Check Your Inputs

June 5, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

Jesus was the healthiest Person to ever walk planet Earth. When Luke, a physician, tells us about the growth of Jesus, he says first that “Jesus grew in wisdom.” (Luke 2:52). That is our indication that a healthy mind is at the foundation for every other aspect of health. 

But mental health doesn’t stay in your mind—it affects every other part of your life. Likewise, all of the other parts of your life can enhance or drain your mental health. We are created as interconnected beings. For instance, it’s hard to think correctly when you’re physically tired, spiritually drained, or involved in an unhealthy relationship. It’s also true that it’s hard to make good decisions about your physical health, stay focused on God, or handle your relationships successfully if you aren’t thinking correctly. 

We see the apostles writing about our wholly healthiness—

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. (3 John 2) 

Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. (1 Thessalonians 5:23 NLT) 

When my laptop is disconnected from the monitors I use at our church building, the message on the screen tells me to “check your inputs.” That’s not just for inanimate technology, but for us too: To maintain good overall health, we need to check our physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional inputs. 

Let’s start with the physical inputs. When we are active during the day our bodies release a stress hormone called cortisol. Stress is not a bad thing—it’s a normal thing. A body that isn’t stressed will atrophy and become susceptible to disease. Balanced, healthy stress is called eustress, and unbalanced, unhealthy stress is called distress. 

Cortisol is naturally flushed from the body in two ways: exercise and sleep. Exercise is important to keep our bodies moving effectively, and sleep helps us recover and helps our brains catalogue our memories (see 1 Timothy 4:8; Psalm 3:5). To fuel our exercise and our sleep requires the energy which we get from a healthy diet. 

So if you’re not thinking healthy thoughts, check your physical inputs: Am I getting the proper amount of sleep? Am I exercising regularly? Am I eating properly? Do I see a doctor for a checkup? 

How about spiritual inputs? Somewhat surprisingly, our spirits are kept healthy very much along the same lines as our physical bodies—proper food, appropriate exercise, and a time of rest. Our spiritual food is God’s Word, our exercise is working out what we’ve studied in the Bible, and our rest is called sabbathing (Jeremiah 15:16; Matthew 7:24-27; James 2:17). Jesus demonstrated all of these in His life and we, too, should follow His example. 

If you’re not thinking healthy thoughts, check your spiritual inputs: Am I reading the Bible regularly? Am I putting what I learn into practice? Am I sabbathing properly?  

Then there our emotional inputs, or the relationships that build us and relationships that drain us. You are always going to encounter people in need, and ministering to those needs is draining (Luke 8:45-46). We also need to be alert to those antagonistic people who purposely drain us (2 Timothy 4:14-15). We can make decisions to place people in our lives who build us up and be cautious of those who drain us (Proverbs 27:3, 5-6, 9, 17). 

Once again, if you’re not thinking healthy thoughts, check your emotional inputs: Do I have healthy people investing in my life? Am I sharpening the iron of others? 

Finally, let’s not forget the mental inputs. Computer programmers are well aware of the acronym GIGO: garbage in, garbage out. If you don’t like the results that are coming out, check what is going in. The apostle Paul gives us an outstanding checklist in Philippians 4:8. 

If your mental health isn’t as healthy as you would like it to be, perhaps you need to talk to your doctor about your physical health, or a mature spiritual friend about your spiritual health, or a Christian counselor about your emotional health. As you consult with these wise people, continue to pray for God’s help. As your Creator, He knows you better than anyone else could and He can give you the wisdom you need as you check your inputs. 

This is part 5 in our series on a Christian’s mental health. If you’ve missed any of the other messages I’ve shared, you can find them all by clicking here. 

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Maybe Not Straight, But Always Best

May 2, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” (Exodus 13:17 NASB)

The age-old maxim has been, “The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.” It might be the shortest route, but not necessarily the best route. 

God always knows the best path for us. This is what David means when he says to his Good Shepherd, “You guide me in paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake“ (Psalm 23:3). This is also what Solomon means when he tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight“ (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Our idea of “straight“ isn’t necessarily the best for us. God can see better and farther than we ever can, so we need to always trust His guidance. 

He will speak to us, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a Voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’“ (Isaiah 30:21). 

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Links & Quotes

April 29, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Our negative self-told can limit our lives. If you’re a leader, your negative self-talk is putting a life on how well and how far you can lead. Check out this full episode from The Craig And Greg Show. And be sure to check out all of my videos on my YouTube channel.

