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. 1 dag geleden

    How does your faith in Jesus change your life?

    Romans 12:1 teaches us to present our bodies, our earthly lives, as a living sacrifice to God. We are to be holy and make acceptable choices because that is an act of worship to him as our Lord. Romans 12:2 teaches us why we should want to live a holy and sacrificial life and how we can do that. Our faith in Jesus has changed our lives more than we probably realize. If we could snap our fingers and see ourselves as we could have been without faith in Jesus, we would probably be shocked by the differences. Jesus has “transformed” our lives in ways we may or may not realize. We have a new way of thinking and feeling about the things of the world. We have a new sensitivity toward people and their feelings. We have new standards for what are acceptable and right behaviors.  We can sense God’s favor and we can sense God’s displeasure as well. We can think with God because our faith in Jesus has renewed our mind. We can know what God is thinking because we know his word and his will for us. God doesn’t want the world to influence who we are. God wants us to reflect his holiness, knowing and doing what is good, acceptable, and perfect. Your faith has changed your life, and it will continue to change who you are, how you think, and all that you do—as long as you continually live in sacrificial service to God. None of us will, but all of us can. We each have a daily, moment-to-moment choice to either live a conformed life or a transformed life. Good advice and careful instruction provide wisdom. Wisdom is knowing that your faith can change every moment you submit to God.

    3 min.

  2. 2 dgn geleden

    How do we live with a constant faith in God?

    If you have chosen to subscribe to Wisdom Matters, you are likely a person who has chosen Jesus to be your Savior and your Lord. You are also likely to recognize that living faithfully is a constant challenge. Some days we walk hand in hand with God while other days we might feel we have wandered, strayed, or even become completely lost. A lot of Scripture is written in a continuous tense, meaning we are never to stop. Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9). Jesus spoke those words in the continuous tense. In other words, Jesus said, “Ask and keep asking, seek and keep seeking, knock and keep knocking.”  Christians are continuously filled with the power and Presence of Christ through his Holy Spirit. There is never a moment we are without his strength, power, advice, and direction—unless we choose to focus on something else. How do we live with a constant faith, continuously filled and controlled by God’s Spirit? We can follow the psalmist’s advice. We can offer our praise to God all day, thanking him for his voice, his guidance, and his peace. We can constantly pray for his will and his strength. We can ask ourselves throughout the day if we are pleasing him with our words and choices. God wants to bless us continuously with an awareness of his holy, perfect Presence in our lives. Good advice and careful instruction provide wisdom. Here is some good advice for this moment. Realize that if you are a Christian, his Spirit never leaves you and his Presence is always within you. Sense his joy, right now, as you realize the enormity of his gift. Spend time with him, simply enjoying your loving Father who enjoys the time he is spending with you.

    3 min.

  3. 3 dgn geleden

    How do we submit our ideas to God’s plan?

    The “heart” in the Old Testament referred to a person’s basic drive and motivation. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see a list of every plan we had ever made and compare that list to those things we actually did? All of us who looked would see and be grateful for the hand of God as he intervened with protection and redirection in our lives. Each of us is driven by our own plans, desires, hopes, and dreams. We want to want God’s will but often we don’t want what is God’s will. Sometimes we pray, “Lord, what is your will for my life?” The more important prayer is actually, “Lord, what is your will?” If we know God’s will, we know what he wants us to do with our lives. The Lord establishes our steps. God is less concerned about what we want and more concerned about what we should want. God is less concerned about what we want to do and more concerned that we do what we should. God always has an eternal perspective for each of our steps. His will for our lives is that we do his will. We often make our choices and decisions based on the passions of our heart. When we walk with God’s will, he transforms or authors “the desires of our heart.” God will cause us to want what he wants for us if we just understand that his priority is more for our eternal lives than our earthly lives. That perspective will enable us to “plan” our way according to the “steps” our Lord establishes. Good advice and careful instruction provide wisdom. Knowing that our plans need to be submitted to God’s direction is good advice and wisdom we need to faithfully step onto the path God has established for us.

    3 min.

  4. 4 dgn geleden

    Why is the Sermon on the Mount your best advice and instruction?

    Jesus ended his Sermon on the Mount by telling the crowd that a wise person will build his life, his “house,” on the solid foundation of faith his sermon had taught. Some have said that every lesson Jesus taught can be traced back to the foundational truth of his most famous sermon. If we want to be like the wise man who lived with the biblical truth Jesus preached that day by the Sea of Galilee, we need to build our lives on the rock of his truth. The question isn’t “Do you know the Sermon on the Mount?” Rather, it’s “Do you live it?” We can’t just hear these words; we must do them. Matthew 5–7 contains the foundational truth of the Christian faith. So often we read and study those chapters in sections. How long has it been since you sat down and read the entire sermon in one sitting?  You can evaluate your walk with God by this question: How much of your life have you built upon the rock, the foundational truths of Jesus’ key sermon?  The Beatitudes: —Are you living a life God is able to bless? —Are you living as salt and light in a world that needs both? —Do you understand Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law and God’s new and final covenant with the world? —Do you understand the high standards Jesus set for your earthly life? —Do you pray as Jesus taught you to pray? —Do you live for heaven’s treasures or the world’s rewards? —Do you live with faith or worry? —Do you love and treat others as Jesus would? —Do you believe there is a heaven and a hell and everyone will go to one or the other after this life? Is your life built on the truth of Jesus’ teaching or on a weak foundation? The Sermon on the Mount is crucial teaching for our walk with God and wisdom for our witness. Good advice and careful instruction provide wisdom. Jesus began his earthly ministry by the Sea of Galilee and gave us all we needed to live with his perfect wisdom. Read Matthew 5–7 from start to finish and you will gain the best advice and instruction you could receive for your life now and your life eternal.

