PROVERBS 2:16-19
Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman,
from the seductive words of the promiscuous woman.
She has abandoned her husband
and ignores the covenant she made before God.
Entering her house leads to death;
it is the road to the grave.
The man who visits her is doomed.
He will never reach the paths of life.

Seduced
The Bible is full of examples of men who faced sexual temptation. Some were successful in resisting, (Joseph) others were not (Judah). While it is easy to get caught up in the blame game, “she made me do this,” the same technique Adam used in the garden, I have found it is not very helpful. When we fall into sin, including sexual sin, we must acknowledge our sin as our own, not somebody else’s.

The writer of Proverbs places much of the blame on the seductive woman, but places all the responsibility on the young man. In a culture that loves to place blame on everything and everyone but me, we would be wise to shift our focus from who is guilty to who is responsible. I am responsible to stay clear of temptation.

The bad news is that I do not have the strength to stay clear of temptation on my own. I repeatedly face temptations that are enticing except for the power of God at work in my life. God promises that I will never be tempted beyond what I can bear, and that there will always be a way out. I cannot count the number of times where I faced temptation and God has sent another person, a verse of Scripture, a song, or an emergency that shifted my focus from the temptation back to God.

Father of redirection and escape, I thank you for sending escape routes for me to follow when I am tempted. I am so dependent on you, and you never let me down. Forgive me when I refuse your escapes and fall into sin, focus my eyes off from the temptations of life onto the Light of the World. – Dan Jones

Everyday sexual choices
Did King Solomon’s son (think wealthy and powerful prince) have women available for his sexual conquest? Certainly. Were there married women, unhappily “stuck” with a man in arranged marriages who would have longed for a night in the prince’s arms? Sure. Perhaps Tom Cruise or England’s Prince William can identify with this scenario. I can’t.

But I can identify with sexual temptation.

What do I do when a seductive female figure seeks to lure me into her internet home (I’m a heterosexual guy, so like Solomon I have to think in terms of women) or when a little understood but nonetheless powerful attraction whispers “what if” into my mind and appeals to my God-given sexual drive.

The answer is simple and straightforward. “Don’t go visiting” and “Tell yourself the truth”.
Refuse to click on the image that popped up despite the best internet filters. Refuse to interact with the “what if” thought. Put into place road blocks around sexual temptation such as accountability partners including spousal accountability. Even more important, I must fill each day with strong and spiritually healthy practices such as time in the Bible (that’s what I’m doing now), prayer, and service, and spiritual fellowship.

Telling myself the truth is as important as making sure I don’t go visiting. Solomon alludes to truth telling in his final observation, “He will never reach the paths of life”. In a culture that insists that my primary identity is sexual, I must remind myself that sexual identity, orientation, and expression, of any kind, will never lead to life. Orgasm certainly equals enjoyable, but it never equals, nor is required for life lived to the full.

I made these decisions yesterday, and the day before, and…

But those choices are gone. I must make these choices again today. In fact, as long as I live with this mortal and sin-susceptible body, I must make such decisions daily.

God of beauty and purity, by your grace and moment-by-moment strength, I will continue to make the no visiting and truth telling choices. Unlike Solomon, I will remain faithful to the wife of my youth and look to you alone for life. – Mike Leamon

PROVERBS 2:12-15

Wisdom will save you from evil people,
from those whose words are twisted.
These men turn from the right way
to walk down dark paths.
They take pleasure in doing wrong,
and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil.
Their actions are crooked, and their ways are wrong.

Straight talk

Some people just say it like it is without taking into consideration how their words will be heard. Proverbs are like this. They state facts without wandering into the details surrounding the facts. I mean, it does not get much plainer when you tell someone, “your actions are crooked and your way is wrong!” There is not much wiggle room in a statement like that.

Proverbs are like signs, short and concise with a direct message. Warning: hot surface: Do not touch. Danger: Stay out! Sharp turn ahead slow down! Certainly every warning sign could be nuanced with exceptions and endless details explaining why, how, and when the warning is most applicable. But warning signs are not worried about the exceptions, they provide a general and direct word of advice. Heed a warning sign and you will be safe. Disregard the warning sign and danger is lurking at your door.

Wisdom is a warning sign. Stay away from those who disregard the way of God. Do not get entangled in relationships that take you into the land of danger. God has given us a built-in warning device in wisdom that alerts us to the dangers we encounter in life. Listening to the words of wisdom can save you a lot of heart-ache and trouble.

