Fools Hate Knowledge

Fools hate knowledge. Now, before you think I made a rude comment by calling someone a fool, you must know that those are not my words. Those words were quoted directly from God's Word and stated in Proverbs 1:22. In fact, The Word has a lot to say about a "fool." Here are some:
A fool utters all his mind.
A fool has no delight in understanding.
A fool despises wisdom and knowledge.
A fool has anger resting in his bosom.
A fool will perish.

According to The Word of God then, I have seen a lot of fools. You probably have as well. Two of the truths above that really stand out to me are, a fool DESPISES WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE, and a fool WILL PERISH. It is becoming rare these days to run across someone that is truly hungry for the knowledge of God. People are more than willing to read an instruction booklet learning how to operate their smartphones, I-pad's, or digital TV's, but are not willing to read the Bible, much less to even open it! They have no desire to know or attain the wisdom necessary to guide their souls. There is no interest to learn prudence, discernment, or common sense, etc. God said, "fools hate knowledge." In fact, the Bible goes a step further. Read this closely and let it sink in, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18). Break it down. Fools hate knowledge and hearing God's Word preached. To them it is foolishness, a joke. But these are they THAT WILL perish according to the Proverbs. Hmm. What about you? Are you uninterested in the Bible? Have you called it lame, stupid, or boring? Does it take real effort on your part to open it, read, or dedicate any quality time to it? Have you no desire to know what God has spoken about the end of days, the times in which we live, his signs in the sun, moon, and stars? Because I have to tell you, it's all there (and more). Maybe you would want to know the Bible if you did not perceive it as something too deep to understand? Can it even be understood? Of course, it can! Have you noticed that some people face no challenge understanding and following the scriptures, while others cannot understand the simplest concept like....we are lost without Christ. Why? Does our inability to understand God's Word come down to a flaw with how the Bible was written or a problem with us? If we are honest with ourselves, the answer is, us. Proverbs 1:23 says, "TURN you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you" KJV. There is a key to knowing and understanding God's Word.



The key is, God offers reproof (correction) through His Word. You'll often see the same meaning throughout the Bible as rebuke or reprimand. It simply means correction. God's "reproof" is intended to make you realize you are required to "turn" (from your former ways) and not to remain in them. For every Christian and those who desire to know the Bible, His Word is not meant to punish us, but to lead, guide, direct, and correct. The same thing was true when you were living in your parent's home. They had certain rules they wanted you to be aware of and follow. Their rules were not intended to spoil your fun or make your life miserable, they were rules carefully calculated to guide you to the correct path you needed, which in turn would give you a solid foundation on which to stand as you went out into the world. The foundation they laid would be the very rock that would keep you grounded as you faced the storms of life. Spiritually in the same sense, God's Word is the Christian's guide throughout their lifetime ... the spiritual "parental hand" if you will, meant to guide, shape, and correct through its teachings. Again, God's reproof is intended to unfold to us how we can turn from our ways through the knowledge and power of His Holy Spirit. To begin to know and acquire anything from God will involve you turning. You will not succeed through your own merit, effort, potential, skill, or capability. Only God can do that. When you make the decision you're ready to change and come to Him with your heart asking forgiveness, seeking His Word, it is then He will reveal His knowledge to you and scriptures can be understood


Picture parenting a six-year-old. Do you give them want they want if they will not listen to your instructions? Or in a spiritual sense, do you really expect to get anything from God (knowledge, answers to prayer, favor, etc.) if you rebel and refuse to read what He has to say? How can you know what He says if you ignore what is written in His Word? To "turn" implies a correction in your course and action. It definitely involves you changing, however, it is a continual, gradual, process in life with the help of the Holy Spirit. God rarely gives us much information at one time. You didn't expound the working of the universe with your three-year-old! Their learning, understanding, and obeying your instructions was gradual. Once they understood what was expected, they understood and began adapting their behavior accordingly.
In my own personal journey, I have had to make many course corrections as I continued and still continue my walk with God. The farther I go, and the longer I have listened and changed with God's continual help, the more UNDERSTANDABLE KNOWLEDGE God has opened up to me. Looking back at the things I could not understand when reading The Word years ago, seem like the simplest things now! It's almost embarrassing. I am continually amazed at how easy His Word really is to understand if you desire to know it, James 1:5 "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." IF ANYONE LACKS KNOWLEDGE OF THE SCRIPTURES OR ANY PARABLE JESUS SPOKE, ASK GOD TO REVEAL WHAT IT MEANS. HE GIVES ABUNDANTLY TO ALL WHO ASK OF HIM. THERE IS NO NEED TO FEEL SHAME OR CONDEMNATION. ASK! HE WILL ANSWER.


