Counsel

Solomon shares in Proverbs 2:1-5 My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding— indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

Here it is! This is how to understand the fear of the Lord and find knowledge and wisdom. Look at the underlined words and phrases: accept my words, store up my commands, ear to wisdom, heart to understanding, insight, understanding, and look for it as for hidden treasure. The Proverbs are a great guide to wisdom. Decide to make them part of who you are as a child of God.

Remember the instructions from Paul found in Colossians 3:16, Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. Dealing with our past and present can be very painful. Allow the Gospel to be your joy and hope. With this gratitude in your heart teach and correct one another in order to grow in godly wisdom.

Use the spiritual disciplines of Alone time with God, Prayer and Fasting, Personal Bible study, and Journaling to give you “fresh ears” to hear feedback and counsel from the Lord. He has something to tell you!

Have a good and Godly day.

Your Offering

We learned in 2 Chronicles 1:6 that Solomon sought God at the Tent of the Meeting offering 1,000 sacrifices in order to please and hear from the Lord.

What would be your 1,000 offerings?

The answer to this question can be found in Hebrews 13:15-16 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. ¹⁶ And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

It’s not a finite number, but it’s a continual offering and sacrifice of praise through four ways that pleases God.

1.     Honoring Him with what comes out of our mouths. Everything we say should bring God glory.

2.     Openly professing the Name of Jesus as Savior. This is the “applying the Word to my life” part. You witness and share Jesus with your lifestyle.

3.     Doing good – being godly. We are called to be righteous, holy and just in all our dealings with the world.

4.     Sharing with others – loving your neighbors. Jesus said it best that we are to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves. This is where “being Jesus with skin on” can come in to play.

How’s your continual offering and sacrifice of praise of doing?

Have a good and Godly day.

Steps

The Word gives us instruction on our relationship with God. The following are six steps to take in coming close to the Lord and receiving wisdom.

The Preparation

Psalm 46:10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;  I will be exalted among the nations,  I will be exalted in the earth.”

Quiet yourself before the Creator, ask for knowledge, and know that He is God.

The Path

James 4:8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Come close to God, humble yourself, ask for forgiveness, and repent from your wicked ways.

The Plan

Jeremiah 29:11-13 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Ask for his mind, plan, and purpose. Seek Him with all your being.

The Prayer

Ephesians 3:12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

With the boldness of a child, come before the Lord knowing He is listening.

The Promise

Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.

God is not hiding. You show your love by obeying His ways.

The Power

John 17:3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

The Hope for eternity with God only comes through Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Are you willing to take the steps needed?

Have a good and Godly day.

Stayed Tuned

Let’s look at God’s response to a prayer that pleased Him in 1 Kings 3:10-14.
¹⁰ The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. ¹¹ So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, ¹² I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. ¹³ Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. ¹⁴ And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” 

Remember back in the days when we had knobs to tune the radio? To hear the station clearly it had to be just right on the channel we wanted. We have to be “right” with the Lord in order to hear His voice clearly.  Solomon position himself in prayer, worship, and his heart to hear from God. His mind was in tune with God’s. The Lord granted his request for knowledge and wisdom, and so much more. I think we would all like to be blessed like that! Amen?

Have a good and Godly day.

The Search

There’s a song from the late 70’s called The Search Is Over by Survivor. The chorus is  - I was living for a dream, loving for a moment, Taking on the world, that was just my style, Now I look into your eyes, I can see forever, the search is over, You were with me all the while
That song reminded me about our search for wisdom, and why we miss it. We get so busy living our lives, caught up in all the day to day drama that we forget how close God is to us. Jesus promised that He would never leave us! We need to remind ourselves (and each other) that He is with us all the while. Jesus promises, “To never leave us or forsake us”. Solomon knew that the Lord was near, and was prepared to ask. Let’s look at 1 Kings for more details on Solomon’s encounter with God and his prayer for wisdom found in 1 Kings 3:5-9.
At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” ⁶ Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. ⁷ “Now, LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. ⁸ Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. ⁹ So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
As we learned last week Solomon asks for knowledge and wisdom so that he may be a good leader for God’s people. He even asks the question. Who is able to govern this great people of yours? No one is able to do anything great for God without His power and direction. I heard recently that if your vision isn’t under God’s direction then your vision is too small! We can only accomplish things for God through our obedience. Amen?

Have a good and Godly day,

Kingdom

If you don’t know the King how can you live in the kingdom?

What is the Kingdom of God? In John 3 Jesus says: “you cannot enter unless you are born again”  and Mark 10:15 tells us that the kingdom of God belongs to those with an open acceptance of Christ like a child. Romans 10:9-12 declares;  If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹ As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

I pray you have taken this step, and with fear and trembling are taking steps toward wisdom.

We see in the story of Solomon the acts of preparing, asking, and receiving godly wisdom. His calling to be king is fulfilled by the acceptance to be God’s servant. To do great things in the kingdom we too must accept the role of a servant. Consider these three avenues of acceptance:

1.     Admit inadequacies – When we ask, “How God?” it reeks pride, lack of belief, and remembering God is able to do all! We are the ones who need Him.

2.     Surrender – May we be like Isaiah who exclaimed, “Here I am, send me!”  Remember: Saved souls = Changed lives!

 

The Call to an abundant life;                                                               

Deuteronomy 7:6; For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.                                 

Colossians 3:12; Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 

 

 We are to be used by God living life His way. Have you surrendered these things in your life? 

 It starts with acceptance.

Have a good and Godly day.

Priorities

What should we ask of God?
Jesus was very clear on what our priority should be - But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. - Matthew 6:33 Solomon’s priority was to have the same wonderful relationship with God that meant so much to his father.
When other’s see what you prioritize in your life does that lead them to Jesus?
In the New Testament Paul warns us to stay away from false teachers, myths, and unsound doctrines.
As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer ⁴ or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. ⁵ The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. ⁶ Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. - 1 Timothy1:3-6
We need to check our motives and heart for why we want knowledge and wisdom. Solomon’s motive and heart was pure in asking for it, and it was given to him. 

Are you ready to ask the God who wants to be asked?

This is crucial step to wisdom…Are you ready?

Have a good and Godly Day.