Wisdom Archives - My Manna

Swatch Watches

MyManna — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 22:00:33 +0000

“Jesus told him, ‘Stand up, roll up your sleeping mat and go on home!’ Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up the mat and began walking! But it was on the Sabbath when this miracle was done. So the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, ‘You can’t work on the Sabbath! It’s illegal to carry that sleeping mat!'” John 5:8-10.
Imagine that.
Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath and the religious leaders “tried all the harder to kill him.”
Tragically, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day loved their programs more than they loved people!
They were expecting the promised Messiah-
– but because he didn’t come the way they expected him to come,
– and didn’t do things the way they wanted them done,
– they wouldn’t believe in him and refused to change.
It goes without saying that we live in a world of rapid change.
We need to hold fast to that which is permanent and eternal-
– but in other areas of life if we don’t change, we, too, may miss out and get left behind.
Here’s a classic example from the business world:
From 1900 to 1967, the Swiss were the leading watchmakers in the world.
In 1967, when digital technology was patented-

– the Swiss rejected it in favour of the traditional ball bearings, gears, and mainsprings they had been using to make watches for decades.
Unfortunately, however, the world was ready for this advance-

– and Seiko, a Japanese company, picked up the digital patent and became the leading watch manufacturer in the world almost overnight.
Fifty thousand of the 67,000 Swiss watchmakers went out of business because they refused to embrace this new technology.
It was not until years later that the Swiss caught up and regained their position in the marketplace with the creation of Swatch watches!
This principle also applies to each of us in today’s marketplace-
– if we don’t keep up our training with the needs of today’s changing marketplace, again, we may be left behind.
In serving God-
– while our message never changes,
– our methods of communicating it need to change with the changing times and the changing needs of people or,
– again, we may get left behind—as many a business, church, and organization has.

We never changed the message-
– only the way of communicating it.
Had we not made this change-
– we never could have continued to successfully preach “the gospel to every creature” as Jesus commanded. Mark 16:15.
“Dear God, help me to hold fast to that which is eternal, but be flexible and willing to change where change is needed. And above all help me to be willing to change where you see my need for change and growth. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

(PA)

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Walk With the Wise

MyManna — Tue, 27 Dec 2016 22:00:56 +0000

“A wise man will listen and increase his learning, and a discerning man will obtain guidance” Proverbs 1:5.
Most of us want all we can get out of life.
After all, we only have one life to live!
Unless we are wise in our decision making, though, we can waste the one life we have.
Solomon said that a wise person is continually learning more.
The more he learns, the more a wise person realizes how much is still left to discover.
The more knowledge she gains, the more a wise person understands her potential and the more she is able to give to share with others.
On the other hand, some people try to get by with the least amount of learning possible.
They exert only enough effort in school to get by.
They never read or study anything they don’t have to.
They rarely ask questions.
They’re indifferent to what’s happening around them.
Solomon called these people fools.
But a wise person-
– “walks with the wise.” Proverbs 13:20.
He seeks out the company of mature people.
She reads, asks questions, and seizes opportunities to learn more about the wonders of life.
So while you’re young-
– make it a habit to spend time with the wisest people you know.
Observe their lives and ask them lots of questions, being careful to spend more time listening than talking.
The knowledge you gain will enable you to live your life to the maximum.
Don’t live life as a fool.
Life is far too important to live carelessly.
What would you have to give up to begin investing your time in learning and listening?

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What hath God wrought!

MyManna — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 16:00:16 +0000

God can do more in one second than man can do in a thousand years or a million years.
Trying to accomplish things in our own strength and wisdom can be fruitless, time-wasting and a headache.
Many successful people have acknowledged in their memoirs that-
-whenever they came to an impasse in their work and were completely baffled, they sought wisdom from the Lord.
Abraham Lincoln once told an intimate newspaper friend, Noah Brooks:
“I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.”
This was also true in the life of the famous inventor of the telegraph, Samuel F. B. Morse (1791-1872).
In an interview, he was once asked, “Professor Morse, when you were making your experiments at the university, did you ever come to a standstill, not knowing what to do next?”
“I’ve never discussed this with anyone, so the public knows nothing about it. But now that you ask me, I’ll tell you frankly — I prayed for more light.”
“And did God give you the wisdom and knowledge you needed?”
“Yes, He did,” said Morse. “That’s why I never felt I deserved the honors that came to me from America and Europe because of the invention associated with my name. I had made a valuable application of the use of electrical power, but it was all through God’s help. It wasn’t because I was superior to other scientists. When the Lord wanted to bestow this gift on mankind, He had to use someone. I’m just grateful He chose to reveal it to me.”
In view of these facts, it’s not surprising that the inventor’s first message over the telegraph, the very first transmitted message in history, was: “What hath God wrought!”
Every time you face a perplexing problem, seek wisdom from above.
And when the answer comes, always be sure to thank God and give Him all the glory.
“If you need wisdom — if you want to know what God wants you to do — ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can’t make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do” (James 1:5-8).
(PR)

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Yet they are extremely wise!

MyManna — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 16:00:52 +0000

“Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; coneys are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags; locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces” (Proverbs 30:24-28).
The ants teach us the wisdom of preparation!
“Better to be prepared and not called, than to be called and not prepared,” is a wise principle to adhere to.
For instance, if I want a good job in the future, I need to prepare today.
If I want a healthy friendship, I need to work on my growth and maturity today, for only mature people have mature relationships.
And if I want God to use me, I need to develop the gifts and talents he has given me.
You may say, “but what about the disciples. They were a motley crew of uneducated fellows.”
But they spent three years in training with the Master Teacher of all teachers and the Master Trainer par excellence.
As an old Chinese proverb says, “Dig your well before you’re thirsty.”
The coneys or rock badgers teach us the wisdom of precaution!
How true is the old saying, “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”
If you want to avoid temptation, don’t go where you know you’ll be tempted.
If you don’t want to get into debt over your head, don’t borrow what you can’t pay.
And if you can’t swim, don’t go into the deep end of the pool.
God is faithful, but if we jump off a building, he won’t catch us on the way down, as he doesn’t go against his own rules!
He won’t change the universal law of gravity because of my foolishness and irresponsibility.
He won’t change the moral law either.
If I try to break it-
– it will break me!
The locusts teach us the wisdom of participation!
Have you ever tried to row a boat with a friend?
If you don’t pull together in harmony, you’ll get nowhere fast, go in circles, or run into the bank.
To keep moving forward, you don’t have to over-exert yourself, just keep pulling together.
And if we don’t pull together as a family, a church, or a nation, working in harmony with the principles of life as found in God’s Word, we will end up on the rocks!
The lizards teach us the wisdom of perseverance!
“If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done…Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow—perhaps it all will,” says the Word of God (Ecclesiastes 11:4, 6).
“It is God himself, in his mercy, who has given us this wonderful work (of telling his Good News to others), and so we never give up” (2 Corinthians 4:1).
Quitters never win!
Winners never quit!
(PR)

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