In this episode of Call to Freedom, Barbara Carmack and her daughter Kimberly delve into the power of recognizing the small blessings God places in our lives. They emphasize the importance of developing a regular Bible reading plan that helps believers grow spiritually and stay connected to God’s wisdom. As they explore Proverbs 8, Barbara and Kimberly share powerful insights about the priceless value of wisdom and its ability to guide us through life’s challenges.
Welcome to Call to Freedom with Barbara Carmack. This is Jimmy Lakey, and I’m delighted that you are joining us for this half hour. You can reach Call to Freedom at Box 370367, Denver, Colorado, 80237, or by going to the website at www.freedomstreet.org. If you want to leave a message or order a Word Power Daily Reading Bible Guide or a Freedom Street Express newsletter, you can call us toll free at 1-877-917-7256 and leave your name and address, including your zip code. If you want to talk to Barbara right now, she is expecting your call. You may call that same toll-free number, 1-877-917-7256 to speak to her. And now, let’s join Barbara in the studio.
SPEAKER 02 :
Welcome to Call to Freedom. God delights in giving you little blessings. If you don’t recognize the little blessings, He won’t give you the big blessings. You’ve got to recognize the little blessings, folks. And He’s giving you timely word. Every once in a while, I’m asking, Oh, Holy Spirit, give me a verse. Give me a word. And almost immediately, He does. A kindness, a warm smile, a favor, things that bring joy into your life. And this is Barbara Carmack telling you And I love that. Kimberly, I love that. Since you’re teaching in Nehemiah 8.10, it’s been now several years. But, oh, I say that almost every day. Well, thank you.
SPEAKER 04 :
Mom, it is a pleasure to be with you. And this is Kimberly, her sidekick, her, her daughter. And, uh, you know, I, that, that actually was part of my reading plan today. I, you and I have a little bit different reading plans that we follow through the Bible. And it’s such a blessing to read the entire Bible all the way through every year. We’ve done that for a long time. And, um, We continue to pull riches and gain knowledge and have revelation come to us through the word because it’s alive. So if you’re not in a reading plan, if you’re listening to this and you’re not reading the Bible regularly, we would encourage you to get onto a plan that would get you in the word every day. So you can just be checking that off your, I don’t, I kind of don’t like to say that. Check it off your list.
SPEAKER 02 :
But you have to do it mechanically at the beginning. I did.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, now it’s my daily bread.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s right.
SPEAKER 04 :
There are some days that I don’t eat, but I have food that you don’t know about. It’s a food that’s greater than the food that we can get in stores or restaurants. You’re listening to Call to Freedom. And Call to Freedom has some changes coming up. If you’ve been listening at 1 o’clock, it’s been a lot of years that we’ve been on at 1 o’clock. But we’re making a change and changing the time. And we just want to encourage you that we’re not going away. You can still find us on our website, freedomstreet.org, and find the radio programs there or at different times of the day on KLTT. KLTT also has an app that you can download. Just go to 670-670-KLTT.com and you can either just listen on their website right there or you can download their app. They have that option right there on their website. Yes. So we’re not going away. We’re going to be still airing at 9 o’clock at night, 5.30 in the morning. We’re also at 11 o’clock on KLDC. So please join us. Stay with us. We love being friends with you and having you in our lives. If you need more information about our change that we’re making and how you can find us, call that number, 877-917-7256.
SPEAKER 02 :
and leave us a message we’ll get back to you or email us at hello freedomstreet.org and we’ll get that email that’s right and if you don’t have a bible reading guide through the year that’s so important folks not just jumping around but having a fluid bible guide that will help you get from genesis to revelation you’ll feel so good when you have ended that year in revelation And you can go to freedomstreet.org and you can get that downloaded, the Bible guide, anytime. Anytime you come, when you’re off of work, when you wake up, anytime, 24-7, freedomstreet.org is ready to serve you. So I hope you will go there and see some new things going on. Kimberly, the changes are just remarkable. Yes. It’s fun. It’s an adventure. Yes. For some of us oldies but goodies, we kind of go against the change. But change is wonderful. It really is. And to get us caught up to date to what God is doing. God is… You were mentioning God… Creating more universes out there for us. I mean, billions and billions. I can’t even comprehend that. No, we can’t with our finite minds.
