1 Kings 16, 2 Chronicles 17, Seek God

 “The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel. His heart was courageous in the ways of the Lord. And furthermore, he took the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.”

‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭17‬:‭3‬-‭4‬, ‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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Seeking the Lord is right in every moment of life.  Attempting to know Him and to love Him more intensively will always produce further sanctification.  Obedience is part of seeking and especially when temptation is at hand following His direction is great evidence of our love.

Lord, strengthen my heart to seek you every moment of every day!  I want to know You and serve You alone…

1 Kings 15, 2 Chronicles 13-16, Dependance on God

 “And Asa cried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.””

‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭14‬:‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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Dependence on God rather than our own strength or wisdom is critical for following God.  It’s very easy for me to fall into my own strength without paying attention to this.

Lord, I need my eyes open to see when I depend on my own strength and ideas.  I need my ears tuned to your voice so that I can know where You are leading.

1 Kings 12-14, Wiser Counselors

 “Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” And they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.” But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him.”

‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭12‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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Seeking wisdom from the wise rather than your friends is always the right move.  Your friends will lead you astray and right into the claws of destruction.

Ecclesiastes 7-12, Work Diligently

 “Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭9‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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Wisdom for the ages: whatever you are working on, do it with all your heart…and in the process, enjoy the blessings God has given you!

Ecclesiastes 1-6, Better Expectations

 “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭2‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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This has always been one of my favorite books of wisdom.  It seems a bit depressing, but it also helps to reframe what is important and what things to ignore.  Love God, serve Him, take pleasure in whatever He provides and hold all things loosely.  In other words, set the bar of your life expectations low and seek to please God…any joy you experience is a bonus!

Proverbs 4-6, Wisdom Personified

 “Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight. Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.””

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭5‬-‭9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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Wisdom personified is such an attractive idea…of course I want to pursue wisdom, to gain it, keep it, used it and share it.  Yet as I read, I see so clearly many ways that I continue to act like the fool!  You would think that after following Jesus for nearly 40yrs all of that would be gone by now.

Lord, help me to recognize when I am acting the fool.  Help me to repent of that foolishness and replace my thoughts or actions with a wise course of action.

Proverbs 1-3, Seek Wisdom

 “if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭2‬:‭4‬-‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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When I consider what it looks like for me to seek Silver and Gold, I compare that to my effort to get better at my work.  I have literally read hundreds of books and invested thousands of hours listening to podcasts to gain an edge in business and leadership.

So do I seek Gods wisdom with that same vigor and intensity?  Lord, help me to continue to prioritize knowing You and seeking Your wisdom!

1 Kings 3-4, Wise Prayer

 “At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.”

‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬, ‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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Solomon’s wisdom was that he asked God for something that positively impacted all the people around him rather than just asking for a blessing himself.  I have been thinking about this lately, so much of my prayer time tends to focus on what would be helpful or be a blessing to me…Lord, fill my mind with other people while I am talking with You!

Psalm 119- Love Learning

 “Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love, and teach me your statutes.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭119‬:‭124‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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I feel conviction reading this because even though I read the Word every day, most days I do not love it.  I want to be able to declare like David, I love your commands therefore bless me!  But instead I need to say, help me love Your Word!

Deuteronomy 8-10, Humility & Wisdom

 “You may say to yourself, ‘My power and my own ability have gained this wealth for me,’ but remember that the Lord your God gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm his covenant he swore to your ancestors,  as it is today.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭8‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭CSB‬‬

“You are not going to take possession of their land because of your righteousness or your integrity. Instead, the Lord your God will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness, in order to fulfill the promise he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land  to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people. ”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭9‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭CSB‬‬

““And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you except to fear  the Lord your God by walking in all his ways, to love him, and to worship the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul?  Keep the Lord’s commands and statutes I am giving you today, for your own good. ”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭10‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Humility and wisdom.  Trust in God rather than your own ability because He is the one who enables our work and prepares our path.

Numbers 23-25, Blindly Misaligned

 “So Israel aligned itself with Baal of Peor, and the Lord’s anger burned against Israel. ”

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭25‬:‭3‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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What am I blindly aligning myself with that is opposed to Christ?  Lord, remove any blindness that I have to see where my very actions or thoughts take me farther from You.  Help me to know You more!

Exodus 16-18, Gods Direction

“If you do this, and God so directs you, you will be able to endure, and also all these people will be able to go home satisfied.”

Exodus 18:23 CSB

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I love the strategy that Jethro is helping Moses to see.  Many of us would think this is excellent advise and immediately implement it…However, Jethro adds the most critical advise: “and [if] God so directs you”.  Just doing something smart is not enough, it must also be what God is directing you to do.

Lord, may I constantly be seeking to follow what You are directing, not just was sounds good!

Job 38-39, Purposefully Limited

 “Who is this who obscures my counsel with ignorant words?  Get ready to answer me like a man; when I question  you, you will inform me.”

‭‭Job‬ ‭38‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Just like the thunderstorm reminds us of our small place, Gods questions to Job remind him of his smallness.  It’s as if God were demonstrating Jobs ignorance…

Lord, the humility of humanity means we are limited.  Help me to embrace who You created me to be, including my limitations, weakness and failures…

Job 24-28, Wisdom & Knowledge

“But where can wisdom  be found, and where is understanding located? No one can know its value, since it cannot be found in the land of the living. Gold cannot be exchanged for it, and silver cannot be weighed out for its price. Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning. The price of wisdom is beyond pearls. 

He said to mankind, “The fear of the Lord #— #that is wisdom. And to turn from evil is understanding.” ”

‭‭Job‬ ‭28‬:‭12‬-‭13‬, ‭15‬, ‭18‬, ‭28‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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I have spent so much of my life pursuing success and achievement.  I knew that those things most consistently come through wisdom and understanding.  For decades, I sought those, even from the right places, but my motive was for selfish gain…it is sad to realize it now.

Lord, you are the source of wisdom and knowledge.  But knowing You and living in surrender to Your will is the best measure of success…God, help me to live as if that were true!

Job 10-13, True Peace

“Would God’s majesty not terrify you?  Would his dread not fall on you? 

Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ash; your defenses are made of clay. 

I will put myself at risk  and take my life in my own hands. Even if he kills me, I will hope in him.  I will still defend my ways before him.”

‭‭Job‬ ‭13‬:‭11‬-‭12‬, ‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Jobs’ comments to his friends are so pointed and confident.  Job knew that he had nothing to hide from God.  Even his wise friends needed some reminders from Job to have humility.  Their best arguments and cases were fragile and worthless….like dust…

The same is true for me,..I may have some great things to say, but if they are not founded in scripture, they are worthless.

Lord, help me to point others to Christ and Your Word rather than my opinions or wisdom…You alone bring true Peace, Joy and Healing!

John 11:45-57, Selfish Manipulation

 “If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” “You’re not considering that it is to your advantage that one man should die for the people rather than the whole nation perish.” So from that day on they plotted to kill him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭48‬, ‭50‬, ‭53‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Fear of losing power and freedom was driving the Pharisees to plot to kill Jesus.  They had a good thing going and were worried that Jesus was going to mess it up.  It really is crazy how much they were willing to do to silence Him…because their own desires would be trampled…

That hits close to home…how many times have I tried to manipulate a situation to get the outcome I wanted?  In what ways do I still try to force a result that makes things better for me?  

Lord, help me to see the greater perspective of Your plan.  I know that Your ways ultimately result in the best thing for me.  I know you are trustworthy, because You have always been so.  You have been so good to me!  Thank You for loving me!  Help me to trust You at every turn!!!

John 5:17-23, WWJD

“Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, the Son is not able to do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son likewise does these things.”

‭‭John‬ ‭5‬:‭19‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Lord help me to do only the things that You would do. Allow my heart and mind to ask, if Jesus were in my shoes, what would He do?  Then give me the strength, courage and commitment to follow through with doing that.

John‬ ‭2‬:‭18‬-‭25, Always Right

 “So the Jews replied to him, “What sign will you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up in three days.” Therefore the Jews said, “This temple took forty-six years to build, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. So when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the statement Jesus had made.”

‭‭John‬ ‭2‬:‭18‬-‭22‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Lord, sometimes when I read scripture I don’t understand why that you tell me to do certain things.  I look at it like the Jews and get very confused.  In my mind the logic doesn’t work  Yet over and over again, it proves out to be true!

Help me to have faith to trust that You know what You are talking about and the strength to do whatever You are calling me to do. Help me to trust Your Word even when it doesn’t seem right!

Proverbs 31- Spousal Delight

“Who can find a wife of noble character? She is far more precious than jewels. Her mouth speaks wisdom, and loving instruction is on her tongue. Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭31‬:‭10‬, ‭26‬, ‭30‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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There is no gift after Salvation, that has more impact on your life.  Marrying a wife who encourages you toward what is truly important cannot be understated.  We all need help and encouragement and having a spouse that is ready, able and full of wisdom is critical for long term joy.

Lord, I have been blessed beyond measure and I want to remain thankful and demonstrate my delight every day.  Help me not to get self focused but to love and protect her daily.  Thank You for the incredible wife and partner in every adventure…

Proverbs 30- Blind to Sin

“Give me neither poverty nor wealth; feed me with the food I need. Otherwise, I might have too much and deny you, saying, “Who is the Lord?” or I might have nothing and steal, profaning the name of my God. 

There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filth. This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, “I’ve done nothing wrong.””

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭30‬:‭8‬-‭9‬, ‭12‬, ‭20‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Lord, give me eyes to see myself clearly.  Don’t allow me to be blind to who I am or the impact of my sin.  It is so easy to falsely think that I have things in life handled and I don’t need You, but that is the biggest lie.  I need You every moment of every day or else I begin to move in the wrong direction and cause chaos in my life and those around me.