“Courage is the mastery of fear, not the absence of fear.” —Mark Twain

“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children…” (Proverbs 13:22). In his excellent book Proverbs: Amplified and Applied, my cousin Dick Brogden uses our grandfather as an example of the principle in this verse: “Good has multi-generational implications. My grandfather was an incredibly generous man, and his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren have reaped the benefit. I am convinced that one of the reasons my family is so generously provided for is because our ancestor repeatedly gave significant financial gifts to his church, the Billy Graham Association, and missionaries around the world. Contrary to Shakespeare’s pessimism in the mouth of Mark Antony, the good that men do does indeed live after them, it is not interred with their bones.”

Self-care is vital. Without taking care of yourself first, how will you have any strength to take care of others? To Write Love On Her Arms has a helpful list of self-care items you can do in just 20 minutes per day.

“Knowledge follows understanding. We invert it and think that if we know facts, we are wise. In reality, it is only the wise who can rightly interpret the facts. … There is a posture of humility before God that opens the lowly to the understanding of God. This spirit of understanding becomes the filter with which we sift facts. Facts sifted by understanding lead us to accurate knowledge. Scoffers reject the reality that they need God’s help and God’s Spirit to understand facts. They foolishly think that true knowledge can be gained outside divinely enabled understanding. They have earned their PhD in ultimate idiocy.” —Dick Brogden, in ‘Proverbs: Amplified and Applied’ commenting on Proverbs 14:6

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The Compliance Of Silence

April 11, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

A couple of weeks ago I shared a recap from my sermon called Eloquent Silence. Jesus serenely remained silent when He was being falsely accused by those who wanted Him out of the way. Yet, His silence was eloquent and convicting. 

We would do well to learn this lesson from our Savior. 

There is a flip side to this: Sometimes our silence can signal compliance or acceptance of those who are speaking or perpetrating evil. 

David wrote, “Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones? Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men? No, in heart you work wickedness; you weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth” (Psalm 58:1-2 NKJV). 

Commenting on this psalm, Charles Spurgeon wrote, “It would be well, if people would sometimes pause and candidly consider this: ‘Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones?’ Some of those who surrounded Saul were passive rather than active persecutors—they held their tongues when the object of royal hate was slandered. In the original, this first sentence appears to be addressed to them, and they are asked to justify their silence. Silence gives consent. People who refrain from defending the right are themselves accomplices in the wrong.”  

Silence does have its place. King Solomon wrote, “He who despises his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding keeps silent. He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy conceals a matter” (Proverbs 11:12-13 NASB1995). But to remain silent in the face of evil or falsehood could also be a sin. 

Consider a few other wise words:

“No one wants to be thought of as holding to a ‘minority position’ on anything, so, rather than speak up in the face of many who are doing so, most will remain silent. This is where the Christian community finds itself at this time, trapped in a spiral of silence before a blustering but empty secular and unbelieving worldview. So it is very important that believers in Jesus Christ make the best use of every opportunity to talk about what is good and pleasing to God.” —T.M. Moore 

“Don’t be a bystander, be on stand by. I will not allow a bully to bully others. I will not laugh at his jokes, I will not remain silent. I will stand up and say ‘Enough is enough.’” —Nick Vujicic 

“As Christians we are tempted to make unnecessary concession to those outside the Faith. We give in too much. Now, I don’t mean that we should run the risk of making a nuisance of ourselves by witnessing at improper times, but there comes a time when we must show that we disagree. We must show our Christian colors, if we are to be true to Jesus Christ. We cannot remain silent or concede everything away.” —C.S. Lewis 

“Our lives begin to end the day we remain silent about things that really matter.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.

When to speak up and when to remain silent is a huge issue for Christians. This is why we need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit telling us when to hold our tongues and when to speak out boldly.

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Poetry Saturday—Hasty Foolishness

April 1, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

This is a poem I wrote for my congregation after we talked about the eloquent silence of Jesus as His response to foolish heckling.

Learn a lesson from our Lord
Often silence cuts like a sword
When we stand upon the Rock
We needn’t bother when fools mock
Bantering with fools just won’t do
Unless you want to be foolish too
To the wisest words they won’t listen
But joy in airing their own opinion
Our Lord knew just what to do
When mockers hurled words untrue
He entrusted things to the King
Who perfectly records everything
Help us follow the example You gave
To not engage with those who rave
May not our hasty words undo
The loving way we shine for You —Craig T. Owens


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When The Holy Spirit Redirects Us

March 22, 2023 — Craig T. Owens 




Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 



A well-known passage in Proverbs tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).


