Category Archives: Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Resting Place 

God will speak to this people, to whom he said, “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”; and, “This is the place of repose”—but they would not listen. Isaiah 28:11b-12

Everyone needs a place to rest, a time to rejuvenate and restore your soul. A soul without rest is vulnerable to doubt, disease, and dread. Without soul care, you risk being ineffective for the long term. So, allow your soul to catch up with your activity through rest. A restless soul loses hope and perspective. Stop right now and take an audit of your soul. Is it strung out and anxious?

If so, rearrange your schedule for rest before it rearranges you. A non-restful pace is unsustainable, and a restful place is necessary to persevere. Do not fall for the false feeling that activity somehow equals progress or success. Without rest, you are going nowhere fast. If you intensify the pace, you are going nowhere, faster.

Rest allows you to recalibrate your priorities and replenish your cistern of creativity. Your work rhythms may require a day with no scheduled appointments. Indeed, each resting place looks different, depending on your need. For example, your resting place may be the quiet screened porch, where you relax with a cup of coffee and a good book. For someone else, a resting place may be a comfortable couch, where they nap to the steady beat of raindrops pelting the rooftop.

It can be the park where you walk with your best friend, a secluded drive in the countryside, or an adventurous exploration of the great Pacific Northwest. Whether your resting place is the beach, the mountains, or in front of a good movie, make time to engage with it. God speaks to you in your place of rest. This is one of His favorite spots to shape your soul.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Resting Place 

Wisdom Hunters – Responsive Heart 

Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people, that they would become accursed and laid waste, and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the LORD.   2 Kings 22:19

God responds well to a responsive and humble heart. It is guaranteed an audience with the Almighty. His heart is drawn to humility and commitment to obedience. He knows a responsive heart can be trusted with His truth. So when He finds someone responsive to righteousness, He has found someone who can be entrusted with His blessing. A responsive heart is teachable, tender to truth, and quick to obey. It is the opposite of a hard heart.

A hard heart stews in the juices of sin, while a responsive heart flees from sin’s appearance. A responsive heart is action-oriented and chooses to change for good. You may have an attitude of distrust or anger, but the Lord’s conviction penetrates your spirit. Instead of making excuses for this unacceptable behavior, a responsive heart seeks to become trusting and forgiving.

God and godly influences are constantly suggesting, teaching, convicting, and prodding you to conform to the character of Christ. His Word speaks to your heart and then your life responds to Him with appropriate attitudes and actions. Therefore, living for Jesus is an act of worship. Your responsiveness to truth is a testimony to the living God. As you obey God, others are drawn to Him and you. This is a wise habit to model for your children. If you can impart to them a tender and responsive heart to God at an early age, you have done them a great favor. Start young while the things of God are bigger than life. A youthful and responsive heart toward God has a better chance of becoming a responsive heart toward God during adulthood.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Responsive Heart 

Wisdom Hunters – Pivoting: An Opportunity to Grow and Improve 

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen    2 Peter 3:18

Pivoting is a sudden shift in strategy to assure successful execution. Healthy organizations model the necessity of pivoting to maintain growth and a competitive advantage in their industry. This proactive approach to doing business led one healthcare vendor to help doctors replace their clip boards with tablets for a much more effective way to record, manage and retrieve patient data. Pivoting embraces new ways to leverage old concepts in a way that improves and enhances the process, service, product or end user experience. Faith is not afraid to pivot, but is afraid not to.

In a similar fashion, a growing faith is ever pivoting toward total trust in God. Peter reminds us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Faith is a formative process that is not static, but dynamic and fluid—as the Holy Spirit leads us experientially to discern God’s best and educationally to know and obey our Lord’s application of truth. Grace engages our heart with God’s heart and knowledge engages our mind with the mind of Christ. With the goal of God’s glory as the outcome—we pivot in prayer as we hear His heart.

“We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring” (2 Thessalonians 1:3-4).

