Week 68: Wisdom - Ask for it!

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (James 1:5ESV)

Wit…

"Integrity and wisdom: These are the keys to business success," the old man was telling his son.
"By integrity, I mean that when you promise the delivery of merchandise on a certain day you must do so even if it bankrupts you."

"Well," asked the son, "what is wisdom?"

"Don't make such promises."

........................

Its true when people say that a smart man knows what to say and a wise man knows whether to say it or not (Thus, if anyone in the world who need wisdom really bad is – Me!) But wisdom is more than saying the right thing for the right reason at the right time; it is, in the simplest words – skill for living. Do you need skill in living? Yes you do. Therefore, ask wisdom from God.

Wisdom…

“Wisdom applies God’s truth and principles to your daily relationships and situations,” Ronald A. Beers continue, “It helps you to know the difference between right and wrong, to choose what is right, and to avoid the problems that comes from wrong choices. Wisdom from God helps you to penetrate the deceptions and distortions the world throws at you.” In the Bible, there are 2 kind of wisdom; worldly wisdom and spiritual wisdom. Worldly wisdom will produce worldly results such as envy (selfish ambition), strife (self-seeking), boasting (self-glorifying) and deceit (lying); while spiritual wisdom will give spiritual results such as meekness, purity, peace, gentleness, compliance, mercy, good fruits, decisiveness and sincerity.  Spiritual wisdom is God’s wisdom, therefore ask wisdom from God.  

Get Wisdom…

We often confuse wisdom with intelligence. All of us know people who are very intelligent, perhaps almost geniuses, and yet who seemingly are unable to carry out the simplest of tasks of life. The worst is, they can run computers but they cannot manage their own lives! This is why Proverbs 4:7 say, “Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.” Wisdom enables us to put things together and relate God’s truth to daily life. In my case, it is not enough for me to study God’s Word, but I have to have wisdom to be able to practice it. Therefore in your study and work or in your daily living – ask wisdom from God.

Where to get Wisdom…

“Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom...” (Proverbs 9:10) John Gill comments, ‘no man is wise till he fears the Lord, and he that does so is a wise man’. But what does it mean by ‘fear of the Lord’? In simple language, it is learn to reverence God. J.I. Packer explained it this way: ‘Not till we have become humble and teachable, standing in awe of God’s holiness and sovereignty, acknowledge our own littleness, distrusting our own thoughts, and willing to have our minds turned upside down, can divide wisdom become ours.’ It is a sad thing when many of us do the opposite things and expect that God would grant us wisdom. Oh, fear the Lord and ask wisdom from Him!

The Word of God is also our wisdom. In Deuteronomy 4:5-6, “Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments… Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations.” Again, the psalmist writes, “Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me” (119:98). Do you want to know ‘the decease’ of our modern Christians today? We read newspaper early in the morning and filled our mind with world news all day long! We spend 3 minutes on one chapter (I’m trying to be generous here) of the Bible and hour upon hour on sport, entertainment and fashion news each day! No wonder we are smart, informative and brilliant but lack of wisdom. Oh ask for wisdom! Get wisdom from God’s Word for it is God’s free gift – ask wisdom from God!

Conclusion:

The Lord created the earth by his wisdom; by his knowledge he set the sky in place. His wisdom caused the rivers to flow and the clouds to give rain to the earth. Just observe the sky, the rivers and the clouds you’ll see that the creation was created by His Wisdom. Ask wisdom from God so that He will impart wisdom to us. Proverbs 2:3-6 say;

“Yes, beg for knowledge; plead for insight. Look for it as hard as you would for silver or some hidden treasure. If you do, you will know what it means to fear the Lord and you will succeed in learning about God. It is the Lord who gives wisdom; from him come knowledge and understanding.”

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Ask for wisdom!

................................ 

