Knowledge vs. Love

Pr. 9:1: “Wisdom has built her house, she has been out her seven pillars;”

A couple of days ago, after my son woke up, I asked him what he’d read in his Bible when he woke up.  He said, in a confused voice, “I read about She. It was in Proverbs.”  I knew he must have been speaking of wisdom, so we went and looked at it and talked it out so he could understand it a little more.

Wisdom is the one you want to know.  She, as the Bible describes her, was with God at the beginning, when He was creating the foundations of the earth.  She also helps us forsake foolishness and go in the way of understanding.  She speaks excellent, right, and true things.  She is better than rubies and more desirable than any other thing.

This morning I was reading a contrasting scripture, 1 Cor. 8:1, which says, “We know that we all have knowledge.  Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.”

Paul was talking to the Corinthians about a hot topic of that day: food offered to idols.  Of course, people had a lot of knowledge, but apparently not everyone was sharing that knowledge with love.

I’ve been on Facebook, I’ve been present for many heated conversations, and I’ve witnessed the aftermath of people’s “knowledgeable” comments towards one another..we still have the same issue today.

There is a big difference between knowledge and wisdom. We all have knowledge, as Paul said, but it is when we let wisdom take charge that we all win.  Wisdom is the one that helps us bite our tongues.  That’s still a rarely used tactic.  Holding back comments is not a bad thing.  Praying before speaking is never a poor decision.  Choosing to not have the last word is never a sign of weakness…that always takes more strength.

Loving people is a choice that sometimes takes extra strength, as well.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, and with wisdom, we are much more equipped to show love than to show frustration, anger, disappointment, bitterness, superiority, and the like.

I pray that today, we will lay down our knowledge and choose, in love, to listen to wisdom.  Love edifies.  Let’s seek first the kingdom of God, and second to edify, in love.  When we do that, we can then point people to His kingdom because we won’t be driving them away.

Seek “she” out today,

jamie

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You are not going to crash

I love the methods that God will use to get a message to us.  Migraine rescue medication combined with tension and sadness made for a rough morning today.  I was persevering, though.  I read my Bible while I ate my breakfast, I listened to praise and worship music all morning long.  I know where my strength lies, but sometimes I feel like I’m clawing for it.  Have you ever felt that way?  Is that just me?  Hmm…

Then my kids and I sat down for our morning devotions and the book said, “It is a great gift from God to be able to hear, but what you do with what you hear is your gift back to God.”  Then it quoted Jesus,

Everyone who hears these things I say and obeys them is like a wise man.  The wise man built his house on rock.  It rained hard and the water rose.  The winds blew and hit that house.  But the house did not fall, because the house was built on rock.  But the person who hears the things I teach and does not obey them is like a foolish man.  The foolish man built his house on sand.  It rained hard, the water rose, and the winds blew and hit that house.  And the house fell with a big crash.”  (Mt. 7:24-27)

I could literally hear God reminding me that my house is not built on the sand.  My house, my faith, my hope…they are built on the rock.  The solid rock of the Lord, Jesus Christ.  Yes, it is raining hard right now, and the waters have been rising lately.  The winds have been blowing from one direction and then another, but MY HOUSE IS BUILT ON THE ROCK!

I’m not going to fall or crash.  I’ve got the Mighty God, the Great I AM, the Prince of Peace holding me in His hand.  My life is built on a solid foundation and I can take refuge in the stronghold of His name.  I can’t just talk about trusting Him in a blog on Monday and then forget it on Tuesday.  I have to do it!  And I am.

I was immediately comforted by the Lord as we read that devotion this morning.  If the winds are blowing around you and the rains are pouring down, pelting you from all sides, take heart.  If you can literally see and feel the waters rising around you, stand firm.  Your house is built upon the Rock and YOU WILL NOT FALL!

Stand firm…He is holding you steady,

jamie

Why become wise?

Pr. 7:4:  “Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call understanding your nearest kin.”

Wisdom is a wonderful thing.  We should always be striving to become more wise.  Wisdom brings with it things like prudence, diligence, discretion, respectfulness, humility, boldness, confidence, intelligence, ability, understanding and reason.  These are definitely qualities that are wonderful for us to have in this life.  Wisdom can help us be successful in our ventures, maintain and cultivate healthy relationships, and keep us from making choices that will endanger our lives.

