3 Basic Types of Friends

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The Pearl of a Happy Home

Happy the home when God is there,
And love fills every breast,
When one their wish and one their prayer
And one their heav'nly rest.

Happy the home where Jesus' name
Is sweet to every ear,
Where children early lisp His fame
And parents hold him dear.

Happy the home where prayer is heard
And praise is wont to rise,
Where parents love the sacred Word
And all its wisdom prize.

Lord, let us in our homes agree
This blessed peace to gain;
Unite our hearts in love to Thee,
And love to all will reign.
~Henry Ware, Jr.

"My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother"
~Proverbs 1:8

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Word of the Day

It's been a while since I posted, but here is an awesome word that came out of my devotion this morning. I am taking an excerpt from the Celebration Series. The title of the lesson is Principle of the Spirit-Filled Life, and the focus scripture is John 16:13 which states, "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Excerpt:

The world's wisdom says, "To accumulate you must get." God's wisdom says, "To accumulate you must give." Man's wisdom says, "The way to honor is exaltation." God's wisdom says, "The way to honor is humility." Divine judgement is reserved for those who are guided by the Spirit.

Feast on that today.

Side note: Give!

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Kari & Whitney to Spain

Only through research can we understand the needs of our people and create effective strategies to address minority persistence in engineering. Our goal is to become subject matter experts in engineering self-efficacy of African American students. To pursue this goal we had the unique privilege of writing a paper about the National Society of Black Engineers and the role the organization has on its students (see below). Our paper is titled Understanding Engineering Self-efficacy of Students Involved with Professional Minority Engineering Societies. It has been accepted to the 2011 Research in Engineering Education Symposium in Madrid, Spain, October 4-7, 2011.

We humbly seek your sponsorship to help fund our journey. The cost per person including registration, airfare, and accommodations is approximately $1,800.

The objectives of this trip are to present our paper, make global contacts in engineering education, and bring awareness to the global community about the National Society of Black Engineers. Your generous sponsorship would help us achieve these objectives.  We are very excited about this opportunity and would love if you could assist us in any way.

We look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for considering this request.

Donate here: 
Kari & Whitney to Spain:

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More on Friendship

This excerpt is taken from Pearls from Proverbs:

Intimate friends are rare in life. Often we have only one, occasionally two...usually not more than three in our entire lives. There's something about an intimate friend that causes your souls to be knit together. It's what we call a kindred spirit. Intimate friendship has four characteristics. First, an intimate friend is willing to sacrifice...Second, an intimate friend is a loyal defense before others...Third, intimate friends give each other complete freedom to be themselves...And finally, an intimate friend is a constant source of encouragement.

~Charles Swindoll

Think long and hard about who your friends are --on Facebook or otherwise.

This post is dedicated to Amanda Posey.

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The Pearl of Friendship

I am a friend of God. He calls me friend! Today's pearl is the pearl of friendship. We use that word lightly, don't we? I mean look at what Facebook has done to the word friend? At one point I had more than 1,500 "friends" on my page. Do I really know that many people, and if I do, do I really want to share my life with them? I began to delete "friends" from my page, and then I just deactivated it. I want to cultivate real relationships. Besides...Twitter is more fun!

Proverbs 17:17 says, "a friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." OMG! The first part of this statement is hard to swallow. AT ALL TIMES? What about when they make me mad?! But wait, a brother is born FOR adversity? The Amplified version says this: a friend loves at all times, and is born, as is a brother, for adversity. So you mean to tell me as a friend I need to love (all the time) and be ready to handle adversity? Woa. Do you know anyone who fits that description? I do. GOD.

The song below says, "I am a friend of God. He calls me friend." So we ought to love God all the time and understand that because we love God we will face adversity. Now that's the truth. Can you handle the truth?

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Music Monday

If I told you what I really need from thee would your heart and soul say yes? That's what God wants to know. Our answer should be quite simple: "Yes." This song is a few years old, but it gets me every time. Have you honestly told God yes? Yes, I will declare your glory. Yes, I will sing for you. Yes, I will submit my will to yours. If you haven't now is a good time.

