The king’s heart is in the LORD’s hand; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases (Proverbs 21:1 - Part 1)

The watercourses were irrigation canals under the farmer’s control, while the king was thought to be able to do anything that he wanted. There are examples of foreign kings doing the Lord’s sovereign will unbeknownst to them. Cyrus for example (Isaiah 41:2–4) and Artaxerxes (Ezra 7:21). So in the end, it is the Lord who does what He likes, not the King! And if the hearts of kings who do not know Him are in His hands, how much more does He have the hearts of our unsaved loved ones in His hands, and even more so the hearts of those in whom we are in broken relationship!

in fact all of our hearts are in the Lord’s hands, and the good news is that the Lord’s hand can be moved by prayer. I meant the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16). Of course, we are not righteous in our own righteousness, but we stand in the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:9). So when we are walking with the Lord, we can be assured that our prayers for the Lord to change hearts are powerful and effective.

The non-biblical proverb “the mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small,” comes to mind. In this age of the quick fix, there is a great tendency to be impatient and expect God to work immediately if not sooner! But if our cause is just, or if we are praying for the salvation of a loved one, we can be sure that He is working on our behalf. And we can take comfort in “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise … is not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). We can also take comfort in this morning’s verse for those of us who are waiting for Him to effect reconciliation in the kings and queens of our broken relationships.

Thank You Father, that You are far more interested than we could possibly be, in directing the king’s or queen’s hearts in to making peace, and into ways that please You. But we need patience this morning Lord to wait on You, to trust, and to keep on praying. We need Your help in this Lord, I need your help. Thank You that You are ready and willing and able to give it! I praise You again this morning Lord in Jesus Name Amen

Blows that hurt cleanse away evil, As do stripes the inner depths of the heart

The stripes talked about in this quote from Proverbs 20:30, refer to lacerations on the back left by a whip. So the proverb is talking about punishment. The proverb reveals the Lord’s intention for discipline, namely that it is intended to be redemptive, to cleanse away evil. In reality, punishment can actually harden the heart, especially if it’s not given in love! We are told “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens” (Hebrews 12:5, 6). And it is more than possible to despise and be discouraged by discipline, even when it is given in love. But He does want us to know, that He disciplines us because He loves us. This is how a loving father deals with his son.

The blows talked about here can be physical as in incarceration, or they can be emotional caused by rejection, the consequences of our own sin, or the pain caused by the sin of others etc. Whichever, we will not live a pain-free life! The Scripture says of Jesus “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience through the things that He suffered” (Hebrews 5:6). And part of what we can learn from His example, is that it is our reaction to suffering that is important. In terms of discipline we read “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:7). So the question we need to ask ourselves is “Are we willing to yield to the training the Lord either allows or sends, so that we may learn the intended lesson from our suffering?”

Sometimes, we may need to suffer many “blows” before we are willing to yield to His discipline and his training. In the prison ministry in which I’m involved, I see some of the men coming back time after time. I have asked them which of you wants to come back again after you get out? So far no takers! In my own life I know that I had to come to the end of myself before the emotional toil, the inner stripes of the heart, led me to repentance, true repentance. True repentance is much more than being sorry that I got caught, sorry that I have to suffer the consequences of my sin. Indeed, the Scripture talks about a godly sorrow that leads to repentance. True repentance involves a change of heart and mind, along with a willingness to change. When faith is added to this, it leads to salvation without regret (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Father, I can no longer regret my past. I regret neither the pain of the consequences of my own sin, nor the pain of the consequences of the hurt I received at the hands of others. I now know myself well enough to know that it took all the above to bring me to my senses, and to keep me coming back! And I did need to be brought to my senses! Thankfully, Just like the prodigal son, I came to myself, I came to moments of clarity where I could see things clearly. I saw my need, I repented and continue to repent. I turned to You and in You I found life and health and peace. And I thank and praise You again this morning for the many, many blows, that brought me to You in the first place, and then kept me coming back to You. You are truly great, and truly loving. Thank You, thank You, thank You in Jesus Name Amen

He who rules his spirit is better than he who takes a city

The tendency to go along with the things our culture values is not new. In ancient days in the Middle East and elsewhere, war was just something you did. This is shown by the phrase “In the spring, at the times kings go out to war…” (2 Samuel 11:1). In that culture war was glorified, and the victor was a hero. So then the taking of the city was something to be greatly desired. But whatever our present culture values be it success, or wealth, or fame or fortune, this quote from Proverbs 16:32, points to something that is better, greater, more to be desired. In his sight, it is not the one who rules over the city who is great, but the one who rules over his or her spirit. Self-control is part of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:23), but it is hardly the spirit of the age!

Solomon is said to be the wisest man who ever lived, but he was not obedient. The Lord had told him not to multiply foreign wives or horses, but he did both (Deuteronomy 17:6; 1 Kings 10:26; 11: 1, 2). And these were his downfall! When we develop appetites for things forbidden, be it for food, or money, or success, or for sexual conquest, the appetites don’t simply go away when we want them to! How many marriages have fallen, because one or the other did not learn to rule his or her spirit in these areas.