It’s interesting; however, that Paul told the Corinthians that the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.  Does that mean we shouldn’t try to become wise?  Does that mean we shouldn’t grow and learn?  Of course not!  God has gifted each of us with different talents and abilities.  Not only that, but He has given us each different capacities for learning and different interests that He has intended for us to use in pursuit of the eternal goal.

We all have something different to offer this world.  Paul reminds us that God did not call many wise or mighty people.  He has chosen the foolish and weak things to bring Him glory.  I for one am weak.  (I didn’t want to admit to being foolish.  ha!)  Truly I am weak, though, and indeed foolish in many ways.  I am not the wisest or mightiest.  Paul himself said to the Corinthians,

For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.  And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

That’s it.  He didn’t come to them in his own wisdom and power, but in God’s.  And why?  That their faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.  That’s exactly what our own weakness and foolishness can show in our lives.  When we think in worldly terms, we think of those things only as pure weakness.  Think of it the way this way, though.  When the weakest person gets up and allows God’s Spirit and power to use them in a mighty way, how much more powerful is that for us to witness?

If you know someone is barely able to walk or speak or move, but, under the power of the Spirit, they begin to shout, jump, or minister to people, is that not an amazing thing to witness?  If you hear someone who is mentally handicapped in any way begin to speak in a way that inspires and encourages and glorifies the Lord, is that not a power thing?  It is.

Our weaknesses are not weaknesses when we use them to glorify the Lord.  Yes, we should still strive for wisdom, but let it be through God’s strength as we rely on Him and His Spirit to guide us.  Let us allow Him to use us as a vessel that brings Him glory!

Foolishly,

jamie

Month of Prayer, Day 19

Lord, truly, I would have perished in my affliction if it hadn’t been for You.  Your Word is what has given me life.  I praise You for this, Lord! You have saved me.  You have saved me in this life, and You have given me eternal salvation, as well.  Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Lord, help me to walk in integrity.  Keep foolishness and perversity far from me.  Let Your Word be what guides my steps.  Continue to grow in me the discretion that makes me slow to anger, overlooking transgressions and weaknesses.  Help me to see those around me through the lenses of  love and understanding.

Keep contentions and arguments far from me, so that I may be a prudent wife.  Help me not to allow laziness and idleness be my companions.  Let me give to those in need, chasten my children while they’re young, be careful of my ways, and continue in Your Word.

Let my ears be open to instruction and counsel, that I may be wise in my latter years.

Although the enemy waits to destroy, I trust You to keep evil far from me.  I know that You will not allow evil to overtake me.  I am Yours.  You love me like no other and You are the God who is in control.  Satan may have a loud roar, but Yours, O Lord, is louder!  You are the Alpha and Omega.  You are the King of Kings!  You are the Lord of Lords!  You are the Great I AM.  You are Lord of all.  And I praise You!

Thank You for choosing me, Lord.  I am happy to be called Yours.  Thank You for hearing my prayer.  You are a good, good God!

I love you,

jamie

Foolishness can depart

Pr. 27:22:  “Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his foolishness will not depart from him.”

This week I ran into a girl I knew in high school.  She mentioned a mutual friend we had and noted that while that friend had been pretending to act foolishly like us, she was really going home at night and doing her homework.  She was the only one who got a full scholarship to college and went on to have a prestigious career.

I left there with memories of the past replaying in my mind and, as is my custom, I began to feel down.  I began to recount the many, many bad and sinful decisions I have made and how they greatly altered the course of my life.

Each time I thought of a low point, I’d remember an even lower point, and then I wondered if I’m the foolish person in this proverb.  Am I the one who will never learn?  I began to worry about how it would be all too easy for me to allow one more foolish decision to cause the life I live now to crumble around me.  But isn’t that basically true for us all?

Then, I thought of God’s grace.  I remember when God stepped into my life and said, “That’s enough.”  I’m grateful to  remember the decision He used to turn my course back to Him.  I can look back and see my life changing and my decisions slowly changing to line up with His will and His word.  I can recall times when He helped me make the decision to turn my back on foolishness in an effort to be wise.

I will never be perfect; however, I am not as foolish as I once was.  I have allowed God to undertake the ongoing process of replacing my foolishness with His wisdom.  Trusting God is the wisest thing I’ve ever done.  Foolishness can depart, through Him.

Carefully,

jamie

Which wisdom do you seek?

