Wisdom

Have you heard the story about the Preacher who was hired to take over at the Local Baptist Church? It seems after his first sermon on Kindness the congregation was ecstatic- the Search Committee had indeed landed a fine catch. Well come the second Sunday on the job it seems for some reason the new Pastor got to the Pulpit and once again delivered exactly the same sermon on Kindness. The congregation was a little distubed, but no one quite had the courage to say anything. Well it seems that after 2 more Sundays of the same, finally the people could bear it no more and as Baptist are apt to do- They called a Deacon's Meeting to address the problem. As a result, the Chief Deacon was sent to confront the new Pastor over his lack of variety in Sermon topics. Cautiously the Deacon approached the Pastor with those classic words,"Pastor, we've been talking, and the congregation has some concerns. We are concerned that for 4 weeks now you have come to the front and delivered the same sermon week after week- Don't you have any other material?" At this point the New Pastor simply looked at the nervous Deacon and smiled as he said,"Oh yes I have plenty of other material, but I figured it would be good to wait on that until I saw some sign that you all were actually listening to my Sermon on Kindness!"

Proverbs 1:7 "The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom"

Isn't this really where we seperate Wisdom from knowlege?

That is that we take what we hear seriously enough that it actually becomes transformative in our lives.

I have come to believe that Fearing God has little to do with being scared. I am not even sure respect is the best way to paraphrase the word Fear. Standing in awe of the One who made us and holds our lives in His hands is closer, but .........

I really believe Fearing God means taking Him seriously. It is the idea that as He speaks, I take what He says and put it into action in my life.

We can become great Biblical Scholars with immense knowlege and a Systematic Theology that stands as intellectual genius, but still have wisdom elude us. I think it was Oswald Chambers who suggested if we really want to know God- we will get a whole lot farther with a tiny bit of Faithful Obedience to what He has already revealed than many hours searching the mysteries of the scriptures and trying to fit them into some sort of workable systematic theology that lines up with our own notions. I may have added a bit of my own mindset there- if so- I will be sure to ask Chamber's forgiveness when I see him.

James 3:13 and 17 "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life- by deeds done in humility that comes from wisdom." ........

"But the wisdom that comes from Heaven is first of all pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere."

Father, rise up me for true Wisdom- for knowlege of You that is transformative. Seal Your Word to my Heart and work it out through my hands. Holy Spirit be ever present in me to remind me of all that has already been revealed. Bring others into my life that will spur me on to Love and Good Works. All praise be to You my Lord Jesus for how You showed me the walking living breathing Wisdom of God. Amen