THE FOOLISH, THE WISE AND THE GODLY ('Kingdom' Thoughts)

1. The foolish know their strengths, the wise acknowledge their weaknesses and make allowances for them, while the godly seek to overcome them.

2. The foolish need wisdom, the wise godliness, the godly the character of Christ.

3. The foolish deny God; the wise acknowledge Him, while the godly experience their God.

4. The foolish seek pleasure on earth. The wise build treasure in heaven. But the godly seek to build heaven on earth.

5. Earthly possessions are perceived to be:
- Owned - by the foolish.
- Rented - by the wise.
- Administered - by the godly.

6. Our true heart is found in our wallet:
- The foolish spend all on themselves.
- The wise tithe 10% to the provider.
- The godly use all they have been given on the provider's behalf.

7. The foolish reject God, the wise respect God, while the godly live for their God.

8. The foolish speak before they think, the wise think before they speak, while the godly let their lives speak for them.

9. The foolish are satisfied with reading the Word, the wise follow the Word, while the godly are as one with the Word.

10. The foolish listen to themselves, the wise listen to others, while the godly submit to spiritual oversight.

11. The lips of the foolish blaspheme God, those of the wise honour God, while the godly ones' lips glorify their God.

12. The foolish love pleasure, the wise find pleasure in love, but to the godly, pleasure is love.

13. Unity of fellowship is spurned by the foolish, acknowledged by the wise, but sought by the godly.

14. Foolishness is effortless, wisdom a gift, but godliness requires submission.

15. Satan loves the foolish, attacks the wise, but fears the godly.

16. Wisdom is easily read, takes time to acquire, but needs to be applied over a lifetime.

17. Fools believe they have all wisdom, the wise are prepared to learn from others, while the godly one's teacher is the Holy Spirit.

18. The foolish heart seeks only God's blessings, the wise heart seeks to bless others, while the godly heart first blesses God.

175. The foolish keep all they have for themselves. The wise gives expecting the blessing to be returned. But the godly gives simply to bless God.

205. Foolishness is of the flesh, wisdom of the mind, but godliness comes from a heart right with God.

206. The foolish that go astray remain foolish, the wise become foolish, while the godly seek God's forgiveness.

207. David was a godly man who sinned but remained godly. His son Solomon, a wise man who sinned and became foolish. His son Rehoboam, a foolish man who sinned and remained foolish.

305. The foolish can seek wisdom, the wise godliness, while the godly grow into the image of Christ.

306. The foolish rest content in hope, the wise find faith, while the godly unreservedly love both God and others.

427. The foolish seek nothing, the wise, 'to do', while the godly desire 'to be'.

484. The foolish lust after instant pleasure, the wise seeks knowledge, while the godly yearn for God's truth.

485. Laziness begets foolishness, knowledge wisdom, but the truth, godliness.

870. The foolish one looks inwards, the wise outwards, but the godly, upwards.

1273. The foolish give seeking earthly return, the wise, to build up treasures in heaven, while the godly give their all out of love for God, with no need of reward.

FREE GIFTS

19. God's free gift to us is salvation; ours to others is ' a smile.

307. God's gift of salvation is free, but to reap the full benefits, costs us our life.

308. Salvation costs us nothing, but cost Jesus everything.

GOD'S REST

20. God's rest is a gift, but resting in God a way of life.

21. God's rest is learned, not earned.

22. God's rest is free, not earned. Rest in God is also free, but learned.

23. Gods rest is freely given, but rest in God must be freely learned.

24. A believer receives God's rest, but a disciple rests in God.

309. Man seeks to strive for God. God wants us to rest in Him. Couldn't be easier, couldn't be harder!

310. God's rest is to be sought not only in death, but firstly in life!

311. Lord, teach me not to strive!

312. At work we seek rest. In God we strive to work. Something is wrong here!

313. Resting in God seems too easy to be religious. It is! And it isn't!

1304. The more we work on ourselves, the less opportunity God has to work in us.

GROWING IN GOD

314. The major difference between childhood and adulthood is taking responsibility. Many Christians dislike responsibility!

315. In nature, human growth occurs naturally. We expect the same in the Spiritual and get offended when others grow more quickly than us.

