Ask for Wisdom

In my annual Bible reading plan, I have come to 2 Chronicles, where Solomon asks God for wisdom. What he did NOT ask for is instructive.

• He did not ask for wealth.
• He did not ask for riches.
• He did not ask for honor.
• He did not ask for the death of his enemies.
• And he did not ask for long life.

Later, Solomon would write this proverb: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." (Proverbs 9:10)

Job declared the same: "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom." (Job 28:28)

David also declared the same: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." (Psalm 111:10)

Charles Spurgeon, English preacher of the 1800's, defined wisdom this way:

"Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom."

St. Francis of Assisi said, "Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

And the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to confess: "It is because of him [God] that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption." (1 Corinthians 1:30)

Our prayers to God should include a request for His wisdom!

I confess that I mostly ask God for what I want - it would have been very understandable if Solomon would have asked for victory over his enemies, wealth or honor, or a long life, but instead he asked God for wisdom. God added all the other things to him as well.

Randy

Spiritual Practice

I remember when I was a kid, my Dad used to say, "Practice makes perfect." As I would move from one sports season to the next (I tried a stint at saxophone in the 3rd grade but it was a train wreck!), I would here that same mantra from every coach. Whether it's baseball, football or basketball...or saxophone or dancing or art or learning a new language - practice does count.

It is no different in Christianity! Paul encouraged Timothy:

"For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:8)

and...

"Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." (1 Corinthians 9:25)

What does that practice look like? What is the strict training that Paul is referencing? The answer is training in righteousness:

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16)

Therefore, part of the DNA of C3 is that all covenant partners are expected to be students of the Bible. In the book "Essential Church," Thom Rainer and his son Sam interviewed a young man who was strongly connected to his church. He said, "...the church should only be a supplement to a personal time of prayer and Bible study."

And THEN this young man said, "The Word is so much a part of my life that studying it has become a life priority for me. And when I am dealing with tough decisions or life-changing situations, I can always remember something I have studied in Scripture to help me know how to deal with anything."

He added, "And none of my studies in the Bible have ever told me to take a break from church. To the contrary, I realize that I need the church more than ever."

WOW! Never could I have said it better. Spiritual practice begins with a daily time in God's Word, asking Him to fill you with wisdom, knowledge and truth!

Study hard, because practice makes perfect!

Randy

If "The Church" Collaborated...

One of my mantras of late has been to look for others who desperately want to see something amazing happen in Charleston, SC. If we don't watch it, we will continue to pour all our resources and energy into doing church, leaving very little left in actually being the church.

Jesus said, "He who is not with me is against me." (Mt. 12:30) The context of that statement is Jesus, having just driven a demon out of a man, is accused of being on the side of Beelzebub (the prince of demons, an agent of Satan). We are in a war folks, and guess what God's church is doing in Charleston - and for that matter all over the United States? The church is hunkering down as individual entities - a church here and a church there - each existing in this world by itself.

Satan has effectively devised a plan to divide the Church of Jesus Christ - pride. There. I said it. Pride and the view that churches are in competition with one another is what keeps churches from working together, collaborating to storm the house of Satan - namely, this world. Jesus said, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand." (Mt. 12:25) Every city divided against itself...sobering, isn't it? Much less every church. Imagine if churches saw other churches as more soldiers, reinforcements, additional supplies - all for the goal of winning the war!

By His death, burial and resurrection, Jesus bound up the "strong man" (Satan), and now our job...our mission... is to rob his (Satan's) house and take what he possesses, namely people who don't know the truth. Remember what Jesus told Peter? "...upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." (Mt. 16:18) The gates of hell (Satan's authority) will not hold up under the siege of Christ's army! The question is, are we storming the gates of hell or are we going to sit idly by in comfort? We've been called to go!

Every day, I have committed to entering into a bold conversation with someone about Jesus. I could care less what church they end up attending. That is immaterial until they find Jesus. The fact is, 79% of Charleston does not worship at a Christian church on any given weekend. So, we need to modify our emphasis from inviting people to church and continue (or start) inviting them into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Will you commit with me? One meaningful conversation a day? This is the war plan:

1) Pray for opportunities
2) Look for the open doors
3) Step out courageously
4) Depend on the Holy Spirit
5) Praise Him for the outcome

In Christ Alone,

Randy

Finally a Real Live Legitimate Blog!

Can I just say how I (the Dish) have launched into 2009 these past 2 weeks?

It started with finally creating a Facebook page. That was followed by Twitter. And now a real blog spot (this after an entire year of emails sent out to all our friends and family at C3 under the guise of a blog...)

What does all this say? First, it says that I need to repent for lying to our congregation at C3. I have been reminded by too many of you that I specifically stated (in public no less) that I will never have a Facebook page. I admit it. I lied! Ahhhh. Confession is really good for the soul.

Second, it says that being like Jesus is being out there where the people are. Whether or not you know much about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, all of you would certainly agree that His life is one that we should model. Jesus was always where the people were, and these new technologies like Facebook and Twitter are where the people are. We who claim to be followers of Christ need to follow Him to where the people are so that we can preach the Word of Truth.

Third, it says that I love to learn new things. I am convinced that those who stop learning stop growing. We should always encourage one another to move beyond where we are today. God has so much He wants to accomplish through us. Are you ready to be used by Him??

Dish Out