It Is Well

Though the thunder has rolled across the years, sometimes shaking me to the core, and lightening has struck my house a few times, though the storm has pounded in my head and outside circumstances have nearly ripped me apart, i can say with all sincerity, through it all, Jesus has been my close companion. i have come to such a place of surety which is so necessary to all people, that i know the Lord is with me and i shall never be left needing more than Jesus. It is well with my soul, regardless of all the madness which surrounds me, regardless of all the insanity i have perpetrated upon myself through wrong expectations, poor choices, and twisted thinking, regardless of all that, it is well with my soul.

Alone in a dark room at age 19, too high to realize i needed a Savior, regardless of my inebriation, i met Jesus. That night, for some reason it seemed like a good idea to ask the very Jesus i hated and didn’t believe in, to come into my life and take over. i didn’t plan it, i didn’t hope for it, i didn’t particularly believe it, it was just time and so i called on His name. Many many years have followed and i’ve had to choose Christ again and again, sometimes every morning, all day, and again at night. i was told countless times Jesus has got you but i really don’t think i believed it like i thought i believed it.
The days have come and gone like the seasons, and through it all, my eyes have been on Jesus. i can honestly say it is well with me, even when my eyes can’t see, it is well with my soul.

In Mark6, Herod had his morality challenged by John the Baptist. It irked Herod so much that anyone would have the nerve to challenge him, he had John arrested and put in prison. Now don’t you know, as John sat in a dark place behind bars, he was probably a bit dismayed. Scripture doesn’t say, but my guess is that John knew his fate to some degree and found comfort in the arms of the Lord whom he served to the end. He knew, regardless of what men would do, it was well with his soul.

In Acts12, we read that James, the half brother of Jesus had been put to the sword. About the same time they rolled Peter up and threw him in prison also. To top it off, not only was Peter in jail, but was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and there were even sentries in front of the door as further security, guarding the guards who were guarding Peter. Reading Acts 12, it’s easy to think he was probably cold, very uncomfortable, and more than a little hungry and thirsty. If he was, i can also understand how he would also be discouraged. But he knew something. He knew Jesus. He knew the Lord had grace for him and that His love was higher than any mountain and deeper than any sea. He knew God gives light in the darkness and restores every heart that is broken, and even in the worst places it was well with him, no matter what men would decide to do with him.

The Lord has poured out grace and brought us out of darkness and fills us with peace. He is our help in time of need and we can’t help but sing, for He is faithful, and all His promises are yes and amen. He pulls our lives from the ashes and sets the captives free, whomsoever would be free. He is faithful forever. It is well with my soul.
In Acts16 we read that Paul cast an evil spirit out of a woman. Her pimp, which is about all her master amounted to, complained and the multitude rose up against them. The magistrates grabbed them up, had Paul and his team thoroughly beaten and then threw them into prison, giving a jailer the responsibility to oversee them. Then in Acts16:25 it reads, “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” Why did they sing when everything about their circumstances screamed at them as to the unfairness of their circumstances, demanding an answer as to where was God? Why? Because they knew whom they served, that the Lord was with them, would never leave them, and it was well with their souls.

No other name is greater than the name of Jesus. We can rethink it all, re-decide our re-decisions, but the bottom line is Jesus. He has broken the power of sin and darkness, He shakes the whole earth with righteous thunder, leaving us breathless in awe and wonder, it is Jesus and His amazing grace and unfailing love. He took your place and carried the cross that should have been yours to carry, and brings your chaos back into order, that it would be well with your soul. There is no other after Jesus, He is sufficient, Lord of Lords, King of Kings, and prince of peace. Friends, after much deliberation within myself, after much searching and struggle, i can honestly say it is well with my soul. How about you? If you’d like to be able to say it is well with your soul, pray this with me, “Jesus. Forgive me my sins. Come into my life and take over Lord. i can’t do it anymore. i need you and i want it to be well with my soul. Let it be so, from now on and forever my God.” If you prayed that with me, friends you’ve got to know, those aren’t magic words, but the beginning of a new life walking with the Lord of Lords. They are words for you to use every morning and every night, for you to choose Jesus with everyday. You have everything to gain. i want you to know, like i know for myself, it is well with my soul. Come to the river, come home, taste and see that the Lord is good.

What do you think?
i’m Social Porter with Living In His Name Ministries.

Cornerstone

There is none beyond the name of Jesus. He alone is the focus and end point to all our thinking and breathing. There is not another way into the presence of God but by Jesus the door. There is not one who comes after Christ who supersedes all He is. Jesus was and is the last, the appointed one, Savior of all mankind for any who would come.

1 Peter2:6-8, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word….”

For those who may not know, a cornerstone was everything when building a structure in those days as well as today. The cornerstone needed to be the straightest of the straight and squarest of the square so that the rest of the builder would be built straight. The quality of the rest of the entire building was based on the quality of that cornerstone. And i’ve got to add….A building that leans will not endure. Jesus, the cornerstone is our standard by which we develop our character and standards, and there is not another who came after Him. Christ alone is King.

Too many people try to make Jesus conform to their lives, rather than making life changes which conform to Jesus. Churches sometimes spin the clear teachings of scriptures in order to have larger numbers, keep the people happy, keep them coming and keep them giving. If that is our attitude and operation model, then plainly put, Jesus is not our cornerstone and our lives are not built on Him.

Remember this: When we build our lives on Jesus, we will not be put to shame, and these days, shame keeps a lot of people crushed under the heel of darkness. When we work to build on Christ the solid rock, we will be established in our lives and, again, will not be shamed.

We may be rejected by people, but when we are built on Jesus, we will never be abandoned by God.
Believe this: Our trials and hardships are not a symbol of God’s rejection. No! That is called retributive theology, do good/get good, do bad/get bad… and by no means is that God’s heart.

Our identity is not found in the opinions of humanity. i think children and teenagers are exhausted at constantly being asked: How does that make you feel? So much of the news service makes a big deal about how people feel, and then they exploit feelings and public opinion in order to advance their agenda. God is far more interested in our faith than our feelings. Our state of being, our feelings, come and go on the wind, but our standing in Christ is made sure by the blood of Jesus.

Hear this: Never let your state define your standing. i’ll say that again: Never let your state define your standing. Think about that carefully.

Reuben Morgan explains that “When the earth shakes, we look to our feet and wonder what it is that we are standing on? When darkness seems to hide His face; In every high and stormy gale; Through the storm; My anchor holds”. It is a desire to place emphasis on Jesus and a prayer that people everywhere – regardless of circumstance – will be encouraged to find hope in Christ, the Cornerstone.”

There is not another whom Jesus paved the way for, any and all others fall short at His glorious feet, and all others are liars and pretenders to the throne of God. There is not “Jesus and another who is greater who came later”. Nope, only one Savior and there’s not another who came after. My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly trust in Jesus’ name. When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil. My anchor holds within the veil. When he shall come with trumpet sound, Oh may I then in Him be found. Dressed in His righteousness, alone, Faultless stand before the throne. Christ alone, Cornerstone. Weak made strong in the Savior’s love. Through the storm He is Lord, Lord of all.
Revelation17:14 says, “… for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

Isaiah the prophet spoke the word of the Lord saying, “ “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation.” He was speaking of Jesus. In Acts4 Peter aimed his words directly at the Jewish religious leaders, stating, “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone”.

