A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong
through good sense. Through knowledge
its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables. Proverbs
24:3-4
(NLT)
If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove
it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes
from wisdom. But if
you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t
cover up the truth with boasting and lying. For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind
of wisdom. Such things are earthly,
unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish
ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first of all
pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at
all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good
deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. James
3:13-17(NLT)
We’ve been considering the wisdom of building
Christian homes. Yesterday we looked at
hearing wisdom; today we want to hold it and heed it:
Holding Wisdom – Invest In Christian Values
True wisdom does things to strengthen the ability to
live within Christian values.
How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather
than silver! Proverbs 16.16 (NIV).
Investing in your Christian values takes two postures:
A. Avoid the
harmful stuff like the plague.
If something tempts you, stay away from
it. Change your lifestyle. If the lake house calls too often, keeping
your family out of church, sell the lake house.
If pornography is your lure, stay away from the bookstore, or the Jiffy
Mart. Whatever it takes, short-circuit
the temptation.
B. Be
pro-active with helpful stuff.
Feed whatever nourishes the strength of your
Christian values.
If you make a mistake, confess it and begin again
right away. God isn't interested in
keeping score over your fallen condition.
He already knows you are a sinner.
What he really wants is for you to re-establish contact and
fellowship.
If you find yourself falling into sins, enlist some
help. You have a pastor. You have brothers in the Lord. Become accountable to someone else you can trust. In the family it is no different. Whatever measures you need to employ to invest in your Christian values, I
suggest you take them early, and review them often. Remember, if you plan to build strong
Christian values in your family, you must set them up as your family's
targets.
Many people want wisdom. Fewer are willing to do the hard work of
identifying and investing in the Christian values that form wisdom. The third part is critical....
Heed Wisdom – Be Inflexible in Christian Values
Inflexibility is a bad word in our pluralistic,
everybody-does-his-own-thing society. We
are supposed to be very flexible, very accommodating to other peoples' ideas
and ways. The problem is, God didn't
make the "Ten Suggestions" -- rather He gave us commandments!
The Bible clearly says that it
is only a fool (moron) who says 'in his heart that there is no God. Fools build their houses on the sands of
opinion, self-indulgent pleasure and greed.
Those who say God does not
exist are not only fools – they're not even honest; for everyone knows in his heart that God is
real.
What they are really saying is, "I don't want to live that way." They know that building the house of their
life on God's rock will require living for God, and in His ways. Refusing is their choice, not their conviction.
For You Today
Would you have a house built on the rock of
wisdom? Then hear, hold and heed this:
The fear of
the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
Proverbs 9:10
Happy Father’s Day to all
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