Wisdom Matters

The Apostle Paul lived his life and ministry knowing he had been miraculously saved by Christ. Paul had daily memories of living as the Pharisee people called “Saul of Tarsus.” He had done terrible things in God’s name. Later, God did amazing things through a man who understood the transformational power of complete forgiveness.  Saul of Tarsus was led by misguided passions that brought harm to Go...

Jesus wanted us to know how much we were loved by the God we worship. God cares about his children. Jesus was probably pointing to the many birds that, even today, fly above the Sea of Galilee. They didn’t have to work all day to have enough; they simply needed to focus on what God had already provided. Jesus pointed to the birds and reminded his disciples that God valued people more than the rest...

When making a tough decision, it’s important to find the choice that provides the peace of God. God’s peace is a strong indicator that his presence and favor are at work in your life. Most choices have more than one good answer so the key is knowing which answer is God’s. God’s peace defies explanation or understanding because it's a gracious gift more than the result of circumstances. We have...

The Apostle John knew Jesus well and knew he was God incarnate. Jesus wasn’t born in a stable. A body of flesh was born that Jesus chose to inhabit. There is a reason John’s gospel names Jesus “the Word.” Anytime there is a capital “W,” it means Jesus. Jesus existed at the beginning of time and “by him all things were created” (John 1:2–3). Jesus was with God when the world was created. Jesus is G...

The word holy means “set apart.” Christians are supposed to stand out and be different from others because we have been given the presence of Christ in our lives through his Holy Spirit. We have been changed or “born again.” We are called to be holy because the presence of Jesus in us makes us holy. Jesus taught us to be in the world, but not like the world. Paul said “we have the mind of Christ”...

We lost some of the potency of Timothy’s verse when we began to consume God’s word from electronic devices. I’m grateful for the ease that technology has provided because the internet helps us find a verse quickly and provides good study helps as well. That said, there is still something powerful about holding a leatherbound Bible, the entire word of God, in our hands. All Scripture, every word of...

It's easier to be a faithful friend to someone who has been that kind of friend to us. We often hear about our need to remain faithful to God, but Paul reminded the church in Corinth that God is faithful to us. Those words often get lost from 1 Corinthians 10:13 because we become more focused on the message about temptation. Maybe we should be focused on Paul’s phrase “God is faithful.” Consid...

January can seem to creep by at a snail’s pace. The days are short, but the weeks seem slow to pass. After the rush of the holiday season, slowing down and taking inventory is a good idea.  One of God’s most common attributes seems to be his tendency to move at a slower pace than we would choose. We pray, and if the answer is “wait,” we feel as if something is wrong. It's important to remember...

In the first century, darkness was feared. To be caught on the road after dark meant danger, especially when the moon and stars were obscured. The Apostle John wanted his readers to know the message God had given him to preach to others. God wanted his children to understand him as their pure light. The book of Revelation tells us that, in heaven, “night will be no more” (22:5). Imagine never need...

It’s impossible to go through life without fear. We are human, limited by our choices and the choices of others. Yet, God commands us to “fear not.” It seems like our nation, and every nation, is making the same mistakes of the past. If we know God’s word, it's normal to feel “dismayed” at times about the future. The prophet Isaiah had a lot to fear. He saw the direction Israel had chosen and...

If you had to list ten significant changes that have occurred in your lifetime, what would you say?  For most of us, choosing only ten would be difficult. Change marks each day, with one exception. The God we serve is unchanging. His character and his word remain consistent throughout every era of history. We worship the same God King David worshiped. We pray to the same God the Apostle Paul talke...

John 3:16 is probably the most quoted verse from the New Testament. It’s been said that the entire plan of God for his creation is summarized in that one verse. God has always wanted to spend eternity with us, so he did everything necessary to make our salvation possible. Everyone can inherit eternal life simply by choosing to receive what God has offered. Heaven is promised to each person who bel...

