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Day 1257 – Who Are You? – Humor Unplugged

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Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 1257 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Who Are You? – 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, 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 1257 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…

Who Are You?

Margaret and June had been best friends for many decades, and they were very comfortable in aging gracefully. Both of their husbands had died over 20 years ago, and over those years they had shared all kinds of activities and adventures. They had traveled all over the country, went to church together, and went out to eat often. Due to their declining health recently Margaret and June both had moved to the same assisted living facilities at the same time. They were content there, but as the months passed, their activities were now limited to meeting a few times a week to play cards in the common area.

One day when they were playing cards Margaret  looked at June and said, “Now don’t get mad at me…I know we’ve been friends for a long time…but I just can’t think of your name! I’ve thought and thought, but I can’t remember it. Please tell me what your name is.” June was surprised at the question and just glared at Margaret. At least three minutes went by as June continued to glare at Margaret which was making her feel very uncomfortable. Finally June’s glare faded, and she asked Margaret, “How soon do you need to know?”

I hope that brought a smile to your face today.  If it did, pass your smile on to someone else, we all could use a good smile. Our Thursday thought is…“It’s great to reminisce about good memories of my past. It was enjoyable when it was today. So learning to enjoy today has two benefits: it gives me happiness right now, and it becomes a good memory later.”


Philippians 1:3

Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.

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 1256 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 of all, 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 1256 – Mastering the Bible – Ancient Israelite Culture – Worldview Wednesday

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Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 1256 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Mastering the Bible – Ancient Israelite Culture – 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 1256 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 – Ancient Israelite Culture

Insight Thirteen: Ancient Israelite Culture Didn’t Drop From Heaven

People hostile to the Bible often attack it on the basis of the cultural customs found in its pages. For example, critics find easy targets in the Bible’s patriarchal culture, attitudes toward slavery, and social standards. In criticizing these customs, they make the fundamental mistake of not letting the Bible be what it is.

If we believe—and the Bible is very plain in this regard—that God chose the time, place, and people to prompt the writing of what we call the Bible, then the notion that God invented or inspired their culture is nonsense. They already had a culture—with many elements common to the wider world of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean.

What we see in Scripture is that the Bible presupposes culture. Biblical laws, for instance, presume the cultural practice of polygamy (see Deuteronomy. [21:15]—17 as an example), yet the Bible doesn’t require polygamy; in fact, it portrays it as negative. There are laws regarding slavery (Exodus 21), but there is no record that God installed the institution as something desirable or sanctified.

In other words, cultural institutions that we find offensive today (and rightly so) were part of the culture of the people God prompted to write Scripture. God didn’t first create their culture, nor did he insist they change their culture before using them to produce the books of the Bible. God knew what he was getting when he called Semitic people living 3,000 years ago to write Scripture. God was not the author of their culture. Only in the cases where practices are tied to Israel’s worship, such as their religious calendar, can God be viewed as an instigator.

In some fundamental respects, culture was incidental to God’s plans. God gave Israel a body of wisdom literature that laid out broad principles of justice and mercy that transcend all cultures. He kept reminding Israelites through the prophets that people from all nations would come to recognize him as the true God and therefore be members of God’s family.

This latter point has another aspect to it. God knew that his people would eventually encompass people from every nation. The point is simple but profound: the people of God are independent of culture—their identity is not bound to a single cultural expression. This is by design.

We need to consider this in the western world, especially in the United States. Our culture today is no more or less God-ordained than the ancient Israelite, or other Mediterranean cultures. God uses His children regardless of their cultural settings.

It makes little sense then for believers to presume that cultural practices in the Bible are something to be imitated for theological purposes. It is equally fallacious for critics of the Bible to pretend that the Bible can be criticized for culture. Our focus ought to be on the truth claims of the Bible that transcend culture.

Insight Fourteen: Biblical People Embraced the Idea of an Active Supernatural World

What would you think if a Christian friend confided in you that they believed they had been helped by a guardian angel? Would you expect that there was actually a more rational explanation? What if one of your kids told you about a dream they had the previous night where Jesus told them to tell you to call 911 because the elderly neighbor next door was lying on the floor unconscious? Would you go and see?

