Kingdom Treasures

‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’ 

Matthew 13:52 ESV 

NLT ~’ new gems of truth as well as old’

From Matthew, we once again see the parables where Jesus taught Kingdom lessons. The purpose was to teach his disciples the secrets of the Kingdom, as He taught new gems of truth, as well as reinforcing the old. 

The parable of the Hidden Treasure, verse 44, and the Pearl of Great Price, verse 45, show us the value of the Kingdom.  Because of the Kingdom’s value, Jesus notes they’re treasures, but treasures one would sell to acquire that which has greater value. 

From the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches that no man can serve two masters because they will love one and hate the other.  What you treasure is what your heart will pursue.  

So, our training, as disciples of the Kingdom of Heaven, creates in us a heart that holds the treasures of heaven.  We have come into an inheritance where His divine power has granted to us the riches of this realm.  All things that pertain to life and godliness grow through the knowledge of Him.  

Called to His own glory and excellence, these precious and great promises enable us to become partakers of His divine nature, 2 Peter 1:3-4, escaping the corruption that lies in the world through sinful desires. 

Our treasure holds not only what is old but also the new.  We have truths that have been revealed to us through Scripture, beginning with the Old Testament and concluding with the New.  These are not two separate books of thought, but one continuing revelation of the character and nature of God as He works to redeem mankind by His gift, Jesus Christ.  Jesus, who will ultimately ‘in that day’ return to set up this Kingdom where every knee bows and every tongue confesses that He is Lord. 

This Kingdom, in the book of Revelation 21, reveals a new heaven and a new earth descending from the heavens, where the dwelling place of God will be with man.  He will dwell in their midst.  There will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain, for all will have passed away.  The One seated on the throne makes all things new. He promises His words are faithful and true.  The one who is the beginning and the end gives to the thirsty the water of life.  This is the heritage of the one who conquers, the one who has been discipled, will be the son of God forever.  This is Kingdom Reality. 

To the one who has been discipled for the Kingdom of Heaven, the work carries on.  Treasures of what we learned here on earth and what we will learn within the Kingdom that is yet to come will continue.  

2 Peter 3:11-13 gives us some understanding of the ‘not yet’ tension of waiting. 

Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,  waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!  But according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Having been discipled for this work in the Kingdom, we continue to do our part as His expression here and now while we wait for the ‘not yet’.   

Trained for the Kingdom

“Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” 

Matthew 13:52 ESV 

NLT: Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.  

HELPS WORD_STUDIES reveals that our word here for ‘trained’  is the Greek word #3100 ~ disciple.  The Greek uses the past tense of 'having been,’ and so translates this as having been discipled, and gives us the following definition and explanation ~ 

3100 mathēteúō (from 3101/mathētēs, "disciple") – to disciple, helping someone to progressively learn the Word of God to become a matured disciple (literally, "a learner," a true Christ-follower); to train (develop) in the truths of Scripture and the lifestyle required, i.e. a believer learning to be a disciple of Christ in belief and practice. 

Our life and work in the Kingdom reveals the level of our growth in discipleship.  As we grow in the knowledge of God, we become equipped with understanding and wisdom to project Kingdom realities.  

Matthew chapter thirteen deals with Jesus’ method of teaching through parables.  When the disciples ask, ‘Why parables?’, Jesus responded, so you will know the secrets of the kingdom.  He begins his answer by explaining his purpose (verses 10-16) and restates the explanation again in verses 51-52.  Highlighting their need to understand, he has taken the time to thoroughly explain to them Kingdom realities through parables, thus learning ‘new gems of truth as well as old’.

We learn the parable of the sower is foundational to understanding all parables.  The condition of the heart is the measure of fruit-bearing.  Always assigned to do greater works, it is paramount that a disciple purge himself from all things that would prevent the fullest measure of fruitfulness.  The parable of the sower explains the need for examining and guarding one's heart, which becomes foundational to all activities in Kingdom work.  

Continuing with Matthew chapter 13, mindful that the purpose of all the parables was to train the disciples with new gems of truth that gave them understanding (secrets) of the Kingdoms operation; we come to the parable of the weeds and the parable of the nets.

First we learn from the parable of the weeds that we have an enemy who sowing corrupt seeds in the fields we are working in.  Bad seeds grow with the good. Then the parable of the net explains how the Lord will separate the good fish from the bad at the end of the age. It is important to note, in both of these parables, who, how and when the unprofitable is dealt with.  

The parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the leaven both teach us that this new Kingdom penetrates everything it touches, growing into fruition.  The Mustard seed shows us how the smallest of seeds grows into a tree that can provide a dwelling place of rest and security for the birds of the air.  The leaven shows us the ability and the power, the kingdom has to impact and influence all it penetrates. Growth and increase are the natural state of this Kingdom.

With Jesus’ words to his disciples, ‘I give you all authority over all the power of the devil… and nothing shall by any means harm you,’ (Luke 10:19; Matthew 28:18), and His final recorded expression, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…Go therefore and # 3100 disciple all nations. Having been trained, discipled, they were ready to go and do His work, holding treasures of truth, both old and new.    

To be continued…..

Kingdom Within

For behold, the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you].

Luke 17:21 Amplified 

When we speak of the Kingdom of God, we understand this to be a spiritual realm. When we speak about a Kingdom, we are speaking about a King and His domain.  

The Kingdom of God is a reality that is now, but not yet.  While the church is the pillar and foundation of truth, she exists as the body of Christ here on the earth, now, to be expressed through every individual member of His body. His body, designed and purposed to continue His work, manifesting His Kingdom ways and rule, while we await  His return.  

The mystery of the Kingdom, which God has chosen to make known, is found in Colossians 1:27.  It is Christ in us, the hope of glory.  Being crucified with Christ, according to Galatians 2:20, sets the believing one free of the past, giving a whole new realm to live within. Through Jesus, a place has been prepared for us to dwell that we may be found as one new man with the Father and His Son, John 17: 20-23, abiding in perfect union.  

