WISDOM 5 - Act on what you've learned!

 Wisdom 5 - English files

 Weisheit 5 - German files

Devotional Thoughts about 2 Chronicles Chapters 34-35

Act on what you’ve learned, whether you’ve gained the knowledge through books, observation or painful experience.

But anyone who’s tried knows it’s not as simple as it sounds. Discipline is usually necessary for carrying through with it. Otherwise wisdom would be our basic setting and so common in our experience that we wouldn’t even need the word.

As I worked on this lesson yesterday, a sentence from the worksheet kept nagging me: “It’s not healthy to sit for hours in front of a screen.” I ignored it for half of the afternoon until I finally went outside and started moving.

Josiah surely had some opposition from his family and court as he began seeking God as a young king. But he did it, beginning with the most obvious things: destroying idols and cleaning and repairing the temple.

Then when the Book of the Law was found and he heard the Bible for the first time, God’s warning of judgment against the sin which had become so normalized humbled and shook him. God graciously responded to his repentance, and Josiah began applying his new knowledge from the Bible.

Lord, please help me follow Josiah’s example of being open to Your Word and taking it seriously. Help me to carry through in applying what I learn.

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WISDOM 4 - Listen to Older People!

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Weisheit 4 - German files 

Devotional Thoughts about Wisdom and Older People

Many of us have dismissed our parents’ cautions against some of our decisions. The introductory story in this lesson is taken from my own experience as a young adult with my first car.

Because my dad had often taken our family on long road trips, my plan to make a 1000-mile round trip by myself didn’t seem extreme to me. I thought I’d just be enjoying one of the perks of finally being an adult. But I didn’t consider the age of my car nor the fact that my dad was a mechanic and I was not.

After I’d returned home safely by God’s grace and it was all over, I was annoyed that my dad had been proven right—again!  Only then did I begin to realize the value of experience and wisdom. It requires some humility.

The older counselors recommended that Rehoboam acknowledge his father’s excessive taxation and that he serve the people by lightening their burden. His homies advised him to react to the people’s valid grievance by flaunting his power with haughty threats.

Rehoboam chose the latter, even parroting his friends’ extreme metaphors of whips and scorpions. God planned to use this situation to divide the kingdom of Israel as judgment for idolatry, but Rehoboam was responsible for his part in it, and he suffered the humiliating consequences.

Listening to what older people have to say and giving weight to their words lies at the heart of honoring one’s parents. Lord, please help me to practice this attitude.

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WISDOM 3 - Spend time with wise people.

 Wisdom 3 - English files

Weisheit 3 - German files

Devotional Thoughts about 1 Kings 10:1-13 and Matthew 12:38-42

Solomon, the many-gifted king at the height of Israel's glory, is one of many types of Christ in the Old Testament. Signifying God’s wisdom in the earth, he points to­ward Jesus, the ultimate embodiment of that wisdom.

The Queen of Sheba, another head of state, is drawn from afar by Solomon’s reputation. We find echoes of this in the wise men’s visit to Jesus after His birth (Matthew 2,1-12) and in the parable of the Pearl of Great Price (Matthew 13:45,46). To all the seekers, the goal was well worth its price in travel and money.

In Matthew 12:42, Jesus said the Queen of Sheba, who'd come from “the uttermost parts of the earth” in pursuit of wisdom, was in a position to judge His contemporaries who were rejecting Him. Then with His second "greater than" statement, Jesus made a very thinly-veiled confirmation that He was the Christ (the first is in verse 41).

Lord, please give me faith to grasp the truths in your Word and to pass them on.

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WISDOM 2 - Listen up and be open for God!

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Devotional Thoughts about Matthew 13:3-23

Jesus told a story set in the agricultural environment familiar to most of His hearers. A farmer scattered seeds on the ground (which he would normally later work under the surface with a plow).

