BLUF: The Lord appointed ‘watchmen’ to be both vigilant and to be a prophetic voice for the sake of the unit/people/nation.

Context, Context, Context: Ezekiel 33 is the passage under discussion. In it, God calls Ezekiel to be a watchman, a vigilant scout and prophetic voice.

Text: So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. (Ez 33:7-9)

Teaching: God has called individuals throughout redemptive history to be prophetic voices and spiritual scouts. With what aim? To warn. To speak truth to power. To reclaim. To educate. To encourage. The list could continue.

Questions for Reflection:

• How do we distinguish between authentic truth-tellers and charlatans?
• How might we train our tools of discernment?
• How can we leverage the wisdom of the authentic truth-tellers in our midst?

Encouragement: There is no paucity of noisy voices competing for our attention. Therefore, it is wise to know what we should heed and what we should ignore. God has continually graced us with watchmen like Ezekiel throughout the historical plan of redemption. Will we listen to the wise watchmen in our day?

Below is the YouTube link to today’s homily over Ecclesiastes 4 at Christ Covenant Church (3cs-canton.org):

I took a few days of earned leave off from work and am enjoying getting some steps in around parts of creation I enjoy so much, and doing it all with CJ, too.

Here’s the YouTube link to today’s message at Christ Covenant Church (3cs-canton.org).

BLUF: Long Obedience in the Right Direction

Context: In Proverbs 12, Solomon is instructing his son in wisdom. In the verse under scrutiny today, Solomon teaches on the endurance of truth versus the passing nature of lies.

Text: “Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment” (Pr 12:19).

Encouragement: When you step off what I call “Drama Island,” you can gain proper perspective. Because we’re awash in a culture of lies, we have all grown accustomed to being lied to. We just assume lies to be the day’s fare. We live in a culture where we just expect lies as the main course, but occasionally, we meet with people of truth. They are the diamonds in the rough. And Solomon is teaching his son about how to be a diamond. Solomon teaches the wisdom of long obedience in the right and godly direction.

The encouragement is straightforward: Truth endures, whereas lies are temporary. The wise will learn to rise to the top. How? I know that for me, I have a few men to whom I look up. Many are military men. Others are my grandparents (they’re deceased now, but their impact upon my life continues). Another was my father-in-law (he was truly a godly man who has since gone on to his reward). My point is simple: the folks whose impact endures are those people whose lives and ministries were characterized by truth, by long obedience in the right and godly direction. 

BLUF: Knowing the Goal/Investing in Others

Context: In Proverbs 11:30, Solomon employs at least two metaphors. The first is that of a tree that bears fruit. The second is that of direction, an azimuth check, if you will. In the first line, he writes, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life . . .” That’s straightforward. The righteous/good man is characterized as a life-giving, life-bearing, pro-life person, so to speak. He’s characterized by “speaking life” and encouragement. And the second line unpacks this a bit more by adding, “and whoever captures souls is wise.” It’s not meant in the negative sense of entrapment. Rather, it is about leading people out of darkness into light, out of evil into goodness/righteousness. That’s the root meaning of the word educate. Etymologically, the word means “to lead out of/from darkness to light.”

Text: “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise” (Pr 11:30).

Encouragement: All of us have the same amount of time in a day. How do we steward those 24 hours? Do we invest wisely in people and in ourselves? Or do we fritter away the time? Solomon here encourages the wise in godly stewardship of the time we’ve been given.

Here’s the YouTube link:

Find us at Christ Covenant Church (3cs-canton.org).

BLUF: The Security of Integrity

Context: Proverbial wisdom from Solomon. A father’s discipling his son in understanding the difference between the wise person and the fool.

Text: “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out” (Pr 10:9).

Encouragement: The imagery’s important here. It is one of gait, of one’s stride, of one’s walk. When our daily walk is one of integrity, we’re not having to look over our shoulder. We’re at peace with God and at peace with others, insofar as that’s possible. It’s like what Paul writes in Romans 12:18: “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” The fool, by contrast, is crooked. His walk is characterized by duplicity, inconstancy, and instability. 

Integrity is the idea of wholeness, being whole, being “integrated.” Much of mission accomplishment hinges upon seamless teamwork. When all the horses are pulling the same direction, if you will, horsepower’s generated and the wheels on the coach move as designed. This is where integrity will show itself. We walk securely when we do right, even and especially when we think no one’s watching. Because Someone always is.

BLUF: It’s There . . . Every Day

Context: Have you ever asked the question, “Is there reason to hope?” If you’re around some people, it’s always negative, what I call “Sad Panda Syndrome.” Some folks just seem to have the spiritual gift of discouragement. (Yes, I’m aware of the fruits of the Spirit from Gal. 5:22-23; discouragement is absent for a reason.) Well, Lamentations is a book in Scripture about eyewitness testimony of Babylon’s destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. and the people were living with this question: “Is there reason to hope?” And the writer of Lamentations (possibly Jeremiah) wrote the words you see below.  

Text: “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23, ESV).

Encouragement: In addition to those words being the foundation for Christianity’s greatest hymns, those lines from Lamentations serve as a reminder, an encouragement, and an answer to the question, “Is there reason to hope?” Answer: Yes, there is. Why? Because God delights to bring life from death; light from darkness; joy from sorrow. Have you messed up in the past? So have I. God is still there. Have you stumbled in your progress? So have I. God is still there. Have you been battered and bruised by enemies? So have I. And God is still there. The Scriptures nowhere tell us to put our trust in man. It tells us just the opposite in fact—to trust the Lord, knowing that He is there, that He is good, and that He delights to redeem.