December 29 – Essential Understanding

“Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.” – Hosea 14:9 (ESV)

For those who need a promise from God that will help them in their daily here’s one found in the book of Hosea. He was the last to prophesy before Israel’s northern kingdom fell to Assyria. In the last verse in the book we find a promise. Like other promises it has consequences or blessings. Many of the promises God gives us in the Bible are instructions regarding how we respond to the wisdom. Hosea cautions us with the this thought, the wise can understand and the discerning can know that whatever the Lord does is right. When we learn from reading or preaching what the Lord wants and promises us, we can know it is right for God does not instruct us to do what is wrong, He cannot. So the conclusion is this: faith believers are upright in their belief and so they guide their lives by God’s instructions. However not all peoples are upright and obedient. Some go their own way plotting their own course and the result is a life of stumbling over the will of God. Why? Because in their refusal and rebellion they fail to understand God’s promises and fail to be discerning.  

 

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November 5 – Seek to Have

“If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:4-5  (NASB)

Yesterday’s promise from God was what comes from fearing the LORD God – a start at knowledge and wisdom.  Today’s verse tells us the promise for those who seek wisdom as if it is a precious metal. But the verses before, (Proverbs 2:1-3) give us more on how we can understand the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God.  There are six actions that proceed seeking knowledge as if it is as precious as silver.  Receive the Word of God; Treasure up God’s commandments; Open our ears to what wisdom is saying; Have a heart to receive understanding; Call out for discernment and Speak out for understanding. Effort must be expended for one to become wise. Getting wisdom involves openness, retention, hearing with the ear, applying with the heart, requesting, and diligent searching. This is the pathway to possessing understanding and finding the knowledge of God. A person who strives for wisdom will find that wisdom will enter their heart. Gaining wisdom requires diligence on our part in pursuing God’s will; yet wisdom is a gift, a promise from God. Possession of such knowledge from God results in inner joy and Godly pleasure.

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July 20 – Open Eyes, Thrilled Hearts

“Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” Psalm 119:18  (ESV)

From Psalm 119 we look today at verse 18 and find the psalmist praying to God.  In this psalm the scriptures are often called God's Law.  This word means much more than the 10 Commandments which God has given.  For us it includes all the instruction and revelation which God has given to us in the Bible.  For the psalmist, much of the Bible, as we have it, was not written yet and the focus was likely on the Mosaic Law, or the Pentateuch, or Torah which are the first five book and what believers had at that time.  But we can pray as the psalmist did in this verse and ask God to open our eyes to see the wondrous things in all of the Bible that we have. We remember that Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to do just that – to open our hearts and minds to understanding the Word of God.  Yes, the Holy Spirit is here with us to open our eyes to discern the wonderful truths in the Bible.  Remember the times your heart has been thrilled as truths are revealed to you from the Bible.  That is the promise of today's verse.  

Notes on Psalm 119

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March 16 - Pure and Blameless

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,” Philippians 1:9-10 (NIV)

When the apostles wrote the letters which we have in the New Testament portion of our Bible they sometimes mention how they were praying for those to whom they were writing. Our verse today is an example of this practice. Let’s just pick out two expressions from this prayer to apply to ourselves today. Paul prayed for his friends to have a depth of insight desiring that they might be able to discern what is best. These are needs in our life. There are things which might seem good to us but still not the best for our spiritual lives. If we allow God to guide us, His Holy Spirit is here with us to help us discern the very best – the result is that we are made pure and blameless for the day of Christ.