Faithful Christian Commitment and service
in the Middle East for almost 150 years The Nazareth Trust Healing in the Name of Jesus Since 1861
in the Middle East for almost 150 years The Nazareth Trust Healing in the Name of Jesus Since 1861
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Welcome to you all as we begin another week together and seek to serve God with all our hearts, minds, souls and strength. We invite you all to join with us and also read more about the work of the hospital and the Nazareth Trust. You can also send in your comments about these devotionsif you like!
Devotion
1 Cor 1: 20 – 25
“Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."
When we look at passages we know from the Bible, it can be easy to automatically assume that we are just like the characters who do the right thing. When we read the Good Samaritan, we identify with the Samaritan, but is that actually the case? Do our encounters with people leave them injured or hurt, leave them in the same as when we found them, or leave them better off?
In this passage it is easy to look at the Jews and Greeks mentioned and assume that we are the ones with more wisdom, preaching Christ crucified, but are we?
“Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom”
What we see here reflects our society today – there are those who look for miraculous signs on demand as a sign of power and authority.
Other people look for wisdom, perhaps something like the scientific world of today, who look for logical interpretation and evidence. Science looks to itself for understanding.
We need to also think about where we look for these things. Where do we look for wisdom and understanding? Many of us have been or are students, so we are used to looking to books and other sources to find wisdom and often we believe we have found it.
We also may look to our own intellect or feelings to gain wisdom – trying to figure things out for ourselves and drawing conclusions based on what we find.
We might also look to other people for their advice or opinions, using their insights to either change our own or confirm them.
All of these routes would seem perfectly logical and sensible, as we seek insight or wisdom by studying, thinking and getting advice. However, when we do this do we pursue knowledge for its own sake, instead of the source of knowledge and wisdom, which is Christ?
Proverbs 3:7 says “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil”
The problem with the wisdom that we seek out for ourselves is that it does just that – makes us believe ourselves to be wise. And when we believe ourselves to be wise, we tend not to leave room for God. It is certainly good to think rationally and weigh evidence but this should not be to the exclusion of God.
“But we preach Christ crucified… the power of God and the wisdom of God”
The world often seeks to provide power and wisdom for itself, apart from God. We may also do the same at times. However, we have been given this through Christ already. Our own power and wisdom is just foolishness in comparison to God’s.
Job 28: 20 – 28
“"Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell?
is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds of the air. Destruction and Death say, 'Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.'
God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells, for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. When he established the force of the wind and measured out the waters, when he made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm, then he looked at wisdom and appraised it; he confirmed it and tested it.
And he said to man, 'The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.'"
Wisdom is described as the fear of the Lord, and with the gift of the fear of the Lord we become aware of the glory and majesty of God. A person with wonder and awe knows that God is the perfection of all we desire: perfect knowledge, perfect goodness, perfect power, and perfect love. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 1:7) because it puts our mindset in its correct location with respect to God: we are the finite, dependent creatures, and He is the infinite, all-powerful Creator.
Wisdom then comes from understanding who God is and acting upon that. Christ and Him crucified is our wisdom. As we understand this basic truth we need to look at our actions.
How do we look for wisdom and understanding? Are we wise in our own eyes and prideful in our own knowledge? Are we seeking His wisdom or knowledge for its own sake? What are some ways we can really live in the fear of the Lord?
Speaker: Christine Farah