316. Human growth is measured in height, girth and wrinkles, spiritual growth by the 'fruit of the Spirit.' Often we confuse the two.

987. To see the view we must first climb the mountain.

988. Growing pains happen in the spiritual as well as the natural.

989. To grow in our God we must first shrink in our self.

990. 'Going down' is the secret to 'growing up' in God.

991. Without life's valleys we wouldn't truly appreciate the mountain tops. 

992. 'No gain without pain' is truly also the dictum of the race of life.

993. The race of life goes round many corners.

994. The race of life is held on a cross country course, not on a cinder track.

995. Growth in God is in spurts, same as in the body. They are normally both challenging and satisfying at the same time.

1000. It's in the valleys of life we develop the strength needed to scale the mountain tops.

THE AGE OF GRACE

35. The biggest impediment for many in delaying a decision for Christ is the mistaken belief that the present 'Age of Grace' will never end.

36. God's nature is finely balanced between love and judgement. As His love has predominated for the past 2000 years, how fearsome then must be the single Day of Judgement that is to come.

37. We know in life, that all good things come to an end. How is it then, that we continue to believe that the current age of God's grace and mercy will go on forever?

38. Why is it that I continue to walk round and round the mountain when I know when the path to the top goes up?

178. God's gracious gift of grace is the reason to walk in truth, not an excuse to continue in sin.

317. God's graciously given grace gift gallantly galvanises garrulous, grateful gentiles!

LESSONS FOR COPING WITH THE EVER INCREASING PACE OF LIFE

39. tOOK A LESSON IN sPEEED tY[PING. nOW MAKE TWICW AS MANY MISTAAKES IN HALF THER TIME.

40. Took a Speed Logic course. Can immediately jump to a conclusion. A very popular course, his one!

41. Took a Speed Memory course. Able to remember everything before it happens. Life's now so dull!

42. Took a Speed Learning course. Now I know it all. Others have confirmed it! You already knew that!

FOR THOSE NOW PINING FOR THE SLOWER DAYS OF YESTERYEAR

43. God's Slow Motion: 5 years of testing seems like 50! But then of course, that's only for me!

44. Life's Slow Motion: Everything takes twice as long as it used too. But it still gets done!

45. A Slow Hearer: The wife gets to the end of the story, just as I start to listen. (Kathy's comment - "and won't repeat it!")

46. A Slow Learner: Its taking me so long to go round the mountain, that others are racing past on their second lap!

GIVING

58. THE GIVERS DICTIONARY
- A RELIGIOUS PERSON follows rules to earn God's favour.
- The CHRISTIAN delights in giving to God, in gratitude for what He has given us.
- MAN delights in turning 'gifts to God', into 'rules of attainment'.
- GOD seeks an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE from a giver.

172. How we spend our money and time clearly reveals where we are at in God.

173. The world says, 'Blessed is one who receives', but the Lord says, 'Blessed is the one who gives.'

174. It is so easy to remember the gift, but to forget the giver.

176. Giving in the expectation of receiving a multiplied return, is an investment, not a gift.

318. Any gift given by us, pales into insignificance when compared to the gift given for us.

319. To give out of bounty is great, to give out of poverty, divine.

320. We cannot 'out give' God, but we could always try!

384. Giving should be the heart guiding the wallet, not the other way round.

BIBLE HEALTH WARNING!

59. God's Word is bound to burn out long held prejudices and inspire new life goals. Please continue with the treatment until the full prescription, including repeats, is completed, for the programme needs to be fully assimilated. This will likely take a lifetime, requiring ongoing dedication and personal commitment to be truly effective. Success is assured if the Maker's instructions are followed.

KEEPING THE MIND OFF THE DENTIST'S DRILL!

60. Oh for more than two cheeks to turn!

61. When holiness meets with helpfulness a harvest is reaped.

62. Jesus turns our human 'LESS - ness' into His 'FULL - ness'.

63. From:
- restless to peaceful,
- hopeless to hopeful,
- careless to careful,
- thoughtless to merciful,
- mirthless to cheerful,
- powerless to powerful,
- humourless to gleeful,
- spineless to forceful,
- penniless to bountiful''..

