FWD: Morning Manna (Aug. 23); BP: James 3:13-18; RBTTY: I Cor. 6; Ps. 113-115

 
Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net

 

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-----Original Message-----
From: "Apostle Tom" <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Sent: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 16:06:12 -0500
To: pressingon@hotmail.com
Subject: Morning Manna (Aug. 23); BP: James 3:13-18; RBTTY: I Cor. 6; Ps. 113-115
 
 
August 23 “Godly Wisdom”  
 
“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle and  
easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and  
without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them  
that make peace.”  
James 3:17-18  
The world may not esteem it as such, but the Heavenly Father does.  
Wisdom.  
If you asked the average person on the street to give you a definition  
of it, you’d probably get some answer related to knowledge and experience.  
Let’s face it: The world sees wisdom as flowing from some gray-haired sage  
or guru, who spouts out philosophical platitudes left and right. And, while  
these may sound good and even contain certain elements of truth, the fact  
remains the one espousing them is the one who is glorified, not the One Who  
is the Giver of all truth.  
 
Someone once said “Knowledge is the accumulation of facts and  
experience, while wisdom is the right application of them.” Again, this is  
a truism even from a Biblical perspective; however, true wisdom—i.e., Godly  
wisdom—is more than making wise decisions. . .and, even on our best day,  
we’ll all fail to always make the “right” decision in every situation.  
 
But, today’s Manna tells us we never need to fear that our decisions  
will be God-sanctioned IF they’re based on God’s Word. . .in accordance with  
His Will. . .and expressed in the ways listed.  
 
Let’s look at them again:  
Godly wisdom is “first pure.” The Greek word “hagnos” is used here for  
“pure” and also means “clean, innocent, modest, chaste, blameless, holy,  
etc.” Thus, only those who are striving to be His “instruments of  
righteousness in pursuit of holiness” (Rom. 6:15-23) can know what the Lord  
desires—for that’s the way He designed it (Mt. 5:8).  
 
Paul then lists three other characteristics that go hand-in-hand:  
“Godly wisdom is peaceable, gentle (Grk. ‘epieikes’—‘appropriate, mild, in  
moderation, patient, etc.) and easy to be entreated (Grk. ‘eupeithes’—‘good  
for persuasion, to pacify, conciliate, assent, rely upon, etc.’).” And,  
when you add these to the next four—“full of mercy, good fruits (cf. Gal.  
5:22-23), without partiality and hypocrisy”—it’s the picture of “sincere  
sympathy” and transparent love that seeks what “best,” not “expedient.”  
 
No wonder this yielded instrument of our Lord added “And the fruit of  
righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.” He knew what the  
Lord Jesus knew—i.e., that Godly wisdom can never spring from divisiveness  
or debate (Prov. 6:16-19; Mt. 5:9) . . .for there’s always more “thunder and  
lightning” in these than there is “sunshine and rain.”  
 
Simply put, just as the head of wheat bows down when it’s mature, so  
does Godly wisdom humble us rather than puff us up. May the Holy Spirit  
help us to remember this in our interaction with others today.  
 
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