Wisdom.

The dictionary defines wisdom as a deep understanding and realization of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to apply perceptions, judgements and actions in keeping with this understanding. This often requires control of emotional reactions so that universal principles, reason and knowledge prevail to determine one's actions. Wisdom is also the comprehension of what is true coupled with optimum judgement as to action. The ancient Greeks considered wisdom to be an important virtue ,it was something which was sought after by many in the ancient days.In the old testaments we read about Solomon who asked for wisdom to rule. 1 Kings 4 of all thing in this world what do want, Solomon said “wisdom.” Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle wrote alot on wisdom.Even the word philosophy is a combination of two Greek words; Phi lo - “Love” Sophia – “Wisdom”.This means morality and wisdom go hand in hand .A wise and good life is a moral life.The book of proverbs also speaks alot on it; Proverbs 8:11 "For wisdom is better than jewels; and all desirable things cannot compare with her. Proverbs 16:16, “How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above .. Wisdom is very important within Christianity. Jesus emphasized it. Paul in the book of Corinthians also speaks of it. Interestingly in 1cor1:20-25 Paul makes a striking difference between Godly wisdom and worldly wisdom.There is actually two kinds of wisdom.There is a wisdom of the world and there is a wisdom of God through Christ by the spirit.Paul made this very clear.The wisdom of the world is very important but limited.It is limited to knowing God.We can never truly know God through the worldly wisdom.Jesus Christ is described as the wisdom of God.This means the wisdom of those perishing can never bring them to Christ.God himself said he would destroy that wisdom. One can never know God through human wisdom.it is impossible. The gospel preached is foolishness to unbelievers who try to understand the gospel by their human wisdom.Paul in the verse 22 makes mention of two groups of people who apply worldly wisdom in their dealings.The Jews and the Greeks. The Jews demand miraculous signs and the Greeks look for wisdom.By this we can deduce that the two categories of worldly wisdom are as follows. 1. THOSE WHO LOOK FOR SIGNS/PROVES;These are those who look for signs from heaven to prove whether the gospel which is preached is true.This particular group can only be convinced by miraculous signs. 2. DOGMATIC WISDOM;The second group of people are those who only believe in what agrees with their doctrine or believe system.They in-turn see the gospel as foolish because it does not agree with their belief systems. Human wisdom says seeing is believing.You must see before you can believe.These are the people who look for signs and miracles.People even see science as a religion because there are able to prove and to understand what goes on around them using scientific methods and approach.They do not see the need to commit to that which they can not prove to be true or see.Others also create idols to worship because they are able to see it.These are all produces of worldly wisdom.The wisdom of God is only made known through his spirit. 1cor 2:11 says ;For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him.?In the same Way,no one knows the thoughts of God except the spirit if God.The spirit searches all things including the secrets of God.Through the spirit of God we are able to fully fathom what God has freely given us.People without the spirit of God can not understand the truths of God.But we who have the spirit can make judgments about all things.

GOD'S ATTITUDE TOWARDS SIN.

Many have argued that how can a God who is love hate.Many find it difficult to understand how God can love ,and at the same time hate.God is love,this is an undisputed truth.The main character of God is love.His love for us is unconditional.Through this love we receive forgiveness of our sins.There is no way we can stand righteous before God if not for his grace and love.Through this love we also receive salvation and receive internal life(john3:16).The love of God is what forms the foundation of christianity.Love is everything in christianity.It is the ultimate.In the same way God expects us to love eachother.He experts christians to show love to their neighbours. At the same time God also hates .One thing he explicitely hates is sin.He loves the sinner but hates sin.He abhors sin,because he is holy. Rom1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; To be holy is to be without sin.How then can a God who is holy associate himself with sin?never.This is the reason why our sins always seperates us from him.Sin is like a barrier seperating us from God.In Romans 1,we withness the responds of God to sin.He gave them up to their sinful desires.Their evil nature compelled God to give them over to their sins and thus face the consequencies of their misdeeds.God has given man the power of choice and he would not force man to choose him.Therefore we are judged according to the choices we make.The only reason we are called God's children is by grace.There is a need to constantly pray for forgiveness when we sin. When we confess our sins and repent of it we get back to God again.Sin must never be a barrier between us and God.We must always run to him when we sin and ask for forgiveness and not away from him.