‘Carriers of the presence of God’ is the new reality God has created through His son, Jesus Christ.  This gospel announcement ushered in a new way and realm of life with God.  The tabernacle of God is with man, now, as Jesus expressed from Luke 17:21, and yet to be, Revelation 21:3. The eternal Kingdom has no end 

The present moment is what we must give ourselves unto, to understand and practice the ways of His Kingdom.  Jesus told his disciples, “Blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear”. As opposed to those whose hearts had grown dull, hearing but never understanding, and seeing but never perceiving,  Mt. 13:14-16. His message of the Kingdom was preached, taught, and recorded in Scripture for us to learn and practice.  “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven”.

Being able to see and hear is the beginning of revelation. This is why Jesus remarked that the Parable of the Sower is the one parable that is the most important to understand, Mark 4:13.  Understanding involves hearing and receiving in order to be fruit-bearing.  Fruit-bearing is foundational to each part of His body doing its share of His work. 

The Apostle Paul prayed that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, would give believers the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.  That the eyes of their understanding would be enlightened to know the hope of His calling, Ephesians 1:16-18.  

It is understanding Christ within us, extending His Kingdom now, that we see and hear the need to hold His Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.  While Isaiah writes His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts, it does not say we cannot hold them.  Paul wrote we have been given the Spirit to know the mind of Christ and understand the things that have been freely given to us by God, 1 Cor. 2:7-16.

Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, is the prayer Jesus taught.  The tension we live in is a Kingdom that is now and yet to be.  We long for this Kingdom, and while we wait, we align and work to do His will while we manifest His Kingdom in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.  Romans 14:17 

To be continued…….

Your Kingdom Come

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 

Matthew 4:13 ESV

From the Spirit filled life study Bible (electronic ed., Mt 4:17). The verb is at hand means “has come,” “has arrived,” or “is here,” and suggests the inauguration of the reign of God, which still awaits its consummation.

The term “gospel’ means announcement.  The announcement of a new King.  A new King creates a new Kingdom.  This message was promised through the prophets, preparation declared by John the Baptist, then by Jesus and to be continued by us.  

We live in the tension between now and not yet. Jesus came to reveal this Kingdom teaching and preaching a message that challenged not just the status quo of religion but the reality of expectations and practices. The difficulty, at the time of Jesus, was that the Jews were expecting a natural King.  One who would free the nation of Israel from its current political state. 

His declaration from John 18, ‘My kingdom is not of this world’ emphasis’ the spiritual realities of His Kingdom. The New Testament teaches a kingdom within us. Highlights from Romans teach us freedom, in this Kingdom, is found in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  the message of the Kingdom and the ways of the Kingdom. 

Jesus' Sermon on the Mount opens up a whole new perspective on Israel’s understanding of the law and the prophets. He begins teaching the ways of the Kingdom and then goes about demonstrating Kingdom thought and practice. 

Under the Lordship and Authority of a new King, his subjects gain access to the abundant life He has come to provide.  Luke 17:21 acknowledges the Kingdom of God is within us necessitating the need for all to be born again. You must believe, Romans 10:9-10.

Jesus’ death and resurrection, his body and his blood, satisfied the legal requirements for the redemption of mankind and provided deliverance from the Kingdom of darkness. The confession of Lord, seeking His will, assures us of an entrance into this eternal Kingdom prepared for all who will believe. 

Bowing our knee to this new King holds recognition of having lived within the old. Colossians identifies the old as  this Kingdom of darkness. Accepting Jesus Christ take us out of this dark kingdom ruled by evil and fear and into His Kingdom of Light where darkness has no power to overcome - Col. 1:13; John 1: 5.

The Apostle Paul wrote, it is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, Romans 14:17. Peter wrote in his second epistle, 1:3-11 a list of characteristics we were to be diligent to acquire and practice promising entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

As we live in this tension of now and not yet, we pray for His Kingdom to come, His will to be done,  with our cry, Come quickly Lord Jesus. 

To be continued ~ ……

Bitter

Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. 

Hebrews 12:15 NLT 

A root of bitterness left unattended is shown from Deut 29:18 as having the potential to turn hearts away from God.  In our pain and bitterness, we can understand how this would work. The questioning of why God, who could have, should have, done something did not prevent this from happening.  Or the self-condemnation of why did I let this happen,  as if I can control another’s choices.

The reality is simply this: in pain, we can’t see clearly; perceptions are clouded, and judgments are skewed. We’ve all experienced devastating losses in life.  From the death of a loved one, to suffering through broken relationships.  Live long enough, and you face many opportunities to deal with loss and disappointment.  These things are common to man. 

Life’s question isn’t about what we’ve lost or why, but how to move forward without adapting to the bitterness of soul that works to hold one in tormenting bondage.

Scripture is filled with multiple examples of loss which we see from the following….

 

From the book of Ruth, we see Naomi become Mara in her bitterness..

Childless Hannah in 1 Sam 1:10 

David, at Ziklag, 1 Samuel 30 

Jobs devastation with too many references to list. 

Bitterness was expressed over captivity by the people and through the prophets. 

The disciples over Jesus’ crucifixion. While we don’t see the word bitterness, the emotions displayed show us resentment, frustration, and their struggle with faith.

All these, and more, give us understanding and help to deal with and overcome bitterness. While this is common to man, we see the redemption of God in each of their stories and are assured there is hope for tomorrow.  

From the Topical Encyclopedia we read 

“Bitterness of soul is a profound emotional state characterized by deep sorrow, anguish, and resentment. This condition is frequently depicted in the Bible as a response to severe trials, injustices, or unfulfilled desires. It is often associated with a sense of hopelessness and a feeling of being overwhelmed by life's circumstances.”

The Apostle Paul, addressing bitterness, shows us common manifestations associated with this wound when he writes ~ 

Ephesians 4: 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.”  

The fruit reveals the heart.  The awareness that these are manifesting alerts us to our heart condition.   Moving past the pain, to regain our strength and forward momentum, begins with acknowledgement.  Ownership that bitterness lies within and that we need help is the beginning of healing. 

