Minding A Mixed Crop

Scripture: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Song: Have You Counted The Cost?

Wheat and tares grow together in the same field, share the same soil, drink the same rain, and are warmed by the same sun. They worship in the same church, share the same pew, even live in the same house. But wheat and tares are not the same.

Wheat and tares look alike. They stand the same height, appear in the same garb, sway in the same wind. The disciple had to ask Jesus at supper which one was a Judas. Wheat and tares look the same to one another. But they’re not really.

So closely do wheat and tares grow to one another that their roots intertwine. They’re benefitted by the same fair climate and injured by the same drought. They sustain like triumphs and trials and often weep together the same tears of joy or sorrow. But wheat and tares are not the same.

Wheat and tares are kept for the same harvest and fall to the same sickle. They’re gathered by the same reapers though not to the same place. Tares are put to the flame. Wheat is gathered to the barn. Because wheat and tares are not really the same.

Take stock of yourself today. The fruit of what you sow this day may not be apparent to others and you may blend in among the rows of standing grain. But the harvest comes when the produce of today’s toil will be judged as good fruit or bad. Remember that while wheat and tares may be close, and even kin, they’re still not the same.

Jason Moore

This Week's Travel Tips

Song: He Will Pilot Me

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-8

Recently I boarded a plane I’d never seen, built by people I’d never met, piloted by a man I’d never known. We dangled above the earth on strings I couldn’t see, over country I couldn’t identify, at a speed I couldn’t fathom, to a destination unfamiliar.

We put our trust in nuts and bolts, in flesh and blood, in forces we can’t even see and which few understand. Oh, that we had like faith in God!

“Trust in the Lord”—Mechanics forget to tighten bolts and pilots have sleepless nights. The Lord never forgets and He never tires.

“Lean not on your own understanding”—I assume there’s a reason why we fly seven miles high. God has His reasons and they’re always good.

“In all your ways acknowledge Him”—Not just during turbulence but when the flight is smooth too.

“He shall direct your paths”—The skies are not always friendly but God knows the safest route.

“Don’t be wise in your own eyes”—Floating seat cushions are poor life insurance when flying over terra firma. Anybody can see that.

“Fear the Lord and depart from evil”—There never was a safe arrival that was not preceded by a successful departure.

“It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones”—Fasten your seat belt. Return your seat and tray table to an upright and locked position. Stay in your seat. Leave the navigating up to God.

Jason Moore

Nature's Science Lesson

Song: Hallelujah! Praise Jehovah!

Scripture: Psalm 148

Modern, secular science has done much to remove nature’s personality. Human behavior has been explained as so many chemical reactions and electrical impulses. And if human life is robbed of purpose then how much more inexplicable are the meanderings of beast and bird, of fish and flower.

Ancient science grasped what modern science misses. It gazed at nature’s wonder and wondered at nature’s order. But it understood that nature’s ordered wonders imply a Wonderful Orderer. “For He commanded and they were created.”

The psalmist lacked the benefits of modern science. But knowledge had not led him to the proud boast of our generation that he understood it all. He saw the Person behind nature’s power and the Personality within it. He observed the purpose to nature’s wonder—to teach creation closest to God to behave like creation farthest away.

The sun is not just a spinning orb of fiery gases. He’s a witness to the Almighty who lit his torch from nothing. He follows the path God first drew for him without fail. Hail, snow, cloud, and storm are not just varied forms of H2O. They’re messengers of God’s providence and judgment fulfilling His word. Weathermen may not predict their patterns. But they never disobey God’s marching orders. It is this grand procession of creation by God’s direction that gives Him praise. Let us them praises give Jehovah!

Jason Moore

Thursday's Business

Song: This Is My Father's World

Scripture: Genesis 1:1-25

Today is Thursday and it’s likely a busy day for you. I don’t know what time God started working on the first Thursday that ever was. But it was a busy day for Him.

It was today, Thursday, that God populated the skies and the seas. It was today that the first cardinal called, the first goose gandered, the first mourning dove moaned, and the first hummingbird hovered. I wonder—do the birds sing louder today? For today is their birthday. I wonder—did He make them all at once? Or one by one did He add them in stunning crescendo to the first orchestra of praise that winged creation ever conducted at Jehovah’s direction and to His glory?