A MATTER OF TIME

64. The most precious gift I can give is my time.

65. In youth, time is measured as the grains of sand on the beach;
In middle age, by the thinning hairs on our head;
But in old age, each day is as precious as they all really were.

66. Be honoured when one gives you of their time, for it is an irreplaceable gift.

67. Time is more precious than gold, for it cannot be bought at any price.

206. We must remember that the past is gone, the future is yet to come, but what I am doing now is the reality of today.

207. The only stride in the race of life that we can instantly change, is the one we are now taking.

68. If I was given a dollar for every minute I have wasted in my life, I would be able to waste the rest of it in absolute luxury.

69. Time is not valued until it is running out.

70. Time is like any other commodity. When you have plenty of it, it is valueless but when it is short, it is priceless.

71. Time is an illusion. At first it appears plentiful, but suddenly disappears into thin air.

72. Let's not think, 'if only I had time,' but rather how best to use, 'the only time I have.'

73. The most precious gift we can give is often the least appreciated ' our time.

74. 'If only I had time' is more often an excuse than a reason.

75. Life is like a one-foot rule. We inch our way along it until inevitably falling off the far end.

76. Life and time are inversely proportional. The older and slower we get, the faster time goes.

77. What is the one thing that cannot be stored for future use? Time.

78. There is nothing on earth as perishable as time.

79. The difficult takes time, the impossible a little longer.

80. Time is a fine servant but a harsh master.

81. Love and time walk hand in hand.

254. There is never enough time to learn all I should know, but plenty of time to make all the mistakes I should know not to make!

321. Time is like the air we breathe. We don't appreciate it until it runs out!

322. The 'old days' were golden - upon reflection that is!

323. Time makes the heart grow fonder but the memory less reliable.

324. 'What could have been' is the product of time past, 'what can be,' the promise of time to come.

325. It's no use crying over spilt milk - or lost time.

326. Time is an irresistible force - until it meets that irresistible object called 'death.'

327. Time cannot be beaten - so why not try working with it, rather than against it.

328. Time and true love are the two luxuries that money can't buy.

329. In the battle of life, time wins and we lose. We rest more contentedly once we accept this inevitability.

330. By the time we appreciate that time is truly precious, most of it has already passed us by.

331. Time is a master of extremes; for 'African Time' is the curse of Africa, 'busyness,' that of the West.

332. Time is a great healer, but one not appreciated until it's soothing balm is experienced.

333. Work shared is time saved.

334. The greatest time saver in the world is the 'Off' button on the TV set.

335. Modern appliances save us time so that we may work the longer hours required to afford them!

336. Labour saving devices are amazing. The more labour we save, the busier we get!

337. Isn't it time we took control of time?

338. Mankind is more productive than at any previous time in history, yet somehow, we have even less time than ever to enjoy it!

339. Unfortunately, it takes time to gain the experience to save time. This is a compelling reason to learn more from the experience of others.

340. True love is magnified by the passage of time.

405. The world's greatest motivator has always been, and remains, the 'last minute.'!

406. The curse of time came into being as the result of the sin of Adam. It remains with us today.

407. Man has conquered space but never, the curse of time.

431. We may plan for the future, but can only live in the present.

432. It is amazing how quickly our tomorrows become yesterdays.

433. The one event we can't control in our lives, is the moment the first becomes the last!

REACH FOR THE SKY!

82. Sparrows can only twitter in the foothills while eagles soar to the mountaintops. Why then, are there so many more sparrows than eagles?

83. Nobody told the bumblebee that he cannot fly ' so he does!

84. If the bumblebee can fly, so can you and I.

85. Only eagles fly high!

341. Unfortunately, there are many more people in life who would rather see you fly low than high. They want company!

342. The higher the mountain, the fewer who are prepared to climb, but the greater the rewards.

343. It's a lot less crowded on the mountaintops!

344. It's only the unsuccessful who have the secret of 'easy success'!

345. You can only get to the top of the mountain by starting from the bottom.

346. If you don't start, you will never finish!

ON SEX (How to offend at least half the people all the time. But still, it is a part of life!)

86. Men are inefficient sexual machines ' thinking about it far more than doing it.
Women however, don't think about it as much - often even when doing it.

