Faith and Wisdom

"Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God's people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God." -Ephesians 1:15-17
 
Are you more of a "wisdom" person, or are you more of a "faith" person? 

In life, I have discovered there are often two kinds of people: those who are risk-takers, and those who are risk-adverse. Both personality types have pros and cons, but both are essential to God's kingdom. 

People who are "faith" oriented love risk, and are not afraid of a new challenge. They love starting new endeavors and trying new things! Sometimes, though, risk can bring many challenges, such as betting too big of a hand, resulting in big losses. 

People who tend to play it safe are more "wisdom" oriented - they see the risks, count the cost, and opt to avoid the pitfalls. On the other hand, these people might be slow to take advantage of opportunity, (and may subsequently miss it), and might be prone to "hide" their gifts instead of investing them. In the Bible, Peter was a "faith" person; Solomon was a "wisdom" person. 

If you are a faith person, do you have wise people around you? Conversely, if you are a wisdom person, do you have people around you who challenge you to step out of the box and try new things? I am so thankful that God paired me up with a wisdom person, as I have often gotten myself into trouble being more of a faith person. 

The cool thing is, it is wise to be filled with faith, (the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom), and to be faithful is to be wise. (Ps 111:10) Do you have a healthy balance of both faith and wisdom in your life?

Wisdom

"My son, (or daughter) do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck." -Proverbs 3:22

Wisdom is valuable. The Bible says it's worth more that rubies (Prov 3:15). True wisdom is mostly caught versus taught. It may be thought to come with age, but in reality, wisdom doesn't necessarily have to do with age. (Job 32:7&8) In Eastern cultures, wisdom is highly sought after, and those who are said to have wisdom, are very respected. 

There are good reasons why we should seek after wisdom, especially in our modern age where it seems scarce. Consider the Message version of the above verse:

"Dear friend, guard Clear Thinking and Common Sense with your life; don't for a minute lose sight of them. They'll keep your soul alive and well, they'll keep you fit and attractive. You'll travel safely, you'll neither tire nor trip. You'll take afternoon naps without a worry, you'll enjoy a good night's sleep. No need to panic over alarms or surprises, or predictions that doomsday's just around the corner, Because God will be right there with you; he'll keep you safe and sound." -Prov 3:21-26

Those are quite some promises! We may read the above verses and think, "Oh well, that's nice - there's some great stuff there." But, what exactly does it mean to have wisdom?
Here are a few examples:

• Wisdom with money means saving - and not spending all of our money or living above our means. (Prov 30:25, 6:8, 13:7, 13:11, Proverbs 13:22)
• It's fulfilling our obligations. (Rom 13:8) It's honoring God with our money. (Prov 3:9)
• Wisdom is keeping good company (Proverbs 12:26, 4:14, 13:20)
• Wisdom is working diligently (Proverbs 10:4)
• Wisdom is taking good advice (Proverbs 13:10, 11:14, 13:1, 13:10, 15:22)
• Wisdom is being humble (Proverbs 8:13, 15:25)
• Wisdom is heeding correction (Proverbs 15:32)
• Wisdom is having self-control (Prov 16:32)
• Wisdom is not putting yourself in compromising situations (Prov 2:16)
• Wisdom is thinking about what we say before we say it (Proverbs 12:23, 13:3)
• Wisdom is speaking in love versus contempt (Proverbs 15:4, 15:18)
• Wisdom is fearing God, and listening to His voice in our lives. (Proverbs 1:7, 16:3)

Living a spiritual life is practical too - meaning there is fruit to back up our beliefs. Do you hold wisdom close to you?

Where Does Wealth Come From?

"Now, LORD God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours? God said to Solomon, 'Since this is your heart's desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have." -2 Chronicles 1:9-12

 

Where does wealth come from? Should we seek to gain wealth as followers of Christ? There are many get-rich-quick ideas out there, most of which lead to more poverty. (Proverbs 21:5) And, there are many people who believe that in order to be a Christian, you must agree to live a poor and meager lifestyle. But, I don't believe this should be the case! 

Solomon was the richest man who ever lived. (1 Kings 10:23) If we are poor, how can we bless others? How can we fund kingdom activities if we ourselves are indebted and impoverished? 

In order to gain wealth, it appears that simply seeking wealth does not bring us wealth. The Bible also says, "The love of money is the root of all evil." (1 Tim 6:10) This is not to mean money is evil - but the love of money is evil. 

According to scripture, it appears that wealth is a byproduct of seeking wisdom. And, when we're faithful with little, God is able to trust us with more. (Matt 25:21) This is a spiritual law!

So, how can we be wise with money? Some ways to be wise with money are tithing (Malachi 3:10), staying or getting out of debt (Romans 13:8), saving (Proverbs 30:25), working diligently (Proverbs 14:23), not spending foolishly (Proverbs 29:3), and putting money into things that earn a return on investment (Matt 25:20). I heard a millionaire say once, "Money is seed. Don't eat all of your seed - that would be foolish! Instead, plant it somewhere where it will grow." 

Do you have a desire for God to bless you in this way so that you can be a blessing to others in need? Pray today for wisdom and guidance. Be faithful with what you have. God desires to provide more than enough for His children, so that His kingdom purposes can be accomplished on the earth.

What Is Tithing?

“Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”  -Genesis 14:18-20

What is tithing?  Many people might argue that tithing is outdated, that it is an “old-fashioned” idea.  But is it?  Why did God want His people to tithe?

In Hebrew, the word “tithe” actually means 10%.  Tithing is giving 10% of all our “increase” (what we get paid) to God as an act of worship to Him.  We do this for various reasons - most of which are beneficial to us versus God.  God doesn’t need our money, but he does want our obedience.  Tithing is an act of worship meaning we agree that everything we have is His.  We are managers of all that is entrusted to us.  What we have is because of His goodness.

Craig Hill, founder of Family Foundations and author of several bestselling books on money cites the following 7 reasons why he believes each of us should employ the practice of tithing as a part of our worship to God:

• It builds faith in our hearts for God as our Source of provision
• It breaks the power of greed: “money managing me” vs. “me managing it"
• It breaks the power of fear of lack
• It establishes discipline
• It distinguishes between the Source of provision and channel of provision
• It provides support to kingdom activities
• It qualifies us to be trusted with more of God’s resources

Where should we tithe?  Malachi 3:10 talks about bringing the whole tithe “into the storehouse.”  Since we don’t have physical storehouses today, we can relate a storehouse to a place where we are being spiritually fed. More that likely this is a local church, but could be more than one place.

Have you employed the practice of tithing?  Pray and ask God how you might incorporate the practice of tithing into your life. “Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” -Malachi 3:10

A Stellar Example

"The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king's service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom." -Daniel 1:20

I love the example of Daniel and his friends. Daniel was such an unwavering model of faith, excellence, and purity, in spite of the world in which he and his friends found themselves.

"But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way." -Daniel 1:8

Daniel and his friends were excellent in four areas:

• Physically: they were physically fit & disciplined
• Mentally: they were filled with wisdom and knowledge
• Relationally: they had one another for support, were respectful, and were highly favored among the king & his officials
• Spiritually: -they were filled with faith, they did not bow down to the world's system, and Daniel was excellent in his spiritual gifting (dream interpretation)

"To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds." -Daniel 1:17

The Bible says Daniel and his friends were 10 TIMES better than all the other magicians and enchanters in the land. To me, the example of Daniel and his friend speaks volumes. They lived in Babylon, in the world's system, which was contradictory to their faith. They lived as foreigners under the king's service. But they remained pure, disciplined, accountable to one another, and spiritually aligned with God. I believe it was because of these four things that God showed up in their midst. (Daniel 3:25)

Daniel challenges me in these four areas of my life, to be excellent and sharp in each one. Does Daniel's example inspire or challenge you? May we be the best examples of the God we serve, so that His light can be revealed in us for all the world to see.

"Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever." -Daniel 12:3

True Financial Freedom

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."  -1 Timothy 6:10

Have you seen anyone destroyed by money? I have.  Have you ever seen someone use money wisely? I've seen that too.  It's difficult to live life without money, but sometimes its presence makes life hard.  How can we make money work for us, instead of us working for it? What are God's purposes for money?

Notice that the above verse doesn’t say that money itself is evil; the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.  The fruit of someone's heart is often revealed by how and where they spend their money.  Are we spending our money on kingdom building initiatives?  Or are we spending it unwisely?  Are we investing money to grow it?  Or are we throwing it away on bad investments because we lack skill? Are we trusting God with our tithe & giving to the poor?  Or are we hoarding money like the wicked & lazy servant Jesus described?  (Matt 25:26)

God desires that we prosper.  The Bible says it is He who gives us the ability to create wealth.  (Deut 8:18)  When we put God first, the rest of our lives fall into place.  It doesn't mean we don't need skill to make and keep money - we absolutely do.  But how we earn that money, and what we do with that money once we earn it is very important in the eyes of our God. 

Most people are in debt.  Debt has become a cultural norm.  In order to be a people financially free and set apart, we have to think differently about money than most people. In order for us to get out of debt, we need to do different things than people who are in debt! Most people don't understand what money is.  Money is not just the ability to buy things; it is a tool to be used.  Money is not just a way to our wants and desires; it is "seed" for our future, and the future of others. 

Do you want to set yourself apart in the area of money?  Good training in this area is crucial so that God's purposes can be accomplished in our lives, and in the world around us.  Pray that God would make you wise in the area of money.

"But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today." -Deuteronomy 8:18

Waiting on God

"Be still and know that I am God!  I will be honored by every nation.  I will be honored throughout the world." -Ps 46:10

We humans don't like to wait on God.  We are naturally impatient.  We want everything to happen - right now!  But sometimes our walk of faith requires patience.  In fact, most of the time, it does.

You might have already noticed, God's timing is very different than ours.  He doesn't work by our standards.   Did you know it took 15 years for Sarah to have a baby after God's promise to Abraham?  When God told Abraham the first time he would have a son he was 86 years old.  But when Sarah actually had Isaac Abraham was 100!  God's timing is definitely different than ours.

When I think of people who have inspired me in my faith, it's not necessarily those ones who are busy doing lots of things for God.  It's those people who take the time to really hear His voice, and get His anointing and presence on their lives. This is what truly changes us, and those around us.

To know God's timing we must wait on Him.  Sometimes when we don't know what to do the best thing is just be still and listen.  The answer may not come right away, but God's presence, grace and peace can get us through just about anything.  

Have you waited on God today?