Anger Repressed

Saying what you want to say
To whom you want to say it
Is not as easy as it sounds
And often remains tacit.

Try as one might
To muster up the courage
Timing chance and circumstance
Suppress the intended message.

Bottled up inside
The cap begins to vibrate
Emotion takes control
Serenity turns irate.

The explosion spews from deep
Within the bowels of anger
The cauldron overflowing
Toward the realm of danger.

Words dart forth
Barbs pierce the ear
Nothing is withheld
No mometary fear.

When the well is empty
The silence then returns
Too late for retraction
Despite the pleas and yearns.

Would it not have been better
Early in the scrap
To set aside hard feelings
Avoid the anger trap.

To reason with the other
And find some common ground
Resolve the conflicting issues
Avoid the woeful sound.

The next is coming quickly
Quicker than it should
Stop it in the moment
That only you could.

A Step in the Right Direction

The excitement of taking the next important step in life is always challenging and rewarding. To be sure it is fraught with mystique, not knowing exactly what the future holds. But what would life be if a person never took that next step in fulfilling their dreams? What would it be like to always wonder whether or not that special dream could ever have been fulfilled. IF ONLY!

May it never be said that we stymied a relationship with God by not pursuing a course of action He opens up to us. Let us resolve to take the risk of vulnerability and not settle for what seems safe. There is a vast array of wonderful opportunities waiting to be explored and claimed. Some may be subtle while others may be spectacular. But even the most sublime experiences with God are magnificent. The risk is worth the reward.

Fear of the Lord: Just Some Thoughts

When is fear reverent awe? In order to have awe for something or someone, information about that person or thing must be gathered. No one fears or respects someone or something about which there is no knowledge. Solomon writes "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7). In order to fear the Lord there must be knowledge that there is one referred to as the Lord and such fear (whether respect or fright) is justified.

When studying Proverbs the reader discovers a progression involving Solomon's use of the phrase "Fear of the Lord." In 9:10 he says "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." First there was the assimilation of information Solomon refers to as knowledge. Knowledge properly applied is wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of each.

Solomon does not stop there. He admonishes the reader to choose the fear of the Lord (1:29), understand the fear of the Lord (2:1-5), and be zealous for the fear of the Lord (23:17, 18). He gives reasoning for his admonitions. The fear of the Lord leads to life (19:23), is a fountain of life (14:27), and provides strong confidence (14:26). The fear of the Lord is a mechanism for departing from evil (16:6) and is a treasure worth pursuing (15:16). Fifteen times Proverbs utilizes the fear of the Lord concept.

Job discusses the subject (28:28), Isaiah writes about it in five passages (2:10, 19, 21; 11:3; 33:6), as do the New Testament writers Matthew (10:28), Luke (12:5; Acts 9:31), and the author of Hebrews (10:31).

Is it fright or respect? It s both at the same time. Abraham fell on his face before God (Gen 17:3), Daniel passes out before God (8:17, 18), Ezekiel fell on his face before God (1:28-2:1), an entire detachment of Roman troops fell to the ground when exposed to the glory of God (John 18:1-6), and the apostle John fainted when he saw Jesus as the judge (Rev 1:17). An encounter with God is both a blessing and horrifying event. Being in the presence of God's holiness while still being a sinner is terrifying. Why else would these passages say men fainted at the site of the Holy?

Solomon wrote about the fear of the Lord but it wasn't a new topic for him. He learned it from his father, David (Psalm 19:9; 34:11). Just as David handed down pearls of wisdom to his son, let our legacy be the handing down of truth to future generations so that we are not guilty of propagating "a generation that is pure in its own eyes" (Proverbs 30:12).

Reality Recognized

Gone is the quickness of catlike reflex
Replaced by the shuffling of feet across the floor.
Lost is the emergence of recall in an instant
Reversed to groping for thoughts once known.
Absent is the sleekness of stamina and strength
Present is the paunch of sedentary existence.
Depleted is the excitement of thrilling adventure
Supplanted by bookends of caution and fear.
Yesterday departed for life in the present
Limited only by what tomorrow will bring.

Happiness vs Joy

No matter how hard you try, you cannot make someone else happy. Happiness is state of being solely dependent on the person themselves. If someone does not want to be happy, they will succeed in their unhappiness.

Happiness is the quality of being happy; content. It is a reaction to positive aspects in one's environment; the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. Joy is the result of a right relationship with God not dependent on one's circumstance or efforts.

One can have joy in the midst of undesirable circumstance because unlike happiness, joy is not conditioned on whether or nor aspects of your life are desirable. Rather, joy is dependent on a relationship with God who is the source of all good things. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. A person can experience joy while in the depths of difficulty. That doesn't mean they are pleased to be going through the difficulty. It means they are focused on that which is above rather than that which is below. It means they have an eternal perspective rather than a temporal perspective.

Does that mean every believer experiences joy in their life. No! It means every believer has the capacity within them to experience joy. Such capacity is always available. The question is has it been utilized? The Psalmist wrote, "In Your presence is fullness of joy." Jesus told the apostles, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."

Joy is more than freedom from pain and temporary contentment. It is intimacy with God.

Priorities

There are so many things to do its hard to figure out which to do first. Normally the first to get done is the one that will relieve the most pressure. It sure seems like its the most important. But is that the one that should top the priority list? To whom is it most important? What purpose will it fulfill? What are the consequences if left undone?

Its only natural to rank priorities in the order that will best serve the individuals purpose. Often that means performing a task that is menial to the detriment of something more meritorious. How does one go about determining the juxtaposition of daily events?

Solomon dealt with this issue in Ecclesiastes. He first established that everything had a season. "A time for every purpose under heaven." He then turns from the temporal to the eternal. "He [God] made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from the beginning to end." God has put eternity in the hearts of His creation. Man was made for eternity.

Everything Solomon spoke of as having a season he regards as temporal. Solomon offers two perspectives, the temporal and the eternal. Man was made for eternity while everything else was made for time. If that is true, then nothing in time can truly satisfy man. The only thing that can satisfy man is that which is eternal.

This eternal perspective sheds a different light on any list of priorities. The apostle Paul said "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth." When determining priorities the eternal perspective is the only one that really matters.

New Beginnings

A new year has dawned and new adventures await. It could be the same old adventures just repackaged to look new. Or it could be new and improved adventures with little or no similarity to past years. Or it could be misadventures that take center stage. The beauty of the future is we just don't know what adventures will occur, which ones will be exciting, and which ones won't.

If we could live in the present yet know the future, we might avoid the misadventures and revel in the new. But alas, we can't. We must live in the present and hope for positive results in the future.


Isn't that really a better scenario? There would be no adventure in knowing the outcome of the future. It would be like watching reruns on television. There would be nothing new or innovative. Instead it would be the same routine everyday much like the Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day.
Sooner or later that lifestyle would breed contempt.


Spontaneity, a touch of the unknown, and a dose of diversity make for an exciting lifestyle. Live life for the adventure. Don't miss the excitement of not knowing the outcome.