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Day 1345 – Action Is Required – Wisdom Unplugged

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Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 1345 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Action Is Required – Wisdom Unplugged

Wisdom – the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase wisdom and create a living legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1345 of our trek, and it is time for our 3-minute mini trek called Wisdom Unplugged. This short nugget of wisdom includes an inspirational quote with a little bit of additional content for today’s trek. Consider this your vitamin supplement of wisdom for today. So let’s jump right in with today’s nugget.

Today’s quote is from Napoleon Bonaparte, and it is, “Act swiftly and vigorously, without ‘buts’ and ‘ifs’…”

Action Is Required

There are times in life when it is best to wait, ponder, and take into consideration the long term ramifications of a decision. When that is the case, once a decision is made, don’t drag your feet or procrastinate any longer. Instead, it is now time to take decisive action. More often than not, success is not achieved because we are fearful of taking decisive action. That is to say, we instead take actions that are swift and vigorous without making any additional excuses. No more ‘buts,’ and ‘ifs,’ it is now time for accomplishment.

Fortify your resolve to move forward. Do not allow obstacles to turn you aside. Decide to move, and then proceed. Nothing will be accomplished if you accomplish nothing. Yes, if you need to, take time to plan your work, but once the planning is over, work your plan. There is no substitute for taking action. Life is short; act now to build God’s kingdom here on earth.

Job 9:25

“My life passes more swiftly than a runner. It flees away without a glimpse of happiness.”

That’s a wrap for today’s Wisdom Unplugged quote. If you would like free access to my database of over 11,000 inspirational quotes, the link is available on the main page of Wisdom-Trek.com. As you enjoy these nuggets of wisdom, encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you would like to listen to any of our past 1344 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most importantly, your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

  1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
  2. Love Unconditionally
  3. Listen Intentionally
  4. Learn Continuously
  5. Lend to others Generously
  6. Lead with Integrity
  7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you tomorrow for Worldview Wednesday!

Day 1297 – Countryside Community Church – Humor Unplugged

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Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 1297 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Countryside Community Church – Humor Unplugged

Wisdom – the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek! Where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase Wisdom and Create a Living Legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1297 of our Trek, and time for a 3-minute mini-trek called Humor Unplugged. Our Thursday podcast will provide a short and clean funny story to help you lighten up and live a rich and satisfying life. Something to cheer you and provide a bit a levity in your life. We are told in Proverbs 15:30 A cheerful look brings joy to the heart; good news makes for good health. We are also encouraged in Proverbs 17:22 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. Consider this your vitamin supplement of cheer for today. So let’s jump right in with today’s funny which is titled:

Countryside Community Church

On Sunday, Pastor Jones, the new young pastor at Countryside Community Church, arrived at church and found that the only who had shown up so far was old farmer Smith who owned a nearby small dairy farm.

After waiting a while, hoping that others would show up, pastor Jones was really disappointed. Finally, exasperated, Pastor Jones remarked to old farmer Smith, “Well, it appears no one else is coming, so we should probably cancel service today.“

Farmer Smith stared at Pastor Jones for a bit, then he looked down at his clothes, knowing he was dressed in his Sunday best, he thought for a moment more then looked at the young Pastor Jones and said, “Well pastor, I don’t know much ’bout preachin’, but I do know something bout farmin’ and if I went out in the field and found only one cow, I’d still feed ’em.“

All excited, young Pastor Jones ran up to the pulpit and proceeded to preach for the next 45 minutes a fierce fire and brimstone sermon like he had never preached before. Once Pastor Jones finally wrapped up his sermon, including an invitation, he proceeded off the platform. Feeling really good about his message, he went and shook old Farmer Smith’s hand and asked the old farmer what he thought. 

Farmer Smith thought a bit as he looked into the distance and then said, “Well, Pastor Jones, I don’t know much bout preachin’, but I do know somethin’ ’bout farmin’ and if I went out in the field and found only one cow, I wouldn’t give ’em the whole bale of hay.“

I hope that brought a smile to your face today. If it did pass your smile onto some else, we all could use a good smile. Our Thursday thought is: “If I ever wrote a book on preaching, it would contain three words: Preach the Word. Get rid of all the other stuff that gets you sidetracked; preach the Word.

2 Timothy 4:2

Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.

