Don't Kick the Anthill

Lysa TerKeurst

"The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception." Proverbs 14:8 (NIV)

I stood at the dirt mound watching ants. They were busy. I was not.

The afternoon had been slow for me. Several of my friends had been invited to the community pool. Another friend was at camp for the week. Even my last resort, the pigtailed aggravation that lived in the apartment below, was busy. "She's napping," her mom had informed me.

I walked away thinking, She's six years old. Only two years younger than me and she still takes naps? That's the awfullest thing a mom could do to her child. And this is the awfullest afternoon ever.

Expect Increased Opportunities

Dear Kingdom Builders: What are you expecting? Are you content with your life or do you desire more? How do we increase and prosper in a time of great upheaval? To prosper we must be able to accurately discern the times and seasons. Part of discerning is recognizing there is a significant difference between the world’s prosperity messages of greed, ‘get all you can get’ and the Gospel message of God’s eternal love, saving grace, and salvation that causes us to prosper. With the shaking of today’s economic system we must realize the Bible has a lot to say about stewardship; saving and sowing money. There is a correlation between how we steward our finances and the prosperity of our personal lives and the health of our bodies. 3 John 2, says, “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.” Matthew 6:21 further states, “For where your treasure (desire, money, fortune, relationship) is, there your heart (focus, attention or love) will be also. We must ask ourselves, what or who do I place my hope and trust in? What or who am I seeking in this life? Whose kingdom am I building? What or who do I really treasure? Jesus said in Matthew 13:44, "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field”. Are we willing to sell out to this world so we can inherit the unshakeable Kingdom of God?

Proverbs 25:12 - As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.

As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.

You can make fine jewelry – two ways! This jewelry exceeds anything sold in stores! God perpetuates His truth and wisdom by those who teach it and those who obey it. Are you good at both? It is a beautiful thing for a wise man to teach an obedient hearer.

It takes two to fight! It takes two to tango! Human relations require at least two people. For God’s rare truth and wisdom to remain in the earth, there must be a teacher and a follower. Are you good at both? Do you obey God’s truth fully? Do you teach it well?

A Mother Called Wisdom

Written by Jack Hayford

Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, and give attention to know understanding; for I give you good doctrine: do not forsake my law. When I was my father’s son, tender and the only one in the sight of my mother, he also taught me, and said to me:

“Let your heart retain my words; keep my commands, and live. Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; she will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory she will deliver to you.”

Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, and the years of your life will be many. I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, and when you run, you will not stumble. Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; Keep her, for she is your life. - Proverbs 4:1-13

The Wisdom of Old Bull

The old bull and the young bull were standing at the top of the hill overlooking a paddock of many gorgeous young heifers. 

The young bull said, “Let’s charge down the hill, knock over that fence and service one of those heifers each”.

The old bull wisely replied, “Why don’t we saunter down the hill, open the gate, take a sip at the water trough and then service ALL of those heifers?”

Old Farmer's Advice:

A friend of mine post these wisdom quotes on facebook and I am reproducing them with his permission

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.

Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.

Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.

Words that soak into your ears are whispered... not yelled.

Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.

Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.

What Do YOU Pray for During Trials?

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. — 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 1:2-5

Last night I was at my church’s weekly prayer meeting, and God brought this scripture passage back to my heart. Well, let’s back up…

Yesterday morning I had to go to the doctor to have some testing done. Long story short, he did not give me the report that I was hoping for. In fact, he said the issue was worse than he originally thought. He told me I’ll have to have minor surgery for testing and treatment before we would even know the severity of the issue, or if it could be reversed.

Operating System

1 Corinthians 2:1–16

Recommended Reading: Proverbs 1:1–7; 2:1–22; 4:1–27

Do you stay up on New Year’s Eve to wait for the clock to strike midnight? If you do, you probably don’t care that much about when the New Year begins in places like Fiji or Auckland, New Zealand. However, you probably cared a bit more on December 31, 1999, as TV cameras captured the stroke of midnight in those locations to see whether the world had avoided the Y2K disaster. As clocks struck 12:00, 12:01, 12:02 in each time zone around the world, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief that televisions still functioned, nuclear power plants hadn’t failed and cars continued running.

Remember the craziness that preceded Y2K? Companies and governments spent billions of dollars to hire software programmers to pore over and correct millions of lines of computer code. All because of a looming catastrophe if computers were to misread the last two zeroes in the year 2000 as 1900.

