Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Tuesday Thought -- December 23, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fool's despise wisdom and discipline.” (Proverbs 1:7)

We live in a society that is so arrogant because of our intelligence and knowledge. Generally speaking, the world thinks it can figure everything out on its own and take care of whatever problems arise. Christians face a good deal of ridicule because we believe in God and accept His Word as true.

When a crisis hits hard there is usually some turning to the Lord. The immediate response from many, perhaps even a majority, is to turn to prayer. But the seeking of God seems only shallow. Almost immediately America and Americans turn to resolve to rebuild what is destroyed and to restore peace and justice by conquering the threat.

No matter how serious the crisis, there has been no move toward national repentance, no soul-searching to determine if there are ways God would have our nation change. If God tries to use a crisis to stir our hearts toward Him we miss usually the point and rely instead on ourselves.

The fear of the Lord is reverence for Him, putting Him in His proper place, worshiping Him, seeking Him, listening to Him. That’s where wisdom and knowledge begin. It doesn’t begin in our own intelligence. It doesn’t begin in our resolve to do things ourselves. True wisdom and knowledge start with the Lord.

That’s true for nations -- and it’s true for individuals, too. I know we often think we have our lives all figured out. We know what we need to do to succeed. We know how to conquer our own problems and meet our own needs. I wonder, did we start in the right place? Did we start with turning to God, getting our lives right with Him, and listening to Him? If not, we’re not as smart as we think we are!

His, by Grace,


Steve

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