Wisdom-Trek © - Archive 4

Wisdom – the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase wisdom and create a living legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1176 of our trek, and it is Worldview Wednesday.

Creating a Biblical worldview is important to have a proper perspective on today’s current events. To establish a Biblical worldview, you must also have a proper understanding of God and His Word. On our Worldview Wednesday episodes we are in a series in which we are covering another detailed review of a book from one of today’s most prominent Hebrew Scholars Dr. Micheal S. Heiser.  We are taking a deep dive and will share Dr. Heiser’s insights into the question, which is also the title of his book “What Does God Want?”

You might think Dr. Heiser answered this already. He sort of did, at least in a roundabout way. But in light of his experience in Christian circles, he felt he needs to be blunt.

Why do we need the gospel? Because without it, we have no hope of everlasting life with God. Zero. We are estranged from God because of sin. Believing the gospel is the remedy.

The Bible describes our predicament in several ways. Jesus said in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” In Ephesians 2:4-5 we are told, “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,  that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)” We were “alienated from God” (Ephesians 4:18) and “hostile” toward him (Colossians 1:21) because we were his “enemies” (Romans [5:10]). It’s not a pretty picture.

The biblical story we walked through explains why we are what we are. We aren’t born into the family of God. We’re outsiders. Yet God wants us in the family. Lacking God’s nature, we abuse our intelligence and freedom to get what we want, often harming others in the process. We live in self-destructive ways. When we don’t image God and break his laws and when we violate, manipulate, and otherwise abuse others, we sin. We are, by nature, sinners—self-absorbed and rebellious. Romans 3:23 makes it clear, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”

It is easy to read these verses and be depressed or angry. But the good news of the gospel story is that God knew all that and loved us anyway. It’s also useful for the reason that may never have occurred to you. It’s what makes the gospel entirely different than any other religion’s teaching about salvation. Every other religion either denies sin is a problem or says the solution is human performance—repeating rituals, saying prayers, observing religious days, or otherwise being good.

To be blunt, only the gospel is honest about the human situation and human inability to do a thing about it. Other religions in effect “lie to you”— they tell you that you can fix the problem of your own distance from God or that you don’t have a problem. The gospel is the only truth that tells you God had to provide the solution and did. The gospel is transparently honest. It tells you the truth even though it hurts. That shows love. Lying to you isn’t love.

Then the question that comes to our minds is, “Are there other ways to be saved?”

Dr. Heiser, more or less, just answered this, but he also approaches the question from a different angle.

God offers forgiveness, salvation, and everlasting life with him for free. It’s not something earned or deserved. In fact, it cannot be earned or deserved. What’s required is the belief or faith—that is putting one’s trust in God’s promise and the completeness of what Jesus did.

But believing the gospel means not believing other teachings or ideas about salvation. The Bible says that there is no other way of salvation. Think about it. Why would God the Father send his son Jesus to die such a horrible death on the cross if there were any other way for you to enter Heaven? The Son had to become a man, and death had to be overcome. This was the only way, and believing in God’s plan is the only way of salvation. There is no person besides Jesus who can save as we learn in Acts 4:12, “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

Jesus himself put it very bluntly as recorded in John 14:6, “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.'”

There’s no ambiguity there. No one becomes a member of God’s forever-family except through what Jesus has done. You don’t add the gospel to other beliefs. It is exclusive. Believing the gospel means turning away from other beliefs. That’s one aspect of what the Bible calls repentance. There are others, but they’re best addressed in the next part of our conversation, which we will reserve for next week.

That will conclude our lesson for this week from Dr. Heiser’s book “What Does God Want?” Next Worldview Wednesday, we will discover what the gospel isn’t. I believe you will find each Worldview Wednesday an 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 and 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 1175 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com.  I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

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 tomorrow!

Wisdom – the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase wisdom and create a living legacy.  Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1175 of our trek, and it is time for our 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 E.V. Rickenbacker,and it is, “I can give you a six-word formula for success: Think things through — then follow through.”

