Wisdom

 Wisdom

January 9, 2025

Proverbs 9:7-12 (ESV) 

7Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. 8 Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. 9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. 10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. 11 For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life. 12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

Wow! Did Solomon know about social media? So I suppose scoffing is not new, it’s just easier today with social media where you can criticize and scoff at someone anonymously. Too many people hide behind their screen and make cruel comments to people they don’t even know. How sad.

Solomon teaches us that true wisdom is to give instruction to a wise man. Teaching and correcting a wise man increases both of your wisdom and knowledge, whereas trying to correct a wicked man just gets you embroiled in controversy with nothing good accomplished.

 

So what is wisdom? Solomon says that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” Now this fear is not a Freddy Kroger, Friday the 13th kind of fear, but awesome respect and honor. There was a time when we had the same kind of fear of our parents and teachers, but sadly, our modern age has tried to purge the families and schools from this kind of respect. True fear of authority leads to wisdom and honor, but scoffing and disregard of discipline leads to wickedness. That sort of sums up our current societal situation in a nutshell. We need a revival of fear of the Lord and true wisdom and knowledge. It’s not too late to call on the Lord to give us wisdom and knowledge and to restore our sense of reverent awe for the Lord. So seek the Lord and pray for our families and schools and country that there will be a revival of the fear of the Lord.

The Love of God

 The Love of God

January 8, 2025

Romans 8:35-39

35Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written,

“FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG;

WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.”

37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

“Who will separate us from the love of Christ.”  Indeed, how can we compare or daily struggles with love of God. Are these difficulties of any significance in the grand scheme of things? I say, yes, our trials have significance for our life because God loves us. Now this seems contradictory, but the truth is that our struggles strengthen us. Resistance builds strength. We know that in the gym, and it is equally true in our daily life. Let’s go back to Romans 8 and see how Paul starts this discourse:

Romans 8:28

28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Wuest Word Studies translates this as:

Romans 8:28 

Andwe know with an absolute knowledge that for those who are loving God, all things are working together resulting in good, for those who are called ones according to His purpose.

There is evil in the world, so it is not that all things are good, but it is that all things work together for our good when we trust in the Lord and walk in his plan for us. When we are walking in His  purpose we can overcome obstacles and triumph over adversity. 

After walking with the Lord for many years and going through many trying times, I can agree with Paul that nothing can separate me from the love of Christ. It is not that the evil one has not tried to separate me and it is Not that I have been discouraged at times, but in the end, I know that I know that God loves me and that’s all that really matters in the world. Life in this world is. It a training field, choir practice, it you will. When we learn to love God and worship Him in all things, then we are ready to enter into true love and are ready to worship Him forever in the heavenly choir. O what a day that will be!

Words to Live By- Proverbs 3

 Words to Live By

Proverbs 3:5-8 (ESV)

5Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

The book of Proverbs is full of wisdom and words to live by. This passage in Proverbs 3 sums up this wisdom in a simple to understand proverb. Truly, the key to successful living is to trust the Lord with all your heart and not lean on your own understanding. That’s hard for some of us who want to understand everything, but it the key to health on well being to deer the Lord and turn away from evil. In this age when we are inundated with data and information, how do we discern what is true? In order to make a straight path through all the disinformation , we need to rely on the Lord’s wisdom, and not on our own understanding . It seems counter-intuitive to us to not trust our own understanding in order to make sense out of the world, but that is what the Proverb is telling us to do. The Lord’s wisdom is greater than our own understanding and in trusting in Him we will find true peace, justice and truth. The world promises unlimited learning and intelligence, artificial and otherwise, but it is only the Lord that truly embodies all of the wisdom of the universe. 

This may seem odd to you coming from one trained in the sciences, but I have learned that the more you know about the workings of the universe, the more you have to trust in the infinite wisdom of the Creator. In the final analysis, a random, secular evolution could not possibly account for the vast complexity that we find in the real world. Even with our tremendous study and research, there are many things in the universe that we can not explain; things to complex to be explained by random chance. George Washington Carver learned this lesson well when he told the Lord that he was not intelligent enough to understand the universe, but could he understand the peanut. The Lord answered this prayer by revealing myriads of things about the peanut to him that enabled him to invent thousands of useful products. So be like George  and trust in the Lord with all your heart and no not lean on your own understanding .

2025- Be Strong and Courageous

 2025- Be Strong and Courageous

January 2, 2025

David K. Brillhart

In praying about the new year, 2025, the following scripture came to mind:

Joshua 1:1-2. 6-8

1 Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying, 2 “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, tothe sons of Israel.

…

6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strongand very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. 8 This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.

As Joshua was about to enter the land that God had promised him, he was instructed twice to be strong and courageous. As a former pastor of mine once said, every time that the Lord tells someone to be strong and courageous it is because there is a reason. If you put your ear to the ground, you can hear the hoof beats of the approaching enemy horses! So what is the lesson for us as we enter a new year?

Just as Joshua was promised a new land, we look forward to a promise of making America great again. But like Joshua, there are many enemies standing in the way of that promise. In the conquest of Israel, Joshua was not the savior and likewise in our time, Trump is not our savior. Josua would only have success if he followed the Lord’s command to be strong and courageous and to be careful to do all that was written in the book of the law. Likewise, we don’t look to Trump for our salvation, but if we follow the Lord with all our heart and pray for a true spiritual revival, then we can be strong and courageous and look forward to prosperity and success. That is the promise that the Lord made to Joshua and the promise was fulfilled. Joshua and the people of Israel had success as long as they followed the Lord’s commands. But when the failed in that, they failed in warfare as well.There is a promise and a warning in that for us as well. As long as we are careful to do all that the Lord requires, we will have success, but if we slack off and return to the old ways, then the enemy will succeed.  Therefore, be strong and courageous as we face the new year, and pray for revival in our land. Pray that the people will wake up to spiritual realities and seek the Lord once more. In the Lord’s strength we will be able to rout the deep state enemies and enter a new age of prosperity and success in the land.

