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A kindhearted woman gains respect, but ruthless men gain only wealth. A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble on himself. ~Proverbs 11:16-17 A certain Man, who had property there at Carmel, was very wealthy. His name was Nabal and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, was surly and mean in his dealings. … When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before him with her face to the ground. “May my Lord pay no attention to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name is fool, and folly goes with him. But as for me, your servant, I did not see the men you sent.” David said to Abagail, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands. Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you,

He who puts up security for another will surely suffer. Whoever refuses to strike hands in pledge is safe. ~Proverbs 11:15 Take the coat of one who puts up security for a stranger. Hold it in pledge if he does it for a wayward woman. ~Proverbs 20:16 & 27:13 (Another repeat!) Do not be a person who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts. If you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you. ~Proverbs 22:27-28 Give everyone what you owe: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. ~Romans 13:7-8 It was tempting to title today’s devotional, “Hold on to Your Wallet!” There is a lot of good wisdom in the proverbs for today, but many people find the advice given hard to follow. In Truth, statistically speaking, more than half of those who do not follow

Listen link is a video: https://www.facebook.com/gregory.dubois.547/videos/10157785386591195 Scripture: John 11:1-45 Today’s message is about the time Jesus raised a man named Lazarus back to life, four days after he had died of an illness. It is recorded in the gospel of John, chapter 11, verses 1 – 45. That’s a long text, but it’s a great story and it’s a true story. It really happened the way John wrote about it. He was an eye-witness on the scene! I believe this story provides some valuable insights that will help us get through these difficult days. I think because of the fact that Jesus didn’t immediately go to see and heal Lazarus, this can be a hard story for us to wrap our minds around. We like the stories about the loving Jesus, our Spiritual super Man who is always there to rescue and make all things right. He feeds masses of people with a single blessing! He heals with a single Word! He extinguishes the enemy with a single withering rebuke. No mortal man, or demon,

When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish there are shouts of joy. ~Proverbs 11:10 For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure. ~Proverbs 11:14 When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood the wicked’s final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground. You cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! As a dream when one awakes, so when You rise, O Lord, You will despise them as fantasies.” ~Psalm 73:16-20 Most of us waking up this morning are not going to be doing what we want to be doing. We want to be in worship and fellowship with others. It’s a poor substitute to just have a message from the pastor on our computer or phone screen. We long to be in community in God’s House. Most of what is being addressed in today’s scripture has been said before. Besides, it’s hard to know, is the virus really wic

A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence. ~Proverbs 11:13 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels. They go down to the inmost part of a person. ~Proverbs 18:8 & 26:22 A gossip betrays a confidence. So, avoid a person who talks too much. ~Proverbs 20:19 Without wood a fire dies out. Without gossip a quarrel dies down. As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife. ~Proverbs 26:20-21 Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say. ~Ecclesiastes 10:29 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. ~2 Timothy 2:16 The Bible certainly has a lot to say about gossip. Solomon keeps returning to this theme again and again. We know that it’s wrong and we know that we shouldn’t do it. We know the best way to stop it is to not par

The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: The Lord gives sight to the eyes of both. ~Proverbs 29:13 You have heard that it was said, “love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” ~Matthew 5:43-47 Kathy and I had a conversation the other day about how God is so generous in blessing people with so many talents. We were thinking that, if we were God, we would wait to distribute gifts and talents until after a person comes to Christ. Our loving God doesn’t work that way. Think about it, every person t

From the fruit of his lips a man enjoys good things, but the unfaithful have a craving for violence. He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin. ~Proverbs 13:2-3 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. ~Ephesians 4:29-32 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. ~Colossians 4:5-6 I remember hearing a friend give a devotional on Psalm 139 once. When she got to verse 4 which says:

When a wicked man dies, his hope perishes; all he expected from his power comes to nothing. The righteous man is rescued from his trouble, and it comes on the wicked instead. ~Proverbs 11:7-8 He who increases his wealth by exorbitant interest amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor. ~Proverbs 28:8 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. ~Psalm 1:4-5 There is a well-known story told about the famous philosopher Voltaire, 1694-1778, who lived in Geneva Switzerland, who was a known opponent to the Christian faith. He was a strong supporter of the secular thinking of the day and is reported to have said at one point, that within one hundred years the Bible would be deemed irrelevant and it would no longer be read. While skeptics have tried to down play the