Father of wisdom, help me to listen to your warnings and disregard the macho “It won’t hurt me” attitude of pride. Confirm in my life the blessing of listening to your warnings. - Dan Jones

Coffee Filters And Bad Counsel
Our home couldn’t function without coffee filters. Wendy enjoys an occasional chocolate covered coffee bean (double the caffeine that way!) but it’s pretty difficult to drink. One of the highlights of our lives to date was a vacation to Costa Rico where we toured a coffee plantation and processing plant. You’d think we died and went to heaven and returned to earth again with the bags of coffee we brought home. But without the humble paper filter, those beans ground into powder are useless.

I think of wisdom saves me from evil people and their wrong-headed ideas because it acts much like a filter. Despite the practice of some Christians to produce official lists of banned books, and my own religious subculture who often fears letting us hear those whose paths are “twisted ways of evil,” wisdom, I think, doesn’t produce a list of “do not read” or “do not listen to” books or people.

Rather, teaching our biological and spiritual families wisdom, as Solomon seeks to with his son, prepares us to hear from the crowd that despises the truth we live by, ridicules the path we walk, and insists other paths are far more reasonable. Truth is, that crowd has something worthwhile hearing. After all, however twisted, the image of God still resides in everyone.
But how do I determine what I should embrace or reject? Wisdom.

The more I learn the wisdom of God, the better I am able to filter out the garbage, the mumbo jumbo pop wisdom of the age, and the despicable that wraps itself in candy coating. For me, the bottom-line question I hear today is this. Am I pursuing wisdom as if it were more profitable than silver, a better wage than gold, or more precious than rubies (Proverbs 3:14-15)? If I’m not, then my coffee pot fills with disgusting grounds.

Father, as coffee filters must be changed with every new pot of coffee, may I keep the pursuit of your wisdom fresh and new each day. - Mike Leamon

PROVERBS 2:9-11

Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair,

and you will find the right way to go.
For wisdom will enter your heart,

and knowledge will fill you with joy.
Wise choices will watch over you.
Understanding will keep you safe.

Joy of learning

It is amazing to watch a child learn to read. When they understand the meaning of connected letters in ideas rather than just sounds it is like a light being turned on. My grand-daughter is so excited to show me the pictures that correlate to words as she is beginning to put words to letters.

Learning to read is exhilarating. I can still remember the joy of learning to read words in first grade. I enjoy learning new things to this day. Learning new information is fun and exciting. “Knowledge will fill you with joy.”

I think learning is so fun because intrinsically we are designed to seek after God. As the creator of the world, the designer of motion, space, thought, ideas, science and action, our learning reveals more of God’s creative power. There are some who deny the existence of the creator in learning, but I cannot. I will not deny learning has caused some to leave the simple truths of faith for more “rationalistic” understandings of the cosmos. But these people, I would argue, are merely substituting “chance (or some other force)” for the hand of God.

Learning opens the door to understanding. We should never be afraid of learning more. Neither should we forget who we are ultimately learning about.

Maker of the world, space, and my brain, I thank you for creating in me a desire to know. Thank you for curiosity that pushes me to explore more of the universe. Thank you for being behind every truth I uncover in my searching. I always find you, even when I do not think I am looking for you. You are a great creator. Your knowledge brings me joy. - Dan Jones

Stop seeking God’s will?

Sometimes I think I needlessly wrestle with what direction God wants me to go. My religious subculture is schizophrenic on this matter, as am I.

On the one hand I believe Solomon’s words. The wiser God helps me to become the more I understand what is right, just, and fair in any decision. Use the wisdom I have learned and I “find the right way to go.” Like Dan, I enjoy learning. Books, teachers, parents, mentors, friends, experience, and more have provided a wealth of insight. Aha moments bring me joy. The accumulating impact of learning makes many decisions obvious. No prayer needed. No seeking God’s will. Wisdom has done her job.

But we like God language in my religious sub-culture. “God told me to,” “God led me to,” or “God showed me” impress us more than, “I’ve weighed the options and this is the wise choice”. This is especially true for pastors. When I resign from a church people want to know if that’s what God wanted. When I accept a congregation’s invitation to become their pastor, people ask the question “Is God leading you here?”

If God has helped wisdom to enter my heart then the issue at the heart of every decision time really isn’t finding God’s will, but applying the wisdom he has provided.

Perhaps if I, and those who populate church pews, invested more time learning and gathering knowledge, and less time wondering what God’s will was, God would get less of the blame for just plain dumb decisions! Ironically, less of "God's will" and more of "God provided" wisdom and I think decisions that truly honor God would more dominate my life and our churches.

