The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom pt 1

Why is the fear of the Lord the beginning of Wisdom?

I have been thinking about Proverbs the first few chapters for a while and I realized that it is the truth. I know it is the truth because it is the Word, but it had never actually hit me that it is true, though I always knew it was true. I don’t know if I am making any sense but it is like being taught to do something and going through the motions, though not quite understanding why you’ll be doing it. If you are new at a job and being trained, you are told what and what not to do. Sometimes you don’t always fully understand why you shouldn’t do something until you do it and certain things happen as a consequence of your actions.

Proverbs Chapter 3 talks about why it is for our own good to fear God. There’s benefits  to fearing God and trusting in His Word and doing as He would have us to do. The Word is instruction to guide us in every aspect of our lives.  It is like those instructions at that new job, some of which might seem tedious or even ridiculous, but there’s a reason for them.  It is always better to understand without making a mistake but sometimes we learn best when we make mistakes.

There’s a lot of instructions God has given in His Word which I have found in the past to be inconvenient or that He is too picky about “insignificant things”. I am thankful that I have now begun to understand why He has given these instructions. God does not waste His Word, as is written:

[11] So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55:11.

His Word accomplishes its purpose in our lives if we allow it to. If we choose Wisdom which is His Word, to abide by it in our lives, we reap the benefits. As tedious, as picky they might seem, as inconvenient, as boring, as ridiculous (might seem to some) even, God’s instructions are there for a reason. When we choose His Word, we choose Wisdom and with it is life, as is written:

[4] He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live. Proverbs 4:4.

Above all else, God’s desire for us is life. He desires that we have life to the fullest not only now but beyond the present. If we take heed of His Word, His instructions for daily living while we are here, He not only preserves us for the present from the devil’s snares but also prepares us for eternity. This is summarized in these verses:

[10] The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10.

[44] …He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. John 8:44.

There’s a reason why He gives it and it serves a purpose if we are willing to hear and take heed. When we ignore God’s instruction in His Word, we become vulnerable to the devil and his devices to steal, kill or destroy some aspects of our lives, or our very lives, as is written:

[8] Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 1 Peter 5:8.

Will have to stop hear for now but will continue next time on how fearing God and putting Him first is real Wisdom.

Making promises that we can't keep

I have been thinking of what people think of me when they interact with me. What kind of impression do they get? Is it good or is it bad? I profess to be a Christian but I wonder whether they get that impression or otherwise.

If I talk about the Word and quote verses all day long, and sing His praise, does that make me a Christian? If they spend but a moment with me, they might think that I am a Christian just because I might have said a few verses, sang a hymn while at it or putting Jesus in every few sentences. But does that make me a Christian?

Is a Christian identified by these things that I mentioned above? Actions speak louder than words! Just as spouses can express affection to each other by saying it, it's more meaningful when actions speak the language of love.

Love is a word we use often whether in relationships or with Christ but what language are your actions speaking? Do we carelessly say we love God but our actions contradicting our words. I have been thinking a lot about this, lately. At the end of the day it doesn't mean anything after all, they are just words. It is like promising to do something but never coming around to doing it. I don't know about you, but i don't like it when a person promises something that they cannot honor or make the effort to honor.

I myself however, make promises that I don't always keep and have made a few that I have broken. I try not to, but sometimes I find myself doing the very thing I don't like done to me, to others.  There are some who enjoy promising knowing that they won't keep them but I think for most of us, we promise in the hope that we will be able to keep them but fall short most of the time. We don't intentionally play with words, at least I try not to.

As Christians, when we are baptized, we make a public commitment, a promise to follow the lamb whithersoever He goeth. We promise to live a life different from what we have been accustomed to which was not according to God's will. We promise that the old man is dead, and it is now the new man living the new life in Christ. We promise to love God for richer or for poorer, in sickness or in health, in plenty or in poverty. We promise to love God even unto death which even that cannot separate us from His love.

The promise or oath to walk a new walk with God is a promise to love Him and put Him first from then on, as is written in the verse:

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



We make all these promises on that day hoping to keep them but soon realize that they might have been empty promises. Soon we realize that it is not as easy to love God and put Him first no matter what as it is to say it. Soon we realize that it is not as easy to love our neighbour as it is to say it.


