The Puzzle, January 1, 2010
The 2010 Kit
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10
That’s the scripture reference the world saw, emblazoned below the eyes of one of the most talented, most disciplined and most godly quarterbacks ever to play college football, Tim Tebow, as he played his final college game for the Florida Gators. To say he did well in it would be an understatement. He set five Sugar Bowl records and snagged MVP honors on the way to a win over previously undefeated Cincinnati. His passing and rushing for the game added up to 533 yards. Good grief! The scripture references on the cheekbones have been standard fare for a long time. So has the lifestyle to match the scripture. Even his critics haven’t found holes in Tebow’s witness. There are high hopes for an NFL career, but whatever happens, if Tim Tebow keeps living for the Lord, his future is really, really bright.
But then, so is ours. I haven’t noticed any NFL recruiters lurking around, lately (or ever), and I seriously doubt if painting Bible references on my face would help, seeing as I wasn’t even draft material for grade school recess, back in my prime. Now if they had a reverse draft where you paid someone not to be on your team, I might have qualified for that one! No matter. God has a plan for each of us, including the athletically challenged.
It’s like a kit, individually prepared for us, labeled 2010. What’s in the 2010 kit? All the resources we will need. Specific instructions. Technical support. Good works, prepared in advance for us to do, with our individual talents in mind. Some assembly is required, so we’ll get to use our imagination and faith and stuff, but it’s all there—everything we’ll need to have a really great 2010. It’s not “one-size-fits-all,” but custom-made for us. We can always trust God for a perfect fit.
This whole year is lined out for us. There are good works prepared with our name on them. Resources wait in the wings. Someone created us for what lies just ahead. He’s the One who will guide and strengthen us as we go forward in His name. It’s all there, everything we need.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Pick up your kit and walk.
Dave Ness
The Puzzle, January 4, 2010
God’s Alarm System
Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned?
Proverbs 6:27
I like the story of a pastor and parishioner outside a small country church, pounding a hand-lettered sign into the ground. A motorist in a gleaming sports car pulls up to read the sign, which states, “The end is near. Turn yourself around before it’s too late!” The man in the car yells at the pair, “You religious nuts! Why can’t you just mind your own business and leave everybody alone?” as he peels out, scattering gravel behind him. Seconds later, the pastor and his helper hear more screeching of tires, followed by a big splash. The layman turns to his minister and says, “Pastor, do you think maybe we oughta just have the sign say, “Bridge Out”?
Warnings come in many varieties, some of them a little unclear. The greater dangers earn the most urgent, most oft-repeated warnings. So what would it say to us when God would warn us of something over and over and over? Do you know how many times the Bible warns of the dangers of the same thing in the first seven chapters of Proverbs? Seventy times. What is the deadly danger which would merit 70 warnings from God in just seven chapters? Adultery. Entire chapters (5 & 7) are devoted to the dangers and tragedy of adultery. Seventy warning verses are issued. Hmm. Must be serious. Reading through Proverbs 5-7 will confirm what could easily be guessed: This sin is a ticket to absolute disaster.
I like the way God doesn’t just post a bunch of warning signs and leave it at that, though. He breaks down this sin, telling us how it works as well as the outcome, gives revealing information as to what to look for. He’s trying to save us from tragedy. We would do well to pay attention, particularly if we think this is one temptation we’d never fall for.
God, in His wisdom, starts with prevention: Scripture knowledge. Familiarizing ourselves thoroughly with the scripture is like setting up a temptation alarm system. For the person who has immersed himself in God’s truth, anything contradictory is pretty easily discerned. It just doesn’t look or sound right, because it isn’t. Scripture knowledge stored in the mind and heart has a way of kicking out and identifying temptations as they arrive, tipping off the person wise enough to equip himself with God’s alarm system.
Two more great preventive tools? Guarding our hearts (keeping our affections under control) and guarding our relationships (being careful to nurture our marriage). The enemy of our souls has a hard time penetrating a three-part defense system composed of Bible knowledge, guarded heart, thriving marriage.
Dave Ness
The Puzzle, January 5, 2010
Caught By an Eyelash
Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;
Proverbs 6:25
“Her” is an aspiring adulteress, usually not all that beautiful, who makes effective use of smooth speech, boldness and, oh yes, eyelashes (not even real) to bag her prey. Not only are the eyelashes not real; neither is the professed love or the promised ability to keep everything discreet. It turns out none of it is real except the pain. Sigh. Another family ruined. Caught by an eyelash? Pathetic.
