wisdom – CadreMen Press

Hushai’s Friendship

Hushai’s Friendship by Kirk Hunt

David said to him, “If you go on with me, then you will become a burden to me. But if you return to the city, and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; as I was your father’s servant previously, so I will now also be your servant,’ then you may defeat the counsel of Ahithophel for me.

2 Samuel 15:33-34

Hushai left Jerusalem to flee with his friend, King David. David refused him, and instead asked him to put his life at risk to help defeat Absalom’s mutiny. Hushai, in a display of real friendship, agreed to thwart the rebels, especially Ahithophel.

Real friendship is a weighty thing. Too often, a friend drives past inconvenience and straight into serious risk and true danger. An authentic companion faces your hellhounds and snarls back.

In addition to fidelity and courage, the best friends have ability and skill. Hushai may not have claimed the extraordinary intellect and insight of Ahithophel, but he had the clout and voice of a king’s advisor. If anyone had the mind and wisdom to foil David’s enemies, it would be Hushai.

David had many advisors, but only one friend. Consider the people around you. Which of them would put their life on the line for you? Who among them could make that kind of risk pay off?

Of course, to get and keep the best folk, you must be a Godly man or women of loyalty and skill. Hushai’s friendship is a weighty thing for God’s best folk. Are you a Hushai-like friend to someone?

Think: Surround yourself with Godly men and women. You will need each other.

Pray: “Lord, surround me with men and women full of Your character and wisdom.”

This devotional is a ministry of CadreMen Press.

Ahithophel’s Advice

Ahithophel’s Advice by Kirk Hunt

Now the advice of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if one had inquired at the oracle of God. So was all the advice of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.

2 Samuel 16:23

Ahithophel was a clever, sage man. As if God Himself was revealing truth, folks listened when Ahithophel spoke. And that skill and expertise did not change when Ahithophel changed sides.

Do not confuse high skill with righteous character. King David made use of Ahithophel’s expertise and insight to make Israel a powerful, rich nation. Absalom made use of Ahithophel’s same abilities to overthrow his father and seize the throne.

Knowledge, insight and intellect are valuable tools, but righteous character and Godly intent are better. Ahithophel expertly guided Absalom to usurp political power and attempted patricide. The trusted advisor turned on the true King and made violence between father and son inevitable.

Betrayers are always detested and hated. All the good they ever did is buried under their failure to keep faith with those who trusted them. Loyal and trustworthy men and women are always honored.

Because Ahithophel turned against David, brave soldiers and a king’s son had to die. The kingdom was disrupted by the mutiny and attempted coup. And David wept bitterly over the loss of his son.

I pray all of God’s people are smart, clever and insightful. But I pray more that all of God’s people are Godly in their character and righteous in their actions. A less clever fix may take less time, but a righteous solution will cost less and last longer.

Think: Clever intelligence is good, but Godly character is better.

Pray: “Lord, I seek Your Wisdom but I plead more for Your character.”

This devotional is a ministry of CadreMen Press.

A Debased Mind

A Debased Mind by Kirk Hunt

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting

Romans 1:28 NKJV
Please also read Romans 1:18-32

Sin is never a victimless crime. Someone else always pays the price of your debased thoughts and actions. A sinful mind can only find the violent, abusive, unforgiving, unmerciful path to a solution.

There is always a different solution. Father-God gives wisdom to those who ask. Jesus commands us to be very cunning but without harm to others. You do not have to resort to weapons or violence (physical, mental or financial) just because they are available.

Full disclosure: Like every other human being, I am not perfect. Still, I try. I practice finding the other solution. Only a brute, or a thug, seeks only to use force.

If violence is your first solution, you probably did not think it through very well. Or your mind is trapped in the lowest, most debased responses. Father-God wants you to ask Him to raise your level. So does everyone around you.

A higher response takes longer. A clever action requires more thought. Finding the graceful way requires a mind that seeks to bless, not blast, others. Any brute or thug can swing a club.

Jesus wants His disciples to benefit Father-God’s children. When faced with their worst, that is an opportunity for you to demonstrate His best. Raise your mind in Him, so you can raise their souls to His heart.

Think: No matter what I face, I can find a higher, better solution in God’s wisdom.

Pray: “Lord, I ask for Your wisdom so I can have a higher response.”

This devotional is brought to you courtesy of CadreMen Press. You can purchase a copy of Blessed and Blessing: Devotionals For Gospel Champions from your favorite bookseller or directly from CadreMen Press.

Who Comes Near To You?

