Archive for the ‘Anxiety’ Category
Abominations, Anxiety, Apostasy, Biblical Principles, End Times, False Doctrine, False Gods, False Teaching, Hate, Hatred, Hell, Left Behind, Religious Freedom, Remnant, Repentance, Revelation
In Abominations, Anxiety, Apostasy, Biblical Principles, False Doctrine, False Gods, False Teaching, Hate, Hatred, Hell, Left Behind, Religious Freedom, Remnant, Renewal, Repentance, Revelation, Uncategorized on May 3, 2023 at 4:40 pm
The Left Behind Movie, the 2022 version that was in theaters recently is our topic. Really it is just a remake and an update of the original Left Behind, just incorporating modern day events and technology.
Some of the things that caught my attention which were incorporated into a modern day version of what could happen were…
The UFO angle. Many people believe in UFOs and our government in recent years have released video footage and documentation of objects flying in the air that could not be explained, footage taken by military pilots. Many people believe these things are UFOs. And then the movie kind of alludes to the idea that the people taken in the rapture may have actually been taken by UFOs.
They allude to the idea and concept that artificial intelligence, which is rapidly on the rise now, and many people are warning about, is playing a part in all of this as well.
Of course they talk about COVID, the fear that is instilled in people to get them to comply with whatever the government wants them to do. COVID-19 being a prelude to the idea that our government could get us to partake in self-imprisonment or mandated home imprisonment just because they deem something as a crisis in our country. That part is very real and a little bit intimidating when you think about that we have dealt with that during COVID-19, and we will most likely deal with it again. How unjust is our government to force that upon us in what we view as a free society.
Also, the idea of a one world government being birthed out of coming together over a crisis or pandemic type situation like COVID-19. Including the idea that the government will outright lie about a crisis that really doesn’t exist.
One thing that was depicted in the movie that I had not considered in any depth was how the internet potentially could be manipulated to remove access to the bible, biblical prophecy, references to the rapture, ETC. If you alter social media and internet searches most people, let’s say under the age of 50, would be completely lost when it comes to biblical things and the history of world events. So many people depend upon social media as their source of accurate information and that is so sad. I know for a fact during COVID-19 social media, specifically Facebook and Twitter, were removing any post from people’s accounts that they deemed as misinformation. I mean surely, I know you realize how incredibly dangerous that is to a society, yes?
One thing I have been aware of is the removal of certain things from the Scriptures as more and more translations emerge in our society. More and more is being removed especially surrounding Jesus’s Deity in the New Testament, so I could see how, as the movie portrayed, that one day potentially the Truth about the End Times or The Rapture could be completely removed from any existing Bibles, it’s not really that farfetched. This is why I’ve studied so many of the translations to see what has been removed or what has been changed because they indicate their improving the Bible’s accuracy, but when you look at what is actually going missing or being altered it is not an improvement.
The false teachers, like the pastor acknowledges being in the movie, to me seem extremely prevalent today in what is supposed to be Christian churches. Like he talks about in the movie, he knew all about the Bible but in his heart, he really didn’t believe the stuff, but he taught it, nevertheless. How incredibly scary! Although I absolutely believe I have met and interacted with Christian leaders who are exactly as this man describes himself. I can think of three off the top of my head, a married couple who minister at a church as well as a life group, and a man who heads a church and heads the local minister’s association. Is that like scary or what?
A pay system through an app. A form of one world currency. Well most of us are used to using PayPal or Apple pay, so we take a few steps closer and closer. And where they talk about you will either have to use the app to pay for things or starve to death, we see now that there are conditions that you must comply with to use any app, almost any type of app, and those conditions that must be complied with are not optional.
We have canceled culture, which goes against anyone who tries to put the Truth out.
Remember what Jesus told the disciples when he was describing what it would be like in the last days. His first words were, ‘Take heed that no man deceive you.’ People better know what they believe and why they believe it.
Favorite quote from the movie…
"So why do people who don’t even believe in God suddenly hate Him so much? Because they have no one else to blame it on."
Very typical of wounded or broken people, who are extremely fearful, unsure about life, and perplexed about why certain things happen or why a specific thing they know about or experienced has happened.
I would really enjoy reading your thoughts on the movie as well, please send them via the “comment” link. Let me know what you think.
If you need the wisdom of God on a matter, and you wish to receive the counsel of another Believer in Christ, please use the “comments” link to send your question to me.
Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:
This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers, and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV
11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Anxiety, Demon, Demon Possession, Evil. God, Hatred, Mental Disorders, Mental Illness, Movie Nefarious, Movies, Nefarious, Prayer, Prayer for Renouncement of Evil, Satan
In Anxiety, Apostasy, Curses, Demon, Demon Possession, Depression, Disobedience, Evil, Generational Curses, Hate, Hatred, low self-esteem, Mental Disorder, Mental Illness, Move of God, Nefarious - the movie, Psychiatry, Repentance, Satan, Seven Deadly Sins, Truth, Uncategorized, Wicca, Wisdom, witchcraft, Words of Knowledge, Words of Wisdom on April 15, 2023 at 3:05 pm
God is incredible!
I had one of those experiences today (April 14th 2023) where God asked me to do something that seemed absolutely ridiculous for me to do and something I would not normally do, but God was in it. He had me go see a movie called Nefarious, it is in theaters now. Every human being, Christian or non-Christian, should go see this movie.
Why?
1-Most incredible theologically accurate in-depth explanation of how evil works, evil’s work in people’s lives (including how it gets entrance), and it’s influence on society.
2-Danger of toying with evil.
3-Ignorance of psychiatry, to understand the influence of evil.
It could be summed up as:
The struggle between who God created him to be and who Satan (demons) influenced him to become.
Nefarious the movie centers around a conversation between a condemned inmate and a psychiatrist who must sign off on his execution.
Completely dialogue driven, and you must listen carefully and be attentive to what is being said, almost every bit of the dialogue is packed with truth, (gratefully God made sure I was the only one in the theater when I watched it). No real violence.
Forget this movie’s labeling because it’s listed as a thriller and a horror movie, but it is far from that. I believe God via the producers wanted to get the attention of a certain type of people that would go to horror movies so the truth could be revealed to them. The description of this movie is very misleading so do not be put off by the description, like I was when I read it, but I knew that God was insisting I go… I trusted God’s guidance, and I’m glad I did.
God is everywhere right now attempting to pour out His Truth to believers and non-believers.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PRINT/COPY THE FOLLOWING PRAYER AND SHARE IT WITH ANYONE IT MIGHT BENEFIT.
Prayer for Renouncement of Evil
Heavenly Father I come to you in the name of Jesus. Please hear my prayer because of the work of Christ on the Cross and allow the blood of Christ to cover my every sin and need.
I thank you for your Holiness, your Presence, your omnipotence, and your great love. You as the Creator of all things are worthy of praise and honor for you alone have dominion over all things and people. I thank you for the freewill you have given me and through that freewill, I have erred against you and that is why I seek you today.