Many times while we were growing up our dad would tell us boys as we approached a problem to think through it slow and methodically. So often my brothers and I just wanted to rush through a task or project to get it completed. Dad knew that if we would take time to think through the issue and come up with a method or plan for completing the task before we took action, that our chance of being successful in that task or project would be greatly improved.

While our impatience during those growing up years caused us to ignore Dad’s advice many times, the older we grew, the more we realized that his advice was very wise and that he was training us to be prepared for the many obstacles that we would face in life. His instructions have come back to me many times, and still, to this day, I recognize it is an excellent piece of advice that I continue to apply.

Just as our quote today instructs us, the formula for success is to first think things through, that is to create a plan of action, and then follow through the plan that we thought through. This is truly what we need to do in order to be successful. Think, then follow through. Let us make a habit of this with each task we have to complete, project we are working on, or obstacle that we encounter on our path to success.

Proverbs 21:5

Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.

That’s a wrap for today’s Wisdom Unplugged quote. If you would like free access to my database of over 11,000 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 1174 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player 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 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 for Worldview Wednesday!

Wisdom – the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase wisdom and create a living legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1174 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 you, it may just be time alone for quiet reflection. You 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. 

Life does not always go smoothly. At times it seems that we are bombarded by negative influences on all sides. That is why it is so important to be continually renewing your mind. In today’s meditation, let us consider…

Life has a way of unloading her rubbish on our doorstep! It is as if the garbage truck backs up to our houses and empties the contents right into the clean living room.

It may be that your spouse works too much and is always tired when he or she is home. It may be that your spouse gripes too much about every little issue. Maybe it’s your boss expects too much and keeps piling more onto your overly busy workload. When you are home, is it that your kids who whine too much?

If you are facing any of these situations, what is the result?  Your mind is filled with trash…Loads of pessimism, guilt, anxiety—it all piles up.  Your thoughts can become polluted with all the foul trash that is accumulating…unless you continually make a habit of washing it clean through renewal.

Remember this very important concept, “Today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions.” Think about what the Jewish leader did at the time of Christ. They killed Christ in their hearts before they killed him on the cross. Could that be why Paul writes in Romans 12:2, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect”? Paul also told us in I Corinthians 13:4-5, “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.”

We do have a choice of what we allow to remain in our minds each day. The thoughts may pop into our minds, be we do not have to allow them to take up residence there. Paul says we can get rid of them when he writes in 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.” You can proclaim: Negative thoughts, be gone. Selfishness, step back!  Envy…get lost! You are not a victim of your thoughts.

If today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions, then what happens when we fill our minds with thoughts of God’s love and continue daily in His Word? Will standing beneath the downpour of His grace change the way we think and feel about others? Absolutely! It is the continual renewing of your mind, each moment of each day, which will turn your thoughts to thoughts that are in line with God’s precepts.  Your actions will absolutely reflect that renewing of your mind.

That is a wrap for today’s meditation. 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 1173 daily treks or read the daily journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player 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.

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 tomorrow!

Wisdom – the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase wisdom and create a living legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1173 of our trek, and it is time for our Philosophy Friday series. Each Friday, we 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, 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 may mix it up a bit on our Friday episodes, but we will strive to keep them down to earth and enjoyable. If you have any questions that you would like to ask Gramps, please email them to [email protected].

So the question for this week is…

“Hey, Gramps, even though you have had times of hardship and adversity, you always seem to recover and succeed. What are some wise tips that you can give me that will help to emulate the pattern of success, in spite of failures?”

These five barriers to success are actually easy to overcome, but only when you know they are there. Why do some people achieve their goals while others fail? I believe it’s because successful people manage to overcome five barriers that, in many cases, guarantee failure. Here are those barriers and how to overcome them…

When most people set goals, they envision a “thing,” such as a particular amount of money, an object (like a new car), or a specific achievement (like writing a book). Unfortunately, these “things I’m going to get or do” goals don’t appeal to the core of what motivates you because they miss the point that what you’re actually seeking in life. It is POSITIVE EMOTIONS, or how you will feel when you are able to obtain those “things” or “achievements.” This is why “vision boards” rarely work.

