[He] who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father[.]

Galatians 1:4

[He] who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father[.] Galatians 1:4

I agree with this post on DesiringGod.com that states that Holy Week is the most important week in all of history. As such, I continue with one of the recommendations from the post to prepare for Holy Week, which is to read John Piper's 40-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Today I read reason #20: To Deliver Us from the Present Evil Age.  Here, John Piper describes how believers, "[u]ntil we die, or until Christ returns to establish his kingdom, we live in 'the present evil age.'"  Ensuring a right understanding of what is meant by "deliver us from the present evil age," Piper points us to John 17:15, sharing that believers are not taken from the world but instead protected and preserved from the power and influences of the evil one.  Expanding on this present evil age, "Satan is given freedom to deceive and destroy" - see also 1 John 5:19 and 2 Corinthians 4:4. Those who are not believers in this present evil age, "live in sync" with Satan - see also Ephesians 2:2.  While many may view this description of non-believers as harsh - we should understand how God views all of humanity as sinful and falling short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and lacking self-awareness if there is no acknowledgement of this gap between humanity and God (1 John 1:8).  The Good News of the Gospel is shared in 1 John 1:9 where it shares that "[i]f we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  Piper clarifies how easily it is to be blinded by Satan by idolizing money, sex, hobbies, or any other addictive power that is worshiped over the One True God. The devotion then refers us to 2 Peter 2:19 where scripture describes how these sinful influences enslave a person. Believers recognize these sinful influences as offering only folly while the Truth of the Gospel offers wisdom - see also 1 Corinthians 3:8-19, 1:18.  There is hope in Jesus Christ for those who feel enslaved by Satan - repent and believe!

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are Truth and You give me the power power to protect myself during this present evil age.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You arm me to protect myself.  My sin is great and it continues - daily.   Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it....A wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left.

Ecclesiastes 7-11

For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it....A wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left. Ecclesiastes 7:12, 10:2

I continue my study of Ecclesiastes using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book. My focus this morning is a commentary assisted review of Ecclesiastes chapters 7-11 and the commentary's first division for these chapters - God Has a Design for Everything. 

Before jumping into how the commentary discusses its first division, I'm starting with the main idea and the introduction for the commentary chapter.

Title of this chapter of the commentary (which looks at Ecclesiastes chapters 7-11): Wisdom in a Meaningless World.

Main idea: Wisdom does not always work out immediately in this cursed world, but because of the gospel, wisdom does work out ultimately.

Excerpts from the introduction to this chapter of the commentary:

• "Solomon...is teetering on the edge of unbelief because of the mess he sees in the world. He observes that living by God’s wisdom does not always work out. The faithful often suffer and the wicked often prosper. This situation is futile! Therefore, Solomon takes on the role of a skeptic in order to observe the world and ask the question, Is there meaning in this cursed world? His experiment causes him to conclude that everything is meaningless."
• "In Ecclesiastes 7–11 [Solomon] observes the unjust nature of things, and he concludes again that everything is absurd. However, instead of this driving him away from God, it actually drives him to God in faith."

Excerpts from the commentary's first division God Has a Design for Everything:

• "God has a design for everything in creation, and the wisdom literature calls living according to that design “wisdom.”  God made the world to work a certain way, and you should live your life in that way—you should walk in wisdom (i.e., walk in the right way; Eccl 10:2)—because it will preserve your life. Ecclesiastes 7:12 states that “wisdom is protection . . . and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.” Living against God’s design is foolishness because it threatens your life, whereas living according to it is wisdom because it leads to an abundant life."
• "[W]hile Solomon observes these wise principles, he also talks much about the limit of man’s knowledge. Ecclesiastes 11:5 says, “Just as you don’t know the path of the wind, or how bones develop in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you don’t know the work of God who makes everything.” Man’s observations are limited to life lived “under the sun” in this cursed world, and even that is too much because we do not know the path the wind will take (11:5; cf. 8:17). Since our observation is limited, we cannot figure everything out. One of the main reasons we cannot figure everything out in this cursed world is because things do not always work out the way they are supposed to work out (8:14-17). Living by wisdom does not always make life go smoothly. Why? What is going on? Why is there suffering? Why do these wisdom principles not work? The problem is that humanity has departed from God’s design. The Bible calls this departure “sin,” and sin leads to brokenness and meaninglessness."
  

