Bragging On Jesus

Proverbs 14:15 The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps. 16 One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless.

"I Am A French Male Model"

Robin Aylor

You may have seen the commercial a few years back about the lady who dates a French male model she met over the internet? She believes that everything he says about himself is true; because they can’t put it on the internet if it’s not true. And where does she say she heard that everything on the internet is true? The internet of course. “Bonjour!"

Though this is meant to be funny and sarcastic, yet with a striking hint; the questions still begs: Are humans really this naive?

The peoples of India worship thousands of gods. I understand there is a temple dedicated to rats which are honored as being reincarnated. They run free around and over humans and are pampered as their loved ancestors.

It’s no wonder how easily people are sucked up into the newest religious vacuum.

What? Do I sound like I'm not being tolerant? Yes I am tolerant… No one can be forced and dragged to see Jesus as glorious. Even God's tolerance is clear from the patience he shows us.

Romans 2:4-5 says this: 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

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And 2nd Peter 3:9 says: The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

The problem is that people are not tolerant with the goodness and awesomeness of God. People want to do their own thing.

The following examples of depravity are taken from:

"10 Extremely Weird Religions"

(September 10, 2009)

by Jamie Frater

1. Scientology is said to believe that Xemu was an alien ruler of the Galactic Confederacy who 75 million years ago brought billions of people to Earth in a spacecraft, stacked them around volcanoes where they detonated hydrogen bombs. The Thetans or spirits clustered and stuck to the bodies of the living and continue to this day. Advanced Scientologists seek to isolate Thetans from the body and thereby neutralizing their ill effects.

2. Universe People believe extraterrestrial civilizations are orbiting the earth helping the good and are ready to transport their followers to another dimension.

3. The Church of Euthanasia. According to the church’s website, the one commandment is “Thou shalt not procreate”. They further assert four principal pillars: suicide, abortion, cannibalism (of the already dead), and sodomy (“any sexual act not intended for procreation”). Slogans employed by the group include “Save the Planet, Kill Yourself”.

I only listed three of the ten talked about in the article because frankly I was tired of thinking about the specifics of the debase beliefs man conceives.

You may think these people are loony but the thing is… though the extremely of their folly is very clear, ours may be hiding in the shadows. Which is more dangerous? So many people in the world don’t believe in these far out ideas but instead they believe they find God by doing more good than evil or by believing in Jesus plus good works…

Our text says: "The simple believes everything".

The shadowy lies of satan are vast. Don’t loose your soul to them.

John 14:6 says: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

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Proverbs In 365 Devotions

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​Proverbs 1:2 To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, 3 to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; 4 to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth—

Teachable Me

R Aylor

In these modern times we desperately need the wisdom and instruction these verses speak about. However, as it goes there seems to be only a limited number of teachable moments in any given day. We rush to and fro, here and there only to pull out our smart phones (me included) at the first sign of a pause instead of looking to God and thinking about him. He wants our acknowledgment. He wants more. He wants our worship.

Looking back in my life, I think some of my best testimonies for Christ came as others watched me desperately seeking Gods will for my own life just as I was beginning to unpack and take him in. It’s easy to lose that earnestness we once had. It's got to be a daily thing. Every hour Jesus must be our great treasure that is worth leaving all to pursue. And we must be joy for us to leave it all. And then as we begin growing in him, we can only be a true witness of our treasure to the extent that we know him ourselves.

Once we see Jesus as the beautiful good news that he is, once we have eyes to see Gods glory in him, once he grabs our gaze so that we cannot look away and go back to the promised treasures of the world; may we straightway take in his instruction of wisdom… may we seek and continue seeking, finding and unpacking all the jewels and riches in him as our bountiful treasure and persevere (not pausing like Solomon did later in life), but rather finishing strong.

Lord, that is my prayer... illuminate your word to us. May we then discern truth from deception in relationships, business practices, politics, pulpits, and mostly our own heart. May we seek wisdom, knowledge and understanding in your word every single day and see Jesus there. As Moses said in Exodus 33:18 “Please show me your glory”. Make application to our heart; internalize your truths by your Spirit, keep us teachable, humble and yet confident in you. Please give us boldness to walk in and share your love through Christ. Thank you our Father, in Jesus name, Amen.