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Follow Friday

Today's Follow Friday is a special one. I absolutely love hearing Elder David Hollis preach! If you've never been to one of his services you should make your way down to Indiana! One of my close friends had Elder Hollis preach at his church a few times, and each time I went I left changed. The bible says we're saved by the foolishness of preaching. For those of you who think preaching is ridiculous I suggest you read I Corinthians 1:21. Now of course some preaches do a little TOO MUCH, but preaching is necessary for our salvation nonetheless. Enjoy this #FF!

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The Pearl of Self-control

I love how the word of God has everything you need to survive. Lately I've been eating A LOT (food, not the word of God). I can't really say why to be honest. I really love junk food, but I also love healthy food. So, why do I choose to purchase McDonald's fries instead of a side salad? Easy: I lack self-control when it comes to my daily caloric consumption.

The bible has so much to say about self-control in the book of Proverbs. The book I am reading breaks down self-control in four areas:

1. Control at the Table
2. Control of our Tongues
3. Control of our Tempers
4. Control of our Thoughts

I'm surprised the writer didn't see a pattern with the letter T! I will sum up what I read and provide scriptures for the 4 T's of Self-Control:

Table

Scripture references: Proverbs 23:1-3, Proverbs 23:20-21, Proverbs 23:29-34, Proverbs 25:16-17, Daniel 1:3-16

Key: Everything in moderation. Those who profess to know Christ and who claim to be Christians should not be drunkards and/or winebibbers. Gluttony is a sin. Don't hang around alcoholics and gluttons!

Tongue

Scripture references: Proverbs 11:12, Proverbs 17:28, Proverbs 10:19, Proverbs 21:23, James 3:2-10, Galatians 5:22-23

Key: The tongue is an unruly member full of deadly poison. Think first-speak later. Wise people keep their mouths shut!

Temper

Scripture references: Proverbs 16:32, Proverbs 25:28, Proverbs 14:29, Proverbs 19:11

Key: Mighty people are slow to anger. Control your temper!

Thoughts

Scripture references: II Corinthians 10:5, Proverbs 23:7, Proverbs 6:16-18, Philippians 4:8

Key: If you embody the fruit of the spirit you'll be able to control your thoughts. Every thought should be brought under subjection unto God.

Let me just say that I have a long way to go when it comes to self-control. If anyone out there has mastered self-control please leave comments!

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The Pearl of Diligence

If a task is once begun, never leave it 'till it's done;

Be it great or be it small,

Do it well or not at all.

Yeah right. How many times have you signed up for a committee or joined a choir and quit? How many times have you taken on a project at work and not been able to meet the deadline? We live in a  world where we want to do everything and be everywhere. We overexert ourselves. Why? To make a name for ourselves in this life? I sure hope not.

The little poem above speaks to diligence. It really means to persevere no matter what you are faced with. The book of Proverbs has a LOT to say about being diligent. Rather than give you all of the scriptures here I'll just give you a few teasers that I'm sure will boggle your mind.

Let's first talk a little bit about sleep. Of course everyone should get at least 7 hours of sleep a night, or so "they" say. But, how much sleep is enough? Are you getting to the point where you're asleep more than you are awake? Don't "they" say the early bird gets the worm?

Proverbs 20:13 tells us, "Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread." Now of course this scripture isn't telling us never to sleep because we would die. I think the point here is that we should wake up early and get to work! Doesn't the bible say if any would not work, neither should he eat?

If we are diligent and use the time God has given us wisely we are sure to receive blessings. The bible tells us in Proverbs 11:27 that if we are diligent we will receive favor. I don't know about you, but I want the favor of God in my life!

Ladies, Proverbs 31 obviously teaches us the epitome of diligence. 

What will you do with the time God has given you today?