The language of love is a language of action not words. Words do not mean anything when it comes to love, though they may sound good and be impressive. For a loved one it can be expressed through a bouquet of flowers, maybe a rose, art, poetry, notes, letters, etc but it is best and truly expressed through actions. One can write a beautiful poem about how much he loves his spouse today, but turn around and divorce them next week. Was it really love then or were they empty words that meant something for that moment?


I have promised God to love Him no matter what, but my words and my actions are the opposite. I find myself daily in situations where I might doubt His promises and ability to provide and deliver in the time of trouble no matter what the circumstances. I find myself in situations where I do not react as appropriately as I should have in hindsight in my interactions with others. I find myself regretting having said words which I cannot take back now which did nothing but crush the other person's spirit.


I find myself in situations where my pride gets the better of me and which could have been easily solved if I had just humbled myself and done what the Lord would have done in my place or would have me to do. I find myself being selfish when I know better not to be. I find myself doing things and saying things in my heart that I cannot express here. Our situations are best expressed in the following verses:

[18] For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
[19] For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
[20] Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. Romans 7:18-20.


This is not love. Though I can talk about it and quote verses, though i have a desire to be a better man, I find myself many times daily having fallen short of the promise I made to God to love Him no matter what and to love my neighbour as myself. They are words and mean nothing unless if they are matched by my actions. I know what I am supposed to do performing what I say or know better to do, I cannot.

I am speaking about my own struggles here and I am sure there are many out there who agree. Just as Paul said:

[21] I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
[22] For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
[23] But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
[24] O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
[25] I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 7:21-25.

This language of love can not be expressed through words. Words are just empty promises we make to God to love Him and our neighbour. Love is a spiritual language and therefore cannot be expressed by mere words but by actions through a spiritual connection to Christ as is written:

[14] For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. Romans 7:14.

The Ten commandments, the law are a summary of love. Love for God and Love for man (our neighbour). The Law is spiritual but we are carnal or fleshly. How can we worship God who is spiritual when we are in the flesh, as is written:

[24] God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. John 4:24.

We can promise God to love Him and keep His law, but to love; to keep His law is only possible by a living, daily, spiritual connection to Christ.

To express love through our actions, to truly put God first and to love our neighbour as ourselves, it is written:

[24] Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Matthew 16:24.

By self denial, carrying the cross and dying to self daily and following Christ, we mantain a connection to Him through the Spirit and that is how we can truly love through actions and not just words, as is written:

[18] My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:18.



Christ told us to do these 3 things daily because He knew that if we let our guard down and don't do things daily, we will just promise to love Him and others but not be able to keep our promises. Love is the fulfilling of the Law, as is written:


[8] Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
[9] For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
[10] Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:8-10.

So, love is spiritual because it is the fulfilling of a law that is spiritual, and fulfilling that law is a part of worshiping God who is spiritual. Love is only possible through a daily living connection to Christ through the Spirit. To be connected to Him daily through the Spirit, we must deny self daily, crucify self daily, and to follow Him, daily.


So it is impossible to love without this daily connection to Christ. When we lose that connection is when we fail and mess up. The good thing is that when we fail and do mess up, we can carry our crosses and die to self by asking christ for forgiveness and asking for His help because we are frail and weak. We cannot love in the flesh and on our own. Only by His Spirit dwelling in our hearts by faith can we do it.

It is true! We definitely cannot keep these promises on our and in the flesh. Christ has to help us through the dwelling of the Spirit in our hearts. Only by His help can we do the Lord's will which is love.

So promises made to God to love Him and our neighbor as ourselves can only be kept by striving to maintain a daily connection to Him through the Spirit. So, let us carry our crosses daily and by the Spirit's help we can keep our promises to love God and our neighbor.

Walking the talk

When the going gets tough, oftentimes it is hard to trust in God and to believe that He will deliver. Naturally, we are inclined to move by faith and not by sight. It is not natural for us to move and do things based on faith because faith requires us to believe in something which most of the time contradicts logic or our senses.

Faith requires us to believe in things which seem impossible or to do things which do not make sense to the natural mind. Faith requires us to go against the grain of what society considers to be normal or rational at times if not quite often.

