Pearls of Wisdom

God’s Word is full of Him, Who is Wisdom. Jesus is spoken of as the Wisdom of God. In the Bible the book of Proverbs is a definite book of wisdom, which is to be studied. This page is dedicated to bringing the wisdom of God’s Word to you so that you may find daily wisdom for your own life.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Man Does Not Live By Bread Alone

The very first temptation that the devil presented to Jesus in the wilderness concerned what we live by. Jesus was hungry. His flesh was more than likely crying out to be fed, even though he had been fasting for 40 days, and hunger leaves after a certain period of time. His body was still tempted, or it would not have been a temptation. He had a choice. He could either satisfy His flesh or yield to His spirit. Jesus made a very clear statement to the devil for him to hear and for us to hear. This is the statement: “It is written, MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDETH OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD” (Matthew 4:4). He was referring to Deuteronomy 8:3 in the Old Testament.

We are sustained by the Word of God. It is what gives us life. It is the very lifeblood of our being. I truly believe that we are living in the time on this earth when only those who stand firmly on the solid foundation of God’s Word are going to make it. There is no other solid foundation. God told us in His Word that everything that could be shaken will be shaken. He told us that everything will pass away, but His Word will still be standing firmly. All else shall pass away. Only God’s Word will be left. And those who are standing on that Word will be left firmly standing, not clinging on “for dear life.”

The Word of God breathes with the life of God. The life of God sustains our physical body. That life comes into the critical situations in our existence to infuse those situations with the vibrancy of God’s very being. God is the source of life. He is the One Who makes things live. Now isn’t that a profound statement! But I ask you as a child of God: Are you living on the Word of God? Or are you living from day to day on what this meager world has to offer to you? Don’t give me your “pat” answers. Search your heart. Are you willing to let everything else go but the Word and depend on it? What if you are placed in that situation? Will you be able to make it? I’m not talking about being killed. I am talking about living in the day-to-day world, going to work, taking care of the family, knowing that you will have food to eat and clothes on your body and no worries about tomorrow. Can you truly answer that the Word is your source? Can you say that God is your source?

I have been doing much thinking lately about my source in this world. Am I really depending on God the way I talk? Or is it just “talk”? I believe it is time to do some check-ups. I believe we need to get very serious with the Lord and ask the Holy Spirit to show us where we need our foundation “firmed up.” For those of us who live by the Word of God, we must keep our faith muscles toned all the time. Lack of exercise causes them to become flabby.

How much time are you spending with the Lord and His Word? Have you allowed the pressures of this present world to squeeze out time with the One Who loves you the most? I don’t know about you, but I am doing some fresh evaluations of my life with the Lord. I know there is great room for improvement. It is my determined purpose to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Until we as individuals get past this first temptation, we cannot overcome any other temptations. Every temptation has at its root one goal: to steal the Word of God from our lives. In the Parable of the Sower in Mark 4 we see the various ways that satan tempts us to keep the Word of God from producing results in our lives. Lack of Word power weakens us in the battles of life. It is the Word that brings strength and vibrancy into our lives. Without the power of the Word we will fail every time. The Word is God’s gift to us while we are here on this earth. The Holy Spirit has been given to us to make that Word come alive with the power of God. Without the Spirit and the Word, we will not make it in the days that are ahead of us.

We all need to take notice of those things that keep us away from the Word. I leave you with thoughts to ponder today over your own life. Take inventory. Here are the things which steal: trouble, persecution, cares, anxieties, and distractions of the world, offense, the deceitfulness of riches (love of money, not money itself), lust for other things. Do some of these sound familiar? There is a cure. It is called the Word cure. It is time to start taking a big dose every day. There is no danger of ever overdosing. Get out your Bible and start eating.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Where Have You Been?

Have you ever gone out to shop and been gone longer than you thought you would be? When you came home, your spouse said to you: “Where have you been?" They weren’t asking you where you had been shopping. They were asking you why you were gone so long. There are times when God asks us that question. We left our place of prayer and came back weeks later or days later. “Where have you been?” He asks you. We always have a reply, don’t we? "I was tired." "I had too much to do." "I had to work late." "I can’t get up early." "Everyone was taking a slice of my time and I had none left for You." "There is not enough of me to go around." "I want to be with You Lord, but I don’t have time." Every one of these reasons are legitimate, but not profitable.

Let’s take a look at a very familiar scripture passage about time.

Ephesians 5:14-16
Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

It appears from these scripture verses that we are as foolish people who sleep or are dead when we don’t redeem our time. When we do arise to the fullness of our place in Christ, taking advantage of every opportunity of using our time wisely, the Light of Christ shines on our day, guiding us away from darkness. When we look at this word “redeem” in the Strong’s Concordance, we see that it means: To buy up. Figuratively, it means: to rescue from loss (improve opportunity). What I am perceiving from this word “redeem” is that we must always be watching to improve our use of time, so that we don’t lose opportunities.

