My Daily Pause

The sum of human knowledge…

If you wonder why the world has become more and more divided over the Bible and God’s existence, Paul explains it quite well:

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. – 1 Corinthians 1:18

He also gives an example from Isaiah 29:14, where man’s “wisdom” has failed God’s test when the Jews faced the Assyrians. (1 Corinthians 1:19)

When we consider the wisdom of men, we can point to a number of examples that it fails in time:

• The pyramids of Giza are interesting, but a colossal waste
• Encyclopedias from the 1970’s are almost useless
• There has never been a permanent government
• Today’s advanced electronic device becomes tomorrow’s doorstop

And even though Newton’s theories were used to get to the moon, they have been discovered to have flaws.

God’s word has never failed.  It has never been superseded. The more we dig into it, the more we see how solid the wisdom is.

It is full of advice that remains as sound today as it was when it was put on paper.

It is a plan for living well and stress free.

It is the story of our Creator and what he has in store for us.

If we give it its due, its rewards are without limit!

You are who you spend your time with

If you listen to correction to improve your life,
you will live among the wise.  – Proverbs 15:31 NCV

Two variations of this advice that are now a bit cliché:

We become as knowledgeable as our five closest friends

or

We become as rich as our five closest friends.

Choosing who we spend our time with is our most critical decision because they will become the source of our advice. Living among those wiser, richer or kinder  provides us the examples and correction we need to be like them.

Acting on that correction helps keep us among them.

The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;
to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth—
Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
to understand a proverb and a saying,
the words of the wise and their riddles.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction. – Proverbs 1:1-7

Off and on over the years I have followed an old suggestion that one should read a chapter of Proverbs a day. On the first day of the month read Proverbs 1, one the second day of the month read Proverbs 2, and so on. I especially did this when I was self-employed because I wanted to run my business with literally, the Wisdom of Solomon.

To finish the exercise, it is important to try and make application of some portion of the day’s reading. The opening lines of Proverbs tells us exactly the benefits of this wisdom to how we live and how we do business. The writer promises us most of what any self-help book published today tries to deliver:

• Wisdom and instruction
• Understanding
• Wise dealings
• Discretion

Often, what was given as a warning or suggestion in Proverbs, is found in the New Testament as a commandment. This is excellent reassurance that God had only the best intentions for us when He gave us His laws.

Solomon, through his God-given wisdom, knew all the answers. He left us with advice that can make us successful and productive. It’s no wonder that so many of Proverbs verses have a direct connection to the Apostle’s teachings!

If you have extra time beyond your current Bible reading plan, or if you are still trying to build a daily reading habit, try the “Proverbs chapter a day” plan for a few months.

It is better to get wisdom than gold,
and to choose understanding rather than silver! – Proverbs 16:16 NCV

I am looking forward to another Biblepalooza tonight. When I think about the value we have gotten from doing these this year, I think about how highly Solomon placed wisdom in his priorities. Followed up by God rewarding him so richly for wanting wisdom above all else, we can understand how important God thinks it is.

Imagine how different the world would be if everyone dedicated 25% of their entertainment time to learning something.

What if we turned off the computers and televisions for 90 minutes and

• read from the Bible?
• had a deep conversation with someone smarter than ourselves?
• attended a class or lecture?
• read a non-fiction book?

These are the kind of things that increase not only what we know, but how well we can absorb new knowledge. The net effect will be our having ability to dig deeper into God’s word with greater understanding.

Daily Bible reading for October 18

Psalm 78
1 Kings 12:1-15
Ezekiel 40
Romans 9:30-10:21

Wisdom has built her house;
she has made its seven columns.

She has prepared her food and wine;
she has set her table.

She has sent out her servant girls,
and she calls out from the highest place in the city.

She says to those who are uneducated,
“Come in here, you foolish people!

Come and eat my food
and drink the wine I have prepared.

Stop your foolish ways, and you will live;
take the road of understanding. – Proverbs 9:1-6 NCV

I’ve lived in several excellent places over my lifetime. By excellent, I mean places full of beauty, rich with history and excellent quality of life. I never seemed to take full advantage of them even though they were places where people would save their money and dream of the day they get to visit.

Getting bogged down in life without a plan does that to us.

We could compare the Bible to that. For very little money we can buy a book that took forty men thousands of years to complete. We have access like no one else in history – a history full of war, death, hardship – because of people glad to protect it so that we can have the words that God breathed.

God has made sure that we have access to his wisdom and plan. It is complete. It is compelling. It has never been disproven. The invitation is open and he waits for us to accept.

Make a plan and use it regularly and grow. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Daily Bible reading for June 14

Proverbs 9
Deuteronomy 15:19-16:17
Hosea 14
Philemon 8-22