Wisdom – Cross Culture Church

Meditation: April 5

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their ways; they have made themselves crooked paths; whoever takes that way shall not know peace” (Isaiah 59:8-9).

There is a peace offered by God that surpasses what the crowd demands. Yes, fairness in judgments must be executed, and the wild behavior of the wayward majority must be regulated by laws. But justice gives what justice demands. Laws alone cannot change the heart. It condemns both the accused and the accusers for all have sinned. It looks into the secret sins of the heart, and the evil practices done under the cloak of darkness. Those sins though unseen, cause dis-ease of the soul. Justice condemns the ways of the wicked. A death sentence is served to all who follow her path.

How can one know the way to peace when the contributing forces of war are unknown? None are aware of why they love what is evil and hate what is good. Yet those who seek both justice and peace are blind to their own guilt. It is the right path that must be chosen if peace is ever to be known. Jesus Christ paid for my sins which were many, thus tearing down the dividing wall which separated me from God. Without having peace with God, none would ever know the peace of God. The scales of justice are balanced by His supreme act of love. He gave me a life undeserving for the sacrificed life of His Son. None could argue against His wisdom that provided for me a choice rather than a curse. Now I know the way of peace and He has straightened the crooked path I once followed.

04 Apr 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: April 4

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“And He took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ’This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me’ “(Luke 22:19).

The typology of the Old Testament symbolized the sufferings and death of the Messiah. He kept the ceremonial laws in order to illustrate what He had come to fulfill. At the end of His earthly ministry, the Bread of Life took bread from the table from which He and His disciples were to dine. Before they ate their last meal together prior to His death, He broke the bread and fed it to them from His own hands. His sufferings would be a shared experience. His would be immediate and theirs would be ultimate. Yet they would have the same power to withstand the pressure and remain in faith because of the sameness of Spirit.

Your body can bear under any pressure as long as you remain in faith. It is His life residing in you as a believer in Christ Jesus. The sacraments of bread and wine represented His Body and Blood. We are corporately the Body of Christ on the earth. As we share with Him in His experience we share with one another. His focus was not merely upon Himself, but He was looking at this day. He was seeing us together sharing this moment in fellowship, communing in remembrance of the sacrifice made on our behalf affording us the privilege of being one together with Him.

03 Apr 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: April 3

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20-21).

The restlessness of the soul was resulting from the waywardness of the heart. When you were determined to fix your own problems your own way, none of the benefits made available by God through our Lord Jesus Christ could be applied. Now that the struggle has ended as to whether the life of Christ was to be followed because His death was sufficient enough for His life to be our life, we are being made complete. What a difference now in comparison to then. All you need to do is remember how strained the struggle was and how difficult your life would be if His knowledge was absent. But now that you know Him, allow Him to complete the great work within you that He has begun. His objective is to complete you. When your ways please the Lord, you are at peace with yourself and even with your enemies. He is the God of peace who will ultimately prove all things according to its character and His original design. Therefore, give Him the glory that He so rightly deserves now for it will be His forever and ever. Amen

02 Apr 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: April 2

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, ’It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves’ “(Matthew 21:12-17).

When Jesus arrived at the seat of both religious and political power, He confronted religious authorities as being “a den of thieves.” When Jerusalem was robbed of an environment conducive for spiritual renewal, their leaders were indicted by Jesus as thieves. Religious leaders were using their followers as merchandise to be traded for profit, and their souls were both hungry and lost. An atmosphere of greed reproduces after its own kind. It spreads like a contagious disease thus hindering those who would otherwise listen. They would rather gravitate in the direction of their instructions. Jesus did not approach the civic leaders first. He confronted religious leaders for their perverse ways. The house erected with the intent of worship must first become a house of prayer. If the priorities are misaligned, the activities will be dishonorable. The confrontation followed the coronation among those who recognized Him as King. The Lord is determined to have what He desires. His communion with the Father was the source of His strength as the Son of Man. The Church will be as strong as she is consistent in prayer from which all other activities must find their origin.

01 Apr 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: April 1

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Later a few religion scholars and Pharisees got on him. ’Teacher, we want to see your credentials. Give us some hard evidence that God is in this. How about a miracle?’ ” (Matthew 12:38).

Those who appear before men as authorities in relation to God’s order seldom recognize the fact that He refuses to restrict Himself to their expectations. Formulas and theorems of success do not work. He will withhold from them what they expected, but show forth the unexpected. These few that approached Him thought that He would be anxious to validate Himself before such an impressive crowd. But Jesus had nothing to prove. He was as sure of Himself then as He was when Satan tempted Him on the pinnacle of the Temple requesting Him to show off His divine powers. When we are asked to prove ourselves to be what we have been called by God to be, we must first recognize who it is that requires of us evidence. If not God by way of His Spirit, a prophetic word is sufficient. We live by what God has said and it serves as the basis for all He is now saying. If not by the Word of God, we become performance oriented. We must live by the Word and allow the Word to be given full expression through us. But never should we hide behind our credentials of education to prove our pedigree nor miracles to prove our power before men. It is God who wills and performs His work in and through us.

27 Dec 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: December 27

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. (21) Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” John 12:20-21

Even though the pursuit of wisdom was common among the Greeks, the wisdom that they were attaining was not complete. The wisdom sought by the majority of them was from philosophers and Stoics who could bring them to a state of enlightenment in order for them to trust in what they had learned. This was the greatest level of achievement for them, that is, to attain wisdom. Yet there were certain Greeks that broke rank with the majority. There will always be some who will stand out among the crowd. They will not settle for what others have embraced as their Utopian dream. These few came to worship at the feast. These are the ones with a special inquiry, Instead of the wisdom of the Greeks, they wished to see Jesus. They believed that He could offer them something that was more important and enlightening than all others combined would ever come to know. To be introduced to Jesus is the transitional and transformational point of one’s life. When our inquiry is sincere, the message will reach His ears and He will make Himself known to us.

16 Dec 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: December 16

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above.” Isaiah 7:11

God extended an invitation to an evil king to request a sign. It was His challenge to reveal degrees of His authority either in heaven, the earth, or under the earth. The offer to the king was to choose for himself the means for which God would make His presence known. It would change the course of history and provide for those who would receive it a new destiny. It would be for him personally to empower him to govern in righteousness and peace. If any lacks wisdom, ask God. He condescends to our level. A wicked and perverse generation seeks after a sign in unbelief. They place the burden of proof upon God’s shoulders with a predisposed view what is real or not. God still allows Himself to be questioned by the unbelieving world with a willingness to provide evidence of the truth in contrast to error of her ways. Even though the king rejected the offer, Jesus came into the world as the sign and a wonder to the world. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”

11 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 11

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Let God arise, Let His enemies be scattered; Let those also who hate Him flee before Him.” Ps 68:1

The very presence of the Lord confounds the enemy. The light of His glory shines so brightly that anything that is contrary to His nature melts and fades away. We are drawn to His light. We are perfected in order to reflect the beauty of holiness. The defects as result of sin are first exposed, and then vanquished. It was the gravitational pull of sin that kept us earthbound and creatures with no desire other than the things of this world. The only sense of beauty was the aesthetics of His creation. Nature provided beauty but only as a reflection of true beauty. It is only when our sights are set on things above where Christ is will we be enabled to see that God alone creates in beauty, but makes all things beautiful in its own time. In the light of His glory all things give full expression of their being. What they attempt to express is fully expressed without any hindrances or reservations. We will then understand the beauty of holiness and the beauty of worshiping the One who is Holy. When the enemies are scattered the worshipers are free to worship Him in the beauty of holiness.

07 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 7

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“How you have advised the one without wisdom, and abundantly revealed your insight!” Job 26:3 (NET)

God’s advice to those who are void of wisdom can be translated as those who lack the ability to plan ahead. Those who lack foresight to make plans for the future are advised by God in things only known to Him. Forward thinking is the key to spiritual progress. Our sights must be set on things above as we journey from here to there. Each situation and every message must be weighed on the basis of their spiritual content. Are we growing in grace and the knowledge of God, or becoming content in our current state? The Holy Spirit guides us beyond the level of wisdom known to the world to insights revealed to us from heaven. Only then will we feel the sense of estrangement in an environment that is not our home and seek those things pertaining to life in the Spirit. Sound advice is required in order to have good success. Spiritual things are compared with the spiritual once we have been made aware of God Presence and humbly submit to His will as knowing nothing on our own.

09 Nov 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: November 9

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered.” Proverbs 28:26

A change of heart must take place before the heart can be fully trusted. It is too easily influenced by external forces. It can be manipulated by infatuations, deceived by insinuations, and deeply distressed by insecurities and fears. Wisdom is made available but it rests beyond the limits of what may currently dwell within. God must give us a new heart that beats with the rhythm of His own. Only the heart in sync with His can be trusted. He guides it to the path of righteousness, a wise course leading to life. The light of His love delivers us from certain death. When we surrender our stouthearted souls to His warm and tender care, we can be guided in a new direction of peace leading to eternal life.