She Ministered Unto Them!

Mark 1:29-31 And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. (30) But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her. (31) And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. 

In our text today, we find Jesus going to the home of Simon Peter. In previous verses, Jesus had been healing a number of people. It could be that he was escaping the crowds for the purpose of getting some relaxation. When they arrived, they find Peter's mother-in-law laying sick with a fever.

Today a fever is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, we now know that a fever generally means that the body is fighting an infection. However in that time, a common ordinary diseases could be deadly. The text does not explain how severely she was sick, just that she laid sick with a fever. Regardless, Jesus had compassion on her and healed her from her fever.  For Jesus there is no miracle too big or too small.

Our focus for the text today is found in verse 31. It is the reaction of Peter's mother-in-law that is of interest. After being sick for a period of time, the text tells us she got up and ministered to them. It is common after getting well from any illness there is a period of rest and "catching up".  But Simons mother-in-law did not rest.  She got up and served Jesus.  What do you imagine she might have done for them? I Imagine she probably cooked some food. Maybe even washed their feet (which would have been a custom). And most likely met other needs and serve them like a woman might have done during that time. This is significant for two reasons:

1.  We can learn from the example of Simons mother-in-law. For those of us that are Christians, we too have been healed. We too ought to feel a sense of joy and relief that we are no longer burdened by our disease of sin.  We two should desire to get up and serve Jesus, to show our gratitude.

2.  There is no service too small for Jesus. Jesus did not require Simons mother-in-law to forsake her house and to go out to a foreign country to become a missionary.  Serving him with her current talents was sufficient. In Matthew chapter 25 we find Jesus tells us, giving a cup of water, giving food, visiting the sick, and small acts of kindness's like that to ‘the least of these’ is doing it to Jesus. Sometimes, it seems that if people can't do something to heroic then they do not want to do anything. But Simons mother-in-law simply did what a woman did she served Jesus using her own talents and the resources at her disposal.

We need to learn from Simons mother-in-law,  We too need to serve Jesus!  We serve Jesus by serving others. We need to use our own talents, our own resources and do what we can. We need to look out to those that are in need and serve Jesus by serving them!

Reflecting His SON,  

Dennis Hogan

Minister, North Hardin Church of Christ

dennis.hogan@icloud.com

1804 Sam Stewart Dr.

Radcliff, KY  40160

Questions, comments or  further explanation?  Contact me at:  dennis.hogan@icloud.com

If you have friends, family, or acquaintances that you feel could benefit from RTS, please forward 

their e-mail address to me and I will add them to my mail list.

Proper Perspective

Mark 1:7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. 

One of the concerns that I have about modern day religion is the way that we as humans and servants of God seem to give the impression that we are somehow equal with God and Jesus.  As an example, I heard, not long ago, a so-called “co-pastor” and wife of a very prominent televangelist and CEO of a large mega religious group in Texas say that: “Worship is not for God but for us”.  She went on to say that the most important thing that God wants is for us to be happy and so worship first must make us happy.  Maybe she needs to read John 4!  And just maybe she needs to focus on statements of Jesus like “Deny Thyself” (Matt.16:24)

We have a REAL deficit of Humility in this world!  We need to learn this valuable lesson from John the Baptist.  Humility is having the proper perspective of ourselves compared to others and God.  We should never see ourselves as better, more deserving, or more significant than others and we should never see ourselves any where near equal with God.  Notice John’s humility.  We see it in his perspective in comparison to Jesus.  He says that Jesus is mightier than himself and that he was not worthy to unlatch his shoes.  Another good example is the penitent prodigal son in Luke 15.  After he came to himself, he decided to return home but he said he was not worthy to be called a son, but wanted only to be a servant of his father.

Too many people today think that their opinions and wishes are every bit as important as what God desires. But if we are going to be pleasing to God, we need to see ourselves as less than God and that we should be satisfied with simply being the servant of God...Not his equal!

Reflecting His SON,  

Dennis Hogan

Minister, North Hardin Church of Christ

dennis.hogan@icloud.com

1804 Sam Stewart Dr.

Radcliff, KY  40160

Questions, comments or  further explanation?  Contact me at:  dennis.hogan@icloud.com

If you have friends, family, or acquaintances that you feel could benefit from RTS, please forward 

their e-mail address to me and I will add them to my mail list.