It was today, Thursday, that the first jellyfish jiggled, the first tuna schooled, the first catfish jumped, and the first Salmon swam upstream. I wonder—do the whales and dolphins frolic with greater revelry today? Because it was on Thursday that their great-great-great… and so on grandparents first toured the seas. It was today after all that finned creation first explored the ocean paths and staked claim to turquoise depths and blue-green wonders in their Maker’s name.

Yes, today’s a busy day. But not so busy that you can’t stop and listen to a bluebird’s song or watch the minnows splash in a Gulf-side sunset and then join their praise to our Heavenly Father.

Jason Moore

Sunday Morning Starters

Worship…What is yours worth?

Sermon…What good did it do for you?

Bible…Where did you leave yours?

Supper…Did you partake or just take part?

Prayer…What did you say?

Song…To whom were you speaking?

Home…To retire or to work?

Jason Moore

How The Conscience Ticks

Song: How Shall The Young Secure Their Hearts

Scripture: Romans 2:11-16

God equipped every man with a conscience, an internal gauge to help him regulate his morality. It bears some resemblance to your car’s speedometer but with some important distinctions.

Your speedometer has many pointings from 0 to 120. The conscience has but two settings, “Good” and “Bad.” It has two modes, “Before” and “After.” The conscience kicks into “Before” mode when you contemplate a moral decision. It says, “This is Good,” and “That is Bad.” Once the deed is done the conscience switches to “After” burner mode and says, “You’re Good,” or “You’re Bad.” This bustle of activity takes place in your mind “between yourself” where your thoughts either “accuse” or “excuse” you. A “Good” conscience is one that excuses; a “Bad” conscience one that accuses you.

Your speedometer doesn’t know the speed limit. This job is left to you, the driver. Neither does your conscience know the law. This task is left to you, the owner. The operations of your conscience “show the work of the law written in your heart.” It’s up to you to calibrate your conscience by writing the correct laws on your heart.

Think of your conscience as a moral-ometer. It meters, or measures, whether you’re observing the rules of the road. So keep an eye on your conscience. God gave it to so you’d know when to stop, when to go, and when to turn around.

Jason Moore

The Family Together: Five Reasons

1. Encourage spiritual headship among fathers. Many fathers are providers and decision makers but not spiritual leaders in their households. The Family Together equips fathers for daily conversations with their children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

2. Promote together time within families. Household habits like television, little league, overtime, tee time, and many more leisure time activities pull families apart. The Family Together builds the daily habit of uninterrupted family time to draw the family closer together.

3. Restore living room religion. Congregational bible classes supplement but cannot—and should not—supplant the biblical and moral instruction provided by parents, especially fathers, in the home. The Family Together encourages a return to the old path of teaching the Bible “diligently unto thy children… when thou sittest in thine house.”

4. Inspire hearth and home worship to God. According to Jesus, the habit of “closet” prayer and worship “in secret” cures hypocrisy and vain religion. The Family Together encourages private, daily devotion in the home which prepares true worshipers for public, weekly worship in the assembly.

5. Kindle homespun Bible instruction. The Family Together is not a children’s book, but a family workbook. It’s home work for the family together. It serves as a practical companion, but not a substitute, for the spontaneous, interactive guidance of the parent. It creates a natural context for such guidance.

Get your family together today and every day. It just makes sense.

Jason Moore

Formula For Happiness

Song: Let Him Have His Way His Way

Scripture: Psalm 128

When a man has proper respect for God, his life is well-ordered.

He “walks in His ways.” That is to say, God directs his paths. He only travels the proven road, the certain path, and avoids the dead ends and pitfalls encountered by the wicked.

The man who fears God, can be happy when “he eats of the fruit of his hands.” He knows that his labor has been honest. His conscience doesn’t pain him. He’s not bothered by worries over the lies he’s told or concern for the people he’s cheated. He really does eat the “fruit of his hands,” the produce of his own diligence.

The man who fears God can rejoice in his wife. She will be like a fruitful vine within his house. He’ll find pleasure in her alone and not be like the wicked who steal from their neighbor’s fields. She’ll give him pleasure and happiness and God will bless their union.