87. Sex is like riding a bicycle ' once learned, never forgotten ' although technique can always be improved.

88. Sexuality and self-worth are intimately intertwined.

89. Holiness is not found in sexual abstinence but rather in sexual purity. Abstinence is tough, purity even tougher.

90. Children have little trouble in accepting the 'immaculate conception,' for surely their parents couldn't have 'done it'! I was young once''.

91. God made men and women to be different. Men give love for sex, women, sex for love.

HEALING GOD'S WAY

92. Time heals slowly, love faster, while forgiveness increases the speed.

93. Forgiveness lubricates the healing that both time and love bring.

94. Time heals, love heals better, but only forgiveness heals totally.

95. He who has suffered the greatest rejection, most appreciates the comfort of God's acceptance.

347. God's love is bigger than any human hurt.

348. The secret of inner healing is to draw nearer to God, not run away like most of us do.

349. The bigger the problem, the bigger we can discover our God is.

WORRY

96. Definition of a worrier ' one who worries that they have nothing to worry about.

97. I can never catch up with my worries, for they are all about tomorrow.

98. Rarely does tomorrow's worry become today's problem.

99. Today's worry rarely solves tomorrow's problems.

100. An apple a day keeps the Doctor away, but a worry a day keeps him fully employed.

101. Repentance is when you change a 'worry' into a 'sorry.'

102. Laughter is the only medicine I know where the side effects are even more beneficial than the medicine itself.

103. After birth on earth, a dearth of mirth reduces self-worth, leading to an increased girth.

208. The ultimate worrier does not have the time to concern themselves with today or tomorrow for they are still too busy worrying about what happened yesterday.

356. An optimist tackles a problem while the worrier lets the problem tackle them.

357. Magicians and worriers both create illusions. Magicians entertain others, while worriers entertain themselves.

358. Worry is like the fast breeder nuclear reactor, which feeds upon itself. Unsurprisingly, neither has proved to be of lasting benefit to mankind.

359. Somehow, it seems easier to build a mountain of worry than a molehill of achievement.

360. A worry a day keeps the psychiatrist in business.

SUCCESS

104. 'Earthly Success' is based upon achievement, 'Godly Success' upon relationship.

105. 'To be, not to do, that is the answer.' (with apologies to Shakespeare)

106. God desires our 'being' much more than our 'doing'.

107. God prefers 'ones self' to 'ones works'.

108. In God's order 'works' should proceed, not precede, relationship.

109. On earth favours lead to friendship, while with God, friendship leads to blessings.

110. Money is slippery ' hard to grasp and even harder to hold on to.

111. Earthly achievement's are fleeting, a heavenly investment eternal.

112. Being a Christian is both to give and to for-give.

113. Nothing is less conspicuous than a famous man's grave.

114. Having control over ones self is of much greater worth than having control over others.

115. You must clamber over the rocks of failure in order to ascend the mountain of success.

116. It takes the Holy Spirit to transform a 'churchian' into a 'Christian'.

117. The world will meander, as long as men philander.

118. Sleep refreshes body, mind and spirit, but you have to wake up to experience the benefits.

119. Failure is often the first rung on the ladder of success.

120. 100% success is unattainable, but 100% effort is available to all.

121. Easy success breeds arrogance, but success hard-earned, builds character.

122. God accepts us as we are. As we learn to accept this, he develops us into what we can be.

123. Let failure breed experience, not despair.

124. A failure learned from is a step towards success.

125. God specialises in turning worldly failures into heavenly successes.

126. Worldly success is fleeting, heavenly glory, eternal.

127. Worldly success is like the rainbow ' beautiful for all to see for a short time. Heavenly glory is that elusive pot of gold, which once found never decays.

128. At the end of the fleeting, worldly glory of the rainbow, the unseen, eternal, heavenly pot of gold is found.

129. Don't be seduced by the fleeting rainbow, but rather, search for the eternal pot of gold.

130. The pathway to a successful life is built with many paving stones of failure

131. The Jesus in us, makes us invincible in Jesus!

132. Life brings strife. Overcoming strife brings back life.

169. Challenge and opportunities are bedfellows. For the one is inevitably born out of the other.

209. On God's 'Order of Merit' a Z+ far exceeds an A- as effort outranks ability every time.

361. Earthly success is an aphrodisiac, while heavenly success requires fertilisation, labour pains and new birth.

362. We live in an instant society where sadly, momentary success is preferred to eternal glory.

363. Earthly success is like instant coffee. Quick and easy to make but lacking the aroma, taste and satisfaction of the real thing.