2024- Year in Review

 2024 in Review

December 31, 2024

What is a good word to summarize 2024? “Tumultuous” would be one. Certainly the political situation was tumultuous with wars, rumors of wars, scandals and law fare contributing to an election year full of issues. There were also lots of public scandals in the church with many prominent leaders having issues exposed. In the terminology of the internet, these were issues that “red pilled” people, waking them up to the evil in our world. The good news is that there is good news, that is the gospel, which gives us hope in the midst of a dying world. Even in the political world, we can see hope where Trump was saved from assassination attempts and then won the election. This brings the promise of hope for America, but we need to keep praying. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for the peace of America and for many people to wake up the the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is only through a true spiritual revival that there can be a true restoration of the greatness of America. As De Tocqueville said, “America is great because she is good. If she ceases to to good, she will cease to be great.” So keep praying for revival in America and the world, and keep your faith in Jesus and the hope of his return.

For 2025, we are looking forward to healing and restoration. We are working with our church to build up a ministry of healing and are trusting the Lord to bring healing, deliverance and restoration to many people this year. After the tumultuous 2024, there are many hurting people in our community, so we are looking forward to the opportunity to teach them about forgiveness and pray for healing. So pray for us that we will have the wisdom and courage to proclaim liberty to the captives and healing to the sick. Perhaps that will be our small part in bringing revival to our land once again.

So, as we bid adieu to a tumultuous 2024, we wish you a happy and prosperous new year, with peace on earth and goodwill to all men.

Days of Nehemiah

 Days of Nehemiah 

December 20, 2024

Nehemiah 1:2-4 (ESV) 

2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who hadsurvived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” 4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

Nehemiah 2:5 (ESV) 

And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.”

In the days of Nehemiah, the nation of Israel was going through very difficult times. They had been in exile in Persia (Iran) and Jerusalem was a pile of ruins. Daniel had prophesied that Israel would be restored and the temple rebuilt, and it was time to begin the restoration. Nehemiah got permission from the king to return to Jerusalem and begin rebuilding. When he arrived in Jerusalem, he not only found that the walls were torn down and the stones burned by fire, but the current governors of the land were not at all pleased to see Jerusalem being rebuilt.

There are some similarities to the situation today. America is in moral ruin and the economy is in near shambles, but when the people turn back to the Lord and begin to rebuild, they will encounter many strong enemies that will oppose the effort. Nehemiah had a plan and he encouraged the people to rebuild, each in front of their own house. And because of the opposition, they worked with a trowel in one hand and a spear in the other. That is to say they were prepared to either build or fight at any moment. It was important that Nehemiah provided the leadership and vision, but it was the people that did the work. It was also significant that they each started rebuilding each by their own house. Likewise today, we need to begin the process of rebuilding of the righteous foundations of America, and we need to start in our own house and community. No one of us can restore the nation, but we can each one do his part in restoring his household and community. We need to seek the Lord and restore righteousness to our own church and spread the gospel to our own neighborhood.

Once the people stared to work together, it took them a surprisingly short time to rebuild the wall, and when they were finished, they rediscovered the book of the law. After a public reading of the Word, they celebrated the feast of tabernacles and began to restore worship of the one true God to Jerusalem. Likewise, we need to rededicate ourselves to the study of the Word and the application to our own lives. When true worship is restored, the enemy will flee.

James 4:7-8

7Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Nehemiah rebuilt with stones and timbers, but we are to restore the house of God which is made up of living stones. So let us encourage each other in these days. Yes, there are enemies all around. There are wars and rumors of wars and scary drones, but the Lord is on His throne and He is still able to save. So seek Him and pray for your place on the wall that you may help rebuild your little part of it.

Love of God, Through it All

 Love of God, Through it All

December 14, 2024

Romans 8:31-39 (ESV) 

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up forus all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Yesterday, we were talking about the brokenhearted. In the letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul lists several things that could cause us to be brokenhearted: “Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? … regarded as sheep to be slaughtered“ That’s quite a list of problems, but his conclusion is that even these hardships cannot separate us from the Love of Christ. All of us have seen hard times, though probably to as severe as the things that Paul went through. Still, though having survived ship wrecks and prisons, he kept his faith in the Lord and an awareness that God was with him through it all. Andre Crouch used to sing a song called “Through it All”. This song conveys the same message, that no matter what the problem, God’s love is with you through it all.

Through it all through it all 

I've learned to trust in Jesus 

I've learned to trust in God 

Through it all through it all 

I've learned to depend upon His word

(Chorus of “Through it all” by Andre Crouch)

One of the hardest things in life is the death of a loved one. We recently had death in our extended family and I remember this passage from Romans 8. When my own father passed away, I was encouraged by this passage. 

38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

For us, death is a finality, and is a finality for our time on earth. But for the Lord, death is only a transition from one life to another, and even death can not separate us from from the love of God. How great a love is this then that transcends life and death and is greater than angels and principalities! So be encouraged. Whatever problem you have that could try to make you brokenhearted, take heart and know that the Lord is with you and nothing can separate you from the Love of Christ.