Christianity Requires Sacrifice

Luke 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Our RTS today is, in many ways, a continuation of yesterday’s.  Jesus is on the same topic.  IN fact, it is the same conversation.  In yesterday’s RTS, we learned that Jesus required that we make him a priority or we failed at being his disciple.  He makes a similar declaration in today’s verse.

In addition to coming to him, loving our parents, spouse, children and siblings less than we love him, we are to add the requirement that we must bear our cross.  I have often wondered, if the hearers of this statement would have been confused by this.  I am not sure that the contemporary crowd would have had the context of the cross to fully understand it.  Clearly, the cross that he is referencing is a glimpse to the cross that he died on.

So what does it mean that we are to bear our cross?  To comprehend that, we must better understand what the cross meant to Jesus.

1.  The Cross Represents a Sacrifice

It is easy to focus on the actual pain and suffering that Jesus endured during the execution, but there is much more to his sacrifice that the few hours that he was on the cross.  The cross was the mission and focus of his entire life, but before that event, he lived 33 years on this earth in a less than ideal setting.  However, prior to his birth he was in an ideal setting because he was with God in Heaven, so his existence as a human was a sacrifice all on its own.

When God asks us to sacrifice, he is not asking us to do anything more than what Jesus did.  In fact, the sacrifices that we make are minuscule in comparison to what Jesus endured.  If we are going to be pleasing to God, we must learn to bear the cross of sacrifice.

Matthew 16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (2) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

2.  The Cross Represents Submission

So often in life, we seem to think that being submissive to anyone is “beneath” us.  We don’t want our parents to tell us what to do.  We don’t want our bosses to tell us what to do.  We don’t want the law to tell us what to do.  But Jesus was submissive and he was the Son of God.  He is and was God!  And yet he was submissive to both God and those that wanted to kill him.  He had the power to refuse and to bring Sodom & Gomorrah type wrath on those that wanted to do harm to him.  But he submitted.

Therefore, if we are going to bear our cross for God, we must be willing to submit our will for his.  It is not easy, but it is required.

James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

Matthew 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

3.  The Cross Represents Obedience

So many religious people, folks that claim to be Christians have told me that obedience is over rated.  In fact they say that it just is not that important.  God would rather us be be people of faith and grace.  So much of the Bible, including the New Testament, focuses on us being obedient. But not only that, Jesus was obedient to His Father.

John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

Luke 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

If Jesus, being God, was required to be obedience to the Father, Do we think we are better than Jesus and we don’t have to be?  It is the height of arrogance to think that we can be disciples of Jesus but not have to follow his direction.

John 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.

John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

4.  The Cross Represents Humility

The life and death of Jesus was a humiliating experience.  But he did them both with Joy and honor.  The trial and execution was designed to humiliate.  Jesus was stripped of his garments, beaten within an inch of his life, hung on that tree and then was mocked for hours.  Jesus allowed it to happen.  There is nothing that man can do to us that is worse than was done to our master.  God wants us to have the proper perspective of our selves and not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought.

Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 

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

5.  The Cross Represents Love

The entire reason Jesus came to this earth, lived the minimal life that he did, died on the cross and was raised the third day was because he loved us.  Therefore, for us to bear our cross, we must love God and man as God instructs us.

Matthew 22:36-40 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? (37) Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (38) This is the first and great commandment. (39) And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (40) On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

6.  The Cross Represents Death

Jesus’ death was physical.  Our death is of a spiritual nature.

Romans 6:6-7 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (7) For he that is dead is freed from sin. 

Our cross is to die to our old sinful version of ourselves.  We cannot continue in a life of sin and be his disciple.  

If we want to be a disciple of Jesus, and ultimately enjoy all of the rewards that come with it, we must be willing to bear our cross for God.  If we choose not to, we cannot be his disciple.

Reflecting His SON,  

Dennis Hogan

Minister, North Hardin Church of Christ

dennis.hogan@icloud.com

1804 Sam Stewart Dr.

Radcliff, KY  40160

Questions, comments or  further explanation?  Contact me at:  dennis.hogan@icloud.com

If you have friends, family, or acquaintances that you feel could benefit from RTS, please forward 

their e-mail address to me and I will add them to my mail list.

Humble Yourself!

