Archive for February, 2025

Know the Time

“A time to keep silence, And a time to speak…” (Ecclesiastes 3:7).

This verse is an extraction from a poem related to the appointed times of life. It is a faith statement inspiring confidence in God. Contrasts are used to indicate there is a time and place for the variables of life. We are to respect the fact there are contrasts in life, in simple summary, there are highs as well as lows in life.

This Bible passage is one of the most referenced in the Bible among Christians as well as non-Christians. It is distilled wisdom, wisdom in bite size phrases.

This part of the poem contrasts silence and speech. Each has a time and place. To confuse them is to disrespect both. Mark Twain frames it this way:

“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”

In conversation if you allow the other person to do most of the speaking they will leave the conversation feeling you are a wonderful conversationalist. If you dominate the conversation they might well feel you are boring. Don’t speak because you have to say something. Speak because you have something to say.

When you can improve on silence… speak.

Many speakers must have been absent in speech class when a “dramatic pause” was discussed. A brief pause clearly dramatizes the thoughts it separates. So, in personal conversation it ties thoughts together. A brief pause is indeed a valuable time of silence.

Conversation is like a tennis match, your opponent hits the ball to you and you return it to your opponent. A conversationalist is not an opponent, but the analogy is simple. Even if you don’t know as much about the topic as the other person you can keep the conversation going by asking simple analytical questions. Avoid questions needing a simple yes or no.

The most important conversation is called prayer. It is simply mentally if not vocally talking to God. He does not answer orally, but He does lead a praying person. He invites us, “Be still and know that I am God…” (Psalm 46: 10). This verse invites us into the presence of God, reminding us of His love and peace.

The Hebrew word for “know” is “yada” signifying deep, relational knowledge. It’s the same word used to describe intimate relationships. It reveals how vital God considers our relationship with Him.

Knowing the setting of a Scripture often helps us to understand its relevance.

This verse was written by Moses when the Israelites were trapped between Pharaoh’s army and the Red Sea. In this moment of crisis, Moses reassured them that God would guide them. We, like they, need to stop struggling, rely on and respond to the Lord. When we do our conversation of prayer will come full circle.

It is then our fear is overcome by faith, our panic is replaced by His peace.

A Time to Laugh – Part Three

“There is a time to laugh” Ecclesiastes 3: 4

“The One enthroned in heaven laughs…” Psalm 2: 4

There was a time when God brought His people out of bondage and back to their homeland. It was a joyous time of which it was said, “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them’” (Psalm 126).

Laughter is a verbal elixir. It is a gift of God. It brings rain to our drought-stricken lives.

Dr. W. Herschel Ford made these observations regarding laughter. “The word ‘laugh,’ in its various forms, is given thirty-eight times in the Bible. Sometimes laughter is right and sometimes it’s wrong. Sometimes it is a fool who is laughing. Sometimes it is God Himself.” If God laughed, so should we.

There is a study that shows the average 4-year old child laughs 300 times a day. By contrast, it takes over two months for the average 40-year old to laugh that many times. It is not until we are in our 70s that we start to recover our laughter instincts.  This being recognized there are laugh clubs. Members get together and start off making pretending laugh sounds. They keep it up until there is a transformation to real laughter. The components of laughter are there if we will normally release them when appropriate. Go ahead and laugh.

Let me offer you this bit of humor as a potential starter for your laughter reflex.

A Cajun had a large estate with a lake on the back of the property around which he had planted peach and pear trees. One day he got a big bucket and went down to gather some fruit. To his amazement there were some young adult females skinny dipping in the lake. They said, “We aren’t coming out until you leave.” He replied. “That is alright ladies, I am just going to be here for a short time, I just came down to feed the alligators.” Go on and laugh.

When was the last time you knew the grace of a deep laugh?

God’s enemies may plot against his will, “but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming” (Psalm 37:12–13). God laughs at those who set themselves against his will (Psalm 59:8). And when he laughs, he does so for our sake, to communicate to us. He laughs to give off signals — signals that are horrible to His enemies and reassuring for his friends. The most memorable instance is Psalm 2.

May the God of all grace meet you in your sighs and by the gift of grace fill you with fresh laughter. May the encouragement of His promises, the overflow of His joy, and His inexhaustible favor be yours. That is no laughing matter.

A Time to Laugh – Part Two

“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time to laugh…” (Ecclesiastes 3: 4).

There is a time to laugh. There is nothing more inappropriate than a miss-timed laugh. Neither is there anything more appropriate than a good laugh. May the following spurious song titles get at least a smile if not a laugh.

        I KEEP FORGETTING I FORGOT YOU

        IF THE PHONE DON’T RING, BABY, YOU WILL KNOW IT’S ME

        HOW CAN I MISS YOU IF YOU WON’T GO AWAY

        I’M JUST A BUG ON THE WINDSHIELD OF LIFE

        IF YOU LEAVE ME, CAN I COME TOO

        THANK GOD AND GREYHOUND SHE’S GONE

        YOU DONE TORE MY HEART OUT AND STOMPED THAT SUCKER FLAT

        VELCRO ARMS, TEFLON HEART

“Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritations and resentments slip away and a sunny spirit takes their place,” so said American humorist Mark Twain.

If Jesus, “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3) was anointed with “the oil of gladness”(Hebrews 1:9) should not we express a little gladness in the form of laughter.

Jesus was filled with God’s Spirit, who produces the fruit of joy (Galatians 5:22). May the Spirit enable us to express joy in the form of laughter.

