Tag: Godly wisdom

Understanding Godly vs Worldly Wisdom

On By Ed AlgreenIn Accept Jesus NOW, Acknowledge God, All have sinned, Awesome God, God Cares For Us, God’s Word, WisdomLeave a comment

DATE POSTED
Thursday, February 20, 2025, and I was blessed to be at Mariposa at Hunter Road, San Marcos, TX when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find and read any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Read it in your Bible or click James 3:13-18 to read it in the New Century Version (NCV).

APPLICATION – as inspired by the Holy Spirit
God will judge us for all unforgiven sin, even if we sinned due to bad worldly advice. I was reminded how God not only gave us the ability to discern godly wisdom vs worldly wisdom, but He laid out the differences clearly in His Word. So why is this important? I’m sure you are very similar to me in that we don’t know everything, so we often find the need to seek help and/or advice from someone else. Advice given will often lead us through challenging situations and towards what we hope to be a new, or better direction. For medical issues, we tend to connect with a medical doctor or expert in a specific field of medicine for their advice and/or prescription for renewed, or improved health. For legal matters we go in search of an attorney to advise us and lead us through. But for the Christian, do we always look to the Chief Advisor, the One who gives wisdom to everyone, and has all knowledge about all things? Ever stop to consider whether the advisors we use are being led of God, or if they are leading us to seek the wisdom of God in our time of frustration and our many needs? In this Scripture, God tells us, through His servant, James, how we might discern godly vs worldly wisdom. Follow the Scripture with me as we look at this list:
—> Godly wisdom – The individual will be living right and doing good things with a gentleness that comes from wisdom. It will be evident that they have sought the wisdom that comes from God, for it is first of all pure, then peaceful, gentle, and easy to please the child of God. This wisdom is always ready to help those who are troubled, and to do good for others. It is always fair and honest. People who work for peace in a peaceful way plant a good crop of right-living.
—> Worldly wisdom – The individual will show a selfish spirit and have bitter jealousy in their hearts. They may display arrogance and lie or brag against the truth. They may create an evil spirit that leads to disorder.
In comparing these two, I believe it is important to take note of what might result in your life when you see a selfish spirit, bitter jealousy and a bragging spirit developing. It’s a good indicator that you may be getting too much of the world inside of you. Friends, let us seek God first, every day, in every way. And in our effort to live under His plan, His teachings, His example, I believe we will begin to see Him bless us with godly wisdom, so that we may help others who are struggling. The world is in desperate need of godly wisdom, and they will only find that in godly individuals seeking to promote God, and not themselves.

PRAYER
We seem to be in a world where it is becoming more and more concerning over who to trust and from whom we should seek advice, Lord Jesus. Although we arm ourselves with what You have told us through Your Word, please help us to be more dependent on Your wisdom and direction every day of our lives. Please be our constant guide and always remind us of the source of all godly wisdom. In Psalm 121 You are clear in stating the source of all godly wisdom, for when the Psalmist looked to the hills with concern over his strength and wisdom, You were clear in reminding Him, and us, that our help comes from the One who created us, and this earth, in the first place. Man has extended his reach to artificial intelligence with hopes of answering all of man’s dilemmas, but we are constantly reminded that there is only one source for our wisdom – the One we call Lord and Master – God Himself. Nothing has changed, You have always been, and will always be, our God – the Designer and Maker of all things. May we remind ourselves of this every day and stay focused on the promises You have laid out in Your Word, and the wisdom You displayed in everything You did, until the day we see You face-to-face and worship You for all eternity at Your feet of mercy. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE
If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please take advantage of the information provided on my page ‘To Know Jesus’. Alternatively, consider speaking with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. One of God’s servants will pray with you and offer help and encouragement as you begin or continue your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals or subscribe to receive a daily email containing each new devotional, please visit NuggetsFromGodsWord.org. Friends, I encourage you to find a church home near your residence and attend as frequently as possible. Get to know God and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk while you make every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider being a part of that while also growing in your faith as you worship with fellow believers!

Pray For Godly Wisdom

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Wisdom, Worship2 Comments

DATE POSTED Monday, 2022-09-26
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Ephesians 1:15-17
TRANSLATION: Good News Translation (GNT)

BIBLE TEXT: 15 For this reason, ever since I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks to God for you. I remember you in my prayers 17 and ask the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, to give you the Spirit, who will make you wise and reveal God to you, so that you will know him. 

