Wisdom Series ch5

I continue the study of Proverbs and gaining wisdom for our lives in Proverbs chapter 5:

After reading chapter 5, I get that we are to strive for the more long term wisdom and understanding instead of momentary gratification that ends up bringing misery and unsatisfaction. I see this in verses 3-14 when the scriptures speak of the adultress and the danger and misery that she brings. I believe this to not only mean the literal adultery but the choice of going for what you think feels good for the moment and doing the right things which will bring good in your life in the long term. The more you work toward the long term by using the elements of wisdom you become a wise person.

In verses 15-23 the scriptures speak of "drinking from your own cistern" and having your own wife satisfy you. I see this as saying enjoy what you have and what God has given you. Curve your desire to always have more because this will lead you away and make you unwise.

After looking at Proverbs chapter 5 does anything else come to you? Please comment! Thanks

What is your motive?

I was listening to my pastor's radio show yesterday, and this woman calls in asking why haven't she been blessed yet. She went down the list of her obedience and she was crying out wondering why God hasn't given her what she was owed by the scriptures. I couldn't help but feel bad for this woman. Not because she wasn't getting her way, but that she hasn't truly discovered gratefulness for God being God.

Yes, there are many promises of prosperity and blessing coming our way in the Bible if we ask and obey. But that shouldn't be your primary purpose for doing what you do. For an example, it says in the Bible to tithe and it will come back to you tenfold. But should that be the main reason you tithe? No, you should tithe because it's in God's word and obeying Him is a way that you can show love for Him and show how grateful you are that He saved you when you deserve so much worst. Whenever I pray, if I don't get what I ask right away I try not to let it get me down. Instead, I lift God up in praise. If I were to die tomorrow I would be truly satisfied because Jesus gave His life so that I can be with Him in heaven! And nothing else really matters!

I truly believe having this attitude is what will get you blessed by God. We all fall short and become disappointed but the more we stay strong and faithful the more we will be rewarded.

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him because He cares for you." 1 Peter 4:6-7

Wisdom Series ch4

Today I continue my series on gaining more wisdom for our lives from Proverbs chapter 4.

As a child should be obedient and attentative to their parents word's we should be that way with our Father God in heaven. We should trust the teaching of the Lord and love it. We should meditate on it and obey it. Keep His words in our heart and our minds and strive to find understanding when we are confused by it. Vs. 1-9

Wisdom equals full life. Full life is long, abundant, peaceful and smooth. The opposite will be the life of darkness, violence and confusion. Vs. 10-19

When your eyes are opened to wisdom don't close them. Always look towards being wise even when you make a mistake, acknowledge it, repent and come back. Try harder to conquer your weaknesses instead of accepting them and you will find health and happiness. Vs.20-26

There will be many choices and people in life who will come at you from one side or the other (the "left" or the "right") take neither. Take the words and the view of the Lord. Vs. 27

After reading Proverbs Chapter 4, did you get anything else? Please comment! Thanks

What Easter Promises you

Easter is more then fancy clothes and dyed and fried hair. Easter is an important holiday that celebrates the promise and gift from God given to you.
This world started with sin. We are all born in sin. In fact, homosexuals, thieves, murderers all start out the same way you did and will end up the same way you will if you don't accept the gift of Christ.
"For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) You can't be good enough to go to heaven. No one is good enough. The wages of all sin is death. Whether you told a white lie, or you killed someone no sin is considered better then the other.
Fortunately for us God loves us as His children! He wanted a way for us to be able to come back to Him. So He sent His one perfect son, Jesus Christ, to take on our sins at the cross. Not only did He do that, but he bore stripes on His body for our healing and he was pierced in His side and shed blood for the forgiveness of our sins. That first good Friday may have been solemn but will be victorious for us all.
On Easter the tomb was rolled away and it was empty. Jesus arose from the dead with our victor over hell! We no longer are doomed to die because of our sins. Your Easter promise is this, "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)

HAPPY RESURRECTION DAY EVERYBODY! I WILL BE BACK MONDAY WITH THE FOURTH INSTALLMENT OF MY WISDOM SERIES! SO COME BACK AND LEARN MORE WAYS TO GAIN TRUE WISDOM IN YOUR LIFE!

Wisdom Series ch 3

I now continue with the study of Proverbs for gaining wisdom in our lives.