The target of Satan’s adultery attack is the man who thinks he’s smart, and who would like to think he’s attractive to women. An outline of the method used provides some really helpful warning signs, should we choose to note them for our own safety. A whole chapter of “pickup lines to look out for” is Proverbs 7. Read the chapter carefully, but here’s the basic script:
This is safe. The bold approach of the adulteress lays his greatest fear–rejection, to rest. She grabs him and kisses him in public! She describes her boudoir and her husband’s itinerary (won’t be back for weeks). We don’t even have to do anything wrong. I just want you to see my room. No one will know. It’s safe.
I am attracted to you. It’s the attraction of attraction. She says she came
out to find not just anyone, but him! How amazing. Somehow she can see how special he is. She is almost uncontrollably attracted to him. She openly admires him. It may be the most admiration he’s received in years. He’s still got it! This person sees him as he wants to see himself: Smart, strong, attractive to women.
I’m a spiritual person, so this is O.K. The woman reports she is returning from offering sacrifice, which means two things: (1) She’s spiritual. (2) Leftover steak. Steak plus spirituality must mean this whole thing is O.K. with God, too!
I am totally available. Once again, fear of rejection is neutralized. She talks of “love till morning” and there’s no mistaking what she means, she uses plenty of smooth speech to prepare the way, then she finally just blurts out a raw proposition, in case he’s so dense he has missed all the more subtle clues.
What will a smart, strong, married man do?
Dave Ness
The Puzzle, January 6, 2010
All At Once
With much seductive speech she persuades him;
with her smooth talk she compels him.
All at once he follows her,
as an ox goes to the slaughter,
or as a stag is caught fast
till an arrow pierces its liver,
as a bird rushes into a snare;
he does not know that it will cost him his life.
Proverbs 7:21-23
How bad could this be? What could be the harm? After all, her husband is gone for a long time, so he’ll never know. I don’t have to fear rejection, because it’s obvious she’s already crazy about me. She has leftover steak and I really would like to see that bedroom she’s talking about. It all sounds interesting and exciting, plus she likes me for me! She finds me attractive—irresistible, in fact. She’s been looking for me all day. It’s like this is meant to be! I won’t do anything wrong. I’ll stop before I cross the line and do something immoral. I won’t do anything stupid. Right now, I’m just enjoying the attention. It’s nice to be sincerely admired. It’s been a long time since I felt that way. Here is this beautiful woman who thinks I’m smart and handsome! And since I’m a mature, spiritual person, I won’t do anything I’ll regret—but even if I did, we wouldn’t get caught, because she said it’s safe and I know she would never tell. Nice eyelashes.
And the way she talks! Especially when she says my name. She thinks I’m great. She’s a spiritual person, too, but she’s also kind of wild and exciting. She’s crazy about me. She needs me. She wants me to see her bedroom and smell the perfume. In order to do that, I’d have to be there. She just said she’s ready for a night of real love. She just kissed me.
I’ll just humor her, go have a look at her place, and then head home.
Snap.
Didn’t see that coming.
The idea of a trap is that the prey will be totally unaware of its presence until it’s too late. All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter,... He does not know that it will cost him his life.
By the time he saw the sign, it was too late. Why would there be 70 warnings in Proverbs 1-7 about a sin smart, spiritual people would never fall for?
Dave Ness
The Puzzle, January 7, 2010
What’s Behind the Signs
With much seductive speech she persuades him;
with her smooth talk she compels him.
Proverbs 7:21
Today we wrap up the fourth day on the subject of avoiding adultery. These warnings are straight out of God’s Word, not my personal experience. The reason they are in the scripture is because if we heed them, it need never become our personal experience! Just like reviewing the signs is a good idea before taking the driver’s test, we would do well to look again at the warning signs in Proverbs 6-7. But we have to pay close attention! The signs are presented from Satan’s angle— what he promises—wonderful opportunities—but lead to disaster, instead. When we realize what’s behind the signs, Satan’s invitations become our warnings.
Don’t forget the delivery system: Seductive speech, smooth words. It doesn’t sound like temptation at all, just an invitation to real love. The longer we listen, the harder it is to see what’s behind the signs. Here are three signs we need to heed—by going the opposite direction! These may not look like warning signs, but we could use them to stop adultery from ruining our lives.
Warning Sign #1: Dangerous Attraction Ahead. We don’t have the ability to prevent temptations, but we get to choose where our mind will dwell. Inappropriate attractions, coming and going, need to be starved in the mind. Guard the heart by disciplining the mind. Flattery does not dissolve wedding bands. Gushing admiration for you does not make you a better person. Avoiding forbidden attractions does.
