Published in HomeLife magazine, August 1993

There is an old barn located outside of the town of Castroville. It’s hard to miss because it faces State Highway 90. I’ve driven by it dozens of times on my way to and from the Texas Hill Country. It has become one of my favorite landmarks.

The old weathered barn has a message painted across its wide double-doors in large unevenly spaced letters: IT’S A GIRL!

I smile every time I drive past the old barn. It stands as something of a monument commemorating a time of overflowing joy. It is obvious from observation that the faded message was painted on the barn doors many years ago. In fact, it would not surprise me to discover that the girl is now a woman with kids of her own!

But I’m glad that the daddy, whose joy found expression in a bucket of paint, left the message on the barn. It’s only right that such a message should remain and continue to inspire wonder and smiles. I wish that more of the old barns on life’s roads were as inspiring as the old barn outside of Castroville.

There is another message that I find warm and inspiring. It is an illegible message scrawled in various colors of crayons on the walls of my garage.

Soon after we moved into our home, I bought a couple of gallons of white paint and set about painting the interior walls of our garage. After painting the walls I carefully put up sheets of peg-board, also painted white, to hold my assortment of garden tools, hammers, and other garage-stuff.

Upon completion of the project I left town for a week-long speaking engagement. During the week I called home to check on my wife, two year old daughter, and one year old son. That’s when I was informed that our daughter had made her way into the garage with a box of crayons and used my newly painted walls as a canvas for her artistic expressions.

Interestingly, she scribbled circles of various colors all the way around the garage, even on the inside of the garage door! I didn’t get upset, I just laughed and smiled and felt good about being a daddy. After all, I still had enough paint to cover my daughter’s first mural.

But when I got home and saw her work, something told me to leave it alone. And so I did. And I’m glad. And on occasion when I’m piddling around in the garage or doing yard work, the crayon-colored circles catch my eye and I remember and smile and feel good about being a daddy.

As parents, it’s easy to get caught up in the struggle to cover all evidence that we have children or that children once actively resided in our homes. That’s understandable. But don’t cover all the evidence. Let the scratch on the coffee table or the crayon masterpiece scribbled in one of your favorite books or the message on the barn doors survive.

Leave some signs to remind you that “children are a gift of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3a) and that your home is or was once-upon-a-time blessed by the presence of children.

“O how I love Thy law!
It is my meditation all the day.”
Psalm 119:97

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Shopping is high on my list of things I really hate to do! God however, made provision for me by allowing me to marry someone with the spiritual gift of shopping! And being the good spiritual leader of my home that I am, I have encouraged my wife to exercise her spiritual gift throughout our married years.

This past week however, it finally happened — I had no choice but to go shopping. Alone! With my wife recovering from her Caesarean operation and bonding with our new baby and the pantry shelves as bare as old Mother Hubbard’s, the task of shopping for groceries fell to me.

I could have held out another week, but the kids were out of Fruity Crunch cereal and there was no milk in the refrigerator nor a single slice of bread for a good old PBJ sandwich!

“We could order Pizza until you get well enough to go shopping,” I suggested. My wife gazed at me like a physician looking for signs of brain activity as she handed me the grocery list. And so, reluctantly, I walked out the door and embarked on my new adventure.

At the grocery store, I checked over my list, pulled out one of the grocery carts, and made my way into the jungle before me. No sooner had I started down the first aisle when I discovered that I had selected a cart with the left front wheel in need of serious alignment. “Not a good omen,” I thought.

But the real shock came when I began to find the items on the list and look at the prices. Take breakfast cereal for example. My list said Lucky Charms. I never knew that they cost over $4.00 a box! I couldn’t bring myself to even pick up a box. A dilemma.

I literally paced the aisle in front of the cereals for five minutes while debating the stewardship of a $4.00 box of Lucky Charms. “I’ll find a cheaper brand,” I thought. No luck! And then it happened — out of the corner of my eye I saw a price tag that clearly stated $1.77.

