Posts Tagged ‘Bible’

Pharoahs Hard Heart

Posted: July 6, 2025 in Knowledge
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Do you remember the famous biblical story in Exodus where the children of Israel, having been enslaved  in Egypt for over 400 years, then left in search of the promised land? Moses, one of the most famous figures in biblical history, was raised up by God to lead them out of not only Egypt, but into the desert where they instead experienced 40 years of their bad choices. But, I don’t want to get ahead of myself. Before they could leave Egypt they had to get through Pharaoh…and he had his mind made up.

What we learn as Moses and God discussed how this exodus would happen is that God specifically told them that He would harden Pharaohs heart…to start. What in the heck? Why would He do that? If God really wanted Pharaoh to release His people, then why would He harden his heart and make that process more difficult to happen? Read this below:

Then the Lord said to Moses, See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your Prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. But I will harden pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt with mighty acts of judgment, I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it. Exodus 7:1-5

As previously mentioned, why did God harden Pharaoh’s heart when it made more sense for it to be flexible, or at least easier for Moses to negotiate with him. This fact has always perplexed me. But as I looked further into it, I have come to realize that, as the Bible states clearly, when you or I make it clear over the course of our lives that we do not intend to serve God or repent, God will give us up to our own sinful desires. In other words, if we make the choice to choose the sin of unbelief, then He will let us/you ultimately have your way.

So let’s take that information and apply it to Pharaoh here… 

God hardened Pharaoh’s heart as a punishment because his heart was already hard and opposed to God. In adding to the hardness of Pharaohs heart, God was also acting on a divine principle that applies to all the unrepentant. 

As I said before, when a person persists in rebellion against God and His word, God will ordain that (he or she) heart be hardened (yours or mine). 

Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. Romans 9:18 – NIV

Simply put, this is God giving people up to their sinful desires and sending a delusion on those who refuse to love the truth of His word. As an example, you will notice that the judgments of the early plagues (in the Exodus story), softened Pharaohs heart just a little, however, when God removed each plague, his heart was hardened again. 

In other words, Pharaoh hardened his own heart whenever God showed mercy.

Like I said, Pharoahs mind was made up.

Guys, this is an incredible story but an even better lesson for all of us. 

The bottom line for you and me; God intends to show mercy to those who repent and believe In Jesus as their Lord and Savior while at the same time, hardening the hearts of those who refuse to repent and choose to continue in their sin and thereby rejecting the salvation in Christ. 

I know, that is a lot to unpack but you can do it. For you and me, we need to make good choices, stay focused on Gods word, and most of all,  remember to repent.

Until next time Guys-

It takes Real guts to say No

Posted: May 26, 2025 in Inspirational
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Have you ever heard the expression “if you give them an inch they will take a mile”? I am sure you have and it happens to be the phrase that illustrates what I wanted to talk about today. 

You see, the very expression “give an inch” implies from the outset that you gave in or you gave up something. But, in actuality, what you did was compromise. 

Now, don’t get me wrong. Compromise in a relationship is critical for it to last but remember, we don’t agree with our spouse or even our friends all the time. I am sure you have even “agreed to disagree” and maintained the relationship from there. I think that good debate is healthy and promotes independent thinking which is one of the keys to long lasting friendships. 

However, its that compromise in important areas of our lives that I am focusing on today.

I remember reading a book a few years ago by Dr. David Jeremiah called, The Handwriting on the Wall which talked about Daniel, who, while being held captive in Babylon for 70 years, never compromised his faith in God no matter what his circumstances ended up to being and this included facing sure death in the lions den.

His consistency was astounding and a model for all of us to follow. However, Dr. Jeremiah made a point that I wanted to illustrate to you which was simply that it takes guts…real guts, to say no to a terrible situation, even with God on your side. 

Daniel was resolute in his faith while in Babylon. For you and I, no matter where we are in life, we do not “have to bend the rules to be blessed of God. Our success is NOT dependent upon our compromise”. Our job is to trust and believe that He will take care of us because he has told us so.

