The Benefits of Wisdom

 Proverbs 2:1”My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, 2turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—3indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, 4and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure,…

Fitness definitely has a cause and effect relationship in other words what you sow into your physical wellbeing will result in either positive or negative results. Whenever you put in hard work in the gym you reap the benefits. Your physique is tighter, you’re more confident, your clothes fit better, and you feel amazing just to name a few. To be fit requires commitment, consistency, discipline, and sometimes painful hard work. When you are healthy the benefits spill over into your emotional, relational, and professional spheres as well. Although God is clear that we are to take care of our physical bodies, what is more important is training in the spiritual realm.

 

The book of Proverbs was written by Solomon who the bible refers to as the wisest man who ever lived. Although Proverbs aren’t promises they are principles or timeless truths that we can glean from and gain wisdom from. Solomon teaches us in Chapter 2 about the benefits of gleaning wisdom. Just like we have to put in work in the physical, Solomon challenges us to be responsible for our spiritual growth as well.

 First notice the personal call.  “My Son” in other words no one else can do this work for us. Just like we can go to the gym, hire a trainer, read up on fitness, and collect info if we never actually do what we know we will never reap the rewards.  As humans we play the role, we go to church, we listen to pastors, or even “spiritual” friends but a lot of times the buck stops there and we never grow. We feel good for the moment but it never creates any lasting change. Christians are supposed to be changing!

Next, look at all of the “ifs” he uses. When a writer uses “if” he is introducing a conditional clause, in other words if you do x then y will happen. For example, if we eat clean consistently, then we will eventually become leaner. Same with wisdom if we do these things, then we will glean benefits.

Notice our responsibility look at all of the verbs in green that he uses:

Accept my words

Store Up my commands

Turning your ear to wisdom

Applying your heart to understanding

Call out for insight

Cry aloud for understanding

Look and Search for it as hidden treasure

Now think about this list and really reflect how many of us really do these things on a regular basis? Think of things we do instead.

 

Do we accept what the news, media, twitter, Facebook says as truth? Or do we accept God’s word as the highest standard?

Do we store up things that have been passed down to us, ways we’ve been taught, or even our own faulty self-centered patterns of thinking that have been formed over a long period of time with in us? Or do we store up and allow God’s word to penetrate our minds and change the way we think? (Romans 12:1-2)

Do we turn our ears to music, friend’s advice, YouTube videos which aren’t bad in and of themselves but how many times in the past month have we turned our ears and sat under sound biblical teaching or listened to a sermon?

Do we apply our hearts to someone, something, or some substance to give us momentary relief instead of applying it to understanding?

Do we call out or cry aloud to others instead of crying out to the creator of the Universe; God Almighty who knows the beginning from the end?

Do we look and search for other solutions to fix what is broken in our lives instead of looking and searching for wisdom?

If we are really honest Solomon’s challenge will take hard work in the spiritual but look how it will play out in the physical if we take heed to his instructions. Now let’s get to the benefits!

“ 5then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. 6For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

Benefits #1-#2- You will understand and know personally the God of the Universe and you will glean wisdom from Him.

7"He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, 8for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones."

Benefits #3-4- You will experience success and protection from God.

9"Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path.10For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.11Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you."

Benefits #5-#10- You will understand the right, just, and fair thing to do and know every good path. Your heart will be full of wisdom instead of foolishness. You soul will be at peace with knowledge. Notice the progression of wisdom that you will gain discretion and understanding and they will protect you.

12"Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, 13who have left the straight paths to walk in dark ways, 14who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, 15whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways."

Benefit #11- Wisdom will save you from bad, wicked men.

16"Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words; 17who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God. And 18Surely her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead. 19None who go to her return or attain the paths of life."

Benefit #12- Wisdom will save you from wayward wicked women.

20"Thus you will walk in the ways of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. 21For the upright will live in the land and the blameless will remain in it; 22but the wicked will be cut off from the land and the unfaithful will be torn from it."

Benefit #13- You will walk in good ways and live in the land.

Solomon ends with the contrast of what will happen if we don’t put in our work in the spiritual, we will be isolated from others and stripped of everything that brings peace, protection, and discernment between good and evil.