Time is a commodity which God has given us to use while we are here on this earth. We always think of being good stewards of our finances, but what about being good stewards of our time? I know what you are thinking. You are thinking the same thing I am thinking. “I do the best I can do, but there is so much to do.” I truly believe that satan has deceived us into thinking that we will not accomplish what we have on our agenda for the day if we take too much time in prayer and praise and worship.

We all have the same dilemma. We all have the same choices. As I am seeing it now, in the time period that we all are iliving in, without prayer and time spent with God, we are going to fall flat on our faces. We need the wisdom of God to direct everything we do. We even need His wisdom to know what route to take to work in the morning.

We need God’s wisdom to know how to pray, what to pray and when to pray. Prayer is not just a closet mentality. It is to be an all-day-long mentality. Prayer helps us to know what to expend our energies on. There are low priorities and there are high priorities. If we waste all of our time and energy on the low priorities in our lives, there is a power drain, and we never accomplish what God has designed for us to do. Time spent with the Lord is the most valuable use of our energy. He will set the day for us and direct us to those things that are important. Sometimes, what we think is important can wait until another day.

Here is a direction for each one of us. Let’s make a quality decision that we are giving God our time each day, all 24 hours of it. As we shower, as we put on our makeup, as we shave, as we dress, as we eat our meals, as we do our jobs, as we shop, let’s purpose to talk to the Father about everything. What do you want me to do, Lord, about this situation? How should I handle this? Should I talk with that person?

Satan has set up power drains of our energy during the day. God has orchestrated tapping into THE POWER SUPPLY during the day. He is the Director. Let’s stop trying to take His place by our determination to get everything done on OUR AGENDA. He has an AGENDA, and it may not match ours. His agenda will become ours as we start our day with Him, continue our day with Him and end our day with Him.

Just a little side note here. I have been guilty recently of doing things “on my own.” Since I have turned around and given God my time, it is absolutely remarkable how much energy I have and how much time I have left in the day to do what I had planned to do. When we give God our time, He Who is a God of increase, increases our time available because He helps us to do things in a shorter span of time than normally required. He is a God of multiplication and increase. You want increase in the time you have; give it to God. He will multiply it.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The Light Power Of God

According to Colossians 1, we live in the light of God. Jesus told us that we are the light of the world just as He is the Light of the world.

First, let’s look at 2 Corinthians 4:4-7
The gospel is hidden to the lost “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Let’s look at this portion of scripture. God is telling us here, through Paul, that Christ, Who is the image of God, shines unto us or in us when we are born again. God commanded the Light (Himself, His power) to shine out of darkness when he created everything in Genesis 1. Light was the first command from His lips. He commanded His Presence, Himself into this earth. This same Light, God Himself, is now in us: It is treasure in our bodies, our earthen vessels. In Colossians 1:27, Paul tells us that Christ is in us, the hope of glory. Christ means Anointed One and His anointing, which is His power, Who is expressed on this earth in us as the Holy Spirit. He is the power of God operating in this earth now. The Father and Jesus are in heaven. Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father. The Holy Spirit is God. He is the power of God resident in us right now as God’s children. This power is God’s power, and it is now ours. We are containers of His power.

Then we go to the rich chapters in Ephesians where Paul talks about this power of God. In Ephesians 1:17-23 he prays that we will be given God’s Spirit of wisdom and understanding and have the eyes of our spirits opened or flooded with light. Then he lists all the things that we will see as we ask God to flood us with His light. We will see and understand the mighty power of God which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead. That same resurrection power, that great power, is in us and for us who believe. We are told that this same power is in us as God’s children.

We go Ephesians 3:14-21 and once again Paul is praying a prayer for all of us who are believers in Christ Jesus. He asks the Father to strengthen us with His power in our inner man by the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. Then He talks about Christ (The Anointed One and His anointing) dwelling in us by faith. He prays for us to be rooted deep in love (the power of God) so that we can understand the immensity of His Love (power) in us. As a consequence of being flooded with God’s Love, Light, Life—as a consequence of His power that is at work in us, He (God, Life, Love, Light, the Word) will be able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think and carry out His purposes on this earth.

I love the way Ephesians 3:20,21 reads in the Amplified Bible. Listen to it.
“Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]----
To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen (so be it).”

If you are born again, if you have accepted Jesus as your Savior and Lord, His Power is resident in you as His Love, His Light, His Life. He wants to be able to release His power in you to benefit you and others. There are many people you and I meet every day who need the power of God to be released out of us to deliver them into the loving arms of their heavenly Father, so that He can change their lives to days of heaven on earth. He wants to do the same for us. Let’s not forget that He wants to do it for you and me as much as He wants to do it for those we see every day in our walk of life.

