Walk In Wisdom

"When wisdom enters your heart and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, 

discretion will preserve you;  understanding will keep you..." 

(Proverbs 2:10-11)

Have you ever made a decision to do something and then something previously unknown to you is revealed, that makes it very clear that you made an unwise or uninformed decision?

This has happened to me quite a bit over the years.  

What we do once we have received that kind of revelation is most important.

The part that says, "Discretion will preserve you" really speaks to me today. 

When I look at the above photo of the rattlesnake I think of my favorite fishing spot—well known for it's thriving population of rattlers.  Many a time I have walked down an obscure, brushy trail to the river and felt a subtle sense of "don't go that direction."  The specific path I had intended to take was quickly revised due to applying discretion.

Consequently, after dozens of fishing trips to my favorite river, I have never seen or stepped on a rattlesnake.  Some of my friends have reported seeing several snakes in one day.  I like my record better.

What decisions have you made in your life, from which you now get a sense that you may have chosen the wrong path?  

When wisdom enters your heart, discretion will preserve you.

Proverbs 2 also states (verses 1-8):

"My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints."

For the follower of Christ, God's Word says the Father gives wisdom liberally to those who ask Him for it.

As the proverb says, IF you incline your ear to wisdom, and if you apply your heart to understanding; crying out for discernment, asking for understanding, seeking God's wisdom like a man would search for precious silver and hidden treasures—God will then give you His wisdom and knowledge on that which you seek.

In my life, I have at times failed to use discretion and I walked when I should have waited.   At other times, I waited when I should have walked.  The point is, I didn't take enough time to incline my ear to wisdom, and apply my heart to understanding; crying out for discernment, asking God for understanding.

In Proverbs 3 the writer 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 shall direct your paths."

If we will take the time to really apply our hearts to understanding the wisdom that God gives, the decisions we make with discretion will bear good fruit.

Fortunately, God's grace is ever-present whenever we make an unwise or uninformed decision.  Whenever I haved leaned on my own understanding, God, who is faithful, has always shown me the error of my ways.  Then He picks me up where I have fallen down, dusts me off, and lovingly points me in the right direction. 

I'm so thankful He does not angrily chew me out and call me an idiot. He is never disgusted with me. He disciplines me when I need it, but He always does so in love.

Whenever I step onto the trail heading down to one of my favorite fishing spots, I always ask God for wisdom and discernment to see rattlesnakes, and for His protection from them. He has never let me down. 

God has never failed me.

The lesson I've learned again today is that I need to consistently ask God for His wisdom and understanding, in every area of my life—be it work, education, realtionships, family, parenting or marriage. 

Truly, trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Discretion will preserve you.

God will guard your path.

—God is Love, and Love Never Fails.

Business As Usual

I don't get it.

The world is going to hell-in-a-hand-basket and most people are living and acting like nothing is going on.

Seriously, don't you think it's time to pause, and really take a hard look at the world, and discern what is going on all around you?

The American economy, not to mention the global economy, is literally on the verge of utter collapse and people are still charging up a storm and wearing out their credit cards like there's no tomorrow.  Fancy new houses are popping up all around, and folks are buying new cars and big boy toys like it's a feeding frenzy. People are more concerned with their credit score than in how deep of a pit they are digging themselves into financially.

I recently watched a program on PBS where they said that the top scientists in the world are saying that, at the current rate of consumption of our natural resources, the planet has only "20-30 good years left."

That should be more than a little bit sobering.

I guess it's easier to bury your head in the sand and ignore what's happening in the world, hoping it will just go away. 

Sorry Dorothy, clicking your heels together and chanting, "There's no place like home" is not going to get you out of this mess.

Economic collapse, soaring deficits, wars, genocide, violent extremism, terrorism, overpopulation, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, drought, famine, starvation, incurable diseases, poverty, homelessness, divorce and the subsequent disintegration of families, increased crime and drug abuse, selfishness, rampant perversity, and a general moral collapse in society.....

Do you get the picture yet that something is up?

For followers of Christ, we've read The Book (or should have). We know what was foretold—that this time in world history was coming.  

This is definitely not a time for business as usual.

Jesus said (Matthew 24:37-42)

"But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming."

How many of us are actually doing what Jesus said, and are watching for His return?

For those of you who have rejected Christ, and who think that Christians like me are fanatics and religious nuts, you have to admit that something larger than what you can explain is definitely going on in the world.

And for those who believe the Theory of Evolution, you need to ask yourself just how far have we as a  human race really "evolved?"   All the world's most brilliant intellectuals, philosophers, politicians, doctors and scientists have not been able to create global peace, cure the common cold or save the planet from human consumption. 

I hate to be the one to break this to you... but, you can't "fix" this. 

So, what are you going to do?

Jesus said (Revelation 22:12-17)

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely."

Jesus freely offers eternal life to those who will choose to humble themselves and surrender their hearts to Him, and turn from their sin and receive Him as their Savior. Therefore, choose Life.

The time is drawing near.

—God is Love, and Love Never Fails.

It's a Promise

"But you haven't walked in my shoes!"

Ever have someone say that to you when you encouraged them to have faith—to trust in God?

The truth is, it doesn't matter if I'ved walked in your shoes or not.

God's faithfulness is not limited by how difficult or unique you feel that your circumstances are.

As I stared at this photo of the empty tomb with three crosses in the background, I was reminded of God's faithfulness. 

He always keeps His promises.

Always.

Such as? you may ask.

How about, "I will never leave you or forsake you."  (Hebrews 13:5).

Where people get into trouble with God's promises is that we assume (or worse, we demand) that God always answer our prayers immediately, exactly when we ask Him to, and in the exact way we expect.

Sorry. 

It doesn't work that way.

God always answers our prayers.

