Monthly Archives: October 2010

Wise Up-The 29th Day of Christmas

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On the 29th day of Christmas my true love gave to me wisdom to help me daily (1 Kings 3).

He was a king with great splendor and wise above all. This was King Solomon, known for his wisdom, a gift from God, foreshadowing Jesus, the King of Kings, who the Scriptures say “became for us wisdom from God” (1 Corinthians 1:30). That’s a lot to take in, but here’s what I want you to remember. Solomon was the wisest man to live the earth and he was rich and powerful and famous, but none of these came from his might but from the power of God after Solomon asked for “an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad” (1 Kings 3:9). Solomon impressed God because he only asked for an understanding heart, not giving a thought to his personal comfort or mortality. He wanted to be able to serve well in the position God placed him in and knew that having an understanding heart was his key.

We have all been placed in a position where we should seek to serve God well and having an understanding heart gives us the wisdom that we need to serve well; wisdom and understanding go hand in hand. “Wisdom [is] the principal thing; [therefore] get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7). I have had so many strong black women tell me that God gave them intellect so they count on it to make all their decisions. I think intellect can be a bonus, not a substitute, to having wisdom from God. Intellect apart from God’s wisdom is foolish; that’s what God says. If we submit our gifts and talents, including intellect, to God, He can show us how to use those to make wise decisions. But it first takes seeking Jesus who is wisdom from God and lives in our heart (Ephesians 3:16). The power of God resides in us to make wise decisions regarding our homes, jobs, children, marriages, friends, finances, and future. We can ask God for an understanding heart and He will give us wisdom and whatever else we need or He wants to give so that He, not we, gets the glory.

What have been some hard decisions you were able to make with wisdom from God? What were some bad decisions you made purely based on your intellect? I would love to hear your comments on the blog.

Copyright 2010 by Rhonda J. Smith

Click here to learn more about this blog series, The 39 Days of Christmas.

Get Low-The 30th Day of Christmas

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On the 30th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a glimpse of eternity (2 Samuel 7).

Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips (Proverbs 27:2).
A few years ago I had Joshua memorize that scripture to counter his constant boasting about a new pair of jeans or toy, how fast he could eat or run, what he knew about the Bible or just about anything else he had learned. He needed a scripture to help him learn humility because he was too young for the ultimate teacher of experience, perhaps King David’s greatest teacher.

David learned humility in the pastures with his sheep, under his brothers’ oppressive hands, and from the prophet Nathan’s indicting rebuke. For the most part, he allowed his experiences to humble him so he knew how to respond when he faced something big, like God promising him a royal offspring and an eternal kingdom.

When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.'”—2 Samuel 7:12-16

This promise to David was a foreshadowing of the promise to Mary about Jesus.

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”—Luke 1:32-33.

David (and Mary too) responded to God with praise and prayer. He focused on how small he was and how big God is, he recognized that he didn’t deserve any honor from God, but praised Him for giving it to him, and he prayed that God would indeed confirm His word. There is no record where David (or Mary) bragged about such a great revelation from God the Father. God spoke both about David’s physical and spiritual heritage. He spoke about Solomon, but the ‘forever’ makes it clear that this kingdom would transcend Solomon, pointing to Jesus Christ, the Messiah, who also was David’s descendant and, yet God Himself. If we received an eternal revelation, many of us would be like Joshua, tapping everyone who came in our path and telling them just how special we are, but from David we not only learn about our coming Messiah but also how to respond when we get a word from God. There is no room for self praise but plenty of room for us to get low and lift up our Savior who doesn’t have to tell us a thing.

Copyright 2010 by Rhonda J. Smith

All We Need-The 31st Day of Christmas

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On the 31st day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a prophet, priest and a king (1 Samuel 7).

Some of us have good girlfriends that are spiritual warriors who we count on to get a prayer through, the fun ones to shop and go to the spa with, and the heady ones, who initiate some deep, stimulating conversations. Then there is the rare friend who is all three and more. Before I became a Christian I used the many friendships model to build my faith system. I took the truth I learned from my Muslim boyfriend, the humanistic views of my revered intellects, the common sense my mama taught me and mixed it with my lifelong Christian lessons. I thought I had the perfect faith until I met the Perfect One.

When I met Jesus, I was uncertain about how He was who He said He was, but I couldn’t ignore His call to me and believed that He is God. My God is prophet, priest and king, and the biblical Samuel—prophet, priest and judge, was a type of Christ, foreshadowing the three-fold ministry of Jesus Christ.

