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|  | | "To worry and have a heavenly Father is inconsistent." | | Rev. Tom Graves |
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 It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling. —Proverbs 20:3
The Proverbs in Scripture are like excellent spiritual beef jerky. You take small bites and you chew on them for a long time. Meditating on Proverbs is life-training in the most practical ways. For example: Proverbs 20:3 says “It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.” Honor here is that which is weighty or substantive: integrity; character; worthy of respect.
Do you want respect? Good. It is an honor, or it is worthy of respect, for a man to keep aloof. The word aloof here is the Hebrew word Shabbat. It’s actually the root word from which we get our word Sabbath. Sabbath means to cease, to desist, to rest. “It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife . . . ” This means he will not join the fray; not when attacked, not even to defend himself. He will keep himself aloof.
This does not mean aloof emotionally, but aloof from . . . Do you know what? “I’m not going to get into that. I’m going to step away from this argument.” You are doing your family a favor when you maintain a sense of perspective.
I taught this verse a few years ago at church. A week or two after the sermon, one couple came up to me all smiling and happy-faced. They told me they had really taken this to heart. Like a lot of couples, they admitted to certain habitual conflicts. And they laughingly said, “We had a fight this week!” The husband continued, “Yeah. We were arguing and I was trying too hard to make my point.” She added, “He was trying to goad me into the fight, but I remembered that verse you taught us in Proverbs. So I said to him, ‘I aloof you!’ It took a moment, but we both started laughing!” Talk about detouring an argument! Isn’t that great? “I aloof you!” It worked; they seemed so happy.
There’s honor in standing aloof from meaningless strife. “We’re better than this. We have way bigger dreams than this. Let’s figure this out rather than fighting it out.” “It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.”
From the ministry of Dr. James MacDonald, Walk In The Word
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| 17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind. 18 I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, 19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity . . . 24 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, 25 for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? —Ecclesiastes 2:17-19, 24-25
God has made you in such a way that you have a longing for fulfillment common to every person in your family tree past or future (see Ecclesiastes 3:11). The most basic thing that we’re all “endowed with by our Creator” is “eternity in their hearts.” Every discussion of the nature of man or meaning or ministry must begin with this reality. Humans are unique among the living in that there is at the core of all of us a hunger for something that the experiences of this planet cannot satisfy.
If ever there was a human being who strolled down every avenue of potential satisfaction without finding it, that man was Solomon. From alcohol to sex with a different woman every day, Solomon explored all conceivable iterations of lifestyles of the rich and famous. From musical creativity to maximum opulence to palaces and rolling estates that run to the horizon, he had the means to do it all—and he did.
Yet his tears of frustration are easily heard in his words. He had it all but he said: "So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity. . ." (Ecclesiastes 2:17). Vanity means emptiness. He confessed: “I experienced everything that's possible, and it was worthless to me. Vanity and striving after the wind.”
Solomon discovered what so many fail to conclude: history is a repetitive loop of personal and societal futility. Everything is ultimately empty, and human experience is much more common than diverse, more universal than unique. We are all the same. And Solomon rightly concludes that fulfillment must come from a source outside of ourselves: "There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God" (Ecclesiastes 2:24).
God made things this way. It's in your DNA. God himself made you in such a way that you can never find satisfaction in anything in this world. His point is so clear and compelling. Any discussion of meaning in life must be based on the understanding that God designed us and He included in our make-up a longing for Him.
From the ministry of Dr. James MacDonald, Walk In The Word
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 1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples . . . 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. sup> Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” —Matthew 21:1, 6-9
Matthew 21:1-9 tells us what happened when Jesus made preparations to enter Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday: “The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them” (v.6). Notice I underlined two words: went and did. Jesus told them to do something and they went and did exactly what Jesus said. Their obedient actions set in motion the Triumphal Entry of Jesus. In this passage we can see three ways they participated and we can participate in worshiping the Lord.
First, as we have seen, the disciples practiced total obedience (see vv. 1-6). When Jesus says, “Jump,” do we hesitate, refuse, or eagerly ask, “How high?” They obeyed and things worked out just as Jesus had told them. That’s what we need to aim for—obedience.
Second, we see a response of personal sacrifice. “They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and He sat on them” (v. 7). The disciples made a saddle from their cloaks and off Jesus rode. But the crowd also wanted in on honoring Jesus so they “spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road” (v.8). This was the middle of the Passover rush hour. Thousands of pilgrims were traveling into Jerusalem, and as Jesus approached, the crowd was tearing the branches off the trees and throwing them down in front of Jesus. Have you ever had that feeling toward Christ of “it’s not enough; I have to do more; I have to do something?” That’s what they were fired up about.
Third, we see enthusiastic praise. The people along the road were calling out, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (v.9). Hosanna is an English transliteration from a Hebrew phrase hōshi `āh nnā. In Psalm 118:25-26 it means, “Save me, Lord!” But by the time of Jesus, the word “hosanna” had come to mean, “The Lord saves!” As the Lord came into the city, the people were shouting, “He’s going to save!” They were more right than they realized! They didn’t understand what it would cost Jesus to do His greatest work, but they unknowingly expressed what each person must realize in order to be saved—that Jesus does the saving!
From the ministry of Dr. James MacDonald, Walk In The Word
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21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. . . Romans 3:21-24
You and I have a big problem; the biggest a person can have. And every one else has that same problem—a universal affliction. We have a sin problem. The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short…” (Romans 3:23). There’s no way you get out of “all.” That means everyone has broken God’s law. The Bible also declares, “None is righteous, no, not one…” (Romans 3:10). We were born messed up and we settled into that condition. That’s the bad news; here’s the worse news: “But your iniquities (sins) have made a separation between you and your God” (Isaiah 59:2). Okay? That’s a problem.
Isaiah 53:6 adds, “All we like sheep have gone astray.” You know sinful things in your life you’ve done. And you live with that: things you’ve said and done; places you’ve gone; things you’re ashamed of. What’s your plan? How are you going to deal with that?
You’re like, “Well actually, I’m going to work that off. I’m going to be good.” Yeah, how’s that been going? Bad plan!
Not only do we not have the capacity to be good, the Bible says in Isaiah 64:6 that our desire to erase our sin by being good is an offense to God. God offers the free gift of salvation in His Son, Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23). And you slap it away when you say, “No, I’ll do it myself.”
No, you will not! “How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:29). The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of grace. It’s God doing for you what you could not do for yourself. You owe a debt you cannot pay. He paid a debt He didn’t owe. Look at it this way: God treated Jesus Christ as though He had lived your life so that He could treat you as though you had lived Jesus Christ’s life.
That is awesome! That is the good news of the Gospel. And all you have to do is humbly accept the forgiveness of sins that God offers. “The wages of sin (problem) is death, but the gift (solution) of God is eternal life” (Romans 6:23). Like any gift, you’ve got to receive it personally.
From the ministry of Dr. James MacDonald, Walk In The Word
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1We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia,2for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints. —2 Corinthians 8:1-4
Fellowship involves sharing what I have. 2 Corinthians 8:3 describes fellowship in action as people who “gave according to their means.” What they had, they gave.
What do you have? Skip that small or large portfolio for a moment. That’s not all we have. I have time. I have experience and wisdom. I have compassion. Yes, I have certain resources. Whatever you have—that’s were fellowship in action begins. In the passage above, Paul told the Corinthians what a good example the Macedonians were about giving. If you skipped it, read it now.
Here’s what was going on. There were, because of persecution, some of the Jewish Christian in Jerusalem were starving. So, some of the churches in Asia Minor took up offerings for them. But amazingly, people who gave really didn’t have—humanly speaking—very much to give. Paul says, “You’ve got to hear about this grace that’s been given.” “For in a severe attest of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. They gave according to their means, as I can testify” (vs. 2-3a). So it wasn’t the biggest gifts, but it may have been the biggest sacrifice. “And beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints” (vs. 3b-4). Every one’s “means” are different. God multiplies the products of an attitude of giving, no matter the size or nature of the gift. Remember what Jesus did with a boy’s sack lunch (John 6:1-14)?
That’s the heart of fellowship right there. Don’t you want your church to be a compelling testimony of the power of the Gospel in the way that the people love and care for one another? Every time you write a note. Each time you make a meal for someone who’s hurting; when you visit someone in the hospital. Every time you give what you have to meet someone’s need, you are practicing fellowship! Find a way to get connected and give yourself, sharing what you have in Christ with other people. It’s a powerful thing! And we all need it.
From the ministry of Dr. James MacDonald, Walk In The Word
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Neverther the less, I tell you the truch; it is to your advantage that I go away, for if do not go way, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you. And when he, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because the don believe in me. -- John 16: 7-9
Today, if you hear His voice, don't harden your hearts. Why does the Bible keep telling us that? Because that's the most serious sin there is. It's serious to harden our hearts. But as it relates to us personally, the most devastating sin that we can possibly commit is what Scri;pture calls the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. This is sin against the Third Person of the Trinity. In Mathew 12:31, Jesus said, "... All manner of sin can be forgiven people, but blasphemy of the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven."
Now, in order to understand blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, you have to understand what the Holy Spirit was sent into this world to do. Yes, He comforts and strengthens the believer. But in terms of ministry of the Holy Spirit it's this: John 16:8 says that the Spirit of God was sent into the world: "... To convict the world of sin..." Have you experienced that? The Holy Spirit kind of pricks your heart and He's like, "No, no, no! Not That!!"
You are setting sail for the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit when you harden your heart. First, you come to the place where you don't care. Then, you come to a place where you can't care.
If it's so serious, why do people do it?
They don't see the obvious. We are going to account for the choices that we make. And the choices we make determine whether we go to heaven or hell. Here's the problem. Some people just don't see it. Their eyes haven't been opened. ( 2 Cor. 4:4)
They won't see what's coming. The book of Revelation gives us the warning after warning and the chance to make some adjustments. But some people just won't see it. (1 Cor. 2:14)
They can't see their true condition. Sin blinds people. It's another picture of the hardened heart. It's another picture of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Sin does a lot of bad things Sin causes blindness, the further you get into it, the less your capacity to see it for what it really is.
If you resist, refuse and ultimately reject what God is trying to tell you, how can you recover from that?
Don't harden your heart. Every day of rebellion is another plank kicked out of the bridge back to God.
From the ministry of Dr. James MacDonald, Walk In The Word
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