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Music Monday

It's time for another music Monday. Today I am going to be a little selfish and focus on none other than ME! Anyone who knows me knows that I love the movie The Color Purple. If you remember the scene in the juke joint where Shug was singing you will remember this song. My family would make me sing it to them ALL THE TIME! Then my best friend would make me sing it LOL! So, here it is. Enjoy and have a great day.

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Follow Friday

It's Follow Friday time again! Do you know who David Bernard is? If you don't I encourage you to Google him. He is an exceptional bible scholar and prolific writer. I chose him for this week's #FF because he explains the deity of God so well. Check out this short video about understanding God's word.

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The Pearl of Integrity

There was a bus driver who collected a man's fare and gave him back too much change. As the man was leaving the bus he counted his change and went back to the bus driver. "You gave me too much change," he said. The bus driver replied, "I did it on purpose. I saw you preach yesterday and wanted to see if you walked what you talked."

What a story and great example of the definition of honesty and integrity.

"Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another."

~Ephesians 4:25

Why do you think God expresses Himself so strongly about lying? I honestly had to sit for a minute and think about that question. I mean shouldn't we lie if we don't want to hurt someone's feelings? Or what about when we don't want to get in trouble? Little white lies are okay, right? No.

Lying only hurts you and those you are lying to. AND when you start lying it's like you can't stop! You lie to cover up the first lie and then comes the domino effect.

Honesty and integrity protect us. Proverbs 19:5 tells us that a false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape. Proverbs 19:9 takes it a step further by saying he that speaketh lies shall perish. GEEZ!

Some people lie to get gain. What happens to them? The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death (Proverbs 21:6). Something to think about, huh?

Do you know the story of Ananias and Sapphira (read Acts 5:1-10). Basically they sold a possession and were supposed to give the money to the apostles'-all of the money. They kept part of it thinking they were just lying to Peter, but they were really lying to the Holy Ghost (God). Eventually they both gave up the ghost (died). Let's not find ourselves in that situation.

Living an honest life and one of integrity begins with recognizing that God is omipresent. He is everywhere and he sees and knows everything. Remember, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It's also the beginning of living a honest life.

Integrity is what is demonstrated when nobody is watching. Allow me to close my eyes for a moment...what are you doing?

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The Pearl of Humility

Oh boy! Today's pearl is humility...

"When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom."
~Proverbs 11:2

[To humble yourself means to keep a modest opinion about yourself and behave accordingly.]

Humility is something we all want to achieve, but it's hard to measure. Even if you proclaimed, "I am a humble person" it would sound a bit proud. Striving for a spirit of humility is an awesome goal, however. Your first step should obviously be humility toward God.

If you read my post about The Pearl of Fear this should not be hard for you to comprehend. Before you can humble yourself before God you must fear (revere) Him. There are some wonderful examples in the Bible of people who humbled themselves before God: Moses (Exodus 3:1-6), Job (Job 42;1-6), Agur (Proverbs 30:2-4), John (Revelation 1:10-17), and the 24 Elders (Revelation 4:9-11). I encourage you to read those scriptures and notice what each person's response was when they were in God's presence.

Our opening scripture says the lowly have wisdom. What does lowly mean? Does it mean poor? Destitute? I think not! Lowly simply means humble. If you remember my post about The Pearl of Wisdom you'll remember that wisdom is the ability to discern. If we are humble God will give us discernment. OUTSTANDING!

Once we understand humility toward God it is important to be humble with regard to ourselves. That basically means recognizing that it is because of God's grace that we have what we have and are what we are. I encourage you to read I Corinthians 4:7, Isaiah 26:12, I Corinthians 15:10, Deuteronomy 8:17-18, Proverbs 25:6-7, Proverbs 27:2, Proverbs 16:18, Proverbs 18:12, James 14:11 and James 4:10. What do these verses teach you?

Jesus Christ was our supreme example. He is God and even HE practiced humility unto death (Philippians 2:3-11, Matthew 20:26-28).

