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GLEANINGS FROM THE WORD Experiencing an extraordinary God in ordinary life Issue #895 August 30, 2003 What Do You Know? For all those who wrote expressing concern over the lonely goose: an article appeared in the local paper looking for someone to adopt him. I'm certain he'll have a good home before long. The other day, I flipped through the channels on the television and stopped for a moment on a quiz show. The kids seemed to know even the most obscure facts at a moment's notice. I know that the team were made up of the selected representatives of their schools, but non the less they were amazing. The world is increasingly full of knowledge and facts. The growth of knowledge is explosive. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's good to know things. Knowledge can often come in handy. However, knowing things is not the same as being able to apply that knowledge. Even applying knowledge is not the same as wisdom. A person can apply much of what they have learned and never achieve wisdom. A wise person, may or may not possess what many consider knowledge. What's the difference? True wisdom is a gift from God. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. James 3:13-18 NIV True wisdom is Spirit filled wisdom. Look how closely it mirrors the list of spiritual fruit. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law Galatians 5:22-23 NIV I know that there are way to many facts for me to remember, but I've learned how to go find facts if I need them. I know I'll never learn everything and the more I learn the more I realize that there are things I don't know. I do know without question, that my heart desires godly wisdom above all knowledge. What do you know? Until next time, may God grant you true wisdom. Be blessed Hallelu Yah (Praise God)! Kevin YOU ARE Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour you a minister of reconciliation. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 NIV Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. You have value in the eyes of God so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that heaven will not be complete without you. HELP FOR THE HURTING You can be a minister of peace and reconciliation. You can know and live the wisdom of God. The first step is to establish a personal relationship with Jesus. You can simply begin the relationship by honestly and completely opening your heart, admitting you need God's help, and saying a prayer along the lines of: Jesus: I have made many mistakes in my life and done things I am not proud of. I have sinned. I need your love and forgiveness. I believe that you came into this world and gave your life on a cross to pay for my sins and that you defeated death and rose again. Please forgive me, and be the Lord of my life. I give my life to you Lord. Amen If you pray this prayer for the first time let me know so I can rejoice with you. Did you know that at Gleanings, we have a dedicated team of prayer warriors and all prayer concerns are kept strictly confidential? Your comments, your questions and your joys are shared with the prayer team, to keep me accountable as the head of the ministry and to encourage them as they see God at work in your life. As with prayer all these things are kept confidential within the Gleanings team. To share your questions, comments, thoughts, prayer concerns and praise reports email us If you enjoyed this issue of Gleanings From The Word, email it, in its entirety, to a friend. For information on use of Gleanings in your church newsletter or other situations please visit the permissions page . You can write to us at Gleanings From The Word Ministries International 114 Oak St Sherwood Park, AB Canada T8A 0V8 © 2003 K.F. "Kevin" Corbin Gleanings From The Word Minististries International - All Rights Reserved
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