All-wise God, I will invest more time reading, thinking and reflecting, listening to learned and experienced voices, discovering the truth about myself and my times, and trust you to lead me deeper into wisdom and so lead me in every choice I make. - Mike Leamon

PROVERBS 2:1-8
My child, listen to what I say,
and treasure my commands.

Tune your ears to wisdom,
and concentrate on understanding.
Cry out for insight,
and ask for understanding.
Search for them as you would for silver;
seek them like hidden treasures.
Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD,
and you will gain knowledge of God.
For the LORD grants wisdom!
From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest.
He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.
He guards the paths of the just
and protects those who are faithful to him.

The good spiral
There’s a lot of crying out going on in recent verses. Wisdom cries out to me and now Daddy Solomon challenges me to cry out for wisdom. She extends her willing arms in my direction as chapter one ends and, as chapter two opens, I am not to saunter in her direction but to pour as much energy in her embrace as I do in making a living.

Wisdom is a cycle of two actions feeding one each other. In fact there seems to be two cycles happening here. Wisdom seeks me and I seek her, and wisdom teaches me to fear the Lord and the Lord grants me wisdom. Rather than negative cycles where the parties feed unhealthy and destructive spirals, by pursuing wisdom I enter into a spiral of deepening understanding, knowledge, common sense, integrity, and fear of God.

I enjoyed a summer day at a water park in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains some years back. One of my favorite rides was a water spiral. I climbed to the top of a huge funnel into which water gushed and spiraled out a hole at the bottom. I rode that spiral several times!

I wish wisdom were a ride in which my only part is to passively ride. Instead, there have been many times in my pursuit of wisdom and my deep respect for God – a whole-hearted commitment to please him – that understanding has eluded me. Decisions have confronted me that, to this day, I am unsure I handled wisely, though I did my best.

I think there are two responses I need to make to these verses. First, I need to affirm my commitment to the lifelong pursuit of wisdom. Second, I must exercise faith in the midst of difficult choices, especially those where there seem to be only bad and worse options, that the Lord is granting wisdom even when I do not experience an obvious insight.

God of Wisdom, I need more of you, more of your wisdom. I commit the coming year to pursuing the wisdom that pursues me and will trust you to grant it in each choice I make. - Mike Leamon

A shield around me
I imagine Daniel thinking about the proverb “He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity,” as he stood before the King about to be thrown into the lion’s den. Where was God’s shield now? I know there are times in my life when I question God’s protection. How quickly my faith turns to fear when I am confronted with the possibility of harm and danger.

There is no guarantee that I will not face danger or be kept from harm because I walk with integrity. Instead, I am given the assurance that God is my shield. God’s presence is there with us protecting us but not always in the way we imagine. God did not protect Daniel from the lion’s den; he protected him in the lion’s den.

I try my best to walk with integrity before God, but I am not always successful. I still struggle with sin and at times fail. I am glad God does not struggle like I do. I am glad God’s shield is not worn down by weariness, or over commitment. I am glad God is my shield and I don’t have to construct my own shield. In trusting God, I find the freedom to keep on going even when the arrows of accusation come flying. If I am right before God, I need not fear the lions.

Thank you God for protecting me with your shield of salvation. I am confident in the future and in my standing before you not because of what I have done, but because of who you are and what you have done. Help me to trust you during the times of attack and fear. - Dan Jones

PROVERBS 1:20-33
Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square. She calls to the crowds along the main street, to those gathered in front of the city gate: “How long, you simpletons, will you insist on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? How long will you fools hate knowledge? Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise.

“I called you so often, but you wouldn’t come. I reached out to you, but you paid no attention. You ignored my advice and rejected the correction I offered.

“When they cry for help, I will not answer. Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me. For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD. They rejected my advice and paid no attention when I corrected them. Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way, choking on their own schemes. For simpletons turn away from me—to death. Fools are destroyed by their own complacency. But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.”

I am a Leamon!

Denying the truth

Every parent has dealt with a child who denies doing something even when it is obvious they have done it. Trying to avoid dealing with reality is not exclusive to toddlers. Adults are just as guilty.

Wisdom personified shouts at us imploring us to open our ears to her knowledge and instruction. She invites us to deal with reality as God sees it instead of our own perceived reality. Too many times we respond to what we perceive as real, because we allow our perceptions to become our reality. When couples struggle to understand each other, it is often because they are two different views on reality. Each is perceiving what is going on through their set of lenses and acting accordingly. Often both miss what is actually real.

Instead of creating our own reality, living in our perceptions of reality, God invites us to adopt His perspective. He gives us wisdom, knowledge, and instruction to see beyond our simplistic and sarcastic worldviews. Wisdom invites us to move outside of our “know-it-all” attitudes to a place of open learning before the author of life.

