Are You Filled with a Spirit of Wisdom?

Deuteronomy 34:9 – And Joshua, the son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him, and the children of Israel hearkened to him and did as the Lord commanded.

    Moses was the kind of spiritual leader that the world had not seen before. He was used by God to confront one of the most powerful leaders and greatest military strategists of the earth: Pharaoh, King of Egypt. God instructed Moses on how to approach and deal with Pharaoh, but we can only imagine the kind of faith and courage it took to go face to face in conflict with this ruthless and formidable dictator. God worked through Moses in an unusually amazing way, and the children of Israel were miraculously released from four-hundred years of collective slavery. Moses’ successor had some very large shoes to fill, and Joshua was the one whom God chose to step into them.

    If Joshua was going to be able to succeed Moses as leader of the newly formed, rebellious, and ragtag nation, he was going to need, among many other things, a spirit of wisdom. Wisdom is the supreme need of all leaders. One can be strong and courageous but have a wrong motive. One could be able to influence and direct others, but be headed in the wrong direction. One could have many resources, but use them in the wrong way. Wisdom gives us precisely what we need and more, and it is vital that we acquire it. The principles of wisdom must be instructed, line upon line, but the spirit of wisdom must be imparted, time after time. The laws of wisdom must be learned, but the force of wisdom must be earned. 

       Joshua had served Moses from his youth. He spent many hours with Moses; watching, waiting, listening and obeying. He served Moses daily and helped him in whatever way was needed. He was up in the morning before Moses was up; he got him water and a basin; he brought him food and drink. He climbed the mountain with Moses to meet God. He was always close by, as Moses prayed and talked to God. He could hear Moses reciting the powerful spiritual truths that God had shown him. Joshua watched as Moses endured the pain of misunderstandings and betrayals from people that should have known better. He watched Moses suffer under the weight of responsibility and the sense of loneliness that comes with any leadership burden but, especially one of that magnitude and capacity.

    The laying on of hands is one of the foundational principles of the New Testament and it is a fascinating subject and practice. However, there may be more involved in it than we have experienced. I do not believe that Joshua was full of a spirit of wisdom because of a one-time event of Moses placing his hands on him. No doubt, that would be a very powerful experience for any of us, but, I believe, that it was over a period of years that Moses, by Joshua’s close association and proximity, continually laid his hands on him. Something was happening deep within Joshua as he served the man of God and spent much time in his presence. Something was transpiring within him, something was being transferred to him; and all of it was taking place slowly and silently, incrementally and incessantly, purposely and precisely. This wasn’t something that Moses was intentionally doing, per se, and it wasn’t something that Joshua was especially conscious of. It was something that God was doing, and He was doing it in the way that only He can. Every act, every thought, every prayer, and every circumstance were being woven together by the Master Designer, weaving the fabric of wisdom with which He clothed Joshua.

     Moses had brought the Israelites out of Egypt but, for some reason, he failed to bring them in. God wants us to be brought out, but the job is not complete until we are also brought in. Joshua brought them in. The spirit of wisdom which was within Joshua made it obvious to the children of Israel that God had equipped him to assume leadership. So, they listened and obeyed, and God brought them into the land of promise and inheritance. There is so much more that God desires for us, but we must desire it, as well. We will need that same spirit of wisdom so that we can enter our promised land, drive out the illegal squatters, and reclaim our rightful, God-ordained inheritance.

Rock of Ages

Psalm 18:2 - The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. 

    The Book of Psalms is probably the most quoted book of the Bible; it is loved by many people and is a place where people, of all walks of life, frequently come, for comfort, hope, strength and security. One of the reasons that it is so loved is because it is so personal. Every human emotion and experience is recorded within its pages and it is easy to identify with the struggles of the writers. One of those writers, who seemed to always make his relationship with the Lord so very intimate, personal and vulnerable, is David.

    The Lord is my rock. This is either very presumptuous and arrogant of David to say, or, it is the height of faith. Of course, we know it is the latter; it is the highest expression of faith. Can we say along with David, ‘The Lord is my rock?’ Only those who know the Lord can say it, but saying it is also another way of drawing close to God and knowing Him better. The Lord is my rock. Say it out loud. Say it slowly. Say it daily. Say it in the good times and in the hard times. Say it to yourself and to others. Say it because it is real, and say it to make it even more real. The Lord is my rock.

