Cross Way Publications Monthly News
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Poem of the Month
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Simple Prayer
BY: Keok B. Tan
I do not ask Lord -
That life be a perfect road,
Leading straight to the heavenly abode;
That pathways be filled with flowers all along,
And never with the pricks of thorns;
That skies be a loving blue forever,
Free from the clouds of storms to sever;
That success always lights the path ahead,
Failure remains unseen in the shade;
That life brings in everything I ever want,
But I pray, "Let Thy Will Be Done".
But I do ask Lord -
That my hands be led by Thine assuaged,
Through the valley of death I'll go unafraid;
That wisdom and understanding be my quests together,
Lifting me from one spiritual splendor to another;
That Thou will save the lost bound in sin and pride,
And deliver them from darkness into light;
That I'll love others saved by Thy grace divine,
Even when we're raptured to eternal glory sublime;
That when things aren't what I expect them to be,
I'll still praise and thank Thee.
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Poet Notables
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1. Thank you to Tom Blakely, Rita Broden, Wendell Brown, Dina DeRosa, Gabriele Embry and Laurie Jenkins for their April donations. As always, your support was greatly needed and appreciated!
2. Welcome to our April 2011 members. Please be sure to stop by their Poet Pages to enjoy their poetry:
Latasia Blige
Sonya Raye Buffkin
JO JO Conklin
Malcolm Cotton
Lizellà Deonisa Davidson
Caroline Gavin
Kristie L. Harwell
Rhonda F. Hill
John P. Hlas
Aylin Kurul
Heather Marie Lemen
Yandiswa Mtiya
Madalyn D. Reed
Debra A. Richter
Ted Melvin Sergent
Jimmy Stanger
Mark G. Stanley
Alan Paul Stevens
James Troyer
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Scripture of the Month
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Proverbs 2:10-11 (NKJV)
10 When wisdom enters your heart,
And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
11 Discretion will preserve you;
Understanding will keep you,
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This Month's Devotional Thought
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In Proverbs 2:10-11 there are four outstanding words that are given for our consideration and meditation: "Wisdom", "knowledge", "discretion", and "understanding". These are things that Solomon first told us ought to be the objects of our search, (Proverbs 2:1-5); but in this text, they are found and grasped, and as such are absorbed in our hearts. They are not merely token aspects of our mind's intellect. They become the measure and means of our preservation, not as an external driving force, but as an inward practical influence. They become pleasant to us and give us hope, (Proverbs 24:14).
Let's begin with knowledge. There is so much to know, and in the age of the internet, knowledge has increased as was prophesied for "the time of the end", (Daniel 12:4). Considering all that can be known, the knowledge of God is the highest kind of knowledge. An intimate and personal knowledge of God comes to us by faith and experience. We know what we know of Him as the Spirit of God reveals Him to us through His word and by His work in our lives.
Next consider understanding. God helps us to understand that His ways are best and we are kept by that understanding which, in turn, reinforces and encourages our obedience. The understanding we have never exceeds our knowledge. We are convinced, by the word of God, of many things that we do not understand. But having said that, the understanding we do have is that God is greater than our capacity to comprehend and that encourages us in our faith. We do not serve a god who is like us - we serve the God who is over all.
Now let's think about wisdom. Wisdom may be defined as the best means by which we apply our knowledge and understanding. It may very well be argued that we all have more knowledge than we do understanding and more understanding than we do the wisdom it takes the for proper use of our knowledge and understanding. And yet wisdom is something that God gives to His children liberally for the asking, (James 1:5). The Bible does make a distinction between worldly wisdom and godly wisdom. The real essence of true wisdom is spiritual; it has more of a moral value than an intellectual quality.
Lastly there is that word: "discretion". Discretion is a matter of judgment, discernment, and making responsible decisions. Without exception - we all judge, but the questions are: What and/or who do we judge? How do we judge? And what do we do about our judgments?
In John 8:15 Jesus judges the judgment of the Pharisees (from verse 13). He identifies their judgment as being "after the flesh" which expresses a weakness and carries with it several connotations: First of all to judge after the flesh is to judge naturally - from the information that the flesh gathers by its senses; those judgments are surface judgments and are made as to whether something is appealing or not. Secondly, to judge after the flesh is to judge willfully - from what is wanted or what satisfies the flesh and gratifies its sinful nature. And thirdly, to judge after the flesh is to judge with prejudice - judging from preconceived ideas and ideas which are often encumbered with error.
Discretion that will preserve us, like wisdom, knowledge and understanding, is spiritual and not according to the flesh. There is such a thing as spiritual discernment which comes from the Spirit of God, (I Corinthians 2:14-16). This spiritual discretion is found in the heart of one who has been changed by the Gospel of Christ and it uncovers the snares that were formally indiscernible. It is by the grace of God that so many things can now be judged correctly, within the Christian's life, and decisions can be made that result in maintaining a vital relationship with God.
But that is not to say that we, as Christians, never falter. We do - we often do. What God does for us, as His children, is to graciously speak to us by the conviction of His Holy Spirit within us, and by executing the needed chastisement of His mercy to make us keenly aware of the errors of our ways and gently bring us back on course. Discernment of these measures is something of a spiritual judgment in itself.
Thank God for His grace that not only saves, but keeps us with such wisdom, knowledge, discretion, and understanding.
Philip Hoffman
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Quote of the Month
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"We would walk with Thee when Thou smitest us, and we would walk with Thee when Thou smilest upon us; for, smiling or smiting, it is in love. We take chastisement because we are sons, and Thou art Father. O grant that we may never feel Thy hand as Judge! Restrain us with Thy love. Wean us from our sin, and from the love of it, and bring us back to Thine own self."
From a prayer of Henry Ward Beecher