“That’s it! A generic equivalent! Praise the Lord,” I thought. “I don’t care if it’s a package of tree bark, it’s only $1.77 and I can always force the kids to eat it!” I placed the nondescript package of cereal in my lame grocery cart and then continued my shopping with a new determination to find as many generic equivalents as possible for the items on my list.

But looking back on it all, I really don’t know how much money I saved or if the generic items I purchased were really any good. And my wife forgave me for deviating so grossly from the items on the grocery list while reminding me that she requested certain brands for a reason. I am however, thankful for the experience. Groceries are more expensive than I realized and while generic equivalents abound, they are not always the best buy.

All this got me to thinking about the Bible. It’s so easy for us to try to find generic equivalents for the Bible. We spend time reading “so and so’s” new book or listening to “what’s his name’s” latest tape or tuning in to hear “isn’t he great” on the radio and never even open our Bibles!

Charles Spurgeon, the great English preacher, said, “It is God’s Word, not man’s comments on God’s Word, that is made powerful with souls.” Spurgeon was right. There is no generic equivalent for the Word of God.

So why not put aside the generic stuff and spend time in the really good stuff! Read your Bible every day so that you can develop the same conviction as the Psalmist, “O how I love Thy law! It is my meditation all the day. How sweet are Thy words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:97, 103).

Don’t settle for generic equivalents. God’s Word is the best buy. It’s fortified with all of the essential vitamins and minerals necessary for a healthy spiritual life!

“But turned back and acted treacherously
like their fathers; They turned aside
like a treacherous bow.”
Psalm 78:57

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Psalm 78 is a marvelous account of God’s faithfulness in spite of the unfaithfulness of His people. It is a record of God’s steadfast patience in spite of an ungrateful and rebellious people.

Verse 57 paints a graphic picture of a backslider or one who has experienced the kindness of the Lord and yet turned aside to his wicked ways. The Psalmist likens such an individual to “a treacherous bow.”

The word “treacherous” can be understood to mean “deceitful” or “slack.” Consider three things about a treacherous bow and what it can teach us about one who has backslidden.

First, a treacherous bow lacks power. Some translations refer to a “treacherous” bow as a “slack” bow. The Amplified Bible refers to the bow as being “warped and deceitful” and unresponsive to the archer’s aim. A slack bow cannot properly discharge an arrow. An arrow discharged by a deceitful or slack bow will fall short of the target. Such an arrow has no penetrating power. Such is a believer who has tasted the kindness of the Lord and turned aside. He is powerless. He is impotent in the face of temptation and ineffective before the world. He fails to hit the target and falls short of the mark…and falling short of the mark is called sin.

Second, a treacherous bow lacks purpose. An archer has no use for a treacherous bow for several reasons. First, because it is unreliable. He cannot depend upon it to do what is expected or required. Second, because it is uncontrollable. An archer must be able to control his bow if it is to be of any use. Third, because it is unpredictable. An archer may aim at the target without the assurance that his arrow will hit the target. A treacherous bow is likely to send an arrow in any given direction without warning. Such is the believer who has turned aside from the Lord. He is unreliable. He cannot be counted on to do what is expected or required. He is uncontrollable. He will not allow the Holy Spirit to govern his life. He is unpredictable. He is likely to go in any direction without the Lord.

Third, a treacherous bow cannot please. A treacherous bow gives no pleasure. An archer gets no pleasure from using a slack bow because it is a defective and dangerous instrument. Such is the believer who has turned aside from the Lord. He gives no pleasure. God is not pleased with the course of such a man’s life. Such a man never feels that the Lord is pleased with him. And so we see that when we turn aside from the Lord we are without power, purpose, and give no pleasure.

“Cease striving and know that I am God…”
Psalm 46:10a

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Here we have recorded in capsule form the secret to successfully dealing with the issues of life. The advice which the Psalmist gives in this verse however, runs contrary to our human nature. It is our human nature to instinctively strive whenever we encounter difficulties in life.

