Spiritual Wisdom

James 3:13-18 answers for us the age old question of how we are to obtain wisdom, where it comes from, what it is. Lets be clear, wisdom does not come with age and gray or white hair. We can certainly gain some different or better perspectives over time as we experience life but wisdom comes from above, from God and God alone. In fact the more we seek to present ourselves as being wise more so than others, the further away from the wisdom that comes from God, we get. Just because we have seen some things, been through some stuff doesn't mean that we have wisdom. In fact James points out to us that clinging to such things is the essence of being unwise. Living right with God is the only way to obtain true wisdom. The difference between the wisdom of God and our own understanding is the difference between being spiritually mature or immature. We are commanded to grow up in Christ, to mature in our faith. When our thoughts, actions, and feelings are consumed by what we like, what makes us comfortable, what we want or think – then we are spiritually immature. When our hearts and minds are consumed solely with what God wants or expects of us, then and only then are we living right and well according to His word, obedient to His Holy Spirit and capable of obtaining true wisdom. In everything, ask this question as a test of wisdom, “Does this have spiritual significance?” Or, “Does this matter to God?”

Original Poem: A Mother's Purpose

From a man's rib she was formed. 

Her first breath came from the very nostrils of God. 

The delicately created is now commissioned 

to painfully yet gracefully procreate. 

Through her womb, every human life has been born. 

Even the very Son of God, through her, took on human form. 

She alone knows this life is not her own.

She exists for a purpose greater than herself. 

To give life, to nurture, care for, and protect. 

It is not for the platitude. She deserves far more than she gets.

“But for the grace of God...” She says, as she toils over her life awake in bed. 

“I go on... for their sake, I must. 

That they may one day see Jesus at work in me.”

This created a being full of grace and love 

serves not to be served but to see those she loves 

brought to their knees, made holy and set free from sin for all eternity.

A mother is, by God's supreme design, 

a soldier created to do battle by the power of the Holy Spirit on the frontlines, 

the home, the most sacred mission field on Earth. 

~ Ty Curry

Welcomed Belonging

There are some people that we seem to keep at arms length. Still others that we keep even further away. We do this in our own flesh and blood families and with people in our sphere of influence such as coworkers, store clerks, wait staff at our local watering hole or diner, etc. We even do it with people in the church. But this isn't how we are commanded in scripture to act as men and women of God. As followers of Jesus, we are to draw close to others that share in our faith in Jesus. So much so, that we not only consider them to be brothers and sisters but even more so thatn our own flesh and blood. We are to draw close to them and live in community with them even if it means that our own flesh and blood rejects us. Jesus himself said that he came to pit family members against each other. (Matt. 10:34-39) The church and the members that make up its body are to become more important to us and hold a higher value to us than those we call family or friend outside of the church. This can be difficult to do especially considering people who are different than us. We find it easier to only gel with those that look, sound, act, and think like us. When others come into our fold that are from different backgrounds or walks of life, who maybe are used to doing things a different way, or they see things through a different set of lenses – we tend to hold them at arms length. This should not be. We should not only accept them but go out of our way to make them feel at home with us. Consider these thoughts as you read over the story of Onesimus in the one page book of Philemon.