Wisdom-Trek © - Archive 3

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 866 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. There is an old idiom which says, “The devil is in the details,” which means “The details of a plan, while seeming insignificant, may contain hidden problems that threaten its overall feasibility.” In today’s essay, we want to look at an Old Testament Jewish Holy Day where literally…

Yom Kippur, which is the Day of Atonement described in Leviticus 16, is a central element of the Jewish faith, even though it is not practiced today as it was in ancient times. Although many Christians have heard of the day, most would be startled to learn that a sinister figure lurks in the shadows of Leviticus 16.

The Day of Atonement ritual required a ram, a bull, and two goats. The ram was for a burnt offering intended to please God. The bull was taken “from the herd and served as a sin offering for Aaron, the high priest, and his family.” In this case, the sin offering restored the priest to ritual purity, allowing him to occupy sacred space and be near God’s presence, which we reviewed last week.

Curiously though, two goats taken “from the congregation” were needed for the single sin offering for the people. Listen as I read Leviticus 16:3-5, “When Aaron enters the sanctuary area, he must follow these instructions fully. He must bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.  He must put on his linen tunic and the linen undergarments worn next to his body. He must tie the linen sash around his waist and put the linen turban on his head. These are sacred garments, so he must bathe himself in water before he puts them on. Aaron must take from the community of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.” Elsewhere the sin offering involved only one animal (e.g., Lev 4:1-12). So why two goats?

The high priest would cast lots over the two goats, with one chosen as a sacrifice “for the Lord.” The blood of that goat would purify the people. The second goat was not sacrificed or designated “for the Lord.” On the contrary, this goat, the one that symbolically carried the sins away from the camp of Israel into the wilderness, was “for Azazel.”

Leviticus 16:8-10 reads, “He is to cast sacred lots to determine which goat will be reserved as an offering to the Lord and which will carry the sins of the people to the wilderness of Azazel.  Aaron will then present as a sin offering the goat chosen by lot for the Lord.  The other goat, the scapegoat chosen by lot to be sent away, will be kept alive, standing before the Lord. When it is sent away to Azazel in the wilderness, the people will be purified and made right with the Lord.”

The Hebrew term Azazel occurs four times in Leviticus 16 but nowhere else in the Bible. Many translations prefer to translate the term as a phrase, “the goat that goes away,” which is the same idea conveyed in this passage as “the scapegoat.”

This passage also translates the word as a name Azazel. The “scapegoat” option is possible, but since the phrase “to Azazel” parallels the phrase “for Yahweh,” which is translated “for the Lord.” The Hebrew language suggests that two divine figures are being contrasted by the two goats.

A strong case can be made for translating the term as the name Azazel. Ancient Jewish texts show that Azazel was understood as a demonic figure associated with the wilderness. The Mishnah, which is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions known as the “Oral Torah.” It is also the first major work of Rabbinic literature, and it records that the goat for Azazel was led to a cliff and pushed over, ensuring it would die and not return.

This association of the wilderness with evil is also evident in the New Testament, as this was where Jesus met the devil. Matthew 4:1 tells us, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil.” Also, in Leviticus 17:1-7, we learn that some Israelites had been accustomed to sacrificing offerings to “goat demons.” The Day of Atonement replaced this illegitimate practice.

The second goat was not sent into the wilderness as a sacrifice to a foreign god or demon. The act of sending the live goat out into the wilderness, which symbolically was unholy ground, was to send the sins of the people where they belonged to the demonic domain. With one goat sacrificed to bring purification and access to God and one goat sent to carry the people’s sins to the demonic domain, this annual ritual reinforced the identity of the true God and His mercy and holiness.

As we end today, here is a wisdom nugget, “When Jesus dies on the cross for all of humanity’s sins, He is crucified outside the city, paralleling the sins of the people being cast to the wilderness via the goat to Azazel. Jesus dies once for all sinners, negating the need for this ritual.”

Next Wisdom Wednesday we will continue with Moses as we look at Dr. Heiser’s next essay titled Love Potion: Numbers 5. 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 wisdom nugget that will provide you with a bit of cheer that 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 865 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 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 865 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 Tom Peters, and it is,“There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity.”

