DaleTedder.com
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
    • Every Sphere Links
  • Devotions
    • Prayer Journal
  • Study Center
    • Men's Discipleship Basics
    • Philippians
    • Costly Discipleship
    • Spiritual Life Checkup
    • Heidelberg Catechism
    • Pastor's Study
    • Southside Men
  • Bookstore

Pursuing Wisdom

9/19/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Joshua 1:8 - May I not let Your word depart from my mouth, but meditate on it day and night, so that I may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then I will make my way prosperous, and I will act wisely. (Ken Boa paraphrase)

This verse from the first chapter of Joshua has been paraphrased in the first person to remind us that God’s Word has application in our lives. It is, in a manner of speaking, addressed to us.

That’s quite relevant in light of the fact that this single verse is exhorting and instructing us to saturate ourselves in God’s Word. Why? Because that’s where we meet God…hear God…are confronted and instructed by God. In short, it is where we learn to act wisely.

I pray for wisdom on a daily basis, All of Scripture encourages me to do so. James puts it bluntly in the first chapter of the book that bears his name. Verse five reads,
 
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

It doesn’t get any plainer than that. Ask for wisdom and God will give it…generously. That seems simple enough. Yet what I have learned over the years of my spiritual pilgrimage is that this “formula” does not work like a magic genie in a lamp. You don’t rub the lamp and make a wish. It doesn’t operate like taking an aspirin for a headache. You don’t take two tablets and get wisdom in the morning.

Instead, our text from Joshua gives us a pretty good understanding about how to attain wisdom. If the wisdom we want is God’s wisdom, and God has revealed his wisdom to us in and through his Word, then it would behoove us to read, study, mediate upon, pray over, and apply – SATURATE ourselves – with that source of wisdom. If we want God’s wisdom to rub off on us and really get into our spiritual bloodstreams – into our hearts and minds – then we have to do the hard work of “not letting it depart from us.” We will want to “meditate on it day and night.” We will want to be “careful to do according to all that is written in it.” Only then will we become prosperous and begin to act wisely.

That’s the cost to this component of faithful discipleship. It’s not easy and it certainly does not come instantly. This is not for the lazy or the faint of heart. But it is a pearl of great price that is worth more than we can possibly  imagine. It’s worth the cost and then some.

One last thought: I’m not sure when I will know that “I’ve arrived” and received the wisdom that I’ve been desperately praying and striving for. Do we “arrive” when it comes to wisdom? What does that even mean? Does a wise person think that he or she is wise? That doesn’t seem to fit with my understanding of wisdom. I think I’ll just pursue it, with God’s grace, all the days of my life and leave it to my heavenly Father, if he so chooses, to one day let me know how I did.

Grace and Truth,
Dale

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    100 Godly Men
    Anger
    Apologetics
    Baxter's Directory
    Bible Studies
    Biography
    Books
    Boyhood
    Burning Heart
    Calling
    Catechesis
    Character
    Children
    Christ & Culture
    Christian Influence
    Christianity
    Christian Living
    Church
    Communication
    C.S. Lewis
    Culture
    Devotional & Encouragement
    Devotional Life
    Discipleship
    Doctrine
    Eternal Life
    Evangelicalism
    Evangelism
    Faithfulness
    Family
    Fatherhood
    Glorifying God
    Godliness
    Godly Manhood
    God's Love
    Good Reads For Kingdom Minded Men
    Gospel
    Heidelberg Catechism
    Holiness
    How To Be A Real Man
    Humility
    Husband
    Jesus Christ
    Justification
    Kingdom Discipleship
    Kingdom Man
    Kingdom Of God
    Knowing God
    Library
    Manhood
    Man In The Mirror
    Marriage
    Mediocrity
    Men
    Men's Ministry
    Men's Studies
    Mentoring
    Mercy
    Micah Mandate
    Missions
    My Book
    Parenting
    Peace
    Poverty
    Prayer
    Prayer Journal
    Prayers
    Puritans
    Purpose
    Reading
    Rest
    Restoration
    Richard Baxter
    Right Path Devotions
    Salt And Light
    Salvation
    Sanctification
    Satan
    Savior
    Screwtape Letters
    Sin
    Small Groups
    Social Justice
    Sons
    Southside United Methodist Church
    Spiritual Growth
    St. Patrick
    Study
    Success
    Thanksgiving
    Theology
    Theology For Men
    Truth
    Vlog
    Vocation
    Walking Points Podcast
    Wisdom
    Witness
    Work
    Worldview


    Archives

    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    September 2015
    August 2015


    RSS Feed

Dale Tedder.com

Let's Connect

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
    • Every Sphere Links
  • Devotions
    • Prayer Journal
  • Study Center
    • Men's Discipleship Basics
    • Philippians
    • Costly Discipleship
    • Spiritual Life Checkup
    • Heidelberg Catechism
    • Pastor's Study
    • Southside Men
  • Bookstore