Luke 14:7-11  And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, (8) When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; (9) And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. (10) But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. (11) For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Humility is not a characteristic that is in over abundance in our society. Unfortunately,  our society links humility with shyness, ignorance and weakness.  I would go so far to say that our society encourages the opposite of humility.  Our politicians assume they know it all and often presume to vote opposite of their constituent’s wishes.  It is common to see athletes celebrate a play by pounding on their chest in a fashion that says:  “Look at me..Look what great thing I have done”.  Movie stars think that because they are in a movie, it makes them experts on different topics.  And the examples could just keep coming.

The Bible, on the other hand has a completely different view of humility.  Jesus certainly was a man of great humility and yet he was the most powerful man on the planet.  When hanging on the cross, he had the power to bring vengeance on those that put him there instead he prayed:  “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do”.  The Bible encourages followers of God to be humble, not to put them in a position of weakness but of strength.

Humility is a concept that is easy to understand, but extremely hard to practice.  In the sermon on the mount, Jesus gave several examples exercising humility:  “Turn the other cheek”, “Go the extra mile”, “Forgive those that have wronged you”, etc.

In our text today, Jesus gives us a great application of humility.  If you are invited to an event, like a marriage, don’t automatically assume that you are the most important person in the room and take the prominant spot.  I know several people that would do that.  I am sure they would call that “confidence” or “inside knowledge”.  Jesus called it “exalting himself”.

The key to this lesson is in verse 11.  We need to realize that regardless of who we are, or how good we think we are, we are all beneath God.  Only God is truly the one with the authority to exalt anyone.  Jesus says that if we choose to exalt ourselves, we will be brought low.  But if we keep the proper perspective of ourselves and realize that we are but mere servants, God will lift us up.  When we are exalt by God, that is not the time to puff ourselves up.  Instead, we must continue to be humble. Gain follow the example of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples in the upper room.

The problem with pride is that it prevents us from seeing our shortcomings.  If I see myself as the “greatest”, it is going to be close to impossible to convince myself that I need to continue to develop myself into something better.  On a spiritual perspective, if we view ourselves as being that great, we will have a hard time seeing ourselves as dying in our sins.  We will only be able to see how good we are.  If that happens, we will never realize that we need a saviour.  We all need our savior.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

We have all sinned.  We have all come short of God’s glory.  The only way that we can be repaired of that condition, is by accepting the fact that we are in that state.  When we do, we will realize that we need to go to the great physician to get his cure.

May we all learn to get down off of our respective high-horses and learn to have the proper humility that God wants us to have.

Reflecting His SON,  

Dennis Hogan

Minister, North Hardin Church of Christ

dennis.hogan@icloud.com

1804 Sam Stewart Dr.

Radcliff, KY  40160

Questions, comments or  further explanation?  Contact me at:  dennis.hogan@icloud.com

If you have friends, family, or acquaintances that you feel could benefit from RTS, please forward 

their e-mail address to me and I will add them to my mail list.

Oh To Be the Greatest!

Luke 9:46-48 Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. (47) And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him, (48) And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great. 

Greatness is a quality for which most humans strive in some aspects of their lives.  So much so, that at times, we do not even care at which we are considered “Great”, as long as we can call ourselves Great.  To prove that point, just take a glance at the Guinness Book of World Records.  Most of the “accomplishments” listed therein are just plain silly, but someone set it as a goal, strove, practiced and eventually beat the old record to get their names in that book of records....all for  the sake of being “Great”.

God, however, sees greatness in a wholly different way that we do as humans.  God wants us to achieve greatness, but not for the longest fingernails or the length of time we hop on one foot.  He wants us to be great by his standard!

In our text today, we see humans being human.  When you get a group of twelve men together and have no authoritative or predetermined hierarchy, you will have inner squabbling to determine who deserves to be the leader.  Leadership isn’t just desired because we as humans want the responsibility of leadership.  We want to be leaders because, by worldly standards, the leader is perceived to be the greatest.  The problem with this kind of “reasoning” is that we will determine our own standard that assuredly makes ourselves out to be the best.  We can see a humorous example of this in a cell phone commercial that is currently running on TV.  A family is trying to determine who should get the most data minutes.  The father says that the oldest should get the most minutes (because that narrowly helps him).  One person says, whomever has the most braces on their teeth.  One says whomever has the least hair.  And so on. 

We tend to view greatness in the same way.  Can you imagine the debate that those twelve men had to help make their individual case to be the leader after Jesus was gone?  “Well I was the first apostle picked”!  “Well our parents knew each other as kids”!  “We we are from the same Jewish tribe” And on and on.  But none of those superficial, arguments have anything to do with greatness.