"He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding" (Proverbs 15:32). If you will go back and notice, Proverbs 1:23 ends with God making known His Word to us AFTER we turn. The middle part of the verse says if we turn, then God will POUR (not trickle, not sprinkle) but POUR out His Spirit upon us! And it is this "spirit," HIS SPIRIT, that reveals the deep things of His Word. We can clearly see and understand that in order to know God's Word it will take the Spirit of God to reveal it to us. From the verses listed below I have learned several spiritual truths. I will list 10. This is what I learned from Proverbs 1:22-23.
1) The Bible is not simple to the carnally minded!
2) The simple do not understand the Bible!
3) Fools do not want to learn the Bible!
4) God offers all of us reproof!
5) We must turn and make changes in order to Learn!
6) If we make an effort to change, God will pour out His Spirit upon us!
7) The Bible contains hidden and concealed information!
8) God will make known secret things to those who are actively searching for Truth.
9) Only with God's Help will we know and understand God's Word!
10) Understanding the Word of God is conditional! (Come, repent, seek, find)

Not only is there knowledge and wisdom to be discovered in The Word, but discernment! YOU NEED DISCERNMENT. What is discernment? It is the process of making careful distinctions in our thinking about truth. Failure to distinguish between truth and error leaves the Christian subject to all manner of false teaching. False teaching then leads to an unbiblical mindset, which results in unfruitful and disobedient living. Without discernment, we are at risk of being "tossed to and fro and carried away by every wind of doctrine" according to Ephesians 4:14. We must be careful about what we hear even in our present-day churches for many are introducing damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that paid for their souls by His death on a cross (2 Peter 2:1). Other examples for your learning can be found in 2 Timothy 4:3-4; 1 John 4:1; 1 Timothy 6:3-5; 2 Corinthian 11:13-15; 2 Timothy 3:5; 1 John 4:1-6; Matthew 7:15.
I do hope Christians and non-Christians alike acknowledge and understand that we need spiritual knowledge, wisdom, and discernment which comes only through the Word of God alone. Many Christians need to check their egos and become open to God's correction and reproof. Being chastised is not easy for anyone. Even admitting you were wrong in believing what you may have been taught by a wayward preacher will certainly be another challenge. What is the message here? Don't be a fool.
Until next time,
-Pat-

Wrath or Love?

Unfortunately, there are some people of the opinion that anyone who has faith in Jesus Christ uses that "religion" as a crutch, and even more misinformed that Christianity is a system of control through strict and overstretching commands. I have learned by reading God's Word that, "Now the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit is, there is freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:17) OR John 8:36, "So if the Son has set you free you are free indeed" completely contradicting that notion. I could give many more examples but you get the idea. The opinions of the world are both sad and misinformed but the opinion that really cuts to my soul is the belief that God is not loving at all. Frequently the world points to things like destructive weather or babies born with diseases to support their opinions. Is God a God of wrath or is He a God of love? To be honest, the Bible presents Him as BOTH, but God's 'wrath' is not based on vindictiveness as worldly wrath is. This can be seen, as an example, in the 6th chapter of the book of Revelation when The Lamb (Jesus Revelation 1:29; 1:36) opens six seals of the scroll of history. There we read, "Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountain and rocks, "Fall on us from the face of Him who is seated on the Throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the Great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?" (Revelation. 6: 15-17). The real question? Is the word wrath as we use it in society the same "wrath" as spoken of in Revelation? When we use that word if ever, we refer to anger based on revenge for something done TO us. An angry wife might burst out, "He will feel my wrath for cheating on me." However, the "wrath of God" is not born from a seed of revenge! Christ died to save this lost world; He did not come to get revenge on you. There is a huge difference. It is the disobedient rebels in this life against God who perceive Him as mean and cruel, without any reason to pronounce righteousness judgment of any kind. They do not see Jesus as "The Lamb Who was slain," Who by His sacrificial Blood "ransomed people for God from every tribe, language, people and nation" (Revelation 5:9; 5:12; 13:8). They don't see Him as loving but rather wrathful. They unjustly look upon their only hope (having that knowledge or not) and perceive unjust judgment. They only see a cruel God with a heavy hand who enjoys throwing people into hell.