And the spirit of the age is instant gratification in whatever area your heart desires. Well, that’s not new either, there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Solomon tells us “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure” (Ecclesiastes 2: 10). I have heard people say “How could anything that feels so good be wrong?” But as the Scripture says “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end leads to death” (Proverbs 14), and as I keep saying, we do reap what we sow!

Father, I had to learn the hard way that Your ways are best. If it were not for Your mercy, grace and for the provision of the cross, there would have been no hope! Indeed You rescued me out of a desolate pit, most of it of my own making! It has not been easy Lord, your salvation is free, but getting free, coming into the abundant life you promised, cost everything I am and have. It’s all about absolute surrender and obedience ( Luke 9:23). But I thank you Lord, that in You all things are possible. Thank You for my increasing freedom as I progressed from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18). And I praise and thank, and glorify You again this morning Lord, in Jesus Name Amen

The LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

We are starting to see a pattern emerge here in these readings from Genesis. The Lord had asked Adam where he was, if he had eaten the forbidden fruit. Here after Cain had murdered Abel, the Lord was asking him where his brother was. God is not looking for information here, He already knows the answers. What God wants more than anything else, is relationship with his creatures. And there can be no meaningful relationship without honesty and integrity. As we saw earlier, Adam was not willing to take responsibility for what he had done. And what we see here, is Cane lying to the Lord. He answers “I don’t know, am I my brother’s keeper (Genesis 4:9)?”

Since we are to be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1), then we can learn something from this passage about God, and about how to deal with those who have wronged us. So first of all, the Lord is respectful in the way that He approaches those who have wronged Him. He brings no railing accusation, but in line with His desire for relationship, asks a question which if answered honestly would go a long way to restoring the relationship. He does this even though He knows that he will not receive the desired response.

Secondly, He implicitly affirms his fairness in dealing with us when He asks “If you do well, will you not be accepted” (Genesis 4:7)? It is evident that Cain did not think that he had been dealt with fairly, nevertheless with this question he can either see the truth, or refuse to see it. Thirdly, God speaks the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), when He warns Cain that sin lies at the door, and that its desire is for him (also verse 7). Paul reaffirms these three aspects of the way that we are intended to deal with others in Galatians 6:1 when he says “If a man is overtaken in a sin, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” He adds the last phrase, since we are not perfect like God!

Father, thank You for the gracious way that You deal with us. As Cain did, others have massively misunderstood You. But in order to understand the good news, we first need to understand the bad news. You are just and You must punish sin. But You are also merciful and in what Jesus Christ did on the cross, You have revealed that You can be just to forgive (1 John 1:9). In this way You can, if we are willing to receive it, restore us to right relationship with You. Nevertheless, as the Scriptures say, You cannot be mocked, we reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7). Knowing that there are consequences to my sin, helps to stay on the right path. I seem to need this. Thank You Lord in Jesus Name Amen

With unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord… being transformed from one degree of glory to another

After they had sinned Adam and Eve, and the rest of humankind with them, were kicked out of paradise. And like they did, we hide from ourselves and each other (Genesis 3:7,8). We hide because it’s not safe, others are not safe, you are not safe, I am not safe. It can look safe for a while, but for example in a moment of weakness after years of marriage one or the other commits adultery. Clearly some are safer than others, but the safest people I have found, are those who are in the process of being radically transformed into the glory that was lost at the fall. It is unfortunately rare even in Christian circles, where it is supposed to be the norm!

Scripture tells us, that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). It seems to me, that none of us realize just how very far short of His glory, that we fall. It’s all part of hiding from ourselves. Nobody likes to think of him or herself as a villain. It’s called rationalization and denial, and coming out of this denial, is the very first step of all twelve-step programs. It’s not just about sin, it’s about our wounds! And we have all been wounded! For many of us, many of our wounds are open and festering. Some of us are stuck in the past in victimhood, others will not go there, because to go there is to relive the trauma. But there is another way, a better way, the Lord’s way. And His way is to help us revisit the past, not to stay there, but to allow Him to redeem it. Indeed He came to heal the brokenhearted (Luke 4:18), but we have a part to play, we need to push through the pain to the other side where there is joy (Hebrews 12:2). But how to do this?

There is a reason, that twelve-step programs tend to be more successful than programs that do not acknowledge a higher power, a power greater than ourselves. For the Christian, that higher power is Jesus! When we have Jesus as our higher power, it opens up to us to the principles and promises of Scripture, and to the healing presence of the Lord in our lives. It is not well known, that twelve-step programs, are based on Scripture, but it’s how they got started. The steps are designed to help us to revisit the past in the healthy way described above. It is part of the unveiling referred to in this morning’s verse from 2 Corinthians 3:18. And the more we incorporate the biblical principles and promises in the twelve steps, and the more we embrace His presence, the more we are healed and transformed into the glory that was lost when we were kicked out of Paradise!