OUR KINSMAN-REDEEMER

A Kinsman-redeemer was a close influencial relative to whom members of the extended family could turn to for help. Usually when the family line or possessions were in danger of being lost. He was resonsible for buying back the family land sold during crises.( Lev 25 :25).

Buying back enslaved relatives( Lev 25:47).
Providing an heir for a dead brother.(Deut 25:5-10 ).
Avenging the killing of a relative(Num 35:19).
Finally caring for relatives in different circumstances.(Jer32:6-25 )

Ruth 2:20 "The LORD bless him!" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. "He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead." She added, "That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers."

A redeemer on the other hand is  someone who redeems or buys back. To redeem means ; to recover possession or ownership of by payment of a price or service; regain

*to pay off (a promissory note, loan, etc)

*to recover (something pledged, mortgaged, or pawned)

*to fulfil (a promise, pledge, etc). to exchange (trading stamps, coupons, etc) for goods .

A kinsman redeemer In those times was a very influential and important personality in the family.

Jesus is our Kinsman-redeemer.Through him we have our redemption.He bought us with a price and now we are justified. Through him we have eternal life(John3:16 ),We also have physical healing(Math 8:17 ),.We enjoy financial provision(psalm 23:15).We have safety(psalm 91:11-12) .As christians these are a few of the numerous benefits we get from our kinsman-redeemer.

If you do not know him,this is your time.He is waiting on you to accept him,don't turn down his offer ,for Our redeemer lives.

THE PROMISE LAND.

Jos 1:2 "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them--to the Israelites. The promise land was a promise from God to the Israelites;The descendants of Jacob.The promise was first made to Abraham in Genesis 15:18. (18 In that day the Lord made an agreement with Abram, and said, To your seed have I given this land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:) Then renewed to his son Isaac.The promise however was fulfilled at the end of the exodus from Egypt.( Deut 1:8 ) After the death of moses,God appointed Joshua to lead Gods people to the promise land.God then promised Joshua that he will alway be with him just as he was with Moses.In addition to this God also warned Joshua to be strong and very courageous. He stressed on this three times.This was to warn him about the challenges he will face before taking the promise land. There is a Promise land for every individual.It is the reason why you are still living.It could be a huge expectation from God or a promise or prophesy of God concerning your life.The promise land is a present tense possession. t is actually here on earth.We need to be strong and very courageous.The word courageous means not deterred by danger or pain.It means to be able to deal with danger without flinching.God is saying the samething to all of us today.Be strong and courageous.To be something means you have it in you.You can be whatever it is you are commanded to be.Today may you be filled with courage like that of David's, to become a giant killer.May you be induced with divine strength to confront challenges as they come. Stay blessed.

THERE IS A REWARD FOR GIVING YOUR ONLY

1 kings 17:7-16

7 Now after a time the stream became dry, because there was no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9 Up! go now to Zarephath, in Zidon, and make your living-place there; I have given orders to a widow woman there to see that you have food. 10 So he got up and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the door of the town, he saw a widow woman getting sticks together; and crying out to her he said, Will you give me a little water in a vessel for my drink? 11 And when she was going to get it, he said to her, And get me with it a small bit of bread. 12 Then she said, By the life of the Lord your God, I have nothing but a little meal in my store, and a drop of oil in the bottle; and now I am getting two sticks together so that I may go in and make it ready for me and my son, so that we may have a meal before our death. 13 And Elijah said to her, Have no fear; go and do as you have said, but first make me a little cake of it and come and give it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is the word of the Lord, the God of Israel: The store of meal will not come to an end, and the bottle will never be without oil, till the day when the Lord sends rain on the earth. 15 So she went and did as Elijah said; and she and he and her family had food for a long time. 16 The store of meal did not come to an end, and the bottle was never without oil, as the Lord had said by the mouth of Elijah.(BBE )

The online dictionary defines only as;
1.Nothing more besides;solely. 2.Alone of its kind.
3.Except.

