695. Bill & Judy Kelley's Monthly Ministry Update (#21) - November 29, 2024

[00:00:06] Welcome to Wisdom Today. My name is Bill Kelley and I'll be your host. In this podcast we will be exploring the book of Proverbs.

[00:00:21] Father God, thank you for this day that you have made and we will rejoice in it. We thank you for your word especially that is a lamp unto our feet and a light to our path.

[00:00:33] And we pray that our minds are open and enlightened by what you have to reveal to us today. In Jesus name, Amen.

[00:00:41] We are reading today Proverb 29 beginning in verse 1.

[00:00:48] He who is often rebuked and hardens his neck will suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy.

[00:00:55] When the righteous are in authority the people rejoice, but when a wicked man rules the people groan.

[00:01:02] Whoever loves wisdom makes his father rejoice, but a companion of harlots wastes his wealth.

[00:01:08] The king establishes the land by justice, but he who receives bribes overthrows it.

[00:01:16] A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet. By transgression an evil man is snared, but the righteous sings and rejoices.

[00:01:28] The righteous considers the cause of the poor, but the wicked does not understand such knowledge.

[00:01:36] Scoffers set a city aflame, but wise men turn away wrath.

[00:01:40] If a wise man contends with a foolish man, whether the fool rages or laughs, there is no peace.

[00:01:48] The bloodthirsty hate the blameless, but the upright seek his well-being.

[00:01:54] A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back.

[00:01:59] If a ruler pays attention to lies, all his servants become wicked.

[00:02:05] The poor man and the oppressor have this in common.

[00:02:09] The Lord gives light to the eyes of both.

[00:02:12] The king who judges the poor with truth, his throne will be established forever.

[00:02:19] The rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.

[00:02:25] When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increases, but the righteous will see their fall.

[00:02:32] Correct your son, and he will give you rest.

[00:02:36] Yes, he will give delight to your soul.

[00:02:39] Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint.

[00:02:44] But happy is he who keeps the law.

[00:02:47] A servant will not be corrected by mere words.

[00:02:51] For though he understands, he will not respond.

[00:02:54] Do you see a man hasty in his words?

[00:02:57] There is more hope for a fool than for him.

[00:03:00] He who pampers his servant from childhood will have him as a son in the end.

[00:03:05] An angry man stirs up strife, and a furious man abounds in transgression.

[00:03:12] A man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor.

[00:03:19] Whoever is a partner with a thief hates his own life.

[00:03:24] He swears to tell the truth that reveals nothing.

[00:03:28] The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.

[00:03:34] Many seek the ruler's favor, but justice for man comes from the Lord.

[00:03:39] An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, and he who is in the way is an abomination to the wicked.

[00:03:50] Bill, what verse spoke to you today?

[00:03:53] Well, I'd like to talk about verses 5 and 6.

[00:03:58] And it says,

[00:03:59] A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.

[00:04:04] By transgression an evil man is snared, but the righteous sings and rejoices.

[00:04:11] Now, friends, I am reading out of the Nelson Study Bible, and I'd like to go over the commentary for those two verses,

[00:04:19] because I believe these two verses really are an issue for many people.

[00:04:23] Lies entrap liars.

[00:04:27] Moreover, the evil one is trapped by his own actions.

[00:04:32] Both the liar and the wicked are contrasted with the righteous, who run happily because they are innocent of any wrongdoing.

[00:04:44] And I really like that point, because if you are living an evil life and doing things that you shouldn't be doing, you're going to have issues.

[00:04:57] A lot of times you'll be wondering, are people watching what I'm doing?

[00:05:03] Are they going to find out what I've done?

[00:05:05] But I really like that last part, and it says,

[00:05:09] But the righteous sing and rejoice, because they know that they are living a righteous life.

[00:05:18] They don't have to look and see if people are watching them, because they're not doing anything wrong.

[00:05:25] I just think that's so simple, and yet so profound.

[00:05:28] So which verse would you like to share today, honey?

[00:05:31] Well, there are so many verses you could talk about.

[00:05:34] But verse 25 says,

[00:05:36] The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.

[00:05:43] I love that verse because it just says that we cannot trust what other people say.

[00:05:50] We read the word of God.

[00:05:52] We know what he says to us.

[00:05:54] We listen to his voice.

[00:05:55] We follow him.