Proverbs In 365 Devotions

For more go to braggingonjesus.com

Proverbs 1:1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

Pondering King Solomon

R Aylor

As I consider the life of Solomon, David's son and third king of Israel, I am reminded of many things. Firstly of the sin of his father David’s sexual impurity with Bathsheba; then David’s repentance and God’s merciful forgiveness. It is also amazing to me to think of how God still ordained the Messiah be born in the lineage of David and then Solomon through Bathsheba. (Solomon was also called Jedidiah, which means beloved of The Lord; see 2nd Samuel 12:24-25.)

Next, my mind goes to Solomon’s prayer as a young man, asking God for an understanding heart to judge the Lord’s people; and to discern between good and bad.

1st Kings 3:11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12 behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.

I am reminded that as believers we should all have the same mindset for others... the same worldview that God has. We see this character in Solomon and David and Paul who's hearts desire for Israel was that they might be saved.

In Psalm Psalm 119:136 the Psalmist has this heart for others that I want to have. It says: My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.

I think of Gods faithfulness to Solomon throughout his life. Solomon surly was blessed beyond measure!

Finally I am greatly cautioned by Solomon's disobedience to God in his latter years. Fear snaps at my heart and red flags fly at high mast. For the man who wrote so much to his son's about the trap set by the adulteress and wicked woman... and then for him to fail himself over and over it breaks my heart and causes me to check myself often. I do not know if Solomon repented at the end... I hope so. But if the wisest of men was lured away from his Lord to walk in disobedience then what of me?

1st Kings 11:4 says: For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

The Apostle Paul shows us that any wisdom, knowledge or understanding not quickened by the Love from God are not enough. We need the love of God abiding in our hearts which only comes through receiving Jesus who died for us and rose again.

1st Corinthians 13:2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

Solomon’s accepted writings include Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, part of Psalms and much of the book of Proverbs.)

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Proverbs in 365 Devotions

Proverbs 14:14 The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.

Genetically & Kinetically Enhanced

Wetter Than Water Slider

Dr. Klark Kent Kilgore

by Robin Aylor

Here begins a story, a moral and a motto:

A Story: How could any of us ever forget the most memorable day in Olympic History when kinetically and genetically enhanced wetter than water amateur water slider Dr. Klark Kent Kilgore took his final step off the most dangerous slippery slope slide on this side of the galaxy? I’m sure you have seen clips hundreds of times on the “thrills of victory” and “agonies of defeat”... all the commercials that began airing on 3-d holographic eyelid Trib Vision (TV) in early 2059. However the full hour long real time blood and guts digital compact contact lens disc (CCL) has to this day never been released to the public and will likely not be until the 20 year term of the current world president expires in 2072.

Without going into the “If I tell you I’ll have to bean bag bomb you” details, I mainly want to remind you all how Dr. Kent began his decent into the tunnel of death. Wetter than water Kilgore awkwardly missed traction on his last step and slipped into a backwards backsliding position setting himself for his 68 1/2 minute long out of control decline down the most difficult water slide course ever made.

When Kilgore lost his head protection in the triple gravity mile long free fall through tornado like wind storm winds, his helmet kept smashing back into his head and body creating multiple concussions and heavy bruising. Then… somehow... someway, he was able to twist and turn at just the right time sliding headfirst through the gopher gully tunnel as Olympic rules specify.

After that things got boogerly nasty. Instead of resuming posture, Kilgore continued his belly busting descent on the razor rapids head bumping the jagged jumping mountains landing face first in the wicked python’s Pyle Driver Dungeon.

What I have listed here was cleared for release months ago but most of that little over an hour long death trap is awaiting clearance is under 24 hour guard in underground storage at area 52 1/2.

Keep in mind it was all was shot with over 3 thousand CCLTV Video Camera’s so the graphic disturbance value will be high when viewed with virtual reality contact lens technology.

Check back with me often for the first look at Kilgore's exploits when they are made open to the public.

Listen friends, here is the moral of this story: Keep on the forward path for Jesus all the way to the end. Don’t look back, fall back, slide back or back slide. Like Dr. Kent Kilgore you will experience failures. There will definitely be mountains, valleys and storms… even cyclone like winds. You will get bruises and concussions and may be laid up in bed out of commission for a time. Hopefully not, but Kilgore was in a coma for 6 months. But guess what... after that he got back up and still competes today at 84 years old. Now that’s a story my friend!

