Wisdom Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Pastor Terry Lema's Daily Devotions

Thinking (and writing) about “stupid” yesterday had me thinking also about wisdom. There is much about wisdom in our Bibles. There is an entire book dedicated to wisdom, Proverbs, and there are also stories about the wise and foolish throughout the Scriptures.

We know that in Scripture, God does not order mankind along the lines of stupid or intelligent. He ranks as wise or foolish. Psalm 14 describes wise and foolish. Verse one tells us about fools, “The fool says in his heart, ‘God does not exist.’” Verse 2 tells us the definition of the “one who is wise” as “one who seeks God.” [HCSB]

We could say it this way … there are only two kinds of people, lost or saved. Either we are fools who do not acknowledge God, or wise in that we do come to God on His terms. But in addition to being “one who is wise” as “one who seeks God,” there is the added component of the “wisdom” that is needed for spiritual growth and maturity after salvation.

In the New Testament, the letter of James references that wisdom a number of times. Perhaps the one we are most familiar with is found in James 1:5: “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him.” [HCSB]

There are two critical parts to that verse. The first part is our responsibility; the second part is God’s. It is our responsibility to acknowledge that we lack wisdom and need to ask God for it. That phrase, “if any of you lacks wisdom,” could really be translated, “since you lack wisdom” because we all do.

None of us have the wisdom within us needed for our spiritual maturity in Christ. We must go to God for it. The world might classify us as “stupid” or having “intelligence” on the genius level, but none is born with spiritual wisdom. That is where the second part of this verse is so vital, “God…gives to all generously and without criticizing.” It is through the power of His Spirit of Truth indwelling us that we are given the spiritual wisdom we need to follow and to serve Him.

So let’s ask!

You are going to be hearing about “Ascendant Liberal Christianity” in the media. Apparently the NYTimes wrote an article declaring that President Joe Biden may “perhaps” be “the most religiously observant commander in chief in half a century.”

They go on to declare the new President as a champion of a better Christianity. They declare that “a different, more liberal Christianity grounds his life and his policies.”

As one man tweeted in response to this article … “There’s no such thing as ‘liberal Christianity’ there’s just Christianity.”

I do not doubt that President Joe Biden is a religious man. But the problem with that is Christianity is about relationship with the One True and Holy God who will not compromise His nature or attributes for anyone.

Religions can be anything we want them to be, ascendant, liberal, conservative, progressive, post-, etc. But when you enter a relationship with JEHOVAH God, you enter on His terms not yours. You agree to His way, not yours. You follow His will, not your own.

We need to be wise about many things in life – our relationship with our God is one area where knowledge and wisdom is vital. And as James reminds us, God wants us to be wise in our relationship with Him and with others. He will give us all the wisdom we need; we just need to ask.

“Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him.” [James 1:5 HCSB]

We must pray for our President. We are commanded to pray for all those in authority over us. We need to also pray for wisdom that we might see things as they truly are!

Wisdom

One Who is Wise

Ask! Please!