After a while, Jesus stepped in to the conversation to insert some real facts into the debate.  What does God see as great?  Jesus says that to be great in God’s eyes is to be the best servant!  To be the LEAST as the world sees it.  It is not a human trait to be the bottom of the totem pole...to serve quietly.  To give instead of receive.  To be happy and not complain in the face of adversity.  To put others first and ourselves last.  That is what Jesus did!  If we want to be great, we must be as much like Jesus as we possibly can.

Reflecting the SON, 

Dennis Hogan

dennis.hogan@icloud.com

Questions, comments or  further explanation?  Contact me at:  dennis.hogan@icloud.com

If you have friends, family, or acquaintances that you feel could benefit from RTS, please forward 

their e-mail address to me and I will add them to my mail list.

How to Be Lifted Up by God

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. 

The more that I contemplate the Bible’s use of the description of God being our Father in Heaven, the more significant that it becomes to me.  Our passage today and others like it certainly become more meaningful as we view it through the lens of the theme of God being a loving Father.

Think for a moment about our relationship with our own kids.  If we catch one of our children in a lie, for instance, and confront them with it, they have one of two choices:

1.  They can act Prideful:  This choice would be marked by continued denial that they ever lied and would continue to lie to “stay out of trouble”.  They would act belligerent  and angry at the very thought of being accused of such a thing.  They might even try to cast doubt on the parenting skills by saying something like:  Why would you think that I would lie to you...?  If our child takes this tact, and we KNOW that they are guilty, what is our response to them?  We would have no choice but to Punish them most likely.  What we would not do is to give them a hug and say we were sorry.  Their lack of responsibility or repentance of their sin would cause a split in the relationship, albeit temporary.

2.  They can be Humble!  In this scenario, they would acknowledge their wrong doing and melt under the guilt of disappointing their parents.  They would feel the shame that comes with doing wrong.  Depending on the nature of the circumstances, the child may begin crying at this point.  What would be our response now?  We would rush over, pick them up and tell them how much we love them.

This real to life scenario, gives us insight to our relationship with our spiritual Father.  We too have two choices as we deal with our Father.  We can act prideful and pretend that we didn’t do anything.  We can play it off as if God is too demanding.  We can be defensive as if sin is not that big of a deal.  We can make all kinds of excuses about our behavior, but in the end the our sin separates us from God.

Isaiah 59:1-2 Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: (2) But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. 

We also have the choice to be humble.  Our humility would cause us to take responsibility for our shortcomings and cause us to want to learn from our mistakes and determine not to do them again.  Humility causes us to understand that our sin has hurt our Father in heaven.  We would also then, be open to following the Great Physician’s prescription for removing our sin.  When we do, God, like a loving Father will not push away, he will lift us up and show us that he loves us.  We will conclude today looking at the best picture of this characteristic is the parable the Prodigal Son.  As we do, notice the humility that the son displays and the overwhelming reaction of this loving Father.

Luke 15:18-24 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, (19) And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. (20) And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. (22) But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: (23) And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: (24) For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. 

Get the Devil on the Run!

James 4:6-8 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. (7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (8) Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 

Yesterday’s RTS dealt with pride and humility of verse 6 and for that reason we will not go through that again.  However, the statements made by James in verse 7 and 8 really are continuations of thoughts and so it is displayed for context.

James started off on verse 6 by stating that God gives us more grace.  God’s mercy and blessings are certainly something that we all need more and more of in our lives.  In order for us to be given these blessings, we are told the conditions on which they are granted.

1.  Submit Yourself to God:

First, let’s understand what “submit” means.  Submit:  to give over or yield to the power or authority of another.  Submission really goes against our nature, especially as Americans.  We do not like giving up the power to ANYONE.  However, if we want the grace of God, and all of the blessings that come with it, we must learn to make God our Lord and master and have him direct our lives.

2.  Resist the Devil:

The concept is really easy.  The application is eternally far from easy.  We are told simply to flee from Satan.  When we think about the principle that is used here, it makes perfect sense.  If a salesman has 3 prospective customers, the first has stated he is ready to order, the second says that he really likes the products but has a few questions and the third likes the product but thinks they are too expensive; which  do you think the salesman will focus on?  Of course he will spend time on the first two because the chances of making a sale are far greater.  The same principle applies with Satan.  If we continue to resist him, he will spend his time with lower hanging fruit!

