Got Wisdom?

Friday, October 6, 2023

The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul.  The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.  The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart.  The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.  Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever.  The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair.  They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.   They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.  They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them.  How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?  Cleanse me from these hidden faults.  Keep your servant from deliberate sins!  Don’t let them control me.  Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.  Psalm 19:7-14

King David taught his son Solomon what wisdom looked like.  Soaking-up all the truth of Scripture, David summarized wisdom by the qualities God’s Word will become in a believer’s heart:

     ·       God’s Word is impeccably-perfect…reviving the soul

     ·       God’s Decrees are trustworthy…making the simple person wise

     ·       God’s Commandments are right…making joy flourish in the heart

     ·       God’s Commands are clear…light on life’s path

     ·       Reverence towards God is pure…an eternal blessing of clear conscience

     ·       God’s laws are true…making fairness an everyday experience

Knowing God’s ways bring life, wisdom, joy, insight, and permanence; His way and blessing are available to all who will worship the true, living God.

David concluded his prayer recorded in Psalm 19 with a question and answer. 

The question:  How can I understand my own heart…all the sins hidden there?

The answer:  Humble confession that I can’t know the depth of my own heart’s sins merely by my own wisdom.  I must place my heart in God’s hands…ask Him to forgive and cleanse me, so my proclivity towards sinning won’t control me.

David closed the prayer with one final request:  Lord, whatever I’ve laid before You, O Lord…may it be pleasing to you…do what you will with me…you are the bedrock of all my days and eternity.

If you’ve ever wondered where to start with praying to God, go back to Psalm 19 and grasp the depth of how anyone should (and can) approach Almighty God.  This is the model for placing your life in His care, and your heart’s love at the foot of Calvary’s cross.  The result of studying God’s love letter to humanity is revival for the soul, wisdom for making decisions, joy in the heart, light on your journey as you step-out each day with a clean conscience, and a burning desire to spread justice and fairness to every creature on earth. 

Did he leave anything out?

For You Today 

David’s son, Solomon, took his dad’s evaluation of God’s Word to heart, and both history and God’s Word call Solomon the wisest man ever.  That’s not a bad place to start your day.  It will make finishing your day an adventure that won’t disappoint.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library.

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Images without citation are in public domain.  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

The Dawning of Wisdom

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

You have done many good things for me, Lord, just as you promised.  I believe in your commands; now teach me good judgment and knowledge.  I used to wander off until you disciplined me; but now I closely follow your word.  You are good and do only good; teach me your decrees.  Arrogant people smear me with lies, but in truth I obey your commandments with all my heart.  Their hearts are dull and stupid, but I delight in your instructions.  My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.  Your instructions are more valuable to me than millions in gold and silver.                    Psalm 119:65-72

King David is thought to have written this longest of the Psalms.  The context of his life certainly fits the main thoughts of obedience to God’s Word.  David recounts the kind way God dealt with him after he “wandered-off” with Bathsheba, disciplining him to bring him to obediently seek God’s ways, and keeping his selfish ways in check.  He seeks good judgment and knowledge, hallmarks of a forgiven man who wants to get it right this time.  The marriage of knowledge with good judgment is what we would call wisdom.  Knowledge is knowing…good judgment is the “doing of the knowing”.

Mark Twain’s sharp humor was always laced with sound and worthwhile reasoning.  Among sayings attributed to him:[1]

One of the prime examples of the lessons David learned in being disciplined (and which all of us can benefit by adopting) is his confession that his suffering through God’s discipline was GOOD.  David realized the benefit of God’s rebuke, the correction of his life’s pathway, which had strayed from God’s will.  He didn’t see the pain of being corrected as “unfair” or “too hurtful” – he cherished the love God showed him by not destroying him for his sins, but helping David change.  This only comes about by the beginning of wisdom.

