The Well
The Well |
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Connecting Hope to the Hurting | |
Saturday
February 9, 2008
Wisdom has built her spacious house with seven pillars. She has prepared a
great banquet, mixed the wines, and set the table. She has sent her servants to
invite everyone to come. She calls out from the heights overlooking the city.
"Come home with me," she urges the simple. To those without good judgment, she
says, "Come, eat my food, and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave your foolish
ways behind, and begin to live; learn how to be wise." Anyone who rebukes a
mocker will get a smart retort. Anyone who rebukes the wicked will get hurt. So
don't bother rebuking mockers; they will only hate you. But the wise, when
rebuked, will love you all the more. Teach the wise, and they will be wiser.
Teach the righteous, and they will learn more. Fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in understanding.
Proverbs
9:1-12
One of the reasons God calls Believers together is to worship Him. Another reason is so we will hear the words of wisdom from His Word that will strengthen our faith to carry us through the storms. Then another reason is so we will be convicted of areas in our lives that need to be cleaned up.
I can't tell you how many sermons I have heard throughout my journey that made me angry. Every time I went to the Lord with my anger He let me know of areas in my life that cleaned up. I wasn't happy with the confrontation, but I did let Him change me. I praise Him because He is slow to anger and slow in His process of cleaning us up.
We must learn to be wise in all areas of our lives. Maybe that is why wisdom built her house with seven pillars. The number seven in the Bible represents completion. We are to be completely wise in every area of our lives. Have I attained that? Absolutely not! Do I make it one of my goals in life? You bet!
I have said it before and I will say it again, we need friends who will speak the truth to us in love so that we can grow up in every area of our lives. Now, I have experienced people speaking the truth to me in many ways and most of them were not in love. However, as writer and speaker Alice Smith recommends, "Submit to the injustice. Adversity can lead you to new levels of purity, accountability, and strength of character. God sometimes allows testing as an attitude check. King David suffered disgrace and grief at the hands of his rebellious son, and endured the curses of Shimei. He allowed the adversity because he knew it may be from God's prompting. He prayed that the Lord would see the attack and repay him with blessing (2 Sam. 16:5-14). (From How to Respond when You Are Spiritually Attacked, by Alice Smith, Charisma & Christian Life, July 1999.)
As you to worship today, try to attend with a teachable spirit and hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
Father, we thank You again and praise You again for the freedom we have in America to worship You. Help us come together in love today as we raise our voices and our hands in praise and adoration to the One who created us. Holy Spirit, open our hearts to receive the instructions through the Shepherd you place before us. Anoint us with Your truth. Make my body a house of wisdom for Your glory!