From the very beginning in the Bible, we see compromises with very poor results:

Adam: he fell right in line with Eve’s sin by compromising and eating the forbidden fruit. 

Sarah :(Abrahams wife) her lack of faith in God caused her to compromise and send her husband Abraham to Hagar, her servant, who then gave birth to Ishmael. Life in the Middle East will never be the same.

Do you remember Esau who compromised his birthright because he was hungry?

King David: he was the man after Gods own heart, BUT, he compromised Gods morality by sleeping with Bathsheba and then killing her husband Uriah. 

The list goes on and on with Solomon, Judas and Ahaz who all compromised something significant in their lives and it cost them. 

Guys, think about this…all they would have had to do was to say NO…and then take a stand on faith and on what God promised them. After that, God is in charge of the situation.

I want to finish this post with a story Dr. Jeremiah shared in his book about a verbal exchange in a high school class between some students and a professor who was an athiest.

The professor stood at the lectern and began his lecture by saying, “will all of you who believe the myths of the Bible please stand.” Several stood.

Then he added, “now this semester I am going to free you from this religious Bible nonsense. I have read the Bible, and it is certainly written by a bunch of mixed up men.”

One young Daniel stood up and said, “Sir, the Bible is God’s letter to Christians, and if you are confused it’s because you are reading someone else’s mail.”

Guys, I pray that all of us can stand firm in our faith and NOT compromise in the face any adversity against you. You already know this, but adversity will continue to come. That is the way life goes.

I can also tell you with certainty that you are going to be in circumstances where you will be asked to “give an inch”. And after this blog, now you know why an inch matters. As Christians, it’s the difference between a life spent with God in Eternity or the alternative…

It is that simple and you get to make the choice…

My advice to you, be like Daniel…don’t compromise…

Until next time Guys… 

Jeremiah, David. 2020. The Handwriting on the Wall: Secrets from the Prohecies of Daniel. Thomas Nelson Publishers.

By NOT making a choice, you have made a choice.

Posted: April 19, 2025 in Something to think about
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You are either for us or against us. Have you ever heard that expression? You are either all in or all out and there is absolutely no gray area to work with. I completely understand this mentality, especially if we are speaking about a professional sports team or a military mission. You cannot have anyone sitting on the fence with indecision. And that is exactly where we as Christians find ourselves with our Lord. 

There is no gray area with God. We either decide to submit to Him or we don’t..

Then the next obvious step is that those who do NOT submit themselves to Christ remain under the influence of the enemy. I am going to try and unpack that statement a little bit.

The apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians, “the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”  2 Cor. 4:4

As I’ve said many times before in this blog, Satan, or the god of this age, currently holds a great deal of power which was given to him by our God. We also know that Satan’s rule or his earthly kingdom is temporary and is conditional. Satan is allowed to operate only due to God‘s permissive will until the end of history. (Yes, God has a Permissive Will…which is whole other blog)

For you and me, that means a choice must be made. We can either submit to the Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for everyone so that we might have salvation and eternal life… Or… We can submit to the god of this age; Who only has empty promises.

I need to say this again because it is critical to grasp: Those who do not submit themselves to Jesus remain under the power of Satan. And as Paul says, he blinds their eyes to the truth to the glory of the gospel in order that they might not be saved. Satan is running defense to every single play in God’s offense. 

Satan intentionally puts up obstructions to keep you from moving in the direction of Christ.

The only solution to this guaranteed fatal situation is what a Pastor would tell you. One must tie-up the enemy’s activity through intercession or group prayer and then to preach the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. This is so people can hear and understand, and then choose for themselves whether to believe or not to believe. 

I know this is a lot to take in. I also know there are a whole lot of other things you would rather be thinking about right now than my words but at the same time, EVERYTHING about you is at stake. As I’ve told you before; there are no do overs or Mulligan’s in life. You and I must choose who we are going to believe. If we wait too long, then the enemy’s  influence can be overwhelming. Think of it this way;

By NOT making a conscious choice, you have made a choice.

