Two Wisdoms

James talks about two wisdom in the third chapter of James. he says in chapter three,

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, and of the devil. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

James says that when we are, "bitter and full of envy, have selfish ambition" we will find disorder and every evil practice in our lives. That is strong language. He says that the wisdom that has that kind of fruit doesn't come from heaven and is earthly, unspiritual, and of the devil.

In contrast he says that when someone is wise and understanding he will have a good life, doing deeds that are the fruit of humility and come from heaven. This latter wisdom from heaven is peace -loving, considerate, submissive, and full of good fruit, impartial and sincere. That is quite a list.

James indicates that there is something wrong when a believer has the evil wisdom or both of the wisdoms. You may ask, "How is it possible for a person to have both of the wisdoms.

When you read your Bible you discover that Adam and Eve were created in innocence. Their lives were pure and they had fellowship with God. They made a bad choice. The Bible tells us that when Eve looked at the fruit she saw that it was good to look at, would taste good, and it would make her wise. The choice was made to get that wisdom and from then on man had two wisdoms.

Our desire should be to have the wisdom that is from above. It can be yours today. God enables His children to live in the wisdom that is from above. It comes from establishing a relationship with Him. It's up to you today. Why would you want to have the wisdom that is from below, earthly, unspiritual, and of the devil?

Why a Post About Bible Subjects

There are some pretty good reasons for studying the Bible.

1. It is the most read book ever written.
2. It reveals the truths about Creation, life, death, and the future.
3. It tells us what God says about how the world started so great and became so bad.
4. It challenges us to be all that we can be in life.
5. It shows us that a sovereign God allows sinful man to exercise his free will.
6. Its theme of redemption is amazing.
7. It was written by about 40 different authors over a period of about 1500 years, and still stands without proven error.
8. It tells how you can have salvation, and that your destiny depends on your faith or lack of it.
9. Its critics have nothing better to offer. If you reject the truth of the Bible, where do you turn?

The Bible teaches that the person who knows Christ and is born into the family of God has the Holy Spirit resident within. A ministry of the Spirit is to be the Illuminator of Scripture. This means that He shines His flashlight on the Word of God and makes it plain to the child of God. I know that sounds simplistic. That is probably because it is. Faith is not complicated. Belief must be simple to be exercised by all people. The little child and the greatest scholar can both trust and find life in Christ. It has to be simple to do that.

I teach the Bible subjects because I believe them. You are not obligated to believe them. I am glad that you read this far and I trust that I have not offended you in any way. You do not offend me when you say that you don't believe it. That is your choice. I can regret that you do not believe, but I cannot chide, beg, or hate you for not believing. I pray that you will consider what I have to say. I believe that the questions I may raise are between you and God--not between you and me.

Today is a great day. Be thankful that you have life, breath, food, shelter, and all that is provided for you down here. Consider, if you will, Who makes it possible for you to have all of this. I would suggest that it is not by chance that the air stays in balance to breathe, the rain and sun keep the harvest coming, and we have the breath of life to live until we face eternity.

