Wisdom Matters

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Welcome to Wisdom Matters, the chance to reflect on a Bible verse or two each day for the purpose of living and thinking biblically. Wisdom is a gift from God that enables us to know how to filter and use all we learn for God’s higher purpose. I hope you will join me for Wisdom Matters.

  1. 15시간 전

    What should Christians pursue?

    The verb pursue in the original language means “to seek after, to discover.” Consider Jesus’ parable about the Good Shepherd who left the ninety-nine to “seek after” the one who was lost. Jesus taught us that God pursues his children, and the proverb teaches his children what they should pursue. Proverbs 21:21 teaches us to pursue righteousness, a right relationship with God. We are also to pursue kindness, the attitude that treats others as God would want us to treat them. In many ways, Proverbs 21:21 teaches us how to obey the commandment to “love one another.” Righteousness and kindness are high priorities because God wants us to “find,” or pursue, the life he would want for us. God wants his children to be right with him and live a life that is a valuable witness to others. The key to living God’s priorities can be found in the verb pursue. Sometimes we luck into situations that bring out our best behaviors. Other times we find ourselves in situations where we need to pursue godliness in order to live with God’s high standards. Seeking after God will help us live a righteous life that leads to honor. I’m always fascinated watching a television show about the discovery of a sought-after treasure submerged in an ocean for years. Indiana Jones is a favorite movie character because he stopped at nothing to get his hands on an archeological discovery. Most of us would want to pursue a treasure if someone gave us the map. God’s word teaches us that, of all the things we can pursue in this life, righteousness and kindness should top our list. We should run after godliness as if it were a valuable treasure because, spiritually, it is.  God’s priorities are wisdom. Another proverb teaches us to “get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7 NIV).  Will you pursue God’s wisdom for tomorrow?

    3분

  2. 1일 전

    What is the difference between a good idea and a God idea?

    Assuming you sleep about eight hours a day, you can estimate that your brain has more than six thousand thoughts per day. If you are like me, that number is higher. Some of my most important thoughts occur in the wee hours of the morning before I fall back to sleep. I often say that 3 a.m. is a prime time for the “God thoughts.” When is God most likely to interrupt your thoughts with his ideas?  Being aware that the Holy Spirit is God’s voice of leadership in our lives is necessary.. Our thoughts will be filled with good ideas, but, when God speaks, it’s never a suggestion—which is the difference between our thoughts and his. God’s ideas have a higher purpose in our lives and are authored for the sake of those we will influence or minister to as well. God’s ideas will always be consistent with who he is and what our Bibles reveal to be his priorities. Henry Blackaby’s Bible study entitled Experiencing God taught me that I needed to be open to God’s ideas in my life. Blackaby taught that when we made Jesus our Lord, we gave him permission to interrupt our thoughts with his.  James said, when God speaks his will into our lives, we “ought to say we will live and do this or that.” In other words, when we know God’s will, we know what to do. We have thousands of ideas each day. Some ideas are good and others are not. The ideas that should become our highest priorities are those thoughts authored by the Holy Spirit. God’s priorities are wisdom. Those thoughts are God’s ideas and will always be God’s wise priorities for the “this or that” of our lives.

    2분

  3. 2일 전

    Do you spend or invest your time?

    You may have heard that if you want to know what is important to you, list the last fifty things on which you spent your time and money. Jesus told us, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Financial priorities are often a strong indicator of what our hearts truly value. My husband and I didn’t have very much money during our first years of marriage. He was in seminary full time, and my starting teacher’s pay didn’t go very far. I put together a budget, and we tried to stick with it. I couldn’t understand why we were coming up short each month until I realized we had been tithing to the church, but I had forgotten to put that 10 percent in our budget! Giving can seem like an obligation, but God wants it to be a spiritual priority, which is why he “loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). He only asks for 10 percent, but Scripture also teaches us that his 10 percent should be of the “firstfruits,” our first gift and priority. My budget indicated that my heart for giving to God wasn’t my first priority. Jesus taught his disciples that the money we give to God is an investment in our spiritual lives and should be thought of as our treasure. Learning to treasure God’s priorities will help us know how to invest our money in things that have an eternal return.  Do you spend your money, or do you invest it in the treasures of heaven?  God’s priorities are wisdom. When we follow the financial plan for our money that God has designed, our hearts will be invested in his priorities, and we can use our money wisely. Eternal investments have the greatest returns.

    2분

  4. 3일 전

    Why is loving God an important effort?

    Sometimes love is described as a feeling, but, biblically, it is an effort. If we think carefully, we will realize that our most significant “loves” in this lifetime have been those relationships we’ve deeply valued. That is why the commandment is to “love the Lᴏʀᴅ your God” with great effort. God knew if we truly loved him, we would value and worship him as our King. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). The best way to align our lives with God is to love him, with “all” our heart, soul, and might. Our most important effort isn’t trying to be obedient; it is choosing to love God. When we love God, our devotion to him is likely to follow. We shouldn’t be surprised that the world has defined love differently than Scripture. We don’t always feel love for the people we love. In fact, the deepest loves are those whom we love and who love us despite the way we make them feel at times. Most parents love their children every moment of their lives, even when love isn’t what they are most feeling or thinking about at the time. That is the way we are loved by God all of the time. God’s love is born of his perfect character, and God is love.  God’s priorities are always wisdom and always motivated by his love. He made the supreme effort to show his love for us by giving us his Son. God has called us to love him for the sake of our souls so that we will desire to know him and value his wisdom.  Will you make every effort to love God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might?  That priority is wisdom and worth every effort.

    3분

  5. 4일 전

    Why can wrong priorities become false gods?

    In the 1960s, Charles Hummel wrote a small book that quickly became popular with business leaders—especially with Christian business leaders. Tyranny of the Urgent taught that our greatest danger in life is allowing the urgent things to crowd out the things that are most important. I remember reading that small booklet as a young, busy mom and pastor’s wife. God used Hummel’s words to speak better priorities into my life. Our lives are easily consumed by those things that are urgent. Our calendars tell us where to go and when to get there. Our work schedules drive our choices. The physical needs of our family can often take precedence over their spiritual needs. The same is true in our own lives. Christians are often tempted to live with the urgent priorities the world suggests rather than submit to the important priorities God has given us in his word. Our children’s souls matter more than their grades. Our treasure in heaven matters more than our bank accounts. Our ministries matter more than our hobbies. Sometimes urgent priorities control our lives and our time more than what matters most. God’s first commandment was, “You shall have no other gods before me.” Sometimes we think that because we aren’t part of a cult, we don’t have another god. We need to define an idol as Scripture defines it. An idol, a false god, is anything that controls your choices other than God. Our wrong priorities can become false gods in our lives when we honor them with our time instead of fulfilling all that God would call us to accomplish. When urgent things control our choices, we have stepped away from the important relationship of God as our King.  Are there some false gods in your life, urgently demanding your time and focus?  Now is a good time to examine your priorities in light of all that God has said is important. God’s priorities are wisdom. What idols should you delete so that you can live wisely submitted to your King?

    3분

  6. 5일 전

    What is the highest priority for every Christian?

