Dull Axe = No Acts
http://bible.com/116/ecc.10.10.nlt Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.
I am guilty
I live in a world that points their accusing fingers directly at me, and they are right.
I hear people everyday (and occasionally myself) – pointing fingers at such and such for doing this and that and every time, when I think about what they are saying, I can remember something similar that I have said or done – and those fingers point directly at me.
No fear? Is that the problem?
Ecclesiastes 8:9-13 NLT
I have thought deeply about all that goes on here under the sun, where people have the power to hurt each other. I have seen wicked people buried with honor. Yet they were the very ones who frequented the Temple and are now praised in the same city where they committed their crimes! This, too, is meaningless. When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong. But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long time, I know that those who fear God will be better off. The wicked will not prosper, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows.
If we are not convicted of our own sins – if we say, that XYZ is not a sin when the Word of God says that it is – how can we say that we are a humble servant of the Lord? The wicked argue over what is sin and what is not sin, blinded by the curse of the law, looking for a way to escape the conviction by saying, “No, that isn’t sin. The law is of no use.”
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme!
Ecclesiastes 5:19-20 NLT
And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past.
Contentment truly is a gift from God.
Watch me, but don’t see me
I don’t know that I can explain Christ to you with my words alone.
But look at me closely,
and see the tears of joy,
listen to the songs of praise,
feel the touch of the helping hand,
contemplate the faith during trials,
experience the gentle forgiveness –
And you might catch a glimpse,
Of Christ who lives in me,
Because these are His.
But you must look past me,
Discipline and Instruction
Psalms 94:12-13 NLT
Joyful are those you discipline, Lord , those you teach with your instructions. You give them relief from troubled times until a pit is dug to capture the wicked.
Discipline and teaching.
These two things are supposed to go hand in hand, because together they lead to wisdom. But one without the other is folly.
Holy Spirit fill us
Acts of the Apostles 1:8 NLT
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
John 15:16-17 NLT
You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other.
Harold J. Ballinger 