I have both knowingly and unknowingly sinned against your will and therefore against you. I have both embraced and been exposed to “evil” found in the form of partaking in the things of Satan, the occult, witchcraft, and the like, which your Word makes clear you hate. Having repented of these things and no longer wishing to have anything to do with any of them; I have come to you to seek your forgiveness, to bleed the blood of Jesus over both those sins and the effects upon my life as a result of those sins, and to enter into covenant with you that I will not partake in any of these sins again, nor will I allow myself to be exposed to them. I will flee in the presence of such sins and thus flee from the Enemy. May my change of heart on these matters be full and complete through your sovereign grace.
Father, I ask you now to bring to my remembrance any and all evil you wish me to renounce.
[Pause and allow God to show you anything more you are not aware of to date.]
I now ask in Jesus’ name for your forgiveness of the following sins and I thank you that you are faithful and just to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness.
I plead the precious blood of Jesus over the following sins.
[Now specifically pray for everything God reveals to you, or has revealed to you, and ask forgiveness for each individual act of evil. Pleading the blood of Jesus over each and every act. – Do not pray generically or as a general group of “all evil”, be specific and deal with each category of demonic activity.]
Forgive me for my involvement in __________________ and through the blood of Jesus break the power, thus canceling the effects and affects of this evil on my life.
Forgive me for my exposure to _________________ and through the blood of Jesus break the power, thus canceling the effects and affects of this evil on my life.
Forgive me for _________________ and through the blood of Jesus break the power, thus canceling the effects and affects of this evil on my life.
Forgive me Lord for allowing evil to have any access to my life, mind, heart, soul, and spirit breaking its power and influence in my life forever. Forgive me Lord for all those acts of evil for which my mind and heart cannot recall at this time and break the power of those influences within my life as well, through the blood of Jesus.
Father in the name of Jesus I seek your forgiveness for my participation in evil and the things of your Enemy, Satan. I renounce any and all effects, and affects, of these things and I plead the blood of Jesus over my life and myself. I ask you to place a hedge of protection around me so that evil and the Enemy can no longer harm or influence me. I ask that you give me an obedient heart so that I might follow your will from this moment forward. I ask you to give me eyes to see and discern evil from good and the power to resist the evil. Increase my capacity to understand what you want, and do not want, for me in my daily life.
Jesus cover me with your blood as I stand against the works of the Devil.
Satan, I speak to you now through the blood, and the power of the blood, of Jesus. In the name of Jesus, I renounce you and any power or influence you have gained in life through open doors, doors of evil, which I have opened or that has been opened by events or other people. I am a Child of God and therefore, you have no place or standing in my life. Therefore, by the blood of Jesus any and all effects and affects you have had on, or have on, my life are now broken, no longer effective, and shall no longer disturb or influence my life. You and your workers, any and all demonic presence must leave my life and I close the door of my spirit to any influence past, present, or future. The blood of Jesus has broken the power of your work and you are overcome by the Blood of the Lamb. Flee from me now in the Name of Jesus; you no longer have any place in my life.
Jesus, I thank you for your death on the cross and the forgiveness that sacrifice affords me. I thank you for your blood and the power over the Enemy that blood has bought me. I thank you that you have interceded for me with the Father and obtained my forgiveness for these and all my sins. I thank you that through the cross I am set free from the negative and evil effects/affects these acts have had on my life. I am grateful to you for it all and for your love. Thank you for dealing with my Enemy, Satan, and for rendering his work in my life useless and void. I shall always be grateful beyond measure. Father thank you for the Son and the work of the Son. God thank you for your Almighty Provision found in the blessed work of Calvary.
I ask all these things in the precious name of Jesus,
Amen and Amen.
If you need the wisdom of God on a matter, and you wish to receive the counsel of another Believer in Christ, please use the “comments” link to send your question to me.
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Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:
This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers, and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV
11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—
Actions, Anxiety, Decision Making, Decisions, Nature, Peace, Temperament, Wisdom
In Actions, Anxiety, Decision Making, Decisions, Nature, Peace, Temperament, Wisdom on October 10, 2022 at 2:55 pm
Anxiety is produced when someone tries to push themselves to do something that does not come naturally to them, is not in their nature, and/or is not meant for them. Most anxiety is created by trying to be something that God did not create you to be or do something that God does not want you to do.
Anxiety should be a warning sign that something is wrong; when peace leaves, a person should step back and reevaluate the decision they have made.
I realize that is not what most people want to hear because they want to believe that they are not responsible in any way for their anxiety, that there is nothing they can do about it, and most of our society seems to enjoy living in the “poor me” victim mentality. I challenge you however to look at and approach each of your anxieties over the next month through the lenses and mindset of what I have shared here and see if it is not true that YOUR CHOICES have the ability to calm your anxiety.
Throughout this study, if you need the wisdom of God on a matter, and you wish to receive the counsel of another Believer in Christ, please use the “comments” link to send your question to me.
Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:
This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers, and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV
11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian Activism, Christian Living, Honesty, Speaking Out, Truth
In Advice, Anxiety, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Choices, Christian Lifestyle, Christian Living, Christianity, Correction, Decision Making, Favor, Fear, Godliness, Guidance, Obedience, Prophecy, Remnant, Renewal, Repentance, Righteous Living, Righteousness, Sanctification, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Truth, Uncategorized, Wisdom on October 2, 2022 at 12:07 pm
Ye that love the Lord, hate evil:
Psalm 97:10
There are those individuals who tell the truth, and the world hates them for it.
If you are a true Christian, who truly loves God and desires to see His Will done, you have no choice but to tell the truth to a decaying and dying society.
If you are one of those Christians who sold out Christ in order to be accepted by their society and by people in general, to be liked, to make life easier for yourself, one day you will have a lot to answer for before God and I wonder then if it is all going to be worth it.
Because…
When people have the opportunity to quietly, discreetly, sometimes even anonymously tell the truth, those very people in that decaying society from whom you wanted so much acceptance, secretly hate themselves. They are constantly discontent with who they are if they’re able to accept who they are at all. They can never get to a place of being okay, they are always suffering from some type of anxiety or mental disturbance or some form of discontent with their life. Their ideas, their values, their belief system is so distorted and depraved that they can’t be anything but inwardly miserable while they pretend to society and to those people around them that they’re just fine. They are among the masses every day marching in their uniformity line to their own destruction and death, but ha they are politically correct and they “fit in” within their society. They’re just fine, while they’re dying every day little by little because of their…
These are the people you want to be like? These are the people you want acceptance from? No thank you! I’ll go right on being a Truth Teller and being hated by all of them because I would rather be hated by them than to degrade myself to the degree necessary to be accepted by them. What about you?
There are people who have destroyed their whole lives, destroyed who God created them to be, destroyed their relationship with God, destroyed their spirituality all on the altar of trying to fit into and be accepted by their distorted, depraved, cookie cutter, dying society.
Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:
This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers, and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV
11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Abominations, Abuse, Adultery, Advice, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Blessing, Chastisement, Choices, Christian, Christian Lifestyle, Christian Living, Christianity, Compassion, Confusion, Contentment, Correction, Crime, Curses, Death, Decision Making, Desire, Devotional, Discipline, Discretion, Encouragement, Equality, Evil, Exhortation, Fairness, Favor, Fear, Flattery, Generosity, Godly Fear, Good, Grace, Growing, Guidance, Happiness, Health, Heart, Illness, Information, Insomnia, Jealousy, Justice, King Solomon, Laziness, Learning, Life, Loans, Longevity, Mercy, Money, Neighbors, Oppression, Parents, Peace, Poverty, Protection, Proverbs, Prudence, Renewal, Righteousness, Safety, Seven Deadly Sins, Sexual Abuse, Shame, Sickness, Sin, Spirituality, Stealing, Strength, Teachable, Trust, Truth, Wickedness, Wisdom
In Advice, Anxiety, Authority, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian Living, Confusion, Decision Making, Discernment, Discretion, Godly Counsel, Prudence, Truth, Uncategorized, Wisdom on August 1, 2019 at 8:53 am
The Scripture passages are identified with bold upright font and the author’s notes are identified with italic regular font.
Note – All words or phrases found in quotation marks are actual parts of the Hebrew definition(s).
1 Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? 2 She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. 3 She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. 4 Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man. 5 O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. 6 Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. 7 For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. 8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. 9 They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge. 10 Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. 11 For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.
Can Godly Wisdom Falter?
When something falters it “stops being strong or successful” according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Can godly wisdom stop being strong? Can it stop succeeding? Does godly wisdom falter?
Wisdom from the heart of God is continually calling out to us to be listened to, applied, and followed (v.1-4). To not harken to the voice of godly wisdom is to be simple-minded and foolish (v.5). Why the continual urgency from God for us to use His wisdom, godly wisdom?
Wisdom calls out with urgency because wisdom is the source of God’s Knowledge for the “excellence” of all things in our life. Wisdom is always “right” and never falters, wisdom is “truth” in all things, as well as “righteousness” for living (v.6-8). Excellence, right, truth, and righteousness can never fail you.
This “excellence” according to the Hebrew definition is “commands” that are “noble” and “honorable.” Therefore, godly wisdom speaks commands to us that we must follow. These “right” things that wisdom speaks to us is according to the Hebrew definition things that will lead to our “prosperity” in life. The “truth” that is spoken to us according to the Hebrew language is “sure” and brings “stability” to our life. The “righteousness” that godly wisdom brings to our existence according, once again to the Hebrew language is, “natural, moral, and legal equity and prosperity” in every sense. There is simply no way for wisdom to fail.
The value of godly wisdom far exceeds the value of our most prized gems. There is truly nothing earthly we can possess that will bring more value to our life, and spiritual speaking it is the greatest gift from God we can receive minus our relationship with and redemption by Christ.
Throughout this study if you need the wisdom of God on a matter, and you wish to receive the counsel of another Believer in Christ, please use the “comments” link to send your question to me.
Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:
This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers, and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV
11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Abuse, Adultery, Advice, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Blessing, Chastisement, Choices, Christian, Christian Lifestyle, Christian Living, Christianity, Confusion, Correction, Crime, Curses, Death, Decision Making, Desire, Devotional, Discipline, Discretion, Encouragement, Equality, Evil, Exhortation, Fairness, Favor, Fear, Generosity, Godly Fear, Good, Grace, Growing, Guidance, Happiness, Health, Heart, Illness, Information, Insomnia, Justice, King Solomon, Laziness, Learning, Life, Loans, Longevity, Mercy, Money, Neighbors, Oppression, Parents, Peace, Poverty, Protection, Proverbs, Prudence, Renewal, Righteousness, Sexual Abuse, Sickness, Sin, Spirituality, Strength, Teachable, Trust, Truth, Wickedness, Wisdom
In Advice, Anxiety, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian Living, Decision Making, Godly Counsel, Laziness, Poverty, Proverbs, Prudence, Truth, Uncategorized, Wisdom on May 2, 2019 at 9:00 am
The Scripture passages are identified with bold upright font and the author’s notes are identified with italic regular font.
Note – All words or phrases found in quotation marks are actual parts of the Hebrew definition(s).
6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. 9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? 10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
Lazy, Poor, or Both
These verses must be dealt with and written about with delicacy. Poverty is not an indication of a person’s laziness, but laziness will certainly lead to poverty. Please note there is a big difference between the two, between the two statements.
Notice that the ant in these verses is self-motivated, “which having no guide, overseer, no ruler” (v.7). The ant does not require an outside motivation for doing its necessary labor. The ant knows what is required to meet its needs, work, and it does the needed work.
Notice that excessive sleep is the hallmark of laziness (v.9). A person who likes to sleep a great deal when examined closely is typically also a lazy person who does only what they must do. They are always tired, and no amount of sleep can satisfy the hunger of their laziness.
The end result of laziness according to verse eleven is ‘poverty, travelleth, and want.’ Moving often, wondering around without purpose, with want as their constant companion or as verse eleven puts it, as their “armed man,” meaning in the Hebrew their” shield,” the thing that goes before them.
This” want” that the lazy suffer from is inclusive of, “deficiency; hence, impoverishment: — lack, need, penury, poor, poverty, want” according to the Hebrew as the language defines that word “want” in verse eleven.
We all have times when we want and need a bit more relaxation and/or sleep than normal, but nothing good comes of lazy behavior, and it is just that behavior, and as so I have good news for you – it can be changed, you do not have to remain lazy.
Throughout this study if you need the wisdom of God on a matter, and you wish to receive the counsel of another Believer in Christ, please use the “comments” link to send your question to me.
Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:
This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers, and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV
11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Abuse, Adultery, Advice, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Blessing, Chastisement, Choices, Christian, Christian Lifestyle, Christian Living, Christianity, Confusion, Correction, Crime, Curses, Death, Decision Making, Desire, Devotional, Discipline, Discretion, Encouragement, Equality, Evil, Exhortation, Fairness, Favor, Fear, Generosity, Godly Fear, Good, Grace, Growing, Guidance, Happiness, Health, Heart, Illness, Information, Insomnia, Justice, King Solomon, Learning, Life, Loans, Longevity, Mercy, Money, Neighbors, Oppression, Parents, Peace, Protection, Proverbs, Prudence, Renewal, Righteousness, Sexual Abuse, Sickness, Sin, Spirituality, Strength, Teachable, Trust, Truth, Wickedness, Wisdom
In Advice, Anxiety, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian Living, Confusion, Decision Making, Discretion, Godly Counsel, Loans, Money, Proverbs, Prudence, Truth, Uncategorized, Wisdom on April 25, 2019 at 9:00 am
The Scripture passages are identified with bold upright font and the author’s notes are identified with italic regular font.
Note – All words or phrases found in quotation marks are actual parts of the Hebrew definition(s).
1 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, 2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. 3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend. 4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. 5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
To Loan or Not to Loan
You are a Christian, you have a Christian friend, you love your Christian friend, your Christian friend needs money – what to do.
Some people would argue we are to help those in need, therefore, of course you give your friend the money. Other people would say loaning money to a friend is sure trouble. What does godly wisdom say?