Who Comes Near To You? by Kirk Hunt

And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”

2 Kings 5:12 NKJV

Naaman stormed off, offended at Elisha’s response to his request. The prophet’s promise of healing and restoration was not theatrical enough for him. Thankfully, Naaman’s men could come near him.

Sooner, or later, you are going to respond the wrong way. Ego, frustration or misunderstanding will lead you to make matters worse. Eventually, you are going to miss your chance. Inattention, urgency or preconception will lead you to walk past the opportunity of a lifetime.

Who in your life can come near and stop you from making a critical mistake of commission or omission? Perhaps your friend will speak quiet cautions in a back room, or shout accusations at center stage. Either way, are you willing to hear the truth from someone you trust?

It requires humility on your part. It requires courage on their part. Both of you must possess the wisdom to know it needed to be said and why.

“Go wash in a dirty river. What have you got to lose?” Who has the heart and head to stop your mistake? Do you let folks close enough to know when or how to help?

Naaman nearly walked away from his healing. Someone close to him refused to remain silent. Naaman was smart enough to listen. How about you?

Think: You need Godly wise people close enough to help you.

Pray: “Lord, help me keep Your appointed helpers close to my heart and head.”

Obey The Voice

“Obey The Voice” By Kirk Hunt

“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:

Deuteronomy 28:1-2 NKJV

The front-line versions of the F-16 Falcon, F-18 Hornet and A-10 Warthog (uh, Thunderbolt) are single-seat aircraft. Still, before hotshot pilots get to be lone combat aces, they fly the two-seat version. They learn their craft from the voice of the instructor in the back seat.

The instructor guides, exhorts and corrects. In the heat of action and danger, his or her echoing voice and lessons are often the difference between defeat and victory. No one interested in returning home safely would ignore wisdom and guidance in such a moment.

Moses, on the verge of his death, urged the nation of Israel to continue to obey the voice of God. Jesus, preparing the Disciples for His sacrifice, urged the same. He also promised the Holy Spirit would live inside any believer who would welcome Him. No one interested in correctly living the Christian walk would ignore the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit at any time.

Christian men and women face the heat and action of this modern life, every day. In the constant give, take and turmoil it is all too easy to do badly or say wrongly, destroying your Christian walk or your righteous witness. The Holy Spirit and God’s Word have voices and speak. Are you listening?

Think: Do I seek to live by the voice of the Holy Spirit?

Pray: “Lord, give me the Holy Spirit and the heart to live by Your law.”

What Do You Preach?

“What Do You Preach?” By Kirk Hunt

For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness

1 Corinthians 1:22–23 NKJV

Paul would preach the same Gospel to Jews and Greeks. Some, from each group, would reject the message, for different reasons. Why did he continue to preach and teach the same thing?

Truth does not require agreement. No matter how much, or in what way, you or others disagree with gravity, you still fall from high to low. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is disruptive and convicting, in different ways, to different people. That does not change the truth of Him.

Greeks, using logic and rational thought, viewed the Gospel as superstition. Jews, using history and traditional interpretation, viewed the Gospel as heresy. Both were, and are, uniquely wrong.

Two millennia later, some folks are still getting it wrong. The truth of the Gospel is still the ultimate truth. His truth is almost always disruptive and convicting, even to the best of us. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is still the only way to salvation.

As a Christian, you must find a way to respectfully and lovingly communicate the Gospel. You must be prepared to just as respectfully and lovingly hear, or endure, the negative response some will give. For the sake of the Gospel most of the Apostles died in violent, tortuous ways. Saints in the western hemisphere rarely endure more than harsh words.

Mere disagreement, no matter who or how much, does not negate the Gospel. Preach His truth. Pray in faith they will receive and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Think: God’s truth is the ultimate truth, no matter who disagrees.

Pray: “Lord, help me to believe and teach Your Gospel, no matter who disagrees.”

Without Partiality Or Hypocrisy

“Without Partiality Or Hypocrisy” By Kirk Hunt

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.

James 3:17 NKJV

The last few months have been disappointing. I know partiality and hypocrisy exists in the world. I suspected even the best of us can have the occasional episode. I did not realize how blatantly, extensively and intensively it exists among those who are supposed to be the wisest among us.

It is directly related to the source of the wisdom. Wisdom from above, God’s wisdom, is pure and consistent with God’s character, and God’s Word. Since God’s wisdom restrains self-serving actions and motivations, men and women often seek other, easier ways to get what they want.

Of course, I expected a lack of Godly wisdom from unbelievers. What I did not expect was the number of God’s people, especially “leadership,” who embraced earthly, ungodly schemes and cheats. Suddenly, the actions and characteristics they decried, and held against, were okay on their side.

Godly men and women are consistent and true. Godly wisdom holds that what is good for you is good for them. What God’s Word rebukes in others, rebukes in us as well. Or would you have stoned the adulterous woman, but not the adulterous man?

God’s people are (still) the light of the world. Using God’s wisdom, you can live without partiality or hypocrisy. God’s people may not be perfect, but it should be obvious we live in and from God’s wisdom.

Think: God’s wisdom is never hypocritical or partial to anyone.

Pray: “Lord, help me to seek Your wisdom, above all else.”

At The River’s Bank

“At The River’s Bank” By Kirk Hunt

But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank.

Exodus 2:3
Please read also Exodus 1:8–22

At the river’s bank, Jochebed carefully laid her infant son in a waterproofed basket. Driven by a mixture of fear, hope, desperation, ingenuity and determination, she sought life and safety for her boy in the Nile. She risked the life of her helpless infant with crocodiles or drowning. She saved him from the certainty of death at the hands of Pharaoh’s soldiers.

“Amram, I put the baby in the river today. Now I am being paid by the royal court to raise our baby. God is good.”

Desperate people do extraordinary things. Some acts, in retrospect, are unwise. Others actions demonstrate courage and determination despite stress and danger. In some circumstances, you must do what you can with what you have.

Perhaps you stand at a river’s bank in your life. Your circumstances have driven you in ways you never imagined. Even in a place of risk and danger, God is still with you.

Turn to His wisdom and guidance. Ask Him to guide you in what He is blessing. God’s direction may not make sense to others. His guidance may not make sense to you. His path remains the way to safety and blessing.

Think: God sees and cares for me, even in the worst of circumstances.

Pray: “Lord, guide me in Your wisdom, even at the river’s edge.”

Mature Understanding

“Mature Understanding” By Kirk Hunt

Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.

1 Corinthians 14:20 NKJV

Paul told the saints at Corinth to be clever but guileless. The Apostle wanted them to be people of insight and cleverness, yet without being maliciousness or conniving. Godly men and women should always have mature understanding and never be gullible or undiscerning.

Jesus, at Matthew 10:16, says the same thing. “All smarts, no venom” is for you and I, here and now. Intelligence, intellect and insight are not the opposite of faith, innocence and integrity. In fact, saints should be the smartest folks in the room, because the Holy Spirit empowers the mind as well as the soul.

There are a lot of folks who want to sell you a lot of nonsense. A suit, tie and holy mannerisms may disguise a malicious predator. Just because you want to hear something does not make it right or righteous. Be smart. Be perceptive.

Mature men and women examine what is presented to them. They are smart enough to know that the easy thing is not always the right thing. God’s people never dismiss a good messenger because of an imperfect past or difficult message.

With the Holy Spirit empowering your heart, mind and spirit, you can be mature and understanding in matters both sacred and secular. Through God, you can be perceptive and insightful, without losing your holiness or innocence. Still, you will have to be mature enough to do the hard work of seeing past the fake to the authentic.

Think: The strong and mature consider what people want them to believe.

Pray: “Lord, help me to understand what I should choose for my life.”

How To Vote

“How To Vote” By Kirk Hunt

You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men

2 Corinthians 3:2 NKJV

Dear Winston*,
I often thank God for you as a friend and Gospel brother. I have often turned to you for encouragement and advice, trusting that God’s wisdom is at work in your life. While I have not always used your guidance exactly as given, I cannot deny the skillful and Godly nature of your counsel. I am prayerful that I can now offer you direction on how you should vote this fall.

Your vote, despite all of its practical applications and greater symbolism, is nothing more than a choice. A man of your wisdom and insight knows that choices can be categorized as either intellectual decisions or emotional reactions. While no decision is ever purely intellectual or strictly emotional, one or the other dominates the choice(s) made.

As your own experience has taught you, choices based on emotional reactions are almost never the best course of action. Even in those rare episodes where an emotional choice worked out, you later found the facts and data that supported that path. Conversely, when you sit in the ashes of a poorly made emotional decision, the clear-headed reasons you could have easily read and understood were right there, mocking you.

Neither the politicians, the political system nor special interests can overcome the good judgment of thinking voters. Even when the choices seem dismal, the exercise of choosing, using facts and data, imposes rationality on everyone involved. One choice is always better than the other, even if by a razor’s edge. Set aside your emotional response and use your intellect and Godly wisdom to make a clear-headed decision.

Finally, I cannot urge you enough to vote this November. Americans’ failure to participate fully and completely in the core mechanism of the democracy has impaired the function of the Government. Those who do not vote are getting the America someone else chooses.

Your brother in Christ,
Cadreman

* “Winston” is the fictional name of a real Gospel brother.