It’s the same process for all.  We meet loss and we move through the emotional upheaval it brings but always choosing to bring everything into captivity to the word of God.  Whatever the loss, however it came, love covers a multitude of sin and holds no record of suffered wrong.   We forgive by choice, not feeling.  We forgive not only others but ourselves.  Always mindful that we cannot control others' choices or actions, only ours, and we must choose life, to truly be free. 

This always brings us back to our foundation in God.  As we trust Him, we are restored and healed, engaging once again in Christian community, giving and receiving life with the others. 

The comfort we receive from Him, Paul wrote, we then become able to comfort others  in their affliction. 2 Corinthians 1: 3-4 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Weeping may endure for a night but the promise of joy holds hope for our morning.  

Feeding on Faithfulness

“If we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” 

2 Timothy 2:12-13 Berean Standard Bible 

HELPS WORD STUDIES on ENDURE and DENY ~ 

    Endure: Cognate: 5278 hypoménō – literally, remaining under (the load), bearing up (enduring); for the believer, this uniquely happens by God's power (cf. 1 Thess. 3:5)

    Deny: 720 arnéomai – properly, deny (refuse); hence, contradict, refuse to affirm or to confess (identify with); disown (repudiate).

Psalm 37:5 encourages us to Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness”. The NAS reads ‘Cultivate faithfulness’ but the literal rendering is to ‘feed on faithfulness.  

Another example, promoting endurance is found in Jeremiah 29:4-7.  We learn Israel, even in captivity, was to increase and flourish.  Life demands a continual awareness of the faithfulness of God. Good times, tough times, we need to pay attention to what we are cultivating in our lives. What are we feeding on?  What are we giving consideration, observation or meditation to beyond the necessary routine affairs of home and work?

Moses set before the people the law and then told them to choose what they would hear and obey.  The law was designed to bring life.  Without adherence to the law, the default choice was death.  Joshua constantly fed upon this book of the law. Assured that his obedience to it would make his way successful.  

Jesus said ‘feed on me and live’. The daily cultivation of the word of God sustains and enables us to endure as we wait on His times. Without a daily diet we are tempted to question, doubt, and ultimately deny the validity of what God has decreed.  Without endurance, we can’t increase. 

We are told how to walk on water in the midst of a storm and shown that sinking always comes when we look at the storm, rather than at Jesus. I’m thankful for His faithfulness in those moments to reach out and save.  This isn’t to encourage us to continue fretting and doubting while we consider our troubles. Jesus’ response to Peter ; “Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
 

In these moments the doubting reveals what our trust is in. Doubting Him reflects a lack of trust or knowledge in His character.  How awful it is to doubt the very nature of a God who is the epitome of a loving Father.  

Our new covenant is established on the very nature of Gods innate character revealed throughout scripture. Let me concluded with just few scriptures to remember. These are foundational to our believing in the character of God and sufficient to hold us through any storm. 

 

Exodus 34:5-7

The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him (Moses) and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty ….

Numbers 23:19

God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?

Romans 3:3-4

What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? / Certainly not! Let God be true and every man a liar.

Hebrews 10:23

Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.

1 Thessalonians 5:24

The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.

SIGNS FOLLOW

The Lord working with them confirming the word with signs following.   Mark 16:20 

These signs shall follow them that believe ….Mark 16:17 …

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9 

What we believe is foundational to our activity.  Who we believe also shapes our activities. 

Destiny and purpose are two thoughts that I keep engaging with the Holy Spirit.   If we consider, as the bible states, ‘times and seasons,’ we understand that to every thing there is a season and a time for every purpose under the heaven, Ecclesiastes. 3:1 KJV. 

We understand that a day, with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years is a day, 2 Peter 3:8.  As humans, we practice a linear concept of time that revolves around a yesterday, a today, and a tomorrow. In contrast, God exists in the eternal "now." 

Given an allowance of time on earth, we are told to redeem the times we are given. Life isn’t only about being active, but being active in the right things, at the right time.  At the right time, is a well used scriptural phrase describing a God set time.  Galatians highlights a ‘due season’.  A due season being an assigned ‘now,’ by God.  

We are given one life this side of heaven. This life is to be spent, as I’ve written, seeking and finding God.  Growth occurs through our active engagement doing His purpose.  We become like Him as we learn Him.  So, every opportunity in life is a God opportunity to do just this; seek, learn, and grow with the ultimate goal of expressing to others the very life and nature of our Father.  

With the dawning of every new day, we are given opportunities. This isn’t hard to figure out.  We get up every day, separating ourselves to His agenda as we go about life with Him.  Husband, wife, parent, sibling, relative,  friend, employer, employee; wherever we connect with people, there is to be the manifested presence of God through us. 

Right words, right actions, right results equal His righteousness displayed.  God is glorified in the activities of our day.  These relationships come, go, and shift throughout our lifetime, and what we have in one season may be present in another.  We must learn to seize the day given. 

For over thirty years, Jesus was a faithful son who grew in wisdom and stature, finding favour with God and man; until his ‘kairos’ moment arrived. 

This is life, walking supernaturally in a natural realm, seeking and seizing divine opportunities with God. Understanding times and seasons, heightens our awareness of opportunities set before us.  

Change is inevitable, yet it always leads us to a greater good in God. With Him, there is always increase ~ from faith to faith, from strength to strength, from glory to glory.  

Where there is a declaration of ‘I know in whom I have believed and am persuaded…,’ there is God's activity at work.  Where a believing in a due season exists, there is still  God activity working in the waiting. Signs follow the believing.  

Greater Works

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”

John 14:12

The awareness of Almighty God within encourages us to continue His work on this earth. It is staggering to consider that He has chosen to dwell within us through the presence of His Holy Spirit. Anchored by Ephesians 3:20, let us live with the awareness that we have been destined to do ‘greater works’ as Jesus promised in our verse today. 

In our pursuit of learning God through daily events, we discover His nature, His will and His purpose.  Invited to engage with His activity, we have been graced (enabled) to do these greater works, “of his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”  Jesus is doing His part in heaven, and we are left here on this earth to do ours.   We are graced to extend His Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, Romans 14:17.  

