Receiving Commands From God

 

The wise in heart accept commands …

—from Proverbs 10:8

We seem to live in a “Don’t Tell Me What to Do” society today. No one wants to willingly receive any direction.

I have occasion to rather frequently speak with a wide variety of Help Desk technicians, who provide assistance to computer users and other users of technology. These individuals present an equally wide variety of people skills and technical knowledge. Please allow me to illustrate my point:

Many years ago, I had occasion to speak with a woman at the Help Desk of the local telephone company. I was calling because a loud hum had developed in my telephone line. I recognized the hum as an “unwanted ground.” For those of you not familiar with telephony, an “unwanted ground” occurs when something inadvertently creates a path from one side of the telephone circuit to earth ground. This can come from a tree branch rubbing against a telephone cable. It can come from a fault in a piece of equipment. But, most often, it comes from water having gotten into a telephone cable or outdoor piece of telephone equipment.

As I reported my problem to the Help Desk operator, I explained that we had experienced a recent heavy rainstorm. I suggested that perhaps the telephone terminal box at the bottom of the hill had become flooded causing an “unwanted ground.” Instead of receiving my possible explanation of the problem as helpful information, the Help Desk operator gave me a tongue-lashing about leaving such matters up to the telephone company trained technicians.

It took nearly three weeks to resolve the problem, which the on-site technician later described in writing as —you guessed it—an “… unwanted ground due to a damaged seal on the terminal box cover that allowed rain water to enter the terminal box and place an unwanted ground on the circuit.”

I sometimes wonder: “Why won’t we just listen?” Even in our spiritual lives, God has given us specific instructions that we too often ignore. Notice what King Solomon wrote, as recorded in Proverbs 10:8:

The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin.

As we begin another new day, let’s remain open to every instruction we receive from God through His precious written Word. Let’s receive with joy God’s commands. And, let’s turn away from becoming chattering fools.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

We Really Do Have Enough

 

For we brought nothing into the world …

—from 1 Timothy 6:7

Have you ever wanted to accumulate stuff? When I was about ten years old, I very much wanted a tape recorder. I had seen photos in a book in the public library about radio stations. I thought that if I could buy a tape recorder, I could have the start of creating a radio station of my own.

There was one problem in my plan hatched back in 1957, I lived in a very loving home with two wonderful parents who had adopted me at birth. But, like most people in this period of time, they did not make enough money to buy frivolous things like a tape recorder. In fact, long after my dad died in December of 1981, I discovered some of his tax returns from the mid-1950s and was floored to discover that my dad had a gross annual income in 1957 of just a bit over $3,000. (My on-line inflation calculator indicates this would be $34,588.00 in 2025 dollars.)

The tape recorder I so badly wanted, an Ampex 601, cost $595.00 in 1957. That amount of money represented 20% of my dad’s entire salary. There was no way that my dad would ever—or could ever—spend that amount of money buying his ten-year-old son what apparently amounted to a frivolous and very expensive “toy”—just no way at all. The Apostle Paul wrote these wise words to his own “son in the faith” found in 1 Timothy 6:7-8:

For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

Part of devoting oneself to the Kingdom of God and its mighty King Jesus, is learning to live a simpler life without a desire for frivolous possessions. As we begin a new day, we should all remember these above words of the Apostle Paul.

By the way, it took my dad two years from the day I first shared my desire for a tape recorder. But, in 1959, he had saved enough to spend $150.00 to buy me a Voice of Music™ tape recorder manufactured by the V-M Corporation of Benton Harbor, Michigan. I was astonished and delighted. Just a month later, I met the school teacher who invited me to visit him at the local radio station where he worked part-time. Soon, I became an intern there. This radio station had two Ampex 601 tape recorders, which they used to play pre-recorded commercial spot announcements.

My dad was a man who would wholeheartedly embrace the above words from the Apostle Paul. He also was a man who greatly loved his adopted son. I hope I have always lived in a way to be worthy of his love.

As to my heavenly Father: I know far too well that, on my own, I can never be worthy of His love. And yet, He loves me anyways. Just as He loves all those He has called to belong to Himself.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Love Rejoices With Truth

 

Love does not delight in evil …

—from 1 Corinthians 13:6

Genuine love always comes to us as a precious gift from God. Our very ability to love is God-given. It should be no surprise, then, that love takes on qualities of the One who gives it. And, one of those qualities is expressed by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:6:

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

Sometimes, we become so emotionally involved in a situation that prompts differing points of view that we forget to bear with each other in love. If we start to feel smugly joyful when the opposing side experiences a defeat, we need to catch ourselves and remind ourselves that this is not the way of love. Love does not rejoice in evil.

As we begin a new day, we need to temper our emotions, so that we do not fall into the trap of becoming like those who do not belong to Jesus. Instead, we need to let His love guide the way we act. When tempted to rejoice in evil, we need to remind ourselves that love only rejoices with the truth.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

A Man with a Mission

 

This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel …

—from Zechariah 4:6

Have you ever heard the name “Zerubbabel”? He is a very important individual in the history of the Jewish people. Sometime between 538 B.C. and 520 B.C.—following the nation of Babylon carrying off the Southern Kingdom of Judah into captivity—Judah consisted of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, plus the priestly tribe of Levi—Zerubbabel led a group of Jewish people back to the land from which they had been captured. Among his many accomplishments, Zerubbabel laid the foundation for the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem.

An important person in Zerubbabel’s life was the Prophet Zechariah. It should be no surprise then, that Zechariah pens these words found in Zechariah 4:1-6:

Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke me up, like someone awakened from sleep. He asked me, “What do you see?”

I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps. Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”

I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”

He answered, “Do you not know what these are?”

