Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding; for her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, and her gain than fine gold.

— Proverbs 3:13-14

What is the consequence of foolishness, of lack of wisdom, of spiritual ignorance? One thing Proverbs makes very clear is that the result of that ignorance is pain. It is not simply that your IQ is a little less or that you do not graduate summa cum laude. It is pain—real, wrenching, oftentimes long continued pain. It is often death with an arrow through the liver, as the foolish bird walks right into the trap. All this, my friends, because one does not seek the wisdom of God.

In Jesus Christ we find that Wisdom has become incarnate. We read that Jesus Christ has been made by God unto us as wisdom, and He has become our wisdom. Fear of the Lord can grow into a complete love and adoration of God, who now has come to live in our midst. If we live by God’s wisdom, we will tend to find a good and protected life—not trouble-free, but indeed good.

Question to ponder:
How does the wisdom of God make a difference in your life?

Blessed be the LORD God…who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth.

— Genesis 24:27

Suppose the president decides to pardon a criminal in prison. Do you suppose that the people in America are going to rise up in righteous indignation and demand that he open the doors of every prison in the country and turn loose several millions of criminals on the populace of America? Of course not.

You see the Bible makes it very clear about God—and what is true for Him is also true for us—every one of us must be just. We must not act unjustly. But when it comes to mercy or grace, God says that nobody has any claim upon that. He says, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy” (Romans 9:15). If it were something that was earned or deserved by everyone, then that wouldn’t be mercy; it would be deserved, and it would be justice.

No one has a claim on mercy. We all have a claim on justice, but it is not true that God must give anyone an opportunity for mercy.

Question to ponder:
How does it make you feel knowing that God has chosen to give you His mercy?

For with God, nothing will be impossible.

— Luke 1:37

My friend, let me instruct you in protocol. When you are having a conversation with God, there are some words you just do not use. One of them is “impossible;” another one is “incredible.” Those words are not even in God’s dictionary.

The Queen in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland proclaimed that she could think of at least six impossible things before breakfast. She is not exactly a hero, but it is a great exercise to think of the impossible. Sometimes a lofty thought comes to mind; for example, “I think I would like to build a school.” Right at its heel comes the thought, “That’s impossible—you can’t do that.” Usually, that is the end of our impossible thought. But we serve a God with whom nothing is impossible.

Now, at the beginning of a new year, imagine some great goal or project you would like to see happen. Bearing in mind, it should be primarily for God’s glory and others’ good. Place that goal before the Lord and see what happens.

Question to ponder:
Do you have an “impossible” dream?

But God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?”

— Luke 12:20

Time management experts tell us that we should always be setting goals. I think it was Steve Covey who said, “Begin with the end in mind,” and work backwards. That is, think about your death or the obituary you would like to see written about you, and work backwards from that to the present, and so live your life as to try to reach that end. Begin with the end in mind.

That is good advice from a worldly point of view, and yet the error is that death is not the end. Those who see nothing beyond the “obit” column have a very shortsighted view of life, to say the least. They are overlooking something—death. The last word about our life in this world will not be written in the newspaper, but in the Lamb’s Book of Life and in the judgment books of God. A review of the last chapters of the book of Revelation puts all of life into sharp focus and helps get our priorities right.

How thankful I am to know Jesus, who forgives my sins and has put my name in His book of life.

Question to ponder:
Is death the end or the beginning? How so?

He restores my soul.

— Psalm 23:3

It is in the quietness of God’s presence that we can find an antidote to the hurried stress of our lives. Sitting there, dwelling with God, we will find body, mind, and spirit renewed.

God said to Elijah, who had just been through a very stressful experience with King Ahab: “… hide thyself by the brook Cherith…” (1 Kings 17:3). That was God’s prescription for a very over-stressed prophet. “Hide thyself by the brook Cherith” … “He leadeth me beside the still waters.”

Someone said that he liked to take one-minute vacations to go in his mind to some pleasant place and there to wait. Actually, we need to spend twenty or thirty minutes at a time, taking time to pray, to meditate, to read God’s Word, and to let Him restore our soul. You will notice right after these pleasant meadows, these quiet waters, the words: “He restoreth my soul” (Psalm 23:3a). If we are to know the peace of God and the joy of God, that is where we will find it.

Question to ponder:
Are there any obstacles in your life to spending time alone with God?

But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.

— Luke 10:42

Many people are offended when they read the story of Mary and Martha in the Scripture. I would venture to say that if a hundred people read that passage, they would say that Martha, who is very busy tending to the guests and fixing the food after the traumatic event of Lazarus’ death, was certainly the hero of the plot. “Do ­nothing” Mary, who is sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to Him, was certainly the lesser of the two. Whereas Jesus said of Mary that she had chosen the better part.

This is a lesson that type A personalities need to learn. We need to hear afresh. “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10a). We need to know that sitting and listening to the Word of Christ may be more important than the activity everyone else may be applauding. We need to learn how to change our thinking about what is really important in life.

All our stress and busyness should be put at the feet of Jesus. When we learn to spend time there every day, to be still and hear from Him, then we will know that it is the better choice. It is the “good part.” There, at the feet of Christ, we will find peace, refreshment, and renewal. At the start of this New Year, why not resolve to spend time daily at the feet of Jesus? He invites us to come and sit “beside the still waters.”

Question to ponder:
Are you taking enough time to be still and be with Jesus?

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

— Psalm 46:10

In our busy age, despite all the conveniences of modern luxuries, many professing Christians find it difficult to set aside time alone with God. But the Lord commands us to be still and know that He is God.

Peter told Jesus he would never deny Him, but, of course, when the testing came, he failed. Not only was Peter self-confident and proud, he also followed from afar.

We absolutely need our quiet time with God. We need the time of prayer. We need a time every day of reading His Word. At the outset of this new year, what a good thing that you are choosing to have a quiet time. I hope this is part of an on-going habit with you. But if not, please make it such.

Eating God’s Word through spending time with Him is like eating food. What happens if you don’t eat? We become weak physically. What happens to our spirits if we neglect to “eat” God’s Word? We become weak spiritually.

It is absolutely essential for Christian growth in our lives to spend time in God’s Word and in prayer. We are told to have our lives transformed by the renewing of our minds. As we do that, He begins to conform us to the image of Christ. Spending time alone with Him is a major key in the process.

Question to ponder:
When you set aside time to be alone with the Lord, what role does prayer play and how can your quiet time be more effective?

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

— 1 John 1:8

This is salvation—”And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). We are justified by knowing Christ—knowing Him who is the Son of God, the Savior of men; knowing Him who took our sins upon Himself and died in our place. It is through knowledge and trust in Christ, our Savior that we are justified

Christ shows us in the parable of the Prodigal Son that very frequently the respectable and the religious are often the farthest from the kingdom of God. One minister said years ago, “The problem in America is not getting people saved. They all think that they are saved already. The problem is getting them lost.” How true that is.

Have you ever been lost? If not, you are not saved. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. The first requirement to being saved is to be lost.

For 24 years I lived without the slightest shadow ever crossing my mind that I was separated from God and on my way to perdition. Not until I came to that realization did the door of God’s mercy open to me.

Question to ponder:
What does it mean that a person knows he is lost?

Commit your works to the LORD, and your thoughts will be established.

— Proverbs 16:3

Many people make New Years’ resolutions. We see a new beginning and a new chance to make something better of our lives. Our God is a God of second chances, and with His help and in His strength, we will succeed.

We need to set godly goals. We need to lay them out before God in prayer, importunate prayer, prevailing prayer, persistent prayer. We need to obey God with lives that are yielded up to him, to His will. We will not be successful in doing these things if we are disobedient to God. That is why we cannot expect to have victory in our private lives or our church if we are living in disobedience.

Are we faithful in God’s work and are we faithful to our spouse and family? are we faithful in giving? Are we keeping His commandments and do we live lives of honesty and integrity? When we live godly lives, we will have godly goals.

Question to ponder:
What are the five most important goals and plans that you have for this coming year?

“Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has babbling? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who tarry long at the wine, those who go to seek mixed wine.”

— Proverbs 23:29-30

Some today call alcoholism merely a “disease.” The Bible calls it drunkenness. But you know, it is an interesting “disease” because the only way you can become an alcoholic is to get drunk. The Bible says that no drunkard will enter into the kingdom of heaven (see I Cor. 6:10).

Someone has said that if alcoholism is a disease (and certainly when a person becomes addicted and enslaved by it, it takes on many aspects of a disease):

It is the only disease that is contracted by an act of the will…
It is the only disease that is bottled and sold…
It is the only disease that provokes crime…
It is the only disease that bars the patient from heaven.

It is a tragic “disease” in America, and it is found among many young people today. Many who are turning away from drugs are turning to alcohol. This is even true of churched young people. Having a drink is one thing, but we should not do anything—including having a drink—if it causes our brother to fall away from the faith.

The Bible says that we should not be drunk with wine but instead be filled with the Holy Spirit. Having the joy of the Lord inside takes away the empty hole that some try to fill with drunkenness.

Lord, on this New Year’s Eve, we know that many will turn to the bottle for solace. We ask, Dear Father, that instead they would turn to You. Thank You for this past year. We lay the new one at Your feet…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, OUR
HEARTS CAN BE AT REST.