SPEAKER 04 :
No, because our Milky Way galaxy is so huge. We’ve got billions of stars in this galaxy. Stars. And, you know, when you think about that, and then there’s billions of galaxies. Galaxies. That’s what we’re told. That’s what we’re told that they’re finding as they continue to look through their telescopes. And what an amazing God we serve. How vast is he? And how great is he? We want to remember that he… He is our father and he is for us. He’s on our side. And there is nothing that he wouldn’t do to make sure that you have a secure future with him.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s right. And that’s why we’ve put our memory verse as priority this week. James 4, verse 7. Submit to God. Don’t listen to the enemy. Don’t listen to him trying to put you down. trying to make you feel like less or inferior to anybody else. Don’t listen to him. Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee. And the Living Translation of James 4, verse 7 says, So humble yourselves before God. Humble yourself. It’s easy. It’s like I was telling a dear friend who listens to the broadcast, this transition is going to be really easy. There won’t be any bumps or anything for you to try to get through any obstacles. So humble yourselves before God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come close to God and he will come close to you. And then it says, wash your hands, purify your hearts for your loyalty is divided. Sometimes when you give into the enemy, it’s divided between God and the world. And so we’ve got to get over onto the side of God with the things that he’s teaching us. That’s right. So important.
SPEAKER 04 :
We have this thinking that causes us to stress and be in anxiety, to be overly concerned. And it’s okay to be concerned. We want to bring our concerns to the Lord. And do you know that Psalm 138 verse eight says that God will accomplish everything that concerns you. That’s what it says. So if you have any concerns, bring it to him. It’s not a sin to be concerned, but he doesn’t want us to stay in anxiety over it. He doesn’t want us to stress about our concerns. He wants us to know that he’s got it handled. He’s accomplishing it. He’s perfecting it and completing it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Amen. And this morning I heard Joyce Meyer talking about a verse that I absolutely love. And Darren and I really looked at this and studied this and researched this verse in the same chapter Kimberly is talking about, Psalm 138. And it says in the second verse that he has magnified his word above his name. Now, you know, his name is above every name. So God himself has magnified the word above his name. And we know that the word is Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior and Lord. Yes. Kimberly, it’s so important to know that the word is really important for each one of us. Each one of us. Yes. Yes. And we were talking about the wisdom of God this week. It’s been so full and so rich. And there is a power that we cannot see that controls and dominates every born-again believer. And that’s that spirit, Holy Spirit. And I believe the power operated by him is the spirit of wisdom. It was with God in the beginning, and it’s constant in our lives today. guiding directing and teaching us and i pray that you’re beginning to feel that and sense that in your own life that holy spirit is guiding you because he’s guiding kimberly and me every day and especially since kimberly is kind of traveling between her home in broken arrow and being with me for a while and so it’s back and forth and you are getting accustomed to that
SPEAKER 04 :
I am being submitted and surrendered to whatever the need is. I’ve been asking the Lord, just tell me when to go and tell me how long to stay and tell me when it’s time to go back. And following him is it’s been an adventure. I say adventure a lot.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, you sound like the Apostle Paul, because he stayed in one place for a little while, then he went to another place. He stayed there for two years, and then he went to another place, established a church in Ephesus. So there are going to be some of us that travel a lot. Then there are going to be others of us that stay at home, and we tend to those things around home. So I’m grateful that we are getting to know our brothers and sisters in the body of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, we all have our own journey in learning how to surrender and how to submit. And I admit that it hasn’t always been easy to go back and forth and to travel. It’s not easy. Sometimes it looks like a dream for some people, some people who would really want to travel. It’s not easy. But that has been the place, maybe the canvas that our God has used in my life. to form me and make me more like him and to truly surrender and submit to him.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, you began to travel when you were four years old and we were on the road already. Yeah. And so you are used to that traveling across the country. And so that kind of gets into the veins a little bit. I know your dad loved traveling and going from church to church and
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, he also liked moving. We moved every six months. Well, he didn’t want to do any spring cleaning. We just moved instead. So, yeah, I think I’ve been traveling since I was a baby. We just kept moving.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, back and forth, yes. Well, today we’re going to not begin. We began reading. Proverbs 8 yesterday, but continuing in that beautiful chapter on wisdom. You want to know about wisdom, friend? You go to Proverbs 8. Solomon was good at explaining God’s wisdom. He was the wisest man in the world. So why don’t we start on verse 4, Kimberly? Okay. Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
I’m calling to you sons of Adam. Yes. And to you daughters as well. Listen to me and you will be prudent and wise for even the foolish and feeble can receive an understanding heart that will change their inner being. The meaning of my words will release within you revelation for you to reign in life. My lyrics will empower you to live by what is right.
