The Smartest Man in The Room

3308295174_98a651bda4_z — Photo by Michelle Pearson

The Smartest Man in The Room

1 Corinthians 3:18-20

My son has a friend; we’ll call him Rick, names have been changed to protect the identity of the annoying. Rick is one of those guys who, due to his insecurities, need to be the smartest man in any room. You know, that person who makes you ask yourself, “why does my son hang around him?” No matter what’s going on, no matter what the topic, Rick knows more than everyone else about that subject. And, he’s the guy that always says inflammatory things to see if he can get a rise out of people. No matter what the subject, he’s going to do his best to try to make you think he knows more than you.

Rick and I recently had a conversation about the Church in America, and every point I made he would come back with, “Well, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.” I mentioned that, although Christ and His disciples spent their entire ministry fighting religion, the Church today has become little more than a religious organization. What was his response? “Well, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.” I talked about how the Church today has become a corporation, and he came back with that same response. So, I asked him why Jesus ran the money changers out of the temple; he responded that they were making God’s house into a den of thieves…Hello!

We all know Ricks. We all know people who have that insatiable urge to top everyone else. But what does Paul say about this in 1 Corinthians 3:18-20? “¹⁸Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. ¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, “He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.” ²⁰And again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise; he knows they are worthless.”

First, he tells us to stop deceiving ourselves. We can all end up in a place where we are deceiving ourselves, can’t we? I know there are times that I think I’m the smartest man in the room, but we need to keep our egos in check and realize that we can always learn from others, even guys like Rick.

This next statement seems to be a little contradictory, but Paul tells us that we may think we are wise by the world’s standards, but to truly become wise, we must first become a fool.

What Paul is saying here is that if you want to be truly wise, you must first renounce the world’s wisdom. You must be willing to look foolish in the world’s eyes; in other words, you must humble yourself to truly become wise. What does James 4:10 say? “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.” We must humble ourselves first, then let Christ lift us up. Whenever we try to lift ourselves up, it doesn’t turn out well, even if we think it did.

The Bible talks a lot about humility. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus said, “God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.” Matthew 5:5. And, when Jesus was talking about who will be the greatest in His kingdom, He said, “So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 18:4. In fact, in Matthew 23:11-12, Jesus said, “¹¹The greatest among you must be a servant. ¹²But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” So, if you truly want to be great, serve others…the world will never tell you that. But if you don’t humble yourself, He will humble you! I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be humbled by God…just sayin’.

Let’s face it, our ultimate example for everything in this world is Jesus, and He gave the ultimate example of humility. Look at Philippians 2:5-11, “⁵You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. ⁶Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. ⁷Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,⁸he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. ⁹Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

What does it say in verse 8? In obedience to the father, Jesus not only died for our sins but He, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the creator of everything, humbled Himself and died a criminal’s death. What does Galatians 3:13 say? “But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’” And, because of His humility, we read in verse 9 that God has given Him a name that is above every other name, and that at the name of Jesus every knee WILL bow and every tongue WILL confess that Jesus Christ IS Lord, and this will glorify the Father. Hallelujah!

So, when you feel that urge to try to sound wise to those around you, take a step back and think of ways you can humble yourself. Think of how you can serve that person. When I’m talking to someone like Rick, I get the urge to put him in his place, and sometimes I try to, but we need just to humble ourselves and, maybe we can learn something.

June 5, 2019 0

Wise Speech

32262803122_83ed14870c_o — Photo by Michelle Pearson

Wise Speech

1 Corinthians 2:6

Have you ever found yourself talking to another believer, completely amazed at the wisdom coming from them and at the same time realizing that it isn’t them? This happened to me recently when Michelle and I were talking to our new friends Terry and Amore. If you are a regular reader, you might remember me talking about them about a month or so ago. We had just met them but sat glued to everything he was saying and marveling at the wisdom that was exuding from him, but it was obvious it was God’s wisdom and not his. I know he didn’t go to Bible school or seminary, but I don’t even know if he went to college, it never came up because it was irrelevant. I realize I have recently used this verse, but it made me think of Acts 4:13, “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.”

