Wisdom's Source

Proverbs 8

Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud: “To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man. O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense. Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right, for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them. They are all straight to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge. Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.

“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion. The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength. By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly. I love those who love me,and those who seek me diligently find me. Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver.I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice, granting an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries.

“The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, before he had made the earth with its fields,or the first of the dust of the world. When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.

“And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates,waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”

Paul wrote almost 1000 years later these words to the Colossian church in the Lycus valley, located in modern day Turkey, that wisdom is found in Christ.

“For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

This reminder from Paul, and this wisdom in Proverbs, and the Word that became flesh in John’s gospel, has always been and will always be, Christ. Christ was God in the flesh and is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, and every knee will bow and confess that He is Lord to His glory. Amen.

Being A Man Today- Revisited

The above photo is from Stand In the Gap with Promise Keepers. I am about three screens back. Wonder what kind of turn out will be in Washington on 9/12? Different type of crowd, different motivations, but needed to show concern for direction of our nation.

This week Man in the Mirror asked a question about men today in the churches across America and I thought I would share.

Look at the article and see what you can relate to:

When you look at the men in your church, do you see men leading powerful lives? We all know there is a "men problem." In Matthew 22:29, Jesus, told some confused religious leaders, "The problem is that you do not know the Scriptures and you do not know the power of God." In other words, knowledge leads to power. The journey to biblical manhood has a reference point -- a true north -- the word of God. That's where the power is. So, what does the word of God say about biblical manhood? The journey to biblical manhood can be summarized in many ways. One of the best summaries is Romans 12:2: So do not conform any longer to the beliefs and customs of this world, but be transformed by renewing your mind. Then you will be able to understand what God's perfect will is for your life (paraphrase). Transformation includes a cluster of concepts like discipleship, following Christ, maturity, becoming complete, obedience, spiritual growth, and similar concepts. Biblical manhood is an amalgamation of "transformed" relationships, roles, characteristics, qualities, priorities, purposes, and tasks. All the books in the world still cannot capture the full mystery of what it means to be a man, but here is a snapshot of the kind of men we are trying to produce: He loves God, loves others, builds the kingdom, and tends the culture (the four universal purposes for all men). In his role as a husband and father, he is the family prophet, priest, and king. He must be born again, then equipped with the knowledge of God and his ownspiritual gifts (among other things), then sent to live for Christ through love andservice. Along the way, he learns how to walk in the Spirit and not the flesh, experiencing the fruit of the Spirit -- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. He becomes part of the kingdom of God, which is righteousness, peace, andjoy in the Holy Spirit. He receives grace that leads to humility and contentment. His growth and transformation qualifies him to be a spiritual leader anddisciple maker. The outcomes of his life match the outcomes that the church needs -- a faithfulwitness, steward, worshiper, worker, husband, father, citizen, teacher, andleader. He is like the man Paul describes in Romans 15:14, "full of goodness, complete in knowledge, and able to instruct one another." This is a picture (panegyric) of a spiritually powerful man. It is the kind of man we want to produce. I'm sure you can think of other desirable outcomes. So what's the point? In your church do you have the vision, determination, and sustainable strategy to produce these kinds of men? To have men in your church living defeated lives is to betray them. Why would God give any church more men if they are not faithfully discipling the men they are already have? So let's get organized. We can do this.

Yours for changed lives, Patrick Morley, PhD

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Christian Classic Etheral Library had this note in my monthly news from them and thought I would share this. Neat.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness by Thomas O. Chisholm

"There is no circumstantial background for Great Is Thy Faithfulness," writes its author, Thomas O. Chisholm. He goes on to say that it was simply the result of his "morning by morning realization of God's personal faithfulness." Chisholm wrote the text in Vineland, New Jersey, in 1923, and sent it to his friend William M. Runyan, who composed the tune. Set to FAITHFULNESS, the text was published in Runyan's Songs of Salvation and Service (1923). "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" is a vibrant testimony to the faithfulness of God, a testimony Chisholm reaffirmed in 1941:

I must not fail to record here the unfailing faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God and that he has given me many wonderful displays of his providing care, for which I am filled with astonishing gratefulness.

Do you see this in your life? Are you going thru something tough right now? Don't give up, don't let up but get more time in the Word, more time letting God know how you feel and most importantly let know close relationships suffer.

Cover it all in the Love of Christ......great is His faithfulness