From the onset of creation, mankind was to be fruitful and multiply.  Colossians tells us that bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God is fully pleasing to the Father.   Our destiny is to increase: to increase with the increase of God.  Greater works that these can mean more in splendour, number, or simply because more believers are doing His work. 

The parable of talents in Matthew’s gospel teaches us that we are to take what has been given and increase it for the glory of God. It identifies the one with unused hidden talents as the one who knows God incorrectly.  

What if we were to meet every moment, aware of the power at work in us, both to will and to do His pleasure?  We would surely stretch forth hands, open our mouths, lay hands on the sick and cast out devils. To know we have been designed and equipped for greater works is to know we are also pruned to bear much fruit.  Life with God revolves around our destiny in Him, and He is never weary in His work with us.  
 

John 15 expresses the fruit-bearing process. 

• John 15:2 ~ pruned to bear more fruit. 

• John 15:5 ~ abiding bears much fruit 

• John 15:8 ~ bearing much fruit glories the Father and proves we are disciples of Jesus. 

• John 15:16 ~ Chosen and appointed by Jesus to go and bear fruit, and our fruit is to remain. 

The greater one within enables us to do the greater works. 

How Big Is Your God. #2

For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell….” Col. 1:19

“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily and you have fitted in Him…” Col 2:9

“For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” John 1:16 

Helps Word Studies on ‘fullness,’ 4138 plḗrōma – "sum total, fulness, even (super) abundance,”

How does indwelling fullness even work?

We live in constant tension between the legal truth found in Christ and the vital aspects of daily living. Legally, we have the position of ‘fullness’ in Christ.  Vitally, we live in the reality of what we personally know and believe.  

 We have been writing about the Greater One living in us.  Living and moving in Him increasingly becomes our goal in life; to be vitally united with Him in all things, at all times.  Living a life conscious of His presence is essential to express His fullness.

Growing up into Him, in all things, is to allow His fullness to permeate every fibre of our being.  This is why we are told to love God ‘fully’.  All of our heart, all of our mind, all of our body, and all of our strength are to be engaged in and with Him.

Recently, I wrote about boundaries, and I will remind you that while we have our boundaries set and determined by God, we inevitably create our limitations by what we know and believe.  What we know and believe ultimately affects our ability to express Him fully. 

Legally, we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places, we find His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his glory and excellence. His glory and excellence have granted us precious and very great promises.  Through these promises, we may become partakers of His divine nature. This is the legal truth.

Vitally, our first-hand knowledge of Him and His promises creates greater confidence. Growth is a necessity for the manifestation of fullness.  Jesus grew in the wisdom and stature of God, and we must too.  

The tension between legal and vital is resolved in more of Him, less of me.  

How Big is Your God?

“…Greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world.” 
1 John 4:4

This verse from John reminds us that the power of God within us far surpasses any challenges or adversities we may face in the world. This leads us to a fundamental question: Who is God to me? How do I know Him? Knowing and serving are necessities for eternal life, that quality of life that exists now and forever.  Who and how we know Him and serve (worship) Him, form the flow of His eternal life.  

Elijah, in 1 Kings 18:21, challenged Israel, “If the LORD is God, worship him! But if Baal is God, worship him!"  Moses set before Israel a choice, Deut. 30:19 .  Jesus gives us the way, John 14:6, but then lets us know which path leads to life and which leads to death, Matthew 7:13-14.  

1 Cor. 6:19; demands consideration of the question,  who is my God and how I will serve Him?

“You should know that your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit that you received from God and that lives in you. You don't own yourselves.”  

Our Scripture verse today from 1 John reads;  “You are of God little children and have overcome them.. (every spirit that is Anti-Christ which is now at work in the world) ..because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”  

In the Old Testament, Israel carried the presence of God in the Ark of the Covenant. When the Ark was among them, the power of God was with them. As New Testament believers, born again by the Spirit of God, we experience His presence within us. We have become the “Ark of God.” As carriers of His presence, our understanding of Him shapes what we can bring forth from within.  He’s always the same but we are the ones encouraged to grow up. 

Ephesians chapter four urges us to grow up INTO HIM in all things, emphasizing that knowing God is a lifelong journey. How can we comprehend an infinite God unless He reveals Himself to us? Thankfully, He does. According to 1 Corinthians 2, the Spirit Himself knows, understands, and reveals all that the Father is.

Our pursuit of knowing and growing in Him should define our lives. The more we know Him, the more we yield and obey.  It is our obedience that works out our salvation and produces growth with Godly character. 

God doesn’t just provide information; He gives revelation. When we obey that revelation, it leads to transformation and transformation ultimately displays the glory of God.  Christ in us, manifested rightly, is the hope of glory. 

May we continually seek the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, striving to be His people, strong and doing great exploits in His name, because we know the greater one who lives in us. 

John 5:19-20

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can  do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that ⁱyou may marvel.

John 5:19-20 ESV

The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand

John 3:35

For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. John 10:17

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

John  14:12

Sometimes, we forget the destiny we have been created for.  From the very beginning, the garden scene shows us the very heart and intent of our Father; dominion and  fruitful increase through union with Him.  Jesus chose 12 men, that they might be with Him, then sent from Him to carry on the work He had been given.  Our place of doing begins with being, being one with the Father as His child, son or daughter, and walking with Him.

Because of our love for him, we understand, just like Jesus, a body was prepared for us (his workmanship - Ephesians 2:10) to freely yield and present to Him in service.  It in in this space that we begin this divine working out of being filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

Pauls prayer from Ephesians chapter one is that we would understand the inheritance the Father has in the Saints.  Created by Him, for Him that He might rule and reign through us begins with the knowing that apart from Him we can do nothing.  Jesus iterates this to his disciples in John chapter fifteen.  And, because we know the love the Father has for us, we know He will show us all things that He is doing.  It’s His desire that we be filled with the knowledge of His will with a walk that is worthy of Him, fully pleasing Him, fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of our Father, Colossians 1: 10-11.

We get busy with daily life, school, work, home, marriage, children, friends, even church and can forget that each day we are to be about impacting lives with Jesus. No matter where we are daily, we are surrounded with people that we are designed to impact with the life that only God can give.