3.  Draw Near to God:

Like resisting the devil, this is more difficult than many assume.  Drawing near to God is not just saying that we believe in God.  Drawing near is more than posting pro-God Facebook posts or wearing a cross around our necks.  Drawing near to God is a lifestyle that is required.  It is walking in the light as he is in the light (1 John 1:7)  It is understanding WHO God is and then molding our lives to be as much like him as humanly possible.  It is being obedient to his will (John 14:15).  We cannot simply have a positive  attitude about God all the while living the life of our choosing.

Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (2) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

As Paul tells the church at Rome, we must live as a living sacrifice.  But when we do, when we draw near to God, he will draw near to us!

4.  Cleanse Your Hands & Purify Your Hearts:

Part of drawing near to God is to deal with sin in our lives.  Sin has always been the problem and will always be the problem between us and God.  Until we have our sin washed away, we will never be able to have a relationship with God.  Once we have our sins washed away initially and become children of God, we still have a responsibility to avoid sin in our lives.  

Romans 6:1-2 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? (2) God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 

Do You Want God’s Grace?

James 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 

Before we begin today, let’s make sure we understand the definitions of the key words in today’s passage.

PRIDE:  1.  a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc. 

RESIST:  1.  to withstand, strive against, or oppose: to resist infection; to resist temptation.  2.  to refrain or abstain from, especially with difficulty or reluctance: They couldn't resist the chocolates.

James, in this passage, gives us significant insight into the mind of God.  He tells us that God resists the PROUD.  He opposes those with an elevated sense of self importance.  He refrains from those that feels they are superior over others.  Folks that have this kind of attitude about themselves are going to be less likely to see a need for God in their lives.  Those with pride, even if they would like God in their lives, are not likely to see a need to make any changes because of sin in their lives.  Folks having problems with pride will be less likely to admit they are wrong.  People of pride will find it difficult to humble themselves to adapt to the lifestyle that desires for them to live.  Therefore, God resists this type of person.

On the other hand, God gives Grace to the humble.  If you examine yourself and see that you are not currently a person that can be described as humble...Never fear!  Humility is not a natural trait.  Most humans are not engulfed in humility.  But it is a characteristic that we can learn.  Humility is a trait into which we can grow.

So why would an idividual WANT to develop humility?  Because it is a Godly trait!

Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 

If Jesus can do it for us...We can do it for God.  And when we do, it puts us in a condition that we can receive the Grace of God!

Who is Wise?

James 3:13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. 

More than once in the Bible, there is a distinction made between worldly wisdom and  godly or spiritual wisdom.  This passage is no different.  In the world that we live in, a person that is so-called “wise” will usually be great self promoter.  Others will know that he is wise because he will be the first to share that information in one form or another.

On the other hand, godly wisdom is just the opposite.  James gives us three separate characteristics of a person that is wise in God’s eyes.

1.  He Will Show it out of the Manner of his life!

Instead of grandstanding or bragging about his superior knowledge and understanding, the man of God will demonstrate his wisdom in the small things in life.  While the world nudges us and encourages us to “try” sin, a wise person will refrain because they will be able to sense the danger long before they suffer the consequences.  A wise person will also recognize that his life is on display and will live in such a way to be a positive example to the one’s that he is around

2.  He Will Show it by his Works!

If we are the kind of people that God wants us to be, we will be always open to seeing the possibility for service.  Wisdom helps us to understand that our purpose is to let our light so shine...

Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. 

We let our light so shine by our good works.  But again, that is not for the purpose of our own exaltation, but the glorification of our Father.  Everything that we do should be done with the motive of making our heavenly Father look good.

3.  He Will Show it Through His Humility!

True wisdom does not need to be placed on a marquee or shouted from a mountain top, it will be noticed through the way that we conduct ourselves.  

All of us want to be wise.  If we want to be wise, we need to choose the right team. There is one team full of worldly wise people that are all fighting to be at the top.  On the other team is our choice to be spiritually wise.  If we want to be in that camp, our wisdom will grow with the asking.

James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 

Once we do that, we must start acting like one that is wise by following the characteristics that James lays out for us today.  Even if  we would not consider ourselves wise, let us act like we are, and we may surprise ourselves just how wise we feel.