“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! … For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” – Romans 11:33-36
Have you ever felt completely outmatched in a conversation with someone?
I’ve experienced this many times in my life. I get into a conversation with someone who clearly knows far more about a topic than I do. Every time I try to question something they say, they have an answer as to why they are right and my question was ill-conceived. I don’t mean they are arrogant about it. It’s more like a very young child trying to question what their parent tells them.
How do you handle a situation like that?
For me, sometimes I’ve handled these conversations well, and other times not so much. Ultimately, I think the wise way to handle these situations is with humility and curiosity. There are lots of things I don’t know, but if I humble myself, listen, and ask questions, I can learn.
The depth of God’s wisdom and knowledge is unfathomable.
He knows and understands all things. In fact, all things exist because of and for God. Thus it says,
From Him – All things were and are created by God. He is the source. So, he knows about all things as their creator.
Through Him – All things continue through God. He sustains all things. It is through Him that we live and through Him that we have new life in Christ. He understands all things as He sustains and blesses them.
To Him – All things exist for God’s pleasure and His good purpose. We and all of creation exist to show God’s glory, including Him showing us great grace and mercy. God’s wisdom is shown both in what He has created and its purpose.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
That is our response. We humbly accept that God’s knowledge and wisdom are much greater than our own. So, we submit to His wisdom and praise His name!
In His wisdom, He has made us and sustains us. In His wisdom, He has saved us and given us new life. In His wisdom, He will bring us to be with Him. Hallelujah! Amen!!
Heavenly Father,
I am forever amazed at Your knowledge and wisdom. I pray that I would always be humble before You, trusting Your wisdom and glorifying Your name.
Amen.
Let’s praise His name together tomorrow in worship!!
“It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.” – Proverbs 19:2
Have you ever met someone who was very passionate about something, but was just wrong?
I remember back when I was in college ministry, every year or two someone would go around to all the college ministries and try to gather them all together. They were always passionate, convinced that they know how to unify the church on that campus and ignite a revival that would change the campus forever and maybe even the world.
What they didn’t realize, is that this wasn’t a new idea and there were reasons it had never worked in the past, reasons they weren’t even aware of. It would have been one thing if they had thoughtfully examined what happened in the past and how to address the issues which prevented their vision of unity, but that’s never what happened. It was always just an idea to get everyone together, usually under at their group’s meeting, and unity would just “happen.” It didn’t.
Ignorant passion is dangerous.
In Jesus’ day, there were many zealous Jews. They were passionate about following the Law and making sure everyone else did, too. However, they, ultimately, missed the long-promised Messiah because their passion was misplaced. Paul even speaks about it.
“If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” – Philippians 3:4-7
Following the Fools Path Ignorant passion can lead to wasted time and resources and even making things worse or catastrophic. In the age of the Internet, it has become easier than ever to fall into the trap of ignorant passion.
We read something online which gets us excited or angry. We have to do something. There’s no time to waste! We don’t stop to consider that what we read might not be accurate. Emotion takes over and leads us to do some foolish things. All the while, a little research or a conversation with a wise person would have revealed errors in our thinking.
Passion can be good, but study, seek advice, and proceed with wisdom.
Jesus was passionate about saving us. Paul was passionate about proclaiming the Gospel. However, let’s take the time to make sure we understand the thing we are starting to feel passionate about. Let’s do some research. Take a few minutes to have a conversation with someone we respect for their wisdom.
At worst, you might end up being disappointed finding out your passion was misplaced. You might, however, save yourself from acting like a fool. You may save some time and money.
Then again, you may be right. In which case, you are now more informed and better able to actually accomplish what you feel passionate about.
Heavenly Father,
Give me a passion for what is good and true. Keep me from foolish ideas and from being misled. Make me wise and show me where I can have a good impact on people’s lives.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” – Proverbs 9:10
Who is the wisest person you know?
Wisdom affects all areas of our life. It affects how we work, how we play, how we speak to each other, how we raise our children and listen to our parents, and how we believe.
In fact, Proverbs makes it very clear…
You cannot be wise without first believing in Jesus.
Does that sound harsh?
The fear of the Lord is the BEGINNING of wisdom. Believing in Jesus is the beginning.
Think about it this way. Let’s say you know someone who is sick. They have an infection and some bad symptoms. They go to the doctor and the doctor tells them they are going to die unless they start taking antibiotics. If they take the antibiotics, they will be fine.
If that person’s response to the doctor is,
“That’s ridiculous! There’s no way those little pills are going to help, if I’m even sick in the first place. You’re just trying to get my money.”
The doctor says, “No, they are free. I’ll give them to you, but you need to take them. It’s life or death.”
“Nice try, doc,” the person replies, “I’m not falling for it.”
Would you consider that person wise or foolish?
We all have a terminal condition called sin. There’s one cure, Jesus. It’s free to whoever believes. If someone rejects Jesus and His free salvation, that’s not wise.
Wisdom Comes From God Furthermore, the source of all wisdom is God. He created us and all of creation. He defines morality. He provides for us and sustains us both physically and spiritually. If wisdom comes from God, we simply cannot be wise if we reject the source of all wisdom.
Yes, people can seem smart and make good decisions in life without God, but the foundation is missing. If the foundation is missing, the building eventually falls.
Wisdom and Humility So, we must humble ourselves and trust the one who made us and who saves us. We must put our own wisdom aside and believe what God tells us. The first thing He tells us is that we are sinners, but Jesus died for sinners. He died so you could live. Believe in Him and you will be saved. It’s a gift. If you haven’t already, you can receive it, today.
If you have already received it, be renewed and reassured by the promise once again.
Dear Jesus,
Give me wisdom. Give me faith that I would be wise unto salvation. Continue to teach me that I would grow in humility and wisdom with every passing day.
“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” – Proverbs 29:25
What does it mean to fear something?
The Bible tells us not to fear, but it also tells us to fear God. How do those two things fit? When the Bible tells us not to fear man, does it mean “fear” in the same way as when it tells us to fear God?
Fear has two meanings.
To be terrified of something or what that something will do to you.
To stand in awe of something and to respect it.
The Dad and the Bully Joe was 10 years old. One day, he was bored and went into the garage looking for something to do. He came across some fireworks that were hidden behind some things on a shelf. He knew he wasn’t supposed to mess with fireworks, especially by himself, but they just looked so cool.
He took some outside to set them off. Just as he lit one, his Dad turned onto his street. His blood went cold. He knew he was in big trouble.
A few weeks later, he was walking home from school when a bigger kid from the neighborhood started teasing him. Joe ran to his house as the big kid called him a scaredy-cat. The next day, the big kid was there again. This time, he pushed Joe to the ground, took his backpack, and started looking for something to take.
Just then, Joe’s Dad came driving down the street. His Dad stopped the car and got out. The big kid didn’t notice Joe’s Dad at first, but he noticed something change about Joe. Joe wasn’t scared anymore. He actually had a little bit of a smile on his face.
Fear God When the Bible tells us to fear God, it’s referring to the awe and respect kind of fear. It’s like a child with a good, loving father. The child knows she is loved, but also knows not to disobey or disrespect their father. So, we are to love, obey, and respect God, knowing that He loves us and also wants us to obey Him. He is God.
Don’t Fear Man When the Bible tells us not to fear man, it’s referring to the terrified kind of fear. It’s like the child facing a bully, but that child knowing his Dad is right there to protect and defend him.
When we fear man, it proves to be a snare. Our fear keeps us from speaking the God’s truth and from obeying God. We become terrified of what the world might do to us if we unashamedly follow Jesus.
However, we don’t have to fear the world. We can trust God. God is mightier and able to protect us and sustain us. He doesn’t tell us to do anything that isn’t for our own good. So, we can trust God’s ways and His promises.
Don’t Be Terrified of God We don’t always trust God and we don’t always follow Him very well. That’s not good, but as those who have been called by God through the Gospel and made His children, we do not need to be terrified of Him. He may discipline us, but He does so to lead us to repentance. We can turn to Him in repentance any time and seek His mercy and know He will give it. He’s our good and loving father and we are His greatly beloved children.
Heavenly Father,
The world scares me sometimes. I know what I should do, but out of fear sometimes I don’t do it. Please forgive me. Help me not to fear man, but rather to trust You. I know You love me.
Amen.
PS – This passage is from Proverbs and we happened to have just had a great conversation about this passage in our Growth Group Bible study. Why don’t you join us this Friday for the Bible study on Zoom? I hope to see you there.
“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” – Proverbs 12:15
How well do you receive other people’s advice?
Taking other people’s advice can be difficult. We like to think we can handle things, that we have most things figured out and, what we don’t know, we can figure out as we go. Taking other people’s advice means admitting that we don’t have it all figured out.
The Toilet A while back, I installed a toilet at my house. I could have just opened up the box and started at it, but I decided to stop for a moment, go online, and find a video showing me how to replace a toilet. How awesome is it that these days we can find videos on just about anything we need to know?!
Could I have figured it out myself?
Maybe. However, when I thought about the pain it would be if I got it wrong, I knew I’d better get some advice.
Sorry to break it to you. You don’t know everything.
The truth is there are a lot of areas of our lives where we could use advice. Maybe it’s marriage or parenting or finances or our walk with God…or all of the above. Seeking wise counsel isn’t something to be ashamed of. In fact, quite the opposite. It can be the wisest thing we can do.
Seeking Wise Counsel is Wise Our passage, today, is from the book of Proverbs, an entire book of the Bible devoted to advice and wisdom. The Bible is filled with wise counsel from the wisest one of all, God.
In one sense, the Bible certainly isn’t just about advice and wisdom. If all we look at the Bible for our principles for living, we’re missing the primary message. However, Proverbs also tells us,
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” – Proverbs 9:10
The Bible is the source of life and salvation, the very Word of God. In fact, believing in Jesus and His death and resurrection for our salvation is the start of all wisdom. All the “how to live life” wisdom comes after that. The question is whether we are willing to listen even when God’s wisdom is different from our own.
Being Willing To Listen We must humble ourselves and accept three things:
We don’t know or understand everything.
Some of the things we “know” are wrong.
God does know and understand all things.
Sometimes it isn’t pride that keeps us from listening to advice. Sometimes it’s that we don’t really want to do what is necessary to fix the issue. We’d rather complain and have someone listen to our complaints than deal with the issue. However, whether it’s pride or not wanting to deal with the issue, not listening to good advice makes us pretty foolish…
Just like the woman in this video:
Heavenly Father,
Give me the wisdom to be humble and seek wisdom. Help me to heed Your wisdom and be willing to listen to wise counsel from others.
Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
PS – Right now, Faith’s Friday Night Growth Group Bible study is on Proverbs. It’s on Zoom. Contact Us, today, if you’d like to be a part of the Bible study, tonight (or any future night).
“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” – James 3:13
Have you ever known someone who thought they knew everything and didn’t mind telling you?
Wisdom is an interesting thing. It involves more than just knowledge. It involves justness, righteousness, action, and faith. Proverbs tells us,
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” – Proverbs 9:10
There are some who think they are wise and love to tell people. They inject their thoughts on every situation, whether people ask for their opinion or not. They always seem to “know” exactly what to do and they like other people to know it.
Humble Wisdom There’s another word associated with true wisdom. That word is humility. This describes people who live their lives wisely, making wise decisions and treating people with love and honor. They don’t make a big deal about it and you may not realize how wise they are at first.
These aren’t the people who necessarily speak up first. However, you find that people who have known them for a while seek out their thoughts on matters.
Quiet Wisdom that Brings Honor The reality is that usually, the more someone feels the need to convince people he is wise, the more of a fool he truly is. People who are truly wise, don’t have to tell people. It’s apparent in their lives. They seek the Lord and love and honor others in humility. In doing so, they gain the honor the fool seeks, though they would never seek that honor.
Who do you know who is truly and humbly wise?
Are you?
You can be. God promises us,
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” – James 1:5
Pray. Ask God for wisdom. He will give it. Read His Word and seek Him in all things. Then live according to God’s way and treat people with love and respect. Of course, you won’t do this perfectly, but even in your failures, you can show wisdom by confessing and receiving forgiveness. That’s another thing God gives generously. Do all this humbly without calling attention to yourself.
Who knows? Maybe one day, you will find people seek out your opinion.
Heavenly Father,
Please give me wisdom and help me to humbly live in that wisdom. When I fail, give me the wisdom and humility to be repentant and seek Your mercy which I know You will give.
“This is what the Lord, your Protector, says, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you how to succeed, who leads you in the way you should go.” – Isaiah 48:17
Who would you love to be able to sit down and learn from?
I have some friends who have young kids who play baseball. I remember one of them telling me about how he was signing up for a camp where actual MLB players and coaches work with the kids to teach and train them in baseball. He and his son were soooo excited. Not only were they going to hang out with some of their heroes, but they were going to learn from real experts.
Things like this happen in all sorts of genres, where people will jump at the opportunity to spend time with and learn from the best in their field. Often, people will spend a lot of money for these opportunities and put a lot of time and effort both getting the opportunity and experiencing it.
The God of the Universe wants to teach you.
We’re talking about God, here. The one who created all things, the one whose wisdom defined and ordered our physical universe as well as our moral compass. He knows what is best for us because He created us. That’s who wants to meet with you and teach you.
God teaches us in a variety of ways if we are willing to listen.
God gives us His Word which teaches us about faith and life. He gives us the Gospel to give us faith and also teaches us about life, itself in books like Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Psalms, and throughout the Old and New Testaments.
God teaches us by His Spirit. Learning from God isn’t just a class where you order a book and read it. God promises that His Spirit is with us and will work through His Word and prayer to teach and transform us.
God teaches us through His Church. In college, I loved studying with study groups. I learned a lot that way. The Church, among other things, is our study group. We learn from each other.
God teaches us through our lives. God’s school isn’t just about classrooms and books. He goes with us every day of our lives and teaches us through observation and experience guided by His Spirit and His Word.
Are you ready for the ultimate “learn from a pro” camp?
God is ready. He will teach you how to succeed and will lead you in your life. This isn’t a two-day experience. It’s a life-long learning experience.
Sign up, today! 😉
Dear Jesus,
You are greater than the greatest sports players and musicians. You know all things and abound in wisdom. Teach me Your ways.
“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. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.” – James 3:17-18
Are there some people you struggle to get along with?
I grew up with two older brothers, one four years older than me and the other five years older. I still remember what my parents would say every time they had to leave the three of us alone in the house. As they were getting ready to leave one of the last things they would say is,
“Blessed are the peacemakers.”
When you have three boys in a home, peace wasn’t something we always had.
In our passage from James, today, it is about the wisdom of God and it mentions peace three times in two sentences. God’s wisdom leads to peace, but what characteristics can lead to peace between us and others?
Considerate – Another way to translate this is “gentleness.” Proverbs 15:1 tells us “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” How do you talk to people?
Submissive – We don’t tend to like this word in the U.S. Yet, the Bible speaks of submitting a lot. We are to submit to authorities, submit to elders, submit to spouses, submit to parents, and submit to each other. Are you the type who digs in ready to defend your position no matter what or are you willing to listen and possibly change your position or relent?
