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CULTIVATING A LIFESTYLE OF THANKSGIVING

Part Fourteen - A Source of Wisdom

 

Thanks be to God who ALWAYS gives us the overwhelming victory - 2 Corinthians 2:14

 
By: Bro. Bill Miller                                                 Volume XIII Number 14                                                  October 1, 2010
                                                                                                                                             Greetings in the name of Jesus!
                                                                                                                 

Thanks for looking into Prosperous Life Newsletter today. We have prayed that this article will edify you with the TRUTH of God's Word and cause your FAITH to grow stronger (Romans 10:17).

 

Have you ever noticed that an abundance of good things just seems to gravitate to certain people? They appear to be blessed in almost everything they do: their finances grow in sufficiency, their businesses are successful, their families are in order with intelligent and well-adjusted children, they seem to always make the right decisions and choices, new ventures succeed while other folks are failing, they usually go in the right direction which is often opposite to the way most other people are headed, they're peaceful and happy and the results in their lives turn out way more favorably than they could've possibility anticipated when they started out. The World would say that these are people who're leading "charmed" lives, but the reality is they're Christians enjoying the relatively unrestrained GRACE of God.

 

Well then, why does it appear that some Christians receive more GRACE than others? That's definitely a key question because GRACE is defined as God's favor and empowerment to achieve victory in life yet God is not one to show partiality (Acts 10:34). Could it be that somehow these folks are receiving more of God's GRACE than most of the rest of us despite God's impartiality? The answer is: YES they ARE definitely receiving more GRACE than others of us around the Body of Christ and we need to understand how this happens so we can learn to attract more of it for ourselves.

 

The truth is God's favor and blessings and empowerment have already been released for EVERYONE to enjoy because of what Jesus accomplished on the Cross of Calvary. He paid for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2) and God then released His GRACE. But the GRACE of God has to be received by FAITH (Ephesians 2:8 and Hebrews 4:16) by each person, first to believe in the Lordship of Jesus Christ and then to govern our lives after salvation. As we go along there're certain characteristics of life that attract GRACE such as strong faith (Romans 10:17 with Ephesians 2:8), humility (1 Peter 5:5), thanksgiving, sacrificial praise and one's understanding of the Word. All these things are scriptural and they work; they serve to help us RECEIVE the GRACE that God has already made available. Yes, God has indeed made it available but it's our responsibility to RECEIVE it by FAITH. The same amount of GRACE is available to every person, Believer and non-believer alike and the more of it we can actually RECEIVE, the more we'll tend to enjoy a life that's full of God's joy and peace and victory.

 

Connecting Wisdom to Thanksgiving

 

Another key for attracting the GRACE of God is the ability to acquire and use the WISDOM of God. Consider for a moment that when a Believer is born again, he or she becomes a new creature; all the old things pass away and new things come to take their place (2 Corinthians 5:17). When the Bible says a new "creature," it's equivalent to saying a new "species" or a totally new "creation." At the instant new Believers are born again, the Holy Spirit takes up residence within each one and starts immediately to implement a process of teaching (John 14:26) and transformation (Romans 12:2). Think of it: a Believer from the first moments of salvation has by FAITH direct access to all of the WISDOM of the universe plus the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) to help us understand and apply that WISDOM in our lives.

 

In the first several chapters of the Book of Proverbs, the Bible establishes that WISDOM is one of the most valuable attributes of God we can aspire to. Here are a few examples YOU SHOULD REALLY READ CAREFULLY:

 

"How blessed is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding. For her (wisdom) profit is better than the profit of silver and her gain better than fine gold. She is more precious than jewels; and nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are ALL who hold her fast" (Proverbs 3:13-18).

 

"For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth (the Word) come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright (the righteous); He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones. Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course. For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will guard you, understanding will watch over you, to deliver you from the way of evil..." (Proverbs 2: 6-12[a]).