Isn't it interesting that understanding humility can be quite difficult, but its antithesis, pride, is prevalent in society today? The bible has some direct things to say about pride. Pride is sin (Proverbs 21:4). Pride leads to punishment and it is an abomination (Proverbs 16:5, 6:16-17). Pride brings shame (Proverbs 11:2). If you want an example of what happens to those with prideful hearts read Daniel 4:28-37 and Acts 12:20-23.

A few important scriptures:

1. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. ~Romans 7:18
2. Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ~Matthew 18:3-4
3. But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our rightheousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. ~Isaiah 64:6
4. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering. ~Colossians 3:12

Have a humble day!

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Patience & Faith

During my prayer time this morning I thought about my best friend Amanda. She has been trying to purchase a home for what seems like an eternity, and finally yesterday (on her birthday) she received the keys to her brand new home! I could just cry thinking about it. I remember receiving pictures from when they broke the ground, built the foundation, built the frame, put the windows in, etc. I also remember the phone calls I received when she was frustrated about how long the process was taking. There were two things we needed to hold on to: Patience and Faith.

The reason I thought about her when I was praying is because I am going through a frustrating period right now. For those of you in graduate school you know how agonizing the PhD process can be. I'm trying to transfer to The Ohio State University because my advisor is taking a position there and they have more resources for the research I'm conducting. Classes start on September 19th and I haven't heard back from the school as to whether I've been accepted or not. I need to let my landlord know if I'm leaving, and I need to find an apartment in Columbus. I feel like my life is at a stand still and it's so FRUSTRATING!

The saying goes, "He may not come when you want him, but he's always on time." It's hard to remember that when you are going through a trial, isn't it? The best thing for me to do is dig into my word. 

Here are a few scriptures about patience and faith. I hope you're encouraged by them.

Romans 5:3-4

...And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope...

Romans 15:4
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. 

1 Timothy 6:11
...follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 

Hebrews 10:36
For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 

James 1:3-4

Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. 

James 2:17 
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 

Lastly, you need to read Hebrews 11 (AKA "The Faith Chapter).

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The Pearl of Fear

I stand, I stand in awe of you.

I stand, I stand in awe of you.

Holy God to whom all praise is due.

I stand in awe of you.

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Poem

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,

In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,

Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,

Almighty, victorious-Thy great name we praise.

To all, life Thou givest-to both great and small,

In all life Thou livest-the true life of all;

We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,

And wither and perish-but naught changeth Thee.

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light, 

Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;

All praise we would render-O help us to see

'Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee!

~Walter Chalmers Smith

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Music Monday

I'm stealing from Twitter again. Every Monday I will post my favorite gospel music songs. I love worship music. Foot stomping, toe tapping music is great, but there's nothing like a nice worship song that brings tears to your eyes. My friend and fellow brother in Christ sent me this YouTube video of Lawrence Flowers and Intercession. It's such a great worship song. I hope you enjoy it and surrender to Christ today...give Him more! Enjoy this #MM!

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Saturday Morning Worship

When I was younger I loved waking up on Saturday morning to the smell of bacon, eggs, Grands biscuits, and grits. Well, I'm not raally a fan of grits, but the other smells were awesome.

Another thing I loved was waking up to the sound of gospel music. My mom loves Shirley Caeser, the Clark Sisters, and the Williams Brothers. We would pray together and read the Bible as well.

Saturday morning worship was something I always looked forward to. What do you remember about your Saturday morning worship?

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Follow Friday

I decided to steal an idea from Twitter and do a pseudo #FF on my blog. My Follow Friday will be all about Jesus though (I mean really...who else should you follow?).

On Fridays I will post articles, scriptures, and other tidbits that will make any non-believer want to take up his/her cross and follow Jesus! Today I will post a scripture.

Jeremiah 29:11-14

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

Now doesn't that want to make you jump up and shout! Doesn't that make you want to drop everything you're doing and surrender to God? Doesn't that make you want to be a follower? Look at what the Lord will do if you hearken (listen with intent to do) unto him. I'm excited. I hope you are too.

