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August 15, 2010 |
Cleveland, Ohio | MetroAlliance Church
Doing godly
wisdom dispels chaos, yields peace and order, and expands righteousness
in our lives and our community.
Wise or Un-Wise?
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(Slide 1)
Introduction:
The
lack of wisdom is evidenced all around us in many different forms.
Shown up on the screen are only four, and three are very real.
I think someone Photoshopped the mouse with the helmet. However, the
image represents some of the lack of wisdom you might see on America’s
Funniest Home Videos or on YouTube. It’s really not a smart thing to
fool around with life’s various mousetraps. After all, the point of a
mousetrap is to kill the mouse! More on this later.
The passage we’re looking at today is all
about how to exercise godly wisdom. We are going to see how godly wisdom
dispels chaos, yields peace and order, and expands righteousness in our
lives and our community.
(Slide 2)
Wise and Un-wise Builders
The author of the book of James was the
half-brother of Jesus, and Jesus told a story about a wise builder and
an un-wise builder that is a good illustration of the principles covered
in this section of James’ letter. The story Jesus told can be found in
Matthew 7:24-27.
In the parable, Jesus presents two
builders with two very different ideas of the proper foundation for a
house. One builds on stone, the other on sand, kind of like the two
houses pictured.
For a couple of years right after college,
I built houses, and I learned that if the foundation was not firm and
stable, then the entire structure would be unstable. The house would
settle, causing cracks in the walls, ceilings, and even the foundation. |
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Jesus said that those who listened to and
acted on the words he spoke were like the man who built his house upon
the rock. The rain came down, the floods rose up, the winds blew, and
the house stood firm.
On the other hand, those who listened to
his words but failed to act on them; those people are like the guy who
built his house on the sand. The rain came down, the floods rose up, the
winds blew, and the house went splat.
In the photos on the screen, both houses
are built near water. But, faced with a hurricane or even just a
tropical storm, only one of those houses will stand.
Notice that Jesus is illustrating wisdom
by saying it is doing the Word, and not just speaking or hearing it.
A few months ago, when we were looking at
1 Peter, we learned that we are called to be who we are in Christ, and
not be who we were without Christ. James, who grew up listening to
Jesus’ stories, is all about how to “do” the “be.”
(Slide 3)
James is all about the “do” of the “be”
Author Kurt Vonnegut is alleged to have
commented that Socrates summed up life saying, “To be is to do.” And
that existentialist philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre, summed it up saying,
“To do is to be.” While crooner, Frank Sinatra, summed up the meaning of
life as, “Do be do be do.”
I like that.
We are not called to just be Christians or
to just do Christianity; we are called to be and do who we are in
Christ. It’s both-and, not either-or.
This little letter of James is the how-to
manual of the “doing” of faith.
In today’s passage, James lays out both a standard and structure for
doing a critical component of the Christian life: wisdom.
He shows how to do godly wisdom to dispel
chaos, yield peace and order, and expand righteousness in our lives and
our community.
Let’s dive in and read the entire passage,
James 3:13-18, which is on page 1198 in the NIV pew Bibles.
(Slide 4)
James 3:13-18
13 Who is wise and understanding among you?
Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes
from wisdom.
14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not
boast about it or deny the truth.
15 Such "wisdom" does not come down from
heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.
16 For where you have envy and selfish
ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is
first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy
and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
18 Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a
harvest of righteousness.
We could sum up this passage by saying that it’s all about determining
what’s wise or un-wise.
(Slide 5)
Wise? – or – Un-Wise?
I’m borrowing the graphic from the TV game
show, Deal or No Deal, hosted by Howie Mandel. The TV show is really all
about chance. Contestants don’t invest anything in the game but their
time, and if they walk away empty handed at the end, they really haven’t
lost anything.
But living wisely or unwisely, and making
wise or un-wise choices and decisions, has very real consequences.
