Spiritual Growth

Wisdom and faith

Recently came across what the 7 pillars of wisdom are from reading this verse:

Wisdom has built her house; she has carved out her seven pillars.
- Proverbs 9:1

Here is my first search for it from this site:
http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=162013
"OPENING PRAYER
Prayer for Spiritual Growth (Colossians 1:9-14)

“Dear God in heaven, we ask that You may fill us with the knowledge of Your will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that we may walk worthy of You, fully pleasing to You, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of You, Father God.

“May we be strengthened with all power, according to Your glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled us to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.

“Father God All Mighty, You have rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of Christ Jesus, the Son You love. We have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, in Him.

“We pray these things in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

INTRODUCTION
• Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
- James 1:5-6

In this the information age, we practically live on the information super highway. With the click of a few buttons, or a touch of a screen, we can find out almost anything about everything. But with all that information at our fingertips, are we truly any wiser than our predecessors? Does having degrees and doctorates actually turn all our decisions into good ones?

God instructs us to gain wisdom (Proverbs 2:1-7; 4:5-7; 4:10-13; 16:16). Not earthly wisdom (Proverbs 3:5), but Godly wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). He highly values it (Proverbs 16:16), and wisdom provides protection and preservation of life (Ecclesiastes 7:12; Proverbs 11:2). He tells us how, by asking Him in faith (James 1:5-6), and warns us to test our sources of wisdom (1 John 4:1) to ensure they are from God. But what is wisdom? Not the dictionary definition, because that relates to worldly wisdom and we are addressing Godly wisdom here.

Dr Charles Stanley defines Godly wisdom as “The capacity to see things from God's viewpoint and respond according to the principles of scripture.” So let us look at wisdom from God's viewpoint. The bible breaks wisdom down into seven elements."

At the beginning of Proverbs 8:12 we find “I wisdom dwell with...”, a reference to Wisdom's house. What follows in Proverbs 8:12-14 are seven attributes or ‘pillars’ of wisdom: 
1 Prudence,
2 Knowledge,
3 Fear of the Lord,
4 Counsel,
5 Sound wisdom,
6 Understanding, and
7 Strength.

We lift you higher!

Search for wisdom and clarity

"Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'"

I refuse to gain the world and lose my soul. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your mind, and your soul." 

Making Decisions

 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

For men have their ways, but God plans a man's steps. In one instance, Paul planned to invade a region with the gospel but the spirit of God prevented him. Paul planned but was sensitive to the Lord altering his plans. Whatever happens, it is HIS WILL, because He can do anything, and if he wills, he will. Trust in that and cast your cares and worries to Him being BOLD trusting His ways are better than our ways. 

When making decisions, God tells us to honour God with our our intellect. We can be confident because we make decisions based on a heart that knows 1) He is the all powerful, all loving 2) we want others to see His glory each and every day. Looking upward and outward! 

Here is another blog:

Years ago I had a friend who made no plans, set no goals, aimed at nothing. His reason? He wanted always to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Before he decided anything, he prayed. He asked the Lord whether he should go to work that day, brush his teeth, use deodorant. (I wish he had asked me!) Needless to say, he didn't keep a job very long.

My friend made three faulty assumptions in determining God's will:

(1) He thought that his feelings were an infallible guide for sensing the leading of the Spirit. But even Jesus did not take this attitude, for when he prayed in the garden, "If it is possible, let this cup pass from me" (Matt 26:39), he was clearly indicating (among other things) that emotionally he would prefer not to face the cross.

(2) My friend believed that the Holy Spirit leads people only in a spontaneous way. That is, he does not move them to make plans. But Paul made plans (see, for example, Acts 15:36; Rom 1:13), the apostles made plans (Acts 6:1-3), and even Jesus himself made plans (Matt 10:5-15; 16:21; 26:17-19). Surely we cannot claim that these men were not Spirit-led in their planning.

(3) My friend subconsciously rejected the idea that he could hear the Spirit's voice through the Scriptures. But by abandoning the Word of God as his normative guide, he was assuming that the Holy Spirit usually circumvents the Word when he speaks to men. This is hardly the view of the Spirit-led men of the past (see, for example, Ps 119:9-16; Matt 4:4; 5:17; 2 Tim 3:15-17).