The Solution: You must know the “WHY” of what you want to obtain or achieve. Ask yourself, “How will I feel when I achieve the goal?” Maybe more importantly, “What will I become, through the process of achieving this goal?” That way, you’ll be inspired to do whatever it takes (within legal and ethical bounds) to achieve that goal.

If you’re afraid of failing, you won’t take the necessary risks required to achieve your goal. For example, you won’t make that important phone call, because you’re afraid that you’ll be rebuffed. Or you won’t quit your dead-end job and start your own business because you’re afraid that you might end up without any money.

The Solution: Decide–right now–that failure, for you, is a strictly temporary condition, not who you are. If things don’t go the way you’d like, it’s only a setback that, at most, delays your eventual success. In other words, accept the fact that you will sometimes fail, plan for it, but treat that failure as an unavoidable (yet vital) component in your quest.

In many ways, this fear is even more debilitating than the fear of failure. Suppose you achieved something spectacular, like enormous wealth. What if it didn’t make you happy? What then? What if you ended up losing all of it? What then? Would your friends start acting weird? Would your family be envious? Such thoughts (and they’re common) can cause even a highly motivated person to self-sabotage. I have seen this so many times over the years, which I like to refer to as “self-fulfilling prophecy.”

The Solution: Decide that you’re going to be happy and grateful today with what you currently have. Decide that you will also be happy and grateful in the future, no matter what happens. Rather than focus on possible problems, envision how wonderful it would be to be able to help your friends and family achieve THEIR goals. The greatest fulfillment in life is not what you achieve, but what you help others achieve.

Most people vastly overestimate what they can do in a week and vastly underestimate what they can do in a year. Because of this, most people try to cram too many action items into the short term rather than spacing out activities over the long term. The inability to get all the short-term steps accomplished creates discouragement and the impression that the final goal is slipping away.

The Solution: Begin with the end in mind. Determine the final result of a goal, and then work backward, breaking it down into monthly, weekly, and daily goals. This way, you will know at the beginning what you need to accomplish each day in order to achieve your final outcome. Set ambitious long-term timetables, but always leave some “wiggle room” when you plan short term.

It’s easy to get discouraged when you reach a point at which nothing you do seems to advance you toward your goal. For example, suppose you’re trying to master a certain skill. You make swift progress at first, but then, after a while, it seems as if you’re not doing any better, or maybe a little worse. Some people use these “plateaus” or “dry spots” as an excuse to give up and therefore fail.

The Solution: Whenever you reach a plateau or dry spot, it’s time to take a rest and celebrate rather than give up. A plateau is almost always a sign that you’re on the brink of a major breakthrough, if you just have the patience to stick with it and trust that you’ll eventually achieve your goal.

Here is a couple of wise verse that supports the above points:

Proverbs 21:5

Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.

Psalm [90:17]

And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful!

That is a wrap for today’s question. Join us again next Friday for another question on our “Ask Gramps” episode. 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 1172 daily treks or read the associated journals, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player 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 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 on Monday!

Wisdom – the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase wisdom and create a living legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1172 of our trek, and it is time for our 3-minute mini-trek called Humor Unplugged. Our Thursday podcast will provide a short and clean funny story to help you lighten up 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…

The IRS decides to audit Grandpa Jones and summons him to the IRS office. The IRS auditor Sam Smith was not surprised when Grandpa Jones showed up with his attorney.

The auditor said, “Well, sir, you have an extravagant lifestyle and no full-time employment, which you explain by saying that you win money gambling. I’m not sure the IRS finds that believable.”

I’m a great gambler, and I can prove it,” says Grandpa Jones. “How about a demonstration?”

The auditor, Sam, thinks for a moment and says, “Okay. Go ahead.”

Grandpa Jones says, “I’ll bet you a thousand dollars that I can bite my own eye.”

Sam, the auditor thinks a moment and says, “It’s a bet.”

Grandpa Jones removes his glass eye and bites it. Sam, the auditor’s jaw drops.

Grandpa Jones then says, “Now, I’ll bet you two thousand dollars that I can bite my other eye.”

Sam, the auditor, can tell Grandpa Jones isn’t blind, so he takes the bet.

