The last post discussed our reading of a chapter of the Gospel of John each day so we can learn about the character of God through his son Jesus. When we understand the character of God, we are more open to receiving wisdom from him. That is just the first step, though to receiving wisdom. The next one is a bit more challenging.

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

The fear of the Lord spoken of in the proverb is not stark terror. The “fear” refers to a complete and reverential awe. We do not have this reverential awe of God if we do not believe he exists, or that his son Jesus was who he said he was.

At some point knowledge obtained from words on a page must become fact or fiction. I could read the Lord of the Rings series all day. At the end of the day though, I know that it is just a fictional story. On the other hand, if I were to read about a situation in Google News that applies to my life, I may have to take action.

Let us ask ourselves a series of questions:

1. What do we believe about the Bible? Is the account of the life of Jesus just a nice story with a very tragic ending, or is it something more than that?
2. Do we believe that Jesus’ life truly happened as it was written in the Gospels?
3. If we think that Jesus never existed or was not who he said he was, then would we then believe anything else in the Bible?
4. If we are at that point, do we just pick and choose what seems right? If we are going by what “seems right”, isn’t that what brought us to this place in life where we are seeking wisdom and a new way of living?

Trying to apply principles without knowing the “whys” behind it, is much like me cramming for a math test where I rarely attend class and do not do the homework assignments. The equations don’t make any sense when I read them. They are just a disjointed series of letters, numbers, and squiggles. Even if I were to fake my way through the test, I would not be able to apply any of this knowledge to life.

Such is the same with God’s word. If I do not believe God is who he said he is, then the Bible is just a series of rules to live by. I could even “fake the test” and go to church for years without ever truly believing in God’s words to me. However, if we do believe that God is who he says he is, and that Jesus is his son who died so we may be free from sin and may be joined with our Father in heaven, then the Bible takes on new meaning.

Dealing with Doubt

If we want to maximize the effect of this series in our lives, we need to have the transformation of our mind and spirit where we invite God to be Lord of our lives. Do not be concerned if you do not have phyiscal sensations of a radical change in your body. Also do not be afraid if there is some lingering doubt in the far reaches of your mind.

The Gospel of Mark relates a story about Jesus healing a boy with an Unclean (demonic) spirit. The father of the boy says to Jesus,

(Mark9:22) But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
23 And Jesus said to him, “If you can! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

The father still had some doubt in his mind and flesh. However he was willing to go out on that limb and ask God to help his son and to change his mind. That is the final stage we all go through right before each of us makes the decision to come to Christ.

Wisdom is discipline

Scary, huh? Surrendering our will to a being we have not seen or heard runs counter to our Western culture. Here in America we are taught to “be independent”, “be our own boss”, or to “have it our way”. God says, that it can only be one way and that is his. Wisdom comes from discipline, and that discipline comes from the Lord. The kingdom of heaven is not run by committee. It is autocratic, but the difference between the leadership of our Lord and that of some earthly dictator is that God is always on our side, contrary to what people say. God loves us and will always forgive us so long as we follow him.

What this all boils down to is that to get the maximum amount from this series persuing wisdom, is that to learn from God, we must fully believe him. That means we accept God’s truth that the death of his son, Jesus covers the sins of those who believe.

If you are not ready to accept Jesus Christ as Lord of your life, that is OK too.

What - Are you serious?

Yup, totally serious. Becoming a child of God is the biggest decision you will ever make. It will also be the best decision you could ever make (I am a personal testimony to that), but it is none to be taken too lightly. While I do wish you would come to know the Lord, that decision is between you and God. I do invite you to keep checking out our blog and either bookmark it, or subscribe to the RSS or email feed.

Everyone please join us for the entirety of “30 days to Wisdom”, kicking off next Monday, February 13th. In the next post, we will find out about the location of the “gold mine of wisdom” in the Bible.

Until then, you and yours have a blessed day!

Categories: Wisdom
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