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The Godhead made simple

Someone out there must need to know this information because I can't get it off my mind! I hope you enjoy reading about the Godhead and have a revelation about who God is. I know when I read this I am set on FIRE! Thanks to the UPCI website for allowing me to snag this:)

God

There is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4). He is the creator of heaven and earth, and of all living beings. He has revealed Himself to humanity as the Father (Creator), in the son (Savior), and as the Holy Ghost (indwelling Spirit).

Father

God is a Spirit (John 4:24). He is the Eternal One, the Creator of all things, and the Father of all humanity by creation.

He is the First and the Last, and beside Him there is no God (Isaiah 44:6). There was no God formed before Him; neither shall there be any after Him (Isaiah 43:10).

Son

Jesus is the Son of God according to the flesh (Romans 1:3) and the very God Himself according to the Spirit (Matthew 1:23). Jesus is the Christ (Matthew 16:16); the creator of all things (Colossians 1:16-17); God with us (Matthew 1:23); God made flesh (John 1:1-14); God manifested in the flesh (I Timothy 3:16); He which was, which is, and which is to come, the Almighty (Revelation 1:8); the mighty God, everlasting Father, and Prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6).

Jesus Himself testified of His identity as God when He said, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:7-11) and "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). It took shedding of blood for the remission of the sins of the world (Hebrews 9:22), but God the Father was a Spirit and had no blood to shed. Thus He prepared a body of flesh and blood (Hebrews 10:5) and came to earth as a man in order to save us, for in Isaiah 43:11 He said, "Beside me there is no Saviour." When He came in flesh the angels sang, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11).

Holy Ghost

The Holy Ghost is not a third person in the Godhead, but rather the Spirit of God (the Creator), the Spirit of the resurrected Christ. The Holy Ghost comes to dwell in the hearts and lives of everyone who believes and obeys the gospel, as the comforter, Sustainer, and keeper (John 14:16-26; Romans 8:9-11).

Well now, that was just awesome, wasn't it?

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The Oneness of God

It has been on my mind for the past few days to write about the oneness of God. It seems to be such a mystery, but when you pay close attention to the scripture it actually isn't. Rather than come up with my own summary I decided to post information from some awesome tracts. What you read will either be brand new to you, confirmation for you, or shake your theological foundation. Either way I hope you will leave comments and share this information with others. So, here we go!

God is absolutely and indivisibly one (Deuteronomy 6:4; Galatians 3:20). In Jesus dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). He is the self-revelation of the one God, the incarnation of the full, undivided Godhead (John 20:28; I Timothy 3:16).

God has revealed Himself as Father (in parental relationship to humanity), in the Son (in human flesh), and as the Holy Spirit (in spiritual action).  (See Deuteronomy 32:6 and Isaiah 63:16; Luke 1:35 and Galatians 4:4; Genesis 1:2 and Acts 1:8.) The one God existed as Father, Word, and Spirit before His incarnation as Jesus Christ, the Son of God; and while Jesus walked on earth as God Himself incarnate, the Spirit of God continued to be omnipresent. However, the Bible does not teach that there are three distinct centers of consciousness in the Godhead or that Jesus is one of three divine persons.

Jesus is true God and true man as one divine-human person. We can distinguish these two aspects of Christ’s identity, but we cannot separate them. The Incarnation joined the fullness of deity to complete humanity.

Jesus possessed all elements of authentic humanity as originally created by God, without sin. Thus we can speak of Jesus as human in body, soul, spirit, mind, and will. (See Matthew 26:38; Luke 2:40; 22:42; 23:46; Philippians 2:5.) According to the flesh, Jesus was the biological descendant of Adam and Eve, Abraham, David, and Mary. (See Genesis 3:15; Romans 1:3; Galatians 3:16; Hebrews 2:14-17; 5:7-8.) We should not speak of two spirits in Jesus, however, but of one Spirit in which deity and humanity are joined.

Christ’s humanity means that everything we humans can say of ourselves, we can say of Jesus in His earthly life, except for sin. In every way that we relate to God, Jesus related to God, except that He did not need to repent or be born again. Thus, when Jesus prayed, submitted His will to the Father, and spoke about God, He simply acted in accordance with His genuine humanity.