We are all prone to occasionally make decisions that, in hindsight, are not wise, or are lacking prudence.  There is a stark difference between those decisions and decisions made based on our core values.

Our integrity is built on the bedrock of our values.  Our decisions, therefore, will always be in line with those bedrock values.  Decisions that result in Infidelity, theft, murder, lying, hate, and prejudice are all based on what we allow to harbor in your mind and heart.

For instance, infidelity is never a minor lapse of integrity but is a result of thoughts which we have allowed to permeate into our thinking process and which have corrupted our bedrock values on which our integrity is rooted.  To have never changing integrity we must have a firm foundation of values from which all decision making is based.

Instead of making excuses for a lack of integrity in your decision making, take responsibility for your decisions and actions and build a stronger moral foundation from which your integrity is based.  A life of integrity is a treasure that lasts through eternity.   Proverbs 2:7 reads, “He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.”

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 864 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 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 Wisdom Wednesday!

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 864 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 have just celebrated Mother’s Day in the United States. For most of us, the bond we have with our mother is one of the strongest that we will ever experience. The mother’s love is stronger than we will ever know. Usually, we will make contact with our mothers on this day set aside to honor them. We desire to remain connected with those we love. There is another relationship that may even be stronger than the one we have with our mother, but only if we stay connected. The title of our meditation today is…

Before He ascended to the Father, Jesus promised His disciples that He would send the Spirit. Jesus promised He would pour out the Spirit on people with faith in Him as they were baptized into Him. On the night Jesus was betrayed, He reiterated this promise over and over again as He talked to His closest disciples about the Spirit being their Helper when I was gone. This is found in John chapters 14-16. The Helper’s presence would be their assurance and seal that the Father, Son, and Spirit would abide in all who put their faith in Jesus. God will never leave or forsake you.

In most of the world, a house can have many power outlets. However, the electric devices and appliances won’t be able to fulfill their purposes unless they are connected to the power source. The same is true for the work of the Spirit in your life. The Helper is Jesus’s power source for you. You need the Spirit’s presence and power in your life to fulfill your purpose as Jesus’s disciple. Jesus emphasized that your part of this process is to love Him and obey what He calls you to do:

Jesus teaches us in John 14:21, “Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

Your obedience and your commitment to abide in Jesus and live for Him connects you to that power source found in the Helper’s presence. Today’s verses, which are part of this podcast, will remind you to stay connected to Jesus. Our relationship is organic and relational, not mechanical or just organizational.

Jesus said, “You abide in Me. I am your vine. You are my branch.” There is no source of true life for a literal branch unless it remains connected to the vine, and there is no everlasting source of life in you unless you remain connected to Jesus! When you remain connected to Jesus, you connect to the power source of the Holy Spirit, the Helper He has sent to you; this is when you choose to love.

In Jesus’s earthly ministry, He taught the importance of love being the guiding star in your life as you seek to live for Him as is written in Matthew 22:34-40, “But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: ‘Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?’  Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important:  Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

You remain connected to Jesus as your power source through the Spirit He sent to abide in you. You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind and also share that love with others. When you love God as we are instructed, you live in love through His Spirit as well as share His love with everyone with whom you interact.

The Spirit within you will be your source of a never-ending supply of this love Romans 5:5, “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

So stay connected to Jesus and to each other by loving and by living in His love. Just like the electric circuits in our homes and businesses keep the lights on and the equipment running, allow the love of Jesus through His spirit to keep the love flowing in your life!

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 863 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 863 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, are unable to. 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. Granny and Gramps have had the privilege of raising 5 children to adults and now have 6 grandchildren with the 7th one on the way. Raising kids is not always easy, but if God blesses you with the opportunity and responsibility, then it is a sacred trust. So our question for today is…

“Hey Gramps, Raising kids is really tough. How can we love them, care for them, and mentor them so that they are well-behaved as kids and become confident, well-adjusted, and responsible adults?”

As I was contemplating this question, I came across a blog post by Todd Friel that I felt provided a very interesting perspective on balanced parenting. Here is how Todd explains it.

If you view your kids as sinners who need salvation, you’ll see parenting as a rescue mission. Christian children are never naughty. Yes, you heard me correctly.