References:

1)      Warren W. Wiersbe’s Be Mature: Chapter 8: Where to Get Wisdom

2)      J.I. Packer’s Knowing God: Part II, chapter 10: God’s Wisdom and Ours

Men's Dirty Little Secret: Pornography

As I listened to The All-American Rejects song called Dirty Little Secret on my mp3 player, it sparked my mind to one of the most destroying secret men ever struggle with – pornography. Quite numbers of men are sitting on that secret. Pornography is the ‘dirty little secret’ few wish to talk about. We hope that people won’t know (but actual we know) So now let's talk about it, briefly~

Pornography has always been a favorite pastime of many young men everywhere. In fact, someone that I know personally told me it was a ‘normal’ thing to do. Unfortunately, it is spreading quickly into the private lives of men and women. I know you’ll not be too surprise if I say that it happen also in our Christian community. 

“The truth is,” writes Jeff Olson, “that a multitude of Christian men, young and old, and from all walks of life, regularly looked at pornography. Not all men who have looked at pornography are addicted to it, but many are. And anyone who takes a casual peek or even accidentally runs across it is in danger of getting hooked.”

Men are not alone in facing this issue…

What is Pornography?

My dictionary defines pornography as ‘the depiction of erotic behavior, as in pictures or writing, intended to rouse sexual excitement. It involves such things as books, photographs and film – all depicting erotic behavior intended to cause sexual excitement.” What makes material pornographic is its main intent is to cause/rouse sexual excitement.

The rise of Pornography

Pornography is highly profitable industry and furthermore, it is widely available. The growth of its use is faster than our KLIA Ekspres train (metaphorically speaking). Today, those with access to the Internet no longer need to worry about having not enough ‘stocks’. With a click of the mouse; students, employees, husbands and even children can download many sexually graphic pictures and sex videos – easy to find, easy access, and easy to get. This ‘acceptable’ entertainment is even being shown over television, cable systems and in movies.

[My friends and I once offered by a young entrepreneur selling X-rated movies while we were eating at coffee shop. That’s what we called – direct-selling!]

The Dangers of Pornography

Here are some of the dangers listed by Dr. James Dobson (summaries mine) on his January 1986 Focus on the Family newsletter entitled, “Combating the Darkness”;

1.     Depictions of violence against women are related to violence against women everywhere. “Violent pornography also contributes to the so-called “rape-myth,” leading men to believe that women really want to be abused even when they vigorously deny it.” 

2.     The use of pornography seems to be addictive and progressive in nature. “…those who get hooked on sexually explicit material tend to become obsessed by their need.”

3.     The river of obscenity which floods our homes has reached the eyes and ears of children! “…viewing their parents’ x-rated videos and magazines… also being bombarded by vile lyrics in rock music on radio, television and videos.”

4.     Pornography is degrading and humiliating to women. “They are shown being beaten, hanged from trees, smeared with feces, urinated upon, and, of course, deprived of dignity and modesty… the entire female gender has reason to feel used and abused by this industry.” 

In short, pornography destroying to society, degrading to women, damaging to marriages and destructive to users!

“Flee from sexual immorality”

Men are aroused visually. Wild imaginations and wicked fantasies are our expertise. Jeff Olson explained it well when he writes, “God had wired men to be sexually aroused by sight. In a matter of seconds, a man can shift from feeling no sexual arousal to full sexual arousal because he is stimulated primary by what he sees.” There are many more factors that contribute men to fall into the bait of pornography, but this I foresee is the main reason behind our failure. Keep away from anything that may lead you into sexual immorality.

“Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:18-20ESV)

God in the Bible command us to “flee from sexually immorality”. The words “flee”, pheugate, mean ‘to run away’, ‘to shun’. Albert Barnes notes, “This is a sin where a man is safe only when he flies; free from pollution only when he refuses to entertain a thought of it; secure when he seeks a victory by flight, and a conquest by retreat. Let a man turn away from it without reflection on it and he is safe.” Feeding your sexual appetite with pornography can only lead to incredible temptation by Satan. Plus, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. “You were bought with a price” that is by the Blood of Jesus Christ. So keep it holy by ‘flee’ from pornography!

“How can a young man keep his way pure?”

