Wisdom from Proverbs - Start Up Wisdom - Christ Alone Provides Truth, Changes Hearts, and Produces Holy Living

God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:30-31 (NLT)
Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do!  And whatever else you do, develop good judgment. Proverbs 4:7

Today's thoughts from today's verses:

At the start of the week, we saw that the book of Proverbs declares that the "fear of the Lord" is the foundation of true knowledge. The "Fear of the Lord" involves a reverence for God where we truly embrace the fact that "God is God and we are not." A "Fear of the Lord" kind of person is someone who embraces life in terms of God being at the center of everything.

A little later in the week we talked about the necessity for humility and teachability being in place in our lives if we expect to benefit from the wisdom found in the book of Proverbs. It is from a place of humility that we are able to see our need for wisdom from God for living life properly. It is with a spirit of teachability that we become open to being instructed and then are able to admit when we are wrong and accept the need for change. None of this will come about apart from a work of grace by God in our lives.

Yesterday we talked about "wisdom speaking" to us. First, it was in the general sense of an appeal to pay attention to all the facets of life and apply true wisdom to each and every one of them. Then, we talked about "wisdom speaking" to us in a more actual or direct sense. When we give God the center place of our heart, soul, and mind, we begin to "see" him in the center of everything. Wherever we are, whatever we are engaged in, whoever we are with, we will see God in the midst and he will speak his wisdom to us. He will guide us and bless us with a wisdom that is both practical and spiritual.

This week has really dealt with what we might call "start-up wisdom." In other words, wisdom about how to go about getting wisdom. What a special thought from our 1 Corinthian passage: "God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself." It is our union with Christ that makes it possible for us to be ones who allow God to be at the center of everything. It is because Christ is in our lives that God's intentions can be brought about in our lives. As we look to the book of Proverbs over the next several weeks we will gain practical wisdom for some of the key areas of life. As we do so we will become aligned with that wisdom not because somehow, we are able to put it in place, but rather because we will know what we need to let Christ bring about in our lives. This is the true meaning of the words: "For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself."

Today's prayer response from today's thoughts:

Lord, thank you for the "start-up wisdom." Please continue to put all these things in place in my life and prepare me in every way for all that you want to accomplish in my life through the book of Proverbs as it speaks to key areas of my life. In the words of the Psalmist from earlier in the week, I say to you, Lord, "I shall give thanks to You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgments." Amen! 

All Devotionals