Life is not a game show, and how we choose
to “be” and “do,” exercising godly wisdom or worldly wisdom, leads to
very different outcomes. Only one path gets us to the goal of doing
godly wisdom to dispel chaos, yield peace and order, and expand
righteousness in our lives and our community.
(Slide 6)
James 3:13-18 Map
In this passage, James states upfront what
our goal is and then clearly delineates between what he sarcastically
refers to as two different wisdoms. He also offers straightforward
checklists to determine what’s wise and what’s not wise.
Up on the screen and on your insert is a
map of sorts that color codes the differences James lays out between
true wisdom, highlighted in green shading, and un-wisdom, highlighted in
the red shading.
Green means go or good! Red means stop or
bad! In this map, we have the goal stated at the top and shaded in
green. Below are two different paths that lead to two different results.
One path and result are shaded in green; the other path and result are
shaded in red.
Are you tracking with me on this so far? Got a handle on the meaning of
the colors? Okay, good! This will come in handy later.
Now, I said James is being sarcastic in
labeling both of these paths as wisdom. The reality is that if we are
not exercising godly wisdom, we are not being wise. Just as truth is not
relative – something is either true or it isn’t – wisdom is not relative
either – it’s either wise or it isn’t.
All truth is God’s truth, and all wisdom
is God’s wisdom.
James is jabbing at people who are calling
themselves “wise” when, in fact, they are being foolish by aligning
themselves with the standards of the world and then boasting about their
false “wisdom.” Which, as we’ve seen in earlier verses, is really
creating anything but a peaceful, orderly, righteous situation. He’s
already given them tips on how to improve their behavior and speech, and
now is going to equip them to make better choices.
Let’s take a look at the opening verse.
(Slide 7)
James 3:13: The Goal of Wisdom Living
13 Who is wise and understanding among you?
Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes
from wisdom.
This verse states the goal of living
wisely: Wisdom life will result in a good life full of humility and good
deeds. Doing godly wisdom will dispel chaos, yield peace and order, and
expand righteousness in our lives and our community.
Perhaps you’ve seen cartoons or shows
where a character is trying to make a decision when an angel appears on
one shoulder and a little devil appears on the other.
Note: The angel is green and the devil is
red.
This is a good representation of what
James lays out in this passage. Either we are being influenced by the
“angel” that represents heavenly wisdom, or we are being influenced by
the “devil” that represents godless un-wisdom.
The word wisdom here carries the meanings
of being skilled, expert, and prudent. The word understanding implies
being intelligent and having the knowledge of an expert. Wisdom is about
being intelligent and skilled at life.
So, James, with a slight sarcastic bent,
is saying, “So, you think you’re so smart, eh? Then show it! Show how
smart you are by what you do, and make sure what you do is godly and
humble!”
He’s already called them to task for
playing favorites and not watching their tongues. Now he’s going to give
them simple checklists for how to apply godly wisdom to their doing and
speaking so that it comes out right.
Let’s read the next section which reveals
the un-wisdom they are actually doing.
(Slide 8)
James 3:14-16: The path of Un-Wisdom
14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish
ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.
15 Such "wisdom" does not come down from
heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.
16 For where you have envy and selfish
ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
Note the quotation marks around the word
“wisdom” in the NIV. This is the same thing as putting air quotes around
something, like telling someone, “Boy, you’re just so “smart” aren’t
you?” What you’re saying is, not really! And that’s exactly what James
is doing here.
Because our decisions are influenced by
what we desire in our hearts, James warns that if we harbor bitter envy
and selfish ambition, we are going to make unwise decisions. Our
decisions are going to be all about us and no one else, not even God.
Further, James warns against boasting
about this false wisdom and spinning it as something that it isn’t. But
isn’t that exactly what we do?
For example, have you ever heard someone
say, “I decided I’d had enough from so-and-so, and I really let them
have a piece of my mind. I know I was right, too, because I just told
them the truth! And I feel so much better now. I did it my way!”