So when we are afraid to be different for God's sake, we are being afraid to please Him for it requires faith to please Him as is written:

[6] But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6.

To please God we have to have faith. Faith is how we do His will and desire to do His will. Without it we cannot please Him or desire to please Him.

The path that we have to take on this earth as His followers oftentimes requires us to go at odds with the world or the world's ways of doing things. The more we desire to be like Him, the more likely to go against the world's way of doing things. Being selfless in this world is an example I can give of something we have been called to be by our Father, but it is increasingly being viewed as self defeating if everyone is selfish. It is even ridiculed nowadays when one looks out for others in a world where people only care about themselves and how they can gain or further their goals at the expense of others. Only by faith, however, can we be truly selfless. Sometimes it is done with a selfish motive in itself of being noticed for the "good deed" but true selflessness is only possible with a real connection to the Father

What the world considers strange is what God calls faith. Rather be called strange for the Lord's name than to be called that for other reasons, as is written:

[14] But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;

[15] But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
[16] Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
[17] For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. 1 Peter 3:13-17.

It is tempting to hide like Peter did when Jesus was being tortured. Of all the disciples, he had proclaimed his loyalty the loudest. But in the heat of the moment, he forsook his Master and for someone who had been so loud, it was a painful disappointment. Sometimes we can profess faith when the times are good and it is easier to do it then but when we go through trials, do we hold fast to our profession and continue to proclaim His name through our lives? When there seems to be no help in sight and you seem to be in trouble because of the very fact that you are trying to do what God would desire you to do, do you still hold on? If it brings ridicule, shame, poverty, can we still proclaim His name the same way, or will we hide or even join the persecutors in cursing His name?

Faith is easy to talk about but not to walk it. I must confess that I personally fall into this category. There are many times when I go through a test and dismally fail because I become self confident and start to trust in myself instead of God. When it counts the most I become afraid to stand up for him when I ought to, out of shame of being the odd one out or the weird one, or something. 

Like Peter there has been many times when I've said one thing and done another when it was crucial for me to back up my words with action. It is easier said than done brothers and sisters, and I don't know if you go through these situations sometimes but I definitely do. It is unfortunate because our actions speak louder than our words.

God measures us based on our actions and not on our words. Anyone can talk but it is the actions that count. It is just like a couple that are married. Either can say "I love you" all day long but love is expressed in action not in words. If they say but don't show it, then they don't mean it. Wouldn't you want for a person to actually say they "love" you and actually mean it and prove it through their actions?

It is the same for each and every one of us. We are all in a relationship with God and most of us profess to love God but that love is only and truly expressed in our lives when we do His will. Doing God's will is loving Him and so as Christians professing all day and all night, and being a self proclaimed "Jesus freak" as some call it  doesn't cut it unless you mean it and know the weight and count the cost of being His disciple.

People can know that I am a Christian and see me go to church on Saturday, but unless I actually walk the talk, it doesn't mean anything. In fact it probably does more harm to talk without walking the talk because it gives people the wrong impression of who God is. Unless I show it through my actions and daily dealings with other people, it doesn't mean anything. Paul said it well in the "Love" chapter. Even if we profess and make major sacrifices and tell ourselves that we are doing it for Him, and yet do not love our neighbor as ourselves, it is all in vain. The whole reason for faith is love. To love Him and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

1Corinthians 13

The sacrifices we do when we work to please God in our own strength 

[1] Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
[2] And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
[3] And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

What love is or what God desires us to do and it is only achievable through faith
[4] Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
[5] Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
[6] Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
[7] Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
[8] Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
[9] For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
[10] But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
[11] When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
[12] For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
[13] And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Even when one is truly gifted say with the gift of prophecy for example, if there is no love, it doesn't mean anything. Love is the goal. Love is God's will. Love is putting Him first and loving your neighbor as yourself. Doing His will requires faith and it is impossible to please God without it as is written:

[37] Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
[38] This is the first and great commandment.
[39] And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
[40] On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:37-40.

Let us pray for more faith that we can desire to do what he would have us to desire, which is to love Him with all our hearts and to love our neighbor as ourselves. When we love Him, then we cannot be ashamed of Him. Everything else no matter how spectacular or grand is meaningless. Love is the goal but without faith, an unattainable goal as long as we stay in the flesh. 

