Sometimes i Can't stop Praising The Lord! Nothing tugs at my heart more than being in God's Presence and i today while i was studying I was praying for Guidance and this came song came to mind...
MARVIN SAPP is one of my Favorite Inspiration Artists! I can't get enough of this dude. I really can't. I started listening to him during my First Year in Medical School and his lyrics are Definitely inspired by the HOLY SPIRIT. I pray that you will enjoy this song. I pray that it touches you and that you invite the Holy Spirit to come into your life so that he can bless you Tremendously.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Proverbs SERIES: Proverbs 2
So.. I wasn't going to put the whole chapter up here, but as i read it i couldn't help it...
Have you ever been in a place in your life where you didn't know WHAT to do? I mean you have choices on both sides of you, yet it feels like prison because you are torn? Well, that has happened to me a couple of times in my life. In fact, I know it happens to all of us. What are we to do? How do we make the BEST decision?
Well, Chapter 2 of Proverbs talks about making decisions WISELY instead of them just being Knowleged-based. What's the difference btw Knowledge and Wisdom? Arent they the same? Well.. the answer is No. Knowledge can be TAUGHT. As in a class room or at home with your parents. Wisdom is ENDOWED upon somebody. It gives the person an uncanny ability to "see" how things will turn out if they make certain choices.
The Wisest people i have ever met were older individuals who lived a long productive life. But that is not the Wisdom Solomon is talking about. Solomon in this chapter focuses on Wisdom that will ensure your place and entry into the KINGDOM. He is talking about wisdom that will help you AVOID the Adversary. The Devil. That is True Wisdom.
Many times in our life, we are bombarded with questions. With options... "what to buy?" "what to wear" "should i be honest" "How much can i get away with without being caught". Solomon reminds us that our MINDS can play tricks on us, yet the WISDOM and STATUES of the Lord are FIRM and STEADY.
I hope you enjoy this chapter. I this, in know you will find Wisdom for Today. :)
Proverbs 2
1 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,
3 and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the LORD gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He holds victory in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8 for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.
9 Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair—every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.
12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
from men whose words are perverse,
13 who leave the straight paths
to walk in dark ways,
14 who delight in doing wrong
and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
15 whose paths are crooked
and who are devious in their ways.
16 It will save you also from the adulteress,
from the wayward wife with her seductive words,
17 who has left the partner of her youth
and ignored the covenant she made before God. [a]
18 For her house leads down to death
and her paths to the spirits of the dead.
19 None who go to her return
or attain the paths of life.
20 Thus you will walk in the ways of good men
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will live in the land,
and the blameless will remain in it;
22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the unfaithful will be torn from it.
Have you ever been in a place in your life where you didn't know WHAT to do? I mean you have choices on both sides of you, yet it feels like prison because you are torn? Well, that has happened to me a couple of times in my life. In fact, I know it happens to all of us. What are we to do? How do we make the BEST decision?
Well, Chapter 2 of Proverbs talks about making decisions WISELY instead of them just being Knowleged-based. What's the difference btw Knowledge and Wisdom? Arent they the same? Well.. the answer is No. Knowledge can be TAUGHT. As in a class room or at home with your parents. Wisdom is ENDOWED upon somebody. It gives the person an uncanny ability to "see" how things will turn out if they make certain choices.
The Wisest people i have ever met were older individuals who lived a long productive life. But that is not the Wisdom Solomon is talking about. Solomon in this chapter focuses on Wisdom that will ensure your place and entry into the KINGDOM. He is talking about wisdom that will help you AVOID the Adversary. The Devil. That is True Wisdom.
Many times in our life, we are bombarded with questions. With options... "what to buy?" "what to wear" "should i be honest" "How much can i get away with without being caught". Solomon reminds us that our MINDS can play tricks on us, yet the WISDOM and STATUES of the Lord are FIRM and STEADY.
I hope you enjoy this chapter. I this, in know you will find Wisdom for Today. :)
Proverbs 2
1 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,
3 and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the LORD gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He holds victory in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8 for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.
9 Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair—every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.
12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
from men whose words are perverse,
13 who leave the straight paths
to walk in dark ways,
14 who delight in doing wrong
and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
15 whose paths are crooked
and who are devious in their ways.
16 It will save you also from the adulteress,
from the wayward wife with her seductive words,
17 who has left the partner of her youth
and ignored the covenant she made before God. [a]
18 For her house leads down to death
and her paths to the spirits of the dead.
19 None who go to her return
or attain the paths of life.
20 Thus you will walk in the ways of good men
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will live in the land,
and the blameless will remain in it;
22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the unfaithful will be torn from it.
So Costly—and Yet Free
So Costly—and Yet Free
By the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. Rom. 5:18.