    The Lord is the one and only God; the Creator of heaven and earth. He is the Almighty One against whom none can overpower. He is the Self-Existent One; uncreated and eternal. He always has been and He always will be. He is the highest Being in the universe, truly, there is none higher, and this is He of whom we are speaking and declaring that He is my rock. This almost defies understanding; that the Almighty God would descend to my level and have a very close association with me. He knows everything about each one of us and yet He chooses to come to us and be to us what we need Him to be. He is my rock.

    The rock, to the ancient Hebrew, was the steady, weighty, unchanging and immovable One. He is our steadiness because, like the rock, he holds us solidly to the earth and keeps our feet planted firmly on the ground. He creates within us stability and constancy, which enables us to build an orderly life. He is my rock. Sometimes when we speak of someone who has a lot of power and influence we might say that they are heavy, or, that they are a heavy hitter. That means that they carry a lot of weight and authority. There is no heavier hitter than our God, and by virtue of our relationship with Him, He communicates a measure of that weight and authority to us. He is my rock. The rock does not change. It persists through the centuries, remaining the same through every season. It endures intense heat and bitter cold and yet remains unchanged. The Lord is my rock and He will always be the same. It matters not what I have done or haven’t done; I change, but His Word never changes, His heart never changes, His will never changes, and because of that, I can rely upon Him fully. He is my rock.

Occasionally we may hear people speak of those who are faithful friends, or loyal spouses and they might say, ‘She is my rock’, or, ‘He is my rock’. However, no matter how faithful and reliable another person is, and, of course, we are thankful for it; they are not in the same rock-like category of God’s eternally unchanging nature. God said elsewhere, ‘I am the Lord and I change not’, and because of that, we can have a measure of predictability in our lives. We know what God wants because we have read what God wrote; His Word is His will. When the winds of adversity begin to blow with great intensity, remember that you are tethered to the heaviest and most secure One in the universe. Do not fear. Do not panic. He has you, he has you covered, and He has you held in His hands. All of God’s children can say with great confidence, ‘He is my rock.’

The Seed Meets the Need

Luke 8:11 – The seed is the word of God.

    Only God, with His infinite mind, and limitless intellect, could come up with the idea of a seed. Man could never have conceived of such an amazing concept and remarkable system. Man cannot, now, or ever, create seed; only God can create it. Man can cultivate and cross-pollinate seed; he can even modify it, but he does not have the ability to create it. Seed bears the stamp of God’s supremacy and the seal of His private ownership. He does not need to patent it because, no matter how smart and innovative man is, he will always be dependant on God’s higher ability to supply seed.

    Seed is impartial; it does not discriminate. If a rich person, or a poor person sows the seed, it cares not who sowed it. If an educated person, or an uneducated person sows the seed, it does not differentiate. Also, when the seed enters the ground, it does not discern the type of soil it lands in. If it is sown into hard clay, or loose soil, it will put forth the same effort to germinate. Regardless if it is introduced into deep, rich soil, or shallow gravel, its latent power will spring into action. The seed has innate and instinctive powers of growth and reproduction. Expansion and multiplication is built in to its DNA. It desires to grow; it longs to reproduce. It is always the will of the seed to germinate, increase and reproduce itself within the fruit.

    It is an amazing thought that every seed can be traced all the way back, through the centuries, to the original tree from which it owes its existence. There is no original seed being made now; the seed came from the tree that God created in the beginning. From that time forth, He gave mankind stewardship and entrusted him with the cultivation, conservation and preservation of the seed.

    Jesus informs us that, in this parable, the seed is the Word of God, which means, that just like seed needs to be sown and nurtured, God’s Word must be planted and cared for in the soil of our hearts. We have a vital and necessary role to play in the growth of God’s Word in our lives. The seed is dependant on the one who has been entrusted with it; it cannot grow and reproduce without our cooperation. This is the system that God has established. He set this unchangeable law into motion; the law of reproduction. This is where our thinking must be correct; God is not going to bulldoze into our lives and overpower our ability to choose; He honours His system. Even though certain things may be His will, He waits to see what we will do with the seed. He is looking for us to assume some responsibility for our lives and future. Make no mistake about it; for results to occur, the seed of the Word must be sown.