Warning Sign #2: Nothing to Fear. The sign says you need not fear rejection or discovery, and there will be no ill consequences. Behind the sign lurks reality, and
every one of the things you weren’t supposed to have to fear.
Warning Sign #3: Chance of a Lifetime. All the doors are open. Maybe this was meant to be. It was—by Satan. None of this is “chance”—it’s pre-arranged, the beautiful person is the bait, and it’s a battle for your soul. Who will win?
If you’re ignoring the signs, here’s one last warning before the cliff: What if this was the absolute last thing you ever did and tomorrow you face God? Still a good idea?
Dave Ness
The Puzzle, January 11, 2010
Looking for Fools
Does not wisdom call?
Does not understanding raise her voice?
To you, O men, I call,
and my cry is to the children of man.
O simple ones, learn prudence;
O fools, learn sense.
Proverbs 8:1,4-5
It’s not easy to get into some colleges. The percentage of applicants accepted into some prestigious universities is quite small, limited to only the best of the best. All others must go elsewhere, or stay home.
Then there is God’s wisdom. The school of God’s wisdom is “open enrollment”—He lets anybody in! In fact, God’s wisdom actively recruits simple people. Fools get a full ride! God’s wisdom calls out, pleading for the children of man to learn from their Creator the vast wisdom He has for them—all we could want. Ivy league universities look for outstanding scholars; God looks for fools.
The point is, once we begin to learn from God, we’re no longer a fool. The simple don’t stay simple for long. Why? I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. (Prov. 8:17) In the context of Proverbs 8, this promise is being given by “wisdom,” though I and others have preached it as if the same promise applied to God Himself. I think both interpretations are correct. If we love and seek wisdom, we’ll find it—guaranteed—no matter what our transcript has looked like, up to now. And if we seek God, He always makes sure we find Him. The whole idea of salvation is people no longer lost, but found, because they found God. Jesus came to save us—He won’t leave us floundering in darkness.
In God’s Kingdom, sinners get saved because they trusted in Jesus, and fools become as wise as they ever wanted to be because they sought out God’s truth. Such a deal! I love God’s Kingdom! I love God, too. He doesn’t just love me back; He loved me, first. I’ve been accepted into the school of His wisdom.
I’m trying to learn what God calls prudence and sense. I’m trying to choose wisdom over gold, jewels and junk. I’m going by His promise that if I love wisdom and seek it, I’ll find it. According to the Bible, even the fool can become as wise as he wants to be, if he diligently seeks wisdom. God’s wisdom is the way to blessing. It’s more desirable than riches, yet brings riches.
Accepted by grace into the School of God’s Wisdom, and loving it, here!
Dave Ness
The Puzzle, January 12, 2010
Wisdom in Daily Doses
And now, O sons, listen to me:
blessed are those who keep my ways.
Hear instruction and be wise,
and do not neglect it.
Blessed is the one who listens to me,
watching daily at my gates,
waiting beside my doors.
For whoever finds me finds life
and obtains favor from the LORD,
but he who fails to find me injures himself;
all who hate me love death.
Proverbs 8:32-36
What will it be? Daily blessings or injury and death? Hmm. That shouldn’t be a really hard choice, yet people make it all the time. How? By ignoring God’s offered wisdom and choosing their own (stupid) path.
Once again, God’s wisdom calls out to any who will listen, offering favor from the LORD and blessings, not just temporal but eternal. All we have to do is seek God’s wisdom on a daily basis, with the guarantee from God that we will find it, and we are eternally blessed!
It does take some discipline, though. “Daily” is something generally reserved for only the things in life we consider most important. When it comes to second-tier stuff, even “occasional” is pretty good. And for the things we don’t like to do at all (such as taxes), annual is about all we can muster, unless we have no choice. But we do have a choice when it comes to God’s wisdom. We can listen, we can hear instruction and be wise, or we can hate wisdom and suffer the consequences. It’s a daily battle, with daily rewards and punishments, depending on our choices. Ultimately, the stakes are eternal.
We get to choose whether we are among those who find life or those who love death. It depends on what we do with God’s wisdom, whether we seek it and listen to Him or hate wisdom and only injure ourselves.
How do we obtain this wisdom, again? There are a bunch of action verbs in this passage that tip us off: Listen (twice). Hear. Watch. Wait. Keep. Find. If we will point our lives in God’s direction and do these things on a daily basis, wisdom is guaranteed. So is eternal life. Only a true fool would go the other direction. Right?
Dave Ness
The Puzzle, January 13, 2010
Boot Camp: The Movie
And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Mark 8:34
Boot camp is one of those experiences in life which has passed me by. But I’ve heard about it. Most of what I’ve heard about this long-held military tradition is that (A) It’s not fun, and (B) It’s not optional.
What if they did boot camp differently? What if, instead of having to participate in midnight marches, obstacle courses, etc., recruits could substitute “exposure” to the various unpleasantries? For example, instead of having to endure crawling through the mud with a full pack and a rifle as a drill sergeant screamed at us, what if we could just listen to lectures about how bad boot camp is, or maybe pop in a DVD about what we were supposed to learn? Who would choose the real thing, if we got to pick between the mud and the mud movie? We could watch other people’s experiences at boot camp, try to identify with them, then come back next week and view another boot camp message or testimony.
But then, suppose we got shipped off to Afghanistan. Our lives might often depend on the soldiering qualities of the person next to us. If we had our choice, would we rather be teamed up with the guy who had gone through the rugged weeks of actual training, or the one who had just watched the instructional video? And how happy is he going to be to find that we are his new partner?
Boot camp will never be fun; that’s not the idea. Neither will it ever do its job if boot camp is relegated to just the over-achievers, and everyone else can skip it or listen to a lecture, instead. The idea of boot camp is that everyone in an army will have gone through the same training, training which gives them the best chance at survival and victory, in an arena where the bullets are real and mistakes are fatal. In a battle, unprepared soldiers are more of a hazard to their own side than they are to the enemy. That’s why boot camp is not optional. If you’re going to be in the army, you do the training. Period.
So how did boot camp become optional, in the Church in America? By “boot camp,” I’m referring to the kind of discipleship of which Jesus spoke when addressing would-be followers. He gave them the low-down: Self-denial is expected. Discipleship is not an option, but a requirement. There is no part-time discipleship. If you’re signing up to be a disciple, you’re issued a cross, if that tells you anything. It won’t all be fun. But you can’t be useful in the Kingdom unless you’re a disciple. Disciples pick up their cross and follow Jesus. All of them.
Dave Ness
The Puzzle, January 14, 2010
Back to Boot Camp
Jesus never shied away from talking about hardship, suffering and death, including His own, when it came to recruiting would-be disciples. He never offered on-line courses on discipleship where people could nod through a few videos, pass a quiz and suddenly become a certified “disciple.” Choosing to follow Jesus was a very serious thing involving total commitment and, often, heavy consequences.
Is the Jesus-level of discipleship the same one expected of Christians in America, today? I’m not seeing it. This is “church,” for many people: Come, sit in a pew, listen to people talk about prayer, about service, about studying God’s Word. Next week, you do the same thing. Forty years in the same pew, and you still don’t know how to pray! Never had to. It was never really expected. Just keep coming, and please keep giving. Serve on some committees. You ought to be exposed to the ideas of sacrifice, self-discipline and self-denial, but it’s all optional. Boot camp is not a requirement. Why would you need to endure boot camp in order to sit in a pew? That could make you hate church! Instead, people hate church because they figure out they’ll never be expected to use what little they’ve learned, anyway, so why bother with it?
It’s no wonder so many people are completely turned off to the idea of “church” or even of Christianity. Why would they get excited about being “exposed” to spiritual things and concepts they were never really expected to use?
It would be like studying a foreign language, week after week, when you know you’ll never get to use it.
Wouldn’t people have a different attitude about the whole deal, if they knew that what was going on was vital preparation for something important, and that it required their full participation, or it didn’t even count? As in, “a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is not some kind of an option to be left for seminary students or ‘that kind of people’—it’s expected of everyone who considers themselves a follower of Jesus Christ, regardless of age or station in life.”
Sure, you’d immediately hear from the “we’re saved by faith, not by works” bunch—who are theologically correct and sometimes also the last people to ever be caught working—but we might point out that it doesn’t cost you anything to join the army, either—you get in for free!—and the first thing they do is send you to boot camp and make you miserable, before you get to do anything else at all.
We’ve got a bunch of Christians who tease themselves with thinking God will use them for some important stuff (and only important stuff), when they have repeatedly refused to allow themselves to be herded into anything resembling boot camp, in order to be prepared to be useful. Disciples need boot camp. All of them.
Dave Ness
The Puzzle, January 18, 2010
The Way of Insight
Wisdom has built her house;
she has hewn her seven pillars.
She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.
She has sent out her young women to call
from the highest places in the town,
“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
To him who lacks sense she says,
“Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
Leave your simple ways, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.”
Proverbs 9:1-6
Here it is—yet another invitation to wisdom. This time it’s presented as a noble woman who has prepared a wonderful feast for whoever wants to come. She specifically invites the “simple.” Were it not for the specific invitation, the simple would naturally assume they were not welcome, seeing as how they are so frequently disqualified, considered incapable and shunned. The simple and the ones who lack sense are more than welcome at God’s table of wisdom.