Christian children are never naughty; Christian children commit sins. Labeling your child’s behavior biblically will change the way you engage with your child when there is a ruckus in your home.

When you think your child is simply a brat, it is easy to scowl, yell, or even hit. But when you remember that your child’s conduct is a sin against God, you no longer see bad behavior as something that must be curbed. You will now see your interaction with your child as a rescue mission.

When your children sin, they do not need to be yelled at. They need to be taken to the cross where a sin/forgiveness transaction can take place.

The next time you hear screaming and crying in the other room, before you shout, “Knock it off, or I will give you something to scream and cry about,” remember, they are not naughty; they are sinning. In other words, your parenting is no longer about conformity to your rules, it is about helping them to understand God’s precepts in His Word. This is earnest business.

Typically, you want your kids to stop being naughty for the following reasons:

If you begin to see your children as image-bearers of God with a sin nature in need of the gospel applied to their hearts, then you will respond to your children’s naughtiness differently.

Parenting with salvation in view forever changes the way you treat your child. Think of the amazing impact this will have on your child when they violate God’s precepts such as when:

When they see your life conform to God’s precepts:

Is this approach to parenting easy? No way; it demands much of us.

Hard? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely. If you start learning how to think about the “good news” when you parent, God will sanctify you as you focus on your child’s justification. You will stop being angry, disgusted, frustrated, annoyed, snarly, and mean.

God has not instructed us to disciple our children so we can have well-behaved kids. God wants to do far more than that in your home. God wants to change children, and He wants to change you.

Your home can be one of two places: It can be an endurance marathon with much anger, frustration, and fighting, or it can be a school of character. God wants the latter, not the former.

God wants you to love and appreciate Him to the point where you cannot help but parent with your eye on salvation. The only way that can happen is to first focus on your own salvation and Godly living.

There are no secret recipes for raising children, but there are clearly defined principles in God’s Word. This is not about what works for another parent. This is about genuinely speaking truth to your child in an effort to help him or her understand the Savior who has so affected and changed you.

God does not want His precepts to be used simply as the latest timeout! God wants the gospel to affect radical change in everyone in the home, starting with you, Mom and Dad.

Your life must incorporate the fruit of God’s spirit at its very core. This is found in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”

Then as you approach each combustible situation with your kids, have this thought in your mind, “When I am done with this situation, I want my child to love and respect God the same way I do. I want their lives to reflect Galatians [5:22]-23 as my life does.”

Next week we will have a different question to Ask Gramps. Gramps will answer any questions you may have about life and will provide you with practical wisdom about any area of life. Please submit questions that you have to [email protected], and Gramps will answer them on our Friday podcast with wisdom and philosophy that Gramps has gained over his 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 862 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 862 of our trek, and it is time for a 3-minute mini-trek called Wisdom Unplugged.

We are going to switch our Thursday podcast to a clean anecdotal or funny short story to help you lighten up towards the end of each week. It’ll be 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 story which was sourced with permission on mikeysfunnies.com.

Today’s short story is…

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. The conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain-looking, some expensive, and some exquisite – he told them to help themselves to the coffee.

After all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: “If you noticed, all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

“Now consider this: Life is the coffee, and the jobs, money, and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us.”

God brews the coffee, not the cups…Enjoy your coffee.

As we conclude our story, let me leave you with a Thursday Thought, “Some of your best memories will come from some of your most foolish decisions.” Make it a day full of cheer.

That’s a wrap for today’s Wisdom 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 wisdom, 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 861 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 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 Philosophy Friday!

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 861 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. To be in a good relationship with others, we must be willing to forgive them when they wrong us or fall short of our expectations. Forgiveness is even essential to maintain a healthy mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual life. In today’s essay, we will explore the purpose of the Old Testament for the sin offering and if it actually provided forgiveness.

Hebrews 10:4 proclaims, “For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”  Leviticus seems to tell a different story. Even casually reading the book, we notice that Israelites who bring proper sacrifices “will be forgiven.” One example of this is Leviticus 4:20, “Just as he does with the bull offered as a sin offering for the high priest. Through this process, the priest will purify the people, making them right with the Lord, and they will be forgiven.”

