Wisdom Cries...Keep sound wisdom and discretion

Proverbs 3:21 "My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion."

Well, there's a word you don't hear everyday, discretion. I guess the truth of the matter is you don't hear much talk of wisdom either. To avoid certain redundancies, I will just remind you of what wisdom is and then move on. The encouragement here is to keep sound wisdom. We have all been imparted with some bit of wisdom, in small or large portions. Sound wisdom is not so much the information gathered from books, but more the understanding of it and how it applies to reality or life. To be perfectly plain about it, a large part of wisdom is the ability to approach a situation and determine the best course of action, and more importantly, the right course of action. So it is not a stretch at all to describe sound wisdom as the ability to know the difference between right and wrong.

According to Roget, a synonym for discretion is responsibility. To complete this thought...know the difference between right and wrong and then be responsible with that information. Boy, if wisdom were a real person, she would be smacking her forehead with her palm these days. I do not know what is more lacking, sound wisdom, actually knowing the difference between right and wrong, or discretion, the responsibility to carry out what is right. First of all, there seems to be a disconnect in the world today from an actual standard of right and wrong. Nowadays, it is totally situational so that sometimes it's alright to lie, steal, or kill the innocent. It just depends on the circumstances, the greater good, maybe. My, how we need men and women to remember what their grandparents lived by. It worked, ya know? It used to be black and white when it came to doing right. After all, they came up with the saying, "It's never right to do wrong, and it's never wrong to do right." As if the drought of sound wisdom were not enough, there is nearly a complete absence of responsibility these days. It's always someone else's fault or someone else's job. Our society is running headlong into a population-wide handing over of responsibility to the government. Everywhere I look, people, young and old, feel like they are owed something. They are entitled to a discount or an extra chance or a free ride.

Boy, wisdom is crying loud here. Please, remember what the difference is between right and wrong. If you never knew it, find out. Ask your grandparents, or better yet, read the Bible. And then take responsibility for yourself. Do good. Do right. Live right. You take over the care and keeping of you and yours. Stop standing around with your hand out, literally or figuratively, for someone to handle the mess you are in or make something of the life you're living. Hey, if it's help you need, by all means, ask for it and if I am nearby, I will do the best I can. But shouldn't you expect the same from yourself, to do the best you can? Let's begin to be a nation of folks that know to do right and then do it.

Wisdom Cries...Walk in the way of good men

Proverbs 2:20 "That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous."

Where have all the good guys gone? There's a question that has been exhausted in books, songs, blogs, internet forums, and anywhere else people are feeling the loss of a rare breed...a good man. Don't you just miss the days of real men that you could look up to as masculine role models; strong, hard men with a good heart who would do whatever it took to stand for right? Remember who used to be the "heroes"? Cowboys and soldiers all the way to superheroes and athletes inspired young fellas to grow up and be something, and they did. These guys set the pace for us.

Now, where do we look for good men? It seems everyone in the spotlight isn't worth looking at. Everyone with a public voice isn't saying anything worth listening to. We still have soldiers, and for that I am thankful. There are still a couple athletes or prominent personalities, but they are the exception. What we really need is a generation of men to rise above the current perceptions of manhood. All that is good and right and smart is crying out for some real men, some good men to step up and step out; out of the crowd and walk to the front and lead. The wisdom of God's word has a specific goal or purpose. We ought to look into it. read it, and do what it says. That's where good men come from. That is the mold that true strength and leadership is cut from. Read the word of God and follow the examples of Moses (leadership), Joshua (courage), David (character), prophets who cared enough for their land to cry out against sin and stand in the middle of social wickedness and immorality, and of course, Jesus (servant-leadership). Why is there a drought of good men? Because the Bible is no longer esteemed as the word of God. It used to be read in school and in those days a guys handshake was better than any contract. His word was trustworthy. His integrity was his most valued possession. He treated other men, the elderly, children, and ladies with respect. He honored authority in his life and he tried to set a good example for those after him. I know it sounds old-fashioned, but you know what? I have never heard anyone ever say, "I sure am glad things aren't like they used to be." Let that sink in...like they used to be. How did it used to be? It wasn't hard to find good men. Hey, let's listen to wisdom. Let's walk in the way of good men.

