Daily Wisdom

“Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.” Jere 28:15

Be cautious when it comes to God’s law and your will, one is fixed the other wishful.  Hananiah prophesied concerning the yoke (bondage) of Babylon would be broken, and though it was a worthy prayer and desire, even of Jeremiah was prayerful (vs 6), but it was not of God thus only making it wishful and unfortunately a lie in this case. The next yoke that God would place upon him and the surrounding nations, however, would be made of iron (vs 13-14). For every action (Hananiah pushed against God’s ordained will) there is an opposite, but not always equal, reaction (God pushed back). Take gravity as an example. An object (be it a bird or a plane) can only resist the resistance of gravity for so long. Then it must succumb. Why? Because gravity is a fixed law, ordained of God, and you can only resist a fixed law until its resistance to you prevails. Both God and His laws are fixed. They are ordained. Resist them and for a while it can appear that you are winning, but in the end, you will lose every time. When it comes to resistance, something always gives. Will that something be what you are resisting against or will that something be you? That will depend on what you are up against, God, be prepared to move!

Resistance to your will is obedience to God’s.

HSAY… Todd

Daily Wisdom

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” Gal 6:7-8

Confusion, Delusion & Illusion...sharing truth today appears to be meaningless, as people don't want their self defined illusions destroyed.  A lack of discipline, accountability, inability to delay gratification, failure to acknowledge biblical truth, materialistic envy, absence of humility, and a delusional view of the importance of self over God and others has placed the majority in a state of spiritual brokenness and confusion.  Living in the moment and fulfilling your immediate desires may feel good today, but it leaves you susceptible to disaster tomorrow.  We have falling into accepting a reassuring lie, as opposed to an inconvenient truth.  We've become entrapped in a state of normalcy bias, content with the delusions of thought we've created for our own comforts.  Once we become a people who are only good because we fear getting caught or for a reward, we've become delusional.  Harriet Tubman stated: "I freed a thousand slaves.  I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves."  Sad, but such is the case when we fail to acknowledge truth, it's so delicate that a step away from it leads to delusion and destruction.

The God of the bible/truth is the only god who exists for those who are not yet His children.

HSAY...Todd

Daily Wisdom

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.”  Rom 1:28

You cannot think your way into a new way of living; you have to live life in a new way of thinking.  This requires you to live life with your eyes on God and not the world. This was and is man’s downfall, when God becomes irrelevant; man then makes himself relevant. And thus forgoes the knowledge of God and instead turns to those things of inconvenience and destruction.  Anywhere man refrains from the wisdom of God, the relevance of God becomes void and knowledge gives way to degenerate thought.  The relevance of God is often overlooked for the flavor of the moment which constantly changes showing its true relevance.

That which is temporal cannot have relevance over that which is eternal.

HSAY…Todd

Daily Wisdom

“Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart; that I may discern between good and bad…” 1 Kg 3:9

Solomon knew what to pray for over riches and fame, do we? Discernment dilutes the wiles of the devil; consider Eve, Satan destroyed her with deception.  Satan did not show her the bad, but instead confused her with the good (Gen 3). Just because it appears good does not mean it’s of God!   The saying all that glitters isn’t gold, is true today; Satan shows himself as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14) not darkness. Satan works through the appearance of what seems good and moral.  The external acts of man that may appear good are not always guided by God. Confirm all acts with spiritual discernment: does it confirm scripture (Acts 17:11), does it glorify Christ as God and Savior (1 Jn 4:1-3) and is the individual consistent with biblical morality (Mt 12:33-37).

Discernment is the ability to see things as they are, not as you want them to be.

HSAY…Todd

Daily Wisdom...Retribution

“And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore…Dinah’s brethren took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.” Gen 34:25

As far as we know, Dinah was Jacob's only daughter. She lived among ten older and two younger brothers. She grew up in a family rocked by struggle between two sisters married to the same man; Dinah's mother, Leah, and her sister and rival Rachel. While the bible does not illustrate how the bitterness and jealousy between these women affected the only girl-child in the family, we have to assume a sense of dysfunction about it.  Yet, we are told that Dinah was eventually placed in a greater affliction of being raped by Shechem, the ruler of the city.  In this tragedy Dinah’s brothers sought revenge and even prospered from it (vss 26-27) which brought about anger, but no action from their father Jacob.  In all this, the victim was overlooked and even used in haste by her brothers without regard to Dinah herself.  Often revenge/retribution can bring about a greater destruction for the victim as well as those involved. We must be cautious in our response to evil, knowing God sees and God cares when all others appear to forget.  Dinah needed ministering love, not menacing actions from those around her. The greatest response that can be offered one, who is damage, is God’s great love for them.