Open my eyes Lord, I want to see Jesus, open my ears Lord and help me to listen, open my heart Lord and help me to understand your Word. Please share your wisdom with me today. - Dan Jones

…and wisdom for all
Interesting how readily available wisdom makes herself. (Solomon plays on the linguistic feminine of the noun “wisdom” by imagining this quality as a woman. The Greek word for wisdom is “Sophia”.) In fact wisdom is so available that it is as if she pursues everyone. Wisdom isn’t an experience only a few well educated, deeply reflective, or amazing persons can enjoy.

My problem, and I think the problem most people face, is my attentiveness to wisdom. Who doesn’t possess the wisdom to practice a balanced diet, eat in moderation, and stay away from foods or drinks that trigger a binge. Who doesn’t know the wisdom of getting enough rest but too much sleep, or the wisdom of saying no to enough good things to keep life in balance and cut down on stress levels.

And wisdom isn’t some repulsive hunchback of Notre Dame. She’s lovely and inviting. Life giving. Rewarding. Still, I too often ignore her. I can be a simpleton is practice, complacent in unwise choices, and then wishing I had more peace – that is deep and whole-life wellbeing.
I imagine myself peering out my window, having chosen unwisely, to see wisdom standing on the sidewalk with a look of “You could have listened to me. I’m sorry you didn’t.” Me too.

God, I know you are Sophia. All-wise. You have chosen to dwell within me, even though I ignore your wisdom too often. Forgive me. Help me not only to pay better attention in the coming year, but to practice your wise words. – Mike Leamon

PROVERBS 1:8-19

My child, listen when your father corrects you.
Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
What you learn from them will crown you with grace
and be a chain of honor around your neck.

My child, if sinners entice you,
turn your back on them!
They may say, “Come and join us.
Let’s hide and kill someone!
Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!
Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave;

My child, don’t go along with them!
Stay far away from their paths.
They rush to commit evil deeds.
They hurry to commit murder.
But these people set an ambush for themselves;
they are trying to get themselves killed.
Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money;
it robs them of life.

Mining my parents veins this Christmas

There is wisdom in years. Knowledge can be gained at any age and, depending on one’s mental capacity, rather quickly. Wisdom, I’m discovering first hand, demands a breadth of experience that accumulates slowly. Only then, sometime reluctantly and always at the point of critical mass, will she begin to reveal her insights.

So parents have the advantage over children; the previous generation over the present. Even as parents age and care-giving roles reverse, there is wisdom tucked away in their lives. Many things mask that wisdom, often tricking we children into overlooking or never looking for it. Dysfunctional relationships, clashing value systems, physical dependence, and a variety of sicknesses like Alzheimer’s all conspire to lock up the wisdom of parents like veins of gold buried deep in rock. But it’s there.

Knocking on the doorway to the 50s decade and with parents pushing and passing 70, I’m rediscovering Solomon’s admonition to listen to parents and mine for gems buried in their lives. Through the years I’ve picked up the obvious nuggets of wisdom. But I think there are veins still untapped that would make my life fuller with there discovery.

Ancient of Days, I know you are full of wisdom, but that’s a subject for another prayer. Today I desire a deeper respect for my aging parents. Grant me the ability to ask the kinds of questions and practice the kind of observation during the coming family Christmas visits that will allow me to return home with new wisdom – wisdom that ultimately comes from and honors you. - Mike Leamon

PROVERBS 1:1-7
These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.

Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise. Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair. These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young.

Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables, the words of the wise and their riddles.

Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Ignorance is bliss
Peter Pan lives in perpetual bliss in Never Land where he never has to grow up. Instead of learning correct English, and how to eat properly and think logically, he is content to stay uninhibited and free of concern in his pre-pubescent imaginary fairy-tale land.

Peter Pan is not alone; there are many people who try to live under the cloak of ignorance in order to avoid dealing with truth and reality. The writer of Proverbs calls such people fools. Only the fool despises wisdom, learning, and discipline. The fool craves unrestricted freedom and careless casualness.

Attaining wisdom requires submission, effort, and listening. There is nothing easy about growing. God does not ask us to check our brains at the door when we come to Him in faith; instead, we are invited to redirect our minds towards God. We are invited to learn, to become wise and attain knowledge. God wants us to reach our full capacity in every aspect of our lives, not just spiritually but mentally too. God invites us to explore the complex truths of this world for in them we discover more about the creator of the world and our reverence for God increases.