APPLICATION: As I read this Scripture today, I couldn’t help but think how different Paul’s teaching was, compared to what we hear at most of our churches today. I cringe when I hear preachers put down another pastor or a certain denomination. I despise that when I hear politicians do it in their political ads, and I especially dislike it when I hear it from our pulpits. Like Paul taught in this Scripture today, let the people hear of your faith and how well you are doing in following the example of Jesus Christ, not how well you do at bashing others who chose not to attend your church. Wouldn’t it be awesome for us to just preach and teach the Word of God and the awesome power that it has to save lives from the pit of Hell? You might remember what God said about His Word – it’s sharper than any two-edged sword and it will cut through the sin, mire and stubbornness that has congested the life of the sinner. It doesn’t need us pulling down the opponent so we could rise about their false teachings, pride and evil works. Wouldn’t it be a pleasing change for us to hear a pastor brag on, and rejoice in, the awesome work of his partner in the ministry just down the road from your church? Perhaps their faith is extremely great, or perhaps their love for their community is a pure example of the life and works of Jesus Christ; perhaps their giving for the work of Christ stands out in all of Christendom. Yes, I know that we are very divided in what other denominations believe, and teach about their understanding of the Bible, but did God put us in charge of pulling them down and trying to get them straight? Like Paul teaches us in today’s Scripture, let’s learn to lift up and encourage them in what they are doing well, based on their outward actions and the word on the streets about their teachings. Befriend that pastor, and try to discuss your differences as your relationship and trust develops, but bathe that in prayer so that your powerful God can help each of you to sharpen each other’s skills just like iron sharpens iron. Pray for godly wisdom for your pastor friend, and for yourself, so that you both will remain strong in the faith of our Lord Jesus, and not be swayed by denominational differences, accusations and resentment built up over the years. My desire is that all churches will work towards one goal, promoting the lordship of Jesus Christ, exposing sin as the enemy, and Jesus as the Victor – the only One that can save us from our sin and ready us for the glories of heaven. The reason why I despise pastor for criticizing other pastors, denomination and/or believers, is that it gives the appearance that we are opposed to the power of Jesus to do His job, so we jump in to do it for Him. Jesus gave us the job of winning the lost and challenging the saved, so they could go and win more souls. That’s a fulltime job for us, so let’s seek personal Godly wisdom and stick to the task at hand, God being our helper!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Never stop giving thanks for the work of Jesus Christ – in our church, and in the churches around us. It’s all about God, not about pulling down another church to make us look good, or better.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for giving Paul the wisdom to challenge us on an area that has crept into many ministries by Satan. We deal with it way too often at work, for we practice pulling down the opponent to make us look better. This has no place in Your church. Can you imagine the shock and surprised an unsaved person would have if they walked into a church and heard the pastor giving thanks for the ministry of the church down the road. I believe their eyes of doubt and questioning would be opened immediately, because they would know that this must be linked to this love of God that they’ve heard so much about, and now seeing in action. Lord God, I am keenly aware that this is not only a problem with pastors, for way too often we practice this individually, even at the disappointment of the sinner looking for the grace of God in us. Have Your will and way in our lives today Lord, may the world see You in everything that we do or say, and may they look to You and accept You in deepest sincerity, for all eternity. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Find Out What The Lord Says

On By Ed AlgreenIn Biblical Decisions, Decisions, Jesus led decisionsLeave a comment

Tuesday, 2016-09-06

Scripture

Bible Reference: 1 Kings 22:4–5

Bible Text: 4 Then he turned to Jehoshaphat and asked, “Will you join me in battle to recover Ramoth-gilead?” Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “Why, of course! You and I are as one. My troops are your troops, and my horses are your horses.” 5 Then Jehoshaphat added, “But first let’s find out what the LORD says.”

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

I believe that way too often we make decisions and then ask God to ‘buy in’ on our decisions and bless it. Friends, King Jehoshaphat has demonstrated in these verses today that this is not the order of things for the believer. Think about it, if you say that Jesus is Lord of your life, then you proceed into making your own decisions without first asking God and getting His permission, who really is lord of your life? When you make decisions and then ask God to bless your decisions, you are really saying to God that:

  • You are in control, but would appreciate His backing;
  • The decision sounds logical and that it would benefit you, even though you don’t have a clue what will transpire beyond the very moment in which you exist;
  • You know what you want for your future, and this decision seems to fit just right into that projected path. Notice that in all of the planning that king Ahad and king Jehoshaphat had spoken of, they did not include the piece where King Ahad would be killed in battle.

Friends, our insight and personal decisions are based on the facts at hand and the possibilities that exist, and the desires of our heart, based on our own abilities and the physical attributes available to us at that particular time. Let us always remember that God’s ways are not our ways and that His plans are based on eternity for His children, whereas our decisions are always selfish and based on very temporal and physical benefits for ourselves. One results in eternal ‘D&D’ (damnation and death), and the other results in eternity in heaven with Jesus and His Heavenly Father, God. Two completely opposing results – choose you this day whom you will serve, and who will guide your destiny, friend, and then be obedient to your Master.

Prayer

Lord, You have shown us over and over again that You hold the keys to our future and that You should therefore be consulted before making decisions, so that You can best direct us, in order that our path not be impeded. These verses today have served to remind us of this once again. Please patiently work in the lives of Your children once again today and help us to surrender ourselves to Your perfect will. Lord, it is so critical that we be obedient to Your will, and not stumble and fall because of selfish decisions made because we couldn’t possibly know what’s in store for us in the very next moment. You’re in control Lord, and I pray that You will help us to ensure that our lives are always in sync with Your perfect plan for us. May we learn to surrender everything to You, for our ultimate good, and Your eternal glory, AMEN!

Footnote

If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!