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THIS WEEK’S BIBLE INSIGHTS ARE BY:
Anne Coles and are based on Proverbs 2 (NIV)
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ MORE ON THIS WEEK’S MAJOR THEME:
1 Kings 3
1 My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, 2 turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding – 3 indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, 4 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. 6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 7 He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, 8 for he guards the course of the just and protects the way
of his faithful ones. 9 Then you will understand what is right and just and fair – every good path. 10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. 11 Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. 12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse...
21 For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; 22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be torn from it.
Sunday March 2 - Wisdom or knowledge? ...acceptmywordsandstoreupmycommandswithinyou... Proverbs2:1
In this chapter Solomon continues to teach his son about wisdom and its many benefits. Wisdom is essentially how to live our best life with all that God has given, as opposed to mere knowledge which is more to do with accumulating information. You can have a lot of knowledge and be admired for your smartness, but if you don’t have wisdom you may not live the life you dream of.
Alfred Nobel is most famous as the founder of the Nobel prizes for outstanding achievement in various fields. Not so many people know that he was an acclaimed scientist who invented dynamite. The story goes that when he heard himself described as the ‘merchant of death’ he was horrified. Determined to leave a better legacy, he willed his substantial wealth to establish the Nobel peace prize. His scientific knowledge was potentially destructive, but he acted in wisdom to create another story.
Paul describes Jesus as ‘the wisdom of God’ (1 Corinthians 1:24). Proverbs 2:1 encourages us to both accept Jesus’ words and to store them up in order to gain wisdom. Jesus’ wisdom comes freely to us by revelation as we ask him for it. We just need to accept it but then actively store it in our lives by meditating on it, committing it to memory and putting it into practice.
Lord Jesus, you are the wisdom of God. Please give me your wisdom for life and the courage to act on it. Amen.
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PRAYER FOR TODAY