For You Today 

Have you had the experience of God taking you to the woodshed?  Did you reject His discipline?  If so, you’re also aware how unfruitful it is to remain in that stubborn petulance.  God wants the best for you; that involves giving Him the worst of you to correct.  Let the good judgment of God’s wisdom begin!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library. 

Title Images:  Wikimedia.org   Images without citation are in public domain. Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©  

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[1] 1950 August 11, The Newark Advocate, Sunday School Lesson for Sunday August 13: Spiritual Illiterates by Roy L. Smith, Quote Page 18, Column 2, Newark, Ohio. (Newspapers_com)

A Time for War and a Time for Peace

Friday, September 1, 2023

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven….A time for war and a time for peace.  Ecclesiastes 3:1, 8b

“Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth!  I came not to bring peace, but a sword.  Matthew 10:34-38

Timing is everything…so said my Dad, who was a certified bowling instructor, trying to teach me how to roll the ball towards the pins with effectiveness and the kind of repetitive consistency needed to score better.  I said:  What?  I’m certain Jesus was saying the same kind of wisdom to his disciples in that day (and getting the same kind of doe-in-the-headlights reaction). 

It is true (in a both/and sense) that Jesus is the Prince of Peace, as much as he is the Lord of Heaven’s armies.  He who self-described himself as “love” is also the author of Ecclesiastes.  It is a matter (as my favorite bowling instructor would say) of timing.  When Jesus came the first time, lowly, meek, and riding a donkey, we saw him as the submissive, perfect sacrificial lamb.  He demonstrated his love by taking our pain in his body.  The next time he comes it will be as a warrior, coming to clean up our mess. 

Question:  Does Jesus’ character change from loving-dove to unrelenting-hawk in the 1,000-year interlude between Ecclesiastes and Matthew?  Did he only come in peace the first time, and will he put that aside and be different the next time?  Did we get Ecclesiastes wrong?  God inspired Solomon to write those words, and God called him the wisest among men, yet Solomon says there is a time and place for peace, as well as war.  The Answer must be a resounding NO if you believe the Bible.  He said this:  I am the Lord, and I do not change.  Malachi 3:6a

So how do we reconcile all this…is Jehovah a God of war and peace, or just one,   and not the other?  When he shows up as Jesus we can expect love, kindness, and grace…but, when he shows up as the I AM, look-out? 

I think you know the answer to that, but let’s put it in another scenario:  Suppose it is the issue of homosexuality; is he the God of I love you – I’m ok, you’re ok – you aren’t in for any judgment?  Or is he the God who says that is sexual perversion, and if you buy-into that there is fire on the horizon for you, beloved?  Applying that to contemporary culture, the trend is to an absence of judgment on God’s part.  American culture is quite evenly-divided, but only because there’s a relatively even distribution of humans above and below 50 years of age.  But the trend is moving towards popular culture legitimizing and even applauding the practice of homosexuality.

A greater question then becomes:  If public opinion is moving in one direction, does that make it right?  Ultimately there is no fence upon which to sit, and that brings only two possibilities, both of which are supremely uncomfortable for those who want to reject Biblical precedent:  God will judge, or scripture is wrong.  We’re forced to obey God or popular opinion…there’s no in-between!  Humans mess-up, and must own our mess-up, or defend our beliefs.  You cannot do both.

Within the denomination I served the past two decades, the move has been towards popular opinion, with those disagreeing, jumping ship to band together with those holding Biblical doctrine.  And, among both those who are staying, or leaving, are some who are taking parting shots at the other side’s position as a lack of Biblically-moral character, preferring to judge motives and intelligence.   The God we’re talking about was not silent on that:

Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.  For you will be treated as you treat others.  The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.  And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?  Matthew 7:1-3

For You Today 

I take the stand for Biblical obedience to love other sinners, because I am also a forgiven sinner.  I will not compound my sins by judging others.  What say you?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library. 

