Wisdom Matters

A lot of us grew up with sermons that caused us to “fear God,” but not in the way the Bible intended. We heard about heaven on Sunday mornings, but we also heard about the reality of hell. At the end of the sermon, we were either glad we were going to heaven or we wanted to feel that confidence.  We don’t hear as many of those sermons these days, which can be both good and bad. When the Bible tell...

King Solomon asked God for wisdom, and God granted his request. It is oddly comforting to know that even Solomon didn’t live a perfect life, even though he had been abundantly blessed with God’s wisdom. Wisdom is a moment-to-moment choice, and not even King Solomon utilized his God-given strength all of the time. Most theologians attribute the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes to the wisdom of Ki...

God created our bodies to have muscles. Taking our muscles for granted is easy until something happens that makes one or more of them stop working. Our muscles provide a perfect illustration of our relationship with God. When we don’t “train” our muscles, they weaken. According to Paul, the same is true for our souls. Paul’s first-century Greco-Roman culture was well versed in physical fitness. So...

We know we are called to love God as our highest priority. Jesus added a second commandment to that one saying, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” We know the commandments of Christ, but do we live them? Why did Jesus command the impossible? We know what Jesus said, but how many times have you broken his commands—since yesterday? We can learn to love our neighbors, but how do we love them like we l...

When do your thoughts drift toward things eternal? The moment-to-moment priorities fill most of our thoughts each day. We are busy people, and our calendars, electronic notifications, and cell phones keep us moving quickly forward with the world’s demands. How would your life change if each day you set aside a certain amount of time to think only about things eternal? A lot of things on earth matt...

It’s difficult to walk into a movie theater, breathe in the aroma of popcorn, and not make a beeline for the concession stand. When we love something, we are easily drawn to it. There is great joy when I look up and see my grandkids running toward me. They know they are greatly loved. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” If we truly love Jesus, we will be drawn to him and w...

All of us have people in our lives whom we think about every day. They are included in our thoughts because of the way we have included them in our lives. They are part of our choices, decisions, compassion, and care. The psalmist teaches us to include God in our lives in that same way. Every day the Lord gives us to live here on earth has eternal consequence. The people we meet and interact with...

We don’t like to think about the judgment seat of God, but it is a reality of God’s word. God will reward our obedience but will also hold us accountable for those times we refused to obey and chose a path we knew was wrong. And we know from God’s word that all of us will be “without excuse” (Romans 1:20) for our sins. Thankfully, we can also know that those who are in Christ will stand in our fla...

If God valued money the most, he would have taught us how to earn and save it. If God valued our friendships the most, he would have taught us to value our friends above anything else. God’s values are different from the world’s ideas. God values a person’s soul more than their earthly life. If we share God’s priorities, we will too. Jesus asked his disciples, “What does it profit a man to gain th...

The verb pursue in the original language means “to seek after, to discover.” Consider Jesus’ parable about the Good Shepherd who left the ninety-nine to “seek after” the one who was lost. Jesus taught us that God pursues his children, and the proverb teaches his children what they should pursue. Proverbs 21:21 teaches us to pursue righteousness, a right relationship with God. We are also to pursue...

Assuming you sleep about eight hours a day, you can estimate that your brain has more than six thousand thoughts per day. If you are like me, that number is higher. Some of my most important thoughts occur in the wee hours of the morning before I fall back to sleep. I often say that 3 a.m. is a prime time for the “God thoughts.” When is God most likely to interrupt your thoughts with his ideas?  B...

You may have heard that if you want to know what is important to you, list the last fifty things on which you spent your time and money. Jesus told us, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Financial priorities are often a strong indicator of what our hearts truly value. My husband and I didn’t have very much money during our first years of marriage. He was in seminary full time...