As Jehovah manifested in the flesh, Jesus is the only Savior (Isaiah 45:21-23; Matthew 1:21-23). Thus, Jesus is the only name given for our salvation (Acts 4:12). The Father was revealed to the world in the name of Jesus, the Son was given the name of Jesus at birth, and the Holy Spirit comes to believers in the name of Jesus. (See Matthew 1:21; John 5:43; 14:26; 17:6.) Thus, the apostles correctly fulfilled Christ’s command in Matthew 28:19 to baptize “in the name [singular] of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” by baptizing all converts with the invocation of the name of Jesus.

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The Pearl of Wisdom

Years ago I purchased a book from the second hand store called Pearls from Proverbs by Valerie Wilson. Why am I just now opening this book? No idea. It must be my season. 

Today's pearl was the pearl of wisdom. Proverbs 16:16 reads, "How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!"

How many people do you know who will disagree with this scripture? How can wisdom be better than silver and gold?

In this chapter we learn a bit about the book of Proverbs which is mainly written by Solomon. Solomon was born to David and Bath-sheba. Solomon's name means peace, but he also had another special name: Jedidiah (meaning beloved of the Lord). 

Before David died he charged Solomon to be strong, show himself a man, and walk in the Lord's statutes and commandments so that he would do wisely and prosper in all he does (I Kings 2:2-3). After David died God appeared to Solomon in a dream and told Solomon to ask for whatever he wanted (I Kings 3:5-9). Woa! What if God asked you to tell Him whatever you wanted? What would you ask for?

Solomon could have asked for riches, glory, honor, long life...anything! Instead he asked for an understanding mind and a hearing heart to judge God's people and that he may discern between good and bad. Now that's the way to go! God was so pleased that he not only gave him his request, but he also gave him riches, honor, and he promised to lengthen his days if he walked in God's statutes (I Kings 3:10-14). Awesome!

Have you asked God for wisdom? Let's take a step back. What is wisdom? Is it the same as knowledge?

Knowledge: The fact or condition of being aware of something.

Wisdom: The ability to discern inner qualities and relationships.

In my opinion the difference between knowledge and wisdom is that wisdom goes far beyond knowledge. You can have knowledge about something such as what's going on in our government, but wisdom allows you to discern the truth, what's right and wrong about the knowledge you have. Also, "smart" people can have wisdom, but wise people aren't always necessarily smart/educated.

Where does our wisdom come from? Proverbs 2:6 tells us that our wisdom comes from the Lord. Proverbs 9:10 tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The Amplified bible goes a bit further stating, "The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning (the chief and choice part) of wisdom." We can obtain wisdom by simply asking for it, worshiping God, and praying in the Holy Ghost.

Having wisdom is truly valuable. Proverbs 3:13-18 tells us that the values of wisdom are long life, riches, honor, paths of peace, pleasant ways, and happiness. Chapter 16 verse 16 even tells us that wisdom is more valuable than silver and gold! Why? If we have God's wisdom everything else will fall into place. I mean God owns the world, right? Look at what he did for Solomon. Solomon asked for wisdom and ended up getting way more than he asked for including riches and honor.

Wise people are also happy (Proverbs 3:13), they receive reproof (Proverbs 12:15), they love you because of instruction (Proverbs 9:8-9, 17:10), they fear and depart from evil (Proverbs 14:16), they're prudent (Proverbs 16:21), and they inherit glory (Proverbs 3:35).

If we have Jesus Christ in our life we ultimately have wisdom because Jesus Christ is the power and wisdom of God (I Corinthians 1:24). He is our wisdom from God (vs. 30). Would you rather have the wisdom of God or the wisdom of this world? Hint: I Corinthians 3:19-20, James 3:15-17

At the end of the chapter we are asked the following questions. I hope you will leave the answers to the questions in the comments section.

