Wisdom Matters

Scripture tells us very little about Enoch. We know he is one of two men, Elijah being the other, who appears to have been taken straight to heaven without experiencing death on earth. The Enoch mentioned in Hebrews 11 may have been Noah’s great-grandfather and the father of Methuselah, the man who lived longer than any other. But the most important thing we know about Enoch was that “he was comme...

Hosea was a prophet to the Northern Tribes of Israel in the final days before their capture. Quite possibly, their capital city of Samaria had already fallen into the hands of the Assyrians. God used his prophet to help his people understand why he was no longer able to bless and protect them. Hosea 4:6 is a powerful verse that speaks truth to every generation. God said, “My people are destroyed f...

Spiritual work is accomplished through spiritual strength. Spiritual strength is the result of a close personal relationship with God, a relationship anchored by our prayers.  Paul knew how difficult it was for the early believers to live in a culture that did not appreciate or value their faith. The letter to the Colossians is one of the best books in the Bible on how to be faithful in a culture...

Are you living a stronger, closer walk with the Lord’s Spirit than before? When we grow older, we don’t discuss the topic of spiritual growth as often. Many of us have been Christians for a long time, and we are comfortable with most of our choices. Some would say we become “set in our ways.” Paul urged the Thessalonians to continue to please God “more and more.” There is never an “age” that we ha...

Jesus is the only person who could ever say, “I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” There has only been one person who lived a perfect, sinless life. The rest of us can say, “I make every effort to do the things that are pleasing to God.” Imagine living a perfect life with no sin! It would be wonderful to end each day with zero regrets. Pleasing God is an imperfect goal for all of us t...

Everyone needs to rest from their work and take a few days off now and then. But Scripture doesn’t ever suggest we take a vacation from our efforts to please God. Every day is an opportunity to live as a strong witness to the Lord. Paul wrote, “Let us not grow weary of doing good” (Galatians 6:9). But sometimes we do grow weary. Pleasing God isn’t about simply trying to do good things. What please...

This verse makes every preacher, teacher, and disciple of God’s word shudder. Doing our ministry for an audience of One is a constant battle. In the first century, there were those who sought the Christian pulpit for the sake of gaining the ear of the audience rather than for the sake of pleasing God. There were those who spoke the message they knew would entertain or influence the crowd rather th...

Hebrews 11:6 provides crucial information to those who want to please God. The verse is worth reading, rereading, and then giving careful thought. Hebrews 11 is often called the Hall of Faith. The author had just finished talking about Enoch and the fact that Enoch had pleased God and was taken up to heaven. Then he wrote verse 6: “Without faith it is impossible to please him.” It is a big stateme...

The gift of spiritual discernment is the ability to view things in this world as God sees them. Discernment separates good from evil. It is the ability to recognize truth from falsehood and detect God’s wisdom from the world’s ideas. There are those who have the spiritual gift of discernment, but all Christians can be discerning. When we consider something from the perspective of Scripture, throug...

Most people wear their wedding rings wherever they go. The rings symbolize a marital bond every moment of every day. We need to keep that same mindset for our faith relationship with God as well. There is never a room we enter, a conversation we have, or a moment of our day when we are not joined with God through Christ. The Holy Spirit “marks” us as belonging to God, and he indwells us permanentl...

Sometimes, although rarely, our disobedience pleases God. It’s not our disobedience to God, but it’s placing our obedience to God ahead of any ungodly choices the world might seemingly require. After Pentecost, Peter and the other apostles were actively sharing the gospel, performing miracles, and making a huge impact on the city of Jerusalem. A great number of believers were being added to their...

Some of the most important sacrifices we make as Christians are simply the results of walking through our lives as led by God’s Holy Spirit. Some of the best opportunities we have to serve Christ come about simply because we are living our daily lives in tune with his leadership. Each day we see people we can share something with. They might need our help in a significant way, but usually it’s jus...

