The VALUE of WISDOM

Thomas Jefferson, a student of politics, and a highly esteemed man, is remembered well for the many great things he accomplished. During the 2014 banking crisis in the USA this 1802 QUOTE is worth repeating:  "I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.  If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."   Thomas Jefferson was a Republican. He wisely studied the previous failed attempts of the two previous presidents.  He understood actual history, the nature of God, and God’s authority above any man-made law, and the nature of man to betray the truth for his own interests. Jefferson’s resume:  At the age of 9, Thomas Jefferson studied Latin, Greek and French.  At age 16 he entered the college of William and Mary. He was known to muse his friends while....

writing Greek with one hand, and Latin with the free hand.  At age 19, Thomas studied law for 5 years under George Wythe. At age 23 he started his own law practice. At age 25, Thomas was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.  At age 31 he retired from his law practice and wrote the widely acclaimed article “Summary review of the rights of British America”.   At age 32 he was a delegate at the 2nd Continental Congress of the United States.  At age 33, Thomas wrote the Declaration of the Independence.  He also revised Virginia’s Legal Code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom. At age 36 he was elected as the 2nd Governor of Virginia succeeding Patrick Henry. At age 40 he served the United States Congress for two years. At age 41 Thomas was the American Minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties along with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams.  At age 53, Thomas Jefferson was the United States Vice President.  At age 55 Thomas became the acting head of the Republican Party. At age 57, Thomas Jefferson was elected as the President of the United States.  At age 60 he obtained the Louisiana Purchase, and the USA doubled in size. At age 65 he retired to Monticello.  At age 80 he helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine.  At age 81, Thomas single handedly created the University of Virginia.

At age 83 Thomas Jefferson died on July 4th on the 50th anniversary of signing the Declaration of Independence.  Let us listen to what the spirit of God is saying before we vote, cast our opinions, or discount a person because of the political party they represent.  At a White House dinner hosted by a democratic President for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. President John F Kennedy made this statement: "This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone." Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), author of the Declaration of Independence and the third U.S. president, was a leading figure in America’s early development. During the American Revolutionary War (1775-83), Jefferson served in the Virginia legislature and the Continental Congress and was governor of Virginia. Jefferson, believed that the national government should have a limited role in citizens’ lives. During his two terms in office (1801-1809), the U.S. purchased the Louisiana Territory and Lewis and Clark explored the vast new acquisition. Although Jefferson promoted individual liberty, he was also a slaveowner. Obviously Jefferson relied on his intellect, not on the Holy Spirit to rightly discern the living Word of God. It seems he valued his intellect more highly than God's wisdom. God warns us that the heart is deceitful above all else, so we are best advised to invite and allow the Holy Spirit to give us understanding as He increases our faith in God, not the almighty dollar.  

THE WIND OF TIME

TRUTH: Grey hairs are flourishing under my colored lengths. The wind of time blows and my life is but a twinkling grain of sand on a Son lit seashore of souls.  I am not precisely a girl, yet I am in-between a mature woman and the winsome youth I once was. I know fear, friendship and how time persists like the wind, pushing me forward while wrinkling and eroding my flesh. Our Father who has no beginning and no end, He who lives outside of time, the Captain of my ship increases my faith in the unseen, unknown will of God as we journey together, not alone. While the winds of faith blister my face, I am stilled without angst for my appearance or my future.  I consider the purpose of His voyage aboard my creaking ship, this body and I am humbled.  A few years ago I would have pronounced with electric enthusiasm that it was God's will to fit me for a position of responsibility to harvest many souls. I began my voyage of faith in Jesus Christ in 1985 with childlike perceptions undistorted by the emotion of experience, I was not expecting so much rejection. Bathed in the blissful objectivity of ignorance,  I surrendered with a naive willingness to be led into a glorious future without strife. "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you."  Isaiah 43:10 His promises are many, and in His wonderous way, ever kept. His will be done not mine. AMEN -

Today I marvel at the overwhelming subjectivity that relentlessly proceeds out of my inherent nature to judge all things as I would have it, and NOT in His will, wisdom or superior, often surprising ways.  All knowledge obtained belongs to the thinking subject, which is me ~ This day, I am quick to admit my insufficiency apart from God.  Against all manner of human rationale, a formidable HOPE rises within me during my weakest moments. The noble thoughts of God alone are worthy of recitation.  Nothing I have said, written or done will ever come close to the reality of His unseen, but very steady, unchanging guidance and ever sufficient Word.  The criminal element within our regal, yet wasting human society in this century can be compared to the eloquent dependence God knows we shall ever need, for days gone by, and for the days ahead.  All knowledge obtained in school, university or seminary lacks any pertinence if one has not forgiven one wretched drunk, prostitute or thief.  If we have seen with the eyes of God, if we have perceived a soul's poverty with compassion, mercy and grace, we have walked with Jesus among the homeless and hopeless and been His light. Oh Lord, I thank You for each person who has walked in faith before me and I rejoice in my weakness, in my vulnerable human frailty, for You are in my midst giving me strength to face the change that is yet to come.   Jesus reassures me with the truth. We have no need for a particular priest, as we are all priests.  A mix of feelings blows through my sail as the wind of change whips my vessel into submission. All concerns, fears and reluctance to follow my Captain are decimated by His mighty Presence.  My hope is sure because I know that I shall arrive at my final destination in His good and perfect time.

He placed His robe of Righteousness on me

 "Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." Psalm 29:2 "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy." 1 Peter 1:8  ~ My Lord has spoken His words and I listen carefully to what the Spirit is saying.  Encouraged by the power of His robe, all is well within my soul.  I put off my perceptions, my preconceived ideas, my substantial experience, my obtained worldly

views and I put on my armor, my robe of righteousness and I wear my helmet of salvation with honor.

I shall not subscribe to the furious fears of man nor the waves of contempt against God in times of trouble.  "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds." James 1:2 ~ He searches my heart and makes me face the truth of my prejudices, and the pride that is inherent in my selfish nature. With ready confession I admit my weakness and He fortifies me and challenges me to speak with clarity all that He has accomplished by my departure from denial that I need God desperately, ever hour of each day.  With a compassionate heart I accept the frailty of man without thinking myself superior in any way. I am humbled in the awareness that He chose to use a wretch like me.  Thank You Father for throwing me the life preserver, Jesus Christ, my Savior.  "And he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." 2 Cor 12:9 ~ "But You remain the same, and Your years will never end." Ps 102: 27

AUTHENTICITY

A transparent, contrite heart is what God longs to hear from. To authentically love God, or another, we must speak the truth, we must be willing to open up and pour out our hearts to Him, and to those we love. If we love God, we listen and obey God. If our relationships are authentic, then the contents of our heart, our hearts cry, our invisible, unspoken motives match up with our visible actions. All talk and no action does not please God. “Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.” The test of a true religion is when our heart breaks for what breaks the heart of God. When our hearts are convicted to DO something for people that have no way of repaying us for what we do, we are giving with a pure heart. "Test my heart O God, and reveal to me that which needs to change." The brother of Jesus did not believe that Jesus was God in the flesh until the resurrection.

James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." God hates religion that is merely an outward appearance. He calls those who sit in church for show, white washed tombs. God hates pride. A person who reads the bible but never cares for the alien, the widow, or the orphan is seen by God as a hypocrite. God loves a pure, transparent heart that obeys His word and makes His love known in the world by compassion and kindness. In the Old Testament we find a special trinity of what concerns the heart of God. Our holy Father repeats His concern for the “alien, the widow and the orphan.” The alien is a person not of our culture, a Mexican. The widow is a person without a helpmate. The orphaned child survives believing they are unwanted.

God desires that we, His chosen, make known by our actions, not just our words, that the alien, the widow, and the orphan are wanted, cherished and loved by God. Our Father commanded the nation of Israel in how they were to treat the forgotten members and what would happen if they chose to neglect them. Because God has a special place in His heart for all of us, He promises to:  vindicate them  rescue them  deliver them  hear them  lift them up  be their father  meet their needs  maintain their cause… READ Matthew chapter 25:36-37 A contrite heart does not simply visit the forgotten, but that a pure heart hurts to see others in need:  you hang out and visit and show compassion  you nurture, you hug  you authentically care by raking leaves, doing dishes  you loved by bringing groceries  you provide encouragement and a good listening, compassionate ear. It is actually reaching out to someone and truly caring, and taking care of their needs. The mark of a true AUTHENTIC believer is their

unselfish love for someone else. 1 John 3:10-11, 16-18. Why single out Orphans and widows? Jesus’ mother was a widow and He showed us His concern for her well-being. John 19:26-27 Communicating love requires that we embody Love, that our hearts are pure and that we speak out of that overflow of God's love. Being transparent like Adam and Eve before the fall, is to be pure hearted, naked and unashamed. (Genesis 2:25) To be without disguise or a need to hide or cover up anything is to be transparent with God, and with those you care about. After the fall people hid their insecurities, their doubts and fears with half-truths, deceit, lying, and hatred. The fear of rejection keeps people from being real, from opening up, from admitting their weaknesses. To be authentic, we must be bold, and NOT afraid. When we present our authentic, vulnerable self to another, they respond, they open up, and they receive the message "God loves you, just the way you are, and He sent me here to love you by meeting a few basic needs."