God is light
1 John 1:1-10 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
God is light, yet even Christians sometimes try to walk with one foot in the light and one in the dark. Commitment seems to be a word we don’t quite understand in the 21st Century.
May we accept the free grace of God, and come into the understanding that while grace covers a multitude of sins, we must appropriate such grace and then live in it.
Amen.
Humility leads to godly wisdom
Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
When looking for a verse of instruction on how to live a godly life, one need look no further than this one simple verse. I am convinced the original sin was pride, the pride that caused Eve to believe she could be god if only she ate of a piece of fruit.
Pride had already raised its ugly head when Lucifer waged a war against the angels to overthrow God. One of the synonyms for pride is “self-importance.” When we begin to think we are more important that we really are, or to use a modern phrase, “when we begin to believe our own press,” disaster follows. Better to live our lives in humility and service to others than to end our days in disgrace.
Why does wisdom follow humility? I see these two characteristics as fraternal twins—on first inspection their appearance is not the same, but look closer. When we learn the meekness of God, power under control, then we begin to attain a godly wisdom that directs our paths.
God is so good to give us what we need to accomplish His work here on earth. Let us begin each day praying, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done,” and allow God to work through us rather than having to work around us.
PRAYER: Our holy God, cultivate within us a humility that comes only through knowing who you are, and enable us to live with wisdom that comes from on high Amen
Wisdom and Prudence
Proverbs 8:12 “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. 13 To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. 14 Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have insight, I have power. 15 By me kings reign and rulers issue decrees that are just;
16 by me princes govern, and nobles—all who rule on earth. 17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.
Did you ever have a roommate? I had one and we did not exactly mesh. She had rented a townhouse and although we divided everything in half she felt she had dominion over EVERYTHING. She even had a list of rules.
Our scripture today says that wisdom is a roommate with prudence. Now these are compatible tenants. You have wisdom and cautiousness in the same dwelling, and along with this the scripture says there is knowledge and discretion.
Can you imagine how much trouble we would avoid if we lived with wisdom, prudence, knowledge and discretion? Can you think of how your choices would be reflected by the company you keep? Instead of being friends with impetuousness and carelessness, friends who are flighty and lead you into poor decisions, your support group would be stable and thoughtful.
The scripture end by saying that wisdom loves those who love her and those who seek her find her. Have you sought out wisdom? Do you love wisdom and understanding? Or do you pride yourself on throwing caution to the wind? An occasional impulsive moment is not necessarily a bad thing, but a lifetime of impetuous decisions can bring about a lifetime of hurt.
PRAYER: Father, guard our hearts and our minds from things that would rob us from making good decisions. Help us to seek you out, love you with our whole hearts, and value wisdom over any other characteristic. Amen
Get Wisdom
Proverbs 8 (New International Version 1984)
Wisdom’s Call
8 Does not wisdom call out?
Does not understanding raise her voice?
2 On the heights along the way,
where the paths meet, she takes her stand;
3 beside the gates leading into the city,
at the entrances, she cries aloud:
4 “To you, O men, I call out;
I raise my voice to all mankind.
5 You who are simple, gain prudence;
you who are foolish, gain understanding.
6 Listen, for I have worthy things to say;
I open my lips to speak what is right.
7 My mouth speaks what is true,
for my lips detest wickedness.
8 All the words of my mouth are just;
none of them is crooked or perverse.
9 To the discerning all of them are right;
they are faultless to those who have knowledge.
Do you remember when you were young and your mother called you in from playing to come eat? You were never so far away that you could not hear the sound of her voice. There was never a time when you did not understand what she was saying.
Today we need to listen for the voice of wisdom just like we used to listen for our mother’s voice. We need to seek out understanding and learn to discern the truth. Many of us have mistaken wants for needs and wickedness has been disguised as goodness.
Wake up! Our problems are spiritual, not political and not economical. The only way we gain knowledge and understanding is to seek it out, and we must look in the right places. 2 Tim 3:16-17 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Look to the Bible for knowledge and to Jesus for faith.
PRAYER: Father, lead us in your paths of righteousness so that we can hear the sound of your voice, feel the beating of your heart, and understand the wisdom of your ways. Amen
Get Wisdom
Prov 4:6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.
7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
When I was a child, I did not receive an allowance. But occasionally my aunts would give me fifty cents or even a dollar, and my sister and cousins and I would head to the corner store to load up on candy. You could buy all sorts of candy for just one penny per piece—tootsie rolls, taffy, jawbreakers—the list goes on. We spent all we had and came home with sacks full of candy. But when it was gone, it was gone.
Proverbs tells us that though it cost all we have, get understanding. Because once you have understanding, you have it. Wisdom and understanding cannot be diminished over time, it will not be depleted just because it is used.
What a promise!
PRAYER: Our Father, you have told us how vital it is for us to receive wisdom. Help us to seek after wisdom with our whole hearts. Amen
Seeking Holiness 