Wisdom for the Heart

Wisdom International
Wisdom International
  • 4.8 (267)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Semiweekly

Stephen Davey will help you learn to know what the Bible says, understand what it means, and apply it to your life as he teaches verse-by-verse through books of the Bible. Stephen is the president of Wisdom International, which provides radio broadcasts, digital content, and print resources designed to make disciples of all nations and edify followers of Jesus Christ.

  1. 7h ago

    Getting a Grip on Life (2 Peter 1:6)

    Share a comment “Just say no” sounded simple, looked impressive, and still didn’t change hearts. We dig into why those famous behavior campaigns failed and how that same mistake shows up when we treat self-control like a slogan instead of a deeper kind of formation. If you’ve ever thought, “Why do I keep snapping, scrolling, or spiraling when I know better?” this conversation is for you. We work through 2 Peter 1 and the call to “supplement” saving faith with virtue, practical knowledge, and self-control. We talk about what self-control actually means in the Bible: dominion over yourself, staying composed, holding yourself in. Then we take it out of the classroom and into real life, where impatience flares in grocery lines, traffic, and tense conversations. Along the way, we look at Acts 24 and Paul’s direct challenge to Felix and Drusilla, a reminder that the gospel doesn’t dodge the obvious pressure points in our lives. We also face the modern pressure cooker. Technology trains us to expect everything instantly, shrinking patience to a few seconds and teaching both kids and adults to avoid discomfort instead of mastering it. The good news is that Christian self-control is not just saying no. It’s also saying yes: a daily surrender to the Holy Spirit, keeping in step with him, and learning to present ourselves to God instead of our impulses. If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s fighting for patience, and leave a review so more people can find the episode. What situation tests your self-control the most right now? Learn more about twenty-five years of global impact, and reserve tickets to our gala. https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/25 Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ Support the show

    Getting a Grip on Life (2 Peter 1:6)

  2. 3d ago

    The Right Kind of Gold Rush (2 Peter 1:5a)

    Share a comment Every day, people make choices that look “normal” on the surface but add up to a life that quietly falls apart. We start with sobering youth statistics and the raw question behind them: if you believe you’re an accident in an accidental universe, what real reason is there to say no to the easy escape, the quick thrill, or the crowd’s approval? From there, we pivot to the California Gold Rush and the surprising detail most folks miss: the biggest fortunes often went to the people who equipped the miners, not the miners themselves. That history becomes a vivid picture of our own 21st century gold rush for stuff, status, and self, and it sets up the central challenge of the conversation: wisdom is calling just as loudly, and it offers a treasure better than gold. We dig into 2 Peter 1:5 and Proverbs 1:7 to define biblical knowledge as practical, decision-shaping understanding rooted in the fear of the Lord. Not trivia. Not raw intelligence. A kind of Christian maturity that becomes visible in everyday choices, humility, and teachability. We also contrast that path with Proverbs’ portrait of the “fool,” showing how arrogance, shallowness, resistance to correction, and living unaccountable to God can wreck a life even when someone looks successful on paper. The episode closes with a story that will make you rethink how you treat your Bible and why you cannot live out what you have not learned. If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review with the one insight you want to act on this week. Learn more about twenty-five years of global impact, and reserve tickets to our gala. https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/25 Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ Support the show

    The Right Kind of Gold Rush (2 Peter 1:5a)

  3. 4d ago

    The Passionate Pursuit of Excellence (2 Peter 1:5a)

    Share a comment Politicians love to talk about “values,” especially in an election year, but that word can hide a problem: what we value is not always virtuous, and what feels “right” can quietly be deadly. We start with a simple reframe that cuts through the noise. The biggest question isn’t how long you’re going to live. It’s how you’re going to live, and whether your life is actually meaningful. We open 2 Peter 1 and treat Peter’s list like a divinely designed supplement program for spiritual growth: faith supplemented with virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. Then we slow down and sit with the promise attached to it. When these qualities are yours and increasing, they keep you from becoming ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Peter even adds a warning-turned-invitation: practice these qualities and you “will never fall,” not as a threat of losing salvation, but as a rescue from a wasted, miserable, self-centered Christian life. From there we get practical about sanctification and daily discipleship. God has already provided the resources, but we still have to steer the car and build on the foundation. We also dig into the first supplement, virtue, not as vague niceness but as excellence, doing what God assigned you with real care, whether anyone notices or not. The final challenge gets personal: if you had one month to live, what would you start doing, stop doing, and pursue with urgency? If this encouraged you, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it. What’s one area where you’re choosing virtue over mere values this week? Learn more about twenty-five years of global impact, and reserve tickets to our gala. https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/25 Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ Support the show