Just as you enjoy these nuggets of humor, please encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of ‘Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.’ If you would like to listen to any of our past 1296 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com.  I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player, so each day will be downloaded to you automatically.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most importantly, I am your friend as I serve you in through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this Trek of life together, let us always:

  1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
  2. Love Unconditionally
  3. Listen Intentionally
  4. Learn Continuously
  5. Lend to others Generously
  6. Lead with Integrity
  7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain….reminding you to ’Keep Moving Forward,’ ‘Enjoy your Journey,’ and ‘Create a Great Day…Everyday’! See you tomorrow for Philosophy Friday!

Day 1293 – The Right Response – Ask Gramps

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Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 1293 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The Right Response – Ask Gramps

Wisdom – the final frontier to true knowledge.  Welcome to Wisdom-Trek! Where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase Wisdom and Create a Living Legacy.  Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1293 of our Trek and time for our Philosophy Friday series.  Each Friday, we will ponder some of the basic truths and mysteries of life, and how they can impact us in creating our living legacy.  As we continue on this trek called life, sometimes we have questions about life, so our Friday trek is a time where we can ‘Ask Gramps.’   Gramps will answer questions that you would like to ask your dad or granddad, but for whatever reason, this is not possible.  No matter how old we are, I know that all of us would like the opportunity to ask dad or gramps questions about life in many areas.

We may mix it up a bit on our Friday episodes, but will strive to keep them down to earth and enjoyable.   If you have any questions that you would like to ask Gramps, please email them to guthrie@wisdom-trek.com

So the question for this week is:

“Hey Gramps, as we begin this new year, it is my desire to be more civil, kind, and gracious in my communications with others.  What wisdom tips do you have that will help me with this. 

The Right Response

Even among Christ-followers, the topic of civility may produce little more than eye rolls and groans.  We all have difficulties with our speech, especially when confronted by those whom we disagree with.  Some people may think, This is the digital age, after all.  Every voice deserves a platform, and everyone’s opinion is considered worthy, regardless of its merit or proximity to truth.  The problem with that thought process is that it is not Biblical.   If you spend any time scrolling through Twitter, or most other social media platforms you soon realize that the level of vitriol and lack of respect appears to be out of control.  Unfortuneately, many Christ-followers are also involved with spewing hate and half-truths, with little knowledge or concern for whom they may impact.

When writing to the believers in Colossae, the Apostle Paul urged them to mark their speech with grace, especially when engaging with those who are not believers.  Colossians 4:5-6

Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.  Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.Some Christians confuse ‘grace-tinged’ speech with a lack of conviction as if civility and conviction can’t co-exit.  Not only can they co-exist, but they are allies in the battle of ideas, both in private engagement and in the public square.

As a Christ-follower, you are called to something higher, to speak with grace, kindness, and love in an increasingly uncivil society thick with the rising cacophony of vulgarity, boorishness, hated, and lies.  Unfortunately, public officials and most news media outlets are some of the worst offenders.God is concerned with both what we say and believe, and also how we articulate it.  Our tongues should reflect the difference between light and darkness, and they should adorn the gospel well, rather than adopting the base rhetoric and arguments of the world.

In an increasingly verbal world, with every word we speak, type, or text, we must ask ourselves:  Does this bring glory to God?  Is what I am about to say building up God’s kingdom here on earth?  If not, then just don’t say it.  Very few, if any,  minds will be changed by your rebuttals.  Let me close with one more tidbit of advice from Ephesians [4:29]

Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

That is a wrap for today’s question.  Join us again next Friday for another question on our ‘Ask Gramps’ episode.  Our next trek is Mediation Monday, where we will help you reflect on what is most important in life.  So encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along on Monday for another day of ‘Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.’If you would like to listen to any of the past 1292 daily treks or read the associated journals, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com.  I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player, so each day will be downloaded to you automatically.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most of all, your friend as I serve you in through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this Trek of life together, let us always:

  1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
  2. Love Unconditionally
  3. Listen Intentionally
  4. Learn Continuously
  5. Lend to others Generously
  6. Lead with Integrity
  7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain….reminding you to ’Keep Moving Forward,’ ‘Enjoy your Journey,’ and ‘Create a Great Day…Everyday’! See you on Monday!

Day 1292 – Crash Landing – Humor Unplugged

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Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 1292 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Crash Landing – Humor Unplugged

Wisdom – the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase wisdom and create a living legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1292 of our trek, and it is time for our 3-minute mini-trek called Humor Unplugged. Our Thursday podcast will provide a short and clean funny story to help you lighten up and live a rich and satisfying life – something to cheer you and provide a bit a levity in your life.

