Dear Partner,

In the book of Proverbs it is written,

Prov 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

For many years I studied the bible in much the same manner that I studied Engineering in College. I would study the bible by "subject matter" trying to obtain wisdom in every area of life. For example, I would get out my Concordance, my Greek Lexicon, my Bible Dictionary and many other similar reference books and begin pulling out all of the verses that dealt with salvation one day, healing the next, prosperity the next, and so forth.

But while in prayer one day, the Holy Spirit began speaking to me in that still small voice. I am so glad that I wrote down what He said that day because it has changed my life forever. Listen to what the Holy Spirit taught me concerning wisdom:

"Wisdom is a tapestry. You can't follow a single thread and get it, or a single color. Those individual paths bring knowledge, but wisdom is the weaving together of all those things. My teachings are like the Proverbs. They must be woven together."

"Wisdom is like a woven blanket. You can wrap yourself in it and it will provide warmth, protection, and comfort. You cannot cover yourself with individual threads and expect any protection from the elements. Threads must be woven together."

"A tapestry is more than a blanket. A tapestry is a blanket that bears an image. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to weave together all of the threads of knowledge and understanding from the Word. This weaving becomes a tapestry in your spirit as you give yourself to the meditation of the Word and to praying in the spirit. When the tapestry is complete, it bears the image of Jesus. This is Christ in you, the hope of glory. This is the process Paul described as travailing in birth until Christ be formed in you."

"Many have gone to the Word and pulled out all of the blue threads on prosperity, and braided them into a rope, not a tapestry. There is strength in a rope, and I have used them in the area of their strength. Others have pulled out the red threads of healing, braided a rope, and I have used them in the area of their strength. Others have done the same thing in such areas as faith, salvation, holiness, prophecy, etc. But a rope bears no image, and it is hard for the world to see Jesus in these ministries. Jesus is more than prosperity, more than healing. He is all of these things. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the fullness that fills all in all."

"A few have taken several of these ropes and braided them together to make one very strong rope. Remember, a three-fold cord is not quickly broken. These have been mighty men and women of God, and the world could see more of Jesus in them, but still, the image was not complete. When they were attacked in areas other than their strength, most have fallen and brought discredit on the Name of Christ."

"Do not follow the colors of individual threads. Do not seek prosperity - seek Jesus, He is prosperity. Do not seek healing - seek Jesus, He is health. He is your all in all. Yield yourself to the Spirit. He is the Weaver. He will guide you into all truth. He will weave the complete image of Jesus into your spirit."

"Jesus is the Logos. The Logos is Jesus. In the beginning was the Logos, the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God. Trust the Spirit to weave all of the threads of the Logos into the image of Jesus on the tapestry of your spirit. It is His ministry alone to form Christ in you, the hope of glory."

From that day forward I abandoned my previous study methods. I concentrated on simply meditating whole books of the bible, especially all the books of the New Testament. In addition, I gave much time to praying in the spirit in order to give the Holy Spirit ample opportunity to pray the "mysteries" of the gospel though me. I knew that when I was praying in the spirit, I was speaking "mysteries" according to 1 Cor 14:2,

1 Cor 14:2 For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.

Just as the Holy Spirit had said, I began to "see" Jesus in ways I had never comprehended before. It was if the Holy Spirit was drawing from all of the books of the bible to "weave" the image of Jesus upon my understanding. My old method of study helped me know "about" Jesus. But this method of meditating the Word and then praying much in the spirit was causing me to actually "know Jesus" Himself! There is a vast difference between those two things.

Knowing "about" Jesus never produces eternal life. No, eternal life is "knowing" the Father and "knowing" Jesus Christ whom the Father has sent;

John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Thank you for your gift to GCM. Sue and I love you and appreciate you. We thank God for your generous and giving heart. God bless you!

Your friend and co-laborer,

Gary Carpenter

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