Meantime (MP3) by Benjamin Winans April 7-14, 2010

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Think Deep Before You Leap by Gene McGuire March 25-April 1, 2010

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who give to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5)

COMMENT: The other day, while going through some old papers, I came across a document which made me both elated and deflated at the same time. That piece of paper, dated Aug. 15, 1947, certified that I had become a member of the Junior Honor Society during the Summer School session. That was the part that elated me. Now here is the part that brought me low. As I have mentioned in previous messages, I was the object of much abuse from some of my fellow classmates in elementary school. Nowadays, I guess you would call me a nerd. I decided to get away from my nemeses by going to Summer School.  You’ve heard of “jumping from the frying pan into the fire”? Well, that is exactly what happened to me. To my chagrin, when I returned to school in September, I found myself faced with older, bigger and stronger bullies!!!!!!  Oftentimes we Christians make snap decisions on challenging confrontations and, consequently, suffer the consequences. That situation reminds me of a very popular radio quiz program that began in 1940 called “Truth or Consequences”. If the contestants could not answer the trivia question correctly, they would have to perform a zany and embarrassing stunt. We Christians can either meet the predicaments we encounter in life with God’s Truth – either from the Word of God we know or by praying and allowing the Holy Spirit to give us direction – or suffer grave consequences. When God’s Truth has the final authority in our lives, we can have assurance that He will work everything together for our good according to Romans 8:28.

SCRIPTURE STUDY: Psalm 51:6, 90:12 and Proverbs 2:6,7

WISE SAYING: THINK DEEP BEFORE YOU LEAP!

How Wise Are You? by Elaine Davenport Monday, March 23, 2009

You know, it’s amazing how many smart people there are.    When my daughter was in private school and would get her report card, I’d go in for a Parent Teacher conference.  In some cases, ultimately I’d end up speaking to the principal over my dissatisfaction regarding her grades.    The principal could barely mask a disliking for me and one day she decided to unload. Thinking back, it’s funny.

There’s a lot to this story; but the short of it is that one afternoon the principal stopped me and  explained that I’d better understand  the grading criteria if I were a teacher.  Somehow, I read into it that she thought I needed more education.  At first, I was offended.  Then, I grew up…smile.

I thought about it and decided an education couldn’t hurt.  So, I went back to school.  In the midst of it all, I started teaching part time.  Was I any wiser with this eduction under my belt?  Well yes, I thought so…but I didn’t know it all.   Well, I want to tell you that I went to school for many years and I got smarter and smarter and much more knowledgeable…but not wiser.  Wisdom is a whole different story and my journey to trude Wisdom was going to take me on an infinite journey.

There is no wisdom greater than Godly wisdom.  The Book of Proverbs talks about it quite specifically.  In fact, I’d fathom to say that whatewver your problem is…wisdom in the form of insight and revelation can solve your problem.  So again, I’ll say:  “How wise are you?

Take a walk to wisdom…seek God.

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There is no [human] wisdom or understanding or counsel [that can prevail] against the Lord. Proverbs 21: 30

There is no [human] wisdom or understanding or counsel [that can prevail] against the Lord. Proverbs 21: 30

The “When The Enemy Comes In” Dispute Tuesday, September 16, 2008

A good subtitle to this would be: “Wisdom and Pride in the body of Christ.”

SIDEBAR

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The word “dispute” admittedly is poorly chosen here. One group of believers chose to believe a scriptural interpretation and some who heard it chose to disagree. I believe it to be a very “small segment” of the population. For certain, the bigger task that we all face is reaching the lost. It isn’t worth my time to debate it…but I choose to explain how I view it.

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I don’t know how many people use the following scripture:

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. James 1: 5

The above scripture is talking about Godly Wisdom. It’s not because you go ti church more than other people’s wisdom. It’s not the Wisdom that you just needed to get off of your chest and it is also Wisdom that is borne out of love.

All that said; let’s talk about the conflict over the following scripture (which ought not to be):

Here’s the verse from Isaiah 59: 19

19So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

A mighty man of God has declared that even though interpreted in The King James version as ” the enemy comes in like a flood” that the comma may have been inappropriately placed and that it actually may mean:

“When the enemy comes in,”

“like a flood the Spirit of the Lord lifts up a standard against him.”

I was actually amazed that people of God who truly love God…took exception to this interpretation with boldness. I actually heard it firsthand or I would not discuss it.

To be fair I’ll say that they both make sense (on the surface to an untrained person) upon interpretation; but taking a closer look I came to some conclusions:

1. If we know who we are in Christ; the enemy can’t come in like a flood.

2. One must ask the question: “Who has the most power …God or the devil? I say God. Let’s face it…a flood is powerful…I won’t give the devil that much power…the bible says he’s under our feet so I choose to believe that.

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WHO’S RIGHT DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH STRENGTH YOU ACTUALLY HAVE AND THAT’S THE TRUTH!

You were Dirty by Gene McGuire Sunday, September 14, 2008

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?. . . .And such were some of you. But you were washed, sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Cor. 6:9&11)

COMMENT: Just like the title of one of my favorite songs: I’VE GOT A NEW ATTITUDE! Now let me explain. For the longest time I vehemently opposed the braided hair and “popcorn” hairdos many African American males now wear. I thought: “What is this younger generation coming to?”

Recently I began to have second thoughts as I recalled what I did in the 50’s.The motion picture “Quo Vadis” had many of us combing our hair to the front the way the Romans did in that movie. In the next decade I got into the act by wearing the hairdo of the day, the Afro. Each night I would braid my locks and comb them out in the morning so that my Afro would have more “body”.

I remember Al Carlton,  my boss at The Equitable, asked me why was I wearing my hair that way? I told him: “Because I like it!” (By the way, I didn’t get fired. In fact, it wasn’t too long after that conversation that Al was sporting an Afro also.) In a similar manner, our Lead Scripture reminds us that we too were enemies of the Lord, rebellious and “doing it our way”. Have patience with and pray for unbelievers in your life. But most of all, be a good ambassador for Christ so that they can see the Jesus in you.

SCRIPTURE STUDY: 2 Cor. 5:20 and 2 Cor.10:12

UNWISE SONG LYRICS: WHY CAN’T THEY BE LIKE WE WERE, PERFECT IN EVERY WAY? WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH KIDS TODAY?. (From the Broadway hit musical “Bye Bye Birdie”)