Wisdom

[Pine Baron]

Don't know why, but this popped up in my head:
1 Corinthians 1:
27 but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong;

[Sig556r]

To have wisdom is to have the virtue to discern differences & act on them...right from wrong, opportunity vs. threat, strength over weakness, be the hammer or the nail, be a man or otherwise...

[Boaz]

Good and supporting scripture Pine Baron . Wonder why it popped up in your head , I think I know . Sig556r you are correct ! Knowledge is what is gathered over time through study of the Scriptures. Wisdom acts properly upon that knowledge. Wisdom is the application of knowledge. Knowledge understands the light has turned red... wisdom applies the brakes. Knowledge sees the quicksand... wisdom walks around it. Knowledge memorizes the Ten Commandments... wisdom obeys them. Knowledge learns of God... wisdom loves Him.

[Boaz]

We have all heard that a person is 'Book Smart' . Book smart implys that one possesses knowledge but can't apply wisdom in using that knowledge in application . GOD possesses ALL wisdom . All wisdom is given by GOD .

In worldly application knowledge is most efficiently used with personal experience in worldly things .

[Boaz]

Ephesians 5:15-16

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

[Pine Baron]

Another one from Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 12

8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;

[Boaz]

I would like to tell a story .
I'll have to set the stage by giving some personal history and the recent past . It's not a story to get sympathy and no one should feel sorry for me . It's a story of failure and weakness ...my own . If you have read some of my personal 'stories' in the past they most often center around personal failure also . I got over most of my pride issues about ten years ago when my Lord saved me from myself . lol , I think the thread was titled ...'I wish I was half the man I use to be' . It's probably about 100 pages back here in the Chapel , lol .

I put up these 'FAILURES' as encouragement and as a testimonial to our Lord . I have failed many times and consider myself pretty dang stupid . I know every wrong or stupid thing I have ever done , I could probably write a book on it , it would make a thick book .So I must be pretty stupid .

For those that are new or haven't read don't know me I'll give a quick rundown . Born in 1952 in Wichita Falls Texas . My father was born in a dugout west of Stage Stand Oklahoma , my mom was born in Big Springs Texas . They had hard lives and growing up they expounded on the virtues of hard work . I was baptized at the age of seven and have never had a spiritual crises , I have always known GOD was real , I never doubted GOD exists . But that didn't stop me from doing things I knew were not what he would have me do . Kind of like all that read this ...we are all sinners needing redemption through admission of sin in our lives .

I'll put this up in different posts . It will take a while so give me your forbearance in remembering I'm not too smart .

[Boaz]

I'm 66 years old , Got a 20 year old daughter and a 46 year old son . Was a single parent raising them both . My son has problems and has always worked at my shop . The shop has been on the decline for about 5 years , me not being able physically do the work anymore . I just slowly ground to a halt .
Had been struggling to keep the business going , been in business for 34 years , did oilfield work before that . Drilled and rough necked on drilling rigs , drove rig up trucks , ran rod rigs , had a rig repair field service before the boom bottomed out in 79'' . My son was about 9 years old and had to make a living . Fabbed jigs and made custom wrought iron for windows , patio's and porches . Installed them , there were no jobs when the boom bottomed out . Cut firewood , hauled trash , whatever it took . I was taught if you didn't have enough money you needed more work .

I took great pride in working harder , faster and better than anyone I was put with . Key word here was PRIDE . Pride failed me bout 10 years ago and was close to punching out of this world . Still I was active in church but I bout quit asking my GOD to help me . I more or less thought I had 'liberty' to do as 'I' saw fit in handling his business . I was eat up with 'pride' .

My physical health got bad ..real bad . My daughter was 10 years old , I had my sister call me every morning and if I didn't answer to come over to the house . I knew I was going to die and my daughter find me dead , I couldn't abide that thought , it tormented me . I finally figured out . I had taken too much on myself because of my ..Pride . I hadn't taken care of myself physically , I just kept driving myself because of...Pride .

I called out to GOD , I had failed . I discovered my doctor had me on medicine that was speeding up my situation ...misdiagnosed . I listened to GOD (GOD never 'spoke' in words , I did not hear a booming voice from above) . Quit the medicine , using taking the oxygen . I reconnected with GOD in time I recovered . I have little pride left except for him .

[Boaz]

Let's do a little reading .

Genesis 1

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

[Boaz]

And GOD saw that it was 'good' . God was not just admiring his work , his work WAS 'GOOD' . GOD is the source of good . God is love , GOD is truth , GOD is all that is beautiful , GOD honors all he says , GOD hates evil , GOD is forgiving , GOD took nothing and created this world , GOD created you and all you love . GOD takes havoc and makes good . GOD is constant , true and eternal . GOD will never fail you , GOD will temper you , GOD will remake you . GOD is always with you .

[Goatwhiskers]

The creation story always makes me feel very small and humble. GW

[Boaz]

GW we are in total agreement ! I often read it just to refresh myself as to the power of GOD . It also gives insight as to the love and literal goodness that he is . He created us , he gave us dominion over a perfect creation he labored to build . He prepared the way .