Guys, I encourage you today to take this verse I shared into your heart. I challenge you to make decisions for you and your family. Dont’ just surrender because you are too busy. Dont take the easy path.

Until next time guys 

Why would a good God send people to Hell?

Posted: March 15, 2025 in Devotional
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I am not a theologian and for that reason, I get frustrated when I don’t know the answers to specific questions raised about God. The title of this blog post is, ”Why would a good God send people to hell’?  and I have had that question brought up many times and for years it has frustrated me. Why? 

Because it is a great question! How could God allow that to happen? Good people in hell make no sense. But, over time, I have begun to understand more about God’s character, which in turn has clarified some answers.

When I want to get to the root of a “why” question, I go back to the source to find the answers. How could God allow good people to go to hell? To me, we need to begin with God and who HE is to try and answer this question. 

A.W Tozer, a real theologian, said it this way, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us”.

There must be reasons about His character and why He acts or behaves as He does rather than just what I see here on Earth. What I’ve discovered is some reasons cause God to be who He is.

Let’s start with Holy. If you really understand this word and how it applies to God, you will second-guess everything you do or say. I never really understood this word but yet when applied to God, our Creator, all the reasons are clarified. Here is what I mean; God is the most perfect and holy being in our universe and it is His perfect, holy, character that decides what is right and wrong. That perfection He puts forth into us is His morality and then into our world which is how humans are to behave. 

In other words, that is how inherently we know that killing is bad and helping our neighbor is good. It is in our DNA. Yet why is there so much killing in this world? The answer is simple… Satan is still alive and operating as the prince of this world…for a time.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  1 Peter 5:8

Satan is working just as hard to distract you from God as God is trying to get your attention.

Think of it this way: God’s absolute Holiness binds Him and compels Him to respond in a particular manner which means, simply put; GOD HATES sin. He hates to see it, smell it, or even be around it (read Mark 9:42-47). But yet you and I are His children and we absolutely reek of sin. We are born into it, and without the saving salvation of Jesus Christ, we actually stink to heaven.

Let me summarize quickly at this point:

    1. We learned God is perfectly Holy

    2. Holy means God must behave according to His perfect character.

    3. Holy means God can’t be around sin.

Now, for those of you who did not know, God did solve the problem of sin for us by sending His blameless son Jesus, to take our place as a sacrifice for our sin committed.

So understand things this way, because God is holy, He MUST judge everyone according to His perfect character and because He is perfect, His judgments are fair and right.

Let’s keep going. As mentioned previously, Jesus came to this earth to solve the sin sacrifice issue for you and me but He is also the most loving person who ever lived, yet it is He who teaches us the most about the reality of hell and the consequences. Why would He do this? 

Because Jesus knows Hell is a very real thing and He doesn’t want any of us to suffer the inevitable consequences of our rebellion against God. 

Rebellion? What am I talking about?  

Rebellion is having sin in your life and NOT doing anything about it…living in sin is rebellion against God…why? Because God is holy…

Do you see a pattern?

Heaven and Hell are or will be, defined by our relationship with God. Heaven means enjoying the amazing gifts of a Father and more importantly, being with Him. Hell is the absence of His blessings; love, communion, presence, beauty, etc.

Simply put; Heaven is being with our Holy God and Hell is being apart from Him.

Think about that for a moment. The closest thing to Heaven on earth is to have a relationship with Him and to feel His presence in our lives. 

Hell on earth is the opposite of everything GOD.

So now that we understand a little more about the God we serve I must make this statement to you and ask this question; 

Now that we truly understand how holy God is, we shouldn’t be asking the question why would a good God send people to hell…the real question should be…

How can God allow anyone into Heaven?

The bottom line…going to Heaven or Hell is a choice WE get to make while here on this earth. 