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Pivoting: An Opportunity to Grow and Improve 

Wisdom Hunters – Divine Direction 

I know, O LORD, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.  Jeremiah 10:23

We do not own our lives.  We have been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20).  Jesus’ sacrificial blood purchased our freedom from the fire of hell, sin, and death.  By faith, He owns us.  A great exchange took place when you first believed in Jesus.  What’s yours became His, and what’s His became yours.  The life of Christ became your life. It is not your life to define, but His.  He has wrapped a wonderful definition around whose you are in Him.  You are a child of God.  You are secure because your Savior keeps you.  You are valuable because the Lord values you.  You are protected because the Almighty owns you.

The Bible is God’s glossary of how to define yourself.  Scripture gives you a family tree of faith for you to trace your religious roots.  It is a mirror of how God sees you.  He sees you as accepted in His Son, though you suffer rejection from others.  Cherish and enjoy daily the acceptance of Jesus. Moreover, your mistakes are His opportunity to affirm His acceptance.  There are still consequences to your sin, but He is always available to receive you back because you are His.  He accepts and receives back His own.

Furthermore, He directs His own (Isaiah 48:17).  God wants you to understand and follow His plan for your life.  Praise God it’s a step-by-step process and He directs your steps!  Some days you may feel like it’s three steps forward and two steps back, but do not be discouraged or dismayed.  God is still directing your steps, though at times they seem tedious and laborious.  The Lord leads you in lockstep with His steps.  In His steps is the wise way to walk.  Do not run ahead, thinking you have to set a record for speed or quickness.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Divine Direction 

Wisdom Hunters – The Right Thing 

This is what the Lord says: Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.  Isaiah 56:1

Do the right thing; because you can’t go wrong by doing what’s right. The right choice may not be the easiest choice, but it will result in what’s best. It is tempting to bypass what’s right,  what’s convenient or expedient. However, convenience and expedience can get you into trouble if they become an excuse for not doing the right thing. The right thing may ruffle some feathers and cause you short-term suffering. Some people may reject you for doing what’s right. Some people may avoid you because your right choices are a reminder of their wrong ones. When you choose to do the right thing, you eliminate other unseemly options. This protects you from a series of unwise relationships. If you choose to hang out with those who have no spiritual aspirations, then you will find yourself indifferent to the things of God.

If your most influential relationship is bored with God, then boredom will seduce you over time as well. Investing in unhealthy relationships is not the right thing to do. Your parents and your friends have warned you not to go down this road of relational recklessness. You can still do the right thing by breaking off the relationship and seeking God for His best. His best is a hundred times better than settling for someone who makes you “feel alive,” yet has no firm foundation of faith. Be careful with whom you entrust your emotions. Your affections are not to be given away indiscriminately. The right thing is to first set your affections above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1-2). Then trust Him as you dispense your desires to those who are worthy and have your best interests in mind.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – The Right Thing 

Wisdom Hunters – Job Transition: Leave or Stay / Hire or Fire

So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left. Genesis 13:8-9

No one works at the same place forever, they eventually move on or die. A person may feel their effectiveness in their current role at work has run its course—they are bored—and unless another opportunity opens up in the same organization they will transition out to a more challenging call. Hiring and firing resembles the same tension as leaving or staying. The latter represents the employee, and the former the employer. I am not the best hirer because I like people to like me, but often I need to hire team members gifted differently than me. So I am learning to trust seasoned staff to help me interview and select new employees. It’s so much wiser to hire slow and fire fast.

Abram and Lot found themselves in a dilemma: In today’s terms they were “running out of office space.” The growth of their family business forced them to make a relocation decision—so they decided to divide up their assets and go their separate ways. Lot deferred to and honored his uncle Abram, the more experienced, to define their disengagement choices and Lot selected which option he thought best for his family and work. He chose the well watered, green valley in the east and pitched his tent toward a sinful people, while Abram settled in Canaan and built an altar to God.

“If he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials” (2 Peter 2:7-9).

