Mulishani reformer! Zào sàng hào (早上好) Victory! In the face of corruption, have the courage to say NO. May GOD be to you like dew. May your branches spread, may your roots in CHRIST be as deep as a palm tree's, and may you have the splendor of a verdant olive tree (Hosea 14:7, Psalms 52:8, Psalms 92:12). I hear the LORD, our FATHER say, "Continue to intercede for the nations. For I will take you to the nations. Your reward is not just great, it is precious. I will give you descendants, I will strengthen them and establish them in territories. May your prayers precede their birth."
❖ (Philippiens 1: 9-11, NIV) : " And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of CHRIST, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through JESUS CHRIST—to the glory and praise of GOD."
In French dictionaries, discernment is defined as:
The ability of the mind to judge things clearly and soundly, to separate questions, to judge them soundly, to appreciate the intellectual and moral value of people.
The action of setting apart, separating confused things or people.
The ability of the mind to appreciate things according to their nature and fair value, to judge with common sense and clarity.
The ability of the mind to distinguish between what is good, true and permitted, and what is bad or false.
The ability to understand and grasp what is hidden.
The ability to see what is not obvious.
I define discernment as the ability to judge, differentiate, identify or perceive (in an event, a person, a circumstance, a word etc.), the will of GOD, the true from the false, the good from the bad, the truth from the error, what is of the mind of GOD, men, angels, demons or the world. It's also the ability to recognize or soundly appreciate things, opportunities, times and seasons. In the Bible, discernment is always linked to wisdom. Discernment is more than identifying or perceiving an angelic or demonic presence. Seeing an angel or having visions is not discernment, it's receiving information.
Wisdom is the ability to act and decide on the basis of information. Wisdom begins with knowledge, followed by understanding and righteousness. Understanding is the ability to translate the meaning of facts, drawings, signs, gestures, phrases and words. It is the ability to know the meaning of information. It's knowing what to do with knowledge (truths). Righteousness is what is good and right. Knowledge precedes understanding, but not all knowledge leads to wisdom. Knowing good and evil is not knowing the truth. The proof is in Adam and Eve.
🙂 Discernment answers the questions: Is it GOD? Who is it? Why ? Is it approved by GOD? Is it the right time? What is it for?
🙂 Wisdom answers the questions: What to do? What for? With whom? For whom?
🙂 Intelligence answers the questions: How to do it? With what materials/ingredients?
A person can be intellectually wise without being spiritually wise. Similarly, a person can be intellectually discerning without having spiritual discernment. GOD gives abilities, gifts and talents to everyone. Some are aware of them, others are not. Some use them, others don't. Some use them to reveal CHRIST, others sell them, or make them available to the devil. Some allow the HOLY SPIRIT to grow them, while others neglect or despise them.
Like wisdom, discernment grows and is refined by understanding the Word, obeying it and praying. To understand the Word, we need to know it, meditate on it and study it. To know the Word, we must read it (with illustrations for children) and listen to it in a language we understand. It is written that he who walks with the wise becomes wise (Proverbs 13:30) and that bad company corrupts good morals (1 Corinthians 15:33). I consider that to keep away from bad company and to walk with the wise is to obey the Word.
I encourage you to meditate, desire and pray for discernment. If you lack discernment, ask the FATHER. Then ask the HOLY SPIRIT to instruct you. If you already have the gift of the discernment of spirits or the discernment of times and seasons, ask him to instruct you and help you grow in the exercise of these gifts.
You ask Him for discernment of spirits, times, seasons, opportunities, and people (intentions and companies). Whoever you are, a businesswoman, stay-at-home mom, school custodian, judge, teacher, farmer, evangelist, prophet, or whatever, you need discernment. To have discernment is not to discern everything. For GOD alone is omniscient. It's in your interest to know and understand what GOD's present will is for you in this season. As an intercessor or investor, you cannot rely solely on the words of men or the media. There are pitfalls and unnecessary battles to avoid.
Here are some verses for you to meditate on and pray with. Read them, understand them, and as the HOLY SPIRIT leads you, pray. Don't miss the opportunity to become a better person.
❖ (Philippians 1: 9-11, NKJV) : " And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of CHRIST, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by JESUS CHRIST, to the glory and praise of GOD."
❖ (Ecclesiastes 3 : 1, NKJV) : "To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven."
❖ (Jacques 1:5, NKJV) : " If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of GOD, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him."
❖ (Psalm 111: 10, NKJV) : " The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever."
❖ (Hébrew 5: 13-14, NKJV) : "For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."
❖ Esaih 11: 1-5, NKJV) : " 1There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 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. 3 His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; 4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist."
❖ (Proverbs 15 :2, NKJV) : " The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness."
❖ (Proverbs 13: 20, NKJV) : " He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed."
❖ (Proverbs 23: 6 - 8, NKJV) : " Do not eat the bread of a miser, Nor desire his delicacies; For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you. The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up, And waste your pleasant words."
❖ Léviticus 10: 8 - 11, NKJV) : 8 Then the LORD spoke to Aaron, saying: 9 “Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, 10 that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, 11and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.”
❖ (Psalms 139: 23 -24, NKJV) : " Search me, O GOD, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting."
** Mulishani = Greetings in Bemba /Chibemba (Tanzania)
** Zào sàng hào ( 早上好) = Good morning in Sichuan (China)
*** I identify 14 types of prayer in the Bible: The prayer of praise and thanksgiving, the Worship prayer, the prayer of faith, the prayer of agreement, the prayer of petition, the prayer of consecration, the prayer of intercession, the prayer of blessing, declaration, and proclamation, the prayer of imprecation, of authority, more often called the warfare prayer or deliverance prayer, the prayer of supplication and childbirth (birth the will of GOD), the prayer in tongues, the prayer for repentance, the prayer for advisory, the prayer of the SPIRIT (when the HOLY SPIRIT prays within us). Not to be confused with the expression prayer by the SPIRIT or prayer led by the SPIRIT (the manner and the subjects).