Wisdom Matters

God’s perfect peace is beyond understanding. His peace is the calm that carries a grieving spouse or parent through the funeral. His peace covers the fears that are real but don’t need to control or cloud our faith. God’s peace doesn’t deny realities; it's the greater reality our faith provides.  His peace isn’t found because of our efforts to achieve it. God’s perfect peace is the result of b...

My favorite moment at a wedding is the look on the bride and groom’s faces when they first see one another. There are many other people in the room but only one face that each other most wants to see.  I love watching people at the airport as they are looking for that family member who has been serving overseas. Urgency changes to joy when they spot their loved one’s face. So it will be when we me...

Charles Sheldon published In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do? in 1896, and there have been more than fifty million copies purchased since that time. The book is one of the best-selling books of all time. It's a Christian classic that illustrates the truth of Psalm 119:15.  How would our lives change if we applied the precepts of Scripture and the “ways” Jesus taught his followers to live to our...

Information is easily and quickly accessible, but wisdom requires some time to acquire. It seems a simple thought, but it takes time to think. Those who think wisdom is simple are more likely to believe answers they have googled. The prudent person understands that wisdom is taking the necessary time to think about what they know, to determine what they should do.  We have all made snap decisions...

My favorite description of the Holy Spirit is found in Paul’s word to the church at Corinth. He was writing about the wisdom that the Spirit imparts to believers. The Holy Spirit is able to know our thoughts and the thoughts of God. Paul concluded that lesson by writing “we have the mind of Christ.”  It's common for us to think of ourselves in human ways. We know we aren’t perfect and make mis...

It's more common to quote Proverbs 3:5 with verse 6 as well. Verse 6 isn’t possible without verse 5, but our focus is almost always drawn away to the good news verse 6 provides.  Verse 5 tells you to “trust in the Lord with all your heart.” The only way to trust God completely is to “not lean on your own understanding.” It's a spiritual discipline to learn to trust God as we are called to...

Peace is one of the best indicators that your life is centered in Christ. It's the peace of Christ that accompanies his perspective on the things of this world. It's the peace that carries us through difficult days or decisions. It's the peace that follows a time of personal worship or prayer. God’s peace results from an awareness of who we are in Christ Jesus.  God’s peace is beyond h...

We should never underestimate the power of God’s word or the power of his word in us. People need God’s joy. A sense of “gladness” should motivate us to speak of God and share his word. But God’s word needs to fill our lives if we want to share it with others.  Every night our news can create anxiety in our hearts. Imagine the anxieties that might have weighed on the hearts of those in ancient tim...

Christians can do anything Jesus calls and strengthens us to do. Equally important is the knowledge that if we do things in our own strength or personal motives, Jesus is not at work; we are. The key to living with the strength and purpose of Christ is understanding it's much different than our own.  Spiritual things happen through the Spirit of Christ. Remember, Jesus said, “I can do nothing...

Paul had just listed many of the sinful human behaviors that were causing divisions in the early church and damaging their witness. Then he provided the solution for fixing those natural human behaviors. Paul didn’t say, “Act kind to one another.” Rather, he said, “Be kind.” Another translation could say “Become kind.”   The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to change us, to help us become m...

The “peace that passes all understanding” is never fully understood, except through experience. It isn’t the peace we can work hard to achieve. It isn’t the result of our efforts or the consequence of a choice. The peace Christ has left with us is unique because it's only experienced as a gift received from his Holy Spirit.  Jesus left us with his Spirit so that we would have his gift of peace...

How would our lives be changed if our highest goal was contentment with all we have?  Getting ahead is a great goal unless you are getting ahead of God in the process. Jesus told his disciples to take up their cross and “follow” him. It’s easy to lose sight of Christ in our lives when we are focused on things that, in that moment, we want more than what we have.   Our goal is to be content with wh...

We usually talk about the subject of prayer when we discuss this verse, but it's also important to look at these words from a different perspective. Paul was telling the Philippians to pray about everything. But this verse is also about God, your Father.  God doesn’t want us to fret and worry. We don’t have to be anxious about anything. Why then are we anxious so much of the time? What are you...