It is our human nature to wrestle and struggle and calculate and contrive to whatever extent we feel necessary to handle life’s difficulties. Such fruitless activity often leaves us feeling frustrated and robs us of the opportunity to see how God can deal with the same issue.

The expression “cease striving” means in the Hebrew to “let your hands drop” or to “let go” or “relax.” God will not put His hands on a difficulty until we take our hands off. It is only when we take our hands off that He can begin to work in such a way that we come to understand afresh and anew that He is indeed God.

There are four things we must do in order to live the truth of this verse.

First, whenever we encounter a difficulty we must release it into the care of the Lord. Psalm 37:5a states, “Commit your way to the Lord.” Psalm 55:22 declares, “Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” We read in I Peter 5:7, “[cast] all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.” Whenever we encounter a difficulty we should first take the matter to the Lord and entrust it into His care.

Second, we must rely upon the Lord. Psalm 37:5 declares that we must first “commit” and then, “Trust also in Him, and He will do it.” Proverbs 3:5 states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding.” Whenever we encounter difficulties in life the temptation to strive and to lean on our own understanding is great. We must act opposite of our own human nature however, and release the matter into the hands of the Lord and then rely upon Him to guide us in the resolution of the matter. Such a resolution may require activity on our part or a great deal of patience. We must be prepared for both.

Third, we must relax. This is not a reference to inactivity or unconcern. It is rather, a reference to waiting upon the Lord to work things out in His time. Psalm 27:14 declares, “Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.” This is difficult for us to do in our instamatic society. We do not like waiting. We abhor lines at the traffic light, at the grocery store, and at the amusement park. Our modern society is geared to taking the wait out of life. Everything is becoming faster by virtue of automation and self-service and great technological advances. But in our spiritual lives waiting is important. We cannot hurry-up waiting! Waiting is a key ingredient in the development of character and spiritual maturity. And so, once we have released a matter into the hands of the Lord we must rely upon Him to work matters out in His time, which requires us to relax.

Fourth, we will receive God’s provision. God’s provision or solution to the matter will come in due time. If we will release (commit), rely (trust), and relax (wait), we will receive God’s provision. Upon receiving God’s provision or solution to the matter we released into His care, we should be reminded that He is God. It is when we receive God’s provision that we begin to grow in our understanding of who God is and how faithful God is. We experience growth in our understanding of God when we commit our difficulties and impossibilities into His care and trust Him to deal faithfully with them. There is absolutely no situation that we can release into His care that can baffle Him. God knows exactly what to do with every conceivable issue of life. Thus the secret to successfully dealing with the issues of life is to release (commit), rely (trust), relax (wait), and receive, and then to continue in this cycle as a matter of life.

I recently spent some time in the attic of my childhood memories and was both comforted and convicted by what I found there. God used to be bigger when I was smaller!

As I poured over the pages of memories I was amazed at how much better my theology was when I was a child. I understood more about the awesomeness of God in those early years.

My understanding of the person of God was nurtured by my grandparents who, in their latter years, recaptured a child-like understanding of God. I could sense their wonder as they helped me to understand my wonder about God.

I was never at a loss for questions, especially on those nights when we would sit out on their front porch at night and just look up at the heavens. “How big is God?”…”Does God have a mommy and a daddy?”…”When was God born?”…”But how can God hear everybody’s prayers at the same time?”

It was their answers to these and other questions, as well as their inability to answer many of my questions, that helped me to develop a keen awareness of the majesty and greatness of God. God was so big when I was small.

Was God bigger when you were smaller? Do you remember how your little heart and mind overflowed with grand thoughts about God? Do you remember the questions you had about God that nobody could answer?

And somehow it didn’t matter that there were questions that could not be answered. They too, contributed to our understanding of the bigness and majesty of God. Somehow our estimation of God did not diminish because difficult questions went unanswered.

As I continued to turn the yellowed pages of my childhood memories I was convicted by the evidence before me. Here was proof that as I got bigger, God got smaller. As I got older God occupied less space in my thinking.

There were other things to deal with that, at the time, seemed much bigger and more important than God. Life became more complex. I was too busy with the overwhelming concerns of growing up to be overwhelmed by God anymore.