God's design and wisdom is perfect! Lean into and surrender your life to Jesus and follow Him!

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me - saving me while still a sinner.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such love and grace.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool!

Ecclesiastes 2

For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! Ecclesiastes 2:16

I continue my study today of Ecclesiastes using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Ecclesiastes 2:12-17, which is the second division of Ecclesiastes 2 per the commentary.  While there is some speculation to whom Solomon is addressing when he refers to his son in this text, a strong candidate is Rehoboam (see also starting 1 Kings 11, and 2 Chronicles 9). The commentary first describes how Solomon seeks to help his son avoid the mistakes and sin he made over the course of his life.  It then describes vv13-14 and the value of wisdom: "[w]isdom helps you navigate this world without stumbling because it allows you to see clearly the pitfalls, and it allows you to discern the right decision in each situation."  The commentary then shares how although wisdom has value, again apart from God there is no lasting value: "wisdom is better than foolishness, but the value is only relative, and it does not last. Why? Wisdom’s gain over folly is fleeting because both the wise and the fool share the same fate. Death is the great equalizer. That is Solomon’s point. What is the use in exerting all of this energy to be wise if this world is all there is and we all end up as worm food in the end? Why deny myself the seeming fun of the foolish life and work hard to be wise when we all end up the same? Death makes meaningless even trying to live the right kind of life in this world."  Additionally, much of humanity toils for value by striving for a "righteous" or "good" life but again Solomon shares how in the end in our fallen world it is futile - bad things happen to "righteous" and "good" people and vice-versa for less than righteous and good people.  We seek justice and judgement but Solomon once again points out how this, apart from God, is futile.   

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me - freely giving me salvation and blessing me every day (without ceasing) new mercies.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool!

Ecclesiastes 2

For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! Ecclesiastes 2:16

I continue my study today of Ecclesiastes using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book.  Today, my focus is an unassisted review of Ecclesiastes 2:12-17, which is the second division of Ecclesiastes 2 per the commentary. In this text, Solomon describes his pursuit of wisdom, which, just like his pursuit of pleasure in vv1-11, ends in a feeling of vanity and futility. I have fallen prey to both the pursuits of pleasure and wisdom, and while both are not sinful in and of themselves, the pursuit of both apart from God become an idol, which of course is sinful.  I am drawn this morning to another of Solomon's writings from the Bible - of course as is true of anything in the Bible being divinely inspired - Proverbs 1:7:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

From the very beginning - humanity was made by God and in His image (see Genesis 1). Isaiah writes to comfort the southern kingdom of Judah as he shares a prophecy of its fall and captivity.  Isaiah wants to remind the inhabitants of Judah that they - as does all of humanity - exist to glorify God:

Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified. Isaiah 60:21

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, what an awesome God You are that love and save Your elect while still hostile to You and only out of Your amazing grace - not because any one of us is deserving in the least bit.  Thank You Jesus for making me one of Your elect - I know I am not deserving.  Thank You for Your grace.  But again I am not deserving.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 1

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18

I continue my study of 1 Corinthians.  I am assisted in my study by the Christ-Centered Exposition Series commentary for this book.  Today my focus is a review - unaided by the commentary - of 1 Corinthians 1:18-25. Here the emphasis is the contrast in how God's wisdom (the Word) saves and has power - even as God uses ordinary and weak people as vessels through which He delivers the Word - in contrast to worldly wisdom and power which God manifests in kingdoms that are brought low and humbled at His will.  The text starts today by describing how God's Word is "folly" to those who spurn its teachings but the Word is God Himself and it is power for believers (John 1:1). The text then rhetorically challenges us to look elsewhere in the text where we may identify wisdom in the world, but are challenged us to see how God is the source of wisdom and how God both raises up those in power and also tears them down - all at His whim.  The text continues to state how God is not known through worldly wisdom, but instead through humans to whom God reveals Himself - ordinary and weak people such as Peter - and how God uses ordinary and weak people to save.  The world often seeks "signs" and "wisdom" just as the Jews and Greeks did (v22), but Christ - who died and rose again - and His Word is all that is need by those who are called and believed through faith.  This is of course very hard to understand by those who don't believe and that is the point - belief and faith is through God alone who chooses to reveal Himself to whom He chooses - not through any wisdom that is gained through human effort - it is divine!  We should be thankful that God chose us not through our own effort but through grace and election at God's will alone.  I am drawn to Isaiah 55:8 where it is written how God's ways and thoughts are not easily understood by the weak human mind - however sharp it may be by earthly standards. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who IS wisdom, gives wisdom, and who saves - all by grace.  Thank You for my salvation and for the wisdom You provide to guide me as a lamp for my feet and life. I am not deserving of my salvation and for the wisdom You alone provide.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Proverbs 31:10-31

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

I wrap my study of Proverbs with week 11 from my study workbook, which focuses on Proverbs 31:10-31.  My focus for today includes a review and reflection of the entire text and of the commentary in the workbook.  The commentary offers the following themes for the text:

• while Proverbs 31:10-31 focuses on Godly women, the teaching of the entire book is intended for all God's people (see also Galatians 3:28)
• Living in fear of the Lord results in blessings, one of which is confidence in the Lord's care (Proverbs 31:25, 1 Peter 1:3-5, Revelation 21:4)
• Adornment in fine linen has a deep connection in scripture, where David, Mordecai, and are all adorned in fine linen as part of a broader blessing (Proverbs 31:22b, 1 Chronicles 15:25-27, Esther 8:15, Ezekiel 16:8-11, Revelation 19:8)
• Family is valued by God and scripture (Proverbs 31:28, Genesis 1:28, 15:1-6, John 19:26-27, Ephesians 5:22-6:4, Titus 2:3-5, 1 Peter 3:1-7)
• The overall picture of Proverbs is that those who fear of the Lord are blessed and become a blessing to others and the result is that God is glorified; the pinnacle of wisdom is to hold God's glory as the theme of one's life and the joy of one's heart (2 Corinthians 3:18)
• God prearranges marriages (Proverbs 19:14, Genesis 24, Ruth 3-4)

In particular, I seek the pinnacle of wisdom as described by bullet #5 above. 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who blesses me - of course well beyond what I deserve.  Thank You Jesus.  I am not deserving of how You bless me.  My sin is great and it is daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge, for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips.

Proverbs 22:17-24

Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge, for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips. Proverbs 22:17-18

I continue with my study of Proverbs, and today I to week 8 from my study workbook, which focuses on Proverbs 22:17-24.  This morning my focus is on 22:17-21 where there are explicit expectations regarding our knowledge of the Word and God's wisdom (which has been the main focus of Proverbs - see Proverbs 1:7). We are not only to pursue God's wisdom, but we are also to apply this wisdom so that they are ready on our lips, and so that we "know what is right and true, that we may give a true answer to those who sent [us]" (Proverbs 22:21).  This is a recipe for us to demonstrate "fruits of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22-23) and for us to be a "living sacrifice" (Romans 12:1). 

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My Prayer: Heavenly Father - Jesus - You are an awesome God and You provide for all of my needs, physical, emotional, and spiritual.  Thank You Jesus for everything...thank You for Your Word and Your Wisdom.  It feeds, it sustains, it sanctifies, etc.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of this nor any of the blessings You pour out for me.  My sin continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

Proverbs 9

Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. Proverbs 9:8-9

On the back half of my vacation in Maine, I resume my study of Proverbs picking up in chapter 9, which my study describes as "the final poem of the first major section of [Proverbs]." This chapter contrasts the two paths we have in life - wisdom and folly.  While the English dictionary for reprove has some variation, it core definition is one that describes criticism, feedback, or instruction - the variation can often be wide from harsh to gentle. Regardless of the variation - my study points out how the Jewish elders during Jesus' ministry (and shortly thereafter as the early church formed) on earth rejected Him as scoffers.  Here in Proverbs 9 we see the same message as scripture describes and contrasts scoffers versus a wise/righteous man. For me this is a hard message to swallow as I've recently acted like a scoffer.  Please God forgive me and help me fear in You first then seek wisdom.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me - despite my sin.  Thank You Jesus.  Yet I am not deserving of Your grace.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding.

Proverbs 1

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. Psalm 111:10

As part of my D-Group's study of Proverbs using the Knowing the Bible study series for this book, I continue with an examination of Proverbs 1:1-7 for week 2. My study looks at the text of Proverbs 1:7 and where this text appears elsewhere in the Bible and how knowledge and wisdom are closely tied together in Proverbs, stating that "[k]nowledge has to do with developing a correct understanding of the world, while wisdom is the acquired skill of applying that knowledge rightly."  Endeavors to seek either knowledge or wisdom without fear of the Lord is a destructive path - and we should avoid such efforts. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible and amazing God and all knowledge and wisdom comes from You - thank You for how You have provided both in my life - I know this is a journey where I lack knowledge and wisdom in many areas in life but You provide!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of the blessings of how You provide.  My sin is great and it continues.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

...to give prudence to the simple[.]

Proverbs 1

 ...to give prudence to the simple[.] Proverbs 1:4

I resume meeting with D-Group as we continue a study of Proverbs using the Knowing the Bible study series for this book.  This week's focus is Proverbs 1:1-7. The introduction for this chapter (week 2) states that verses 2-6 lay out the goal of Proverbs "which is the acquisition of knowledge."  One of the questions from the study for this week looks at v4 and how we are to be "simple." The takeaway is that we should not be committed to either wisdom or folly as these can be idols in and of themselves.  Instead, we should commit to the Lord and fear Him first, and it is through a right relationship with Him where we fear God and act out of humility (knowing our place with God) that God reveals Himself to us (including wisdom).

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God and I have seen the blessing of fearing You as You have dispensed wisdom and words to say in challenging circumstances - thank You Jesus!  I know this comes only from You.  I am not deserving of such blessings - my sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old....when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master workman. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth....The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Proverbs 8-9

The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth....when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master workman....The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. Proverbs 8:22-23, 8:29-30, 9:10

This week I start a deep-dive of Proverbs based on the Crossway Knowing the Bible series volume for this book.  Week 1 of this study starts with a few broad questions, including a look at Proverbs 8-9, and it asks "how should we understand the personification of wisdom" in these chapters? Proverbs 8:22-23 indicates that God possessed wisdom and it existed both before creation (as part of Himself) and at the start of creation, before He created anything else.  The implication is that He brought it forth, distributing it as part of creation, manifesting in creation a part of Himself.  Colossians 1 helps further unpack how perhaps Jesus Christ is wisdom when Paul writes:  

[Jesus Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. Colossians 1:15-16

Proverbs 8:29-30 and 9:10 continue to explain how we should understand the personification of wisdom by pointing out that wisdom was "beside" God during creation and how fear of the Lord initiates wisdom - we must see God first and foremost and He reveals and creates wisdom in our hearts and minds.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the source of all creation, and You both possess and distribute wisdom - to those who submit and follow You.  Thank You Jesus for giving me wisdom as a means to navigate life - and my prayer is that I use it to please and glorify You as I know that is why exist.  I am not deserving of how You bless me.  My sin is great and it continues daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

The Lord brought me [wisdom] forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be....For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 8-9, 1-4

The Lord brought me [wisdom] forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be....For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 8:22-23, 2:6

Day 134 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) continues with a study of the Proverbs - primarily of Solomon, but including the Proverbs of other authors as well. My commentary* indicates that "[t]he proverbs are short poems, usually in the form of couplets, which set high ethical standards and give practical advice for daily living through the use of comparative, or perhaps antithetical, imagery....[they] place high value on wisdom and sharply contrast good and evil, righteousness and wickedness, justice and injustice."  My commentary* also indicates that although other cultures may have influenced each other with regards to how similar writings/poetry appear during this time in history when Proverbs was written, "...the Hebrew proverbs are distinct in that all wisdom is seen as flowing from the true God, rather than being a mere accumulation of human observation and experience."  

*Smith, F. LaGard. The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) . Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Similar to my study of the Psalms, individual Proverbs are categorized into topic areas and this morning my focus includes an introduction to wisdom, the benefits of wisdom, the dangers of rejecting wisdom, and Solomon's personal plea to his sons to seek wisdom.

Similar to my post yesterday, I am highlighting how wisdom comes from God alone.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and You alone produce wisdom - worthy of my study and reflection, and my obedience.  Your wisdom has indeed produced blessings in my life and I am not deserving of such blessings.  I worry, and I have other sins.  I am grateful for Your forgiveness and mercy and I need it once again today...this morning.  Please forgive me for my sin and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.