The man who fears God, will find satisfaction in raising his crop of children. They’ll be “like olive plants around his table.” That is to say, they’re presence will garnish his table at mealtime and bring his house all the joy and prosperity symbolized by the olive branch.

The man who fears God has his life in order. He orders his steps, he honors his wife, he tends to his children. It’s hard to improve on that formula! Make it your own today.

Jason Moore

How to Measure Wealth

Song: God Give Us Christian Homes

Scripture: Psalms 127

“Godliness with contentment is great gain.” Paul said that, but Solomon illustrates it in the psalm before us.

The follower of God is freed from the anxieties that plague the house of the wicked. He can take his time building his house because its foundation is secure. It’s built upon the rock of his faith. The man who seeks to establish his marriage or manage his finances or raise his children without such a foundation, handicaps his own progress.

The disciple of the kingdom doesn’t have to worry about potential disasters. He’s readied himself for the worst of fates by getting right with God. He doesn’t watch in horror like the doomsday prophets of his time because He knows the Lord keeps watch over the kingdom he inhabitants.

The kingdom follower doesn’t sweat to keep up with his neighbors and competitors. His treasure is in heaven. He knows that riches are fleeting so he doesn’t burn the midnight oil for corruptible treasures. He sleeps peacefully, while the sleep of the worldly is interrupted with worries over their mutual funds and retirement.

The child of God can rejoice in life’s simple pleasures: the laughter of children, the mirth of grandchildren. When he greets his enemy in the gate who speaks of his portfolio and stock holdings, he can pull out his wallet and show him his pictures. Yes sir, the rewards of the faithful are true riches!

Jason Moore

Plan for the Future

Song: Seek Ye First

Scripture: Proverbs 27:23-27

This section of proverbs is about stewardship, about the rewards of financial planning but its principles extend to other areas as we shall see.

“Know well the condition of your flocks,” is an exhortation to be the manager of your own affairs. Don’t just turn over your flocks to the shepherd boy, or your finances to the accountant, or your stocks to the broker. Even more, don’t just turn over your soul to the preacher. Know where you stand.

Riches are not forever. Dynasties rise and fall. One crop of grass dies and a new generation takes its place. And a seasoned generation of consumers in society dries up the herbs that are harvested from the mountain. All the more reason to plan for the future, when one’s productive years are spent. And even more reason to plan for eternity!

The lambs comprising your herd during life’s summer will provide the wool for tomorrow’s winter coat. The goats you invested in last spring, you can sell in the market to buy a little place to retire in the country. And the goat’s milk of last summer will provide sustenance for you and the wife of your youth and a little head start for your children. Ah, the joy of best laid plans! But how much fairer the land and sweeter the milk of a heavenly inheritance where no winter coat is needed.

It’s good to dream. But dreamers wake. It’s better to plan. But plans do change. It’s best to seek. Because seekers find.

Jason Moore

Sunday Morning Starters

Before you assemble… Why are you here?

Before you pray… To whom are you speaking?

Before you sing… What are you saying?

Before you partake… What did He do?

Before you listen… Where is your mind?

Before you go… When will you do it?

Jason Moore

The Subtlety of Pride

Song: Sunshine In My Soul

Scripture: Proverbs 27:1-6

Pride is a subtle sin. It can slip up on you. The proverbs in this selection illustrate the subtlety of pride and the slipperiness of the sin of presumption.

Don’t count your chickens before they hatch! “Don’t boast about tomorrow!” warned Solomon. You have no crystal ball to see the future. You don’t know what tomorrow may bring.

Don’t sing your own praises! “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth.” If no one is there to inform the crowd of your accomplishments, don’t bore them yourself with your resumé;.

Don’t duel with a braggart! The empty boasts of a fool are hard to stomach. Solomon said they are heavier than a sack of sand. But don’t engage the fool in a battle of wits. He’ll sink himself eventually. Just leave him shoveling for now.

Don’t incense a jealous heart. Jealousy is the most impassioned form of hurt pride. Take every precaution to avoid the receiving end of its fury.