Jesus said, John 5:17 the Father is working and He must work,  John 9:4, the day comes when there is no further opportunity,

The intimacy that is created in this relationship with the Father that Jesus reveals is to be our daily norm.  We were created for this.  Not just to know we are the beloved but to abide in His love and live in this relationship where we can do all and nothing more than what we see the Father doing.

Out of the Wreck

The following is Oswald Chambers' Daily Devotion from May 18, 2025, which I found to be so, so good.  The weekend had already found me thinking on the exact same passage in Romans chapter eight.  I could not express this any better, and I am sure we can all relate, so please, as you read, find that wonderful place of God’s grace flowing to you and strengthening you as only His love can. 

    Out Of The Wreck I Rise
By Oswald Chambers 
My Utmost for His Highest Daily Devotion

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? — Romans 8:35

“God does not keep a man immune from trouble; He says, "I will be with him in trouble." It does not matter what actual troubles in the most extreme form get hold of a man's life, not one of them can separate him from his relationship to God. 

We are "more than conquerors in all these things." Paul is not talking of imaginary things, but of things that are desperately actual; and he says we are super-victors in the midst of them, not by our ingenuity, or by our courage, or by anything other than the fact that not one of them affects our relationship to God in Jesus Christ. Rightly or wrongly, we are where we are, exactly in the condition we are in.

 I am sorry for the Christian who has not something in his circumstances he wishes was not there.

"Shall tribulation . . . ?" Tribulation is never a noble thing; but let tribulation be what it may - exhausting, galling, fatiguing, it is not able to separate us from the love of God. 

Never let cares or tribulations separate you from the fact that God loves you.

"Shall anguish . . . ?" - can God's love hold when everything says that His love is a lie, and that there is no such thing as justice?

"Shall famine . . . ?" - can we not only believe in the love of God but be more than conquerors, even while we are being starved?

Either Jesus Christ is a deceiver and Paul is deluded, or some extraordinary thing happens to a man who holds on to the love of God when the odds are all against God's character. Logic is silenced in the face of every one of these things. Only one thing can account for it - the love of God in Christ Jesus. 

"Out of the wreck I rise" every time.”

Boundaries

You spoke and at the sound of your shout the water collected into its vast ocean bed and mountains rose and valleys sank to the levels you decreed.  And then you set a boundary for the seas….” 

Ps. 104:7-9 Living Bible Translation 

The remarkable thing about today’s verse is that God’s spoken word brought a response from earthly things, and then he set a boundary.   We’ve referenced Acts 17:26 lately, which reminds us that God sets every individual in a place, at a time, thus within boundaries.  This is so we would be able seek and hopefully find him.  

        *NIV ~ having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their             dwelling place

        *NASB ~ determined their appointed times and the boundaries of                 where they live.

        *NKJV ~ determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of             their dwellings,

There is a sense of security, believing that God has divinely ordained you into a place. Conversely, without that conviction, a person’s unique identity and sense of purpose will be continually challenged. 

Being fitted, placed, and having boundaries, though, doesn’t mean change will never take place. As we move through life and grow, we come to understand, as the writer of Proverbs wrote, that change is the way of life.  We learn that time, place, and boundaries must be honoured and respected. That we can never take this intimate working of God for granted, without risking the deepest aspects of our relationship with Him and those we share the space with.

From God's perspective, we have been fitted for the Master's use. God is at work in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure.  His workmanship doesn’t change, but it does increase and develop.  As we seek Him in the seasons and the times we are given, we learn the limitations of our boundaries, even as we occasionally see them move and shift. 

Understanding this, Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 10:13 ~ 

We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you.” -

The apostle Paul did not go beyond his given metron.  Paul was mindful of his specific sphere of influence and authority, as delegated by God, and did not overstep those boundaries. Paul recognized that he was not an apostle to all, but rather had a particular area of service entrusted to him. This concept of metron or sphere of influence emphasizes humility and a sober understanding of one's role and limitations within God's plan. Paul also understood that being faithful within his boundaries carried the benefit of increasing others' faith, thus opening new doors of opportunity as he continued writing in 2 Corinthians 10:16 ~

    We will be able to preach the Good News to other cities that are far beyond you, where no one else is working; then there will be no question about being in someone else’s field.

Again, seen in Paul's life in Acts 16:6-7, we learn limitations, as Paul is forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach in Asia Minor. 

We can’t live in another time frame, but we can live fully in the one we have been given, resting in our assigned places, doing our assigned tasks. 

Lies, Liars, Father of Lies ….

If I speak truth why do you not believe Me?”

John 8:46

From the opening of chapter eight, Jesus is in the temple teaching the people.  Many have come to believe in Him, and he exhorts them onward, continuing in His word to truly become his disciples.  From continuing in His word, they will know the truth and the truth will make them free.  

We live in a culture of darkness and are surrounded by the impacts of a Kingdom of darkness. This dark Kingdom, just like the Kingdom of Light, has a King, a ruler, one who desires to rule. The dark King rules by lording himself over His subjects.  In the darkness, there are only lies, manipulation and control, destined to build strongholds of destruction. Jesus said this thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy as opposed to the abundant life that Jesus offers in His Kingdom. These two Kingdoms will remain in conflict on the earth until Jesus returns.

In chapter eight, we find Jesus assigning all lies to the Father of lies, the devil, who was a murderer from the beginning.  

“ …Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Verse 44.

From here, Jesus asks a very poignant question ~ If I speak the truth, why do you not believe me?

Last week, I wrote that we all have a belief system activating our life’s choices. We know much, but we only practice what we believe. I’m always arrested when considering Eve’s conversations with the serpent in the garden.  How long did she look?  How long did she consider before she adapted to the lie?  

This is why the admonition from 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 is to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.  Capturing thoughts begins with a knowledge of the word of God, that the Spirit of Truth may lead us into.  Our prayer, to not be led into temptation but delivered from evil, is a personal cry to be kept from the power of lies. 

The last days are filled with lies and deception. Great signs and wonders will occur that if it were possible, the very elect could be deceived.   To participate in lies is to take part in the works of darkness.  Satan is the father of all lies.  He breeds deception.  There is no truth in Him. 

