Wisdom-Trek © - Archive 3

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 876 of our trek, and it is Wisdom Wednesday.

The past several months on Wednesday we have been focusing on interpreting current events through a Biblical Worldview. To establish a Biblical worldview, it is important that you also have a proper understanding of God’s word. Especially in our western cultures, we do not fully understand the Scriptures from the mindset and culture of the authors. In order to help us all have a better understanding of some of the more obscure passages in God’s word, we are investing Wisdom Wednesday reviewing a series of essays from one of today’s most prominent Hebrew Scholars Dr. Micheal S. Heiser. He has compiled these essays into a book titled I Dare You Not to Bore Me with the Bible.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. We hear a lot about “fake news” today, and it is getting to the point where it is difficult to trust any major media outlet. Certainly, the internet is also awash with all sorts of theories and opinions, many of which have little or no basis in truth.

While I believe that God’s word is inspired in its original revelation, throughout the ages there are some subtle nuances in the various translations that do affect our understanding of certain passages. None of these differences impact the major doctrines or the overriding message of salvation through Jesus Christ. As I gain a better understanding of the Bible in the language and culture in which it was written, it helps me to gain a better understanding of how God is building up His kingdom throughout the world today. In today’s essay from Dr. Heiser, we want to look at Deuteronomy 32:8-9 where God divided up the human race of the world at that time…

After the great flood, everyone had one language. Humanity congregated in the region of Babylonia (“the land of Shinar”) and started building a tower that would reach into the heavens as told to us in Genesis 11:1-9.  God stopped the project by transforming the single language into many—dispersing humanity over the earth and creating the 70 nations and regions listed in Genesis 10 from the decedents of Noah. Genesis11:7-9 tells of this scattering of people, “Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other. In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city.  That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way, he scattered them all over the world.”

Most people think it ends there, but there’s more. The story picks up again in Deuteronomy 32:8-9, and the story changes, depending on what Bible version you use. Here is the reading from the New Living Translation.

When the Most High assigned lands to the nations,

For the people of Israel belong to the Lord;

In the Dead Sea Scrolls, it reads the number of the sons of God, and Greek version, which reads the number of the angels of God; Masoretic Text reads the number of the sons of Israel. The difference is due to these ancient manuscript disagreements, which have major theological ramifications.

Many English Bibles have “sons of Israel” or something similar because the translation is based on the traditional Hebrew text of the Old Testament, known to us as the Masoretic Text. How does God dividing humankind and fixing the boundaries of the peoples “according to the number of the sons of Israel” make any sense? Deuteronomy 32:8 refers back to what happened at Babel, and Israel did not exist at that time! If you read through the “Table of Nations” in Genesis 10, Israel does not even appear.

“Sons of God” is the reading in two other older manuscripts: the Septuagint, an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, and the Dead Sea Scrolls, a set of manuscripts discovered in the desert not too far from Jerusalem. Bible translators agree that “sons of God” is the more original reading, but they usually place it in a footnote at Deuteronomy 32:8, and not in the actual text. The English Standard Version (ESV), though, and others like the NLT, place “sons of God” into their translation.

Deuteronomy 32:8 is a textbook example of how later scribes sometimes changed the biblical text in a misguided attempt to “protect” God’s reputations. Other parts of Deuteronomy were also changed by scribes, such as in Deuteronomy [32:43]. When you line up the Dead Sea Scroll reading with the Masoretic Text, the traditional Hebrew text which many English translations are based upon, you can see that the original was altered.

Notice that Deuteronomy [32:43] in the Dead Sea Scrolls has three poetic pairings. Since it’s a poetic section, the symmetry is not only important, it’s expected. The Masoretic Text reading has removed or altered parts of two of the pairings. The first, as in Deuteronomy 32:8, which eliminates references to other divine beings as “sons of God.” The second in Deuteronomy [32:43] it eliminates “heavenly ones” and “gods.” At some point, a scribe thought this reference to other gods was theologically offensive. The first line of the final pairing was removed because someone hating God was also offensive.

God, of course, doesn’t need to be protected by a zealous scribe or anyone else. Israel’s doctrine was that Yahweh was unique and above all other divine beings Psalms 29:1 and Psalms 89:5-7. In a severe judgment, the nations at Babel were disinherited by Yahweh and given over to the administration of other ‘little g’ “gods” in Deuteronomy [4:10]-20 and 32:8. These “sons of God,” also referred to as his “heavenly court,” their actions would be judged by the God of Israel as mentioned in Psalms 82:1 & 6. This paved the way for God to create a new people, Israel, in the very next chapter of Genesis. Ironically, after the scattering of the nations in Genesis 11, it was announced that it would be through Abraham’s seed that the disinherited nations would be reclaimed in Genesis 12:1-3.

