Date: 05/22/2023

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and to Him be the Glory, Power, and Dominion forever and ever and to the Holy Ghost that is yet abiding in the body. This week’s key phrase is Wisdom in how to treat your fellow man.

James 1:5 tells us. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him”.  If we need wisdom, all we have to do is ask our generous God. We must remember that knowledge and wisdom are not the same. Knowledge refers to the accumulation of facts. Wisdom gives us understanding of what the facts mean. Anyone can gain knowledge, but only God can give us wisdom. James 3:17-18 gives us seven marks of God’s wisdom, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. ¹⁸ And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

“My brethren have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.  For there is no respect of persons with God” (Roman 2:11). We are to respect all people and treat them  with the love of Christ. Jesus treated everyone with dignity. God loves everyone. The Bible says that how we relate to people shows how much we really love God. Romans 15:7  reads, “Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God”.  Thus, in order to treat people right, we must love people. We should give everybody a lift whenever you can, Don’t tear them down. I Thessalonians 5:11 tells us, “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do”. Let us be encouragers, not complainers and condemners. When people stumble, lift them up, not tear them down. Jesus gives us the perfect example on how people are to be treated in the story of the woman He met at the well in Saint John chapter 4. She was the wrong race (John 4:7), wrong gender (John 4:9, 27), had the wrong lifestyle (John 4: 16-18 ) and a sinner (John 4:18) . But Jesus excepted her, showed her appreciation, He affirmed her (by asking for water to drink), He even talked to her (John 4:27), He loved her, and He forgave her. Jesus showed her how she could enter the Kingdom of Heaven and how she could have a relationship with God (John 4:21-24) and she also became an Evangelist (John 4:28-30).

In closing, “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do and the God of peace shall be with you” (Philippians 4:6-9). If lack the wisdom in how to treat others,  Mark 11:24 sums up Wisdom in how to treat others. “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them”. God is a heart fixer and a mind regulator.  Until next week let us remember, “… with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26b).

In His Service,

Bishop Dr. Calvin Worthem

General Chief Overseer/Senior Bishop