    As we have said before, there is no new seed being created, or produced, that did not come from the original tree. In the same way, there are no new words from God that do not spring from the original and established Word of God. Don’t look for originality; take what has been given to you. Use what is available. Be proactive and begin to plant the seed of the Word that you possess. Give time regularly to the reading and meditation of the Scriptures. Read slowly and think deeply. Do your best to apply what you know to your daily life. Seeds always produce according to their own species, and the Word-seeds from God will do the same. The Word of God contains life and that very life will be reproduced in you. The Word of God includes wisdom and that same wisdom will be replicated in you. The Word of God carries inspiration and that creative inspiration will be duplicated in you. The Word of God is powerful and that similar power will be repeated in you. Take heart, friends, by taking the Word of God and planting it within. Whether it be in our own lives, our families, our organizations, or our churches, we are not helpless and, no matter what we face, it is not hopeless. We can sow our way, and grow our way out of weakness, into strength; out of despair, into hope; out of sorrow, into joy and out of death, into life!

It's Not Rocket Science

Mark 4:26 – And He said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground.

    Jesus was the master communicator of all times. He spoke to people in such a way that they could understand and apply what He was saying. He did not tell people that the kingdom of God is like rocket science, calculus or quantum physics, and that should make most of us very happy. In this case, He was speaking to people who understood farming; they understood the value of growing food for family and others; indeed, for them and many today, they had a vital and intensely practical connection to the ground.

    In studying the term kingdom, we learn that in the original language, it has the connotation of basic or basis; in other words, the kingdom of God is simple and foundational. We do not need any new truth because God has given us His Word which is the truth. We do not need to discover any so-called ‘lost’ books of the Bible for we have sixty-six ‘found’ books to focus on and that should keep us all very busy. We do not need any additions to the truth any more than we need additions to the alphabet. Let’s just keep it basic and simply assemble the letters together and build, and there is plenty of material to work with for there is an unlimited number of potential combinations.

    Jesus said that the kingdom of God is uncomplicated, like a man casting seed into the ground, and it doesn’t get any more basic than that. When we were in our primary grades at school, we put seeds into small containers of soil. We watered them and watched them grow over time. It was an appropriate life lesson that all must learn; seeds sown and nurtured will eventually produce a harvest, and we reap precisely what we sow, be it good or bad.

    Man cannot create seed. He can plant it, cultivate it, and, as we know today, he can even modify it, but he can never create it. The seed comes from God; it is His stamp of Supremacy; it carries the indelible mark of the Creator, and it lies within His domain. Luke tells us, in his gospel, that the seed is the Word of God and Peter informs us, in his letters, that God’s seed is incorruptible and endures forever. Just as God never needs to brag, likewise, the seed never boasts of its power; it grows silently and increases steadily until it bursts forth out of the ground and no matter what kind of opposition comes, it eventually breaks through all barriers and conquers its enemies.

    Jesus is giving us vital instruction that clarifies the responsibility of both God and man. God has roles to play, man has roles to play, and the kingdom has rules that come into play. God alone gives the seed, which carries the latent power, and man alone sows the seed, which releases that latent power. God took the first step and buried His power in the seed, but now man must take the next step and bury the seed in the soil. God and man working together to produce a result; that is the kingdom of God, and that kind of partnership is what He desires to have with us. Be encouraged, friends, you and I are not helpless victims of the circumstances of life, we do not have to surrender and submit to whatever comes our way. No. We can take the seed of God, which is His Word, and sow it into our lives and into the lives of those around us and watch it grow slowly and steadily until it prevails; bringing about victory over every adverse circumstance.

Victory from Above

1Corinthians 15:57 – But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

    In this section of Paul’s letter, He is dealing with the terrible effects of sin and death, and as he ponders the things that Jesus has done to reverse the damage, he bursts into praise and thanksgiving. Thankfulness and gratitude are the appropriate responses of one who has been graciously given an undeserved gift, especially one of immense value. When you are raising children one of the fundamental things you want them to learn is to be thankful for everything that they receive in life and, also, to communicate that gratitude. It is difficult not to get a little upset with people who are ungrateful, particularly when they have received a gift that was totally undeserved or called for.

    If I receive a gift, not only am I to be thankful, but I am to thank the one who gave it to me. If my wife gives me a wonderful gift, I don’t thank my son for it. No! I thank the one who purchased it for me, and all wise husbands will do the same. Thanks be to God! He gave me a gift that is beyond price or calculation. It did not cost me a dime, but it did cost. It cost Jesus everything. He gave His all, even His very life to acquire this gift of victory.

