​Ecclesiastes 2:26 “God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please Him.” ~NLT

I was reading in Dr. Stanley’s devotional last week where he speaks of God’s wisdom. We know that God is all-knowing. So, for example, when we experience trials in different situations, God knows the beginning and the end of that situation, we don’t.

Dr. Stanley stated, “We make choices based on ‘partial information’, whereas God has the wisdom to take action based on truth.” Wow, how powerful is that statement. It opens our eyes to the fact that 90 percent of the decisions we make are based on what ‘we think’ the outcome is going to be. That means we are literally ‘rolling the dice’ on our futures, based on our decisions in actions.

The man I used to be was cool with that, but who I am now, would rather trust in the One that knows what’s ahead of me. We know that God loves us and wants the best for us. Jesus says in John 10:10, “I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” So no matter what the situation may yield, God has already cleared our paths. So what is the secret to letting go of the fear of the ‘unknown’? Hold on to another type of fear.

Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge…” This fear is our relationship with the Lord. This fear is us knowing and not knowing what the Lord is capable of. In other words, if we do not allow God’s will in our life, what are our chances of having His protection from the devil’s influences? If God has laid out a path for us, a path of prosperity, a path of everlasting life, what happens when we decide to walk a totally different path? There is no covering and no protection when we stray from who we were created to be.

When we understand that wisdom comes from God, then we must trust in His ‘all knowing’ in our situations, rather than trusting in our ‘partial knowledge’.  We do this by staying on the path He has already made, and we place ourselves under His ‘umbrella’ of protection. The rains of destruction, death, and devil will not be able to affect the good God has in store for us.

When we live according to God’s will, the actions in our lives display ‘truth’. And it is this truth that God will ‘take action’ in our favor. When we please the Lord, because we truly love and trust the Lord in our situations, God will turn those trials into a tool which we can use to save lives.

God loves us so much and wants us to know in James 3:17, “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.” ~CSB

Shows no favoritism and always sincere. That is you and me.  We are favored because of the love from God. We must seek peace in wisdom everyday from above and trust God in everything. We do this and we will please Him. And when we please Him, He will allow us “…wisdom, knowledge and joy…” May God continue to keep you under His ‘umbrella’ of protection as you walk the path He paved for you. In Jesus’ name…

​Amen

Matthew 18:32-33 “…I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” ~CSB

This story in Matthew is about an unforgiving servant. This servant went to his master owing him a lot of money he could not pay. Since he could not pay, verse 25 says, “…his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay his debt.” ~CSB

Imagine that! What a devastating situation for anyone, to be sold and separated from your family because of a debt you owe. The Word says that the servant fell facedown and begged his master not to do it. He asked for his master to be patient and he would pay everything he owed. The scripture says, “The master of that servant released him, and forgave him the loan.” ~CSB

The story goes on to speak about how this same servant encountered a servant of his own that owed ‘him’ a debt. But he was not willing to pass on the blessing that was afforded to him.  Instead, he threw his servant in prison.

How many of us live this way? I mean really think about this.  We may have been in a situation where our rent or mortgage was due. And because of our prayers, God made a way out of no way.  But when one of our children ask for help, or a close friend is in need, we say, “I ain’t got it”. Or we may have been delivered from an addition of substance abuse by the grace of God, but we do not devote our time, (which is a form of tithe), to minister about our story to others who are under the grip of addition. 

We are comfortable with being given a second chance from a blessing in the miracles of God, but we are slow to pass it on to others. Why do you think God delivers you from impossible situations? It isn’t just for you to hold onto. It is for you to let other know that He exists. Not just for you, but for others as well.

Jesus says in John 13:34, “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another.” ~CSB “…just as I have loved you…” This is the key to how we live in Christ. We were forgiven; we were given a second chance; we did not deserve any grace. But the One who is without sin, paid our debt for us. And since our debt was paid to the Father, by the Son, we should waive all debt that is owed to us by others. 

The servant in the story, chose not to forgive a debt owed to him by his own servant, forgetting that he had been forgiven for his and this cost him. His master heard of this and because of his actions and because his master was angry, verse 34 of Matthew says, “His master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything he was owed.” ~CSB

Let us not lose the grace of forgiveness by not forgiving others. If we do, the Word says in verse 35, “So also my heavenly Father will do to you unless every one of you forgives his brother or sister from your heart.” Remember the key phrase, “…Love one another…just as I have loved you…” Jesus paid for us. It is our duty to show others this 'receipt', in our action towards others.

