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Listen to the words of the wise; apply your heart to my instruction. For it is good to keep these sayings in your heart and always ready on your lips. I am teaching you today—yes, you—so you will trust in the Lord. Proverbs 22:17-19 (NLT)
In this world of economic and political uncertainty wise decisions are more important than ever. It’s easy to have opinions about how things should be from a distance, just as it’s easy to coach a professional sporting event from your arm chair.
It’s entirely a different story when it’s your job that’s being ‘eliminated due to corporate restructuring’. It’s more crucial to know how to act when it’s your test results or the test results of a loved one that shows a critical health issue. When it’s you sitting at divorce court or in a jail cell, suddenly knowing how to act/react takes on a whole new meaning. The question of the century becomes: “What should I do?”
Wisdom is a combination of life experiences and learning. Experience is a great teacher, but you can’t possibly experience everything you need to in order to make right choices. The need then, is to balance learning through experience with seeking the counsel of those who have either gone through similar situations or know someone who has.
Wisdom can be learned through active listening. “Active Listening” is where you make a conscious effort to hear not only the words that another person is saying but, more importantly, to try and understand the total message being sent. It means you ask questions, confirm facts and take time to ponder the options.
The foundation of wisdom must come from sources that acknowledge the presence of an Almighty, All-knowing and Sovereign God. True wisdom never contradicts God’s law since God is the complete source of wisdom. Wisdom can, and often does, go against religious dogma and tradition. Wisdom regarding life will always, with no exception, turn you towards the cross of Jesus Christ and the empty tomb. Don’t be deceived by clever attempts to show you a different way.
Wisdom is not a natural result of age. Young people can be very wise. Old people can be very foolish. It’s not based on a person’s title, popularity or money The Apostle Paul says “Let no man look down on your youth” (1 Timothy 4:12). It isn’t age, but rather our ability to listen and learn from God’s word and godly men and women that brings wisdom to our lives.
God’s wisdom never fails. We aren’t God. We will fail. Even after doing all the right things there is always a chance that our decision will lead to failure on some sort. That’s when it is important to remember that there is always forgiveness. We can always come to the cross for failing to act wisely but beware of the consequences. The father will forgive and offer second chances but the consequences may follow you the rest of your life. Think and pray wisely before you act.
PRAYER: Father God. There is so much around me that I don’t understand right now. I don’t understand the cruelty and greed of some people. I don’t understand why I can’t get life right. I’m angry about the way things are in my life and see no way out! Please empower me through Your Holy Spirit to listen actively to Godly advice, draw close to you in relationship through The Bible and Prayer, and trust you for the outcome. Amen.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20 (NLT)
What a tremendously powerful promise! Paul is telling the Christ-followers in the City of Ephesus that the same God that created the universe and all that is in it, who sent His son Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for the sins of all mankind, who rose Jesus from the dead and placed Him at a place of honor in Heaven’s throne room, who sent His very Spirit to dwell within those who choose to follow Christ. This same God has promised us that He can and will use us to do mighty things. Things that even go beyond our wild imaginations!
There’s an old adage that says “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!” But this adage doesn’t speak to the power of God working within us. He has the power to do whatever He wants as is evidenced in history, and the desire to see us prosper for His glory. His promise is sure. He can do amazing things through us.
So why is it then that we don’t see amazing things happen in our lives? You may ask, “If God is able to do those things why isn’t He doing them in me?” There could be several reasons we don’t see God working miracles in us and through us.
- We may not be looking! Some people look at things as being ‘mysterious coincidences’. But in reality there is no such thing as a coincidence. Our Sovereign God works in marvelous ways. Sometimes we need to train our eyes to see His work. Just as we often fail to notice a beautiful sunset, or appreciate the beauty of a flower or the new born baby.
- We may be locked in our past. It is easy for us to look at the mistakes we’ve made in the past and think that those mistakes will keep us from seeing God work in mighty ways. Take a look at the people in the Bible. All of the great ‘leaders of Faith’ stumbled and fell and failed God often. Yet they rose from their past to perform great works for the Kingdom of God.
- We may be imprisoned by sin. Jesus came to forgive us of our sins. Once we accept Christ we follow a new set of rules. A set of rules built on relationship and love, not law and condemnation. While we may be forgiven, if we continue to live according to the patterns of the world we may hinder God’s ability to work through us. His power is becomes greater as we grow closer to Him in a relationship of love.
- We may need to change our focus. Sometimes we have an idea of what we want to do for God rather than seeking what He wants to do through us. Seek His direction through Bible Study, prayer and your accountability group. Make sure you are following HIS vision and not your DESIRES. Even though your desires may be good and valid, they may not be what God wants you to do.
