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The Electronic Church <[log in to unmask]>
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Sun, 8 Jul 2007 10:36:14 -0600
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I'm sure you've heard the phrase…

"Give a man a fish and feed him for a day…
Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime".

What would you call that phrase? A fishing tip? Lesson?  A lesson on giving 
perhaps. Or maybe a lesson on how teaching is better than giving or how 
giving is lesser a gift than teaching? Reading it at face value perhaps all 
the above, but reading it with understanding, it is called wisdom. 
Translated in today's language we might call it just being smart, using 
common sense, being practical minded, thinking ahead, and time management 
or saving time. There is no such thing as saving time, it passes through 
our existence like an invisible road we travel on and it is impossible to 
save it. We can make better use of it, but we can not save it, speed it up 
or slow it down. Wisdom is the chief manager of our time and when reading 
God's proverb below we find it is much more than a time management tool. It 
is a way to gain favor with God, with men, with  our spouses, with our 
children and with our business acquaintances, it is a way for us to find 
financial sustenance in life here on Earth, it is a tool given us and it is 
a tool that is implored as well as instructed to be used. It is the answer 
to our problems we encounter here on Earth; it was and is one of God's 
oldest friends. Wisdom is always truth and never lies or deceives, it will 
never lead you astray from God's will for your life or your situation. It 
calls out everywhere we go, standing in each of our situations, nearly 
jumping up and down pointing to itself with eagerness trying to pull our 
focus off the dilemma that has got our attention. In any situation we 
encounter in life on Earth, and I mean any situation, wisdom is there to 
help you, simply look for it. It is a gift, a tool, a shield and a weapon, 
a friend, a life jacket, a rope, a ladder, and plenty more aliases but it 
will always be known as wisdom and it will always be there for you. If you 
are in need of help, of course pray, seek God for peace and direction but 
also know that he has written his spiritual Word of wisdom for you to seek 
counsel that will confirm and support what you've heard from God. If what 
you've heard from God does not match His Word, you have not heard from God 
but the enemy, the angel of light trying to deceive you. God tells us in 
His Word that we are  His sheep and the sheep know the voice of the 
shepherd. We know the voice when we open our ears and listen on a regular 
basis and His voice has been written for us as well. Dangerous is the time 
when we feel we can hear from him without the confirmation of His Word. 
Even a Parrot has the innate ability to mimic and imitate what he hears to 
a point you will reach for a phone thinking it has rung, open a door to let 
a dog in that is not waiting to come in but standing there looking at you 
from the couch, and so should we be aware of the enemy imitating the voice 
of God. Even the elect will be deceived in the latter days. His Word does 
not change, and as Jesus said not one dot or dash will be rendered obsolete 
until he returns. I think we can rely on His Word as a guide and anchor to 
what our spiritual ears hear.   He thought wisdom for us to consider today 
so important that he dedicated an entire book to it with a host of 
information that is applicable today just as it was thousands of years ago. 
That in itself is an amazing thing. But as should always be the case, do 
not take my or any other man's word for it, read for yourself how wisdom is 
here to serve and help you today.

The Commendation of Wisdom

	Does not wisdom call, And understanding lift up her voice? On top of the 
heights beside the way, Where the paths meet, she takes her stand; Beside 
the gates, at the opening to the city, At the entrance of the doors, she 
cries out: "To you, O men, I call, And my voice is to the sons of men."O 
naive ones, understand prudence; And, O fools, understand wisdom."Listen, 
for I will speak noble things; And the opening of my lips will reveal right 
things. "For my mouth will utter truth; And wickedness is an abomination to 
my lips."All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness; There is 
nothing crooked or perverted in them. "They are all straightforward to him 
who understands, And right to those who find knowledge."Take my instruction 
and not silver, And knowledge rather than choicest gold. "For wisdom is 
better than jewels; And all desirable things cannot compare with her."I, 
wisdom, dwell with prudence, And I find knowledge and discretion. "The fear 
of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the 
perverted mouth, I hate."Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am 
understanding, power is mine. "By me kings reign, And rulers decree 
justice. "By me princes rule, and nobles, All who judge rightly. "I love 
those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me. "Riches 
and honor are with me, Enduring wealth and righteousness. "My fruit is 
better than gold, even pure gold, And my yield better than choicest silver. 
"I walk in the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice, 
To endow those who love me with wealth, That I may fill their treasuries. 
"The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of 
old. "From everlasting I was established, From the beginning, from the 
earliest times of the earth. "When there were no depths I was brought 
forth, When there were no springs abounding with water. "Before the 
mountains were settled, Before the hills I was brought forth; While He had 
not yet made the earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the world. 
"When He established the heavens, I was there, When He inscribed a circle 
on the face of the deep, When He made firm the skies above, When the 
springs of the deep became fixed, When He set for the sea its boundary So 
that the water would not transgress His command, When He marked out the 
foundations of the earth; Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I 
was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him,          Rejoicing in 
the world, His earth, And having my delight in the sons of men. "Now 
therefore, O sons, listen to me, For blessed are they who keep my ways. 
"Heed instruction and be wise, And do not neglect it.  "Blessed is the man 
who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at my doorposts. 
"For he who finds me finds life And obtains favor from the LORD. "But he 
who sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love death."

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