Title Images:  Pixabay.com Sword  Dove  Images without citation are in public domain.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

Faith Seasoned Wisdom

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Then Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother, Esau, who was living in the region of Seir in the land of Edom.  He told them, “Give this message to my master Esau: ‘Humble greetings from your servant Jacob.  Until now I have been living with Uncle Laban, and now I own cattle, donkeys, flocks of sheep and goats, and many servants, both men and women.  I have sent these messengers to inform my lord of my coming, hoping that you will be friendly to me.’”  After delivering the message, the messengers returned to Jacob and reported, “We met your brother, Esau, and he is already on his way to meet you—with an army of 400 men!”  Jacob was terrified at the news.  He divided his household, along with the flocks and herds and camels, into two groups.  He thought, “If Esau meets one group and attacks it, perhaps the other group can escape.”  Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’  I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant.  When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps!  O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau.  I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children.  But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’”  Genesis 32:3-12

To learn from your mistakes is the essential quality of wisdom.  To apply faith to wisdom is to serve God above all.  Jacob had a rocky, selfish start to life.  It started in his mother’s womb, when he and his twin brother, Esau, had a daily wrestling match.  As they were born, Esau was first out, but Jacob was hot on his heels, actually grabbing his brother’s foot.  It was sibling rivalry with the first breath.

The story of their lives in their father Isaac’s home was contentious, to say the least.  Jacob’s selfish behavior divided his mother and dad, and made an enemy of his twin brother.  Esau was so angry with his brother’s treacherous ways, Jacob had to leave home and go live with their uncle Laban at a safe distance.  Esau swore he’d kill his twin if ever they met again.

Fast forward twenty years…Jacob is much wiser, and is on his way home to reconcile with his family.  He has no clue as to Esau’s mindset…will his brother make good on his vengeance threat?  Will it end in calamity?  Jacob is wise at this point, dividing his wives and children into two camps, hoping to minimize losses of life and property, if Esau is still bent on Jacob’s death.  But a new dimension has foraged its’ way into Jacob’s life and thinking – faith!  The night before he was to face Esau, he met face-to-face with God’s angel, and the outcome was Jacob’s commitment to serve God, and live by faith, even if it meant giving up everything he'd gained, or even his own life. 

What Jacob had learned was what Jesus told Peter hundreds of years later – swords, be they steel or the treachery of human selfishness, may work for awhile, but they have little place in the heart of God.  It is faith that wins.[1] 

Seasoning the wisdom of learned mistakes and rocky roads, with faith God has given, is the mark of a life changed and usable in God’s Kingdom.  It took Jacob decades of hard lessons to shed his clever ways in favor of God’s clear kindness…the deep faith of the unashamed!

For You Today 

This world will afford you many opportunities to follow both Esau and Jacob’s early mistakes and sins…greed, treachery, revenge, and power.  In the end, those things only produce pain and regret, whether you wind up in jail, or residing in a mansion.  It’s all loss in Heaven’s record books.  The other, wiser choice is to season whatever you have learned with faith to do what the prophet Micah wrote:  do what is right, love mercy, walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6:8

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  

 

Title Image:  via Wikimedia Commons 

Images without citation are in public domain.   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©  

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[1] See John 18:10-11

PURE

Friday, July 28, 2023

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.  And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.  James 3:17-18

You know some people James describes.  Remember them right now…faces that evoke good memories, calm moments, full of reason and safety.  You know the things they’ve done for you, or someone else who didn’t deserve mercy.  You understand the strength of someone who doesn’t show favoritism, always to be counted upon for sincerity and truth.  You know a peacemaker or two…several if you’re favored with eyes to see.

James issues this descriptive love affair with wisdom, drawing on sweet memories of his older half-brother, Jesus.  James didn’t always recognize it, this wisdom.  Along with his siblings and mother he thought Jesus was a little crazy, what with all this radical preaching about new wine, loving your enemies, and camels squeezing through the eye of a needle.  But there were those other telltale signs of pure wisdom…good deeds, mercy, and gentleness.  Later, after the cross, burial, and resurrection, James began to understand what he’d witnessed.  The way his brother submitted to the powers that be, the nails, the spear in a lifeless side (which James couldn’t understand), these were all revealed to be the seeds of peace.  It was only when the great harvest of Pentecost appeared that James understood what his brother was doing; he finally saw wisdom in its holy purity.

