Uncategorized

Uncategorized

Heavenly Wisdom 2

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 22, 2025 Respond
Heavenly Wisdom examination number 2
James 3:17 gives us the definition of Heavenly Wisdom, which is basically the opposite of earthly wisdom. James 3:14-16 defines earthly  wisdom  thusly: “But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic….there you find disorder and every evil practice.”
 
Yesterday we looked at the first quality of Heavenly Wisdom, “purity,” which starts in our motives. Good actions from bad motives will end up bad, kind of like making chocolate cookies with mud!
 
The second quality is “peace loving.” It is so easy to say things that disturb peace, like, “When will you ever learn….?” “Can’t you get anything right?” “Well nice you a couple of A’s on your report card, but what about the rest….?” Or one I want  to use a lot, “You promised you would do  this for me…7 times actually and it’s still not done!!!”
 
These are not words that promote peace. After learning about Heavenly Wisdom, I am now aware of how every day, several times a day I want to say things that destroy peace, that damage relationships. Simple as, “Come on, get with it!” or as complex as, “What were you thinking when you said that???” These statements are unnecessary; they make me the judge, the one who is right so I can put others down.
 
But if I  bit my tongue and cut off those peace-killing thoughts, I am set free and others are shielded from unnecessary hurt. So instead of, “Boy are you so clumsy!” I can say, “Here, let me clean that up. I’ve done things like this myself!” This promotes peace, builds others up and gives us joy. 
 
Watch your thoughts, filter your words, be a peace lover, a people saver and experience joy and freedom.
 
picture: be one who releases doves of peace to those around you rather than crows of contention.
May be a doodle of 1 person and bird
Filed under:

Heavenly Wisdom

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 21, 2025 Respond

Life is full of opportunities to either push on or hold off. Do I push to get my building permit, or trust God and wait? Do I put pressure on the guy who owes me rent, or back off and pray about it? Do I confront or let go and move on?

There are very few clear cut answers.  But God is always ready to help us. As it says in James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Then in James 3:17 there is a description of this heavenly wisdom. And it is given in a certain order:

  1. pure
  2. peace loving
  3. sweetly reasonable,
  4. approachable and submissive,
  5. full of mercy
  6. and good fruit,
  7. impartial,
  8. and sincere.

First is purity, and when it comes to  making decisions, this has to start in our motives. For instance, I have a renter who has not paid his rent this month. He promised to pay on the 11th, then on the 19th, but still hasn’t paid. With these failures to follow through what should my motive be in talking with him? Vent my anger? Set him straight? Beg him? Threaten him? None of these are pure motives.

So, after praying about it, I have settled on the motive of helping him be honest, doing what he promised to do. This is a positive  motive, one that will benefit him and may solve the problem, and is in line with what God wants us to do: edify others. And I will begin acting on this  motive by praying for him, asking God to move him, to prepare him for the coming conversation.

So, if you want to be wise, first check your motives, reject the negative motives, act out of positive, God pleasing motives.

More on heavenly wisdom over the next few days.

Picture: praying for heavenly wisdom.

May be an image of 1 person, horizon and mountain

Filed under:

What’s Next?

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 20, 2025 Respond

Easter is the greatest event in the history of the universe. It is also a reason for many to go to church at least once a year.

Our church was nearly  completely full, and the parking lot certainly was, with only two empty spots! It is good that all those guests came, for it is an opportunity for them to hear the gospel. Hopefully that was true in your church, too.
Now as a follow up, let’s pray for these infrequent attenders that the Holy Spirit will open the eyes of their hearts, giving them spiritual understanding. And that He will convict them of their sin, of God’s righteousness, of the judgment they are under.
And then that Jesus will reveal Himself to them in way that reaches their hearts, whether it be a question, a  doubt, a dream, a vision or a Bible study, or……
May He then give them enough light to follow, and shine the full light of the gospel into their hearts.
And then may He pin them  down to face the spiritual issues before them and grant them faith and repentance to truly believe.
This is the pattern God gives us in His Word,  and you probably recognize it in your own life. So let’s join Him in His great work to sweep many more into His Kingdom!
May be an image of 1 person
Filed under:

(Untitled)

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 18, 2025 Respond
Painful Friday
We’ve looked at the multiple difficulties and pains that Jesus endured in his time on the earth.

