The Mind of Wisdom

By Rev. Delos O. Soehren

Want to find wisdom and understanding? In the “Mind of Wisdom” you can find many answers to a multitude of questions which have been asked. Answers that may have been hidden from ordinary life, answers that may be the guidance, for which, you have been searching many days.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664223684

Rev. Delos O. Soehren

I started in Dakota country on a farm and we were poor as church mice. One day our neighbors had a homemade ice cream get-together. While there, a relative, who had an airplane, landed in a pasture and asked if we, my older brother and I, wanted to go for a ride; My brother was about 11 or 12 and I was 9 or 10. We said sure. That was the beginning of a long career of flying for me, about 35 plus years. I flew in the military for about 10 years during Vietnam and then flew for Trans World Airlines as a Captain for about 25 years. But along the way the Good Lord got a hold on me and changed the direction of my life forever. He tapped me on the shoulder and said come with me. I did just that. I became an ordained minister and have never regretted one step of the way. This journey has taken several strange turns, but all along the way the Lord had His hand on me. We almost lost each of our three children, I was on the first TWA crew to ever be hijacked, lost my first wife to cancer, but the Lord gave me another wonderful lady for my second wife a couple of years later. All of this has created a hunger for life within me. I wanted wisdom and the Lord said follow Me and I will give you wisdom. I have and that is the reason for this new book.

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Copyright © 2021 Rev. Delos O. Soehren.

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ISBN: 978-1-6642-2367-7 (sc)

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WestBow Press rev. date: 07/28/2021

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Contents

Introduction

The Mind of Wisdom

The Wisdom of Foundation

The Wisdom of Truth

The Wisdom of Faith/Trust/Presumption

The Wisdom of Words

The Wisdom of Sowing and Reaping

The Wisdom of Prayer

The Wisdom of Courage

The Wisdom of Obedience/Disobedience

The Wisdom of Love

The Wisdom of Knowledge

The Wisdom of Giving

The Wisdom of Forgiveness

Introduction

We all start this life the same, as babies. We are totally dependent on some-one else for a number of years. We must be clothed, fed, cared for, disciplined, and schooled. Parents are the normal source of teaching and rearing during the first few years. After we reach school age the teaching and schooling may come from various sources. Obedience, discipline, reading, writing, arithmetic and science as well as other kinds of knowledge are normally learned. As we start into our teen years we may start to resist and or rebel to this type or kind of information we are being taught. We start to choose our way. At this point we have some knowledge but very little wisdom. We may think we have wisdom but in reality, all we have is some basic knowledge.

KNOWLEDGE as defined by Webster’s dictionary;

1. the act or state of knowing; clear perception of fact, truth, or duty.

2. that which is or may be known.

3. that which is gained and preserved by knowing; instruction, enlightenment.

KNOW

1. to perceive or apprehend clearly and certainly.

2. to be convinced of the truth of.

There are some truths that we need to acknowledge before we can really delve into the wisdom of the Lord.

Truth #1 Scripture tells us that children are a heritage and a blessing of the Lord.

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate. Psalms 127:3-5 NKJV.

Many children out there today have been told they were a mistake. You, are not a mistake your parents made in the heat of passion. Your mom and dad may have made some bad choices but you are not one of those mistakes. You are not a faulty building block in this skyscraper of life. You may question, why was I born? Is it possible Lord, that you have a reason for my conception? Am I called to do something great in my life? Is there something so unique about me, so connected to my life experiences, so relative to my sphere of influence, so necessary to my needs, shortcomings and abilities that nobody can do it exactly the way You want it done, but me?" Yes! Until you know how God feels about you, you’ll know neither your worth as an individual, nor your life’s purpose.

Jeremiah 31: 3-4 NKJV tells us; I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, with loving kindness I have drawn you. Again, I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt.

and in Psalms 139:13-14 ESV "For You [the You that scripture is talking about is God Almighty] formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

Truth #2 We are not the original faulty building block in the stack. Faulty building blocks came into being way back when Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden. Disobedience, greed, selfishness, shifting of blame, just to name a few. God sees a finished product, decides the purpose, and then establishes the procedure. These faulty building blocks, which plague us, can be removed and replaced with the help of the Lord.

John 8:32 NKJV says to us, And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become. Just to encourage us, we must look at a scripture which tells us how the Lord will stand with us and for us.