I knew a man who walked like that, filled with wisdom that was gentle and led to peacemaking.  It was at a church I served as pastor many years ago.  He arrived at the church a few years after I got there.  I liked him the moment I saw him.  There was a gentleness about BobbyMac’s way of talking with a genuine unpretentious.  You felt calm next to him.  It wasn’t just me; others saw it too.

I can be deceived…easily.  I tend to trust people until they prove otherwise.  Some people come into your life for a reason.  Why Bobby Mac’s path crossed with mine became evident a few years after we met.  His gift of “peacemaking” in a church with a long history of contentiousness (particularly with firing preachers), was a welcome fresh breath of pure air.  The church was grateful for his presence and he was in leadership roles in no time.  Shortly after that his spiritual gift of sowing peace became necessary.  Some decisions I’d made as pastor stirred some memories of what former pastors had done, and a group within the church decided it was time to stir the pot of “pastor-change”.  It didn’t seem to matter what way I tried to reach out, to meet folks half-way….minds were made up, set in stone.  Enter the peacemaker…Bobby Mac.  Some of the words he used were exact duplicates of some of the things I’d said to try to fix the relationship of pastor and people.  But Bobby Mac said them differently; he sowed mercy with gentleness, and sincerely trusted the truth to plow through any favoritism from either the pastor-change group or my stubbornness.   

I cannot adequately describe just how Bobby did what he did without writing several books, but this one thing I can say:  God was all over that!  I felt like the Roman soldier who was staring at the way Jesus died on the cross:

“This man truly was the Son of God!”  Mark 15:39b

For You Today 

If you want the kind of wisdom that is pure, gentle, unbiased, peace-filled, and generating a harvest of peace-making, it’s available from the same One who is the Author of the peace that passes understanding:

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6-7

Pray for peace that way…and you’ll bump into pure wisdom from above as gently and favorably as Bobby Mac.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  

 

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

 

Life's Wider Picture

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

My child, listen to me and do as I say, and you will have a long, good life.  I will teach you wisdom’s ways and lead you in straight paths.  When you walk, you won’t be held back; when you run, you won’t stumble.  Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go.  Guard them, for they are the key to life.  Don’t do as the wicked do, and don’t follow the path of evildoers.  Don’t even think about it; don’t go that way.  Turn away and keep moving.  For evil people can’t sleep until they’ve done their evil deed for the day.  They can’t rest until they’ve caused someone to stumble.  They eat the food of wickedness and drink the wine of violence!  The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.  But the way of the wicked is like total darkness.  They have no idea what they are stumbling over.  My child, pay attention to what I say.  Listen carefully to my words.  Don’t lose sight of them.  Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.  Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.  Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech.  Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.  Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path.  Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.  Proverbs 4:10-27

A question which I have always viewed with a little watchful skepticism is: 

Where do you see yourself in 5, 10, or 25 years?

Watchfulness over my answer is a matter of following the instruction my coach in high school gave me about hitting; he said:  keep your eye on the ball!  So my skeptical eye doesn’t have contempt for looking ahead to make plans, but rather objecting to such a short view.  As a life-navigator, I would rather see the end goal…it’s easier to chart a straight course that way.  And to do that for a life-plan you need to step back, get higher in the balcony, and see the bigger picture.

That snapshot of planning a life from the mere wisp of time we are granted on this planet, 50, 60, or 110 years, is way too short a focus.  Planning where and how you want your life to make an impact demands looking down the road for generations to come, even into eternity.  I’d rather start from the longest point from now, and work backwards to the present.