Grandpa Jones removes his dentures and bites his good eye.

Sam, very stunned, now realizes he has wagered and lost three grand, with Grandpa Jones’s attorney as a witness. He starts to get nervous.

“Want to go double or nothing?” Grandpa Jones asks. “I’ll bet you six thousand dollars that I can stand on one side of your desk, throw that full glass of water into the wastebasket on the other side, and never get a drop anywhere in between.”

Sam, the auditor, twice burned, is cautious now, but he looks carefully and decides there’s no way this old guy could possibly manage that stunt, so he agrees again.

Grandpa Jones stands on the desk and takes careful aim, but when he throws the glass, water covers the man’s desk, jacket, briefcase, and everything around it. In addition to that, the glass shatters on the floor.

Sam, the auditor, leaps with joy, realizing that he has just turned a major loss into a huge win.

But Grandpa Jones’s own attorney, John starts sobbing profusely and puts his head in his hands.

“Not really,” says John, the attorney. “This morning, when Grandpa Jones told me he’d been summoned for an audit, he bet me twenty-five thousand dollars that he could come in here and throw water all over your office and that you’d be happy about it!”

Well, I hope that brought a smile to your face today. If it did, pass that smile on to someone who really needs it. Our Thursday Thought is “Be careful about gambling, because someone always loses, and it will most likely be you.”

Proverbs [16:33]

We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall.

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 1171 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player 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 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 for Philosophy Friday!

Wisdom – the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase wisdom and create a living legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1171 of our trek, and it is Worldview Wednesday.

Creating a Biblical worldview is important to have a proper perspective on today’s current events. To establish a Biblical Worldview, you must also have a proper understanding of God and His Word. On our Worldview Wednesday episodes we are in a series in which we are covering another detailed review of a book from one of today’s most prominent Hebrew scholars Dr. Micheal S. Heiser. We are taking a deep dive and will share Dr. Heiser’s insights into the question, which is also the title of his book “What Does God Want?”

As we continue on with Dr. Heiser’s book, it may sound odd to ask that question at this juncture. We have invested several weeks walking through the story of the Bible, the story of how God wants us in his family. We join that family by believing the good news, referred to as the gospel.

I’ve discovered that a lot of people who attend church don’t really understand the gospel. Some can’t articulate it. Others who can express it coherently often struggle with truly surrendering to its simplicity. They suffer inside over truly believing that the gospel is all that’s necessary for everlasting life.

Some of you may wonder what I’m talking about. I’m willing to bet, though, that as I explain what I mean, you’ll either see yourself or someone you know in what follows.

We’ll start by defining the gospel. I’ll ask some questions along the way that are important to consider for clarity. We also need to talk about what the gospel isn’t, but we will save that for next week. When we get to that part of the conversation, you’ll see what I mean by the struggle I mentioned.

If people struggle to define it, what is The Gospel?

It’s fairly easy to define what the term “gospel” means. The biblical word “gospel” refers to the message of salvation. The English word “gospel” is a translation of a Greek word (the original language of the New Testament) that referred to a reward given to someone who brought good news. Hence you’ll often hear the term “gospel” equated with “good news” — the good news about the message of salvation.

Let’s think about that. It might feel like we learned something. I suppose we did, but we didn’t actually learn the thing we needed to know. It’s nice that we can now define a term. But we actually haven’t said anything about the content of the message of salvation. We’ve defined what the word “gospel” refers to, but not what the gospel actually is.

So let’s talk about what the gospel means. What is the content of God’s offer of salvation? What are the details of the good news? And why is it good news? The word appears almost 100 times in the New Testament so we ought to be able to figure this out.

The apostle Paul probably talks about the gospel message more than any other New Testament writer. He uses the word “gospel” for the message he preached about Jesus in I Corinthians 15:1-4.

Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it.  It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.

Paul defines his message, the gospel, elsewhere such as Romans 1:1-5.

This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God, to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life, he was born into King David’s family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.