    The Passionate Pursuit of Excellence (2 Peter 1:5a)

  4. 5d ago

    Rafting On Whitewater (2 Peter 1:3-4)

    Share a comment White water will tell you what you really trust. We open with a rafting story that feels uncomfortably familiar: the raft flips, panic hits, and the “safe” move looks like swimming to the calm edge. Then comes the twist. The quiet water is where the danger hides, and the rough water is where protection and forward motion actually live. That picture becomes a direct challenge to how we respond to pressure, suffering, and temptation in everyday Christian life.  From 2 Peter 1:3-4, we lay out two solid assurances for believers who feel displaced, squeezed, or tired: God’s divine power has granted us everything we need for life and godliness, and God has also granted us precious and very great promises. We slow down on what “granted” means, why these are permanent resources, and how spiritual growth comes through knowing Jesus Christ as he reveals himself in Scripture, not a made-up version of faith.  We also talk about the subtle tragedy of living like you still run on kerosene when the power is already on, and we name specific promises God gives that steady us daily: salvation, forgiveness, wisdom, guidance, and his presence. Finally, we trace the two outcomes Peter describes: growing into Christlike character and escaping the world’s corruption, one decisive “no” at a time.  If you’ve been tempted to drift toward the calm water, come listen. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s under pressure, and leave a review with the promise you’re choosing to cling to this week. Learn more about twenty-five years of global impact, and reserve tickets to our gala. https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/25 Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ Support the show

    Rafting On Whitewater (2 Peter 1:3-4)

  5. 6d ago

    The Crowded Life (2 Peter 1:2)

    Share a comment Noise is not just annoying, it is formative. When the headlines never stop and the notifications keep buzzing, our minds and hearts get pulled into a current of the sensational, the trivial, and the temporary. We want peace, but we often chase it by trying to quiet the world, and the world will not cooperate. So we go to Peter’s opening prayer in 2 Peter 1:2 and ask a better question: what if the answer is not less trouble, but more grace and peace, multiplied? We unpack what Peter means by “multiplied” and why he writes this to believers who already have grace and peace in Christ. Then we get specific about grace: God’s favor toward the undeserving, the difference between common grace and saving grace, and the warning about “cheap grace” that keeps a person comfortable but unchanged. From there, we trace what multiplying grace looks like on the ground: handling hardship with glad contentment and answering critics with kindness, with speech seasoned by grace instead of fueled by outrage. Peace is just as practical. It is not the absence of pressure, but the abiding presence of Christ, a steady heart that comes from an upward focus. That leads to the key that ties everything together: knowledge. Not trivia, not religious facts, but deepening, personal knowledge of God and Jesus through Scripture, the one book that reveals him. We close by getting honest about distractions and building guardrails so the noise does not crowd out the Word. If you want spiritual growth, biblical encouragement, and real practices for Christian living in a distracted world, listen through to the end. Subscribe, share with a friend who feels overwhelmed, and leave a review with the one distraction you are ready to turn off this week. Learn more about twenty-five years of global impact, and reserve tickets to our gala. https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/25 Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ Support the show

    The Crowded Life (2 Peter 1:2)

  6. Sep 21

    What to Remember With 30 Seconds to Live (2 Peter 1:1b)