Next Wisdom Wednesday, we will continue with the Old Testament as we look at Dr. Heiser’s next essay titled, The Most Horrific Bible Story. I believe you will find this another interesting topic to consider as we build our Biblical worldview.

Tomorrow we will continue with our 3-minute humor nugget that will provide you with a bit of cheer, which will help you to lighten up and live a rich and satisfying life. So encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along with us tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you would like to listen to any of our past 875 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Apple Podcast or Google Play so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you tomorrow!

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 875 of our trek, and it is time for a 3-minute mini-trek called Wisdom Unplugged. This short nugget of wisdom includes an inspirational quote with a little bit of additional content for today’s trek. Consider this your vitamin supplement of wisdom for today. So let’s jump right in with today’s nugget.

Today’s quote is from Maria Razumich-Zec, and it is, “Your reputation and integrity are everything. Follow through on what you say you’re going to do. Your credibility can only be built over time, and it is built from the history of your words and actions.”

Both your integrity and reputation can only be built over a long period of time where others are able to observe your actions and speech. You may be able to talk a good talk, but unless you walk a good walk, it will mean nothing. Although it takes years to build an example of pure integrity and good reputation, both can be destroyed in a matter of seconds if your walk and talk do not match.

We only have to read the latest headlines to understand that in a moment the most well-known people in business, news media, acting, politics and, yes, even in the ministry can be destroyed. Their reputations and integrity crumble because of the revelation of past or recent practices and actions.

What we have to understand and realize is that in nearly every case it was not just one action that brought the mighty to their knees but a progressive set of decisions and choices that were made over time that is the cause of their downfall. Yet it begins with that one choice to compromise your reputation and integrity that begins the snowball effect to start the downhill slide. Let us be careful of every decision and choice that we make because all subsequent choices and decisions are based on the previous one.

Proverbs 3:3-4 give us the guidelines that we must follow:

Never let loyalty and kindness leave you!

That’s a wrap for today’s Wisdom Unplugged quote. If you would like free access to my database of over 10,000 inspirational quotes, the link is available on the main page of Wisdom-Trek.com. As you enjoy these nuggets of wisdom, encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you would like to listen to any of our past 874 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Apple Podcast or Google play, so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you tomorrow for Wisdom Wednesday!

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 874 of our trek, and it is time for Meditation Monday. Taking time to relax, refocus, and reprioritize our lives is crucial in order to create a living legacy.

For some, it may just be time alone for quiet reflection. Some may utilize structured meditation practices. In my life meditation includes reading and reflecting on God’s Word and praying. It is a time to renew my mind, refocus on what is most important, and make sure that I am nurturing my soul, mind, and body. As you come along with me on our trek each Meditation Monday, it is my hope and prayer that you too will experience a time for reflection and renewing of your mind. 

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. So often we try to live life on our own terms while God desires us to live on His terms. We can only know God’s way through His Word, including prayer. This is why Jesus’s disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray. On our Meditation Monday, we will learn that Jesus teaches all of us to…

Of all the things the disciples could have asked of Jesus, they asked to be taught how to pray. As we read Jesus’s words of how to pray, ask the Holy Spirit for fresh revelation, for how you can practically respond to His instruction.

Worship is the Alpha and the Omega of prayer as is found in Matthew 6:9 & 13, “Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.'”

Jesus taught the disciples and us that in prayer we are to pay homage to the reality that this is His kingdom.

God has control over everything, and He can and will answer our prayers. There is nothing impossible with God like Luke 1:37 reminds us, “For the word of God will never fail, For nothing is impossible with God.”

Jesus continues his teaching in Matthew 6:10, “May your Kingdom come soon.  May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” He desires His kingdom to come. It is His will, His purpose. He has set before us a vision of a renewed community and people in unity. Jesus’s prayer reminds us that extending God’s kingdom is included in our decision to follow Him.

Matthew 6:11 says, “Give us today the food we need.”

Can we live in this kind of simplicity and trust, like a little child? Can we be grateful for the food, regardless of how little or much that is set before us today? This is one place we repeatedly allow our peace and contentment to be stolen. We compare our provision to other people.