In Eph2, again Paul speaks of Jesus as the cornerstone, saying, “You are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone”.
Jesus is the foundation of the Church as well as for the life of each believer. If Jesus is not the Son of God, if he did not die on the cross for our sins, if his resurrection from the dead is not evidence of the Father’s acceptance of his payment, if we do not gain access to Jesus’ cross and accomplishments through faith, and if the Holy Spirit was not sent to us to renew , strengthen and sustain us, then we have no reason for any hope at all, other than to look forward to suffering. The key here, once again, is that our hope and help are not based on the idea of Jesus or his cross, but on the actual, historical person of Jesus and the actual-historical cross upon which he hung.
Christ alone is the foundation of the Church as well as for the life of each believer. Jesus and no other is the cornerstone upon who hinges the redemption of the universe for any who would have it.

What do you think?
i’m Social Porter with Living In His Name Ministries.

Más que Conquistadores

Más que conquistadores
Incluso si parece que todo el mundo está en contra nuestra, incluso cuando nuestros ojos no ven nada más que nubes oscuras a nuestro alrededor, como creyentes, Dios está de nuestro lado y tenemos la fuerza para salir ganadores. Como creyentes, tenemos al Rey del Universo en nosotros, con nosotros y para nosotros, tenemos al Espíritu Santo delante de nosotros como una nube radiante y detrás de nosotros como una columna de fuego, tenemos la Palabra de Dios escrita, tenemos comunión con Jesús y los santos. Teniendo en cuenta esas gloriosas verdades, no encuentro una buena razón por la que debamos entrar en una batalla y perder.

Somos más que conquistadores, más que solo aquellos que ganan o dominan superando obstáculos u oposición. Más, no solo conquistadores, más que eso. Jesús fue más que un vencedor, por eso nosotros, Su pueblo, somos más porque Él es más. Porque Él es, nosotros somos. Porque lo hizo, podemos.

Rom 8:37 “Sin embargo, en todas estas cosas somos más que vencedores por medio de Aquel que nos amó”. En ese verso, “más que conquistadores” es la palabra griega “hupernikao”, “huper” que significa “sobre y por encima”, y “nikao” que significa “conquistar”. Dios nos ha hecho para ser personas que están por encima y por encima de la obtención de una victoria incomparable. ¡Más!

¿Qué tipo de personas crees que Dios cree que somos? En el museo Smithsonian, hay un delantal con una marca marrón sucia. Parece una mancha de chocolate y el delantal no vale mucho. Cuando sacaban al gran emancipador, Lincoln, de ese teatro, al pasar junto a una niña, la sangre le cayó en el delantal y de inmediato alguien dijo: “eso es sagrado para América, consíguelo”. ¡No hay nada que pueda comprar esa cosa que está marcada con sangre! Y quiero decirte, frente al mundo, la carne, el diablo y todo el infierno que si la sangre de Jesucristo está sobre ti, vales más que toda la riqueza en Los Bancos o cualquier otra cosa en el mundo. Eres precioso para Él. ¡MÁS!

Miremos el contraste de Romanos 7 vs.Romanos 8:
El capítulo 7 es un capítulo de tristeza, el capítulo 8 es un capítulo de gloria. El capítulo 7 es un capítulo de condenación, el capítulo 8 es un capítulo de emancipación. El capítulo 7 es una marcha fúnebre, el capítulo 8 es una marcha nupcial. El capítulo 7 está en la tumba, el capítulo 8 es un capítulo sobre el triunfo. El capítulo 7 es de paraíso perdido, el capítulo 8 es un capítulo de la liberación y deleite. El capítulo 7 es un capítulo de miseria y condena, el capítulo 8 es un alma liberada. El capítulo 7 es un capítulo sobre una persona centrada en sí misma, el capítulo 8 es un capítulo sobre la persona centrada en Cristo.

No solo conquistadores, sino “Más que vencedores”, y esa frase debe convertirse en parte de la identidad y autoimagen de todo cristiano. No somos gente derrotada, fracasada, ansiosa, confundida, aterrada o bajo el dominio de las tinieblas. En el versículo 37 dice: “En todas estas cosas …”, no hay área en tu vida en la que, como cristiano, se espere que seas derrotado. Todo significa todo, y ninguna parte de todo significa nada más que todo: la cantidad total o extensión. Es cierto que enfrentamos y enfrentaremos desafíos y dificultades, pero en (v37) “todas estas cosas”, somos más que vencedores y victoriosos. ¡Más! Nosotros, el pueblo de Dios, somos personas que han sido literalmente energizadas por el poder explosivo y dinámico de Dios y que afrontan la vida con un corazón valiente, un pueblo cuyo acento y gestos reflejan al Hijo de Dios “… con todo tu respirar, con todotu pensar y con todo tu sentir”(Mateo 22:37). ¡Portadores de luz! ¡Más!

Somos las personas que no solo somos conquistadores, no solo hemos vencido y estamos superando las ataduras del pecado, la adicción, el miedo y los malos hábitos, sino que también caminamos en el poder y la autoridad para traer el poder de los “dunamis” de Dios para otros (Dunamis:palabra griega para poder/dinamita), que ellos también estarían libres de la autoridad que ata a la humanidad al caos y la muerte. Vivimos nuestras vidas en “más”, no solo estando satisfechos de entrar por la puerta del cielo, sino de vivir la vida como hijos e hijas de Dios y prosperar en Cristo a través de la tribulación, la angustia, la persecución, el hambre, la desnudez, el peligro o espada. Super Conquistadores. ¡Más! No estamos adornados con opacidad, meros grises y marrones o colores apagados … los colores apagados del mundo … a través de Jesús estamos vestidos con MÁS, los azules brillantes, los dorados resplandecientes, los rojos deslumbrantes, los púrpuras reales, y verdes efervescentes, adorno hecho de la Luz de Dios. ¡Más! A través de Cristo, nos ha dado ojos que ven más allá del horizonte, oídos que oyen el mañana y bocas que pueden hablar el corazón de Dios a través de los continentes y el tiempo para cambiar el mundo.

En Jesús somos más que viudas, huérfanos y mendigos que apenas se arrastran por la vida. Vivimos una vida resucitada y empoderada a través de la fe del Hijo de Dios, que murió y se entregó a sí mismo por nosotros. ¡Somos más que conquistadores!

Gracias por escuchar, soy Social Porter para el Ministerio Viviendo en Su Nombre.
Traducción por Alfredo MagniSozzi

Safe Places

My dad was a WWII veteran. He didn’t talk too much about the action he saw, but occasionally he’d let a little something out, and my brother and i were always fascinated. One little story i remember him telling about was concerning the constant feeling of vulnerability and danger, the ever-nagging feeling none of them were safe, even when in a port, they still felt beyond safety’s borders. He told us about, during one engagement, he watched other ships getting torpedoed and bombed, then sinking into the deep in a plume of smoke and fire, yet somehow the ship he was on slipped through the bullets, bombs, and torpedoes. He told us about picking up survivors from destroyed ships out of the ocean, alive and dead, and sometimes even watching men disappear into the jaws of unbelievably large sharks. He said a couple of times they even had to abandon the rescue efforts in order to survive being destroyed themselves. His next words have always stuck in my mind, he said, when pulling the rescued sailors from the water, they all wanted to go home, they just wanted to go home. Why home i wondered, and you’ve gotta remember that most young people can’t seem to wait to leave home, so that wasn’t an unusual question.

Later in life, having suffered many things myself, i have found that at life’s most terrible times, when things seemed at their worst, i too just wanted to go home. Lately, i believe the Lord has answered my question “What is it at home so much so that it’s the only thing on our minds when things are bad?” The Lord says it’s largely because it is the place in our minds and hearts that represents the safest place we know. Home was a safe place for many of us… yet others, well, not so safe at all. Either way, all people, in their heart of hearts, have a need for safe places, places of sanctuary, but sadly those places are getting harder and harder to find.

And i suppose i should add, there are those who are politically motivated who create safe places which exclusively cater to people with an overwhelming victim mentality in order to advance their personal agenda of gaining power and control. It seems they can’t control people who have their heads and hearts on straight, so they prey on those who seem to be trapped in their iniquity and transgression, who live in a vacuum void of God’s wisdom.

i’m Social Porter and thank you for joining me here at Outposts, a semi-live broadcast from the cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the river’s edge, and every evening is pleasant.

Is your home a safe place? Within our relationships with friends and family, our government, or our jobs, is there any safety in them, or are we always on guard, having to watch what we say, how much we tell, having thoughts of wanting to just run away to the desert or deep woods where no one knows us, our life, or our name? Safe places? Are they really safe, and is there really safety to be had anywhere in this world beyond the sanctuary of the covering of Jesus Christ?

In 1 Kings 1, we see King David in his last days, he’s old, and fading fast. There has been a contender for the throne, the fourth son of David, named Adonijah who was, before David had even died, arrogantly and presumptuously telling everyone he was the new king, lying and manipulating, putting words in the mouth of the king saying that David had ordained his ascension to the throne. Of course, David wasn’t about to allow that, so he had Solomon anointed and crowned king, blowing the horn so all would know a successor to David’s throne had been crowned. Adonijah, a rotten and treacherous fellow in his own right, realized he was in jeopardy of being slain by Solomon, so he ran quickly to the temple, grabbed the horns of the altar, and said to Solomon, “Swear to me you will not kill me!” Solomon let him live and sent him home.
The temple was considered a place of sanctuary, and the altar of the temple was considered a thing of sanctuary, it can be a consecrated place or thing. It was a safe place, Adonijah knew it, and made a straight line for the safest place he knew, grabbing the horns of the altar, and crying out for sanctuary.
Safe places are supposed to represent a point or region of refuge. In our society, we have safe places for battered women, children, and even for entire families out of necessity because their very basic refuge, their residence, is no longer safe for them. Sadly we also have safe places, if you can call them that, which are merely safe havens for those who are looking for a safe place to sin in peace, out of the reach of justice, out of the sight of honesty, out of the reach of accountability, out of the view of transparency, and wishfully, out of the sight of God.

For many, many years churches represented safe places, places of sanctuary. In history, the church and the altar of the church were considered holy, offering a form of protection beyond governmental authority, sometimes even for political dissidents or immigrants facing deportation. The safe place the church represented was where desperate people could get safety, food, clothing, and shelter. i need to also add, and this is important, sanctuary was never allowed for those of treacherous, and murderous actions. The Lord nor the law of the land ever allowed sin of any sort to be given sanctuary, under any circumstances.
In this day and age, in our nation, safe places are getting more and more difficult to find. Home isn’t a safe place for many anymore; it seems law enforcement has no problem invading even our most basic sanctuaries and homes. Now, don’t get me wrong, a lot of times it’s for very good reasons, but sometimes times not. Even criminals have taken to breaking into places our society once saw as a safe place. i believe, we as a nation don’t feel safe, we don’t trust our friends, the words of our neighbor, the actions of businesses and government, or even other believers.
Refuge is associated with trust, for without trust, refuge is not held as safety. When safety is violated, among other things set in motion, we end up feeling betrayed, and betrayal kills trust in its tracks. Are our friends safe with us, or are we backbiters, telling the secrets of others for personal gain? In Genesis 9, Noah was naked and drunk. Gen 9:22 says, “And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.” It was bad that Noah was naked and drunk, but it was worse that Ham pointed it out. Ham betrayed Noah’s trust putting Noah forever on guard. The relationship Noah thought was safe, was exposed as not safe. Do you get what i’m saying?

If you think i’m being negative or harsh, do the footwork, go ask people on the street, and let us compare notes on that. We all seem to feel so vulnerable, and in danger on every corner, and i think it is shaking us to our knees.

My most basic safe place is my home, not just my house, but my home, and our home is our shalom place, edge to edge, under God’s exclusive care. To my wife and i, it is our place of sanctuary and we defend the sanctity of our home with all power; it is where we live in honor and peace. Our sanctuary is a sacred and protected place, a refuge and retreat from our everyday work-a-day world and obligations. Do you have a shalom place?

Safe places are where we regenerate, it’s our private space where familial bonds are based and strengthened. Our need for a safe place impacts everything we do.

In 1943, Abraham Maslow wrote a paper titled, “A Theory of Human Motivation”. Maslow stated that aside from air, food, water, clothing, and shelter, physical needs being first, safety was the second greatest need for human beings.
But i must add, it seems to me our need for safety is very high, but yet our ability to be safe and feel safe is increasingly elusive.

For those involved in any bombings or shootings, learning to feel safe again will take time. Many of the people directly impacted may never again go to a movie theater, to market, or even to church and feel totally safe. They’ll probably always harbor some fear and apprehension because their sense of safety has been seriously and forever compromised. Consider those who have been the victims of violent crime. Do you think they’ll probably be a long time coming before they feel safe again, even in the sanctity of their homes? Some people have been so violated, over and over, i wonder, how you even get past those memories unless God is directly involved.

How many shows on television are always about someone involved in some violence? It seems that any place there is the potential for drama, that is where Hollywood gets its storylines – the emergency room, police stations, courtrooms, war rooms, addiction and crisis centers, wild animal control, drug wars, and even governmental wars….and how many of those crime shows, every week portray some violent criminal with no conscience, sneaking into some random person’s house and robbing or killing them? And how many of those with violence launched against them on those shows seem to always be women and children? Over and over and over until it’s embedded in our heads that we are not safe, even in our homes. i believe, eventually, everyone who watches shows like that begins to be afraid of virtually everything, they feel vulnerable and in danger all the time, paranoia rises, trust fails, the truth is elusive, and as a whole, we begin to feel completely unsafe. Not safe in our homes, our jobs, our relationships, or even with exposing our feelings. Without any real safety in people’s lives, they end up running away from imaginary terror, hands in the air in fear, pursued by no one.

It almost sounds like Job in Job 3:25-26, “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. I was not in safety, neither had I a moment to recover, neither was I settled in my heart; yet trouble came.”

Is there any place in this world where anyone can be really and truly safe? What is God’s idea of safety, refuge, or sanctuary? There is only one safe place i know of and that is seen in Psalm 61:4, “I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.”
There is no place safe in this world without Jesus as an ultimate defender and Counselor, the ultimate and only true hope. Jesus IS our safety.
This needs to be said though ….. yes, Christ is hope and salvation to a dying world, a refuge for the wounded and weary, but sanctuary and refuge was and never will be given to sin.

In 1Kings2, we read about Joab who was a murderous, unrepentant, and treacherous fellow. When Solomon set his sights on justice concerning Joab, Joab tried to do what Adonijah did….he ran quickly grabbed the horns of the altar, and begged sanctuary. He figured if it worked for Adonijah, then it would work for him too! But Solomon had been taught by his father in the ways of the Lord and knew murder, treachery, and sin is never, ever given sanctuary. Joab declared he would die at the altar, so Solomon obliged him, had him slain at the altar, and buried him in his wilderness home with only the honor of a soldier.

The Lord is a safe refuge for anyone in need of safety. God’s idea of safety is seen in dissecting the word for the deeper meaning. Safety and refuge under the covering of the Lord means the weary will find, in the Mighty One, power, strength, and protection. God’s idea of safety means the Blood of the Holy One protects those who return.

Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” With Jesus as our refuge and safety, there comes the security that God has your back, and in Him, there is much-needed rest to restore strength, hope, and courage. In fact, in Job 5:4 the word used for safety is a Hebrew word that translates as liberty, and deliverance. With God’s safety COMES liberty and deliverance.
In a world of little to no safety, Jesus alone is our shelter, Jesus alone clothes us with His goodness, Christ alone is our path and safety. John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Friends, Jesus is our safety.