Proverbs Chapter 3

What you learn from the words of God whether in church, Bible, or through the spirit, use it and don't lose it. Vs. 1,3,21

Do not rely on your own teaching or the world's teaching but the teaching of God will bring true wisdom. Vs. 5-7,19-20,

You are wise when you are kind and loving to others around you and generous. vs. 3,9, 27-30

You have truly found wisdom when you enjoy being corrected and punished because you know it brings change for the better in your life. vs. 11-12

You are wise when you don't envy the ways of the world and the people who follow the world. vs.31-34

The benefits of wisdom:
long life vs. 2,16
Peace and happiness in your life vs. 2,17,18
find favor in God and others around you vs. 4
healing of your bodyvs. 8
you will be rich both physically and spiritually vs. 10,14-16
you will be secure free from fear and worry vs. 23-26
You will be honored vs. 35

Would you like to add anyting to proverbs chapter 3 please comment! thanks

When God says no

God always answers our prayers. Some unbelievers would say that they know people who prayers didn't get answered. But that's untrue. God always answers prayers just sometime the answer is no.

Why would the answer be no? Is it because God is punishing me? Not necessarily. Was God punishing Jesus when He prayed and asked for Him to remove the cup of responsibility of going to the cross from Him? (Luke 22:42) No. but Jesus also said "Not thy will, but thine be done."

We have to realize that God's will is for the best in our lives. We may think that God is far away at the moment because we didn't get what we wanted when we wanted but the truth of the matter is, He is closer to our lives then we are. He knows what we need better the we do and will continue take care of us the proper way.

Praise God that He didn't say yes to Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsename because of that, generations and generations of people can be saved through believing on the blood of Christ.

Wisdom Series ch2

I am continuing with the study of Proverbs and gaining wisdom for our lives...

Proverbs Chapter 2

Take in the words of God in your heart and in your actions. Ask and research to understand them correctly and implement them in your life. vs. 1-4

Wisdom starts with God, if what you learn is not a principle of the word of God it's not wise. vs. 6-8

When you have wisdom you can not be defeated by the enemy vs.8,11-16 and because of that you will continue to prosper and live a good life vs.5,20-22

Have anything else to add for Proverbs 2? please do in the comment section.

The Wisdom Series

I have been moved to study the book of Proverbs and delve into the study of gaining wisdom. I began to read and meditate on Proverbs chapters 1-3 and began to hear so much from the Holy Spirit that I decided to share my studies with all of you. I have greatly benefited already and I have just begun.

Proverbs are from the words of Solomon who had found favor with God and was given "a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you"(1 kings 3:12) With his wisdom that was given, he ruled a nation, maintained peace and built magnificent structures. Though Proverbs are mostly known for the small sayings that have been quoted here and there it has much more significance in our lives.

Chapter 1: There is no wisdom without fear of the Lord and faith in His words. Vs. 7, 29

Wisdom begins when you have the humility to know you need to learn. vs.3, 5, 8, 30

You have wisdom when you love to learn and look forward to improvement because you know what foolishness can bring. v. 10,22-29, 33 (Ignorance is not bliss)

You are wise when you strive for peace first in your life. v.11, 15,16, 18,19

You are wise when you are eager to share what you have learned v. 20,21, 23

Next I will study chapter 2. Please comment and add anything that you have learned from looking at chapter 1 of the book of Proverbs.

My April Issue!!!

My April Issue is out today!! It's dedicated to prayer. I know the national day of prayer is May 4th but I usually don't get my issues out until after the 4th so I decided to do my prayer issue this month. I showcase an excellent organization started by urban college students in Atlanta to promote change with prayer and is now a national tour! You can find out how to get involved in my issue. Also I have a great true testimony of how prayer saved a woman's life. The quiz is really great. You can find out how strong your faith is by how you react to different situations in life. I think, even adults need to evaluate this in their lives. So check it out at www.lulu.com/beyonditallmag

Thanks for working for me

You ever think about how it's not fair that people who work or live immorally and/or illegally can be so rich? We all have at one time thought how unfair it is that we are stuck saving and saving and they are out spending and spending.

Before you read further: this is not a post about how being rich on the inside is more important (even though it is) This is about God's promises to take the sinner's riches and give them to you!

Yes, in the Bible it says how God will take money out of the hand of the sinner and give it to the righteous. Let's turn to Job 27:16-17 "Though he heaps up silver like dust and clothes like piles of clay, what he lays up the righteous will wear, and the innocent will divide his silver." It doesn't stop there in Proverbs 13:22 it says"A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous." Just think about that. Do you believe that you not only can be financially blessed now but even in the future after you are gone? Start believing it. God is able to do more then you can imagine and He is using the sinner to provide it. "To the man who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God."(Ecclesiastes 2:26)
What God did for the Israelites, He can do for you. "When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant"