Wisdom Cries...Fear the Lord

October is a month with thirty-one days and the book of Proverbs, one of my two favorites, has thirty-one chapters. For many, many months in my life I have read a chapter in Proverbs each day according to the corresponding date. I can attest to the difference it has made in my life. My wife can also. She has mentioned at different times that "reading Proverbs has really made you wise". I have encouraged my Sunday school classes, congregations, and counselees to do the same. For the month of October I will share a bit of wisdom from Proverbs from the corresponding chapter from that day and I pray that it will be a blessing and help to us all. We'll call it "Wisdom Cries" because, after all, that's what the Bible says (Proverbs 1:20).

Fear the Lord
Proverbs 1:7 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

There have been many interpretations, descriptions, and definitions given for the phrase "fear of the Lord". My favorite comes from Rand Hummel, Director of the Wilds, New England. During a meeting at our church he explained the phrase this way; to love what God loves, to hate what He hates, and to have a healthy dread of displeasing Him. How many times in a day does it cross your mind that the things you do and say are a direct reflection of how you consider God in your life. Even in the life of a Christian it can appear that there is no concern for the way ones conduct reflects upon the character or nature of God. That's not smart. The Bible says so. We live in an age of knowledge. Society has an insatiable appetite for it, yet we should understand that you don't really know anything without the fear of the Lord. That is the beginning. Are you even interested in what God thinks about the way that you live? And if so, does His opinion matter to you? It's no mystery...I mean what God loves and hates. It's all in the Bible. Let's take the next month and really place some emphasis on the fear of the Lord. Through His word, we can know how to do that. Blessings to you.

That's a hard way to develop character

This past Sunday evening, while preaching through the book of Genesis, I got to a point in Joseph's life that, though unusual, we could probably still identify with. He is in jail. Not a situation I can empathize with, but I do have an idea what he may be feeling in a situation that has him bound, suffering, maybe hurting, and to top it all off, a situation that he did did not deserve. While studying this passage, I stumbled upon a verse in Psalms 18:6,  "In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears."

Distress, that summed up where I felt Joseph was in his life, reminded me of some places in my life, and brought a challenge to mind. What do I do in distress? How do I react? Remember, distress isn't just a sickness, trouble, or temptation. We could be talking about sorrow or anxiety. How do you handle it?

Well before I sum up how Joseph handled it as an example for us all, I want to share with you a story. Many years ago my wife and I needed bedroom furniture. The California king waterbed we had finished its course. It was already filled with a cheap regular mattress after the Christmas Eve elbow through the waterbed mattress fiasco, and it was not comfortable nor practical in our home. We shopped for a set and found one in each of the three major brand names, and they all looked the same. As we shopped I noticed that all of the floor models had a common damage to them and after a while I finally asked why the wood looked so rough with all of the marks. Of course, these marks were all about the same and evenly spaced apart but I was clueless on furniture. I was actually embarrassed to find out that the marks belonged there. They were mechanically put there on purpose. It was called "distressing" and here was the good part. The salesman said, "It adds character." WOW! Distressing adds character. I bet you don't think of it that way in the middle of it, but that is how God views difficulty in our life. The hard time are on purpose with a purpose.

Now, what can we learn from Joseph? Real quick...First, keep your priorities straight. Remember, God first, others second, and self last. That's what Joseph did in Genesis 40. Next, practice your patience. Joseph spent years in his distressing situation and we never read of complaints when he got there by an injustice, gripes when he was forgotten by those he helped, or whining when it seemed that his dreams were never going to be realized. Lastly, we find out in chapter 41, verse 38 that the Spirit of God was in Joseph. When in these difficult times, we ought to continue to pursue God. Don't let up. Don't quit. Continue following hard after God.