Sometimes love is described as a feeling, but, biblically, it is an effort. If we think carefully, we will realize that our most significant “loves” in this lifetime have been those relationships we’ve deeply valued. That is why the commandment is to “love the Lᴏʀᴅ your God” with great effort. God knew if we truly loved him, we would value and worship him as our King. Jesus said, “If you love me,...

In the 1960s, Charles Hummel wrote a small book that quickly became popular with business leaders—especially with Christian business leaders. Tyranny of the Urgent taught that our greatest danger in life is allowing the urgent things to crowd out the things that are most important. I remember reading that small booklet as a young, busy mom and pastor’s wife. God used Hummel’s words to speak better...

This month we will “look carefully” at God’s priorities in the Bible. His priorities are wisdom and will guide our lives. We make thousands of decisions each day. Knowing God’s priorities will help us make choices that align with his will.  Paul told the Ephesians, “Look carefully then how you walk” and taught them to make the best use of their time. Knowing God’s will and his priorities will help...

As we age, the list of our friends in heaven will continue to grow. There are people we look forward to seeing again in heaven. There are many brothers and sisters in Christ who invest their time in our spiritual lives, and they are likely the people we are most grateful for today. The author of this proverb spoke about the gifts we receive in this lifetime that we are grateful for. “Oil and perfu...

God created us to be part of a large, diverse, eternal family of faith. We are created in God’s image; therefore, we can know we were created to love others. We were created to have a close, personal relationship with God and with others. One of the best ways to build a family relationship with your brothers and sisters in Christ is to meet with them and encourage one another to live with an etern...

Christians in the first century believed Christ’s return was imminent. Peter wanted his brothers and sisters in the faith to understand how they could live their earthly lives with the hope of heaven while they waited for their eternal lives to begin. What can we learn from Peter’s words today, centuries later? Peter said, “The end of all things is at hand.” He believed Jesus would come back in hi...

None of us will stand before God in heaven and say, “I didn’t know.” Micah 6:8 begins with the words, “He has told you, O man, what is good.” God made certain that his words and his will would be available to all people. The history of the Bible is the miraculous story of God’s inspired truth being recorded and preserved for all time. The entire creation is an illustration of the reality and exist...

Paul gave good advice about giving advice in Ephesians 6:4. His words were aimed toward fathers, but his advice applies to all Christians. We may or may not be parents, but all Christians have spiritual children as well. Spiritual children are those God has brought into our lives to encourage, teach, or mentor in their faith. Paul’s words of wisdom are good advice for all of us as we give advice t...

Those who do the work of the ministry understand that we are increasingly at “war” with the values and goals the world teaches. One of the earliest pictures in Scripture is the battle between Cain and Abel. Throughout Scripture we see God’s people advancing his cause through battles and defending their cause for the sake of his Kingdom purpose. Paul wrote, “For am I now seeking the approval of man...

Doctors suggest an annual check-up in order to remain healthy. Our car’s dashboard will light up when we need maintenance. Our monthly bank statement helps us to know if we are spending and saving like we should. We need “checks and balances” in our lives, and Paul suggests that we know the same is true for our spiritual lives as well. How long has it been since you placed your spiritual growth un...

All of us have given and received both good and bad advice. Christians are called to be discerning but not judgmental, and that is often a fine line to walk. Proverbs 12:26 provides a key factor that will help us discern good advice from bad.  The proverb tells us, “One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor.” If a person is right with God, their advice or suggestions will be motivated by a d...

The Apostle Paul was teaching Timothy to be a leader in the early Christian movement. Timothy was a young man and needed to be careful with his choices so that he could fulfill his calling to the ministry. It has been said that the most significant influences in a person’s life choices occur in their early twenties. Paul gave Timothy advice that all ministers and all Christians should consider. Pa...

If you are like me, you have a wide assortment of friends and family members with whom you interact. We have friends we want to travel with and others who might fall more into the category of fun acquaintances. We associate with people at work or church whom we enjoy in those settings. The proverb above isn’t to be applied to everyone in our lives, but it should be applied to those relationships t...