Temptation existed in the garden before Adam and Eve chose to sin. Temptation isn’t a sin; it’s only the possibility or opportunity to sin. Therefore, we shouldn’t think about all the things in our lives that tempt us as much as we should think about the actual choices we make.  Martin Luther summed it up this way: “You cannot prevent the birds from flying in the air over your head, but you can pr...

God created each of us with free will, and we are each designed to desire freedom. Yet, every generation has had people who are enslaved in some ways. Some have been enslaved, but most submit their freedoms because of their personal choices.  Paul described slavery as a “yoke.” The yoke was a heavy burden placed on the neck of an animal so it could then be forced to walk a certain path and work fo...

Christians have always known that Christ will return again because he promised he would. The first-century Christians expected it to be in their lifetime, and those expectations have existed in every century that followed. There are always those who point to certain occurrences in their day and time and become convinced that the return of Christ is imminent. One day, a generation of Christians wil...

The Holy Spirit is the living presence of Christ in our lives. After Jesus ascended to heaven, he continued his earthly ministry through Christians, who were led by his Spirit. Our relationship to Jesus is strengthened by spending time with him by abiding in his Spirit. The more we invest in that connection, the more we will come to know Jesus as our Lord.  Paul described the gift of the Holy Spir...

Romans 12:2 is rarely studied without Romans 12:1, but sometimes it's important to look at verse 2 alone. Usually, more time is spent on verse 1 and the need to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” Granted, verse 2 doesn’t happen until verse 1 has been obeyed.  That said, we accomplish verse 1 by obeying verse 2. How is it that we set apart our daily lives for service to the Lord?  For...

Some situations cause me to hear my mom or dad’s voice telling me what to do, as if they were with me. My husband and I have been married a long time, and we often finish each other’s sentences. Our thoughts come from a lot of different voices in our lives.   Paul’s words to the Corinthians taught me to “think about” my thoughts and consider their source. I coined a phrase for my life after studyi...

The Lord knew that our thoughts would drive our actions. Jesus commanded us to “fear not” because choices made from a place of fear are rarely choices based on faith. The Lord knew the world would always be filled with sinful temptations and tendencies. Our thoughts matter as much as, if not more than, our words. We know to be careful with our words; Jesus would want us to be careful with our thou...

God knows our thoughts. He is therefore able to receive our worship. God is a spirit, and our worship of him must be in spirit and truth. So often we define our worship as what we sing, pray, or hear. God defines our worship as our thoughts of him while we sing, pray, and listen. If our worship isn’t truthfully and spiritually offered to God, it isn’t received by God.  Jesus was speaking to the wo...

Paul knew his people still needed to go to work, visit friends, raise kids, and function under the rule of the Roman government. The first-century church was a small minority group in their very large and powerful culture. Paul’s words to them, however, remain biblical truth today. How do we focus our minds on heaven while still living in this world?  When Paul told the Colossians to “set your min...

It has long been said that if we don’t believe in something, we will fall for anything. That thought has been credited to a lot of people over the years. The Apostle Paul would agree.  Paul often spoke against the philosophies of his day and those who wanted to preach such ideas in the churches. Greek philosophers were considered the eloquent and educated people of the first century. Many of Paul’...

Imagine living in a town where everyone was careful to respect each other and obey every law. A town like that would be a joyful place to live, work, and raise a family. Laws were intended and written for the good of the people. But, even Mayberry needed a sheriff.   The psalmist provided God’s people with the key to living under the law of the Lord. God gave laws for many of the same reasons we h...

The word of God is his voice. When we worship God in spirit and truth we are ushered into his holy presence. When we want the presence of Christ to dwell in our hearts and minds we seek his word.  I love to have my sons and their families return home for the weekend. Even in the early morning quiet, while everyone is asleep, I am aware of their presence. I don’t have to see them to think about the...