Hey, in case you didn't know, distress is coming and/or it's already here. How will you handle it? If you do it like Joseph, it will develop character. Oh, by the way, I failed to mention that there was an ultimate promotion in Joseph's life because of his character, and all of his dreams came true. That's an outcome worth waiting for, at least from my Perspective.

Audience participation time

Whoo-hoo! I crossed over the 1000 page view line this weekend. Big deal right? Probably not, but it seemed like a good time to get you involved a little bit. Although I am sure that most of the page views are repeat visitors, I can't help but wonder who you all are. I have viewers in 6 different countries and from all sort of traffic sources, so I am curious. Blogging is fairly fun, but I also want it to be useful, not just an entertainment outlet.

So here's the idea. If you are comfortable with it, leave a comment telling me where you are located and how you found me. If you have a blog, please use this as an opportunity to promote yourself, so long as the content is not contrary to my own stated position as a born again follower of Jesus Christ. While you're at it, maybe include your favorite post title. I haven't asked for any personal information pinpointing who you are, but if you are still uncomfortable with any of that, send me an email at pastorrickfbc@gmail.com. I certainly understand that if you are emailing me than you do not want your comments made public and I will respect that. I sincerely look forward to hearing from you and even connecting with your blog. It seems, as much as I  have to say sometimes, I still need inspiration to keep this up. Thank you in advance.


p.s. I will happily accept constructive criticism in the comments or by email, but I obviously reserve the right to remove them once I have read them. I am sure I could improve my blog skills.

Winning the game 3-1...

First of all, I want to take a second to welcome and thank the first two followers of Perspectives, aside from my wife and me. I am humbled that folks would be interested that much. That being said, I would love to see more. Followers fill a couple roles for me; cheerleaders encouraging me to come back and write again and accountability partners challenging me to fulfill my role as blogger.

I enjoy waking up each day to a random scripture reference on my phone, thanks to the Daily Bible app. This morning's verse, which you know already if you follow me on Twitter @fbcpastorrick or Facebook, RickandJenWilson, is Psalm 32:8, "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye." As I considered this verse during my morning three mile hike, my mind settled on the word teach. Here's a challenging self-examination. Are you teachable? I mean really teachable. I can promise you that successful people in every field or walk of life had to be and probably still are teachable. We can't know it all and so there is always someone who can help us by teaching. Of course, for the child of God that teacher is God, the Holy Spirit.

Although being teachable is a good quality in and of itself, I thought about about what it takes to be teachable or what it says about you as a teachable person, especially as it relates to relationship to the Lord.

1. To be teachable, you must trust the Teacher. Do believe God is who He says He is? Do you believe His word, the Holy Bible, is true from beginning to end? The description of God given to us in Psalm 139, reveals that He is omniscient (all-knowing in verses 1-6), omnipresent (everywhere present in verses 7-12), omnipotent (all powerful in verses 13-18), and fully righteous and just (verses 19-24). Do you believe that? Can you trust God with your problems? Can you trust Him with your life?
2. To be teachable, you must submit to the Teacher. This is tough. We already know it all, right? If not, we can easily Google it. Isaiah 55:9 reminds us "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." See, first you have to trust Him or you won't even believe this. If you joined a martial arts class, you would have no qualms referring to the teacher of that class as "sensei", or master. To be lead by God and truly succeed in this life and then eternity, we must recognize God as master. If you can't elevate Him to that place in your life then you really are not teachable.
3. To be teachable, you must humble yourself. Ouch. That's it. You've heard enough, right? We were doing okay until then. Unfortunately, in our culture of self-esteem, we are not very familiar with humility. Child of God, you are called to humility, but not without its blessing. James 4:10 assures us "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." Without humility we are a dried-up lump of play-doh left out overnight on the dining room table. We are unable to be formed or changed. On the other hand, a life of humility enables us to be that lump of clay in the Master Potter's hands. Remember it this way, "To be full of pride is to be fully dried." That's no good. Dried clay is a finished product. Do you really think that you are finished? Are you totally satisfied with who/what you are right now? I hope not, because if you check the score, you're losing. What score? Keep reading.