Care enough to confront. A man must be humble enough to run the risk of confronting those he loves when discipline is needed. Better to be too blunt than to conceal love for a soul in jeopardy. On the other hand…

Be gentle enough to accept correction. Friends tell you when you’re wrong. Their wounds are faithful. Be humble enough to let your friends help even when they’re a bit clumsy at it. And permit them without shooting back.

Jason Moore

Solomon's Similes

Song: Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee

Scripture: Proverbs 25:18-20

One of the favorite literary forms used by Solomon and his wise men is the simile. A simile is a simple comparison between two seemingly unlike objects for the sake of illustration. It’s a parable of sorts. This colorful illustrative device is distinguished by its use of “like” or “as” when making the comparison. Three such similes are found in this context.

A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow. He allows himself to be used as weapon by his neighbor’s opponent. The man who allows himself to be so used is a pitiful sort.

An undependable man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth or an unstable footing. He’s sure to move under pressure causing you great pain in the process. Better to be toothless or one-legged than to have friends you can’t lean on.

The man who sings songs of “Blue Skies” and “Rainbows” to the downtrodden is like the man who takes off a coat on a winter’s day or drinks vinegar to quench his thirst. He offers poor comfort to the victim, but instead afflicts him with a chill. Sometimes it’s better just to listen than to cheer.

Aren’t those colorful? And insightful too! Makes me want to look for others to contemplate. That’s the charm of the proverbs. They make you reflect on life.

Jason Moore

He Has Made Us

Song: Live For Jesus

Scripture: Psalm 100

“Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves.”

Write those words over the threshold of your front door. Put them on the refrigerator. Stick them on the bumper of your automobile. Write them on the calendar at work. Post them as a screensaver on your computer. We need desperately to remember that “the Lord made us, and not we ourselves.”

Take pleasure in your family today. Remember that God gave you a loving spouse, healthy children, a comfortable home, a dependable automobile, a respectable job. Oh, you’ve done well for yourself, but He’s done for you so that you could do for yourself. And He’s rescued you from a few scrapes as well—and some you don’t know about too.

Take pride in your freedoms today. You can live where you want to live. You don’t have to go to the field this morning. You can quit your job if you don’t like it. You can go to church and no one will stop you. Remember, God allowed you to be born in these times. He could have chosen differently and you would have lived with His decision.

Rejoice as a Christian today. Remember: you didn’t invent that name. God lets you wear it. Left to yourself, you made trouble. But God took you when you were dead in sin and made you alive. Surely, “He has made us, and not we ourselves.”

Jason Moore

The Prayer of Moses

Song: O Worship The King

Scripture: Psalm 90

The psalm of Moses is a majestic prayer of a mature man that contrasts the transitoriness of man with the eternal existence and power of God. It has all the elements of a model prayer.

Thanksgiving (vv. 1-2). God has been a refuge or hiding place for the faithful in all generations. He is the “I Am,” meaning that He not only exists from “everlasting to everlasting,” but that He is present to help and to save.

Praise and Adoration (vv. 3-6). Moses is in awe of God’s power and eternal existence. Man returns to the dust at God’s command. He is like a flower that blossoms in the morning and lives for a day. But a thousand years pass by like yesterday to God, like the brief patrol of a night watchman.

Confession (vv. 7-12). Being the last of the adult generation that left Egypt, Moses had seen an entire people “consumed” by God’s anger. And yet he confesses, “Who understands… Thy fury, according to the fear that is due Thee?” Moses understood the heinousness of sin. He mourned over the wretchedness of his people.

Supplication (vv. 13-17). “Make the days of our rejoicing equal to the days of our wanderings,” was Moses’ prayer. I’m sure Moses would be satisfied with an eternity of glory for forty years of trials. God has certainly looked with favor on the petition of His servant. And He will ours, when we pray like him.

Jason Moore

The Lament of Laments

Song: No Tears In Heaven

Scripture: Psalm 88

The eighty-eighth psalm is the most pessimistic of all the psalms. In every other mournful psalm, which scholars have appropriately labelled laments, the psalmist expresses some anticipation of being heard, some satisfaction that God will answer.

