Wisdom Like a Sharpened Ax

Ecclesiastes 10:10 NKJV

Lord, plz fill my mind with Your wisdom for me to cut through the noise of this world like a sharpened ax to excavate Your plans around me already in motion, so I may join You there.

Wisdom Reveals Knowledge of Him

Ephesians 1:17 NKJV

Lord, I also desire to attain this spiritual wisdom which reveals the knowledge of You.

Wearing Humility Every Morning

Proverbs 11:2 NKJV

Lord, I will also wear Your humbleness as I get dressed every morning because I need Your wisdom throughout the day.

Multiplying My Days

Proverbs 9:10-11 NKJV

Lord, I'm sorry for seeking formulas to prosper and multiply instead of seeking Your wisdom by honoring You first everyday.

Power, Wisdom, and Understanding

[S] Jeremiah 10:12 --
It is he who made the earth by his power,who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.

[O] Creation of this world was created by God's power for sure, but He also put his final touches through his WISDOM and UNDERSTANDING.  If this world we live in is based on those two attributes, then the "worlds" I am creating must contain them as well too.

[A] Whatever I am building, I need to constantly ask whether I am adding God's wisdom and understanding because without them it will turn out to be lump of mess.

[P] Dear Father, please continue to shower down Your wisdom and understanding into my heart.  I want to follow after Your wisdom and understanding so that I may establish the right and graceful environment around me as well as stretching out the heavens above me.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Don't Run Out of Oil

[S] Matthew 25:9 (NIV) --
“ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

[O] The ten wise virgins brought extra oil for the lamps and when the other ten requested to share the oil, they denied because there wasn't enough for all of them.  They were the wise ones because they prepared in advance but what impressed me more today was the fact that they were wise enough to gauge how much oil they had and refused to share.  It's not the un-sharing part but the wisdom to know how to live out their purpose to the max without any compromise.

[A] I only have a limited amount of resources to achieve God-given purpose for my life to the max.  I need to have the wisdom to know how much amount of resources I have and use it wisely without running out before my mission is accomplished here on earth.

[P] Dear Father, grant me the wisdom to use my energy and resources You have placed in my life for the soul purpose of carrying out Your mission for me here on earth.  May I know when to say "no" so that I won't run out of gas (oil) doing non-essential things.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Fear Before Wisdom

[S] Psalm 111:10 --
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments;
His praise endures forever.

[O] I've been seeking wisdom in a couple of areas in my life but it really meant that I was searching for solutions to the issues I'm facing so I may move on with my life.  The psalmist reminded me through this passage, however, that I first have to place God at the throne where He belongs and only with such a heart God will grant wisdom in my life.  Because I've been trained all my life to seek solutions when faced with issues, this principle always catches me off guard as He doesn't want me to go looking for solutions but to seek Him first as my God and King, and once I follow His principles, then He will put praise in me forever which ultimately is where I want to be.

[A] Have I pushed out Jesus from the lordship of my life and have I taken over to find "my ways?"  I need to be careful whenever I am faced with challenges in my life not to shift into working things out on my own.  I need to fear God and commit myself to follow His principles.

[P] Dear Father, please sustain in me the praises toward You as I commit to follow Your ways and to seek Your wisdom before I take things into my own hands.  Please restore in my heart the rejoicing for who You are and what You have done and will do for me.

Know When and How to Use Your Living Skills

[S] Ecclesiates 9:18 --
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

[O] If weapons of war are equivalent to fighting skills and technology of this world, then wisdom equates to knowing how and where to use them.  So, this passage states that more so than the fighting skills how to apply them in a war is more effective.  Additionally, unity of the warriors to fight with one heart and mind is a key ingredient to the victory of war; it just takes a single outcast in this effort to destroy the efforts of the many.

[A] Not that I have this down myself, but I feel that one of my calling is to teach my children and others in subsequent generations the criticality of valuing the wisdom from God and not rely on the technicality of living skills which many can attain by giving their best efforts while the wisdom only comes from God.

[P] Dear Father, first please graciously grant Your wisdom upon this heart humbly bowing before You.  And please let me be a conduit to pass on that wisdom and how to attain such wonderful ingredient for my children and next generation to rely on as they build their community to reflect more of Your beauty.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Passing on The Wisdom Baton

[S] 1 Kings 12:8 --
8  But he forsook the counsel of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who grew up with him and served him.