So yes, our failures have consequences, but know that God is always ready to forgive and continue using us in his mission. We are called to persevere to the end.

In Philippians 3:13 Paul said …one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Don't get me wrong... I don't want anyone to be shot but for importance sake consider this in closing: It is said that the French Foreign Legion once had this motto: ‘If I falter, push me on. If I stumble, pick me up. If I retreat, shoot me.’

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Proverbs 11:20 Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the Lord, but those of blameless ways are his delight. 21 Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.

The Offspring Of The Righteous

On your mark get set it’s an abominable start

You there with the crooked contorted heart

Don’t quit the race now, wait to be disqualified at the end.

Along with everyone who proves twisted, distorted and bent

Now friends, this is quite amazing concerning everyone on the track

They’ve all began running the wrong direction like their brains were on crack

But some turn around, to the praise of his grace

Offspring of the righteous one, children through faith

Delivered and blameless through Jesus the Christ

Accepted by God they are made his delight

Proverbs in 365 Devotions

Proverbs 14:13 Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief.

Private Eye

Hannibal Haggarty

by Robin Aylor

Private Eye Hannibal Haggarty was a student of the Bible. He loved the verse in Proverbs which his mother had taught him as a young boy that said a joyful heart is good medicine… However, in another context something told him laughter in itself was not a true fix for a real heartache, and deep down inside, somehow he knew it.

In fact when it came to the sorrow of the soul brought on by sin, laughter was like taking a half of a baby aspirin for a throbbing migraine headache; it just wouldn’t do. Hannibal knew all about this inner soul pain and had saw the light a few years earlier. However, tonight It was not his own laughter he was contemplating even now as he currently squatted all bow legged, two feet from the floor, while holding a potted plant with one hand, a tape recorder with the other, and an unidirectional microphone with his mouth, all the while hiding behind a coat rack,… even now he secretly watched and listened to mobsters drinking and laughing about the bank job they had done earlier that evening and the people they had killed; and somehow all hyped up with wicked pride… they did not know that Private Eye Hannibal Haggarty was recording it all on his tape recorder.

You know, there are some headaches that just won’t ease in the least, even if you soaked your head overnight in echinacea root, otherwise commonly known to locals as snake root and which basically only works on toothaches and the overall body functions of the immune system… Anyway, another thing about pain killers, or laughter for that matter; is that though they may temporarily deaden the pain with zombie like dullness comparable a politician giving a two hour monotone speech, no way would they cure the root of the problem at the bottom crimes of the heart and somehow deep down they knew it.

That's how it was for some of the laughing murderous men there that day. They seemed ecstatically high on adrenaline and happier than any person alive on the planet could be, but by chance it may be that some of the hoodlums there that night still had a conscious; theirs had not yet been completely seared through. If so, their dreams would be projected with their victims faces that very night, and shadows of their families would follow them around for the rest of their short miserable lives… and still, amid all the shouts and laughter… deep down, somehow they knew it.

My friend, there are some things not even laughing gas from your local dentist will cure. For those murderous mobsters and for us sinners as well, only Jesus can extract the guilt of sin from our heart. Only righteous Jesus could agree to be paid our wages due and become the cursed one dying on the cross. Only the promised Jesus could rise from the grave and justify all who will believe in him; he's the only hope for our sin... and my friend, somehow deep down, I think we both know it.

1st Corinthians 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

1 John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 3:16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

Proverbs 11:17 A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself. 18 The wicked earns deceptive wages, but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward. 19 Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live, but he who pursues evil will die.

This is an interesting passage. First verse 17 states something about a kind man which he receives that he was not seeking. He was simply a kind man. He preformed a kind act toward another individual. It was not for his benefit… it was from the heart… not his old selfish heart but something new, made alive… he was not thinking about himself. He had compassion on someone… he reached out… He may have anonomously purchased the meal for the family in the car behind him in the drive through… He gave a ride to a weary traveler… He purchased gift cards for a needy family. Whatever it may be, this man was a kind soul… and it benefited all the people he was kind to… but somehow Solomon says it also benefited him.

