2026-01-30
Good morning, Dear Ones,
It’s always important to begin with the basics. The Holy Spirit instructs me to write about the practice of God’s wisdom this week. Last week, I mentioned that living by God’s wisdom saves us a lot of trouble. The Scriptures explain why. PR 2: 6, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. Remember knowledge is data; understanding is recognizing the relationships between data; wisdom is the application of that understanding in accordance with God’s teaching. PR 3: 5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” JOB 28: 20 asks the question: From where does wisdom come and understanding dwell? Verses 21-28 eloquently answer those questions. “It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds in the sky. Destruction and death say, ‘Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.’ God understands the way to it, and He alone knows where it dwells, for He views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. When He established the force of the wind and measured out the waters, when He made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm, then He looked at wisdom and appraised it; He confirmed and tested it. And He said to the human race, ‘The fear of the Lord-that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”
MT 6: 24 brings us to another basic principle. “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” The love of money over God has produced greed and competition between neighbors. The net result is to disrespect God’s wisdom and to live without ethics. Judgments are made that are often unfair and decisions are made with concern only for oneself. I’ve seen this in action, and it has led to family divisions and loss of friendships. God’s wisdom is shared in PR 16: 16, “How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!”
Part of accepting and respecting God’s wisdom is being teachable. There is nothing more destructive than refusing to open one’s mind and heart to God’s wisdom. PR 1: 7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Real faith in God is a precious gift open to those whose minds and hearts are open to it. The story of a lady who is a sinner and comes to the Lord Jesus to express her faith in utter humility found in LK 7: 36-39, and 44-50 serves as an example. The Lord was invited to dinner hosted by a Pharisee. A lady who had lived a sinful life was also there carrying an expensive nard (perfume) in an alabaster jar. She stood behind Him weeping, wetting His feet with her tears and kisses. She wiped them with her luxuriant hair and poured the perfume on His feet. The Pharisee host said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what a low-life sinner this woman was.” Jesus (Who is omniscient) knew his thoughts and told him that he had not washed His feet with his tears or poured nard on them, as the woman did. Then He said, “Her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever loves a little has been forgiven little loves little.” The other guests questioned Christ’s ability to forgive sins. To the woman, the Lord said, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Real faith in God is a precious gift. Daniel understood this as he expressed in DN 2: 23, “I thank and praise You, God of my ancestors: You have given me wisdom and power; You have made known to me what we asked of You, You have made known to us the dream of the king.” God did the same thing for Joseph, in GN 41: 15-25. As a result, Joseph was taken from prison and told the pharaoh to set aside some of the grain during seven years of plenty to keep feeding Egypt during the seven years of famine. We all know that eventually Joseph was made second in charge in Egypt as time went by, despite what had happened to him at the hand of his brothers in the past.
PRAYER: O Lord, the experiences of people in the Scriptures show us in a practical way how real faith practiced in the Lord brings a better quality of life and avoidance of negative long-term consequences. This doesn’t mean that all trouble is avoided, only that the due to God’s wisdom and fairness, the end result of our lives is worth the cost of making tough decisions and taking hard to carry out actions. JN 5: 24 [Christ speaking], “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him Who sent Me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” Your desire to share God’s wisdom is gratefully received, and we offer You thanksgiving and praise forever and ever. In Christ’s holy/mighty name we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: Throughout the Scriptures, God has commanded the faithful to make behavioral changes. That will be the subject of next week’s message as we continue to examine, getting a fresh start. It helps to remember EPH 2: 8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” What a loving and generous God we have! Praise and thanksgiving be to Him!
Grace be with You Always,
Lynn JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2025. All Rights Reserved.
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