WORDS OF WISDOM!

WOW = Words of Wisdom!

Can this be said of you? Do you speak wisdom?

True wisdom is from God's Word. It's seen as one walks in His way. It is heard when one speaks with humility to others. 

Wisdom is led and sealed by the Spirit of wisdom which enlightens a believers  heart. (Ephesians 1:17-18)

Words of Wisdom----a divine gift given to those who fear the Lord. (Proverbs 1:7)

Remember to thank Him in both words and actions!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT FRIDAY

Today's entry has me continuing "Food for Thought Friday," which I thought would only be for the first month of 2018.

Just some tidbits.
Even a funny anagram. STRESSED becomes DESSERTS. It certainly happens to me! Even when I'm sick and on prednisone.

Morsels to chew on which have come up as I have read, studied and prepped to teach as well as listening to others or the news or watching Jeopardy. So.....citations are sketchy at best, but will confirm as I am able. 

➨A fool has no appetite for God's word/wisdom. (Proverbs 1:7)

• ➨You can never outrun the fork. (Commercial Appeal, ?) I guess that means it's more important to push back from the table than to tie on your running shoes.
• 
  
• ➨Peace is a result of giving someone a piece of your heart, not a piece of your mind. (Debbie Moore quoting Ann Voskamp)
• 
  
• ➨decision fatigue---(Emily P. Freeman)--it must be a communicable disease because the older I get, the more I "catch" it. (DAL)
• ➨Stupid is as stupid steps, so be careful of your steps. (Buddy Liles, Allen Bible Church)  'nuf said, even tho "stupid" is not a word I like, it gives a clear assessment of this truth.
• Ahab and Jezebel were a gruesome twosome. (DAL)---doing evil is a gruesome way to live!

• Fool's Errand---a device of Satan to distract us---to keep us in motion without meaning---living by our nerve endings, off course instead of in purposeful meaningful ways. B. Liles)
• To consider a matter, one must take time to think. (DAL)

Certainly some were healthier intake but all caught my attention and I "chewed" on them a bit.

Hope you can "digest" today's variety in my "thought" diet.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT TO STEEP THIS FRIDAY

Feeling punky on this Friday and heading to the doctor, I'm borrowing words of wisdom from my favorite preacher! Certainly words of wisdom for this hot tea aficionado and the preacher's mom.

DON'T BOB IT.....LET IT STEEP!

DON'T BOB IT...LET IT STEEP! My mom's hot tea wisdom warned me that much is missed by rushing tea before its time.  Steeping is the only way to a cup of tea you will savor! Bobbing may get you a fast cup of a hot beverage, but a flavor-rich cup of tea comes only with patience and proper steeping!  The aim in steeping is to infuse the boiled water with tea, transforming it into rich flavor notes that permeate the entire cup. What's true of British breakfast beverages is also true when it comes to following Jesus and our appetite and approach to His Word. This past Sunday in our message Fool Proof, we encountered Scriptural Warnings against the Ways and Walk of Fools.  When it comes to God's Word, a Fool LACKS APPETITE [Prov. 1:7 fools despise wisdom and instruction] and LACKS ACTION with what he hears.  Jesus in Matthew 7 warns, Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.  It's almost as if Jesus is saying a Fool only allows God's Word to BOB in and out, but he does NOT LET IT STEEP in his mind and step into action with it.  That foolish approach leaves us chasing down fool's errands and headed for catastrophic ruin. WITH GOD'S WORD...ARE YOU BOBBING OR LETTING IT STEEP IN YOU? How will you develop an appetite for God's Word and how will you move beyond Bobbing to His Word Steeping in you this year?  It won't happen quickly and it won't happen by accident. To help us set our course to walk wisely in 2018, we have put together a churchwide reading plan and several Steeping Opportunities below for you to steep in God's Word with others. May God grow us as a people with a growing distaste for bobbing & a growing taste for lingering in His Word and living it out everyday. Let Christ and His Word Steep in you, so the aroma of Christ will be fragrant in your life and so others may taste and see that the Lord is good! Steeping with you, Buddy Liles Lead Pastor

Oral Test Question

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9/22/12 3 Xs----that’s the way God gets my attention. Luke 6:45 reminder in my Tuesday notes---"It is “out of the overflow of the mouth that the heart speaks” was first attention grabber.

#2 was Crickett’s Wednesday night lecture from James 1:26 of deception of heart of one who does not “bridle his tongue.”

Yesterday brought #3 as I listened to son’s Allen Bible Church message in “Words with Friends” series  emphasizing the “Might of the Mouth.”

NOTES, condensed Dotsy style 

WORDS: 

• Powerful
• Palpable
• Personal

Death & life in words---choose vital words, not venomous; choose words that will delight the Lord; choose words that minister to others not words that just seek to manipulate. 

For all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these, 'It might have been'. (John Greenleaf Whittier)

Wielding and Yielding words---choose words that will yield fruitfulness in a life. (Fruitfulness = fear of the Lord in both the giver and the receiver of words. Proverbs 1:7 & 9:10)

Buddy ended the message with today’s exam question from Psalm 19:14.

Consider your words. Are the words of you mouth and the meditation of your heart pleasing and acceptable in the sight of the Lord?

If not, you, as I did recently,  just failed the “oral” aspect of a spirit-filled life.

The good news is a make-up exam is given daily.

Proverbial Prayers

5/20/09 Happy "1year+1day" Birthday, John Parker Liles! I couldn’t write this last night because I had not prayed John Parker’s special birthday prayers at the time I sat down to blog. For each of my children and their spouse and my grandchildren I pray the Proverb that corresponds with their birthday. I’m not sure how that started but it seems to work well in leading me to pray for and against some of the characteristics that are mentioned. I pray verses from “their Proverb” chapter from birth onward but especially on their birthday. So yesterday, I prayed from Proverbs 19 for John Parker, Buddy and Day’s 4th son. Proverbs are not promises but there’s much wisdom given. Dr. Duane Litfin, said the Proverbs were God’s guidance for life choices. I want God’s wisdom to be foundational for life choices for my family. I desire that as a wise man or woman they will always trust God even when they do not fully understand Him. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” (Proverbs 1:7) Prov. 19 Bible marginalia for John Parker: • Walk blameless throughout life • Temper his zeal in order to balance it with wisdom • Guard him from folly that his heart may love Thee • Grant godly friends all of his days • Guard his tongue from lying---fill him with Your truth • May generosity flow from him to others • May He be rich in spiritual gifts • May he gain wisdom and cherish understanding • May longsuffering be a part of his character • May he be truthful in all things • A godly wife, a gift from Thee • Enlarge his heart to be kind to the less fortunate • Use his parents to discipline him wisely • Nourish himself on the truth of God’s Word • Give ears to hear Thee and his parents & to respond wisely • May he always turn to Thee, O Lord---------A-men & A-men!