Two Fingers to the Right

TWO FINGERS TO THE RIGHT
by
Donald K. Drake
What is really important? Politics? Job Security? Home? Vacations? Salary? A new car? The college your child attends? Which version of the Bible you use? The clothing you wear?
Although many of these things may be significant and must be cared for in the process of daily living, none of them is really of important in the light of eternity. What we do about many things may be a reflection on our relationship to God, but putting undue stress on them will have no ultimate impact on the life beyond.
Unfortunately, the twentieth century has seen the church take a strong step in the direction of putting a large emphasis on the mechanics of church polity and personal separation. Church polity and personal separation are both important, and how we feel about each is a reflection of our relationship with Jesus Christ.
In the seventeenth century the Russian Orthodox Church faced a major crisis. For hundreds of years the priests had made the sign of the cross finishing with a right to left motion with two fingers. The church’s leadership decided that a left to right motion with three fingers would be more effective. People actually died in the process of solving the problem of whether the sign of the cross would be made with three fingers to the left or two fingers to the right.
Today people are ready to make issues out of procedures and practices not nearly as closely related to the actual worship of the church. We must be about the business of God and stop trying to make new business decisions for Him.
In every time period there are issues that are pertinent to that particular era. Some are more spiritual than others, but each individual and group must determine what it is that God really cares about.
We may wind up dividing over using two fingers to the right. That is sad. God may have never cared about making the sign in the first place, and then those who claim His name make an issue of something so insignificant as the world watches, laughs, and goes to a Christless eternity.
There are things that God must consider to be very important for us to do. He has given us commands to be followed. Whatever He says should be done must be at the top of our agenda.
There are those around who do not believe this. They have relegated the Word of God to insignificance while elevating the thoughts of man to a higher plain. They try to make logic and reason more important than "Thus saith the Lord." This is wrong and dangerous.
Is it not just as dangerous to elevate good concepts and practices to the level of the Word of God? People take things that are derived from Biblical concepts and make them equal to the clear precepts of Scripture. Many times we go way beyond that, and make tradition of our church or fellowship the same as the Lord's commands.
A number of years ago a group of believers asked to use a room in our place for a meeting in which they would be able to share some concerns about their group. I stood in the back and heard them discuss the fact that people in their movement were not greeting one another with a holy kiss and many ladies were not wearing a cap on their heads. These were not issues within my fellowship of believers, but they were major to these people. Both of the issues had a Scriptural foundation although my perception would be that they did not have a Scriptural mandate. They were similar to two fingers to the right.
Any issue over which godly, Bible believing Christians disagree ought to be in the category of two fingers to the right. We all have the ministry and illumination of the Holy Spirit. Godly people should come to agreement on those things which are right and vital.
There are those within our society who would make God the designer of a democratic, capitalistic system such as the United States of America. I love this country and I love the system established, but God has laid down principles which are more basic than the system.
Submission to leadership. Obedience to the laws. Praying for all who are over us. These are some of the things which must be practiced and adhered to. Do not make the mistake that leads you to the place of considering the system of government so important that you will violate what God has laid down for you in order to protect the system.
There are those who will decide the clothing a woman should wear, the way she should live her life, and a great number of things about her. God lays down principles that relate to modesty and decorum. Many tend to become more prescriptive than the Word of God indicates should be the case. Generally speaking those who do this will base a great deal on the misinterpretation of one verse of the Bible.
For instance many who feel that a woman should not wear slacks will base the conclusion on the words of Deuteronomy 22:5. In that passage Moses is talking about a woman not wearing man's apparel or a man wearing women's apparel for the purposes of sexual deception. People extract that verse from the passage and make it say something that it doesn't say, and very seldom even look at the rest of the passage and apply the things that are in those verses.
It is vital that the Christian walk in a different way from those of this world. The people of this world should look at us and say that they do not understand our lifestyle. There is nothing wrong in being different. In fact, it is right. It is vital that in being different it is because God is telling us to do what we do rather than to just fit the traditions of our community.
A "two fingers to the right" philosophy will make problems about things that are not problems and not worry at all that the process is turning off those who are all around us. It is not our responsibility to make the world like us. We should not do dumb things to make them not like us. There will be plenty not to like when we just do what God wants us to do. It is our responsibility to make sure that what they don't like is the "mark" of being a Christian
Everybody likes to be liked. We don't want to be out of step with the people who are around us, but the Bible is clear about the fact that we march to a different beat and we respond to different stimuli. Modesty will look different, but that does not mean that it has to be out of style or dowdy. People of the world may feel that modest clothing is dowdy, but I think it is important to feel good about your self, and that happens when you wear clothing that is stylish and of adequate quality without having to change it every season and spend excessive amounts on it. It is important to be both modest in dress and expenditures.

How about you? Which way is your hand going? How many fingers are you using? When did you last consult God about what you should be doing? He really cares what you are and what you do. Do you think He cares if your hand is going right or left with two or three fingers? I don't think so. Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
The End.

Peace

Peace is a beautiful word in any language. It is because it is not the sound of the word that makes it beautiful, but it is that which is the intrinsic part of the word that enhances it. The word may have a more beautiful sound in some languages, but it cannot have a more beautiful meaning.