It’s an aggressive invitation. No RSVP is required—just come! Wisdom didn’t wait to see if we were interested before preparing a wonderful spread for us. Here it is—the table was set before we even decided to come! This is not a bread and water maintenance deal—it’s fresh meat; wholesome, good bread; the best of drink.
It’s an invitation to a new way of living. Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight. Wow! What an invitation!
“The way of insight” is the way God would have us to live. When we come toward the Lord, “insight” kicks in, immediately. We are given real life, eternal life. There is a veritable feast of wisdom prepared for us. We have all the answers we need!
The invitation is there, for all of us. Wouldn’t you like to walk in the way of insight instead of stumbling around in darkness? Me, too! God’s wisdom keeps calling out to us: “Come on! I have the answers for you!” God has sent out a search party for us, to lead us out of darkness into His light. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to leave simple ways behind and walk in the way of insight? We have our invitation.
Dave Ness
The Puzzle, January 19, 2010
For Wise Men Only
Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
Proverbs 9:7-9
Here’s the quick, easy way to discern between the wise man and the scoffer: Will they accept constructive criticism? The wise man doesn’t enjoy criticism any more than the next person, but their ultimate response is to appreciate and love the person who helped them. The scoffer rejects, out of hand, any and all criticism as invalid, regardless of how gently it may be delivered. The deliverer is perceived as hostile and added to a long list of enemies. End of story.
Should we or shouldn’t we? What is to be gained? Before giving reproof, we should analyze the situation. Will this correction result in something positive or just tick someone off who will reject the help, anyway? If there is no positive outcome which can be envisioned, why say anything?
What are we dealing with, here? Are we reproving a scoffer or a wise person? If it’s a scoffer, we’d best skip it. If it’s a wise person, we should proceed, lovingly and only under the Spirit’s direction. Gently.
We need to use discernment. God is not saying, “Don’t ever get involved. Just leave people alone.” What He is saying is to use discernment before proceeding. Will this person receive correction, to everyone’s benefit? If we have something helpful and loving to share, we should deliver it, as respectfully and gently as possible. They will love us for it, later. If this is the type of individual who collects enemies everywhere they go, who listens to no one, who automatically gets defensive and mean whenever confronted, we should save our breath. It won’t help them, and it won’t help us, either. Discern the difference, and proceed accordingly.
Oh. One more thing: Criticism is not a spiritual gift. Discernment is.
Discernment needs to be applied to ourselves, too: How do I respond to correction? Do I defend myself, automatically rejecting anything I perceive as criticism? Or do I try to hear what they’re saying? Am I willing to receive a reproof as a gift from God, or do I demonize anyone who disagrees with me? A wise man can be corrected; a scoffer, no. I want to be a wise man.
Dave Ness
The Puzzle, January 20, 2010
Is This a Test?
Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. John 6:5-10
It didn’t sound like a test to Philip, just a bad idea. He tried to help Jesus by reasoning Him back to reality. “Even if we had the money, which we don’t, it wouldn’t be enough to make a difference. Forget it.” Case closed.
Philip’s approach is mimicked by the Church in America, often: “We don’t have enough.” “We can’t do it. Why try?” The Church in America peers out across a global landscape littered with human need, counts up resources and concludes, “Not our problem. We could put everything we had toward it, and it wouldn’t even make a dent. We don’t even have enough to take care of our own. Forget it.”
The world goes on, Christless. Churches await sufficient resources to supply internal needs and wants, assuming the someday excess will be used to do outreach or save for a rainy day. The harvest rots, along with the Church’s reputation. My friend Carl Cady says, “Vision precedes provision.” He ought to know. Years ago, he founded a relief organization meeting the needs of thousands in Indonesia. International Friends of Compassion (ifcus.org) continues to accomplish amazing things, because people caught the vision. Vision precedes provision.
Many churches in America aim no higher than keeping the doors open. Interest is confined to the church membership. Other people’s needs? “Not our problem.” The vision never extends to what can be done to serve the community, or lead people to Christ, or even to adequately address the needs of the congregation; the “ministry” is a position to be filled, the church is a building, and
the “vision” is to maintain the building, support the pastor (kinda) and run some programs to make people think it’s all important. It’s sad!
What if hundreds of churches across America had a vision that said, “God is making it our responsibility to see that these people get fed! Sure, we don’t have the resources or the money, but we’re going to take what we do have and bring it to Jesus, then just serve, and make sure we don’t waste any of His provision.
