“DO NOT let your hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated). You believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely on God; believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely also on Me. In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places (homes). If it were not so, I would have told you; for I am going away to prepare a place for you. And when (if) I go and make ready a place for you, I will come back again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.” Jesus is speaking of not letting our hearts be troubled. As we believe in, adhere to and trust in and rely on God, and the finished work at calvary Jesus completed, the Prince of Peace, (Jesus) will release His comfort from the Father of all comfort into your soul. If He’s saying don’t let your heart be troubled, that means we have the ability to do just that. Keep your mind stayed on Him and not all the drama and confusion of this world (Isaiah 26:3). We must position ourselves away from the things that would increase our heart trouble. Talking to people with the same issues can be good or bad. If there’s no solution in the conversation then it could turn for the worse, and your heart is in the same place of trouble. Surround yourself with people who you trust that can speak positively into your life words of comfort based on God’s word.

“But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth.” In the old testament the Spirit of God would come upon His people whereas today His Spirit lives in born again christians. The finished work of Jesus at calvary has made it possible for God to live in the heart of the newly recreated human spirit of mankind. This power of God emanates from within us opposed to an outward leading, and anointing from God. Each time the Lord needed to communicate with His people back in the old testament, He had to allow the Spirit of God to come upon them, but today He speaks to us from our insides, our human spirit where God lives in us by faith. This power talked about in today’s text is for ability, efficiency, and might in witnessing to people about the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our job of reconciliation is ongoing and never ending while still on planet earth. We must cultivate hearing that still small voice of God from deep down in us. Many times we must block out the noise from around us to hear clearly. On going quality time with the Lord is necessary to hear His voice in you. Be His witness, make Him proud.

“If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him.” To receive God’s wisdom we must have a humble attitude. If we think we know it all, that’s a good sign we are in need of God’s wisdom. God’s wisdom is the controller of the knowledge we’ve obtained over the years. The bible says ask and it will be given to you (Matthew 7:7). The wisdom of God helps us operate above the natural challenges we face. Our shortcomings are many times due to our lack of wisdom. How to apply the knowledge on any given subject is done by wisdom. God’s wisdom is winsome, pleasant to our souls, and will make understanding a thing much simpler. God gives generously and doesn’t look for reasons to not give it. Much knowledge can puff us up with pride. God’s wisdom operating in your life will understand when you must be brought down from a prideful state because of much knowledge obtained. Wisdom understands we must go through trouble to build strong faith. Wisdom gives us the bigger picture and not just insight to an immediate fix. Ask and it will be given to you with no strings attached. Without wisdom intelligence is lacking on every side.

“Your word have I laid up in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” The way we won’t sin against God is to hide His word in our hearts. Meaning we must know and understand His word to the point it becomes a part of us. Meditate in His word day and night and you’ll make your own way prosperous (Joshua 1:8). If we do sin against God, we have a mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ who can relate to our struggles and shortcomings. Our understanding must be enlightened to the word of God to the point we have renewed our minds in the way we think, the way we react to crisis or calamity. You become comforted in your thoughts with this new way of thinking based on the Lord’s teachings and precepts. Jesus is the Living word of God. Upon His visit to earth to become a living sacrifice for our sins, He kept His sinless nature because God was His Father, and He never yielded to the temptations we all deal with. In doing so, He led the way as an example to us of what it is to hide God’s word in our hearts. He overcame the sin by only using the word of God. He left His deity in heaven, no super powers to fight Satan, only God’s written word (which is all powerful and effective against Satan and his crew). Hide His word in your heart and it’ll be there when trouble comes, and it will keep you from sinning against God.

“[For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him,”. The spirit of wisdom and revelation are very important for the deeper life in Christ Jesus. Knowledge is necessary but the proper allocation of knowledge should be filtered through wisdom. Much knowledge can invite unwarranted pride and will attract a buffer to your body and soul (1Corinthians 8:1). The buffer is a thorn in your flesh to bring you down to a less puffed up state of mind due to much revelation (2 Corinthians 12:7). Revelation knowledge can be obtained through reading and meditating in God’s word, the bible. Godly wisdom is winsome, easy to be entreated, it’s pleasant to the soul, and it yields understanding to its seekers. Revelation comes directly from the Spirit of God into our human spirits and is perceived, directed and manifested into our thinking processes. Our understanding becomes enlightened from the spirit of wisdom and revelation which gives us insight into mysteries and secrets. For the deep and intimate knowledge of God, this is the way.