Some would make it mean peace between nations and it can mean that, but when the Bible talks about peace it is talking about something that is deeper in the individual than something outward.

When Zacharias spoke about his son in the first chapter of Luke, he said in verses 76-79,

for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
That is not talking about the peace of Jerusalem, but it is talking about the inner being of every individual who would come to know the “dayspring” (Jesus).

In some of His last words on earth Jesus said in John 14:27,

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
That was one of the last promises Jesus made to His Disciples. The beautiful fact is that Jesus’ promise is for us as well.

It should come as no surprise that Paul continually spoke of the peace of God belonging to the believer. The last thing he wrote to the Corinthian Christians is found in II Corinthians 13:11,

Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

How is it that we seem to be a people who don’t know what peace is? It is a shame to us that we have built boundaries and blockades among us. Paul told the church in Ephesus that there was no more Jew and Gentile. The boundaries had been broken down. If we live with boundaries and want to exclude others then shame on us. There can be no more black and white, rich and poor, smart and dumb, male and female, or any other partition that we might arbitrarily make.

If you do not know peace, then you are at fault. God has promised it. He has provided it. He promotes it. He will produce it in you.

Paul wrote his best friend, Timothy, and said in II Timothy 3:16,

Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.

That peace is the right and privilege of every child of God. If we do not have it today then we either do not know Him or we are unfaithful to Him. Either way, it is an easy thing to correct it. Trust Him today. Live for Him in all you do.

God and Creation

God spoke His Word when Creation took place. He spoke and the world came into existence. Even though sin entered the world and the earth became cursed the evidence of His Hand is in every tree, flower, animal, person, mountain, ocean, and insect. We only have to look to see His mark and know that this is my Father’s world.

As I have traveled around the world, I have observed that there are many different kinds of animals. I noticed that even though the black cows with a white stripe like the one above are different from all the cows I saw in South Africa, they are consistently the same. The 250,000 impalas that roam in the game preserve of Umfolozi, Natal all look just about identical. They have black markings, tan markings, and beige markings, etc. which are all the same on everyone of them. An impala is an impala. A water buck is a water buck. God made them the way that they are and they are not in the process of evolving to be something else.
God spoke His Word when His Son took on human flesh and became like we. The marvel of the eternal taking on the temporal and the infinite assuming the finite is beyond the thinking of man. Jesus, the literal Word of God, became a man so He could live a sinless life and, in contrast to the first Adam, bring life to mankind. He was the Word that was in the beginning. He was the declared Word who laid down His life to pay the price of sin. He is the eternal Word who resides at the right hand of the Father forever declaring that the price He paid makes every believer’s account marked, PAID IN FULL.”
If that is not enough God has given us His written Word which is a record of the eternal scope and plan of God Himself. It gives us the record from Creation into the unending days of eternity. We learn how it is that we became flesh. We are taught how sin entered the world. We discover what it is that blocks man from entering heaven and we learn the price that has been paid to remove the blockade and open the gates of heaven wide for every believer. We learn how to live down here and prepare to live up there. We discover how victory over death will be won because of the Cross of Calvary.
God’s eternal plan is the plan of redemption that brings life where only there was death. It brings hope where there was nothing but despair. It brings joy where there was only sorrow. It takes us from frustration to accomplishment. We go from defeat to victory and from emptiness to fulfillment.
All of this is because of His Word that was spoken at creation, demonstrated in the Savior, and is at our fingertips in His book. His Word is full of wonderful words of redemption. There are all kinds of words that God has given to us, but this book is a book of the words of redemption. They are words in which we can learn, grow, and revel.
God’s book is not just a convenient way to learn about Who God is and what He has done. It is a revealing book that teaches us about the character and attributes of Almighty God, but it is also shows us the weakness and attributes of man. God gave us this book so that we could know Him, understand ourselves, and be victorious in life and death.
Redemption is the theme of the Creator, the sustainer, and the Savior. Lift up your heads and live. Man stands in desperation, unable to do anything to solve his problems, change his destiny, and renew his relationship with his creator God. God stands able and willing to do it all. The great gulf remains as long as man fails to meet the one requirement of the creator God. Man must lift up his head and cry out to God in belief. In that moment he discovers that God has already accomplished it all on man’s behalf and the chasm has been crossed. Man than stands on the brink of eternity with his sins forgiven, his life renewed, and his fellowship restored. The great theme of redemption has been entered and accomplished.

