Hungry

All during Israel's 40 years in the desert God provided food. Moses pointed out that by providing manna to eat, the people learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that come from the mouth of the Lord. Most of us have never known serious or chronic hunger. You have never lacked bread. This abundance creates the illusion that we can rely on what we obtain. We worked for the money, went to the store, paid for the bread, brought it home, and prepared it. Where is God in that equation?

The great irony is that while most of us and our neighbors eat well, many people retain a spiritual hunger they cannot satisfy. The Israelite's physical hunger became an illustration of an important spiritual principle. Our lack of physical hunger threatens to prevent us from seeing this principle. Our spiritual hunger should lead us to turn to God who provides “the bread of life” (John 6:35). If skeptics are honest, they usually admit to feeling that the gnawing spiritual hunger. This where a believer can help them see how God has provided for them (For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16). Amen?

Revealing

We are told of King David’s death in 1 Chronicles 29:28: He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king. It was now up to the son of the king, Solomon to step up and follow his father’s wisdom and direction. Seek, find, and follow the living God. Give Him everything and be ready to be used by Him in a mighty way. As wonderful as it was to have a wise godly Dad he must now make his own choice and personal relationship when it comes to the Lord.

Do you remember the scene in Jaws where they are out looking for this great white shark that had been killing people? While Roy Scheider’s character was throwing out bloody bait the 25ft shark shows up, and it was as long as their boat! He goes to the Captain and says, “We’re going to need a bigger boat!” This is a famous line, but do you realize he could have said, “Lets get out of here – We can’t handle this – Let’s go hide somewhere safe”. Instead he decided that they were still going to catch that great white, but their plans needed a major adjustment. Solomon knew that his life would have to be adjusted, and he needed a big God to achieve his plan.

In our lives when are confronted with change how do we respond? We can flee, give-up, or hide but God desire us to turn to Him to achieve our destiny.

2 Chronicles sets the scene that led to Solomon’s receiving of great wisdom. God had to help Solomon accomplish his purpose and calling to be the king of Israel. This story is full of life-changing principles that can help us to live the kind of life we’ve always wanted; a life that will honor God, influence people for good, and be a difference-maker in this world we live in. It is a great truth in which we can learn so much about obtaining wisdom, and living for God.

May God reveal and help us to become the kind of people He longs for us to be. Amen?

Sunglasses

My son blesses me with glasses! In each of my cars I have a prescription pair of clear lens and a pair of sunglasses. They come in quite handy for seeing clearly when I drive! I also keep a regular pair of sunglasses in my car to use outside. A few weeks ago, I noticed that my vision wasn’t what it should be and thought to myself I should have my eyes checked. It came to a head one day when wearing my aviator’s - things were just not clear! 

I sat in the Walmart parking lot considering how things could have turned so bad. I looked out without my glasses then with – No Change! Then I remembered the other pair in my storage compartment. They looked almost identical. When I put them on my vision problem was no more. Everything was now clear!

This mistake caused me to think about looking through the wrong lens in life. It won’t be clear and might be a bit disturbing. But clarity comes with the truth of God’s Word, and the direction of the Holy Spirit. 

“They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read”. – Nehemiah 8:8 This is God’s desire for all His children to have clarity through the lens of the Bible. “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” – Psalm 119:105

So, if your “vision” isn’t what it ought to be, make an appointment today to use the proper lens that God has provided.

Moral Code

To gain wisdom one must follow an accurate moral code.

The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble. - Proverbs 4:18-19

The "path of the righteous" is that well lit road that God illuminates with His Word and guides us with His Spirit. As we journey down the road the sun (and Son) will get brighter and brighter as we become more obedient to His will and ways.

In contrast "the path of the wicked" is in deep darkness that never brightens. In this darkness sin, evil, pain, and deception will thrive. 

The not so funny thing about the dark is that the more we expose ourselves to it – the more we adjust to it until it’s too late. With the sun, it may take some getting used too at first, but then we can bask in its warmth and light. Light and Dark are symbolic with good/evil and heaven/hell. Choose the Son – He’ll bring life giving light and wisdom in your life.

We can find an accurate moral code by using God’s Word.

A good place to start is the Ten Commandments.