Father, it seems to me, that the church has radically misunderstood what sanctification is all about. And while it certainly includes getting rid of the sin in our lives, getting rid of the sin in our lives is not enough. In AA they talk about being a dry drunk, that is no longer drinking, but still having all the dysfunctional living patents that drove the alcoholic to drinking in the first place. And these things will not change, without an unveiling. In particular, the wounds that we have received from our own and others’ sin, need to be cauterized. In entering into one of the many Christ based recovery programs seems to me to be the most efficient way to do this. But it’s hard Lord, recovery is not for cowards. So I pray for courage for myself and for those reading these posts this morning, and I thank you in advance for the answer to this prayer in Jesus Name Amen

Sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you but you must master it

As part of a hospital visitation ministry years ago, I remember talking to a man who had just had a heart attack. The doctor had told him that he had to give up smoking, and he told me “I’ll be alright as long as I don’t get the craving!” Good luck with that! I was reminded of the saying of Oscar Wilde “I can resist everything except temptation!” In this morning’s quote from Genesis 4:7, the Lord was warning Cain that he needed to master his anger. The metaphor of sin as a lion crouching at the door ready to pounce and master us, is meant to show is that sin cannot be dealt with passively. It necessitates a strong response. We cannot just “let her slide,” that will not cut it!

In Cain’s case, if he did not take strong measures to curb his anger, it would, like an aggressive weed in the garden, blossom out of control. But it’s not just anger that needs to be dealt with aggressively, it’s any sin. I find it helpful to think of our doing the wrong thing, as the default mode. If I do nothing, sin’s grip on us multiplies. For example, it is much easier for the alcoholic to stop before the first drink (not saying it’s easy), than it is to stop after the ninth! How many times in a single night can you have “just one more?” Perhaps it’s infinity!

What I am saying, is that is so much easier to catch these things early on. The picture that I have of this, is of it being like like a giant whirlpool, in which if you swim at the outer edges it is relatively easy to escape. But the longer you stay in the pool, the closer you get to the vortex, and at some point you will be dragged down into it. In particular it is a true saying that he who sins is a slave of sin, but thankfully it is also true that if the Son shall set you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:34, 36). Indeed when we have blown it, there is help. In fact He has promised that He will work in us both in our desires (the cravings) and the wherewithal to do what needs to be done. The premise to this promise is that we “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12, 13). His part in this, is to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. But he will not do what we can do for ourselves, and you can be sure that He will stretch us in this area (Philippians 4:13).

Father, in the recovery circles in which I move, I have seen instant delivery from destructive habits, and I have also seen others struggling for years to overcome those same habits. But those who have received instant deliverance, inevitably have gone on to struggle with other things. We are individuals Lord, You know our individual needs, and You act accordingly. I thank You this morning Lord for the victories of the past, and for the ongoing victories of the present as I take one day at a time. I know that You who have begun a good work in me will bring it to fulfilment on the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6). And I give you all the honour and glory and praise in His precious Name Amen

Why are you angry?

In this quote from Genesis 4:6, anger is mentioned for the first time. And according to the law of first mention, the context gives the kernel of the Bible’s teaching on this topic. In particular we see here that anger is not condemned outright (sin is crouching at your door), but that it needs to be mastered (both points in verse 7). This teaching is confirmed later for example by “be angry and sin not” (Ephesians 4:6), by the fact that Jesus himself was angry at times (Mark 3:5), and by His mastery of His anger (John 2:15).

In some Christian circles, there is strong disapproval of any expression of anger, and the disapproval is signalled one way or another. In such circles, even to raise one’s voice is considered unspiritual! But I know of at least one situation where the brother has high blood pressure. And it seems pretty obvious that it is precisely because he does not allow himself to acknowledge when he is angry. Now we all get angry at times, and we can stuff our anger, but it will come out one way or another. It can come out in a judgemental attitude, or in putdowns, or simple avoidance. And the avoidance can be of the person, or of subjects that are taboo. It is interesting to me to recall that recently, after raising a taboo subject with someone I love, the situation started to resolve itself when I asked “Why are you angry?”

It is an important question to ask ourselves, since part of the process of mastering one’s anger, is to switch from the emotional side of the brain to the cognitive side. In particular the mind and the will need to drive our decisions rather than our emotions. We need to bear in mind, that God’s question to Cain had the intention of restoring the relationship. And that needs to be ours too. But because we play complex, often unconscious games with each other, the process of unraveling what is going on is not easy. For example I have never had someone who is seeking to manipulate me say “You do realize I’m trying to manipulate you don’t you?” As I say, they may not even know they are manipulating you, it’s called rationalization and denial!

Father, it seems to me that is impossible to have a close relationship without there being times when both of us get angry. And the closer the relationship, the more anger is likely to be generated. It’s important in those relationships, to acknowledge that we are angry when we are, to master our anger, and as much as possible within us, to live at peace with each other (Romans 12:18). The process of working through these things works best when we are both willing to come to the foot of the cross, and in humility to acknowledge and confess our faults one to another (James 5:16). We need Your help to come to this place and to stay in this place, and I’m asking for it for me this morning Lord, in Jesus Name Amen