The reward for giving your only is abundance.What you give is actually multiplied.
In the scripture above we read of an uncommon event between Elijah and the woman of Zarephath and how God miraculously sustained him.Elijah was sent by God to the woman of zarephath so he can be sustained,at the time when the brook died up.The drying up of the brook was a signal of change,a change for the better.A change from provision to sustainance.

Finally when Elijah got to Zarephath,his first interaction was with the widow.The widow who was commanded by God to be the sustainer of Elijah.Though she seemed unaware of her responsibility,because it was not explicitly spelt out to her,it was as though God had already purposed in her heart to provide for Elijah's needs.

Interestingly when Elijah met this widow,she was picking sticks to prepare her last meal so she and her son would eat and die.

Perhaps Elijah thought that God was taking him to a rich widow,one who was able to sustain him with her riches.However the woman's presence at the gate was divine.She was purposed to meet Elijah howbeit she seemed unaware.

Amazingly the woman who was to be the sustainer of the man of God needed to be sustained herself.He asked for water and a piece of bread from a woman who was going to prepare her last meal with just a handful of flour and a little oil.Her last meal prior her death was dependant on these ingredients yet she had to sacrifice her immediate needs and that of her son to sustain the man of God.

We live in an era where giving has become extremely difficult.We are only excited about giving when we have enough. When we have enough to give ,we are cheerful to do so.This is not wrong.It becomes wrong when we do so only when we have enough.God expects us to give at all times,in the time of lack and abundance.The most effective giving is one that is from the heart of the person who has little.Sometimes the little we have is a seed to be sown.You must be able to sacrifice the present advantage to obtain the future benefits.

The only thing the woman had was flour and little oil.And now she was going to have sacrifice that for Elijah.It was her only. We all have the only,the only car,the only house,the only money etc.It is very difficult to give your only.Normally it is what we so cherish.Even though it is small it becomes a treasure.The reward for giving your only is abundance.After the  woman had sacrifised her immediate needs to provide for Elijah,God gave her abundance.

God also demonstrated this when he sent his only son Jesus to come and die for our sins.By this act God was able to redeem mankind from sin.Those who believe in his only son are saved.John 3:16.

Also in Gen 22.We see Abraham who stood the test of time by almost  sacrificing his son, if it were not for the timely intervention of God he could have sacrificed Isaac .Because he was willing in his heart to give his only son ,God rewarded him with abundance.He later became the father of all nations.God actually multiplied his descendants.

Today, let us endeavor to always give God our only possessions if the need be.It doesnt matter how little it may be.If only it comes from an expectant heart He will multiply and increase it.

THE GIBEONITE RUSE

A ruse as defined by the online dictionary is a crafty and deceptive strategm.
It is usually an action intended to mislead, trick or deceive.

How many of us have been misled into taking certain permanent decisions about temporary issues?

Many have fallen victim to the subterfuges of the devil and  have ended up 'signing contracts ""with the him  even without realising it.

The devil has used many cunning strategies to get at the children of God and he is behind many of the ruse men fall into .However ,we also err by not inquiring of the lord when taking certain decisions.

In the book of Joshua,the 9th chapter, we read  a story about  the gibeonites and the israelites ,particularly Joshua.After God had delivered Jordan and Ai into their hands together with other great nations, they became very popular and feared by many including the Gibeonites.

The Gibeonites therefore devised a stategy to deceive the israelites.

