Tag: wisdom

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            My late Dad was, I think, one of the smartest guys I have ever known.  That is saying something, since I have three academic degrees and studied under intelligent professors and worked with gifted students.  Yet, he would sometimes say in the course of a cerebral conversation, “But what do I know? I’m just a dumb farmer.”  The self-deprecation came from the fact that he never attended college and did not study formally. 
 
            Today’s New Testament lesson shifts the focus away from any earthly wisdom.  Whether a person has a formal education and much learning; or, has a well-developed common sense; or, possesses a perceptive social intelligence; the Apostle Paul places the onus for Christianity in none of those attributes of the wisdom of humanity, but, rather, in the power of God.
 
            Although I believe Paul was a very gifted individual with every kind of human wisdom available to him, he himself did not ultimately put his trust in any of it.  What was of ultimate importance to Paul was that people would know Jesus Christ and him crucified.  Paul did not want people to be persuaded by his eloquence, or lack thereof, nor did he want to develop people who would follow him personally.  No, Paul wanted people to rest their faith squarely in Jesus Christ.
 
            It is the Spirit of God which uses us to demonstrate the power of God to a needy world.  Therefore, developing our connection with God in the Holy Spirit is of paramount importance.  And this is something everyone can do, not just an elite few.  This is the beauty of Christianity, that the most common of persons, as well as the most extraordinary of people, can both be equally used by God if they maintain a faith relationship with God.  Take time today and every day to foster such a relational experience in Christ.
            All-wise God, all power, glory, and honor belong to you.  My faith and hope rest securely and confidently in you.  Fill me to the full with your Holy Spirit so that the words that come out of my mouth and the actions that I do are a demonstration of God’s power to the glory of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Psalm 111

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            The combination of a microwave society and the constant need to be entertained has resulted in a profound lack of wisdom in our culture.  Whether it is politics or theology, at work or at home, everywhere we gravitate toward finding quick solutions given to us in engaging ways.  But biblical wisdom operates a different way.  It is must grow slowly and mature over an extended period of time.  It all begins with a basic reverence of God.  “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding.  To him belongs eternal praise.”
 
            Taking the time and the focus to marinade our lives in the praise and adoration of God, even when we do not feel like it, is necessary to living wisely.  Foolishness is in direct proportion to a lack of reverence and awe of God.  Conversely, the attention and recognition of God in glorifying him begins a slow process of lifetime learning that inevitably leads to the humility of wisdom.  Wisdom in the Bible is the ability to live well and flourish as a person by applying God’s revelation to the real concrete situations of life.  That cannot be done apart from praise to the LORD.
 
            In what ways can you praise God today?  What situations are you facing that need biblical wisdom?  Are you following the revealed commands of God in Scripture?  Will you be patient to allow God to help you with your troubles?  Where is Jesus influencing your daily decisions? 
            All wise God, I praise your holy name.  Teach me your ways so that I will know how to live wisely in all kinds of situations to the glory of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Exodus 2:11-25

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            Faith is not some static phenomena that one possesses or not.  It is more like a muscle that must be exercised and developed in order to be strengthened.  Moses needed to learn and grow in faith just as much or more than the rest of us.  The fact that he was eighty years old before he became the human agent of God’s deliverance, after a forty year stint in the backside of the desert, tells us that it took him awhile to mature.  Even though Moses may have had a sense that the Israelites needed freedom from slavery, and acted on that sense by killing a ruthless Egyptian, his sense of timing was not good.
 
            There is a time for everything, said the writer of Ecclesiastes.  Wisdom, the ability to apply faith in concrete situations, is often in the timing of things.  To know when to speak and when to listen, when to act and when to wait, is an important facet of faith.  The ancient Israelites were slaves in Egypt for a long time.  Moses knew they were suffering and he acted.  But it was not yet time.  Eventually, the Jewish cry came up to God, and God heard them.  He remembered his covenant with them.  Why God did not act sooner, or use Moses earlier, is information that is only privy within God himself.
 
            What this means for us is that if we are to develop in faith and gain a wise sense of timing, we will need to rely on God.  Trusting in ourselves, our own efforts, and our own perceived timing of how things ought to proceed will usually not end well.  We may find ourselves taking a “time out” from God in obscurity until we learn to wait on him.
 
            In the fullness of time, Paul said to the Galatians, Jesus came, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under the law.  God knows what he is doing, even though it might seem like he is sometimes slow to act.  God sees.  God delivers.  But he does it in his timing – not ours.
            Redeeming God, you control all things, including the clock.  Give me wisdom so that my sense of timing might reflect your will and your way.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

Proverbs 22:1-9

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            The Bible is not a flat one-dimensional piece of literature.  Throughout its contents, from Genesis to Revelation, it is chocked full of various literary genres.  From poetry and narrative stories to apocalyptic accounts and exhortative epistles, Holy Scripture provides a many-sided look at the unfolding drama of God’s redemption toward humanity.  Included in this is the book of Proverbs, a collection of wise sayings to help people navigate God’s big world.
 
            The chief reason we must know that the Bible contains different types of literature is so that we can read it and interpret it well.  A proverb is a short pithy statement of experiential truth.  It is not the same as the commands of the law.  In other words, a proverb is designed to point out, all things being equal, that this is how the world works.  So enter one of the most misused verses in the Bible:  “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”  Many a parent has been made to feel unrelenting guilt over a wayward son or daughter, believing that somehow they have failed.  The reason they have such feelings is that they treat the book of Proverbs as clear promises to claim.  Biblical proverbs simply were not meant to be stretched in this manner.
 
            Rather, the proverb is meant to communicate to us that if we as parents are diligent and faithful in raising our kids that in all likelihood this training will never leave them; it will always stick with them in some way, shape, or form.  It is also true that many a parent has rejoiced over an adult child coming back to his/her faith after a sojourn in the muck of the world.  Important to that return is the foundation laid years ago.
 
            So, this proverb is meant to encourage us, not with an ironclad promise, but with the hope that all the blood, sweat, and tears that parents put into their children will someday likely bear much fruit of a responsible life that contributes to both church and world.  Therefore, do not give up; keep persevering knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
            Wise God, for Whom all things are known, encourage me today and always in the knowledge of your ways so that I not lose heart in training my kids and others in the way of Jesus, my Lord.  Amen.