What’s wrong with that? Well, it denies
the truth of any responsibility you may have had in creating the
situation you’d had enough of. It denies the other person the
opportunity to share their view of the situation and your role. It is
totally focused on making you feel better at whatever cost. And the cost
could be emotional damage to the other person, like Juri talked about
last week.
There is nothing humble or godly going on.
It tends to create chaos, yield disorder, removes peace, and shrinks
righteousness. Yet, I’m sure most of us have been on the giving and
receiving end of this kind of un-wisdom.
What’s truly shocking is where James says
this un-wisdom comes from. It’s straight from hell! It is demonic in
nature. It is completely ungodly and un-Christ-like. There is nothing
good or redeemable about it at all. It is a false wisdom rooted in an
unholy trinity of an earthly, worldly, unspiritual point of view. The
world calls this, simply, “common sense.” Which is not all that common
and rarely makes sense.
Let that sink in.
We try hard to spin our un-wise words and
behavior as being justified and reasonable, yet James says it’s all from
the devil. Period.
What is the outcome of implementing
choices and decisions based on this un-wisdom? It’s pretty messy.
The evidence and result is disorder and
evil. Every kind of evil! Why? Because doing evil yields more,
ever-increasing evil.
For example, we know what happens when we
lie about something. We often have to tell many other lies to cover the
first lie and subsequent lies, and so on.
Often, someone who is living a life of
crime started out by doing small crimes that emboldened them to do the
more serious crimes. They moved from misdemeanor to felony in
intentional baby steps.
And in any relationship or situation where
someone is bringing un-wisdom to bear, there will always be a sense of
disorder and uneasiness, which will give evil a foothold.
Now, chaos and disorder happen as part of
life, like when you move. I’m living that right now. However, a
situation or relationship that remains chaotic is unproductive and
unhealthy. A person who remains in a chaotic emotional state cannot act
wisely. Chaos that does not become organized and settled reaps havoc,
not peace; it leads to more evil.
For example, I’ve been dealing with a
heart condition referred to as afib, which is short for atrial
fibrillation. Essentially, it’s a rapid and irregular heartbeat. Instead
of beating normally with steady, full beats, the heart flutters
chaotically in rapid incomplete beats. It becomes disorganized.
What this means is that blood is not
getting pumped the way it’s supposed to out of the heart and throughout
the rest of the body. In fact, blood can pool at the bottom of the heart
which creates a risk of clotting.
Let me tell you, it’s not fun to be in
afib, especially when it goes on for hours. Because my body, from head
to toe, is being deprived of blood, which means being deprived of oxygen
and nutrients. If the afib lasts for only a few minutes, it’s no big
deal. But when it goes on for hours, like it did last week for about 20
hours from Wednesday afternoon until Thursday afternoon, I reach a point
where all I can do is lay down. I will feel faint and have difficulty
breathing. It really messes up my body.
What I need to have happen is for my heart
to become organized in a sinus rhythm in regular, steady, full beats.
When this happens, it’s called conversion. I’ve converted from afib to
sinus, and boy does that feel good.
Right now, some of you are in a spiritual
afib. Just as I need to physically convert from afib to sinus, you need
to convert from unsaved to righteous. When I’m in afib, I can’t make
myself convert. So you have the advantage. All you need to do is ask
Jesus to forgive you right there where you’re sitting, and you can
receive the order and peace that comes with accepting Christ’s free gift
of forgiveness and eternal life.
By the way, I’m having a procedure done
called an ablation on August 23rd that should correct the problem and
eliminate the afib.
When Christian brothers and sisters are
exercising un-wisdom, it’s like afib happening to the body of Christ.
Un-wisdom unleashes the havoc of hell into people’s lives. If it
continues un-checked, great damage will be done.
1 Corinthians 14:33 states clearly, “For
God is not a God of disorder but of peace….”