[O] The wisdom Solomon received from the Lord did not automatically pass on to his son Rehoboam because he certainly did not make a wise decision here.  Instead of seeking God's guidance, he went with his own "known quality" by choosing to listen to the young men who were loyal to him.  Even in practical sense he forgo the leaders who had gone through the thick and thin with his father for those he grew up with (i.e., they have equally shallow understanding of what happened during Solomon's days).

[A] Whatever little wisdom I will gain during my life time is not going to automatically so I must sow the seed of seeking wisdom in my children's hearts so they would seek after God's wisdom on their own.

[P] Dear Father, I pray that You would allow the hearts of my children to be willing to dig into Your word deeper during this Summer by consistently doing the Life Journaling with me.  Give me the alertness to wake up on time to spend this precious time with them.  In Jesus' name.  Amen

From Hearing to Understanding

[S] Matthew 13:14 --
14  "In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;


[O] Hearing vs. understanding and seeing vs. perceiving are two key concepts here.  Hearing and seeing are mere activation of sensors in our body sending electrons up to the brain while understanding and perceiving goes beyond to process those senses into a comprehensible conclusion.  Anybody can hear and see, but only those who work to process further will gain understanding which requires God's granting us through the Holy Spirit in the first place.

[A] As I'm raising my children, I am more convicted to pray and guide my children so they'd attain God's permission to understand and perceive the wisdom God desires them to grasp as they live their lives.

[P] Dear Father, please seal Your Holy Spirit's granting my children to understand Your words and for them to not just hear and see things around them and simply react to them.  May Your wonderful wisdom take root in their hearts deep inside.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Simple is Wisdom

[S] Psalm 19:7--
    ⁷The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;
         The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

[O] God's law is not only perfect and flawless but it also carries the power of restoring souls and it also makes the wise to be simple.  Why is that what I do always gets so  complicated no matter how much wisdom I want to apply?  In contrast, God's wisdom is simple and uncluttering because it centers around letting God work through my life rather than trying to make something out of it on my own.  Acts 11:21 -- And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord -- describes how Peter simplified those, who are circumcised, who made things all too complicated about following Christ.

[A] I need to catch myself whenever I make living out a Christ-following life too complicated and seek His wisdom which makes my mind simple.  I'm realizing that when I am defending what I'm doing, then it's already gotten too complicated.

[P] Dear Father, may Your law infiltrate my mind so it will stay simple and fresh to live for You and to surrender my life so Your hand will work through me.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Get In the Way of Jesus

[S] Luke 19:4 --
 ⁴So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way.

[O] Zaccheus desperately wanted to see Jesus even from a distance so He figured out the path and waited for Jesus to come by there.  Being a tax collector, we can assume he was pretty smart and quick thinking.  Using his skills he quickly decided that if he cannot fight through the crowd to see Jesus, then he will wait for Him to come by up ahead.  In many ways, I say I want to see Jesus every day but that effort is crowded out by hustle and bustle of the day.  Learning from Zaccheus, I should try to go find a place where Jesus is going to pass by so I can meet Him there where it may be less crowded and I can have a vantage point of view.

[A] It doesn't take a GPS (navigation tool) to find out where Jesus is going to pass by in my spiritual walk because He used to go to a quiet place to spend the time with His Dad.  If I go ahead to my morning devotional place and time, I will see Him and He will invite me into His presence to fill me up with His strength.  Stop wondering why I cannot seem to meet Jesus; instead wait for Him ahead in my morning devotional.

[P] Dear Jesus, I desire to meet You and I've learned from Zaccheus that I don't need to fight what's crowding me out but to go ahead to a place where I know you'll pass by, to spend that 1-1 time with You.  Thank You for this encouragement to keep on seeking You through my devotional times.  In Your name.  Amen.

God's Word Dwell-o-meter

[S] Colosians 3:16-17 --
 ¹⁶Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

[O] One of the key indicators of how well the word of Christ dwells in me is how joyful I am with others around me.  The joyfulness can be measured by how I am high spiritually filled with hymns, songs, and thankfulness in my heart for knowing that I belong to God.  It also follows with admonishing one another, uplifting others.  Overflowing the love of God has for me to others seems like a good indicator for me to track as I interact at work, home, church, and many other places I visit.

