that they knew absolutely nothing. They were good at what they did, which was pretending to be somebody else. But they knew nothing about their subject. And it soon became apparent to all but themselves.

Being good in your profession gives you a certain amount of credibility when dealing with your profession. But it doesn’t necessarily make you an expert anywhere else. And the problem comes when you are famous and someone asks your opinion on something. Suddenly you begin to feel that, since you are top of your field, you know a lot about everything else.

And you begin to feel that everyone wants to know. It is a good way to ruin a career. I have heard a lot of people complain that they went to hear someone sing and got blasted with a diatribe against something that they held dear.. the singer or the actor that has to mention how stupid he thinks Republicans are, or how dumb Christians are.

And they mention this at a  function that you have aid to go to. You have paid to hear yourself put down.

The problem is, the richer you are, the more you think you know. And, true, you have to know a lot of get rich. However, it doesn’t impart wisdom in all points like you think.

Rich people begin to think of themselves as self-sufficient. They have gotten what they need by their own ability or whatever. And sooner or later, they begin to see themselves as greater than everyone else, even greater than God.

And when that happens, they have lost all that was good. It doesn’t take riches or talent or anything else to see that persona s being foolish.

some clothes look good on some people and do not on others

These proverbs will give insight to the simple knowledge and discernment to the young. (Proverbs 1:4 NLT)

At the mall the other day, it occurred to me that some clothes look good on some people and do not on others.

Now I realize that that it not necessarily a late breaking news flash. But a lot of people do not seem to recognize that simple fact.

For instance, a pair of shorts on some girls look very good. But then there is the chubby girls who have shoehorned themselves into a pair of shorts. The girl in question was not that bad looking a girl, but in those shorts, she looked foolish.

Why is it as a culture that so many have decided to look silly. Whether in clothes or choice of body jewelry or whatever. The desire to have a certain look is so great that common sense is cast aside.

I read an article yesterday about the woman who currently holds the record for the most piercings married a very ordinary retired civil servant in England. She was covered in more than 6,800 piercings, over 400 of which were on her face. He was a balding man wearing a blue suit, shirt and tie. Never have two people looked more different.

The article said that she had painted up her face to draw attention to the holes she had punched in it.

On the internet, you can access a website that specializes in people who shop at WalMart. Some border on the truly bizarre. What makes people dress like this?

I believe it all goes back to this simple passage. The proverbs Solomon and others wrote give simple knowledge and discernment to the young.

Of course, much of the problem is that it is not just the young who look like this. It is everybody. The pierced woman above was in her late 40’s.

Much of our wisdom and knowledge and such is based on the Trickle Down Effect. It should trickle down from the older to the younger.

But when the older are every bit as foolish as the younger, who teaches whom?

The more we cast aside the Bible and the things in the Bible – the rules for life, wisdom, simple common sense – the further down into the cultural hole we go.

The psalmist said in Psalm 119:104-106 Your commandments give me understanding; no wonder I hate every false way of life. Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. I’ve promised it once, and I’ll promise it again: I will obey your righteous regulations.

When we recognize that, we are fine. When we don’t we begin to look at lot like America is looking today.

what is the church

God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself. (Ephesians 1:22-23)

What is the church? Talking to people, it is one of two things.

One group says that it is a bunch of whiny people who insist on having heir own way no matter what the damage to the greater body may be. In these people’s minds, they want to run things so badly that they will destroy the church if their “needs” are not met. They see the church as their church and you are not allowed to mess with it.

They get mad at the drop of a hat, are offended easily, especially by the preacher, insist that their ideas of what church or worship is supposed to be are consulted at all time.

In other words they are people who seem to care not a whit what God says, or what the Bible says, or anything else. They just want you to do what they say or they will tear that church up.

The second group see the church as a fortress, battened down and needing to be defended from those who would tear it down. They see Christian life as a constant fight, as Christianity as grimness, as a struggle, as a fight.

The third group looks at the church as the body of Christ, the sole sphere of his influence on this world. They see the church as a group of people who are taking the love and grace of God to the world, sharing his message and bringing people back to God. They show love and compassion and consideration for all.