Always.

But—more times than not, the answer is "no."

It's because we don't know how we should ask.  In our limited understanding, not being all-knowing like God is, we ask Him for things that He knows will not be good for us.

Or, by saying "no" to our self-serving prayers, He is allowing us to go through a fiery trial that is actually us reaping the consequences of our own foolish choices and actions.  He didn't make us commit that crime. We freely chose to do it.  

No one "falls" into sin.  We choose that path and then we walk into it knowingly.  

We all have free will.

Far too often, we ask God to wave a magic wand and expect Him to make our consequences just disappear, when we knew all along that what we chose to do was wrong.

Fortunately, God will not enable us to stay in our sinful condition.

God accepts us just the way we are—but, He loves us too much to leave us that way.

I'm so thankful for that. 

Here's a little promise from Hebrews 12:5-11 that demonstrates how much the Father loves us:

 “ My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD,

    Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

    For whom the LORD loves He chastens,

    And scourges every son whom He receives.”

If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?  But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?  For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.  Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

Instead of complaining, try thanking God that He will never enable you to stay in your sin.

As we choose to submit to the painful discipline the Father administers to us in love, we will eventually experience the peaceable fruit of righteousness, but only as we submit ourselves to be trained (and changed) by His discipline.

Resist His discipline and try to get around it, and you're in for a long season of pain.

You can't outrun the consequences of your own actions. 

Paul makes this very clear:

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." (Galatians 6:7)

Just like the Second Law of Thermal Dynamics is in the physical (everything is breaking down), reaping what you sow is an immutable spiritual law.

You can't escape it.

Sure, if you're a follower of Christ, God will forgive you for the stupidity that you sowed—if you confess it. 

But rarely, if ever, will He make your consequences in the here-and-now just 'go away.'

In my own personal experience, He never makes my consequences instantly just go away.  He may shorten the duration if I have humbled myself and submitted to His discipline, and actually learned the lesson He is teaching me.  But He never altogether removes reaping from sowing. God would not be true to His own word if He did. Besides, we would never learn anything if we didn't reap what we sow.  

The Father disciplines those whom He loves.

No discipline means no love.  (Parents, did you catch that?)

If you're a son (or daughter) of the Most High, then hunger and thirst for the discipline the Father administers—knowing that afterwards, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

But know this, if you get arrogant and act like the spoiled, entitlement generation brats do today, your season of discipline from your Father will be extra long and painful.

God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.

Tough words, tough love. 

But necessary.

And, funny thing about consequences... you may think you have dodged them, at least for now.  But some day, in ways that you don't have a clue about now, the consequences of what you have sown will come back around and bite you. 

And, if that's not enough, they will negatively affect others who are near and dear to you—such as—your children.

To see how far-reaching the consequences are of our sin, just study the life of King David, his wife Bathsheba, and their children.  Even though God forgave them, the "sword never departed from their house."  (See 2 Samuel 12:10)

The pot-o-gold at the end of the rainbow is the peaceable fruit of righteousness that we will experience after we have submitted to God our Father, and allowed ourselves to be trained, and learn the lesson He is teaching us.

Just yield... and thank Him for loving you that much to discipline you.

God is our faithful Father and He always keeps His promises to His children.

Always.

—God is Love, and Love Never Fails.

It's Never Too Late

The point of no return?

A friend of mine who is going through the crucible of the betrayal of divorce, and its painfully debilitating aftermath, shared with me how he recently spent time with a friend who is also going through the brutal process of divorce.  He told me that his friend said he has spent so many thousands of dollars on legal proceedings and is "so far into it" that he just "can't turn back now."

Fortunately, my friend shared with the man that no matter how much money he has spent on lawyers, that it's never too late to reconcile.

Consequently, the man recently met with his estranged wife, and they are getting back together, and are reconciling—allowing God to begin the process of healing their broken marriage. This is so encouraging to hear.

However, what is also very encouraging to me about this story, is that my friend recently told me that he personally has never been so far away from God.  The brutal pain and suffering of his own divorce and an ex-wife who is hell-bent on destroying him, trying to take him for all he is worth, has left him doubting God's faithfulness to him.

But the silver lining to the dark cloud of my friend's brutal circumstances, is that he allowed God to use him to encourage his friend, and speak truth to him in the mans divorce situation. He said it was a "divine appointment."

God truly does cause all things to work together for good, to those who love Him, and are called according to His purpose.

Folks, it's never too late.

It's never too late to forgive each other and reconcile in your relationships.

And it's never too late to allow God to use you to bless and encourage someone else—no matter how far away from Him you may feel you have become in your back sliding. 

As my friend personally experienced, God used his painful trial and suffering of going through a brutal divorce, to encourage his friend to give his marriage another try.  God is using for good, what the Enemy meant for evil.

God answered many prayers in this situation by encouraging my friend by using him to bless someone else who was going through what he went through. 

God demonstrated His faithfulness to my friend.   As He promised, He will never leave us or forsake us.

No matter how far you feel you may have strayed from God, turn your heart fully back to Him today. His mercies are new every morning.

It's never too late.

Psalm 36

⁵ Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens;
         Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
 ⁶ Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains;
         Your judgments are a great deep;
         O LORD, You preserve man and beast.
 ⁷ How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
         Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
 ⁸ They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
         And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
 ⁹ For with You is the fountain of life;
         In Your light we see light.

Psalm 37

 ³ Trust in the LORD, and do good;
         Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
 ⁴ Delight yourself also in the LORD,
         And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
 ⁵ Commit your way to the LORD,
         Trust also in Him,
         And He shall bring it to pass.
 ⁶ He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
         And your justice as the noonday.
 ⁷ Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;
         Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
         Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
 ⁸ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
         Do not fret—it only causes harm.

—God is Love, and Love Never Fails.