I no longer had or found the time to sit out on the front porch with my grandparents and look up at the heavens. There was simply too much to do. There was no time for looking up or for looking in. There was no more time for God.

And so for many years I lived in an impoverished state, years when my life was not enriched by the wonder of God — years in which I understood far less about God than when I was a child.

My children are filled with wonder about God. They are asking many of the same questions I asked. They are hearing many of the same answers I heard and in some cases they are not getting answers at all.

In some cases I just sit and wonder with them and feel the warmth I knew as a child. That same warmth my grandparents must have felt on those occasions when we all just sat out on their front porch at night and marveled at the majesty of God. The warmth I knew when I was small and God was big!

“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!”
Psalm 1:1

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All right, I’ll admit it! I have a Far Side Calendar and I enjoy it! In fact, I think I might even be addicted to the interesting but inspired humor of Gary Larson.

When I received my new Far Side Calendar with its daily tear-off pages, I had to fight the temptation to look at the whole thing in one sitting. Larson’s off-the-wall tongue-in-cheek insight into life is every shade of crude, comical, and convicting. His unique characters offer a poignant commentary on the human condition.

Such was the case with the April 18 installment of my 1991 Calendar. Picture the scene: A busy street with motorists speeding by in rush-hour haste. A group of dogs sitting by the side of the road as one of their kind emerges wide-eyed and terror-stricken from the traffic. The caption capturing the insanity of the event: “All right! Rusty’s in the club!”

That is certainly a pithy commentary on our desire to belong.

The scene depicted on my Far Side Calendar is played out every day on school campuses, executive boardrooms, social gatherings, and even in the back seats of cars!

The desire to belong and to feel accepted, important, and significant in the eyes of others will drive human beings to do almost anything. Humans will endanger their lives, abandon their ethics, sacrifice their morality, plunge into debt, or any number of other things in exchange for club privileges.

Club memberships are issued daily in exchange for honesty, chastity, integrity, and sanity — all this, because we want to belong. The words “Members Only” have a sweet ring to them, especially when we are members! They are words that make us feel good about ourselves and even embolden us to snub unfortunate non-members.

It is not easy dealing with the pressure to belong. It can literally cause us to ache and hurt inside. It can cause us to lose sleep as we struggle with whether we will pay the price of membership. It is not easy dealing with the pressure because most people would rather belong than not belong. And that’s o.k., after all, we are gregarious creatures.

We must however, soberly consider the cost of membership. In most cases, our membership dues are non-refundable. If you ever tire of being a part of the club, you can quit and leave, but without your dues.

Just ask the young teenager who offers chastity in exchange for club privileges. You can never get virginity back! Just ask the young couple buried under an avalanche of debt. Getting out of the club will be far more costly than getting into the club! Just ask the businessman who offered his integrity in exchange for membership in the club. Like Humpty Dumpty, his integrity and credibility may never be put together again!

So, before you dash through the traffic to impress dogs, I mean people you might not even like, stop to consider the cost of membership in the club. If you have to do that to be accepted, it would behoove you to look for another club!

“Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained…”
Proverbs 29:18a

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The Purpose of Revelation

1.  Direction
One of the purposes of revelation (or law) is to give direction. Our modern world depends upon the direction given by revelation. God’s Word gives us the direction we need to live our lives in a manner consistent with God’s will.

2. Protection
Another purpose of revelation is to offer protection. Our traffic signs and signals illustrate the point as much as a warning of thin ice on an ice skating pond. Our lives depend upon the protection that comes from revelation. God’s Word contains the instruction necessary to keep our lives from danger and destruction.

3. Correction
Still another purpose of revelation is to offer correction. Revelation can serve to guide us back onto the path from which we have strayed. We need the benefit of this aspect of revelation as much as the other aspects. Revelation includes provision for repair. God’s Word offers provision for repair and restoration. His Word can guide the wandering traveler back onto the right path and help him to stay on that path and out of harm’s way.

