Thank You

1 Corinthians 2

New International Version (NIV)

2 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.^{[a] 2} For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

⁶ We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹ However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,
    what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”^[b]—
    the things God has prepared for those who love him—

¹⁰ these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.^{[c] 14} The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. ¹⁵ The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, ¹⁶ for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord
    so as to instruct him?”^[d]

But we have the mind of Christ.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I+Corinthians+2&version=NIV)

I fully intended this morning to turn to Philippians and write something about joy in the times of adversity but the Lord stopped me at I Corinthians 2.  I had to read what it had to say and knew right then that today’s blog was not going to be about joy in times of adversity. 

This blog is for all of you who have been reading these blogs and have given me affirmation in the writings. Sorry, I had to post the entire chapter of I Corinthians 2, there was no other way to do it.

Since I started blogging, I have found it amazing at how easily the words that I write flow onto the computer screen.  My fingers begin typing and pretty soon there is a blog written.  I don’t attribute this to my wisdom, my knowledge of proper grammar (which is evident through my writings), or even my vast knowledge of scripture.  I’ve taken a few Bible classes at Liberty University and have I gone to church all my life but I am far from a Biblical scholar.  I attribute everything that is written on these pages, as a leading by the Holy Spirit.  Oh, I have no special “in” with Him.  He speaks to those who know Him.  I’ve never heard His audible voice, yet, I just know He is there.  I am nobody in this world but I am the child of a King.  There are many of you reading this who can understand what I am talking about.  You might not sit down and write a blog but you know the Spirit and He uses you in other ways to share His Spirit with others.  We cannot allow worldly thoughts to invade this precious space designed for Him.  However, sometimes those thoughts try to slip in.  That is why it is so important to know what His word says, discern what is good and dwell upon that day and night.  Writing blogs does just that for me.  This is my quiet time with the Lord that I share with you. 

Thank you for your affirmations of these blogs.  It tells me that God is working through the words that He places on my fingers.  I don’t need glorification but affirmation tells me I’m using a gift that God has given me to help others.  I give all the GLORY, HONOR, and PRAISE to the one that has saved me from destruction and given me a new life in Christ.  Thank you Father.

May the Lord bless you and keep you in His care as you continue to seek Him with all your heart.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Why Some are Weak and Some are Strong

 Romans 15:1-7

New International Version (NIV)

15 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. ² Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. ³ For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”^{[a] 4} For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

⁵ May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, ⁶ so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷ Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+15%3A1+-7&version=NIV)

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to struggle all the time while others seem to always have it together?  Have you wondered why some people are rich with fancy homes and nice vehicles while others struggle to make ends meet and sometimes don’t even have a home?  Does it seem that sometimes life is just unfair?

These verses tell us a lot about why these things happen and it is for one reason, to glorify God.  How can we glorify God when we are at our worst?  By letting others help us through those times.  Shutting people out of our lives because we don’t have it together is not glorifying God.  How do we glorify God when we have it all together?  By helping others not insulting them. 

Each of us, no matter our situation, can be of strength to one another.  I have friends who struggle in life and they constantly remind me that God is good and all will be okay.  I have seen more faith in the “weak” than I have seen in those who appear to be “strong”.  So, not necessarily is the one that seems to have it all together by way of wealth the one who is strong!

Sometimes when we are strong via riches we adopt the attitude that we deserve what we have.  We have worked hard to get what we have and we don’t have to share.  Well the scripture puts that idea to rest.  We have because God has blessed us.  We have in order to share with others what God has blessed us with.  If we all got what we deserved not one of us would have anything.  This also goes for those of us who have had the privilege of being raised in the church, became a Christian at a young age, always went to Sunday school and church services.  We may tend to think that we are better than those who did not have that honor.  Well, we are not. We have in order to share not to look down on those who do not have.

Wealth does not come in the form of money.  Wealth comes in the way of spiritual gifts, knowledge, wisdom, and only through a close relationship with Christ.  When we are one with Christ, we are wealthy and we are strong.  It is our responsibility to share that with others.  Remember Peter and John in Acts 3?

3 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. ² Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the ⁴ Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” ⁵ So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

⁶ Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” ⁷ Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. ⁸ He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. ⁹ When all the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰ they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+3&version=NIV)

                                                                                                                         

As I read these words today, something stood out that has never stood out to me before, the words, “Peter looked straight at him, as did John” when was the last time I looked straight at someone in need?  Further more, when was the last time I told them about the love of Christ?  I may not be able to help them get up and walk but I can through the work of the Holy Spirit, guide them to a new life.  I can give of my resources, be it time, money, understanding, knowledge, we are not here to have an easy life but to glorify our Lord and Savior.

