Wisdom and Foolishness

Do you seek out wisdom? Or do you scoff at those who do? Do you listen for wise speeches? Or do you turn your back on them? Do you accumulate knowledge? Or do you foolishly turn away from it. Do you think about God’s Word? Or do you focus solely on worldly things?

Wisdom does not come easy. It does not fall into our lap. Wisdom requires us to work for it. We not only must gather some knowledge, but we must use our minds to ponder the knowledge we have accumulated. As much as many of us may dislike it, wisdom also requires logic.

The logic required to be wise is not simple, worldly logic. It requires God’s logic, which does not always line up with worldly logic. The world may be telling us to go in one direction while God is telling us to go in another. The wise person will follow God’s logic, his wisdom to pursue the best path for our families.

The writer of proverbs personifies wisdom as a lady crying out in the streets, seeking people to come to her. Yet, so many walk away, ignoring her cry, scoffing at the possibility of becoming wise. Why? They think they already know enough. They falsely think they are in control. They falsely think they know the best option for themselves.

God calls out to us every day. He calls and waits for us to turn to him. We can play the fool and turn away. Or we can be wise and turn to him and listen to him. Wisdom will lead us to an abundant life and an eternity spent with God. Foolishness will lead us to eternal torment separated from God. We need to make the wise choice and turn to God.

I pray we all seek wisdom. I pray we spend time reading God’s Word, learning about him. I pray each one of us set aside the foolishness of the world for the wisdom of God. Seek God’s wisdom. Read God’s Word. Meditate on God’s Word. Turn away from worldly wisdom. Turn to God.

Proverbs 1:20-22

Wisdom cries out in the street; 

in the squares she raises her voice. 

At the busiest corner she cries out; 

at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: 

 “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? 

How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing 

and fools hate knowledge?”

Ask Out of Love

What do you do with love? How do you show your love? Do you show your love by caring for other people? Is your love deep enough to ask for help? Do you love God enough to ask him to guide you down the path he would have you go?

As we love, we show others that we love. We show it by caring for others. We show it by doing for others. We show our love in many ways without speaking a word. Yet, our love for God can sometimes be overlooked by us and others.

When we love Jesus and love the Father, we can go to the Father to ask for his help. When we know that God loves us even more than we love him, we can trust that he has our best interest at heart. It is knowing God has that kind of love for us that we can trust him. But do we really trust him?

Jesus tells us that we can go directly to the Father because of God’s love for us. It is also because of what Jesus has done for us. Jesus loves us so much that He asked the Father to send his Holy Spirit to be with us always. Because the Father loves us and loves Jesus, he granted His request.

It is an enormous privilege to go to God the Father personally to ask for his guidance, help, and provision. We can go to him confidently because of his love for us and our love for Jesus. So, go to the Father in prayer, asking for his help.

I pray we all love Jesus. I pray we know God the Father loves us. I pray each one of us will go to the Father to ask for his guidance, help, and provision. Love Jesus with all your heart. Know that God the Father loves you. Believe in Jesus. Believe Jesus is from God. Ask God out of love for him. 

John 16:26-27 “On that day you will ask in my name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”

Ask for the Unheard Of

Yesterday, I mentioned asking for the impossible. Consider this a continuation. We simply do not ask for the things we don’t believe can be done. Yet, we serve a God who is powerful enough to do anything, even those things we believe cannot be done.

Why don’t we ask? As I mentioned yesterday, a significant reason is out of fear. Fear that God won’t grant our prayer. Fear that God can’t do it. Fear of getting our hopes up and being let down. Even fear that God may do it, and we won’t know how to handle it.

Another reason we don’t ask is we are not always sure we want it. We think we want it. We may believe we want it. But there is a small bit of doubt nagging at the back of our mind. We waffle back and forth. We want to ask, then we don’t want to ask. We think it would be a good thing, then we rethink it.

But here’s the thing. God wants to hear our requests. He wants us to bring it all to him. He wants to hear our worries. He wants to hear our joys. And he wants to hear our desires, even those we believe to be impossible.

We see Jesus heal a man who was deaf and could not speak plainly. The man’s friends brought him to Jesus. The begged Jesus to lay His hands on the man. Since the man could not ask for healing, his friends did it for him. So, we can ask God to do the impossible for our friends as well.

I pray we all ask God for our desires. I pray we ask him for the hard things. I pray each one of us will trust that God can do anything and ask him for the impossible. Stop thinking about it. Ask God for the impossible. Trust God can handle it. Ask without fear. Ask with a humble heart.

Mark 7:35 And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.

Ask for the Impossible

What are you willing to ask for from God? Will you ask for something hard? Will you ask for your deepest desire? Will you ask for the impossible? Do you trust God can deliver whatever you ask from him? Will you accept his answer, even if it is no?

We often ask God for things we want, but those wants are not deep desires. We ask God for things we think are hard, but we don’t really believe he will give them to us. We dare not ask for what we think is impossible for fear that God will not grant it, or worse, he can’t.

Fear stops us from approaching God so many times. Think about it. What is it in your life that seems impossible or has in the past and you have not asked for God’s help. If we are honest with ourselves, we all have something we are afraid to ask God for or have had something at some point in our past. If not, we will experience at least one impossible thing during our lives.