Pr. 5:1:  “My son, pay attention to my wisdom; lend your ear to my understanding.”

I’m struck again today by what the Bible says about wisdom.  In 1 Corinthians, Paul speaks about the wisdom of men vs. the wisdom of God.  There is a vast difference indeed.

Paul is reminding the Corinthians, and us, that it is not the wisdom of man that we should chase, obsess over, or count on.  He tells us in chapter 2:10-11 that the Spirit alone knows the deep things of God.  We should be chasing after God.

When Paul spoke to them it was not with persuasive words of human wisdom, with excellence of speech, or from his own power and ability.  The only thing he desired to know was Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and when he spoke, he demonstrated the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

The ‘wisdom’ of this world is driving us further and further from God.  Of worldly wisdom, Is. 29:14 says that the wisdom of the wise will be destroyed and the understanding of the prudent will be brought to nothing.  We cannot count on the wisdom of men to give us the answers we seek.  We cannot count on the wisdom of men to protect us, solve our problems, or bring true freedom.  Their wisdom will be destroyed and brought to nothing.

Only wisdom from the Lord endures.  When seeking after wisdom, let’s make sure we’re going to the right source.  Wisdom was with God at the beginning of His way, and exists with true prudence, knowledge, and discretion.  (Pr. 8)  We have been invited to ask God for that same wisdom, and told that He who gives to all liberally and without reproach will give it.

We may sometimes feel foolish in the face of worldly wisdom, but we needn’t.  God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and the weak things to put to shame the things which are mighty.  In the end, God’s wisdom will be what makes all things new and will lead us to our heavenly home.

Let’s grow wiser by running after God.  He’s the one we can truly count on.

With eternity on my mind,

jamie

Prudently receiving instruction

Pr. 15:5:  “A fool despises his father’s instruction, but he who receives correction is prudent.”

Peter once had a remarkable vision of instruction from the Lord.

Meet another man:  a Gentile named Cornelius, a devout man who feared God with all his household, giving generously and praying to God always.  In a vision, he was told that His prayers and alms had come up for a memorial before God, and that a man named Peter would come and tell him what to do.

In His vision, the Lord revealed to Peter that no man is common or unclean, and that God shows no partiality.  This was a life-changing revelation!  When Peter preached to Cornelius’ household, the Holy Spirit fell upon the household.  The Gentiles not only spoke in tongues and magnified God through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but they were baptized with water, as well.

Because Peter received the correction of his Father, this was a major shift in the church and in the meaning of the Great Commission.

Peter certainly had a choice.  He could have ignored the correction and refused to go to Cornelius.  Upon arriving at Cornelius’ house, he even reminded Cornelius that it was unlawful for him to be there.  He went on; however, explaining that God had given him new instructions.  Peter prudently followed the instructions of the Lord and our lives have never been the same.

Also worth noting…Cornelius was following the instructions of the Lord long before this happened, this fact went up as a memorial before the Lord, and his life was forever changed.  God’s instructions are always for good.  Perhaps they are for our own good, as in the case of Cornelius.  Perhaps they are for the good of others, as we see with Peter’s instructions.  Regardless, He knows best.

The Lord humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth.  (Ps. 113:6)  It is prudent for us to follow His lead.

Listening,

jamie

Do you have the heart for it?

Pr. 17:16:  “Why is there in the hand of a fool the purchase price of wisdom, since he has no heart for it?”

After determining to go “chemical free” with all the products that touch my skin, I have recently been experimenting with herbs to replace my former chemical shampoo and conditioner.  This has taken a lot of research and a lot of fun chemistry experiments in my kitchen to discover the best way to prepare them.

To be perfectly honest, I am not convinced that my hair is clean at all.  I am not, however, quite ready to throw in the towel.  Perhaps I will end up with a different recipe, or with a bottle of store-bought, all natural shampoo, but for now my stubborn, choleric personality has kicked in, and I am determined to make this work.  I will not give up without a fight.

This verse reminds me of my current situation.  How so?  Well, I could buy as many herbs as I want.  I could line them up in beautiful bottles on the shelf and show them off to everyone who comes into my home.  I could tell everyone I can find about the wonderful herbs I bought for my hair.  Oooh…I could join some fancy ‘herb club’ or get a discount plan for the best herb shop I can find.  I could even show them off as I make my rounds through town.