Speak, think on, focus on these scriptures that I have given you. Let them become a part of you. God wants to change your life and use you to change the lives of others. It only happens through the power of His Spirit Who dwells in you. He is Love. He is Life. He is Light. People can actually see the results of His power. They sense that He loves them. His Life power produces results in their lives. His Light power can literally be seen in this earthly realm. We call it The Glory. It is the visible manifestation of His Presence, of His power.

Come into the FULLNESS of HIS PRESENCE. HIS POWER IS INSIDE US AND AVAILABLE TO US BECAUSE HE HAS COME TO DWELL IN US FOREVER.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Let the Weak Say I Am Strong

Joel 3:10b tells us: “…let the weak say, I am strong.”

In fact, Paul told us in his writings that he gloried in his infirmities (inabilities to produce results because of his flesh). How could he make such a statement? Here is the reason he could say that: The strength and power of Christ, the Anointed One and His anointing, was resting upon him for when he is weak, then he is strong.

Let’s focus on God’s power today. Most people, including Christians, don’t know the truth of the power of God. First of all, let’s settle something right now. God’s power is not destructive. His power, even though it is total power, is for our good. His power took care of the works of the devil, stripped the demons of their power and rendered satan powerless. That’s power!

Where do we as God’s children stand, concerning this power? His power is in us. What is His power? We can’t wrap our fingers around it and hold it. We can’t see it (but we do see the results of it). Let’s walk through the Word of God and see what He has to say about His power.

God is light. God is life. God is love. God is the Word. The Word is God. God Himself is Light. He spoke Himself into existence in the book of Genesis when he said: “Light (in Me) be!” He was not talking about the shining of the sun or stars. They were not spoken into being until several days later. When He spoke the first time, He released Himself into this earth. Caution: Do not try to understand this with your brain. It will go “tilt.” Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to truth to you. I know the truth of this and am walking in it. I want you to walk in it.

When He created Adam, God breathed the breath of life (His Presence, His Light, His Love, His Life) into Adam. Adam had God inside Him; therefore, He had the power (life, light, love) of God inside Him. God’s Life is pure power. God’s Light is pure power. God’s Love is pure power. He was in Adam. Adam disconnected from the power source of God and reconnected to satan, God’s enemy. The Light went out. The power was gone. It is like the power is gone when you disconnect an electrical appliance from the electrical socket. It won’t work because there is no power going into it to cause it to work.

When Jesus came, He was the Word made flesh (John 1:1,14). God sent His Word (Psalms 107:20). When Jesus came, He was the power of God; He brought the power back. Before the cross, He was the only one in a flesh and blood body carrying the power. BUT, when He died and arose from the dead, He released the power of God on this earth and made it available for anyone who would accept what He did and acknowledge Him as Savior and Lord over their lives.

There has been a problem. Nobody recognizes the power they carry. And even if they have recognized it, they didn’t know how to use it. I have seen the power of God abused and used as a form of control over others. I am sure that if you have lived long enough as a Christian, you have seen it yourself. Perhaps you have been one of those who used the power of God to control others. We all need the Holy Spirit to do a daily examination to check for any misuse of power, particularly as we are used more and more to be conduits of His power for others.

The secret to being used of God and allowing His power to flow is YIELDING! We must yield our lives entirely to God, Who by the power of the Holy Spirit flows in us and through us for the benefit of ourselves and others. His power heals, delivers, sets free, annihilates debt and poverty, removes burdens and destroys yokes of bondage in our lives. There is no power like God’s power. Think of the work lasers are doing now. They are concentrated light power to do marvelous things. They are nothing, compared to God’s power.

God’s power is expressed as Love, never desiring bad things to happen to people. There is nothing like God’s love power. It will turn the most wicked person to God. It will melt the hearts of those who are cold and indifferent. You see, it’s a power force that goes in and does work on the inside of man and results are produced on the outside. Healing occurs from the inside out. Prosperity happens inside before it is expressed in outward results. We are spirit beings. Everything must happen from the inside out. That is why some people have such a difficulty receiving results. They are pressing hard on the outside to get something to happen, and it never will. When we stop focusing on getting results, such as healing, bills paid, children saved, marriages healed, and start focusing on Jesus, His power inside us is activated to work on our behalf. The Holy Spirit is released to heal, save, deliver, set free and prosper people.

We will discuss the scriptures tomorrow regarding the power of God that is in us. You will have to meditate on those scriptures over and over and over until the truth of God, the truth of His power, the truth of His Love, Life, and Light become the Truth of your life.

Monday, January 12, 2009

The Lord Is My Shepherd

Psalm 23 has been used so much by God’s people. Preachers quote it at funerals. Children learn it in Sunday School. Adults speak it from memory. This is such a familiar passage of scripture. Sometimes familiarity can be an enemy to the truth of God’s Word. What a wealth of revelation concerning God’s provision is contained in this one short Psalm. This Psalm is all about the great abundant provision our Heavenly Father has set before us while we are here on this earth. He is our Provider. He does take care of us, and not in a haphazard way, I might add.