Our current situation. Is this another one of God’s bad ideas? Or a test?
Dave Ness
The Puzzle, January 21, 2010
Jesus and the Highway Patrol
When I look in the Bible, every time someone checks with God about something, they get it right—God makes sure they do! I’ve also found that to be true in my own life. Every single time I’ve checked with God about something— anything—I’ve found what I needed, in the way of guidance. I’ve never been disappointed in the path I’ve taken, if I checked with God, first. Nearly every time I’ve made a major error in judgment or in attitude, that error was based on an assumption, which I later found to be erroneous. There have been many times in my life when I didn’t know what to do, but God showed me because I asked; the times when I’ve gotten off the path were usually when I felt I didn’t need to consult God, because I thought I already knew the answer to that one.
Assumptions generally start with truth, then keep going even after the truth runs out. It’s like those cartoons where the coyote chases the roadrunner from solid ground out off the cliff, then looks down to find he’s once again, standing on thin air. We start out with solid ground—stuff like “God loves me.” But then we keep going: “God loves me” (solid); “therefore, He wants me to be happy” (not so solid—He seems to be more concerned about me being good than being happy); “therefore, this thing I really want to do has to be His will, since it makes me happy” (There’s now a lot of fresh air under our feet).
By the time we’ve stepped out onto the clear blue sky, we’re able to do the mental gymnastics to justify pretty much anything. For instance, this is how it works with adultery: “God loves me, He wants me to be happy, she makes me happy and my wife doesn’t, so this must be O.K. with God.” See how easy that is? We look down and get that weird look on our face a split second before the gravity of sin kicks in, and we find ourselves in freefall. Unlike Wile E. Coyote, we don’t just get up after we splat against the canyon floor. It takes Jesus to begin to put the pieces back together, again.
That was a more extreme example of the hazards of assumption; most of the time, we’ll be dealing with more mundane scenarios. However, it’s the routine assumptions which cause us to drop our guard and not recognize that we’ve passed the point of solid ground. Remember another cartoon character, Mr. MaGoo? The guy always drove around with his eyes closed, oblivious to near-disasters every second or so. When he somehow made it through, the line was always the same. He’d chuckle and say, “Mr. MaGoo, you’ve done it, again!” Some of us treat God’s grace the same way. Our guardian angels drop to their faces in exhaustion, and we proudly announce, “Mr. MaGoo, you’ve done it, again!”
Jesus and the Highway Patrol would like us to drive with our eyes open.
Dave Ness
The Puzzle, January 22, 2010
A Long Way from the Cliff
Everyday assumptions we make?
-“God really does want me to be happy, so that justifies...”
-“It’s an open door, so it must be from God!” (Question: Is God the only one who knows how to open doors?”)
-“Since this worked well the last time I did it, God must want me to do the same thing, again.”
-“I’m valuable to God, so of course, He would never put me on the bench, or tell me to wait. He wants me in the game!”
-“This doesn’t make sense to me, so it can’t be from God.”
See the subtleness of assumptions? Years ago, a minister friend informed me I was throwing my life away to remain in a small town, pastoring a small church. Someone I respected appreciated my abilities! In my mind, I built on the assumptions. Watch the progression from solid ground to nothing:
-“God has given me a calling and spiritual gifts.” (Solid)
-“God doesn’t waste anything.” (Solid)
-(My friend thinks) “I’m wasting my life in this town.” (Not-so-solid. It wasn’t my friend who called me to the town; it was God, in a wonderful answer to prayer).
-“Since God doesn’t waste anything, and my talents are being wasted in this town, that means that God will move me to a place where I can shine for Him!” (Thin air. God got off, back at “doesn’t waste anything.”)
Within a year’s time, I had myself basically asking God, “O.K., God, where do you want me in the limelight?”
How did limelight get in there? Assumption. After all, what else would God do with a rising star He would never waste?! My Heavenly Father made it pretty clear to me that it was He who had called me into ministry, He who had placed me in that small town, and He who had the right to leave me there for the rest of my life if He wanted, seeing as how this whole thing had nothing to do with my “career,” “limelight,” or anything else but His will! He graciously put me in my place, and I got down to work, instead of peering over the fence. Within several years, God placed me in a church over twice the size of the one I was pastoring, in a much larger city. There was no question who had done the moving.
Obedience is what counts. If God wants us on the bench for forty years, it wouldn’t be the first time He’s done it! We need to drop the assumptions. They get us into trouble. Let’s build a long way from the cliff.
Dave Ness
The Puzzle, January 25, 2010
Hell’s Best Commercials
The woman Folly is loud;
she is seductive and knows nothing.
