Grains of Sand

Reading: James 1-5 My online dictionary defines wisdom as: ·       the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise. ·       the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of such experience, knowledge, and good judgment . ·       the body of knowledge and principles that develops within a specified society or period . James gets even more specific, showing us that wisdom is as practical as a shopping cart in a grocery store. His definition of godly wisdom morphs into something perhaps quite different from what we might expect. He writes: “ 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. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness ” (James 3:17, 18, NIV). Godly wisdom is not based on human knowledge or experience. I...

I can talk to God without listening for Him. I can learn all there is to learn about Him without applying what I learn. Hypocrites are those who talk without listening, who learn without applying, and then claim to hear God's voice and follow His precepts. I don't want to be a hypocrite so I will explain my behaviour (and lack of it) by saying that talking and learning aren't all that important anyway—it's the relationship that counts. How can I have a relationship with someone I talk to, but don't listen to? How can I have a relationship with someone I research but never respond to? How can I listen if I never bother to enter into conversation? How can I respond if I have never collected enough information to base that response on? I need to learn to talk to God, not just to dump my "God bless…" or "Be with…" or "You just gotta get me out of…" on, but to acknowledge Who He is and submit myself to Him. Then I need to listen for His ...

“ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding ” —Proverbs 9:10, NIV “When we use the phrase ‘the fear of the Lord’ it does not mean that we should be terrified of God,” said the preacher. “We are talking about reverence, about respect.” The parishioner sitting halfway down the sanctuary breathed a sigh of relief. It was almost audible because it was being echoed by half of the rest of the congregation. They all “respected” God and kept Him in a special place in their lives. Every Sunday morning they would bring Him out, dust Him off, and let Him ride with them in the backseat of the car all the way to church. “The Hebrew has several meanings for the word ‘fear,’ as we have it here,” continued the speaker. “Most of us are not familiar with this third meaning, but it contains a wealth of meaning that we should think about. That word is ‘piety’ and it is here that we come to understand that our actions speak louder than words. T...

Aha, I thought, as I read this morning's assigned verses. I figured I could pass on this set of instructions. The verses come from 1 Peter 3:1-5 which, as most people know, like it or not, have to do with wives submitting to their husbands. Since I don't have a husband, I thought I'd just skip over the passage without a second look. Then I took the second look. Some people wave these verses under the noses of wives like rotten cheese in a strong wind, admonishing them to behave themselves appropriately in their spousal relationships. A blog is not the best place to discuss all the issues that are raised here—and there are lots of them. But what strikes me is what this particular passage is actually addressing, quite apart from any other references. Take a look. " Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence ...