For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
Wisdom is more valuable than any treasure you can obtain, silver, gold, or jewels. Nothing on the face of this earth which you may desire is of more value than wisdom. Make gaining wisdom a higher priority than gaining anything else. There will be time enough for other things after you acquire wisdom, and even if there isn’t, you will be better off with wisdom than with those other things.
I read this psalm and it seems as if the psalmist is living today. It is a reminder that the Bible applies to us today as much as it did when it was written.
It is tempting to take Jesus’ instructions to the Twelve when He sent them out as THE model for evangelism. This would be a mistake, because Jesus gives different instructions for evangelism elsewhere. However, it is A model for evangelism. There are times and places where this is how we are called to preach the Gospel. There are however some things in Jesus’ instructions here which do apply to us in every circumstance.
Jesus tells us that we are going out as sheep among wolves. Therefore we need to not be naive. We need to be aware that people are going to attempt to take advantage of us
and we should not let them do so. However, we can allow them to think that they are taking advantage of us. We should be aware of the ways in which people are attempting to manipulate us and not allow them to do so. However, there is we do not need to reveal that we know they are attempting to manipulate us until they try to get us to do something that does not fit in with our mission.
Jesus goes on to tell us that we will be arrested and face persecution. We will be brought before judges and rulers. This will give us an opportunity to preach the Gospel to some who would not otherwise listen. When we are in that circumstance we should not worry about what we are going to say because the Holy Spirit will guide our words. I do not think Jesus is telling us not to plan out what to say when we know in advance that we are going to speak in front of a hostile audience. Rather, He is telling us not to worry about what to say when we are put on the spot. I know that on several occasions I have been in a circumstance where to this day the only explanation I have for the words I spoke was the Spirit of God (quoting verses I have never memorized, saying things I had not realized I believed, etc).
When Jacob decided, with God’s guidance, that it was time to leave Laban and return to Canaan, he did not claim that his wealth was the result of his hard work. Rather he credited God with being responsible for his success. Yes, Jacob claimed to have worked hard, but he acknowledged that all of his hard work would have been for naught if God had not aided him. Do we have a similar attitude? Are we willing to work hard in the knowledge that any success we have will nevertheless only come as a gift from God?