Verse one and two tell us that if we become “surety” for a friend we will find ourselves “snared” in a situation we should not be in. Most of you know what it means to be snared, we become entangled in a negative way.
What does it mean to be “surety” for a friend? In the Hebrew language “surety” means the following.
“surety” =
6148. עָרַב ˓ârab, aw-rab’; a prim. root; to braid, i.e. intermix; tech. to traffic (as if by barter); also to give or be security (as a kind of exchange):— engage, (inter-) meddle (with), mingle (self), mortgage, occupy, give pledges, be (-come, put in) surety, undertake.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary states that “surety” means the following.
“surety” =
guarantee b : a basis of confidence or security
3 : one who has become legally liable for the debt, default, or failure in duty of another
The New Living Translation of the Bible puts verse one this way, “My child, if you have put up security for a friend’s debt or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger—" – so this about money; giving money or being security for money a friend borrows.
When we become the financial security of a friend by loaning them money, we put ourselves in a position within their life that God never intended for us to have. We also find that more times than not, if you loan a person money once, they will come back for more, and if we loan them money twice, they will come back often. We are not meant to be the financial security for our friends.
When we co-sign a loan for a friend, we put our own financial health at risk. If we have a family, we put our entire family’s financial health at risk. We put our credit at risk.
The loaning of money or securing a loan for a friend is not an act of godly wisdom. Nor is it godly wisdom for us to ask a friend to do such for us. We are to humbly and with loving kindness explain to our friend why we cannot become involved in their financial situation (v.3).
Money is on the top of the list of things that will come between two friends. Money has such power over people that when we mix money and friendship the results can be anger, hurt, ugly words, and one less friendship, not to mention the potential loss of money. Therefore, I know you love your friend, but I urge you to think carefully and consider God’s wisdom on the matter before loaning money to a friend.
Throughout this study if you need the wisdom of God on a matter, and you wish to receive the counsel of another Believer in Christ, please use the “comments” link to send your question to me.
Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:
This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers, and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV
11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Abuse, Adultery, Advice, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Blessing, Chastisement, Choices, Christian, Christian Lifestyle, Christian Living, Christianity, Confusion, Correction, Crime, Curses, Death, Decision Making, Desire, Devotional, Discipline, Discretion, Encouragement, Equality, Evil, Exhortation, Fairness, Favor, Fear, Generosity, Godly Fear, Good, Grace, Growing, Guidance, Happiness, Health, Heart, Illness, Information, Insomnia, Justice, King Solomon, Learning, Life, Longevity, Mercy, Neighbors, Oppression, Parents, Peace, Protection, Proverbs, Prudence, Renewal, Righteousness, Sexual Abuse, Sickness, Sin, Spirituality, Strength, Teachable, Trust, Truth, Wickedness, Wisdom
In Anxiety, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian Living, Confusion, Decision Making, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Marriage, Proverbs, Prudence, Truth, Uncategorized, Wisdom on March 28, 2019 at 9:00 am
The Scripture passages are identified with bold upright font and the author’s notes are identified with italic regular font.
Note – All words or phrases found in quotation marks are actual parts of the Hebrew definition(s).
1 My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: 2 That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. 3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: 4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. 6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. 7 Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. 8 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: 9 Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: 10 Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; 11 And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, 12 And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; 13 And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! 14 I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
Adultery in the Flesh and in the Spirit
The Law of Double Reference is when a portion of Scripture can be applied in more than one way, applied literally (in the physical) or figuratively (spiritually), and could apply to more than one person or group(s) of people at various times. A principle consisting of one of the afore mentioned variables or any combination thereof. The Law of Double Reference can be applied to Proverbs chapter five as the principles found therein can be applied to spiritual adultery, lack of the use of godly wisdom, and literal marital adultery.
In verses one through fourteen we can see the damaging affects and effects of adultery in a person’s life, the type of adultery found when one refuses to use godly wisdom as God instructs and instead decides ot use their own wisdom or worse yet worldly wisdom, which is represented by the ‘strange woman’s drops of honeycomb’ in verse three. The use of worldly wisdom in place of godly wisdom is a form of spiritual adultery against God our Creator, Christ our Savior.
Let us examine the fall-out we can expect when we fail to apply godly wisdom to our life, instead using worldly wisdom.
v.4 – The use of worldly wisdom is sure to result in bitterness and pain. The world’s ways of dealing with the events of life keep you bound to those events, they shape who you are, whereas godly wisdom applied when the issues of life arise will free you from the inner turmoil and the events of life just become things that have happened to you not things that have defined who you are.
v.5 Wordily wisdom will lead you to misery in life and in some cases death. Worldly wisdom pulls you down further and further, whereas godly wisdom pulls you up and out of your circumstances as an overcomer.
v.6 Applying worldly wisdom will mess up the course of your life, as only God knows His Plans and Purposes for you, therefore, only godly wisdom can help you walk in His Will, Plan, and Purpose for your life.
v.9 Your honor in life will be robbed from you if you choose the path of worldly wisdom. You will be treated with, or even set yourself up for, utter disrespect at times by people.
v.10 When you use worldly wisdom you find that other people will end up with your money and what you have worked for will end up in the hands of other people instead of your own.
v.11 The use of worldly wisdom can actually result in the loss of your health. You may find yourself simply wasting away with disease.
Abandoning godly wisdom and/or substituting worldly wisdom in its place is a choice you will come to regret, as verses twelve through fourteen point out. Verse seven and eight warns us to stay away from worldly wisdom. Perhaps we should listen.
Throughout this study if you need the wisdom of God on a matter, and you wish to receive the counsel of another Believer in Christ, please use the “comments” link to send your question to me.
Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:
This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers, and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV
11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Abuse, Advice, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Blessing, Chastisement, Choices, Christian, Christian Lifestyle, Christian Living, Christianity, Confusion, Correction, Crime, Curses, Death, Decision Making, Desire, Devotional, Discipline, Discretion, Encouragement, Equality, Evil, Exhortation, Fairness, Favor, Fear, Generosity, Godly Fear, Good, Grace, Growing, Guidance, Happiness, Health, Heart, Illness, Information, Insomnia, Justice, King Solomon, Learning, Life, Longevity, Mercy, Neighbors, Oppression, Parents, Peace, Protection, Proverbs, Prudence, Renewal, Righteousness, Sexual Abuse, Sickness, Sin, Spirituality, Strength, Teachable, Trust, Truth, Wickedness, Wisdom
In Advice, Anxiety, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian Living, Decision Making, Discretion, Godly Counsel, Proverbs, Prudence, Renewal, Truth, Uncategorized, Wisdom on March 21, 2019 at 9:00 am
Having wrapped up the series, “Why My Church is NOT Growing” last week we will now be returning to our in-depth verse by verse exploration of the Book of Proverbs . I would like to begin by reposting the last entry because I feel the content is a fruitful for anyone who truly desires to follow Christ in godly wisdom.
The Scripture passages are identified with bold upright font and the author’s notes are identified with italic regular font.