Psalms 1:1-6 NKJV Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law, he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

When a builder is confused, he refers back to the blueprint and checks with the architect. God is the architect and builder of your life. He never makes mistakes and never gets confused about what He has planned or how it is to be built. God does not use inferior building materials. We, however, do seem to mess up the work, that the Lord has started. The Lord has given us the freedom of choice and He, therefore, is bound by His Word and must allow us to make all the mistakes we choose to make. Along with these choices we want to make, there are also consequences that come along with those choices; some good and many bad. Therefore, if we want to find out the real truthful answer for the problems we are facing in our lives, we must go back to the architect, who is the Lord.

1 Corinthians 3:9-15 ESV tells us; For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Man, on the other hand, will throw in some faulty types of materials, trying to take a shortcut. This just tends to lengthen, rather than shorten, the building process, and the need for repairs. God has to remove the bad parts and replace them with the good ones, if, we will surrender to His will and way. We may think, Why is it taking so long for my breakthrough to come? Why am I being held back while others are going forward? God is building a solid foundation under you, so that you’ll be able to handle the pressures that accompany His blessings, and go through the storms of life without being moved or shaken. Anything that is made well takes time. Anything that’s worth having is worth striving for.

As we go through life, each of us is on a quest for something. Some try to acquire knowledge, some desire riches, some fame, some glory, some power, or some combination of these. As we search, each for their own treasure, we utilize all the talent and capabilities that we possess. As we search, we must have some plan on which to base our search. If we just start looking without a plan, we most likely will fail. We are like a leaf in the wind, blown in whatever direction the wind happens to choose. If we base our search on a firm plan, we most likely will arrive at a conclusion. It may not be the desired end that we were looking for, but we can arrive at an end.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV tells us that, All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

There might be some out there that say, I don’t want to be a man or woman of God. If so, then please read the following scripture.

Isaiah 11:2-4 NKJV says [referring to Christ Jesus, the only son of God]

and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; and shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord; and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears; But with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked.

Jesus has been given power over all of the earth and all that is in it. With that power and authority, we surely do not want to be in opposition to Him or what He desires to do. If we were to choose to rebel, we must note what scripture tells us about rebellion.

1 Samuel 15:23 ESV says; for rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.

It is sin and is dealt with the same as sin. This is not a power play on God’s part; saying in so many words, If you don’t play the way I want you to play, I will just take my ball and go home. Far be it from that type of thinking. God is the all-powerful God, with all the power of the universe at His disposal. He could, at any time, just speak the word and any one of us would cease to exist. He has that awesome power at His disposal. However, He is an ever-loving Heavenly Father and as such He would rather that we, as His children, just come into obedience to Him. Just as a normal earthly father demands obedience from his children so does our Heavenly Father demand the same from us. God is telling us that we have the right to choose and with this right of choice also come consequences. If we choose the way of the world, the consequences of the worldliness also come into play. If we chose to submit and walk in obedience to the Lord, then all of the heavenly consequences will be put into effect and these are called blessings. I pray that this will change your thinking. Read with us now as we search out the secrets on this infrequently traveled road in our search for the Mind of Wisdom.

The Mind of

Wisdom

As I started this book I asked myself Why would anyone be interested in reading such a book as one on the mind of wisdom? Because I asked the question, and I am quite particular about words and responses, I had to produce an answer that would prove this to be a must-read book for everyone, not just Christians, not just people of Jewish faith, not just non-believers--but all people. Nearly everyone is interested in becoming smarter, wiser, more learned, and more knowledgeable. The answers come from scriptures in the holy Bible, which is the foundation for most all Christian faiths.

Webster’s dictionary defines wisdom as, "wiseness, skillfulness, whether in the artistic sense [craftsmanship] or the moral sense [skilled for living correctly]. The quality of being wise; knowledge, and the capacity to make due use of it. Knowledge of the best ends and the best means; discernment and judgment; discretion. Making due use of knowledge; discerning and judging soundly concerning what is true or false, proper or improper.

Scripture tells us in 3 different places that the "fear of the Lord is the beginning;

1. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. Psalm111:10 NKJV.

2. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7 NKJV.

3. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. Proverbs 9:10 NKJV.

The fear of the Lord, is not a fear of God--a trembling, a shaking, despair, dread or horror. The fear of the Lord is the thought of being separated and lost from a loving, heavenly Father, that knows everything about us and still loves us. Wisdom, is in knowing how to get back into the good graces of our heavenly Father.

