Often times people use the words knowledge, understanding and wisdom interchangeably, as if they mean the same thing.

Actually there are significant distinctions between these words, particularly with reference to the Bible.

We can look at knowledge as the facts or data, understanding as, what the facts mean, and wisdom as, what do I do about it.

Applying this to our Bible and faith, we read a verse and know what the words say, that is knowledge. We consider the words and cross reference with other bible verses and stories to understand what the words are trying to tell us. However, the very important piece is what do we do after we understand what the words mean, that is wisdom.

James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

So let us always take time after reading our bible, and ask for God’s wisdom on how to apply it in our lives.

Dear Lord, we know that You are the source of wisdom. Give us this wisdom as you promise so that we will know with confidence how to proceed in our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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One of the mysteries of Christian faith is the Holy Spirit.

Paul writes in Romans 15:13, “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

The Bible tells us that we can only believe in Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us. It also tells us that it is the power of the Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, and allowed the apostles to perform miracles. The Holy Spirit is also how God works in us, connects us to each other, and to Him.

We therefore have God’s unlimited power in us and available to us. I believe that the biggest limit on that power is our limited faith in it.

Dear Lord, let us take the limits off of the Holy Spirit working through us, and as Paul tells us, “overflow with confident hope in the power of the Holy Spirit.” With You, all things are possible. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Matthew Chapter 4 and Luke Chapter 4 record the story of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. There are many things we can learn from these stories, and I would like to point out a few.

First, Matthew 4:1 says, “Jesus was led into the wilderness by the spirit to be tempted there.” Sometimes even when we are doing the right thing and following the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we will be brought to a situation where we will be tested.

Second, The story lists three specific temptations, hunger, protection, and power. In each of these temptations Jesus resists the temptation with scripture as his weapon to fight back. For instance, Matthew 4:10 writes, “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.”

The more scripture we know and remember, the more ammunition we will have to resist our temptations.

Third, after Jesus resisted the temptations, the devil went away. Matthew 4:11 writes, “Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.” If we resist, with God’s help we can over-come all temptation. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”

This story is great demonstration of how Jesus was truly a man and faced temptation like us, and also how we are to deal with the temptations that attack us.

Dear Lord, We know that all temptations can be overcome if we rely on you. Help us build up our ability to resist temptation with knowledge of your word and trust in your power to overcome any temptation we may experience. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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Most of us have heard or read 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast your cares on Him for He cares for you.” This verse sometimes seems a little over simplified, like telling someone..”don’t worry about it, everything will work out.”

However, I recently read Romans 10:11, which the Living Bible translates, “For the Scriptures tell us that no one who believes in Christ will ever be disappointed.”

I have experienced this, and maybe you have too. A situation appears to have no possible positive outcome, late for a meeting, behind in class, missed a flight, bills that you cannot cover, but when we fully give the concern over to God, unexpected events occur and things work out in ways we never imagined.

God will not disappoint us, if we trust Him.

Dear Lord, we often wait until, we often wait until we have nearly given up hope before coming to you with our concerns. Help us remember to come to you first, and when we trust You, You will not let us down. What peace this knowledge provides. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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One of the challenges we have, at times as Christians, is understanding what God wants us to do with our lives. Sometimes it seems so clear, and other times, not so much.

Jesus says to the disciples in Matthew 10:39 (NIV version), “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” The Message translation gives an interesting variation, “If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me.”

I found the Message translation to be a very helpful way to interpret this verse and to determine what God wants us to do. If we focus on demonstrating our love for God by following His direction, spelled out in the Bible, loving others, and sharing the Christian message of hope, other parts of our life will come along.

It is a bit like tuning an instrument, like a guitar. On a guitar, you can get one string in tune, then play the same note on that string and another string in order to tune the second string. If the notes are very close, but not exactly in tune, there is what is called “dissonance” between the sounds. The dissonance can be heard as an uncomfortable tremolo or “beating” sound; As one of the strings is tuned closer and closer to the other’s pitch, the beating gets slower and slower and eventually goes away, resulting in one nice sound, in unison.

As the verse in Matthew says, when we adjust ourselves to God’s standard, the dissonance goes away and we are in unison with God’s will.

Dear Lord, You have a plan for each of us. Help us remember to tune our plans to your will and we will accomplish both. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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