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Day 1435 – Grace Is… – Wisdom Unplugged

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Welcome to Day 1435 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Grace is… – 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, 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 1435 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  John R. W. Stott, and it is:    Grace is love that cares and stoops and rescues.     

Grace Is…

Complete and sufficient grace can only come from God. This does not mean that humankind is incapable of at least a measure of grace to all others. Since God created us to be bearers of His image, we can show and extend grace, even to those who may not deserve it, and to those who do not show mercy to us. God shows us grace because of His love for us, not because of our love for Him. It is because God loves us so much that He stooped down to earth and became a human so that we could be rescued through the sacrifice of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.  As God’s image-bearers, we must show our love to others even when they are unlovely. This love can be shown by stooping down to tangibly rescues others that are in need. We are all created by God, and none of us should ever think we are better than others. We need to understand it is only by God’s grace that we can live in such a manner that we can help others.

Romans 5:8

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

2 Corinthians 5:21

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin,[a] so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

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. Just 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 1434 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to caWisdom-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, 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 Worldview Wednesday!

Day 1434 – Bible Study Requires Discipline – Meditation Monday

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Welcome to Day 1434 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Bible Study Requires Discipline – 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, 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 1434 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 in prayer. It is a time to renew my mind, refocus on what is most important, and making 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. 

We are going to begin a new series this week on Meditation Monday, which will focus on Mastering Bible Study through a series of brief insights from Dr. Michael Heiser. Our first few insights will focus on study habits to build a strong foundation. Today let us meditate on:

Bible Study Requires Discipline

·      Insight Three: Bible Reading is not Bible Study

You should read your Bible. That’s obvious for Christians, and I’d dispense that piece of advice to anyone. But reading the Bible is not where our engagement with the Bible ends. It’s where it begins. You need to go beyond reading the Bible to a serious study of the Bible. The first step is to realize there’s a significant difference between reading and studying.

Reading is casual, something done for pleasure. The motivation is personal gratification or enrichment, not mastery of the content. Bible reading has as its aim private delight or personal application for our lives and relationship with God. Bible reading is inherently devotional and low maintenance.

Bible study, on the other hand, involves concentration and exertion. We have an intuitive sense that study requires some sort of method or technique and probably certain types of tools or aids. When we study the Bible, we’re asking questions, thinking about context, forming judgments, and looking for more information.

It’s not hard to illustrate the difference. Almost anyone can make a cup of coffee, but they’re not baristas. We know instinctively that both perform the same basic task, but what distinguishes the barista is a lot of time, effort, research, and experience in learned technique. It’s the same with Bible study.

Let’s try another coffee illustration. Let’s say you and your friend were from the moon and didn’t know what coffee was. You’re only mildly interested in the topic, so you decide to look it up in a dictionary. You read that coffee is ‘a popular beverage made from the roasted and pulverized seeds of a coffee plant. Good enough. You learned something. Your friend wants to know more —a lot more. How is coffee made? What’s the process? Is there more than one process? If so, why would there be different processes? Is there more than one kind of coffee bean? Where are the beans grown? Does that make any difference in color, aroma, or flavor? Is climate a consideration? How is coffee different than tea? If it’s a popular beverage, how much is consumed? Does consumption vary by country? State? Gender? Age? Whoa. She’s way over the top. And we know why. Her intensity of interest and willingness to expend effort tells us her aim is studying, not just reading. There’s a big difference, and it’s one that translates well to what we should do with the Bible.

·      Insight Four: Bible Study is a Discipline, Not a Ritual Event

Two of the hardest things about serious Bible study are getting started and then sustaining the effort. While a word like “sustaining” naturally speaks of regularity and continuity’, I’m not talking about treating Bible study like your morning routine. I’m not suggesting you make it part of a routine at all. If routine helps, then have a go at it. Being faithful at something doesn’t mean always doing it the same way or at the same time. All too often, spending time studying Scripture deteriorates into an item on a checklist to be dutifully checked off. “I’m devoted now.