But the un-wise life is lived from a heart
of darkness influenced by hell. It yields rotten fruit. And not just
rotten fruit, but fruit that can and will come back to bite us.
So, the marks of un-wisdom, according to James,
are:
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Bitter envy
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Selfish ambition
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Boasting
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Denying the truth
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Disorder
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Evil practices
Any decision or choice that is tainted with any
one of these negatives means we are headed for trouble and need to re-align our
thinking with godly wisdom.
And James shows us exactly how to do this in the
next section which lays out the path of wisdom.
(Slide 9) James
3:17-18: The Path of Wisdom
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is
first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy
and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
18 Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a
harvest of righteousness.
Paul stated this another way in 1 Corinthians
16:14 where he says simply, "Do everything in love." We could paraphrase
that verse by saying. “Decide everything in love.”
The source of true wisdom is God, who is love as
personified in Christ. Godly wisdom will mirror Christ-likeness. It is based in
WWJD – what would Jesus do.
There’s nothing two-faced, deceitful, or selfish
in godly wisdom. It embodies the royal law as James pointed out earlier in 2:8
to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
James says that wisdom living is
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Pure
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Peace-loving
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Considerate
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Submissive
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Merciful
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Fruitful
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Impartial
Godly wisdom cuts off the influence of the devil.
However, because we are sinful people and because Satan never leaves us alone,
his representative will always be sitting on our shoulder, figuratively
speaking, ready to try to persuade us the wrong way. But we have more power to
resist.
Godly wisdom springs from a pure heart cleansed by
the blood of Christ, and is influenced by the Holy Spirit. It yields good,
positive, non-toxic fruit; fruit that doesn’t come back to bite us.
Godly wisdom dispels chaos, yields peace and
order, and expands righteousness in our lives and our community. The evidence
and result of doing godly wisdom is peace and righteousness.
It’s pretty straightforward.
And I could stop here, but that would make this an
unusually short sermon for MetroAlliance, which means the service would end
unusually early, which could result in confusion and chaos, and that wouldn’t be
wise.
So, for your sakes, I’ve got a little bit more.
Let’s take a closer look at what the Bible tells
us wisdom is, its value, how we can get it, and how we can increase our wisdom.
I’ll also share a couple of examples.
(Slide 10) Fear
of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
David wrote in Psalms 111:10, “The fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good
understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.” This is echoed in Proverbs 1:7
which is the thesis for the entire book of Proverbs that provides even more
insight into wisdom and un-wisdom.
These verses underscore what I said earlier, that
true wisdom is from God, and if it’s not from God, it isn’t really wisdom.
Very simply, to live in true wisdom requires a
relationship with God. Salvation changes our hearts and enables us to put off
the old man and the world’s un-wisdom while putting on the new man and making
intelligent, considerate, godly choices.
(Slide 11)
Wisdom is worth everything
Proverbs 4:7 states, “Wisdom is supreme; therefore
get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.”
Exercising godly wisdom is essential to living out
an effective Christian life. Without wisdom, our lives will be chaotic, messy,
and full of unrighteousness.
(Slide 12)
Wisdom is yours for the asking
James 1:5 states, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he
should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will
be given to him.”
I love this verse and have turned to it many times
when faced with a difficult decision. We are to show evidence of God’s wisdom at
work through us by our deeds, and the beauty of it is that He will equip us to
make good decisions. An active relationship with God will yield good choices in
life.
(Slide 13)
Wisdom looks ahead to the end result
In Luke 14:28-30, Jesus said, “Suppose one of you
wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see
if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not
able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow
began to build and was not able to finish.’”
This is a key piece of wisdom: looking ahead to
the end result. Wisdom counts the cost before taking action. Godly wisdom
considers the consequences of a decision or course of action to determine if it
will yield good fruit or bad fruit.
(Slide 14)
Wisdom is fed by the Word of God
2 Timothy 3:14-17 states, “But as for you,
continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know
those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy
Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in
Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may
be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
As I mentioned earlier, the devil will always be
sitting on our shoulders just waiting for a chance to trip us up. The only way
to fend him off is to feed daily on the Word of God.
How did Jesus defeat Satan when the devil tempted
him in the desert? Jesus countered every temptation with the only viable
antidote: God’s Word.
(Slide 15) The
source does make a difference
A few weeks ago when we were looking at James
1:13-18, we learned that considering the source of what we encounter in life
protects us from being deceived.
I have specifically tried to avoid talking about
two different types of wisdom, that would imply that either is an okay option.
True wisdom is only sourced from God. True wisdom is enhanced and nurtured in a
pure heart sprinkled with the blood of Christ, through exposure to God’s Word,
coupled with the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit.
In the world, you will encounter a lot of tips,
tricks, and methods for doing wisdom that sound pretty good. An example is the
Four-Way Test up on the screen:
Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will
it build good will and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all
concerned?
This is not a bad test, and generally can yield a
wise outcome when applied. However, anything that is not sourced from God or
connected to biblical knowledge is suspect because it could leave us open to a
bad choice.
For example, someone in dire need may try to apply
“common sense” by using the Four-Way Test to justify robbing a bank. They could
rationalize their choice by saying the truth is that they really needed the
money for their family. Taking the money from an insured bank was fair because
banks have messed over a lot of people. Having the money to pay bills and buy
things for friends and family would build good will, and would be beneficial to
all concerned.
You may chuckle at this example, but it isn’t too
farfetched from the kind of “worldly wisdom” – which is really un-wisdom –
people apply every day to justify wrong behaviors. It happens between friends,
in marriages, in corporations, and, sadly, even in churches.
Keeping our wisdom sourced from God and using
tools like the checklists James gives us will expose our sinful intentions so
that we can make choices based on pure motives.
(Slide 16)
Being green is good!
The recipients of James’ letter were exhibiting
“red” behavior that revealed that their choices were self-serving and divisive.
James wanted to re-focus them on living in “green” godly community by not just
being who they were in Christ, but also prodding them to do who they were in
Christ.
He did this by exposing their wrong “red”
behaviors that were yielding bad results. He then provided them a gold standard
and a structure for making “green” godly choices as well as discerning against
“red” ungodly choices.
In light of James’ instruction we need to daily
examine the attitudes and motives of our choices in light of who we are in
Christ. We are to live a “green” good life, exhibit godly wisdom, sow and reap
peace.
Kermit would say, “It’s not easy being green.”
But, easy or not, “green” godly wisdom is the only way to dispel chaos, yield
peace and order, and expand righteousness in our lives and our community.
Let’s quickly look at an example of wisdom and an example of un-wisdom in
action.
(Slide 17)
Example of wisdom
An excellent story that reveals both wisdom and
un-wisdom in action is the book of Esther. It’s a great read, full of romance,
intrigue, plot twists, and all the stuff that makes up a good story. And it’s
all true.
In a nutshell, Esther is an orphaned Jew in the
care of her uncle Mordecai. Through a series of fortunate and unfortunate
events, she becomes queen to a gentile king. In the king’s employ is a snake of
a man named Haman. Haman hates the Jews, wants to see them destroyed, and longs
for a position of power and prestige. He will do anything to get what he wants.
However, Mordecai, an astutely wise man, guides
Esther in helping to thwart Haman, impress the king, and save the Jews. He
encourages her to take action that could cost her her life by wisely observing,
“…who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”
Through the godly wisdom exhibited by Mordecai,
chaos was dispelled, peace and order resulted, and righteousness was expanded
throughout an entire nation. His advice and actions were marked with all of the
characteristics James gives us to discern godly wisdom in action.
I encourage you to go through the book of Esther on your own and pay attention
to who embodies the principles of wisdom and un-wisdom that James has given us.