1.     No other Gods

2.     No idols

3.     Not use God’s Name in vane

4.     Remember the Sabbath

5.     Honor parents

6.     Do not murder

7.     Do not commit adultery

8.     Do Not Steal

9.     Do not  Lie

10. Do not covet

Once we’ve done business with God on these we’ll be able to accept more guidance through His Word and Spirit. Amen?

The Change

The biggest change that could happen in someone’s life is to accept Christ. The change doesn’t end there. I remember a song “The Change” by Steven Curtis Chapman

Well I got myself a T-shirt that says what I believe,

I got letters on my bracelet to serve as my ID,

I got the necklace and the key chain,

And almost everything a good Christian needs, yeah,

I got little Bible magnets on my refrigerator door,

And a welcome mat to bless you before you walk across my floor,

I got a Jesus bumper sticker,

And the outline of a fish stuck on my car,

And even though this stuff’s all well and good, yeah,

I cannot help but ask myself ………………………

What about the change, What about the difference,

What about forgiveness, What about a life’s that showing,

I’m undergoing the change, yeah, I’m undergoing the change.

Well I’ve got this way of thinking that comes so naturally,

Where I believe the whole world is revolving around me,

And I got this way of living and I have to die to every single day,

Cause if God’s Spirit lives inside of me, I’m going to live life differently,

I’m going to have to change; I’m going to have the difference,

I’m going to have the grace; I’m going to have forgiveness,

I’m going to have a life that’s showing, I’m undergoing the change.

God loves us just the way we are, but loves us too much to leave us that way! Remember - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation.The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

What changes do you need to consider?

Application

A few ago I bought a book because I liked what it said on the cover, “God wants you wise, free, and full of power – seizing life beyond belief.” The introduction shared that it was fresh look at Paul’s letter to the Galatians. It shows us:

“The futility of sin – and how to overcome the old sin nature.

The wonder of true freedom in Christ.

The awesome potential of walking in the Spirit.

The revolutionary power of God’s kingdom.

The centrality of love to the Christian faith.

The abundant ministry available to you through the fruit of the Spirit.”

It said that today we are caught up in the same traps that the Galatians were in because of their foolish thinking. The message is liberating for the faithful, and a reminder to stop our foolish thinking!

I wondered why a fairly recent book was selling at the dollar store, but thought it might help me in series I was preparing. I learned that the author was the founding and Senior Pastor of an 11,000 member church and president of a 22 million member evangelistic group. The named sounded familiar, then I remembered. He was one of those national Christian leaders who fell from prominence because of a sex scandal. Subsequently he lost his job and fell from public grace.

Our first reaction would probably be to toss the book. I came to this conclusion, just because the author fell to sin does not change the message Paul gave. It just wasn’t applied to his life. Before we get too “self-righteous” I think we need to confess that we don’t always apply God’s Word to our lives all the time either. An Amen or Oh-Me is in order here!

David, in the Bible, illustrates this “non-application” in his life as well. He knew how to obey and please God, but failed. We all fall down, just like television preachers, and people every day do. The goal in all of our situations should be to “Get Up” with God’s help. Amen?

Verse to Guide

My life verse passage is 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, 

 Rejoice always,  pray continually,  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt  but test them all; hold on to what is good,  reject every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. 

It reminds me to keep my focus on where it belongs - with a joyful, prayerful, and thankful heart. God is always faithful and will see me through anything.

Is there a verse (or passage) that guides your life and way of thinking?

God establishes a little section of His Word deep within you that becomes a spiritual foundation upon which to build your life. Keep your eyes and heart open for a Scripture that speaks to you in a personal way. When you come across verses that speak to you, write them down, memorize them, and hide them in your heart to meditate on their meaning for your life.

 Always have God's Word in you. You never know who will be reading. 

Amen?

Deserving

I heard the other day someone who responded to the question, How are you? with Better than I deserve. That got me thinking about how with Christ we are better off than we deserve.

The thief on the cross next to Jesus being crucified said to the other criminal, We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” – Luke 23:41. The thief recognized his punishment was due him because of the crimes he had committed. He also realized the Jesus did not deserve the punishment. Christ took the punishment we deserved to pay the price for our sins.

The Lord is compassionate and gracious; slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. – Psalm 103:8-12

Always realize with Christ you are better than you deserve. 