So brothers and sisters, let us walk the talk and not just talk the walk. Anyone can talk but it takes real faith, a real connection to our Savior to walk it. Let us pray for a real relationship with Him, a real living connection to Him through the faith that only He can give us. With that faith, we are empowered to love not only Him but our neighbour as ourselves, something that is not natural and only possible by His power.

Fly the good flight of faith

There is a pair of barn swallows that made the front porch of the house where I'm staying their home. I hear that they have been nesting there since 2008 and return every summer. The pair had 3 chicks which had grown and where about ready to fly. At about noon yesterday, I noticed that the parents were making a lot more noise than usual, almost as if they were trying to get my attention. They were flying around frantically until I noticed that the remaining 2 chicks where on the ground and not in the nest. Where the third one was I had no idea and hope that it was alive somewhere and had learned and mastered flight.

It was about a 100 degrees, and these 2 were on the ground, far from safety in the heat of the day, with their parents unable to do anything but get a human being's attention. The thing that worried me the most when I saw these chicks on the ground was the stray cats which have made the home next door their home. There is an elderly man who takes care of them so naturally they made it their home, at least at meal time. It broke my heart even thinking about leaving them on the ground. I knew they would be eaten at some point or die from overheating and dehydration. I looked at the nest and thought about putting them back in there but it would be a gamble because I know that some species reject their young if handled by a human.

It was worth a try because at least they would be back in the safety of the nest and maybe the parents might take them back. So I handled them with part of a newspaper page, taking care not to touch them directly with my hands as the parents watching and flying around. They probably mistook me for the enemy at first but seemed to realize what I was trying to do.

I felt an overwhelming sense of relief when they were both back in the nest and with the parents flying around as if they were talking to their chicks, happy that at least they were not in the heat or within the cats' reach.

I stood there for a few minutes and it was barely 5 before the bigger chick attempted to fly and sort of did while falling to the ground. The relief immediately turned to frustration as I realized that all the effort to get that chick back in the nest was undone in less than 5 minutes.

The second, though hesitant was quick to follow, as the parents seemed to encourage it to fly, or hopefully to stay put in the nest. I made yet another attempt to save these chicks  and again within 10 minutes, both were on the ground again. It made me sad to realize that at this rate, these chicks were not going to make it.. They were too weak to fly, but their instinct was telling them to try, so they would not stay put in the nest. I knew that there was no way I was going to watch them for a long period of time. So I knew that if the heat didn't get them, the cats sooner or later would.

This sad situation got me thinking about life in general. As humans, each and every one of us goes through situations where we are like these barn swallows, too weak to fly yet unable to stay in the safety of the nest. Imagine the pain and helplessness the parents felt looking at their young on the ground knowing that the chances of survival for them were very slim.

God is like our parent and though He is all powerful and can do anything, He can not force us to do His will. If we leave the safety of His nest but are too weak or don't have enough faith to stay airborne, we will fall prey to the traps of the devil. I can imagine the pain and frustration we put Him through with our lives, our choices, the direction we choose for our lives, when he knows that the end thereof is death, as is written:

[25] There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 16:25.

We can't see it but He sees that the outcome is death. Though He is capable of forcing us to choose Him, he gave us the power to choose, and unfortunately our choices often separate us from Him, and being out of the nest or out of His will makes us vulnerable to the traps and devices of the devil.

He would have us to stay in the nest and to nourish us, to strengthen us so that we can be able to fly the flight of faith and not fall to the ground. His desire is for us to fly and even soar to great heights spiritually on our flights of faith. The nest is when we come to know God, the air is staying in His will, and the nourishment to strengthen us for our journeys of faith is His Word, as is written:



[14] How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
[15] And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
[17] So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:14, 15, 17.

Faith is what is necessary for us to please God, and His pleasure is in us staying airborne on our journeys, as is written:

[6] But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6.

Without faith it is impossible to please God hence without faith, it is impossible to stay airborne on this flight of faith. Faith is what keeps us airborne on our pilgrimage and without it, we will end up on the ground, too weak to fly and will become easy prey for the devil as is written:

[8] Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 1 Peter 5:8.

If you are unable to fly and weaken on your journey, you will become prey for the devil just as those swallows became prey for the stray cats. Do not stay on the ground brothers and sisters, and if you call on Christ, He will be your strength to get you airborne and out of reach of the devil's devices, as is written:



[9] And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
[10] Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9, 10.

So how does the devil trap and devour us when we fail to go airborne, when we lose faith or have little or none of it?

[15] Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
[16] For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 1 John 2:15, 16.

Faith is how we love God and please Him and is how we do these 2 things:

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

When we love the world or the things of the world, we love not our Father and definitely don't love our neighbour as is written:


[20] If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
[21] And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. 1 John 4:20-21.

So faith is how we please Him by loving Him and our neighbour as ourselves. When we love the world or the things of the world more than God, then we lack faith, and these things literally become a trap to us.

While we become preoccupied with these things, the devil can come along and take our lives, as he is like a lion seeking whom he may devour. When we are preoccupied with these things, we are too weak to fly the flight of faith, and we become weak when we don't get enough nourishment through reading His Word. When we weaken and don't stay airborne, we become preocuupied with the things of the world, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life, and it is then when we are most vulnerable to the devil's devices. it is then when we are easy prey for Him and he can literally kill us as is written:

[10] The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: John 10;10.

[44]He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. John 8:44.

He lies to us that is safe on the ground when in fact he is sneaking upon us while preoccupied with the world, and then we become easy prey for him and he takes our lives without even realizing it, without warning.

No matter how innocent or harmless it might seem, anything that draws us away from our Father in heaven and preoccupies us to the point of us losing sight of salvation, anything that takes us away from time spent in prayer and in his Word which is for our strength, that we can fly the flight of faith, is a device the devil can use to trap and destroy us.

[12] Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:12.

Let us fly the good flight of faith and lay hold on eternal life brothers and sisters, When you start noticing that you are getting weak, feed on the Word for strength, and the Word is where the faith, the strength for your flight of faith comes from.

Been gone for too long!

Hope this finds you well. Sorry I have been gone for a while. I have been real busy with a lot of things that life has been throwing my way, but I'm grateful to be here and that you are able to read what I'm writing.

Life is not always rosy but I thank God that somehow He always makes a way out for us, if we do not give up and let go of Him during trials. I am always by the verse which says:

[13] There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13.

When we are in the heat of trials, it is tempting to let go of the Lord, it is tempting to lose faith and not to trust in His promises. This verse comforts me because it not only encourages me that when I go through something which seems insurmountable, I can overcome because God has promised not to let us be tempted more than we can bear.

If he brings you to it, then He can bring you through it. The fact that you will be going through something is evidence that you can endure it because the verse  says that He will not let us be tempted above what we are able to handle but with each trial, He has a way of escape. If you are going through something, you are promised that there is already a way out and whatever it may be, you can endure it. The fact that you are going through it is testament to the fact that you can overcome it. God will only allow us to go through things that He knows we can bear.

How we fare during those trials is another story. Sometimes we faint when He has promised to get us through. He is there and available to get us through but sometimes we are the ones who fail Him. I take comfort in this promise that whatever it may be and no matter how great it might seem, if He allows us to go through it, he has provided a way out and will not allow us to be tempted more than we can bear.

Sometimes I ask, what the purpose of these trials are. Peter answers that question well saying:

[12] Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
[13] But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 1 Peter 4:12-13.

[7] That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
[8] Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
[9] Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:7-9.

Your faith is much more precious than gold. If metal is smelted or tried in the fire so as to purify it, because the more pure it is the more precious it is, what more your faith? Your faith is more precious to God than anything else because:

[6] But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6.

For us to please God in any way, faith is a requirement and it is by faith that He works in us to do His will as is written:

[13] For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Philippians 2:13.

If Gold is tried to purify it making it more precious or valuable, and yet it will perish, what more your faith which will bring about your salvation and thus eternal life? For something so crucial to determining where we will be for eternity, it makes sense that God allows sometimes severe trials to test and purify our faith in Him.