- The hard story of consequences. The story of God’s Grace is found throughout the Bible. In the midst of all those stories of God’s love and forgiveness however there are some hard stories, tough lessons to learn. Take the story of Moses for example. Moses focus in life was to bring God’s people into the promised land. But as he approached the border of the promised land God told him that because he struck the rock to get water rather than speaking to the rock, he wouldn’t enter the promised land. God used Moses mightily before and after the rock incident. But in the end he only got to view the promised land from a distance. Sometimes the consequences of our choices in the past can keep us from attaining all we hoped for. God forgives the sin and cleanses the conscience. But sometimes, for reasons we don’t understand, the consequences remain. Can God still use us? YES! Does He still love us? DEFINITELY. Should we give up and consider ourselves failures? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Regardless of the consequences you may be bearing from past choices, God has a plan for you and wants to do mighty things in your life!
PRAYER: Holy God. I thank you for the many stories in the Bible that show how you work through the lives of imperfect people like me. I confess that too many times I’ve doubted your ability to use me, or failed to clean up my life so I can be used by you. Forgive me for my rebellion and sin. Show me where I need to change so that I can see you work in me. Because of your promise I’m claiming great things for your Kingdom! Amen.
We live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7
Faith is believing in something even though we can’t see it. Some say they have no faith but we all have faith so some extent.
In the physical life:
- We believe in wind because we see the leaves moving for no apparent reason. But we know about wind. We can’t see it. We can feel it on our faces and see its results. Therefore, I have faith that wind exists.
- We believe in ‘chair-ability’. We see a chair. We’ve experienced chairs before. We know by faith from our previous experience that when we sit we will be upheld.
- We believe in wet. We can’t see wet. But we know when we touch water that wetness happens.
To say we have no faith implies we have had no experiences because faith is often learned by experiences.
The same is true in the spiritual realm. We can’t see God. We have His word to show us His actions through history. Actions that can be verified by historians, scientists and other scholars. We see his actions in creation and when we look into the skies. Living by faith is a decision to accept what we know to be true and applying it to life even when we can’t see it.
I live by faith, not sight when finances are tight and God says He’ll provide. I take the necessary actions to make wise choices. I live to the level of my ability and realize that money and possessions aren’t what life is about.
I live by faith, not sight when the doctor’s report isn’t good. I believe that my God is Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals. I know that my health is in His hands and that He knows what is best for me. No matter what the doctor says, I know my spiritual health is more important than my physical health. I trust Him to take care of me.
I live by faith, not sight when the relationship I thought would last for my entire life ends. I know that in God’s eyes it’s not so important why it failed or how it failed. What’s really important is that I come to Him for healing, knowing I’m forgiven and that He can still use me no matter what.
I live by faith, not sight when the political scene contradicts God’s law. I know that my sovereign God is ultimately in control of all things. Because He is in control, when the political scene grows worrisome I will stand in the face of adversity and walk all the more closely to Him for protection, guidance and wisdom.
I live by faith, not sight when the justice system fails me. I know that the unfair things of life are here only to make me stronger. I will work within the system for change and accept, as God’s will, when things don’t go my way.
I live by faith, not sight when God says I’m forgiven. It doesn’t matter what others say. It doesn’t matter how others treat me. It doesn’t matter how many times others bring up the mistakes of my past. I know my Redeemer lives. I know that He has forgiven me and there is nothing anyone can do to change my relationship with Him.
PRAYER: Father, it’s so easy to think about faith and so hard to live it. There are so many things in my life that scare me right now. So many doubts; so many feelings of inadequacy; so many questions about what is right and what is wrong. Life is so confusing. I ask that today you would help me to grow in my faith as I experience Your presence in my life. Amen.
I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws. Psalm 119:30
A friend of mine told me of the first time he visited his girlfriend’s (now wife’s) family in rural Minnesota. My friend was born and raised in the city. His only experience with tractors and farm machinery was the area called ‘machinery hill’ at the State Fair. But my friend was always willing to try new things. There were few challenges he wasn’t ready to take.
His girlfriend, however, was born and raised on a farm miles from the nearest large city. ‘She’d learned how to drive tractor almost before she knew how to walk!” He chuckled as he told the story.
On his first visit to the farm he was eager to learn about the farm and equally eager to impress this new family. He willingly helped with chores and laughed at himself when he made some goofy, ‘green-hand’ mistake. He readily accepted the offer from one of the brothers to drive the tractor and was quite impressed with how quickly he learned the ropes.