She sits at the door of her house;
she takes a seat on the highest places of the town,
calling to those who pass by,
who are going straight on their way,
“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
And to him who lacks sense she says,
“Stolen water is sweet,
and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
But he does not know that the dead are there,
that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
Proverbs 9:13-18
The Superbowl features not only the top teams in the NFL for the year, but also the best commercials—or at least, the most expensive. Corporations cough up millions for a few seconds’ worth of product face time. The hope is for a clever, well-done commercial to capture the interest of would-be customers, the end result being sales in the stratosphere. Sometimes it works that way.
Evil advertises, too. Satan continually campaigns to lure the simple off the straight path and into an eternal pit. For those who don’t believe in his existence, it just makes it that much easier—the message comes across as enlightened and sincere, when it’s nothing but a string of loudly proclaimed falsehoods.
Satan’s aggressive ad campaign targets those who lack sense but wish to be smart. He appeals to basic desires with empty promises, going on the assumption that if one says something long enough and loud enough, it will be believed by the simple, even if it defies all logic. Unfortunately, this strategy works. Think of how it works with beer commercials. Show beer, athletes and beautiful women together long enough, and the connection is made: Drink beer, you’ll be a better athlete and beautiful women will be attracted to you. Prove that one!
“Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” “Sweet.” “Pleasant.” Well, if he says so!... How would a person know that what really lies
behind Door Number Two are the stacked body bags of suckers who believed this garbage? When we swallow the devil’s assumptions and let him lure us off the straight path onto one of his shortcuts, we shouldn’t be surprised to drop through a trapdoor to hell. It’s advertising, baby. Buyer beware.
Dave Ness
The Puzzle, January 26, 2010
What Causes Poverty
A wise son makes a glad father,
but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.
Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,
but righteousness delivers from death.
The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry,
but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
A slack hand causes poverty,
but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
He who gathers in summer is a prudent son,
but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.
Proverbs 10:1-5
What causes poverty? Oh, there have been and are plenty of theories, but at least one major cause of poverty is spelled out in Proverbs 10:4: A slack hand causes poverty,... A slack hand? Laziness. Laziness causes poverty. Wickedness and foolishness are big contributors, too.
Do you mean that government aid or charity will not stamp out poverty among people who are lazy, wicked and foolish? Um, yeah. The way out, according to the Bible, is for people to turn toward God, seek His wisdom and work hard. It’s a simple plan: Righteousness, wisdom and diligence, one which can’t be forced upon unwilling citizens by a government. It works pretty well for parents, though, which is why the difference between sorrow and gladness for parents is how wise their offspring turned out to be.
Teaching those young ones diligence and righteousness pays off big-time. Letting them sleep through harvest and learn to be lazy is not showing them love! The loving thing to do is teach them to work and to have a healthy fear for the Lord. In doing so, we’re preventing entire generations of poverty!
Sorry to burst anyone’s bubble in an election year, but parents have a great deal more to do with stamping out poverty than any government official ever could. Parents are able not only to provide for their children through diligent labor; they are able to guide their children into being the kind of members of society who bounce to the top like basketballs held underwater. How? By training those hands to not be slack, by overruling the excuses for why they need the sleep when it’s time to work or to attend worship services. (There aren’t many “born workers;” they are instead “shaped.”) If you want “rich” kids, just teach them to work hard and love and serve God. They’ll become “rich” kids, with proud parents.
Dave Ness
The Puzzle, January 27, 2010
Nervous Salvation
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:35-40
As a young kid striving to be a Christian, I was really nervous about my salvation. The good part was that it kept me on a pretty short leash with God. I couldn’t go to sleep with unconfessed sin in my life! What if Jesus sneaked back and grabbed His Church while I was snoozing and I awakened as a lonely 10-year-old on a post-Rapture planet? What then? Better go get Mom to pray with me. I needed to make sure I was a real Christian, forgiven and everything, before I could relax and go to sleep. After multiple late-night episodes of getting her son saved all over again, she finally told me to quit listening to the devil after 10 o’clock. It worked. I don’t think I ever bugged her again about my salvation.
The cool thing I learned about salvation security was in 1 John 1:7: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. I don’t need to itemize and process sins before bed? No. All I have to do is come into the Light, open and honest before Him. He deals with all my sin. He makes clear what I am to do, if anything, and I obey. There is constant peace in the Light. We’re free from Rapture anxiety and all its cousins. Mom gets more sleep.
