Daily Wisdom..."The Perfect Law"

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” Psa 7

When we think of instructions, decrees and commandments, we often see them as binding, hindering and restrictive. But here we see the opposite results: God’s law revives, brings forth wisdom, joy, insightfulness, discernment and is rewarding (vss 8-11).  God’s law directs and illuminates our path warning us of danger and thus pointing us towards success, not chains that bind us or restrict us. The greatest illustration of the perfection of the law is seen in the “converting” and transformation of the soul; in that it turns ones heart away from sin into righteousness and holiness. The glory of the law or the revealed truth of God is that those who seek after it and bear it to heart experience and show forth legitimate affects when God’s truth and man’s heart collide. While great and important effects are produced by the knowledge which are shown from the works of God, converting and transforming power goes forth from the law of God or His written word.  

It’s not scientific truth which converts man, but the revealed truth of God’s word.

HSAY…Todd 

Daily Wisdom..."The Bible"

“For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharer than a twoedge sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, and of the joints and the marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  Heb 4:12

The Bible is meant to be the bread of life for daily use, not a dessert cake for special occasions. We must be willing to allow the word of God to disturb our securities in life, challenge our thoughts and behaviors, undermine our complacency and personally confront us. Know that while we may do nothing with Word we hear, the Word will do something with us; expose oneself to it and it will change a heart just as exposing ice to the sun. The Bible to us is what the star was to the wise men; leading us to Christ. “As a believer simply apply yourself wholly to the scriptures; and apply the scriptures wholly to yourself.  The reason many people are down on the Bible is that they are not up on the Bible.”

Live in such a way that if someone spoke badly against you, no one would believe it!

HSAY…Todd

Daily Wisdom..."Mindfulness"

“What is man that thou art mindful of him…Thou hast made him to have dominion over the works of thy hands…”  Psa 8:4 & 6

To be mindful is to mark something for purpose, to imply as useful. We have great worth because we bear the stamp of God Himself.  To honor God’s majesty, we must compare ourselves to His greatness. In doing so we feel small by comparison, but God does not want us to dwell on our smallness. Humility means proper respect and acknowledgment of God, not self-deprecation. Our worth to God is so great He appointed us with dominion over the works of His hands; creating a value worthy of Him crowning us with glory and honor (vs 5). In Heb 2:9, we see Jesus was set a little below the angels as well and likewise is exalted and crowned with glory and honor with dominion over God’s works for the purpose that He should taste death for every man. To be mindful is to be purposeful and Christ greatest purpose was the redemption of God’s greatest work; the souls of man. If we too are mindful (purposeful) of and for God, should we not, like Christ, be mindful for the souls of man as well?  

If we are sent by Christ as Christ was sent by the Father, then we should be doing what the Father sent Christ TO DO!

HSAY…Todd

Today's Daily Wisdom

“Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes form tears, and my feet from falling.”  Psa 116:7-8

David felt the pressure of his problems as much as anyone. Instead of giving up or giving in, David held to his faith and sought rest in the bounty of the Lord. In times of despair, it’s much harder to hold on than it is to give in. But giving up on God, you’re giving in to despair. It is of God’s mercies we are not consumed. The bountiful (beneficial) dealing of God delivers the soul from death to eternal life, tears of pain to those of joy and catches us from stumbling and falling by the way side; straightening our path for life’s journey.  The wisdom of man, while in his storm, should lift-up his prayers not for safety alone, but deliverance from fear. For Joseph’s brothers they had no knowledge, in spite of their acts towards him, that he would one day be their deliverance (Gen 45).  Don’t fear the storm and digress into despair, instead rest in the Lord and delight in His bountiful love for you.

“Out of suffering comes a dependant mind; out of salvation, a grateful heart; out of endurance, fortitude; out of deliverance, faith.”