And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, [then] put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only.—1 Samuel 7:3-4

And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered [it for] a burnt offering wholly unto the LORD: and Samuel cried unto the LORD for Israel; and the LORD heard him. And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel.—1 Samuel 7:9-10

And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.—1 Samuel 7:15

As prophet, Samuel spoke to the Israelites for God, as priest, he spoke to God for the Israelites, and as judge, he settled matters between Israelites, pronouncing consequences for their actions. When Jesus walked the earth, He was a prophet, who spoke the words of God the Father; a priest, who made an offering—himself—as a sacrifice to God the Father for the sins of humankind and still intercedes for His disciples as He sits on the right hand of the Father in heaven; and a king, who will judge all after His second coming to earth. Jesus is the God of more than enough, the One who speaks to us and for us and makes everything with us right as it should be. With Jesus, there is no need for (nor can there legitimately be) additional gods. He is all we need.

Copyright 2010 by Rhonda J. Smith

Let It Flow-The 32nd Day of Christmas

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On the 32nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me a savior fit to redeem even me (Ruth 4-8-9).

I grew up in the ’70s, a time glamorized for its street life, where pimping seemed easy, prostitution a girl’s choice and pushing dope was just another way to make some money. Maybe this doesn’t sound different than any other recent era, but the ’70s are home to personal memories of the corner house of Rudy the Pimp and his parties, people hanging on porches with loud talk and music, smoking and probably some drinking, but I never got close enough to see. Rumors reigned of Rudy shedding blood and this was when Detroit got the infamous title of “murder capital of the world.” It’s when little girls and boys, at least on my block, tried to make strong bonds by shedding some blood of their own, theirs, and mixing it with each other. Blood brothers and sisters they became, requiring each to come to the others’ defense, personal saviors of sorts. Having a blood sibling made us feel safe, knowing someone more than a friend would help take care of you. I wonder if this is how Ruth felt when she met Boaz, her kinsman-redeemer.

Many of you know Ruth’s story. She was a Moabite, an outsider married to Naomi’s Israelite son. Their husbands died, but Ruth decided not to go back to Moab but to remain with Naomi. She said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” The Israelite law was that the nearest blood relative, or kinsman, was supposed to marry a widow, redeeming her deceased husband’s blood line by giving the deceased’s name to any future children. Naomi and Ruth’s nearest kinsman couldn’t marry Ruth because his inheritance would be in jeopardy so he deferred to Boaz, Ruth’s next to near kinsman, who adored Ruth and purchased her and Naomi’s land so he could marry Ruth, be her kinsman-redeemer.

Boaz is a beautiful type of Jesus Christ, looking lovingly upon an outsider and available, willing, and able to pay and actually paying the price of redemption. Jesus Christ is our kinsman-redeemer because he shed his blood for us, the price required to purchase back outsiders to God because of the fall of man. He willingly made himself available by leaving the comforts of heaven and coming to this gritty earth. He was the perfect savior for us because he was free from sin, the required specification for the sacrificial vessel. Those of us who confess and believe Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and receive Him as Lord and Savior of our lives receive His blood, redeeming us and bringing us into relationship with God. I praise God that Jesus let His blood flow and now it flows through me, through us who believe in its power, a power incomparable to what we kids thought Rudy had and what we thought we had with each other.

What types of “blood substitutes” have you had that you looked to save you? How did those sacrifices fail in comparison to the blood of Jesus Christ? I look forward to you commenting here on the blog.

Copyright 2010 by Rhonda J. Smith

Dissatisfied Church Folk-The 33rd day of Christmas

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On the 33rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me a ruler as a savior and king (Judges 4:4).

Some church folk are never satisfied. The pastor didn’t call their name. He didn’t put them on the committee. He didn’t let them preach. He didn’t take their advice. He didn’t support a casino trip. He preached too long. He preached too hard. He used the wrong bible. He didn’t wear the right suit. You know these people so you know I’m not exaggerating. In the eyes of some, the pastor just can’t seem to get it quite right for them.

This was the classic case with the children of Israel. They didn’t listen to their prophets; they snubbed their kings and gave their priests plenty to intercede for. In Judges we see “[i]n those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (17:6). This thought repeats throughout the book, showing the depth of sin when there is no ruler present. They had judges who each served as a spiritual and political leader, but “[i]n those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (21:25). This pointed to the need for a savior and a king, not just an earthly one but one with supernatural power to help his people do what is right in the eyes of God. This savior-king is Jesus Christ.

Though Judges foreshadows Jesus as Savior-King, Jesus, like the judges of old, can’t be effective if we don’t have Him as king of our hearts. When we don’t have Jesus as King of our hearts we will do what is right in our own eyes, letting that strong black woman rule us. If we aren’t already, we will be those dissatisfied church folk who criticize everything about their pastor because the ultimate ruler doesn’t have the throne of our hearts. Please know that I am not saying we should blindly follow our spiritual leaders (Though if you are trying to plan a church trip to the casino and can’t see how your pastor’s disapproval is right, just follow him.). I am saying let Jesus reign supreme in our hearts. This way when we are dissatisfied with our leaders, more times than not our complaint will be legitimate and Jesus can guide us with how to handle our dissatisfaction. Let it be said that in our days there was King Jesus in our hearts and we did what was right in the eyes of God.

Copyright 2010 by Rhonda J. Smith