Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Beware Of Your Gunless Friend!


The dangerous people are not the ones
Who hit you with clubs and rob you with guns!
The thief won't attack your character traits
Or belittle your abilities to your face!
It likely will be a well-meaning friend
Who merely crushes your will to win.


No, he doesn't rob you, at point of gun,
He simply says, "It can't be done."
When pointed to thousands who already are
He smiles and says, "They're superior!"
Personality-wise, and abilities, too,
They're way ahead of what others can do!"


It matters not that his words are untrue
For, you feel "others" must know you!
So, you're robbed of your hopes, your dreams to succeed.
Robbed of the material blessing received,
Robbed of your faith that says, "I can."
And robbed by an ignorant, gunless friend.


So, the deadliest of men is not he with a gun,
But the one who tells you "It can't be done!"
For that taken by burglars can be gotten again.
But, what can replace your will to win?
~ Author Unknown ~

The Power of Thought

“If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you like to win, but you think you can't,
It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow's will.
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But soon or late the man who wins,
Is the man who thinks he can.”

Monday, February 7, 2011

The Principal Thing


Proverbs 4:7 says, "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding." Proverbs 2:6 says, "For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding."

Wisdom, as taught in the scriptures, maybe the most neglected truth in our churches today. Wisdom may offer more than we realize. Paul the apostle prayed that we would have a spirit of wisdom. Solomon was the wise king of Israel. Look at all the things that are revealed about wisdom in the book of Proverbs. Jesus is wisdom unto us, and Jesus is the power of God and the wisdom of God. Blessed is the man who finds wisdom. There is so much in the Bible about wisdom! But what is wisdom exactly?

What we need is a good working definition. This is what I have come to learn of wisdom in the sense of application. Wisdom is not knowledge! Wisdom employs, or uses knowledge. Knowledge alone is just information we have gained that has not been put to any practical use. The knowledge of the word of God is good, but we can possess the knowledge of what is written in the Bible, while our personal life doesn't really change much because we don't really see how it applies to everyday life.

That was a wise move on your part. Have you ever used, or heard that phrase? That saying reveals wisdom deals with what you do, not just what you know. Wisdom is the ability to apply knowledge effectively to produce good results. As this concerns the knowledge of the things of God, the wisdom of God enables us to apply the knowledge of God effectively to produce good results.

We have a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. This would then mean that we would have not only revelation by the Spirit, but we would also have wisdom by the same Spirit. Through revelation we gain understanding of truth and our knowledge of the things of God increases. Through a spirit of wisdom we are enabled to apply the truths we have learned and as a result we become very fruitful. If I am to know anything about Him, it must be revealed to me. If I am to walk in the light of the knowledge I have, I need His wisdom.

Some of us have been facing situations that need to change. We have prayed, tried to believe, confessed the promises, rebuked the devil, fasted, wept and all but given up. We tried everything we know. We have had revelations from God and we know many things about scripture. Yet for all we know some things just don't change. You see we are not to just have a spirit of revelation, so we can know truth, we are to have a spirit of wisdom so we can apply truth. When we follow the wisdom the Spirit gives for the things we are facing we will see change, that is for sure.

A spirit of wisdom and revelation means I come alive with wisdom, I come alive with revelation, because it is the Spirit of a thing that makes it alive. We hunger for many things, but is wisdom the principal thing?

Wisdom versus Intelligence

Both wisdom and intellect are forms of knowledge. Both can serve several more people than the number of people who possess them. But wisdom doesn't require agreement and recognition from so many other people immediately, as the intellect does, in order to serve many people. It is in this way that wisdom differs from intellect I think.


Anyways, this is to say that with wisdom, people can agree with your assumptions, and not with your reasoning and conclusions, as opposed to with intellectual arguments (that are deemed intelligent) where they will agree with everything (before deeming it intelligent). But they will change their minds when the knowledge becomes self-evident in time. Of course, having said this, many people have a tendency to classify certain statements or facts as "wise" and make the wrong gamble. Or sometimes it is just that the time for the fact to become self-evident is extremely long, thus people don't see any knowledge, let alone wisdom in certain assertions, when in fact they might turn out to be just that.

 In Arabic for instance, the word 'wisdom' (hikma) has the same root (HKM) as the words 'government' (hukuma) or 'court house' (mahkama). The word 'intellect' (a'ql) has the same root (A'QL) as words such as 'recognition' (a'qal), or 'appreciation'.

Intelligence is the effective and efficient functioning of thought.: eg. e=mc2

While Wisdom is the awareness of the limitation of thought: eg. "Who among ye by taking thought can add one inch to his stature?"

>All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusion is called a philosopher.
- Ambrose Bierce –