Psalm 62:7, “In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God.” The word salvation in that scripture is the root word for Yeshua, the Christ of God. It is the same word used in Job 5:4 and the translators interpreted it as “safety”. The Lord is our only help and sanctuary, and no kings, princes, presidents, no bureaucrats, or politicians on this earth, not any flesh and blood can ever offer us any long-standing safety. Psalm 146:3, “Do not put your trust in princes, Nor a man, in whom there is no safety.”

How often have we, as a nation, put our trust in our government to deliver us from poverty, criminal activity, fear, and desolation, yet over and over, man’s ability to make himself safe in the long run just doesn’t work out very well?
Proverbs 14:26, “In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And His children will have a place of refuge.”

Over time and through much trouble, i have consistently seen the Lord as my refuge and sanctuary, especially when the promises of sanctuary from men were a vacuum. When i have been cornered by hell, the Lord opened a way for me and gave me shelter and deliverance. i am a witness. i have seen it and lived it. The Lord is truly my shepherd and my best friend, I lack for nothing and always have more than enough. He offers me a resting place in grassy pastures to lounge in His luxurious love, he leads me by quiet water, an oasis of peace where he restores my soul and revives my life. He guides me in right paths for the sake of his own name. Even if I pass through death-dark ravines, I will fear no disaster; for you are with me; Your Authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of your love takes away my fear.

I’ll never be lonely, for Lord, you are near. You prepare a table for me, even as my enemies watch; you anoint me with the fragrance of your Holy Spirit; you give me all I can drink of you until my heart overflows. So why would I fear the future? For your goodness and love pursue me all the days of my life. Then afterward, when my life is through, I’ll return to your glorious presence to be forever with you!”
It is my heart’s desire that everyone and anyone who hears the gospel of Christ will find safety for themselves. We all need a safe place. The Lord offers the promise of refuge to all who would call on His name. The Lord alone is our safe place and leads us in the paths of righteousness. Think about it.

Isaiah 25:4, “For You have been a strength to the poor, A strength to the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, A shade from the heat;”
The Blood of the Holy One, Jesus, protects those who return, and they will find in Him power, strength, and protection.”

i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts, cool jazz, and contemplative conversation given with the hopes all who listen will look past the surface of their own presentation face. Be honest, accountable, and transparent. The Lord is with you if you’ll just surrender and allow Him to love you.

There is no safety except in Christ, and Christ alone. We all need a place where we feel safe, but increasingly in the world we live, safety has become elusive. i believe with all my heart, and i hope you also may confidently trust God with your safety….if the Lord is your guide, he will also be your guard.
Drive carefully this week, pray for your neighbor. Take your time and consider the ways of the Lord with all your heart, and i’ll talk to you next time.

146 – A Garland Of Grace

Isaiah 61:1-3, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful garla nd of grace instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.”

In our season of grief, difficulty, possibly even working through catastrophic circumstances, i believe God has a word for you and you, yes you can be healed everywhere you hurt. If you’re sad and that sadness just invades your waking and sleeping, God can heal your sadness by the Blood of Jesus, and not only can He heal your sadness, but He’ll give you the courage and strength to get up off your sick bed and re-enter the land of the living.

i’ve wondered exactly why many folks think Jesus died for their sins,… it seems many times that’s as far as anyone thinks about it, He died for my sins and it stops there….was it only a salvation thing so we don’t have to go to hell like having fire insurance? …. just – saved from our sins?….. i believe, if we’ll take the Lord seriously, He wants so much more for us than that….He wants us to enjoy the road home and not just be Eeyore all the way home. One lady said, “God wants us to be whole, not full of holes.”

i believe so, so many folks are in pain, real pain. We may have learned to live with it, and some truly tolerate pain better than others and have learned to wear a good face, but it doesn’t mean the pain isn’t there. For years, i was in pain and i had no idea why, how it got to be there, or even what it was about….i gave it no identity and as a result i was always acting out with no thought of questioning any of my actions.

When i had cattle, i grew to know they are usually pretty good down to about -25….on particularly cold days i would chuckle to myself because their faces looked like they were saying, “Boy it sure is cold” and the other one would say, “Yea, it sure is but i don’t know what to do about it….” They’d munch more hay and just roll their big eyes around thinking about being cold but clueless on what to do about it. That was me when it came to pain…just clueless what to do about it. This evening….the topic is beauty for ashes like a garland of grace….and the gold the Lord brings out in us when it appears all is burned to the ground.

In my little life, i know something, maybe not much according to some, but this i know….i can’t play hide and seek with my difficulties and expect them to simply go away. Just because we don’t deal with stuff doesn’t mean it’ll just disappear.
The Lord wants us to be more than survivors. In the last program it was mentioned that one day while out for my afternoon walk, the Lord made me to know that i was only surviving when i was supposed to be prospering. He said, “How is it you have fallen to only surviving when you should be prospering?” It was a good question, and at the end of His question there came a feeling like the earth plates in my heart were moving, repositioning themselves to align better with God. You know what i mean?
Here’s a question….if you knew it could happen, would you be willing for your circumstances to be your message and ministry?
John 6:12-13, “And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.”
i don’t know about you, but there have been terrible times in my life when i felt like my entire life was just broken little pieces, just fragments….in John6:12-13 i hear the Lord calling me to bring even my broken fragmented life to Him….He has healed the broken hearted and opened wide the prison doors and has the power to deliver forever more. We’ve all heard that God does more with nothing than we can do with something, and even if we’re sure we are on the negative side of zero, God can do something with even that.

i’ve got a few ideas of who i am, but i’ve got tons of ideas about who i’m not and i reckon it’s good to give Him not only who i am, but also all that i’m not….take it all captive.
2Cor10:5 says to take our thoughts captive. That word “thoughts” there in the Greek means all your perception, purpose, all your academic thinking, and even your disposition, take it all prisoner by the word of God….and that’s not just the negative stuff either, that’s ALL of it, even the good things….take them ALL captive, like holding a prisoner of war at spear point.
We can’t be afraid to reveal to the Lord even the smallest details of our lives….you know, it’s not like He’s surprised….i believe God knew exactly what He was getting into when each one of us came in the door of the house by the Blood of the Lamb.
There is no time the Lord ever regrets forgiving your sins and transgressions. i believe the Lord has more hope for me than i have for me, and certainly more hope for me than any of my friends or relatives. i was the little boy who was never supposed to live past the age of seven, according to our neighbors. i was a dangerous kid, not because i was mean or tough, but i was so vastly ignorant of the repercussions of my actions, it’s the truth, my parents didn’t expect me to survive childhood.

i figure, if you are the meek, poor, wounded, depressed, if you’re the fearful, sad, conflicted, shamed and disqualified, if you’re the bankrupt and blind, one of the lost and unfortunate ones, you are exactly who Jesus came for…your the very one He came to get eye level with…He was crucified, died and rose from the dead for you. You are the very one God came to rescue.

You and I both know what happens to unprocessed emotions: they get stored. i can’t remember who said it but they said, “What’s buried alive never dies.” That’s the truth. We’ve gotta deal with stuff….we can’t just bury it, or compartmentalize it and stuff it somewhere. Some folks compartmentalize their griefs so well, they can, with all confidence say they are “fine…totally fine”…but below street level all the wounds which have been buried are still active, affecting all they do. Honestly, I don’t see the Lord as someone who just throws “lessons” at us in the form of casualty, catastrophe or suffering as if we are hamsters just running on a wheel. But I do think we are all able to choose to have the power to mine gold from even the darkest of situations.