    4 min.

  5. 5 dgn geleden

    Whose counsel do you need?

    God created people to need other people. No one person knows everything. No one is always right about everything. We are all uniquely created with gifts and abilities, but no one has every gift or every ability. We were created to need other people’s help, wisdom, and advice. It’s humbling to realize we can’t live life well if we only live it with our own abilities. On the other hand, it’s comforting to realize we were created that way for a reason. The fact you don’t know everything isn’t your fault; it’s your blessing. Proverbs 15:22 says that “without counsel plans fail.” If we only have our own thoughts and opinions, we only have a percentage of the wisdom we need. Our plans could fail if we don’t gain the counsel of a different perspective.  The proverb also teaches us that with many advisers our plans can succeed. Sometimes too many advisers can muddy the waters, but even bad advice can be good. It is just as important to understand what we don’t want to do than coming to our decision about what we will choose to do. How do we discern our good advice from the bad? Ask: —Which advice glorifies God? —Which choice has a kingdom purpose too? —Which choice is accompanied by the peace of God and seems to be opening doors only God could open? —Which advisers prayed before they spoke? —Which advisers walk with God and understand that his counsel is the only perfect answer? Some advice provides earthly gain while other advice provides treasure in heaven as well.  Good advice and careful instruction provide wisdom. Do your best to discern God’s biblical advice and seek counsel from people who understand their need to receive God’s counsel before they have counsel to give. God made us to need the counsel of others and gave us discernment to understand whose counsel we need.

    3 min.

  6. 6 dgn geleden

    Why can it be difficult to get along with a fellow Christian?

    We know we are different from non-Christians who don’t share our values, and we expect to disagree with them at times. But it can be tough when there is someone in your church or Bible study who can get on your last nerve at times. You might even have prayed for God’s wisdom to help you know how to appreciate that person. We are called to love one another, but sometimes that is a difficult command to follow. Why do we occasionally struggle to get along with our brothers and sisters in Christ? Why does God allow our paths to intertwine? Proverbs 27:17 says that “iron sharpens iron.” God allows people in our lives who will sharpen our thinking and our actions. If you learn to get along with a brother or sister in Christ, you will be much more able to get along with a person who is not yet saved. If you learn to forgive a fellow Christian, it will be easier to forgive a non-Christian too. Our greatest blessings and our Christian strength will probably not come from those who we find it easy to be around, but from those who caused us to be careful, stronger, and to lean upon God’s character more than our own. There will always be a few brothers and sisters in Christ who push you to your last ounce of self-control. Iron sharpens iron. Chances are you will gain some of your greatest blessings, now and eternally, from these people God allows into your life. Good advice and careful instruction provide wisdom. There will be people in your life who force you to run to God for strength and for the sake of your witness. It’s good advice to see them as God’s path for blessing. It’s wisdom to remember that iron sharpens iron. Allow God to use the difficult relationships to refine your life and witness and you will gain his wisdom.

    3 min.

  7. 11 jun

    Why should we always work hard?

    Several verses in Scripture discuss the importance of working hard and choosing not to be lazy. Working hard is a sign of good character in Scripture and important to our witness with others. The Apostle Paul taught the Christian church this lesson so they would be a good witness to the pagan culture around them. But he expanded the idea of our work to include our entire lives. He said, “Whatever you do, work heartily.” In other words, our witness is as much about the hours we are off work as it is the hours we are at the office.  Why should we be diligent with both our private and public lives? Because we have the same “boss” whatever we do. When we placed our faith in Christ, we became servants of the Most High God. When we work hard at our jobs, we earn a paycheck, but when we work hard to glorify God at our jobs, we earn an eternal inheritance as well. When we work hard at our marriages, we gain blessings for this life and for our lives eternal. When we work hard to raise our children to know and love the Lord, we work for our family life on earth, and we work for the opportunity to be together as a family in heaven. Whatever we do, our highest priority is to do it all for the glory of Jesus, in service to him. Whatever we do, we are serving Christ or something less important. Good advice and careful instruction provide wisdom. Paul taught us good advice in Colossians 3:23–24. He taught us to work hard at everything we do because there is never a moment our lives do not reflect our love and commitment to our Lord.

    3 min.

  8. 10 jun

    Why is biblical wisdom the best help for our souls?

    Bookstores have changed a lot in the last fifty years. Slowly, sections devoted to Bibles and Christian theology became shelves and then the sections were renamed religion and usually placed in a back corner. The more popular, growing section of the store has been labeled “self-help.” The author of Proverbs 19:8 would not understand the need for that division in the bookstore. He taught: “Whoever gets sense loves his own soul.” If we really want to help ourselves, we should love our souls more than our earthly lives. Our souls will live in heaven with our new bodies and our lives will be eternal. If we have good sense, we will live this life for the sake of our souls. How do we invest in our souls while living here on earth? We continue to understand our eternal priorities and continue to discover all that is good, all that is of God. The best “self-help” book is the Bible itself because it teaches us how to live a life God is able to bless now, and especially for all eternity. We all know the verse that teaches us to store up treasure in heaven, but it requires a conscious effort to understand that the value of our earthly lives is a result of investing in eternal priorities. If we make that effort, we will “discover good” and enjoy doing those things that make us right with God. We will never be finished living for God until we finally live with God. Good advice and careful instruction provide wisdom. We are wise to care for our own souls by gaining the wisdom of God and carefully living under the wise instruction of his truth. That’s how we store treasure in heaven and live this life for the sake of our life eternal.

    3 min.
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Info

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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    Denison Forum
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    Foundations with Janet Denison
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    2023 - 2026
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    Wisdom Matters

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