Wisdom of Solomon 1:1-2

Seek the Lord
Love righteousness, you who judge on the earth.
Think about the Lord in goodness
And seek Him with sincerity of heart;
Because He is found by those who do not tempt Him,
And He is manifest to those who do not disbelieve Him.

Personal Challenge

Once again, we read through the words of wisdom presented in the scriptures and observe how much different they are from what the world would teach us. Why is this? This is because we still live in a fallen world that is subject to the enemy of God. However, what we have on our side is the Holy Spirit and He will guide us through this temporal world if we do what this passage tells us… seek the Lord. Jesus promised us that if we pursued Him, then He would respond. This passage also tells us how to seek Him. We are to love righteousness. We are to think about Him in goodness and seek Him with a sincere heart. We are to live our lives in a way so as to not tempt Him and believe in Him. In other words, we live our lives with God at the center of it and the things of this world cast aside. This is contrary to what the world teaches, but the way of the Lord. Lord, have Mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

John 16:33

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

Encouraging Words

As followers of Christ, He is who we put our hope in. Jesus calls us to be set apart from this world because He knows that the world will do everything it can to distract us from following Him and living lives His way. It is for this reason that our lives as ambassadors for Him in this world will be so full of trials and tribulations. Not only did He warn us of this, but He promised us that we could be of good cheer because in Him we can find the peace that we need to make it through each day. In Him, we can have hope, because He has overcome the world by becoming incarnate, living a sinless life, giving up that sinless life as a sacrifice for all of mankind, and rising from the death reigning victoriously over the world. He did this for us. Glory be to God!

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

Hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God
And keep His commandments,
For this is the whole man.
For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including everything that has been overlooked,
Whether it be good or evil.

Personal Challenge

Ecclesiastes sums up its discourse on life with these two verses. The entire book teaches about the futility of pursuing a godly life by living within the precepts of the world. If we desire a full life, both now in this temporal domain and throughout eternity in the spiritual domain, then we must fear God and keep His commandments. And what are those commandments? Love God and love our neighbor. The entire body of scripture, traditions, teachings, and examples of the Saints can be summed Up in those six Words…love God and love your neighbor.

John 16:23-24

And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

Encouraging Words

Ask and you will receive. Jesus promises us that if we ask of the Father in His name that we will receive what we ask for. This is not some form of prosperity gospel because God is not our great vending machine in the sky, The fundamental truth here is that if we are living our lives in humble submission to Jesus and the will of the Father, then what we ask for will be in alignment with what the Father would want us to have anyway. We would not be asking for anything that would be contradictory to God. We must always remember that as we became children of God we were adopted into His family with all of the rights of a child of His. He will honor our requests, but as His children, our requests will honor Him. Glory be to God!

Ecclesiastes 10:6

The senseless man devotes himself to great heights,
And rich men shall sit in a lowly place.

Personal Challenge

Senseless man? Rich men? This simple passage sounds a little confusing. What we are being taught here is that if we spend our entire life pursuing those things that the world proclaims as great, we will end our lives as senseless and lost people. Our true greatness is not found in that next promotion or that mega-house, or a fleet of cars, boats, and other toys, but in the pursuit of God. If we truly desire to be rich in the sight of God then we will live humble and submissive lives, sitting in the lowly places of this world. This is quite the contradiction of the teachings of this world. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

John 16:13

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

Encouraging words

We are not alone on our journey to theosis. Jesus loves us so much the He did not want to leave us alone. He sent the Holy Spirit to guide us through our lives. The Holy Spirit speaks to us on behalf of loving Father. He is always with us. What a blessing. Glory be to God!

Ecclesiastes 7:16

Do not be overly righteous,
Nor be overly wise,
Lest you be confounded.

Personal Challenge

Righteousness and wisdom come from our Lord. They are given to us as a result of living humble and submissive lives before our Lord and loving our neighbor as Jesus loves us. When we start adding our own attempts to appear righteous or to gain much knowledge in the pursuit of wisdom, then we take the risk of becoming like the Pharisees and be overly righteous and wise. This is what sets us up for a fall in our lives. This is because we have become dependent upon ourselves and not on God. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner?

John 15:19

If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Personal Challenge

Why did Jesus consistently warn us that if we love Him and follow His teachings that the world would hate us? He knew that as soon as we chose to follow Him and His way, then we became foreigners to this world. If we find ourselves fitting comfortably in this world, socially, politically, occupationally, on in any other way, then we must suspect that we are no longer following in the footsteps of our Lord. We have lost our way. Have I become comfortable with what is broadcast on television or portrayed in the majority of movies? Am I at peace with the messages delivered in the news or commentaries of the world? Am I at ease with the images and opinions that the world wants me to accept and not resist? Then I have departed from the teachings and instructions of our God. If I am not different than the world around me, then I have become a part of it. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!