Matthew 6:12 reads, “and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” To be forgiven, you must forgive. You must live in forgiveness daily toward everyone: your spouse, friends, enemies, children, and most of all yourself. There is great freedom in forgiveness; it is the key to the kingdom—confessing our sins, seeking forgiveness, and forgiving others.

Christ instructs us to pray a very honest prayer in Matthew 6:13, “And don’t let us yield to temptation.” As shocking as the thought may be, the Lord allows us to go through times of trials, testing, and temptation. The Lord desires to produce pure gold out of our lives. Also, far too many of us are not in a position to face the temptations of sin and attacks of the enemy when they come. For our protection, the Lord is able to chain up the roaring lion that seeks to tempt and destroy us. The Apostle Peter tells us in 2 Peter 2:9, “So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.”

Do you count yourself among those who need Christ to teach them to pray? I do. So let us come together and learn from the master teacher on prayer. Let’s pray for God’s purposes, provision, pardon, and protection.

Next week we will continue our trek on Meditation Monday as we take time to reflect on what is most important in creating our living legacy. On tomorrow’s trek, we will explore another wisdom quote. This 3-minute wisdom supplement will assist you in becoming healthy, wealthy and wise each day. Thank you for joining me on this trek called life. Encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you would like to listen to any of the past 873 daily treks or read the daily journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Apple Podcast and Google Play so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you tomorrow!

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 873 of our trek, and it is time for our Philosophy Friday series. Each Friday we will ponder some of the basic truths and mysteries of life and how they can impact us in creating our living legacy.

As we continue on this trek called life, sometimes we have questions about life, so our Friday trek is a time where we can Ask Gramps. Gramps will answer questions that you would like to ask your dad or granddad, but for whatever reason, this is not possible.

No matter how old we are, I know that all of us would like the opportunity to ask dad or gramps questions about life in many areas. We will address areas such as finances, relationships, health/fitness, business/work, home repairs/renovations, seasons of life, spiritual/Biblical questions, and any others areas that come our way.

As your fellow sojourner and mentor on this trek that we call life, it is Gramps’s goal to provide you with practical wisdom and advice about any area of life. It is crucial that I receive a constant flow of questions, so please submit your questions to [email protected]. And Gramps will answer your questions on our Friday podcast.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. This week we will continue our answer to last week’s question. Spring and summer gives us extra opportunities to get outside and exercise more, and there are many more opportunities to buy healthy locally grown produce. It is a great time to begin new habits of healthy eating and exercise. So our question for today is…

“Hey Gramps, I have a difficult time avoiding junk food. Even though I know I should make better food choices, I so often fall back into the habit of gorging myself with the food that is unhealthy and causes me to gain weight.  How can I change?”

This is a somewhat complex question, so I split my response into two parts. Last week we explored why we crave junk food, and this week we will explore how to change your eating habits. Check out Wisdom-Trek.com/day-868 to listen to the first part of my answer. Like last week, I want to ask you a question before we dive in. Do you really desire to change? No amount of scientific proof or logic will cause you to change unless you accept responsibility for yourself and choose to change your eating habits.

The good news is that the research shows that the less junk food you eat, the less you crave it. My own experiences have mirrored this. Over the many years, as I have eaten healthier, I’ve noticed myself wanting pizza and candy and ice cream less and less. Some people refer to this transition period as “gene reprogramming.”

Whatever you want to call it, the lesson is the same…If you can find ways to gradually eat healthier, you’ll start to experience the cravings for junk food less and less. I’ve never claimed to have all the answers (or any, really), but here are three strategies that might help.

The best course of action is to avoid buying processed and packaged foods. If you don’t buy it when you are out and don’t have it in your home, you can’t eat it. Furthermore, if you don’t think about it, you can’t be lured by it.

We’ve talked about the power of junk food to pull you in and how memories of tasty food in the past can cause you to crave more of it in the future. Obviously, you can’t prevent yourself from ever thinking about junk food, but there are ways to reduce your cravings.

First, you can use my “outer ring” strategy to avoid processed and packaged foods at the grocery store. If you limit yourself to purchasing most of your foods on the outer ring of the store, then you will generally buy whole foods (fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, etc.). Not everything on the outer ring is healthy, but you will avoid a lot of unhealthy foods.