The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires. ~Proverbs 11:6 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all. Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. ~Psalm 34:19 & 21 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! ~2 Corinthians 5:17 In our proverb for today, we are asked to consider the contrast between the righteous and the unfaithful. We’re not talking about evil people here, but unfaithful people, who are unfaithful to what? What comes to mind immediately for me is the third soil in the parable of the four soils, recounted by Jesus in Matthew, Mark and Luke. “The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the one who hears the Word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.” (Matthew 13:22) That has a similarity I thought with our proverb “but the unf

The righteousness of the blameless makes a straight way for them, but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness. ~Proverbs 11:5 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” ~Luke 18:9-14 On the face of it, if you were to look at these two men, which one is the wicked one and which one is the ri

Psalm 23  Video!!   https://www.facebook.com/gregory.dubois.547/videos/10157757345591195 Old kind of listen link:  Listen link:  www.lcepc.org  then look for “sermons” tab I hear that psalm read at nearly every funeral. I suppose that is because it specifically mentions death, and the shadow of death, in the context of how the Good Shepherd protects us and relieves us of the fear of death. But at a funeral, fearful death has already passed. The survivors may be comforted by the hope of the gospel, to think that their dearly departed is suffering no more, safe in the arms of Jesus. But, before the funeral, or after it, do people really walk about, fearlessly trusting in that good shepherd, for everyday life? Most of the time everyday life is so ordinary that we don’t even think about how fragile life is. Any moment could be your last moment on earth, from any number of causes. But we’re not afraid of that fact. We usually go about our business without even thinking about it.

Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. ~Proverbs 11:4 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed. Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake His faithful ones. ~Psalm 37:25-27 This is an interesting proverb to contemplate considering the situation we are in today with the threat of corona virus all around us. Our lives have been drastically changed in such a short amount of time. Many are unemployed. Even the way we worship together has been altered. Our goal is to stop the spread of infection, of course. But isn’t it interesting how in so many ways the field has been leveled? This illness is no respecter of status. The wealthy will not be able to stop it by holding up a dollar bill. We will all stop it together only by all of us

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. ~Proverbs 11:3 Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. They bound Him, led Him away and handed Him over to Pilate, the governor. When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” So, Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. ~Matthew 27:1-5 “O what a tangled web we weave when once we practice to deceive.” I’m always amazed when I realize how much Judas was trusted by his fellow disciples. He was even trusted with the money. John lets us know that it was discovered, eventually, that he was dipping into the funds for himself,

Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow. ~Proverbs 13:11 The Lord abhors dishonest scales, accurate weights are His delight. ~Proverbs 11:1 Honest scales and balances are from the Lord; all the weights in the bag are of His making. ~Proverbs 16:11 Differing weights and differing measures—the Lord detests them both. ~Proverbs 20:10 The Lord detests differing weights, and dishonest scales do not please Him. ~Proverbs 20:23 Do not have two differing weights in your bag—one heavy, one light. Do not have two differing measures in your house—one large, one small. You must have accurate and honest weights and measures so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. For the Lord your God detests anyone who does these things, anyone who deals dishonestly. ~Deuteronomy 25:13-16 Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest wit

If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials become wicked. If a king judges the poor with fairness his thrown will always be secure. ~Proverbs 29:12 & 14 One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: That You, O Lord, are strong, and that You, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done. ~Psalm 62:11-12 A person in leadership needs to be very careful, and prayerful about those he or she chooses to be in their circle of influence. While the person at the top may get the credit, or blame, there are those who have the ears of that leader for good or for bad. Think of the ruler in Hans Christian Anderson’s story “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” Now, there was a man who was willing to listen to lies! However, all of his officials were complicit in the ruse. Consider the disgrace they were willing to let their leader endure, rather than be truthful and punish the scoundrels before anything happened. Surely, we all know that our leaders do