[00:05:57] We are his sheep.

[00:05:58] And we follow him.

[00:05:59] And we don't listen to man.

[00:06:01] And if there's something that doesn't line up with the word of God, we speak boldly and without fear.

[00:06:07] And being not afraid of man or what they will say or do to us.

[00:06:12] Okay, I'm going to piggyback just a little bit off of what you do,

[00:06:16] because that verse is one that I often bring up in my daily podcast,

[00:06:21] because I know so many people are ensnared by what other people say.

[00:06:28] So many people live their lives.

[00:06:31] And they are so worried about what people say that, you know, it almost petrifies them that, you know, they can't do this.

[00:06:40] And the fact is, we don't need to be concerned with what people say.

[00:06:45] Just like you said, I just want to reiterate that, that what's important is what God thinks about us and not what people think about us.

[00:06:54] So let's, this is podcast going to be a little bit different because we're not at home.

[00:07:00] As we are doing this podcast today, we're actually in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and it's been five weeks since we've been together.

[00:07:09] So it has been a long time and a lot has happened over the last five weeks.

[00:07:14] We had our second hurricane since the last five weeks, and we've actually been on a couple short trips.

[00:07:22] So we've spent three days in Alabama, and I think we may have talked about that on the last one.

[00:07:27] But then I know we have been to Cape Cod since we last visited.

[00:07:32] So we got to spend four nights in Cape Cod.

[00:07:36] We got to see a lot of things on the Cape, and we visited there.

[00:07:41] So what I'd like for you to do is just share your memories of Cape Cod, what your takeaways were, and how much you enjoyed those times in Cape Cod.

[00:07:52] Well, now we live in Florida, so we don't really have the changing leaves or anything like that.

[00:07:59] So that was really special to go up there and see some beautiful scenery and beautiful trees changing colors.

[00:08:06] And we also got to visit family while we were there, and that was really a blessing, and we had a really nice time.

[00:08:14] So that was my special memory. Those are my special memories from it, just the beautiful scenery.

[00:08:20] The weather was great. Just visiting with family, too.

[00:08:24] You know, and I'm going to throw out this because, you know, one of my goals now, we have been to all 50 states,

[00:08:32] and now one of my goals is to play golf in all 50 states.

[00:08:36] So I did get to play golf, and Massachusetts is now the 32nd state that I have played golf in, and I think that's fun.

[00:08:46] We also got to visit a town called Brewster, and we got to see, like, marshland.

[00:08:52] And that kind of reminded me a little bit about Florida.

[00:08:55] It also reminds me a little bit of Louisiana and South Carolina, you know, marshland, and that was really neat.

[00:09:02] And then we went to the Cape Cod National Seashore, and we got to see a couple films about the whaling industry way back in the 18, I don't, mid-1800s.

[00:09:14] And so there's a lot of history around the Boston area.

[00:09:19] And then after that, we got to go to the very end, which is called P-Town, Provincetown.

[00:09:25] But as you mentioned, and I kind of wanted to hold off on this because part of the podcast is going to be talking about the importance of family.

[00:09:33] And so we can go ahead and do that.

[00:09:36] This will be a nice segue into that.

[00:09:38] But yes, we did get to see my brother, and I haven't seen him in four years.

[00:09:45] And four years ago, we only got to spend a couple days with him.

[00:09:48] And it had then been seven years since I had seen him, and that was when my mom had died and we had my mom's funeral.

[00:09:57] And of course, you know, when you meet in circumstances like that, that's, you know, the takeaways aren't very good, you know, because you're thinking about memories and stuff like that.

[00:10:08] And I guess anytime you're with family, but I don't know, there's something about funerals that kind of put a, I don't know, kind of like a negative spell on things.

[00:10:20] But anyway, we got to see his house.

[00:10:22] It's the first time we had seen his house.

[00:10:24] And, you know, he has a new baby that's seven months old.

[00:10:27] And, you know, anytime you're around kids and babies especially, it brings out a lot of, you know, just good joy.

[00:10:35] And it's neat being around babies.

[00:10:38] So your thoughts about, you know, being with my brother again and seeing the baby.

[00:10:43] Well, I love babies and the more the merrier.

[00:10:49] Yeah, so that was real special to be able to spend time and see the baby.

[00:10:55] And it wasn't a long time.

[00:10:56] We just had dinner, but it was a wonderful, wonderful evening together.

