Eat The Honey

Eat honey.  Why?  Because it tastes good, it has healing properties, and it re-energizes you; that’s why.  It is a good analogy for Wisdom, God’s Wisdom in His Word, in many ways. 

These characteristics of honey will show themselves when reading Scripture.  Wisdom’s goodness will satisfy and keep one’s vision sharp, and decisions clear.  

Proverbs 24:13–14 ESV “My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.  Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.”

Its medicinal value is seen in preventing one from following the wrong way, and even providing healing when one has returned from wandering.  On the really positive side, it enlivens your soul and body to do God’s will and mission.

The Analogy

Knowing Wisdom is like eating honey.  You might recall this episode in Prophet Ezekiel’s ministry:

Ezekiel 3:1-3 ESV “And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.”

Wisdom and the Word of God are simply good in themselves.  They bring joy into one’s soul and provides a future and a hope, and such that will never be lost.  The Proverbs make one “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:15)  This is ultimately the “hope that will not be cut off” here in Proverbs 24:14.

You know that studying the Bible just settles well in your soul, you know it is good and can sense it.  You know that hearing the Wisdom of God through your church family brings healing into your life.  You know that attending regularly to the worship and preaching of the Word re-invigorates and gives you life.

So, Eat Honey; It is Good

Did you think that gaining Wisdom was an arduous, dry, even painful task?  

Some think this way, sadly.  Hopefully if you did, you might re-consider that it really is not this way.  Some of us might have fallen back into thinking it is too hard, and we are kept from it and its delicious goodness.

Sometimes we over-complicate the Bible.  And then it is time to return to the basics.  Relax, read, pray, listen and learn.  All one has to do is enjoy eating what is pleasant.  Select a new Bible reading plan for this upcoming year that will be refreshing.  (My favorite app for this:  ReadingPlan.)

Wisdom in the Word of God invigorates us for living life to the fullest and living like this forever!

Identifying Messianic Psalms

The Messianic Psalms are the Psalms that speak about the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Which ones are they?  This question is not as easy to answer as it might seem.

The Usual List

We start by taking note of the Psalms that are quoted in the New Testament.  Then, we add to the list those which, though not quoted, seem to overwhelmingly point to Jesus, nonetheless.  This might be because the language of the Psalm looks beyond its original situation, or Messianic terms are used, or a certain circumstance in the New Testament fits a specific Psalm so well.

Then they are often arranged in two groups, those about His life and those about His Kingship.  And so, we end up with about 21 Messianic Psalms.

Kingly Psalms:  2, 18, 20, 21, 45, 61, 72, 89, 110, 132, 144.
Personal Life Psalms:  8, 16, 22, 35, 40, 41, 55, 69, 102, 109.

The Full List

However, when searching through the Psalms you will start to wonder if this list of 21 is really sufficient.  Remember the teaching of our Lord Jesus Himself in Luke 24:44.

“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

Might it be more accurate to declare that all the Psalms are Messianic?  Although not all are Messianic in the same manner, but in a variety of ways.

The Christ is the ultimate extension of King David in the Psalms.  He Himself is also the ultimate resolution of all human aspirations expressed in the Psalms.  These things being so, the full and final satisfaction of each Psalm will be found only in Jesus Christ.

How To Read the Messianic Psalms

It is easiest and most rewarding to start with the most recognized and celebrated, the list of the most obvious 21.  Give yourself about 30 minutes to spend in each Psalm.

Here are five steps to follow when reading these Psalms:

1. Read through the Psalm from the perspective of the original audience.  Restrain yourself from thinking ahead.  Do this multiple times.
2. Read through the Psalm from the perspective of Messianic fulfillment.  Restrain yourself from going back in history.  Do this multiple times.
3. Stop.  Sit in awe.  Recognize the glory of God and Jesus Christ that the Holy Spirit has revealed to you in His Scripture!
4. Offer up prayers of praise, using the Psalm itself, and even using the New Testament fulfillments you discover along the way.  Take your time and do a lot of this.
5. Recognize the value of the truths to yourself, to your time in Redemptive History.

The Kingdom of God has been inaugurated by the Messiah; it is expanding currently by proclamation of the Gospel; and it soon will be consummated with His reign upon the earth, and then forever in the New Heavens and New Earth!

So, let us give ourselves fully to the Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ!  Missions is for the greater glory of God and Christ in the world now, and the world to come!

Wisdom In Young Adult Children

These two verses in Proverbs 23 talk about every Christian parent’s greatest dream and prayer for their children.  It is a blessing to see it come true.

Possessing Wisdom Blesses Parents

Proverbs 23:15 ESV “My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad.”