A gentile woman came to Jesus to ask Him to cast a demon out of her daughter. She didn’t bring her daughter with her. She knew He was Jewish. Likely, she feared He wouldn’t even see her. Yet, she went. She begged. She argued with Him. In the end, Jesus granted her request, largely because of her persistence and her faith in Him.

We would do well to learn the lesson from this woman. Do not fear going to God with the hard things or the impossible things. Be persistent in asking for what we believe is needed. We need to be desperate in our asking. We should lay our hearts bare to God, making our deepest desires known and trust that he will provide.

I pray we all approach God without fear. I pray we make our deepest desires known to him. I pray each one of us bare our hearts to God and trust him to provide what we need. Have no fear. Go to God. Go with a humble heart. Lay your heart bare. Ask for the impossible.

Mark 7:28-29 But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.”

Dead or Active

What do you put your faith in? Do you have faith in material things or a job? Who do you put your faith in? Do you put your faith in your parents, spouse, children, or friends? How do you demonstrate your faith? Is your faith actionable? Is it alive? Or has your faith faded?

We often put our faith in things we can see and touch. It may be material things, such as our vehicle. Most of us go to our vehicle every morning and trust it will start. We may put faith in our jobs, believing they will always be there. We regularly put our faith in people.

I had put my faith in a job at one time. I thought that I could work that job until I retired. There was more than enough work to keep me busy for years. Then one day, I was unceremoniously fired. God had a different plan for me and, though I knew it, I rediscovered nothing in this world is guaranteed.

Yet, our faith must be an active faith. James tells us that faith, or belief, by itself is dead. If our faith does not cause us to do something, it is not as deep as we might like to believe. He gives the example of taking of someone in need. Helping the poor, homeless, or the hungry are certainly ways our faith can be put into action.

But helping others is not always based on faith. Sometimes we act out of compulsion and our wealth. We have extra and give to the poor. We feel compelled to help at the soup kitchen, because someone at church asked. James is saying our faith cannot come from our wealth. It must come from our trust in God to provide.

We are not fans of James writing what he wrote. We don’t want to hear we must put our faith into action. We like to say we believe but do nothing with it. Yet, Jesus tells us to go make disciples. He gave us a mission, which requires us to put our faith in Him into action. We need to listen for God speaking through his Holy Spirit to us and God using people around us to pose opportunities for us to put or faith into action.

I pray we all put our faith in Jesus Christ. I pray we listen for opportunities to put our faith into action. I pray each one of us will have an active faith that causes us to do the good works God has set aside for us. Put your faith in Jesus. Have an active faith. Go about doing the good works God has for you.

James 2:14-17 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

Royal Law

Do you show partiality toward certain people? Is it toward a certain type of people? Does that type of behavior demonstrate love of your neighbor? How do you show love to your neighbor? Do you know who your neighbor is? Are you willing to accept everyone as your neighbor?

Showing partiality toward certain people can be a challenge for us. It is easy to be partial to people with the same ideologies, culture, and even race. It is easy to be partial toward people we like and hang out with. We don’t mind being a good neighbor to them.

Yet, being a good neighbor to only those we like is not what Jesus has called us to. He has called us to be a good neighbor to those who are different culturally, of a different race, and even those with different ideologies. He has called us to be a good neighbor to those who are marginalized in our society.

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges for us is to be a good neighbor to someone with a different theological viewpoint. We sometimes see one denomination looking down at the others, thinking they are better and showing partiality to their members. Again, this is not what Jesus called us to. He called us to be unified in Him.

James calls being a good neighbor the royal law. He is pointing to the fact that it is the only outward way we can show others we are obeying Jesus. We can pray silently. We can read God’s Word with no one around. We can sit silent in worship services. But if we are a good neighbor, we must interact with other people. Often those people are the marginalized people Jesus spent most of His time with. We might want to be more like Jesus and obey His commands.

I pray we all seek to love our neighbor. I pray we decide to obey Jesus’ commands. I pray each one of us will follow the royal law and love everyone we come in contact with. Love those who are different from you. Love everyone you meet. Love like Jesus. Obey His commands.

James 2:8 You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Favorites

Do you show favoritism? Do you treat those who appear to have more money better than those who don’t? Do you honor those with a higher status while dishonoring those without? How do you think God views them? How do you think you should view them?

We all have our favorites, including people. After all, we likely treat our loved ones better than people we do not know. But when we encounter people with a high-ranking office or those who are rich, we often treat them better than we treat someone who is homeless.

James asks some challenging questions in the first few verses of chapter two. In his rhetorical questions, he points out it is the rich who oppress, who drag people to court, and blaspheme the name of Jesus. Think not? Pay attention to their actions, behavior, and how they speak the next time you encounter them.

In all honesty, it isn’t just the rich, but even those who are considered middle-class. Those we consider to be professionals, whether working an office job, teaching, nursing, doctors, computer specialists, or construction workers. Though we may not consider them rich, they have enough to falsely believe they do not need God.