You can also follow the “5 ingredient rule” when buying foods at the store. If something has more than 5 ingredients in it, don’t buy it. Odds are, it has been designed to fool you into eating more of it. Avoid those products and stick with the more natural options.

As we covered earlier, the brain craves novelty. While you may not be able to replicate the crunchy/creamy contrast of an Oreo, you can vary your diet enough to keep things interesting. For example, you could dip a carrot (crunchy) in some hummus (creamy) and get a novel sensation. Another example is you crave the salty crunch of potato chips, so replace them with roasted, salted almonds. They have crunch and salt. Just don’t overdo it, you can fill up much quicker with nuts than chips. Similarly, finding ways to add new spices and flavors to your dishes can make eating healthy foods a more desirable experience.

Moral of the story: eating healthy doesn’t have to be bland. Mix up your foods to get different sensations, and you may find it easier than eating the same foods over and over again. At some point, however, you may need to choose healthy foods because they are healthy.

There’s a reason why many people eat as a way to cope with stress. Stress causes certain regions of the brain to release chemicals (specifically, opiates and neuropeptides). These chemicals can trigger mechanisms that are similar to the cravings you get from fat and sugar. In other words, when you get stressed, your brain feels the addictive call of fat and sugar, and you’re pulled back to junk food.

We all have stressful situations that arise in our lives. Learning to deal with stress differently can help you overcome the addictive pull of junk food. This could include prayer and meditation, the study of the Scriptures, or something more physical like exercise, or a relaxing hobby.

I trust that last week, and this will answer your questions about kicking the junk food habit and replacing it with a habit of eating healthy and exercise.

*parts of this information were sourced from jamesclear.com

If you have a question you would like answered, please email it to [email protected], and Gramps will answer them on our Friday podcast with wisdom and philosophy that Gramps has gained over the years of experience and study. I know you will find these insights interesting, practical, and profitable in living a rich and satisfying life.

Our next trek is Mediation Monday where we will help you reflect on what is most important in life. So encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along on Monday for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you would like to listen to any of the past 872 daily treks or read the associated journals, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Apple Podcast or Google Play so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you on Monday!

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 872 of our trek, and it’s time for a 3-minute mini-trek called Humor Unplugged. Our Thursday podcast provides a short and clean funny story to help you lighten and live a rich and satisfying life.

Something to cheer you and provide a bit a levity in your life. We are told in  Proverbs 15:30, “A cheerful look brings joy to the heart; good news makes for good health.” We are also encouraged in Proverbs 17:22, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.” Consider this your vitamin supplement of cheer for today. So let’s jump right in with today’s funny which is titled…

A church secretary, Margaret takes a call. The caller says, “This is Sam Smith from Tuscaloosa. Is the head hog at the trough there?”

Margaret says, “Please, Mr. Smith, do not refer to our pastor as the ‘head hog at the trough.’ That is very insulting.”

Sam says, “Oh, I’m very sorry. I meant nothing by that. It’s just a local phrase we use in the part of the country I come from. The real reason I called was to donate $50,000 to your building fund.”

Margaret says, “Hold on. I see the ‘Big Oinker’ coming through the door right now.”

As we conclude our story, let me leave you with a Thursday Thought, “I hope life isn’t a big joke because I don’t get it.”

King Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 8:15, “So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.”

Make it a day full of cheer.

Sourced at www.mikeysFunnies.com

That’s a wrap for today’s Humor Unplugged. If you enjoy these short stories, let me know so I can continue to bring a bit of cheer to your week.

Just as you enjoy these nuggets of humor, please encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.If you would like to listen to any of our past 871 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on Apple Podcast or Google Play, so each day will be downloaded to you automatically.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most importantly your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you tomorrow for Philosophy Friday!

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 871 of our trek, and it is Wisdom Wednesday. The past several months on Wednesday we have been focusing on interpreting current events through a Biblical worldview.

To establish a Biblical Worldview, it is important that you also have a proper understanding of God’s word. Especially in our western cultures, we do not fully understand the Scriptures from the mindset and culture of the authors. In order to help us all have a better understanding of God’s word, we are investing the next several months on Wednesday reviewing a series of essays from one of today’s most prominent Hebrew Scholars Dr. Micheal S. Heiser which he has compiled into a book titled I Dare You Not to Bore Me with the Bible.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Since the beginning of human history, people have been searching for a love potion. There is little verifiable proof that there are any secret potions. There is an odd potion found in the Old Testament, though, that seems a bit strange. In today’s essay, we want to look at Numbers 5 where God gave Moses the recipe for what we will call…

When’s the last time you heard a sermon on Numbers [5:11]-31?