If I never put them to use; however, there is no point in even spending the money or the time on them.  It would be foolish.

We can buy as many Bibles, study guides, and concordances as we want.  We can join the best church around.  We can wear our church gear, put our church stickers on our cars, show off our Bible apps to everyone we see, and even talk about all the great outreaches we know about.

If we never put any of those things to use; however, there is no point.

Why have a Bible and not use it?  Why join a church and not attend?  Why wear the gear or sport the logos if you’re not committed?

When we determine to become truly invested in the wisdom that comes from God, and set our minds to learn more of Him; that is when we are no longer counted a fool.  We must get into the Word.  We must turn our hearts into a “chemistry lab” where God can create something new within us.

We must continue and not give up.  That’s when we know we have a heart for it:  when we won’t allow anything to stop us from learning more and we will stubbornly continue, not allowing setbacks, failures, or greasy situations to get us off track.

The Lord has so much to offer.  If we not only get the purchase price in hand, but also set our hearts toward Him and continue with Him the rewards will be beyond measure!

Washing my hair in faith,

jamie

Oh be careful little ears what you hear…

Pr. 14:7:  “Go from the presence of a foolish man, when you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.”

Does anyone besides me find it nearly impossible to watch movies and tv shows these days?  We’ve never had cable, but we do have a subscription to a streaming company where we can get certain shows.  Besides a series my husband I watch together, I only try to watch this a few times a month.  Honestly, I’m not even sure why I continue to try at all.  Yesterday I tried to find a “feel-good” movie and within the first 30 seconds of the PG-13 movie I had chosen, there were 3 curse words.  Really?  It’s so frustrating.

I could have kept watching.  It’s just the way things are now, right?  But I turned it off.  Why?  I could tell there was nothing good that show could offer me.  If the writers aren’t even able to fill the first 30 seconds of a script with conversation that doesn’t include expletives, then they likely have nothing to say that I need to hear.  There are certainly much more interesting and creative ways to draw someone into a movie.  A God who created things as interesting as giraffes, rainbows, and Venus certainly made our brains more creative than curse words.

The same applies with co-workers, friends, family and church members, etc.  If we find that our conversations are being filled with foolishness…things that not only do not point to God or His will, but point away from it, then we need to ask ourselves why we are still in the conversation.  There are times when we need to speak up, change the subject, or simply walk away.  Not every conversation is worth joining or worth our listening ear.

When I cannot find a movie worthy of my attention, I usually turn on my praise and worship songs.  That’s probably where I should have turned to begin with.  When we cannot find a conversation worthy of our attention, we can turn to find one that is, turn to prayer or praise, or simply find quietness where God can speak to us individually.  My advice:  surround yourself with others who believe in the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, just as you do.  Attend a church that speaks life, truth, and encouragement.  Ask the Lord to show you someone who needs an encouraging word.

If we are hearing or talking about the blood and the power of Jesus, then we’re in the presence of something that’s not only “feel-good,” but will guide us towards the Savior who will be coming back for us all.  “Oh, be careful little ears what you hear.”  The negative things affect us, whether we want to believe it or not.  If we are setting our minds on things above, we will continue in knowledge and be in a position to offer the same to others around us.

Filtering,

jamie

Why go to church?

Pr. 15:2:  “The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.”

Ps. 122:1 says, “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.”  You can find much wisdom in the house of the Lord.  Pastors and teachers spend time throughout the week studying and praying over the Word of the Lord.  They are prepared to use their knowledge rightly to impart to you more wisdom from the Word.

I have heard enough people say that there are hypocrites at church, and that is true.  But guess what?  We are all sinners and have all fallen short of the glory of God.  Not one of us on this planet is perfect, nor ever will be.  The best we can do is to gather together and try to remind ourselves of God’s power, His goodness, His love, His truth, and His strength.  Church is the place where we go to find wisdom.

Find yourself a church where the Word of God is taught and the message of Jesus Christ, Him crucified, and His soon-coming return are preached.  Don’t worry about the imperfections of the workers, as long as Jesus Christ is worshiped and glorified.  He said where two or three are gathered in His name, He is there in the midst.  If you show up, so will He.

Foolish talk will not bring you eternal life.  Go to the house of the Lord, where the tongue of the wise will use knowledge rightly.  The Lord will use the imperfections of the workers to strengthen your soul.

Seeking His wisdom,

jamie