2012
Paul Robinson's Graduation from West Coast Baptist College
05/18/12 Filed in: Daily Life
On May 9th, 2012, Donna and I attended our son’s graduation from West Coast Baptist College in Lancaster, California. WCBC is a ministry of Lancaster Baptist Church, pastored by Dr. Paul Chappell. Paul (our youngest son) graduated as an Honor Student with a grade point average of 3.53. There were 180 graduates in all, which were all ministry and education related Bachelor and Master Degrees. The service, which lasted 3 hours, was held in the church’s main auditorium. Knowing the seating capacity, there were probably about 4,000 in attendance. The graduation sermon was delivered by Pastor Chappell. Many interesting awards were given out as well.
Now that Paul has graduated, he has joined our church ministry team at Northside and will become our Youth Director starting July 1st. He will also be ordained to the gospel ministry along with another man in our church later in August. We are very proud of our son’s hard work that has brought him to this milestone in his life. We look forward to seeing how God will use him in the days to come!
Wisdom and Goals: Understanding the Relationship
01/19/12 Filed in: Bible-Related
New Year’s Resolutions have become a tradition in America, but they have a high fail rate. Most people just hit the reset button every January and try again. This has turned into an annual teeter-totter of resolving and dissolving. This cycle of failure points to a deeper problem.
In our culture, achieving goals has become more important than wisdom itself! But without wisdom, goals become either overly fragile or outright foolish. God’s Word has just the answer to this dilemma.
First things first. Reaching physical or material goals is not more important than becoming wise. Proverbs 4:7 is crystal clear on this issue. “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” Let’s apply this truth to goal setting.
Whatever goal you set, it must not lead to a constant imbalance in other areas or you will be foolish. Any goal you strive for must not damage important relationships or, again, you are foolish. It is possible to achieve your goals at the expense of wisdom. Goals are not the principal thing—wisdom is given that honor.
High achievers have often sacrificed health, relationships, and their own conscience to stand on the summit of success. But without wisdom, they become a striking contrast. The higher they go in their career, the lower they go in their character. Without wisdom, they will morally tumble to the bottom.
This New Year, make wisdom “the principal thing.” Where does that leave goals? Wisdom will purify and prioritize them. That way, they will never become more important than wisdom itself! Remember, the end does not justify the means. In sports, winning is not everything, but how you play the game. Honest losing is always wiser than victorious cheating. In fact, the real winners are those who are wiser after every contest, no matter the final score.
When you make wisdom “the principal thing,” you have your best shot at achieving your goals. With wisdom, goals are stepping-stones. Without wisdom, they are stumbling-blocks. Obviously, the lesser needs the greater. The relationship is one of master and servant. Goals must cooperate with wisdom, not compete with it. After all, wisdom is the best friend your goals will ever have!