One of the things that Dr. Heiser enjoys telling people in conversations about Bible study is that “If it’s weird, it’s probably important.” This passage certainly qualifies in both respects. The strangeness of the passage is easily detectable, but only careful Bible study makes its importance apparent.

Numbers [5:11]-31 describes a water ritual to determine the guilt or innocence of a woman suspected of adultery. Let me read this passage so you will have a bit of understanding on this strange ritual. This section of Scripture is called…

And the Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.”

Suppose a man’s wife goes astray, and she is unfaithful to her husband and has sex with another man, but neither her husband nor anyone else knows about it. She has defiled herself, even though there was no witness and she was not caught in the act.  If her husband becomes jealous and is suspicious of his wife and needs to know whether or not she has defiled herself, the husband must bring his wife to the priest. He must also bring an offering of two quarts of barley flour to be presented on her behalf. Do not mix it with olive oil or frankincense, for it is a jealousy offering—an offering to prove whether or not she is guilty.

 The priest will then present her to stand trial before the Lord.  He must take some holy water in a clay jar and pour into it dust he has taken from the Tabernacle floor.  When the priest has presented the woman before the Lord, he must unbind her hair and place in her hands the offering of proof—the jealousy offering to determine whether her husband’s suspicions are justified. The priest will stand before her, holding the jar of bitter water that brings a curse to those who are guilty. The priest will then put the woman under oath and say to her, “If no other man has had sex with you, and you have not gone astray and defiled yourself while under your husband’s authority, may you be immune from the effects of this bitter water that brings on the curse. But if you have gone astray by being unfaithful to your husband, and have defiled yourself by having sex with another man.” 

At this point, the priest must put the woman under oath by saying, “May the people know that the Lord’s curse is upon you when he makes you infertile, causing your womb to shrivel and your abdomen to swell. Now may this water that brings the curse enter your body and cause your abdomen to swell and your womb to shrivel.” And the woman will be required to say, “Yes, let it be so.”  And the priest will write these curses on a piece of leather and wash them off into the bitter water. He will make the woman drink the bitter water that brings on the curse. When the water enters her body, it will cause bitter suffering if she is guilty. 

The priest will take the jealousy offering from the woman’s hand, lift it up before the Lord, and carry it to the altar.  He will take a handful of the flour as a token portion and burn it on the altar, and he will require the woman to drink the water.  If she has defiled herself by being unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings on the curse will cause bitter suffering. Her abdomen will swell, and her womb will shrink, and her name will become a curse among her people.  But if she has not defiled herself and is pure, then she will be unharmed and will still be able to have children.

This is the ritual law for dealing with suspicion. If a woman goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority, or if a man becomes jealous and is suspicious that his wife has been unfaithful, the husband must present his wife before the Lord, and the priest will apply this entire ritual law to her.  The husband will be innocent of any guilt in this matter, but his wife will be held accountable for her sin.

Since the instructions in Numbers 5 were given by God, the water ordeal is a means of divination, whereby it is expected that God will use the ritual to answer a question human beings cannot. That the Israelites could use such divination comes as no surprise, as the high priest had the Urim and Thummim at his disposal, and various Biblical characters utilize the casting of lots for discerning the mind of God on a matter.

This passage provides a useful starting point for discussing why Biblical characters were permitted to practice divination at all when elsewhere such methods are condemned (e.g., Deut. 18:9-14).  But let’s instead focus on one practical implication of this passage.

Students of the Bible know that adultery was supposed to be punishable by death in ancient Israel (Lev. [20:10]-11). Surprisingly, death is not the penalty for the guilty woman in Numbers 5. The normal Hebrew word for adultery, the word used in connection with the death penalty, does not occur in this passage, further distancing it from being a capital crime. Why these discrepancies?

The answer lies in the fact that the guilty woman was not discovered in the act of adultery. Since this is the case, the community and, particularly, the angry husband, is effectively prohibited by the law because of this potion from taking matters into their own hands. This would serve as a protection for women suspected of adultery, or who might be the target of someone’s animosity or jealousy. The point is that secret adultery can and will be punished only by God, but not as a capital crime.

Next Wisdom Wednesday we will continue with Moses as we look at Dr. Heiser’s next essay titled “Is My Bible Right?”  I believe you will find this another interesting topic to consider as we build our Biblical worldview.

