JIT Just In Time Wisdom

I was scrolling through my drafts and found this one that I could finish rather quickly that I first started on in 2014. Wow. You're welcome America.

When I first became passionate about the Word of God, Solomon was my favorite character to study.
Later in life, (unfortunately MUCH LATER!) I began to see the danger of classroom wisdom.
Classroom wisdom is the wisdom acquired in large doses before it's applied.
The danger for me is pride. Much of the resistance I had in my younger years in the ministry was from people who sensed a deep streak of pride in me.
God had given me a very large dose of wisdom (all the glory goes to Him!) on how to raise my family in the fear of the Lord. The casualty rate of "preacher's kids" or PKs is high. It broke my heart to think that my children could lose their souls in a fiery hell because I had chosen the ambition of preaching the gospel.
God's gracious answer to my pleas for wisdom later resulted in the same trap that Solomon fell into as the result of his great wisdom, the trap of pride! (By the way, all my children, grandchildren, son in laws, to this point, are born again, serving God, and all make me rejoice!)
Much later in life, I began to yearn for grace, supernatural, overflowing grace that could change hearts and lives without the massive human intervention that seemed to be necessary for deliverance nowadays. Grace came from humility, but wisdom resulted in pride. Yet without wisdom or true knowledge, we, God's people, PERISH!
That's when God revealed to me the concept of JIT (just in time) wisdom. Let me illustrate.
I was involved in manufacturing spark plug wires for 20 years. Our raw materials were fiberglass, kevlar, copper wire, silicone, plastic, ink.
It is NOT good when it was time to make wire and no raw mateials were there. But it is almost as bad if we had an abundance of raw materials, for raw materials had to be purchased and stored at a hefty expense.
The ideal situation ws when we could arrange for our suppliers to ship us what we needed just in time, hence the acronym JIT.
I needed wisdom, but I had to trust that God would deliver the wisdom just in time. Since God's goal as well as mine was for me to attain humility, God had no intentions of making me flawless. Part of God's strategy is for us to fail every so often so that we can learn.
God's strength is perfected in our weakness. His Wisdom is perfected in our ignorance.
 Education often creates as many problems as it solves. Walking with God keeps us humbly informed, not arrogantly educated.
When I entered the dating world very late in life, God made it abundantly clear that I would make some embarrassing mistakes. My daughters can say a very hearty amen to the fact that I made mistakes! I had some very important lessons to learn.
I had determined that internet dating was dangerous and foolish! No wise Christian should meet their potential mates on the internet. WRONG!
Now I am happily, joyously married to a godly, passionate woman who is a delight to me 24/7. We met on the internet.
God is VERY good at JIT. Elijah was fed daily by ravens. Later, on a daily basis, the widow's cruises will filled daily or JIT. The Hebrew children collected manna daily. JIT!
Just when the wine ran out, Jesus had more brought in, miraculously made out of water, JIT! When the crowd was hungry, they were fed with the miraculous fish and loaves, J - I - T!!!
Don't forget the upper room, or the colt for the triumphal entry, or the gold coin found in the fishes mouth, all of them miraculously produced JIT!
When it comes to wisdom, we want to be fully informed before we start out on an adventure, and we stay in the waiting room of fear. We have itching ears, looking for the perfect teacher, mumbling and whining about the flawed pastor we have, distressing our pastor and angering God. We all LONG to be teachers, contrary to the wisdom of James, who said not make teaching our main goal, but instead our goal should be to introduce our charges to THE TEACHER!
Step out in faith! Let the adventure begin! Don't wait for a road map! Start walking with the MAPMAKER!
He'll furnish what you need, including and especially wisdom, just in time!

Have you been bragging about me again, God?

 In the Book of Job, Job's friends secretly think that Job must have done something wrong to deserve all the calamities that fell on him so spectacularly and dramatically. They were unaware of the big picture.

Our calamities happen, I think, because our Creator brags on us. Mostly. There is also our stupidity. And arrogance.

In THE beginning, even before Genesis, God created a menagerie of Eternal, Invincible Beings. Angels.

We can guess that God gave them the basics. Who He was, is and will be. Infinite. All powerful. All knowing. Alpha and Omega. That means He knows the ending because... He's already there!

They were to be witnesses to what God was going to do. And they were going to assist Him in His greatest project... us!

God spoke, "Let there be light!" And light exploded into existence. Spectacular!! Yada, yada all the way to the Garden of Eden. Then He made us.

Wait a minute! Sir, do you realize how weak these creatures are? Here, I'll show you. And Lucifer went down to Eden, started a whispering campaign against God (Hath God said?) and just as he thought, Adam and Eve fell. Hard. And the calamities began!

So, why did God do this? To show a better way.

If you would be great in God's Kingdom, learn to be servant of all.

There is great beauty in weakness, such as a baby. Or a sunset.

When trials come, God says "My grace is sufficient for you."