Later in the book of Revelation, we read that the same people REMAIN in rebellion against God all their life choosing to curse the Name of God. They never repent but are left without the redemption that comes from the Lamb's Blood by grace through faith and they are left with only a "fearful expectation of judgment" (Hebrews 10:27) and "a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries." So yes, God is a God of wrath to those who deny His sacrifice and Sovereignty, however, it is a retributory punishment of merits NOT ONE OF REVENGE. For all we've ever done, some still do, God could wipe us out in a heartbeat if His punishment was one of angry revenge. Instead, the earth keeps spinning despite all the rebellion, hatred, filth, murder, perversion, and corruption. And why? Because God is and has been long-suffering, slow to wrath, patient, loving, and hopeful ... He's waiting for as many who will come to the truth that He and He alone is God and our hope of salvation. "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). But time is drawing down. And despite the fact God's wrath will fall on some, He doesn't choose it. WE DO! His mercy and love can be seen in the very next chapter, Revelation 7:15-17 and He shelters those who came to belief. "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the Throne will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." You and I have a choice. That choice is called free will. Free will is a wonderful thing because it proves God is not trying to control us. We control our own destinies. God desires for us to love Him because we want to, not because we have to out of fear of revenge or punishment. If we perish without Him, we choose to perish. No one gets to enjoy heaven who doesn't love God. That has to make sense even to a non-believer! Just as you would not leave your children's inheritance to a complete stranger or a neighbor who might only know your name, God will not reward His eternal treasures to those who totally disregard Him or in passing say they have heard of Him in church but are not a part of His family.

One day at the judgment seat of Christ we will be in one group, "saved" or "unsaved." "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what we have done whether good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10). You may be wondering who then can be saved if final judgment is based upon the good or bad that we've done because the truth is, we've all broken laws set forth by God in one way or another. The Word of God verifies that "ALL have sinned" (Romans 3:23). That's just it! Without Jesus, YOU CAN'T BE SAVED. The only thing separating you from God or His Kingdom ISN'T YOUR SIN, it is your rejection of Jesus Christ! Let that sink in. I'll explain. As one example, why am I promised heaven but an atheist is not? I have committed as many sins as an atheist! What exonerates me and not an atheist? It's my choice to believe or not believe that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life and then follow Him (John 14:16). I personally choose no other way. I've rejected every other religion, practice, belief, goodness, or merit. The Bible tells us Jesus is the propitiation for our sins: 1 John 2:1-2 (KJV) "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins." Propitiation means atonement. Jesus is our atonement, our sacrifice, penance, recompense, OUR PAYMENT for the sins we've committed. He suffered and died for YOUR sins so that you wouldn't have to! Jesus gets you off the hook (so to speak) no matter what your sins are or were, no matter how bad, or how seemingly unforgivable. The truth is, without Jesus as your atonement, you will stand before God unrepresented and your sins will be uncovered; exposed! God will see them all. When a person has a change of heart, believes and accepts Jesus as the only way to heaven, his sins are "covered" never to be seen by God. Anything that person has ever done wrong in life was wiped away at the moment of belief, repentance, and conversion of heart! He stands before God at the judgment seat pure as the driven snow (Isaiah 1:18). Paul said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31). The Apostles did not preach to be saved you must be good, or kind, or generous, or live a decent life. Our deeds are not good enough no matter how noble because they are incapable of erasing sin! Being kind or generous doesn't erase the fact we are cheats, liars, thieves, adulterers, murderers, drunkards, child molesters, etc. Our sins drove his nails!


Jesus offers you forgiveness without cost! You don't have to clean yourself up first to come to Him. You come as you are because you are incapable of cleansing yourself! No amount of goodness, good works, or even church attendance, will do it. You have to realize and admit that you cannot clean yourself up; you must admit that apart from His grace, sacrifice, and mercy, you haven't a shot in Hades! Like the atheist, followers of cults, religions, other beliefs, gods, or philosophies, cannot stand blameless before His holiness and expect exoneration without Jesus. Period. And for those who describe themselves as Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterian, or whatever, if you have not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, but you're relying solely on your denomination, your label means nothing. You likewise, will perish in unbelief because your sins will be revealed, unmasked, brought to light. Somebody has to hear the truth.
Until next time,
-Pat-