Tomorrow we will continue with our 3-minute humor nugget that will provide you with a bit of cheer which will help you to lighten up and live a rich and satisfying life. So encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along with us tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you would like to listen to any of our past 870 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Apple Podcast or Google Play so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor and most of all your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you tomorrow!

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 870 of our trek, and it is time for a 3-minute mini-trek called Wisdom Unplugged. This short nugget of wisdom includes an inspirational quote with a little bit of additional content for today’s trek. Consider this your vitamin supplement of wisdom for today. So let’s jump right in with today’s nugget.

Today’s quote is from Zig Ziglar, and it is,“With integrity, you have nothing to fear, since you have nothing to hide.”

I find that so many people are fearful about life, relationships, poverty, decisions, and the future. When you live your life based on a bedrock of Biblically-based values, there is nothing to fear.

We do not need to fear relationships because God is always with us. We do not need to fear decision making because God has promised us wisdom, all we need to do is ask for it. We do not need to fear poverty because God owns a cattle on a thousand hills and had promised to always take care of us. We do not even need to fear death because to be absent from this body is to be present with God.

Have integrity in your life, but do not have fear. There is nothing hidden from God anyways, so live for Him! Let me leave you with two verses to ponder for today.

Hebrews 4:13 – Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

Isaiah 41:10 – Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

That’s a wrap for today’s Wisdom Unplugged quote. If you would like free access to my database of over 10,000 inspirational quotes, the link is available on the main page of Wisdom-Trek.com. Just as you enjoy these nuggets of wisdom, encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you would like to listen to any of our past 869 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Apple Podcast or Google play so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most importantly your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you tomorrow for Wisdom Wednesday!

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 869 of our trek, and it is time for Meditation Monday. Taking time to relax, refocus, and reprioritize our lives is crucial in order to create a living legacy.

For some, it may just be time alone for quiet reflection. Some may utilize structured meditation practices. In my life meditation includes reading and reflecting on God’s Word and praying. It is a time to renew my mind, refocus on what is most important, and make sure that I am nurturing my soul, mind, and body. As you come along with me on our trek each Meditation Monday, it is my hope and prayer that you too will experience a time for reflection and renewing of your mind.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. We all need helpers in our life to come alongside us when we are weak and vulnerable. When Jesus took on humanity and lived among people, they came to rely on him. Since he was fully human, with a divine nature, his ability to help others was limited to his physical nature. There was no way Jesus could minister to all the people on earth. Because of this, when Jesus had completed his earthly ministry, he promised to send us a helper as his replacement. We will build on last Meditation Monday, and today the title of our meditation is…

Jesus’s ascension back to the Father was a wonderful blessing. The disciples would love to have His physical presence continuing with them – to see Him, minister, heal, cast out demons, teach, and preach. Jesus’s closest disciples were left behind as He ascended to the Father, so He told them not to believe that He was going to abandon them but instead send a helper for them. John 16:7 reads, “But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.”

Without Jesus’s ascension, His departure, the Holy Spirit wouldn’t have come to their aid and the Helper wouldn’t be available to aid you.

Jesus’s ascension meant that He would send the Holy Spirit to be His people’s Helper, your Helper, and Advocate. The Spirit helps His disciples, including us, point others to the truth about Him. The Helper gives Christ followers strength to face their trials. The Helper works through us friends when they proclaim Him. The Helper convicts lost people of their sin, of their need for righteousness, and of their need to change because the world they trust, along with the powers of evil behind it has already been defeated. The Helper guides Jesus’s beloved disciples into the truth about Him through God’s Word.

The book of Acts shares Jesus’s story of grace with the whole world, regardless of ethnicity, but He told them to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Helper, the Holy Spirit, before beginning their mission. The Spirit’s coming on the day of Pentecost ignited them on their mission with power as we read in Acts 2:1-4, “On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place.  Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.  And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.”

All that Jesus promised them about the Helper came true as they lived out this mission. This little band of believers, propelled by the power and presence of the Helper, changed the world. Jesus has given us this same Helper, the Holy Spirit, to empower us to impact our world like this first band of believers altered their world!

Just as those early disciples changed the world, Jesus is calling on us to rely on this same Helper to empower, to strengthen, to inform, to guide, and to propel us to change our world. Here is the Word of promise that Jesus gave us in John 15:26-27, “But I will send you the Advocate, the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.”