I suspect God has been bragging about me. Satan appears to be after me.

My name is William Michael Dittmer Jr. My father had polio. William Michael Dittmer the 3rd died in infancy. William Michael Daly also died an infant.

My youngest daughter Wendelyn (my late wife wisely intervened when I wanted to name her Willimina Michelle) had a tragic car accident. She should have died. Her mother's prayers intervened.

My first helpmate and strong right arm died of cancer too young. My second wife has early onset severe Alzheimer's. I am caring for her, with an immense amount of help and Hospice, even though I am now disabled.

And yet I am smiling, partly because I suspect God is using me to help others.

God, are you bragging about me again? Thank you for using me to upset your opponent and reveal how powerful your grace is.

God's most powerful moment was when His Son Jesus was at His weakest, dying on the cross.

Repentance

Our desperate need is for God's Wisdom, but God will not allow us to mix His pure Wisdom with our destructive plans. Therefore, He wisely holds back on granting Wisdom, even when asked for, until we see the destructiveness of our decisions and actions, to the point of mourning. This is an essential part of the process known as Repentance, without which we Eternally die.
It is impossible to REPENT until we see that it was our actions that put Jesus on the Cross. Religious people crucified Jesus. Public servants made it legal. Heroic people accomplished the deed. Those that called Him Lord & friend either betrayed or abandoned Him. If I were there, I would have participated in this heinous deed of Crucifixion in some way. Jesus not only died for me, He died because of me.

The Building of Hope

Colossians 1


Today I'm studying Colossians on biblegateway.com. I've bookmarked the link and filed it under Bible links so I can open it quickly whenever I'm on the computer.
Colossians is a garden I come to often, along with I Corinthians 1-3. Those chapters focus on Christ and the Cross, the central part of history, Eternity, and the Theme of God's message.
If you would know who you are, you must know Who God is. If you would know Who God is, you must look to the Cross.
Colossians 1:5 has a beautiful word picture in the phrase: for the hope that is laid up for you. Our hope has been patiently, diligently been built in heaven like a brick layer or stone worker FOR US by God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each doing their part. His Work of Hope is not composed of a single element for a single purpose, but is all inclusive, design, structure, pattern, soft and hard, jewels and bricks, a building of breath taking beauty. It includes the story of your life, friends and family, your Eternal future, the surprises of beauty brought in daily.
Every element of the Building of Hope which God is making for you contains, comes from, and points to Jesus, and can be found in the Story of The Cross. Jesus DIED so a thief could be in Paradise. Jesus died because of good people, and in spite of good people so good people could realize our goodness is a filthy rag compared to the Beauty of Jesus. Believe that, and you have HOPE!

I cooked again with my magic wok. Mary and I bought an over sized roast. They're all over sized when there's just 2 people. I sliced a hunk off, and cut it into slivers. I had already cut up a yellow pepper, onion, and a sweet potato into strips. Started the meat first, added real beef bouillon, all purpose seasoning, a little agave, Kikkoman's soy sauce, dash of sea salt, added the sweet potato next, then the pepper, onion, and some dried tomato. Mary was very, very happy.


The number of countries that have viewed my blog is now over 80, and the number of languages it has been translated into by Google translation is over 30. I never saw this coming. God is good.
Another confusing but good fact is that sites other than Facebook and Twitter are referring views to my blog at a much higher rate and growing. The Hell messages are by far the biggest draw. Never saw that one coming either.


God gives me the ability to preach sermons in less than 140 characters, which I gladly do for Him. God gets the glory for this.
God is FOR the flat tax... 10%!
God does not believe in atheists, therefore atheists do not exist.


DENIAL is not just a river in Egypt.
Due to budget cuts, the light at the end of the tunnel has been cut off- management
I took an IQ test. The results were negative.

The Garden where God walks

We are like tea bags, we never know how strong we are until God dips us in hot water.
Dinner Is ready when the smoke alarm goes off- the cook
The proud thinks he creates his own path, that blindly leads to disaster.
The Garden Where God Walks
Whenever I feel I am inadequate, I go back to the garden, the garden where God walks.
Eve walked in the garden with God, but turned her back on God to embrace the tree of knowledge. We are still turning our backs on God to embrace technology.
Adam walked with God, but when Eve chose a different path, he turned his back on God, and walked with Eve.
Jesus walked with God in the Garden, and He continued to walk, even though that walk led Him to Calvary and the Cross.
We all feel inadequate to walk with God, but walking away from Him only deepens our sense of inadequacy.
Jesus, it was our sense of inadequacy that nailed you to the Cross, that caused us to walk away from the Father. Flood me with Your strengthening Grace, that I may embrace Your Cross, and walk with You always.
God made Man before Woman because you always make the rough draft before the final masterpiece. ;-)

Overlooked Spiritual Weapons in Spiritual Warfare

I do understand that God is not a puppet, and prayer is not a button that we push and it always gets results. Asking God is asking, not commanding. God is the one who commands, not us.

