Category: Solomon

Just south of Washington D.C. is the home of our first president, George Washington. As you tour his home you will be impressed by the things that are still there. His presidential desk and chair, his reading glasses, and other possessions in the house. Even the bed he died on is there.

Interestingly, George Washington’s bed from 1799 is a king-size bed. If you look at it, it is obvious that his bed was longer and wider than an ordinary bed.

That which was so unusual in the 1790s is common today. Ours is the age of the oversized bed. Even traveling on a budget, one will find that hotels and motels usually offer a choice between a room with two queen-size beds or one with a king-size bed. 

Imagine checking into a room and finding a single bed that is four feet long with a blanket that is two feet wide. What would you do? It would not take long to check out of that hotel. A bed too short and a blanket too narrow is not acceptable.

God compared people who trust in anyone but him as trying to sleep on such an undersized bed. Referring to people who face trouble, but trust human wisdom or resources to deliver them, God said that their “bed is too short and the blanket is too narrow.” (Isaiah 28:19) Like a big man trying to sleep in a tiny bed, it will never work. On a cold night, a small cover does not provide enough warmth.

In times of trouble, the only place of comfort is with God. The only blanket that will adequately cover you is God’s protection. God’s love and protection are never a bed too short. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10)

~Lonnie Davis

Faith is not just belief. Faith is a belief that allows one to keep on keeping on, even in the face of failure. Before he was the leader of a nation, Moses was a 40-year-old failure running from the Pharaoh. Before he was a preacher on Pentecost, Peter lied and denied that he even knew Jesus. Before he penned the Gospel of Mark, he offended the Apostle Paul so deeply that Paul would not even take Mark on a missionary trip with him.

It is not your failures that define you. It is how many times you are willing to fail and then try again. Everyone remembers Will Rogers for his great wit and sense of humor. He did not start out as a humorist. He started out as an act that entertained audiences with rope tricks. One day, in the middle of his act, Will failed. He got tangled up in his ropes. Facing people who had paid money to see him do rope tricks, he said, “A rope ain’t so bad to get tangled up in if it ain’t around your neck.” The audience roared. He loved their response to his humor. His failure changed his life.

Failure is not a sin. As the Bible says, “The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked” (Proverbs 24:16). You have only failed when you quit trying. There is a difference between saying, ““I have failed” and “I am a failure.” Everyone fails, but not everyone is a failure.

~Lonnie Davis

Sticky Grenades

In World War II the allied forces invented a weapon known as the “sticky grenade.” It was designed so that it would stick to anything. The idea was that it would stick and then blow up. The problem was it tended to stick to the person trying to throw it!

The Bible story of Haman’s Noose” is like that. Haman was a high official in ancient Persia who hated Mordecai, a simple Jew who would not honor him. To get even with Mordecai, he had a 75′ high gallows made so he could have him hanged on it. (Esther 5:14)

Two chapters later the Bible tells us, “They hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai.” (7:10)  Haman’s Noose turned into a “Sticky Grenade” that blew up on him.

The Bible warns us that what we do can come back to haunt us. Hosea 8:7 warns that people, “Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.” In a similar vein, Ecclesiastes 10:8 says, “Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.”

You are not going to build a 75′ high gallows, but any lashing out at another person can lead you to your own gallows, your own “sticky grenade.” 

A few years back the Tokyo police reported the arrest of a man who was upset over being denied entrance to graduate school 14 years earlier. Since the day he was denied entrance he averaged making 10 phone calls a night, between the hours of 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. Every call was to the professor whom he blamed for his lost opportunity. Those 14 years of annoying phone calls totaled up to over 50,000 calls! Who was hurt? Of course the professor was annoyed, but the man obsessed with a presumed wrong wasted 14 years of his life. What goes around comes around. 

How do I know? The Bible tells me so. “If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it; if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.” (Proverbs 26:27)

So, for your own good, be careful not to lash out at others.

~Lonnie Davis

You learn from all kinds of folks in life. You learn from your parents, your teachers, your friends, and too many others to list. Solomon told us to learn from an Ant. He said, “Go to the ant…consider her ways and be wise.” (Proverbs 6:6).

In the next verse, he lists three lessons we can learn from the Ant. Of the ant he says,

“Which, having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.”

Did you see the three descriptions of the ant?

1. The ant is a self-starter. It does not need someone to prod it to do what it needs to do. It does its job without a captain to oversee it
2. The ant is a hard worker. It takes care of its own supplies.
3. The ant is aware of the coming season. It gathers up food for the harvest. It does not live its life like today is all there is but rather prepares for what is certain to come.

Wise folks would do well to be like the ant.

It will make us better people.