“No, my lord,” I replied.

So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

You can imagine the pressure that Zerubbabel felt to bring to fruition the restoration of Jerusalem, the return of the Jewish people from captivity, and the construction of the new Temple. But, a word came from God, given through the angel to Zechariah and, ultimately, to Zerubbabel. And, what was that message?

“You can’t do this alone. You must rely on God’s power. Only through the powerful intervention of the Holy Spirit can you achieve what God has placed in your heart to do.”

As followers of God through His Son, Jesus, we “Christ’s-ones” need to recognize that Zechariah’s word can easily apply to us today. As we begin a new day, we need to rely on the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Whatever God may have put in our hearts to do, we will be able to accomplish it only by fully relying on the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Overcoming the World

 

For everyone born of God overcomes the world …

—1 from John 5:4

To Christians, the term “the world” represents all that is wrong in life: sin, degradation, distrust, abuse, and evil. In fact, the terms: “the world, the flesh, and the devil” are set in sharp contrast to the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The former ends in eternal death, while the latter leads to eternal life. Notice these words of instruction that the Apostle John gives to the “Christ’s-ones” to whom he is writing, as recorded in 1 John 5:4:

For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

The new birth in Christ that followers of Jesus experience leads us away from “the world” and into the new world that awaits us because of Jesus’ birth, life, suffering and death on the cross, His resurrection from the grave, and His ascension into heaven. His blood has cleansed us from our sins. He has given us newness of life.

As we begin a new day, we should remember that, as followers of Jesus, the world cannot bring us to destruction. Rather, through Christ, we have overcome the world. It no longer has any hold on us. We are free from the bondage that the world would impose on us.

I grew up in the 1950s and 1960s singing a lovely gospel hymn written by John Henry Yates with a truly sprightly tune written by Ira David Sanke. The hymn was titled “Faith is the Victory.” ¹ Here are the words:

Encamped along the hills of light,
Ye Christian soldiers rise,
And press the battle ere the night
Shall veil the glowing skies;
Against the foe in vales below
Let all our strength be hurled;
Faith is the victory, we know,
That overcomes the world.
Faith is the victory!
Faith is the victory!
O glorious victory,
That overcomes the world.

His banner over us is love,
Our sword the Word of God;
We tread the road the saints before
With shouts of triumph trod.
By faith, they like a whirlwind’s breath,
Swept on o’er every field;
The faith by which they conquered death
Is still our shining shield.
Faith is the victory!
Faith is the victory!
O glorious victory,
That overcomes the world.

On every hand the foe we find
Drawn up in dread array;
Let tents of ease be left behind,
And onward to the fray.
Salvation’s helmet on each head,
With truth all girt about,
The earth shall tremble ’neath our tread,
And echo with our shout.
Faith is the victory!
Faith is the victory!
O glorious victory,
That overcomes the world.

To him that overcomes the foe,
White raiment shall be giv’n;
Before the angels he shall know
His name confessed in heav’n;
Then onward from the hills of light,
Our hearts with love aflame,
We’ll vanquish all the hosts of night,
In Jesus’ conqu’ring name.
Faith is the victory!
Faith is the victory!
O glorious victory,
That overcomes the world.

 

______________________

1 Yates, John Henry. “Faith is the Victory.” Though this hymn citation is noted to be in the Public Domain, this hymn does appear in various Hymnals published by a variety of publishing companies. In the case of any company, organization, or entity claiming Copyright protection of this material, please note that the citation in this blog post of any Copyrighted material is made strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Listen to the Father

 

My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline …

—from Proverbs 3:11

No one likes to receive a rebuke for his or her behavior. We all would rather that people just let us behave in whatever way we choose to behave. However, if we all lived like that, life would consist of one scene of chaos after another. We would soon fall into a heap of exhaustion because of the confusion and nastiness around us.

In order to proper guide their dearly loved children, loving parents learn early that they must discipline their children to point them in the right direction. Every time I’m in a restaurant where very young children scream out, I think of the family in my church in Connecticut, many years ago, who taught their children to remain calm and not scream whenever they entered a public place. If one of their children started to raise his or her voice, the dad of the family would calmly say:

“Remember, no screamies.”

It worked! At least it worked for these kids. They would never scream out in a public setting where their piercing screams might disturb others.

God longs to help us learn how to behave in a world tainted by sin and a world that possesses a natural overriding sin nature. God does so lovingly, but firmly. The degree we will grow in our walk with Him depends on how well we receive His discipline. Notice what King Solomon writes, as recorded in Proverbs 3:11-12:

My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

As we start another new day, let’s cheerfully and gratefully receive the Lord’s discipline whenever He sends it our way. If we learn to allow Him to shape our behavior through His loving and caring instruction, we will become much better followers—much better disciples—bathed in God’s love and grace.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Oaks of Righteousness

 

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me …

—from Isaiah 61:1

All throughout literature we can read descriptions of the mighty oak trees. They represent power with deep roots in the soil that allow them to resist perilous winds. They provide shade and, through their dropping of acorns, they provide self-perpetuation that can produce a dense, dark forest. The Prophet Isaiah declares the purpose God has given the coming Messiah in the opening verses found in Isaiah 61:1-3:

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

This is the very passage of Scripture in which Dr. Luke records Jesus reading to those gathered in the synagogue in His home town of Nazareth (see Luke 4:14-30). It is a powerful statement of purpose. But, as Jesus quotes from the Isaiah passage above, it also ends with a hopeful declaration for all who come to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

As we begin a new day, we can draw hope from this declaration. As we submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit, we too can become “oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.” May this be so for us this day and every day, as we obediently serve our Great King Jesus.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}