[00:11:00] So that was special, memorable.

[00:11:02] You know, and now, last week, we spent five nights in Branson.

[00:11:08] And so we're around your two sisters again and your cousin, Margaret, which you grew up almost as a sister because I know she lived with you for several years before you graduated from high school and went to college.

[00:11:23] But if you would talk about your memories of Branson and how special that was to you.

[00:11:30] Well, that's always special.

[00:11:31] We've been getting together now for about 25 or more years.

[00:11:35] So it's just a time when everybody makes, makes time out, carves out time of their busy schedule.

[00:11:43] And we just get together.

[00:11:44] We cook together.

[00:11:45] We eat together.

[00:11:46] We play together.

[00:11:47] We play games.

[00:11:49] We go to shows.

[00:11:50] We just, you know, do all kinds of things that are just fun together.

[00:11:55] And that's, that's very special.

[00:11:58] And it was really nice to see, see her son too.

[00:12:03] And that was a lot of fun and to have a nice dinner together.

[00:12:06] And just, you know, it's just nice to be able to, to love on each other.

[00:12:13] You know, and, and, you know, you bring up a good point and I often talk about this and how, um, people and family and friends are really more important than material things.

[00:12:24] You know, when you, you bring up his, uh, son and he's, uh, he's the same age as my daughter.

[00:12:31] So they are both 46 and whenever you make that connection, well, wow, they are the same age.

[00:12:38] And, you know, you start, you know, kind of connecting the dots, but it's always nice to be around family.

[00:12:44] And, you know, we did get a chance to go to a show at the Sight and Sound Theater, um, the miracle of Christmas.

[00:12:51] And that kind of brings us, uh, it reminds me of the Christmas season.

[00:12:55] And, you know, the next time that we will be meeting together, um, will be the, the 27th of December.

[00:13:03] So by the next time we meet, we will have already past Christmas, but, um, we will be having a Christmas service, um, you know, on the 25th of December.

[00:13:16] But now we are back in Tulsa.

[00:13:19] So yesterday we got to go to the IMAX theater.

[00:13:23] We watched, uh, a movie on the IMAX called Red One.

[00:13:27] And, uh, you know, your two sisters came, but also a good, you know, uh, couple of ours.

[00:13:33] And I consider them really like best friends.

[00:13:36] We got to be with them in Tulsa.

[00:13:39] We lived in Tulsa from 2016 to 21.

[00:13:42] And we lived next to this couple for five years.

[00:13:46] We got to spend a lot of time with them, got to know them so well.

[00:13:49] And it was so good seeing them yesterday as well.

[00:13:53] So if you would, hon, just share just what it was like meeting them again and being reacquainted with them.

[00:14:01] Well, you know, there is really no distance.

[00:14:04] We just pick up where we left off.

[00:14:06] That's the way it has to be because, um, you know, we were apart, but our friendship doesn't die.

[00:14:14] We're going to get to see other friends that we really enjoy seeing tonight.

[00:14:18] And, and that will be really fun too.

[00:14:21] It's just, um, always good to know that we have people wherever we go that we, we can, uh, fellowship with and just enjoy their company.

[00:14:31] And, um, just pick up right where we left our off.

[00:14:34] That, that we, we don't feel estranged from each other or uncomfortable.

[00:14:39] We just pick right up.

[00:14:41] You know, when you mentioned that and tomorrow, of course, golfing is a very important part of my life.

[00:14:48] So we're going to be playing golf tomorrow, um, and maybe Thursday as well.

[00:14:53] But one of the things I kind of want to bring up is even when we go back home, um, we're going to be having a couple people visiting us.

[00:15:02] And so I'm looking forward to that as well.

[00:15:05] Um, we may have someone visiting us for a couple days that we went to care us with and we've gotten to know her and she's from North Carolina.

[00:15:13] And then one of your good friends that you taught with for many years, she's going to be coming on Wednesday, um, Thanksgiving day and the day after.

[00:15:23] So go ahead and share with that as well.

[00:15:26] Um, just your remembrances of her and, and you're looking forward to her coming and visiting with us.

[00:15:32] Yes, we're looking forward to both of them.

[00:15:34] The first lady, we stayed with her in North Carolina and she was so hospitable.

[00:15:41] And, and we also lived next to her when we were at Kara's.