Amore is a very humble man whose only goal is to glorify God. His speech is plain like we talked about last week, yet the wisdom of God just flowed from everything he said. This is what Paul was getting at in 1 Corinthians 2:6 when he said, “Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten.”

So, why didn’t he speak with God’s wisdom to the church at Corinth? One of the problems was that this particular church was trusting in their own wisdom. Corinth was a center of Greek philosophy which touted the wisdom of man. They worshiped man-kind, and their earthly wisdom much like many people do today. And, although the church were believers, they were very immature believers because they were being swayed by their environment.

Paul let them know that when he is with mature believers, he does speak with wisdom. By saying this, Paul was putting them in their place. They thought they were all that, but Paul let them know that they were still very immature in Christ. God often does this with us. We start trusting in our own wisdom and even try to take credit for God’s wisdom. God will never stand for this.

But when Paul told them that he spoke words of wisdom with more mature believers, he added a qualifier. He said, “but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten.” You see, the wisdom of this world is fleeting; it is soon forgotten. Those who think they are wise in the world will be forgotten.

The thing about God’s wisdom is that it is irrefutable. Oh, the world can try to mock it, trivialize it, or dispute it, but when they come face to face with the wisdom of God, they either give in or walk away.

Far too often, we try to reason with the unsaved by using our own, worldly knowledge. This never works and usually causes you and Christians as a whole to look ignorant. When talking to the world, or other Christ followers for that matter, we must go to them in the wisdom of God, not men.

So, where do we get the wisdom of God? Proverbs 9:10 says, “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.” Talking about fearing God isn’t popular right now, but it is scriptural. This verse and many others tell us that if we want to get wisdom, first we must fear God. Today the Church either preaches the love of God only or the fear of God only. As always, we are a people of extremes. But the truth is, both messages are equally important, and neither is exclusive. We must fear God because He loves us. You see, God loves us so much that He will never allow us to continue in sin without punishment. Did your dad ever tell you, “I brought you into this world, I can take you out!” I realize this is not a politically correct thing to say today, but I heard it growing up. My kids feared me; they knew if they did wrong, there would be consequences because I loved them and wanted them to grow up to be men of God. They also feared to let me down or disappoint me.

Someone recently told me that “The God of the Old Testament was an angry God and the God of the New Testament was a loving God.” It was obvious that this person had never read the Old Testament. Yes, in the Old Testament God did punish His people many times, but He always gave them chance after chance first. I shared with him my favorite verse. I took him to Zephaniah 3:17 which says, “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” You can’t get much more Old Testament than Zephaniah, and yet this doesn’t sound like an angry God to me.

The second step to getting God’s wisdom is, once we have realized the fear of God, we need to ask for wisdom. James 1:5-8 says, “⁵If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. ⁶But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” So, if you want wisdom, just ask! But first, you must make sure your faith is in God alone, not in yourself.

Lastly, we need to realize that there is a difference between wisdom and knowledge. I saw a quote just yesterday that summed this up very well. I must say that I don’t usually quote Jimmy Hendrix, but this was good, he said, “Knowledge talks, wisdom listens.”

So, if you want God’s wisdom, you must first fear Him, then you must ask for it, then, just listen.

February 28, 2019 0

Putting the Strong to Shame

3291675134_076d820ddd_z — Photo by Michelle Pearson

Putting the Strong to Shame

1 Corinthians 1:26-29

Have you ever watched ants? No, not the movie, the actual insects. I know, that’s a strange question, but have you? We all know they can lift, what is it, like ten times their weight? But have you ever found yourself just sitting there watching them? Michelle and I go hiking every week, and on one of our hikes, after reaching the end of a long out and back trail, we decided to sit down and eat something before we headed back. This hike was more than five miles each way, a total of almost eleven miles. We were at the top of the Ice House Saddleback on Mt. Baldy here in Southern California and while we were sitting there on the ground looking at the spectacular view, some ants caught my eye. There was this seemingly endless line of little red ants walking along this old dead fallen log, no they weren’t carrying the log, but many of them were carrying things that were huge in comparison to their tiny size.

