Wisdom

We all have many goals or dreams for ourselves, things that we want to accomplish or to become.  Perhaps  a great goal for each of us would be to obtain wisdom.  We have all known people who, though they aged, they did not become wiser with their years. 

First, we might say that the gaining of wisdom comes by seeking it.  And the true source of wisdom is the Bible.  There we learn from God Himself.  There are other sources of wisdom, but we can't do better than to go to God for our learning and understanding.  And the neat thing about that is that He made sure that we are provided all that we need in this direction.  The Bible is full of wisdom literature. 

A good place to start is the book of Proverbs.  Note Proverbs chapter 1, written by Solomon, the wisest man in the Old Testament:

"To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom.....The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

And Proverbs 8: "Does not wisdom cry out, and understanding lift up her voice?  She takes her stand on the top of the high hill...."

And the reason that Solomon is regarded for being the wisest man of the Old Testament: The Lord looked kindly at Solomon and asked him what he would want above all else.  Solomon could have asked for wealth or health or long life, but instead asked for wisdom that he could use to judge well in his position of king of Israel.  The Lord blessed him with the greatest wisdom, but also with all the other things that Solomon could have asked for, including great wealth.

One little piece of advice, wisdom, is Proverbs 13:20, "He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed."  It only makes sense that if we want to be wise people, we will align ourselves with wise people. 

And in conclusion, I love the first chapter of Joshua.  God is speaking to Joshua directly.  We might note that God doesn't speak to us in this same way, but He has given us the same powerful promise of support through His Word, the Bible.  "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.  I will not leave you, nor forsake you.  Be strong and of good courage.....This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.  Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."   Wow!

The Lord didn't just love and support Joshua.  He loves and supports each of us who love and follow Him.  Anyone who has spent time in the Bible knows that it is the true source of wisdom.  Let us dwell on that.

Thanks for reading.  You are great!

Scripture

The Bible uses the term "scripture" in a couple of ways that are interesting and telling.  The first way is to reference the Old Testament scriptures that were written over hundreds of years.  These scriptures instructed the Jews in following their religious practices and in looking forward to the day when a new King, Jesus, would come to bring deliverance. 

The use of "scripture" is used in a more comprehensive way as well.  There are a couple of verses that make reference to scripture including the New Testament writings as well.  Note Peter's comments at the end of 2 Peter.  He is speaking of the writings of Paul:

"...our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures."

Here we see the writings of Paul being included in the term "scriptures."

Another passage that is interesting along this line is 1 Timothy 5:18.  "For the Scripture says, 'You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,' (Deuteronomy 25:4) and, 'The laborer is worthy of his wages.' "  (Luke 10:7)

In this passage the term Scripture is being used to include a quote from the OT as well as one from the NT as spoken by Jesus Himself.

So we conclude from all of this that Scripture for us today is Old Testament and New Testament teaching.  As followers of Christ, we are primarily under the Law of Christ, following the instruction of the New Testament.  But the OT is important for our learning.

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week and know that your are important. 

The Queen of the South Will Judge

Jesus was speaking in Matthew 12 about the Old Testament prophet Jonah, how Jonah had preached to the people of Nineveh and they had repented of their wrongdoing.  Jesus was saying that the people of Nineveh would rise up in the time of judgment to judge this generation.  Nineveh had repented but this generation would not.  Then He said, "The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here."

This quote about the Queen of the South has reference to the queen of Sheba as discussed in 1Kings 10 and 2 Chronicles 9.  The lesson there is that the queen had heard about the greatness of Solomon, the king of Israel, and had traveled many hundreds of miles by caravan to observe in person this amazing king.  Here is a little of the description of the what the queen saw:

"And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her."  Then she said, "..I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me."

We might stop here to note that we know little of the queen of Sheba.  We aren't even sure just where Sheba was.  All Scholars seem to agree that it was in Southern Arabia.  We do know that this queen was exceptionally wealthy....and she had a great desire to witness the great king of Israel.