Not this one. From start to finish, the psalmist bewails his dismal condition. It’s a Jonah day for him. It’s black and getting blacker all the time. God has afflicted him and there does not seem to be much sign of Him letting up any time soon.

In spite of the despairing tone of this prayer, it should be noted that his complaint was not addressed to his neighbor. He was not inviting others to come join a pity party in his honor. No sir, the complaint of this man was addressed to God. However disconsolate his expressions, however dejected his phraseology, this was a prayer to God. The mere fact that he prayed without a “lover” or “friend” nearby is an indication that he believed that God would hear and answer.

There is no harm in questioning. Job did. And God answered. The psalmist did. And he believed God would hear. What wins no sympathy with God or men is when men just murmur like Israel in the wilderness. But when men address their complaints secretly to God, God who sees in secret will answer them openly.

Jason Moore

Sunday Morning Starters

Plan your righteousness.

Plan your righteousness like you plan your work.

Plan your righteousness like you plan your fun.

Plan your righteousness before you plan your work and your fun.

Plan your work and your fun around your righteousness.

If you don’t plan it you won’t do it.

How do you expect God to plan for you when you make no plans for Him?

Jason Moore

Who Has Sorrow?

Song: Near The Cross

Scripture: Proverbs 23:29-35

Who Has Sorrow? Would a smart man exchange his family for the bottle? Surely not! Surely a man who could always explain his children’s Algebra homework better than their teachers, would know better than to let the sparkle of the wine seduce him.

Do good men get caught in the snare of mixed wine and hard liquor? Certainly not! Surely a man who’s good to neighbors, who cries during Little House on the Prairie, who helps his son build a fort in the woods or a dam in the creek—surely such a man knows better.

Would a father trod the path of a drunk? Let it never be! Surely he would not risk their following him on a path of folly. Certainly he would be wary of his influence. Never would a father choose the life of bum on a street for the comfort of his home and the joy of his wife and children.

Do Christians drink? God forbid! Surely a man who searched to find the gospel for his family, who drove them to church, who bought his children bibles, who shed tears when his son was baptized and again when he heard him preach—surely a man like that would not sell his soul for a drink.

Smart men do. Good men do. Fathers do. Christians do. My dad did and he was all of those. Who has sorrow? The drunk man does. And so does his son.

Jason Moore

Three Rules For Conversation

Song: What A Friend We Have In Jesus

Scripture: Proverbs 15:1-4

The wise man has provided in this context some rules for guarding our conversation today.

Don’t goad an angry ox. When confrontation comes and the other party has lost its temper, don’t add to the fire. You’ll just make them burn hotter and make the situation worse. No matter how difficult, a gentle answer, a controlled response, a kind word is a better choice.

Wisdom flows, but folly gushes. The sign of the fool is that he can’t help but speak. But he doesn’t just speak—he spouts. He talks incessantly about everything. The counsel of the wise has a steadiness, even a reservation about it. It doesn’t flood the hearers. He makes knowledge acceptable by the way he presents it. In fact, his listeners want more when he’s through.

Speak sound words. There is power in the tongue. Case in the point: the gospel. The good news is the power unto salvation. Words can heal and words can injure. An encouraging word, like a tree of life, can give shade and rest to the listener long after the speaker is departed. But a perverted tongue can crush the spirit of the listener, and leave scars and bitterness that last a lifetime.

Let wisdom have its way in your words today. Use these rules to direct your speech, and you’ll handle confrontation, information exchange, and the art of persuasion in a splendid fashion.

Jason Moore

Keeping Your Balance

Song: Sweet By And By

Scripture: Proverbs 23:1-12

Balance is the stuff of which wisdom is made. Knowing how to chart a course between extremes is the essence of the blessed life. The advice of the wise man in this passage is to keep your balance.

Before you dine with the king, consider what it will cost you. Do you really think he just wanted your company or is he counting on your vote? Before you indulge in his delicacies consider where he’s expecting you to line up after dessert.

Before you chase after riches, consider at what price it will come. What will you leave undone in the pursuit. Consider its uncertainty as well. “Wealth certainly makes itself wings.” Even if it doesn’t fly away in your life, it will at your death.