4. Affection
A very important aspect of revelation concerns its ability to tell us what to love and what to hate. God’s Word clearly tells us what we should love and what we should shun and despise.

The Absence of Revelation

1. Division of Purpose
Proverbs 29:18a speaks of the consequence of the absence of revelation. Where there is no revelation there is, as a matter of consequence, a division of purpose. The absence of revelation means the absence of direction. Revelation (or vision) helps to unify and direct people toward a common objective.

2. Diffusion of Power
Without revelation there is also a diffusion of power. When people have no unifying purpose or common direction, their efforts are spent fulfilling their individual agendas.

3. Destruction of Potential
Without revelation there is a destruction of potential. Revelation serves to harness and direct the potential, energy, and resources of people toward a common objective.

4. Death of the People
“Where there is no vision (revelation), the people perish,” says one translation. How do the people perish without revelation? They perish because they have no purpose in which invest their power and develop their potential. They perish also in the sense that they live far below their potential.

“He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.”
Proverbs 28:13

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What a man does with his sin will determine what sin does with the man. The writer of Proverbs notes two of the things that a man can do with his sin.

First, a man can conceal his sin.

That is what Adam tried to do. Job 31:33 states, “Have I covered my transgressions like Adam, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom?”

Achan also tried to conceal his transgression. Prior to engaging Jericho in battle, Joshua warned the people of Israel that there were certain things in the city that were under the ban of God, things that would interfere in their relationship with God and which would bring trouble upon the entire camp, which were not to be taken (Joshua 6:18).

One man, Achan, sinned by taking some of the things that were under the ban. When he was finally discovered as being the transgressor, Joshua said to him, “Tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me” (Joshua 7:19). Achan answered by telling Joshua that he had taken some of the things under the ban and concealed them in the earth inside his tent.

The consequences of Achan’s sin were severe as both he and his family, along with all of their possessions, were stoned and burned. Numbers 32:23 warns, “Be sure your sin will find you out.”

David also knew the futility and frustration of trying to conceal sin. His own pathos-filled testimony in Psalm 32:3-4 should serve as a warning to anyone thinking that covering up sin is the best way to handle it.

The worst thing that a man can possibly do with his sin is to conceal it or bury it in the hope that no one will ever find out about it. The fact of the matter is that regardless of whether or not our fellow man knows about it, God knows about it, and God cannot bless such a man.

Psalm 5:12 reminds us, “For it is Thou who dost bless the righteous man, O Lord, Thou dost surround him with favor as with a shield.” Psalm 66:18 states, “If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear.” The meaning of this verse is much more comprehensive than the matter of whether or not our prayers are heard. The verse should be understood as, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not!” Hearing is just one of the things that the Lord will not do.

Thus the worse thing that a man can do with his sin is to conceal it. Once again, what a man does with his sin will determine what sin does with the man.

Second, a man can confess and forsake his sin. Confession and forsaking are two sides of the same coin. Confession is much more than an admission of sin to God. It also includes a coming to terms with God in regard to the sin, seeing the sin as God sees it, understanding what God expects the individual to do about it, and entering into an agreement with God to do something about it.

That is where the matter of forsaking enters the picture. It is not enough to confess, we must also forsake or abandon the sin altogether, purposing never to embrace it again. According to Proverbs 28:13, the condition for experiencing the compassion of God is to confess and forsake our sin.

“He who turns away his ear from listening to the law,
Even his prayer is an abomination.”
Proverbs 28:9

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Here we have a picture of the man who does not want to listen to God but wants for God to listen to him. Here is a man who does not want to be burdened with the demands of the law but wants the right to unburden himself before God.

Here is a man who willfully turns away his ear from listening to the Word of God yet expects God to lend a willing ear to his word. Here we have a man who says no to God and yet expects God to say yes to him.

Is there any hope that such a man’s prayers will be heard? Is there any reason to expect that such a man’s petitions will move God to act?

The writer of Proverbs answers these questions with a resounding, “Absolutely not!” Such a man’s prayer is an abomination.