On the other hand, some Christian businessmen are so rigid in their schedules that any little 'crisis' ruins their day. Sometimes they stick to their plans even when the only reason for doing so is to save face. But the apostle Paul did not share this rigidity. On more than one occasion in his missionary travels, Paul planned to invade a region with the gospel but the Spirit of God prevented him (Acts 16:6-7). Herein is balance: although Paul planned, he was sensitive to the Lord altering his plans.

Such people approach goal-setting from opposite ends of the spectrum: the first fellow, though humble, does not really use his God-given intellect to make decisions. He does not love God with his mind (Matt 22:37). The second fellow, however, though using his mind, neglects his heart. In his rigid long-range planning, he assumes omniscience. But he does not really know everything. Even when his plans go awry, he arrogantly clings to his objectives. Often his anxiety about the future underlies his desire to control all aspects of his life (but see Matt 6:34).

Two passages especially address these extremes. In Proverbs 6, the author rebukes the man who prepares for nothing, calling him a "sluggard." He implores the sluggard to observe the ant which "prepares her food in the summer, and gathers her provision in the harvest" (v. 8). According to the Scriptures, the wise person in business will establish objectives and prepare for the future.

But that is not all. The wise businessman will recognize his finiteness and subject his plans to the Lord. In James 4, the author specifically addresses the one who sets his goals in concrete: "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.' Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away" (vv. 13-14).

James calls such rigidity arrogance ( v. 16). But he does not say that we should not set goals. Rather, we should make plans, but submit them to the Lord: "Instead, you ought to to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that'" (v. 15).

In reality, James 4:15 balances out both extremes. We should use our mindsand set goals, but we must do so in humility, recognizing that God alone controls our destiny.

What is the goal of your life? That's what I wanted to ask because I sometimes get clouded in the way I make decisions. Here is a blog I read today:

At one point, when I was in college, I made a table of the characteristics of love mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13. At the end of every day I would rate myself on how I was doing. I’d use a 100-point scale. The irony is that the very passage that was intended to help me focus on others became a means for me to focus on myself. Christ-likeness meets legalism!

But the more I studied scripture, the more I came to realize that I had gotten the focus of the Christian life totally out of whack. If my goal is for me to become Christ-like, then my goal is inevitably and necessarily self-centered. How well am I doing at this goal? What do I look like as a Christian? My goal had become my role, and the focus had become too inward.There is time for introspection in the Christian life. It should, however, be a time of repentance toward the Lord and gratitude for his love and mercy. But there is also the need for robust concentration on the Lord and on others. Paul tells the Philippians, “Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself” (Phil 2.3 [NET] "make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others" I used to argue with this verse: “Yes, but if all of us did this, then no one would be more important than anyone else!” Missing Paul’s point is putting things charitably. The Lord was the first to rub Deuteronomy 6.5 Leviticus 19.18 together, calling them “the greatest commandment” and one “like it”: Love God and love your neighbor (Matt 22.34–40). The focus in these passages is not on one’s role and therefore not on one’s self-image, needs, or ego. The focus is on the glory of God and the needs of others.

There it was, in black and white, and I missed it all these years! If the goal of the Christian life is primarily to glorify God, then the focus is certainly not on myself. It’s the combination of attitude and actions that work together to magnify the Lord. And the second goal of the Christian life is to focus on the needs of others. “Love your neighbor as yourself” does notmean to love your neighbor as you should love yourself. No, self-love is assumed, not commanded. Loving one’s neighbor is not.
One of the implications of this new revelation (to me) about the goal of the Christian life was that by focusing on what I should become I was missing the proper outward and upward view of life. And it became harder and harder for me to admit my wrong to others. But the believer who seeks God’s glory and thinks hard about the welfare of their fellow-saints is not arrogant, does not hold grudges, is not self-absorbed. All of us, for as long as we live in this world, will need to ask forgiveness from someone. The mature person recognizes his own sins and readily admits them to others whom he has offended. The one who focuses on his own Christ-likeness is focusing on a tertiary goal and can end up being blinded by his own ambition.
For many, this blog is a simple lesson, one that you’ve come to recognize for a long, long time. For others, it may be startling, unsettling. But the self-absorption of American Christianity has a lot to learn. I pray that each of us can make the main thing the main thing, shed ourselves of our insecurities, and begin each day by asking, “How can I magnify you today, Lord?”

What are your successes? How God measures success.

Starting Term 3 in Grenada, we get to ease into things, so I have more time to reflect.