    Share a comment Saying “Jesus is Savior” can sound harmless until you say it like the apostles meant it: Jesus Christ alone. That single word exposes why culture can tolerate vague spirituality but lashes out at biblical Christianity. We talk candidly about what happens when a believer takes a public moral stand, from angry emails and workplace complaints to legal pressure and, at the extreme, violence. The point is not fear or outrage. The point is readiness. We reflect on how Christians respond when the temperature rises: we learn the truth, we speak with boldness, we stay gracious and patient, we remain reasonable when the world is unreasonable, and we love enemies enough to pray for them and share the gospel persuasively. We also widen the frame to global Christian persecution and the long history of suffering in the church, from Stephen in Acts to believers who are reviled and harmed today. Then we move into 2 Peter 1:1 for the kind of backbone persecuted Christians need. We unpack saving faith versus everyday faith, why saving faith is a gift we obtain rather than earn, and why it is the object, not the amount, that saves. Peter’s promise is deeply encouraging: every Christian has a faith of equal standing, equally precious, because it rests on the righteousness of “our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” That leads us into the deity of Christ, the mystery of the Trinity, and the practical, life-or-death meaning of calling Jesus “Savior” in a world that crowns its own saviors. If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review. Learn more about twenty-five years of global impact, and reserve tickets to our gala. https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/25 Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ Support the show

    What to Remember With 30 Seconds to Live (2 Peter 1:1b)

  7. Sep 18

    The Real Thing! (1 Peter 1:1)

    Share a comment Peter is near the end of his life, and his words have the weight of someone who knows what failure feels like and what grace can rebuild. We open 2 Peter by watching him do something unexpected: he signs his name in a way that admits both his old story and his new identity, then he plants his flag on a single claim that confronts every counterfeit gospel, every spiritual brand, and every would-be authority figure. He belongs to Jesus Christ, and that belonging reshapes everything.  We talk through Peter’s journey from the Sea of Galilee to a Scripture-quoting shepherd who refuses to boast. “Simeon Peter” becomes a lived theology of sanctification: Christians grow, but we don’t pretend we’ve arrived. Then we slow down over two loaded words in his opening line, “servant” and “apostle.” We unpack doulos, the purchased slave, and why true Christian maturity looks less like collecting status and more like surrender. We also clarify the New Testament meaning of apostolic authority and why modern claims to that office so often become a power play over the church.  From there, the purpose of 2 Peter comes into sharp focus: remember biblical truth, recognize false teaching, and take God’s judgment seriously, both past and future. We even connect Peter’s warnings to a modern problem he never named but we all face: AI deepfakes and believable spiritual misinformation. If you want sharper biblical discernment and a steadier view of Jesus Christ as Lord and Messiah, come with us. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find the series. Learn more about twenty-five years of global impact, and reserve tickets to our gala. https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/25 Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ Support the show

    The Real Thing! (1 Peter 1:1)

  8. Sep 17

    The Final Song Part 2 (1 Chronicles 28-29)

    Share a comment The hardest spiritual test is not hearing God say “no” to a bad idea, it’s hearing Him say “no” to a good one. We sit with King David at the end of his life as he looks straight at an unfulfilled dream: he spent years planning a temple for God’s glory, only to watch the assignment pass to Solomon. Instead of bitterness, David gives us a rare picture of maturity: honest desire, real disappointment, and a steady “yet” that keeps trusting God’s wisdom. From there, we move into a surprisingly practical blueprint for Christian parenting and spiritual leadership. David, a man with public wins and private failures, speaks to his son with clarity: know the God of your father, serve Him with a whole heart, seek Him, be strong, and do the work. We talk about why that personal faith matters more than a “successful life” checklist, and how a parent’s real repentance can carry more weight than perfect performance. We also unpack David’s public prayer in 1 Chronicles 28 to 29, where stewardship and worship meet. He reminds us that generosity starts with humility because everything we bring to God already came from His hand. And he prays for Solomon’s integrity, not comfort, pushing back on the fantasy that God’s best plan is always the easiest path. If you’ve ever felt the sting of a delayed dream, a redirected calling, or a parenting moment you wish you could redo, this conversation will help you reset your priorities and reclaim a worshipful perspective. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a steady “yet,” and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. Learn more about twenty-five years of global impact, and reserve tickets to our gala. https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/25 Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ Support the show

    The Final Song Part 2 (1 Chronicles 28-29)
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About

Stephen Davey will help you learn to know what the Bible says, understand what it means, and apply it to your life as he teaches verse-by-verse through books of the Bible. Stephen is the president of Wisdom International, which provides radio broadcasts, digital content, and print resources designed to make disciples of all nations and edify followers of Jesus Christ.

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