“For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God.” —Ecclesiastes 2:26 Wanting to please those we love is natural, and it should be natural for Christians to want to please their heavenly Father. Scripture contains everything we need to know to understand how we ca...

We have spent the month of July thinking about God’s priorities and the wisdom and guidance those thoughts provide. We know that if something is important to God, it needs to be important to his children as well. Why then do we so often allow the world to dictate our values? Priorities are spiritual motivators. There are so many things in our lives that require our attention. Very few people are a...

It has been said the most important word in the twenty-third psalm is the fourth one. “The Lord is my shepherd.” If the fourth word isn’t true, then the rest of the Psalm can’t be true. We aren’t saved because God gave us the gift of salvation. We are saved because we personally choose to receive the gift God gave. Our relationship to God is a personal decision and a personal priority. We don’t re...

Even two- and three-year-old children rebel against being “bossed around.” If you are a parent, you have probably heard one of your children say, “You’re not the boss of me.” Why did God create us with free wills when he knew we would want to use them in the wrong ways? God could have created us as robotic believers who knew nothing except how to obey. God could have limited people’s ability to si...

The confident Christian is the one who can know their path has been directed by God. Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done” in the model prayer (Matthew 6:10). The psalmist taught that our steps are “established by the Lord” but then provided a contingency. Our steps are established by the Lord “when he delights” in the way we have chosen. God cannot lead the person who wi...

The words of Scripture are powerful and life changing. We call the Bible the word of God because it is his message, preserved throughout history, to help people know him as their God. John called Jesus “the Word” because God so loved the world that he wanted us to have his Word in the flesh. It is easy to become too casual with our Bibles. We are able to consume Scripture in so many ways today. I...

One of the most sobering verses in all of Scripture are the words of Christ to the church in Ephesus. Ephesus was a favorite port city of the first-century Roman culture. The ruins of Ephesus are one of the most interesting and compelling sites in modern-day Turkey. Ephesus was a beautiful Mediterranean seaport where the world and its ideas, cultures, merchandise, and philosophies were meshed toge...

When you received Christ as your Lord and Savior, you received the power and presence of his Holy Spirit in your life. Every Christian is called to be a minister and is spiritually gifted to serve their calling. Your ministry is a high priority to God, and, like Paul, we should consider completing our ministry as our priority—more precious than anything else in our lives. It is common in our cultu...

Throughout Scripture God assures us that he has a plan for each of our lives. His plan is our blessed life now and the path for eternal blessing in heaven. Our priority is clear. We want to know God so that we can walk with him on the path he has set for our lives. Yet Scripture also makes clear that none of us walk through our lives perfectly in his will. Thankfully, Scripture also teaches us of...

Scripture tells us that there is a reward for living with God’s priorities. So often in the Bible, the word reward is associated with our eternal lives, but Proverbs 22:4 tells us there is an earthly reward as well. God is quick to reward two behaviors in our lives. God blesses those who choose to be humble and those who live in reverent awe of the Lord. According to the proverb, the reward for ch...

One of the most difficult lessons a Christian must learn is that even our families can become an idol in our lives if we are not careful. Every Christian should love and serve their family, but our families are not to be our highest priority. That phrase just seems wrong but look at our first-century examples. Jesus told his disciples to stop what they were doing and follow him. Jesus’ family trie...

Proverbs 16:19 reveals the heart of God for his children. God cares about whom we spend our time with and especially about the way our “company” reflects on our character and witness. King Solomon had more wealth than almost any other human being has ever accumulated in a lifetime. Yet, he wisely wrote, “It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.” I...

Many passages in Scripture talk about our good works and the benefit they have in our lives. Our good works are often the first witness we have with other people. I appreciate the phrase that says, “Don’t tell me I have a friend in Jesus until you show me I have a friend in you.” Good works matter, but Jesus said they might also be a wrong priority. When are good works not good? In this passage, J...