Here’s what this looks like in a New Testament setting…




Paul reminds us, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). I cannot think of a better way to live. 


If you would like to watch the full video from which the above clip was taken, you can find it here.


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Eloquent Silence

March 13, 2023 — Craig T. Owens 




Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 



We’ve just looked at two back-to-back bold statements of Jesus. To the Sanhedrin, He said, “I am the I AM,”  and to Pontius Pilate, He said, “I am a king.” Christ’s third bold claim essentially amounts to, “And I don’t have to prove either of these to you; I don’t have to argue with you about it.” 


After He was arrested, there was a back-and-forth shuttling of Jesus from the Sanhedrin to Pilate, then from Pilate to King Herod, and then back to Pilate again. Pilate told the Sanhedrin, “I find no basis for a charge against Him.” But the Sanhedrin countered, “But He is stirring up trouble all the way from Galilee to here in Jerusalem!” (see Luke 22:67-23:11).


Pilate was looking for “an out”—a way he could safely discharge or punish Jesus that would keep both the Sanhedrin and his Roman superiors happy. So when Pilate heard that Jesus was from Galilee, he was more than happy to pass this “hot potato” to King Herod. When Jesus was hauled before Herod, we read that he was greatly pleased to see Jesus. 


Why was that? To answer that question, we need to understand who Herod was. His name is Herod Antipas, and he was the son of Herod the Great. Herod the Great was king when Jesus was born, and he was the one who attempted to kill Jesus. 


Herod Antipas was infamous for having seduced his sister-in-law Herodias, whom he married after divorcing his wife. Shortly after this, Herod arrested John the Baptist for calling out this marriage as sinful. Herodias especially was embarrassed by this and wanted John killed, but Herod feared the backlash from the people if he did this. Eventually Herodias got her way and Herod was forced to have John beheaded (Matthew 14:5; Mark 6:17-28).


When news about Jesus began to reach his ears, Herod thought that Jesus was John reincarnated and he wanted to see him (Luke 9:9). So now when Jesus is brought before him, Herod is looking for a magic trick—Jesus remains silent. Then the religious leaders resume their accusations against Jesus, and still He remains silent. Then Herod and his soldiers began mocking and ridiculing Jesus, and amazingly, He still doesn’t say a word. 


Jesus knew the Scriptures that make it clear that there is nothing to be gained by bantering with fools. For instance, Solomon wrote, 


Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. … Don’t waste your breath on fools, for they will despise the wisest advice. (Proverbs 26:4, 23:9). 


So here is the next bold claim from Jesus: {Eloquent silence.}


Even in the face of accusation, ridicule, and mocking, Jesus refused to engage in meaningless arguing with Herod or the Sanhedrin’s false witnesses. His silence was so eloquent that it got the attention of Governor Pilate:  


“Then Pilate asked [Jesus], ‘Don’t You hear the testimony they are bringing against You?’ But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.” (Matthew 27:13-14) 


Let’s learn from Jesus: Sometimes the best thing to say is NO thing! 


Peter pointed Christians to this example of Jesus when he wrote—


To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.” When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. (1 Peter 2:21-23)


Jesus called us to let our good deeds shine brightly to bring glory to God. Fools will ridicule and mock and accuse us, just as the religious crowd did to Jesus. Let’s not let our bantering with fools put out the light of our testimony. 


When I was a little kid in Sunday School, we used to sing a song called This Little Light Of Mine. We would hold up our pointer finger like a candle as we sang. But holding up our pointer finger across our lips is also a way to let our light shine too. Your silence in the face of foolish ridicule will speak so eloquently!


Let’s learn this lesson from Jesus. Instead of bantering with fools, entrust yourself to the perfect Judge who is perfectly keeping track of every word. He is the One who can add eloquence to your silence as you shine brightly for Him. 


If you’ve missed any of the other messages in our series of Bold Claims, you can find them all by clicking here. 


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Pull The Weeds

March 6, 2023 — Craig T. Owens 




Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 



When looking at the growth of Jesus, Luke says first that “Jesus grew in wisdom” (Luke 2:52), which is our indication that a healthy mind is the foundation for every other aspect of health. 


