Walk in Wisdom

Colossians 4:5

Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

Here we see that we are to "walk in wisdom." But not just to do it, but to walk "toward" others.

We are to live our lives in ways that those who don't know Christ will see Him through us. WE must not give them occasion to increase their negative thoughts of Christians or God. We must not give them influence over us (1 Corinthians 15:33-Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners), but we must be an influence over them. We must redeem the time by sharing Christ with them through our actions and words.

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Proverbs 13:4

The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.

This verse speaks to the issue of work. We must work at what we desire and when we do, we will be rewarded with success. We can not expect a magic pill or a get rich quick scheme to help us be successful. Hard, diligent, purposeful work will get us where we need.

This speaks to me as I am working on my health. It will take diligent work to improve my health; I can not just hope for it to get better.

Walk in Truth, Light, and Love

2 Corinthians 10:3

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

God created us with bodies/flesh, but that is not who we truly are. We have souls and the Spirit of God dwells in us when we accept Christ's shed blood for our sins. However, we still need to live with our bodies until we are called home.

Just because we must walk in the flesh does not mean we must give in to the flesh. We "war" against fleshly desires with the truth of God. We war to walk in truth, light, and love.

Walk in His Commandments

2 John 1:6

And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

The Bible is full of information on how we should walk. Here we are told to "walk after his commandments."

What are His commandments? Well, there are the ten commandments, of course.

Exodus 20:1-17 KJV 1 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 13 Thou shalt not kill. 14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. 15 Thou shalt not steal. 16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

If you think about it, these all relate to relationship-relationship with God and others.

Christ also tells us in Matthew 22:36-40, the two great commandments.

Matthew 22:36-40 KJV 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Even the Ten Commandments can be summarized in these two.

When we walk in His commandments, we are showing love to Him and others. This is what we should strive for!

Walk in Peace

Ephesians 6:15

And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

This verse doesn't say to "walk" a certain way (or not walk), but it does tell us how to prepare our feet. Whatever is on our feet will affect how we walk.

We are to have the gospel of peace on our feet. We are to always be ready to share the gospel of Christ. We are to live peacefully with all men (Romans 12:18, If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men) as much as we are able and still follow God's commands.

Christ spread peace wherever He went and we should strive to do the same. May we walk in peace!

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Proverbs 12:12 

The wicked desireth the net of evil men: but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit.

Some translations translate "the net" as "the fortress". The wicked are going to seek protection from earthly powers. However, the righteous know their power, their strength, their fortress is in the Lord.

A.W. Tozer said, "[F]or flowers and fruit do not grow in thin air! They grow and come up out of a root and "the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit" (Proverbs 12:12)."

We must be rooted in Christ. When we are rooted in the truth, then we will have the protection of the Lord.

Walk Circumspectly

Ephesians 5:15

See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

"walk circumspectly"

What does circumspectly even mean? It means, exactly, accurately, diligently.

We are to be careful how we walk. We are to be purposeful in how we walk. We are to be diligent in making sure we walk as Christ walked. We can't just go through life reacting to events, but we must take thoughtful action.

The only way to walk circumspectly is to be in the Word and to pray asking the Holy Spirit to guide us. We must know Truth in order to walk circumspectly.

Decorate with Scripture

A few weeks ago I mentioned about decorating your home with scripture. I have some document frames in my office area that I have created signs for in the past with scripture and I recently updated them. I wanted to share them with you in case you may find comfort with the scripture I chose and wanted to print it and decorate your home as well. Just right click and "save"!

Word of Wisdom Wednesday

Proverbs 11:22

As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.

Putting a ring of gold in a pig's snout seems like a waste of gold. It is the same when a pretty woman is loud and boisterous. Truly, a person's behavior can detract from their physical beauty. The opposite is also true, a woman's discreet demeanor can make up for a lack of beauty.

Walk in the Light

Ephesians 5:8

For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

We see that we are called to walk as children of light. Isaiah also says the same.

Isaiah 2:5b

and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

I have a feeling that if something is mentioned more than once in the Bible, it is extra important. I also feel that if it is found in the old testament and in the new, that means it is awful important.

So, we know it is important to walk in light, but what does that mean? Well, Jesus tells us that He is the "light of the world" twice in John,

John 8:12

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 9:5

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

so we are to walk as Christ walked.

Christ walked in truth because He is truth. Christ walked in love because He is love. Christ did not show favoritism because God is no respecter of person. Christ was faithful because God is faithful. Christ was filled with peace because God is peace. Christ showed mercy and grace because God is full of mercy and grace.

This is how we are to walk! We are to walk so that others see something different in us. We are not to walk in the darkness of their world, but we are to walk in the light!

Walk in Love

Ephesians 5:2

And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

"walk in love"

How do we walk in love? Well, it goes on to tell us-as Christ walked. He loved us so much that He gave Himself for us. We are to love others and do the same.

We should think of others first.

Romans 12:3

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

We should sacrifice our wants for the needs of others, We should help others as they are in need. We should make ourselves available for God to use us as He sees fit, and be ready for Him to use us.

Will this be easy-NO! However, that doesn't mean that we don't try. And just because we fail one day, doesn't mean that we can't try again.

We also see a list of things to avoid in the following verses and verse 4 ends with another thing to do-"giving of thanks".

When we are thankful, we are walking in love! We are showing others our love for them and for God. If you don't already, I highly suggest that you start making a list and/or verbally give thanks for at least three things everyday. It will change you and those around you!

Word of Wisdom Wednesday

Proverbs 10:4

He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.

God created man to work. When we are diligent to do what God created us to do, He blesses us. When we are lazy and try to avoid work, then we suffer the consequences and miss the blessings. This is not some formula for money or a get rich quick scheme. Being obedient is the desired outcome.

But God

Isaiah 53:5

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

wounded = to defile, to be defiled; to be violated

Christ took our pain upon Him on the cross. We can follow His footsteps because He has walked the same road we have walked.

He was wounded/violated just as I was violated as a child. He knows the pain and fear that it produced in me. He knows the innocence lost. But God! He took that pain and I am healed! He took it all away so why am I trying to hold on to it?!