Sunday, May 19, 2013

Wisdom Helps Us See Life Clearly PT-1 (Eccl. 7:11-18)



SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/19/2013 9:10 AM
My Worship Time                                                        Focus:  Wisdom Helps Us See Life Clearly
Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Eccl. 7:11-18
            Message of the verses:  Just a reminder of what we are looking at in chapter seven from the pen of Dr. Warren Wiersbe:  “The preacher concluded that, though wisdom can’t explain all of life’s mysteries, it can make at least three positive contributions to our lives.”  Today we begin to look at the second contribution that wisdom makes.
            “11 Wisdom along with an inheritance is good And an advantage to those who see the sun. 12 For wisdom is protection just as money is protection, But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors. 13 Consider the work of God, For who is able to straighten what He has bent? 14 In the day of prosperity be happy, But in the day of adversity consider-God has made the one as well as the other So that man will not discover anything that will be after him. 15 I have seen everything during my lifetime of futility; there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness. 16 Do not be excessively righteous and do not be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself? 17 Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time? 18  It is good that you grasp one thing and also not let go of the other; for the one who fears God comes forth with both of them.”
            5/19/2013 9:29 AM  5/19/2013 9:33 PM
            Dr. Wiersbe writes in the introduction to this section these words:  “One of the marks of maturity is the ability to look at life in perspective and not get out of balance.  When you have God’s wisdom, you will be able to accept and deal with the changing experiences of life.”
            Wealth (7:11-12):  “11 Wisdom along with an inheritance is good And an advantage to those who see the sun. 12 For wisdom is protection just as money is protection, But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.”  (NASB)  “11  Wisdom is even better when you have money.  Both are a benefit as you go through life. 12 Wisdom and money can get you almost anything, but only wisdom can save your life.”
            As gold prices keep going up because of the devaluation of the dollar you hear many commercials on the different medias we have today that gold will always be worth something.  Solomon tells us that wisdom will always be worth something.  Wisdom is more valuable than money, but when you have money you need wisdom in order to know how to use your money.  Think about the mistakes that we have made in the past when it comes to handling our money and we should learn from those mistakes, and it is wisdom that will teach us our need to remember the mistakes we have made so we don’t make them again.
            Providence (7:13):  “13 Consider the work of God, For who is able to straighten what He has bent?”  (NASB)  “13  Accept the way God does things,  for who can straighten what he has made crooked?”  (NLT)
            The “Serenity Prayer” teaches us what this verse teaches us:  “O God, give us Serenity to accept what cannot be changed, courage to change what should be changed, and wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.” 
            We know that according to Romans 8:28 that God will work all things together for good to those who love God, and I believe that it is God’s providence that is used to work things out for our good and His glory.
            There was a man who came forward in our morning service letting those in the service that he had accepted Jesus Christ as his own personal Savior. A man from our church was witnessing to him for a while, and the man who got saved nearly died earlier in the year.  He told our Pastor after the service that he could see God doing things in his life already, and the Pastor explained to him that this was the providence of God working in his life.
            I heard John MacArthur say in one of his sermons that he believed that the providence of God was even more miraculous than the miracles that were done by the Lord Jesus Christ while on earth.  He said that the providence of God was an ongoing miracle.
            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful for the providence of God and how he works all things together for my good and His glory even though I don’t always realize what He is doing or why He is doing some of the things that are going on, but by faith I have to trust Him.
My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to work out a situation that came up today, work it out for my good and His glory.
Memory verses for the week:  2 Cor. 5 17-20
            17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  18 Now all things re from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ as through God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Sea of Galilee” (Mark 1:16)
Today’s Bible Question:  “Who was the captain of the Syrian army?”
Answer in tomorrow’s SD.  5/19/2013 10:01 PM
    

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