Lonnie Davis

Someone once noted that God gave us two ears and one mouth because he wants us to listen twice as much as we talk. This is an easier task for some than for others. I would say that it is easier for one gender than for the other, but I have seen people on both sides of the gender line face that same problem.

If we complain about someone who gossips, it is assumed that it is women we are talking about. That is not true. Men also gossip, but we call it talking.

 Years ago I was at a men’s breakfast. I told a really good joke and everyone started laughing. I always enjoy it when people laugh at my jokes. Just as they started to laugh, one of the other men spoke up, “Let me tell you a joke I heard.” I was ticked. He didn’t give people enough time to enjoy my joke. In just a few seconds everything was okay. In the middle of telling his joke, one of the other men spoke up, “Hurry up and finish your joke. I have one I want to tell.”

 Unfortunately that little story illustrates the way a lot of folks communicate in life. Instead of listening to what someone is trying to tell us, we start thinking of how we want to answer. Solomon said, “He who answers before listening – that is his folly and his shame.” (Proverbs 18:13).

 As you can see, Answering before we hear the whole issue is a very old problem. This text was written 3,000 years ago. Answering before we hear is a foolish thing to do and will bring shame. You may get away with it for a while, but eventually it will bite you.

Remember

    First you listen.

        Think about the words and THEN give the response.

             You will be glad you did.

Lonnie Davis

People often wish they knew more about the story of Jesus when he was a child. Today’s verse gives us some of the story. We read it in Luke 2:52:

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” 

Notice these things about Jesus as he grew into a man:

1. Jesus grew up. He didn’t start life on earth as a wise old teacher. He was a baby and then a boy and then a man. He “increased” Luke wrote.
2. He wasn’t born with all the wisdom he would ever have. He increased in wisdom. It is hard for Christians to think about Jesus  without thinking that when he was a 10-year-old he was as wise as when he gave the Sermon on the Mount or when he preached the parables. Not true. He got wiser as he got older. He “increased.”
3. Jesus increased in favor with God. As God saw him making freewill decisions to honor his father and do the right thing, God was even more pleased with Jesus. We know God loved Jesus when he was a babe in a manger, but as the days went by, God’s favor for him increased.
4. Jesus increased in favor with man. He knew how to build relationship with his friends and neighbors. According to Proverbs 18:24, “A man who has friends must himself be friendly.” Jesus must have been friendly as youth in order to increase in “favor with man.”

There is that story of Jesus going to the temple when he was only 12. There he astonished the priests with his knowledge of God’s word. He was a dedicated student of the word, even as a child. I’m glad God told us that story, but there is also a lot to learn about Jesus in today’s Bible verse.

I’m Lonnie Davis

and this is a thought worth thinking.

A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.   – Proverbs 29:11

Jesus got angry! Did he really? Well, that is what every angry person would have you believe. Usually folks who make this statement are trying to justify their own anger. After all if Jesus got angry, then no one can blame me for being angry. The problem is that this statement is grossly overstated.

Some cite the story of Jesus driving the money changers out of the temple (Mark 11, Matthew 21, Luke 19, John 2). Before anyone accuses Jesus of anger in that story, read the story again. Nowhere do the Scriptures say that Jesus was angry. Jesus was bothered. Jesus was troubled. Jesus was determined to stop unrighteousness. But, Jesus was not angry.

Anger puts a person into an impaired mental state and reduces one’s ability to grasp ambiguity or see any nuance in a situation. Anger gives us an adrenalin rush which clouds our ability to make judgments.  This is not the emotion that Jesus was experiencing when he drove the crooked merchants out of the temple. Jesus did not “lose it.” With a clear mind, Jesus removed scam artists from the temple area.

There is one time in the Bible that says Jesus experienced anger. In Mark 3, the Bible says that Jesus “look around…in anger.” Read the text and you will find that the only way you know Jesus was angry is that the Scriptures tells us so. He did not hit anyone. He did not call anyone a name. He did not shout at anyone. He did not get red-faced. He was angry, but he dealt with it quietly and then he helped a man.

Lonnie Davis

In World War II the allied forces (America, British, etc.) invented a weapon know as the “sticky grenade.” It was designed so that it would stick to anything. The idea was to throw the grenade. It would stick and blow up. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it never was successful because of one fatal flaw. It tended to stick to the person trying to throw it!

This laughable failure reminds me of an Old Testament story I call, “Haman’s Noose.” Haman was a high official in ancient Persia. He had power, prestige, and wealth, but he felt slighted by Mordecai, a simple Jew who would not honor him. To get even with Mordecai, he had a 75′ high gallows made so he could have him hanged on it. (Esther 5:14)

Two chapters later the Bible tells us, “They hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai.” (7:10)  Haman’s Noose turned into a “Sticky Grenade” that blew up on him.

