Wisdom

Abundant Wisdom

/ The Pastor

1 Timothy 2:1–4 (ESV) ~ First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

James 1:5 (ESV) ~ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Oh God of all wisdom,
Wisdom seems to be in short supply,
But people stepping up to the microphone are abundant.
People raise themselves up to be leaders.
People raise others up to be leaders.
But rarely is it considered: Are they wise?
Rather, what is considered are qualities that are flawed and fleeting:
Appearance
Power
Money
Intelligence
Ability to make people feel certain things
Ability to manipulate words.

But wisdom, oh wisdom, is in short supply.
Without wisdom, we can not lead Your people to fear you – to live peacefully.

Oh God, You give generously to those who ask for wisdom.
Oh God, I now ask that you may give wisdom generously to:
Our president
Lawmakers on every level
Judges
Lobbyists
Teachers
Law enforcement
Media professionals
And so on and on…

And, oh God, I ask for wisdom for myself.
May I be a wise leader:
in my family
in my church
in my community
May I strive to glorify you and be obedient.

Oh God, wisdom is indeed in short supply, but not with You. So please give generously out of Your infinite supply that we may lead peaceful lives glorifying You. I don’t ask for my glory or for my comfort but for Your glory.

Oh God of wisdom, please give generously – please give generously.

Through Jesus Christ my Lord I pray,
Amen.

Not Shaken but Stirred

/ The Pastor

“I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” [Psalms 16:7‭-‬8 ESV]

Oh Lord my God,
You are holy and mighty,
Gracious and merciful,
Omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent.
Counsel me.
Instruct me in the way I should go.
Be my defender when opposition arises.
Hold me firm when forces try to topple me.
Be my guard,
Day and night.
May my heart be at peace.
May I not be shaken.
Oh Lord my God, I believe, help my unbelief.
You have shown your faithfulness.
You have defeated Your foes.
You have secured my Life.
You hold me close.
Counsel me.
Guide me.
Help me.
As Solomon asked for wisdom to lead Your people rightly, so I pray.
May the words of the psalmist be mine.
May I not be shaken but stirred to action.
To You be the glory as I live each and everyday.
Through Jesus Christ my Lord I pray,
Amen.

Who is Your Counselor?

/ The Pastor

Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.
[Psalms 119:24 ESV]

Who is your counselor? For many, counselors are found on Facebook or Twitter or other social media forums. The counselors are celebrities and other so-called experts in whatever one is seeking “counseling”. A major event happens in the world/nation and people rush to social media to see what their favorite celebrity is saying about it, because you know, they certainly are non-bias and wise (sense the sarcasm). A tragedy happens in one’s life and they seek comfort in the finite things/people of this world.

The psalmist in Psalm 119 seeks his counseling in the Law of the Lord. He searches scripture and seeks to know the wisdom of God. A major event happens and he goes to scripture. A tragedy has taken place in his life, and he goes to scripture. Who is your counselor? I am going to fill you in on a secret. Are you ready for this?

Celebrities don’t know it all.

Don’t get me wrong, there are good things out there on social media. I mean, I’m writing this post on a social media platform. My point is, be careful who your counselors are. Make sure the source of the counsel is the Word of God. Seek GOD’S wisdom for then and only then will you find true counsel.

The Pastor -|—

All I Want

/ The Pastor

Father God,
there is much that I want.
Sometimes my list looks eerily like a letter to Santa.
I want this…
I need this…
I must have this…
All things that I think will make me happy.

But none of them bring you glory.

—————————–
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” (Psalm 32:9)
——————————

And then I am quickly reminded of what brings You glory.
You are glorified when I seek to be instructed by You.
You are glorified when what I want is You.
You are glorified when my happiness is wrapped up in You.
You are glorified when I am satisfied in You.

And so I seek instruction from You.
I seek wisdom from You.
I seek to glorify You.

Teach me
Lead me
Show me

And therefore, all I want for Christmas is YOU,
oh God.
All I want for Christmas is YOU.

The (seeking) Pastor -|—

Pass the Salt

/ The Pastor

Salt

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. [Colossians 4:5-6]

Speaking with “outsiders” about matters of faith can be a frustrating thing; especially when they don’t seem to get it. We talk about what we believe and then get attacked. One then gets defensive and fiery attacks continue. And before you know it, it’s a volley of barbs being thrown back and forth; causing more damage. This may continue indefinitely or you just give up and commend the outsider to be an outsider forever.

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul tells the Church to “Walk in wisdom towards outsiders…” meaning, seek the wisdom of God when you are speaking to and living among outsiders. The temptation is to use cleverly worded arguments but that does not work if they are not Spirit lead; if they are not “salted”. When we walk in our own wisdom we get caught up in our own agenda and timing. We want the outsider to come around to our way of thinking and right now; not realizing that our way of thinking may not be God’s way of thinking. And when our agenda does not happen as we want and when, we get frustrated, and therefore what really get’s accomplished?