SPEAKER 02 :
Now, you have seen composers, Kimberly, that have mentioned they’ve had a number one song or a song that just is loved by the body of Christ. And they said, that song came to me in 10 to 15 minutes. Now, you know, in our human frailty, that cannot happen in the natural, that we cannot get enough words to memorize or to put on paper. So it says that the meaning of my words, let’s see, feeble understanding will change their inner being. The meaning of my words, oh, and release, my lyrics will empower you to live by what is right. Yes, my lyrics. It’s kind of a song kind of a thing.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, it is. And this is the promise to us when we are seeking the Lord, surrendering to him, submitting ourselves to him. He is telling us that he will download revelation, release it within us, and then give us lyrics that will empower our lives. That’s what this is talking about. So continuing in Proverbs 8, verse 7, for everything I say is unquestionably true, and I refuse to endure the lies of lawlessness. My words will never lead you astray. All the declarations of my mouth can be trusted. They contain no twisted logic or perversion of the truth. All my words are clear and straightforward to everyone who possess spiritual understanding. I’m going to stop there for a moment because there are a lot of people who tell me that they don’t really understand the words that they read in the Bible. I understand that. I have been there. I remember seasons when I would be reading and looking at the words on the page and thinking, what is that saying? I’m not sure what that’s saying. But don’t give up. These are words of truth. They’re not twisted. They are words of truth. Just keep reading and keep asking the Lord to help you understand. Ask for the wisdom. Ask for the understanding. It will be given to you and you will begin to understand. And here’s my experience. When I started understanding, it was so much better than anything I ever learned in school. Yes, it was so much better. It would, it would almost come up off the page. It was as if it was raised up off the page. It stood out to me. It planted a seed in me that was so full of joy, very anointed, full of revelation power. And that is so exciting. There’s an energy in that like nothing else. Any rationalization or knowledge or logic could hold. Yes. So I, we just encourage you keep reading, even if it doesn’t make sense, keep reading the word and you will discover something really outstanding. We’ll keep going. Did you want to take over? No, you go ahead. Okay. We’re still in verse nine of Proverbs eight. If you have an open mind, you will receive revelation knowledge.
SPEAKER 02 :
my wise correction is more valuable than silver or gold the finest gold is nothing compared to the revelation knowledge i can impart now there was a time in my life and i know in every believer’s life when the lord is correcting you and you feel really guilty you feel uh inferior to what he’s doing to you then there comes that change kimberly because you’re in the word every day And when that correction comes after the year or two that you’re thinking, well, God loves me. He loves me. He’s a God of love. He loved me first before I loved him. When that gets deep into your spirit, then when he corrects you, you’re going, oh. Oh, thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord, for telling me that and giving me that correction. It becomes a thank you instead of a guilt feeling or condemnation feeling.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right. Because it truly is a gift. Yeah. His truth and his mercy go hand in hand and that mercy and love poured out in us is beautiful. That’s right. Verse 11 of Proverbs eight wisdom is so priceless that it exceeds the value of any jewel. Nothing you could wish for can equal her for I am wisdom and I am shrewd and intelligent. I have at my disposal living understanding to devise a plan for your life. I like how this passion translation calls it living understanding because it is so much greater than just plain old understanding. We can understand some things in this life. We might understand math or words or science. We might understand some things. We might understand history. The logical learned in school, learned in education. But this is above Kimberly. It’s a living, active understanding that is really full of life, full of energy, full. I need to come up with more, more synonyms, more adjectives. Yeah. It’s hard to describe. Yes. So we, we receive living understanding and it’s a plan for our lives, right? Wisdom pours into you when you begin to hate every form of evil in your life, for that’s what worship and fearing God is all about. And then you will discover that your pompous pride and perverse speech are the very ways of wickedness that wisdom hates.
