What is Wisdom?

1. The quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise.
2. The soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of such experience, knowledge, and good judgment.

Definition of Wise:

Having the power of discerning and judging properly as to what is true or right; possessing discernment, judgment, or discretion.

The Bible says:

“Get wisdom, get insight.” Proverbs 4:5

Why Should we get Wisdom?

Wisdom provides true and lasting happiness–something we are all striving for.

Proverbs 3:13 says,

“Happy is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gets understanding. It is the key to lasting happiness.”

Proverbs 19:8 says,

“He who gets wisdom loves himself.”

Proverbs 16:16 puts it,

“How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver! “

Proverbs 8:20 says,

“I (Wisdom) lead in the way of righteousness…”

Proverbs 3:17b states,

“Her (Wisdom) ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.”

Proverbs 4:7 says,

“Wisdom is the principal thing;  therefore  get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding”.

What are the Characteristics of a Person who has Wisdom?

Proverbs 9:10 says,

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”

The wisdom that leads to life and ultimate joy begins with knowing and fearing God.

Proverbs 11:2 says,

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace; but with the humble is wisdom.

The wise person is characterized by humility.

Wisdom consists in knowing and doing the commandments of God. Jesus said that hearing and doing God’s Word is godly wisdom.

Wisdom also includes sensitive, mature judgment or discernment.

Colossians 1:9 says,

“We have not ceased to pray for you, that you may be filled with knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”

How Do We Get Wisdom?

Desire it with all your heart.

Proverbs 4:8,

“Prize her (wisdom) highly and she will exalt you; she will honor you for your embrace.”
Wisdom must be valuable to us.

Saturate yourself with the Word of God.

Psalm 19:7.

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”

Pray for wisdom.

James 1:5 says,

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God.”

Think about the brevity of your life.

Psalm 90:12, says,

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

We must come to Jesus. Jesus is the wisdom of God.

Colossians 2:3 says,

“In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Father God, you are the source of all godly wisdom and we desire it with all our hearts. We ask that you will fill your people with your wisdom. Amen

This article has been condensed from an article by John Piper.

By Katherine Kehler
Used by Permission

FURTHER READIBG

• Living Wisely
• Build Wisely
• The Wise Builder

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The post Get Wise appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!” Matthew 7:9-11

My fears about God can be very illogical. I know that He is a good Father — that He has my very best interests at heart. But still, in the moment of conviction, when I’m wrestling with whether to give something up to Him, I have these lingering doubts at the back of my mind: will He take away something I love? Will He ask me to do something difficult? Will things unravel?

Rather than having childlike trust in Daddy to take me wherever He wants, I have childish insecurities. If I hand Him the toy in my grasp, I fear He’ll go put it on the shelf. But when I consider my heart as a father, I know that I love to give gifts that put a smile on my kids’ faces. I know I’d rather say “yes” than “no.” And I know that I take no pleasure in handing out consequences.

How much more loving, tender, patient, and well-intentioned is the Heavenly Father?

We sometimes treat God like a strict teacher who hands out grades, awards, and detentions. We make our good behavior the determining factor for receiving good things from Him. But there’s a problem: He doesn’t get the glory and gratitude. If it’s about our behavior, blessings become entitlement, gifts become wages, and going without becomes punishment.

But if it’s about Who He is, then “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:7). And as we respond with thanksgiving, the Giver gets the glory.

Dear Father, thank You that You are good, and that You are loving and tender and patient. Help us to trust in You and Your character, and to give glory to You in all things. In Jesus’ name, amen.

By M Jantzen
Used by permission

also found on : www.thelife.com/dailydevotions

FURTHER READING

Benefits of Fearing the Lord

The Beginning of Wisdom

Get Wise

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The post Fearing the Father appeared first on Thoughts About God.