Since Bible study is more than Bible reading; by definition, it involves thinking. Thinking is work. It’s not for sissies. If you re not mentally tired after doing what you presume is thinking, you aren’t really thinking. Sometimes our days don’t afford the time for the kind of sustained effort that goes into serious Bible study. Don’t let that bother you. Rather than fret over missing the study session you put on your checklist, my advice is to devote the small increments of time that you have to just thinking about what you’ve studied before. Sometimes it’s better to evaluate what you’ve taken in rather than taking in more. The point is this: It’s more spiritually productive to develop clarity on a point of the text or to figure out a way to frame a question for future study, than to just mark time with an open book (even if it’s the Bible) for the sake of maintaining a daily ritual. Ultimately, Bible study is about developing aptitude in the Scriptures, the source material for knowing God, not scorekeeping.

The life of the mind can be cultivated anywhere. You always bring your mind with you. Whatever you’ve been studying lately can be brought back and worked over again. Your brain has stored the fruits of your study. Precise recall isn’t a prerequisite either. Retrieve some thought and probe it for weakness, or thank God for its clarity. You’ll be surprised at how merely thinking from time to time helps you process a given issue or problem in altogether fresh ways.

Joshua 1:8

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

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 ‘Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.’ If you would like to listen to any of the past 1433 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 that 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 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 tomorrow!

Day 1433 – Augmented Reality – How Will It Impact Our World – Ask Gramps

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Welcome to Day 1433 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Augmented Reality – How Will It Impact Our World – 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. Today is Day 1433 of our Trek, and our focus on Fridays is the future technological and societal advances, so we call it Futuristic Fridays. My personality is one that has always been very future-oriented. Since my childhood, I have yearned for the exploration and discovery of new technologies and advancements for the future. I grew up with the original Star Trek series, and even today, while I am on my 64th revolution around the sun, I still dream of traveling in space. Each week we will explore rapidly converging technologies and advancements, which will radically change our lives. At times, the topics may sound like something out of a science fiction novel, but each area that we explore is already well on its way of becoming a reality over the next couple of decades.

To keep with our theme of “Ask Gramps,” I will put our weekly topics in the form of a question to get us on track. So this week’s question is: Hey Gramps, what is Augmented Reality, and how will it impact our world in the future?

Augmented Reality – How It Will Impact Our World

Last week on Futuristic Friday, we explored how Sensors and the Internet of Things (referred to as IoT) will track and measure all types of information in every aspect of our lives. Augmented Reality (or AR) will be one of the connections or sensors which will provide information to and from our world. Our world is in a disruptive mode, which will speed up the exponential technology that is changing our world today. I am using some of the information mentioned in Peter Diamandis’s blogs and book “The Future is Faster Than You Think.”

Augmented Reality is about to add a digital intelligence layer to our every surrounding, transforming retail, manufacturing, education, tourism, real estate, and almost every major industry that holds up our economy today.

Apple’s Tim Cook has remarked, “I regard [AR] as a big idea like the smartphone. The smartphone is for everyone. We don’t have to think the iPhone is about a certain demographic, or country, or vertical market. It’s for everyone. I think AR is that big; it’s huge.”

Apple, Microsoft, Google Alphabet, Amazon, and numerous other players are entering this AR market, so we are on the cusp of witnessing a newly augmented world.

In one of the most significant technological revolutions of this century, smartphones have dematerialized cameras, stereos, video game consoles, TVs, GPS systems, calculators, paper, and even matchmaking as we knew it.

AR glasses will soon perpetuate this, ultimately dematerializing the smartphone itself. We will no longer gaze into tiny, two-dimensional screens but rather see through a fully immersive, 3D interface.

·      Introducing the Augmented World

While already beginning to permeate mobile applications, AR will soon migrate to headsets, and eventually reach us through contact lenses — replacing over 3 billion smartphones in use today.

AR superimposes digital worlds onto physical environments (by contrast to VR, which completely immerses users in digital realities). In this way, AR allows users to remain engaged with their physical surroundings, serving as a visual enhancement rather than replacement.

As AR hardware costs continue to plummet — and advancements in connectivity begin enabling low-latency, high-resolution rendering — today’s AR producers are initially targeting businesses through countless enterprise applications.