God doesn’t send good people to Hell…they get to make that decision for themselves…

Until next time guys…

Are you making Plans?

Posted: December 21, 2024 in Something to think about
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Guys, first of all, Merry Christmans and Happy New Year to you and your families. I wish you nothing but the best in 2025.

If you can, please take just a few minutes and read this story in the book of Acts. This is about the beginning of Christianity and how once Christ had ascended into heaven, the Apostles were treated very nasty by the Pharisees. 

Acts 5: 17-41

In the story, the Apostles angered the high priest because they kept preaching in the name of Jesus and this man was looking for a way to kill them. During this angry meeting of the Pharisees, another Pharisee leader stood up whose name was Gamaliel (the same man who the Apostle Paul studied under), and gave the council some very wise words which are summarized in the verses below:

…So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God! Acts 5:38-39

As Christian men, we encounter obstacles everyday. Unplanned problems rise up in front of us and seemingly work to destroy carefully made plans every time I turn around. Does this ever happen to you? The plans you spent all your time on get squashed in front of your eyes? 

What I found was a huge encouragement when I read these verses above is what I want to share with you today…the very simple realization of: 

If your plans are just YOUR PLANS, they will fail…

But if they are of God, NOTHING can stand in your way.

Guys, let that resonate for a moment here. How many times have you made great plans for a project or a vacation or for that matter, your entire life? You may be busy organizing your finances or changing directions because of information YOU have that matters or refinancing or getting a line of credit or whatever…I can go on and on.

You are probably planning right now.

Guys, Please hear my words today…planning is NOT a bad thing…in fact, it is a very good thing to plan and look forward to the future…what I am suggesting to you today is to make your plans WITH GOD INVOLVED. Look to Him for the guidance in those plans, because as was said above in Acts, if your plans are with God, He will be your guide and get you there in once piece.

Now there is one caveat to this conversation which is your understanding that God has plans for you too and if you get Him involved, He will want to guide you towards His higher plan for your life which trust me, is the direction you want to go…

My plans and God’s plans don’t always align. But, when I’m in the midst of God’s plan for my life, I always emerge stronger and in a better situation than before.

So consider what I am telling you today because God is very clear when He tells us this from Jeremiah 29:11:

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Remember the image above says, “We plan, God Laughs” so as you make your PLANS for this coming New Year, remember these words above. God has plans for you and for me…

Until next time guys…

I know who I am…Because I know who You are

Posted: November 10, 2024 in Inspirational
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How you ever been pummeled with a lie and after a while you actually start to believe it? Whether in person or online you just begin to ask if that is really who you are? Is there a maximum amount of negative comments you can hear before you break the camel’s back? Will there come a time that you don’t recognize yourself anymore in the mirror? 

Finally and worse yet…Is there a tipping point where I might move backwards in how I feel about God or myself? How much is too much?

If any of that feels familiar let me say I was inspired by a song this week that reminded me about these exact questions because this issue is real. The world is a nasty place. I have told you before on this very blog about the activity of the enemy…especially now…

But this Megan Woods’ song hit me with exactly with what I needed it to… PURE TRUTH. In fact, the song is called The Truth and I highly encourage you to take a few minutes to listen to it and be inspired like I was. You can find it on Amazon.

Why do I share this with you today? I want you to listen to the words from her chorus so you know. Do you remember the question I asked you above? When you are faced with being told a lie about yourself over and over again, when do you start to believe it is true? Read these words below-

“The truth is I am my father’s child I make Him proud and I make Him smile

I was made in the image of a perfect king He looks at me and wouldn’t change a thing

The truth is I am truly loved by a God who’s good when I’m not good enough

I don’t belong to the lies I belong to you…and that’s the truth” (emphasis added)

PLEASE let that sink in for a moment…because it is exactly opposite of the message you will hear from this world. Everyday, the enemy tells you you’re not good enough. He whispers you’re a failure until one day, you think it may be true.