MY 100TH POST

COME CELEBRATE WITH ME, THIS IS MY 100th POST! I have really enjoyed writing this blog. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to do a blog or If I was going to do good with it and then I was reading the Bible and came across the scriptures matthew 12:36-37 "But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.
For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." At that very moment I felt the Holy spirit speaking to me.. use your words to give glory to Jesus. After that, I got on my computer and started this blog. I appreciate everyone's kind comments and uplifting e-mails. Below are links to my favorite posts. Please read the ones you haven't read before. And Comment!
God Bless!
http://matthew1236.blogspot.com/2006/03/where-to-take-your-opinions.html#links Where you need to take your opinions on various views

http://matthew1236.blogspot.com/2006/02/blog-book-club.html -Join my book club

http://matthew1236.blogspot.com/2006/02/end-race.html -Does race really matter?

http://matthew1236.blogspot.com/2006/02/my-prayer-for-all-of-you.html -My special prayer for all my visitors at my blog

http://matthew1236.blogspot.com/2006/01/erase-dividing-line.html Should we act above all those others who have past sins?

http://matthew1236.blogspot.com/2005/12/two-gods.html -Which is the correct view of God? Angry and punishing or forgiving and loving?

http://matthew1236.blogspot.com/2005/11/blog-favorites.html -This one will continue you to other links further back that are my favorites

"Acknowledging your mistakes proves you're wiser today then you were yesterday. If you never admit you're wrong, you're saying, I'm not growing. I'm not wiser."-Dr. John C Maxwell

Noah's Ark Found?

The article, Satellite Sleuth Closes in on Noah's ark mystery is an interesting one. A satellite has found an object large enough to be Noah's ark from the Bible. As there are always skeptics, I think it's beyond a coincidence that the object compares to "The Genesis blueprint of the Ark detailed the structure as 6:1 length to width ratio (300 cubits by 50 cubits). The anomaly, as viewed by satellite, is close to that 6:1 proportion." However, whether it is proven to be the ark or not I believe that the very essence of faith is knowing without needing proof. Do I need the ark to be found for me to believe that it existed? If scientists prove that this ark is Noah's ark without a doubt will I be satisfied? No definitely not, I'm already satisfied. When you live in the spirit and the spirit lives in you, you know that the Bible is the true words of God. No proof needed.

Get Ready...

Below is a copy of a letter sent to me. I am posting it because with the popularity of the Da Vinci Code book, the movie will be just as popular and will effect more people. Even though it's a work of fiction people tend to be inspired and even changed by certain things that they hear. We as Christians have to use the word of God to combat this and to discern the truth.


Are You Ready for the Da Vinci Code?May 19, 2006 could well touch off the most controversial period the Church has faced in years. Why? Because Dan Brown’s best-selling book, The Da Vinci Code will be released as a movie on May 19th starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard. We have an unprecedented opportunity to equip the body to answer the challenging questions this movie raises about Christ, his Word and the Church. If we approach this with skill and readiness, we can seize this opportunity to open compelling conversations with the lost.

Da Vinci Code Help from Josh McDowell Our friend, Josh McDowell, has produced several excellent resources to help you answer the tough questions raised by skeptics and segue into the real gospel. One is a 20-page mini-magazine created to be a companion guide to the movie. Another is his book, The Da Vinci Code - A Quest for Answers. For more info, go to www.davinciquest.org.

Da Vinci Code TractDa Vinci Code fans will fight for this one! This tract is twice the size of the million dollar bill and looks like a valuable collector’s item. Please don’t miss this opportunity to get the gospel into the hands of the unsaved. Get the tracts and take a team to the theaters. We have learned that the criteria for a good tract is “If we would like to give it out, so will you.” This is because in the past we have produced tracts that were creative, but we didn’t really feel excited about giving them out. However, when we saw this tract, we couldn’t wait to give it out.( Information taken from the Way of the Master and Living Waters NEWSBLAST.)

My Space

Last month I decided to start a myspace page http://www.myspace.com. If you don't know what that is, it's a website that gives mini-websites to people who can easily interact with each other . It has thousands of people mostly teens and young adults joined as well as famous musicians/actors (even though some aren't official and some are just fan clubs). I first heard about it through my younger sisters who are always on the computer sending messages and bulletins. I didn't think much of it until one day I walked into this coffee house and literally saw over half of the laptops logged onto myspace. After that, I thought that it would be a great venue to advertise for my magazine. So I started a page. One month later I have been contacted by over 100 talented people agreeing to help me out and my ideas. But the biggest blessing was this: The many many young people who have come to me proclaiming their love for Christ. It was a shock to me to see so many myspaces that are dedicated to having a relationship with God. Some as young as 12 and 13. It's an awesome thing to see the power of God running through these young people. I have read blogs full of wisdom (that put mine to shame!:-) and projects of encouragement. There are hip hop Christian music artists(such as the pic shown above), Rock and roll Christian music groups and so much more. I believe God is using the youth as well as-if not more-then adults to get the word out to the lost. Don't underestimate a group of teens you may see out on the street, they may be the very ones out their saving souls. 1 Timouthy 4:11

The above picture is one of my myspace friends promoting his Christian album.

