Memorise: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 1st Corinthians 1:27
Read: Isaiah 35:4-10 (KJV)
4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:
10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Bible in one year:
Proverbs 13-15,
Mark 6:53-7:23,
Hymnal:
Sing hymn 4
Message:
When you expound the things of God to the “wise men” of this world, they will consider you to be a fool.
When you talk about the resurrection of the dead and the outcome of Jesus’ death and resurrection, they will use their limited knowledge of the natural world to demonstrate your “foolishness”. It is ironic that those who profess themselves to be wise in this world are declared to be fools before God (Romans 1:22). As a believer in Christ, you should therefore not be offended if you are classified as foolish by the “wise men” of this world. Based on the words of our memory verse, if the world considers you to be foolish because your life is based on the principles of God’s word, you are blessed indeed. Remember that the devil came to our first parents disguised as a loving guidance counsellor. He advised them to follow his diabolical wisdom, and this led them into a state of foolishness. They realised belatedly that the wisdom the devil was introducing them to was actually foolishness in disguise, and ever since then, the wisdom that fills the hearts of men is the perverted wisdom of the devil, otherwise known as craftiness (1st Corinthians 3:19). This manifests as wisdom to cheat and get ahead of a neighbour, wisdom to defraud the government, wisdom to pervert the course of justice and wisdom to do diabolical things. In contrast to this, the wisdom of God cries out in proverbs 8:5-8 saying:
“O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. for my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing forward or perverse in them.”
This scripture reveals the nature and character of godly wisdom. You will observe that these characteristics are in direct opposition to what the children of this world consider as wisdom. Any wisdom that does not cut corners is considered foolishness by the children of this world. What they consider to be wisdom leads to both earthly and eternal perdition. A good example of the wisdom of this world is what Absalom exhibited against his father. The Bible says he stole the heart of an entire nation away from his father the king (2nd Samuel 15:6).
This is the way of the world. In contrast to such ways, today’s Bible reading speaks of the highway of holiness, through which the unclean shall not pass. It is equally interesting to read that although those passing through it may be considered fools by the world’s standard, they shall not go wrong in it (Isaiah 35:8). They will not err, because their Guide is the Lord of hosts (John 14:6). Beloved, do you seek wisdom? Do you want to be wise in things pertaining to godliness? The way to profitable wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and Jesus Christ is that wisdom that you need.
Prayer Point:
Father, please let the character of your wisdom begin to manifest in my life, in Jesus’ Name.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional Lessons was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical Churches in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
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