 

Now, these two examples are from the Old Testament. Think how much more accessible WISDOM is supposed to be under the New Covenant because the Word says we have a better covenant with better promises (Hebrews 8:6). We of the New Covenant are supposed to have more WISDOM, more understanding, more knowledge, better discernment, greater riches and honor, etc. Yet, one of the most obvious things missing in the Body of Christ these days is WISDOM. People make unwise choices that aren't based on the Word of God but on something they heard on television or a friend told them or a family member, or a co-worker, or some other equally unreliable source. They make decisions and choices based on those inputs and neglect to run them by the Holy Spirit's WISDOM test before they implement the ideas. And of course those ideas always fail.

 

I want to submit for your consideration this evening that one of the reasons WISDOM is so hard to come by in the Church today is that we're largely an ungrateful people. We don't notice all the good things God is doing in our lives but we DO notice all the bad things that come from the enemy and then we blame God for them. Under the New Covenant God doesn't send bad things into our lives but a lot of people who call themselves Christians are living with one foot in the Old Covenant trying to do good works to persuade God to stop sending them trials and tribulations when actually He already stopped the moment the New Covenant was ratified by the blood of Christ. Instead of God sending us problems all the time, the work of Christ has redeemed us from the Curse, reconnected us to the Blessing of Abraham (Galatians 3:13-14) and our ingratitude for these things is separating us from the fullness of New Covenant benefits.

 

Please give some attention to the following verse which clearly shows the connection that THANKSGIVING has to the attribute of WISDOM:   

 

"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or GIVE THANKS, but they became futile in their speculations (thinking), and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise they became fools..." (Romans 1:20-22).

 

Now, the context of these verses is that the Apostle Paul was explaining that those who reject God (the World) will have NO EXCUSE for having done so because the evidence of God's existence and power and divine nature are EVIDENT to anyone who wants to look for them. But the principles are valid in an extended context. In other words, failing to honor God by our THANKSGIVING will make even Believers "foolish" relative to the potential of having access to God's WISDOM. The Scripture says: "Even though they knew God." So, even as born again Believers if we reach the point of not honoring (not esteeming) God and being ungrateful for the good things He has sent our way, our "foolish hearts will become darkened" or insensitive to the things of God including His attributes that reside within us through the presence of the Holy Spirit. In short, ingratitude will cut us off from the WISDOM of God and make us become "fools" who make dumb decisions and then blame God for the consequences.

 

The challenge for the Christian is to esteem/honor God in everything by giving Him credit for every good thing (James 1:17) through our THANKSGIVING in FAITH. When we do that we'll be increasingly able to reach down within ourselves and by that same FAITH draw out the attributes of God including His WISDOM so that we can use them now in this age and in this life. Here's another verse for you as we close:

 

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in FAITH without any doubting..." (James 1:5-6).

 

God wants us to be able to use and enjoy every single attribute the Holy Spirit has made available. If we do our part we can draw them out from the spirit part of us so we can use them in the natural.  WISDOM is one of the attributes that can be drawn out and all we have to do is continually give THANKS to God and by FAITH believe that we possess the WISDOM as a result of our acts of THANKGIVING. And, please make no mistake about it: WISDOM is an essential requirement for experiencing success in life and the FAITH we need to receive it grows by hearing the Word (Romans 10:17). So, meditating on the Word and particularly on all the WISDOM scriptures will help our FAITH to apprehend the WISDOM of God. By WISDOM all the good things of God will soon begin to flow our way just like those Believers we described at the beginning of this Newsletter today who always seem to have everything working out for them.

 

God bless you and thanks for dropping by today. We know you're busy and had many other things you could've used your time for. But God sees your diligence and your love for the Word, and He rewards those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). We'll be looking for you again in three weeks on October 22.   

 

Sinners' Prayer

 

If you've never invited Jesus to be the Lord of your life, you need to and you can do it today just by saying out loud the following simple prayer:

 

Jesus I declare today with all my heart that I believe in you and that God raised you from the dead. I receive forgiveness for my sins and I ask you to come into my life today and be my Lord and Savior. Thank you for salvation and eternal life.

 

If you were sincere as you prayed this prayer, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation, a totally new species recreated in His image. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith-based, bible-teaching church where you can be equipped to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God.

 

Donations

 

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Prayer Requests

 

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