Scottish theologian, Donald Macleod offers this insight on joy as expressed in the form of laughter:
“Much has been made of the fact that Jesus is never said to have smiled or laughed. Linked to the description of the Servant as ‘a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief’ it has furnished a basis for the idea that Jesus’ life was unremittingly joyless and stressful. But this is a serious over-simplification. Apart from all else, a joyless life would have been a sinful life. Would Jesus have been guilty of the anxiety He forbade in others (Mt. 6:25)? Would He have fallen short of Paul’s attainment as one who had learned to be content whatever the circumstances (Phil. 4:11)? Or of the precept to ‘rejoice always’ (Phil. 4:4)? Could He have been filled with the Spirit and yet not have known the Spirit’s joy (Gal. 5:22)? Could He have given rest and relief to others (Mt. 11:28) while remaining depressed and disconsolate himself?”

Such an analysis is reason for us to recognize a lighthearted moment when God enables laughter.

A Time to Laugh – Part One

A little humor never hurt anybody, so try this.

In rummaging through an old file I found this copy of a stock report.

It was a rocky week on this Market. “Helium was up, feathers were down. Paper was stationary. Ticonderoga Pencils lost a few points. Though elevators rose, escalators continued their slow decline. Weights were up in heavy trading. Light switches were off. Mining equipment hit rock bottom. The market for raisins dried up. Pampers remained unchanged. Caterpillar stock inched up a bit. Sun peaked at midday. Birds Eye Peas split. Stanley tools filed for Chapter 11. Scott Tissues touched a new bottom.”

Now back to reality. Solomon, reputedly the wisest man who ever lived, offered this dictum: “A time to weep, and a time to laugh…” (Ecclesiastes 3:4).

There is a time to weep, and that all too often. When appropriate do it. Conversely there is a time to laugh. When appropriate do it.

An indicting question is posed in Chuck Swindoll’s book “Laugh Again:” “When did a healthy, well-exercised sense of humor get sacrificed on the altar of adulthood?”

God loves a good laugh! It’s God who says to us, “a joyful heart is good medicine” (Proverbs 17:22).

To be spiritual you don’t have to abdicate your intelligence, abort your personality, or abandon your sense of humor. After all, it is said, “God laughed….”

He is the happy God (1 Timothy 1:11), the source of all that is healthy and wholesome and purely hilarious. Anyone who would come up with the ideas to create puppies, kittens, llamas, parrots, and proboscis monkeys has a riotous sense of humor.

You can’t read the gospels without knowing Jesus lived with a spirit of joy and humor and warmth in whose presence other people genuinely enjoyed. Humor of the day, satire, and irony overflowed the cusp of the teaching of Jesus. His vision of God’s kingdom effervesces with joy. Spirit guided self-control enables the faithful to enjoy these attributes. Jesus wasn’t a kill-joy and neither are His teachings. His followers should not be either.

Some of the benefits of laughter include: enhancing intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulating heart, lungs, and muscles, increasing endorphins released by the brain, relieving stress, strengthening social bonds, improving heart health, boosting the immune system, relaxing muscles, lowering anxiety, improving mood, and supporting immunity. Those are not laughing matters, they are blessed benefits. Oh, remember “A merry heart does good like a medicine.”

The “man of sorrows” Himself said, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh” (Luke 6:21). That is a promise of a happy God (1 Timothy 1:11). Crying is going to go the way of death and someday will be no more (Revelation 21:4). But joy full to overflowing and pleasure pure and rich will never end (Psalm 16:11).

We live mindful there is a time to weep, but don’t forget it is just as expedient to laugh.

Spiritual Metamorphosis

Have you ever visited a lepidopterarium? That is a butterfly house, a conservatory, a facility which is specifically intended for the breeding and display of butterflies. Visiting one is a delightful experience. The life cycle of the butterfly is observable in this lovely setting. It is amazing that a creature as ugly as a pupa can crawl into a simple cocoon and later emerge as a beautiful butterfly. It is a total transformation. A new creature emerges.

An even more amazing transformation is that any one can enter into a relationship with Jesus and emerge as a new creation.

This dynamic change is not cosmetic. It is internal and eternal. It is an inner change that only Jesus can make, but He can make it in anyone.

A classic example is the former basketball phenomenon  Pete Maravich. I knew him well and saw his miraculous transformation. He lived the life of an athlete not knowing Jesus and very little about Him. His transformation patterned a pupa, but was far more beautiful. As a result of the change he knew brokenness and grace. Resultantly He loved and lived for the Lord.

Spiritual brokenness is inward – a contrite spirit over our own sinfulness which leads to humility, surrender, and godly repentance. Personal brokenness is  an opportunity for restoration, and for us to authentically enjoy our friendship with God.

Pete’s brokenness was so meaningful to him he had John 3: 16 carved in the wood of the front door of his house. He said if anyone came to his house he wanted them to know what kind of a man lived there even if he wasn’t home at the time. Pete experienced a spiritual metamorphism, a change. Because our God is a redemptive God and so contrary to the way we think, He will always take our brokenness and bring new life and beauty from it. He can meet us exactly where we are, extending mercy in our time of need.

Countless characters in the Bible experienced this. Nicodemus illustrates it. Jesus said, “You must be born again.” Legions through the years have enjoyed it. 

Nicki Cruse, the leader of a New York City gang the Mau Maus, experienced being born again. When Nicki came to know Jesus as Savior he went back to the gang and explained his experience. Most often if a member of the Mau Maus’ tried to leave they were killed. He walked through the club members unhurt on his way out. He became an evangelist who was used extensively.

The Lord can do the equivalent for anyone who will turn to Him in obedient faith.

In estate planning an Irrevocable Trust is often used, meaning it can not be canceled. That is the kind of commitment Jesus makes to us. So must our commitment be to Him. A butterfly never becomes a pupa again.