Creator of my heart and mind, I desire to grow in knowledge and wisdom as you reveal more of your truth to me through your creation and Word. In my pursuit of wisdom help me to grow more aware of your greatness. - Dan Jones

No shortcut to wisdom
When I think of a wise person I often picture Rodin’s sculpture, “The Thinker”. I picture a person who has thought deeply about life, experienced its breadth, and has come away with insights into successful living. I’m not quite on the same page as Solomon. I’ve missed a key ingredient, discipline. This idea comes up three times in these few introductory verses.

Solomon hopes to teach disciplined thoughts, disciplined living, and the pursuit of discipline. There is no wisdom without discipline!

Living wisely demands the ability to reject ideas and courses of actions that result in foolishness and to practice those that lead to success – the right, just, and fair. Discipline is difficult for me. After all, I’m a baby boomer.

Some of my generation have to fight living by what feels good physically. The body’s appetites rule. Me, on the other hand, I have to fight living by what feels emotionally good. Left to follow my instincts, I tend to choose those courses of action that make me feel secure, comfortable, accepted, approved, and loved. Trouble is, these are not reliable indicators of the right, just and fair.

So I can choose poorly and feel good – even spiritual – about it, at least for a time.

I need a self-disciple, or the fruit of the Spirit called “self control” that takes me beyond emotional feel-goodism. God’s Spirit has developed some of this in me. But coming to a season of reflecting on the Proverbs seems a good time to sharpen and expand this critical capacity.

All-wise God, you have an infinite and perfect capacity to act based on what is right. Grant me increasing skill to act similarly rather than out of my emotional – or physical – needs and wants. – Mike Leamon

MATTHEW 7:24-29

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.

The disadvantages encountered in listening to Jesus

Listening isn’t as easy as it sounds. And it’s even harder listening to Jesus.

True listening requires full engagement with the person speaking. Just ask Wendy when she has to repeat herself. Even more, true listening involves understanding. I’m pretty good about listening to my wife, but I’m not nearly as good at “getting it”. Especially when it’s an emotionally charged discussion, I have to dialog with her in order to understand. Of course, this is true of any deeper conversation. Getting an idea from one person’s head (‘encoding’ for you communication-niks) and into another person’s head (‘decoding’) demands much time and energy.

I don’t want to invest that much time and energy in most conversations. That’s why most conversations are casual and surface. They’re easier.

But Jesus has some pretty serious things to say to me! And he’s not here for dialog. He’s not physically around so I can include his nonverbal cues (even more important than the words!) in my attempt to understand him. Worse, in a sense, he’s not even doing the talking.

Jesus’ Spirit inspired Matthew to faithfully record his words. But it’s Matthew’s recording! It’s as if Wendy told her best friend to tell me… For weeks now, I’ve been listening to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount through Matthew’s voice.

No wonder I, and probably most Gospel readers, usually only understand the surface of Jesus’ teaching - if that. Truth is, grabbing the surface and assuming I’ve got it probably hides and distorts what he’s really trying to say.

In order to truly “get it” –without Jesus actually sitting with me – requires time and energy studying, listening to insights others have had through the centuries as they’ve listened, investing time among other Christians in shared worship, learning, and living.

Most of all, “getting it” requires developing a daily sensitivity to the Spirit. He’s the one who counsels Christians in matters of Jesus’ teaching. What he hears Jesus say, he makes real to me (that’s pretty neat since the Spirit and Jesus are one!). But if I’m to hear his voice as I study, gather insights from others who have listened, and live in Christian community, I must develop a close heart and mind connection.

Father, forgive me when I rush through life without taking time to open my heart and mind to your Spirit. I have made recent decisions to open new doors of opportunity to spend intentional and focused time in your presence. Grant me the strength and self discipline to follow through. - Mike Leamon

Building codes

If you were building a beach house today, the code enforcement officer would require that you dig down to the rock and not build on the sand. You are not allowed to build a house on sand today. The Government makes sure you have a good foundation or you cannot build.

If you have ever tried building something, the code enforcer means more money. Their intention is good; protect you and your family, but their method of doing so is for you to spend more money on construction that passes inspection.

At times I wish God was more like a code enforcement officer, mandating my actions and making decisions for me, but then I realize God’s plan is much better. The freedom to build where I want and how I want helps me appreciate the better way. Since I am not forced to build a certain way, when I see a life that follows the best plan, I appreciate and give thanks for the revelation of the better way.

Buildings built right last. Lives directed by God’s word survive. I am thankful God has given us the best plan for living, and I am also thankful He does not force us to follow this plan. In this way, the plan, and the follower bring glory to God instead of grumbling and complaining about forced conformity to a non-personal standard.

