Wednesday, April 01, 2009

on wisdom

Who is like a wise man?
And who knows the interpretation of a thing?
A man's wisdom makes his face shine,
And the sternness of his face is changed.
~Ecclesiastes 8:1 nkjv
WOW. i flipped my bible open to where it had closed on another piece of paper and this is what my eyes landed on... and it just hit me, like WOW..... that is profound.

it ministers to me in so many ways!

for one, if someone has spoken to me what for all intents and purposes what 'wisdom', yet they came across sternly.... was it wisdom? personally, it speaks peace to places in my life where someone has said something 'wise' in sternness that honestly, before God, didn't sit right with me.... and here God says, in real wisdom, there is no sternness, only a glowing radiancy?!

also, there is also someone i have known in my life who seemed to be wise, even (if i dare say) thought themselves to be wise, but.... the sternness of their demeanor always seemed a direct dichotomy to their words.... how irritating. ....as i read this passage over and over again, i began to pray that God's wisdom would change them from the inside out, and a true gentle wisdom would permeate their demeanor... and now... i feel less... 'urky' about them, and more compassionate. less irritated with them. ain't that funny? lol.

an.... of course, self application: how do i come across? if i feel like i 'know the interpretation of a thing', am i coming out with it sternly? ...it's pretty much like the passage about having all knowledge and wisdom but have not love i am nothing...... if i have wisdom - whether i think it's wisdom or it's really real wisdom - but have sternness.... am i killing the message? i think so. maybe if it the wisdom cannot be delivered without sternness, it's a good indicator NOW IS NOT THE TIME..... hmm. much food for thought.

the picture i have is... the face of a man shows his character, right? laugh lines, or frown lines? ...radiancy (and the lightness that would bring to the facial features), or 'stern' lines?

WOW.

God knows where to tuck a 'bookmark' in my bible, lol!!!!!!!!

todays quotemeal fits with this (emphasis mine):
True religion is a union of God with the soul, a real
participation of the divine nature, the very image of God drawn
upon the soul, or in the apostle's phrase, it is Christ formed
in us.
-- Henry Scougal
Writ and/or posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Outcast, Adopted.

THIS BLOG IS IN NEED OF AN OVERHAUL. there are posts from years back i would not be able to post in good conscience now. i plan to overhaul the blog, and either delete or add a disclaimer to those posts. but that is gonna take time....

The Radical Summons: "Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp and bear the reproach He endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come." Hebrews 13:13.

"The Spirit never loosens where the Word binds; the Spirit never justifies where the Word condemns; the Spirit never approves where the Word disapproves; the Spirit never blesses where the Word curses." —Thomas Brooks

‎"God receives none but those who are forsaken, restores health to none but those who are sick, gives sight to none but the blind, and life to none but the dead. He does not give saintliness to any but sinners, nor wisdom to any but fools. In short: He has mercy on none but the wretched and gives grace to none but those who are in disgrace. Therefore no arrogant saint, or just or wise man can be material for God, neither can he do the work of God, but he remains confined within his own work and makes of himself a fictitious, ostensible, false, and deceitful saint, that is, a hypocrite." --Martin Luther (W.A. 1.183ff)

i will not let You go: "Jacob's sense of his total debility and utter defeat is now the secret of his power with his friendly Vanquisher. God can overthrow all the prowess of the self-reliant, but He cannot resist the earnest entreaty of the helpless." --Albert Barnes

i will not let You go: "Jacob's determination did not flow from his strength, it flowed from his weakness." --Charles Leiter