When we come to know Him, then we can sing the great songs of redemption.
Redeemed how I love to proclaim it. Redeemed by the blood of the lamb. Redeemed through His infinite mercy. His child and forever am I.

The Romans Boulevard

It is in the book of Romans that the plan of God comes to us in such a way that the righteousness of God becomes a reasonable prospect for the child of God. What had seemed unattainable now is held our as God’s free gift for all who believe Him. We no longer stand on the earthly shores hopelessly looking heavenward, but Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, clearly states that the committed walk of a child of God is a “reasonable service.”
The Psalmist said, “lift up your heads—and the king of glory shall come in.” What he said for Israel, Paul says for each of us. We no longer should stand on earth’s dry land wishing for more than we have ever had when it is available to all who call upon God and are saved, sanctified, and risen in Christ.
Romans gives us hope, joy, assurance, and satisfaction in the work that Christ wants to do in each of His children. It is sad that so many flounder in their walk, trip over the elementary truths about God’s will and purpose for us. Paul understands the desperate position of the one who has not allowed God to take charge of his life and removed the barrier of self from his Christian life.
There is no perfection down here, but there is always more than we have experienced. Our gracious God has provided all that we need to have the experience of that new life in Christ. It does not have to be just a desire, but it can be a reality for all who lay claim to the promises of God.
It is a relief to discover that attaining God’s righteousness can no more be done in our own strength than being born again. The Romans road is more than a walk into a heavenly relationship, but it is a royal parkway that brings rich rewards to those who stop trying to work their way into His fellowship, but relinquish all human endeavor and allow the Spirit of God to take control of the life.
It is a continuation of the simple step of faith that brought about the riches of salvation to the believer. The Disciples all had trouble with the concept that Jesus had come to die. They also were frustrated at the thought that the Son of God knelt before them with basin and towel to wash their feet The royal king of heaven presented a picture of what being a servant of God is all about. When Paul states that we should present our bodies as a living sacrifice, he brings us to that place where life takes on totally new meaning.
Our goals for living must change. We can not afford to live for self and our outlook must always be an upward one that understands and sees each person as better than ourselves. This comes when we understand that we live our lives for the one who is not just better, but is best of all. He becomes the ultimate goal of living.
Knowing Christ begins to be a reality and the better that we know Him, the more that we become like Him. As that takes place we move toward the reality that John talks about in I John where we stand in His presence and are like Him for it is at that point that we shall see Him as He is.
Seeing Christ as He is only becomes possible when we see ourselves as we are today. Most of us see ourselves as we will be one day, but that is not today. We are in a short journey that leads to the day when we reach that wonderful goal of total sanctification that never could be while we still have this old sin nature.
The beautiful journey through Romans guides us in that growth.

Happy Persecution

Happy are those who are persecuted. Count it all joy when you fall into many temptations or testings. In this world there will be persecution. Paul even asked, “Why do I suffer persecution?”
What about forgiveness, peace, joy, and all the good things that are promised in the Word of God. Have we missed something or is there something much more important that we need to learn..
In a Christianity Today column entitled “Blessed are the Persecuted,” Clarence Jordan is quoted as saying,

“We wonder why Christians today get off so easily. Is it because unchristian Americans are that much better than unchristian Romans, or is our light so dim that the tormentor can’t see it?
What are the things we do that are worth persecuting?” If persecution is guaranteed to the righteous, then what does not being persecuted say about our righteousness? Does it mean that we are not righteous? Can it be that we are not righteous enough? How much righteousness is enough?

Paul said to the Thessalonian Christians,
2Th 1:5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

The word that is translated “persecuted” in Matthew and in Thessalonians has the base meaning of “to pursue.” In some way persecution involves “pursuit.” The same word is used when it talks about “pursuing hospitality,” “pursuing peace,” and many other good pursuits. It is incredible that a word that talks about good pursuits means the same thing as the word that means “to persecute.”