Temptation is not sin. “Yielding to temptation is sin”, writes Rick Wilkerson, “The Lord has always promised us that temptation will never be so strong we can’t overcome it.” Here is a word of advice: Don’t entertain the garbage of pornography, instead fill it with the truth of God’s Word.  Psalmist asked a question,

“How can a young man keep his way pure?” (Psalms 119:9)

How can a Christian men and women flee from this destructive behavior?
How can we keep our way pure from this sinful desire?

“By guarding it according to your [God's] word.” (.11ESV)

 THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

The Greatness of God, not the significance of man

“It is about the greatness of God, not the significance of man.
God made man small and the universe big to say something about himself.”
(John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life)

God created universe

Do you know that God created a universe so large that it would take a person between 200 and 500 billion years to travel around the universe at the speed of light (that is approximately 186,000 miles per second)? Do you know that He created the world out of atoms so small that it would take the whole population of the world 180 million years to count the atoms in a cup of water, counting at one per second? That’s the greatness of our God! In big or small things, He is great!

In 1 Chronicles 29:11, king David proclaimed, “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.”

That is to say that God is possessed of all greatness and immensity, of dignity of nature, and of all perfections; of almighty power, of excellent glory, of superiority to all beings and of honor, and majesty, and all that grandeur, might, and honor in men, and victory over others; the majestic appearance they make, and exaltation above others they have, are all of God.*

This is the God of the Bible. To realize this is to see how small, unfit, powerless men we are. Even the greatest leader of the world is too small, fragile, and weak if we are to compare with the Lord. Don’t exalt ourselves. Don’t think for a second that God depend on our praise and worship, conferences and concerts  to exalt Himself higher; in fact we do all these because He is Above All! We respond to His greatness; not assume that He will be great because of what we do. Don’t be fool! Open your eyes to see the greatness of our Lord – be humble. Fear the Lord. He is King and we are not. Be humble.

My readers, the truth is: "God is not looking for great people, but He is looking for people who will realize the greatness of God"
Do you realize the greatness of God in your daily living?
If you do, you'll be motivated for life!  

“You are wonderful, LORD, and you deserve all praise,
because you are much greater than anyone can understand.” (Psalm 145:3)  

THINK BIG – Think about His Greatness

START SMALL – Start by realizing His Greatness

GO DEEP – Fear Him. 

 ...................

*I don't remember where I quote it.

When Prayer seems Wordless

“When you pray, rather let your heart without words
than your words without heart.” (John Bunyan, translated into today’s English)

Friends, perhaps you need a prayer today. Examinations coming soon, loaded of works need to be done, love ones lying on hospital bed, broken relationship, fear of the unknown, or perhaps you just need a prayer; simply a prayer. So you begin with, “Dear Lord… ummm… err… Dear Lord…” suddenly mental black-out. Words seem to be absence from your lips. It was there, but you don’t remember or you remember but hesitate to say it or you’re not hesitating but it just couldn’t come out. “Ah…” you inhaled the air; “huh…” you exhaled it back. Nothing seems to change – still no word.

Mind you, I have been there before, often, very often. Not that I don’t know what I want to pray for, I know, but I just couldn’t express it in words – sigh. Nor that I’m too afraid to say or assume that God doesn’t hear my prayer, I’m just wordless – sigh. My mind is on Him; what a peace but somehow my tongue tied – sigh.

Are we on the same road now? Have you been there before? You do???

Here is the good news – you are praying. In that silent, wordless moment; you are praying. “Prayer is not primarily saying words or thinking thoughts” explained Richard Rohr, “It is, rather, a stance. It’s a way of living in the Presence.” We often associate prayer with the words we say. Why not? In the Church we always heard our pastor prayed outstanding long and powerful prayers. In prayer meeting we heard people, especially the older ones prayed like reading book. We heard Christian leaders sing songs of worship and ‘pray until it reached to the sky’. No wonder when you couldn’t say a single word, you make a conclusion that – “I don’t know how to pray”.

You do. God Spirit is helping you to pray. What a wonderful God He is! Because I don’t know the deep longing of my heart – I don’t even know: Me – but God does! So it is with my need in prayer.  