Amen?

Think You Can

Have you ever heard? Whether you think you can or you think you can’t – you’re right! Consider the Word of God on the subject:

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Proverbs 16:3

Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. Matthew 21:21

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. – Colossians 3:17

May we always do life the best way - God’s way. Amen?

Fatherly Wisdom

Solomon was the wisest man in the world of his time. The Bible says that aside from Jesus, he was the wisest man in the world ever. Since he is known for his remarkable wisdom, the questions beg to be asked: Where did all this great wisdom come from, and how did he receive it?

 Let’s start by looking at 1 Kings 2:1-4 and David’s Charge  to Solomon: ¹ When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son. ² “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, ³ and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keephis decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go ⁴ and that the LORD may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’ 

The Father, David, gave this wisdom to his son, Solomon. There are three things he is told: 1. Be Strong 2. Act like a man 3. Observe God’s commands. The first two have to do more with the physical, but the last one touches on something much more critical – the Spiritual. The crucial aspects of a wise and Godly person are to keep your walk and talk the same, and be focused on Christ.

Your heart, mind, and soul must remain faithful to God. If David’s family kept the Lord on their “heart’s throne” then they would remain as the head of a thriving nation. What great advice and a promise to give to your child! Be what God wants you to be and He will do great things in your life, your children, and your children’s children lives. Keep Him on your “heart’s throne”. Amen?

Fly

I love this story! Soren Kierkegard, the 19th century Danish religious philosopher, tells a story about a town where only ducks live. 

Every Sunday the ducks would waddle out of their houses and waddle down Main Street to their church. They waddled into the sanctuary and sat in their proper pews. 

The duck choir waddles in and takes its place, and then the duck minister comes forward and opens the duck Bible. 

He reads to them…“Ducks! God has given you wings! With wings you can fly! With wings you can mount up and soar like eagles. No walls can confine you! No fence can hold you! You have wings. God has given you wings and you can fly like birds.” 

All the ducks shouted “AMEN!” and they all waddled home.

God has offered us all we need today. Are we complacent? Has God called you to something great for Him? 

Has he called you to fly, but choose to waddle?

Today, take God at His Word... and FLY! Amen

Not Hiding

Have you ever watched a movie that was a musical? Right in the middle of some action they break out in song and dance! Life would be more entertaining if we did that in real life. Think how your life and those around you would be if you just broke out in spontaneous praise of God during your day.

Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;

make known among the nations what he has done.

Sing to him, sing praise to him;

tell of all his wonderful acts.

Glory in his holy name;

let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Look to the Lord and his strength;

seek his face always.

Remember the wonders he has done,

his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,

you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,

his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.

He is the Lord our God;

his judgments are in all the earth. -David

Seek God's face... always. How will you seek Him today?

Always seek God - He is near and not hiding. Amen?

Working Right

Bill Hybels is famous for saying that the local church is the hope of the world. The rest of that quote is "when the church is working right". The Bible talks about the relationship between God and His church.

 

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other. - Jesus (John 15:9-17)

Let's be the church God wants us to be. Amen?

A Loving Father

Father’s Day is about relationships built on trust and love. Our children never get to old to learn and strengthen our bond with the family God has entrusted to you. Here are a few things I learned at a Men of Faith conference a few years back.

Whoever has your children's heart has their trust.

3 ways to win their hearts

1. Attention -give them all they require in time and energy

2. Affirmation - bless them! God verbally approved His Son Jesus in the Bible in public.

3.  Affection - pour it out on them, love them unconditionally.

5 Ways to lose their Heart

1. Abandonment

2. Anger

3. Harsh Words

4. Hypocrisy/Lying

5. Demean their Mother

Win your children’s heart - it's never too late. Thank You Father God for always loving us.

 Happy Father's Day.

A Progressing Faith

I was reminded recently about a business model concerning three boxes. Each one contains things that businesses need to do to achieve success. The first one is about managing your present business. The second is about forgetting (not being crippled) about past mistakes, and the third is focusing on future ideas and success.

In our Christian walk I think there are also three questions we need to ask ourselves.

Where have I been?
Honestly admit your mistakes, and ask God for forgiveness.

Where am I now?
The choices we make need to honor Christ and satisfy biblical morality.