Full of Mercy – Mercy is not doing to someone what they deserve. Are you willing to forgive and not exact punishment even when the other person is wrong?
Impartiality – This is particularly helpful when you are the peacemaker between two others.
Sincerity – We should always deal with each other truthfully. People can usually see when others are faking it a mile away. Seek peace sincerely.
Peace can be difficult at time, but it’s worth pursuing. Often times we must be willing to humble ourselves in how we deal with each other.
Jesus demonstrated all these attributes. He was gentle and kind and submitted fully to the Father even unto death. He is full of mercy and sincerity and shows no partiality in His love and grace. By doing so, He was a peacemaker, bringing peace between us and God and providing both the way and the example for us to have peace between each other.
Dear Jesus,
You have given me peace with God through Your humble sacrifice. Help me to be willing to sacrifice as well and be a peacemaker.
“The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.” – Proverbs 10:21
What’s the best April Fools joke you’ve seen?
April Fools can be a lot of fun when we keep the pranks to being harmless and not hurtful. Sometimes, though the pranks can move from being playful fun to being hurtful and humiliating.
What about the rest of year?
No, I’m not pushing for pranks for the whole year (though that might be interesting), I’m talking about how we interact with others through the rest of the year. Those interactions can be uplifting or hurtful, too.
Proverbs 10:21 encourages us to consider what we say to people. Are we being wise, helpful, and uplifting or are they misleading people or hurting them?
What are some of the ways we can be foolish with our lips?
Gossip
Insults
Accusing without knowing
Sharing misleading or false things
What else can you think of?
It can be easy to slip into one of these and even feel righteous about it. Maybe we share something about someone else to a third party because you’re discussing spiritual things, but that person really didn’t need to know. Maybe you feel like you need to correct someone with Scripture, but you haven’t taken the time to find out what’s really going on and that correction isn’t needed. Or maybe the correction is needed but should be done gently and in private.
Let’s Build Each Other Up The Scriptures in many places encourage us to build each other up.
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:11
When we encourage each other, share helpful true instruction, teach the Word of God, and show kindness with our words, we build each other up rather than tearing each other down. It’s what we would want others to do for us and what we can do for others. It unifies and strengthens relationships and glorifies God.
How can you build someone up, today?
Do you need to apologize to someone for having torn them down?
Heavenly Father,
May the words from my mouth honor You and build up my neighbor. Help me to seek to defend others and protect them, rather than gossip or insult. Ground me in Your truth and help me to share that truth with others.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” – James 1:5
Have you ever been unsure of what to do, but felt like an idiot for having to ask for help?
Sometimes that may even keep from asking at all. Instead, we flounder around hoping to stumble across the solution. I’ve run into this when I was a manager. I’ve had employees waste hours trying to figure out how to do something when I could have explained it in a couple of minutes. When I asked why they didn’t just ask me, I usually got either
“I didn’t want to bother you.”
or
“I felt foolish for not knowing how to do it.”
If they didn’t want to bother me, I’d tell them that’s what I was there for, to help them succeed. If they felt foolish, I’d tell them not knowing something doesn’t make them foolish, it just means they have something to learn.
God never makes us feel like an idiot for asking for His help. In fact, He loves it when we ask for wisdom. He wants us to ask for wisdom. I probably ask for wisdom 10-20 times a day or more.
When we ask, God gives wisdom generously without fault. Without fault means He doesn’t criticize us for needing to ask. So, go ahead. Ask for wisdom.
In what situation do you need wisdom right now?
Heavenly Father,
You are wise beyond any human being. Give me the humility to ask for wisdom. Please give me wisdom.
Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
The Other Six
How To Use These Posts
The Other Six is a short, daily devotional blog post. You can use these posts for personal devotions, however, I’m also going to write them in such a way that you could use them for family devotions. I’ll include a Bible verse, questions and/or discussion points, and a closing prayer. I highly encourage you to do these devotions with your family or friends if possible.