The content of the gospel — the good news — emerges clearly in these passages. Here are the elements:

These items are the content of the good news. Let me describe them again here in light of the bigger picture of the story we talked about earlier:

The Son of God became a man. He suffered and died on the cross so that our sins would no longer keep us out of God’s family. He rose from the dead so that we could also overcome death and be with his Father, our Father, the only true God, forever.

Let’s probe that a bit. If this is the good news, why is it good? Lots of reasons. It’s good because our salvation doesn’t depend on our own performance. You don’t see anything about your amazing track record or having a clean rap sheet in those passages. The content of the gospel is not about what you’ve done, or might do, or need to do. It’s about what someone else did for you. That’s good news for all of us, because none of us is perfect. None of us pleases God all the time. None of us is fit to live in his family and be called by his name on our own. We have to be made acceptable to God. The content of the gospel tells us how that happens.

Notice that Paul described his ministry of telling people the good news as“bringing about the obedience of faith.” He wanted those who heard his message to “hold fast” to what he said. How do you “obey” the gospel? Get Baptized? Give money? Behave well? Don’t be a jerk? Help the poor?

Those are all worthwhile things, but no. God wants “the obedience of faith.” You obey the gospel by believing it.

Did you also notice that Paul didn’t say “the obedience of comprehension?” We may not completely understand things like God becoming a man in Jesus, or how the resurrection could happen. That’s okay. God doesn’t demand we figure it all out and then get back to him to take a final exam. He wants belief. Understanding why these things are rational can wait.

The content of the good news is God’s offer to forgive you and give you a permanent place in his family. His offer shows his love and kindness. The Bible sometimes uses the word “grace” in the place of those terms. Since there is no greater power, God wasn’t coerced into the offer. No one is twisting His arm. He offers you salvation because he wants you. All he asks is that you believe.

That is the good news of the gospel.

That will conclude our lesson for this week from Dr. Heiser’s book “What Does God Want?” Next Worldview Wednesday, we will discover why we need the gospel, and what the gospel isn’t. I believe you will find each Worldview Wednesday an 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 and 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 1170 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player 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 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!

Wisdom – the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase wisdom and create a living legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1170 of our trek, and it is time for our 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, “I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles.”

Since my college years in the late 70s, I have considered Zig Ziglar one of my virtual mentors, as have thousands of people who have been impacted by his life. Not only did he inspire many in all walks of life, but it was evident that his success in life was rooted in his deep commitment and faith which was grounded in his spiritual walk with God.

His quote that I read today is certainly grounded in the same worldview that I possess. We as image bearers of God cannot be considered successful in life unless our entire being is dedicated to Him. To be truly successful, we need to be successful in all areas of life.

That means that we are whole in the very essence of our lives.   We need to focus and obtain success in each of the following seven areas.  Spiritual, Family, Physical-Health, Mind-Intellect, Personal-Social, Financial, Work-Career.

As Christ followers, we are to be the very best that we can be by fully utilizing our God-given abilities and talents. You have to BE the right person, so that you can DO the right actions, in order to HAVE the success that you should. In each of the seven areas of life above, ask yourself how you can BE, DO, and HAVE so that you can bring honor and glory to God as you should.

This can be summed up in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

That’s a wrap for today’s Wisdom Unplugged quote. If you would like free access to my database of over 11,000 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 1169 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player 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 for Worldview Wednesday!

Wisdom – the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase wisdom and create a living legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1169 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 you, it may just be time alone for quiet reflection. You 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. 

In order to restore us to His Kingdom, God had to become one of us and speak to us in our language. God is not only the creator of everything; He also speaks personally to us. In today’s meditation, let us consider…

God communicates to us in our language, just as He did when Jesus was crucified and caused Pilot to list the three main languages of that day as we are told in John 19:19, “And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.'”

The framer of our destiny is familiar with how dull we can be at times. God knows we sometimes miss the signs. Maybe that’s why he has given us so many. The rainbow after the flood signifies God’s covenant. Circumcision identifies God’s chosen, and the stars portray the size of his family. Even today, we see signs in the New Testament church. Communion is a sign of his death, and baptism is a sign of our spiritual birth. Each of these signs symbolizes a greater spiritual truth.

The most moving sign, however, was found on the cross. A trilingual, hand-painted, Roman-commissioned sign.