We are told in Proverbs 15:30, “A cheerful look brings joy to the heart; good news makes for good health.” We are also encouraged in Proverbs 17:22, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.” Consider this your vitamin supplement of cheer for today. So let’s jump right in with today’s funny which is titled:

Crash Landing

John and his good friend Jim were flying John’s private plane in the South Pacific to take aerial photos of uninhabited islands. Due to unexpected bad weather, they were blown far off course and ran low on fuel. Realizing that they would never get back to the airstrip, they decided they would try a crash landing on a strip of beach on one of the islands that looked wide and long enough for a successful landing.

Although the landing was very rough, they both survived without any extensive structural damage to the plane, but the landing caused all their radios and electrical equipment to short out. Jim climbed out of the plane and brushed himself off but freaked out and then proceeded to run all over the island to see if they had any chance of survival. When Jim returned, he rushed up to John and waving his hands frantically and screamed, “This island is uninhabited. There is no food; there is no water. We are going to die!”

John leaned back against the fuselage of the plane, folded his arms, and responded, “No, we’re not. I make over $100,000 a week.”

Jim grabbed his friend John and shook him. “Listen to me! We are on an uninhabited island. There is no food, no water. We are going to die!”

John yawned, completely unruffled, again responded, “No, we will be fine, I make over $100,000 a week.”

Mystified, Jim, taken aback with such an answer, again repeated, “For the last time, I’m telling you we are doomed! There is NO ONE else on this island. There is NO food. There is NO water. We are, I repeat, we ARE going to die!”

Still unfazed, John looked Jim in the eyes, held the sides of his face and said, “Don’t make me say this again. I make over $100,000 per week and I tithe 10 percent to our local church. My pastor WILL find us!”

I hope that brought a smile to your face today. If it did, pass your smile onto some else; we all could use a good smile. Our Thursday thought is “True friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its evils. Strive to have friends, for life without friends is like life on a desert island… to find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing.”

2 Corinthians 9:7

You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”

As you enjoy these nuggets of humor, please encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you would like to listen to any of our past 1291 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player, so each day will be downloaded to you automatically.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most importantly, your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

  1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
  2. Love Unconditionally
  3. Listen Intentionally
  4. Learn Continuously
  5. Lend to others Generously
  6. Lead with Integrity
  7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you tomorrow for Philosophy Friday!

Day 1291 – Mastering the Bible – Babel Frames History – Worldview Wednesday

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Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 1291 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Mastering the Bible – Babel Frames History – Worldview Wednesday

What is a Biblical Worldview 1

Wisdom – the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase wisdom and create a living legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1291 of our trek, and it is Worldview Wednesday. Creating a Biblical worldview is important to have a proper perspective on today’s current events.

To establish a Biblical Worldview, you must also have a proper understanding of God and His Word. Our focus for the next several months on Worldview Wednesday is Mastering the Bible, through a series of brief insights. These insights are extracted from a book of the same title from one of today’s most prominent Hebrew Scholars, Dr. Micheal S. Heiser. This book is a collection of insights designed to help you understand the Bible better. When we let the Bible be what it is, we can understand it as the original readers did and as its writers intended. Each week we will explore two insights.

Mastering The Bible – Babel Frames History

Insight Twenty-Five: The Rebellion at the Tower of Babel Frames the Rest of Biblical History

Dr. Heiser mentioned the Tower of Babel story (Gen. 11:1-9) in insight 11, which examined how ancient biblical people understood their world. Genesis 11 isn’t the only passage that talks about that event. Deuteronomy 32:8-9, one of the most important passages in the Old Testament for understanding the worldview of the people of the Bible, does as well. The NLT translates it this way:

When the Most High assigned lands to the nations,
when he divided up the human race,
he established the boundaries of the peoples
according to the number in his heavenly court.

For the people of Israel belong to the Lord;
Jacob is his special possession.

When God divided the nations—the punishment at Babel when the languages were confused—he distributed the nations among “his heavenly court.” Some Bible translations have “sons of Israel” instead of “his heavenly court.” The contextual problem with this is that Israel didn’t exist at the time of the Tower of Babel. God called Abraham and began the nation of Israel after Babel (Genesis 12). “Sons of Israel” can’t be right. “His heavenly court” or “Sons of God” as in the ESV is also what the Dead Sea Scrolls say, which is the oldest manuscripts of the Bible. The ESV and NLT has the translation correct.

