Why Me?

Pro 31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. 11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. 12 She will do him good and not evil all
the days of her life.

I was sitting in the midst of 500 cops at a funeral, listening to the eulogies for a well-loved and well respected officer, thinking of how blessed the man was. He was an investigator, worked at the hospital on his day off, coached two basketball teams, taught Sunday school, was a mentor and a great family man. Whew! How did the man do it all?

I got to thinking then about my wife and all she does and all she is, and it suddenly hit me how blessed I am to have a person like this.

One of the first things I want to ask my Savior after I bow and give Him all the glory He deserves, "Why me? Why was I the most blessed person I have ever met?"

He has given me such a well favored life, a great family, ministry, church, all the nice things in life, the blessings of being an American, a Nebraskan, a Christian, Yes, even a Baptist.

However, besides the great salvation He has given this undeserving sinner, He has blessed me with a lady who is the epitome of the Proverbs 31 woman. She is as virtuous as they come. Her price is far above rubies. She has done me nothing but good. She is the fairest of ten thousand.

I know it would only be right for any man to speak so highly of his wife, I would expect nothing less from any decent man. But for me, it is not hyperbole; it is God's honest truth. There is no better wife than the one God has given me.

And so I give thanks to the One Who has blessed me with all spiritual blessings and a great life, to boot!

Of Agur, Lemuel and Shlomo

Pro 31:1 The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him. 2 What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows? 3 Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.

Don't be confused, these are all names for Solomon.

Though he was taught well, and though he ended well, his great wisdom took a hike in the intervening years. And these verses give us the reason. He didn’t listen to his mama.

Rather than taking solace in the Lord, he decided to look everywhere else. Women were his chief downfall. After having 1000 women, many of them heathen or pagan, after trying everything the world had to offer looking for fulfillment and satisfaction: horses, chariots, money, music, etc., he finally realized that all the world had to offer was vain emptiness.

Had he only listened to Bathsheba, he wouldn't have experienced so many wasted years.

“Give not thy strength unto women,” she instructed him. Oh, if only he'd have paid heed to mama's wise words. She knew what destroys kings. She'd committed adultery with his daddy and watched him wallow in the muck of being backslidden for one whole year. It wasn't pretty.

But, sometimes kids gotta learn for themselves, and Solomon did so. The book Ecclesiastes is the result.

Perhaps we will be wiser than the wisest man to ever live (?) by reading these wise words and paying heed.

Going the See the Spiders Today

Pro 30:28 The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces.

Ah, it's Sunday, the Lord's day. The sun hasn't yet peeked its noble illumination over the horizon yet, but all indications are he will soon rise in an array of light and glory. Nature will soon begin to stir and another day will be upon us.

As I prepare to take my Sunday morning trek to the house of God, I am sure the spiders there have already checked there webs for their morning meal. For even lowly spiders, little upon the earth, are exceedingly wise. They know that, in the King's palace, they can find food.

I hope and pray that the King's kids show up in force to partake of the meat from His table. May we be as faithful in His house as the lowly spider.

The Son of the Vomiter? Huh?

Proverbs 30:1 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal, 2 Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man. 3 I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy. 4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell? 5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

A first glance at the primary verse of the thirtieth chapter of Proverbs may cause some confusion. If Solomon wrote the Proverbs, who could this Agur person be? And who is the Jakeh from which he came? Who are Ithiel and Ucal to whom he is speaking these words?

We have to remember that Proverbs is one of the five books of poetry in the Bible, along with Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. All of which Solomon had a hand in writing. Like his father David, Solomon was given to aesthetics. Unlike David, he was not a fighter, but like dad, he was a lover. I mean, 700 wives and 300 concubines? He knew the best pick-up lines, how best to phrase them and when to use them. "I compare you, oh my love, to a company of horses." (Canticles 1) What potential concubine wouldn't fall for that line!

Being a man of descriptive words, Solomon gives us some very interesting descriptors in verse one.

Here is how the Latin Vulgate gives this verse:
Verba congregantis filii vomentis: visio, quam locutus est sir, cum quo est Deus, et qui Deo secum morante confortatus, ait.

And now, the translation: “The words of the collector, the son of the vomiter: the vision of the man who has God with him, and who is fortified by God dwelling with him, saith.”

Strong's defines our four entities as:
Agur - gathered
Jakeh - obedient
Ithiel - God has arrived
Ucal - devoured

Hence, Solomon has gathered this prophecy in obedience upon the arrival of the Lord (in His wisdom) and has meditated on them. From this wise prophecy, Solomon then shares it with us.

What have we gathered from the Lord? Having meditated upon what we have received, will we be obedient to the message His Spirit has given us?

Investigator Howe, Rest in Peace

Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. 6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.

Late last evening, our Senior Chaplain called me with some tragic news and asked me to come in to police headquarters to help minister to the officers who minister to us.

Investigator Tony Howe was tragically taken from us last night in an auto accident which occurred while travelling on the Interstate from York to Lincoln where he has worked for the past 8 years with LPD. He had previously served with the York Police Department and the York County Sherriff’s Office. At one time he was a K-9 officer.

Our prayers are with his young wife and three young children and his LPD family.

Tony was greatly loved and respected by our department and will be greatly missed.

Tony, RIP.

Fearing Man or Trusting God

J. Frank Norris

Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.

Great freedom ensues when we give up our fear of man and trust God comepletely.

Daniel threw open his windows and prayed when the law said it was illegal. Down into the lion's den he went for his disregard of the king's decree. But God took good care of the man who feared only Him.

Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego stood firm in defiance of the command to do obeisance to the idol when the music played. Into the furnace they went for their lack of fear of the king. But God walked in the fire with them and not a hair of their heads was seared.

Pharaoh’s chariots bore down upon the Jews as they stood on the shore of the Red Sea, but Moses, who had met God at the burning bush, would not fear the Egyptian armies. Instead, he raised his cane over the sea and proclaimed, "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord!" The waters parted, Israel crossed over on dry ground and their assailants were drowned as the waters returned.

The Disciples preached when the magistrates told them they couldn't. "We ought to obey God rather than men." they replied and then preached to the very ones who told them they couldn't. They sought to slay them but God used Gamaliel to speak up on behalf of the Disciples. They were beaten and released. But the Apostles went on their way rejoicing that they had been counted worthy to suffer shame for Jesus' name. The result... "And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ."

It was said of J. Frank Norris, the old time, fighting fundamentalist, that he feared nothing or no man, only God. He accomplished amazing things that no lily-livered preacher could ever dream of.

Harvey Springer, while preaching the gospel, had a shotgun aimed at his chest by a man who hated him. He approached the man, put the barrel to his chest and said, "Go ahead and pull that trigger, God isn't through with me yet." The man pulled the trigger and the gun misfired.
Mordecai Ham was threatened relentlessly by his detractors, especially those of the liquor industry, yet he preached in power and their threats and attempts on his life failed each time. He brought over 61 thousand people to the Lord in Texas and almost 56 thousand in Tennessee.
But, how we cower in a corner when some little namby-pamby limp wrist shoots us a scornful look. We shrink from sharing the gospel. When are we going to realize that "God plus me is a majority!"?

The problems ensue and the snares come, not from us disobeying man, but from us shrinking from boldness in the faith.

Stand up for God today. Let the world know that the Bible is true, Jesus saves and you cannot be silenced.

Say with the three Hebrew children, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Dan 3:16-18

Control Yourself!

Pro 25:28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.

Reactions can be very telling. People who lack self-control can wind up saying words they may have to eat.

We are in the midst of debate season as one political party is narrowing down their candidates toward selecting their nominee to run against the incumbent from the other party.

In every debate, at least one candidate allows others to get under their skin and then says something that hurts them in the polls, something they wish they had never said.

Fact is, it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. So we ought to keep a close guard on what is in our heart and what we think about, because it is going to escape from our lips when the pressure is on.

Besides reacting with our words, we may also let our uncontrolled spirit spill out in other negative ways. Pride, lust and anger may overflow from a spirit that we fail to rule and the result is likened to a broken down city left defenseless.

God has gifted us with passion, some much more than others, but we must keep a bridle on those passions. We must be filled with the Holy Spirit to help us control an unruly spirit within us.

Guard your heart today, tame your tongue, temper your thoughts, rule your spirit. Ask the Lord to fill you with the Holy Spirit and have His way in you.