And it continues on in John 16:13-15, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.  He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.  All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.'”

Next week we will continue our trek on Meditation Monday as we take time to reflect on what is most important in creating our living legacy. On tomorrow’s trek, we will explore another wisdom quote. This 3-minute wisdom supplement will assist you in becoming healthy, wealthy, and wise each day. Thank you for joining me on this trek called life. Encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you would like to listen to any of the past 868 daily treks or read the daily journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Apple Podcast and Google Play so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you tomorrow!

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 868 of our trek, and it is time for our Philosophy Friday series.

Each Friday we will ponder some of the basic truths and mysteries of life and how they can impact us in creating our living legacy. As we continue on this trek called life, sometimes we have questions about life, so our Friday trek is a time when we can Ask Gramps. Gramps will answer questions that you would like to ask your dad or granddad, but for whatever reason are unable to.

No matter how old we are, I know that all of us would like the opportunity to ask our dad or gramps questions about life in many areas. We will address areas such as finances, relationships, health/fitness, business/work, home repairs/renovations, seasons of life, spiritual/Biblical questions, and any others areas that come our way. As your fellow sojourner and mentor on this trek that we call life, it is Gramps’s goal to provide you with practical wisdom and advice about any area of life. It is crucial that I receive a constant flow of questions, so please submit your questions to [email protected]. And Gramps will answer your questions on our Friday podcast.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. While any time of year we can fall prey to eating junk food, we are no less tempted during summer cookouts and family gatherings. Spring and summer give us extra opportunities to get outside and exercise more, and there are many more opportunities to buy healthy locally grown produce. It is a great time to begin new habits of healthy eating and exercise. So our question for today is…

“Hey Gramps, I have a difficult time avoiding junk food. Even though I know I should make better food choices, I so often fall back into the habit of gorging myself with the food that is unhealthy and causes me to gain weight. How can I change?”

This is a somewhat complex question, so I am going to split my response into two parts. This week we will explore why we crave junk food, and next week we will explore how to change your eating habits.

I want to ask you a question before we dive in. Do you really desire to change? No amount of scientific proof or logic will cause you to change unless you accept responsibility for yourself and choose to change your eating habits.

Most of us know that junk food is unhealthy. We know that poor nutrition is related to heart problems, high blood pressure, and a host of other health ailments. You might even know that studies show that eating junk food has been linked to increases in depression.

But if it’s so bad for us, why do we keep doing it?

There is an answer, and it has much more to do than just your willpower. If you understand the scientific reasons why you crave junk food, then you can make a choice to also avoid it.

Much of this information comes from a report titled “Why Humans Like Junk Food” written by Steven Witherly, a food scientist. He explores the scientific reasons why junk food is so desirable to all of us. According to Witherly, when you eat tasty food, there are two factors which make the experience pleasurable.

First, there is the sensation of eating the food. This includes what it tastes like (salty, sweet, spicy, etc.), what it smells like, and how it feels in your mouth. This last quality, known as “orosensation,” can be particularly important. Food companies will invest millions of dollars to discover the most satisfying level of crunch in a potato chip. Their scientists will test for the perfect amount of fizz in a soda. These factors all combine to create the sensation that your brain associates with a particular food or drink.

The second factor is the actual macronutrient makeup of the food — the blend of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates that it contains. In the case of junk food, food manufacturers are looking for a perfect combination of salt, sugar, and fat that excites your brain and gets you coming back for more.

Here’s how they do it…

How Science Creates Cravings

There is a range of factors that scientists and food manufacturers use to make food more addictive.

Dynamic contrast. Dynamic contrast refers to a combination of different sensations in the same food. In the words of Witherly, foods with dynamic contrast have “an edible shell that goes crunch followed by something soft or creamy and full of taste-active compounds. This rule applies to a variety of our favorite food structures. Some examples are the caramelized top of a creme brulee, a slice of pizza, or an Oreo cookie. The brain finds crunching through something like this very novel and thrilling.”

Salivary response. Salivation is part of the experience of eating food, and the more that food causes you to salivate, the more it will swim throughout your mouth and cover your taste buds. For example, emulsified foods like butter, chocolate, salad dressing, ice cream, and mayonnaise promote a salivary response that helps to lather your taste buds with goodness. This is one reason why many people enjoy foods that have sauces or glazes on them. The result is that foods that promote salivation do a happy little tap dance on your brain and taste better than ones that don’t.