The danger of participating in lies is that you are exposing yourself to a practice that creates a liar. Revelation 22 tells us that outside the gates of the New Jerusalem, there will be those who love and practice falsehood. Revelation 21:8 tells us all liars are assigned to the lake of fire in the second death. 

Our standard from Ephesians 4:17-27  tells us we are to put away all the behaviour of the old man, corrupted by deceitful desires and be renewed in the spirit of our mind and then put on the new us, created after the likeness of God in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Paul goes on to say, therefore, having put away falsehood ~ pseudos, derived from the Greek verb ψεύδομαι (pseudomai), meaning "to lie" or "to deceive." 

Helps Word Studies ~ In the New Testament, "pseudos" refers to falsehood or lies, often in the context of false teachings or deceitful practices. It is used to describe anything contrary to the truth, particularly in a spiritual or moral sense. The term underscores the contrast between God's truth and human or demonic deception.

Paul later wrote, “They did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved” 2 Thessalonians 2:10  

The deception and ultimate blindness that lies create are a danger we all want to avoid. Paul warns us that lying gives opportunity to the devil, Ephesians 4:27. 

In conclusion ~ theres a passage from Isaiah 44:9-20, reinforcing the folly of idolatry ~ concluding with the alarming state of not knowing, not discerning…no one considers nor is there knowledge or discernment to say …He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart has let him astray and he cannot deliver himself or say, is there not a lie in my right hand(?),   Reinforcing in my mind how Satan works to blind minds lest we would believe the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. 

So, Jesus asks, If I speak the truth why do you not believe me? 

Selah.  

Godly Sorrow

For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.  

2 Cor. 7:10 NASB

From last week, we began with Acts 3, looking at times of refreshing to find that they come, following repentance. 

This biblical standard shows us that repentance begins from a godly sorrow;  a sorrow not to be repented of.

A Godly sorrow is the awareness that our actions, in God's mind, are evil.  God’s definition of evil isn’t our definition.  Evil, in God’s mind, is that which causes harm.  The actions cause pain.  That could be pain to ourselves or pain to others.  It’s the wide road, where anything is allowed, that leads to death.  For a good Father, who desires our lives to be filled with abundant life, you could then understand why God hates evil.

From Helps Word Studies evil is defined as ~  

2556 (kakos) is evil "in the abstract; 4190/ponērós, evil in active opposition to the good" (K. Wuest, Word Studies, Vol 2, Hebrews, 77).  "Where kakos and ponēros are put together, kakos is always put first and signifies 'bad in character, base,' ponēros, 'bad in effect, malignant'" (Vine, Unger, White, NT, 49).

ponērós (an adjective which is also used substantively, derived from 4192 /pónos, "pain, laborious trouble") – properly, pain-ridden, emphasizing the inevitable agonies (misery) that always go with evil.

Two thoughts are held in our verse today that I want to examine.  Firstly, ’Repentance without regret’ means we are not sorry about what we are turning away from.  Paul counted all things a loss that He could win Christ. Phil. 2.  ‘Winning Christ’ is the highest challenge and goal of our lives.

Secondly, that I am not engaging in guilt and condemnation by repenting, but rather a thankfulness for God’s light shining into my dark places, leading me to true repentance and always unto life.   Repentance is always according to the will of God, and always unto life. It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance ~ not to be repented of, because times of refreshing come with goodness and mercy.   

Since we ‘know’ these things, let us examine then what it is that we really believe.   Most of us have embraced a belief system that allows the activities we practice. Even those practices that we know hurt us.  I want to examine Romans 12:1-2  and James 1:21.  They will help us understand renewal and transformation. 

Romans 12:1 exhorts us to present our bodies in a very special condition. That is as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God.  We must present our bodies before the renewing of our minds can bring transformation.

From James 1:21, we see there must be a putting away of ‘filth and the abundance of evil to receive with meekness the word.’  Once this word is received, it must be implanted to save our souls.  

There must first be a putting away to receive.  We all want our thinking rightly aligned to His heart and mind, but without this ‘putting away’ of filth and evil, renewing is not working in us.  For out of the abundance of the heart we see the issues of our life flowing. 

Jesus qualifies evil from Mark 7:21-23 ~ 

 ESV ~ For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” 

From both verses in Romans and James, we see how one thing is necessary before the other can occur.  From Romans 12, if I do not present my body to the Lord, my mind cannot be renewed.  Without renewing my mind, there is no transformation.  From James, we learn that putting off filth and evil (as defined by God) is first required. 

Now to renewal ~ we can see from these two scriptures the dynamics faced, standing at the crossroads of choice:  my will, versus God's.  We want to have all the blessings God promises, but are unsure of our willingness to change.   If we are convinced our choice isn’t really ‘evil’, it allows us to continue in the current way. Repentance requires change for renewal and refreshing to occur. 
 

Without choosing to take the word of God to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, we cannot overcome.  Our first commandment is to not only love God with all our heart but our mind as well.  If I love Him, I choose to love His word.  My mind is a part of my body I present to Him that begins the process of renewing.  

Godly sorrow brings repentance. Repentance brings renewing, and renewing brings refreshing.   

Times of Refreshing

Repent therefore, and turn back that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord….”

Acts 3:19

While we, the church, look for Revival to occur within our houses, renewal, the ‘time of refreshing,’ comes from the foundation of repentance.  Peter, of course, speaks here about the new birth that Jesus had explained to Nicodemus in John 3.  

Let’s look at this word refreshing, from HELPS Word Studies ~ 

Helps Lexicon/NASEC dictionary : Cognate: 403 anápsyksis – properly, breathe easily (again); hence, refreshing; "'cooling,' or 'reviving with fresh air'" (WS, 230), used only in Ac 3:20.  See 404 (anapsýxō).

404 anapsýxō (from 303/aná, "up/completing a process" which intensifies 5594/psýxō, "cool by blowing") – properly, bring cooling (reviving, with fresh air); (figuratively) bring much-needed (much-welcomed) relief, "causing someone to recover a state of cheer or encouragement after a time of anxiety and trouble – 'to encourage, to cheer up'" (L & N, 1, 25.149).

404/anapsyxō ("refreshed"), only used in 2 Tim 1:16, refers to the spiritual refreshing (rejuvenation, comfort) brought to Paul by the ministry of Onesiphorus.  This refreshing (relieving) revived Paul and  involved a process (note the ana), i.e. getting past the restrictions imposed on Paul (being in "chains," imprisoned).

Now, let’s define repentance from HELPS Word-studies ~ 

Word Origin: From the Greek verb μετανοέω (metanoeō), meaning "to change one's mind" or "to repent."

‘ “Cultural and Historical Background: In the Greco-Roman world, "metanoia" was understood as a change of mind or perspective. However, in the Jewish and early Christian context, it took on a deeper spiritual significance. Repentance was not merely an intellectual exercise but a profound moral and spiritual transformation. It was a central theme in the preaching of John the Baptist, Jesus, and the apostles, emphasizing the need for a radical reorientation of one's life towards God.’

Our verse highlights all three thoughts: A Repentance that Returns and brings Refreshing.  

God's highest and best is to rain vitality upon us daily.  A life lived in such abandonment to Him that His will is our daily bread assures us of this ‘time of refreshing’.  Jesus asks, ‘Are you weary and heavy laden?  Are you worn out?’  Jesus, as the good shepherd, invites us to come to Him that he may restore our souls.  When weary and heavy laden,  I find it interesting that I’m not usually as physically tired as I am emotionally (soulishly) spent.  Paul said in 1 Corinthians, most gladly I will spend and be spent.  'Burnout' looks for an escape from responsibilities, eventually both from God and others.  

God’s remedy is to come to Him.  Only He can give green pastures, quiet waters to restore a soul.  While we know we are not to be weary in well doing, there are seasons in our lives where busyness reigns over our times.  It’s the busyness, apart from God, that drains us.  

Jesus calls his disciples to be with Him.  Our work is to be done in Him, with Him, and from Him. We never grow beyond the need to examine our hearts and when our lives are out of order, repentance is necessary for times of refreshing.   

Resurrection in Discovery

²⁴ The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, ²⁵ nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. ²⁶ And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, ²⁷ that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, ²⁸ for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’;   

Acts 17:24-28 ESV

A rather hefty portion of scripture, but one serving to remind us we live to discover and learn God.  Paul preaches to a crowd in Athens and tells them it is in Him we live, and in Him we move, and in Him we have our being.  

In the places we have been set by God, allotted periods and boundaries of our dwelling places, we are to seek and find God.   

Living in this world brings great temptation to adapt to the world's ways.  As we come into the Kingdom of God, through our submission to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, we begin a process of renewal. While our spiritual condition has changed from death to life, darkness to light, we find we must still be renewed in the Spirit of our mind.  Eph. 4:23makes us understand that we must change the way we think.  This comes only through the process of earnestly desiring the sincere milk of the word that we may grow by it, being transformed into the image of his dear son, Eph. 4:24.

All spiritual development is a discovery of God and we have been given this book, the Holy Bible, these exceeding great and precious promises that we might be partakers of His divine nature.  To continually meditate on, Joshua 1:8; John 15:5; to renew our minds to the thoughts and ways of God, is a daily responsibility of the believer.  Joshua meditated to observe and do what the word said.  We too look into this perfect law of liberty to be doers, acting upon what we see.  James 1:25.

Our verse today from Acts highlights the seeking and ‘feeling’ our way…. 

pselaphao (ψηλαφάω, 5584), “to feel or grope about” (from psao, “to touch”), expressing the motion of the hands over a surface, so as to “feel” it, is used (a) metaphorically, of seeking after God, Acts 17:27; (b) literally, of physical handling or touching, Luke 24:39 with
1 John 1:1;   Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words
 

Daily, in every place we find ourselves, God is present, Deut. 31:8; Psalm. 46:1; Hebrews 13:5 and His desire is for us to seek Him, discover Him and finally move into living our lives out, through Him.

This is eternal life, life now and hereafter, forever, to know the Father and his son Jesus Christ.  Our process of growth is to seek, find, and then live and move in the revelation we are given.  

We find in the writings of John, a revelation, not only of a belief system in Jesus as the Son of God, but an intimacy of relationship.  In his first epistle, John writes about what they have seen and heard and handled.  He indicates His writing is so others can have the same joy they have experienced in knowing Him. 1 John 1:1-4

As we grow in our relationship, each day should hold the wonder of the discovery of God in some way for a believer.  

I trust that on this Resurrection Sunday you will find some truth that our Father desires to reveal to you in and through His risen Son, bringing you Resurrection Life. 

Loving Truth

This week's Good Word written by David McGrew ~ 

John 14:6 “ I am the way, THE TRUTH and the life. “

Growing up as a boy, in my time and place, I very typically had a somewhat fragile relationship with the truth.  I was used to bending it to my needs in the moment. 

Without making excuses or casting blame, in a world where you felt isolated and surrounded by ignorance, thugs, and bullies, it was a go-to tactic of self-preservation. 

The problem with having a tentative relationship with the truth is that it alters and hardens a person’s perception of reality.  Even a child’s. The great danger of course is that deception and lying are the core elements of virtually every other sin a man can commit. If you can’t lie well, if you don’t learn to lie to yourself, you won’t get very far into sin without it destroying everyone and everything around you. No one wants that, so you learn to cover, hide, alter and outright deny in an attempt to hold life together.  

Later on through, after deception and sin have brought us to our knees,  that harsh jolt of reality in meeting THE TRUTH; that jolt we now call being born again, begins a dramatic reset of our relationship with truth. All truth. 

Whether it’s a slow or a fast, or even a complete, reboot depends on many things, but it’s inevitably true that staying alive to Christ both costs, and pays, through whole new understandings of reality.  

Growing awareness to the depravity and deception around you, awakens understanding to the deception and depravity you might of once thought of as reality. That can have some unpleasant moments. 

