The Scriptures that really impacted me personally this week are the following:
Proverbs 11:30 (NASB)
Ephesians 1:15-23 (ESV)
16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
Matthew 11:19 (NASB)
“The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”
Proverbs 11:30 (NASB)
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
And he who is wise wins souls.”
James 1:5 (ESV)
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
Here is what I am wrestling as I read these verses:
I have always believed that the Lord has made me wise with regard to the Scriptures. Yet as I read the Scriptures and see that wisdom is proven by her children or validated by her deeds, I am convicted that I am not as wise as I once thought. Humility is a critical aspect of being used and it seems that Laura and I are going through a time in which the Spirit of the Living God is well pleased for us to say with John, we must decrease that he might increase in and through us. It seems upon first glance that this is a burden, but I am finding that as we embrace humility, we find freedom. Once we realize that we can not produce fruit within our character or by our own strength and that only the Lord produces righteousness, holiness and new disciples, we find true freedom in Christ. I am learning that when Jesus said come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest, He is beaconing us to become tied to his yoke which he carries. If we do this, the burdens are truly light not because the burdens are light, but because He is the one bearing the load that He calls us to carry.
There is hope. How is the Lord working in you to either bring you to the cross and drop your burdens or to help you carry the burdens that He has called you to bear for His name?
May the Lord bless you this week. May you become truly wise and your lives bear children and deeds revealing that you are truly wise,
Geoff