Haman’s “sticky grenade” is not unusual. The Bible warns us that what we do will come back to haunt us. Hosea 8:7 warns that people “Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.” In a similar vein Ecclesiastes 10:8 says, “Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.”

You are not going to build a 75′ high gallows, but any lashing out at another person will lead you to your own gallows, your own “sticky grenade.” A few years back the Tokyo police reported the arrest of a man who was upset over being denied entrance to graduate school 14 years earlier. Since the day he was denied entrance he averaged making 10 phone calls a night, between the hours of 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. Every call was to the professor whom he blamed for his lost opportunity. Those 14 years of annoying phone calls totaled up to over 50,000 calls! Who was hurt? Of course the professor was annoyed, but the man obsessed with a presumed wrong wasted 14 years of his life. What goes around comes around. How do I know? The Bible tells me so. “If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it; if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.” (Proverbs 26:27)

~Lonnie Davis

Many years ago while driving down a Texas freeway, I looked down and noticed that my fuel was running low. Spotting a service station up ahead, I pulled in and filled my tank. Five miles further down the freeway, my little Volkswagen sputtered, died, and coasted to the side of the road. Unable to get it running again, I called for help and left the car. A relative towed the car to his house and fixed it. It was a simple fix, one that even I could do. The problem was that the last batch of gasoline had been contaminated with water.

 Sometimes in my life I too am doing fine when suddenly I sputter and stop. When I do, I try to remember the lessons learned from that night:

 I learned that if I put bad fuel into my tank (my heart), it will not worked it should. Before that night I would have guessed a glass of water in 10 gallons of gasoline might cause sputtering, but not a total failure of the engine. I was wrong. David said, “Your Word have I put in my heart that I might not sin”” (Psalm 119:11). The right fuel for the Christian heart is the word of God. The wrong fuel is any thing that will contaminate it.

 I learned that a thing does not have to be all bad to cause failure. I did not put all water into the tank. I put mostly gasoline with a little water. People talk about how much good someone does and somehow think that will make up for the evil behavior, but a little bad destroys a lot of good. Solomon wrote, “As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor” (Ecc 10:1). It does not take much poison in a glass to make the whole drink poison.

 I learned that just because I thought I was doing right, did not mean it was the right thing to do. I thought I was putting pure gasoline in, but I was not. Good intentions do not overcome the bad actions (or dumb behavior). “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12).

 I learned that you will not have a good result until you remove the bad and put the good in its place. Once the pure gasoline replaced the contaminated fuel, everything started working as it should.

Lonnie Davis

HeartWord – Proverbs 4:23

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Today’s brief note was written especially for folks like me. Folks who get the “I wish I hadn’t said that” disease. If that is you, then listen to the words of an article I call

First You Listen

Someone once noted that God gave us two ears and one mouth because he wants us to listen twice as much as we talk. This is an easier task for some than for others. I would say that it is easier for one gender than for the other, but I have seen people on both sides of the gender line face that same problem.

If we complain about someone who gossips, it is assumed that it is women we are talking about. That is not true. Men also gossip, but we call it talking. Preachers even gossip. When they do it is often about another preacher. Let me tell you about what this one preacher…

Well, maybe I won’t tell you.

 Years ago I was at a men’s breakfast. I told a really good joke and everyone started laughing. I always enjoy it when people laugh at my jokes. Just as they started to laugh, one of the other men spoke up, “Let me tell you a joke I heard.” I was ticked. He didn’t give people enough time to enjoy my joke. In just a few seconds everything was okay. In the middle of telling his joke, one of the other men spoke up, “Hurry up and finish your joke. I have one I want to tell.”

 Unfortunately that little story illustrates the way a lot of folks communicate in life. Instead of listening to what someone is trying to tell us, we start thinking of how we want to answer. Solomon said, “He who answers before listening – that is his folly and his shame.” (Proverbs 18:13).

 As you can see, Answering before we hear the whole issue is a very old problem. This text was written 3,000 years ago. Answering before we hear is a foolish thing to do and will bring shame. You may get away with it for a while, but eventually it will bite you.

 Remember

First you listen.

Think about the words and THEN give the response.

You will be glad you did.

 Lonnie Davis

Today’s Heartword: James 1:19

“Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”

Spiritual Thoughts for August 23

The School in the Forest

 Once there was a man who wanted to help the animals in the forest. He wanted to make things better for them so he decided to start a school in the forest. In his school he had a squirrel, a fish, and a bird. To make their lives better he decided to help each of them become better at what they did not do well. Since the squirrel could climb, but could not swim, he decided to teach the squirrel to swim. The fish could swim, but could not fly so he worked at teaching the fish to fly. The bird could fly, but could not swim so the fish was enrolled in a swimming course.