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Job Transition: Leave or Stay / Hire or Fire

Wisdom Hunters – Too Much Stuff! 

And Jesus said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Luke 12:15

I don’t particularly enjoy going to the mall. It’s a place that I typically avoid if possible, yet this week I had to return an item at a store that was located inside our local mall. Interestingly, less than 24 hours later, I came across Jesus’s words in Luke 12. With this experience fresh in my mind, I had one clear thought as I read this passage: as a culture we have let our guard down when it comes to possessions!

We scurry from store to store, busily looking for the latest fashion or the next unbeatable sale, and we do so at such breakneck speed that we rarely reflect upon how this lifestyle is shaping our hearts, lives, and desires. Without realizing it, we can create habits of consumption and acquisition that ultimately make us slaves to our possessions.

Simply put, you and I have too much stuff, and Jesus wants us to see how our stuff has too much of us!

In a culture that is driven by the accumulation of wealth and possessions, it’s incredibly easy to fall prey to thinking that our worth and value is tied up in the things we own. If we have lots of stuff, we have worth. If we have limited finances and resources, our value in society and as human beings must be limited as well. While this may be a common way of thinking in our culture, it goes directly against the values of God’s kingdom!

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Too Much Stuff! 

Wisdom Hunters – Spiritually Cured and Secured

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.  1 Timothy 1:15

Jesus came to save sinners—sinners like all of us. Just as we all need water, air and food—we all need a Savior to forgive our sin. The gospel of Christ grows greater in value—the more we view the hideous nature of our sin. The darker we see our soul stained by sin, the more urgent our desire to be cleansed by the grace of God. Sin taken lightly, merely gives lip service for the need of a Savior—but sin taken seriously, has a desperate desire to seek Christ’s forgiveness. Eternal security and sin’s cure comes from my admission of spiritual illness—only Jesus can save me.

Paul gives us one of his five trustworthy sayings—Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. The truth of the gospel deserves full acceptance: the cross of Christ followed by the resurrection of Christ. Without Jesus rising from the grave the gospel is eviscerated of its power to forgive sin, transform lives, affirm Christ’s teachings and validate His miracles. The gospel is good news, because of the bad news of mankind’s separation from God. A person either fully embraces the gospel of Jesus or rejects Jesus—there is no middle ground. Like a healthy marriage, committed Christians embrace and celebrate their love relationship with Jesus.

“The faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace” (Colossians 1:5-6).

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Spiritually Cured and Secured

Wisdom Hunters – Are You in An In-Between Place?

For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:8

One afternoon many years ago as I walked through the front doors of my favorite grocery store in Colorado Springs, my heart was heavy. I feel so alone, I thought. My friend, Judi, had died unexpectedly days before from a brain aneurysm and my friend, Gene, had died the month before. When I reached the checkout, I made small talk with the woman in front of me. “This weather is really great, huh?” I scanned the beautiful Rocky Mountains out the large picture windows. “Yes, it’s awesome. I moved here last year, and I love it.” She smiled and rolled away her cart. I found a seat where I could quietly eat my lunch. Loneliness engulfed me.

As I stood to put away my plate, the woman from the checkout approached me. “You were really nice to talk to me, but the Lord wants me to tell you something.” She gently placed her hands on my shoulders and turned me to face her. “He wants you to know that you are not alone and that He hears you.” Tears of relief and gratitude rolled down my cheeks. What a gracious and kind Lord we have! He was giving me His love through a stranger. She went on. “I believe He also wants you to know He is going to put your feet on a new foundation. I don’t know what that means, but be open to change.” We hugged, I cried some more, and she walked away.

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns’” (Isaiah 52:7)!

As I drove home, I pondered these things in my heart. It seemed God was confirming what I had been sensing for several months. God is going to do something new.  If change meant emotional and spiritual relief, I was ready because I was in an in-between place brought on the deaths of my friends and other life changes. As it turned out, within a matter of months, I had moved away from Colorado Springs and within a year, I met my husband. How faithful the Lord is!

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Are You in An In-Between Place?

Wisdom Hunters – How Can The Lost Soul Of Our Nation Be Saved 

They soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his counsel…They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt, miracles in the land of Ham and awesome deeds by the Red Sea. So he said he would destroy them—had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them…They grumbled…and did not obey the Lord. Psalm 106:13, 21-23, 25

How can the lost soul of our nation be saved? We can start by remembering God. Remember God created an opportunity to relocate a God-fearing people to America. Remember the birth of our republic was an experiment dependent on the moral authority of its people and its government. Remember it’s God who makes men great and nations greater. Remember God is holy and He expects holiness. Our angry and violent country needs soul healing to regain its clear moral compass, its inner peace of mind and its respected influence around the world. The seeds of a self-reliant society have grown into a forest of unfaithfulness. God is forgotten and no longer feared. Our pride, ego and affluence has blinded us to the need for God’s humility, love and forgiveness. Our nation’s lost soul can only be saved by remembering, repenting, obeying.

Psalm 106 gives us an abridged version of God’s people and their journey from Egyptian bondage to God’s blessings of freedom. The Lord escorted them out by His miraculous works, as an exclamation mark of His faithfulness to His people. But they soon forgot. They forgot His holiness—they ceased to fear and obey Him. They forgot His love—they began to love the things of the world. They forgot to worship Him—they worshipped idols of self-indulgence. Forgetfulness to have faith in God is a formula for a nation to lose its soul’s identity. Just as Moses stood in the gap for the Lord’s people, so Christ is the sole salvation for our nation’s soul.

“Now these things occurred (Israel’s disobedient acts) as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did” (1 Corinthians 10:6).

Before you stand up for what’s right, kneel down in desperation and dependence on God. A humble nation is made up of people and politicians who pray with broken hearted confessions, who worship Almighty God out of reverence and gratitude, and who serve others unselfishly. Begin by reminding yourself, your family and your co-workers of God’s trustworthy track record of answered prayer and generous provision. Your legacy for the Lord will bear fruit beyond your life, so plant orchards of obedient lives and trust the Lord will draw Americans back to Himself.

Perhaps the Holy Spirit is pricking your heart to engage more responsibly in civic affairs. Who are your state legislators? How can you use your influence to raise the moral quality of life in your community? Perhaps you serve in public office for a season, so others can see an example of a true servant of Jesus: someone who puts the needs of their constituents above themselves. Be a person who is not afraid of faith, but embraces the idea of convening charities to make society much better. Who, if not you? Why later, when now is all you have for sure? Our nation’s soul will be saved when we return home from the far country of forgetfulness of faith in God.

“For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them” (Isaiah 58:2).

Prayer: Heavenly Father, as a nation we acknowledge our dependence on You, we repent of forgetting You and we ask You to lead us in Your ways.

Application: How does the Lord want to me to engage in praying for my government officials?

Related Readings: Isaiah 29:13; Ezekiel 33:31; Titus 1:6; James 4:8; 1 John 2:4

Home

Wisdom Hunters – Christ and Country 

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind.  Psalm 33:12–13

God blesses a country that honors Him, but brings down a country that dishonors Him. It honors Him for His people to pray in earnest for righteousness to reign in religion, the workplace, the seat of government, and the home. It dishonors the Lord when we behave like His commands are suggestions and we marginalize His mandates. Countries founded on Christ are blessed if they continue with Christ.

Where is our Christ-conscientiousness? Do our actions reflect accountability to almighty God and His ultimate judgment? Faith without the fear of God is weak and anemic in the face of moral relativism, academic attacks, and the indulgences of affluence. A nation that fears the Lord fears sin and its deadly consequences. Thus, Christians are called by Christ to engage in their communities with compassion and with a standard of right and wrong.

The law of the Lord is the basis of the law of the land in a country that honors Christ. The Bible is clear, “All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous” (Romans 2:12–13). God blesses a nation that obeys His laws.

Therefore, for our children’s sake, let us raise our standards of acceptable actions for preachers, politicians, and parents. Let us return to public prayers of dependence on the Lord and private prayers of repentance from sin. Without God’s blessing a country creeps into moral chaos, an economic meltdown, and institutional irrelevance, but with God’s blessing a country thrives on trust in Him. We desperately need to stay in a position to receive God’s blessing.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Prayer: Am I a citizen who unashamedly represents Christ in my community? Do I pray with persistence and humility for repentance among God’s people?

Related Readings: Exodus 19:5–6; Psalm 144:15; Romans 12:14–15; 1 Peter 2:9

 

Home

Wisdom Hunters – What to do When You Can’t Find God 

If I go forward, he is not there; or backward, I cannot perceive him; on the left he hides, and I cannot behold him; I turn to the right, but I cannot see him. Job 23:8-9

In Job 23 we find some of the most honest and transparent words in the entire Bible. Rather than a song of praise celebrating the nearness of God, this is the lament of a broken man who is struggling to find God in the midst of his pain. Job simply cannot pretend all is well. He can’t find the strength to put on a happy face. He cries out from a place of desperation, sorrow, and fear. Yet in the two verses that follow, Job teaches us two profound truths about following God even when it is hard and he feels distant: we are never abandoned and we must seek to live faithfully even in the midst of our trials.

“But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I shall come out like gold” (Job 23:10).

Even when Job can’t sense God’s nearness, he rests in the confidence that he is never abandoned or forgotten. Though we may struggle at times to sense God’s direction and presence, he never struggles to find us or care for us. It is in him that we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28), and this is true whether we sense it or not.

Our emotions can be tricky and misleading. They want to tell us things that feel right, but may not actually be true! When you are struggling in your faith, tell yourself things that you know to be true, even if you don’t feel like doing it. Remind yourself that God is with you (Isaiah 41:10), that he will never leave or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6), and that he loves you, even to the point of death (Romans 5:8).

“My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside” (Job 23:11).

The Christian life is often spoken of as a journey of faith. At times this journey brings great joy and delight, yet at times we are crippled with grief, sorrow, and doubt. In these moments Job reminds us that even when life is hard and painful we must continue on the journey!

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – What to do When You Can’t Find God 

Wisdom Hunters – Resolve, Do Not Run Away 

Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. Matthew 5:23-24

When I was an older teenager, I abruptly left home—in anger. I barged out, which I later regretted—leaving relational wreckage and deeply hurting my single parent mom. My unresolved anger led me to make an irrational, selfish decision that could have been resolved with patience and forgiveness: Patience toward my mother—who did her best with what she had, and forgiveness of my own sins of pride, fear and greed. I learned a hard lesson as a hard hearted teen—my unresolved issues with people were a reflection of my unresolved issues with God.

Jesus uses vivid language to make this soberingly clear—no amount of money (a gift), offered as worship for God’s work, can appease unresolved sin with another brother or sister in Christ. The Lord first wants a person’s heart, knowing their money will follow. Jesus knows He has someone’s heart when they are willing to bare their heart with another believer. Confession and repentance to one another is evidence of a healthy community of Christ followers. Humility initiates by asking for and extending forgiveness, while trusting God’s grace for reconciliation. Run toward not away from, unresolved conflict, as faith not fear brings healing to open wounds.

“So, my son—save yourself! Here’s what you need to do: go to that person who became your master with a handshake, humble yourself, and plead your case” (Proverbs 6:3, The Voice).

Who may have a grudge against you that you need to go to and ask forgiveness? Even if in your mind you are only 20% at fault, you still take the first step to say, “I’m sorry, I apologize, will you forgive me?” Be specific about your offense, “Please forgive me for the harsh tone of my words.” Your apology does not mean you have to agree with everything they said or did, but it does mean you want to make things right and heal the relationship. Reconciliation takes time, so be patient, stay in the process, until real healing of the heart takes place. Trust God’s love to heal.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Resolve, Do Not Run Away 

Wisdom Hunters – You Belong to Me

So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.  Galatians 4:7-9

I love refreshing seasons with the Lord when He transforms and changes us in surprising ways with His truth. I am in one of those seasons now. The Lord has been reminding me of the beginning of my relationship with Him when I knew I was saved by grace and that His love for me was not based on anything I had to do or had done, but based entirely on His sacrifice on the cross. He is reminding me that the grace I was saved by is the grace in which I now stand. And, oh how my heart has needed these blessed truths!