364. Earthly success is elusive and fleeting, heavenly glory, certain and everlasting.

365. Success in life after death has more appeal than success in life, for tombstones tell me it is longer lasting!

366. Death is the greatest leveller of human achievement.

367. Inevitably, human success results in - death!

871. Life experience has taught me that success is found by looking outwards and upwards, rather than inwards.

976. In order to find the way, we need to know where we want to go.

977. Every end has first had a beginning.

978. To arrive, we must first leave.

979. To win the race we must first respond to the starter's gun.

980. A race isn't won at the starting gun, but at the finishing tape.

981. The reward of training is found in the result of the race.

982. In the race of life, 'ability' is easily outrun by 'stick-ability'.

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY

133. In marriage the two become one flesh, but still have two minds.

134. A successful marriage is a process, not an event.

135. While men philander, the family meanders.

136. Women (men). Love to love them ' would love to understand them!

137. The 'secret ingredient' of a successful marriage is 'mutual commitment'.

138. True love equals commitment.

139. God gave Eve to Adam as the perfect companion. The last thing they agreed upon was to eat the forbidden fruit. Nothing has changed.

140. Adversity proves true love.

141. Adversity makes or breaks marriages.

142. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but too long an absence leads the heart to wander.

368. The most satisfying thing in parenthood is when children become friends.

369. When the family founders, society sinks.

370. A successful society is built upon the foundation of fully functional families.

371. Society is simply a gathering together of families. Therefore it is simply impossible for society to be better than the family foundation it is built upon.

548. A nation's true wealth is best measured by its families' health.

1274. It would be miserable being married to the perfect spouse. They would always show you up and you would have nothing to grizzle about - except their perfection!

FAITH

143. Present faith is built upon our past experiences of its results.

144. Faith is like a baby ' it needs to learn to crawl and to walk before it can run.

145. Faith is like dropping a stone into a pond. The small circles enlarge with time.

146. A single step of faith is necessary to start the marathon of life.

147. One step of faith is worth ten thousand words of talk about it.

148. Faith is but one small step for God, but viewed as a giant step by us.

149. The dropping of a small stone in the centre, ripples the entire pool of faith.

150. As we build a reservoir of faith experience, so our power generation capacity increases.

151. Enacting God-given faith is easy, for He never lets us down.

152. FEAR is the inability to affect the unknown.

262. Faith is a current stock item, available to all. Some however leave it on the shelf for fear the price may be too high.

263. Faith is one of the few things in life where the more you take, the more you get given.

264. If faith was easy, it would be of little value.

265. Faith to God is like breathing to life. Without it we are spiritually dead.

266. To believe in the essential goodness of man is perfectly normal. But to believe in God takes too much faith. Something is basically wrong here!

267. We all hope for a better future. But few are prepared to exercise the faith required to guarantee it!

268. Hope gives you but a shovel to dig, while faith removes the mountain itself.

269. Faith is the means God uses to move the mountain. Beats a bulldozer every time!

270. The one who continues to build their faith will be blessed beyond measure.

271. Faith breeds faith.

272. True faith is exercised to attain God's desires, not our own.

273. Building faith in God builds faith in oneself - in God.

275. We must exercise faith to accept God's grace. But once done, God returns the compliment in unlimited measure.

276. God creates a mountain of faith out of a molehill of obedience.

277. Grace and faith make God's world go round.

278. Hope is expressed through faith. Faith is expressed through love.

279. For God so loved the world that He gave... us grace and faith.

280. Faith and doubt are constant companions. For it is only in accomplished faith that we see the devil's defeat.

281. If there is no room for doubt in faith, there was no need for faith in the first place.

282. 'Blind faith' is 'blindingly blind'!

283. Doubt is to faith as butter is to bread.

284. Faith involves seeing the goal before it is achieved. Therefore, 'blind faith', by definition, must be a contradiction in terms.