The more severe the trial, the more we are forced to surrender to Him and the more our faith is tried and grows in Him. When our paths are smooth, we trust in ourselves but when they are rough and we cannot see where we are going, we cease to trust in ourselves and have no option but to trust in Him. The more severe the trial, the more He can show Himself that He is God on our behalf.

So though I am writing these words, I am tested severely sometimes and sad to say that I do not always hang on even though He has promised to hold me and walk with me no matter what. The less I read His Word and thus the less I dwell on His promises in the Word, the more likely I am to faint and fail when I am severely tested.

So no matter how severe the trial, I am encouraged that if God allows me to go through it, it means that I can endure it because He will not allow a trial which He knows I cannot pass. This promise does not make me immune from failing to trust in Him however as I can only endure when I trust in Him, when by faith I do not let go but hang on to Him. My failure to trust in Him does not make His promises to make a way out of every trial He allows us to endure, a lie.

So if He brings you to it, he can bring you through it by making out of the trial. Though unpleasant and uncomfortable, it is for the purification of our faith which is more precious than gold. If we regard gold to be precious and purify it in the fire to make to make it more precious, what more our faith which is more precious and without which it is impossible to please God.

I am encouraged and I hope you are too and God bless

The disabled need love too

Love! For such a short and easy word it probably has the most weight to it. We say it so often and so easily and yet do we really know it or understand it?

Love on its own has enough gravity but when you add unconditional to it, it goes to a whole new level. Love to define it in the simplest possible way is a principle of doing to another as you would want to be done unto you.

Unconditional would then be doing to another as you would want done unto you, regardless of their circumstances or condition or even how they might treat you. love on its own is a heavy enough principle and unconditional love becomes other-worldly.

Though we fail most of the time at practicing this deep principle, we all desire it and I can only imagine what kind of world this would be if we practiced it as we would like unto ourselves.

Real Love is divine and unconditional love is even moreso. Naturally we love those who are good to us or close to us but to practice the same towards strangers at the same level is divine. It takes something out of ourselves and is unnatural for us, as is written:

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 1 John 4:7.


To love another as we would like to be loved regardless of their condition or how they treat us in return is really divine and is not something that we can do naturally on our own. Love does to another as one would want to be treated while love unconditional does not look at condition, state, circumstances, etc.

I have been skirting around what is really on my heart, what I really want to talk about. The last time i was talking about people with disabilities, that they need love too. They are no less different from you and I. We all have hearts and we all need love the same.

Love is an ideal which we all desire in our lives. To love or be loved unconditionally is something that i would like myself and to be able to do myself. but i realize that it is something that only God by his power can help us to do. We can not do it on our own. Just as much as we desire unconditional love, they desire it too.

I was thinking about the struggles that some are facing. They do not open up to others as much as they would like, not that they do not want to be loved, but because they are afraid of being rejected. That is painful, to be unable to open up and be open to be loved because of fear of rejection.

The sad fact is that many do go through rejection and some might even lose hope of being loved and to be able to find another to spend the rest of their lives with. They face challenges and burdens that I don't fully understand myself as I am saying these things based on what I think or imagine.

This has just been burning on my mind because imagining myself in their shoes, I would want to be loved unconditionally, regardless of the situation. It would be painful to be rejected based on one's circumstances. I know that it would really be painful to me.

None of us are exempt and these things can happen to anyone.  We all know deep down in our hearts that we would still want to be loved unconditionally and to be accepted as before. if we realize this, I hope that it changes our perspective on the challenges these people go through. That we love and accept them just as much as we would want if we would be in their shoes.

The other thing is that when a man and a woman echange vows, they promise to love and be there for each other no matter the circumstances, whether in sickness or in health, for richer or for poorer. But love out of our natural hearts is impossible and thus does not last. That's why vows are broken and marriages come to an end, even though vows were made before God.

Even in ideal circumstances where the 2 are perfectly healthy, those vows are still broken and love promised is not fulfilled because love in itself is divine. We can not produce it on our own and for it to last, God has to be present.

What about when 2 come together and the circumstances are less than ideal with one impaired in some sort of way. They need love too and the principle does not change. But why is it that people might look at the one who is not impaired strangely for taking one who is impaired when they had the option of getting someone else not impaired?