25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. 26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. 27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
Focus On Wisdom’s Path (The God Path)
If you do not look at where you are going you will surely lose your way. We must continually look at and keep our focus on what God wants our life to be, looking straight toward what we want to be, solely focused on our priorities in life – provided those priorities come from an honorable godly focus. There are so many things in life that wish to drag us away from being someone we can feel good about or proud of in a godly way, so many temptation and personal desires that conflict with God’s Plan and Purpose for our life and our personal long-term life goals. V.25
We all too often allow our eyes to stray from what is important or worst toward things they should not pursue. This is why the wisest man to ever live, King Solomon, shared the wisdom God had provided him and has counseled us to keep our eyes “straight before thee” where they should be focused on what is good, decent, honorable, and pleasing to God. V.25
We have to actually think about our actions in life, not just flow through life acting on any desire and whim, if we are to be a person of substance, a person of honor, a person of discipline, a godly person, if we want to be a wise person. We have to ask ourselves before we act, ‘What affect will this action I am about to take have on my life, on the life of those I love or on the life of those around me? Can I tell God that in taking this action I honored the life He gave me?’ It is with the answer to those questions that we should determine what course of action to take or not take. V.26
In the Hebrew language the word “established” in verse twenty-six has the meaning of ‘standing erect in faithfulness.’ Only through making quality decisions consistently can we establish and enjoy a life of wisdom – a life filled with peace, joy, contentment, and happiness. V.26
We must make a decision to live our life based on wise quality decisions, the practice will not just fall on us. If we want to do something, we must make the decisions necessary to discipline ourselves to accomplish the task. If we wish to be healthy, we must make the choices that benefit our health. If we desire to have quality relationships, we must make choices that promote mutual love, mutual respect, mutual dignity, mutual satisfaction, and mutual honor in our relationships. If we want to maintain a job, a relationship, a marriage, or an activity, we must conduct ourselves with faithfulness to what is required to keep and maintain any or all of those aspects of life. V.27
Faithfulness is something even Christians have begun to disregard in our society. If we want to maintain a job, we must be faithful to show up, show up on time, and do what we are assigned to do. If we wish to maintain a relationship or marriage, we must be faithful to devote our time and energies to that relationship or marriage, investing our heart, our time, our life, establishing and maintaining trust, taking care not to betray the relationship in words or deeds. If we wish to partake in an activity then we must be faithful to show up and do said activity, so the other people involved can know they can depend upon us to be there and be a part of the activity. In order to be faithful, we must remain focused on what is important and keep our hearts, minds, eyes, and spirit way from what is not. V.27, 28
We have to actually do something to keep ourselves from evil, as verse twenty-eight warns us to do. We know that in the Bible “evil” is considered anything that God does not want us to do. With that established why does God instruct us to “remove thy foot from evil” – is there the presumption we are sinning? Yes, a life not ordered in godly wisdom is a life filled with sin. V.28
We are instructed to ‘remove ourselves from sin’ and that often requires not giving into our own desires because the heart is deceitful above all things.
Jeremiah 17:9–10 (KJ-AV)
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
In the Hebrew language the word “remove” used in verse twenty-eight, when we are instructed to ‘remove our foot from evil or sin,’ means “to turn off (literally or figuratively)” from partaking in sin. We are to “decline, depart, eschew (which means avoid)” anything that God would find displeasing for us. We are to “go aside” to avoid temptation, and “grievously lay away or leave undone” things that displease God. Note that in the definition it is made clear that to “lay aside or leave undone” things that we want to do will be “grievous” for us, yet, it is what God requires. We are to “put away or put down” what is displeasing to God and “ remove” those things from our life. God wants us according to the definition to “ revolt against, to be sour to, to withdraw from and to be without” all that we know not to be godly wisdom or His Will for our life. V.27 – Note – All words or phrases found in quotation marks are actual parts of the Hebrew definition.
Throughout this study if you need the wisdom of God on a matter, and you wish to receive the counsel of another Believer in Christ, please use the “comments” link to send your question to me.
Please keep me in your prayers and know that if God should speak anything into your heart as you pray for me regarding my life please feel free to share that with me. God speaks through His people.
Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:
This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers, and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV
11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Abuse, Acceptance, Apathy, Authority, Church Growth, Faith, Indifference, Prayer, Prophecy, Purity, Reformation, Renewal, Repentance, Revelation, Revival, Rhema Word, Spiritual Abuse
In Advice, Anxiety, Apostasy, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Church Growth, Exhortation, Godly Counsel, Jesus, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Reformation, Religious Freedom, Remnant, Renewal, Repentance, Revival, Righteousness, Spiritual Remnant, Trust, Truth, Uncategorized on January 10, 2019 at 12:41 pm
As we take on a new year, 2019, we will take a different approach to finishing both our series on Church Growth, or lack thereof, and the Study of the Book of Proverbs. Instead of alternating weekly between two subjects, as we have in the past, we will proceed this year by carrying one subject to completion and then next to completion. Please be assured we will finish each subject, Church Growth and Proverbs. We will begin by finishing the series, “Why My Church is NOT Growing” with the focus for the next several weeks placed upon the issue of how “authority” affects church growth.
Why My Church is NOT Growing – Part 14 – “Authority” Introduction
What is authority? Whom or what holds authority? How should we respond to and interact with authority? What is our problem with authority? Can authority be trusted? All wonderful questions we will seek to answer in this portion of the series.
In the Book of Revelation, the word “power” is synonymous with the word “authority”. In chapters 2-8, you will find that if you compare the King James Authorized Version with newer translations such as the New King James the word “authority” appears in the New King James Bible where the word “power” once appeared in the King James Authorized Version Bible. This alteration in translations of this word takes place whether the verse is referencing Christ or Satan. Therefore, we can see one key thing about what authority is and means, power, power in some form.
The word “authority” according to the Greek Language Definition, as found in 2 Corinthians 10:8, which we will examine later, is as follows:
Strong’s Greek Reference #1849
1849. ἐξουσία ĕxŏusia, ex-oo-see´-ah; from 1832 (in the sense of ability); privilege, i.e. (subj.) force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (obj.) mastery (concr. magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence:— authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, strength.
Authority is meant to influence. Not only to influence but also to delegate influence, in such a way that people are empowered, not oppressed. Yet, so often evil or corrupt authority seeks to oppress, always has. Authority by its very nature being, a privilege to influence others through a realistic ability to do so, should be administered with competency and a desire for liberation and freedom for those under said authority. This is what Christ wants for us, liberty, and freedom. One administers a certain token of control in order to guide another person to personal liberty, freedom, and the ability to govern oneself appropriately. It takes a strong individual to use authority with honor and integrity because they must have the spiritual and personal power to do what is right in each situation.
Throughout this study if you need the wisdom of God on a matter, and you wish to receive the counsel of another Believer in Christ, please use the “comments” link to send your question to me.
Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:
This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers, and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV
11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Anxiety, Biblical Principles, Confusion, control, Decision Making, Peace, Prudence, Renewal, Suffering, Truth, Wisdom. Advice
In Advice, Anxiety, Biblical Principles, Confusion, Decision Making, Godly Counsel, Peace, Prudence, Renewal, Suffering, Truth, Wisdom on December 11, 2018 at 1:34 pm
For the next few weeks we will forgo our regular blog studies of Proverbs and Church Growth to pursue postings that center around Christmas and New Year’s. These entries will appear on Saturdays instead of earlier in the week as is the norm.
There will be one except this week with the posting today, which is a special posting of a poem I believe you will find inspiring and enlightening. This entry is being dedicated to a special friend who at this time in life could really benefit from the wisdom found within this poem – you know who you are.
“If” By Rudyard Kipling
If
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build’em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings – nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!
Source: A Choice of Kipling’s Verse (1943)
Rudyard Kipling 1865–1936
More about the poem "If" and Rudyard Kipling.
Were you to write the biography of Rudyard Kipling as a graph, the first thing that would strike you would be the steep vertical zigzags. The chart would have to start on a high point: his birth in India to a loving set of parents. His childhood would continue for a short period along an upward slope in the wonderland where he was born, and then plunge dramatically at the age of six when he was sent to England for his education. His first five years in England were scarred by the terrible abuse that he endured there from his foster mother. His only break during that period was the holiday month of December, when he would head to London to stay with his mother’s family. After that period he was transferred to a school in Devon where he shone, becoming the editor of the school paper and embarking on his path as a writer, becoming a major success. He was struck by misfortune once more when the bank where he kept his savings collapsed leaving him penniless. He moved to America and continued writing, publishing The Jungle Books together with much else. He again hit a low when he became embroiled in a fight with his brother-in-law which landed both in court and in local papers, forcing his move back to England. On a trip to America in 1899 his daughter Josephine died of pneumonia at the age of seven, leaving him heartbroken. The wheel continued to turn however, and in 1907 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his outstanding work. An avowed proponent of British involvement in World War One, he encouraged his son John to enlist. When he failed the physical, Kipling used his connections to get him in, only to watch him die in the battle for Loos leaving him awash in guilt.
His life was one replete with trials and hardships, sorrows which one could never fault anyone for crumbling beneath but which time and time again he overcame. This poem, published three years after he won the Nobel Prize, encapsulates the lessons that he learned and that he considered to be the keys to his success. Part of it is engraved on the entrance to Wimbledon to remind players of what it is that makes a man.
Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:
This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers, and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV
11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Abuse, Advice, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Blessing, Chastisement, Choices, Christian, Christian Lifestyle, Christian Living, Christianity, Confusion, Correction, Crime, Curses, Death, Decision Making, Desire, Devotional, Discipline, Discretion, Encouragement, Equality, Evil, Exhortation, Fairness, Favor, Fear, Generosity, Godly Fear, Good, Grace, Growing, Guidance, Happiness, Health, Heart, Illness, Information, Insomnia, Justice, King Solomon, Learning, Life, Longevity, Mercy, Neighbors, Oppression, Parents, Peace, Protection, Proverbs, Prudence, Renewal, Righteousness, Sexual Abuse, Sickness, Sin, Spirituality, Strength, Teachable, Trust, Truth, Wickedness, Wisdom
In Advice, Anxiety, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian Living, Confusion, Decision Making, Discretion, Evil, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Proverbs, Prudence, Renewal, Repentance, Truth, Uncategorized, Wisdom on December 5, 2018 at 10:00 am
Please forgive my delay in posting, I have had an especially challenging week. Please keep me in your prayers and know that if God should speak anything into your heart as you pray for me regarding my life please feel free to share that with me. God speaks through His people.
This blog will alternate with each post between two subjects. One week will address why churches are not growing, and the coming move of God. The alternate week the blog will continue with the in-depth study through the Book of Proverbs.
The Scripture passages are identified with bold upright font and the author’s notes are identified with italic regular font.
Note – All words or phrases found in quotation marks are actual parts of the Hebrew definition.
25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. 26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. 27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
Focus On Wisdom’s Path (The God Path)
If you do not look at where you are going you will surely lose your way. We must continually look at and keep our focus on what God wants our life to be, looking straight toward what we want to be, solely focused on our priorities in life – provided those priorities come from an honorable godly focus. There are so many things in life that wish to drag us away from being someone we can feel good about or proud of in a godly way, so many temptation and personal desires that conflict with God’s Plan and Purpose for our life and our personal long-term life goals. V.25
We are all too often allowing our eyes to stray from what is important or worst toward things they should not pursue. This is why the wisest man to ever live, King Solomon, shared the wisdom God had provided him and has counseled us to keep our eyes “straight before thee” where they should be focused on what is good, decent, honorable, and pleasing to God. V.25
We have to actually think about our actions in life, not just flow through life acting on any desire and whim, if we are to be a person of substance, a person of honor, a person of discipline, a godly person, if we want to be a wise person. We have to ask ourselves before we act, ‘What affect will this action I am about to take have on my life, on the life of those I love or on the life of those around me? Can I tell God that in taking this action I honored the life He gave me?’ It is with the answer to those question that we should determine what course of action to take or not take. V.26
In the Hebrew language the word “established” in verse twenty-six has the meaning of ‘standing erect in faithfulness.’ Only through making quality decisions consistently can we establish and enjoy a life of wisdom – a life filled with peace, joy, contentment, and happiness. V.26
We must make a decision to live our life based on wise quality decisions, the practice will not just fall on us. If we want to do something, we must make the decisions necessary to discipline ourselves to accomplish the task. If we wish to be healthy, we must make the choices that benefit our health. If we desire to have quality relationships, we must make choices that promote mutual love, mutual respect, mutual dignity, mutual satisfaction, and mutual honor in our relationships. If we want to maintain a job, a relationship, a marriage, or an activity, we must conduct ourselves with faithfulness to what is required to keep and maintain any or all of those aspects of life. V.27
Faithfulness is something even Christians have begun to disregard in our society. If we want to maintain a job, we must be faithful to show up, show up on time, and do what we are assigned to do. If we wish to maintain a relationship or marriage, we must be faithful to devote our time and energies to that relationship or marriage, investing our heart, our time, our life, establishing and maintaining trust, taking care not to betray the relationship in words or deeds. If we wish to partake in an activity then we must be faithful to show up and do said activity, so the other people involved can know they can depend upon us to be there and be a part of the activity. In order to be faithful, we must remain focused on what is important and keep our hearts, minds, eyes, and spirit way from what is not. V.27, 28
We have to actually do something to keep ourselves from evil, as verse twenty-eight warns us to do. We know that in the Bible “evil” is considered anything that God does not want us to do. With that established why does God instruct us to “remove thy foot from evil” – is there the presumption we are sinning? Yes, a life not ordered in godly wisdom is a life filled with sin. V.28
We are instructed to ‘remove ourselves from sin’ and that often requires not giving into our own desires because the heart is deceitful above all things.
