Aptiva

We find Dear Reader, that the carpenter has left us a choice. It is recorded in the scriptures that the people of God were shown the promised land, and all contained within it. For forty days, representatives of all twelve tribes, were sent to explore and spy out the land.  ( Numbers 13:2ff) The Lord now said to Moses, 2  “Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.” After this time they reported back that the land was full of "milk and honey", a bountiful place. This was of course what God had promised to the people, and he gave them a foretaste of what living in his Kingdom would be like. God showed them that this land was proven to be able to support their every need and desire. Yet with this came a problem, the land was already filled!  Yet God had decreed its present occupiers were to be destroyed by the people of God, in accordance with the prophecy of God Gen 15:12-

The follower of the carpenter needs to see themselves as distinct and peculiar. We need to come to a place in our existence that we simply accept that as a people of God, we will do things, and hold to values that the rest of the world will find odd. Their reaction to us can be from mild amusements, through to amazement, often with a dose of hostility thrown into the mix. IT will happen, get used to it! When we join in a community of faith, we should be noticed as different. It doesn't matter if in that community of faith we are gathered (as in worship time), or dispersed (jobs and family), the same peculiarity should pervade us. We might not always seem different, but whether recognised by others of not, we should be different. This is the effect of being led by another being. As an example, a child will see lego blocks on the floor, not as something to be tripped over, but as a potential boat, or house or robot. We can watch them, as they build, and they work happily crea

The Bible makes it clear that two types of people step outside the creators view of work.  The first is the sluggard. Lazy people sleep soundly,  but idleness leaves them hungry.- Proverbs 19:15 Those too lazy to plow in the right season  will have no food at the harvest. - Proverbs 20:4 This type of person is typified by being lazy, by doing the minimum to survive, if that. They are a burden to others and themselves. Yet this is not how God would have followers of him behave. It is clear that from the beginning, God reveals himself as a creator, and one who works. He also makes it clear that Humanity were created to work, to tend and oversee the other parts of the creation. Genesis 2:15  The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it God has built humanity to work, yet the sluggard spurns this calling of the image of God in their life. By taking no initiative and never completing any work they start, they lie and make ex

In Proverbs 1:8-33 we read of a warning from Solomon to his son, to avoid joining in with people who would entice him to violence. Violence in today's world comes in many formats, from physical to emotional, intellectual to spiritual. Solomon is warning of throwing one's lot in with those who do harm to others for their own gain. Yet this is easy to do, and easier to justify. From the obvious, direct stealing, and physical attacks, to the more recent cyber bullying and identity theft, all bring violence upon a victim. Yet we can fool ourselves,  "it's ok to download from a torrent site, the companies make too much money anyway." "He should have made his password stronger, the site deserved to be hacked" "They were dressed in a certain way and were asking for trouble" The list is endless, yet all are abdicating the perpetrator from responsibility for their actions. God has another plan entirely. Where the world proposes violen

We read in the start of the Bible, about how the first two humans Adam and Eve,  chose to reach out for wisdom without reference to God. The account tells us that these first two humans did this action in direct conflict and contradiction to God's words. The book of Proverbs tells us that "fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom",  in this opening axiom of the book, God reveals various things to us, all of which must be applicable for wisdom to be acquired. One must have knowledge from God,-  that is you must know what to do One must put that knowledge into practice,-  that is you must do it. One must do so within the context of a covenant relationship with God, -  that is you must understand the reason, you are surrendering to Him, allowing God to be God. Wisdom is not about just getting ahead in life, although that may happen, it's about understanding what God sees in life in the first place. It is not a coincidence that Jesus is known as wisdom pers