The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction” (Proverbs 10:14).

They didn’t quite know what to do with Shirley when she started attending their church. She was loud, foul, distasteful, and to be honest, really embarrassing at times. Several of the ladies came to the pastor. Mary humbly asked him, “What are we going to do with Shirley? Our ladies’ Bible study was all ready for prayer when Shirley blurted out, ‘You can pray for that no good husband of mine. I ought to have divorced him years ago. Sleeps around town and doesn’t do me well.’” Abigail added, “We were so embarrassed, Pastor. She was all ready to tell everyone about their private lives before Candice got her stopped.” The pastor quietly commiserated with them and then took them to Proverbs chapter ten. He read about the fact that a person’s mouth and words are symptomatic of the heart’s condition. It was a precious Bible study with the pastor that day. Together they made a covenant to pray for Shirley’s change of heart that would happen only by personally trusting Christ as Savior. How about you? Can you see the difference between the words of the wise and the foolish? It’s all a matter of the heart.

For today: Guard my words, Lord, by working first in my heart.

“You that fear the Lord, praise Him” (Psalm 22:23).

I am not an original language expert, but I love the study of the individual words in God’s Word. They are rich and powerful. The first precious word in our verse is our English word “fear.” This is the Hebrew word yare which gives the idea of “being terrified, gripped by awe, and overwhelmed with reverence.” The second word is halal which means to “shine forth, make mention of the worthiness of the Lord.” The more we really get to know the Lord, the greater will be our sense of fearing Him. He is our Father. He is the joy of our lives. He is the delight of our souls. We will fear Him with a reverence that is pure and holy. The outflow of this will be a song on our lips and lives that reflect His worthiness. Wow! This will keep me busy and blessed today. How about you?

For today: He is holy. He is awesome. He is God.

“For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness” (Psalm 11:7).

Karen was the only believer who worked in the wing of the accounting division of her company. Her cubicle was in the midst of eight other workers. She appreciated the fact that she was employed with benefits. Her company had very good standards of respect and accountability. But her coworkers were all ungodly and reflected the ways of the world. At lunch their jokes made Karen uncomfortable. She was embarrassed when the other employees talked about their weekend activities. She had been laughed at because of her teetotaler ways. Karen didn’t go to the movies, clubs, or bars. She maintained her Godly quiet testimony, and at work she didn’t fit in. Then the day came when her supervisor said, “Karen, tomorrow morning Sharilynn will be joining our staff. She will be located in the cubicle next to you. Thanks for showing her around.” The next morning when the ladies met, it only took a couple of minutes before they both discovered that each other loved the Lord. What a great blessing to have someone next to her that loved the same things she loved! As the righteous Lord loves righteousness, the same will play out in our personal lives. How does this affect you?

For today: May the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be pleasing to my righteous Lord.

“Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise-hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded” (Exodus 36:1).

Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the building plans for the Tabernacle of the Lord. How absolutely wonderful it must have been to Moses and Joshua to have men like Bezaleel and Aholiab who were especially gifted in the work of being able to read and understand the plans as well as being able to work and build with their hands. When I was the pastor at First Baptist in Marilla, New York, and then Central Baptist of Binghamton, New York, we underwent major building projects. I sat in every building committee meeting, and often I thanked the Lord for the wisdom, understanding, and ability of the men who surrounded me in the ministry. They could read the plans, build with their hands, and were greatly used in the Lord’s work. How about you? Are you one of those builders, or are you one of my kind of people who thank the Lord for the builders?

For today: Whatever the Lord has gifted you to do, do it with all your heart! Your ministry is so important.

“Father, I will that they also, Whom Thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold My glory” (John 17:24).

Recently I was speaking with a friend at church about the account of Moses being hidden in the cleft of the rock. Moses asked God to show him His glory (Exodus 33:18). God explained that no one is equipped to see the glory of God and still live. Hence God instructed Moses that He would hide him in the rocks, cover him with His hand, and allow him to see the afterglow of God’s glory after He passed by. Later when Moses returned to the camp from Mt. Sinai, everyone was afraid of him because his face was shining (Exodus 34:30). All of that is wonderful; however, think of what awaits the believer. The Lord Jesus told His Father that His greatest desire (“I will”) is to have those that are given to Him by the Father to be with Him where they will behold and gaze upon His glory. I know that I don’t comprehend the splendor and majesty of our Savior, but I do look forward to meeting Him and seeing His glory. How about you?

For today: Every day is a step closer to being Home and seeing His glory! WOW!