    Victory is never free; it always comes through a struggle and the conquest of an enemy. Victory in war comes after a long and intense effort and, most often, at a dreadful price of the loss of many lives. Victory in the boxing arena comes after years of gruelling training, many cuts and bruises and intense fighting. Jesus obtained complete and total victory over satan, sin and hell; indeed, He dealt them a death blow. There is nothing now that can remain standing in the way of any person coming into the experience of Jesus’ victory.

    The victory of Christ was not given to Him, it was procured through His blood, sweat and tears, but now, for us, it is a sheer gift. There is not one thing we could ever do to earn it. Thanks be to God for this gift of victory. He gives it to us. If something is given, then it must also be received for there are always two parties in the transaction. Notice, too, that God doesn’t just give me the victory; He gives us the victory; it is corporate victory; it is federal victory and it belongs to the whole human race.

    Victory is given to us through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the channel through whom God gives that gift. We appropriate the victory of Christ by placing our faith in the work of Jesus on the cross. His death was your death. His burial was your burial. His quickening was your quickening. His resurrection was your resurrection. His triumph was your triumph. Through Him and what He has done, we now can reach out by faith and receive the gift that He offers us. It is a gift that is beyond the calculation of price and it is freely given. Therefore all those who accept this gift and appropriate its power are, in a very real, eternal sense, invincible. There is no weapon formed against us that can ultimately succeed for we are recipients of the gift of Jesus’ victory. He is eternally triumphant and victorious and we are in Him. Thanks be to God for this great gift!

Hide and Seek

Isaiah 55:6 – Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He 

                        is near.

    We are commanded to seek the Lord. In other words, we have a part to play in it, and, so, we must be intentional about seeking the Lord. To seek something implies that it is not obvious and apparent; you must go looking for it. When our granddaughter wants to play hide and seek, I do not remain directly in front of her when she opens her eyes. No! I hide so that she must seek, and the process of seeking is all part of the fun. This is kind of an interesting analogy because God declares in another place of Scripture that He is a God that hides Himself. Why does He hide? One reason might be that he knows that we need to experience the process of discovery and the joy of finding Him. He doesn’t hide from us; He hides for us; like I do for my granddaughter.

    The original word underneath our word translated seek means to tread a path. As we develop a consistent and regular devotional time, we trample down the weeds, and kick aside the rocks, creating a well-worn pathway to Him. We must seek Him in prayer, that is, talk to Him and listen to Him. We must seek Him through the Word, that is, read slowly and think deeply about what He says. Seek Him, not just His answers. Seek Him, not just His blessings. Seek Him and get to know Him who has all the answers and all the blessings we will ever need.

    Why does he say to seek the Lord while He may be found? It is because, though He always wants to be found, there may be something in us that is open right now, at this present moment, but may not be open later. Seek Him now because you are thinking about it now, don’t put it off. Isn’t it strange how we can forget important things? Our spouse may ask us to do something and we say, okay, but then we get busy with something else and forget all about it. When we finally remember, they may have already done it themselves and we miss out on the blessing. Seek God when you think about Him. Do it right away, don’t procrastinate because as someone has said, ‘Procrastination is opportunity’s natural assassin’. Procrastination kills creative ideas and desires. It murders initiative and motivation.

    We are to call upon God while He is near. Again, we know that God is not the one who is distancing Himself. We might have a close friend that lives nearby with whom we regularly enjoy times of laughter and companionship. A busy season might come into our life and time slips by, and we don’t return calls, we don’t take time to text, we don’t get together and so, we begin to sense some distance between us. That person may even live right next door, they were near all along, but we were the one that changed and created the break in our communication. God is always near, just as oxygen is always near and the time to seek Him is now because, like that oxygen, we need Him now. We need air now. We cannot procrastinate or put off breathing. To inhale air is vital to our life and following God is so much more vital than the air I breathe.

    Those who are serious mountain climbers tell us that if they want to climb any of the taller mountains of the Earth, they will have to spend time in altitude training. This training at a higher altitude climatizes the body to the lower levels of oxygen which exist at that height. A person, no matter what shape they are in, cannot simply decide to climb a high mountain without first preparing their body for the shock. One day we will breathe our last breath and will depart out of this body and rise into the rarefied atmosphere of His presence. Wise people will begin training for that moment right now. Seek Him now. Train now. Prepare yourself now. Call upon Him now, for He is as close as the air you breathe!