He gave us freewill , He only required us to love him and put our faith in him . He provided a perfect world with no sin ...no evil . He interacted personally with us , he wanted and provided a perfect life with no hardship , suffering . He was truly our father and only wanted all things good for us . We failed him but he still loves us , he proves it every moment of our lives .

[Boaz]

My business started sinking quickly by the end of summer . I was scrounging to make payroll for my hands and bills . I struggled to take care of my obligations . In my younger days I had often said that as long as I could work I would never suffer not meeting my obligations . Now I had to eat those prideful words since I could no longer do the work physically . I knew the business would never survive the winter when things got slow .

I hadn't been able to find ANY hands that would or actually being capable of work . It's hard to find younger folks that even know how to use a screwdriver or common household cleaners now . I feel sorry for them . I worried for my family and all I had responsibilities to . It was hard to sleep , hard to think of a way to deal with everything . Then my septic tank backed up and I didn't have the money to have it pumped out . I drug a pottychair out of the shed we kept for when we had septic trouble , I'm still using it 5 months later . In a few weeks I had 2 tire machines fail , in the past I replaced transmissions , tables , air valves myself . Had to have a technician came out of Dallas 120 miles east but I got it done . I suffered over not being able to do it myself .


It was December now . I was worried , could not sleep , had to literally make myself eat . My hot water heater went out , it was 17 years old . Had to take a bath and heat water on the stove with a bucket to wash dishes and such . I was losing weight , my posts started dropping here in the Chapel . I didn't know if I was thinking clearly enough to say anything pertaining to GOD which I take very seriously . Was turning the heater thermostat down to 50 at night and off during the day . I had already cut all my living expense down to bare minimum . I had to wear suspenders to keep my pants up , I was losing weight .

[Boaz]

You might ask ; Did you seek GOD to help you ? The answer is yes . I NEVER blamed GOD for my trouble , the cause was myself . I was untypically indecisive . My son has problems and would have trouble finding a job , that was a big player in shutting the shop down . I have customers that have come to me for over 30 years , I'm serving their grandchildren now . I have many that depend on me and just tried to maintain instead of facing the inevitable ...a failing . I prayed everyday , I prayed for others here and in my life , I never quit praying . But I quit going to church ...another failing . I have friends and there but did not go , I let external reasons keep me from going . I failed .

[Preacher Jim]

Charlie, the hardest lesson I ever learned was that failure is the back door to success. God always has a plan for our lives and His way sometimes means closing a door we keep trying to hold open. Guilty more than once. Voice of experience. Praying everyday for you.

[Boaz]

Your 100% right Jim . This ain't my first rodeo , been here before but can not physically work my way out this time . I'm Good !

[Boaz]

rl69 put this thread up early last month . I read it and was strengthened , we all have trouble in one way or another . GOD is in control .

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...02-God-is-good

[Boaz]

Well I'll wrap up my story .
I contracted and auctioneer late in January , an attempt to sell the shop will happen late tis month . Many things have happened since December . My truck started missing , took it to the shop . Cam is bad and can't have it fixed right now , have to have it so driving it on 6 cylinders . My millennial hands quit , I told them I would keep the shop open till the auction . They were both living at home an only needed an excuse to quit , lol . My son moved in with me , he has problems working with others and will have trouble finding work . He is a hard core atheist and has told me many times he is ashamed to tell anyone his father is a Christian . I had to put off some shoulder surgery to get things done . The shop is shut down .

Well heck ! That was a pretty hard lead in on a comment after my previous ones . BUT !
Around the middle of last month I started asking my Lord to give me wisdom . I needed wisdom . I have enough experience I needed to use it properly . I contemplated and thought of all that had happened .

All my bills are paid , all along I knew he was helping me . I have been taking all on myself and trying to do it not depending on him . When I look back to summer I see him sustaining me all along . I'll not detail all his help but only while ago with no one to help get ready for the auction I asked him to send me help . Four days later a man named Tim came in looking for any work he could get . He had come from North Dakota , had been doing oilfield work till the oil bust . He was married with two children , he was broke and they were living in a motel . I hired him for day work and got 80% of the work done that needed to be done . He made a hand and worked hard . I made some calls to some people I know at Interfaith Ministries and told them I would vouch for him . They got a place to stay , he called me last Friday and said he had found a welding job with a fabrication place . He thanked me and said he wanted to stay in touch . GOD is working .


When I started thinking and looking back GOD has been by my side all along . He is giving me the wisdom to deal with this situation in my life , all credit goes to him . At this time I am optimistic for my future , it's exciting to see what he will lay before me . I was blessed to be given my own business that provided a good living , a home , a way to raise my children . I have often wondered why GOD has given me so much . I feel undeserving knowing how much better I could have served him . GOD has blessed me more than I ever even considered he would . GOD is with me .

[square butte]

God shows up in the middle of storms - Doesn't mean they are any fun. I know you don't need any tellin. Just keeping myself reminded. Prayin for Ya . .

[Pine Baron]

Gee whiz Boaz, that's a lot to swallow. God is good.
I can relate to the atheist son situation. My son also lives with me, just him and me (and sundry critters) and is a proclaimed atheist. LOL, doesn't stop me from thanking God for the blessing of my son being there or persistently being an example. Recently I got him to admit to being "agnostic"....baby steps.