The first mental health strategy we learned was asking the Holy Spirit to help us see a new path. Instead of thoughtlessly, automatically allowing our minds to go down the well-worn paths they have always gone down before, the Spirit of Truth can help us see a new path. Let me share our second strategy with you. 


My wife and I had traveled to a neighboring community and when we got out of our car we saw an unusual sight. First of all, there was dirt and a few weeds where there used to be grass, and then there was this sign in the middle of that dirt field: Keep off the grass. That seemed like really wishful thinking to me! I may not have a green thumb—truthfully I probably have a “black thumb” when it comes to keeping plants alive—but I know enough to say that their grass wasn’t going to grow without a lot of effort. 


Weeds grow by apathy, they are removed with continual effort. Fruit-bearing plants grow by careful attention, fertilization, and pruning. So if we don’t put in any effort at all, it’s the same thing as fertilizing the weeds. 


Solomon made this observation: I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds and the stone wall was in ruins (Proverbs 24:30-31). 


Without effort on our part, weeds take over, sap the nutrients, and take up the space that could be used for fruit-bearing plants. 


Jesus talked about this in His parable of the sower—


A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. (Matthew 13:3-8)


When Jesus says that the thorns grew up and choked the plants, He uses a Greek word that means overwhelmed or suffocated. It’s the same word that is translated as drowning (see Luke 8:33). What weeds do to our gardens, weed thoughts do to our minds. 


We all know that when we see a weed pop up above the ground, there is a root below the ground that is supporting it. The sooner we pull that weed, the more likely we are to remove the troublesome root as well. 


What about our minds? What are the roots? Jesus identified the roots this way: For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander (Matthew 15:19). Jesus taught that we murder, commit adultery, lust, and slander in our hearts long before it ever happens in our words or physical actions. 


So when a “weed word” pops out, what do we do? If we do nothing, we fertilize that weed. If we ignore it, we allow that weed to strengthen its hold and begin to choke out the fruitful plants. If we simply say, “Oops, that was a slip of the tongue; I’ll do better to control it next time,” we haven’t pulled the weed, but we’ve fertilized it. 


Remember that weeds flourish by apathy, but fruitfulness requires effort.


Back in the parable of the sower, what is the difference between the seed among weeds and the seed in fertile soil? It’s simply the presence of weeds or thorns! If we allow the Holy Spirit to help us pull the weeds, we’ve increased the amount of ground that can be fruitful and produce a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 


Jesus concludes by reminding us that our ears need to hear—we need to hear His words, and we need to hear our own weed words that don’t align with His words. Then we have a choice: apathetically let the weeds remain, or allow them to be pulled up. 


Allow me to share my paraphrase of a passage in Hebrews 12—


My son, do not make light of the Lord’s pruning, and do not lose heart when He weeds your mind, because the Lord prunes the one He loves, and He weeds the garden of everyone He accepts as His son so they can be more fruitful. (my paraphrase of Hebrews 12:5-6)


Our mental health matures when we acknowledge the word weeds we are shown, and then quickly allow the Father to prune those. The Holy Spirit can continue to help us weed the soil of our minds so that it remains a fertile growing place for the seed of God’s Word. By doing this, we will grow in God-pleasing fruitfulness. 


If you would like to download the graphic of this reminder for your phone, simply leave me a comment with the model of the phone, and I’ll get the right-sized graphic right out to you. And if you missed the first message in this series, you can review that lesson by clicking here. 


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Come To God As A Brother

January 16, 2023 — Craig T. Owens 




Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 



Being the firstborn, I didn’t have a big brother, but I took being the big brother to my little sister very seriously! Like when young men would come to pick her up for a date, I would meet them on the front porch and say, “I hope you have a really nice evening. Just so you know, I will be home all evening waiting by the phone. You’d better pray that my little sister doesn’t have to call me!” Hopefully, that let my sister know I was ready to protect her whenever she may need it. 


 Whenever we go into any situation for the first time, there is always a natural fear of the unknown. What’s going to happen? How do I behave? What do I say? How will others treat me? How will I know who to trust? Or even, how will I know what to pray for? 


Those unknowns cause fear, and fear prevents intimacy. The Bible says, “There is no fear in love” (1 John 4:18). Where there is love, fear has to leave. But when there is fear, love is pushed aside. 


We learned that we can come to God in prayer as a Father—we can bring Him all our fears and concerns and problems—but did you know that we can also come to God in prayer as coming to a Brother? 