I challenge us to pick 2 or 3 of those verbs and practice searching for wisdom. It will look different for every single one of us but if we want to reap the benefits then we must get our weight up in the spiritual gym. I close with this one happy memory. Once I was with a friend of mine during the holiday season. This individual loved the popular Christmas song “Baby its Cold Outside” but they loved it by a particular singer. We searched and searched to find that distinct voice. We must have gone through hundreds of remixes on YouTube and ITunes. We exhausted both batteries on our phones. I can’t even remember if we ever found it but what stood out to me was the tenacity to search and seek for that perfect duet that was so pleasant to my friend’s ears. Think of how much effort we put into looking for things that matter to us.  2,000 plus years ago, three wise men traveled to search for King Jesus just so they could worship Him as the Messiah.Will 2015 be a year where God will matter the most to us? Will we seek after Him? Will we be wiser next year on Christmas and really celebrate Him because we took the time to glean from His word and get to know a loving, merciful Savior?

 Time with God is never wasted, time with God in His word is time invested for this life and the one to come! Until next time…stay in the fellowship of God and live Fit4eternity and Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

Love is Patient and Kind

13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind;

 

When the apostle Paul penned these words he was addressing the church in Corinth.  This church resided in the midst of immorality, wealth, and greed. Although this church had been blessed with every spiritual gift given to man, it was operating in carnality. This church had a lot of issues but one main one was a lack of love for one another. In Chapter 12 Paul addresses the different spiritual gifts and then instructs the Corinthians that they are all one body with many parts which implies interdependence upon one another. Chapter 13 is set in the context of spiritual gifts. Paul challenges the Corinthians how to utilize those gifts with love.  In essence Paul is saying some major points that we can all glean from.

Verse 1: You could have the most eloquent influential speech but if you don’t love your audience you sound like a clanging symbol.

Verse 2: You could have all the knowledge, intelligence, and faith to move mountains, but if you don’t love those you are sharing it with, it means nothing.

Verse 3: You can do all the good deeds in the world and sacrifice even your life but if you don’t have love for those you serve, those works are all in vain.  One man put it this way “men will fight for Christianity, and die for Christianity, but not live in its spirit which is love.”

Then he goes on to describe what love looks like. I stopped at verse 4 only because there is so much to glean just from those words. LOVE is PATIENT and KIND.  The first adjective describes the negative side of love. Patience in the Greek means suffereth long-under provocations of evil from others. KIND refers to the positive side of love which is extending good toward others.

During a season in my life I had the privileged opportunity to meet a very unique individual. This person stretched me to the max and at times was very demanding and exhausting. I wasn’t the only person who felt this way. In fact many others avoided this person at all costs and displayed anger toward this individual. At the time I didn’t realize that God was using this person to show me how to love. One afternoon I prayed for a divine opportunity hoping and expecting to meet someone new and exciting to share my faith with. As I left and went around the corner I spotted this individual. Not proud to admit this, but in my heart I sighed because I wasn’t in the mood to deal with them. As I approached them, they smiled and hugged me and thanked me because they were lost and I knew the way. I have only heard the Lord audibly a few times in my life and this day was as clear as can be. As we continued to walk together, The Lord spoke “LOVE IS PATIENT Jennifer, Did I give up on you when you were difficult to love?” It changed my life forever. Lord forgive us for the times we give up so easily.

 Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

 2 Peter 3:9 says,” The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

2,000 years ago Jesus Christ demonstrated his love toward us. God came down in the flesh through a virgin birth, lived a sinless life, got up on a cross as an innocent man and stretched out his arms for you and for me. This selfless act shouts I’d rather die than live eternally without you! You are priceless to me! I love you! I paid it all believe me!

If you’ve never received that love, it’s impossible to give it. This love Paul is talking about is true You before Me love. It really doesn’t matter how gifted or talented we are if we don’t operate in love none of that matters. The next time we are in a situation where someone is difficult to love or circumstances cause us to want to give up just remember God never gave up on us. He gave Himself for us so that we might be reconciled to God! Love is the oxygen for the Christian Life! Until next time, live Fit4eternity and LOVE ONE ANOTHER PATIENTLY….And remember: Romans 2:4 “Don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” Be Kind to One Another!



Advice or Advantage?



James 3:13 says, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness”

In life trials will come. Life will throw you a curve ball and you’ll end up down and out. Discouraged, depressed, or maybe even in despair and you’ll be left without answers. Sometimes we reach out to someone for advice. Being a Christian, we are told to seek godly advice. Unfortunately I have found that sometimes “godly advice” really isn’t godly advice. I can remember three specific incidents in my life where I sought advice from three separate individuals who claimed to be “godly”. I trusted these individuals to give solid biblical encouragement. It started off that way and then the next thing I knew, all three ended up taking advantage of my vulnerable state. Each incident left me sick to my stomach and worse off from when I first went to them.