So today, I am drawing a line in the sand-

I wanted to give you an alternative opinion. I wanted to remind you instead that YOU are loved by a God that accepts you…just as you are…

He meets you right there…wherever you are with His grace…and not a body slam.

She closes this amazing song with what I titled this blog today and that is this message that I pray will resonate with you when you are finished reading and listening….

I know who I am…Because I know who You are

Remember – You are made in HIS image and therefore changed on the inside so you can be set free in knowing that you are a different person and that you make Him proud. I really want you to remember this fact the next time you look in the mirror…that reflection you see is pretty cool dude in God’s eyes.

Just in case you forgot…Because of HIM, now you know who you are…

Until next time Guys

  • The Truth, Megan Woods, Amazon Music, 2024

Get OUT of the Mushy Middle

Posted: October 5, 2024 in Inspirational
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Many years ago, when I was a young manager, I worked for a gentleman who was a very nice man but from my vantage point he had a significant flaw…he couldn’t make a decision. He was the guy who looked at every situation and tried to analyze each side to understand all possible outcomes. Now, on the surface that sounds exceptional, carefully analyzing each argument and plotting each potential scenario. Ultimately, however, his style of overthinking became the anchor of his department that he could not shake.

In fact, he was passed over for a nice promotion the next year which devastated him…but we all understood why. The company needed decisions executed in a timely fashion and he would take months agonizing over one argument or the other. What I found interesting was many times, after all this effort, he never actually came to a conclusion. He was paralyzed somewhere in the middle. In his mind, He believed he could align with ideas from both sides of the argument and therefore he chose neither one. 

I called him a fence-rider. He wasn’t for, or against. He was neutral. He was Sweden. Which brings me to the reason I write today. I want to talk about the mushy middle. The person who always stays close to the middle line and does not want to upset the balance. The person who cannot stand on one idea with a solid position. Maybe you have heard of them…The gray area guy.

Have you ever heard the expression, If you can’t stand for something then you will fall for anything? That is the person I am speaking directly to in this post. Respectfully, you know who you are.

Let me begin with a verse from the Bible in Matthew where we find Christ speaking in a very plain and direct language to all of us.

“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” Matthew 12:30

I enjoy reading the red letters (Christ’s words) in the New Testament because there is no gray area. Nothing obscure or hidden where I might get hung up or lost on what His message is. I know exactly what He means because He is clear. Plain and Simple summary below:

Guys, if you are not with Him, then by Christ’s own words, you are against Him. Which is why I write today. Get the heck out of the mushy middle, make a decision, and stand strong for what you believe in!

If you believe in Christ as your savior, If you believe He is the one who is behind your salvation, if you believe He is the only one who can save this ugly world, then I encourage you to stand up. Do not hide or be afraid. If you do, Jesus is very clear about that as well:

I tell you the truth, everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God’s angels.  But anyone who denies me here on earth will be denied before God’s angels.  Luke 12:8-9

Is there any confusion about what Christ is saying in these 2 verses?

Finally, Guys, I encourage you to rise and stand firm in Christ. Now is the time that a common bond of strength is needed. Men and Women who will stand in the gap and not be afraid to show the public who your savior is and where your Iron-man-strength comes from.

Let me leave you with my favorite verse below…until next time Guys

Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Why Solomon is the Original Superman

Posted: September 29, 2024 in Knowledge
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Most of us have read the Bible story of King Solomon whom God chose over David’s other sons to be the King of Israel. What separates Solomon from any other King, or anyone else for that matter, is the fact that when God came to Solomon before he became King and said “Ask for whatever you want Me to give you”…1 Kings 3:5…and Solomon responded very differently than most anyone would have.