SPEAKER 02 :
Wow. That is really… That is so good. Now, the power of Holy Spirit. We’re coming up on verse 14 of Proverbs 8. This Proverbs is full. I’m so sad that I have not studied it before this. I mean, I’ve read it for 51 years, but the fact is that I did not get into the depths of the meanings of this Proverbs and what Holy Spirit and wisdom means to me. Verse 14 says, and you will find true success when you find me. For I have insight into wise plans that are designed just for you.
SPEAKER 04 :
Just before you continue on, I just want to point out that the verses before this are telling us that we receive God’s love. We receive his favor and his wisdom when we seek him, when we’re seeking wisdom, when we’re seeking him, his spirit of wisdom. We receive this spiritual understanding, this living understanding that we were talking about. And we receive revelation knowledge. Now, if that is not enough for you, listen to these next verses, because if that’s not enough, he is now promising true success.
SPEAKER 02 :
And we have seen money, Kimberly. We have gone through money. And we’ve watched it disappear. That’s right. It’s come and it’s gone. It’s gone in a flash. So you cannot trust and depend on money. That’s a spirit of mammon. And that’s an evil spirit. So true success when you’re reading the word and it’s in Joshua 1, 8 and 9. When you’re reading that word, chewing on that word, meditating on the word, you have wisdom and insight to plan your days wisely. It says here.
SPEAKER 04 :
Wise plans designed just for you. That’s right. And it’s a higher plan, a higher success than anything we’ll find on this planet.
SPEAKER 02 :
And it says, I hold in my hands. And this is from the Passion Translation. So if any of you are finding, like, for instance, I grew up with the King James. I love the King James. I memorized with the King James Version. But if you’re not understanding, I’ll tell you, the Passion explains it so beautifully.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, and so does the Message Version.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s right, yes. There are a lot of versions that are so good. So look, inquire, inquire. But it says, I hold in my hands living understanding, courage, and strength. I empower kings to reign and rulers to make laws that are just. And that’s what we’re looking for in this world. Kings to reign rightly and justly and the rulers to do the same. I empower princes to rise and take dominion. and generous ones to govern the earth, not takers, not cheaters, not jealous people. That’s right, not critical. Not critical, but generous ones to govern the earth. I will show my love to those who passionately love me, for they will search and search continually until they find me. Yes, you will find wisdom. If you ask for wisdom, he will give it to you, as James 1 says. Ask for wisdom, and God will give it to you. Verse 18 says unending wealth and glory come from those who discover where I wisdom dwell. There’s another promise right there.
SPEAKER 04 :
Unending wealth and glory. Wow. When we are seeking the Lord, he has so many promises here when he knows we are completely surrendered to him. to his design, to his storyline, his journey for our life. When we’re surrendered to that and we’re not fighting, but we’re trusting he’s going to work it out, it’s going to be good. That’s right. Even if it looks really tough right now.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. And some of you might say, my bank account is depleted. What do I do? Hold on. You hold on. Hold on to that faith that God has given to you because he comes through. And sometimes, Kimberly, it’s been at eleven fifty nine right before the clock.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 02 :
But I’ll tell you, it works.