Be suspicious of the sudden generosity of a selfish man. Will he hate you tomorrow? What is he expecting from you in return? Tomorrow you’ll be sick when you find there was a hook in the hors d’oeuvres that you complimented so.

Some people you can’t help, because they won’t be helped. Don’t waste advice on the fool “for he will despise the wisdom of your words.”

Don’t pick on the unfortunate. God has never sympathized with the aggressor, or the defrauded. If you move the ancient boundary, or run over other people, the Lord will come to their rescue.

Watch your step today. Put one foot in front of the other. Keep your eyes open and keep your balance.

Jason Moore

Thirsty Soul's Prayer

Song: As The Deer

Scripture: Psalm 42

The circumstances of the psalmist who wrote this petition and hymn are not given. But there are suggestions within the text that he was an exile being led away as a captive, probably to Babylon.

Being led with a rope along with other slaves through the northern, rugged terrain of Israel toward an uncertain end, perhaps he spied a deer searching for drink. Such a scene may have inspired his prayer, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God.”

The Babylonian captors, fondling their gold trophies and trinkets taken from the temple in Jerusalem, jeer and poke fun. They boast about how their idols have proven victorious over Jehovah. The psalmist wrote, “They say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’”

How different is the procession the psalmist now leads—a file of slaves in chains! He used to be at the front of the column when Hebrew pilgrims made their treks to the annual festivals in Jerusalem. Now the temple is in ruins and he is being carried as a tribute to the gods of Babylon.

Then while crossing the northern mountains where the headwaters of the Jordan flow, the hope of the psalmist is refreshed. Here is water for the panting deer. Jerusalem may be destroyed, its temple ruined, its people scattered, but God has not ceased to reign. He cared for the city. Will He abandon the citizen? He waters a lone deer. Will He not refresh this devoted pilgrim? Now the psalmist’s face is brightened. “Hope in God,” he concludes, “the help of my countenance, and my God.”

Jason Moore

What's Good For David

Song: Count Your Blessings

Scripture: Psalm 39

It’s hard to take your punishment. David was dealing with that in Psalm 39.

David had been whipped by God and is enemy was making faces at his tears. They rejoiced at his suffering. But David was learning. “I do not open my mouth,” he said, “because it is Thou who has done it” (v. 9). David was learning to accept the consequences of his crimes, one of which was the pleasure the wicked took in his humiliation. That’s hard medicine to take, but if it was good for the king of Israel, it’s good for me.

David’s punishment made him reflective. He realized that his life was short—it spanned no more than a handbreadth. So temporary is his existence in the scheme of things, that he’s like a mere phantom, or a shadow cast on wall. Reflection is good. Trouble makes us reflect. It makes us ask the hard questions that nobody asks when they’re laughing and in the company of friends. Reflection is hard, but if the king of Judah’s life was but a span, what must mine be?

God’s discipline made David pray. He pouted at first. “I was dumb and silent, I refrained even from good…my heart was hot within me.” But alas, he said, “I spoke with my tongue.” If it takes calamity to make men pray, then may God send us rain. If it was good for the king of Jerusalem, it’s good for me. God help me be like him, when I’ve done wrong.

Jason Moore

Sunday Morning Starters

What will this Lord’s Day bring?

…Nobler thoughts?

…Fewer anxieties?

…Greater enthusiasm?

…Stronger zeal?

…Bolder stance?

…Or just another day?

Jason Moore

Welcome, Forgiveness!

Song: Nothing But The Blood

Scripture: Psalm 32

Guilt. What an ugly word! It’s so unpleasant that men in our time have sought to explain it away as some sort of psychosis, or mental disorder.

Guilt is real. It’s the consequence of sin. The fact of guilt occurs when a man breaks God’s law. The feeling of guilt occurs when a man’s conscience makes him aware of the fact of his guilt. The result is a restless, nervous void in the center of a man’s being that nothing can fill. When you know you’re guilty, you can’t sleep. Your work isn’t done. There are matters still pending. When you’re guilty, you can’t eat. Nothing satisfies. No pleasure. Not even filling the most basic appetite.

When you’re guilty, you feel sick. Sometimes you may even get physically sick. You’re susceptible to depression, to mood swings, to anger, to loneliness, to self-pity. A guilty man is not a happy man. Guilt is a chastisement that the Lord intends for a man’s own good.