Now we come to the last and most painful of these, four horrific events in His process of securing eternal salvation for all who believe.
First is the obvious and excreting pain of the crucifixion, following the earlier physical suffering of being beaten, whipped and forced to walk to His execution.
This unimaginably painful execution, was long and totally unjust, but was from God’s point of view, such an important a part of our redemption.
Second is the horrible reality of Jesus actually becoming sin for us, becoming all the ugliness of all the transgressions of all the people from Adam to the last one. An infinite and repulsive reality.
Third is the most painful aspect: the breaking, the ripping of the relationships of the Trinity, destroying the perfect peace, grace, love and intimacy of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This was painful not only for Jesus, but for the Father and Holy Spirit also. As the curtain before the Holy place in the temple was ripped, so was the unity, the oneness, the closeness and perfect balance of the three, bringing deep, searing pain to each of the Trinity.
And fourth, as Jesus was left alone, cut off from the others, the Father poured out all of His infinite wrath against all the sin ever committed by every person onto Jesus, crushing Him beneath the weight of an infinite punishment. That certainly hurt the heart of the Father as well as devastating Jesus. But both endured because they desired the salvation of all their enemies.

May be an image of 1 person

Filed under:

The approaching darkness

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 17, 2025 Respond
As time approached for his death, Jesus had other pressures come on Him.
He had to interact with the one who would betray him, a sad, awkward situation, knowing thatin betraying Him  Judas was choosing Hell.
In the last supper, His disciples still didn’t get the things He was teaching them.
And then there was the great battle in the Garden where He was utterly distressed as a human being, facing the horrors before Him.
This was followed by the betraying kiss, the arrest, the degrading trip to the High Priest.
There he suffered the mocking and beating from the soldiers.
This was followed by the unbelief and attacks of the Jewish leaders, those who failed to recognize His majesty
Then the trip to Pilate, and to King Herod, being mocked all through it.
And finally the flogging. This is far worse than we can imagine:
The whip  of leather straps with bone fragments tied to their ends, ripping away the skin and flesh, exposing the bones.
And last was the crown of thorns, pushed down on His head, causing the blood to flow down his face.
In accepting that crown, Jesus took on Himself the heavy, ugly curse Adam brought on all of us, causing  the land to produce thorns.
And these events opened the way for the far worse suffering that was to come, which we will contemplate tomorrow.
Picture: Jesus facing His sacrifice for the world
May be an image of 1 person
Filed under:

The Savior who endured

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 16, 2025 Respond

What else did Jesus submit Himself to in order to redeem us? Gleaned from the gospels.

Coming from the pure, sinless and glorious atmosphere of Heaven,
He  made Himself vulnerable as a human being to the attacks of Satan, especially after fasting 40 days..
He agreed to live in the midst of widespread, ugly sin: idolatry, immorality, religious hypocrisy, cruelty, and exploitation of the weak and poor, to name a few.
Like Lot, He must have been vexed and afflicted  by  all this sin, but unlike Lot, never sinned Himself.
He constantly and selflessly served the ungrateful,  unthankful and self-serving crowds that followed him.
He endured scorn, graciously from many, even from His own earthly brothers.
He bore up under false accusations and personal attacks, like after preaching in Nazareth.
He was grieved daily by His slow-witted and self-centered disciples.
He was willing to endure abandonment and betrayal by his disciples, but did not abandon them.
He was willing to wait all those years before beginning ministry, and then patiently waited for the climactic ending.
What a gracious, great and glorious Savior, who unnecessarily gave all  to redeem His wicked enemies!
Picture: Jesus patiently teaching His slow learning disciples.
May be an image of 6 people
Filed under:

The power of trusting God

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 11, 2025

More on “Don’t forgive and forget” (you can’t anyway), but “Forgive and Rewrite.”

Three examples from my own life. First a dramatic one.

While working in a foreign country, one my disciples turned me into the police, along with other believers. We were all arrested, and put on trial with the threat of a 7 year prison sentence for sharing our faith.

In this I forgave my wayward disciple. Then as the Lord has taught me to do, I thanked him for the situation and for what He was doing, although I did not know his plan yet. In the end, And when the trial finally came, the prosecuting attorney declared that we had done nothing wrong and had a legal right to share our faith. That decision ushered in a decade of freedom to share the gospel widely. God had a plan!

Second a very mundane one. Recently in an application for permission for a project, the bureaucracy put some big requirements on me, ones I felt were unjustified. But again, I forgave them, thanked ‘God for it, remembering that He always has a plan. In complying with the demands, three good things resulted: I met a man who came to the Lord, another fellow heard the gospel clearly, and I ran into two of my high school friends and shared the gospel with them, too. All of this would not have happened if the “unjust demands” had not been placed on me!

Third was a very painful one. Over many years a relative did many damaging things to me and my family. Remembering the ways that in the past God had worked good through difficulties, I forgave him, thanking God for this situation. We asked for wisdom in how to respond and prayed for God to work. Then this relative ended up in a difficult situation and we were able to help him. This then eventually led to a restored relationship and in the end he became my best friend!