One day my good Korean friend, Pak Chai Man, said to me, “Come, I want you to meet a woman whose testimony will bless you.” As we drove out to the river where the women of the village were doing their wash, Chai Man told me about the lady we were going to see. He said that she had a husband who had been killed in the Police action. She had three sons who were killed in the fighting. She had only one son living and he was missing in action. I began to think that I did not want to meet this lady and hear all the burdens of her life. When we arrived at the river, she was there beating her cloths on the rocks to clean them. She looked up at me with radiance in her face and a light in her eyes. She started to tell me how good God had been to her.

I thought to myself , “If that is what being good is there is something that I don’t understand.” Pak Chai Man was right. She was a blessing to me that day. I learned that persecution and tribulation are used by God to help us mature in our Christlikeness. The radiance that I saw cried out, “God knows what He is doing and what He is doing will be for my good.”

In America, we live in a country that is free, and that freedom allows us to live, worship, and serve the living God. We are thankful for that freedom, but does that very freedom put us in jeopardy of not having the blessing of persecution. No one in his right mind will wish for persecution, but is it possible that our lives should be lived in such a way that invites it. It invites it by its very character and purity. It does not invite it by being so bad, but it does so by being so good.

Paul said to those Thessalonian Christians that they could be “counted worthy of the kingdom of God.” They were worthy because they had suffered persecution. God promised that he would take care of the persecutors, and he would bless the persecuted.

Peter made it clear that our suffering and persecution were signs of our identification with the Savior. He said in I Peter 2:19-24,
For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.
For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

It is time that we started living lives that can result in suffering. It will not come by being nasty and antagonistic, but it will come by being righteous and good. The world understands what it means to be nasty, pushy, and self-serving. It does not understand what it means to be forgiving, kind, loving, peaceful, and pure. Jesus was all of that and more, and they put Him to death. They could not stand His goodness. It was too threatening in a self-serving world.
Is goodness still threatening today? It is. Our Christian world is predominated by a secular humanistic philosophy that glorifies man, minimizes God, and denounces godliness. It is building a new “tower of babel” to carry men to the god they don’t know and that does not exist.
If someone speaks of the right to life or any other moral questions, they are accused of being bigots and castigating everyone who does not believe them. There are more serious consequences than this in many countries around the world where Christians are imprisoned, killed, or made cast-offs simply because they believe the Gospel message.

That sounds like what Jesus was talking about. We should be thankful that we live in a society where there is more toleration. It is a society which has been influenced by the Gospel, but that strong influence is so old that now society does not mind if we believe the Gospel. We just shouldn’t take it too seriously. John gives us a significant piece of spiritual advice about becoming righteous. He says in I John 3:7,

Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

If we reverse the order of that verse we find that: 1. Jesus is righteous. 2. When we are righteous we become like Him. 3. If we become righteous, we practice righteousness in our lives. It is that righteousness that is persecuted by the world.

The strange thing is that the child of God should be the very best citizen of the society in which he/she lives. It is God’s requirement that those who love Him should obey the rulers above them. We should not be known as people who are disobedient to the authorities, but we should be obedient right up to the point where we are told to disobey God.

Jesus told His disciples that the righteous would take care of the needs of those who had nothing. He indicated in Matthew 25 that they were the righteous and cared for the needs of those who were thirsty, hungry, and naked. He said to them in Matthew 25:40,

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Luke gave insight into the righteous person when he reported about Zacharias and Elisabeth in Luke 1:6,

And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

They obeyed God and they were not phonies. Luke says that they were righteous. There is a pretty important lesson in that. If we are going to be righteous then we will be obedient and we will obey both in our hearts and in our actions. The world may not like us, but they will know that we are real when we are consistent with what God says we should be.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
(Matthew 5:10-12)

The B I B L E

When I was a child we would sing in our Sunday School, The B I B L E, Yes that's the book for me. I stand alone on the Word of God, the B I B L E.

I still like that song and that childlike faith in the Bible is mine today. You don't have to agree with that to enjoy what we have to say on this site, but please read the various articles and enjoy them. We wish that everybody would agree with us, but our wishes are not that important. Your relationship with God is important. Thank you for spending time on this site.