1) Reflection 1: As we are studying behavioural sciences, psychological disorders, and listening to a talk today about the newest research about the neurological basis of anxiety disorders and cognitive behavioural therapy, I begin to see more of the human nature and the sins we have. Some disorders such as paraphillias, or the around 15 or so sexual disorders, included the definition of impacting function of life. As I was thinking this past week studying these disorders, we may all have some symptoms of some of these disorders, but its to the extent in which we display that defines a disorder. I couldn't help but think that these are sins- human nature- in which if we don't stop will manifest into behaviours which detrimentally impacts our lives. Because God has foresight, he hates the sin. This separation is detrimental to us as we see when we engage in sinful behaviourals it spirals to become destructable to us, at which in this point we realize- its a disorder.

 "Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusion;23 And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude],24 And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness" Romans 5:3-5

2) Reflection 2: We all like to feel dignified. What is dignity? "Our view of our own dignity or worth can be compromised by an over-concern with the views of others, which stems from status anxiety-a worry that we are in danger in failing to conform to the ideals of success laid down by our society. A proper response to develop dignity is to develop the ability to reflect critically and objectively on ourselves and on our actions so that we need to rely less on the views of others, and to consider our own measure of success and to consider more who we are, and why we need ethical concepts such as dignity." So it made me think how I find my worth and how I measure success. Interesting, because under God's wings we don't need society's definition of worthiness, we are worthy no matter what. He has adopted us as daughters and sons in Christ NEVER abandoned because of our "lack of success". He knows that we are not perfect and cannot conform to the ideals and successes laid out by His standards the law. In fact, if we do things under our own power, 

"Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves... but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant..."      - 2 Corinthians 3:4-6And remember, as our whole dependence is upon the Lord, so the whole glory belongs to him alone. The letter killeth: the letter of the law is the ministration of death; and if we rest only in the letter of the gospel, we shall not be the better for so doing: but the Holy Spirit gives life spiritual, and life eternal.The law made known sin, and the wrath and curse of God; it showed us a God above us, and a God against us; but the gospel makes known grace, and Emmanuel, God with us. Therein the righteousness of God by faith is revealed; and this shows us that the just shall live by his faith; this makes known the grace and mercy of God through Jesus Christ, for obtaining the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. The gospel so much exceeds the law in glory, that it eclipses the glory of the legal dispensation. But even the New Testament will be a killing letter, if shown as a mere system or form, and without dependence on God the Holy Spirit, to give it a quickening power.

3) We are learning about the different psychosocial stages from Erikson's theory. Through our journey on earth, interacting with others and our surroundings, we each have several stages on conflicts to conquer. And once we pass this stage we attain virtues to help us. So too is our Christian life when we are said to be reborn. We are given a whole new thought life.

"And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." - Romans 3:3-5

The first stage of Erikson's theory is trust vs. mistrust. If we have loving caregivers that consistently care and provide for us as we allow them to and experience their love, we develop trust. However, if we are to be reared by caregivers who are inconsistent with their care, we see the world with a mistrustful eye. Similarly, as Christians, when we experience Christ and His love, we understand that His provisions and His love is unchanging, unshakeable and ALWAYS there, better than any caregiver. Because of this we attain the virtue hope in God, an undeserving gift which God has given to us to face the world's "crisis". But it takes tribulations/crisis, perseverance through circumstances as we learn to FULLY SURRENDER and TRUST God, character of faith, and finally hope which DOES NOT DISAPPOINT! The last stage of Erikson's theory is the crisis of integrity vs. 

4) What is success in God's eyes?

"God's call is for you to be his loyal friend, to accomplish His purposes and goals for your life"                                                               - Oswald Chambers
"Do not let this book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."                                 - God (Joshua 1:8)
"He who pursues righteousness (close & right fellowship with God) and love, finds life, prosperity, and honor."                                  - God (Proverbs 21:21)
"Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves... but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant..."      - 2 Corinthians 3:4-6

Questions:

What are your successes? 

- http://www.intimacywithgod.com/success.html

Are you willing to TOTALLY surrender your life to God? 

