July 2, 2024 -- Proverbs 2:1-15 -- Why should the Christian urgently seek wisdom and insight?
/My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
8 guarding the paths of justice
and watching over the way of his saints.
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
10 for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you,
12 delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,
13 who forsake the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness,
14 who rejoice in doing evil
and delight in the perverseness of evil,
15 men whose paths are crooked,
and who are devious in their ways.
Proverbs 2:1-15 ESV
How much time do you spend on video games? Learning the intricacies of it; knowing strategies, comparing your score to others. Now, how much time do you spend on the Bible, pursuing wisdom and praying for understanding?
How much time do you spend watching movies, or video shorts? Scrolling through. Flipping from one to another? Now, how much time you do spend treasuring up the commandments of God? Are you surprised if you find you know more about the most current viral vid than you do about God’s word?
How much time do you spend on sports? Watching. Talking. Listening to commentaries on it? You can store up stats on your fav players, but do you understand godly righteousness and holy justice? Do you store up the word of God as eagerly as you store up those sporting facts?
“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting.
It has been found difficult and left untried.”
G. K. Chesterton
Why spend all this time and effort in pursuing the knowledge of God, praying for insight, calling out for understanding? Those who do find God to be a shield against the evils of the world. Wisdom gained will guard deliver from the way of evil. Knowledge of God, so pleasant to your soul, will keep you people of perverted speech so that your delight will be in the LORD and His salvation. Wisdom is personified in Jesus Christ. The knowledge that is pleasant to your soul is the way of Jesus, by Whose blood believers are delivered from the devious ways of death and brought to life. The Spirit gives insight so that the Christian can see the lies Satan is using to try to draw you back into darkness. What a powerful protection is given to Christians who treasure up the commandments of God—and by so doing, build a rich storehouse of love and intimacy with the Father in heaven.
Loving Father, by Your Spirit show me the places in my life and the ways my daily schedule are stacked against knowing You better and directing me away from urgently seeking Your wisdom. King Jesus, Faithful High Priest, at Your throne of God, intercede for me in the ways I myself don’t know how to do. Triune God, let Your precious Word and glorious wisdom lead me away from all crooked paths, guarding me in justice and righteousness, so that wisdom will ever more fully conquer my heart, direct my steps and enlarge within me the capacity to love Jesus. He Who is the Captain of Salvation Who leads me captive in His train, equipping me by the Spirit against the Day when You will present me to the Father as one who is blameless by Your work fully accomplished in me. Amen.
https://youtu.be/px-eU1QjQiU?si=cOQIxQgxtRJDrRIZ Psalm 51 (Wisdom in the Secret Heart)
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