Every passerby could read the sign, for every passerby could read Hebrew, Latin, or Greek—the three great languages of the ancient world. “Hebrew was the language of Israel, the language of religion; Latin the language of the Romans, the language of law and government; and Greek the language of Greece, the language of culture. Christ was declared the king of the known world of that day.” God had a message for each, “Christ is king.” The message was the same, but the languages were different. Since Jesus was a king for all people, the message would be in the tongues of all people.

There is no language God will not speak, which leads us to a delightful question. What language is He speaking to you? I’m not referring to an idiom or dialect but to the day-to-day drama of your life. God does speak, you know. He speaks to us in whatever language we will understand.

There are times He speaks the “language of abundance.” Did you eat today? Are your bills paid? Got a little bit of change in your pocket? Don’t be so proud of what you have that you miss what you need to hear.

Do you hear the “language of need”? Or how about the “language of affliction”? Talk about phrases we avoid. But you and I both know how clearly God speaks in hospital hallways, sickbeds, and yes, even funeral homes.

God speaks all languages—including yours. Listen to what He said in Psalms 32:8, “The Lord says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.'”

His servant Job tells us in Job 22:22, “Listen to his instructions, and store them in your heart.”

What language is God speaking to you? Aren’t you glad that He is speaking? Aren’t you grateful that He cares enough to talk? Isn’t it good to know that in Psalms 25:14 we are told, “The Lord is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant.”

I think a word of thanks to Him would be appropriate, don’t you? And while you’re at it, ask Him if you might be missing any signs He is sending your way. We need to be looking for His signs in every day events of life. It is not that God is not speaking our language; it is that sometimes we are not listening.

That is a wrap for today’s meditation. 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 1168 daily treks or read the daily journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player 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 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!

Wisdom – the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase wisdom and create a living legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1168 of our trek, and it is time for our Philosophy Friday series. Each Friday, we 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, you 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 may mix it up a bit on our Friday episodes, but we will strive to keep them down to earth and enjoyable. If you have any questions that you would like to ask Gramps, please email them to [email protected].

So the question for this week is…

“Hey, Gramps, it seems like you don’t have a real problem staying motivated, but staying motivated for me is a real struggle. I am constantly assaulted by negative thoughts and anxiety about the future. Do you have any wisdom to help me stay motivated more?”

Staying motivated is a struggle for nearly everyone. Even though I tend to be highly disciplined, I also have to be constantly vigilant so that I can remain on task. I have to admit that our drive is constantly assaulted by negative thoughts and anxiety about the future. Nearly everyone faces doubt and depression, but that doesn’t mean we should give up. What separates the highly successful from the unsuccessful is the ability to keep moving forward.

There is no simple solution for lack of motivation. Even after beating it, the problem reappears at the first sign of failure or discouragement. The key is understanding your thoughts and how they drive your emotions. By learning how to nurture motivating thoughts, neutralize negative ones, and focus on the task at hand, you can pull yourself out of a slump before it gains momentum.

I have boiled it down to three primary reasons we lose motivation.

First, let’s explore how to boost confidence because the first motivation killer is a lack of confidence. When this happens to me, it’s usually because I’m focusing entirely on what I think I want and neglecting being grateful for what I already have. When you only think about what you want, your mind creates explanations for why you aren’t getting it. This creates negative thoughts. Past failures, bad breaks, and personal weaknesses dominate your mind. You become jealous of others and start making excuses for why you can’t succeed. In this state, you tend to make a bad impression, assume the worst about others, and lose self-confidence.

The way to get out of this thought pattern is to focus on gratitude. Set aside time to focus on everything positive in your life. Make a mental list of your strengths, past successes, and current advantages. We tend to take our strengths for granted and dwell on our failures. By making an effort to feel grateful, you’ll realize how competent and successful you already are. This will rejuvenate your confidence and get you motivated to build on your current success.