What are we doing to share that with others?  Seek Him and know Him that you may share His love and forgiveness with others.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Crying Out

Matthew 14:29-30

New International Version (NIV)

²⁹ “Come,” he said.Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+14%3A29+-30&version=NIV)

Matthew 27:46New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁶ About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,^[a] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+27:46&version=NIV)

 Matthew 27:50New International Version (NIV)

⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+27:50&version=NIV)

I recently shared a post on Facebook that I saw on my news feed.  It said, “The purpose of prayer is not to receive what you asked for, but to strengthen your relationship with God.”  (Daily Words of Wisdom).  As I began to think about what to post today I began researching blessings.  I was recently reminded of the prayer of Jabez found in I Chronicles 4:10.  God blessed Jabez who was more honorable than his brothers but who was given a name that represented pain.  Well, that brought me to the words “cried out”.  When do we “cry out” to the Lord?  Usually when we are in pain, scared, frustrated, all those things that cause distress.  This brought me to the verses that I have listed today as our Scripture for today.

If prayer brings us closer to God then why do we only cry out to Him when we are in pain?  I found that answer in both Peter and Jesus words.  Peter had such a close relationship with Jesus that He recognized Him on the waters.  He was so happy to see Him that he got out of the boat and went towards Him but when his eyes fell towards his surroundings he began to sink.

Jesus had prayed all night.  He had asked that the Lord’s will be done, yet He found Himself on the cross.  He had taken on the sins of the world and the Father had allowed it to happen.  He knew it would, He knew the will of the Father but at that time, with all that sin on Him, He cried out.  The Father did not answer with an immediate resolution to the problem.  He allowed His son to cry out once more and then His son died on that cross.  Seems like the end but it was far from it!  Many of you know that Christ rose on the third day, conquering death and bringing life to those who believe. 

Yet, we find ourselves crying out to God, with the question, “Why?”.  We cry out and ask Him to bless us, to comfort us, to keep up from harms way.  Yet we forget to cry out to Him in praise and glory and honor.  We forget to live for Him day in and day out.  We forget to honor Him by keeping His commandments, yet when tough times come, we cry out. 

The challenge I face today is the challenge to not cry out only in times of distress but to cry out before the distress.  To keep my eyes fixed on Him and not my surrondings.  I need to  cry out in a voice to want to know Him more, seek Him more, love Him more, and trust Him more.  

Is our prayer life bringing us closer to God or are we simply asking for blessings to make life a little more bearable?  Trust Him, Love Him, Know Him by Seeking Him with all your heart.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

The Last Shall be First

Matthew 20:1-15

New International Version (NIV)

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ² He agreed to pay them a denarius^[a] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

³ “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴ He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ ⁵ So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. ⁶ About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

⁷ “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

⁸ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

⁹ “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰ So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ¹² ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

¹³ “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵ Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+20%3A+1+-+15&version=NIV)

As a special education teacher I often times have a groups of students that come to my room or the room of the teacher with whom I co-teach.  There are times that these students rush to line up because they want to be first. Something about being first just seems so appealing.  I know as the baby of the family I have often wished that I could have been first.  The first always seems to get just a little extra because they were the first.  My sister, on the other hand, would say that the baby gets the extra attention.  Albeit it seems like we always want the position that we were not chosen to have.  When my students push and shove to be at the front, that is the time I step in and say, “The first shall be last and the last shall be first.”  They don’t like that very well but comply with my commands and trade places.  Those in the middle are just stuck in the middle!

Could you imagine running a race and speeding to be the first to the ribbon only to be told that the race was to see who could get there last?  That would be quite a disappointment to work so hard and find out you could have walked the course and won the race.  In I Corinthians 9:24, Paul speaks of a race where we are to run to win the prize exercising self-control along the way, and in Hebrews 12:1 the author encourages us to run with endurance. So, why work so hard and run so fast if the last will be first.  Well, I don’t really believe that this is what the scripture is saying at all.

I believe that what Jesus is saying to me today is that we should not get hung up on what everyone else is doing but do, whatever we do for our Father in Heaven, with a glad heart.  We don’t always have to work for a position but we should work to please.  I believe this is what pleases the Father.  If all of my students got up from the table, pushed in their chairs, and quietly walked towards the door and stood orderly in a line, someone would always be first and someone would always be last, however, I would be equally pleased with each one.  I believe this is what Jesus is trying to convey to me today.  Don’t worry about your position, don’t worry about your title, do the work that God has placed you so generously in and do the work to please Him and Him alone.  I may not get the pay I want or the title I may feel I deserve but I will have pleased my Father in Heaven.

As you seek Him remember that ultimately He is first and remain in that position each of us we are last.  Work to please your Good, Good Father and don’t worry about what others are doing just focus on Him and the work that He has called you to do.

Seek Him and know that He is just.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Certainty in Uncertain Times

Proverbs 3:21-26

New International Version (NIV)

²¹ My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight,
    preserve sound judgment and discretion;
²² they will be life for you,
    an ornament to grace your neck.
²³ Then you will go on your way in safety,
    and your foot will not stumble.
²⁴ When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
    when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
²⁵ Have no fear of sudden disaster
    or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
²⁶ for the Lord will be at your side
    and will keep your foot from being snared.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+3%3A+21+-+26&version=NIV)

Another unexpected attack on those out enjoying time together on a Saturday evening can cause such uncertainty to our lives.  Even though it happened across the ocean, it seems so close to home.  Everyone wonders when, not if, it will happen here.  It can make life so uncertain and scary.  I hear people say they pray that the Lord will come soon and I have to wonder if that is the prayer we are to be praying or if we are to continue living for Him, praying for wisdom, and seeking Him with all our hearts. I have to think of Abraham pleading for Sodom and Gomorrah, am I pleading as he did for mankind to be saved? 