Want to take a look at my myspace page? go to http://www.myspace.com/beyonditallmag

UPDATE: THE NPR PUT OUT A STORY ABOUT MYSPACE AND HOW A LARGE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE ARE USING IT TO ORGANIZE FOR POLITICAL CAUSES CHECK IT OUT.

My daughter in the newspaper

Read more about why my 4 yr old daughter was in the newspaper at http://www.thesecondlove.blogspot.com Above is a recent photo of her

Learning from an Atheist

I recently received a message from Way of the Master ministry via my myspace page http://www.myspace.com/evangelismresource in this message is a letter from an atheist originally posted by Ray comfort at his site http://www.livingwaters.com that actually sends an important message to all Christians. It's copied below

"You are really convinced that you've got all the answers. You've really got yourself tricked into believing that you're 100% right. Well, let me tell you just one thing. Do you consider yourself to be compassionate of other humans? If you're right, as you say you are, and you believe that, then how can you sleep at night? When you speak with me, you are speaking with someone who you believe is walking directly into eternal damnation, into an endless onslaught of horrendous pain which your 'loving' god created, yet you stand by and do nothing.If you believed one bit that thousands every day were falling into an eternal and unchangeable fate, you should be running the streets mad with rage at their blindness. That's equivalent to standing on a street corner and watching every person that passes you walk blindly directly into the path of a bus and die, yet you stand idly by and do nothing. You're just twiddling your thumbs, happy in the knowledge that one day that 'walk' signal will shine your way across the road.Think about it. Imagine the horrors Hell must have in store if the Bible is true. You're just going to allow that to happen and not care about saving anyone but yourself? If you're right then you're an uncaring, unemotional and purely selfish (expletive) that has no right to talk about subjects such as love and caring."

That letter is intense and mind blowing. How many of us know people in our job, school, family, neighborhood that aren't saved and that we have not tried to reach out to? Learn from this atheist's letter and care enough to reach out to others.

Blog Book Club Update

So far, I've had a few people e-mail me letting me know they are reading the book for my blog book club Dinner with a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory and that they are enjoying it. Please join in the fun! This book is very enriching and enjoyable. I blogged about it originally at http://matthew1236.blogspot.com/2006/02/blog-book-club.html#links
Let me know when you get it and what you think!
I am also taking suggestions for the next book so if you know of a good one, let me know!

5 years of happiness?

My fifth wedding anniversary was 3-17-2006. Read my thoughts on five years of marriage at my family blog http://www.thesecondlove.blogspot.com

Where to take your Opinions

There are many viewpoints we can have on various issues. What many don't think about is once you become Christian your opinions should now come from Him. Are all your viewpoints biblically based? When you discuss things such as politics and race, do you have scriptures to back them up? It's hypocritical to preach and use scriptures for one belief but then not know how God feels about something else you feel strongly about. So how can you find out how God feels? Read the Bible and seek out His word. It says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." Another good way is to ask in prayer, I find that when I'm confused on something I ask God and then I would go to church and the sermon will be about that very subject! I recognize that that is the Holy spirit speaking through my pastor right to me.
Once God comes to live in you, you become full of wisdom. Use the wisdom He gives you to live your life and staple your beliefs.

"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood." 1 John 4:4-6

Christian Cliques

We as Christians need to get rid of the "them and us" mentality. Although I do enjoy hanging out with Christians I don't hesitate to reach out to someone who is not. How else am I going to share the good news of Christ if I avoid homosexuals, thieves, atheists etc. If I meet someone and I hit it off with them and I witness, as long as they don't disrespect me and my views, I don't mind continuing to be friends with them. I believe my relationship with God is strong and I don't believe being friends with people who are unsaved will change me, on the contrary them being friends with me will change them. It says in 1 Peter 2:12 “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” How can they see the blessings in our lives that God brings us for being faithful to Him if we avoid them? Now I'm not saying to constantly surround yourself with people who are unsaved because being with your brothers and sisters in Christ helps you grow in your walk with Him. But don't find yourself always pointing your finger at people who don't know Christ and turning your nose up at them, all that do is show Christians in a more negative light.
"While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matthew 9:10-13)