1. Can you explain the wisdom described in Proverbs in your own words?
2. How can a person who is uneducated as far as this world is concerned be wise in God's sight?
3. Why do you think the wisest man who ever lived (apart from Jesus Christ) lived foolishly at the end of his life (I Kings 11:1-6)?
4. Have you believed the "foolish" message of the preaching of the cross (I Corinthians 1:18-21)? Has Jesus Christ been made wisdom to you? How?
5. For what life situations do you need wisdom this week? Claim the promise of James 1:5 for those situations.

I hope you enjoyed this devotion as much as I have. Seek wisdom my friend!

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Back to the Basics

Mid-week service this evening was phenomenal. My pastor's wife gave the message, which always makes me smile because she's a great orator. She started off by asking the question: What happens when the grand finale is over? Think about the fireworks. You see great sparkles and shimmers, and then comes the grand finale. But after the show is over your emotions settle and you have to go back to the "real world". 

What about your personal life? Have you ever had a climax in your life? Have you ever had a series of events or circumstances, good or bad, that caused you to reach a climax? What happened after everything died down and went back to normal?

After everything dies down God is still faithful, but are we really faithful to him?

When the cares of this world weigh us down we lose sight of what is important: being faithful to God. We have school. We have work. We have children. We don't have time for devotion. We don't have time for devotion?

If there is ever a time to be faithful now is the time. 

Sometimes we get so tired and just don't want to do it anymore! I don't want to write this research paper. I don't want to sit on this conference call. I don't want to do my laundry, and I surely don't want to wash these dishes! This "I don't want to do it anymore" mentality happens in our walk with God, doesn't it? But what happens to our soul?

When we get tired we need to go back to the basics:

1. Reading God's Word
1. John 6:35 ~ "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." The word of God is fuel for our soul. The word of God is also an every day experience we should partake of because it gives us strength (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
2. Praying in the Holy Ghost
1. Praying in the Holy Ghost gives us strength. Romans 8:26 says: Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. We even receive power after the Holy Ghost comes upon us (Acts 1:8). When we don't feel like praying that is the PERFECT time to pray!

Sometimes we don't feel like doing what we need to do, but we have to remember that we are in a role on this earth. We are Kings children adopted into His royal family. 

When you don't think you need it pick up the word of God anyway. You may not need it right then but you may need it the next day, or even the next month. 

Take away: When you're tired or struggling get back to the basics. Get your daily dose of prayer and the word of God. 

Thank you Sis. Griffin for this awesome word. I hope everyone who reads this will share it with others and leave comments.

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Why so many denominations?

Why are there so many denominations? 

Christianity has become a huge umbrella "religion" with tons of denominations. Do you ever wonder how God feels about that? What is the difference between Baptist and Full Gospel Baptist? What is the difference between Apostolic Pentecostal and Apostolic Lutheran? What about "non-denominational" churches? In my opinion, "non-denominational" has become it's own denomination! Do you ever just want to go back to the days when Jesus walked the earth before there was all this confusion? Well, now that I think about it there was confusion back then too!

I really don't like to identify with a denomination because there are so many opinions and stereotypes that come with that, but if you were to ask me I would tell you I am Apostolic. I see you now...shaking your head. Don't judge me! LOL

Do you know what Apostolic means? It just means that I follow the word of God as he instructed His Apostles to teach before he ascended up to heaven. Apostolics follow the Apostles' Doctrine. That's it! 

If you study the history of the Christian church (here, here, and here) you will see that over time Christianity has evolved not because of God, but because of man. Certain men didn't like a particular portion of the bible, so they broke off from the church and formed their own denomination.

I am not here to persuade you to believe what I believe. I just want you to know what you believe and why you believe it. If you don't know why you are a part of your denomination, or you don't know what doctrine your denomination teaches, I suggest you find out.

Side note: There is a huge difference between "religion" and "relationship". Do you practice a religion, or do you have a relationship with God?

[I found another scripture on Friday, August 5, 2011 that may help you understand the term "Apostolic: “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine” (Acts 2:42)]

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