They came to Joshua in scartered clothes and sandals to show how far they have sojourned.They did this to make peace with the israelites so that the israelites will spare them thinking they have come from a far country and not from  the area God has predestined to give them.

One thing Joshua failed to do at that moment was to take it in prayer.

He failed to seek God's consent on the matter at hand.He failed to buy into the mind of God before making and agreement with the Gibeoanites and he paid dearly for his mistake.

Sometimes the very things we seek to destroy can fool us into accepting it.The enemy can present himself to us in such a way that we do not realise who he is. God is very much interested in our everyday activity.We need to acknowledge him and speak to him about all our problems .

Make it a habit of involving God in all your activities.

GRACE EXPLAINED!

The concept of grace has been widely misunderstood and miscontrued by many. In this article, i seek to explain in the best of my knowledge what the concept of grace is. Grace can be defined as the love and mercy given to us by God because he wants us to have it; not because of anything we have done to deserve it or earn it.It is a gift from God to man which is free and undeserved. It is an exceptional kindness of God towards human beings in making their forgiveness and salvation possible (Eph 2: 8 ). Grace also includes the divine gifts which flow from this favor such as this new life,God's indwelling presence and the ability to beer spiritual fruit. Grace is used in the bible to signify many different things . It is a manifold, as Paul puts it in 1 Peter 4:10.In 2corinthians 12:1 Paul refered to it as " sufficient power in weakness".In hebrew 13 :9 and 2 timothy 2:1,we see grace to be our strengthner. In Rom 5:2 and 1peter 5:12, it is what enables us to stand firm.Finally in Hebrew 4:16, it is our helper in time of need. PURPOSE OF GRACE. Grace did what the law could not do.The law revealed our sins and limitations and ultimately how far we have come short of what God calls holiness. By grace our sins are forgiven.In Paul's teaching to in Galatians ,he speaks of the fact that the law was a school master to teach us how far we have failed and come short of God's perception of righteousness.This was done so we can beter understand and appreciate the grace of God.Our sins and unfaithfulness reveal to us how righteous and faithful God is ,so we can inturn acknowledge him for who he is. Grace is not a carte blance to sin as many think.In as much as our unrighteousness reveals how righteous our God is , it doesnt mean we must continue to live in sin.

Prayer

I think because of the way we view prayer, it makes it very difficult for us to pray. I have had that problem before.

If we see prayer as a time to talk to God. It becomes easy and enjoyable.

Its like talking to your bestfriend. When you speak to him like the way you would have spoken to anybody else about your issues it becomes very exciting.

Every christian is been called and part of our calling is to pray.We are called to pray. Paul ,in Ephesians 6:12 enumerated the basic requirement and weapons of a christian for this warfare .

He points to the fact that we are in a war, not with flesh and blood but with principalities ,rulers of darkness etc.Hence there is a need for every believer to be on guared. He prescribed the appropriate  regelia and weopons we are to use in this warfare.Then in verses 18 he concluded by saying "pray in the spirit with all kinds of prayers...".That actually makes us prayer wariors.Think about it. Every christian is a prayer warior. We are called to pray.

Jesus was a prayer warior,many men God used in the bible were men of prayer.Prayer is a neccessity for every believer.

forgiveness

Do we ask forgiveness because we have sinned or because we are sinners? The word forgiveness means to cease to blame someone or something; to grant pardon for a mistake; to free someone from a penalty; or to free from the obligation of dept. 1 john 1:9 says if we confess our sins he is faithfull and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This stands to reason that confession must preceed forgiveness. Some view this concept as" relational "in view of the fact that since we have received a new life and a relationship with God, who is a holy God and man who is still not free from the presence of sin,there is a need to continuously ask for forgiveness even for the unconscious sins one may have committed.As christians, though we sin sometimes we are not classified as sinners(for christians struggle with sin) .No true christian is a sinner.However because we have not been set free from the presence of sin yet , There is a need for us to always ask for forgiveness for our sins even the unconscious ones.