Pursuing Wisdom - James 3:17

James 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. (NRSV)

When I was much younger, I thought that life was all about pursuing happiness and finding pleasure. Now that I am older, I realize that wisdom is more important than indulgence and that God’s wisdom is greater than anything I can possibly know or experience. Pursuing His wisdom is now the main part of my life, so when I read James’ words about the wisdom from above, I can relate to them in ways that my younger self would never have understood or even cared to receive. I guess that Time has a way of stripping away trivial pursuits and showing what is truly important – to enjoy all that God has created and live in His love forever.

Application: Take time to quietly think about God and cherish His love.

Prayer: Lord God, thank You for our lives and the many ways when we encounter Your wisdom, love, and presence. Be with us this day and help us to take time out to contemplate Your words, works, and ways. In Christ’s Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Come and join us for worship each Sunday at 11:00 AM. You will be made very welcome 😊

Today’s image is one of John’s drawings called ‘Christ is King’. If you would like to view a larger version, please click this link: King.

Erin Church Devotions: Keeping It All for God

Do we have to share everything with others? Aren't there some things we should keep for ourselves and God?

Podcast version here

Matthew 25:9 "'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'

It’s strange, but you would think that in this situation, the girls with oil in their lamps would share it with the others. After all, it’s a Christian story, and isn’t Christianity all about sharing our resources with other people? Jesus usually criticized selfish people and urged his followers to give what they could to the needy. So why doesn’t He end this story with: ‘and the five selfish maids were not invited to the bridegroom’s party for not sharing their oil.’ After all, that’s the way the world would end it, right?

This means, as usual, that there must be something deeper going on. The parable is not about sharing, it’s about being prepared and showing respect. The five clever maidens were ready for any inconvenience. They wanted to make sure that they could honor and escort the bridegroom when he eventually arrived. They weren’t thinking about themselves. They were concentrating on what the groom needed to make his wedding party a great success. The five wise girls had already committed their resources to him; if they shared their precious oil with the foolish maidens, then the bridegroom would have been dishonored by all. By keeping the oil to themselves, they were at least ensuring that fifty percent of the bridal party would properly honor the groom.

I guess we all feel sorry for the five foolish maidens because we identify so readily with them. Most of us are last minute shoppers at Christmas and get by each day by doing just enough. It always amazes me on Sunday mornings when a lot of people arrive just a couple of minutes before the worship is due to start. One minute the sanctuary looks half empty; the very next it is three quarters full.

The point Jesus was making with this story is something that we all should seriously consider: leaving our faith commitment to the last minute may be fatal to our souls. Our lives are meant to be used for enjoying God and worshiping His Son. If we take them for granted, then we may unexpectedly run out of time one day, with no earthly chance of making things right with God.

That’s why making and taking time to read the Bible, reading or listening to these devotions, and to ponder about what God is telling us is so important. We can get sidetracked too easily. We can leave holy things to the last minute much too often, that we unintentionally end up disregarding, dishonoring, and disrespecting God.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we are often too busy for our own good and end up sapping our resources and energy on things that are unimportant, trivial, and meaningless. Help us to reset our ways and enable us to honor You with our love, devotion, and faith. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Tracing

Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! (NIV)

My Aunt Trudy was a professional tracer. No, she didn’t try to find people who were lost or get information for bounty hunters; she traced blueprints and diagrams for a shipping engineer firm. She must have had a steady hand and a keen artistic eye because tracing was a highly specialized skill.

She worked in the days before copiers and computers entered the work place. Her task was to produce copies of intricate diagrams so that teams of engineers could work on building ships and engines, machinery and special parts. She must have pored over and traced hundreds of documents in any given year.

I like to think that what she did was a form of art and much appreciated by those who used her skills. She probably would have preferred to paint pictures and sketch drawings of her own creation, but she had a large family, so she did what she could with her artistic gifts to provide for all of them.

When Paul writes about the wisdom and knowledge of God, he states that God’s paths are beyond tracing out. He means that God’s infinite ways cannot be copied, no matter how wise and wonderful some people may be. There is a sense of reverence and awe in Paul’s words. When he writes about God, the apostle cannot fully communicate what he means. In other words, God is beyond his knowledge and imagining; God cannot be confined to what Paul thinks and feels about Him.

Only in Christ, do we get a true picture of God and what He is like. And it’s only through Jesus that we can come into God’s presence. We may not be able to trace God’s paths, but we can follow in Christ’s footsteps to find Him.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we all desire to find God and know Him. We all want to rest in His arms and abide in His presence. Guide us to God through Your words and Your Spirit. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.