Are You Happy?

Proverbs 3: 13 – Happy is the man that finds wisdom and the man that gets understanding.

    The world is searching for happiness and unfortunately, it may be more elusive than people would like to admit. God, however, offers happiness to us as a result, not as a goal. The man who finds wisdom is happy because wisdom solves problems; it brings answers to perplexing situations. Wisdom gives insight into the why of a thing. Why am I in this trouble? Why is my financial situation like it is, or my marriage and family? Why do I keep making poor choices? Wisdom answers the question of why and it gives insight into reasons and causes. It also answers the how of a circumstance, or situation. How am I going to resolve this difficulty? How are we going to overcome this challenge? How am I going to change?

    Notice that this verse does not say, wise is the man that finds happiness; it says, happy is the man that finds wisdom. Wisdom is to be our life quest, not happiness. Like anything of true value, wisdom must be found; it must be discovered, but first, it must be desired. Wisdom comes to those who desire it and have the right motive for wanting it. Wisdom isn’t just going to bring a change to our circumstances; it will bring a change to us first; it changes our thinking, our values, and our choices.

    Instead of pursuing what I think is the answer or the solution, I need to pursue wisdom and then let wisdom dictate to me the steps to take which will solve the problem. Someone has once said that all problems are wisdom problems, meaning that we usually get into them through a lack of wisdom and conversely, wisdom will lead us out of them. God’s wisdom answers every need of man and it goes right to the root of the trouble. Most people only want relief from the pressure of a difficult situation and God is indeed merciful and will bail us out, however, if we are bailed out once, we will most likely need many more instances of rescue from our continued poor choices. If we want any kind of lasting change, we, ourselves, must change. Diets alone don’t work; a change of eating patterns does. Simply attending a rehabilitation program doesn’t work; a change in thought patterns does. Financial consolidation, by itself, doesn’t work; a change in spending patterns does. Joining a gym doesn’t work; a change in exercise patterns does.

    The man that finds wisdom is happy because he finally feels like he is on the right path and even though things may be hard and the road may be uphill, he is happy because he is heading in the right direction and knows that he will eventually get to where he is going. To pursue God’s wisdom is to align ourselves with His plan and purpose and that gives great meaning and fulfillment to our everyday lives. His wisdom puts us on the journey of a higher destiny and produces a sense of peace and contentment which no amount of money or worldly treasure could give us.

    You may not be able to see your wisdom-answers because they are hidden, but just as parents hide things before their children go on a treasure hunt, they are not hidden from you, they are hidden for you. Wisdom-treasures await all those who seek. Happy is the man that finds wisdom. Are you happy?

God's View of Greatness

Matthew 18:4 – Whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of Heaven.

    God’s idea of greatness and the process for obtaining it are vastly different from this world’s idea. First, it is important to realize that He is not against greatness. The disciples asked Him, ‘Who is the greatest?’ If aspiring to greatness were wrong, He would have immediately corrected them. He might have said something like this, ‘Now boys, you should know better, everyone is equal in the kingdom of God, no one is greater than another.’ However, He did not correct them. He did not brush off the idea of greatness. The kingdom of Heaven is not a uniform, bland and mindless community, but it is a progressive, innovative, and productive society. Please do not misunderstand me; we are all precious to God and equal in value, but we are not and never shall be, equal in roles, function, or capabilities. We all have amazing potential, but those who are the greatest are those who accept responsibility, take the initiative, and use what they have been given.

    This verse is teaching us that even though the idea of greatness is not wrong, quite often our definition of greatness and our motives for greatness are wrong. The prophet Jeremiah once asked the question, ‘Are you seeking great things for yourself?’, and then he commanded, ‘Seek them not.’ Jesus said that humility is the pathway to greatness. So, instead of focusing on being great and our status in life, we should focus on humility and our service in life and give that a place of priority in our lives.