Jesus loves the fact that we can come to our Abba Father just as He did, which is why He taught us to begin our prayers with, “Our Father in heaven.” 


How wonderful it is to have a “big brother” to show us the ropes, to walk with us, to give us his counsel! One that says, “I’ve already been to that high school … I know that employer … I have experience with that kind of relationship … I’ve solved that problem … I’ve tasted that pain.…” That’s exactly what Jesus does for us. He is our perfect Big Brother! 


Jesus knows everything we will experience in life. There might be unknown things that we walk into, but they are never unknown to Him. And more importantly, they are never unexperienced by Him. Check out these assuring words from the Book of Hebrews—


Both the One who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. … For this reason He had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted. (2:11, 17-18) 


For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (4:15-16) 


Jesus has been there, done that, and has the scars to prove that He is victorious! 


    

  • We never have to be at a loss of what to say (John 12:49-50)
    • 

  • We never have to be at a loss of what path to take (John 14:6) 
    • 

  • We never have to be at a loss of what prayer to pray (John 16:23)
    • 



(Check out all of those verses by clicking here.) 


Charles Spurgeon said, “The Lord Jesus Christ is always ready to take the most imperfect prayer and perfect it for us. If our prayers had to go up to heaven as they are, they would never succeed; but they find a Friend on the way, and therefore they prosper.” 


Solomon wrote, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take (Proverbs 3:5-6). 


Commenting on these verses in his book Proverbs: Amplified and Applied, Dick Brogden wrote:


“We tend to crave God’s explicit direction for the momentous choices of life—marriage, study, career, transition, promotion, change—but sail through a thousand daily choices independent of consultation with Him. Functionally, we act as if we only need God’s help for big things because we can handle the small things without Him. The error in this dichotomy of dependence (thinking we only need God’s help for big decisions) is twofold. First, big decisions are not divorced from small decisions; they are simply the crowning act, the summary of a legion of choices. Second, big decisions are not more important than small decisions. It is the small, simple, silent, serial choices of daily living that make one wise. When we acknowledge the Lord in all the minutia, our course is chosen and our path is set, and we do not stand bewildered at the critical crossroads of life.” 


Walking with Jesus as our Brother keeps us free from fear. His perfect love opens our hearts to have intimate conversation with our Heavenly Father. You can trust our Brother to help you with every single decision at every single moment. Let’s learn to lean on Him more! 


If you’ve missed any of the messages in our series on prayer called Intimate Conversation, you can find all of the messages by clicking here. 


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Proverbs: Amplified And Applied (book review)

January 10, 2023 — Craig T. Owens 




Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 



I enjoy reading devotional books that are based on passages of Scripture, but I get quite frustrated when there is more devotional thought than there is Scripture. This is decidedly not the case in Dick Brogden’s devotional book Proverbs: Amplified And Applied.


Full disclosure: Dick Brogden is my cousin, so I may be just slightly biased on this book. But I don’t think my bias in any way contradicts my statement about the volume of Scripture contained in this powerfully insightful devotional work. 


Dick has taken the Book of Proverbs and gone deep on every single verse. Each note is a treasure trove of insights, cross-references to other biblical concepts, and action steps that can immediately become a prayer request or a daily goal. 


Let me give you an example. Provers 2:7 says, “He holds success in store for the upright, He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless.” Dick’s amplification and application for this verse says—


“Wisdom is a supply and a defense. Wisdom gained now provides in the present and protects in the future. God in His benevolence stockpiles wisdom for us. He gives neither Spirit nor wisdom by measure. He delights to flood, saturate, fill, overwhelm, and lavish the spirit of wisdom, counsel, discernment, and understanding upon us. When we walk in the light, in integrity, it is as if we have a library card that allows us free checkout of heaven’s daily living manuals. Our integrity is what gives us access to all the stored-up wisdom of God. Integrity also shields us from the attacks of folly. The grandest folly comes wrapped in deceptive intelligence. The devil is able (cunning angel of light that he is) to make foolish things seem wise. We are able to see through his disguises and be shielded from his traps when we have a legacy of continually checking out, reading, and applying God’s insight. It is the familiarity with the feel of the true that helps us recognize the false.”


I’m reading through the Book of Proverbs very slowly this year, allowing Dick’s commentary to help me let these principles sink in deep. For those who love the wisdom of Proverbs, I would greatly encourage you to get a copy of Dick’s book for yourself. 


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