Because we live in a modern world, many of us are prone to doubt such things. We know that ancient people who lack modern scientific concepts incorrectly attribute natural things to the actions of spiritual beings. Weather is a good example. There are sound scientific reasons why droughts and floods occur, and why it rains and doesn’t rain. We feel no need to attribute these things directly to the hand of God, although we look for his providence in the circumstances of such events.

The Bible clearly teaches that angels, demons, and Satan are personal, spiritual entities. As we’ll see in other insights, those sorts of spiritual beings are not the only ones the Bible talks about. The Bible talks about several spiritual beings that interact with humanity and view the earth as their dominion.

Dr. Heiser elaborates that while Christians enthusiastically embrace their belief in the Trinity, they are far more cautious with the rest of the supernatural world. Even though most would say they believe in angels, the idea of angels genuinely interacting with us loses some support. The dark side is held at an even greater distance. Do we believe that demon possession is real? Many people today, including many Christians, consider demon possession to be a misdiagnosis of a psychiatric problem. Perhaps we might think that biblical people didn’t understand psychological disorders. This may be true to an extent, but that does not rule out true demonic control or influence.

Also consider, there are the “weird” passages that deal with the unseen world. Do we really believe that the angels who sinned (Genesis. 6:1-4) are being held hostage by God until the end times? (2 Peter 2:4-5; Jude 6; Revelation 9) Do we believe that people can contact the dead or other spiritual beings? (1 Samuel 28:1-19) How would the Old Testament prohibitions against doing these sorts of things make sense if they weren’t possible (Deuteronomy 18:9-14)?

People living in biblical times would have had no such intellectual struggles. They were predisposed to believing in an animate supernatural world that regularly intersected with their own. Is it possible that our modern Christian subcultures have trained us to think that our theology precludes these sorts of experiences? If we want to understand Scripture, we cannot think like modern skeptics.

We need to let the Bible be what it is. There is no need to protect the Bible by rationalizing away passages that we may not understand. We need to put on the author’s glasses and see it from their perspective. It would be good for us to learn what Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth in 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”

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 and 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 our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you would like to listen to any of our past 1255 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 of all, 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!

Day 1255 – The Will to Win – Wisdom Unplugged

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Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 1255 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The Will to Win – Wisdom Unplugged

Unplugged1-1024x609

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 1255 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 David V.A. Ambrose, and it is, “If you have the will to win, you have achieved half your success; if you don’t, you have achieved half your failure.”

The Will To Win

Success does not come easy for most of us. It does require persistence, dedication, and hard work. Before that, though, you first must have the desire and will to win. This will or desire does not come from external sources, but it is an internal desire that you will win and be successful.

If you have the will to win, will that guarantee success? Certainly not, but it will give you an opportunity to win and succeed. If you don’t have the will and desire to succeed, there is little chance that you will succeed. Without the desire and will to make the right choices, it is almost certain that you will fail. All success first begins with choices. What are some of those choices?

Choose the right mindset to win. Choose to invest time in preparing to win. Choose to invest the time, energy, persistence, dedication, and hard work that is required to win. Choose to keep on going, even when you feel like quitting. Choose to enjoy your journey, even when there is little to be joyful about, because there is always something that we can be grateful for. Choose to accept assistance from those who are traveling the same road with you. Choose to assist others as they need help. Choose to keep on keeping on, for as long as it takes. Choose to live a rich and satisfying life in all areas.

Deuteronomy [30:19]

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!”

 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 Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you would like to listen to any of our past 1254 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 of all, 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 Worldview Wednesday!

Day 1254 – God’s Amazing Grace (Part 2) – Meditation Monday

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Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 1254 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

God’s Amazing Grace (Part 2) – Meditation Monday

Meditation Monday

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 1254 of our trek, and it is time for Meditation Monday. Taking time to relax, refocus, and reprioritize our lives is crucial in order to create a living legacy.

For you, it may just be time alone for quiet reflection. You may utilize structured meditation practices. In my life, meditation includes reading and reflecting on God’s Word and praying. It is a time to renew my mind, refocus on what is most important, and make sure that I am nurturing my soul, mind, and body. As you come along with me on our trek each Meditation Monday, it is my hope and prayer that you, too, will experience a time for reflection and renewing of your mind.