It might sound strange that repeating things you already know can improve your mindset, but it’s amazingly effective. The mind distorts reality to confirm what it wants to believe. The more negatively you think, the more examples your mind will discover to confirm that belief. When you truly believe that you are capable and deserve success, your mind will generate ways to achieve it. The best way to bring success to yourself is to genuinely desire to create value for the rest of the world, to help others also succeed.

Next, you need to develop a tangible focus because the second motivation killer is a lack of focus. How often do you focus on what you don’t want, rather than on a concrete goal? We normally think in terms of fear. I’m afraid of being poor. I’m afraid no one will respect me. I’m afraid of being alone. The problem with this type of thinking is that fear alone isn’t actionable. Instead of doing something about our fear, it feeds on itself and drains our motivation.

If you’re caught up in fear-based thinking, the first step is focusing that energy on a well-defined goal. By defining a goal, you automatically define a set of actions.

If you have a fear of poverty, create a plan to increase your income. It could be going back to school, obtaining a higher paying job, or developing a profitable website. The key is moving from an intangible desire to concrete, measurable steps.

By focusing your mind on a positive goal instead of an ambiguous fear, you put your brain to work. It instantly begins devising a plan for success. Instead of worrying about the future, you start to do something about it. This is the first step in motivating yourself to take action. When you know what you want, you become motivated to take action.

The final piece in the motivational puzzle is direction. If focus means having an ultimate goal, direction is having a day-to-day strategy to achieve it. A lack of direction kills motivation because, without an obvious next action, we succumb to procrastination. An example of this is a person who wants to have a popular blog but spends more time reading posts about blogging than actually writing articles.

The key to finding direction is identifying the activities that lead to success. For every goal, there are activities that pay off and those that don’t. Make a list of all your activities and arrange them based on results. Then make an action plan that focuses on the activities that lead to big returns. To continue the example from above, a blogger’s list would look something like this:

Keeping track of your most important tasks will direct your energy towards success. Without a constant reminder, it’s easy to waste entire days on filler activities like reading social media posts, email, and random web surfing.

When my motivation starts to wane, I regain direction by creating a plan that contains two positive actions. The first one should be a small task you’ve been meaning to do, while the second should be a long-term goal. I immediately do a smaller task. This creates positive momentum. After that, I take the first step towards achieving a long-term goal. Doing this periodically is great for getting out of a slump, creating positive reinforcement, and getting long-term plans moving.

It’s inevitable that you’ll encounter periods of low energy, bad luck, and even the occasional failure. If you don’t discipline your mind, these minor speed bumps can turn into mental monsters. By being on guard against the top three motivation killers, you can preserve your motivation and propel yourself to success.

Remember, it all begins in the mind. To correct your motivation problem, you must first correct your thinking. Put into practice the advice found in Philippians 4:8, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

That is a wrap for today’s question. Join us again next Friday for another question on our “Ask Gramps” episode. 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 1167 daily treks or read the associated journals, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player so each day will be downloaded to you 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 on Monday!

Wisdom – the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase wisdom and create a living legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1167 of our trek, and it is time for our 3-minute mini-trek called Humor Unplugged. Our Thursday podcast will provide a short and clean funny story to help you lighten up 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…

Joe, a college student, texted Professor Wellborn early one morning and stated that he could not take his seminar final exam that day because of a funeral.

Professor Wellborn texted him back and told Joe that it would not be a problem and that he could make it up the following week.

That week came, and again, Joe texted Professor Wellborn and explained that he couldn’t take the test that day either, due to another funeral.

Professor Wellborn, being a little irritated, but feeling sorry for Joe texted him back once again and said, “You’ll have to take the test early next week, I can’t keep postponing it.”

Joe replies back thanking Professor Wellborn and also said, “I’ll take the test next week if no one dies.”

By now Professor Wellborn was really suspicious. And texted back, “How can you have so many people you know pass away in three weeks?”

Joe texted, “I don’t know any of these people, but I’m the only gravedigger in town, and I have no choice but to be there.”

Well, I hope that brought a smile to your face today. If it did, pass that smile on to someone who really needs it. Our Thursday Thought is “Make sure you understand the situation before passing judgment.”

Proverbs [18:17]

The first to speak in court sounds right— until the cross-examination begins.

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 1166 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player 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!