Jesus, thank you for giving me the freedom to follow your advice or reject it. I acknowledge your words are the best plan for living and I choose today to live in obedience to them. Help me to understand your Word perfectly and to have the strength to follow your plan for living at all times. - Dan Jones

MATTHEW 7:21-23

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

Solid miss

I was teaching a class to future pastors and had given a final assignment of preaching a sermon on a text from one of four different New Testament books. One student shared the NT text they were using as their Scripture and then proceeded to preach a message based completely out of the book of Genesis. The sermon content itself was good, the delivery was fine, and the message was true, it just did not line up with the text or the assignment. The student gave a good sermon, but received a bad grade because they did not follow the directions and preach from the assigned text.

It seems as if Jesus is telling us to be sure we know what the assignment is before we go off and begin serving. Service that is good, solid and even beneficial to others may not be God’s will for my life. God may call me to something different. Before I can serve I need to know what God’s will is. Skipping this vital step makes me an independent contractor, instead of a servant of Christ.

Lord, show me your will for my life today that I may live in obedience to what you want me to do. I do not want to do anything that is not centered in your will. - Dan Jones

Living toward the high standard

Jesus is serious about me making what he teaches the defining factor in my life; very serious. He’s gracious and patient, kind and open to receive anyone who comes to him. And he’s very clear about his purpose for all this – bringing every person into the experience of the Father’s will.

The location of this warning makes it clear that Jesus intends his teaching, especially in this sermon, to be the expression of God’s laws that we follow. Trouble is, his teaching sets an extremely high standard for obedience. So high, in fact, that I am always falling short of it.

If Jesus were a critical perfectionist I’d be sunk. There is no way I’ll enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The way Jesus handled his slow-to-get-it disciples and those sinners who came to him gives me hope. Still he doesn’t pussyfoot around his demand that following him will radically alter everything about me.

I think understanding the contrast between doing religious things and experiencing a changed life is the key to Jesus’ words. Prophesying, casting out demons, and miracles don’t impress him like they impress us. Measuring my experience of God by religious activity, no matter how good and no matter how many others think me spiritual, will only distract me from Jesus’ true intention for me.

Commitment to things like a pure heart, resolving anger, clean thoughts, forgiveness, loving enemies and the like; this sets me on the path toward the Kingdom of Heaven.

Final Judge, grant me your powerful grace to live fully open to you and what you want to make of me. – Mike Leamon

MATTHEW 7:15-20

“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

Make me fruity!

Of course Jesus’ words are true. It’s a common sense reminder. But what kinds of actions does he consider good fruit? Since Jesus insists we don’t want to listen to those who do not produce this fruit then we better know what we’re looking for.

Confusion over who we should listen to demonstrates the importance of accurately identifying actions that reflect a “true prophet” – a trustworthy person who builds up rather than destroys. Church leaders have informed me that I was dangerous to their children because I would not preach that drinking a beer was sin. Others have dismissed my spiritual trustworthiness because I view “R” rated movies, read Dan Brown and JK Rowling books, or even not renewed the contract for a church staff member. If these are not actions, or lack of actions, that define good fruit, what are? What should people look for in me or I in them, in order to determine whether or not either of us are dangerous to the other?

The narrow gate verses begin Jesus’ conclusion to his Sermon on the Mount. Using three word pictures, gate, tree, and foundation, Jesus hammers home the point that he and his words are the only truth by which to live. What he taught that day on the Galilean hillside is the good fruit.

The upside down logic of the Beatitudes, the audacious claim that Jesus fulfills the entire Old Testament and then has the right to change things with words like “you’ve heard it said…but I say… ,” loving enemies and growing to perfection in that love – amazing fruit impossible to grow unless Jesus is Lord of my life. Amazing fruit that, should it be growing in any life, renders that person someone worth listening to.

Teacher about good fruit and the Power behind its production, I submit my life to you again today. Make my tree – my life – good. What you teach in this sermon will be the truth that gives shape to my life this Thanksgiving week. May my words and deeds give life rather than take it. - Mike Leamon

MATTHEW 7:13-14
“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

My journey into God’s amazing love
As a boy I bought the implicit teaching of those around me that only people who experienced our brand of Christianity would populate heaven. Jesus words today were one of our proof-texts. Then I began to realize that the gateway to eternal life was narrow because it was one man wide, not one Christian tradition wide. Jesus saw himself as the way, truth, and life through whom everyone must go in order to arrive at the Father’s House (John 14). Anyone who lived “Jesus is Lord”, however imperfectly or in ways disagreeable with my tradition, was a fellow traveler on this narrow road.

Then I began to notice the wide, wide love of Jesus. His words, “If I be lifted up, I will draw everyone to myself” began to sink in. The verse my narrow minded Vacation Bible School leaders led me to memorize, “For God so loved the world” had sown a seed that began to crack the rigid shell of “ours is the only way” thinking.

About the same time I fell in love with the words and rhythm of a hymn that reflected the lavishness of God’s love and his clearly expressed will that “no one should perish but have eternal life”. “Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made, were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade, to write the love of God above, would drain the ocean dry. Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.”

So if this is the width and breadth of God’s love, and if his will for the salvation of all humanity compels him to offer himself in sacrifice on a cross, how could Jesus teach that few ever make it? Or does he?

I don’t think Jesus meant that only a few will come to the grand party God has planned while countless more writhe in hell. As he begins to wrap up the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus insists that following him and his teaching leads to life. His is the hard way, one that often provokes harassment and persecution because it is so different from the wisdom and ways of the world’s cultures. Few people, including many who sit in church each week, ever pay the price of traveling that difficult road. Most simply don’t get it. This doesn’t mean that they never will.

Like the thief on the cross next to Jesus, dieing breaths often clear the clutter off the broad path to expose the small gate and the narrow path. Even though barely a step or two may be left to walk, in his deep and broad love, Jesus imparts faith and accepts repentance. “Today you will be with me in Paradise!”

Father, I accept your call to difficult discipleship today. I will not travel the broad path through life, leaving moral and spiritual pain and death in my wake. Help me to faithfully call others to this narrow path, and warn them of the dangers of the broad path, but without ever becoming so graceless and miserly that I give up on your love for them. - Mike Leamon

Highway to Hell, or Stairway to Heaven

In 1970 Led Zeppelin released the famous song “Stairway to Heaven”. The song describes the pursuit of eternal security and peace through reason and meditation. Everyone finds their own path towards this nirvana if they try hard enough, with each road melding into one stairway to heaven.

Nine years late, the rock band AC/DC introduced the song Highway to Hell that made it to #17 on the charts and has been classified as one of the 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll. The song describes life in the fast lane with “no more stop signs, or speed limits.” A freeway to the bottom with a destination of “the promised land: Hell.”

Both songs are accurate commentaries on the human struggle to find meaning beyond life. No matter how hard we try, we cannot create eternity. Our attempts produce stairways to nothingness and highways to emptiness. Only through the narrow gate [accepting Jesus as Lord] can we find meaning in and beyond this life. The narrow gate is easy to miss, the road is difficult and few follow its path. The road of self-determination is broad.

Karl Barth, the great neo-orthodox theologian quoted a song when asked what the greatest truth of the Bible he had discovered was. He said, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

Jesus, I thank you for loving me and providing me with the way to heaven. Thank you for reminding me it is not through human intuition or struggle that I can find satisfaction and hope, but in resting in your salvation. - Dan Jones

MATTHEW 7:12

“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

A hidden truth wrapped in an obvious sentence

Perhaps no other command seems so obvious, so simple and straightforward as this one. This fundamental law of reciprocity finds expression in virtually every religion. One Wikipedia writer reports neuroscience research that suggests this “fair play” rule is hard wired into our brains.

I think, however, that the Golden Rule isn’t so straightforward as a casual reading might suggest. George Bernard Shaw captured this reality in his criticism, "Do not do unto others as you would expect they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same." He’s right, of course. For example, I’d love for you to take me out to a restaurant and a movie of my liking, not yours. And you might torture someone else by taking them to any movie!

I listened to a management lecture once during which the leader insisted he’d one-upped Jesus. His Platinum Rule went something like this. Find out what the other person would like and treat them that way.

Seems to me that this man, and Shaw, and perhaps most of us, haven’t stop to think through the Golden Rule. Taking time to discover who I am, what makes me tick, what makes me feel loved and valued, that is exactly what I most desire from others. Am I mistaken to think that is exactly what everyone would want? Beneath all the specific and surface acts or words is the underlying desire to be treated as a unique and significant person.

Trouble is, I don’t want to take the time and invest the effort to listen to others, to become a student of what makes different people tick, and to offer those deeds and words that resonate with who they are. I’m too busy living my life and dealing with my stresses and issues to have the energy, or honestly, the desire, to invest in others this way. It’s much easier, faster, and less involved, to offer some act that I, myself, would enjoy or find meaning in giving, and consider this Golden Rule fulfilled.

So I need to hear Shaw’s criticism. It reminds me of how fundamentally selfish I am.