Follow Me

FOLLOW ME. That's what Jesus invites us to do. What exactly is meant by those two little words follow me? In short, "follow me" is more or less saying. 'imitate me.' If you follow Christ you'll listen to and do as He commands so to live your life in accordance with His example. How many times have you ever sat at a table when someone was trying to explain instructions written on a piece of paper and they said, "follow me here." Instinctively you knew to lean in closer, listen better, and absorb what was being said. Another example would be if you were sitting in a room with someone you trust and they stood up and said, "Come here, follow me." Most likely in blind faith, fully trusting them, you would get up and trail right behind them no questions asked. When we decide to become followers of Jesus, we make a decisive break with our old way of living and turn to a new way of life. As Christ comes to live in us everything begins to change. Our will changes and our desires change. Sound too difficult to do? It would be if we relied on our own strength but that's the beauty of it. When we decide to follow Christ, He gives us the ability to change our ways through the power of the Holy Spirit. For the first time, we realize who God is, what Jesus has done, and how much we need Him. The sin we once loved we now hate, and the things of God that we thought corny or old-fashioned we now love. We spend our lives in uncompromising obedience to His Word. In essence, it's laying down our lives. And even though it is contrary to our human nature to submit, His Spirit slowly transforms us in a way that helps us do the things that please Him. In time, pleasing Him takes precedence over pleasing ourselves, and doing what is right becomes less difficult. Jesus does not ask us to die for Him, rather change our ways for Him, to "FOLLOW."


Ultimately the call to follow Jesus is a call to die to oneself and to die to the things of this world. It calls for repentance and change. Repentance is an elemental transformation in someone’s mind, heart, and life only capable through God's help. When people truly repent, they turn from walking in one direction to running in the opposite direction. From that point forward, they think differently, believed differently, feel differently, love differently, and live differently. Again, not through their own efforts or strength, but through God's power VIA the Holy Spirit that He gives to those who commit to following Him. When you come to Jesus, He not only forgives you of all your sins, but He also fills you with His Spirit. God has promised his people, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. . . . I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” The meaning behind these words is mind-blowing. When you come to Jesus, He puts the source of His life in the center of your life! A miraculous transformation begins. Yes, we die to ourselves and the sinful pleasures we once engaged in but we also live to experience full joy when we follow Him.


It is His Word that brings transformation to our lives. When we come to Him as we are, He places the source of His life at the very core of our lives. We don't need to change to come to Him, we come just as we are ... broken, lost, strapped with problems, engulfed in sin and vices, etc. To come to Jesus, or to believe in Jesus, is to look to Him to satisfy your soul forever. To come to Jesus is to taste and see that He is good and to find Him the end of all your desires. To believe in Jesus is to experience an eternal pleasure that far outweighs and outlasts the temporal pleasures of this world. You have no idea what He is about to do the moment you leave things behind and choose to follow Him. His ways are too great to describe in words. He satisfies your soul forever when you come and believe in Jesus.


I speak from experience when I say there has been a total transformation of my mind, my desire, my will, and my relationships. I am compelled by His love for me to not only tell others about His Word and how it changes lives but also what the life of Jesus looks like in action. I am challenged to follow the footsteps of Jesus and bring a complete transformation over my life. I'm a work in progress, ever-transforming, ever-changing! Simply, God saves a person, fills him with the Holy Spirit, and then says, in effect, “Now you work it out in your life, and be faithful to Me, even though the nature of everything around you is to cause you to be unfaithful.” To become more Christ-like begins by beholding His glory in His Word. That’s why it’s so important to regularly take in Scripture. For as we read or listen to God’s Word the Holy Spirit transforms us into Christ's image without us realizing the work is being done in us! The sin that was once appealing becomes easy to walk away from. If you read through the Bible regularly, you will have the full counsel of God at your disposal. You will start to have the mind of Christ. So when the temptation to commit sin comes knocking, all you'll have to do is draw your sword (which is the Word of God-Ephesians 6:17) aim, and fire those words directly at Satan and the thoughts coming into your mind. In several places, the Bible also tells us the best way to resist temptation is to flee from it (1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Corinthians 10:14; 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22). Yet still, if you fall from time to time, and you will as you transform from glory to glory, repent quickly. Jesus isn't looking for you to be like other Christians, He's looking for you to "follow" and be like Him.

Until next time,
-Pat-

Fearful Of The 2020 Pandemic?