HSAY…Todd

Daily Wisdom..."Wait upon the Lord"

“I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait and in his word do I hope.”  Psa 130

It is for the Lord that the soul should wait, for the gifts of His grace and the workings of His power.  We must hope for that only which is promised in His word. Waiting is much more than a passing of time until one get’s what they desire; waiting is a process of becoming what God wants us to be. Be hesitant in focusing on how long you will be stuck in a storm and start asking what there is to learn from it. Time is never squandered when one is patient in God’s timing. Patience is not the ability to wait; that’s part of life. True patience is the ability to wait with the hope that God is working for your good. “And so, after he had patiently endured, he (Abraham) received the promise.” Heb 6:15.  While at times you must wait patiently for the storms to pass, your hope in God should allow you to dance in the rain.

Joseph waited 13 years; Abraham 25 years; Moses 40 years and Jesus 30 years…being patient in the Lord will put you in good company.

HSAY…Todd  

Daily Wisdom..."Light in the Darkness"

“Unto the upright there raiseth light in the darkness…” Psa 112:4

The distinction is not that dark days cannot befall us as well as others; you may be bereaved as others are, and you may lose possessions as others do – the general laws apply to all in this respect. God never promises that He will interpose to save His people from such things, but He will save them in them!  The peculiarity in regards to those who fear God is the promise these things will not always continue, that one should not be overwhelmed by them. It will not be uninterrupted or unmitigated gloom; “Light is sown for the righteous; gladness for the upright in heart.” Psa 97:11.  The light that is promised for the “upright” and desired to sown in their time of darkness originates from God, thus get God in it.  Psalm 127:1 “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it…” The original language utilize for “house” is universal in application, meaning a dependence upon God for life’s undertakings.  No matter what one’s skill, strength or wisdom may offer – all of man’s efforts will be in vain unless God assist them.

God never promised days without pain, sun without rain, but He does promise strength for the day and light for the way!

HSAY…Todd

Daily Wisdom..."Benefits of the Lord"

The Benefits of the Lord…Psa 103

“He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.”  (vs 10)

A psalm of gratitude and praise; David’s plea is so strong he solicits not only his own soul (vs 1-2), but he summons the angels (vs 20), hosts of heaven (vs 21) and the works of God everywhere (vs 22) to unite in acknowledgment and praise. Such praise should be effortless in our response to our verse above…”He hath not dealt with us”; as we deserve! Verse 8 reveals He is gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. What are your benefits set upon…are they enthralled in life and man, “if you live off man’s compliments, you’ll die from his criticism.” Man and life are temporal and in most cases they are in your life for their own benefit, once you’ve played your role they move on. Yet, the mercy of the Lord is everlasting to everlasting (vs 17). Such benefits in Christ ensure us the past has been forgotten, the present forgiven and the future redeemed.   

“Be cautious to take the lifeblood of Christ and replace it with kool-aide in hope to make it taste better…the results can be catastrophic.”

HSAY…Todd

Daily Wisdom..."Perfect Heart"

“I will behave myself wisely in a perfect (truthful) way…I will walk within my house with a perfect (completeness/innocence) heart.” Psa 101

David defines a perfect heart as one of truthfulness and innocence. Through this Psalm, David not only sets forth guidelines for his on walk, but alienates himself from those who are unwilling practice such acts of truthfulness and Innocence.  A heart that is neglected of truth and innocence will eventually be overrun by worldly thoughts; such a neglected life will become moral chaos. Unfortunately there is often a long road traveled between the eye of man and his heart, and while it passes through the world it seldom passes through intellect. Be cautious to live with the purpose to gain, those who gamble with truth and innocence for pleasure are staking their heart. The greatest and upmost important duty which is incumbent to Christians, is to guard your heart with all diligence (Pro 4:23) against any appearance of evil, watch for the first signs of uprising of evil in the heart.  The bible mentions the Heart (833 times), that’s more than faith, hope and love combined, if it’s that important to God maybe you should guard it wisely.

“It’s better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart.”

HSAY…Todd

Daily Wisdom..."Mercy and Truth"

“Mercy and truth are met together: righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” Psa 85:10

The truth of God my well be likened to a narrow path skirted on either side by a dangerous and destructive abyss, thus it lies between two great gulfs of error. It is the mercy of God that allows us to navigate such treacherous paths and overcome our stumbles, blindness and careless steps; yet “mercy, detached from justice, grows unmerciful” behold the union of Mercy and Truth. If we have no zeal for the truth of God we render His mercy as being superficial, thus relying on self-centered improvement which offers no eternal significance. One should revel in God’s mercy and met it in truth that’s where righteousness and peace kiss, otherwise to desire His mercy and forgo His truth is hypocritical. Our knowledge of God ironically is not of Him, but of ourselves being utterly dependent on His saving and merciful knowledge of us. As we are known of Him it’s our purpose to find our real identity in being obedient and Christ-like.  We know Him in and through ourselves in so far as His truth is the source of our being and His merciful love is very heart of our life.

Mercy should draw us to truth; truth should draw us to Christ!

HSAY…Todd     

Daily Wisdom..."Discernment"

“And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ.”  Phl 1:9-10

“Discernment is God’s call to intercession, never faultfinding.” Let us then cultivate an attitude of courage against the day and be quick to discern truth in every field, hospitable to receive it and obedient to follow it.  Be cautious, men are prone to compare themselves with men, readily the worst, and are apt to flatter themselves with a comparative betterness. But, this is not the process of finding spots, in the dirty streams of the lives of others; look through the clearness of God’s word and His infinite Holiness that will provide humility to discern one’s own spots.  The desired and supreme resource of knowledge in God is discernment in all things – the wisdom to discern good from bad, genuine form counterfeit and in both situations to rejoice in the former vs the latter.  “The rich man is wise in his own conceit, but the poor that hath understanding (discernment) searcheth him out.” Pro 28:11

The problem with not believing God, you believe everything!

HSAY…Todd

Daily Wisdom..."Inspiration"

“But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the almighty giveth them understanding. Great men are not always wise…hearken unto me; I also will show mine opinion.”  Job 32:8-10

Wisdom is not gifted upon the aged, the experienced or the great; nor is it to be self appointed.   Wisdom is imparted by God into the spirit man who seeks such Godly wisdom by attention to His Word and the dependence upon the Holy Spirit. Thus the young may become wiser than the aged, but wisdom will render itself to him that is swift to hear, slow to speak and dispose to give others patient hearing (Jas 1:19).  What is your source of inspiration; life, education, success, experience? Remember, man will seldom achieve anything greater than what his heart desires.  It’s difficult to inspire others to accomplish what you haven’t been willing to try.  If any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives it liberally to any who ask (Jas 1:5).  The bible never says figure it out, but over and over it inspires us to live it out by trusting in God who already has it figured out.

Don’t fear that life may end, fear that life was never lived through Christ!

HSAY…Todd

Daily Wisdom..."Rest in the Lord"

“Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way…” Psa 37:7

The Hebrew word here for “Rest” means to be silent, mute, still; listen in silence without question or rebuttal and wait patiently in confidence for His interposition. Job recalls his ability to draw men to his counsel who gave ear and waited in silence as waiting on the rain (Job 29:21). A great contrast arises between offering and receiving counsel.  While the former can be self encouraging and directing, the latter requires great humility and patience in leaving the matter with God without being anxious in the result. God may seem to delay long in interposing in an innocent mans suffering, the greatest value to be accomplished may be yourself; the discipline of your own spirit in bringing out patience, forgiveness and gentleness that revels your own character – which may make it proper that God does not interpose immediately. While the suffering may be paramount to us, it’s of no consequence, “nullum tempus occurrit” (as the lawyers say), to God, more important results may be obtained in the long delay than compared to immediate interposition against evil.  All the promise implies is that justice will be done, but rather sooner or later must be left, by us; to God and that our character and rest is left in His hands. (Jn 10:28)

HSAY…Todd