The church is full of people. That means that it is also full of flaws, because all people are flawed.

That also means that those people mentioned in all three parts are all there in full force.

But the church is also full of people who love God. They are also there. But sometimes they cannot be in full force because the first group is killing the church.

What did Jesus see when he was thinking about his church? In Matthew 16:18, he said it was his church and it didn’t matter who came or went, who lived or died, it was not going to be stopped.

And he was right. Although no one needs to hear me say so. The church has endured. People have come and gone for almost 2000 years and the church is still here. It is the largest faith in the world, larger by far than the next ones, which would be Muslim and Hindu.

It has been here and will be here until he comes again. But you wonder if it is really healthy.

Look at the church today. Consider the people who proclaim the name of Jesus today.

There are those on the one side that think that all you have to do is call yourself a Christian and you will be fine. They believe in abortion, they are happy with homosexuality, they see the Christian’s job as fighting for energy conservation and animal rights, they are doing everything they can in the wrong direction. Yet they call themselves the church.

On the other side are a group of people who don’t like much. They hat drinking and dancing, they hate fun of just about any kind, they see their jobs as bringing a picture of the grim duties of “Christianity” to those who are lost, in other words, everybody else.

Which is it? The apostle Paul said that God was not the author of disorder but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33).

If Christianity is that divided, how in the world can there be any real peace? How can people from so many different ideas of what God wants all call themselves Christian?

I don’t know. And it bothers me.

But I know that while Jesus was being killed, and it was by those who later became the church, he forgave them.

if I had it to do again, would I be a pastor

"Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber's razor to shave your head and your beard. Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair. When the days of your siege come to an end, burn a third of the hair with fire inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind. For I will pursue them with drawn sword. But take a few strands of hair and tuck them away in the folds of your garment. Again, take a few of these and throw them into the fire and burn them up. A fire will spread from there to the whole house of Israel." (Ezekiel 5:1-4)


If I had it to do again, would I be a pastor? The answer, I will have to admit is yes.

The church has not always been good to me, but at the same time, I have been called and commissioned by the Almighty God, Maker of heavens and earth, and how in the world could I possibly turn that down.

It occurred to me that Ezekiel, while he may have loved his people, really got tired of them and may very well not liked them.

Ezekiel is standing around when God commanders him to be his prophet. It never says in the Bible but I wonder how much the desire of the person to be God’s prophet really played into the mix. Isaiah was jumping up and down to go do what God said, but he didn’t have many good results. Hosea wasn’t exactly thrilled with God’s choice of a worn out prostitute for his wife, but did it. Jeremiah and Moses both were extremely reluctant and ended up with a lot of results. Jonah refused and got punished then reluctantly went. Without wanting it, he was supremely successful and was mad because of it. Desire had little to do with being chosen by God.

God has Ezekiel do a lot of stuff for him so that Israel would see and know it was the will of the Lord. And they did, even though they didn’t like Ezekiel or his message.

Okay Ezekiel, lay on one side for a long time and then on the other. It is uncomfortable, Lord. Too bad. Do it anyway. Okay, Ezekiel, take a sword, alright, you can use a sharp one, and shave your head and beard. Do some stuff with the hair so everyone can see it. You know, Lord, you can’t get a sword very sharp. I will probably cut myself. Too bad, do it anyway.

So he did. Israel watched (or at least their official appointed representatives did) and ignored his warnings and were destroyed. So everything he did was for basically nothing, except to show us that God was trying to get his people to come back.

Was his life wasted? Well, he is considered one of the major prophets, so that means that he was important in God’s line of people.

But the point is that sometimes the choice of God is not necessarily happy to the chosen. It is always good, and one’s life is never wasted in service to God, but at the same time. It would be nice if his people would actually listen and not try to shoot the messenger because they did not like the message.

The people in Hebrews 11 always amazed me.

32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning;[e] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

But what deprivation.

The people to whom the prophets went negated their work and their positions and places, yet they remained faithful. As will I.