To forgive and rewrite frees us to be the instrument of good to all those around us. Remember the steps of this:
1) forgive your offender in obedience to God. Col 3:13
2) Remind yourself that God has a plan in this, laying out the course for us. Heb. 12:1 James 1:2-4
3) offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving, which honors God and opens the way for Him to show you His salvation. Psalm 50:23
4) Affirm your trust in God, remembering that He always has a purpose which you may not see yet. Psalm 23:6
5) Remember how he has worked out things for you in the past. Psalm 143:4,5
6) Ask Him to give you wisdom and insight in this situation. James 1:5

Picture: forgive as you have been forgiven, knowing God is at work.

May be an image of 2 people

Filed under:

Don’t try to forgive and forget

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 10, 2025

You’ve all heard the saying, “Just forgive and forget.”  This is NOT a biblical concept. First, we cannot physiologically forget; events are imprinted in our minds and stay there. Second God does not forget, He chooses not to remember our sins.  Third, the Bible advocates a different approach: forgiver and rewrite.

This is based on the fact that God has a plan to use whatever He allows into our lives, pleasant or painful, we can look at unhappy experiences differently, from God’s point of view.
A prime example of this is Joseph: betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery (basically a death sentence), sold again to become a household slave. I believe that from the time Joseph was sold until  he arrived in Egypt, he chose to trust God, to rewrite the painful actions of his brothers. How do I know this? Because he was not bitter: he was a good worker, pleasant, positive and responsible. Bitter people are not like that.
Then you  know the other happenings: falsely accused, thrown into prison (where he again was positive, helpful and kind), forgotten for two years. Finally when he was brought before Pharaoh he was humble, saying that he couldn’t interpret dreams but that God could. Then after his father died, his brothers fear revenge, but Joseph told how he rewrote their cruelty: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Gen 50:10.
 
What about us, how do we “rewrite” a painful event. Here’s how.
1) forgive your offender in obedience to God. Col 3:13
2) Remind yourself that God has a plan in this, laying out the course for us. Heb. 12:1 James 1:2-4
3) offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving, which honors God and opens the way for Him to show you His salvation. Psalm 50:23
4) Affirm your trust in God, remembering that He always has a purpose which you may not see yet. Psalm 23:6
5) Remember how he has worked out things for you in the past. Psalm 143:4,5
6) Ask Him to give you wisdom and insight in this situation. James 1:5
 
Tomorrow I will give you some examples of applying this.
 
Picture: As God led Moses, so He will lead us.
May be an image of fire
Filed under:

Lavish Love, a Great Truth

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 9, 2025

Some truths we get used to, take for granted, and focus on the ordinary.

But we shouldn’t let that happen,

we should meditate on these amazing truths, wonder at them, revel in them.

Here’s one to practice on.

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” 1 John 3:1

What a marvelous, life altering, lavish reality.

In a world where we are constantly denigrated, looked down on and belittled,

Knowing this truth lifts us up, encourages us

and leads me to rejoicing and delighting in being your child, Lord.

in being held by your right hand,

in being guided by your counsel,

in being swept along by you to the end of history

and into your heavenly home,

to be there for eternity, worshiping, praising, glorifying the One True God!!!

 

“Guide me in living in the truth that you, LORD God, are my Great, Eternal Father!

That you love me as your child, chosen, forgive, adopted, dearly loved.

Turn my eyes from worries, fears and apprehensions

to your might and wisdom, victory and future.

Today may you be glorified in my life, my attitudes, thoughts, words and actions as I trust in you! Amen.”

Picture: How Jesus loves us!

May be an image of 1 person, baby and smiling

Filed under:

Our Perfect God

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 8, 2025

“Great is the LORD in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise your great and awesome name—he is holy” (Ps. 99:2).

Truly you are worthy to be exalted over ALL the nations, for you are the maker of EVERY nation: “All the nations whom you have created will come before you, O Lord, and glorify your name” (Ps. 86:9).

Your name, Lord God, is worthy of praise, for it is truly great and awesome. You are Yahweh (LORD),

the Holy One,

utterly other,

spotless, clean,

free of any corruption within or without,

unable to sin,

shining in glorious purity,

full of goodness, righteousness and love,

empty of all evil, darkness and negativeness,

Hater of sin and Lover of sinners.

You, LORD, are absolutely worthy of praise, because of your perfect character, your powerful deeds, your persistent love.  So, we bow before you in humility, we rise up in obedience, giving you honor, rejoicing and delighting in being your children.

Picture: the Creator of all holds us in His hands.

May be an image of map

Filed under: