Once upon a time i was discouraged. I was discouraged because i didn't feel like i had the same "heart for seeking after God". I felt like everyone around me was growing in leaps and bounds in their walk with Christ and that i was lagging behind...
But i came to realize that a "seeking heart" is something you have to work at. Because of the temptations of this world, the things that tend to grab your attention, you need to keep wrestling your thoughts away.
Yes, to some extent, God has put into us all the desire to know Him more. But it's a difficult thing for some to accomplish. As a friend of mine so aptly put it - As a living sacrifice, we tend to crawl off the altar. We have to keep climbing back on. (In reference to Romans 12:1 (KJV) - I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.)
We have to continually deny the world the hold it has on our lives in order to seek God.
Another verse that caught my attention on this is:
Psalm 42:1 - As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul sants for You, O God.
That deer worked up a powerful thirst.
I need to work up a thirst for God. I think that one way to work up a thirst for God is to do His work. God's plans require supernatural strength... By working on these plans, i am working up a need for that strength... That is my thirst, a thirst for strength... The strength that only God can offer.
Another way i work up a thirst is by reading my Bible.
Like Einstein said, "The more I learn, the more I realize I know nothing."
When i read my Bible, i realize that i don't know anything about God. And that drives me to want to know more...
Isaiah 49:10 - They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.
Matthew 7:7 - Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
July 19, 2004
July 06, 2004
In Need Of... Wisdom.
Webster's Dictionary says:
wisdom, n. knowledge; insight; sound judgment; common sense.
The Bible says:
...the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.(James 3:17)
I'd say, to get a Christian perspective on wisdom, we need to look at both of these definitions.
Personally, i know that i look at the word wisdom and know what it means without really knowing what it means. That's what the dictionary is for... To learn the meaning of those words. And then i look at the Bible to get God's expanded version of that definition.
Webster's is very concise. Breaking down the word. Giving synonyms for that word. The Bible gives the how-to's and the what-for's. God explains through the Bible how He expects you to act out "wisdom".
When you look at the two definitions, they compliment each other. The definition in the dictionary could describe many people... it's easy to get knowledge, right? The Bible tells us the more concise, Christian way of wisdom.
There's a difference between "worldly wisdom" and "the wisdom that comes from heaven". The difference lies in how you act out your wisdom... the motives behind your wisdom.
James 3:13 says, Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
Doesn't sound like a worldly kind of wisdom... it doesn't sound like the "wisdom" spoken of in James 3:14-16 (But if you harbour bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, un-spiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.)
So...
James 1:5 - If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
wisdom, n. knowledge; insight; sound judgment; common sense.
The Bible says:
...the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.(James 3:17)
I'd say, to get a Christian perspective on wisdom, we need to look at both of these definitions.
Personally, i know that i look at the word wisdom and know what it means without really knowing what it means. That's what the dictionary is for... To learn the meaning of those words. And then i look at the Bible to get God's expanded version of that definition.
Webster's is very concise. Breaking down the word. Giving synonyms for that word. The Bible gives the how-to's and the what-for's. God explains through the Bible how He expects you to act out "wisdom".
When you look at the two definitions, they compliment each other. The definition in the dictionary could describe many people... it's easy to get knowledge, right? The Bible tells us the more concise, Christian way of wisdom.
There's a difference between "worldly wisdom" and "the wisdom that comes from heaven". The difference lies in how you act out your wisdom... the motives behind your wisdom.
James 3:13 says, Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
Doesn't sound like a worldly kind of wisdom... it doesn't sound like the "wisdom" spoken of in James 3:14-16 (But if you harbour bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, un-spiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.)
So...
James 1:5 - If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
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