Solomon tells us that the cruel man hurts himself. Being a cruel soul his intentions were to be cruel to others. But similar to the kind man, his intentions for others would return upon himself.

We find out a bit more about the wicked man; he does not give a days work for a days pay but will cheat and deceive to make his gains. Solomon then gives us the timeline of this wicked individual. He will spend his life running after and hunting down evil and guess what… in the end he will get what he sought out. A definition of evil so bleak he could not have imagined it. In his death he will be separated from all things good for eternity.

Whoever is steadfast being made alive by the righteousness of Christ will live. That’s what it’s like for those who look to Jesus the promised Messiah as the only hope for their sins. He gives them great peace and joy, not only now but for eternity in his presence with all that is good.

Proverbs 11:15 Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer harm, but he who hates striking hands in pledge is secure.

One can put up security for another in various ways. One way is in the words we speak. You might stand up for your friend Joe who is interviewing for a job. The interviewer calls you and ask for a reference. “Joe is good and honest” you say; “he is hard working… just the other day he worked all day without a break helping me repair a fence for a friend. You will not be sorry if you hire him..” In this case, you are putting up your personal word as security for Joe’s character.

However, if Joe was someone you had only met and didn’t have a history with, it would be stupid for you to give your word as security for Joe’s moral disposition. Your words could come back and damage your own character. What you said about Joe would get around town and your word would loose credibility.

Using money as an example, a poor believer should apparently not co-sign for a stranger on a loan not knowing the history of their integrity. If the stranger fails to fulfill their obligation the payment would fall back to the co-signer. If the believer is not well off it could cause them to default on commitments of their own thus giving them a bad name.

If we commit security for a person who may not be trustworthy

All this being said, now let’s look at what this text is not saying. I don’t want us to misinterpret it by isolating it from the context of the rest of the bible. It is not saying we should not be generous… even to our own hurt, but rather in joy give all the while trusting God.

As believers, it is our utmost goal that the name and character of Christ not be defamed by our actions; so we must be discerning. But yes, still, we are called and he makes us able to give and bless others in the name of Christ even if we are excessively poor.

Speaking of the believers in Macedonia Paul writes:

2nd Corinthians 8:2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.

Lets re-read our Proverbs 11:15:

Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer harm, but he who hates striking hands in pledge is secure.

Again, not to misinterpret, I don’t think our text is negating the following situation: Let’s say a believer who is well off co-signs a loan for a stranger trying to help them in a very tough situation. Sure, they could have given the money to them with no problem. However, guaranteeing a loan was an attempt to not only help their need but also help them be responsible and grow in accountability. In today’s society, if that person defaults on the loan the believers character is not harmed… he would just go pay it off… but rather his generosity in the name of Christ would glorify God.

You know, we cannot truly guarantee another persons character whether they are a good friend or a stranger. However, we are 100% sure about the character of our Lord. Every word we speak, every deed we do, is to point to his righteousness, his character, how he fulfills every promise… how he is trustworthy, honest, dependable, honorable, upright… He never defaults on his word.

Let all that we do be done to the praise of his glory and the grace he gives through his Son Jesus Christ.

2nd Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

I like how Solomon quite often criss crosses comparisons… they work fine but you have to think about it.

He could have said a gracious woman gets honor and vicious conniving women gets riches… instead he mixes the genders which tends to make me pause.

Basically, I think the issues is not whether you are a man or a woman… but whether you will pursue riches or honor. Of course you may by happenstance obtain both but they can’t be equal goals.

There will be many, many times in life when you have to choose between the two. Will I report all my income on my tax form or be a cheater? Will I slander a fellow employee in order to get the job they are applying for or give them the praise they deserve? Will I fudge on my income in order to get a loan for a new car or home? Will I spend more time at home with my family or work 60 hours a week to enjoy the high life? Will I choose riches or honor? Will you vote for the candidate who promises a better economy or the one who is most honorable? Etc.

Jesus was even more specific he seems to replace the word honor with God. Remember he said in Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

But truthfully God is the only one who is actually honorable. Our wicked hearts even deceive our own selves.

Thankfully through the graciousness of God in Jesus, we can receive his forgiveness and our heart can be changed to live out gracious lives ourselves that bring honor to him.