That would be like me carrying a car on my back. Now, I was carrying my backpack that, by this point felt like a car, but we could never do what these little ants did. I just sat there amazed at their strength.

Well, that’s the way that God works in us. He takes the weakest, wimpiest, strangest, oddest humans He can find and uses us in spite of our inabilities. Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 1:26-29. Paul starts in verse 26 by reminding us, “Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you.” Think about the believers you know who are truly sold out for and used by Christ. How many of them were wise, or powerful, or wealthy in the eyes of the world when God called them? Probably not many, right? I could go on all day about people I know like this, but I don’t have to go any further than my mirror. I gave my life to Christ at the tender age of 5. I spent my life studying and memorizing His word. I knew He wanted to use me to minister for Him but had no idea how. I tried on several occasions to go to Bible school, but God shut those doors every time, so I went on to get a degree in biology. Instead of having me spend tens of thousands of dollars getting a piece of paper from some humans saying that I know the Bible the way they see it, God showed me years ago that the Bible cannot be interpreted. You see, the Bible is the inerrant, infallible, verbally inspired word of God, so if we put our errant, fallible interpretation on it, it is no longer perfect. God showed me that we must study His word by taking it literally and keeping if in the context of the entire Bible. The thing about doing this is that it takes a lot of work, but if you love God’s word, then it isn’t work. Michelle and I try to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation every 90 days. Doing this gives a lot of perspective and context for our studies.

There is an app for your smartphone called YouVersion that will read it to you in whatever translation you want, so I try to switch it up every time. Currently, I am reading it in the NASB, the New American Standard translation. The next thing I do is, when studying a passage or topic, I don’t just read that chapter, I start by reading the whole book. Next, I look up keywords in the original language. You don’t have to be a Greek and Hebrew scholar to do this; I use BlueLetterBible. With this app or website, you can go to the original language translations, look at the Strong’s Concordance definition, and read commentaries on it. I will warn though, commentaries can help, but they are what that man thinks it is saying, so always test what they are saying with scripture. For that matter, test what I am saying to scripture.

Paul goes on to say in verse 27, “Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.” A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned a family I know who most people would write off as being very backward but are truly genius and giants in God’s kingdom. You see, God loves to use those of us who the world sees as common to confound the wise. If you take a look at my twitter page, @tapearsonwriter, you’ll see that my bio says, “A Christ Follower. Author-fiction, non, screenwriter, blogger, & podcaster. Confounding the wise. 1 Cor 1:26-29” I know that I am not wise in the world’s eyes. I don’t have some lofty degree from men, and I am dyslexic but I have a passion for my God and want to see his word proclaimed. I love to study His word and worship Him in spirit and truth, and I believe He uses me because of that, and in spite of myself.

I love what He says in verse 28, “God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.” So, it’s not just the things the world sees as foolish or powerless, He also uses the things that the world counts as nothing, those things they see as useless and detestable, to bring them to nothing.

So, here’s the 100,000-dollar question. Why does God do this? Why does He take someone like me and probably many of you reading this, to confound the wise and powerful of this world? The answer is simple, and Paul tells us in verse 29 where he says, “As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.” If I am not wise, but God imparts wisdom on me if I am powerless and God makes me powerful if I am thought of as nothing by this world and God uses me to bring the world to nothing, then how could I ever boast about that.

Take a look at the miracles done by Christ’s disciples in the New Testament. First, these guys weren’t anything special they were fishermen who were thought of as poor by the world, common people, and a tax collector who was despised by the world, and yet God used them to demonstrate His power, and as a result of those demonstrations, many came to Christ. Jesus told us in John 14:12-14, ¹²“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. ¹³You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. ¹⁴Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!” Because Christ has given us the Holy Spirit, we can do the same works Jesus did and even greater, but it’s not through our power. Always remember what John the Baptizer said, “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” John 3:30.

February 6, 2019 0

Where Is The Wise Man?