This noun, [wisdom,] occurs about 150 times in scripture. It is found in all sections of the Old Testament, but it is mentioned extensively in Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. Biblical wisdom or spiritual wisdom, unites God--the source of all understanding and wisdom--with our daily lives, in which the principles of right living are put into practice on a daily basis. Solomon, the smartest man ever known, wrote,

For though a man be never so perfect among the children of men, yet if Thy [God’s] wisdom be not with him, he shall be regarded as nothing.

The wisdom that we reference is not book learning, but true wisdom. Wisdom, is the ability to utilize knowledge from worldly education, [that we have acquired] at the right time, in the right place and for the right application. Religion is the necessary foundation of spiritual knowledge and this fact agrees with the modern doctrine of inductive philosophy. Experience is the basis of knowledge. We cannot have wisdom without experience.

Every enlargement of experience, increases our knowledge, and every increase in knowledge, sheds light on our way for future experience. This may sound strange but it is true. We can say I know how to drive a nail; you hit it with a hammer. That is true, but until we actually drive a nail we do not have the wisdom of driving a nail. Try it, and see how many times you miss the nail. A carpenter has the wisdom of driving a nail--how hard to swing the hammer, what direction to drive the nail, and where to look while doing all of the above.

God is the source of all wisdom, for it was by His wisdom and His hand the entire universe was created, laid out, shaped, and hung in place, as well as how it operates and continues to function perfectly. Therefore, without this source of wisdom we are regarded as nothing. Some people will dispute this but the truth is in answering just a couple questions. Can you walk on water? He can! Can you make a cloud and make it rain outside? He can!

Jeremiah 51:15-16 NKJV tells us: He has made the earth by His power; He has established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heaven by His understanding. When He utters His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens: He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightnings for the rain; He brings the wind out of His treasuries.

There are some things, however, that are considered unsearchable. The riches of the character of Christ, the truth of Christ, the love of Christ, and the riches of the blessings given by Christ. Why are they unsearchable? We will never know the totality of the love, truth, and blessings until such time that we accept Him as our Lord and Savior and then die and go to meet Him.

Scripture tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:12 NKJV, For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

The depth of His love is beyond comprehension. How can He love His enemies and die for them? How many blessings have we received and did not even know them to be blessings? How many more may be in store for us? We will never know the absolute truth until we stand before Him face to face.

There are two kinds of wisdom: heavenly and earthly. Earthly is the kind of wisdom that comes from our own thinking, our own experiences, or knowledge. It might even be from the enemy trying to deceive us, which is many times what’s really happening, and we don’t even recognize it. Our wisdom is very limited, very narrow, and much of the time does not utilize any source other than what’s found on earth. Only as we grow in the Lord are we given Heavenly wisdom. Heavenly wisdom comes from the Lord. It’s that kind of thing that just happens when we least expect it--the thought that makes us ask, Where did that come from? It’s the kind of wisdom that is totally out of our realm of reasoning. Heavenly wisdom is not limited by anything. Through the power of God Almighty it can be utilized to touch the heart or mind of any person that God chooses. God made all things, and as the maker He knows all the ins and outs of whatever we can imagine. If we are to access this information, wisdom, guidance, we must be sure we are in tune with the Lord, not with the worldly powers, or ourselves.

James 3:17 NKJV, But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

Proverbs 8:15-16 NKJV tells us that wisdom is not automatic, it is of the Lord. By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, all the judges of the earth.

Then Proverbs 2:6-7 NKJV tells us, For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly

Scripture tells us that wisdom existed before the world was created;

The Lord possessed me [wisdom] at the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I have been established from everlasting, from the beginning, before there was ever an earth. Proverbs 8:22-23 NKJV.

This is the order according to which He created the world.

When He prepared the heavens, I [Jesus] was there, when He drew a circle on the face of the deep, when He established the clouds above, when He strengthened the fountains of the deep, when He assigned to the sea its limit so that the waters would not transgress His command when He marked out the foundations of earth, then I was beside Him as a master craftsman;[as one brought up] and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him rejoicing in His inhabited world, and my delight was with the sons of men. Proverbs 8:27-31 NKJV.

This scripture tells us before the world began; God, was God the Father, God the Son [Jesus, the Christ] and God the Holy Ghost. And as God was, so were all the attributes of the