Author: Kimberly

free lance photographer, jewelry designer, writer, gardener, & seamstress

What Wisdom do we seek?

“The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.” Genesis 3:6

Adam and Eve wanted to attain wisdom. They weren’t satisfied that God would give them the wisdom they needed. How does this pertain to us? What areas of our lives do we search out man’s wisdom instead of the wisdom of God? Do we turn to God with our decisions or do we rely on what trusted friends and our peers advise us? We should rely on what God knows. Where is our trust? Shouldn’t our trust be in God?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. ” Proverb 3:5-6

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1:5-6

“But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.” James 3:17

Prayer for every day: Father help me to seek your wisdom in all that I do. Help me to look to you in every decision of my life. Help me not to go by what is in MY mind but to look for your understanding. Your ways are far superior to mine and I ask for your wisdom in every aspect of my life.  No matter how enticing other’s ways seem, help me to keep my focus on you and rely on your Word for wisdom. Thank you Father that you are faithful and take care of each of my needs. I love you, Father. Amen

Serving Love

I had the privilege of serving in the local soup kitchen with my friend Mary for a couple of days. Some people wouldn’t call that a privilege but I do. I look at these people and my compassion pours out. I don’t know how they came to a place where they need to rely on someone else to serve them, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself and felt honored to share a bit of Jesus’ love. I was filling in for a friend who is out-of-town but I will gladly go again!

Mary and I left the house at 7:30 each morning and worked at the kitchen until 12:30. On our way, we shared what God is saying to us in our personal Bible studies. One of Mary’s comments when I share something she calls ‘a revelation’ she hasn’t received is, “God is still growing me up.” I have news for my dear friend Mary, God is growing all of us up, me included! I have been blessed many times by the things Mary shares. If we aren’t “growing up” we aren’t maturing in our wonderful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are exhorted to become mature in the Bible.

This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Ephesians 4:13-14

Mary has a deep hunger for learning more of our Lord and to share Jesus’ love, it is evident in her daily walk. The people who came in to get fed are hungry physically but they also need to feed their spirit, many of them just don’t know. There was one man who came in on crutches with both of his legs in casts and one arm as well. I carried his tray for him and took it to the table where he sat. I went back to get him a drink. He was so genuinely appreciative and I thought to myself, ‘Why wouldn’t I help him? Does he encounter people who don’t offer assistance?’ Unfortunately, I’m sure he does. He isn’t the cleanest person but he is far cleaner than many that come in. My heart aches for all of them, dirty or not, and I do what I can do by offering a smile, telling them to ‘Have a good day.’ and by being kind.

If we have just a portion of the compassion that Christ shared in his ministry, we can make a difference in other’s lives. Jesus didn’t care if the people were contagious or dirty that he ministered to. He was full of compassion in sharing what his father wanted him to do, ie his Heavenly Father.

Father today, help me to serve your Love with a smile and a cheerful heart to everyone I come in contact with. May my heart reach out and be what your heart is. Thank you in Jesus’ name.

Trust and Obey

We are called to trust and obey from a very young age. We are instructed by our parents and teachers to trust and obey them. Not everyone has a godly example to follow but I thank God for those who lead by example. Growing up, I loved the hymn ‘Trust and Obey’ even though I wasn’t always the most obedient child. The events that were reported Sunday night regarding our military remind me how our military leads by example. They are given orders and they carry them out by trusting their superiors to give them the instructions which are best for our nation. They obey them out of a mutual respect even if they don’t agree with those in charge. They protect our nation. A leader doesn’t have to be godly to follow God’s will. They can rule by the faithful earnest prayers of a nation who seek God and justice.

This morning as I was reading my Bible, I read about a woman whose faith and prayers brought about a favorable outcome with an enemy of hers. This story parallels our current events. It was through her persistence and faith, that a judge, who didn’t follow God and didn’t respect his fellow man decided in her behalf. Jesus relates the following story:

““There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’” Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”” Luke 18:2-8

To me this shows that even though our leaders may not fear God or follow Him, they can make decisions based on godly principles through the faithful prayers of a nation. The main point is we need to pray earnestly and continuously and hold our leaders up. We should pray that justice is served. When we have war, people die. I just pray the ones who die have made a commitment to follow Jesus and for those who haven’t, I’m sorry for them.

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. I Timothy 2:1-4

Thank you to our military who have the discipline to trust and obey even when the task may go against their beliefs. Thank you to those who pray earnestly and sincerely for our leaders by asking God to direct them to make the right decision(s). To trust and obey our earthly superiors and our God is an act of humble submission we should all support. I pray everyone seeks God our Father and his son Jesus Christ.