Now, many people would say:  That’s impossible; you don’t know the future.  And I would certainly have to agree that I don’t know the future, but I certainly can plan-for, and step-towards a goal I set for the future.

That is where Solomon’s wise advice comes in.  Wisdom for setting a life’s course begins with developing a worldview based on the light of truth, leaving evil and darkness in the dust behind you.  All else is meaningless (vanity if King James is a “must” for you). 

Only truth will guard your heart from sinking-into, and following evil.  When truth governs your heart, it will keep your mouth from perverse-speak; strength, healing and kindness will be your legacy, and it will last through eternity.

For You Today 

If you will let Solomon’s godly light of truth guard your heart today, and always, then 5, 20, or two-million years from now, your words and life’s impact on all who cross your path, will stand true, while evil is long forgotten. 

Prophet Isaiah has our last word today:

The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.”  Isaiah 40:8

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:   Ears Open - Heart Straight - Eyes on the Road - Sure Foot  and  Small Package - Big Message  and  When the Killing is Done                                        

 

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

The House of Wisdom

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Wisdom has built her house; she has carved its seven columns.  She has prepared a great banquet, mixed the wines, and set the table.  She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come.  She calls out from the heights overlooking the city.  “Come in with me,” she urges the simple.  To those who lack good judgment, she says, “Come, eat my food, and drink the wine I have mixed.  Leave your simple ways behind, and begin to live; learn to use good judgment.”  Proverbs 9:1-6

The Proverb-writer has purposefully described the open-handedness of God in a universal invitation to gain wisdom.  There’s a great banquet of wisdom, and an army of messengers to spread the open offer to come close to the source.  It’s a house of life-giving good judgment; it’s a place to grow strong, leaving the simplicity of childish ways, for the strength of providing for others. 

The “front door” of wisdom’s house arrived early-on in the introduction Solomon gave the Proverbs…where to begin if you wish to live a life of disciplined success, knowing how to do what is right, just, and fair.

Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.  Proverbs 1:7

The foundation of wisdom’s house is fearing God…being reverent, respectful, and obedient to our Creator.  It is a small, but exceedingly-meaningful and important step to begin any journey.  If that step is in the wrong direction, the end of the journey will not be what one hoped.  That first step (surrendering every aspect of your life to reverencing God all through the journey) cannot be over-valued.

John was a retired Naval officer I met many years ago.  He attempted to side-step that first step.  He had seen much of the world and experienced many different cultures, but neglected Solomon’s advice about wisdom’s front door.  He had his own agenda, and that was his god.  Now, I do not say that with prejudice, or lightly; it’s simply an observable fact.  Whatever you do reveals that to which you give your allegiance.  If I go fishing 12 hours a day, it’s a reasonable assumption my behavior means I’m devoted to fishing. 

A living, breathing, passionate thirst for God’s Kingdom indicates you have (at least) begun the journey towards wisdom.  The retired Navy man craved experiences that pleased him.  When we met he was ready to “experience” faith.  He went through the motions, profession of faith, baptism, and church membership.  But, for John, it was like a field trip, another experience.  Soon, that brush with religious activities became boring, and then turned hostile.  In the end he became a sad footnote on the evening news, committing suicide in a stand-off with police in front of the local K-Mart store. 

I cried privately over John for months.  He had made the choice of a foolish and anguished moment, after trying to live life on his own.  In the end, experiences and the pleasure he thought they ought to bring him, just weren’t enough. 

For You Today 

It’s not enough to proclaim faith, get wet in a baptismal ceremony, have your name recorded on a church membership roster, and attend church regularly for the rest of your life.  Solomon did all of that, and also experienced every pleasure possible, and came to understood that real wisdom meant reverencing Almighty God.  Scripture tells us how we should respond to God, our maker:

“Be still, and know that I am God!  I will be honored by every nation.  I will be honored throughout the world.”  Psalm 46:10

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:   Standing in the Sweet Spot  and  Learning to Use Good Judgment   

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©