The book of James is sometimes referred to as the proverbs of the New Testament. He writes in various themes. His main point is this: if you are truly a Christian this is how Christians should act.  In other words, real life-giving faith should express itself through action or good deeds. Christians should not only be hearers of the word but doers of it. (James 1:22) Let me put a disclaimer out here “good works” doesn’t save you (Ephesians 2:8-9) but “good works” does prove you have a genuine saving faith (James 2:14). James 3 is in the context of speech. A new man/woman in Christ should have a new vocabulary. He talks about taming the tongue and how evil our tongues are. A person’s speech is a good indicator of how spiritually mature someone is. I think we all can say we have room for improvement!

Mathew 5:17-19 states, “out of the heart the mouth speaks” what comes out of a person’s mouth is what is really inside their heart. The tongue tattles on the heart! What can we glean from these two kinds of wisdoms James tells us about…?

TRUE WISDOM	EARTHY WISDOM
Person has a good life	Harboring Bitter envy
Person does deeds done in humility	Selfish Ambition
Pure	Boastful
Peace-loving	Denies the truth
Considerate	Unspiritual
Submissive	Earthly
Full of mercy	Of the devil
Good Fruit
Impartial
Sincere
Peace Maker

 

The next time we receive “godly” advice filter it through this grid. Does it contain the qualities on the left or the ones on the right? When you end that conversation do you have a closer understanding of God’s heart in that matter? Did that person take you to the scriptures and show you what God would have you to do? OR… Does this person who’s telling you what to do harbor bitter envy in their heart? Or have a selfish ambition?  

It can be hard to tell what a person’s motives are, and as Christians we are not to judge motives but we are supposed to judge fruit. I have made a lot of mistakes and am still learning on this journey but one thing that has helped me in this process is listening. Really listening to what the person is advising me to do and then filtering it through this grid in James.

Recently I went to an individual who I considered “godly” to receive some advice. During this conversation it became apparent to me that they harbored envy towards someone I loved dearly. In the beginning I did feel they had my best interest at heart but as I listened further I realized it wasn’t healthy to continue to go to that person for advice.  The last conversation we had left me confused even more and took me a few days to recover from. Needless to say, I learned sometimes it is just best to talk to God. I don’t doubt that this person isn’t on a spiritual journey as well, but wisdom is to know who to take advice from and then filtering it through scripture. I will end with this:

Psalm 1:                                                                                 

“1Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. 4Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.”

Bottom Line God’s word is the ultimate wisdom and if that person isn’t leading you to the word pray for them, and pray for a “godly” person to confide in. Until next time…Abide in the Fellowship of God, be encouraged, and live Fit4eternity!

The POWER of PRAYER

Ephesians 6:18 “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication." To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,”

 

A very dear friend of mine had a divine moment happen to her last night. (Which by the way I have her permission to share) She was talking to her friend on the phone during his shift at work. He is a tow truck driver and as many of you know this can be a dangerous job. When cars are repossessed, many times the previous owners can become hostile and attack the tow truck employee when he comes to collect. She said they were having a pleasant conversation, then all of a sudden the phone dropped and it went dead. She called him back but no answer. She continued to call and text but still no response.  She couldn’t get him off her mind and said she felt in her intuition that something was seriously wrong. She said she couldn’t sleep and felt so cold so she started praying. She got in the shower and started crying out to God in tongues as well as petitioning Him to let her know he was ok. She prayed for a long time. At about 4:00 o’clock in the morning he called. He said he was at the police station. He said a man pulled a gun on him and that is when he dropped the phone. He luckily had his radio attached to his uniform and called in dispatch. In minutes he said the police arrived on the scene! His life was spared through the power of prayer!

Ephesians 6:18 is set in the context of Spiritual Warfare. Paul encourages us to pray at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication. Then he calls for us to keep alert with perseverance making supplication for all the saints.

The next time you wake up with someone on your mind, pray for them. Pray hard! If it is truly burdening you, don’t ignore it be obedient. Three weeks before this incident my friend and I both got an opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with him. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He wants that young man dead he does not want him to accept Christ and know the truth. God has given us weapons to fight the enemy and one of them is prayer. I believe with my whole heart if my sister hadn’t been obedient in praying for him you might be reading a different story. I believe that she interceded on his behalf and saved his life last night! Don’t underestimate the power of two hands clasped together in prayer. They can do more than one hundred working ones! PRAY, PRAY, PRAY! Be encouraged and live in the fellowship of God til the finish!

LIVE FIT4ETERNITY!