There is another side to that coin, unteachable. Simple enough. You are either teachable or unteachable. What does this "quality" say about you as a person?

1. To be unteachable, you only need one word...self. You must believe yourself to be self-sufficient, self-reliant, self-supporting, and completely self-absorbed. You are more concerned with self-esteem, self-image, self-worth, and anything else that promotes yourself above others. 

Don't go wacky on me here and think that these are not worthwhile attributes. Some of these certainly have their justifiable place in our character, but I think to sum it all up in good context I will quote a saying I first read at The Wilds. "Just two choices on the shelf, serving God or serving self." That's the wrap-up and the game. The winners take it 3-1. I want to be a winner. I desire to be teachable in the context of this scripture and there is no better Perspective than the one from the winning side.

Truly vast as the ocean

My Prayer Perch overlooking the Atlantic Ocean

Unfortunately, I am back from a grand vacation at one of my favorite places on this earth, Topsail Island, NC. In spite of the clear and present danger of Hurricane Isaac, we drove down a week ago this past Sunday, and we were rewarded for our faith with a beautiful week of sunshine, warm air, and warm, calm water. Wednesday morning I awoke with a song in my head, really out of nowhere. I hadn't heard it in quite a long time, but it seemed to start my day perfectly as I sat out on the deck off of our bedroom. The picture is the view from my "Prayer Perch" and as I watched the tide rolling and the dolphins following the shrimp troller, some thoughts came to me, birthed out of the hymn I awoke with.

From my "perch" I thought of the shear vastness of the Atlantic Ocean. I realize the Pacific is larger, but I was sitting in front of this ocean that was rolling up on the shores of the United States of America and, at the same time, rolling up on the shores of Wales, where this song originated nearly 4000 miles away, and I thought about how the relentless love of God rolls up on the shores of humanity, no matter where they are. It is a well-known fact that water covers about 3/4 of the globe. How overwhelming is that? And on the edge of every land mass in every part of the world, the ocean is rolling up on the shore. Then, while the sight of the ocean reminded me of the relentless, ever-present love of God, I thought about the waves. Through the week at Topsail I saw times of high tide and I saw times of low tide. Interestingly, some high tides were higher than others and some low tides were lower than others. Yet, in every tide, high or low, the waves seemed to keep pushing toward the shore. I could not help but admit that even in the lowest times of my life, though I would try to deny His presence, I still knew the love of God. That love still rolled, as the waves, toward the deep and troubled shores of my heart. You know, in a week at the beach, not one time did the waves ever stop. What an incredible comfort to know that in every season of my life, the waves of God's love will never stop.

On Tuesday, we did have some rainy, stormy weather and if you have ever been to the shore and seen a storm come in, you know what happens to the ocean waves. They swell. I got excited as I thought about how at the most difficult times of life, the times of great storms, the waves of God's love grow greater, seeming to push harder to make their way to the shore of our soul to assure us of His presence, to comfort us and even bring peace. Even as the wind would blow against the tide, the waves still roll shoreward.

The Bible says in I John 3:1, " Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God". God has bestowed upon us a love that is measureless and relentless, not to mention deep, but it has a purpose. See the imperative in that verse. We should be called the sons of God. All of us aren't, but we should be. That's not just my Perspective. It's God's too.

Here is love, vast as the ocean,                            
Loving kindness as the flood,
When the Prince of Life, our Ransom,
Shed for us His precious blood.
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten,
Throughout Heav’n’s eternal days.

On the mount of crucifixion,
Fountains opened deep and wide;
Through the floodgates of God’s mercy
Flowed a vast and gracious tide.
Grace and love, like mighty rivers,
Poured incessant from above,
And Heav’n’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.

William Rees