Last week we took a look inside the Apostle Peter’s roller-coaster life that fluctuated between undying loyalty and complete denial in his commitment as a disciple of Jesus.  If you missed last Monday’s Episode, you will want to listen to it first and then return to this 2nd of three episodes of Peter’s saga. We will look at part two of our story today, and next Monday we will complete our story. In our meditation today, let us consider…

God’s Amazing Grace (Part 2)

When we left Peter last week, the sun was just beginning to break over the horizon after a night of fishing where Peter had not caught a single fish. His mind was fixed on how he had abandoned and denied his Lord. He was devastated, feeling a complete failure and disgrace.

This wasn’t the first night that Peter had spent on the Sea of Galilee. After all, he was a fisherman. He, like the others, worked at night. He knew the fish would feed near the surface during the cool of the night and return to the deep during the day. No, this wasn’t the first night Peter had spent on the Sea of Galilee. Nor was it the first night he had caught nothing.

As he thought back from three years ago, there was that time years before …

He recalled, that most mornings, he and his partners would sell their fish, repair their nets, and head home to rest with a bag of money and a feeling of satisfaction. This particular morning there was no money. There was no satisfaction. They had worked all through the night but had nothing to show for it except weary backs and worn nets.

And, what’s worse, everyone knew it. Every morning the shore would become a market as the villagers came to buy their fish, but that day there were no fish.

Jesus was there that morning teaching. As the people pressed, there was little room for him to stand, so he asked Peter if his boat could be a platform. Peter agreed, maybe thinking the boat might as well be put to some good use.

Peter listens as Jesus teaches. It’s good to hear something other than the slapping of waves. When Jesus finishes with the crowd, he turns to Peter. He has another request. He wants to go fishing. Luke 5:4 tells us, “When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.’”

Peter groans. The last thing he wants to do is fish. The boat is clean. The nets are ready to dry. The sun is up, and he is tired. It’s time to go home. Besides, everyone is watching. They’ve already seen him come back empty-handed once. And, what’s more, what does Jesus know about fishing; he is a preacher?

So Peter speaks in Luke 5:5, “’Master,’ Simon replied, ‘We worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.’”

Do you hear the weariness in Peter’s words?

“We worked hard.” Scraping the hull. Carrying the nets. Pulling the oars. Throwing the nets high into the moonlit sky. Listening as they slap on the surface of the water.

“All night.” The sky had gone from burnt orange to midnight black to morning gold. The hours had passed as slowly as the fleets of clouds before the moon. The fishermen’s conversation had stilled, and their shoulders ached. While the village slept, the men worked. All … night … long.

“Trying to catch fish.” The night’s events had been rhythmic: net swung and tossed high till it spread itself against the sky. Then wait. Let it sink. Pull it in. Do it again. Throw. Pull. Throw. Pull. Throw. Pull. Every toss had been a prayer. But every drag of the empty net had come back unanswered. Even the net sighed as the men pulled it out and prepared to throw it again.

For twelve hours, they had fished. And now…now Jesus wants to fish some more? And not just off the shore, but in the deep?

Peter sees his friends shrug their shoulders. He looks at the people on the beach watching him. He doesn’t know what to do. Jesus may know a lot about a lot, but Peter knows about fishing. Peter knows when to work and when to quit. He knows there is a time to go on and a time to get out.

Common sense said it was time to get out. Logic said to cut your losses and go home. Experience said pack it up and get some rest. But Jesus said, “We can try again if you want.”

The most difficult journey that you have in life is when we have to go back to the place where you failed.

Jesus knows that. That’s why he volunteers to go along. “The first outing was solo; this time, I’ll be with you. Try it again, this time with me on board.”

And Peter reluctantly agrees to try again, “But if you say so, I will let the nets down again.”  It didn’t make any sense, but he’d been around this Nazarene enough to know that his presence made a difference. That wedding in Cana? That sick child of the royal ruler? It’s as if Jesus carried his own deck to the table.

So the oars dip again, and the boat goes out. The anchor is set, and the nets fly once more.

Peter watches as the net sinks, and he waits. He waits until the net spreads as far as his rope allows. The fishermen are quiet. Peter is quiet. Jesus is quiet. Suddenly the rope yanks. The net, heavy with fish, almost pulls Peter overboard.

“John, James!” he yells. “Come quick!”