Most real wisdom, the deep stuff, is formed in a crucible. It is shaped out of pain. We can know many things – things learned in books, things gleaned from observation or conversation, things fitted together through contemplation. All is good, and all is needed. But rarely does knowledge become wisdom without first passing through fire. It’s suffering that transmutes it. The difference between a scholar and a sage is not how much they know, but how much they’ve been broken.

But there’s a danger. Suffering also embitters. The difference between a sage and a grumbler is not how much they’ve been broken, but how much they’ve found grace in their brokenness. The wisest people I know have been through many hard things. But that’s true also of the most bitter people I know. All that’s made the difference, as far as I can tell, is that the wise keep finding grace, and the bitter keep missing it.

The Bible confirms this. “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” Hebrews 12:15.

The Bible promises that there is no suffering devoid of grace. There is no pain where grace is absent. There is no loss or mistake where grace does not abound. Grace is everywhere, though sometimes it takes deep searching to see it. I have to choose daily, and then throughout the day, to find grace, and to lay hold of it.

Are you in a crucible? Are you going through something right now that threatens to embitter you?

Just stop. Breathe. Pray. And look around. Do you see it? Some sign of God’s goodness and presence right there, within reach? A cup of hot tea. A patch of sunlight on the floor. A cupboard with food in it. A dog that doesn’t care how messed up you are or how much you’ve messed up. A grandma that loves you.

A God that keeps running to greet you.

Grace abounds.

Don’t miss it, O wise one.

By Mark Buchanan
used by permission

FURTHER READING

• Wise Men Still Seek Him –  by John Fisher

• Get Wise – by Katherine Kehler

• Being Smart or Being Wise – by Julie Cosgrove

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The post What Make the Wise, Wise? appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure and full of quiet gentleness. Then it is peace-loving and courteous. It allows discussion and is willing to yield to others; it is full of mercy and good deeds. It is wholehearted and straightforward and sincere” James 3:17

“Donkeys laden with books,” a phrase in rabbinical literature, is descriptive of those who know much but still remain fools.

Another expression says that “knowledge is power.” True, but how is the knowledge used – beneficially or malevolently? That is a vitally important question. We have more knowledge than ever before, but a few would claim that we have more wisdom.

Going faster and faster, we may be still going astray. Just as grapes are not picked from a bramble bush, neither can the good life be harvested from sowing wild oats.

For a nation of people, many of whom are “educated beyond their intelligence,” as an anonymous wit once observed, America sorely lacks a sufficiency of men with real wisdom – that which is given by the Lord Himself.

In our modern education, we seem to be preoccupied with the accumulation of knowledge, to the neglect of that wisdom which alone can save us from the misuse of knowledge.

William Lyon Phelps, famous English professor at Yale University and a godly statesman, once said, “If I could choose between a knowledge of the Bible and a college education, I would readily choose the knowledge of the Bible.”

If we lack wisdom, God’s wisdom, we need only ask of Him and He will grant it when we ask in faith, according to His promise in James 1:5.

Bible Reading: James 3:13-18

In order to live a supernatural life I’ll look for divine wisdom from the proper source – God, His Word, and His indwelling Holy Spirit.

By Dr. Bill Bright
Used by Permission

Further Reading

•  Wisdom and Knowledge of God
•  Get Wise
•  Salvation Explained

The post Knowledge and Wisdom appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“Whoever is wise will…think about the love of the LORD.”
Psalm 107:43 (NCV)
 
Aging?  A necessary process to pass on to a better world.
 
Death?  Merely a brief passage, a tunnel….
 
The next time you find yourself alone in a dark alley facing
the undeniables of life, don’t cover them with a blanket,
or ignore them with a nervous grin.  Don’t turn up the TV
and pretend they aren’t there.  Instead, stand still, whisper
God’s name, and listen.  He is nearer than you think.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/2009/05/26/ml_whoever/

*************************************************************
Max Lucado

From: Everyday Blessings
Copyright (J. Countryman, 2004)
Used by permission
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
https://www.maxlucado.com/about/

The post Whoever Is Wise appeared first on Thoughts About God.