But who's to say who's ideal? Is love not about the heart? Ultimately it should be about what's inside and not what's outside. Marriage to one who is not impaired does not mean that it will be ideal as testified to by the at least 50% divorce rate in this country. Though an impairment can be challenging, ultimately, love is about the heart and they need love too.

Just something I was thinking about and thought i should share.

Treat others as you want to be treated

Sorry I have been away for a while. Gotten busy here lately. Working on something which I hope to surprise you with coming soon.

I was just thinking about something yesterday especially but also today. There are a lot of things that can happen in life and to any one of us. Things happen everyday that people did not plan for or would not wish for.

It can be a disease or disability through an accident. The unfortunate thing is that we as society tend to treat people differently based on whatever malady they might be going through. The other is that their circumstances don't make their heart any different from what it was before. The outside might change because of illness or disability, but the heart is the same, and that person is still the same old person they have always been.

The thing is that as society we treat people with disabilities or some sort of sickness "differently" whether we admit it or not. Some sicknesses or circumstances are superstitiously considered to be visitations upon them for their sins or some wrongdoing. AIDS patients for example are treated somewhat differently depending on the culture but it is generally a stigma no matter where one is.

Disabled individuals, especially those whose disability comes later in life are also treated differently. Usually the immediate family is sympathetic of course but strangers generally are not as sympathetic. To a stranger, it is just another disabled person.

That leads to my question. Do we have to know someone directly who has experienced any of the above examples for us to understand their situation and to be sympathetic? Does it have to come so close to home that we finally can understand their situation, how tough and burdensome life can be, especially when people don't fully understand the magnitude of the situation?

The thing is that if you end up in similar circumstances or with disability, how would you want people to treat you? No matter our circumstances, we all want to be treated equally and fairly. The thing is that we are truthfully not as sympathetic when we are spectators but if tables were to turn, I believe we would then understand how it feels to be marginalized because of one's situation.

No matter what's going on outwardly whether it's disease or disability, something stays constant and that is that person's heart. That person might be someone's child, or father, brother, or friend just as you might love your beloved. They still have a heart and are the same inside as they were before. If they were beloved or loveable before their circumstances, does that make them any less loveable after?

They are still the same person, just going through unfortunate circumstances. You and i know that deep inside we would want to be treated the same in sickness or in health, in disability or not. As society we do treat people in those circumstances differently from the rest, mostly without our realizing it. We might even avoid helping them in certain situations when we know we should have. We don't quite understand their challenges and the isolation they might experience depending on their circumstance.

But would you want people to avoid helping you when you desperately needed assistance? would you want people to isolate you because of a stigma attached to your circumstance? Would you want to be treated any less differently from before the change in your circumstances? Would you not want to be treated like everyone else and to be loved like everyone else and to be appreciated just like before?

They need love too just like we do. They also have dreams and hopes and are no different from before. If you or I were to be in the same circumstances, we know that our hearts would be the same old person we have always been and nothing different. Just circumstances different, not the heart.

Friends, I was just thinking about this and decided to share my thoughts. This is how I look at this and you might see things differently on this. I was just thinking that just as I need love right now, i would probably need it more to be able to weather change in circumstance. If we are "okay" and need love and support, what more someone we might know or even more, someone we might not know whose situation we know nothing about or understand.

We all need love no matter our situations. We all would like to be treated equally and without partiality no matter our circumstances.  We all would like to be seen for what's in our hearts, not our outward appearance or whatever we might be experiencing. One is not any less human because of what they might be going through.

God is not partial and sees the heart and judges based on the heart and not the outward appearance or what's going on outwardly, as is written:

For there is no respect of persons with God. Romans 2:11.

But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. James 2:9.

Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. Acts 10:34, 35.

I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. 1 Timothy 5:21.

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. James 3:17.


So friends, if god is not partial or does not people differently because of their circumstances but looks on the heart and based on their heart, what about us?

We can't even see a person's heart like God does therefore, even to judge is not right for us to do. Our duty is to be impartial and to love our Neighbour as ourselves, regardless of their circumstances.


And it is also important for us to remember that we are not exempt from these things. If unfortunate circumstances befall you or I, we would still want to be treated the same and to be loved just as much as before, if not more.

Just a thought friends.

God Bless