Help in Conflict

Written by Gail Rodgers

“And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

No one likes to be thought of as needy. We prefer other adjectives for ourselves, words that reflect strength or wisdom. Think about your own needs for a moment. It’s easier to think of someone else and how to help them but can you identify where you are have been needy lately?

There is a tool we can use to help us see our own need. It is the tool of paying attention to any conflict in our lives. Conflict often reflects unmet needs. Think about it for a moment.

Take a moment to recall the last encounter you had with conflict. Most of us don’t have to dig very far into our memories. Sometimes the unmet need is basic and easy to remedy such as the need for sleep. Yet often it is much deeper. The need to feel valued and heard or the need to be accepted or respected can cause conflict from a wounded heart.

America's Number One Problem

Our nation suffers from a sickness in its soul.

by Dennis Rainey
As a people, we are healthier, but not happier. We are drenched in knowledge, but parched for wisdom. The most prosperous nation the world has ever known suffers from a sickness in its soul.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the state of the family. The biblical values that built our great nation-once passed on from each generation to the next as a national treasure-are now dismissed. As a result, never before have we seen such deterioration in our homes:

Never before have so many children grown up in broken homes.

Never before have so many new married couples come from homes split by divorce.

Never before have so many new parents begun the journey of being called "Mommy" or "Daddy" with such a fractured picture of family.

The Frog that Covered the Land

“So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land.”—Exodus 8:6

This Torah portion for this week, Vaeira, is from Exodus 6:2—9:35 and Ezekiel 28:25–29:12.

The second plague to hit Egypt was the plague of frogs. Every Jewish child who goes to a Hebrew Day School knows this song: “One day Pharaoh awoke in his bed – there were frogs on his head and frogs in his bed. Frogs on his toes, and frogs on his nose. Frogs here, frogs there, frogs were jumping everywhere!”

But that’s not exactly how it happened.

The Sages point out that in the original Hebrew text, the Scripture says, “So Aaron stretched out his hand . . . and the frog came up and covered the land.” Did you catch it? One frog came up, and somehow, one frog covered the whole land! What does this mean?

How Trusting God Can Transform Your Life

by Joyce Meyer

For a long time, there was so much turmoil in my life. It really saddens me to think about all the years I wasted living this way. I was a Christian and went to church, but I spent a lot of time being upset about things I couldn’t do anything about, experienced feelings of guilt and condemnation much of the time, had no peace and just didn’t enjoy life.
Thankfully, I’ve had a radical transformation. I’ve developed the habit of trusting God, and now life is really worth living.

What It Means to Trust God

Trusting God is simply believing that He loves you, He’s good, He has the power to help you, He wants to help you, and He will help you. Christians are called believers, but many times, we are more like unbelieving believers. We trust our friends, the bank, the stock market or the government more than we trust God and His Word.

7 Benefits of Tongues

JOHN HURSTON, PH.D.

 

80

 

2

 

2

 

8

 

( Nikada/iStockphoto)

Ever wonder why having a prayer language is important? Here are good reasons to use one.

1. You know your spirit is speaking directly to God. The Bible tells us, "For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God … for if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays" (1 Cor. 14:2,14, NKJV). Praying in tongues can also be like a two-way street. When you pray in tongues, God will often give you wisdom and insight to see better ways of doing what you need to do.

2. You know you are praying according to the will of God. The Holy Spirit "makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God" (Rom. 8:27). You may often be tempted to pray for what you want, but when you speak in tongues, you are instead praying God's will. This is important, for the tongue has great power, as Solomon pointed out: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Prov. 18:21).

The Beginning of Wisdom

Written by Suzanne Benner

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”(Proverbs 1:7)

Beyond the connection between fearing God and righteous living, the Bible presents a tight link between the fear of the Lord and wisdom.

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding.” (Psalm 111:10)

“The fear of the Lord – that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.” (Job 28:28)

“A wise man fears the LORD and shuns evil.” (Proverbs 14:16)

“The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom.” (Proverbs 15:33)

Once we’ve accepted that we need to fear the Lord, we pursue the path of wisdom. At the same time, seeking wisdom helps us understand what it means to fear God.

Transparency or Wisdom in Marriage?