SPEAKER 04 :
And let me just remind you what I said earlier. Psalm 138 verse eight is a beautiful promise to stand on. The Lord is the one who will accomplish what you are concerned about. He is the one who will perfect it and complete it. If you are concerned about your bank account, it is the Lord who will take care of you.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s right. He will. The riches of righteousness and a long, satisfying life will be given to them. What I impart has greater worth than gold and treasure, and the increase I bring benefits more than a windfall of income. Boy, that is so true. Wow, and it’s a big promise, too. That’s right. More than a windfall of income? Yeah. Now, some of you have sold your homes, and you’ve had a really nice little pocket of change. I mean, more than that. Some of you have sold it for really good money. And how is that working? I mean, it depletes.
SPEAKER 04 :
It depletes unless you’re into a… And does it give the real peace? Because then you’re thinking, well, how do I invest this? And what do I need to do when the investments are not panning out? Yeah, the 401ks you lose. So then we have even more anxiety. Yes. But it is wisdom. It’s our Lord who will give the peace that passes all understanding.
SPEAKER 02 :
Mm-hmm. And you lead me into the ways of righteousness to discover the paths of true justice. That’s what David prayed in Psalm 23. Leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. That’s right. Yes. Those who love me gain great wealth and a glorious inheritance, and I will fill their lives with treasures. Those are huge promises.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes. Those who love wisdom, those who are seeking to be surrendered to the Lord, those who love me gain great wealth and a glorious inheritance. That’s not just talking about the wealth of heaven. That’s talking about here on earth. And it says, I will fill their lives with treasures.
SPEAKER 02 :
We can trust God for that. I know some brothers and sisters have fought over their parents’ inheritance, and one has gotten a load, a big load, and he has more than the others. Don’t ever be jealous. Don’t ever fight. Don’t ever sue for anything. God has an inheritance for you as you submit to him and love your brothers and sisters, even though they got more of the chunk of the inheritance. Yes.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
And I’ve been through that. My parents have been through that. And they have come up gloriously loving God. Yes.
SPEAKER 03 :
And God blessing them.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes. So wisdom has been here from the beginning. And we only have two minutes left. Thank you, Rachel. And here in Proverbs 8, 22, it says, in the beginning, I was there for God possessed me even before he created the universe. From eternity past, I was set in place before the world began. I was anointed from the beginning before the ocean’s depths were poured out. And before there were any glorious fountains overflowing with water, I was there dancing, dancing. Even before one mountain had been sculpted, and boy, we love the mountains here, or one hill raised up, I was already there dancing. And when he created the earth, the fields, even the first atom of dust, I was already there dancing. Dancing. When he hung the tapestry of the heavens and stretched out the horizon of the earth, when the clouds and skies were set in place and the subterranean fountains began to flow strong, I was already there. And you can dance to that one, too. Yes.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, how wonderful to have these promises when we are seeking the wisdom of God, not the wisdom of this world, but the wisdom of God. There is a big difference. And it’s not the wisdom of this world that brings us peace and assurance and confidence. It’s the wisdom of God. That’s right. And if that seems like a strange thing to you, if it seems like it’s intangible, don’t be worried. Just ask, ask for the understanding, ask for wisdom, and it will be given to you with good measure because we serve a generous God. And he has told us over and over in these scriptures that he will be generous with you. He will. Well, if you have enjoyed this, be looking for this radio program online at freedomstreet.org. Or don’t forget that we’re on Spotify now. And we would love for you to look us up on Spotify. You can look for Freedom ST Radio and find us that way. It looks like Freedom Stradio. Look for us there and listen in again. And then we’ll look forward to sharing more with you tomorrow. Take joy.
SPEAKER 01 :
or you may leave your message at 1-877-917-7256. Call to Freedom is a listener-supported radio ministry. Barbara and her power partners invite you to come on board with us and become a network of hands holding up Call to Freedom ministry. Our partners support Call to Freedom with prayer and monthly financial support. You will be blessed supernaturally. We invite you to visit Call to Freedom’s website, www.freedomstreet.org, where you can hear Barbara’s daily radio broadcast 24 hours a day or order materials. You may share your praise reports and heart cries by mailing them to Call to Freedom, Box 370-367, Denver, Colorado, 80237. Or you may email us at barbracarmack at freedomstreet.org. Until next time, remember, Jesus loves you, Barbara loves you, and take joy.