This verse talks about the joy that comes to a person when they are wise and live in wisdom.  Beyond that, nothing blesses a father’s or mother’s heart more than godly wisdom in their children, the first signs of it as teenagers, and then moreso as adults themselves.  

They navigate life well for the glory of God in morality, marriage, family, friends, church, world, in finances, life skills, in becoming truly wise, in trials and the hope of eternal life.  These are the major subjects covered throughout the collection of Proverbs. 

Above all they have a healthy vibrant growing relationship with God.  They exhibit a true and abiding spirituality based upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Speaking Wisdom Causes Extreme Joy

Proverbs 23:16 ESV “My inmost being will exult when your lips speak what is right.”

Verse 16 escalates the expression of gladness or joy by referencing (literally) the “kidneys.”  In the Hebrew mindset, it is the kidneys that were the seat of the emotions.  And so, the father here is talking about having the deepest joy possible in his whole being, even throughout his being.  

This is because, knowing our children have wisdom is one level of joy, but seeing them put it in action, even speak publicly to instruct others in wisdom, this is what causes an extreme joy in the inner being of parents!

When we as parents actually hear Wisdom from God spoken by our sons and daughters to others, our hearts are filled with delight.

Taking Pleasure in the Right Desires 

Some of us are currently living in this satisfaction; others of us are working on it and looking forward to it.

If you believe you missed your opportunity, there is still hope because our God pursues young adults to bring them to the point where they realize that, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7)  So, keep on learning yourself, and praying for your adult children.

If you are a teenage son or teenage daughter, it is still proper to desire to please your parents, especially in this matter of displaying wisdom.  So, study the Proverbs; it is for you, as it says in the introduction, “to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth.” (Proverbs 1:4)

If you are a parent, it is proper and right to be filled with delight over your heritage of wisdom gained through your parenting.  And yet there is still so much to learn; Proverbs is for you to study, as the collection’s introduction states, “let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance.” (Proverbs 1:5)

Crafting A First Liturgy

This group of five friends and co-workers were filled with joy after receiving Jesus Christ.  They looked at one another and our team members, and asked with eager expectation, “now what do we do?!”  

They didn’t know any other believers in their small city in southeast Asia.  How were they to worship God together and grow in Christ together?  This is what they wanted to know.  What would you tell them?  How might you help them?

Worship 101

Here is what those creative team members of ours did.  They helped those new believers see themselves as the beginning of a church and helped them craft their first worship service.

The team had to think through all of this from the ground up, looking at Scripture again for themselves.  They were meeting with the new believers the next day in the afternoon  to answer their question, and they had to keep it simple.

They decided to teach on the most basic elements:  prayer, Scripture reading, singing praise to God, teaching the Word, caring and praying for one another.  More involved topics such as the Lord’s Supper, and matters of church life, would need to be covered by national partners later.

Nonetheless, this still would not be as simple a meeting as it might sound.  These new friends didn’t know anything about prayer.  What is prayer?  How do Christians pray?  And when it comes to reading Scripture, let alone studying it together, where should they start?  How will they understand properly?  Singing will be wonderful, but what kind of songs should they sing?  Where will they find the songs and music?

At least the part about sharing their lives, caring for one another, and praying for one another would be easy.

Worship Practicum

The biggest obstacle in all their meetings early that week was the constant distraction of mobile phones.  So, when they wrote out the liturgy for the group it began with the ritual of silencing mobile phones in order to focus on worshipping God and learning from His Word.

The mission team crafted a simple order of worship to follow for now.  They provided the group of new believers with many Scriptures to use and study, and of course Bibles for those who didn’t have one.  

They talked through all the worship ideas together, looking up Scripture passages and learning together by asking and answering questions.  It was a blessed time for all!

Then it was time to do it—how exciting this would be!  This was their very first experience of worshipping God and as a community of believers in Jesus!  So the group of eight, Asians and Americans, worshipped God together for a long time.  

When the afternoon came to a close, the new Christians asked how often their group should get together and worship the Lord and study His Word?  What they really wanted to know was how soon they could do it again!

More to Come

For all that was accomplished that day and that week with this small group of believers, there was so much more for them to learn about worship and living life together in Christ.  They had many more questions.  And our sub-team of three had hearts full of so much more to share.

1 Thessalonians 2:8 ESV “So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.”

There is so much more to this story that could be told.  Likewise, there are many similar stories to tell coming out from this region of the world, both of success and failure.  One final valuable lesson to highlight is that working alongside local Christians and under the vision of local churches is a great honor and comfort.  

It would be up to our trusted partners to nurture this group of believers, and help them grow into a thriving young church.  Ultimately, we must entrust new believers and young churches to the Lord’s care in whom they have believed.  And He will care for them!