¹⁶ When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. ¹⁷ Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? ¹⁸ Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.^{[c] 19} For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
²⁰ Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous ²¹ that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”
²² The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.^{[d] 23} Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare^[e] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? ²⁵ Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
²⁶ The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
²⁷ Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, ²⁸ what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”
“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”
²⁹ Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”
He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”
³⁰ Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
³¹ Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”
He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”
³² Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?”
He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”
³³ When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

One thing I am certain of is the fact that only God knows the perfect time for His return and as long as this earth is still turning, His time has not yet arrived.  What do we do in the meantime?  Do we fear the evil?  Do we run away from disaster and distress?  Do we hide away in our homes?  In Proverbs we find that we should seek wisdom and understanding, have sound judgment and discretion. How do we get that wisdom?  How do we have sound judgment?  It only comes from the Lord and it only comes through trusting in the One who provides it.  Reading the Word of God, allowing the Holy Spirit to work in and through us, and by going through trials and tribulations that build our character when we put our trust in the Lord. 

Have I had sleepless nights?  Do I worry too much?  I have to answer yes to those questions and my worry has always been things that I could not control.  That is a lack of trust in the One who does have that control and for that I have sinned.  I have also had the peace that only the Lord can give.  One example of that is a when my youngest daughter went to college many miles away, in another state, in a large city, I trusted the Lord, but not before I had a few uncomfortable nights. Then, she told us she was headed to another country even further away.  I had a sense of peace about it all.  I knew that if He could take care of her in one city far away, He would take care of her in a city even further away.  That was probably the wisest I have ever been.  I still have to work on being wise, on trusting, in not fearing, but God’s word is very clear that the Lord is by our side and when we trust Him, we do not have to fear disasters.  When we seek Him, we find wisdom, we find rest, and we have hope.  Of this we can be certain!

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Where is Our Focus?

Philippians 4:8

New International Version (NIV)

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=NIV&search=Philippians%204:8)

This verse was the verse of the day at Biblegateway.com.  I decided it was fitting for today and everyday for that matter.  Most of us have had to endure changes at some point in our lives.  When changes come, as they often do, in our workplace, churches, and in our country as a whole, negativism bares its ugly head.   This verse encourages me to not focus on the negativism but to focus on what is right, pure, lovely, admirable, and excellent.  In the media as well as social media we are hearing a lot of negativism.  Let’s not breed off of that but rather, let’s be the ones that bring light in this world of darkness, let’s bring peace to the troubled world, in other words, let’s bring Jesus to the forefront of all that we do and say.  Let’s be the ones who seek Him and focus on His pureness, righteousness, holiness, and loveliness.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Words of Wisdom

Words of Wisdom

1 Corinthians 2-3 New International Version (NIV)

2 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.^{[a] 2} For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit

⁶ We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹ However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,
    what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”^[b]—
    the things God has prepared for those who love him—

¹⁰ these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.^{[c] 14} The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. ¹⁵ The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, ¹⁶ for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord
    so as to instruct him?”^[d]

But we have the mind of Christ.

The Church and Its Leaders

3 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. ² I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. ³ You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? ⁴ For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?

⁵ What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. ⁶ I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. ⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. ⁹ For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

¹⁰ By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. ¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³ their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. ¹⁴ If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

¹⁶ Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

¹⁸ Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”^[e]; ²⁰ and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”^{[f] 21} So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, ²² whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas^[g] or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, ²³ and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I+Corinthians+2+-+3&version=NIV)

I asked the Lord to show me something to write about today and like always He answered.  This time in a different way.  I had started a blog last July entitled, Words of Wisdom,  but I never finished it.  So, today, I decided to look up scriptures on wisdom.  I generally don’t post two whole chapters when I am writing a blog.  However, in light of this scripture I think it best that the Word of God be written not the words of Sheila.  I believe God imparts on us words to write but not in the same way as the scriptures.  So here are just a few thoughts about what I read.

First of all, I remember hearing that Paul was a well-educated man.  In the eyes of the Jews, he was probably educated among the best, therefore, he probably would have been considered to have had a lot of wisdom.  It was not until he truly met Christ did he realize that he did not have the wisdom that he truly needed, the wisdom of Christ.  I found it interesting, beginning in Chapter 3:18, Paul talks about the wisdom that man thinks he has.  I have to wonder if he was speaking from experience.  He says, “let him become a fool that he may become wise” and if you look back at Chapter 2:3 he states, “And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling.”  Paul, the strong leader that was going to take down the Christians, was wise in his thinking but became weak in order to become wise in Christ. 

How many of us think we are wise?  I have been well educated and have a vast amount of knowledge in the field of education but am I wise in Christ?  The way we become wise in Christ  is not through books and education, but rather by  receiving Him into our lives and continually seeking Him with all our hearts.  That is something I need to continue to work on.  What about you?

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila