WISDOM
BREAD
13 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. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and
selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from
heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16 For
where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every
evil practice. 17 But 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 3:13-17
(NIV)
2 My purpose
is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may
have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the
mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in
whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive
you by fine-sounding arguments. Colossians 2:2-4 (NIV)
20 and said:
“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.
21 He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. 22 He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.” Daniel 2:20-22 (NIV)
21 He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. 22 He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.” Daniel 2:20-22 (NIV)
1 My
son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, 2 turning your ear to wisdom and applying
your heart to understanding, 3 and
if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, 4 and if you look for it as for silver and
search for it as for hidden treasure, 5 then
you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God. 6 For
the LORD gives wisdom, and from
his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Proverbs
2:1-6 (NIV)
10 Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather
than choice gold, 11 for
wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with
her. Proverbs 8:10-11 (NIV)
12 But God made the earth by his power; he founded the
world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. Jeremiah
10:12 (NIV)
8 Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great
wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 9
Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the
Freedmen (as it was called)--Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the
provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, 10 but they could not stand up against
his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.
Acts 6:8-10 (NIV)
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. 6 But
when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a
wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7
That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all
he does. James 1:5-8 (NIV)
BUTTER
“His
wisdom’s vast, and knows no bounds, a deep where all our thoughts are drowned.” Isaac
Watts
“God
alone knows the depth and riches of His Godhead, and divine wisdom alone can
declare His secrets.” Thomas
Aquinas
“Faith
raises the soul above the difficulty, straight to God Himself, and enables one
to stand still. We gain nothing by our
restless and anxious efforts….It is therefore true wisdom, in all times of
difficulty and perplexity, to stand still – to wait only upon God, and He will
assuredly open a way for us.” C.H.
Mackintosh
“Most
of us go through life praying a little, planning a little, jockeying for
position, hoping but never being quite certain of anything, and always secretly
afraid that we will miss the way. There
is a better way. It is to repudiate our
own wisdom and take instead the infinite wisdom of God…..God has charged
Himself with full responsibility for our eternal happiness and stands ready to
take over the management of our lives the moment we turn in faith to Him.” A. W.
Tozer
“The
doorstep to the temple of wisdom is a knowledge of our own ignorance.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“Give
me all needed strength of body, wisdom of mind, grace of soul to do this Thy so
great work.” Hudson Taylor
“It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad
world. But I have discovered in the
midst of it a quiet and good people who have learned the great secret of
life. They have found a joy and a wisdom
which is a thousand times better than any of the pleasures of our sinful
life. They are despised and persecuted,
but they care not. They are masters of
their souls. They have overcome the
world. These people, Donatus, are
Christians…and I am one of them.” St.
Cyprian, 200-258
“See God in everything, and God will calm and color all that thou
doest see! It may be that the
circumstances of our sorrows will not be removed, their condition will remain
unchanged; but if Christ, as Lord and Master of our life, is brought into our
grief and gloom, ‘He will compass us about with songs of deliverance.’ To see HIM, and to be sure that His wisdom
cannot err, His power cannot fail, His love can never change; to know that even
His direst dealings with us are for our deepest spiritual gain, is to be able
to say, in the midst of bereavement, sorrow, pain, and loss, ‘The Lord gave,
and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ Nothing else but seeing God in everything
will make us loving and patient with those who annoy and trouble us. They will be to us then only instruments for
accomplishing His tender and wise purposes toward us, and we shall even find
ourselves at last inwardly thanking them for the blessing they bring us. Nothing else will completely put an end to
all murmuring or rebelling thoughts.” Hannah
W. Smith
“God
hath in Himself all power to defend you, all wisdom to direct you, all mercy to
pardon you, all grace to enrich you, all righteousness to clothe you, all
goodness to supply you, and all happiness to crown you.” Thomas Brooks
“We judge things
by their present appearance; but the Lord sees them in their consequences. If we could do the same we would be perfectly
of His mind; but since we can’t, it is an unspeakable mercy that He will manage
for us, whether we are pleased with His management or not; and it is regarded
as one of His heaviest judgments when He gives any person up to the way of their
own hearts, and to walk according to their own wisdom.” John
Newton
“Wisdom is man’s true strength; and, under its guidance, he
best accomplishes the ends of his being.
Wisely handling the matter of life gives to humankind the richest enjoyment,
and presents the noblest occupation for his powers; hence, by it he finds good
in the fullest sense. Without wisdom,
man is as the wild ass’s colt, running here and there, wasting strength which
might be profitably employed. Wisdom is
the compass by which we are to steer across the trackless waste of life;
without it we are derelict vessels, the sport of winds and waves.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“But when the
psalmist said, ‘All my springs are in you,’ he meant that all his innermost
resources were found in His ever-flowing and overflowing Lord – all his
courage, all his joy, all his resilience, all his optimism, all his hope, all
his love, all his wisdom, all his patience.
The Lord Jesus is the source of that which refreshes our personalities
and of all that makes our personalities refreshing.” Robert J. Morgan
HEART SAVOR
·
In Christ are hidden
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
·
The Lord gives
wisdom. It is more precious than rubies. Nothing compares with her.
·
If we lack wisdom
we should ask God Who graciously and generously gives to all without finding
fault.