Today if you don’t have words to say, do not be discouraged. Quiet your minds quiet your body, breathe deeply. Don’t need to inform God what you would like done in your life, not this time [There are times for all of the above. You don’t have to say long winded prayer if you really have nothing to say]. Just enjoy one another: you and God without conversation, being with God without wordiness.

“… God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along.
If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter.
He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves,
knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God.”
(Romans 8:26-27 The Message)

THINK BIG Heart without word is more important than word without heart.
START SMALL Listen, Quiet down, Breathe deeply.
GO DEEP As for today, do nothing – let God’s Spirit do the prayer for you. 

 .............

To read more one prayer, click below picture:

O Lord, Teach Me to be Content

Most of us tend to define contentment with having every material thing we think we want (Really? Can we have it all?) and wishing that perfect circumstances (When is that?) may come our way in order to be content. But the fact is: true contentment actually has nothing to do with material possessions or the right circumstances. “True contentment,” observed Ronald A. Beers, “only comes from the peace and love God offers, and it remains secure despite life’s circumstances.”

I heard someone said that ‘until you make peace with who you are, you’ll never be content with what you have’ – agree! But this is not a fully develop statement. Until we make peace with God and trust in Him, that is, to acknowledge His lordship and give Him control over our life, He will grant us his Spirit to teach us to be content with what we have. How? For a start, maybe you can pray with me this prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, teach us to be content with whatever we have

so that we may know how to live on almost nothing or with everything.

Teach us the secret of living in every situation;

to be content whether in full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.

As our material thing is yours – our life is yours.
You are Lord and I am not

So take control over my life we pray.

For we hold on to Your Word,

‘I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.’ Amen.

THINK BIG. GO DEEP. START SMALL. 
You may also want to read: (click title)
Contentment - Live on almost Nothing or with Everything

The Beautiful Letdown (Stories of unforgettable Sacrifice)

Not long ago, someone send me an e-mail about a story of Mother’s Sacrifice during the Sichuan Earthquake (1998). I’m sure most of you might have read this story before, but if you haven’t done so then take your time to read it;

‘After the Earthquake had subsided, when the rescuers reached the ruins of a young woman’s house, they saw her dead body through the cracks. But her pose was somehow strange that she knelt on her knees like a person was worshiping; her body was leaning forward, and her two hands were supporting by an object. The collapsed house had crashed her back and her head.
With so many difficulties, the leader of the rescuer team put his hand through a narrow gap on the wall to reach the woman’s body. He was hoping that this woman could be still alive. However, the cold and stiff body told him that she had passed away for sure. He and the rest of the team left this house and were going to search the next collapsed building. 

For some reasons, the team leader was driven by a compelling force to go back to the ruin house of the dead woman. Again, he knelt down and used his hand through the narrow cracks to search the little space under the dead body. Suddenly, he screamed with excitement,

“A child! There is a child!”
The whole team worked together; carefully they removed the piles of ruined objects around the dead woman. There was a three month old little boy wrapped in a flowery blanket under his mother’s dead body. Obviously, the woman had made an ultimate sacrifice for saving her son. When her house was falling, she used her body to make a cover to protect her son. The little boy was still sleeping peacefully when the team leader picked him up.
The medical doctor came quickly to exam the little boy. After he opened the blanket, he saw a cell phone inside the blanket. There was a text message on the screen. It said,

“If you can survive, you must remember that I love you.”

This cell phone was passing around from one hand to another. Everybody that read the message wept.

 “If you can survive, you must remember that I love you.”

Such is the mother’s love for her child!

[I want to give credit to Jade Brandilyn Joy, whoever you are, for writing this story. Even if Jade was not the writer, I thank Jade anyway for spreading this amazing story. Thank you.]