We need to be honest with ourselves and the Lord. Yea, i know we have to be people of faith, and faith will get us through, and by faith i am healed, but so many in leadership have gotten so they are dealing with other people’s stuff, but they’re not dealing with their own….even to the point of denying they even have woundedness going on. Believe me, if you’re in church leadership long enough, you WILL get hurt…sheep bites are painful. Buti don’t think we should be wounded healers….telling ourselves if we had enough faith we shouldn’t even be going through those things. If we feel like we can’t be honest over things, if we feel like we can’t bring our problems into the light, it’s the truth….everything we hide has power over us. That’s why a couple programs ago i made a call to deal with the hidden things in our backyard where no one can see, which is a metaphor for saying everything we hide has power over us.

That, by no means, says we should just dump all our dirty laundry onto anyone who comes along, we need to be a little more discretionary than that…. but you’d be surprised how much help there is in having a safe person to simply verbalize things with. We need to talk about the things which hinder us so hell can’t continue to hold it over our heads anymore, making us a slave to what is hidden and compartmentalized.
We spend a lot of energy keeping things hidden. It reminds me of having a bicycle which only turns in one direction….oh, you’re peddling and balancing alright, but you aren’t going anywhere. Every time you hearken back to a former time about the time so-and-so did that, or such-and-such happened, or you remember the disappointment or anger of a past thing that happened, get off that bicycle and deal with what’s holding you back.

Many years ago, i was angry and so disappointed it seemed life was just going in circles. i distinctly remember waking up one day and making a clear decision that i was not going to allow the past to keep dragging me backwards into a dark corner, getting suckered into a fight in the dark…..and that from there on out, i was going to look up instead of down……afterall, when you’re always looking down, all you can see is the ground.

i was drawing a line in the sand that enough was enough, that’s it, i’m not looking back anymore, sitting in the middle of nowhere wishing i could just get a glimpse of destiny. i believe it’s a fact, we can’t do anything about what’s past, what’s done is done, but we can do a lot about cooperating with God about what’s ahead.
2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away; behold, the new has come.” …. put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life …. be renewed in the spirit of your minds, put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Let’s get motivated about that!

Philippians 3:12-14, “….. but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Friends, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

“Press” is one of the key wordsi’m interested in. It means to push forward, pursue, take action, campaign and advance on…it’s not a timid, passive term….it is a verb that is present, active, indicative, meaning it is in the now, we are the ones doing the action, and it’s a statement of fact. Take note of these also….”make it my own” is a now verb, “Forgetting what lies behind” as in the now, and “straining forward” is present tense, meaning now. Now, now, now! In order to press onward, we’re going to have to learn to do it, even when we’re hurting, even when all odds say we should just quit, even when our closest friends tell us to just give up on our faith; we’re going to have to learn to do the right thing even when the wrong thing seems more just…you know…it’s always the right time to do the right thing, and we need to do it until doing the right thing just becomes second nature to us‘cause doing the right thing is just the natural inclination of our heart. That’s called enduring and it’s one way of resisting the devil so he’ll run away, screaming into the distance, driven backwards into his own gates.

Friends, we need to know who we are in Christ and stop getting our identity from how we look, who we know, the job we have, what we own, what others say about us, and what spectacular things we may have done or not done. It’s been said before on this program, i don’t believe most of us really know what to make of ourselves, nor do we seem to know how to talk about ourselves. God wants to define us, and if we wait until some religious body defines us, we maybe waiting all our lives. God is our constant defining moment, now, now, now.

i don’t know about you, but i’m not satisfied to merely go to Heaven when i die. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a wonderful thing, of course, but i just don’t believe Jesus Christ, the son of God Almighty, died for me so i can just barely get through, just surviving, (Eeyore voice) “i guess everything will be great when we get to Heaven, but we’re just doing the best we can with what little we’ve got in the mean time, barely scraping through. i’ll probably enter Heaven with the faint smell of brimstone on me, but at least i’ll be in Heaven.”

Jesus said He came that we would have life and have it more abundantly….that doesn’t mean we won’t have problems, it doesn’t mean we won’t struggle, it doesn’t mean we will never weep over situations, or — that everything is just going to be moonbeams and merry-go-rounds either….but it does mean, by the blood of Jesus, we have a right to not be wounded all our lives, to not bleed all over everything over past hurts, we have a blood bought right to not get mired in the clay of what someone did to us….

You wouldn’t believe how often hell has come to me and told me i would never have anything more than a second rate life, doing second rate things, for second rate reasons. It reminds me of the kids in high school who got D’s on their report card…they tended to do D things with D people going D places for D reasons yet were never able to lift up their heads enough to see that there was so much more life than what they had.

i am determined to not let the wounds of my past dictate the steps of my future, and to stop the bleeding of old hurts. The past belongs in the past, which is why it is past. Let……it…….go.

Let us be reminded of God’s promise in Isaiah 61:7-8, “Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy. For I the LORD love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.”
That’s joy…. which is rejoicing and gladness with a shout in the middle…and that’s an everlasting joy too. The Lord rewards those who diligently seek Him and i must add that i have sought the Lord at His request for lo, all these years and i believe i am living in the reward. He didn’t persecute me for my wrongs, He corrected me to a better heading. He didn’t prosecute me as in a court of law, He took me to a place to heal the wounds which drove me off the deep end. So much of my life i’ve had to do things afraid. What is it one preacher says, “If you’re afraid, go forward afraid…go with God anyway. Go forward with Jesus and tell the truth, even if your voice shakes!”

If He did it for me, He’ll do it for you too. We don’t have to be wounded all the days of our lives….there is a choice to be made there. What do you want? Do you just want to make it through the muddle in the middle, merely surviving life? Regardless of all my confidence, i can safely say, from hard won experience, no one, nowhere, is able to run their lives by themselves….we can’t, simply can’t do it alone. There is no way anyone can escape the gravity of earth, the pull of this world, on their own. i have been abandoned, rejected, made to be isolated and isolated myself, and felt overwhelmingly alone, but through it all, God has been there, He and i have pressed forward, in the now, every step of the way. Regardless of who doesn’t like me, disagrees with me, won’t return my calls, or feigns to be my friend yet doesn’t speak to me at church or on the street, i have determined i am going on with God no matter what or who.

Check out another of God’s promises….Isaiah 54:4, “Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; Neither be confounded, for you will not be put to shame; For you will forget the shame of your youth…..” i love the part where He says, “neither be confounded”….meaning to not let yourself be insulted, offended, or wounded to the point of nearly bleeding to death. And then He says, “you will not be put to shame or disgraced,” basically meaning the Lord will lead us in a path which we don’t have to suffer the loss of honordue to humiliation, not that we will forget the stupid stuff we did when we were ignorant and young, but the shame of those days will be resolved unto strength, maturity, and faith. Friends, now there’s the word of the Lord to cling to.

i know of a fellow who was reminded by the enemy of all the dumb stuff he did as a young man, reminded so often it just seemed to be a probability that’s the way the rest of his life was going to go. He began to believe he was as terrible as hell would have him believe he was. He called me on the phone and asked me straight out if i thought he was a failure, and with all power i answered, Absolutely not, never, in the name of Jesus. The Lord said in Isaiah 54:17, “no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD.”

Hell will bring against us all of our don’ts, won’ts, can’ts, and should’ve’s as judgments lodged against us to wound us to death, but God says we have the power, by the blood of Jesus, to refute those accusations because we are the children of light, servants of the most high God who sets our feet on firm footing and leads us beside still waters. Even if your life is burned to the ground and there’s nothing but ashes and soot left, God knows how to build again so from the sludge of a burned out life, new life springs forth like gold sticking out of the ground.

Stand up church, it ain’t over till it’s over. You maybe down, but you’re not out. i’ve not heard the bell yet, so get up and fight. 1 Timothy 6:12, “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” Think about it.

