Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 1339 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
Moving Mountains – 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 1339 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.
How much faith is enough to live a righteous life? It may surprise you, but a very tiny amount is needed. So today, let us consider:
Moving Mountains
We all have faith in our lives, even when we do not recognize that we do. When was the last time you thought whether your favorite chair would hold you when you sat in it? When was the last time, when going to bed, that you wondered if it would collapse? Probably a very long time, if ever. How much faith do you need to sit in your chair, or lie down in your bed? I would venture to say, very little faith. Why is that? It is because you are familiar with your chair and bed, and based on many days or nights of trusting them, you are confident that they would support you.
Our faith in God should be no different. It takes practically no faith to both believe and trust in God, or to trust that Jesus Christ is our substitution for falling short of God’s righteous requirements.
Let me read to you a story about faith. This takes place immediately following what is referred to as the transfiguration, where Peter, James, and John had the ultimate mountain top experience. They had just witnessed the glorified Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah. Then they came back to reality. Matthew 17:14-20, At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.” Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment, the boy was well. Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?” “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.
Do you have the faith to move mountains? Mountains are huge, and we are pretty small in comparison. Besides that, we are emotional and fickle creatures. Our faith ebbs and flows. Sometimes we feel strong in our faith; other times, we have next to none.
Here is the good news: It is not up to our faith to move mountains, because we have nothing to do with it. God does. Only God is in the mountain-moving business. Since we are created to be imagers of God, we tend to usurp that which can only come from God. We may feel that it is up to us to muster up the faith to make something happen. But it is not about muster; it is about mustard. As in something that is as small as a mustard seed. In other words, barely visible. Jesus said in the passage, I just read that nothing is impossible for the person who has faith the size of a tiny mustard seed.
Instead of concentrating on the strength of our faith, we must focus on the object of our faith, which is Jesus Christ. A parallel passage to the one I read which gives another detail is Mark 9:21-24 “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father. He replied, “Since he was a little boy. The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”
Was this boy healed because of the quantity of the father’s faith? No, the father had very little faith. In fact, he cried out, “help me overcome my unbelief!” The father lacked the needed faith. What little faith the father did have, he placed it in the right person. God’s power can help our little bit of faith and accomplish great things through us. He just wants out trust. As we learn of Him, our faith will grow. Where can that seed of faith be found? It comes from God’s Word. Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.
Just as you trust your favorite chair and bed to support you without even thinking about it, the more we put our faith in the Good News about Christ, the more that it will become part of the very fabric of our daily lives.
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 1338 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 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:
- Live Abundantly (Fully)
- Love Unconditionally
- Listen Intentionally
- Learn Continuously
- Lend to others Generously
- Lead with Integrity
- 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!
This is natural, and happens to all of us at times. When we are lacking energy, we tend to put off what will actually re-energize us. Although it seems contrary, physical exercise actually will boost your energy levels. It does seem backward. You would think that exercise would make you feel more tired. For most people, however, it actually gives them more energy. Since I broke my femur bone almost three years ago, I still have pain in that leg, which I would not have had otherwise. The interesting aspect of this is that when I do not exercise, the pain actually becomes worst. Here is why physical exercise will give you more energy, not less. It does not require extensive cross-fit type training to be effective.
As far as what type of physical activity is best for you. Pick something that you enjoy. Play a game of basketball, football, or tennis. Go jogging or walking with a friend, or go for a bike ride. Take some time for yourself and rock out to music or watch a favorite TV show while you step away the miles on an elliptical or stair-climbing machine at the gym. Go for a hike, or take your kids outside to the park and play with them.
If you would like to listen to any of the past 1337 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.
Both Jimmy and Sammy stared at her intently for what seemed a very long time. Finally, Sammy looked at her with all seriousness and said: “Well, Miss Smith, you can’t say you weren’t warned.”
If you would like to listen to any of our past 1331 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.
As we begin a new section in Dr. Heiser’s book, our focus now turns to the prophets of the Old Testament. In popular usage, Christian or otherwise, the word “prophet” is associated with foretelling the future. That’s understandable when it comes to the Bible, since both testaments have prophetic figures making predictive statements about what will come to pass in the future. Despite that truth, it doesn’t take long when reading the prophets to discern that most of what they do isn’t about predicting anything. More than anything else, prophets were actually preachers. Scholars like to say that a prophet spent more time “forth-telling” than “fore-telling.”
It’s because of this role that we have the modern expression about “speaking with a prophetic voice.” When you hear that phrase, it doesn’t concern predicting the future. Rather, the point is that some man or woman is bold enough to tell the truth when it’s unpopular or even dangerous. That’s what prophets did, and they paid dearly for it.
One of the themes in the academic study of the prophets is the ecstatic behavior of prophetic figures. Prophets fell into trances, convulsed, and participated in otherwise strange conduct. The idea stems in large part from ancient Near Eastern parallels that refer to such figures with a vocabulary similar or identical to that found in the Old Testament.
If you would like to listen to any of our past 1335 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.
Gratefulness is important, yes, very important. What are some of the reasons we do not express our gratitude more frequently? Are we too proud? Are we too selfish? Are we so wrapped up within ourselves that it doesn’t even come to mind? Until we realize that all that we have, including the very next breath that we take, comes from God, we will not be as grateful as we should be. 
In other words, all that we have, or ever hope to be, comes from a gracious and loving God. When we acknowledge this, and thank God for it, then that becomes a most perfect prayer. As we read in 
Even if some days are difficult, and it is hard to be thankful, there is always someone or something in our lives to be grateful for. Especially on those dark days, instead of seeking someone to show kindness to you, turn the tables and show kindness to someone else. In doing so, you will soon realize that the blessings are returned to you, and be thankful. 
If you would like to listen to any of our past 1334 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.