In my mind, this would be the “genie in the bottle” moment multiplied by a million because this was the Creator of the universe asking a human man this question. What separated Solomon from everyone, however, was his response. Instead of requesting long life or riches, he said, “So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” 1 Kings 3:9

The rest of the segment of this story happened as you might imagine. God was extremely pleased with Solomon’s request and blessed him with what he didn’t ask for…long life and wealth beyond anyone’s imagination. But that is NOT what I wanted to focus on in today’s post. 

When God blessed Solomon, He also told him something I want you to consider because God has never said this before about any man. He said, “I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart so that there will never be anyone like you, nor will there ever be”. 1 Kings 3:12

God told Solomon there would never be anyone like him…ever in human history. To me…That makes Solomon – Superman. Now, understand me here. I am not saying Solomon had super-human strength and could fly around his palace. I am saying that there was never a question asked he could not answer. Taking it a step further, I think it is fair to say that Solomon was the smartest human being ever who lived.

Which leads me to my final point. Solomon is the only example we are given of a human being with that intellect ever existing. Moreover, a person who possessed the human knowledge that would give him the capability to have or do anything he wanted to do. It is one thing to be an heir and have wealth given to you; it is an entirely different thing to have wealth, knowledge, and wisdom yourself. 

Think about this: Solomon was ALWAYS the smartest person in the room.

So if you are Solomon, and possess everything I mentioned above, what do you do with all of that information, knowledge, power, and wealth? Let me put it another way, Solomon possessed everything this world has to offer us. Or…EVERYTHING that Satan can offer us here on earth.

To the question I asked above, Solomon gives us his answer at the end of his life and I think his response will surprise you. That is why this post is so important for us to understand. 

Solomon wrote and contributed to several books in the Bible but the one I want to call your attention to is Ecclesiastes, which translated, means preaching. In this book, Solomon explains in great detail what he did with his life which can be summed up in just two words, self-indulgence. Or maybe we can call it, The pursuit of happiness? 

Guys, he tells us in his own words when he says, “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.” Eccl. 2:10. 

So here you have a man who was absolutely brilliant, God-gifted, and who indulged in whatever he wanted. On the surface, that sounds pretty good, right? ANYTHING you want…anything you set your gaze upon, you can have it for yourself and experience it however you want…However, from Solomon’s own words, let’s see how things turned out

For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.

What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun?

All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.

Eccl. 2:21-23

So this is painful to read. The smartest man who ever lived at the end of his life looking back and realizing nothing he did mattered. So I have to ask, what went wrong? If you have every possible “thing” this world can offer you how can you not be happy? Isn’t that what we see advertised everywhere?

Guys…here is my point. God already gave us the answers to the “Test of Life” by including this incredible story about Solomon in the Bible. We don’t have to waste our time pursuing every little thing this world shoves into our faces as being valuable. Because God gave us an actual real-world example of someone who pursued everything he could while he lived and ultimately found out in the end, it meant nothing…

LITERALLY NOTHING.

I urge you to consider Solomon’s story if you find yourself thinking there is more to life than what you have. Maybe you think the grass is greener on the other side and you don’t want to miss that. Let me remind you…God already gave you the answer, because Solomon already tried that…and in his exact words he told us, “It was meaningless”

So before we just end this post with all of the pain that Solomon figured out, let me leave you with Solomon’s final conclusion about his life. In other words, what he found meaningful.

A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? Eccl. 2:24-25

Now you know-

Until next time guys…

The Wisdom of the World

Posted: June 29, 2024 in Something to think about
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I thought a great deal about this title today because the idea of the “Wisdom of the World” continues to bother me. I am speaking directly about wisdom today and not knowledge…and before you ask me, here is the distinction between the two.

The primary difference between wisdom and knowledge is that wisdom involves a healthy dose of perspective and the ability to make sound judgments about a subject while knowledge is simply knowing. 

From my vantage point, wisdom comes from age and life experience, whereas knowledge…well, we have all encountered a REALLY smart person who has never done anything in their life. Maybe book smart versus street smart?