[00:15:44] So we got to know her quite well and that'll be fun to, to get together again.

[00:15:49] And my other, my other friend, I taught with her for years and we were very close.

[00:15:56] And she does a ministry with Franklin Graham and the Christmas shoe boxes that they filled us in to children around the world.

[00:16:03] And what a ministry that is.

[00:16:06] And she's going to be dropping by our house and spending Thanksgiving with us.

[00:16:10] So that, that will be special to see her.

[00:16:13] You know, and it, and it's, it's also delightful to know that the people that we are close with and good friends with are all Christians.

[00:16:21] And they're in ministry of some kind.

[00:16:25] And, you know, it just reminds me that anyone listening to this, and I know many people, um, you know, don't think about ever being a pastor or an evangelist or things like that.

[00:16:37] And somebody, people say, well, you know, I, yeah, I know the Lord.

[00:16:40] I, I received the Lord, but you know, there, I really don't do anything.

[00:16:44] And, you know, friends, I'm here to just remind you that the Bible says that we are all able ministers and in some way, shape or form, we should be doing all we can to further advance the kingdom of God.

[00:17:00] Your thoughts on that, hon?

[00:17:01] Absolutely.

[00:17:02] Everywhere we go, every conversation, look for the opportunities to minister to someone else.

[00:17:08] Like I was just thinking about, we were at lunch with friends on Sunday and just in conversation, some things were discussed.

[00:17:16] And at the end, I just felt led like, let's pray about it right now.

[00:17:21] And, and I think that that's what I feel in my spirit.

[00:17:25] My, my gut feeling is like, whenever anything is talked about, if there are areas of concern or things that, that you know, that, that they want prayer for, just stop right then and do it.

[00:17:36] Don't, don't hesitate.

[00:17:38] Don't wait because you may not have the opportunity.

[00:17:42] Plus it's comforting for them.

[00:17:44] It's a comfort to know that we can go to the Lord and he cares for us.

[00:17:50] He will never, ever leave us nor forsake us.

[00:17:53] And, and it's just really important.

[00:17:55] It says to pray.

[00:17:56] We need to pray.

[00:17:57] We need to come to him with our needs and cast all of our care upon him for he cares for us.

[00:18:03] He doesn't want us to carry the anxiety and the burden alone.

[00:18:06] We're not built for that.

[00:18:07] We're not to be anxious.

[00:18:09] It says many times in the Bible to not be anxious and to cast your care on the Lord.

[00:18:14] So that's, that's what we are to do.

[00:18:17] And, and so it's comforting when you know that you can pray and say, Lord, this is in your hands now.

[00:18:23] This is, this is in your ballpark.

[00:18:25] We will do what we can do and we'll follow your lead.

[00:18:29] But Lord, we're looking to you for our answers, not to ourselves.

[00:18:33] You know, and, and just those two references that you make brings me to Paul's letter to

[00:18:40] the Philippians in chapter four.

[00:18:42] And you also say, casting all your care upon him for he cares for you.

[00:18:47] And that is of course found in first Peter chapter five.

[00:18:50] But it just goes to show you the importance of reading scripture.

[00:18:56] And I can never overemphasize that enough.

[00:18:59] God has been stressing since probably the last time we met on this podcast about being diligent,

[00:19:06] being diligent in your Bible reading and to really, really focus on Bible reading and the importance

[00:19:13] of getting into the word all the time.

[00:19:16] I mean, I really think this is something you need to do daily.

[00:19:19] I really do.

[00:19:21] And get into the word of God and just simply open up the Bible.

[00:19:25] If you don't really know where to open it up to, you know, I would suggest Proverbs or Psalms

[00:19:31] every day.

[00:19:31] Or if you're going to read the gospel, start with the gospel of John.

[00:19:36] But Paul's letters are all good.

[00:19:38] I mean, he wrote 13 of them and they are all good.

[00:19:43] And especially, you know, if you don't have a lot of time to read, just read the shorter

[00:19:48] ones like, you know, like Philippians or Philemon is only one chapter or Galatians is six.

[00:19:56] And, you know, but these are short chapters and you can read these in 30 or 45 minutes.

[00:20:01] But it's always beneficial to read the word of God.

[00:20:05] So your thoughts on that, hon?

[00:20:07] Well, anytime you read the word of God, he will reveal something to you.