Have we reached an impasse or are there contradictions in God’s word?

Rather than labeling this a contradiction, we might examine our own perceptions of Old Testament sacrifices—specifically, the sin offering. “Sin offering” is a translation of the Hebrew term (chatta‘t), which has the basic meaning of “to miss the mark” or “to fall short.” In using a traditional, familiar rendering, many English Bible translations cause us to misunderstand this sacrifice.

The label “sin offering” assumes that the goal of this sacrifice was forgiveness for moral failures or violations, or sins, as we think of them. Leviticus reveals this is not the case. The sin offering was used in cases where people suffered from a bodily discharge (Lev 15), at the dedication of a new altar (Lev 8), or when a Nazirite completes a vow of abstinence (Lev 12).

The real goal of the sin offering was ritual purification. It was designed to guard sacred space or territory sanctified by God’s presence—from infection by impurity. By definition, every person or object “falls short” of divine perfection and must, therefore, be ritually marked as acceptable for holy ground. The sin offering—better rendered as “purification offering,” was therefore applied to people and inanimate objects to mark them as acceptable before God. These people (and objects) were not unacceptable because they had done evil, but because they were imperfect. Instead they “fell short” of the holy perfection that God’s presence required. The ritual reinforced the idea of the complete otherness of God.

Depending on the individual’s status in the community, whether priest or commoner, the blood of the offering was either used outside or inside the sanctuary. When the sin offering was for a priest, the blood was brought inside the sanctuary. This signified the priest’s undeserved, but now acceptable access to the holy ground of the sanctuary area. On the Day of Atonement (Lev 16), the blood of the sin offering was brought before the mercy seat (the golden cover for the ark or the covenant) within the holy of holies. Not because the high priest had committed worse sins than anyone else, but because he needed closer access to the divine presence on that day. The sin offering was about purification for access to God.

If the sin offering of the Old Testament didn’t purge people of moral guilt, what about the forgiven language? What happened when people did evil?

The verb translated “forgive” (salach) essentially means “to be positively disposed toward.” In the context of purification, God now approves of the person or object entering His presence. While the verb may be used elsewhere to address moral guilt (such as in Psalms 25:11, “For the honor of your name, O Lord, forgive my many, many sins”), when it comes to the Levitical sacrifice itself, the point was not absolution, but acceptability for entering God’s presence. Intentional violations of the moral law of God fell into two broad categories and were dealt with accordingly: those for which there was no remedy, resulting in capital punishment, and those for which restitution was required. For the latter, Old Testament Law called for reparations to victims to restore the offender.

In this context, the words of Hebrews 10:4 are right on target. Old Testament sacrifices could not provide release from spiritual and moral guilt. They merely allowed people to participate in a temporary and ultimately inadequate system while teaching them about God’s nature. Only Jesus’s greater sacrifice could solve the real problem of our moral guilt before a holy God.

Next Wisdom Wednesday we will continue with Moses as we look at Dr. Heiser’s next essay titled “There is a Devil in the Details.” 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 wisdom nugget that will provide you with a bit of wisdom that, if followed, will allow you to grow healthier, wealthier, and wiser each day. 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.

That will finish our trek for today. If you would like to listen to any of our past 860 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 860 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,“The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love, and loyalty.”

For any structure to be solid and secure, it must be built on solid foundation stones.  It is also imperative that these foundation stones rest of solid bedrock and not shifting sands. Our lives are exactly the same. Our values are the bedrock from which we build a balanced life and the foundation stones that rest on that bedrock are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love, and loyalty.

Unless we have the solid bedrock of values and each of these six foundation stones, then our lives will be out of balance and eventually begin to crumble which will impact all other areas of our lives.

Jesus taught us this principle in Matthew 7:24-27, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

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 859 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 859 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. The past two weeks we diverged from our regular daily podcast themes due to my schedule where I was away from my home office. We read through some of the parables of Jesus. Jesus was a master storyteller, weaving everyday experiences into his teachings.

It certainly is a good model to follow as we share with others. It is my mission to emulate this style of storytelling as I share each day on our podcast. Today we want to explore a mission that is much more important as the title of our meditation today is…

When we come to Christ, God not only forgives us, he also adopts us. Through a dramatic series of events, we go from condemned orphans with no hope to adopted children with no fear. Here is how it happens.