Let not that man think that God will act on his terms. Let not that man think that he can live his life as he pleases without regard to the law of God and yet enjoy the privilege of calling upon God whenever he pleases. If this were the case then a man could live his life without regard to God’s law and still petition God for blessing at his convenience.

Our prayer is impacted by our obedience. The Psalmist declared in Psalm 66:18, “If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear.” If we will not listen to God, then God will not listen to us.

God can wait until we are ready to repent of our sin before listening to our prayers. God can wait until we decide to incline our ear to His Word before inclining His ear to our prayers.

The question is, can we afford to wait? Can we afford to live our lives as we please without the assurance that our lines of communication with God are open?

Our lives must be lived on God’s terms. Our obedience to the Word of God is important. It is vitally linked to the success or failure of our prayer life.

“Iron sharpens iron,
So one man sharpens another.”
Proverbs 27:17

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The Rev. W. Harris (The Preacher’s Homiletic Commentary) wrote the following regarding this verse:

The sword that has seen much hard service must come in contact with another steel instrument to restore its edge. The ploughshare that has pushed its way through hard and stony ground must be fitted for more work by friction with a whetstone, and the axe, after it has felled many trees, must be subjected to a similar process. So the intellectual and spiritual nature of man becomes at times in need of a stimulus from without which may fitly be compared with the sharpening of iron by iron. Hard mental toil, contact with uncongenial persons and things, disappointments, and even great spiritual emotions, have a tendency to exhaust our energies and depress our spirits, and render us for a time indisposed to exertion, and perhaps incapable of it. In such a condition a look of sympathy and encouragement from one who understands us is very serviceable indeed, and has power to arouse within us fresh hope, and therefore new life for renewed action.

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As Rev. W. Harris points out in his commentary on Proverbs 27:17, there are a number of things that can cause us to lose our edge or become dull.

Service can cause us to lose our edge. Just as an axe or pencil must be periodically sharpened in order to continue to be usable, so must we be periodically sharpened. We cannot serve without periods of rest, refreshment, and renewal. If we try, it will surely lead us to less effective service and eventually to burn-out.

Service becomes exhausting when we labor in a dulled condition. Out text tells us that our edge can be restored by coming into contact with others. We need the feedback, encouragement, counsel, and checks and balances of others.

But it is important to note that our text says “Iron sharpens iron.” In other words, iron must come into contact with iron in order to be sharpened. In like manner we cannot be sharpened by just any individual. We can only be sharpened by certain individuals.

If you want to be sharpened mentally, you must come in contact with mentally sharp individuals. If you want to be sharpened spiritually, you must come in contact with spiritually mature individuals. If you want to be sharpened morally, you must come in contact with morally pure and upright individuals.

Paul spoke of the importance of coming into contact with the right people in I Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.'”

Sin can cause us to lose our edge. Sin has a corrupting effect upon people. It removes the brightness from our countenance, the joy from our service, and the clarity from our vision. It can quickly dull the edge of our life and service.

Our edge however, can be restored by confession and maintained by accountability. Our text says, “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” One man can sharpen another by holding him accountable for his life and decisions.

Proverbs 27:6 states, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.” Our lives can be kept morally and spiritually sharp when we will allow another to hold us accountable and to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15, 25). We must be willing to allow others to wound us if necessary, in order to help us keep our edge.

Setbacks can also cause us to lose our edge. As Rev. W. Harris points out in his commentary on Proverbs 27:17, “disappointments, and even great spiritual emotions, have a tendency to exhaust our energies and depress our spirits, and render us for a time indisposed to exertion, and perhaps incapable of it.”

Setbacks can drain us emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Setbacks often leave us feeling listless and hopeless. Our edge can be restored however, through the kind and gentle encouragement of a friend, of one who will offer a smile, a shoulder, and support.

Again, as Rev. W. Harris points out in his commentary, “In such a condition a look of sympathy and encouragement from one who understands us is very serviceable indeed, and has power to arouse within us fresh hope, and therefore new life for renewed action.”