Proverbs 2:1-6.
Read it. It’s worth it!
Tag: knowledge
Go To Church!! A Scripture for November 14th, 2021
“Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.” John 20:19-20
My Dad once pointed out that this was a Sunday evening service. And in this service Jesus showed up. He was there and spoke peace to those that were assembled. And they were glad when the saw the Lord. But Thomas wasn’t there. He missed that. He wasn’t there that Sunday evening.
If we want to see Jesus, if we need Him to speak peace to us, maybe we shouldn’t forsake the assembling of ourselves together.
“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25
Thoughts on Love and Knowledge
“And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge . . . and have not charity, I am nothing.” I Corinthians 13:2
“ . . .Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.” I Corinthians 8:1-2
The Lord told us to be doers of the word, and not hearers only (James 1.22). Knowledge is of no use unless you apply it. And the Bible says if we have all knowledge, and we don’t have charity and love we are nothing (It was always explained to me that charity is love in action).
“And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man love God, the same is known of him.” I Corinthians 8:2-3
But if we love God, He will give us more knowledge.
“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” John 14:21
“I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.” Psalm 119:99-100
“The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” Psalm 119:130
“ Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
“ By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” I John 5:2-3
Jesus didn’t say those that knew the most would be the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven ( I Cor. 13:2). He did indicate that some of them could possibly be found in Children’s Sunday School!
“Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” Matthew 18:4-6
God wants humble people who will listen and obey!
John wrote to the Ephesians,
“. . . These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. . . . repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. ” Revelation 2:1-5
There is more to being a Christian than knowing the truth. We need to do what it says.
“ By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” I John 5:2-3
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Matthew 22:37-39
The Word of God and The Tree of Life
Besides all the trees God had created, in Genesis, in the Garden of Eden there were two special trees mentioned. These are ”The Tree of Life”, and “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil”. And I’ve said it many times, do notice that Adam and Eve didn’t learn anything good the day they ate of the tree. They only experienced what sin, death, and evil was like for the first time.
In Genesis Satan distracted Adam and Eve from everything good God created, and emphasized the thing that God said was poison. I believe he does this to each and every one of us today. He will try anything to keep us from the Word of life, and replace it with something else.
The Word of God is as a tree of life.
The Word of God tells us that wisdom “. . . is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her” (Pr. 3.18).
Through God’s commandments we get wisdom (Psalm 119:98). And the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111.10).
Through keeping God’s commandments we get “length of days, and long life, and peace”.
“My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.” Proverbs 3:1-2
“But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” Psalms 1:2-3
Jesus said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt.4.4)
“Psalms 19:10-11 reads, “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.”
“This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.” Psalms 119:50
“ The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.” Psalms 19:7-8
“Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.” Psalms 17:4
The Word of God will give us length of days, long life, peace, joy, wisdom guidance comfort . . ..
It will give us the strength to be the people we ought to be. “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Psalms 119:11
We ought to spend a lot of time with the Word of God. The Lord wanted it to be on Joshua’s mind day and night.
“ This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Joshua 1:8
There are other things that the Devil would want us to fill our minds and hearts with rather than the Word of God. Secular works and false religion are a couple. The traditions of men are another. The Pharisees cared more about the “traditions of the elders” than the word of God. They knew what their spiritual leaders said, but they didn’t know what the Word of God said.
“Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Mark 7:7
“But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.” Matthew 12:7
We need to be careful not to put the words of a man on equal footing with the Bible. I remember hearing a pastor I respect, Bro. Donald Brown preach recently. He preached something along the lines of, “If you ask me, and I can’t show you where it is taught in the Bible, then I have no business preaching it”. God’s Words give us life. We don’t need “C.S. Lewis says”, but what God says.
Bro. Grover Laird, one of the wisest and godliest men I have ever known, once wrote, “Many . . . are confused, because they lack guidance and direction. Many are hurting, as they long for comfort and peace. Many are dismayed as they serve without power and strength. Yet, these things which men need so desperately are found in the Bible which they are neglecting.” (Do Not Neglect The Bible).
It is my prayer that every person who sees this, and every person I send this to will choose to dedicate more time to reading the Bible and spending time with the Author.
Jesus said, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63
Why is Wisdom a Woman?
Why is Wisdom a Woman?
Proverbs 1:20 reads, “Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets . . .”
I always wondered why wisdom is personified as a woman. I had some thoughts on this.
What is wisdom?
Psalm 111:10 reads, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.”
Wisdom says,
“The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.
By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.
By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.” Proverbs 8:13-16
Psalm 119:100 tells us, “I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.”
Psalm 25:14 says,“The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.”
Why is wisdom personified as a woman? Well, I do know that wisdom can only be gotten by being humble, obedient and by submitting to God, which is what a godly woman does. It can be gotten no other way.
The Beginning: Thoughts from Genesis and Proverbs
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
“And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” Genesis 2:8-9
“And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 2:15-17
“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” Genesis 3:4-7
Lately, I have been thinking about what the Bible says about “the beginning”. Now “the beginning” doesn’t just refer to just Genesis chapter one, verse one, when God created the heavens and the earth. Jesus refers to the time when God made man and woman as also the beginning.
“ But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;” Mark 10:6-7
“And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,” Matthew 19:4-5
My thought was: What kind of beginning did mankind have?
Psalm 111:10 tells us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.”
Our grandparents, Adam and Eve, did not choose the fear of the Lord. When God said not to do something or he would judge, they didn’t choose to fear and believe Him.
Proverbs 1:7 tells also us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Again: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” (Pr. 9:10).
When our grandparents did not choose the fear of the Lord, and sinned, they didn’t learn anything “good” that day. One thing they learned is to look at themselves now, and see themselves as wicked and vile. They “knew that they were naked”. They later saw a lot of evil come on the world. They saw their own son murder his brother. They learned a lot of evil, but no more good. They sought wisdom, but instead they found death.
Proverbs 21:30 tells us, “There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord.”
Proverbs 3:19 also tells us, “The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.”
How could wisdom ever come from going against the God that made all things? Instead of a beginning of wisdom, mankind sadly had a beginning of stupidity. Who knows how the Lord would have blessed us if He was obeyed?
But, our great God who is merciful made a way of escape, and gave us another chance.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” John 3:16-17
“ But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” Hebrews 2:9
The Way to Wisdom:
James 1:5 says, “ If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
It is by the knowledge of God that the depths are broken up, or that deep things are made to be understood. The LORD God by His wisdom made the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. If we would just humble ourselves and ask Him for wisdom, we would have far better results than going against Him.
There was Wisdom to be had in the Garden of Eden.
Proverbs 3:18 tells us of wisdom, “She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.”
Wisdom, the fear of the Lord, is a Tree of Life.
Jesus said, “. . . It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4
If we would have knowledge, and if we would have life, we will choose the fear of the Lord.
One thing Jesus said was that, “. . . Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3
Jesus also said,“ . . . I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6
Unless we ask God to forgive us our sins, and ask Jesus to save us, we will die and go to Hell.
And after we are saved, if we would have a life worth living, we will choose the fear of God and listening to His commandments.
When Ravens Cry 