While AR headsets remain too pricey for widespread consumer adoption, distribution is fast increasing. Roughly 150,000 headsets were shipped in 2016, and this number is expected to reach 22.8 million by 2022.

Meanwhile, AR app development has skyrocketed, allowing smartphone users to sample rudimentary levels of technology through numerous mobile applications. Already, over 1 billion people across the globe use mobile AR, and a majority of mobile AR integrations involve social media (84%) and e-commerce (41%).

Yet while well-known players like Microsoft, Apple, Google Alphabet, Amazon, Qualcomm, Samsung, NVIDIA, and Intel have made tremendous strides, well-funded startups remain competitive.

While AR isn’t (yet) as democratized as VR, $100 will get you an entry-level Leap Motion headset, while a top-of-the-line Microsoft HoloLens 2 remains priced at $3,500. However, heads-up-displays in luxury automobiles — arguably the first AR applications to go mainstream — will soon become a standard commodity in economic models.

As corporate partnerships with AR startups grow increasingly common, the convergence of augmented reality with sensors, networks, and IoT will transform almost every industry imaginable.

·      A Taste of Industry Transformations

In Manufacturing & Industry, AR training simulations are already beginning to teach us how to operate numerous machines and equipment, even to fly planes. Microsoft, for instance, is targeting enterprise clients with its HoloLens 2, as the AR device’s Remote Assist function allows workers to call in virtual guidance if unfamiliar problems arise in the manufacturing process.

Healthcare: AR will allow surgeons to “see inside” clogged arteries, provide precise incision guides, or flag potential risks, introducing seamless efficiency in everything from reconstructive surgeries to meticulous tumor removals. Medical students will use AR to peel back layers on virtual cadavers. And in everyday health, we will soon track nearly every health and performance metric — whether heart rate, blood pressure, or nutritional data — through AR lenses (as opposed to wearables).

Education: In our classrooms, AR will allow children (and adults alike!) to explore both virtual objects and virtual worlds. But beyond the classroom, we will have the option to employ AR as a private teacher wherever we go. Buildings will project their history into our field of view. Museums might have AR-enhanced displays. Every pond and park will double as a virtual-overlaid lesson in biology and ecology. Or teach your children the value of money with virtual budgeting and mathematical tabulations at grocery and department stores. Already, apps like Sky Map and Google Translate allow users to learn about their surroundings through smartphone camera lenses, and AR’s teaching capabilities are only on the rise.

Yet Retail & Advertising take AR’s transformative potential to a new level. Hungry and on a budget? Your smart AR contact lenses might show you all available lunch specials on the block, cross-referenced with real-time customer ratings, special deals, and your own health data for individualized recommendations. Storefront windows will morph to display your personalized clothing preferences, continuously tracked by AI, as eye-tracking technology allows your AR lenses to project every garment that grabs your attention onto your form, in your size. Smart AR advertising — if enabled — will target your every unique preference, transparently informing you of comparable, cheaper options the minute you reach for an item.

And in Entertainment, we will soon be able to toggle into imaginary realities, or even customize physical spaces with our own designs. 3D creations will become intuitive and shareable. Sports player stats will be superimposed onto live sporting events, as spectators recreate immersive stadiums with front-row seats in their own backyards. Turn on game mode, and every streetside, park, store, and neighborhood merges into a virtually overlaid game, socially interactive and interspersed with everyday life.

In Transportation, AR displays integrated in-vehicle windows will allow users to access real-time information about the restaurants, stores, and landmarks they pass. Walking, biking, and driving directions will be embedded in our routes through AR. And when sitting in your autonomous vehicle-turned office on the way to work, AR will have the power to convert any vessel into a virtual haven of your choice.

Welcome to the augmented world of 2030.

·      Final Thoughts

While enterprises are fueling the initial deployment of AR headsets for employee training and professional retooling, widespread consumer adoption is fast reaching the horizon. As hardware and connectivity skyrocket, driving down prices and democratizing access, sleek AR glasses — if not dematerialized lenses — will become an everyday given.

Advancements in cloud computing and 5G coverage are making AR products infinitely more scalable, ultra-fast, and transportable.

