The Word on wisdom

Wisdom reposes in the heart of the discerning
and even among fools she lets herself be known.
‐Proverbs 14:33 (NIV)

Here’s some good counsel from kids wise beyond their age:

Patrick, age 10, said, “Never trust a dog to watch your food.”

Michael, 14, said, “When your dad is mad and asks, ‘Do I look stupid?’ don’t answer him.” He backed that up with further wise advice. “Never tell your mom her diet’s not working.”

Kyoyo, age 9, said, “Never hold a Dust Buster and a cat at the same time.”

How did those kids get so wise!

Joking aside, wisdom is a precious commodity in our world today. Raising kids (or grandkids), managing finances, choosing careers, situations at work, decisions about healthcare, the complexity of relationships, even serving a church, require much wisdom. How can we grow in such a valuable character quality?

The Scriptures have a lot to tell us about developing wisdom. In fact, there are a few Old Testament books dedicated to teaching wisdom. In July I will be preaching messages from the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, two of these Old Testament wisdom books. Both of them are attributed to King Solomon, David’s son, who asked God specifically for great wisdom. He learned a lot from his use of God‐given wisdom as well as a few foolish choices he made along the way. We’ll be looking at what he learned as well as what Jesus taught about wise living.

Solomon wrote in Proverbs that a person who develops wisdom will be seen as wise, even among fools. Wise people live in a way that distinguishes them from the crowd. Wisdom helps us live with integrity. Please join us for worship in July as we grow in our understanding of wisdom.

To be great lovers...

“May the Lord cause you to increase and enrich your love for each other and for everyone in the same way as we also love you.”

‐‐1 Thessalonians 3:12 (NIV 1984)

To be great lovers, we need to be great pray‐ers.

If you’ve ever grumbled that people in the church ought to be more loving, the apostle Paul invites you to take your concern to the Lord in prayer. It was his habit to pray for the enrichment and love of the people in the churches he worked with. As the Lord caused an increase in love within the church and for those outside the church, their love strengthened their hearts. In other words, their growing love influenced their behavior, influenced their attitudes, led them to Christ‐honoring decisions, and inspired them to deeper faith (1 Thess 3:13).

Notice that it is the Lord who causes our love to increase and be enriched. If you want people in the church to be more loving, pray for it! If you catch yourself in unloving moments toward others, then pray that the Lord will increase your love. The love that Christ modeled and calls us to has at its source the Lord himself. Praying for the strong and growing love of our church is not solely a job for the pastor or our church leaders. It’s a holy habit we all need to have.

Prayer has been on my mind a lot lately. During the month of June I am preaching a series of sermons on prayer entitled “Whenever You Pray…” based on the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:7‐13. Jesus' Followers saw his habit of praying and begged him "Teach us to pray!" (Luke 11.1). Jesus showed us that prayer was an essential practice for experiencing God's presence and living in God's power. Like those first disciples, there is always more we can learn about prayer.

In that spirit, I also want to invite you to a summer learning experience on prayer. Beginning on Sunday, July 14 I am going to lead a Sunday morning discussion on prayer using the book Space for God by Don Postema. It’s a great resource that will stimulate your prayer life. It’s not a book in a real conventional way…it contains art, poetry, stories for reflection, and each of the nine chapters provides you with some prayer practices to try. I will have a sign‐up sheet and a copy of the book at the back of the sanctuary for you to take a look at. Don’t be concerned if you might miss a week or two because of summer plans. You can use the resources in the book independently of the Sunday
morning discussion with ease.

May we grow in love and prayer this summer!