Jeremiah 17:9–10 (KJ-AV)
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
In the Hebrew language the word “remove” used in verse twenty-eight, when we are instructed to ‘remove our foot from evil or sin,’ means “to turn off (literally or figuratively)” from partaking in sin. We are to “decline, depart, eschew (which means avoid)” anything that God would find displeasing for us. We are to “go aside” to avoid temptation, and “grievously lay away or leave undone” things that displease God. Note that in the definition it is made clear that to “lay aside or leave undone” things that we want to do will be “grievous” for us yet, it is what God requires. We are to “put away or put down” what is displeasing to God and “ remove” those things from our life. God wants us according to the definition to “ revolt against, to be sour to, to withdraw from and to be without” all that we know not to be godly wisdom or His Will for our life. V.27 – Note – All words or phrases found in quotation marks are actual parts of the Hebrew definition.
Throughout this study if you need the wisdom of God on a matter, and you wish to receive the counsel of another Believer in Christ, please use the “comments” link to send your question to me.
Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:
This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers, and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV
11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Abuse, Advice, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Blessing, Chastisement, Choices, Christian, Christian Lifestyle, Christian Living, Christianity, Confusion, Correction, Crime, Curses, Death, Decision Making, Desire, Devotional, Discipline, Discretion, Encouragement, Equality, Evil, Exhortation, Fairness, Favor, Fear, Generosity, Godly Fear, Good, Grace, Growing, Guidance, Happiness, Health, Illness, Information, Insomnia, Justice, King Solomon, Learning, Life, Longevity, Mercy, Neighbors, Oppression, Parents, Peace, Protection, Proverbs, Prudence, Renewal, Righteousness, Sexual Abuse, Sickness, Sin, Spirituality, Strength, Teachable, Trust, Truth, Wickedness, Wisdom
In Advice, Anxiety, Apostasy, Bible, Bible Study, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian Living, Decision Making, Evil, Godly Counsel, Proverbs, Prudence, Truth, Uncategorized, Wickedness, Wisdom on October 24, 2018 at 1:32 pm
This blog will alternate with each post between two subjects. One week will address why churches are not growing, and the coming move of God. The alternate week the blog will continue with the in-depth study through the Book of Proverbs.
The Scripture passages are identified with bold upright font and the author’s notes are identified with italic regular font.
Note – All words or phrases found in quotation marks are actual parts of the Hebrew definition.
14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. 15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. 16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. 17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. 18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
Wicked and Evil or Wise and Shinning
Wickedness and evil behavior however severe or minor in the eyes of man is something to be avoided at all cost. God warns us to turn from evil before it consumes us or consumes parts of our life. (verse 14-15)
There are those who hunger after evil even to the point of losing sleep if they cannot find a way to partake in the evil they desire. Almost like a drug that someone is addicted to, evil calls after the wicked person. There are people who simply enjoy causing hurt for other people – hard to conceive for those who truly love God, but it is true. (verse 16-17)
You can see evil on a wicked person. There is a darkness on their countenance and vacancy to their eyes, an aura of darkness around them that cannot be described in words. Similarly, it is true of a Believer when they are actually living for God, there is a light that shines from their countenance, a light in their eyes, an aura of godly spirituality that is seen and detected by most people, sensed with mixed reactions. (verse 18)
Some people are draw to, and interested in, the light they see in this type of Believer, while other people are uncomfortable around the godly spirituality they can sense coming from the person. This tends to be true whether either type of person can detect exactly, or understand fully, what it is they sense coming from the dedicated Believer.
When you look into the Hebrew language at the meaning of the words and phrases in verse 19 it is extremely interesting and supports a principle we find in many other parts of Scripture. “As darkness” and “not at what they stumble” denotes the concept of those people who regularly do evil, sin, not understanding why “misfortune” and problems seem to continually plague them. The definitions define the person’s life as a life in continual decline, “decaying” and filled with “misfortune.” (verse 19)
The godly Believer continues to grow and shine brighter and brighter as their spiritual life with God progresses, they grow and slowly change for the better, whiles the evil person continues in a life of misfortune and trouble, they rarely change or grow as a person, have little desire to grow or change, and their life is slowly decaying away. (verse 18-19)
Which type of person will you choose to be?
Throughout this study if you need the wisdom of God on a matter, and you wish to receive the counsel of another Believer in Christ, please use the “comments” link to send your question to me.
Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:
This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers, and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV
11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Abuse, Advice, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Blessing, Chastisement, Choices, Christian, Christian Lifestyle, Christian Living, Christianity, Confusion, Correction, Crime, Curses, Death, Decision Making, Desire, Devotional, Discipline, Discretion, Encouragement, Equality, Evil, Exhortation, Fairness, Favor, Fear, Generosity, Godly Fear, Good, Grace, Growing, Guidance, Happiness, Health, Illness, Information, Insomnia, Justice, King Solomon, Learning, Life, Longevity, Mercy, Neighbors, Oppression, Parents, Peace, Protection, Proverbs, Prudence, Renewal, Righteousness, Sexual Abuse, Sickness, Sin, Spirituality, Strength, Teachable, Trust, Truth, Wisdom
In Advice, Anxiety, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian Living, Confusion, Decision Making, Discretion, Godly Counsel, Learning, Peace, Proverbs, Prudence, Renewal, Revival, Spirituality, Trust, Truth, Wisdom on September 13, 2018 at 9:00 am
This blog will alternate with each post between two subjects. One week will address why churches are not growing, and the coming move of God. The alternate week the blog will continue with the in-depth study through the Book of Proverbs.
The Scripture passages are identified with bold upright font and the author’s notes are identified with italic regular font.
10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. 11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. 12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. 13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.
Wisdom Sustains
Note – All words or phrases found in quotation marks are actual parts of the Hebrew definition.
Verse ten states that the person who consistently uses godly wisdom as a guide for how they live and manage their life will see that life extended by “many” years. In the Hebrew language “many” means both to “increase in respective time” and to “bring in abundance” – that covers quantity of life and quality of life.
Verse twelve makes it clear that the person who consistently applies godly wisdom will have little need for their choices and actions to be corrected by God or man, nor will they find themselves stumbling a great deal in life. It is not possible to live a perfect life, but it is possible to live a godly life ruled by godly wisdom that has little encounter with failure or correction.
Verse thirteen speaks to the fact that godly wisdom applied is “thy life” for all truly real purposes. You may ask how could godly wisdom applied be someone’s life, what does it mean? Take a look at the Hebrew definitions for the phrase “thy life” – examine them one by one as see the “thy life” found within.
· "alive; hence, raw (flesh)” – godly wisdom applied will literally keep us alive.
· “fresh (plant, water, year)” – godly wisdom applied will keep us and our life fresh and renewed each year in personal growth and spiritual thirst.
· “strong” – godly wisdom applied will keep us strong mentally, emotionally, spiritually, relationally, and physically.
· “life (or living thing), whether literal or figurative:— + age, alive, appetite, company, congregation, life (-time), live (-ly), living (creature, thing), maintenance, + merry, multitude, + (be) old, quick, raw, running, springing, troop. to live” – godly wisdom applied will rightly order every area of our life and relationships.
· “whether literal or figuratively; causatively to revive” – godly wisdom applied will restore us and sustain us through the challenges of life.