Deuteronomy 4:19-20 is the opposite side of that coin as it refers to the nation of Israel, “And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—all the forces of heaven—don’t be seduced into worshiping them. The Lord , your God, gave them to all the peoples of the earth. Remember that the Lord rescued you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make you his very own people and his special possession, which is what you are today.”

That passage has God allotting these other gods to the nations he dispersed at Babel. These two passages associated with the rebellion at Babel are the Old Testament’s explanation of why the other nations worship other gods: it’s divine punishment from the God of Israel.

So the Tower of Babel event is similar to Romans 1, where Paul tells us that God gave humankind over to its own rebellion. Because the nations would not obey him, God basically gave humanity over to lesser gods. God gave them what they wanted, which is other gods to follow. The result was self-destruction and idolatry.

This event, alongside the call of Abraham and origin of Israel that followed (Genesis 12), frames the rest of the Old Testament. It explains the spiritual conflict of Israel’s God against other gods and the nations in hostile opposition to Israel. Sadly, the gods of the other nations seduced God’s own portion, Israel (Deuteronomy 17:1-3; [29:22]-28; [32:17]).

This conflict extends into the New Testament as well. Paul rarely uses the word “demons” to describe the spiritual opposition we face. He uses words like “principalities,” “powers,” “thrones,” “dominions,” and “authorities,” which all convey the idea of geographical rulership. The message is that the whole world is under the dominion of unseen powers of darkness, except for those who are in Christ. Babel sets the stage of why that is so. It frames the nation of Israel and all its competing enemies.

Insight Twenty-Six: Neither God nor the Israelites Looked at Old Testament Laws as Equal in Character and Importance

James 2:10 says, “For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.” On one level, the meaning is clear: break one of God’s laws and you become a lawbreaker. The meaning of “is as guilty” is less clear, since we are accountable to God’s law whether we break it or not. The idea actually being communicated is that guilt before God is the result of breaking any law, from the most innocuous to the most heinous. Guilt is guilt.

Does that mean that God considers every violation to be the same level of wickedness? Every sinner is guilty, but are all sins equally awful? The answer is no.

The Bible is quite clear on this matter. First, just as in our own legal/judicial system, Old Testament laws could be divided into categories. One example would be case law, that is, laws that depend on certain conditions. These Old Testament laws are expressed by if-then statements (“If X happens, then Y is the punishment”). These laws are hypothetical: the nature of the crime (and therefore its punishment) can change with a situation. Other laws are strict prohibitions, regardless of the situation. They aren’t hypothetical. These are usually expressed with the familiar “thou shalt not” phrase.

Second, Old Testament laws did not carry the same punishments. While any violation made one guilty before God, the fact that God’s law did not demand equal punishment for any violation demonstrates that all violations were not viewed the same way. The notion that God is “just as angry’’ with the person who steals an ox as he is with a blasphemer might make for good preaching, but one was punished by remuneration (Exodus 22:1) and the other by death (Leviticus [24:16]). The outcome was far from the same. And in the Old Testament, death penalty offenses could not be atoned for by sacrifice.

Third, of the many laws in the Torah, God himself singled out one that was fundamentally important to him, and therefore to his covenantal promises with his children, Israel. Loving God, being loyal to him above all gods, was fundamental to possess the Promised Land (e.g., Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy [4:25]-27, 39-40). Loving loyalty to God was the greatest commandment (Mark [12:30]-31).

The lesson is not that we can take solace in not being as bad as the next person. We are all guilty before God and undeserving of eternal life as told us in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” We

all need the same grace. Instead, the lesson is that God is not unbalanced and cruel, viewing all acts of sin and evil the same way. His laws are not capricious.

That will conclude this week’s lesson on another two insights from Dr. Heiser’s book “Mastering the Bible.” Next Worldview Wednesday, we will continue with two additional insights. I believe you will find each Worldview Wednesday an interesting topic to consider as we build our Biblical worldview.

Tomorrow we will continue with our 3-minute humor nugget that will provide you with a bit of cheer, which will help you to lighten up and live a rich and satisfying life.  So encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along with us tomorrow for another day of Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you would like to listen to any of our past 1290 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most importantly, your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

  1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
  2. Love Unconditionally
  3. Listen Intentionally
  4. Learn Continuously
  5. Lend to others Generously
  6. Lead with Integrity
  7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you tomorrow!