You see, there was a time in the past when I embraced the idea—without realizing it—that I had to do more for God or He would be displeased with me. Honestly, deep down I feared He would love me less. I also believed my significance with Him was tied to my behavior. These false beliefs were heavy burdens to bear; I have only begun to realize just how heavy during this refreshing season with Him. I forgot that God’s love is unchanging and consistent, not based on anything I can do or have done for Him, but because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Maybe you can relate to my sentiment. Perhaps you believe God’s love for you is tied to what you do, rather than who you are in Him (1 John 3:1-2), and this has led to all kinds of emotional and spiritual problems. Please accept these words as encouragement for your heart as if from Him.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – You Belong to Me

Wisdom Hunters – Sound Teaching Cultivates Morally Healthy Living

We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me. 1 Timothy 1:9-11

Those who demand rights to morally live any way they want—cannot use the Bible to back their dictates. The idea that a person can behave in whatever way makes them happy is foreign to faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus is not an add on to the latest cause a corrupt culture is trying to institute. Christ and His teachings do not conform to the culture, the culture is to conform to the gospel of Jesus. Just as a disciplined soldier must follow agreed upon standards to be part of a vigorous army, so faithful disciples of Jesus embrace moral actions embedded in sound biblical teaching.

Paul answers the decadence of his day by clearly defining sound teaching as doctrine that conforms to the good news of a holy and happy God. Hope is instilled through the word by the Lord’s revelation of Himself in the person of Jesus—as divine clarity came through Christ. Christ’s perfection—God’s holiness. His gentleness—God’s mercy. His love—God’s compassion. His forgiveness—God’s grace. His death—God’s sacrifice. His resurrection—God’s life giving power. His obedience—God’s delight. Jesus modeled what He taught, as He sought to love from a morally healthy stance.

“A time will come when some will no longer tolerate sound teaching. Instead, they will live by their own desires; they’ll scratch their itching ears by surrounding themselves with teachers who approve of their lifestyles and tell them what they want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3, The Voice).

Is your faith grounded in the God of the Scripture revealed in Jesus Christ? Does your behavior betray biblical teaching? Habitual sin is an indicator of a life that does not truly love Jesus, only posing in their profession of faith. The first step in following Christ is to be grounded in the gospel by belief and trust through conversion. You cannot begin to grow as a child of God until you have been spiritually born a child of God. Once a true disciple, you mature in the faith by embracing sound biblical teaching. A high view of Scripture grows into high moral standards.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Sound Teaching Cultivates Morally Healthy Living

Wisdom Hunters – Responsible Grace 

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?  Romans 6:1-2

Grace is a gift from God, one that requires responsible and wise stewardship. Grace is not a license to sin but permission to live. Grace is all about living for God and walking with Him. It engages with eternity by approaching God’s throne of grace with gratitude, awe, and boldness. God’s grace is a guarantee of eternal life. It is absolutely amazing because Christ collateralizes it. There has never been a shortage of your Savior’s grace.No group or individual has ever made a run on heaven’s grace account. You can go to the bank with God’s grace. It is as everlasting as the Lord.

However, though unlimited in supply, it may be the most underused resource available. People miss grace when they thrash and stumble about in their own strength. They apply bad theology. They believe in salvation by grace through faith, but drift into living on their own strength. Demons must chuckle when they observe Christians applying dead works.Working to earn God’s favor after receiving salvation is as futile as it was before salvation. Do not fall into the trap of graceless living for grace is God’s remedy for the self-indulgent. Grace values community with people and communicating with Christ. There is a spirit of acceptance and peace with those who receive and apply God’s grace often.

Learn to use grace responsibly. Grace is not a safety net for your fall into sin, for sin still has its consequences. Grace is not an excuse to sin and is not your pass for disobedience. Judgment, both harsh and extreme, is the natural outcome for graceless Christians. Grace is, more than anything, an honorable motivation for your attitude and actions. Without grace, you gravitate toward pride for not sinning. Yes, grace is a governor on your behavior, while never promoting pride.

Grace means you have a stewardship of wise choices to manage for the Lord. It gives you permission to be free in Christ, but your freedom is for Him. His kingdom agenda is what drives grace. Grace integrates all of life around faith. Christ does not compartmentalize the sacred from the secular. Grace includes, it doesn’t exclude. It discloses rather than hides. Sin is subservient to your Savior’s grace.

Grace gives you the perspective and power for forgiveness and honesty. It is the delivery channel of truth. Grace is your excuse for extending forgiveness and second and third chances—and more—to culprits. Use grace to remove sin’s stain from the fiber of your faith. Indeed, as you extend grace, you are more likely to receive grace. Be responsible with grace and you will be trusted with more. Grace saved you from sin; so don’t go back to your pre-grace condition. Because of grace, you are free from sin, not free to sin. Therefore, be a responsible and gracious follower of Christ.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your amazing grace, I pray I apply it responsibility.

Home

Wisdom Hunters – Midlife Crisis 

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”    Ecclesiastes 1:2

Midlife is a natural time to do a life audit. This is the season to do a performance review of your passion and your life’s productivity. You measure how well you have amassed money and acquired assets. You grade the success of your life on your position in the work place, your educational advancement, your character development, and the quality of your relationships, especially those in your family. Midlife is a time for reflection, regrouping, and recalibrating big goals. If, by God’s grace, you have implemented His plan up until now, you look forward to what He has for you during the second half of life. But a midlife crisis comes from meaningless living. You may have drifted from what God intended for you from your youth. You scoffed at His plan and purpose and replaced it with your own.

Go back to your original God-given purpose and redirect the  midlife crisis missile to keep it from crashing into your home. Revisit your God-given purpose for living. A proper purpose precludes meaningless living. Yet, every day, men and some women meander into a midlife crisis. They think it is a release from responsibility, but midlife is meant to be a time of terrific transition, not terrible torture. It is created for celebration, not regret. Midlife is meaningful if rooted in the purpose of God and a future hope in Him. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Maybe you lived the first half of your life off purpose, but you were successful by the world’s standards. You may have more wealth than you ever dreamed of, but your spouse and children do not really know you. You are relationally poor. Or maybe you have been a good Christian, but you always seem to encounter bad things. Christianity feels like a farce; it is not what was promised to you when you started out in gleeful obedience. The hardness and insensitivity of some Christians is confusing. You are ready to toss it all out the window and start over with convenient obedience and lukewarm faith. But now is not the time to bail on Divine Providence. Yes, you may be tired and even sick, but stick with your Savior.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Midlife Crisis 

Wisdom Hunters – Character and Competence in Leaders

And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.  Psalm 78:72

Authentic leadership is a mixture of character and competence. You cannot have one without the other and provide healthy leadership. Competence without character is like a magnificent ivory-white ship’s sail that lies collapsed without wind. Character without competence is like a strong gust of wind without a billowy sail to capture its energy. Both are required for the level of leadership that God expects. Character is the linchpin of leadership. It is truly the measure of a man.

Your character is your union card: It earns you the right to participate in leadership. Your depth of character determines your breadth of leadership. Character is forged on the anvil of life’s experience. When your obedience to God intersects with life, character is developed. It is through a relationship with Christ and a relationship with people that you understand and develop character. God’s Word defines character, and living life is your opportunity to apply character. You can choose to be a character, or you can seek to live a life of character.

