Thought for November 23, 2024

•  1783: Annapolis Maryland becomes US capitol until June 1784
• 1863: Battle of Chattanooga begins
• 1876: Columbia, Harvard and Princeton form intercollegiate football association
• 1897: Pencil sharpener patented
• 1921: President Harding signs the Willis Campbell Act prohibiting doctors from prescribing beer or liquor for medicinal purposes
• 1923: "The Ten Commandments" by Cecil B DeMille premiers in the US
• 1936: First issue of Life Magazine
• 1939: Polish Jews required to wear the Blue Star of David
• 2009: Susan Boyle releases her first album, "I Dreamed a Dream"
• Born: Franklin Pierce, Billy the Kid, Boris Karloff, Harpo Marx, Hal Lindsey, Charles Schumer, Miley Cyrus
• Died: Walter Reed, [mosquitos transmit yellow fever], Reverend Grady Nutt, Roald Dahl, Roy Acuff, Larry Hagman

Thought:

Yesterday I was praying to see things from God's perspective and choose His wisdom over the "wisdom" of the world. In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul tells us how to do that. Here is what He is saying to me from that chapter this morning. 

• When we witness to the unsaved, we do not do so with fancy speeches, clever words, or worldly wisdom. We tell about the transforming power of God through the death and resurrection of Jesus--how God's love, power and grace changed me. The proof of the gospel is a changed and transformed life. It is never my words that have power to save, it is His LIVING WORD. 
• Why? Faith built on human knowledge, understanding, wisdom does not work because it is flawed, corrupted, weak, temporary. The wisdom and power of God is perfect, complete, omnipotent, eternal. [2:5]
• For those in Christ, we understand that God's wisdom is not of this world [2:6] and that what we call wisdom in this age is passing away. So we seek that wisdom from above that is perfect and eternal. 
• We understand that we do not gain God's wisdom by knowledge or reason, but by revelation. In Christ and through the Holy Spirit, He reveals His wisdom to those who seek Him. [2:6-10]
• We understand that only the Spirit of God knows the thoughts of God and the ways of God. When Jesus walked with His disciples, He shared and revealed the wisdom of God and the way of God. Recall Him saying what I do and say are directly from My Father. When Jesus ascended, He sent us the Holy Spirit to continue to reveal the wisdom and ways of God. The Spirit guides us, helps us remember all the Jesus said and did, teaches us, comforts us, corrects us. [2:10-11]
• If we have received Jesus as Savior and Lord and have the Spirit living in us, we can know the things freely given to us by God. [2:12-13]
• Now the unbelievable conclusion of Paul--We have the mind of Christ. [2:16] When we totally yield to the Holy Spirit, get off the throne of our lives and allow Jesus to reign there, we have the mind of Christ. As Paul said in Romans 12--be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may prove, provide evidence of, the perfect will of God. 

This to me is an amazing passage of scripture. I often ask "what is God's will in this situation or circumstance." Paul says, Larry yield totally to the Holy Spirit and He will reveal the will, ways and wisdom of God. I just have trouble yielding completely because I am using human wisdom rather than the wisdom of God. Lord, help me, increase my faith, allow me to trust fully in Your wisdom.

Blessings

Larry