Christ is THE TRUTH, and as we come to trust and believe this, we understand he’s worthy to be the lens we view the universe and its fulness through. 

With some fear and trepidation, we finally grasp that we can’t turn truth off and on. If we deny the realities that we don’t want to accept, we alter our ability to receive the truths we do want to accept. We are not the standard of truth. 

To stay alive, healthy, and growing requires us to see truth as more than data and facts.  It requires an approach that goes beyond the handling of cold information. An intimacy is required for both the person of Christ and the truths that He rules by.  An intimacy, that increasingly invites us to receive, “a love of the truth.”  It is that love of the truth that guarantees our ever-upward growth in His kingdom. 

Hear the word of the Lord

Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord…”

Ezekiel 37:4 ESV 

I’ve been writing these past weeks about the foundational need for the Word in our lives and the benefits it brings.  

All Life, from the Author of Life, comes to us through Jesus, the word made flesh. 

From F.F. Bruces’ Commentary on the Gospel of John, he writes about John 5:35 ~

“For Jesus is himself the gift of which he is the giver.  He has come to give himself that men and women may live by him.  To partake of the bread of life, they must come to him, they must believe in him.  This is total commitment to Christ, this appropriating him by faith, is the secret of eternal life and perpetual soul-refreshment’. 

When Ezekiel is carried in the Spirit to this valley of bones, he notes they were ‘very dry’.  The Lord asks Ezekiel if these bones can live and Ezekiel's response is much like ours would be, ‘only you know’ God.  It is in the midst of what looks impossible that we have God’s prophetic word decreed.  

We see, just as we learned in Genesis’ creation, the presence of God, the Spirit hovering, and the word spoken.  Again, we will note that Ezekiel is given the decree to declare by the Lord, ‘say to them’…..

⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath² (² Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10) to enter you, and you shall live. ⁶ And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” 

Each declaration is met with the activity, ‘a sound, and a rattling as the bones come together and are covered.  Together, yet lifeless, he is then instructed to prophesy to the breath (spirit) to breathe upon the slain that they may live.  Breath enters, they live and stand, an exceedingly great army.

The Lord tells Ezekiel that the bones represent the whole house of Israel, who say about themselves ’Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost and we are indeed cut off.’ 

God’s power and word comes to a hopeless, dried-up, and defeated people.  

I’m using Ezekiels' vision to emphasize God’s heart and purpose for His church today.  We may feel hopeless, dried up, and defeated over many areas of our lives, yet God comes as the Author and Giver of life into these places. 

He decrees a word, he has decreed THE WORD, that brings all we need, and by the very breath of His spirit, He waters, refreshes, and strengthens us for all battles we must engage in… ‘they stood on their feet an exceedingly great army’.

Dry bones, lifeless, defeated people, are created by turning away from Him as their life’s source. These dry bones have ceased to ‘hear the word of the Lord’.  Where there is no hearing there ultimately is no believing. Hebrews tells us the evil heart of unbelief causes one to depart from the ‘living’ God’, chapter 3:12.   There can be no salvation without a returning.  God’s restoration of cleansing with a new heart, and a new spirit,  all come into us through our receptivity of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. We bow to the declarations of His word.  We hear, we believe and we live.

The Lord Gives Wisdom

For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

Proverbs 2:6 

God is described as Omniscient - all-knowing.  While the Bible doesn’t use this word, 1 John 3:20 tells us God does know everything.

We are all always looking for wisdom and understanding.  Knowledge is readily available to those who seek it, but wisdom, defined as the ability to understand and use knowledge correctly, is what we must have.  

Proverbs tells us wisdom is the principal thing.  Get wisdom and with the wisdom, get understanding.  Wisdom was with the Father in the beginning, beside Him like a master workman.  She was daily His delight rejoicing before him always.

The Bible contains three books that are commonly referred to as Wisdom literature: Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes.  Each book holds its own perspective and overview of the questions of life as well as the wisdom from God as their answers.  But beyond these three books, we read from 2 ™ 3:16-17,

 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 

I also love the picture painted in Proverbs 8, showing wisdom as present every time a decision needs to be made. Wisdom holds the bird's-eye view, above all, looking down. She sees and knows and calls out. As a matter of fact, wisdom doesn’t just call; she cries aloud. She speaks and utters the truth. All the words of her mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.  

We are admonished, when we lack wisdom, to ask God, James 1 and told he gives it to us liberally and doesn’t scold us about our lack ~ BUT (don’t you love these, BUTS there is always a condition to meet with the promise of God.  He does his part and we have ours) BUT, let him ask in faith, (he who comes to God must believe he is and he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him) without doubting.  What is the doubting?  Is it doubting God will speak, or doubting what we hear?  Either way, the doubting individual ends up double-minded, driven, and tossed back and forth.  We’ve all been there and know that experience.    

Here’s the deal—the Bible is God's mind and wisdom, and only in and through it do we first find knowledge. The new birth brings entrance with the working of His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into His truth. He brings forth wisdom and understanding. His Spirit takes from His word and reveals this to us. He shows us the right word and the right way. Revelation is our ah-ha moment of awareness. 

Knowledge, wisdom, and understanding are all identified in Isaiah 11 as parts of the whole Spirit of God. The seven Spirits that stand in the book of Revelation before the throne of God are described as ‘burning lamps and seeing eyes’ (Revelation 4:5; 5:6).  

How do I know when I have found the wisdom of God?  James 3:13-17 gives us some guidelines of wisdom when it comes to relationships.  The word delineates wisdom that comes from God and wisdom that is just earthly, not spiritual, and occasionally even demonic. 

God's wisdom is first pure ~ free from selfish motives and jealousy. Then it is peaceable (as opposed to anxious and fearful), gentle (non-aggressive, pushy), open to reason (a willing and hearing ear), full of mercy (extended forgiveness)  and good fruits, impartial (thy will be done) and sincere, providing a harvest of righteousness.  

What to do? What to do? We begin with the fear of the Lord, which opens wisdom and understanding. We listen and watch daily at the gates and wait beside His doors until we know His heart and mind.  Then, we step out in bold confidence, acting on His wisdom to achieve His will.