The very first line of Psalm 23 sets us up for the theme of the whole Psalm. The Lord is my Shepherd. In other words, the Lord is the One Who takes complete care of us. What does a shepherd do? The simple answer would be this: He takes care of the sheep. Oh, really! What does that care involve?

According to the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary, a shepherd is someone who tends, feeds and guards the sheep in the pasture. God is the great Shepherd Who leads, protects and governs His people and provides for their welfare.

Actually Psalm 23 spells out what the Lord does for us. The Amplified Translation says that the Lord is my Shepherd to feed, guide and shield me. He feeds me with His Word; He guides me with His Presence. He shields me from the wicked one, satan. In Ephesians 6, we are instructed to take our shield of faith, which is provided by the Lord, and quench all the fiery darts (or negative thoughts) of the wicked. Repeatedly in the scripture God is spoken of as our shield and protector.

In John 1 God is the Word. He is the Word Who feeds us. He sent His Word to heal us and deliver us from destruction (Psalm 107:20). We have His written word here before us. We have Jesus, the Word made flesh, Who dwelt among us. We have the Holy Spirit to interpret the written word. He brings light, understanding to God’s Word. This Word of God sustains us and strengthens us and teaches us how to live the victorious life in the Kingdom of God while we are here on this earth.

The Holy Spirit guides us. In fact, He lives inside us. He has made our bodies His Holy Temple. He dwells in us to direct our lives, to keep us in God’s plan designed for our lives. He is our everything. He comforts us. He strengthens us. He directs us. He gives us advice. He helps us. He prays with us and for us. He shows us things to come. He reveals the Kingdom of God to us and helps us to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.

God is our shield. He stands between us and satan. He is our buffer where the demonic forces are concerned. He is the One Who defends us. A warrior knows that his shield can be just as important as his weapon. In the modern world, countries have anti-missile systems, which are their shields. God is our “anti-missile” system to deflect the missiles of our enemy. Sometimes we forget this important aspect of our relationship with the Lord. He does protect us.

As a result of God’s feeding, guiding and protecting, we shall not lack or want for any good thing. There is no lack when God is on the scene. He supplies all that we need. His supply line never runs out. There is always an abundance. There is always plenty. He is our Provider.

Today, meditate on this theme: God is my Provider. He never leaves me or forsakes me. He will never let me down if I allow Him to be my Shepherd. He is my Shepherd.

Friday, January 02, 2009

Love Strong

I would like to share with you something that the Lord spoke to me in the last week of 2008. I shared it with my partners in our partner letter. I would like to share it with you as well. This is a direct quote from Him. “When you love strong, you will live long.” That is somewhat different than the phrase we have all heard: Live long and live strong.

I truly believe that in 2009 the Love of God is what will carry us above the waves of despair and heartache that the world will be experiencing. God’s Love is the power source of His Kingdom. It is what lights the whole Kingdom of God. It is what gives life to everything and everyone. God is Love; therefore, Love is the very essence or being of God. That Love carries God’s power for us to be victorious in every aspect of our lives. Love Himself is the answer to our prayers; He is the Healer; He is the Provider; He is our Victory; He is our Success; He is all we need. Love, God’s Love, which we call Agapé Love is the undergirding of our lives. He is the very life source of all we need. He will cast out our fears. He will give us confidence. He is the source of our faith, which will produce what we need. Love Himself is living in you and me. Everything God is, is living in us. The very power of God is ours today and every day, all the time, every minute.

When we purpose to love God’s way, we love whether we feel like it or not, whether we are yelled at or spoken to kindly, whether we are appreciated or not appreciated, whether anyone cares or not. We have a Savior Who cares, and because of Him, we care. Say a kind word to that harried clerk at the department store. Smile at those who look stressed. Yield the parking spot to the one who is determined to beat you to it. Open doors for others.

In Romans 5:5 we are told that God’s love is shed abroad, poured forth in our hearts. That love of God which is poured forth has a purpose. It is to bless us and those around us. His love is so powerful that people will respond to it. It is a drawing force that no one can withstand, regardless of how hard and calloused they are. Love draws like a magnet.

This new year of 2009, let’s purpose to LOVE STRONG! As you love strong, you will live long. God’s Love is the source of long life. I pray the fullness of Christ’s Love in your spirits, souls, bodies, relationships and finances. The fullness of God is fullness of His Love in every part of your lives. That is my prayer for you in the new year.

FULLNESS OF AGAPÉ LOVE IN YOU, FOR YOU, AND POURED FORTH FOR THE WORLD!!!!!!!!