Day 10 | 21-Day Growth Challenge | "Fear of the Lord is the Foundation of Wisdom"

Wednesday, September 08, 2010 Bryan Hudson 9 Comments







SCRIPTURE:
Proverbs 9:7(NLT) Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt. 8 So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you. 9 Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more. Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment. 11 Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life. 12 If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit.  If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.

INSIGHT: 
Wisdom and understanding are most appreciated by those who embrace it. People who mock the things of God will likely not accept correction. Such persons need prayer and the saving message of the Gospel of Christ. We would like to think that we can help or "cure" anyone. But the fact remains that the Holy Spirit must help a person become receptive—something the Lord is quite expert at doing!

Wisdom is a virtue best shared among believers in Christ, such as the 21 Day Growth Challenge along with your comments. The "righteous" are people who will honor God and rejoice in His ways. According to Ephesians 4:15-16, the body of Christ "edifies itself" in love. That is, we build each other up, not for selfish reasons, but to make us more effective, and his church, in reaching our generation for the Kingdom of God.

Verse nine says, "Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom." Foundations are vitally important to buildings, especially tall ones. Laying a good foundation is the beginning to any successful building project. The "building project"of our lives requires understanding and living out the principle of the fear of the Lord. I define the fear of the Lord as "A deep desire to please and never displease the Lord."  

Upon the firm foundation of godly fear comes "good judgment" (make wise decisions and choices), long life, and other benefits as God's purpose for our lives may determine.

PRAYER:
"Lord, keep me from trying to correct people who mock You. Instead, help me to pray for such persons and present the Gospel of Christ to them. I choose to fear you, not in being terrified, but in love and devotion to You.

ACTIVATION: 
(Use comment section below to share your insights. Record sensitive items in your personal journal. You can login or simply use your first name.)
  1. How do you define wisdom? How do you separate godly wisdom from your own understanding?
  2. What does the term "fear of the Lord" mean to you?
  3. What actions will you take today related to this lesson?
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COMMENT SECTION:
Click on "Comments" to read others and add yours afterwards.

9 comments :

  1. 1.) I compare this to a scientist who has studied a subject for decades yet still cannot solve an equation. This person has his own understanding and an expert in their field. But, only God's divine wisdom can bring that revelation knowledge that will bring a break through and solve the equation.

    2.) To fear the Lord is to completely respect him and his ways. It is the a bi-product of being aware of who God really is. Yes, God loves us but he is also the architect and creator of our entire universe and multiple universes that we aren't even aware of. The fear of the Lord should cause us to always be checking with him to make sure we are on the right path while being thankful that we have such intimate access to him.

    3.)I will try to think of God in "bigger terms". Often I think of who God is as he relates to my life and situations in my life. But to truly revere God, I need to just stop and acknowledge who he is, period. A God not bound by time or space. He created time, space and all the laws of physics!

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  2. 1)Wisdom is to comply to and agree with God's way of doing things. My understanding is limited. The revelation Holy Spirit and the word of God enable me to expand my understanding.

    2)The fear of the Lord means to love, respect, and live in obedience to God.

    3)Today will ask God to stir the hearts of his people and reveal to us all the things that best please him,

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  3. 1. I define wisdom, as coming into the knowledge and understanding of God's principles and precepts and then learning to apply them to every area of my life. Separating God's wisdom from my own means accepting and doing those things that I takes a strength and a will that I know I can't understand or do in my own strength.
    2. The fear fo the Lord is to reference Him, respect Him, and to love Him with my whole self.

    3. Today I listened and allowed God to show me how short sighted I can be in looking at things I encounter.

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  4. 1. Wisdom is the use of sound judgment that allows one to correctly discern accurate advice when it is given, as well as directs one of proper courses of action to take in any given situation. We recognize godly wisdom as being apart from our own understanding because godly wisdom will always be in line with God’s Word and will not prompt us to do anything that would result in our destruction. For example, many of us have heard of abortion rights proponents killing abortion doctors in retaliation for the babies the doctors have aborted. If these abortion rights proponents were adhering to godly wisdom, they would pray for these doctors, not go out and commit the same sin of murder. Earthly understanding causes these abortion rights proponents to take a life for a life, which is in direct opposition of the Lord’s wishes, which is to give life more abundantly, not to steal, kill, and destroy as John 10:10 describes as being the intent of the enemy.
    2. To have a fear of the Lord means to reverence Him and strive to be in His will.
    3. I will pray that the Lord allows me to discern between His wisdom and my understanding, for His wisdom will lead to life.

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  5. 1.a) My definition of wisdom is-one who is knowledgeable and has great understanding of what they know. When someone fears God.
    b)How do I separate godly wisdom from my own understanding? I may have my own ideas about how something should go,but then a scripture will come to mind. It tells me God's way of thinking on the matter.That is how I separate godly wisdom from my own.
    2."The fear of the Lord" to me means to have Godly fear or respect for God my Lord. It also means I am afraid of God; not wanting to displease him in any way.
    3.I will continue to do what is right regardless of who's watching,whether it is the popular thing to do or not ;and try to please God at all times.

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  6. 1. How do you define wisdom? How do you separate godly wisdom from your own understanding?
    Wisdom is the knowledge and answers to problems, knowing how things should be done.

    I separate godly wisdom from my own understanding through prayer and the Word.

    2 What does the term "fear of the Lord" mean to you?
    Fear of the Lord means you seek to please him and do his will, not out of terror but love.

    3. What actions will you take today related to this lesson?
    I will continue to ask for wisdom and seek to be around wise people.

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  7. 1. I define wisdom as the application of knowledge to make right choices based on God given insight.
    I separate godly wisdom from my own understanding by praying and waiting for the insight given by the Holy Spirit; the confirmation of the Spirit’s revelation by the Word of God; and, in some situations seeking godly counsel of a mentor or teacher who is a believer in and follower of Christ.
    2. The term “fear of the Lord” means to me a respect for God and a desire to please Him which leads to obedience, realizing His power as well as His love.
    3.The actions I will take today related to this lesson is to act on my desire to live my life based on the fear of the Lord, and I will pray for the opportunity for me or another believer to share the gospel of Christ with a person that I have heard mock God.

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  8. 1.a) I define wisdom as: Having gained knowledge of any matter or situation, then taking that knowledge and applying good judgement as to what to do with the information and how to apply it in life or daily as we walk. Knowledge alone is simple arrogance. b) How do I separate Godly wisdom from my own understanding? for example - Adultry, we know that the bible says for this reason a man or woman can devorce that cheating person regardless of them asking for forgiveness or not...that's knowledge and an understanding of which most people have, but Godly wisdom says...it is better to forgive, God favors forgiveness over devorce, we know this also by the number of times the bible speaks of forgiveness, and 'the sea of forgetfulness' after we have been found in sin. My understanding would say "devorce", God's wisdom says "forgive", in as much as we have cheated in our hearts in our covenant commitment to Him, there is no difference.
    2. The term "Fear of the Lord" means I have honor for Him, I want to please Him, not do anything at would be against His will. I seek those ways and truths that will lead me to fear Him in love, not begrudgingly.
    3. Action Taken: Pray that God will show or reveal to me the reason why I do what I do, that it should be pleasing in His sight.

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  9. Wisdom is aquired through experiences in life. As we learn to apply the knowledge and understanding that we have obtained; in a positive, effective, and productive way in any life situations. Wisdom begans with the fear of God.

    The term "the fear of the Lord mean that we reverence him as the creator and maker of all things. We acknowledge him by keeping his commandment and obeying His word.

    We will continue to meditate on God's word and preach and teach others about his wisdom. We will strive to be Godly role models for others to follow.

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