But I do observe that we miss out on bundles of unclaimed gifts, simply because we do not ask, for if we ask not, we have not. 

And just as importantly, we often ask amiss, we miss the target, because we are asking for the big gift. We forget about God's penchant for defeating big enemies with little weapons.

Goliath, the 9 foot tall, possibly 500 pound, professional mercenary was defeated by a slight young boy barely past puberty, who was armor was the heart of a lion, a sling, 5 well picked stones, and awesome hand eye coordination.

The fiercest and most majestic military force on the face of the earth was defeated by an over qualified, eccentric shepherd who needed a long class in anger management, and possessed only a shepherd's staff and a speech impediment.

All the forces of hell and all the momentum of millenniums of social decay, and even death itself was defeated in a single day by a solitary man hanging on a lonely cross.

If you have read The Dingy Gray Locker Parable, you will know that all of the education and experience and training that I received was piddly compared to the little white box in the bottom of the locker that said I could pray for a rain of grace. That lesson, because of my lust for bigness, took me 30 years to learn.

God ask us all,"What is in your hand?" Is it a staff, a sling, the jaw bone of an ass, a stalwart right hand man, a prayer, a hymn?? That, and the Spirit of God are all you need to open prison doors, fell a giant, stop the mouth of a pride of lions, part an ocean, and send the enemy packing! 

Want a Passion for the Word and Prayer?

My great need is to pray more and to get into God's Word more, and Psalms 119 is a powerful tool that I rely on over and over.

The structure of Psalms 119 is unique. Almost every verse is both a prayer and a comment on The Word of God, and can stand alone. There are 8 verses per grouping and each grouping starts with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet as a memory aid. 
The verses are supremely motivating to DRAW ME INTO PRAYER AND THE WORD OF GOD SIMULTANEOUSLY!

I come back to this chapter repeatedly for my meditation. I can not say enough about how motivating this chapter is, if you will pursue it like a lifetime treasure hunt!

 ¹Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.

 ²Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.

 ³They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.

 ⁴Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.

 ⁵O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!

 ⁶Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.

 ⁷I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.

 ⁸I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.

 ⁹Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

 ¹⁰With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.

 ¹¹Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

 ¹²Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.

 ¹³With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.

 ¹⁴I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.

 ¹⁵I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.

 ¹⁶I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.

 ¹⁷Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.

 ¹⁸Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

 ¹⁹I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.

 ²⁰My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.

 ²¹Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.

 ²²Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.

 ²³Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.

 ²⁴Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counselors.

 ²⁵My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.

 ²⁶I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes.

 ²⁷Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.

 ²⁸My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word.

 ²⁹Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously.

 ³⁰I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me. (Psalm 119, King James Version)

God Speaks to Abraham!

This blog was originally published February 23, 2011

God has been compelling me to look at this passage repeatedly.

 ¹Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

 ²And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

 ³And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 12:1-3, King James Version)

From reading the ancient writings called The Scriptures it is abundantly obvious that God from time to time speaks to man, ie US!*

How does God choose those to whom He speaks? He speaks to those He seeks to teach.*

God speaks to those who need a lesson, or will end up being a lesson. Remember He spoke to Abram & Satan!* 

How does God choose those to whom He speaks? He speaks to those who will OBEY AND BECOME A LIVING LESSON!*

Jesus, flood my heart with You and Your grace that I might obey Your Words & glorify Your Name!*

Thank You, #Jesus, for making my life into a living #parable, patiently teaching me Who You are!*

The Trinity

My friend Pastor Sharoon and I had a discussion on his page about the Trinity. I wrote a brief note of thoughts about the Trinity.

I am not certain if the word trinity is in the Bible, but it is a good word to describe the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus was not a ventriloquist when the Spirit came down in the form of a dove, and the Father said at the same time, "This is my Son in Whom I am well pleased."

If we do not understand the three fold nature of God, then we will not understand how the body can die, but the soul will live on, nor will we understand how the spirit without Christ is dead, but the soul without Christ will live in Hell forever.

Nor will we understand or believe that an Eternal God came to inhabit a newborn baby. To teach other than the Trinity is the Spirit of Anti Christ.

The Father and the Son are one, and I am one with Christ, yet I am Mike, and Jesus is Christ, and God is the Father.

Without the Trinity there is NO deference and humility. Yet those who observed Jesus said that Jesus the Son submitted to the will and the plan of the Father. They also observed that Jesus did not use His own power, but the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Without the Trinity God is manipulating the universe for His own benefit. 

Without the Trinity Jesus was just a good man, not eternal before, and robbed of eternal life afterwards. We will at best be bodiless spirits, or die forever, with no hope of heaven.

With the Trinity, God proved He can combine the infinite and the finite, the Spirit with the body, the infallible with the flawed.

With The Trinity, God proved His love when He sent His only begotten Son to live among men, and to die on the cross.