Man that studies revenge only keeps his own wounds from healing!

HSAY…Todd

Daily Wisdom..."Stand Forth"

Mark 3:3 “…Stand forth.”

As Christ speaks to a man with a withered hand, He challenges him to “stand forth”, meaning to awaken from a state of unawareness (mental/spiritual sleep) and enter into (physically/emotionally) the midst and presence of Christ, or, as in Luke, "rise up and stand forth in the midst" (Lk 6:8).  For the Jews in the time of Jesus, the Sabbath was more than just a matter of obedience to rules.  Sabbath observance was regarded as a way to honor the holiness of Yahweh (Ex 20:8-11; Deut 5:12-15).  Its observance made Israel distinct as a nation, bolstered Jewish identity over others, and served as a defense against assimilation to pagan culture.  Yet, the real and often hidden danger of rigid legalism is that it can delude one into thinking that God is satisfied when one is a stickler for religious details, even if one is merciless to others…Devotion to principle can grossly outweigh spiritual and physical concern for others, as the ensuing plot against Jesus revealed. We’ve heard the term “stand up and be counted”, be wise concerning what you choose to “stand forth” in and make sure it’s not just for a traditional headcount of your presence. Sadly one can be in attendance or in the presence of  religious gatherings and yet not in the midst of Christ.

"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction."

HSAY...Todd

Daily Wisdom..."Vain Philosophy"

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of this world and not after Christ.”  Col 2:8

The single most destructive force against man is man! Interesting that Paul warns us not to be spoiled by man’s offerings and vain enticements to fulfill our needs. Such approaches are the deceitful and rudimental philosophies of man. The Greek word used here means to spoil in the sense of plunder, rob, as when plunder is taken in war. The meaning is, “Take heed lest anyone plunder or rob you of your faith and hope in Christ by worldly philosophy.” Such false teachers will strip you of your faith and hope, like an invader in your life robbing you of all that is valuable. There’s an endless array of man-made approaches to life’s problems that totally disregard God. Don’t be deceived in placing your faith and hope in any other than Christ. To resist such hierarchy one must ensure all bases of wisdom is centered in Christ and God’s word.

“The difference between Christian thinking and worldly philosophy; worldly philosophy says man is normal now, Christian thinking says man is abnormal now.”

HSAY…Todd

Daily Wisdom..."Desperation"

“Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” 1 Cor 15:33

The seduction of sin will soon surface for those who stay.  For Lot’s daughters their desperation leads to the justification of their sin of incest; not an act of lust, but of desperation thinking they would find no husband (Gen 19:30-38). Lot’s tendency to compromise and refusal to act had finally reached its peak and offers a sequel to the pitiful story of Sodom.  His daughters’ actions are by-products to Lot’s unwillingness to stand against the temptations of sin.  By Lot exposing his children to such life choices offered by Sodom only helped to justify their actions now. Even with God allowing his family to escape such destruction, Lot himself still falls into drunkenness which supported the perils that followed. By one falling to the allurement of sin, it often leads them to a state of desperation when facing the outcome of their choices and works as a fuel, intensifying the situation.  Lot’s destruction began with a choice between the future Promised Land and the fertile plain and the joys of life offered in Sodom.  Show caution towards what appears to be a fertile or fruitful decision; all which is green is not profitable. Have you placed areas of your life next to “Sodom”? Even though you may be strong enough to resist its temptations, those around you may not!

Often the grass is only greener where you stand because it’s located over a septic tank!  

HSAY…Todd   

Daily Wisdom..."Godly Resistance"

“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”  Mt 10:28

Choosing the path of least resistance can often be the path of surrender.  Consider a plane, bird or most winged objects; they achieve greater lift when going against the resistance of wind.  Stephen in Acts 6 faced such resistance; they could not resist the wisdom and spirit by which he spoke so they persecuted him with slander. Standing against such resistance is to stand in truth with God; otherwise we are like the numbers who having eyes see not and, having ears hear not (Mt 8) the things that concern their salvation and peace through Christ. Whatever resistance must be faced chose to stand in truth and liberty in Christ knowing that while man can kill the body, the Lord determines both the body and the soul (Mt 10).

HSAY…Todd