 Over the next year, the squirrel practiced swimming, the fish worked at flying, and the bird tried hard to swim. At the end of the year, the teacher had a squirrel that was a bad swimmer, a fish that could not fly, and a bird that nearly drowned daily.

 There is a moral to this story. If you are a squirrel, climb. If you are a fish, swim. If you are a bird, fly. Do not try to be something you are not. God gave each of us special talents. Each of us should work to discover our own special talent. When we do, then our lives and the Kingdom will be blessed.

 Paul wrote, “If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” (1 Cor. 12:17-19)

 You have the special abilities that God wanted you to have. If he had wanted you to be taller, he would have made you taller. If He had wanted you to be prettier, he would have made you prettier. If He wanted you to be a better singer, he would have given you a better voice. Success is not about what you have, but about what you do with what you have. 

                                                                                 ~Lonnie Davis

Heartword – Proverbs 23:6-7

“Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies; for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. ‘Eat and drink,’ he says to you, but his heart is not with you.”

Note: We would do well to remember that generosity is not always generosity, but the great lesson we should see in this verse is that we need to share with a willing heart.

Don’t Bury Your Talent

 Not one is a thousand would recognize the name of Reginald Heber. On April 3, 1826 he served as a missionary in India. That day he preached outdoors under a hot Indian sun. To cool off, afterward he went for a dip in a nearby pool. While in the pool he had a stroke and drowned.

 A few days later his wife was going through his belongings and found in his trunk several old songs that he had written but never published. Among those songs was one that he wrote called, “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty.” Since that discovery millions of people, if not billions, have been blessed by the work of Reginald Heber.

 This is not a note about what a great song he wrote, but about how he buried that song in a trunk. He had great talent, but he buried that talent.

 One cannot help wondering how many of us have done the same thing. How many of us have a song, a story, or a sermon that we have never shared? Fear is a powerful force that can cause us to bury our talent. It may seem like no big deal, but we would do well to remember the Lord’s answer to the man who buried his talent, “You should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.” (Matt 25:27)

 God did not call us to sit on our opportunities or talents. The talents God has given to you is God’s gift to you. What you do with those talents is your gift to God.

 What is your talent? Use it!

HeartWord – Proverbs 22:29

“Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings;they will not serve before officials of low rank.”

Everybody Fails!

Men fail – Women fail
Young people fail – Old People fail
Poor people fail – Rich people fail

Even you fail, I know I do.
Because everybody fails.

Since everybody fails, failure  can not be how we judge our lives.

In Proverbs 24:16, Solomon said:

“Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.”

Notice from this text that both the righteous and evil man falls, the difference between the righteous and evil is whether they get up from their fall. The righteous man, the good man falls down but gets up. The wicked man falls down and just wallows in his failure.

Have you messed up? Try again.

Avoiding failing is not the sign of a righteous person.

Not giving up is the sign of a righteous person. Try, try again!

It is the Godly thing to do.
It is how we are successful in our reach for eternal life with God.
It is also how we become successful here on earth.

Maybe you know the true story of Harlan. Harlan was a sixth-grade drop out. Over his life He worked as a farmhand, a railroad worker, an insurance salesman, a tire salesman, and had a failed attempt in politics. At the end of all these jobs, he retired broke. With little more than social security checks he decided to sell chicken, more specifically a chicken recipe. He went from business to business asking restaurants, cafes, and grills to use his recipe and pay him 5 cent for each piece they sold. He tried for two years. “No, no, no,” he kept hearing. In fact, he heard 1,009 rejections before someone finally said “Yes.”

We all know him now as Colonel Harlan Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame. When he died in 1980 he was a rich man, a millionaire. He failed 1,009 times, but he tried and tried again. Winners keep on keeping on. Losers quit!

Let’s go back to that beautiful text in Proverbs and put the names of a couple of people into the text. Remember the text, “Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.”

Here are the two names: Peter and Judas. Both of them failed.

Peter failed. He bragged that he would never deny Jesus, but before the next morning he had denied Jesus three times. He even took an oath before the enemies of Jesus that he did not know Jesus. Feeling his failure, he wept bitterly. Jesus forgave him and a few days later Peter preached the first gospel sermon.

Judas failed. He betrayed Jesus for money – thirty pieces of silver. He regretted his act of betral and tried to return the money. When he could not and so he hanged himself. Now let’s read that verse again:

“Though a righteous man (Peter) falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked (Judas) are brought down by calamity.”

Never give up.
Failing and trying again is the mark of a righteous person.
Never, never give up!

Lonnie Davis

HeartWord – Proverbs 26:13

“A sluggard says, ‘There’s a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!'”

NOTE: A lazy person does not see himself or herself as lazy. They always have an excuse for not doing what they should do.