Tag Archives: Wisdom

2013 Day 182 – Luke 10-12, Ecclesiastes 1

01 Monday Jul 2013

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As we continue today in our reading in Luke, we are also breaking away from the book of Psalm and beginning to read the book of Ecclesiastes. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I appreciated this book and the wisdom behind it. The book of Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon towards the end of his life. At this point, Solomon is looking back at his life with regret over some of the choices he had made. He realizes at this point that most of the things he focused on throughout his life were basically meaningless. Ecclesiastes 1:2 it says, 2“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” Powerful words coming from a man who was arguably the richest man who had ever lived. He had at his disposal anything he could have ever wanted and at the end of his life he realizes it is all meaningless and worth nothing. These thoughts are evidenced in verse 14 where he says, I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. This is powerful information for all of us as we chase our wants and dreams during the few years we have on this earth. How many of us would look back at our lives and think the same thing?

2013 Day 161 – 1 Kings 7-9, Psalm 79

10 Monday Jun 2013

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God is a God of precision. Nothing He does is by accident or without reason. When Solomon built the temple of The Lord, he did it with purpose and for God’s glory. Nothing built or placed in the temple was done without purpose or for a specific reason. This is a great lesson for us as we serve God. It’s easy to just go through the motions for God, but if we are not careful to see the meaning behind our actions and God’s leading, it is hard to trust God to see how His will is playing out in our lives. This is not to say we will understand or accept it all in this lifetime, but we will be blessed by recognizing God’s perfect plan in our lives.

2013 Day 159 – 1 Kings 1-3, Psalm 78:1-39

08 Saturday Jun 2013

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Of all the things Solomon could have asked for, He asked God for wisdom. Because of this, God blessed Solomon with so much more. 1 Kings 3:11-12 says, 11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. When we ask God for blessings, let us remember to look at the big picture. If we are too short-sighted to see beyond our immediate needs, we can potentially miss out on the ultimate plans God has for us.

2013 Day 157 – Colossians 1-4, Psalm 77

06 Thursday Jun 2013

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While I am glad we are going through the entire Bible this year, I am not thrilled with the speed we are going through some of these books. Colossians is one of the books we could spend weeks discussing, but unfortunately we are covering it in a single day. The book is one of the letters Paul wrote to the early church in Colossae.

The big thing that stood out to me today was in Colossians 1:28 where it says, “28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.” Paul’s main goal is to bring the believers in Colossae to a mature relationship with Christ. He did this knowing how much more their lives would be enriched. This should also be our goal, knowing how much more we can experience by investing our time in building a mature and fulfilled relationship with our savior.

2013 Day 139 – 1 Samuel 13-15, Proverbs 26:17-28

19 Sunday May 2013

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We must always be careful with decisions we make without first consulting God for direction. Saul made the decision to hold back food from the troops. He should never have made that decision with God’s approval first. 1 Samuel 14:30 shows what should have happened if he hadn’t made such a rash decision, How much better it would have been if the men had eaten today some of the plunder they took from their enemies. Would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been even greater?” Fortunately for God’s grace, Saul and Israel were still blessed despite his short sided decision. We must humble ourselves when we make mistakes, but we should probably wait on God before making a decision in the first place.

2013 Day 138 – 1 Samuel 10-12, Proverbs 26:1-16

18 Saturday May 2013

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In today’s reading the verse that stood out to me was Proverbs 26:11, As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly. I have read this verse many times and it seems like every time I read it God reminds me of the wisdom it contains. We all know what is right and what is wrong. As imperfect human beings it is easy to make mistakes. But every time we return to the same mistakes and the places we know will lead us to sin, we are fools. We must listen to the Holy Spirit in our hearts and know that He is leading us away from the things that will lead us to sin and its consequences. Let us not be like a dog that returns to its vomit. Once we have removed the sinful parts of our lives, let us ask God on a daily basis to give us strength to stay away.

2013 Day 108 – Matthew 11-13, Psalm 63

18 Thursday Apr 2013

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While it is important to clear our lives of the bad things, it is important to fill it with a strong and obedient life with God. In Matthew 12:43-45 Jesus says, 43 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.” If we simply remove the bad, we are inviting something to fill the void. We must be deliberate about what we allow to enter into our hearts and minds. Even the smallest of things can become some of the most difficult things to remove from our lives. For this reason, we must guard our lives with the power of the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in all we do.

2013 Day 106 – Matthew 5-7, Psalm 61

16 Tuesday Apr 2013

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Today’s reading in Matthew covers Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Every time I read this sermon, it astonishes me at the authority Jesus has over the definition of righteousness. When you really think about it, these are the words of God Himself speaking to each of us. There is nothing hidden behind the rules of the “law”. It is God telling us exactly what He expects from each of us. I think we would be well served if we read through the Sermon on the Mount more often and payed greater attention to Jesus’ word on how to live a purposeful life.

2013 Day 94 – James 3-5, Psalm 51

04 Thursday Apr 2013

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A couple of things stood out to me this morning in our reading. The first verse is about wisdom and made me consider if the wisdom that comes from me matches what comes from heaven. James 3:17 says, 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. If my wisdom is truly from heaven it will exhibit the characteristics described above.

The second verse that stood out to me is Psalm 51:10, Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. This verse matches up well with the verse in James described above. We must allow God to create a pure heart in us so we can identify and accept God’s wisdom from the proper perspective.

2013 Day 61 – Hebrews 4-6, Psalm 25

02 Saturday Mar 2013

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There were a lot of big verses in today’s reading. The one that always stands out to me every time I read these sections is Hebrews 4:12, For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double‑edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. The Bible is not outdated and it is not irrelevant to today’s society. It is God’s words that have applied for thousands of years and is just as important to us today as it was to anyone who participated in writing it. Each and every time I read the Bible something new is revealed to me. When we read the Bible as a book of history it is interesting, but when we read it with the expectation of it leading us, we then see the true power it has for our lives.