[A] It seems like this passage was God sent after I sought after some wisdom on how to communicate some points with my children.  What it meant to me was more so than the concept itself, I need to do it with a heart full of joy and thankfulness so the word of Christ will overflow into them foremost.  Thankful heart + admonishing others around me indicate my richness in the word of Christ

[P] Dear Father, please continue to teach me how to follow Your footsteps of being a father.  How it is all about surrendering my rights for the sake of teaching the true love to my children.  Please grant me wisdom so I do not hinder that with all sorts of details.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Got Wisdom? Get Fear!

[S] Job 28:28 --
    ²⁸"And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
         And to depart from evil is understanding.'" 

[O] Job covers all the possible places and ways to attain wisdom in this chapter but concludes with this verse that "fear of the Lord" is the only way to get that.  No money or precious gems of this world can bring me wisdom.  To Job, God's wisdom is the key to living out his life because nothing on earth -- as he had the luxury of attaining many things of this world by the way he knows well what they are -- could satisfy.

[A] What is my irreducible minimum in my life to live out a Godly life?  If it is wisdom like Job, then my basic posture should be to fear the Lord from the moment I wake up to the time I go to sleep.

[P] Dear Father, teach me to fear You such that Your wisdom will never leave me.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Faith Without Exceptions

[S] 1 Kings 3:3 -- Now Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

[O] We see that Solomon held on to his father David's faith toward God with the same passion.  However, he had an exception to that passionate faith on God where he sacrificed on the high places.  We can see in verse 2 that these high places are where people still worshiped the idols.  We can also see in Psalm 78:58 how these high places angered God.  He may have started as just a nothing significant since he knew his heart was dedicated toward God but in the end we can see how this veered him away from God's path in the latter years of his life.  Following God cannot have any exceptions because as Jesus called His disciples to give up everything to follow Him our faith to follow God must surrender every aspect of our lives even if they may seem very minor at the moment.

[A] I need to examine my life for any habits that I've been doing without thinking much about it that may actually influence my walk with God.

[P] Dear God, please grant me the wisdom of Solomon (at least what he started with!) to discern all of my habits to be aligned with Your desires from my life.  Thank you for teaching me through Solomon's life.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Beyond My Chariots and Horses

[S] Psalm 20:7-8 --
   ⁷Some boast in chariots and some in horses,
         But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.
    ⁸They have bowed down and fallen,
         But we have risen and stood upright.

[O] What are my "chariots and horses"?  They could be my position in society, money, power, gadgets, appearances, and cars.  I can compare these with others somewhat quantitatively and thus I am easily falling into the trap of trying to gauge where I fit with respect to others around me by comparing these things.  However, when's the last time I compared how many more Bible verses I memorized, or how may needy people I supported physically or financially, or even about how loudly I cried out to God proclaiming His wonderful compassion toward me?

The short answer is not as much as I boast about my chariots and horses.  As I ponder on this passage with this thought going through my mind, I am concluding that the reason is because at the core I trust in my chariots and horses to rise above the society.  Psalmist reminded me that ultimately God is the one who will do that and thus I need to boast about how wondrous He is going to lift me up as I abide in Him alone and boast in His name.

[A] May my life be boasting about how Your word unfolds the wondrous love through all I do and do be founded in drawing wisdom from the Divine Mentors from the Bible every day.

[P] Dear God, I am grateful for all the material things You granted in my life and yet may I not boast in those but instead develop a well-disciplined life of soaking up Your wisdom layer by layer, day by day.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Abigail's Wisdom

[S] 1 Samuel 25:28 --
 ²⁸"Please forgive the transgression of your maidservant; for the LORD will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the LORD, and evil will not be found in you all your days.

[O] Abigail had the wisdom to avoid the ugly consequence and this is a true lesson for life for any one of us.  As Pastor Wayne Cordeiro shares in his book, Divine Mentor, The: Growing Your Faith as You Sit at the Feet of the Savior, we can learn from wisdom or from consequences in our lives.  Wisdom will teach us to avoid painful costs while the consequence makes sure we learn after making the mistake to pay a hefty price.  Abby acquired the wisdom from the Lord and with that she acted quickly to avoid a disaster in his home town due to his foolish husband, Nabal.  I can see that her wisdom originated from God because she recognized that David was fighting the battles of the LORD -- i.e., fighting for God and not for his own fame.  With that recognition, she approached David in a hurry to appease his anger toward Nabal.