285. A Christian without faith is like a newly beheaded chicken. Running round aimlessly flapping its wings, before collapsing in a heap - 100% dead.

288. Faith brings life. Without faith, we die in the Spirit.

289. We can have the faith of the sparrow, the dove or the eagle. Our choice determines the height to which we can soar.

290. Exercising faith releases further faith. (These sayings - good or bad - are an example of it!)

291. Dreams are centred in hope, accomplishments in faith.

292. Without dreams there is no hope, but without faith, no reality.

293. Without challenges there can be no accomplishments. Faith lubricates the challenges and drives the accomplishments.

294. As we grow in God, so our hope is expressed through faith and our faith through love.

295. Faith in mankind will occasionally generate human love, but godly love is a requirement of faith in Christ.

296. Lose faith and die.

297. A young person without faith rapidly grows old, while vibrant faith keeps us young at heart.

298. When we give up on faith we give up on life.

299. Other's faith is an encouragement, but can never substitute for our own.

300. Dreams may be shared, but faith must be experienced.

301. Faith is to heaven as doubt is to hell.

302. Faith builds, doubt destroys.

303. An ounce of faith in God's hand is worth a tonne of mans self-belief.

304. Ten men of faith will defeat ten thousand without.

418. Faith and risk are constant companions.

419. Our bucket of faith is filled one drop at a time.

420. Faith is like walking up a hill. You get to the top one step at a time.

421. When you reach the top of the mountain of faith, you look round at the view and see an even bigger mountain to climb.

422. Faith moves mountains - shovel by shovel!

423. Faith comes through experience, not learning. Ask the bumblebee!

424. Faith is god's gift to the poor, for it is often all they have.

425. Desperation breeds faith or despair. We make the choice.

426. Comfort kills faith.

483. True faith is the ability to accept the truth, particularly when it conflicts with the understanding of our circumstances.

874. Genuine faith is reflected in heartfelt action.

875. Faith is not merely of the mind, but permeates our life.

876. What 'I believe' is confirmed by what 'I do'.

877. 'To believe' and 'to do' are twin branches of the same tree, nourished by the one root.

LEADERSHIP

156. In God, being led to lead is a calling. Leading when not led, guarantees an appalling mauling!

157. A Christian leader is but an ordinary person called to an extraordinary task. Both leaders and the led need to be reminded of this!

158. Worldly leadership builds up self, but godly leadership builds up others.

159. In God, understanding and sharing vulnerabilities is a sign of maturity and success, not an acknowledgement of failure.

160. In God, if you're not led to lead, you'll be bled to death.

161. To lead or be led? The difference is 'a' for attitude!

162. Only God has the required glue to attach 'super' to 'natural'.

372. To be a leader in the world is difficult, in the church, impossible. However, with God's help, we can do the impossible.

373. God loves obedient leaders.

374. Leaders are not God - for only God is perfect.

375. Our leaders are not God substitutes. They too, make mistakes, just as we do.

376. Truly godly leaders are more precious than diamonds - and equally hard to find.

377. The Bible tells us that there is only one God. Some leaders need to be reminded of this fact.

ON REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS

163. True repentance is - a godly principle applied.

164. Personal repentance is a verb, not an adjective.

165. True repentance is an action that results in a life changing reaction.

166. Show me one who walks in forgiveness and talks with their wallet, and I will show you a true believer.

167. It is amazing how a sprinkling of forgiveness can calm a raging sea of hurts.

168. Sadly, the human mind subtly subverts the holy, 'I Am', into the unholy, 'I am'!

187. Forgiveness is unique. The more you give the more you get.

188. Forgiveness is the one thing you can have more of by giving it away.

189. There are two inexplicable things in life - that the bumblebee can fly and that the more forgiveness I give, the more I get.

190. Forgiveness flies away, a leaf borne by the wind, soon to be returned upon the wings of an angel.

378. Medicine heals the body, while forgiveness heals the soul.

379. Forgiveness is a mind soothing balm.

380. Repentance brings peace with God - forgiveness, peace with ones self.

381. The simplest way to avoid repentance is not to sin. All too often I forget to follow my own advice!

1305. True revival is built upon the foundation of tears.