Rapid food meltdown and vanishing caloric density. Foods that rapidly vanish or “melt in your mouth” signal to your brain that you’re not eating as much as you actually are. In other words, these foods literally tell your brain that you’re not full, even though you’re eating a lot of calories. Think of foods like Cheetos or other light snack foods that are full of calories, but no nutritional value. The result: you tend to overeat.

Sensory-specific response. Your brain likes variety. When it comes to food, if you experience the same taste over and over again, then you start to get less pleasure from it. In other words, the sensitivity of that specific sensor will decrease over time. This can happen in just minutes.

Junk foods, however, are designed to avoid this sensory-specific response. They provide enough taste to be interesting (your brain doesn’t get tired of eating them), but it’s not so stimulating that your sensory response is dulled. This is why you can swallow an entire bag of potato chips and still be ready to eat another. To your brain, the crunch and sensation of eating Doritos is novel and interesting every time.

Calorie density. Junk foods are designed to convince your brain that it is getting nutrition, but to not fill you up. Receptors in your mouth and stomach tell your brain about the mixture of proteins, fats, carbohydrates in a particular food, and how filling that food is for your body. Junk food provides just enough calories that your brain says, “Yes, this will give you some energy” but not so many calories that you think “That’s enough, I’m full.” The result is that you crave the food, to begin with, but it takes quite some time to feel full from it.

Memories of past eating experiences. When you eat something tasty (say, a bag of potato chips), your brain registers that feeling. The next time you see that food, smell that food, or even read about that food, your brain starts to trigger the memories and responses that came when you ate it. These memories can actually cause physical responses like salivation and create the “mouth-watering” craving that you get when thinking about your favorite foods.

All of this brings us to the most important question of all.

Food companies are investing millions of dollars to design foods with addictive sensations. What can you and I do about it? Is there any way to counteract the money, the science, and the advertising behind the junk food industry?

Before we eat anything we should consider 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”

I don’t want to leave you in suspense, but we will continue to answer these question next Friday as Gramps shares with us How To Kick the Junk Food Habit and Eat Healthy.

*Parts of this information were sourced from jamesclear.com

If you have a question you would like answered, please email it to [email protected], and Gramps will answer them on our Friday podcast with wisdom and philosophy that Gramps has gained over the years of experience and study. I know you will find these insights interesting, practical, and profitable in living a rich and satisfying life.

Our next trek is Mediation Monday where we will help you reflect on what is most important in life. So encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along on Monday for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy. 

If you would like to listen to any of the past 867 daily treks or read the associated journals, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Apple Podcast or Google Play so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you on Monday!

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 867 of our trek and time for a 3-minute mini-trek called Humor Unplugged. Our Thursday podcast will be a short and clean funny story to help you lighten up toward the end of each week – something to cheer you and provide a bit a levity in your life.

We are told in  Proverbs 15:30, “A cheerful look brings joy to the heart; good news makes for good health.” We are also encouraged in Proverbs 17:22, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.” Consider this your vitamin supplement of cheer for today, so let’s jump right in with today’s funny which is titled…

Two elderly women, Maggie and Sue, met for the first time since graduating from high school. Maggie asked Sue, “You were always so organized in school. Did you manage to live a well-planned life?”

“Yes,” Sue said. “My first marriage was to a millionaire; after he died my second marriage was to an actor; unfortunately he died also, and my third marriage was to a preacher, and after his untimely death I am now married to an undertaker.”

Maggie then asked Sue, “Oh my, with so much misfortune in your life, what do all those marriages have to do with a well-planned life?”

Well, Sue said, “One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go.”

As we conclude our story, let me leave you with a Thursday’s Thought:

Each day I try to enjoy something from each of the four food groups: the bonbon group, the salty-snack group, the caffeine group, and the “whatever-the-thing-in-the-tinfoil-in-the-back-of-the-fridge-is” group.

King Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 9:7, “So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!”

Make it a day full of cheer.

Sourced at: www.mikeysFunnies.com

That’s a wrap for today’s Humor Unplugged. If you enjoy these short stories, let me know, so I can continue to bring a bit of cheer to your week.

Just as you enjoy these nuggets of humor, please encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you would like to listen to any of our past 866 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on Apple Podcast or Google Play so each day will be downloaded to you automatically.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most importantly your friend as I serve you in through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you tomorrow for Philosophy Friday!