Many years ago, I designed a bookcase headboard I wanted for our bedroom. My dad used my drawing, made a plan, and built us that bed. My dad has been home in heaven for several years now and that bed is one of my favorite possessions. He took my drawing and created something I treasure from it. Every sunrise, storm, animal, and person has been uniquely crafted from the “understanding” of our infin...

How do we learn to love God?  Jesus answered that question in his Sermon on the Mount saying, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). At the end of each day we can ask ourselves, “When did I see God today? How did I enjoy, share, and respond to God’s unfathomable love?”  To fear the Lord is to thoughtfully consider our eternal God with the reverent love and honor we...

Welcome to Wisdom Matters, the chance to consider a verse or two from the Bible for the purpose of gaining God’s wisdom. Each short devotional will be a message from Scripture that you can apply to your daily life.  The goal of Bible study is to learn to think and live biblically. Our world has been transformed by the Internet in many wonderful ways, but the abundance of information can be a sourc...

We have come to the final day of the year, a year I hope you have filled with the wisdom of God. I hope you will continue to consume and embrace God’s words of wisdom each day.  New Year’s resolutions are going out of style. Very few resolutions are made with lasting resolve. Jesus would offer us a resolution that will never change, and a resolution he will make possible. This new year will hold i...

The angel told the shepherds that they brought “good news of great joy” and their news was for “all the people.”  The phrase good news is from the Greek word euangelion, meaning good news, good tidings, and the word gospel. When the angels told the shepherds they had come to bring “good news” of great joy, they used the same word Paul used in Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for i...

Those verses from Paul’s letter to the Philippians should be memorized and understood by every Christian. We should hang them on our doorposts, post them on our cell phones, and quote them to the mirror every morning. It would change our lives and our witness if we lived with the overwhelming truth about Jesus’ sacrifice. Jesus was there when the world was created. Jesus lived in the glory and per...

Has someone repeatedly come to your mind these past few days? Was there something that happened this past month that you need to forgive or be forgiven for? Did you forget someone or something during the Christmas rush? It isn’t too late. Most of us have said something wrong to someone. Most of us have forgotten what we should have remembered. Most of us know people who are overly sensitive about...

A lot of people are relieved to see the season end. Most bars are open on Christmas Day because a lot of people are lonely and hope to find temporary anesthesia for their pain. Many people are stranded in airports and just want to get home. Christmas is not a celebration for some in our culture, and they are glad to end the hubbub of the holiday that only hurts their souls. Who needs to meet Jesus...

A lot of people enjoy their Christmas decorations all the way into the new year. I’m not one of those people. I’m notorious for being the first to pick up and put away all those Christmas decorations! My friends have commented on that because I’m also the one who enjoys Christmas more than most. But for me, when the people are gone, and the twenty-fifth is gone, so is the holiday. I love the simpl...

It’s Christmas Day. After weeks of planning and preparation, this is the day of celebration. But, at the end of the day, only one celebration is needed.  Every Christian can celebrate on this day: -“In the city of David a Savior” was born. He was and is “Christ the Lord.” -Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. -Jesus was born of a virgin because he was and is “the Son of God.” -Jesus was born a...

Jesus’ favorite way to refer to himself was as the “Son of Man.” The phrase occurs sixty-six times in the Synoptic Gospels and twelve times in the book of John. Why did Jesus refer to himself with that phrase? There are several answers to that question, but the most probable requires us to consider his audience, the Jewish people. The phrase is rooted in the Old Testament as simply referring to “s...

We look back at the first Christmas in Bethlehem through the lens of history. We see the birth of Jesus as God’s gift to the world (John 3:16). But we should not miss the truth of Matthew 1:21 either. Jesus came to save “his people” first. Matthew 1:19 describes Joseph as a “just man” who had decided to divorce Mary “quietly” when he learned she was pregnant. An angel of the Lord appeared to Josep...

The whole world measures time based on the birth of Christ. In many ways, the world became new again because of Jesus. Rome had spent many years and thousands of man-hours constructing a system of roads through the countries they conquered. The Roman roads were built to carry soldiers, chariots, and weapons of war. Those same roads were also used to carry the word of God throughout the land. Rome...