James tells us it is the poor who God has blessed with a faith that is rich. It is no wonder that is the case. The poor must depend on God to provide. They often live day-to-day or paycheck-to-paycheck. They scrimp and save to provide for their families. They put their faith in God. They praise him for their home, clothing, meals, and for one more day.

We would do well to pay more attention to the poor and less to the rich. We would do well to spend more time with those who put their faith in God. We can learn a lot from them, not the least of which is having our eyes opened to the many blessings God has bestowed on us.

I pray we all open our eyes to see the reality all around us. I pray we treat those with less better than those with more. I pray each one of us see the many blessings God has bestowed on us. Open your eyes. See reality. Treat the poor well. See God’s blessings.

James 2:1 My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?

A Good Name

How much do you put into a name? Do you believe your name is well regarded? Are you willing to forfeit your good name to be wealthy? Do you hold wealthy people with higher regard? If so, why? Is it because you believe they are better people?

It used to be that keeping a good name through honesty and hard work was to be held with higher regard than anything else. That included treating others well. But today, it seems as making money has become more important than having a good reputation.

We marvel at people who can keep their integrity in today’s culture. There is pressure from all sides to let go for the sake of promotion. Cut some corners. Take credit for something someone else did. Report someone else for a wrong they didn’t commit. Do whatever it takes to move up the ladder.

I can remember in my younger days, I never worried about telling others how well I thought I was doing. I didn’t worry about someone speaking badly of me. I didn’t concern myself with promotion, fully believing it would come when it was due as people saw my work ethic and talents. Unfortunately, that is not always the case today.

The writer of Proverbs tells us to strive more for a good name than wealth. We are to seek the favor of others for who we are and how we live our life than to seek large bank accounts. Though this may sound odd to us, it is the way of God. After all, the writer of Proverbs tells us that both the rich and the poor are created by God. This is another way of stating we are all loved by God.

I pray we all seek to have a good name. I pray we hold onto our integrity. I pray each one of us know that God loves all his children, including each one of us. Seek a good name. Keep your reputation clean. Hold onto your integrity. Know that God loves you.

Proverbs 22:1-2

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, 

and favor is better than silver or gold. 

The rich and the poor have this in common: 

the Lord is the maker of them all.

Failures of the Heart

How is your heart? Is it working properly? Does it do the job God designed it to do? Has it been poisoned by Satan? Is it following the path of the world? Or is it following God’s path? Are you willing to work at changing your heart?

Our hearts can be led astray. In fact, Satan is working on it. He whispers to us life isn’t fair. He whispers that we should take revenge. He whispers we are to judge others unfairly. He whispers for us to do what we think will make us happy based on worldly standards.

Jesus tells us they are lies and our hearts are fooled. He provides us with a list of foolhardy reactions that come from our hearts. He also tells us they defile us, which means they separate us from God. If we are seeking to follow Jesus, we certainly don’t want to be separated from God.

Ultimately, we make the choice. We either invite Jesus and the Holy Spirit into our lives to change our hearts or we continue to listen to and follow Satan. Jesus doesn’t give us any other option. He puts the choice and the outcome of our decision in an either/or proposition. We either pursue righteousness or defilement.

We like to say we are followers of Christ when we are with other believers. Unfortunately, our behavior and actions give us away. We are either seen as true followers or as false followers. What choice will we make? Will we follow Jesus or be fooled by Satan?

I pray we all choose to follow Jesus. I pray we ask Him and the Holy Spirit to change our hearts. I pray each one of us pursue righteousness rather than defilement. Choose to follow Jesus. Ask the Holy Spirit to change your heart. Pursue righteousness.

Mark 7:21-23 “For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

Tradition and Jesus

Do you like tradition? Are they important to you? Do you follow tradition to a T? Do you put tradition above all other things? Are you willing to set aside tradition for something far more important? Will you set them aside for emergencies? Will set them aside to follow Jesus?

We have a lot of traditions. There are cookouts for summer holidays. There are traditions for birthdays. We have family traditions that have been going on for years or decades. Those traditions are hard to break, even if we see the need to set them aside.

We have church, or religious, traditions as well. Most of them are good and based on solid reasoning. However, far too many of our church members do not know what the reasoning is. They simply know that they have always followed them. What are we to do? Stop following the traditions? Let’s think about it.

There are at least three options. One is to stop them. But that seems a bit drastic. The second thing we can do is read our Bibles and purposely look for Scripture passages that point to one of our traditions. The third option, and likely the best, is to both read Scripture and research the traditions to discover their origins.

But the ultimate question we all must wrestle with is, are we willing to give up the tradition, no matter what the reasoning, to follow Jesus? The religious Jews of Jesus’ day followed well founded traditions, but they put them ahead of God. Even if our traditions are good, we cannot allow ourselves to put tradition ahead of following Jesus.

I pray we all seek to understand our traditions. I pray we read Scripture and research traditions. I pray each one of us are willing to give up tradition to follow Jesus as He has called us. Understand traditions. Read your Bible. Give up tradition, if necessary. Follow Jesus no matter what.

Mark 7:6-8 He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, 

‘This people honors me with their lips, 

but their hearts are far from me; 

in vain do they worship me, 

teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ 

You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”