Yet ultimately, AR will give rise to neural architectures directly embedded through brain-computer interfaces. Our mode of interaction with the IoT will evolve from smartphone screens, to AR glasses, to contact lenses, to BCIs.

Over the next few ‘Futuristic Fridays,’ we will learn the ins and outs of AR technology before it initiates a revolutionary shift across every known industry, not to mention countless new ones.

There is a reality as Christ-followers that we have yet to experience. When Christ appears, our reality will be augmented with the truth, as we will see clearly.

1 John 3:2

Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.

That is a wrap for today’s question. Join us again next Futuristic Friday for another interesting question about our future on our ‘Ask Gramps’ episode. Our next trek is Meditation 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 1432 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 that 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 1432 – Shipwrecked! – Humor Unplugged

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Welcome to Day 1432 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Shipwrecked! – 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 1432 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 give 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:

Shipwrecked!

Captain Biltmore, an experienced seaman, decided to set sail on a solo journey from Hawaii to the Marshall Islands. It was a very long and somewhat dangerous journey. The Captain departed in late summer for what he anticipated would be a two-week journey. His sailboat was well stocked, and with over 20 years of maritime experience, and five years as a captain, he yearned for the challenge. It was smooth sailing during the first few days, but then he received word that the weather may turn violent within two days. He checked his compass and maps and decided that he could make it to a set of little known islands about three days to his south. It was slightly off course, and more into the direction of the coming storm, but it was his only alternative. Captain Biltmore battled high waves and rough seas, but forge onward to his destination. After two days, his sail was ripped to pieces, and he started throwing cargo overboard to lighten the load. On day three, as he was approaching an uninhabited island, which was still about 40 knots away, his sailboat broke into pieces. Clinging to a large plank of wood which he used as a raft, he grabbed another board to be his paddle. He rowed and rowed for about a day, and finally reached the shore of this small island in complete darkness. Captain Biltmore was so exhausted that he crawled about 100 yards from the coast and collapsed in a deep sleep. When Captain finally woke the next morning, he could not believe what he saw. The sand is dark red. He mumbled, “I can’t believe it.” He then looked up into the sky, which was also dark red. Captain Biltmore continued to walk around a bit and sees that dark red grass, dark red birds, and dark red fruit on the dark red trees. He’s shocked when he finds that his skin is starting to turn dark red, too.

Captain Biltmore screamed at the top of his lungs, “Oh no!! I’ve been marooned!!”

I hope that brought a smile to your face today. If it did pass your smile onto some else, we all could use a kind smile each day. Our Thursday thought is, Someone asked me if you were stranded on a desert island, what book would I bring… ‘How to Build a Boat.’Here is our verse for today:

Hebrews 13:5

Your lifestyle must be free from the love of money, being content with what you have. For he himself has said, “I will never desert you, and I will never abandon you.”

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 1431 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 that 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 Futuristic Friday!

Day 1431 – Biblical Foundations – God’s Divine Family – Worldview Wednesday

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Welcome to Day 1431 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Biblical Foundations – God’s Divine Family – Worldview Wednesday

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. Today is Day 1431 of our Trek, and it is Worldview Wednesday. Creating a Biblical Worldview is essential to have a proper perspective on today’s current events. To establish a Biblical Worldview, you must have a proper understanding of God and His Word. This week, on our Worldview Wednesday episode, we will begin a new study, based on a course I recently completed taught by Dr. Michael Heiser. Our study is titled “Sons and Daughters of God: The Believer’s Identity, Calling, and Destiny” Throughout this multi-week course we will demonstrate that, in the Old Testament, “sons of God” and “holy ones” refers to supernatural beings whose Father is God and who work with God to carry out His will and that this divine family was present before humanity. By fully engaging with biblical texts such as Psalm 82; Psalm 89, and Deuteronomy 32:8–9, our study will show that this divine family functions as a template for God’s human family. God desires of humans, as His imagers, to participate in His council. This study addresses issues such as polytheism, the nature of the (little ‘g’) “gods,” and the uniqueness of Yahweh. Within this study, we will apply insights to the New Testament texts and shows how the metaphor of being in God’s family informs our sense of identity and mission as believers.