    Humility is one of those qualities that we do not hear much about, even though it is essential for building a solid foundation for life. What is humility? Among other things, it is surrendering to the will of God and His plan no matter what process it takes you through. Joseph’s life is a good example of that. His humility and the will of God took him from the deep pit to the harsh prison and then to the luxurious palace. Joseph surrendered and accepted subservient tasks, but he also must have had the humility to accept the huge responsibility of promotion, when it finally came. Someone has said that our greatest fear may not be failure but success, because with success comes larger responsibilities. With failure comes sympathy from others and our own rationalization that says, ‘Oh well, I tried.’ When God spoke to Moses about approaching Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to demand the release of the Israelites, Moses resisted out of some form of what we might call humility, but God was less than impressed. Moses had to surrender his own agenda and accept with humility the high place of responsibility that God had asked him to take.

    Childishness is a trait that holds us back from growth and it desperately needs to be removed from our lives, but childlikeness is the key to the kingdom of Heaven. Little children have much to teach us, they are open to new ideas and suggestions; they do not say, ‘I know that already.’ Children are teachable which means that they are without pride. If humility is the path to greatness, then pride must be the path to diminishment and destruction. Pride is the great hindrance to our advancement in God’s plan and purpose. Pride is resisted by God, humility is reinforced.

    I once heard the story of how a man drove into a small town and inquired of an older man who was sitting outside the general store, ‘Were there any great men born in this town?’ The old man didn’t even look up as he responded, ‘Nope. Only babies’. Greatness is not something you are born with; greatness is developed. Just as a seed carries within it possibilities of growth and productivity, so, God has given each of us the potential to be great. Use what you have been given, no matter how small it may seem. Sow the seeds that you have in your hand. Plant it. Nurture it. Trust God and watch it grow into something great!

Guarding Against a Deadly Virus

Proverbs 14:30 - A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.

    When the Bible refers to the heart it is referring to the inner being, which would include the spirit, the mind, the will, and the emotions; basically, everything that is within and unseen. The New Testament further describes the heart when it speaks of the inward man or the hidden man. This verse revealed long ago what medical science only recently discovered; the condition of the man on the inside affects the condition of the man on the outside; spirit affects flesh.

    A sound heart is a healthy, contented heart, one that is filled with peace and free from strife; it may not be free from occasional trouble, but it is free from constant turmoil. People that do not compare themselves with others and are happy with what they have, also seem to be the healthiest people. Our attitudes affect our emotions which, in turn, affect our bodies. That is not to suggest that all sick people are unhealthy on the inside, by no means. Everyone is susceptible and will be challenged with some form of sickness in their life, or in the lives of their loved ones, however, there appears to be a priority laid out for us if we are seeking a long-term answer for our condition.

    When something is of great value to us, we are vigilant and diligent in keeping it safe. Likewise, we must guard the greatest treasure, which is our heart and must always be alert to its condition. In today’s world, we are very aware of keeping our bodies fit. We understand the value of eating nutritiously and exercising regularly, and most of us agree with that. However, if we do not maintain peace and soundness of heart, our steady intake of whole foods and our daily vigorous workouts may be in vain.

    Envy is the type of thing that needs time to become entrenched in a person’s life. It does not simply show up one day and ruin one’s life; it is very subtle and initially appears as something much less dangerous than it is. Envy is lethal, and, like poison, it functions best when undetected. It silently searches to gain entrance and then slowly suppresses the life of its host; it is indeed a cunning and ruthless predator.

    Many times, we confuse envy with jealousy and rightly so, because they are close cousins. It is important, however, to discern the difference. Jealousy is a trait that wants what another person has, and it seems to be satisfied once it possesses what it desires. If a jealous person sees that someone has gotten a new car, for example, then they are happy once they too, get a new car. Envy, on the other hand, goes much further; it doesn’t care to have what another possesses; it just cares that the other does not have it. Envy does not care to have the new car; it only cares that the other person does not have it. Jealousy may curb and deter a person, but envy corrupts and destroys a person right to the core; indeed, as our verse says, they become bad to the bone.

    Envy is a malicious enemy that destroys all in its path. It attacks your spirit and consumes your vitality. It is a deadly, invisible and highly contagious virus. Beware and be alert, because many strong people have been infected and have succumbed to its power.

    The answer, friends, like all of God’s answers, is simple; maintain a sound heart. A sound heart is a heart that is free from envy, and what a wonderful freedom that is. Those who have obtained and enjoy this freedom understand what it takes to preserve it because the enemy once driven out must also be kept out by posting alert sentries at the door of our hearts.