Wisdom?

Wisdom = obedient acting upon the commands of God, not mere knowledge of them.

Deut 4:5-6 See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’

Thanks, after 26 years

Having completed 26 years of life yesterday, I thought I would give thanks to the Giver of all good things for some of His many blessings upon me.  I have sought to put them in roughly chronological order, though obviously many of them defy chronology.

life
health and strength
a believing family, who loves and serves God first of all
the Word of Truth
faith and repentance
communities of the faithful who have strengthen and edified me across countries and continents
adoption and sanctification
many teachers and much education
a purpose for living
travels that have allowed me to see the Kingdom of God as it is growing and the world He has given to the children of men
constant provision of every need
a godly heritage that extends back four and five generations
many dear companions on the heavenly way
a great diversity of friends
a beloved wife
a job
a baby girl, happy and healthy
Himself: the God who IS, who is Strength and Wisdom, and Justice, and Love, and Joy, and Three-in-One

Soma

I've appreciated a lot of stuff that I've heard from the elders at Soma Communities.  This post by Jeff Vanderstelt was excellent; it addressed the question "What is the Church?" in a very balanced and helpful way.

All the stuff that I have listened to from their training sessions has been very helpful as well.  They have looked deeply at the Gospel and sought to apply it to their lives, individually, as a church, and as a part of a community.  Very helpful, Gospel-saturated material!

Time, Patience, and Waiting

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! (Psalm 37:7)

   And wait patiently for him. Time is nothing to him; let it be nothing to thee. God is worth waiting for. "He never is before his time, he never is too late." In a story we wait for the end to clear up the plot; we ought not to prejudge the great drama of life, but stay till the closing scene, and see to what a finis (sic) the whole arrives. (Spurgeon's Treasury of David)

   It seems that most believers have difficulty in realizing and facing up to the inexorable fact that God does not hurry in His development of our Christian life. He is working from and for eternity! So many feel they are not making progress unless they are swiftly and constantly forging ahead. Now it is true that the new convert often begins and continues for some time at a fast rate. But this will not continue if there is to be healthy growth and ultimate maturity. God himself will modify the pace. (Stanford's Principles of Spiritual Growth)

a pondering on clouds

  The infinite, tender love of God for His own struck me anew as I considered the clouds a few days ago. Recall that God led His people out of Egypt and into a wilderness wasteland. Many hardships had been and continued to be their lot, but moment by moment they had the Cloud above them as a constant reminder that though the God of their Fathers had led them from one difficulty to another, still their Father God was tenderly concerned with their well-being. A pillar of cloud by day, shading and cooling against the hot sun. A pillar of fire by night, brightening, warming and protecting in the coldness that descends at nightfall in desert places. What tender love!

  The cloudy/fiery pillar of the divine Presence was there to lead them both day and night; with such tender love on display, it is hard to imagine that the omniscient One did not accommodate the pace to the slowest and shakiest every step of the way.

  We also have continual tokens of God's abiding love; may we not become so calloused about them that we ignore them and rebel against our loving Father, even when He leads us through a dry wilderness. The clouds must press upon us the personal love of our great Father for His people. Seek the tokens of God in your lives as a church and a believer and trust that even in the wilderness God's love cannot have wavered! 

 - Exodus 13:21-22; Numbers 14:14; Nehemiah 9:12, 19; 1 Corinthians 10:1ff