Biblical Foundations

·      Segment 1: God Has a Divine Family

God’s Divine Family in the Old Testament

The place to begin our journey is first to recognize that God has a divine family, and really, God had a divine family before He had a human family. The family terminology that we’re going to talk about in the Old Testament is very intentional. It’s going to communicate certain ideas about our identity: who we are, our calling, our purpose, and our destiny; how we’ll realize both the fullness of our status, our identity, and fulfill our purpose in this life and accomplish God’s will on earth.

In other words, the divine family is actually going to turn out to be a template for understanding the creation and purpose of the human family, and that’s why we’re going to start and spend a reasonable amount of time on this idea of God’s divine family in the Old Testament.

Familiar New Testament language about our membership in God’s family came from somewhere; it has deep Old Testament roots. God’s family didn’t begin with humans. Humans had to be grafted into it. Its beginning was divine. So for that reason, we need to start with that particular supernatural divine family. We are going to talk about the nature of that family (who is in there? what kind of beings are we talking about?) and then its function. As we talk about the nature and function of the divine family, we’re going to be laying a foundation for how all that material is repurposed in the New Testament and applied to believers. 

·      Segment 2: The Divine Family Was Present Before Humanity

Divine Family in Job 38:4–7

Now, I mentioned that the Old Testament presents this idea that God had a divine family that was present before humanity. The primary passage for that is Job 38:4-7, and this is the passage where God asks Job, beginning in verse 4,

Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

Tell me, if you have understanding.

Who determined its measurements—surely you know!

Or who stretched the line upon it?

On what were its bases sunk,

or who laid its cornerstone,

when the morning stars sang together

and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Now, the point here is the “sons of God” language. There were divine beings, sons of God, present at the creation of the world; God had a family. These are spirit beings. We’re going to be taking a look at some other passages that refer to the sons of God as members of the heavenly hosts. So we know they’re spirit beings; they are not by nature embodied. They don’t have gender, anything like that.

“Sons of God,” a Hierarchical Expression

But you ask, “Where are the daughters? You know, why is it ‘sons of God’?” Well, in the Old Testament mode of thinking, “sons of God” is actually a hierarchical term. If you remember that Old Testament culture was predominantly, in terms of leadership, dominated by men, it was very patriarchal in some of its institutions. And so, “sons of God” is not so much a term that describes what a thing is (again, they don’t have gender; they don’t have bodies); it’s instead a term that describes a particular function, and we’ll be getting into some of those functions as we proceed.

God Wants a Blended Family

Now, after the earth’s foundations were laid, God decided to do some other things. As we know the biblical story, God decided to create a human family on earth. That family was embodied; they were terrestrial. So we have two families that emerge in the biblical story pretty clearly, but the divine family preexisted the human family. Humans are going to as their destiny—at least their planned destiny—going to join this family. Heaven is going to come to earth in the form of Eden. God is going to be there. His own heavenly family, His entourage, is going to be there. Humans were created to join in with that group—sort of a blended family where humans would live among these divine beings. Because heaven has now come to earth, they are not separate domains, and that was the original intent.

God, of course, is going to task humans with certain things, just like He tasks the members of His divine family with certain things. So the biblical story that emerges right from the beginning is that God is looking for a blended family—divine, and human. Humans living in the divine presence was the intended norm. Of course, we know that that’s not the way the story goes, but keep in mind the idea of the intended norm.

Divine Family Becomes a Template

The divine family, therefore, is a precursor; it becomes a template for how we should think about how God looks at the rest of His family, which is us. So we’re going to learn about the divine sons of God in order to understand how the New Testament later talks about our own identity and our calling and our destiny.[1]

That will conclude our first two segments in our study, “Sons and Daughters of God: The Believers Identity, Calling, and Destiny.” Join us again next week. I believe you will find each Worldview Wednesday contains thought-provoking topics 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 1430 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 so much 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 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!

[1] Heiser, M. S. (2019). Sons and Daughters of God: The Believer’s Identity, Calling, and Destiny. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.