(Slide 18)
Example of un-wisdom
Now, ripped from today’s headlines, we’ll turn to
an example of un-wisdom.
Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you’ve
probably heard about the antics of JetBlue flight attendant, Steven Slater. To
some, he’s become a hero because of his un-wisdom. This is an excellent example
of the huge chasm between what the world considers wise as contrasted against
godly wisdom.
The short version of the story is that, early last
week, a passenger on a JetBlue flight was being rude and quibbling about the
overhead bin space at the beginning of a flight. At the end of the flight, while
the plane was moving on the runway toward the gate, this woman stood up and
began getting her luggage down. Anyone who has flown knows this is a no-no; you
don’t stand up until the plane stops.
Slater apparently asked the woman to sit down and
it got ugly real fast from there. She bopped him on the head with her luggage or
the bin door. They exchanged foul words. And then Slater lost it.
He is reported to have engaged in a foul-mouthed
rant over the intercom. Then, while the plane was still moving, grabbed a couple
of beers from the beverage cart, opened a door and deployed an emergency chute,
slid down the chute, walked to his car, and drove home, where he was later
arrested.
As reported in the Chicago Tribune, “A groundswell
of support grew online and at office water coolers across America on Tuesday for
a JetBlue flight attendant who pulled off one of the most dramatic ‘take this
job and shove it’ acts in recent memory.”
As a result, the term “sliding the chute” is the
new phrase meaning to quit one’s job in a dramatic fashion.
I’m sorry, but I fail to see how this guy is a
hero. Yes, the passenger was at fault for being a jerk. But, that does not
justify or excuse Slater’s behavior.
His behavior then and now is marked by selfish
ambition, boasting, denying the truth, disorderliness, and a variety of evil
practices. There’s nothing peaceful or righteous about what happened. He clearly
did not control his tongue. And while his actions may have felt good at the
time, his career as a flight attendant on any airline is probably over.
Once his fifteen minutes of fame passes, the
damage done will hit home.
(Slide 19)
What’s your mousetrap?
While we can identify with the venting of people
like Slater, we must not let ourselves be tempted into un-wisdom.
Bad choices are like the mousetrap in this
picture. We really want that cheese. Getting it would be such an adrenalin rush.
Overcoming the obstacle of the trap could make us look like heroes. Just think
how all the other mice would view us!
Or, we could be killed, maimed, or mangled. Those
who love us would be both embarrassed by our bad choice as well as sad for our
injuries. The cheese could also be poisoned. Children, foolishly impressed by
our behavior, could try to mimic it and be hurt. Our community could be
disrupted by the resulting chaos of copycat behavior.
Un-wisdom and the world would say, “Go for it!
What have you got to lose? You only live once!”
Godly wisdom and those who love you would say, “We
know better and safer ways to get cheese.”
Sometimes the wise thing to do is to just walk
away from the mousetrap.
(Slide 20) Are
you being wise or unwise?
How do things feel in your life right now?
Reasonably settled and peaceful? Or are you surrounded by chaos and filled with
anxiety? Is your life marked with good deeds and positive outcomes, or trashed
dreams and widespread messiness? Are you filling your mind and heart with God’s
Word or with the un-wisdom of the world?
If you’re life’s a mess, and you’re a Christian,
all you need to do is begin exercising godly wisdom as James has outlined, and,
little by little your life will begin to settle down. This doesn’t mean that
your life will be perfectly calm and peaceful all the time. But, you will
experience much less chaos, far more peace, and an increasing sense of
righteousness.
You’ll also want to attend the upcoming Jam
sessions which are excellent resources to help you experience increased wisdom
in your life.
If you aren’t a believer, that can change right
now by quietly confessing your sin to Christ, asking Him to come into and take
control of your heart, and accepting Him as your Lord and Savior.
Let’s pray.
[PRAY]
Go; be wise and be blessed, for if you are in
Christ, you are, indeed, truly blessed, and truly wise.
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