“Strength and dignity are her clothing and her position is strong and secure; she rejoices over the future [the latter day or time to come, knowing that she and her family are in readiness for it]! She opens her mouth in skillful and godly Wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness [giving counsel and instruction].” The proverb 31 woman is the fine example laid out for all to see. She has structure in, and total control of her day. In between raising children, running the household and being a wife, she has her hands full. Dignity in how she performs her day is also her portion. She rises early in the morning to take charge of all she does. She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction on her tongue. Her love for the Lord is her motivation and it fuels her day to perform in excellence. Almost sounds too good to be true and possibly a bit challenging for today’s woman. If you’re able to laugh at the days to come, with confident expectation that everything will work out, you are a woman of faith and understanding, and have been empowered by God because of your constant seeking of Him everyday. All excellence comes from spending quality time with God. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13), but we can do nothing of great value and worth without Him (John 15:5).

“Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; let Your good Spirit lead me into a level country and into the land of uprightness.” David asked God to teach him God’s will. God’s will is the bible, it’s all there. You may need help understanding it clearly but that’s His word in a book. God’s word is His will. He can be counted on to never change like humans do from pressures of life. To do the Lord’s will takes trials and much error to develop us into the outward image and likeness of God. We are made in His Image and likeness from the beginning. But after sin was introduced into the world, none of us were acting like God. We must be taught or really, reprogrammed from creation to be like the Lord. There is much natural resistance if you’re wanting God in this world. This world is all about your feelings being gratified and having your own way 24/7. Because of this, there’s a discipline of self control that must be mastered. We are in this world as christians but not of this world at all. Born on earth, subject to the governing rules of the land, we must live life from the perspective of the kingdom of God and its rules that can supersede the natural laws and rules of this world with truth. Learn His will for yourself and live as God intended for us to.

“But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name–”. By believing in Jesus’ name we are given the right to become children of God. We must receive and welcome Him before being in the family of God. You may have heard it said, we are all children of God. Not true, the devil’s children are not children of God, and if you haven’t received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life, then it is impossible to be a child of God. Everything having to do with the Lord is of faith, dealing with the unseen but still trusting God’s control. Everything in life that is dependent upon our five senses (our emotions) is Satan’s territory of expertise. Without faith there’s no connection to God, because you can’t see Him with your eyes. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the true sons and daughters of God (Romans 8:14). So if we live according to the flesh, our senses and emotions, we will die; but if by the Spirit, we will live a victorious life as children of God (Romans 8:13).

“THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.” In the new birth of our salvation our spirit man which was spiritually dead to God, has become alive to the Lord unto being in right standing with Him. Justice has been satisfied on our behalf. We must act on the work Jesus accomplished at Calvary or we are still on our way to hell after death. Being in Christ Jesus now and walking, or living your life according to the gospel, there’s no condemnation. The Holy Spirit will convict us of sin, but Satan condemns us when we mess up, God will forgive you. If we are still yielding to the temptation of sin, after getting saved, then there’s much growth needed on our part. We can’t behave in a certain manner without the knowledge behind the power necessary to do it. The knowledge we need to walk after the spirit and not the flesh, is in the word of God, His bible. When you know you haven’t done anything against God’s word but the thoughts are coming that you feel condemnation, that’s the devil and his crew trying to get you off your game. There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Believe the Lord, not Satan.

“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” The example has been set. We all have faults that may rub someone else the wrong way. We are still human with the tendency to mess up. None of us have reached the mark of being perfect. Even though someone got really deep under your skin, finding the way to deal with it is vitally important. To be reactionary all the time, and for things that shouldn’t be worth your attention, walk away, and know Jesus went through much worse than that for you. One of the hardest things to deal with in life is unforgiveness. Yes, the other person was wrong, yes they went too far this time, but if you can shift that anger towards them to your real enemy, Satan, come against him with God’s word and the name of Jesus concerning that person. Practice working the word of God in areas like, preferring your brother before yourself (Romans 12:10). Focusing on the love of God that bears up under anything and everything that comes (1 Corinthians 13:7). Walking in the agape love of God will be like walking in a deeper dimension of understanding for that person who wronged you, and that will make it easier to forgive.