3452480169_ba64f90b2d_z — Photo by Michelle Pearson

Where Is the Wise Man?

1 Corinthians 1:20-25

Last weekend Michelle and I took a very quick trip up to Redding, California. We drove over 8 hours each way to visit Bethel Church and were truly blessed there, that will be for a future blog. But God didn’t stop there; He also blessed us by a couple we met. Amore and Terry had also driven to Redding to visit this church, but they live a little closer to it, in Fulsome. Michelle and I arrived at the church early Saturday morning. It was cold and raining, but we made our way into the building and were sitting in the foyer when this couple came in. We immediately hit it off and in minutes were in deep conversation about the love of God and what He has done in our lives. It was amazing how, even though we were so different in some ways, our lives paralleled each other in a multitude of other ways. God truly brought us together with this couple.

After we were finished with that amazing service, again, for another time, Amore asked if we would like to go to lunch with them. It didn’t matter that we had just met them, or that we had another 8+ hour drive ahead of us, we quickly agreed as we didn’t want this time of fellowship to end. So, the four of us went to a small restaurant just a few miles from the church and sat for 3 hours talking, sharing stories, and praising God. Amore had us on the edge of our seats talking about the things God has done for them in their lives. But here’s the thing, like us they are not wealthy, but they are blessed. They don’t have a lot of physical possessions, but they have a close relationship with God. Also, like us, they have never been to seminary or Bible college, and yet we were amazed at the wisdom that poured out this man. Amore didn’t go to Bible college; he went straight to God. You see, it isn’t about the world’s wisdom, or the college you went to, or what you have learned from men about the Bible, it’s about God’s wisdom and what He reveals to you from His word and your daily fellowship with Him. I remember one time while watching the TV program, Restaurant Impossible; I heard the host, Robert Irvine, talk about how he never went to culinary school, he just learned under some great chefs. That’s what I’m talking about. It’s not about the school you learned from; it’s about how much time you spent at the feet of the Master. It’s like something they said at Bethel, “It’s not about the anointed man of God, it’s about the anointed God of man.”

Today I would like to look at 1 Corinthians 1:20-25 where it says, “²⁰Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. ²²For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; ²³but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, ²⁴but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

The first thing Paul does here is he asks some questions. He asks where the wise men, scribes, and great debaters are. Next, he says, “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” That’s how it is. We think we are so wise with our big words and fancy educations, but it’s all foolishness to God. We try to impress people with all of our knowledge, but it doesn’t mean anything to God.

He goes on to say how, through the world’s wisdom, it didn’t come to know Him. That is so true! The world’s wisdom tries to explain away God. The world’s wisdom has come up with nonsense like evolution, and even though it is nothing more than a theory, they teach it in our schools as if it is a fact and mock you if you believe otherwise. My degree is in biology, so when someone tries to tell me that they believe evolution because it is scientific, I love to ask them to quote the laws that govern science. The first rule is that, if something is to be considered scientific, it must be observable and repeatable. So, by the rules of science, evolution is not scientific at all, it is nothing more than a faith based belief system.

Paul goes on to say that, because the world doesn’t find God through their wisdom, He is pleased, it actually says He is “well-pleased,” to save us through the foolishness of preaching. He says that when we preach Christ crucified, it is a stumbling block to the Jews because they don’t believe that He is the Messiah, and it is foolishness to the Greeks because they seek worldly wisdom. Let’s face it, there is nothing scientific about faith, but that’s the point, isn’t it?

And, here’s where it gets really beautiful, it says that for those of us who are the called of God, no matter what our background is, Christ is the Power of God and the Wisdom of God! Wow, that is so true! If we have Christ, we have the Power of God, and we have the Wisdom of Christ. What more do we need? We don’t need human power or human wisdom; we simply need Christ!

I love how Paul wraps up this part of his letter. He says in verse 25, “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” You see, God’s foolishness is wiser than the wisest man, and His strength is stronger than the strongest man.

