Treasure Digest

• Pillars of Wisdom: Making Wise Decisions
• Living in Hummingbird Mode?
• Under the Shadow of His Wings
• Turning the Hearts...Appreciate Your Father!
• Children's Corner [see PDF Version Page 10]
• Share Your Treasures!

Pillars of Wisdom: Making Wise Decisions

Wisdom is being able to discern the outcome of a decision so that the right course of action is taken for the right reasons.

Wisdom begins as the acquiring of knowledge, but develops into character.

Jesus Christ said, "Wisdom is proved right by all of her children" (Luke 7:35, New International Version). The proof of wisdom is in the results produced by the decisions made.

Points to build on

We must remember that wisdom comes from God, and we must ask Him for it.

Proverbs 2:6-7: "For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright."

We must search the Bible for knowledge and understanding. Wisdom must be sought after and learned.

Proverbs 2:1-5: "My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God."

We must seek wise counsel.

Proverbs 1:5: "A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel."

Proverbs 11:14: "Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety."

Proverbs 12:15: "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise."

Proverbs 15:22: "Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established."

Once you make a decision, you must take action toward its completion. We must put forth the needed effort to make our decisions successful.

Proverbs 10:4-5: "He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a wise son; he who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame."

Proverbs 21:5: "The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty" (NIV).

Application

Most people make decisions based on emotional reactions or with a shortsighted view of consequences.

Wisdom leads to the development of a decision-making process that first seeks the teachings of the Creator of life, and then finds ways to apply those principles to the practical problems of everyday living.

Gary Petty
Pastor, Austin, San Antonio and Waco, Texas, congregations

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Living in Hummingbird Mode?

Have you ever considered yourself to be living in hummingbird mode? They flit; they fly; they zoom; they hover. But where and why?

I was getting a cup of coffee, and that takes a minute or two. I walked from my study room to the kitchen and back twice. Both times from our kitchen window I watched one hummingbird chase another from "his" feeder.

I thought, It's not yours. My wife hung it and refills it regularly. You just claimed it for yourself! But that is only part of the point.

Hummingbirds are among the most transitory of God's creation. Their life span may be hectic, but it isn't long, relatively speaking.

Hummingbirds spend most of their time seeking food. Perhaps a greedy little hummer really figures that his next meal is the most essential thing. But we shouldn't.

God says He feeds the birds and that we are more valuable even than the iridescent hummingbird. Physical food is necessary and (honestly) can also be quite enjoyable.

But we are not just physical if we have God's Holy Spirit. If we have that "earnest" of the Spirit, we are now living a life with a grand expectation of incredible fulfillment someday—guaranteed. Our spiritual side must also be nourished regularly through the milk and meat of God's Word.

I find it faintly amusing that I was getting a cup of coffee to go with my Bible study when that ruby-throated hummingbird caught my eye.

He was looking for a sip, and so was I. Thank you, Father!

Skip Miller
San Diego, California, congregation

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Under the Shadow of His Wings

One of the most expressive word pictures Christ gave is in Matthew 23:37-38: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem , the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate..."

This displays Christ's deeply emotional care and love for His human creation. They were not willing, but hopefully we are. Can we learn from this analogy to our feathered friends?

When does a hen gather her chicks? Observing our frolicsome flock of 40, the mother hens gather their chicks for three main reasons:

1. Protection from danger.

If a hawk threatens, the hen will run for cover, fluff up her feathers and cluck insistently for all the chicks to take refuge under her.

"For my soul trusts in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by" (Psalm 57:1; see also Psalm 91:4 and 17:8-9).

Remember to take refuge there in the future when Satan agitates the world into heartless chaos.

2. Food.

A young chick doesn't automatically recognize what is and isn't food. The mother hen teaches them what is good to eat. She will call them with excited, rapid, high-pitched chirps to gather them to eat whatever good things she has found. The chicks who are "not willing" to come don't get fed.

God wants to fill us with the bread of life: "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst" (John 6:35).

The hen teaches the chicks that seeds are better than fire ants. We too need to learn to not eat just anything, but to seek the pure milk of the Word daily and on the Sabbaths, and to shun false teachers.

3. Rest and comfort.

After a busy morning of digging up the yard, feeding and dust bathing, the little chicks get all worn out, and they willingly gather under mama's wings for a nap to "recharge their batteries." It's not long before they are rejuvenated and back at their activities again, full force, until dusk.

We, too, could use a midday "pick-me-up." "Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice" (Psalm 55:17).

At night they willingly gather under her without coaxing. Christ also gathers us to Him when we are weary with dealing with the cares of this life: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest... I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:28-29).

This analogy of a mother hen gathering her chicks is just one more way God expresses His love and care for us in a way we can understand.

Georgia Ann Veller
Tampa, Florida, congregation

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Turning the Hearts...
Appreciate Your Father!

On July 19 my 97-year-old dad died. He had been hospitalized for six weeks. Spending time with him as he lay in the bed dying is something I will never forget. The opportunity to hold his hand, fondly stroke his forehead and hair, tell him how much he has meant to our family and kiss him were wonderful opportunities to show him appreciation for his being my dad.

Three of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 help guard the family. Number five is "Honor your father and mother..." Number seven is "You shall not commit adultery." And number 10 tells us not to covet our neighbor's wife. God loves the family. Fathers are to lead and be responsible for the family.

Fathers who fulfill their roles in the family are worthy of our appreciation and honor. I had the opportunity of sharing time with my father in his last days alive on this earth. We sang together, laughed together, reminisced together and talked of life and death. Some of the last words he actually said were to my wife and me. I told him I loved him and he told me, "I love you too." My wife expressed her love for him a little later in the day and he responded with "I love you too, hon." We both felt very special about my dad, and he felt the same way toward us.

We did a memorial in his honor with family and a few friends in attendance 10 days after his death. We then said our good-byes as his ashes were placed in the cemetery. My dad's asleep, but the memories that he created with us will live on.

Please appreciate your fathers while they are still alive. Tell them often that you love them. Write or call them and let them know how much they mean to you. Tell them what blessings they are and treasure them as loving role models.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 gives us the principle of doing wholeheartedly what we can while we are able to do so. Honor your father and mother by showing them appreciation regularly and fulfill your responsibility as a loving child of God—our Heavenly Father.

Gary E. Antion

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Share Your Treasures!

Do you have any short items of biblical wisdom, humor or practical information that you would like to share in this section? Or if you have any suggestions, please contact United News, P.O. Box 541027, Cincinnati, OH 45254-1027 or mike_bennett@ucg.org.

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