"Someone once asked Dr. Bill Bright , founder of Campus Crusade For Christ, how did you know what God was calling you to do with your life ? I keep waiting to find my purpose, but feel so lost. Dr. Bright said "the most important way to know God's will is to totally surrender to the Lordship of Christ. Ask Him to guide your steps. You are in God's will if you are surrendered to Him. The God who created everything guides our steps. All He wants is surrender and he'll tell us what he wants us to do. Don't give much thought to what you will do in the future ... Surrender to Him now and he will guide you in the rest. I live by Philippians 2:13 "for it is God who works in you both to will and to act according to His good purpose." So as I walk in the Spirit I can know that God will guide my steps. For example, in 1951 my wife and I decided we wanted to be total servants to Jesus. We wrote out a contract and fully surrendered everything we owned or would own to Jesus. Approximately 24 hours later God gave me the vision we called Campus Crusade For Christ. I'm sure if there had been no surrender and contract with God there would have been no vision. You can know God's will by full surrender to Christ, and by allowing the Holy Spirit to control you." “To fulfill God’s perfect design for you requires your total surrender - complete abandonment of yourself to Him.” - Oswald Chambers"

Prayer:

As I start my 2nd year of medical school and have more time to reflect on how I want to use my career to glorify you, Lord humble me. Lord and as a lot of anxious thoughts come my way with big exams, let me not think about the successes of the world but be renewed in my thinking to be guided by your successes- to store up treasures in heaven. Lord I know that I cannot let the word depart from me and it should be binded in my heart, meditating on verses day and night. Teach me to see and go abouts the world through your lenses. Give me the confidence to live by your truths and promises. Thank you God for giving me worth, letting me be apart of your plan. Give me the bravery to TOTALLY surrender my life to you daily. Develop in me love, a passion and joy in what you planned for me to do as I learn to TOTALLY surrender my life to you. Amen

Armour of God

Starting my studies in True Blue, Grenada
Shield of Faith

Ephesians 4:30 "30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."

"I think I now see the Spirit of God grieving, when you are sitting down to read a novel and there is your Bible unread. . . . You have no time for prayer, but the Spirit sees you very active about worldly things, and having many hours to spare for relaxation and amusement. And then he is grieved because he sees that you love worldly things better than you love him." (Spurgeon) 

Lord thank you for bringing me to this island of Grenada. 

Haven't written in this blog for sometime. The truth is I have been plagued by my own fear to share the faith that fires my soul. Sometimes I am plagued by doubts and worries but I know this mental battle are lies from the Devil. The truth is I am not capable of that deep, yearning dream that is in my heart to bring it about BUT God is and know I have to rely on Him. This past week, trying to settle down and meet with friends, I haven't had time alone and frankly wasn't even able to concentrate with time alone. So God gave me an experience which made me delve into His word and search for this precious connection back to Him.

Yesterday, after spending time with the rest of the medical students meeting new people at Bananas and being tired, my friend and I initially naturally decided to walk home. But our new medical student colleague kindly offered to walk us home. Of course we would need that! On our way home, in a distance we saw a mob of 8-10 boys around 15-25 years of age, each holding a machette. I was still not aware of the situation until 10m away, as it was pretty dark, and clued in from our safety talk that they wanted to get our electronics, money, and our possessions. The other week, a secret report showed that a girl was assaulted but had a knife and escaped the situation, near True Blue road. Luckily, our new medical student buddy decided to step towards them and hold us back. They stared us down and I could feel my flight and fight response shoot up, trying to maintain that calm face like a practicing physician, but this was not the time. This time- we are toast! We were so close as I could look into their eyes - fearful -  it must have been something that made them change their minds and plan of attack. They brushed passed us. My friends and I joked for the past few days TIG, saying this is Grenada. Welcome to the islands, as us KBTers "the visiting students" were often greeted this whole week. Welcome.
In the same instance, from our same program, 2 guys' cars tires became flat and stopped right beside a sign that read "Tire repairs jesus is lord" and luckily the guy is awake to repair their tires! PRAISE THE LORD that night.

"No weapons formed against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you."  

Isaiah 54:17

I remember the verse that was passed onto me by Dr. Jeungal that no exam, no other medical colleagues, no devil's exclamations formed against us will prevail. Though there might be trials, they are through these times that we become molded to show His glory. 

2 Peter 1:3-11

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters,[a] make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

How wonderful is it that we are already given everything that we need, the knowledge which is through His word in which God reveals himself to us. 

Proverbs 3

My son, do not forget my teaching,

    but keep my commands in your heart,

2 

for they will prolong your life many years

    and bring you peace and prosperity.

3 

Let love and faithfulness never leave you;

    bind them around your neck,

    write them on the tablet of your heart.