The point that Jesus was making was that if someone wanted so badly to witness the great king Solomon, to travel so far under hard circumstances, everyone should be willing to witness...and obey...a king far greater than Solomon; i.e. Jesus Himself.  This is a lesson from which we can profit.  Jesus wants us to be amazed at Him; to witness, to follow, obey, love, teach Him.  He is the great king....and Him only.  Let us be amazed at His greatness!

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week.

How Does a Person Become a Christian?

Becoming a Christian is all about faith.......and for that matter being a Christian is all about faith.  Hebrews 11 says that "without faith it is impossible to please God..."  But there is much misunderstanding about faith and what that really means.  Jesus pointed out that even the devil believes, has faith...knows that Jesus is the Son of God.  But the Bible gives lots of teaching about the matter and what it really means to have faith in God, in Jesus, His Son.  We can't cover all aspects of this subject in this short treatise, but we can do a little examination.

We could cite many examples of people who went through the conversion process.  Let's look at the Ethiopian guy in Acts 8.  He was traveling back from worshipping as a good Jew in Jerusalem, sitting on his chariot and reading the book of Isaiah.  Philip, a preacher, comes to him at God's direction and teaches him about Jesus.  At this point we have a man who becomes a believer, realizes that Jesus is the Son of God.  "As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water.  Why shouldn't I be baptized?"  Philip baptized him and the man "went on his way rejoicing."  This whole matter of conversion was a simple process, but one that brought great joy to this man. 

In Acts 2 we see people who came to realize that they weren't Christians and needed to do something about it.  They asked Peter in Acts 2:37.  Peter's answer was "Repent and be baptized every one of you...."  This simple instruction shows what Bible people did when they believed and wanted to be followers. 

All through the Bible we see people in this same condition coming to Jesus.  And we should all make sure that we do the same, follow the same process: Believe in the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, repent (change) of our past lives and commit to follow Him.  We should be willing to state our beliefs to others, that we believe that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, and we should be baptized. 

This is the Bible pattern, and it is a simple one.  But many people today bring in other ideas and water all of this down.  All we have to do is do what the Bible teaches; follow the many examples that we see in the New Testament. 

And of course, we have to live it, to live for Him.  But a great reward is waiting for us.  Let's be there!  Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Save Our Nation

In terms of our nation, we as individuals have no power.  Not one of us can turn the direction of our nation, our society, around.  But who would disagree that there has been a loosening of morality in our society today.  Our country is going through a period of tolerance, tolerance of everything, a legalization of everything.  Where we once were considered a Christian nation and took pride in such, we see now that this just isn't so.  We now are a nation of all religions, and most people feel that all are fine, all are acceptable to God, one is as good as another.

I should hasten to say here that this is a country of freedom....and certainly freedom of religion, as well it should be.  But there was a time when the predominate religion in this country was Christianity.  And those of us who understand that Christ died for us also understand that He said there was no other acceptable way to the Father.

But regardless of one's stance on the matter of a "Christian nation," it likely would be agreed by all readers that we are in a period of moral degradation.  And it would seem agreeable to say that we as individuals don't have the personal power to change this direction of our society.  We can vote, but most of us don't have political power beyond that. 

But we need to recognize that God is always in charge.  He has the power.  And we should know that there has always been a remnant; a remnant to whom God listened.  God cares about His people.  And while we don't have the power, He does.  Note this statement in 2Chronicles 7:14.

"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

The point of all of this is that we need a healing.  This country, this nation, needs a healing, needs a turn-around of major proportions.  The answer is prayer.  There are a lot of things that we cannot do, but we can pray.  And God says that prayer will make a difference.  We don't have the power, but He does......and He cares.  Join with me and offer a prayer today for our country.  Tell the Lord that we know He is in control of nations....and leaders....and powers.  He can change the direction of our country....to His glory.  We want things to change for the better so that He can be glorified.

Just as God said to Joshua, it can be so with us:  "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.  I will not leave you nor forsake you."

Thank you for reading.  Know that you are important.