Some seeds fell onto the hard path, and birds ate them up. Others fell onto ground with many stones in it, and the plants that quickly sprouted there soon died, being unable to develop strong roots in the shallow dirt.

Other seeds fell onto ground that was already growing a crop of thorny weeds, and when they sprouted, they had no chance against the thorns. But other seeds fell onto good ground and reproduced themselves to varying degrees.

Then Jesus closed the story with the enigmatic challenge that whoever has ears to hear ought to listen. Before telling His disciples the meaning of the parable, He quoted a passage from Isaiah about stubborn people refusing to believe.

As the coming explanation of the parable would show, there were various reasons why people would refuse or forget about God’s Word, but it would all boil down to their attitude and unwillingness to listen.

Lord, Thank You that Your Wisdom came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ. Open the kids’ eyes and hearts to listen to and believe Your message of salvation through Him.

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WISDOM 1 - True wisdom comes only from God

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Weisheit 1 - German file

Devotional Thoughts about 1 Kings Chapters 3-5

Have you ever felt that sinking sensation upon learning that the consequences of an incredibly stupid decision—or a series of them—now impact a child or grandchild? Often you can’t do anything to avert them, no matter how much money you throw at the problem, because the mindset that caused it hasn’t changed.

Why do we make poor decisions, anyway? In some cases we’re truly swindled by people or companies out to do just that. But more often the reason is likely an immature desire to get what we want now—an idea supported by the current culture of instant gratification.

We desperately need wisdom. Young people aren’t known for it, and many older people, stuck in toxic habits, lack it, too. Even as a young man, Solomon knew that God is the source of wisdom.When He made the inconceivable offer of granting whatever Solomon wished, he chose wisdom and ended up with that and much more.

Lord, thank You that You’re willing to give us Your wisdom. Help me to seek You myself and to communicate Your offer to the kids.

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WATCHFULNESS 4 – Be ready when Jesus comes again!

Watchfulness 4 - English file 

Wachsamkeit 4 - German file 

Devotional Thoughts about Matthew 25,1-23

Even for those who are not quite able to unfold all the layers of this parable’s cultural context, its message still shines clearly through: Be ready, because Jesus will come just when we don’t expect Him!

Waiting is hard, especially when we’ve already endured a long time seemingly for nothing. Hebrews Chapter 11 tells of many people in the Old Testament who lived and died believing in God without the gratification of a fulfillment. Yet the very last verse shows that God’s plans are still on track; they’re just different from what we expect.

Weariness is normal and characteristic of fallen humanity; both groups of women in the parable fell asleep. Still, the wise ones were equipped with what they needed upon being awakened with news of the bridegroom’s coming.

Lord, thank You that Your Holy Spirit lives in me and that I’m ready for Your coming. Please help me communicate the “be ready” message to the kids.

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WATCHFULNESS 3 - What does the Bible say?

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Devotional Thoughts about Acts 17:1.14

This passage, a page out of Paul’s missionary travelogue, spotlights a sharp contrast between two responses to a new message.

When most of the Jews in Thessalonica heard Paul argue from the Old Testament that someone named Jesus was the Christ whom God had promised to send, envy colored their reaction, and they rejected his words out of hand. They incited a riot to make things hot for the newcomers and get rid of them.

The Jews in the synagogue in Berea had probably never heard of Jesus, either, but they responded differently. After listening to Paul, they went to the trouble of studying the pertinent Old Testament passa­ges to see if what he said was actually true. Being convinced that it was, many of them believed on Jesus as did many non-Jews.

Some local churches even now have incorporated "Berea" into their church name to express their commitment to following the Bereans’ example of careful Bible study as the foundation for their belief and practice.

Lord, please help me cultivate the habit of digging into Your Word regularly and by it measuring everything I think, hear, see, read, say and do.

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If you're interested in the lesson files, simply click on the appropriate link above to download them in the desired language. See the Informational Pages in the right column for more about the lesson series. The next post and the next lesson will be the fourth in the topic Watchfulness.