Wisdom Of Life

"Wait for the Lord"   Psalms 27:14 It may seem an easy thing to wait, but it is one of the postures that a Christian soldier cannot learn without years of teaching. Marching and quick-marching are much easier for God's warriors than standing still. There are hours of perplexity when the most willing spirit, anxiously desiring to serve the Lord, does not know what role to play. Then what shall it do? Vex itself by despair? Retreat back in cowardice, turn to the right hand in fear, or rush forward in presumption? No, simply wait.  Wait in prayer , however. Call upon God, and spread the matter before Him; tell Him your difficulty, and plead His promise of help. In dilemmas between one duty and another, it is best to be humble as a child and  wait with simplicity of soul  upon the Lord. It is sure to be well with us when we feel and know our own folly and are genuinely willing to be guided by the will of God. But wait in faith. Express your unstaggering conf...

"For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord , 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."  Jeremiah 29:11 The heavenly Father has a grand plan for the life of every person, and it can be summed up in the word sanctification. If you have never been certain of the term's meaning, you are not alone--many people are unclear about its definition. However, believers should understand it because the word defines them. In its verb form--sanctify--the term means "to make holy" or "to separate." So when something is sanctified, it is separated from its former common usage and is dedicated for sacred purposes. The Old Testament mentions a number of things that the Lord sanctified: He made the seventh day holy, set aside the Levite tribe as priests, and even consecrated places like the Holy of Holies inside the tabernacle (Genesis 2:3; Numbers 3). The heavenly Father still sanctifies people today. Before...

" How long will they not believe in me . . . ?"   Numbers 14:11 Strive with all diligence to keep out the monster of unbelief.  It is so dishonoring to Christ that He will withdraw His visible presence if we insult Him by tolerating it. It is true it is a weed that we can never entirely remove from the soil, but we must aim at its root with zeal and perseverance. Among hateful things it is the most to be defeated. Its hurtful nature is so poisonous that he that uses it and he upon whom it is used are both harmed by it. In your case, believer, it is most wicked, for the mercies of your Lord in the past increase your guilt in doubting Him now. When you distrust the Lord Jesus, He may well cry out, "Behold, I will press you down in your place, as a cart full of sheaves presses down." (Amos 2:13) To doubt is to crown His head with thorns of the sharpest kind. It is very cruel for a well-beloved wife to mistrust a kind and faithful husband. The sin is needless, fooli...

Scriptures: John 14:16-18 Have you ever wished you had a 911 number that rang in heaven whenever you had a need? Well, I have good news for believers. We all have divine assistance that’s even closer than a phone call: our Helper dwells within us. But if we are unaware of Him, we’ll miss many opportunities to benefit from the greatest asset in our Christian life—the Holy Spirit’s presence. Christ knew that when He left the earth, His disciples would be totally inadequate for the task He was giving them—to evangelize the world. Though they’d spent three years with Jesus, all they had seen and learned would still not sufficiently equip them for what lay ahead. They needed supernatural help, and so do we—someone who will come to our aid, empower our service, and transform us from the inside out. The Holy Spirit is the only one who can achieve all this. Consider His qualifications: 1. He is a personal Helper, not some inanimate force. God’s...

"His fruit was sweet to my taste."    Song of Songs 2:3 Faith is described in a variety of ways in the Bible. It is  sight: "Turn to me and be saved." (Isaiah 45:22) It is  hearing:  "Hear, that your soul shall live." (Isaiah 55:3) Faith is  smelling:   "Your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia "; (Psalm 45: 8) "your name is oil poured out." (Song of Solomon 1:3) Faith is spiritual  touch . By this faith the woman came behind and touched the hem of Christ's garment, and by this we handle the things of the good word of life. Faith is equally the spirit's taste. "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth." (Psalm 119:103 ) "Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life." (John 6:54) One of the first performances of faith is  hearing . We hear the voice of God not only with the physical ear, but with the spiritual ear; we hear it as God's Word...

Scriptures: Romans 2:4-5  Have you ever ignored the press of conviction upon your heart? Maybe you rationalized your wrongdoing with the thought that if God were really upset, He'd put a stop to things by disciplining you. Psalm 50:21 reminds us that the silence of heaven does not mean approval. Remaining in sin is an abuse of the Lord's patience.  When God seems slow to react, we might hope He's overlooking our transgressions--we'd like to continue in sin because the momentary pleasure is more appealing than obedience. But thankfully, the Father knows our weaknesses, our innate carnality, and the state of our spiritual growth, and He therefore measures His response. Motivated by love and a desire to gently restore His children to righteousness, God refrains from doling out immediate punishment. Instead, He waits for the Holy Spirit's proddings to impact the believer's heart. The weight of conviction is actually an invitation to turn from wrongdoing and retur...

"Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered."  Proverbs 11:25 We are taught here the great lesson that to get, we must give; to accumulate, we must scatter; to make ourselves happy, we must make others happy; and in order to become spiritually vigorous, we must seek the spiritual good of others. In watering others, we are ourselves watered. How? Our efforts to be  useful bring out our powers for usefulness . We have latent talents and unused gifts that become apparent by exercise. Our strength for work is even hidden from ourselves until we take our stand and fight the Lord's battles or climb the mountains of difficulty. We do not know what tender sympathies we possess until we try to dry the widow's tears and soothe the orphan's grief. We often find in attempting to teach others that we gain instruction for ourselves. What gracious lessons some of us have learned in visiting the sick! We went to teach the Scriptures, and...

"The sweet psalmist of Israel."   2 Samuel 23:1 Among all the saints whose lives are recorded in Holy Scripture, David possesses an experience of the most striking, varied, and instructive character. In his history we meet with trials and temptations that are not found, as a whole, in other saints of ancient times, and as a result he provides us with a shadowy picture of our Lord. David knew the trials of all ranks and conditions of men. Kings have their troubles, and David wore a crown. The peasant has his cares, and David handled a shepherd's crook. The wanderer has many hardships, and David hid in the caves of Engedi. The captain has his difficulties, and David found the sons of Zeruiah too hard for him. The psalmist also faced trials from his friends; his counselor Ahithophel forsook him: "[He] who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me." (Psalm 41:9) His worst foes came from his own household: His children were his greatest affliction. The temptati...

Scriptures: Psalms 37:5-7 Job was a man who certainly knew trouble and temptation, and yet he boldly claimed, "Though He slay me, I will hope in Him" (Job 13:15). That is commitment. Job had lost his children, his fortune, and his health, but he refused to abandon faith in God. The stricken man was determined to hold on because he trusted the Lord to do right. Unwavering commitment to trust the Lord in all situations is a cornerstone of unshakable faith. From the vantage point of that foundation, we can focus our eyes upon God alone. It is easy to be distracted by circumstances and allow them to dictate our emotions. But if that's the case, then when life is good, we're happy; when times are tough, we're frustrated; and when hardship pours in, we're downright miserable and looking for escape. Unlike Job, we are fortunate to have Scripture, which reveals God's nature and promises. And it is a wise believer who claims those promises when enduring hardshi...

"The steadfast love of God."   Psalms 52:8 Meditate a little on this steadfast love of the Lord. It is  tender love . With gentle, loving touch, He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He is as gracious in the manner of His steadfast love as in the matter of it. It is great steadfast love. There is nothing little in God; His steadfast love is like Himself-it is infinite. You cannot measure it. His mercy is so great that it forgives great sins to great sinners after great lengths of time and then gives great favors and great privileges and raises us up to great enjoyments in the great heaven of the great God. It  is undeserved steadfast love , as indeed all true mercy must be, for deserved mercy is only a misnomer for justice. There was no right on the sinner's part to the kind consideration of the Most High; had the rebel been doomed at once to eternal fire he would have richly merited the doom, and if delivered from wrath, sovereign love alone has fou...

"Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name."  Psalms 29:2 God's glory is the result of His nature and acts. He is glorious in His character, for there is such a store of everything that is holy and good and lovely in God that He must be glorious. The actions that flow from His character are also glorious; but while He intends that they should display to His creatures His goodness and mercy and justice, He is equally concerned that the glory associated with them should be given only to Himself. Not that there is anything in ourselves in which we may glory; for who makes us different from another? And what do we have that we did not receive from the God of all grace? Then how careful we ought to be to  walk humbly before the Lord! The moment we glorify ourselves, since there is room for one glory only in the universe, we set ourselves up as rivals to the Most High. Shall an insect that's been around for only an hour glorify itself against the sun that warmed it into ...

Scriptures: Romans 6:3-10 Jesus commissioned His followers to go and make disciples, "baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19) . As the early church spread the gospel message, baptism would follow a new believer's response of faith. It publicly signified that the individual was now a follower of Jesus Metaphors often communicate on a level that words cannot. Baptism is a powerful picture of our salvation experience. Through this act, we proclaim the good news that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again… and testify that we've welcomed His transforming power into our life.  The Greek word for "baptize" in Scripture is the same term used to describe a cloth dipped in dye… it refers to total change. So by being plunged into the water, we declare that we're choosing to die to our old way of life and are uniting with Christ. Our sin is buried with Him, and its power is conquered through His ato...

Scriptures: Matthew 17:14-21 Nothing is impossible for the heavenly Father. No obstacle confuses God or poses any kind of challenge for Him. Though we know He is sovereign over every situation, we have trouble maintaining this perspective, just like the disciples in today’s passage. Too often when difficulties arise, we ... Experience a shift in focus.  During trials, we tend to take our eyes off the Lord and instead see only our problems. The longer we look at our circumstance, the larger it seems. As we dwell on it in thought and conversation, our mindset can become very negative. Though God still has a direction for us to take, we are no longer concentrating on His purposes. Develop an incorrect assessment of resources.  In our troubles, we start taking inventory of our own strength and abilities. When they prove insufficient, we become discouraged. The truth is that we don’t have what is needed for life’s trials—Jesus Himself told us that. (See...

Scriptures: John 13:1-17 "Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded." (v.5) Sometimes we need a wake-up call that opens our eyes so we can see who we truly are. And watching someone else do what we should have done can be a most effective eye-opener. When Jesus started washing the disciples’ feet, they must have felt an instant sense of uneasiness, especially after their recent discussions about which of them was the greatest (Mark 9:34-35). As we noted earlier, foot washing was the task of the lowest slave in the household. But since Jesus and His disciples were eating in a borrowed room, there was no slave posted at the door. All the disciples considered this job beneath them, so everyone’s feet remained filthy until Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, humbled Himself to serve those who should have served Him. After three years of teaching and modeling humility to His di...

Scriptures: Philippians 3:8-11 "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;" (v.10 ) The apostle Paul understood how to handle tough circumstances. Even while he was confined in a prison cell, he kept his eyes on Christ and trusted firmly in the Savior. Therefore, despite being in chains, he was able to celebrate the Lord’s work in his life. In fact, the epistle he wrote from jail to the Philippians was filled with rejoicing (1:18; 2:18; 3:1). Focusing on Christ is neither a natural reaction nor an easy one. Our instinct is to dwell on the situation at hand, searching for solutions or stewing over the pain and difficulty. As a result, troubles look scary and overwhelm us with a sense of defeat. However, fear and defeat cannot live long in a heart that trusts the Lord. I’m not saying you’ll forget what you’re going through, but you can choose to dwell on His provision and care ...

Scriptures: John 12:24-26 "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him."   (v.26) I’ll never forget the best introduction I’ve ever received as an invited speaker. The presenter simply said, “It is my great pleasure to introduce to you my brother, Charles Stanley, servant of the Most High God.” I couldn’t move from my seat for a few moments; I was so struck by this opening that glorified the Lord and identified my proper position. The Word of God describes believers as ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) , soldiers (2 Timothy 2:3) , and saints (Ephesians 2:19) . But the highest honor that we can receive is to be called servants of the Most High God. From the world’s perspective, those who die to self in order to follow the Lord may stand in last place—in reality, however, they are first in His kingdom. (See Matthew 20:16.) Sadly, service to...

Scriptures: Galatians 5:17-21 Most likely, you have been caught off guard by a wave of jealousy at some point in your life. Was it a spiritual attack? Did the Enemy make you covetous? Was someone or something working to make you resentful? The answer—which may surprise you— is no. Jealousy actually springs from  within  us , even though we might try to deflect the blame. For example, we may say, "Well, they just shouldn't have that. They don't deserve it, so I'm perfectly justified in feeling this way." Do you see what is actually going on here? We are not only feeling envious of someone, but we're also saying that our jealousy is the other person's fault! That's simply not true. We are each 100 percent responsible for our own feelings of envy. Jealousy is a product of the flesh. In the Bible, it is listed among such sins as idolatry, immorality, drunkenness, and sorcery—sins which stand against our holy God and are described as "earthly, na...

Scriptures: Psalms 143:8 We've already seen some of the areas where insecurity shows up. Now we need to turn our attention to its effects. To start, insecure people have difficulty establishing good, lasting relationships. They simply cannot see how they could add value to anyone else's life. This is a tragic loss, because every single one of us needs deep and meaningful friendships to help us grow. Also, men and women with insecurity are often seen as prideful or snobbish. Lack of confidence can cause them to withdraw from others, which can easily be mistaken for an act of arrogance. They can thereby give the impression that they simply don't want to be around others. What's more, insecurity frequently leads to indecisiveness and fear. People can be so consumed with self-doubt that they can't make any decision at all. They wonder,  What if I make a mistake?  Well, so what if they do? Making mistakes is one of the best ways to learn how to do something correctly...