On the third day on the farm he overheard talk at the dinner table about an 80 acre field that still needed to be plowed before the predicted rain came later that day. After the meal he offered his ‘dad-in-law-to-be’ his services to plow the field. After some discussion the father finally agreed and the two climbed on board the tractor for the trip to the field.
Dad made the first two trips across the field explaining how the plow and tractor worked together and giving some instruction. My friend now admits that he wasn’t really listening. The excitement of the new challenge occupied his mind completely. The father soon left him on his own for the new adventure and walked back to the farm. My friend was on his own.
He soon found out that the task wasn’t as easy as he had expected to be. Whereas the father had plowed nice strait furrow in the earth, my friend found it nearly impossible to stay on track. His furrows were crooked and overlapped. He constantly had to cut back to pick up places he’d missed completely. After a couple hours of frustration he turned the tractor around once more only to see a gaping spot he’d missed in the field and a familiar shape standing near the fence line.
As he guided the tractor across the field one more time he looked back and noticed that in his nervousness he had once again left a gaping hole, missing an entire segment of earth. The father climbed on board the tractor and asked him how it was going. My friend admitted that it was much tougher than he’d expected and was more impressed than ever with the father’s ability to plow such straight furrows time after time. He asked what the secret was.
The father smiled and pointed across the field. “You see that fence post at the other end? Let’s take one more pass here. I want you to place all your attention on that post. Don’t look to the side, don’t look back. Only drive to the post.”
My friend put the tractor in gear and looked ahead at the post. He resisted every temptation to check the plow, the sides or anything else. When he got to the end of the field he looked back and saw a perfectly straight furrow! The trick was to keep his focus on what lay ahead.
What a perfect lesson to learn for each of us. The Psalmist tells us to ‘set our hearts on the Laws of God’. In order to make straight paths on the journey of life we must set our attention completely on what God wants for us. Don’t look at where we’ve been. Don’t look at what is going on around us. Set our eyes squarely on Jesus and we won’t waver.
PRAYER: Holy God. I confess to you that I am constantly tempted to look at my past and what others around me are doing. When I do that I lose my vision of who you are, of who I am and what you want for me. I ask that you would empower me to only pay attention to what you want for me. Keep me from being distracted by my past. Help me to ignore those things that would keep me from following you. I ask this in the name of your Son Jesus. Amen.
“Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.” Ephesians 4:22-23 (NLT)
As Christ-followers, we are to be a catalyst for positive change in the world. We are called to be holy. Holiness has sometimes gotten a bad image. For many the idea of a ‘holy person’ is one that is legalistic, has no fun and spends their time doing nothing but prayer, Bible Study and doing ‘spiritual things.’
Holiness really means we are set apart to live lives that are free from the negative thoughts and harmful actions that the rest of society is imprisoned by. Holiness is as more about attitude than it is action. The ‘holy person’ is one that has the freedom to live life with a positive mindset.
In order to be different, or ‘holy’, on the outside (actions) we must first change how we are on the inside (attitudes). We need to get rid of attitudes that lead to negative thoughts, personal attacks, anger, revenge, refusal to forgive, selfishness, lust, and other thoughts that are harmful to us and to others.
To make the change is really a two step process. Paul says that we must first make a decision to change (throw off your former way of life). This means we have to decide that we actually want to change how we feel about ourselves and others.
After we decide that we really want to change we need to ask the Holy Spirit of God to help us change our thought patterns and our attitudes. Changing actions without changing thoughts and actions is hypocrisy and legalism. True change comes from the heart and is only possible through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and relying on His Spirit to make the change in us.
The Christ follower has a mindset and attitude that shows:
- A true love for God, ourselves and others;
- An inner joy when everything seems to go wrong;
- A peace that passes all understanding when life is scary;
- Patience with those who constantly fail us;
- Kindness to those who are rude, arrogant or insensitive;
- A spirit of goodness or generosity to those who are in need physically and emotionally;
- Faithfulness in our relationships with God and others;
- A spirit of gentleness to those who are hurting;
- Behavior that refuses to give up self-control.
The problem comes when we realize that it’s not enough to just decide to change. We need the inner strength to make that change work on the outside. We can’t do it on our own and it won’t happen overnight. We’ll have set backs. We’ll stumble and fall, sometimes daily! But the first step is the desire to change.
PRAYER: Holy Father. I thank you for the new life you have given me in Christ Jesus. I confess to you that there are so many times in my life when negative thoughts and attitudes control me. I want to change but I’m afraid to give myself completely to you. Help me to live in the freedom of your Spirit. Empower me to change on the inside so that others will see changes in my actions for your Glory. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 