[00:20:11] So just be open to that.

[00:20:14] And you can, when you feel something, when you're reading along and you see something

[00:20:21] that speaks to your spirit, stop and meditate on it.

[00:20:24] Just think about it.

[00:20:25] And the Lord will lead you.

[00:20:28] You know, there's so many things you can do.

[00:20:30] You know, you mentioned that earlier.

[00:20:32] You know, we did a podcast earlier today with your sister and that's not going to air until

[00:20:39] February, but you know, one of the points we brought up is the fact that if you're reading

[00:20:44] scripture and if the Lord is speaking to you a particular thing, take the time to maybe

[00:20:53] research one word, for example, faith or peace, and look up scriptures having to do with that.

[00:21:03] There are so many different things you can do in scriptures.

[00:21:07] But what I'd like to do is go over the five people that I'm going to be having on my December

[00:21:15] testimonies.

[00:21:16] And there are five Tuesdays in December.

[00:21:19] But on the 3rd of December, I'm going to be having Sarah May on.

[00:21:23] And she's been on before.

[00:21:25] She's a regular guest and she's from Germany.

[00:21:27] Wonderful person.

[00:21:28] December 10th, I'm going to have my financial advisor back on.

[00:21:32] He is Jamie Freeman.

[00:21:34] And we recently met with him.

[00:21:37] December 17th is a good friend that went to Keras with us, Amber McMillan.

[00:21:42] And then December 24th is going to be a treat.

[00:21:45] Ray Patterson, he will be on for the third time.

[00:21:49] And he is actually the coordinator of the third year business school at Keras.

[00:21:55] And then I'm going to have a new guest, the associate pastor of our church at Gulf to Lake Church,

[00:22:02] Richard Denson.

[00:22:03] He is the youth pastor and he is going to be on New Year's Eve, December 31st.

[00:22:08] But he is a wonderful man of God.

[00:22:10] I'm sure you'll enjoy that.

[00:22:13] So, hon, you know, if you would, we will be meeting again.

[00:22:17] It's going to be four weeks, but we'll meet again on December 27th.

[00:22:22] But until then, if you would, just share with the audience the need to invite Jesus into your heart for anyone who has not yet taken that step.

[00:22:34] Yes, if you've never done that, I just invite you to do so.

[00:22:38] You will feel a peace that you've never felt before when you do this.

[00:22:43] Just say a simple prayer.

[00:22:45] Say, Lord Jesus, I invite you into my life.

[00:22:47] I ask you to be Lord of my life, to direct me, lead me, guide me.

[00:22:52] I thank you for Jesus coming to earth, dying on a cross and rising again.

[00:22:58] Thank you for forgiveness of sins.

[00:23:00] And I thank you, Lord, that with new life in him, I have eternal life.

[00:23:06] And I will live forever with him in heaven.

[00:23:09] Thank you for this.

[00:23:10] And I pray this in Jesus' name.

[00:23:12] Amen.

[00:23:13] And before we close, I would like to just make mention of our Bible study.

[00:23:19] And we have started the book of Jonah.

[00:23:23] And, you know, this could be a homework assignment for anyone if anyone has not yet read the book of Jonah.

[00:23:31] It is a wonderful four-chapter book in the Old Testament.

[00:23:35] It is about the prophet Jonah.

[00:23:38] And God gave him an assignment.

[00:23:41] And he said, I want you to go and preach to the city of Nineveh.

[00:23:46] And, of course, Jonah rebelled.

[00:23:48] He said, you know, I will show you what I think of that assignment, God.

[00:23:51] And instead of going to Nineveh, where he was asked to go,

[00:23:56] he took and bought a ticket to Tarshish, which was in the opposite direction.

[00:24:01] And I think if you don't know this story, I invite you to do that.

[00:24:06] I think you'll have a delightful four chapters and you'll learn a lot.

[00:24:11] But, friends, we will reconvene on the 27th of December.

[00:24:16] Until that time, may the Lord bless you and keep you.

[00:24:21] The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.

[00:24:25] The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

[00:24:30] Friends, this is the weekend.

[00:24:32] Go out with your spouse.

[00:24:34] Take your children along with you.

[00:24:36] Have a nice family weekend.

[00:24:38] Let them know how much God loves them and how much you love them.

[00:24:43] And I will see you back on Monday as we further explore wisdom today.