    This month we will “look carefully” at God’s priorities in the Bible. His priorities are wisdom and will guide our lives. We make thousands of decisions each day. Knowing God’s priorities will help us make choices that align with his will.  Paul told the Ephesians, “Look carefully then how you walk” and taught them to make the best use of their time. Knowing God’s will and his priorities will help us to live wisely and with his blessings. God’s priorities are wisdom. Let’s carefully study all that matters to God so that we can be certain his wisdom is our priority as well. Jesus was speaking to the crowd gathered by the Sea of Galilee. His Sermon on the Mount is considered central teaching for his entire ministry. Jesus taught the crowds gathered there how to align their priorities with God’s purpose for their lives. He taught this key lesson: if we will make God our King, we can live a righteous life filled with all that he would add to our days. Our American culture doesn’t have a king. Democracy is about electing people who are supposed to honor and obey the will of the people. It’s difficult sometimes not to think of God as our governor or president. God is not an elected leader; he is a sovereign King. His children live to obey his commands. The highest priority for every Christian is to “think carefully” about God’s role in our lives. Is God your King? Is obeying his will your only goal? When we “seek first” the kingdom of God, we are seeking his righteousness. God’s priorities are wisdom. When our highest priority is to make God our King, we will gain the wisdom we need to live an obedient life, filled with his blessings.

    3분

  7. 6일 전

    Who are your sweetest gifts?

    As we age, the list of our friends in heaven will continue to grow. There are people we look forward to seeing again in heaven. There are many brothers and sisters in Christ who invest their time in our spiritual lives, and they are likely the people we are most grateful for today. The author of this proverb spoke about the gifts we receive in this lifetime that we are grateful for. “Oil and perfume” can be defined as the finer things in this world that we are always thankful to receive. A great gift makes our lives sweeter and our hearts glad. The greatest gifts make our hearts and lives stronger. The proverb says, “The sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.”  Sometimes we are afraid to tell our friends the whole truth, even when they most need it. Earnest counsel must come from an earnest counselor, a person who deeply cares about God’s work and will in your life. To have friends who truly want to help strengthen our walk with God is a great blessing. A friend who deeply cares about God can offer us God’s care. That friend’s “word of counsel” is often important advice and God’s great blessing for our lives. A good friend’s counsel is sweet, earnest, and intended to be our best help. A good friend is one of God’s richest blessings on earth. Good advice and careful instruction provide wisdom. It is fun to receive gifts from people we care about, but it is a blessing from God to receive earnest counsel from a friend who loves us and wants us to live closely with God. Will you praise God for who those friends are in your life? And will you pray to God to be that kind of friend in the lives of others?

    3분

  8. 6월 29일

    Why is godly encouragement, good advice?

    God created us to be part of a large, diverse, eternal family of faith. We are created in God’s image; therefore, we can know we were created to love others. We were created to have a close, personal relationship with God and with others. One of the best ways to build a family relationship with your brothers and sisters in Christ is to meet with them and encourage one another to live with an eternal focus. The family of faith should encourage one another to live with great love for others and a great passion for good works. What are “good works”? In Scripture, our good works are accomplished by doing those things the Lord has called us to do. We are to walk in obedience to his word and to the voice of his word in our lives, his Holy Spirit. When we walk faithfully in obedience to God, we accomplish good works. We hope people will walk with God, but Hebrews teaches us to “stir up,” or work hard, to continuously find ways to be an encourager. Words of encouragement are powerful, uplifting, protecting, and full of God’s powerful guidance.  When we gather for worship, study, or simply to fellowship, we can ask ourselves if we have obeyed the wisdom of Hebrews.  Did we focus on God’s purpose for this time? How can we help people understand their need to serve Jesus and others? —Offer truth to someone’s doubts? —Offer comfort for their pain? —Offer confidence, conviction, and power to their apathy? The Day is drawing near. Today we are one day closer to our eternal life than we were yesterday. Are we doing all we can to invest in God’s kingdom and his eternal purpose for this world?  Good advice and careful instruction provide wisdom. How will you share God’s love, wisdom, and encouragement with your brothers and sisters tomorrow? “Consider how” you will live your answer to that question today.

    3분
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Welcome to Wisdom Matters, the chance to reflect on a Bible verse or two each day for the purpose of living and thinking biblically. Wisdom is a gift from God that enables us to know how to filter and use all we learn for God’s higher purpose. I hope you will join me for Wisdom Matters.

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