Ah, but forgiveness! Can it be? Here is freedom for the captive. Here is release for the prisoner. Not freedom to indulge in sin once again. But freedom to serve in the role for which God fitted man, as a bond-servant of God. The fact that God will forgive our rebellion—what joyous news! Who can imagine? But it is promised.

“How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!” Guilt be gone! Come in forgiveness, my friend. Here’s a solution for the past. Here’s hope for the future. Here’s life for the present.

Jason Moore

Good Sense For Today

Song: A Beautiful Life

Scripture: Proverbs 14:14-21

Here is some uncommon common sense from Solomon to help you through your day.

Keep working. The backslider has “his fill” in what has been done. He’s ready to retire. There is greater contentment in pressing on to perfection.

Watch your step. The naive believes the commercials. He follows the crowd. Don’t be overly-suspicious. But know where you’re going.

Don’t hurry. The wise man may miss some opportunities because of caution, but he also misses the pitfalls of those who rush on carelessly.

Don’t forget people. “A man of evil devices is hated.” You might make the sale or get the job done, but if you make everybody mad or someone loses his soul in the process what’s the point?

Be a continual learner. Those who are not curious, like the naive, “inherit folly.” But knowledge is the crown of the prudent.

Be good. It may not appear to pay today. But it’s the long-term benefits in which we’re interested. “The evil will bow down before the good.”

Look around. Your rich neighbors have plenty of friends. What about the family who lives in the disheveled house around the corner? They could use a friend. “Happy is he who is gracious to the poor.” It will do you some good as well as them.

People will look at you funny if you follow these recommendations for the day. Let ’em look.

Jason Moore

How To Speak, How To Listen

Song: Angry Words

Scripture: Proverbs 12:13-22

If the wise man’s counsel is needed anywhere, it’s in the area of communication. Hear him.

Vs. 13—“An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips.” You can’t leave the tongue unguarded, unfettered. It will get you in trouble.

Vs. 14—“A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words.” Few things are as thrilling to a speaker or his audience than a word fitly spoken.

Vs. 15—“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes.” Here’s the reason the fool doesn’t see your point. The problem is, he doesn’t see it.

Vs. 16—“A fool’s vexation is known at once, but a prudent man conceals dishonor.” The fool brags on his shameful conduct. The wise man learns from but doesn’t broadcast his mistakes.

Vs. 17—“He who speaks truth tells what is right, but a false witness, deceit.” It really is that simple—even if you are the president.

Vs. 18—“There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword.” Whoever said “words will never hurt me” lied. But the converse is true as well—“the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

Vs. 19—“Truthful lips will be established forever, but a lying tongue is only for a moment.” A lie will eventually unravel, but the advocate of truth, like the truth itself, will endure the passage of time.

It’s a perfect man who can guard the tongue. Keep your guard up today. And open your ears to wisdom.

Jason Moore

Good Work Ethics

Song: I Want To Be A Worker

Scripture: Proverbs 10:1-5

The proverbs deal with the practical affairs of everyday living. They give instructions for good homes, for good friendships, for good business dealings, and in this section, for a good work ethic.

“Ill-gotten gains do not profit.” Just because you make money, doesn’t mean you make a profit. You better figure what that supposed profit really cost you. Your reputation? Your integrity? Your soul?

“The Lord will not allow the righteous to go hunger.” Job lost everything, but he didn’t go hungry. Poverty is not an excuse for dishonesty. The Lord “will thrust aside the craving of the wicked.” But the Lord will provide for the righteous.

“Poor is he works with a negligent hand.” The negligent man is a thief of a subtler class. He looks busy, but barely so. He does just enough to get by, enough to keep from getting fired. But God knows. Poverty will be his lot. The Lord will be slow to help the man who’s slow to help himself.

“He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely.” The wise son here is a self-starter. He notes the season and he acts. “But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully.” Both sons got the same rest. The wise son planned his work and his rest. The shameful son didn’t plan. Thus the way of the procrastinator is not the problem of time but of planning.

Be a wise worker today whatever your task. Remember your Master is in heaven.

Jason Moore