Why do I make this distinction? Because worldly wisdom puts a great deal of effort into ensuring you understand that you are in charge of yourself. And YOU, are the only one that can be, “all you can be” and to just work harder so YOU can achieve all YOU were meant to. You should be a self-starter, self-sufficient, self-driven, self-disciplined, and altogether 100% self-dependent on yourself. That is the Wisdom of the World.

Human self-sufficiency. Human self-indulgence.

Moreover, we are told that if we follow the blue-print above, we will achieve the apex of living which includes happiness and success. The irony for me is that the richest, certainly smartest, and most self-sufficient human being who ever lived on this earth, Solomon, said this about worldly wisdom.

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. 

Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. Ecclesiastes 2:10-11

You see, when a wisdom that excludes God, and only emphasizes human self-sufficiency and makes humanity its highest authority…well, that wisdom God calls foolishness. Why? Because through the wisdom of the world, humans have failed to find the truth or come to know the Creator. 

It truly is meaningless.

Does any of this sound familiar? Who do you think is behind the Wisdom of the World? Who is the prince of this earth right now? Yes, Satan. That is why Worldly Wisdom makes no sense to believers and the message of the cross is difficult for unbelievers. The Apostle Paul said this:

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18

Guys, if you only hear one thing I say today, hear this; Worldly wisdom leads to YOUR softness, which leads to YOUR moral collapse which leads to YOUR spiritual decline. And that is exactly where the evil one wants you.

I encourage you to watch and listen. You will be able to discern which wisdom you are hearing.

Until next time Guys-

Pride or Humility…It is your Choice

Posted: April 22, 2024 in Heaven Bound
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If you’re like me, the older I get, the more I learn, and the more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know…but that is a whole other blog. This post is about my continuing revelation of how God constructed this whole “personal relationship with Jesus” idea and why I think its so hard for men to stay consistent. 

News Flash, yours (and mines) personal relationship with Christ must begin with humility.

Yes, I said Humility. But the problem is that “being humble” works directly against how we feel about ourselves while we live on earth. 

Face it guys, it is HARD to be humble when all we see is ego exhibited everyday of our lives. It seems like very athlete just seems to call attention to themselves. Not everyone…but a lot of them. A baseball player hits a monster home run and he just stands there and admires it as it leaves the ballpark…A body builder stands in front of the mirror and just stares and stares…

We live in such a “Me ONLY” focused world that as Christian men, its so easy to assimilate into that culture. Look at it this way, if you get up each day and don’t think about your relationship with Christ and just start your day with you driving, I can easily say that over time, you will find yourself moving towards prideful behavior. The influence is that strong.

Listen to how The Message translation of the Bible talks about this in Proverbs 16:18, First pride, then the crash – the bigger the ego, the harder the fall. That is pretty self explanatory isn’t it? God doesn’t have any place for pride or egos in His Kingdom. Its all about HIM, not us.

What you and I see around us here on earth was NOT the plan God had in mind. Rather, sin got in the way and it corrupted everything (Genesis 3 to be exact). As hard as this may be to grasp, pride is NOT from God. It was NOT created by God but rather it is from Satan and he is the one selling that crap to all of us through television, or online, or at the gym…

It is everywhere and conditioning you slowly.

Pride IS a wall keeping you from a relationship with God and it blocks your ability to communicate with Him. Once you reach a point that you are so full of yourself that you don’t think you need God, then the enemy has you where he wants you.


Remember the Bible also tells us in James 4:10 to Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. As I have told you before, NOW IS THE TIME to get right with God Guys! You can see the signs all around you just as easily as I can. 

Satan is working overtime to pull as many men and their families down as he can. 

Where do you plan on spending eternity?

My “ask” of you today is don’t let your ego be the reason you walk away from God. You might be very good at something…your job, or a sport, or something else…but remember that skill is a gift from Him and if you thank Him for it rather than act like it came from you, who knows, we just might be playing a pick up game on that Heavenly court in the sky.

I’ll meet you there…

Until next time Guys-

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