Where am I going?
Honor the past but keep going forward. God will feed your heart through His Word, but we must seek Him to be transformed.

Remember- progress in your faith allows you to come closer to Christ.

Healing Forgiveness

There are two things to consider when dealing with your hurt. God doesn't want you to keep hurting yourself.

There is a Christ Pattern of forgiveness:

1. Forgiveness is not forgetting. Don't put yourself in the same position to be hurt over and over again. Solomon said, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly” - Proverbs 26:11

2. Create boundaries with destructive people – Warn once then twice –enough! - Titus 3:10 You can pray for them and wish hem well. but do not need to keep being abused.

3. Remember God’s forgiveness is not your business. Jesus said,  Man, who appointed me judge? – Luke 12:13 Let God be God, and may we focus on being healthy with a heart for forgiveness.

There is a Christ Model to Forgive Others –  Jesus on the cross said, “They don’t know what they are doing” We have to remember that forgiveness involves death:

-        Name it (The rumor, truth, gossip, grief, or hurt)

-        Accept it (Like Christ on the cross) - they don’t pay – you do

-        Absorb it (Allow it to change you) - take the pain

Remember you can’t be resurrected until you die. It’s time to absorb it, forgive, and move forward without unforgiveness controlling you. God never wastes a hurt. Forgive and be healed.

Amen?

Bitten

Have you ever really thought about how people treat each other?

The Bible gives this great picture of the shepherd and the flock. Jesus is the great Shepherd. Believers are His sheep and follow Him. Beware sheep have teeth!

“Bites” come in all forms - Rumors, gossip, lying, any way you can tear down ones character, and unforgiveness. Petty to big things cut, but death can occur by thousand paper cuts.

Christians must be masters of forgiveness. The lack of it manifests over time when we:

-        hold back, we remember past hurts, and shut down others.

-        make lists and labels concerning people. We view them as “land mines”, and make excuses not to do things with them.

-        plan revenge, gossip, and want to punish those who have hurt us.

Before you know it you’re “done”...

But Jesus said, "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. - Matthew 6:32-34

Offering forgiveness heals your wounds. As God for the strength to do it right now. Put a smile on His face. Amen?

Openings

The book of Jeremiah teaches us great lessons on the nature of God and His relationship with people. It is said that Jeremiah had the ministry of opposition. Do you ever feel like when you take a stand for Christ all you get is attacked? Be encouraged God is with you, and if you are being faithful then you put a smile on His face. That is what counts.

Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. "Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest '? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. "Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.… John 4:34-36

God said, “Don’t focus at the opposition – that’s my job. Focus at the opportunities.” Always keep your eyes and heart open - it's harvest time! Amen?

God's Love

Do we love God with our heart, mind, body, and soul, and our neighbor as ourselves? 1 Corinthians 13:4 says, Love is patient, love is kind…

Are we showing these attributes of God as a sign to the world around us? Here’s a test. When you are holding a drink in a cup and you are bumped something usually spills out, right?

What happens when we’re bumped? You know – when something doesn’t go right or the way you want – someone makes you mad, etc.. You get bumped. So what comes out of you?

Know this -what spills out of us is really what is in us!

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. – Philippians 4:8-9.

Let’s work and focus on what is in us so we’ll know in advance what will spill out. Amen?

Not Done Yet

There is a beautiful passage found in Psalm 71:14-18 that tells us how we should live our lives, and share what God has done.

As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long—though I know not how to relate them all. I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.

Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.

Look what is said in the next verse about sharing with younger generations.

Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.

Those of us that are older should take special note of this verse. We feel sometimes as we get older that we’ve done our share, or we’re ready to “sit and soak”. This is not Scriptural! Craig Groeschel says, If you are not dead – then you are not done!

The conversation goes both ways, and we both have things to teach each other. May we tell of the great things that the Lord has done.

Amen?

Died or Dyed

I heard someone say the other day, "Dead is Dead". That's kind of blunt, but that's what it comes down to for all of us. Will we choose to devote ourselves entirely to Someone who’s alive and can bring us vitality, victory, fruitfulness, and freedom? Or will we keep trying to hold on to our old existence – something that’s dead and ought to be buried?