Father, as I interact with the people around me each day, help me to develop skills of listening and observation, so that I better give to them those deeds and words that truly nourish their value and personhood. - Mike Leamon

Fools Gold

Living according to the golden rule gets old real fast if that is all we have to motivate us. I have done good to people repeatedly and all I have received in return is an expectation to keep giving. After a while you feel like a cheap dish rag, used and worn out.

It seems like most everybody is in favor of the golden rule. We even see it in public schools. However, trying to live the golden rule for the sake of the golden rule never lasts very long. We need, I need, something deeper.

I think Jesus recognized this as well. The Golden rule is not left hanging in limbo; it is tied directly to the law and the prophets. The Golden rule is the essence of the law and the prophets, but it is not enough on its own. The law and the prophets all pointed in two directions: vertical and horizontal. The Golden rule describes how our horizontal relationships should be characterized, but left unattached to the vertical relationship a horizontal relationship will never be complete.

Jesus is not saying, life is all about doing good to others and that is it. No, Jesus places this rule of thumb in the midst of two vertical relationship guides: gaining our strength and purpose from God (ask, seek, knock) and discovering the pathway of relationship to God (enter through the narrow gate). The Golden rule is fools gold if we think we can live it out on our strength. We cannot do it. But in the power of God we can actually do to others as we would have them do to us, instead of doing to them what we think they deserve.

God of all power and grace, I need your grace and power in my life to enable me to love others as I desire to be loved. Help me not to react defensively, but in forgiveness and love when others take advantage of me or abuse me. Help me understand how you have acted towards me and to pass on your great love. - Dan Jones

MATTHEW 7:7-11

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Just ask

I do not like to ask for things. Perhaps that is why I struggle with a Christmas list every year. I really do not need anything. Karen and I are frugal with our money and we can buy what we need. The things I would like to have (tools etc.) I am a little particular about. I would rather wait and get a good quality tool than three cheap ones that break after one or two uses. I love to give things to other people, but struggle to ask for things in my own life.

This tendency to live “self-sufficient” meanders into my spiritual life as well. I too often find myself thinking if I would just work a little bit harder or longer I would be able to make things happen in the church. I don’t need to ask, I can do it myself. For this reason, I suffer at times with despair (depression?) when things do not go as well as I want them to. In my weakness, I realize if I had only asked, God would have provided.

Spiritual growth cannot be manufactured. Church growth, program growth, or financial growth can be, but spiritual growth is always a gift from God. It is humbling to ask God, but that is God’s desire for my life. Ask, seek, knock and then experience the open doors of blessing.

God, help me to understand my limitations not as failures, but as a gift that opens the way for you to enter into my life. Change my attitude from self-sufficiency to reliance on you. – Dan Jones

No “Do Not Knock Days”

I’m living in a parsonage right next to the church I pastor for only the second time in my 27 years of pastoring. This means I am re-learning what it means not to have much of a private life and very little personal space, except squirreled away inside and behind curtains. It’s kind of claustrophobic. Like the last church I pastored that plunked me down in the middle of public space, a few people (not many, thank God) have little conception of a pastor’s day off. Just yesterday I thought of reversing this passage and turning it into a day-off sign for my kitchen door.

Knock, and I probably won’t answer. Seek, and you’re trespassing. Ask tomorrow, and I’ll gladly make an appointment.

I am glad God doesn’t need to separate from his creation in order to be whole and healthy like I need to separate from my work, which is people from beginning to end. He’s available night and day without getting grouchy or offering muddled or tired thoughts. He doesn’t reach the end of the rope like I do. So there’s never a sign on his kitchen door begging to be left alone for a personal Sabbath experience.

I think we misunderstand Jesus when we use his words to hint that simple asking isn’t enough. He doesn’t intend to suggest that we need to build intensity in order for him to hear us and respond. He doesn’t mean that we have to keep after him because his busy schedule creates forgetfulness. I think Jesus ask-seek-know trilogy is simply a visual way of saying “I’m always available.” This isn’t a formula for effective prayer – just an invitation to share hearts, hurts, and hopes.

Neither is this an invitation to use God as servant to our wants, plans, and self-defined needs. God gives good gifts, not everything I ask for or when I ask for it. Sometimes, perhaps often, that wouldn’t be good at all. If we understood that God gives us that which is good according to his understanding, then perhaps we would give in less to the demands of needy people around us who expect us to give them what they want if we were truly good. After all, Jesus calls us to give good gifts just like the Father does.

Father, I am so glad you never need time off from me. I do, but you don’t! Help me to trust your goodness when I come asking. Thanks for welcoming me into your heart when I knock and making it easy for me to find you when I seek. - Mike Leamon