God’s will is the latter. People want leaders that are dependable, someone they can trust. They want leaders that are available to listen and understand. A leader of character follows through on commitments and does what is right even when it costs him personally. You can have average skill with exceptional character and still be an extraordinary leader. This is how God works. He works from the inside out. Sometimes your great abilities get in the way of a definitive work of character in your life. Anything you have is because of the grace of God, so thank Him for your abilities and allow Him to mold His character into your life.

Competence on the other hand gives you a platform to exercise your character. You are gifted and skilled in certain ways. It is imperative that you understand how you are wired. This self-awareness is your ticket to improvement. What you know today is not sufficient for what you need to know tomorrow. This is why competent leaders are ever learning. Current circumstances and future opportunities beg for your education. Skilled leaders ask lots of questions of those who have walked before them. They research and read about other successful leadership and organizational models. This is part of sharpening your skills.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Character and Competence in Leaders

Wisdom Hunters – Don’t Look Back 

Jesus said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:59-62

What is the most fundamental lesson you have to learn when you first learn to drive a car? I can still hear my dad telling me countless times, “Keep your eyes on the road!” As simple as it may sound, this can be a hard lesson to learn! As a young driver, I had to learn that my primary job wasn’t to talk to friends or pick out music on the radio; it was to focus on navigating the road so that I arrived safely at my destination. Now as a father of three, the distractions are different, yet present nonetheless. My job is to focus fully on the road ahead, not to look back to break up arguments or clean up spilled drinks!

Have you ever tried to drive a car while looking backwards? It’s a sure recipe for disaster. Though they didn’t have cars in Jesus’ day, they did have a multitude of plows, and Jesus is using this easily understood imagery to make the same point. You can’t operate a plow while looking backwards, and more importantly, you can’t follow him and still have your heart and mind focused on other things.

Is Jesus saying that it’s wrong to grieve a lost loved one or to passionately love your family? Of course not. Such a blanket statement misses the point that Jesus is trying to make. Following Jesus requires that we give ourselves fully and completely to him and his coming kingdom.

In our society today it’s easy to view our Christian faith as a part of a well-balanced life. In addition to family, work, sports, art, or politics, one can also include a bit of “religion” to round this picture out. This is culturally accepted, widely practiced, and spiritually devastating. Can you relate to this way of life?

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Don’t Look Back 

Wisdom Hunters – Exercised Faith Produces Spiritual Health

The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. 1 Timothy 1:5

Just as God created the body with the need for exercise and rest to stay healthy— He created the soul with the need for a faith that exercises and rests to grow healthier. There is a striking difference between the body and soul: the physical grows weaker as the body ages, but the spiritual grows stronger as the soul grows older in grace and love. Outwardly there is decay, but inwardly there is daily renewal. Genuine faith does not get saved and stop growing—it trusts Christ’s work on the cross to work out our faith as we bear our cross through trials and tests.

Paul describes the end goal of every disciple of Jesus: the fullness of love for God and people. The Holy Spirit’s fruit of love grows out of a clear conscience—forgiven of sin and a pure heart—cleansed of impure affections. Both forgiveness and cleansing are rooted in genuine faith. Authentic faith is the blending of belief and trust—belief that Jesus is God’s son, who died on the cross for my sin and rose from the dead to validate His deity. Trust in Christ alone for eternal life in heaven and for abundant life on earth. Faith facilitates the Spirit’s life giving work.

“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you” (Romans 8:11).

Do you feel a headwind of resistance in your life? Is your faith being tested, perhaps stretched beyond what’s comfortable? Seasons of uncertainty and times of spiritual fatigue are windows to watch the Spirit at work in ways that stimulate your faith by God’s faithfulness in your life. There is a deeper place the Holy Spirit wants to take you—a place where your soul is at peace, your spirit is comforted, your mind is renewed and your body is rested. Like an athlete who discovers another depth of desire to compete, so the Spirit draws your faith into deeper intimacy.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Exercised Faith Produces Spiritual Health