I'm not sure about you, but in my household, words like plague and pestilence have never been a part of our terminology. Yet today with the Covid 19 here we are. As strange as these words seem, they are not as uncommon in the Bible (depending on the Bible you read). For example, Psalm 91 NIV speaks directly to the notion of plague or pestilence three times, boldly claiming, “For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence” (verse 3), “You will not fear . . . the pestilence that stalks in darkness” (verse 6), and finally, “No evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent” (verse 10). I like the New Living Translation (NLT) which reads, "He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease" (verse 3), "do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday" (verse 6), "no evil will conquer you, no plague will come near your home" (verse 10). With the fatal worldwide pandemic of Coronavirus, how do you read the promises of Psalm 91 during this global "pestilence"?

It's good to note that Psalm 91 was written by David, who spoke these words of hope and comfort as one who had personally experienced refuge and security by trusting in God in the midst of fearful circumstances. His Psalm begins with a picture of God’s people dwelling in the shelter and shadow of the Lord, "He who lives in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty" (NLT). David's words paint a metaphorical picture ... God is a refuge, God is a fortress, God’s faithfulness is a shield, and God even has wings that cover and provide security. The important thing to remember here is that David is creating figurative relationships between God and the created world that shape a new reality for the fearful. These creative images draw us out of our fear-entrenched perceptions into a new world that redefines our source of protection and peace! Verse 3 in the NIV plays into this figurative imagery by likening us to a bird that will escape the net of the “fowler” (a term used to describe a bird-catcher in ancient times). In a parallel line, we are told “he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly pestilence.” Just as we should understand the first line of this verse as figurative language which communicates a general picture of deliverance, so should the second.

I also want us to grasp the language in verse 5 and 6 of David's Psalm as he mentions "terrors in the NIGHT" and "arrows that fly in the DAY", "disease that stalks in DARKNESS", and "disaster that strikes at MIDDAY" (from the NLT). To the close observer, David has covered morning, noon, and night with his verbiage. This 24-hour protection is a promise made accessible and obtainable to those who LIVE IN THE SHELTER OF THE MOST HIGH and make Him their refuge. Who is this? It is the obedient believer. It excludes the non-believer. Verse 9 clearly lays out a contingency, "IF you make the Lord your refuge IF you make the Most High your shelter, (then) no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home." Not only will no plague befall you, but it also won't even come near your home!! Just as the blood of an unspotted lamb or goat was sprinkled on the doorposts of the Israelites (to distinguish those from the Egyptians) so that the angel of death would pass by (Exodus chapter 12)., in like manner we symbolically "sprinkle" the Blood of the Lamb (wherein lies power) and His spoken WORD (scriptures of promise) over our lives which protects believers from worldwide pandemics. The "disease" that stalks in darkness

As those who live in the presence of God by the presence of the Spirit, we can testify with the apostle Paul that “no evil” will ever come upon those who love God and are called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28). It is important to remember here that evil and hardship are not synonymous in the Bible—think about Job and Jesus. As God’s people, we read Psalm 91 with confidence, knowing that God’s providence toward his children is always good, not evil. We are wise to follow Jesus’s lead in reading Psalm 91 as a beautiful picture of God’s power and protection for the faithful. Sometimes we struggle with passages like “no plague come near your home,” wondering if the words could really mean what they say. Does this mean believers can’t get sick? NO, of course not. Our flesh is susceptible to harm and illness, however, Psalm 91 is specifically pointing out plagues and pestilence. Plague is a contagious bacterial disease (Bubonic plague as an example.) Pestilence (a virulent infectious disease) They are both epidemics in nature and both can be referred to as a "plague." They are not your normal colds, flu, or your typical illnesses. In scripture, plagues and pestilence are generally allowed by God to send a message to either wake-up or repent. Rather than looking at is as punishment, it is used as a wake-up call. In the NLT, verse 6 of Psalm 91 describes these as "the disease that stalks the darkness." What could that mean? Something that seems to creep along as if in the night; that is, where one cannot mark its progress, or anticipate when or whom it will strike. The laws of its movements are unknown, and it comes upon people as an enemy that suddenly attacks us in the night. Like Coronavirus. And if You make the Lord your refuge, according to verse 7, WATCH CLOSELY, though 1,000 fall at your side and 10,000 die all around you, these evils WILL NOT TOUCH YOU! These are the beautiful promises of God to His faithful ... they are "your armor and your protection" (verse 4).


We can rest assured of our protection under the shadow of the Almighty when we belong to Him. When you read Psalm 91, remember that the greatest danger in this world is anything that keeps us from the next. With that perspective, read Psalm 91 and find refuge in the gospel which makes all of the glorious promises of this psalm yours in Christ. Still fearful of things going on in the world today? You don't have to be!

Until next time,
-Pat-