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