Money cannot buy it, intellect cannot grasp it, power cannot command it; but to all who will accept it, God’s glorious grace is freely given. But men may feel their need, and, renouncing all self-dependence, accept salvation as a gift. Those who enter heaven will not scale its walls by their own righteousness, nor will its gates be opened to them for costly offerings of gold or silver, but they will gain an entrance to the many mansions of the Father’s house through the merits of the cross of Christ.
For sinful men, the highest consolation, the greatest cause of rejoicing, is that Heaven has given Jesus to be the sinner’s Saviour. . . . He offered to go over the ground where Adam stumbled and fell; to meet the tempter on the field of battle, and conquer him in man’s behalf. Behold Him in the wilderness of temptation. Forty days and forty nights He fasted, enduring the fiercest assaults of the powers of darkness. He trod the “winepress alone; and of the people there was none with” Him (Isa. 63:3). It was not for Himself, but that He might break the chain that held the human race in slavery to Satan.
As Christ in His humanity sought strength from His Father, that He might be enabled to endure trial and temptation, so are we to do. We are to follow the example of the sinless Son of God. Daily we need help and grace and power from the Source of all power. We are to cast our helpless souls upon the One who is ready to help us in every time of need. Too often we forget the Lord. Self gives way to impulse, and we lose the victories that we should gain.
If we are overcome let us not delay to repent, and to accept the pardon that will place us on vantage ground. If we repent and believe, the cleansing power from God will be ours. His saving grace is freely offered. His pardon is given to all who will receive it. . . . Over every sinner that repents the angels of God rejoice with songs of joy. Not one sinner need be lost. Full and free is the gift of saving grace.
From Devotional: Our Father Cares, pp. 209, 210.
By the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. Rom. 5:18.
Money cannot buy it, intellect cannot grasp it, power cannot command it; but to all who will accept it, God’s glorious grace is freely given. But men may feel their need, and, renouncing all self-dependence, accept salvation as a gift. Those who enter heaven will not scale its walls by their own righteousness, nor will its gates be opened to them for costly offerings of gold or silver, but they will gain an entrance to the many mansions of the Father’s house through the merits of the cross of Christ.
For sinful men, the highest consolation, the greatest cause of rejoicing, is that Heaven has given Jesus to be the sinner’s Saviour. . . . He offered to go over the ground where Adam stumbled and fell; to meet the tempter on the field of battle, and conquer him in man’s behalf. Behold Him in the wilderness of temptation. Forty days and forty nights He fasted, enduring the fiercest assaults of the powers of darkness. He trod the “winepress alone; and of the people there was none with” Him (Isa. 63:3). It was not for Himself, but that He might break the chain that held the human race in slavery to Satan.
As Christ in His humanity sought strength from His Father, that He might be enabled to endure trial and temptation, so are we to do. We are to follow the example of the sinless Son of God. Daily we need help and grace and power from the Source of all power. We are to cast our helpless souls upon the One who is ready to help us in every time of need. Too often we forget the Lord. Self gives way to impulse, and we lose the victories that we should gain.
If we are overcome let us not delay to repent, and to accept the pardon that will place us on vantage ground. If we repent and believe, the cleansing power from God will be ours. His saving grace is freely offered. His pardon is given to all who will receive it. . . . Over every sinner that repents the angels of God rejoice with songs of joy. Not one sinner need be lost. Full and free is the gift of saving grace.
From Devotional: Our Father Cares, pp. 209, 210.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
PROVERBS SERIES: Proverbs 1
I was in church today, (10/18/08), and i decided to start a Blogg Series on one of my Favorite books in the bible. PROVERBS. i'll try to write at least one a day, but i may forget so since i'm sure only a few people read my blogg, i won't be disappointing people. Because today is the 18th, i wanted to write something from Proverbs 18, but then i decided that since i'm not the best at writing on my blogg everyday i should just start from the Beginning:
Before i choose a text and expound on it, lets look at a Brieg history of this book.
Proverbs was written btw 1000 and 700 BC by the Israelite King Solomon (majority) and some other Kings in the Region. This book focuses on the beauty and the value that is found in gaining wisdom with an emphasis on God's virtues and commands that were given to us as christians to follow. Solomon is recorded as being the Richest, and the Wisest Person that ever lived. During his Reign in Israel, Solomon build the Temple which King David (his father) so wanted so longingly to build. Solomon's reign was a period of Peace and Harmony and of progress of the Israelite Nation.
*Note, I'm no teacher or theologian, I just love reading the word, and i hope that you will comment and let me know what you think. I'm open to thoughts and would love to hear what you have to say.*
Proverbs 1:
1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2 for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight;
3 for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair;
4 for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—
6 for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Warning Against Enticement
8 Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
9 They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them.
11 If they say, Come along with us; let's lie in wait for someone's blood, let's waylay some harmless soul;
12 let's swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
13 we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder;
14 throw in your lot with us, and we will share a common purse—
15 my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on theirpaths;
16 for their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shedblood.
17 How useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds!
18 These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves!
19 Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it.
Warning Against Rejecting Wisdom
20 Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares;
21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech:
22 How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate
knowledge?