You come before the judgment seat of God full of rebellion and mistakes. Because of his justice, he cannot dismiss your sin, but because of his love, he cannot dismiss you. So in an act that stunned the heavens, he punished himself on the cross for your sins. God’s justice and love are equally honored. And you, God’s creation, are forgiven. But the story doesn’t end with God’s forgiveness. We read in Romans 8:15-16, “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children.  Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.’ For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.”

This is emphasized again in Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.  God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.”

It would be enough if God just cleansed your name, but he does more. He gives you his name. It would be enough if God just set you free, but he does more. He takes you home. He takes you home to the Great House of God.

Adoptive parents understand this more than anyone. I certainly don’t mean to offend any biological parents – I’m one myself. We biological parents know well the earnest longing to have a child. But in many cases, our cribs were filled easily. We decided to have a child, and a child came. In fact, sometimes the child came with no decision. I’ve heard of unplanned pregnancies, but I’ve never heard of an unplanned adoption.

That’s why adoptive parents understand God’s passion to adopt us. They know what it means to feel an empty space inside. They know what it means to hunt, to set out on a mission, and take responsibility for a child with a spotted past and a dubious future. If anybody understands God’s ardor for his children, it’s someone who has rescued an orphan from despair, for that is what God has done for us. God has adopted you.

God sought you, found you, signed the papers, and He is taking you to His home. As Jesus encouraged us in John 14:1-3, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”

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 858 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 858 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. Due to my heavy travel schedule this week, I will be diverting from our regular daily topics, and instead I will be reading through the parables of Jesus.

Jesus’s parables are seemingly simple and memorable stories, often with imagery, that all convey messages. Scholars have commented that although these parables seem simple, the messages they convey are deep and central to the teachings of Jesus. Christian authors view them not as mere similitudes that serve the purpose of illustration, but as internal analogies in which nature becomes a witness for the spiritual world.

Many of Jesus’s parables refer to simple everyday things, such as a woman baking bread, a man knocking on his neighbor’s door at night, or the aftermath of a roadside mugging. Yet they deal with major religious themes, such as the growth of the Kingdom of God, the importance of prayer, and the meaning of love.

In Western civilization, these parables formed the prototype for the term parable, and in the modern age, even among those who know little of the Bible, the parables of Jesus remain some of the best-known stories in the world.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Our parables for today are taken from Luke [15:11]-31 and is about…

To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story. “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living.  About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve.  He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. 

When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home, even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’ 

So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son   “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet.  And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast,  for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began. 

 Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house,  and he asked one of the servants what was going on.  ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’ 

 The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him,  but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’ 

His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours.  We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

Next week we will return to our regular schedule, and we will have a question to Ask Gramps. Gramps will answer any questions you may have about life and will provide you with practical wisdom about any area of life. Please submit questions that you have 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 857 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 857 of our trek, and it is time for our 3-minute mini-trek called Wisdom Unplugged. Due to a heavy travel schedule for this week, I will be diverting from our regular daily topics, and instead, I will be reading through the parables of Jesus.

Jesus’s parables are seemingly simple and memorable stories, often with imagery, that all convey messages. Scholars have commented that although these parables seem simple, the messages they convey are deep and central to the teachings of Jesus. Christian authors view them not as mere similitudes, which serve the purpose of illustration, but as internal analogies in which nature becomes a witness for the spiritual world.

Many of Jesus’s parables refer to simple everyday things, such as a woman baking bread, a man knocking on his neighbor’s door at night, or the aftermath of a roadside mugging. Yet they deal with major religious themes, such as the growth of the Kingdom of God, the importance of prayer, and the meaning of love.

In Western civilization, these parables formed the prototype for the term “parable;” and in the modern age, even among those who know little of the Bible, the parables of Jesus remain some of the best-known stories in the world.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Our parables for today are taken from Luke 15:1-10 and are about…

Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!

So Jesus told them this story…If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away! 

Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’  In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.

On tomorrow’s trek, we will continue with the parables of Jesus. 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 our past 856 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 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 Philosophy Friday!