Soon the boats are so full of fish that the port side rim dips close to the surface. Peter, ankle-deep in flopping silver, turns to look at Jesus, only to find that Jesus is looking at him. Those same piercing eyes, laying bare his soul.

That’s when he begins to realize who Jesus is.

What an odd place to meet God—on a fishing boat on a small sea in a remote country! But such is the practice of the God who comes into our world. Such is the encounter experienced by those who are willing to try again…with him.

Peter’s life was never again the same after that catch. As we jump back to the current day of last week’s story, we find Peter contemplating the past three years. Sitting in his boat with nothing to show for the night of fishing. Next week we will finish our saga of Peter with this restoration to the one who he had followed since that first encounter.

That is a wrap for today’s meditation, next week, we will continue our trek on Meditation Monday as we take time to reflect on what is most important in creating our living legacy.  On tomorrow’s trek, we will explore another wisdom quote. This 3-minute wisdom supplement will assist you in becoming healthy, wealthy, and wise each day. Thank you for joining me on this trek called life. 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 the past 1253 daily treks or read the daily journal, they are 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 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 on tomorrow!

Day 1253 – Don’t Team Up with Unbelievers – Ask Gramps

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Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 1253 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Don’t Team Up with Unbelievers – 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, 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 1253 of our trek, and it is 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 when we can “Ask Gramps.” Gramps will answer questions that you would like to ask your dad or granddad, but for whatever reason, you are unable to. 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 we 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, I have heard that as a Christ-follower, we should not marry or become business partners with people who are not Christ-followers. Is it really that important as long as you have other values and life outlook that is important to each other?”

Don’t Team Up with Unbelievers

The short answer is, it is a big deal and very important. From the very beginning of creation, it was a big deal. We are created to be bearers of God’s image to all humanity as we are tasked with restoring His kingdom throughout the world. How can we restore God’s kingdom if our marriage or business partners are not of the same mind spiritually?

It was a big deal to Abraham that his son married in the faith as we read in Genesis 24:3, “Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women.”

It should be a big deal today for anyone that is contemplating either marriage or business partnership. The New Testament carries this explicit warning in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said:

‘I will live in them
and walk among them.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
Therefore, come out from among unbelievers,
and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord.
Don’t touch their filthy things,
and I will welcome you.
And I will be your Father,
and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.’”

These words that the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth are pretty stern words that we need to heed. You may be thinking, my fiancé, or potential business partner, are good people, they shouldn’t be called wicked or filthy things. They may indeed be upright people with great integrity, but unless they are Christ-followers, they are not in God’s sight. God is the standard for righteousness, not humans.

Paula, my wife of over 40 years and I were both Christ-followers with similar church backgrounds before we were married. We also had many other values about finances, lifestyles, and children, which made us very compatible. During our 40 years of marriage we have had very few problems or conflicts. It has been a blessing to “team up” with a partner who has common values and convictions in all areas of life.

It was not quite as clear, though, when we partnered in business with another couple, who professed to be Christian but turned out not to be. We did not conduct enough due-diligence, and because of this and many other factors, we ended up having to shut down our computer business and start over from scratch after nearly 18 successful years. It was financially devastating, but something that we will never forget. We learned some really valuable lessons. Because of the common financial values that Paula and I hold, after several difficult years, we were able to recover successfully. Who you team up with in marriage and business is a big deal.

You might be saying, “Gramps, I will be a good influence on a potential life or business partner, and they will come to faith.”  But let me tell you, that rarely happens. If you play with fire, sooner or later, you will get burnt. It is not worth the potential heartache and grief that it may bring. If you are not aligned spiritually, you will not be aligned in life. Being in a marriage or business partnership with a non-believer is like driving a car with two steering wheels in it. Sure, you both might be driving in unison for a while, but eventually, one of you will decide to take a different road, as the other will attempt to steer another direction. One of you will have to give in to the will of the other, or you will end up crashing and destroying your marriage or business. It is not a pretty sight.

As a Christ-follower, the Bible is clear that God wants you to only team up with a partner in marriage or business who is also a Christ-follower. Certainly, it will also benefit you immensely if your other values and convictions about money, relationships, focus, and direction in life are in sync with each other, but if you are not aligned spiritually, it is a show stopper. Go no further.

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 our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you would like to listen to any of the past 1252 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 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 on Monday!