[A] Wisdom is what I need to seek from God to avoid painful lessons in life and to praise Him in the right moments.  With such wisdom, I should also recognize the godly co-workers around me to fight this battles of the LORD together.

[P] Dear God, please grant me the wisdom of Abigail.  I will pursue that through my daily devotions with You.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Teach Me to Number My Days

[S] Psalm 90:12,14,17 --
    ¹²So teach us to number our days,
         That we may present to You a heart of wisdom. 
    ¹⁴O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness,
         That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
    ¹⁷Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us;
         And confirm for us the work of our hands;
         Yes, confirm the work of our hands.

[O] Every day of my life counts!  In fact, that's how God wants me to treat each day of my life -- to number them and make them count by living a wise life.  Since I'm on a roll with establishing my "early" morning devotional time on a daily basis, I'm thinking of numbering my days that I will spend that special time with Jesus and that my heart be filled with His wisdom during that time to carry me through the day.  I am also gleaning from verse 14 that those morning times will satisfy me with His lovingkindness and that my heart will sing for joy and gladness with thanksgiving for another day that I may live Him.  At the same time, I will claim for His favor mentioned in verse 17 to confirm the efforts poured into the small group ministry because thinking it through in my ways I am filled with fear and inadequacy because the task is too large to handle.  So, I also say, Yes, confirm the work of my hands.

[A] Make every day count by starting the day with that special moment with Jesus.  Draw from Him the wisdom to live out that day for His purposes.

[P] Dear God, I am leaning on the Holy Spirit who is my Helper to carry on with my initial conditioning of setting up the "early morning" altar for You.  Please continue to encourage me and lead me to prioritize my times better to allow this to happen without forcing it on myself as a ritual.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Disorder vs. Order and Peace

[S] James 3:16-18 --

¹⁶For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.

¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.

¹⁸And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

[O] The comparisons to note here: jealousy/selfish ambition vs. wisdom from above; disorder vs. peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy, good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy; evil vs. righteousness. Also displays the cause and effect here: jealousy/selfish ambition => disorcer/evil; wisdom from above => pure, peace, gentle, reasonable, mercy, fruitful, unwavering, no hypocrisy. The media carries a lot of issues in our world but not many solutions are offered in light of them. We see a lot of editorials and suggestions but rarely we see a clear statement telling us what the root cause is and how we need to correct ourselves because for the most part the focus is on the symptoms rather than the cause. This passage provides a view into why we have disorder in our society (including our homes and churches) -- jealousy and selfishness is the cause. So before we can begin to fix the disorderliness, we must identify the jealousy and selfishness and remove them. Then the natural outcome is mentioned in subsequent verses.

[A] Don't get too stuck in looking at the symptoms of the issues around me but pray and seek for His wisdom on understanding where the root causes may lie.

[P] Dear God, as the God of order in this world, I bow down humbly before You to submit my disorderly mind such thatI may be the recipient of Your wonderful fruits in my life in an orderly fashion according to Your timing. Please be with our church today as I go over the second part of the small group ministry structure so the church would embrace the new ministry with the passion in unity and order. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Pride vs. Humility = Dishonor vs. Wisdom

[S] Proverbs 11:2 --
²When pride comes, then comes dishonor,
But with the humble is wisdom.

[O] Person of honor is a concept we don't get to hear often these days. If you read the news these days you are bombarded with stories about how people are trying to cheat, beat, or kill others. Perhaps I may be listening to the wrong news channels but it's definitely rare to hear about the honors people are exchanging with one another. Why? Today's passage seems to shed some light on this question. Instead of humility, we are almost taught and encouraged to be proud over other people. The problem with pride is that it demands others around to be lowered (so you can stand out). So as a result, it will definitely bring dishonor. On the other hand, humility will beg wisdom to make a visit because it requires wisdom to be humble.

[A] Wonders why it's so easier to be proud than humble. I'm going to ask from God for humility by way of asking for more wisdom.

[P] Heavenly Father, grant me a humble heart and spirit. I realize this isn't gonna come naturally and will need to work on it. I wanna work on it, Lord. In Your name. Amen.