Proverbs 13 (Listen)

13:1   A wise son hears his father’s instruction,
    but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
2   From the fruit of his mouth a man eats what is good,
    but the desire of the treacherous is for violence.
3   Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life;
    he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
4   The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,
    while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.
5   The righteous hates falsehood,
    but the wicked brings shame¹ and disgrace.
6   Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless,
    but sin overthrows the wicked.
7   One pretends to be rich,² yet has nothing;
    another pretends to be poor,³ yet has great wealth.
8   The ransom of a man’s life is his wealth,
    but a poor man hears no threat.
9   The light of the righteous rejoices,
    but the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
10   By insolence comes nothing but strife,
    but with those who take advice is wisdom.
11   Wealth gained hastily⁴ will dwindle,
    but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.
12   Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
    but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
13   Whoever despises the word⁵ brings destruction on himself,
    but he who reveres the commandment⁶ will be rewarded.
14   The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,
    that one may turn away from the snares of death.
15   Good sense wins favor,
    but the way of the treacherous is their ruin.⁷
16   Every prudent man acts with knowledge,
    but a fool flaunts his folly.
17   A wicked messenger falls into trouble,
    but a faithful envoy brings healing.
18   Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction,
    but whoever heeds reproof is honored.
19   A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul,
    but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.
20   Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,
    but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
21   Disaster⁸ pursues sinners,
    but the righteous are rewarded with good.
22   A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,
    but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.
23   The fallow ground of the poor would yield much food,
    but it is swept away through injustice.
24   Whoever spares the rod hates his son,
    but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.⁹
25   The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite,
    but the belly of the wicked suffers want.

(ESV)

There are so many proverbs here on the necessity for kings to be just in order to lift the oppression off the poor, causing justice to flow and heal a nation. But flattery gets us nowhere closer to righteousness. It is the Lord who gives light as men gather to seek Him and understand one another. From opposite ends of the spectrum, if the powerless and the powerful seek the Center, the Most High, inevitably they will end up closer together.

Likewise, consider all that is here concerning the discipline of children. Despite popular thinking, none are born innocent, untouched by sin. As 15 says, turned loose to themselves they will shame their mother. So where is the loving discipline of a father, or mother in his stead? Without direction we all perish.

Rather than flattery derived from fearing man, seek the Lord who gives the justice, safety and hope we all truly need.

John 2:12–3:21 (Listen)

12 After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers¹ and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple,² and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Jesus Knows What Is in Man

23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

You Must Be Born Again

3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus³ by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again⁴ he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.⁵ 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You⁶ must be born again.’ 8 The wind⁷ blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you⁸ do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.⁹ 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.¹⁰

For God So Loved the World

16 “For God so loved the world,¹¹ that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

(ESV)

2 The Pharisees asked Him for a sign. They missed the whip and zeal. The people saw it and “believed”. The disciples, too, and after His resurrection, “remembered” and truly believed. He knows who’s faith is real. He knows what’s in man. 3 The teacher of Israel pursued Him under the guise of night. He too had seen the signs, “none can do this unless from God.” But none can see unless born from above by water and Spirit, said the prophets of old Nicodemus had read and taught, and missed. Therefore, “Do not marvel,” Jesus said; he should know. “Born again” is a work of God’s Wind — the Spirit — not of men. Strong words: LOVE for darkness and HATE for Light. No wonder sinners run from conviction… unless overcome by the Light of God, the Wind of the Spirit, the glory of Christ. Only then can one truly see, acknowledging anything of life and Light has been carried out in God.