My family book club just recently discussed the book A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, a wonderful book in almost everyone’s opinion.

To briefly summarize, Alexander Rustov was a Russian nobleman at the time of the Bolshevik Revolution and given a lifetime sentence of house arrest at Moscow’s Metropol Hotel. The story follows his adjustment to this sentence and the relationships he develops because of it.
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Near the end of the book, when his “daughter” is asking him if he would have liked his freedom, he says: “Looking back, it seems to me that there are people who play an essential role at every turn. And I don’t just mean the Napoleons who influence the course of history; I mean men and women who routinely appear at critical junctures in the progress of art, or commerce, or the evolution of ideas—as if Life itself has summoned them once again to help fulfill its purpose (420).”

He then goes on to say “Well, since the day I was born, Sofia, there was only one time when Life needed me to be in a particular place at a particular time, and that was when your mother brought you to the lobby of the Metropol. And I would not accept the Tsarship of all the Russias in exchange for being in this hotel at that hour (421)”

This interchange took me immediately to a Biblical parallel. Not only did it remind me of Mordecai’s statement to Queen Esther when the Jews were under threat of annihilation because of Haman’s plot: “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this? Esther 4:14,” but it also extended my understanding that God places each and every one of us exactly where He wants us every minute of every day.

The other two takeaways I had from Alexander’s experience was first, that at the time taking charge of five-year-old Sofia was completely out of his comfort zone and upended his established routine completely, but second, looking back, he wouldn’t have change it for the world. The experience enriched his life not deplete it.

​When we find ourselves in those out-of-our-comfort-zone experiences that look like they are only designed to disrupt our routine and upend our lives, we need to remember two things: God put us there specifically . . . and the blessings will be life-changing.

The devastating earthquake in Turkey this past week is just another reminder that we live in a fallen world AND that we are ever closer to Christ’s second coming.

Matthew 24:6-8 states: You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.


Studies have shown that earthquakes have definitely increased not just over the past 100 years, but exponentially over the past 10 years. (Science News)

Likewise, though major world wars and conflicts seem to have decreased over the past 100 years, internal conflicts and unrest are on the rise. (Vision of Humanity)

And despite the increase in world aid, increased population coupled with natural disaster or political conflict have produced six major famines in the last 100 years. (Global Citizen)

Matthew 24 has way too much to unpack in a short blog as it deals with not only wars and natural disasters but also the rise of false claims to be the Messiah. However, as always, the main point is not that complicated. Things will grow worse. And Christ will return.

Therefore, we need to be ready for that return, and we need to have a compassionate heart for a hurting world by not only meeting the physical and emotional needs but also the spiritual needs of which the only remedy is a personal relationship with the Savior of the world—Jesus.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, . . . (Proverbs 9:10a).

Yes, I know that the word “fear” in this sense is best translated as “awe” or “profound respect,” but I still think that the most basic meaning of fear has a place here.

As we grow up, we are taught to have a healthy respect for fire, electricity, cars, and other objects that could cause us harm if not approached appropriately. We aren’t to be afraid of them per se, but we are to respect their power and to fear what could possibly happen if not handled correctly. This is the beginning of wisdom in each of these areas. Only fools forget what each is capable of and throw caution to the wind.

Then how much more important is it to fear an ALL POWERFUL (omnipotent); ALL KNOWING (omniscient); and ALL PRESENT (omnipresent) God? Yes, we stand in wonder and awe at all that he has created, but we most definitely need to respect the power of who He is.

But the point of this verse is that the fear of the lord (that awe, wonder, respect of power) is the beginning of wisdom. Once we have placed God right where He should be, above all else, and accept his authority over everything, then we immediately gain wisdom in two areas.

First, we realize that all other fears disappear as Psalm 91 says.

. . .You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday. . . .

For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways; . . .

As well as the 365 reminders to “Fear not” that appear throughout the Bible (one for each day of the year).

Second, we will be able to grow in wisdom from the other people God has placed in our lives, as Proverbs 1:7-8 says:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.

If we don’t accept God’s authority and direction, it is doubtful that we will accept the counsel of those he has placed in authority over us. Wisdom is not a lifting of the chin in pride and arrogance, but a bowing of the brow in submission and  profound awe.

Humans have a habit of making comparisons. In some cases, this is justified, such as I need to buy a car, and I want it to fit my needs—like hold my golf clubs easily, get good gas mileage, and look cool—so I make my pros and cons list, compare them, and then buy the best option. Comparisons are good when in the buying market.

But we have a bad habit of comparing humans to humans, and this never ends well. We often judge the quality of our lives by what others share with us (whether in person or via social media), and much of the time, our lives come up wanting. Others are traveling, enjoying friends, and posting low golf scores while we are stuck at home paying for home repairs and wondering where our golf swing went.

As Christians, however, we often do the opposite. Too often (even though deep down we know this isn’t true) we compare ourselves to others and conclude that we have lived or are living a more righteous life than our neighbor, and, therefore, are held in higher esteem by God.

But nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, in Isaiah 66:2, it says: “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.”

But even more relevant is the reminder that God’s grace and mercy extends to everyone, and Jesus’s cloak of righteousness, spread over us at the moment of salvation, makes everyone of us “whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7). We now all look the same to Him—Cleansed.

Which is why I like this saying on my Amish perpetual calendar.

There's one good thing about snow, it makes your fields look as nice as your neighbor’s. (sic)  January 12.

For it reminds me that when I start being judgemental or developing a critical spirit, that I, too, am in need of God's grace and  mercy, and His willingness to  make me “whiter than snow.”

I believe that the Bible is one cohesive book despite being comprised of 66 disparate books and written by 40 different authors over a span of 1500 years.

I also know that it is God’s love story to us, a story about failure and restoration; separation and reunion.

But I really hadn’t connected the dots in other ways . . . until last week.

I was reading Psalm 19:7-9 the other day. Listen to the words.






The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.

The precepts of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart;
the commandments of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever;
the judgments of the LORD are true, being altogether righteous.

Do those bolded words sound familiar? They did to me, too. Philippians 4:8:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

I have often debated what things Paul meant when he said “true, noble, right, and pure,” and have always assigned them a human counterpart. And commentaries would support this, as there was some discord in the Philippian church, and Paul was encouraging them to focus on these uplifting and God-pleasing attributes instead of their differences.

However, what hit home to me was that the source of these attributes is God’s Word itself as David writes in Psalm 19. God’s Word is all these things. If we read and instill His Word, then we cannot but help focus on and live a life defined by these qualities.

Likewise, later in the chapter in verse 14 David writes:

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
    be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

And just like that, Matthew 15:18 comes to mind:

But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart.

The Bible is indeed unified in purpose(s): to reveal a loving God; to proclaim salvation through Christ; and to encourage and enable us to bring glory to God by becoming more Christlike every day.

Dot to dot to dot.