4 

Then you will win favor and a good name

    in the sight of God and man.

5 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

    and lean not on your own understanding;

6 

in all your ways submit to him,

    and he will make your paths straight.[a]

7 

Do not be wise in your own eyes;

    fear the Lord and shun evil.

8 

This will bring health to your body

    and nourishment to your bones.

Blessed are those who find wisdom,

    those who gain understanding,

14 

for she is more profitable than silver

    and yields better returns than gold.

15 

She is more precious than rubies;

    nothing you desire can compare with her.

16 

Long life is in her right hand;

    in her left hand are riches and honor.

17 

Her ways are pleasant ways,

    and all her paths are peace.

18 

She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her;

    those who hold her fast will be blessed.

19 

By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations,

    by understanding he set the heavens in place;

20 

by his knowledge the watery depths were divided,

    and the clouds let drop the dew.

21 

My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight,

    preserve sound judgment and discretion;

22 

they will be life for you,

    an ornament to grace your neck.

23 

Then you will go on your way in safety,

    and your foot will not stumble.

24 

When you lie down, you will not be afraid;

    when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

For the past few weeks, understanding more about the difficulty of coming back to Canada, I have been trying to make plans to make connections and to ensure I don't miss important dates. Then there is also the worry of needing to excel in USMLEs. But God provides for us every step of the way. I was reminded that there is no exam, no rut in the road that can come against us and create this fear response. God created us physiologically for when we experience stress to set our HPA axis system to turn on and our flight and freight response to turn on- so we can react to the stressful environment. But over worrying disables us from seeing His love and His glory. God, like how he brought Joshua to Canaan, wants us to realize this land of peace which is also set in our internal environment- for us to prosper. Live in this freedom today which God promises us that He always provides. Theoretically we can explain why worry is a sin- the lack of trust in a God who is so sovereign and powerful (Ephesians 2:4-5; Luke 10:19; 2 Peter 1:2) turning away from his promises. Physiologically, worry/anxiety is also a bad thing (increases cortisol which not only increases heart rate, blood pressure, but also decreases immune system function and decreases the monoamines which might increase susceptibility to depression).

Lord, remind me to stand firm of your sovereignty and love toward us, that you watch over us every moment of every second. Just like our medical student colleague, let us STEP OUT IN FAITH, with your knowledge, word and promises be bound to our neck and written in our hearts because we fight with weapons that are not of this world with the power that also raised Jesus from the dead and bring our dead souls to life. The power that drives the enemies with fear in their eyes. Thank you Lord Jesus for giving us the freedom and let not us abuse this freedom being scared of men but live in the fear of the Lord and to only bring glory to your name.

Lord, give me the joy to seek your face, to learn more about you in my studies, and during this time on an Island to grow more in tune with you, to show more of you and less of me.

"I pray that we become a church that holds onto and believes in the power of God. The same power that rose Jesus from the grave resides within us. I pray that we trust in that not only when we are overcoming obstacles while pursuing our dreams but also hold onto that power and trust in it even if and when it means to withstand persecution to show His glory. How inspiring it is to see people with unfailing faith and trust in the power of God that they would be a martyr for Christ." Tommy Martin, SGU student

We are similar to the 10 boys who were carrying machettes as they were looking for money to whatever means. We too search for our own desires and crave earthly things, sometimes at a cost of whatever it takes in our own way. Striving after a dream for personal gain leads to temporary happiness and an eternal nightmare. 

The root to all sin is dissatisfaction in life. When we lust other people or for what others have we are dissatisfied with what we have. When we show anger its usually because we react from what was not given to us or expected. When we are jealous it is because we start to compare other peoples lives. When we worry, it is because we think we know best and worry for dissatisfaction.

Questions
What dissatisfaction do we hold in our life?

Prayer
Dear Father who is so great, forgive me for being the Lord of my life thinking I know what's best. Lord reign over my life. I want to seek what your heart desires so I can make it my motivation that my heart desires only what you desire. When changing circumstances come my way, give me the shield of faith to extinguish temptations of the dissatisfaction of life. Give me the strength to trust in what You know is best for me. This year as I start my studies in Grenada, that I stand firm, holding your promises written as tablets in my heart. I alone Lord cannot do this and only you can. Lord help me and give me wisdom and peace to face the enemies of this year. Thank you for this power you have given us, the same that raised Jesus from the dead and raised our souls to life. Amen