We are spiritually lifeless without any connection to God. Baptism in the Spirit is a universal reality for Christians. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.– 1 Corinthians 12:13

We can die or we can be dyed by Jesus Christ. We are different and are living in a different environment after we accept Christ – we are now the color of Christ!

Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit comes to stay.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.– John 14:16-17

He thinks with incredible wisdom and intelligence, because “the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God” (1 Cor. 2:10)

All believers can be alive and over-flowing with the Spirit if we choose.

What are you choosing this day?

Be wise - be anointed - be alive in Christ.
Amen?

Three B's

Israel is about to be dominated by Egypt in Exodus 1:11-14.  "So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13 and worked them ruthlessly. 14 They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly."

This gives us a great illustration of the 3 B’s of sin.

A. The bondage of sin.

v. 11, 14 This new Pharaoh is a picture of Satan, the toughest taskmaster you’ll ever have. He’s shrewd and such a deceiver. V. 10 shows this clearly, “let us deal wisely with them...”

B. The burden of sin.

v. 11 There’s no greater burden than the burden of sin, and no greater blessing than having that burden lifted. The OT has 3 Hebrew words which are translated as ‘forgive.’ One means to send away. One means to cover. One means to ‘lift away.’.

C. The bitterness of sin.

v. 14 It may be fun for a while, but it always ends badly, and with regret. Proverbs 9:17-18: "Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!" But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave.

There is pleasure in sin, for a season. Like the moth to the flame, like a bug to a zapper, like an insect to fly paper, saying I want to taste that sweet honey, and then we realize we’re stuck! You think you can have a little sin, and then you realize the sin has you! Make today your day of freedom - ask God to forgive and repent of your sins.

Amen?

Waiting

We moved out to our 23 acre mini farm in Ohio the Spring of 1987 the grass was growing and the flowers were blooming. I never saw anything more lovely and green in my life! We had a big storm the second night we were there that knocked our electric out, and wondered how many more we would have to endure that Summer. The answer ended up being zero. It never rained again. By mid Summer everything looked to be dead or dying, and the ground started to crack. The ground became drier and drier even though I tried watering and watering. It didn’t seem to help, but then I noticed my hard work had not gone to waste. Something was indeed growing! The soil was fertile... for weeds! The dry and dusty ground was indeed a fertile place.

Even in good weather when plants are thriving, the weeds grow and spread much faster than the plants I desire to keep. It’s as if the weeds need very little to germinate and grow. I think the same thing happens to us. God brings us to a dry and dusty place for the purpose of creating something beautiful. Sometimes we think nothing will grow in the place God has put us because it feels like a dry and barren desert. But that’s not true!

The soil God has planted us in is indeed fertile ground. It is a soil in which God desires to nurture us through our struggles and drive our roots deep. God’s desire is that we would trust Him and bloom with thanksgiving, praise and joy even in a desert. Too often we respond to His nurturing by giving back a bumper crop of weeds in the form of complaint and doubt.

If this is where you find yourself look with new eyes today and see God's hand. It's there.

Real Wisdom

This week in VBS our theme is Ship Wrecked! It made me think about this blog I wrote a while back.

One of the greatest minds in the western world became known to us in the 1960s. We first learn of his brilliance through the following poem.

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, A tale of a fateful trip that started from this tropic port, aboard this tiny ship. The mate was a mighty sailing man, the skipper brave and sure. Five passengers set sail that day, for a three hour tour, a three hour tour. 

The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed, If not for the courage of the fearless crew, the minnow would be lost, the minnow would be lost. 

The ship set ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle With Gilligan, The Skipper too, The millionaire and his wife, The movie star, The professor and Mary Ann, Here on Gilligan’s Isle.

The professor held three degrees in science from MIT and most of his inventions (including a method for recharging the batteries in the radio) utilized coconuts and bamboo. Aside from his proficiency in science, he was also adept and well-versed in law, literature, social sciences, and the arts. He also held various degrees from USC, UCLA, SMU, and TCU. The Professor with all his ability to build anything from coconuts and bamboo was somehow unable to Fix the Boat or create a raft to leave the island! That is what the castaways really needed. - You can have all the education, experience, and training in the world, but not have the wisdom that God desires for us. 

Pray that you’ll receive all the wisdom God has for you. Amen?