Whoever comes to me I will never cast out. Now, there’s a promise! If you want to be saved, you will be! The only way to “lose” such a great salvation is to never accept it in the first place or to change our mind about serving God and consistently and insistently reject Him and His commands. Even then, God’s hand is extended toward us for as long as we live. It’s not too late to look to the Son! God’s will is that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life. Everyone who looks to Jesus and who wants to be saved, will be. This includes nervous 10-yr-olds. If we put our trust in Him, we are absolutely secure. Jesus has never lost one, yet. Nervous salvation is still salvation, but salvation with peace is even better. One more thing: This offer still applies after 10 P.M.
Dave Ness
The Puzzle, January 28, 2010 (Original, 2005)
First Resort
“Americans always do the right thing—after they’ve tried everything else.”
Winston Churchill
In the Church in America, we’ve tried everything else. We’ve tried every flavor of church growth there is. We’ve been to more seminars and conferences than we can remember, dutifully toting home yet another plastic notebook from each one, to add to the pile of sure-fire solutions that, for us, always seem to mis-fire. We’ve tried it all! What we didn’t try, we intended to. Still, no revival. Oh, once in a while, we hear of a flame, somewhere, and everybody hops on a plane to go see where God is hanging out, these days, in the desperate hope that a little of it might rub off on us and be brought home to the folks, but the whole process is like trying to haul water from the ocean, in your hand.
Face it. In the search for revival where we live, we’ve been all over the map, looking for answers.
We’ve tried everything else.
It’s time for prayer.
If you’re a pastor and you want to be alone, the best way to do it is to announce a prayer meeting for that time! If all you’re planning to do is talk to God, and there’s nothing else on the agenda, a majority of Christians will suddenly recall a conflict in their schedule.
And we’re going to have revival, huh? Another Great Awakening. All of this supernatural spiritual power is going to come from... what? Another mega-church conference? A denominational push, orchestrated by headquarters? A big-name evangelist taking the country by storm? Yet another clever witnessing technique or pre-packaged church-growth kit, marketed with everything but action figures?
The revival we need will exhibit greater power and pull than anything we’ve seen in our lifetimes, on a national scale. What is going to be the source of that power? It won’t be a plastic notebook, I can tell you. It will be God, of course. But we’re going to have this great revival, and not even have to ask Him for it? We can forget the 2 Chronicles 7:14 thing of humbling ourselves and seeking His face, so He will heal our land? We’ll have a revival that will sweep the nation, and we don’t even need to go through the door of repentance, in order to get it?! Cool. Why didn’t somebody think of this, sooner?
Of course, we need to pray! Since 100% of the power of a genuine revival comes straight from God, maybe we’d better start, there! I happen to think that if enough of us check in with Him, we’ll get what we want and need.
Dave Ness
The Puzzle, January 29, 2010 (Adapted from original, 2005)
Alone and Together
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5
We can attack problems with all our resources and skill, and without a connection to Jesus Christ, all we’ll have to show for it at the end of the day is exactly what Jesus said we’d be able to do without Him: Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Unconnected branches are good for nothing but firewood. When we pray, we are connected with the Vine. If we pray, we’ll be fruitful. If we don’t, we won’t. Our mission probably won’t stop at prayer, but if it doesn’t begin there, it will be fruitless.
“O.K., so we start with prayer. What else?”
Not so fast. We always say that! We give lip-service to prayer, then resume our agenda and do what we intended, all along! If we really want revival, prayer will not be just an invocation before jumping into our own plans. Prayer is going to be how we get the plan, how we monitor it, how we gauge our success.
How do we go about this? Alone and together.
The prayer life of the average American Christian is woefully lacking. Little time devoted to prayer, little passion. The average pastor isn’t ahead by much, if at all. Once you cut out the “invocation”–type prayers that are pronounced over meals and sick people and offering plates, the average pastors’ prayer life can then be measured in minutes per day—sometimes in seconds!
Prayer alone. Solitary prayer is key. I’m talking about absolute transparency before God, talking, listening, confessing, asking questions, receiving correction and instruction. Is it important? Without it, there is no revival.
Then there is Prayer Together. Jesus said that “where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (Mt 18:20) What happens when two or more are gathered in His name?
First of all, we gather! Mutual commitment overcomes our mutual inertia. We said we would do it, and we did, because we made a promise to one another.
Second, we encourage one another. Faith increases with numbers, as we look around and realize we are not alone! There is a synergy of faith.
The load becomes lighter, as both burdens and victories are shared. We focus more, and are not so easily taken off task, when praying with others.
I long to see revival in America. It begins with prayer, alone and together.
Dave Ness
Puzzle Archives
Servant Connection, P.O. Box 1747, Longview, WA 98632
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