What a moving story. I remember another true story about The Father’s Sacrifice at Golgotha that happened around 2000 years ago. He died not on the ground but hang on a tree. His body was not covered with dust or crashed by collapsed building but was covered with his own blood that was stripped heavily. He wasn’t kneeling but stretched up in agonies. His two hands didn’t support anyone as per say, but instead two huge Roman’ nails were driven at his wrists on that rough crossbeam. He not only saves a child but many children, including His own enemies… What a love story. C.S. Lewis writes, “The Son of God became the Son of Man so that sons of men may become sons of God.”

Here is God’s text message to you,

 “This is real love – not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son [Jesus Christ] as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” (1 John 4:10NLT)

Jesus loves you. This is the story of the beautiful letdown, The Father’s Sacrifice at Golgotha.  

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP. 

.............

You may also want to read (click title):  

Week 26: Sacrifice - 'Even death itself will turn backwards'

Week 67: Contentment - Live on almost Nothing or with Everything

“…for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little…” (Saint Paul, Philippians 4:11-13NLT)

More, More, More

How much we enjoy what we have is more important than how much we have. We can have dozen of car or few houses, for example, but in the end we simply cannot enjoy all of it. In today’s materialistic society, life is full of people who have more than enough, more than they know what to do with it but sad to say, they cannot be content. “More, more, more” is the language spoken by those who have a discontented heart.

Little Bit More

Most people think that having more or plenty will make us content – they are deceived. The truth is; a taste of having plenty makes us want a little more than what we’ve got. We brought all kinds of modern appliances, always updating with the latest electronic gadgets, collect expensive furniture, keep as many trendy clothes as possible etc. But still we’re not content.  Even if we have ‘everything’, ‘full stomach’ or ‘in plenty’; the desire to always want a little-bit-more will quench our thirst for something we don’t have. When we look at what we want and then compare it with what we have, we will be utterly dissatisfied.

Frederick Koenig observed it well when he writes,

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”

Contentment, what does it mean?

Contentment means suppressing the desire for more and more. It means recognizing that we are merely God’s stewards of our possessions and appreciating God’s Providences in our life. Readers, to be content doesn’t mean we shall not wanting or desire anything at ALL – that’s a false teaching! It doesn’t mean that we must give everything away to the poor and become poor ourselves. It doesn’t mean we must feel guilty for being blessed as Malaysian citizen. [Come to think about it, I’m really blessed for being a Malaysian] It doesn’t mean we care nothing about our finances. It doesn’t mean… oh you get what I mean right: Contentment means enjoying what we have to the fullest, recognizing what we already have, and appreciate what we do have. A contented heart spoke the language of “God is enough”.

“The secret of contentment”, writes Lin Yutang, “is knowing how to enjoy what you have and to be able to lose all desire for thing beyond you reach.”

‘Be content with whatever I have’

 Now, let’s look at the Scripture above. Paul was in the Roman’s prison cell when he wrote the Letter of Philippians. It amazes me that the apostle Paul could be content while chained in a prison cell for years. I imagine that he lived in that filth, dark and alone inside that iron bars. It amazes me even more when I studied the Epistles that Paul also was content in times of plenty when he stayed with rich folks such as Philemon and Lydia. Thus, he was able to write ‘I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.’

Learned How to Be Content

"contentment' by Henriette

Paul says that he had “learned” this. It doesn’t come naturally for him. For everything that he went through throughout his life – he learned how to be content. Albert Barnes from my E-Sword software noted that, “A contented mind is an invaluable blessing, and is one of the fruits of religion in the soul. It arises from the belief that God is right in all his ways… one of the secrets of happiness is to have a mind satisfied with all the allotments of Providence.”

Here is a short prayer that might be helpful for us to be content in our life;

“O Lord, Give me mind that always contented with my present condition,
for I believe in the goodness of Your Providence. Amen.”

The Heart that Loves the Little Things

I came across this wonderful short yet meaningful quotation in Roy B. Zuck’s The Speaker’s Quote Book that I want to share with you. As I ended this article, may you’ll be encourage to start living your life contented with what you have;

The heart that loves the little things

Is full of deep content;

The life that serves in little things

Is often nobly spent

So do not be despising

The day of little things,

For bees, as well as angels,

Can boast a pair of wings

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP. God is Enough.