· “keep (leave, make) alive, × certainly, give (promise) life, (let, suffer to) live, nourish up, preserve (alive), quicken, recover, repair, restore (to life), revive, (× God) save (alive, life, lives), × surely, be whole.” – godly wisdom applied will restore our life to God’s Purpose and repair the life damage we have caused and suffered, it will “give promise” to our life.
There is no doubt that the use of godly wisdom on a consistent bases in our life will sustain our life to God’s glory.
What does it mean to “sustain” something or someone? Sustain according to the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary is defined as follows.
Note – All words or phrases found in quotation marks are actual parts of the Merriam-Webster’s definition.
The author’s thoughts follow each definition in [brackets].
1 : “to give support or relief to” – [godly wisdom applied will support the quality and quantity of your life and bring relief in times of distress.]
2 : “to supply with sustenance : NOURISH” – [godly wisdom applied will bring nourishment to your body, mind, spirit, and soul.]
3 : “KEEP UP, PROLONG” – [godly wisdom applied will extend the length of your life and improve the quality of your life.]
4 : “to support the weight of : PROP; also : to carry or withstand (a weight or pressure)” – [godly wisdom applied will makes facing the challenges of life so much easier, and your response to them is less likely to be filled with anxiety.]
5 : “to buoy up £ sustained by hope” – [godly wisdom applied will keep you afloat in life’s rough waters and give you hope.]
6 “a : to bear up under b : SUFFER, UNDERGO £ sustained heavy losses” – [godly wisdom applied will keep you from despair during your darkest days in life.]
7 “a : to support as true, legal, or just b : to allow or admit as valid £ the court sustained the motion” – [godly wisdom applied will anchors your life in something much greater than yourself, it anchors your life in God, in God’s Principles and Truths.]
8 : “to support by adequate proof : CONFIRM £ testimony that sustains our contention” – [godly wisdom applied will end up being self-proving, as you will see the proof of godly wisdom’s worth through its results over time.]
Godly wisdom will be a tool by which God sustains you and your life. Will you let it sustain you? Will you let Him sustain you?
Throughout this study if you need the wisdom of God on a matter, and you wish to receive the counsel of another Believer in Christ, please use the “comments” link to send your question to me.
Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:
This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers, and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV
11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Abuse, Advice, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Blessing, Chastisement, Choices, Christian, Christian Lifestyle, Christian Living, Christianity, Confusion, Correction, Crime, Curses, Death, Decision Making, Desire, Devotional, Discipline, Discretion, Encouragement, Equality, Evil, Exhortation, Fairness, Favor, Fear, Generosity, Godly Fear, Good, Grace, Growing, Guidance, Happiness, Health, Illness, Information, Insomnia, Justice, King Solomon, Learning, Life, Longevity, Mercy, Neighbors, Oppression, Parents, Peace, Protection, Proverbs, Prudence, Renewal, Righteousness, Sexual Abuse, Sickness, Sin, Spirituality, Strength, Teachable, Trust, Truth, Wisdom
In Advice, Anxiety, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Confusion, Decision Making, Discretion, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Proverbs, Prudence, Renewal, Trust, Truth, Uncategorized, Wisdom on August 29, 2018 at 9:00 am
This blog will alternate with each post between two subjects. One week will address why churches are not growing, and the coming move of God. The alternate week the blog will continue with the in-depth study through the Book of Proverbs.
The Scripture passages are identified with bold upright font and the author’s notes are identified with italic regular font.
5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. 6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. 7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. 8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. 9 She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.
It certainly appears that God, through King Solomon, makes it a point to repeat over and over in Proverbs the need for obtaining and applying godly wisdom. How easily we must forget this important aspect of life, otherwise, God would not have seen the need to mention it so often within just one of His books of the Bible, not to mention all the other books of the Bible He saw fit to bring the subject up in (verse 5).
Wisdom, the gathering of godly knowledge, godly understanding, godly insight, learning from your experiences with God, learning about God, His character, His expectations of us, and the application of all of these rolled into one, wisdom, will dramatically change your life for the better if you stick with the practice. Here are just some of the things God has stated in these verses that it will do for you.
Note – All words or phrases found in quotation marks are actual parts of the Hebrew definitions of the word or phrases found in the verses we are examining.
If you continue in that practice mentioned earlier of obtaining godly wisdom and applying godly wisdom and understanding, it will preserve and keep your life. Meaning according to the Hebrew language it will place a “hedge of thrones about” you that will “guard, protect, and attend to” the care and preservation of your life, from the forces without and the forces within that would seek to harm or destroy you (verse 6).
It is easy to understand that godly wisdom applied to a person’s life will enable God’s divine protection from evil forces and the evil actions of other people but understanding how it protects us from ourselves is a bit more difficult to understand.
When we seek, obtain, and apply godly wisdom, and it must be godly wisdom, not the wisdom of the world or man, it instills in us an alarm that sounds via the Holy Spirit when we should “beware” or ‘be circumspect” or “take heed to ourselves” or be cautious to “keep ourselves” on the “narrow path” being ever so careful to “observe” our motives, desires, and actions to ensure we are walking in wisdom. We are required by God to be our own “watchman” with the aide of the Holy Spirit, to see to it that we are walking in the Wisdom of God. To “obey” God and His godly wisdom is to allow Him to “keep” us by His Wisdom. This is what it is to be preserved and kept by wisdom (verse 6).
Verse seven makes it clear that in order to walk in that care and protection a person must make godly wisdom “principal” in their life. For something to be principal means it holds the highest of rank, according to the Hebrew “the first, in place, in time, order or rank – among our firstfruits.” Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines principal as, “a matter or thing of primary importance.”
Godly wisdom must take priority over our own ideas, our own desires, our own thoughts about what is best, worldly wisdom, ideas or principles set down by man regardless of how worthy those principles might be, and godly wisdom must take priority regardless of what other people think is best for us. In order for godly wisdom to preserve and keep you properly it must be your number one source of instruction for how you will choose to live your life and make your decisions (verse 7).
Once we have truly embraced godly wisdom and are applying it consistently to our life, we can expect to see the benefits that God has ordained for those who listen to Him and apply His Wisdom. Wisdom will bring promotion and honor to the life that embraces living by its principles (verse 8).
The Hebrew language makes it clear that to be promoted by Wisdom through God is to “rise and be raised in a variety of application both literally and figuratively – to bring up and exalt, to extol honor.” That “honour,” honor that comes from God as a result of applying wisdom will “bring a weighty richness” to life that results in God’s ‘glory being able to shine through your life’(verses 8 and 9).
Application of wisdom results in living a “noble” life where you “prevail” thanks to God’s “ornament of grace” that He has placed upon you because you have chosen to “obey” Him in obtaining and applying godly wisdom (verses 6, 7, 8, and 9).
An “ornament of grace” how splendid! Grace become “attached to” a person who embraces godly wisdom and applies godly wisdom (verse 9).
Throughout this study if you need the wisdom of God on a matter, and you wish to receive the counsel of another Believer in Christ, please use the “comments” link to send your question to me.
Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:
This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers, and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV
11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
God's Truth in Love 