I go back and forth between thinking that my spouse and I need to communicate and be completely transparent with each other so that our trust level and relationship can grow vs. thinking that I need to be wise and hide some things from him because if he really knew all about me then he would feel too safe, would get bored and will go find his adventure somewhere else. I’m still not sure which one is the right answer, but I do know that when you hide things, it gives Satan a foothold. It allows him to come in and whisper lies in your ear like, “he doesn’t really love you and he never did” or “you are completely worthless and your husband knows it, so you need to pretend”. I’ve always went with transparency in the past and it hasn’t served me too well, but with this different way I find myself wanting to sin more and slowly wanting to distance myself from him, I don’t think it is good either. Maybe I’ll just go with transparency and hope that he chooses me despite his boredom….or is that stupid? Still don’t know.

The Hidden Things of God

"Blessed art thou...for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 16:17)

Remember when you went to school and learned your ABCs? You learned them by using your five senses and your logical abilities to gather information and sort it out. That kind of knowledge is called natural knowledge and it's the only kind most people know anything about.

But in the kingdom of God, there's another kind of knowing. One that works its way from the inside out instead of from the outside in. It's called revelation knowledge.

Still In God’s Hands

Our Daily Bread is hosted by Les Lamborn

READ: Job 1:13-22

In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. —Job 1:22

During my first year of seminary, I listened as a new friend described her life. Abandoned by her husband, she was raising two small children alone. Earning just over minimum wage, she had little chance of escaping the poverty and dangers she described in her neighborhood.

As a father, I was moved by her concern for her children, and asked, “How do you handle all of this?” She seemed surprised by my question and replied, “We are doing all we can do, and I must leave them in God’s hands.” Her trust in God in the midst of trials reminded me of Job’s trust (1:6-22).

A year later, she phoned and asked if I would come be with her at the funeral home. Her son had been killed in a drive-by shooting. I asked God for words to comfort her and for the wisdom not to try to explain the unexplainable.

Standing with her that day, however, I marveled as again and again she comforted others—her confidence in God unshaken by this terrible blow. Turning to me as we parted, her final words were a poignant reminder of the depth of her faith: “My boy is still in God’s hands.” Like Job, she “did not sin nor charge God with wrong”(v.22).

Consider The Clouds

Our Daily Bread is hosted by Les Lamborn

READ: Job 37:1-16

Do you know how the clouds are balanced? —Job 37:16

One day many years ago my boys and I were lying on our backs in the yard watching the clouds drift by. “Dad,” one asked, “why do clouds float?” “Well, son,” I began, intending to give him the benefit of my vast knowledge, but then I lapsed into silence. “I don’t know,” I admitted, “but I’ll find out for you.”

The answer, I discovered, is that condensed moisture, descending by gravity, meets warmer temperatures rising from the land. That moisture then changes into vapor and ascends back into the air. That’s a natural explanation for the phenomenon.

But natural explanations are not final answers. Clouds float because God in His wisdom has ordered the natural laws in such a way that they reveal the “wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge” (Job 37:16). Clouds then can be thought of as a symbol—an outward and visible sign of God’s goodness and grace in creation.

With An Ant’s Focus

Written by Gail Morris

Is your best never good enough? Talk to a mentor. 

“Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer…” (Proverbs 30:24-25)

While in an Ecuadorian rainforest, our group came across a long trail of army ants. They were thorough and determined to build their home. Proverbs 30:24 tells us that although ants are small, they are extremely wise. The ant highway was proof. There was a clean swath four inches wide across our leaf-littered walking trail. It was as slick as a newly waxed car. Busy workers raced in a straight line on this spic-and-span patch of dirt. Each followed the previous worker up the bark of an ancient tree, then, disappeared into dense foliage.

Finding Joy in Difficulties?

Gail Rodgers
Are you confused and not sure what to do or where to turn?

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

I have always been a bit uneasy with James 1:2 where Jesus followers are encouraged to “consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds”. When I find things in God’s word that are hard to understand I “camp” on them for a time and ask God to reveal His wisdom.

Recently I taught four sessions at a weekend women’s retreat. One of the sessions included the wise counsel of 2 Corinthians 12: 9 & 10 where Paul tells us the words the Lord spoke to him when he asked about something that was deeply challenging him in his life. The Lord’s reply was, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

Paul goes on to say that because of God’s promise to be his strength right in the midst of his weakness, he can “delight in difficulties”!