December 30 Daily Discovery
December 30 Daily Discovery -
Read Matthew Chapter 7
Hearing and Doing what God Says
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Matthew 7:24-29
The Simple, the Wise, the Fool, and the Scorner
There are a total of five books in the Old Testament referred to as books of wisdom: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. The book of Proverbs is obviously the most prevalent of the wisdom books.
As you read through the book of Proverbs, you will discover these persons are identified:
- Simple people: those that are unaware or ignorant of God's truths and principles.
- Wise people: those that actively seek and practice God's truths and principles.
- Foolish people: those that despise and reject God's truths and principles.
- Scornrful people: those that are fools and try to convince others to become fools as well.
We are all born simple.
At birth, we are 100% unaware or ignorant of God's truth and principles, and we cannot be faulted for that. Because of this reality, we will tolerate foolish behavior among the very young.
Parental instruction and correction, attempting to bring our children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord is how we "drive" the foolishness out of a child. (Eph. 6:1-3; Prov. 22:15)
However, we cannot remain simple.
We will be confronted with the truth of God's principles, and how we respond to those truths and principles determines whether we go up or down from there.
How we become fools.
If we hear truths and we do not take the appropriate action based upon what we have learned, we become fools.
Hearing God's truth does NOT make you wise; it only "promotes" you down to the level of a fool.
Refer back to Jesus's teaching when he is contrasting the difference between the wise and the fool. BOTH of them HEAR.
Any person that HEARS what Jesus says and does not DO what Jesus says is a fool.
If we ignore, reject or despise what Jesus has said, we become foolish.
How we become wise.
We become wise by DOING what Jesus says to do.
I love the advice that Jesus' mother gave to the men at the wedding of Cana where Jesus performed His first recorded miracle: turning the water into wine. Jesus mother told the servants, "Whatever Jesus says to you, DO IT!" (John 2:5)
Surviving Life's Storms
When we have cultivated a habit of seeking out God's truth and applying it to our lives via submission to God and obedience to Him, we will be able to survive the storms of life.
Storms beat upon all of our houses alike. If through wisdom our house (life) is established with a firm foundation, we will survive every storm that comes our way.
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
James 1:22-25
God help us to be truly wise people by DOING God's Word and not become fools by only HEARING it!
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Continue Your Search
Do you see any: Commands to Obey, Warnings to Heed, Promises to Claim, Examples to Follow, Vices to Avoid, Praises to Emulate, Prayers to Use, Principles by which to Live, Questions to Ask or Actions to Take?
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