​May the Lord continue to cover you in His peace as you endure the trials of this world. In Jesus’ name,
 
Amen

Psalm 4:8 “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.” ~NLT

Take a moment and remember a time when you said to yourself, “Whew! That was close!” You may remember that the situation was one that could have gone a different way, badly. In other words…

…if you had been there seconds later, you would’ve missed out; if you had said what you wanted to say, instead of restraining yourself; if you had put your hands on the person that angered you, but the spirit wouldn’t let you.  If you had driven through that intersection when the light was yellow, that would be you in that accident. If you had not forgiven; if you had not loved; if you had not submitted.

We could go on and on about the ‘ifs’ in our lives, but one thing is clear, those ‘ifs’ were not ‘close calls’.  God protects His children. We must give God His time in our lives. We must build a strong relationship with the Lord. And being the Father He is with His children, He will protect them.  When we know Him, and know how much He loves us, His protection is great, and it is guaranteed.

We begin to realize good in the things we thought we lost out on.  For example, that trip to the islands we did not go on, we find we were better off not going in the first place. We become aware that our blessings of money are not stolen, lost, wasted, damaged, or destroyed. We are blessed to be loved by our children as He guides us in raising them.

That ‘IF’ in our lives becomes God’s miracle of promise that He speaks about repeatedly in the Bible. Peace comes from the Lord, and with that peace, we can lie down at night and not worry about what happened yesterday. We can sleep well not worrying about what is going to happen tomorrow.  Because with God, there is no ‘IF’.  With God all things are possible.

And with this wisdom of God’s love for us, we know that it’s not our 401K that gives us stability. It’s not the pistol we have in our closet we have for protection. And it certainly is not the fear we have living in this uncontrollable world, never knowing what its going to do next.

It is knowing that God, “…alone…” will keep us safe. I pray His wisdom, in healing and direction, blanket you in the peace you need to endure. In Jesus’ name…

Amen

Romans 5:8 “But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” ~CSB

How often do we tell others, “I got your back.” “Whatever you need, just let me know.” And a few days after we say that we get a text or call on our phone. We don’t answer. We may be busy or may not feel like talking. But for whatever reason, we have just made the statement we’ve said to them invalid. 

How about when we tell others we love them? “Love you, my sister.” “Love you brother.” But when those we have told this to are in need, we must ask ourselves, “Are we really there for them?” In our Christian walk, we must ‘mean’ what we say when we say it.  Let us stop throwing out words and statements just to sound or look good. Let us be about our Father’s business and be genuine to others when we speak.

The Word says in Proverbs 18:21 that the power of life and death are in the tongue.  The Word also says in 1 John 4:16 that “God is love…”  So, when we speak from our hearts and tell someone we love them and we are there for them, the power of love, that is God, will pass the seed of His healing power and direction to them, but we must ‘mean’ it.

After we practice ‘meaning’ what we say, we must ‘know’ without a doubt how much God loves us. If we knew how powerful His Agape love is for us, this knowledge would overpower and bring submission to our desires to worry, stress and quit in our times of trial.

Romans 5:8 tells us that God proved His love, by the sacrificing of His Son.  That action of Christ on the cross caused a ripple effect that not only saved those in His time, but for us as well. All believers! God looked passed all of us being sinners, enemies, and destroyers of His will for our lives, and provided a chance for all of us to have salvation. Because of our transgressions, we deserved all that pain and suffering. But because God had other plans for us, because He loves us so much, Jesus took our place.

After we start meaning what we say and develop the awareness in the knowledge of how much God loves us, we must now live like we know.  We must represent that love from above.  If our Father in heaven could put His Son in the position of torture and death for us, we surely can be as godly as we can in the face of any works of the devil in this world.

In the face of anger, we must show peace. In the face of confrontation, we must show a calm path to solution. And in the face of hate, we must show love. And that should become easier, in time, for Christians because, “God is Love…”  We represent the Most High, and we must become what He is. It is time to ‘Mean’, ‘Know’ and ‘Live’.  Because we are all a part of God’s control on this earth. Let us, let Him…use us.

May God continue to bless and keep you in His will in Jesus’ name,
 
Amen