So, when you start thinking of yourself a little higher than you should, picture yourself up against Christ, then step back and take a look at yourself. If that doesn’t make you feel tiny, nothing will.

January 30, 2019 0

Don’t Live Like Fools

31996422554_4ba657f685_z — Photo by Michelle Pearson

Don’t Live Like Fools

Ephesians 5:15-20

If you grew up in church, especially if you are around my age, you probably grew up singing a song in Sunday School that says, “Oh be careful little eyes what you see,” “be careful little mouth what you say,” and “be careful little feet where you go, because the Father up above is looking down in love.” Sometimes I think we need to go back to those children songs, their so simple and yet so profound.

Our passage today sums this all up. In Ephesians 5:15 Paul says, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.” Just be careful how you live, it’s that simple…Right? He says that we shouldn’t live like fools, instead we should live like the wise. Okay, the first question is, how do we get wisdom? James 1:5 tells us, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” We quote this verse quite a bit, but sometimes we forget to go on from there. Verses 6-8 say, “⁶But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” So, yes, ask God, but you must have complete faith and trust in God alone. That means, don’t look for wisdom in Confucius, Plato, or Socrates, and don’t trust your own wisdom. We must remember that true wisdom only comes from God. We may ask God for wisdom, then wonder why He hasn’t given it to us. It’s because we keep trusting in our own wisdom or that of other humans, our loyalty is divided.

So, what are the attributes of true wisdom? James 3:17 tells us, “¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.” God’s wisdom is Pure, Peace Loving, Gentle at all times, and always willing to yield to others, in other words, it’s not proud. If your wisdom can’t be described as all these things, it is not of God. But, did you see what else it says? Look at it, “It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds.” It’s not that wisdom brings about good deeds, it is the product of good deeds. Wisdom is produced by us asking God for it and doing good deeds.

So, if we want to live by the Spirit’s power, we first must live like the wise, not the foolish. But this passage goes on to say, “¹⁶Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. ¹⁷Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. ¹⁸Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,¹⁹singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. ²⁰And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” If you hadn’t noticed, we are living in very evil days, but Paul tells us to look for opportunities and make the most of them.

And, how can we make the most of these opportunities? We need to stop being thoughtless and start understanding God’s plan. As we’ve seen many times before, God’s plan is for us to glorify Him…that’s all! And, here’s how we can glorify God:

Step 1: Don’t be a drunk! Why? It will ruin your life! I can’t begin to tell you how many lives I’ve seen ruined by alcoholism, even in my own family.

Step 2: Be filled with the Holy Spirit. We must empty ourselves of self and allow the Holy Spirit to fill us and rule in us.

Step 3: SING! Sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. A study was recently released on the benefits of singing 10 minutes each day. It strengthens your immune system, it is a workout in itself and even strengthens your lungs, it improves your posture, it aids in regular sleep, it is a natural anti-depressant, it lowers stress levels, it improves mental alertness, it can widen your circle of friends, boost your confidence, broaden your communication skills, and increase your ability to appreciate other music. Sing out loud, but also make music in your heart to the Lord.

Step 4: And, most important. In the name of Jesus Christ, give thanks to God for EVERYTHING! Not just the good things…everything.

We all need to ask ourselves daily, am I living by the Spirit’s power? This word, power, is a word we talked about quite a while ago. The Greek word is dunamis, which is the word we derived our word dynamite from. It is an explosive power and an inherent power. It is a power that is inherent within us and only comes from God. In contrast, the word the Bible always uses when it talks about Satan’s power is exousia which means the ability or strength with which one is endued. It is a power that God has allowed Satan to have for a season.

So, pray every day that God will fill you with the Holy Spirit. In fact, pray to be filled to overflowing, so the Spirit will spill out on everyone you come in contact with. Don’t be drunk but allow the Spirit of God to rule in your life. Then sing…sing with joy in your heart to the Lord. If you are singing all day every day, whether out loud or to yourself, you will be filled with joy, you will be doing good deeds which will bring about God’s wisdom in your life, and you will be living in the power of the Spirit of God.

November 7, 2018 0