23 If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you.
24 But since you rejected me when I called and no-one gave heed when I stretched out my hand,
25 since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke,
26 I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you—
27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble
overwhelm you.
28 Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me.
29 Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD,
30 since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke,
31 they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.
As soon as i read these texts, I am in awe of the sound advice that Solomon is saying. However, the text that stands out to me is verse 7. This i because sooo Many people think that good Grades, a great job, or position is what's really important. People steal, lie, cheat, kill,... do all crazy stuff to be more Knowledgeable or Seem like they have it ALL IN-THE-BAG. *shrugg* maybe its just me, but i swear people love tooting thier own horns and try to throw thier Degree's in people's faces. Or if not education, then Money!
Why is that? What is the real importance of Money or education or Position?
Here, Solomon, the wealthiest person that ever lived, reminds us that, Position, Money, Fame, what-eva it may be is not as important as Gaining WISDOM from the Lord. This is the KEY to finding fulfillment on Earth. Following God's Principles and walking day by day is the way to live a harmonious and sound life.
The other day, i saw one of Oprah's Book Club selections, "A New Earth". The book tries to be prophetic and full of wisdom. Yet, it lacks in one major thing. IT FOCUSED ON SELF ACTUALIZATION. The main purpose, and the trend for the NEW AGE ERA in general, is to prove that SELF has all the answers and we are naturally good people. We must listen to our INNER-BEING for guidance.
How wrong! The Bible tells us the TRUE wisdom and TRUE understanding comes from the Lord. Period. It's important to understand this point. As we dive deeper into Proverbs, i hope you will understand that God holds the beginning and end of all knowledge. This is an awesome trait for a Supernatural Being to have. Especially since God invites us to Tabernacle with him. He wants to give this to us in abundance. All we have to do is ask. Matthew 7:7
Before i choose a text and expound on it, lets look at a Brieg history of this book.
Proverbs was written btw 1000 and 700 BC by the Israelite King Solomon (majority) and some other Kings in the Region. This book focuses on the beauty and the value that is found in gaining wisdom with an emphasis on God's virtues and commands that were given to us as christians to follow. Solomon is recorded as being the Richest, and the Wisest Person that ever lived. During his Reign in Israel, Solomon build the Temple which King David (his father) so wanted so longingly to build. Solomon's reign was a period of Peace and Harmony and of progress of the Israelite Nation.
*Note, I'm no teacher or theologian, I just love reading the word, and i hope that you will comment and let me know what you think. I'm open to thoughts and would love to hear what you have to say.*
Proverbs 1:
1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2 for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight;
3 for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair;
4 for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—
6 for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Warning Against Enticement
8 Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
9 They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them.
11 If they say, Come along with us; let's lie in wait for someone's blood, let's waylay some harmless soul;
12 let's swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
13 we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder;
14 throw in your lot with us, and we will share a common purse—
15 my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on theirpaths;
16 for their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shedblood.
17 How useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds!
18 These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves!
19 Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it.
Warning Against Rejecting Wisdom
20 Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares;
21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech:
22 How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate
knowledge?
23 If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you.
24 But since you rejected me when I called and no-one gave heed when I stretched out my hand,
25 since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke,
26 I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you—
27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble
overwhelm you.
28 Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me.
29 Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD,
30 since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke,
31 they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.
As soon as i read these texts, I am in awe of the sound advice that Solomon is saying. However, the text that stands out to me is verse 7. This i because sooo Many people think that good Grades, a great job, or position is what's really important. People steal, lie, cheat, kill,... do all crazy stuff to be more Knowledgeable or Seem like they have it ALL IN-THE-BAG. *shrugg* maybe its just me, but i swear people love tooting thier own horns and try to throw thier Degree's in people's faces. Or if not education, then Money!
Why is that? What is the real importance of Money or education or Position?
Here, Solomon, the wealthiest person that ever lived, reminds us that, Position, Money, Fame, what-eva it may be is not as important as Gaining WISDOM from the Lord. This is the KEY to finding fulfillment on Earth. Following God's Principles and walking day by day is the way to live a harmonious and sound life.
The other day, i saw one of Oprah's Book Club selections, "A New Earth". The book tries to be prophetic and full of wisdom. Yet, it lacks in one major thing. IT FOCUSED ON SELF ACTUALIZATION. The main purpose, and the trend for the NEW AGE ERA in general, is to prove that SELF has all the answers and we are naturally good people. We must listen to our INNER-BEING for guidance.
How wrong! The Bible tells us the TRUE wisdom and TRUE understanding comes from the Lord. Period. It's important to understand this point. As we dive deeper into Proverbs, i hope you will understand that God holds the beginning and end of all knowledge. This is an awesome trait for a Supernatural Being to have. Especially since God invites us to Tabernacle with him. He wants to give this to us in abundance. All we have to do is ask. Matthew 7:7