Stand up church, get to your feet. Your catastrophic circumstances are not the end of things, it is the beginning of excellence in Christ, it ain’t over till it’s over, and it’s not over yet. i know a man who has struggled with addiction, crime, and incarceration almost all his life, but then when Jesus took hold of him, things begin to change. Yes, he relapsed because that was his best self-medicating coping skills….yes, at first he still played out his criminal habits because that was all he’d ever known…. but little by little, he became less and less of an addict, committed fewer and fewer crimes, and every time he got knocked down, he kept getting back up, and getting back up, determined to apprehend Christ, the prize who lay before him…. over time he got good at falling down and even better at getting back up, every time he got back up he was standing longer and more upright. The farther he got from addiction and crime, the less he was inclined to see himself as a failure with no hope. In him grew a hope that in Christ he really could be a son of the Most High, and he really was be an overcomer.

It’s great to be on the path, but we must actually move our feet…c’mon, let’s get on with it. There’s no time to sit and moan about old things that have passed away to the point we become inert…. if we’ve nearly fainted in the heat of battle, weary from the pounding of life, Jesus is our refreshment. We don’t have to keep bleeding, we don’t have to keep weeping….there’s a choice there. John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Jesus came to give life to us over-the-top, more than we could imagine, better than our idea of good….we are called to do more than merely survive….Jesus used the word “abundantly” and we should take that seriously. True the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but my Jesus stepped into the middle of all that and said, “I am here, and that ain’t happening to whomsoever will come to me.”

i’m Social Porter with Living in His Name Ministries.

36 – Expectativas

Expectativas
Entramos en nuestra herencia como Dios la diseñó. Muchos de nosotros nosestamos comenzando a despertar y darnos cuenta del poder y la autoridad que tenemos en Cristo, y más de unos pocos están comenzando a caminar en ese poder y autoridad. Cuando hablamos con el clima, ¿esperamos plenamente que el clima no solo escuche, sino que obedezca, incluso si susurramos? O decimos, “¡Tormenta vete, en el Nombre de Jesús!”, Con nuestra voz más autoritaria, pero en el fondo todavía estamos pensando “Espero que esto funcione”. Podrías encontrar que sea una doctrina aventurera, pero el hecho de que esté fuera de su zona de confort no significa que esté fuera de la zona de confort de Dios.
Entonces, surge una pregunta: ¿Qué esperamos de Dios? ¿Cuáles son nuestras expectativas de él? Él es Dios. ¿Esperamos poco de él? …. aunque es Dios Todopoderoso, muy vehemente, auto revelador y auto existente. Él es el que nos ha amado desde antes de los tiempos y ama la compañía de Su pueblo … Dios, quien tuvo el carácter de la cruz obrado en Su Corazón desde antes de la fundación del universo, ¿qué esperas de Él? No es que nuestro Rey sea pequeño y dalástima, y sea incapaz de hacer todo, y más, de lo que jamás soñamos posible … y Él nos ha hablado … ¡MUCHO! ¿Es Dios que no habla o nosotros no escuchamos? ¿Esperamos que Él aparezca, o esperamos que sólo “gotee” un poco de Su presencia para mantener a los hámsteres girando sobre sus ruedas? Cuando le hacemos preguntas a Dios, ¿esperamos que Él nos responda?
Esperamos una respuesta de nuestros amigos cuando les hablamos o les pedimos una
pregunta … de hecho, esperamos un encuentro sensorial completo con personas y nos molesta mucho cuando NO responden … ¿Esperamos un encuentro con una experiencia sensorial completa con Dios?

A veces obtenemos poco porque esperamos poco, no siempre, pero sospechoque es más a menudo de lo que pensamos. ¿Esperamos que Dios cumpla su promesa de paz, ¿o solo esperamos que Él nos brinde solo un poco de paz, momentos con poca presión o poca violencia? ¿Tenemos la expectativa que Dios nos provea, o principalmente esperamos que lo haga? ¿Esperamos principalmente que Dios nos dé valor para la lucha, o tenemos la expectativa que Él nos dé la Fuerza como ha dicho que lo haría?
¿Qué esperamos de Dios? ¿Cuáles son nuestras expectativas de él?
Me doy cuentade que espero más de la gente que de Dios, y me equivoco acerca de
eso…estoy convencido de que cuando ponemos nuestras expectativas y esperanza en los hombres y ministerios para validarnos y aprobarnos, Dios se ve obligado a mostrarnos
los defectos de ellos. El Señor solo nos valida y aprueba, no los hombres, pero esperamos de los hombres con demasiada facilidad.

El Señor es mucho más capaz que las personas y está más dispuesto, pero, sin embargo, tengo la expectativa que la gente responda y, sobre todo, solo la esperanza que Dios lo haga… Cuando enciendo el interruptor de la luz tengo la expectativa que la luz encienda, ¿no deberíamos tener una mayor expectativa de Dios que de el interruptor de la luz? Es más grande y más seguro que un interruptor de luz, pero, sin embargo, encuentro que tengo una mayor expectativa de las personas y las cosas físicas que de Dios, y me gustaría cambiar mi forma de pensar sobre eso.

No puedo pensar en una razón por la que no tendría un encuentro pleno conmi padre todos los días, excepto que es mi propia incredulidad … siento que la mayoría delasveces simplemente espero que Él meramente aparezca en lugar de sorprenderme si no lo hizo.
Espero que el clima cambie cuando le hablo y eso es cierto (yolo hago, y he estado hablandoleal clima como el Señor me dice, con éxito durante muchos años). Me parece natural a mí. Realmente espero que el Señor me escuche y me responda (eso es otra cosa que me parece natural). Es natural que un padre responda a sus hijos, por lo que debería ser laidea más remota en nuestras cabezas que Dios no responderá … de hecho, para mi, debería haber una mejor posibilidad de que la luna realmente esté hecha de, queso que la posibilidad de que Dios NO respondiera a nuestro llamado.
Quiero que lo sobrenatural se convierta en mi natural, y quiero caminar enla “Naturalidad de Dios”, y quiero dejar de estar tan sorprendido por lo sobrenatural … nunca dejaré de estar totalmente emocionado de estar conDios, pero quiero que Su “natural” sea mi “natural”.
Si el Señor nos impulsa y le hablamos al cáncer para que desaparezca, yse marchita y desaparece, eso debería ser circunstancias normales… y deberíamos sorprendernos si NO se marchitó ydesapareció, no sorprende si lo hizo.
¿Cuál es tu expectativa de Dios?

Gracias por escuchar, soy Social Porter para el Ministerio Viviendo en su Nombre.
*Traducción por Alfredo Milford MagniSozzi

Clear Eyed Insight – Wisdom

The gifts of the Spirit are as important to the functioning of the Body of Christ as are the fruits of the Spirit. The gifts and fruit are like the primary feathers on a dove, if you remove any of those feathers from one side or the other it flies a little funny, if not just down right poorly. The gifts and the fruit are supposed to work together for the uplifting and blessing of those around us…twice in 1Cor14 Paul says to strive to excel in building up the church, and let all things be done for building up. Eph4:12 speaks of equipping the saints for the purpose of building up the Body of Christ.

In light of that, let us pursue the Lord to reveal the gifts of the Spirit within each of us that we would be able to accomplish the Lord’s directive of “building up”. i find that people in churches who don’t, or won’t, make room for the gifts of the Spirit, spend their time going back and forth, letting out and gathering back in again….like someone who’s face is on the wrong side of wet windows streaked with rain. Those folks who refuse to acknowledge the gifts seem to almost be in a prison made of not anything other than their own never seeing….sure….aren’t we all free to receive God’s endowments and manifestations, but still, those who refuse His gifts confine themselves to always trying to see in without actually stepping through the looking glass into God’s promises.

The topic is one of the gifts of the Spirit, more specifically, the gift of wisdom, as is mentioned in 1Cor12:7. Let’s spend more time talking about the amazing life God has given us, the incredible blessing and gifting, rather than slogging along, dragging ourselves through some constant deep analytical physiological profiling about the stresses of life and how we’re just getting by. We’re not supposed to be surviving, we’re supposed to be prospering. Yea, it’s true, we really, really need to rediscover God’s idea of prosperity because we’ve all but washed all the righteousness out of the word “prosperity” with our ideas. Similarly, i want to revisit God’s idea of gifts, and this broadcast, is about the gift of wisdom, what to do with it, and the value of applying it…all for the building up of ourselves and the Body of Christ around us, not to mention the world around us also gets some of what we’ve got when we live it out loud. You know what i mean?

Wisdom. We read all throughout the Bible about wisdom. It is mentioned over 250 times, so obviously it’s important. We are told by the Lord to get wisdom, get understanding, get knowledge, and then 1Cor12:8 reveals that if you’ve got wisdom it was a gift God gave to you…i want to take that a step further by saying had God not given you the gift of wisdom, you simply wouldn’t have it.

In Prov1:20, wisdom is personified as a woman who calls out to us in the busy streets from the middle of town. Prov9:1 says wisdom has built her house and has carved out seven pillars, like a woman who prepares a meal and invites people to attend, saying: “Leave your simple ways and you will live and walk in the way of insight”. Wisdom invites everyone to come share her satisfying feast.

Wisdom is a gift of the Spirit, not something that is just intrinsically part of us just because we got saved and said some words. It’s more, so much more….it’s a gift… like when Jesus gave His back to the soldiers to be beaten. You know, that part about being wounded for our transgressions in Is53…yea, that was a gift to us that He would take our punishment for us. i don’t know about you, but i’ve suffered an awful lot in life because i lacked wisdom, and sometimes, even though i had wisdom i didn’t put it to work. i hope we all really grasp the idea that having wisdom and doing wisdom are two different things. Knowing better than doing addictive drugs is wisdom common to anyone and everyone. Every addict on the street will tell you, straight up, doing drugs is a death wish, it’s death on the installment plan, dying slowly little by little every time you get loaded. BUT, actually employing that wisdom and NOT doing the drugs which are taking over your life is another story. Again, having wisdom and doing wisdom are two different things. Maybe we should ask God to not only please give us His gift of wisdom, but to also, give us the power to put it to work in ourselves and the world around us.

In Job28 the question is asked, “Where does wisdom dwell” and then the writer states that man doesn’t know the worth of it, implying men appraise wisdom as no more than a stone on the side of the road. In all of the works of men who refine jewels from the earth, who change the course of rivers and seas, and turn mountains upside down, wisdom is still not found among men. Wisdom isn’t found in the land of the living, not in the deep of the sea, it can’t be bought with silver and gold….. it’s hidden from the birds….even death has only heard rumors about wisdom. Only God understands the path to it, He alone knows it’s place. Wisdom is exclusive to God’s domain and He gives it to us as a gift that we might live. James1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” Do you see that part where it says God gives generously to all? The generosity of God is amazing….He even gives wisdom to those without Christ if they’ll ask. What a mercy. We would all be dumb as a door nail unless the Lord in his kindness and mercy gave us wisdom. James1:5 uses the word “all”, and you know, all means all, and there’s no part of all that doesn’t mean all. The phrase “let him ask” is present active, meaning it is action that is now, now, now, and you are the one doing the action, not someone doing it for you, you ask now for wisdom, and at the appropriate time the Lord will open your heart to the gift of wisdom.

It’s one of the gifts of the Spirit….it should be our first stop of the day and the last stop at night. Job28:28 says the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and turning from evil is understanding.

Did you know that not only is wisdom a gift of God, but it comes with it’s own carved out pillars? ….the pillars are carved, meaning they are chisled out of a rough medium. What are the seven pillars of wisdom mentioned in Prov9:1? The seven pillars of wisdom are considered to hold up the roof of the temple, so they must be pretty important….it is no small thing, so i think we should really pay attention. From what i can discover as the Lord gave it to me is that the seven pillars are Ethics, Humility, Instruction, Discipline, Knowledge, Integrity, and Honesty. Ethics, the moral standards governing our conduct, and those standards begin with God. Humility, our being lowly, holding others up higher than ourselves, for even the most gifted people don’t please God if their gifts are unaccompanied by justice, kindness, and humility. Proverbs says humility comes before honor. Instruction, understood through the sense of education for the re-framing and re-forming of His people. Discipline, corrective action, like a father directs his son, comparatively seen in the hardships of the wilderness contrasted by God’s miraculous provision. Knowledge, receiving and understanding words of insight, learning to use interogative words like who, what, where, when, how, and why. Having our spiritual eyes opened through the idea of seeing. Integrity, a character development which purposely chooses righteousness, truth, and a devotion to the word of the Lord, Integrity – like a lamb without spot or blemish. And Honesty, being morally clear, knowing right and doing right where your conscience and your character agree, always opposing the lie, and being vulnerable for others to speak into your life.

So, from that, we can easily see the gift of wisdom is not small potatoes, and not only is it a gift, but it’s also intrinsic to the inspiration of the fruits of the Spirit….it is a fountain of essential life, and like water flowing from a hidden spring, the gift of wisdom inspires valor, and simple faith in the truth.  Psalm 111:10 says: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!”  It begins with knowing who God is and who we are in comparison to Him….which leads to understanding and then to practicing righteousness. Practicing is a key word: friends, we’ve gotta put it in gear, let the clutch out, get on down the road. It’s not enough to just sit in the drivers seat of the vehicle in the driveway, pretending we’re doing the stuff.  Having trouble with being motivated in your worship of the Lord, let me say that a life of wisdom ultimately results in the praise of God, it doesn’t end with knowledge, but is more obviously seen in transformed hearts and lives.

i don’t think i’ve ever considered wisdom as a gift until now, but now that i’m digging into it, it is obviously not something i can get just by reading a book. True, the book is highly likely to have at least some words of wisdom, but unless the Lord opens our eyes to see and own those words, they are just words on a page. This appears to be a realization David had, as expressed in the opening words of Psalm119:8 when the psalmist cries out, “Open my eyes Lord”. How often do we read and not comprehend what we read? How often do we hear and not understand what we’ve heard? Oh, we’ve got the words down alright, but do they really get any traction in our hearts?

God’s gift of wisdom enables us to have clear sightedness…. intelligence…. and buried within the very word is the idea of a holy mouth that speaks life to brighten and animate others….meaning God’s gift of wisdom is not just for ourselves, but also for those around us. His gifts, whatever they may be, were never intended for us to have and practice in secret, hidden away in a back room only being practiced for those elite Christians or those in leadership we deem worthy somehow. i don’t believe the Lord ever meant for us to keep wisdom only for ourselves, but to share, give it away. Buy the truth and sell it not, meaning we may give it to others, but not at a price to be exacted from those in need. Grace came by Jesus Christ, it was a free gift to whomsoever would have it, and so are the gifts, endowments, or manifestations for the whom-so-ever’s that would have them.

When someone who has the gift of wisdom, or any spiritual gift for that matter, when it is shown by evidence and actions in the right way, it will always point people to Jesus.