Scrptures: Jude 1:24-25 Though Scripture is filled with promises from the Lord, we often struggle to accept them as true in our own life. But the Father wants us to believe that He’s willing and able to do whatever He has said. God has assured us that we don’t have to give in to the lure of sin, as He sets a limit on temptation and provides a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13). Jesus experienced this truth when the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness for an encounter with Satan (Matthew 4:1-11). Our Savior successfully resisted the devil’s enticements by recalling who the Father is and what He promised. God limited the temptation to three challenges, and the way out was through Scripture’s powerful truth. The Lord has also pledged to keep us from stumbling. We live in a world that is full of landmines, which are either hidden from sight or disguised as something good. We do not seek them out, but once triggered, they lead to ungodliness. For example, Peter had a conversation with a...

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."  Ephesians 3:20‭-‬21 Jesus knew firsthand what it meant to have limited financial resources, to have those closest to Him question His actions, and to be rejected by those He sought to serve (Matthew 8:20;  Mark 3:21;  John 6:66). However, He never allowed such circumstances to control His emotions or dictate His actions. Instead, He chose to trust that the Father was able to carry out His Word. We are called to follow Christ’s example and believe that God is able to do what He has said. For example, the Bible promises eternal salvation for everyone who requests forgiveness in Jesus’ name (Hebrews 7:25) . The Son satisfied His Father’s justice by dying on the cross for all of mankind’s sins—from white lie...

Scrptures: Hebrews 5:12-14 Believers are on a continual growth track that ascends higher and higher. This side of heaven none of us ever "arrive," but we each have a responsibility to press on to maturity. Though many people think those who know a lot about the Bible are the spiritually mature ones,  Hebrews 5:14  adds the element of  practice  to the growth equation. This word means a custom or habit. Christian growth requires the discipline of godly habits carried out daily. The most important practice to cultivate is a personal devotional time. Since God is the source of all spiritual development, you can't neglect Him and expect to become mature. Transformation begins with time in His Word and prayer. Obedience is another essential element for advancement. When our desire to obey the Lord is stronger than our attraction to sin, we'll know we are making progress in our spiritual life. In terms of physical development, the goal is to become more...

Scriptures: John 21:15-19 All of us make tracks through the valley of failure. Then the key question is, What we will do next? Sadly, many believers who stumble give up a vibrant kingdom-serving life for a defeated existence. But failure can also be a chance for a new beginning of living in Christ's strength. In pride, Peter thought his faith was the strongest of all the disciples' and swore that even if the others left Jesus, he never would  (Mark 14:29). Yet when the time of testing came, he denied even knowing Christ--and did so three times (Matthew 26:69-75) . Satan hoped the disciple would be so wounded by his own disloyalty that his faith would be undermined by shame, condemnation, and despair. Likewise, when the Enemy sifts believers today, his goal is for us to become shelved and ineffective for God's kingdom. That's why he goes after our strengths, especially the areas in which we proudly consider ourselves invincible. But if we're willing, the Lord can ...

"Who works all things according to the counsel of his will."   Ephesians 1:11 Our belief in God's wisdom supposes and necessitates that He has a settled purpose and plan in the work of salvation. What would creation have been without His design? Is there a fish in the sea or a bird in the air that was formed by chance? No; in every bone, joint, and muscle, sinew, gland, and blood-vessel, you see the presence of a God working everything according to the design of infinite wisdom. And will God be present in creation, ruling over all, but not in  grace ? Shall the new creation have the fickle genius of free will to preside over it when divine counsel rules the old creation? Look at  providence ! We know that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without our Father. Even the hairs of your head are all numbered. God weighs the mountains of our grief in scales, and the hills of our tribulation in balances. And shall there be a God in providence and not in grace? Shall t...

"In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."  1 Peter 1:6‭-‬7 God is always at work in our lives. Even during seasons of adversity, He wants to accomplish something powerful and good. How should this knowledge affect our response? Today's passage teaches us to choose to rejoice during difficult times. This doesn't mean we have to be happy about the hardship itself. Instead, joy comes from drawing close to the Lord and believing steadfastly that through His redemptive power, He is growing and preparing us. If your usual response to trials is anxiety, anger, or depression, the idea of having joy in the midst of a negative situation might not seem logical. However, if you look beneath the surfac...