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.

because the time is not yours but God’s. We don’t see the whole picture. We don’t understand God’s plan. It may not be the outsider that God is after but maybe you. Maybe it is not about making the outsider an insider but rather drawing you closer to God in order to help you see what your role is with outsiders. All very confusing and maybe a little time consuming, but remember, the time is not your’s but rather God’s. So make good use of what God gives you and trust Him.

And Let your speech always be gracious

because you know the saying, “You can catch more flies with honey than can with vinegar.” Getting defensive and argumentative with people about matters of faith is not going to win people over; but rather push them away. When things are getting heated with an outsider, stop and think what you are doing.
Is your speech gracious?
Is it giving God glory?
Or
Are you being selfish?
This is convicting for me when I think about past encounters with outsiders. So get out the honey and put away the vinegar.

So therefore let your speech be seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

knowing the answering of each person is something that comes from God. I am not smart enough to deal with outsiders but thankfully God is, so why not appeal to God in these matters? Why not let God, through the Holy Spirit, season your words? For the wisdom of God is greater and higher than anything man can come up with. That’s the side I want to be on.

So seek God’s wisdom;
continue in scripture;
let your light so shine,
and,
trust in God’s timing.

May God be glorified as you speak to and live among outsiders.

Holy Father, please pass the salt so that my words may be seasoned with wisdom and power that can only come from you; that the outsider may come to give you praise and glory. In Jesus name, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Smart knowledge and wisdom

/ The Pastor
My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
2     turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,
3     and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
4     and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5     then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
6     For the Lord gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7     He holds victory in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8     for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.
[Proverbs 2:1-8]
Technology has made it possible to access knowledge, facts, trivia and data in the blink of an eye.  Simply ask Siri (iPhone) or go to Google and they will tell you what you need to know.  If my wife and I are out and about and we come up against a question we don’t have an answer for my wife says to me, “quick, poke your phone“; like I am the keeper of all knowledge and information. Sometimes I get a big head about this until I realize that I am really not that smart…just my phone is.
But even though I may not be the keeper of all knowledge and information I do have access to it.  No…not my trustworthy smart phone but rather scripture (which I happen to have on my smart phone).  Anyway….the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
Granted…the Bible is not going to tell me how much the world weighs or how much plankton a whale eats (like I really need to know that), but the Bible will tell me what I truly need to know:
The Bible tells me I am a sinner and how God has redeemed me through Jesus.
The Bible tells me how I am forgiven when I confess my sins.
The Bible tells me how I am to treat others.
The Bible tells me that I can have hope in the midst of trials.
The Bible tells me…
If we are not seeking God for information and wisdom we are missing the boat.  Knowledge and wisdom gained through this world is fleeting but that which comes from God is eternal.  That’s why I love going through the Proverbs often.  There is so much in there that is very practical; advice that is timeless.  One would think that some wise sage from this time and place wrote them., but that is not the case.  This is wisdom that comes from God.
“Poke your phone” if you need some information but go to God for true wisdom and knowledge.  Be fed through scripture and prayer.  Be nourished by the Gospel.  Find life through Jesus.
Seek the Lord and live!
edh -|—

Wisdom

/ The Pastor / 6 Comments

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  For it is written:  ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligent I will frustrate.’  Where is the wise man?  Where is the scholar?  Where is the philosopher of this age?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe…For the foolishness of God is wiser that man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” (1 Corinthians 1:18-21 & 25)

When we rely on our own knowledge and wisdom we get things wrong:  We think we know how to treat people, but we don’t.  We think we know what is right for the church, but we don’t.  We think we are judging people appropriately, but we aren’t.  When we rely on our knowledge and wisdom we miss the big picture, people get hurt and we don’t see the wisdom of God.

In the grant scheme of things, knowledge is easy to acquire, but true wisdom takes time.  Wisdom takes patience and prayer.   King Solomon did not pretend to know how to rule Israel.  He did not attempt to rule Israel on his own.  Solomon did not attempt to use his own (limited) knowledge and wisdom (see 1 Kings 5) to lead people.  But Solomon, when asked by God for anything, asks for wisdom to lead.  We can learn a lot from Solomon.

We can’t pretend to know how to act in the church without faithfully listening to God.  We can’t pretend to know what is the best way to treat people without faithfully listening to God.  We can’t pretend to be “wise” without asking God for wisdom and then being faithful in listening to God.  True wisdom comes from God.  True wisdom sees people on an equal “playing field”.  True wisdom does not judge certain people better or more worthy than others.  True wisdom is humble and gracious.  True wisdom seeks reconciliation.

For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

If we truly want to see and know God, we need to rely on the wisdom that only comes from God.  The foolishness of the cross is salvation…to undeserving people.  And those undeserving people are none other than YOU and ME.  So let’s us give thanks to God for his “foolishness”.  Let us seek God and ask for his wisdom.  Let praise God always and forever.  Amen.

-edh-