John15:26-27,  “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.” As the Holy Spirit points to Jesus, we should also point to Jesus. If you point people to yourself, what have they gained?         If we put a picture of ourselves on every other page of a magazine, who is that promoting, who is that drawing attention to? If you write a book but your name is the largest letters on the cover, who is that drawing attention to? Many years ago, the Lord asked me to lose my name, just simply stop putting my name on everything He said to me which i told to others. Many times He had me go through the exercise of going a full day trying not to use the words, “i, me, and mine”. Friends, i’m here to testify, if most of us leave the words “i, me, and mine” out of our vocabulary, i’d wager we wouldn’t speak much. The true sharing and impartation of any spiritual gift will always point to Jesus.

At this juncture i think it’s important to point out that there is a difference between a word of wisdom and a word of knowledge. There is a difference in English, and Paul differentiates them in scripture in the Greek and Hebrew both.

i figure knowledge is the God annunciated accumulation of facts, information, practical understanding, probably even technical skill of how things work, and it’s gained by using six adverbs which are derived from the Hebrew word for knowledge. Who, what, where, when, how, and why. Wisdom is the proper use of that information, words of insight or clear sightedness which recognize that it is information and has value. Wisdom is recognizing and comprehending what the Lord is pointing out, knowledge is the accumulation of facts and information, and understanding is connecting the dots to know what to do with what wisdom and knowledge have brought us. That may be an oversimplification for some of us, but it’ll do within the context of this program.

Probably one of the best stories i’ve ever heard about the difference between knowledge and wisdom is about a young mother back in the 1920’s or so, who’s husband had died and left her with 4 children, aged 4, 5, 6, and the oldest being 8. The young mother went to work everyday, walking the very long walk to work in town, leaving all the children at home under the care of the 8 year old. Back in those days it wasn’t to terribly unusual to find children in the care of another older child during the day. One evening, after a long day at work, as the young mother was approaching the house about dusk, she saw the front door wide open on her little house at the far edge of town by the woods. She was immediately alarmed because the children had been instructed under threat of a sound spanking, to always keep the door shut, and don’t open it for anyone under any circumstances. Yet, there was the front door to the house gape-ing wide open, not a light on inside anywhere except in the living room. As she entered the house on high alert, there…. squeezed together facing the corner she saw all her children, huddled in a circle, being very focused on something between themselves and the walls. As she got closer and peeped over their shoulders to see what could have their attention so firmly grasped, there she saw 4 children and in front of them 4 baby skunks. She panicked and immediately screamed, “RUN children, RUN!!”, wherewith, each child grabbed a baby skunk and ran in four different directions. It is a great example of how things can easily go from bad to worse, and also of the difference in knowledge and wisdom.

She had the wisdom to know she was looking at baby skunks and the knowledge of the potential stink 4 baby skunks carried with them, and she well knew the facts and information about how bad her children and the whole house would smell if each of those skunks cut loose in fear, just spraying the house, children and everything. But she sincerely lacked the wisdom, or clear eyed insight, that if she panicked, the children would panic, and never in her life did it even occur to her to think they would each grab a skunk and run. Wisdom tells you that little black animal with a white stripe going down its back is a skunk. Knowledge tells you that that skunk can spray a terrible odor which will last for days. Wisdom will tell you to calmly get out of there before it hits you with the stink.

Some of the smartest people i’ve ever known, are also some of the most stupid. Stupid is ignorance that’s been told and refuses to listen. They are ever so smart, but really have no common sense….knowledge without wisdom can be an extremely dangerous thing. i often marvel at the stupid things brilliant people believe and do when they have straight out refused Jesus Christ. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and without Christ, we are prone to believe even the most absurd.

Proverbs 4:7, “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.” How often do we just jump over that scripture, or worse, we often read it and think, “Oh that’s nice”. We’ve got plenty of hindsight, what we need is insight, clear eyed insight. If wisdom is God-given information, knowledge is knowing what to do with the God-given information. Honestly, i think wisdom and knowledge trade places all the time like tag team wrestlers.

The gift of wisdom, is an anointing of the Holy Spirit which is released into action when issues arise, or even when issues are merely on the horizon to occur at some later date. i find that God often gives me a word of wisdom that, in the moment, doesn’t seem to apply to anything specifically. But by and by, as the days turn, and the sun comes up and goes down again, the Lord alerts me to a rising need for important decisions to be made and, there, in the moment, He’ll bring back to my remembrance the word of wisdom He seasoned my heart with so many days ago. In John14:26, Jesus said …at the right time, the Holy Spirit will bring back to our remembrance the things He’s spoken to us when we need to know it. My memory is poor sometimes, so i am absolutely banking on the Lord reminding me of things.

James3:17-18, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

We really need to learn to feel the weight of God speaking. Learn to weigh the words to know what is of the Lord and what is not. Words without God’s presence are thin and weightless as a shadow. Glory is in His words, and glory has weight. Glory is heavy, the cursed are light. Something which is cursed (Hebrew kaw-lal) has no weight, it carries no momentum, it’s a light thing with no authority…. but the Lord’s words and presence have glory, the Hebrew word kabod, meaning He has weight, and in His words are ultimate authority, always ….the Lord has weight to move mountains and change the heart of even the most difficult person. Curses and the cursed have no weight for accomplishing anything, much less anything of righteousness. The only thing curses and the cursed can achieve is the propagation of more weightlessness. Again, His words have glory, weight, and we really need to learn to perceive the weight of His words over simply being impressed by someone’s opinion.

Now, let me add, many times i believe the gift of wisdom is set and exercised without us knowing it has been exercised as the word of wisdom. i’m a witness. Many times when issues arise, people express what’s on their heart and what rolls out is the word of the Lord, and we aren’t even particularly aware of the operation of the gift. There is no neon sign which suddenly appears saying to pay attention, we don’t typically get a buzz in our middle which alerts us, nor some distant bells chiming to tell us wisdom is amongst us. But we can know the word of wisdom if we pay attention to the Holy Spirit in our heart and learn to recognize the press of His presence.

From where i’m standing, i believe we often expect the supernatural to happen in some supernatural way….something dramatic which bowls our senses over, but in truth, i think it happens all around us and we simply don’t notice because the supernatural just naturally happened in such a natural way we didn’t recognize the miraculous right in front of us. In looking back across my life, from where i’m standing now, i see the Lord’s leading in such a simple fashion, in ways which, at the time, i had no idea that God was directing my steps…. from here i can see the hand of God on me there. And you? Can you look back and see the miraculous just naturally occurring in your life? Think about it!

Exodus28:3 is the scripture of first mention of the gift of wisdom….it says the Lord filled craftsmen with the Spirit of wisdom, not only did they understand, but they knew by the power of the Holy Spirit how things went together. In Exodus31:3, there was a craftsman named Bets-uh-lale’, his name means “shadow of God”. It says, “And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.” The Lord gave it to them to not only conceive ideas, but they also knew what their ideas meant and how to put them into motion.

Exodus35:31 reveals that God gifted Moses in wisdom, knowledge, understanding…. According to Deut34:9, Joshua had the same gift, except it was imparted to him through Moses laying hands on him. Not only was Joshua filled with Holy Spirit wisdom, but suddenly he had the ear of all Israel.

In Acts15:19-22, after others tried to create division, leading men among the brethren, along with Paul and Silas, were sent with a message from the church that settled all issues. But, really, can you see the solution that James gave? ….it was the gift of wisdom…. and the result was that the potential division was cured and everyone was satisfied with the way that James proposed the solution concerning a very divisive issue.

How wonderful that within the church, even though it is inevitable that divisions will arise…when they do arise, there is someone with the word of wisdom, the gift of the Spirit, offering a fitting solution in the time of need. To me it is hard to understand why, when God has made available to us His wisdom, why do we often rely on our own and then we make decisions without seeking His guidance or His wisdom. Hmmm….Prov3:6 comes to mind. Wisdom is free from God for the asking…what keeps is from ardently pursuing Him for what He freely gives?