Wisdom words

Wisdom affects your words

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This chapter covers wisdom which has some very practical, everyday applications. Of particular note among them are the proper response to instruction and correction if one’s goal is to be wise.

It is quite possible that the Bible offers more in the way of HOW TO RESPOND to correction than it does about correction itself. And this makes sense since the purpose for correction from God is to redeem the wayward soul from destruction. So the way we respond determines if correction obtains its intended purpose in our hearts.

The next instruction is found in the verses about what we say. Much healing and harm can come from our words. More importantly for the student of wisdom is from what heart geography those healing or hurtful words come.

Moving these instructions to the New Covenant we see we have received the Holy Spirit from God by which we can conform to the inward image of Jesus Christ, and save our souls by the revelation of God’s word the Spirit offers.

It isn’t enough to place a guard on our mouths, though that is not a bad place to start. In the end, we require a heart change so that what is in our hearts is good. When that finally happens, our words will reflect wisdom and bring healing, restoration and a recovery to righteous paths to make life’s journey upon.

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Supremacy Jesus

The Supremacy of Jesus

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This week we studied how Paul began addressing the pagan and false doctrines which were seeking to infiltrate the church in Colossae and quote possibly the church of Laodacia. These were the doctrines of asceticism, ritualistic and ceremonial aspects of Judasim and an early form of Gnosticism.

Paul confronts these head on by weaving key and focal components of all these beliefs and practices into his teaching about Jesus, revealing that in Him, are the realities which these other pursuits are seeking.

We ended in Colossians 2:14-17 which required a little investigation. In it, Paul speaks of a “certificate of indebtedness” – a list of requirements which were contrary to our nature before Christ. He says that these have been removed and nailed to the cross of Christ. But what are they?

The scriptures talk about two “requirements” of the Old Testament – one is to be fulfilled IN us as we walk by the Holy Spirit. The other is mentioned here and it was “taken out of the way” which means it was destroyed, wiped out and lifted off of us. Clearly these two cannot be the same “requirement” of the Law. So we spent some time looking into their meanings.

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action Reward righteousness wickedness

The actions and rewards of the righteous & the wicked

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The first verse in chapter 11 prompted me to do a brief lesson on the 613 commandments which are supposedly in addition to the 10 given to Moses. All the proverbial statements can be found in these commands. While the great majority of these are still a matter of righteous behavior for God’s children, some have been rescinded or replaced with the person and work of Jesus through the New Covenant, ratified in His blood.

After this introductory teaching, we went on to see how Solomon compares the actions and rewards for the righteous and the wicked throughout the chapter as well as the entire book of Proverbs.

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Colossians my prayer

My Prayer for you

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Colossians is a unique letter in the New Testament because it was the only city Paul never visited, but to which he had personally written. Some the same is true of Rome and while he may not have been there by 57AD upon the writting of his letter to them, we know that he did in fact meet them since he was under house arrest in Rome for two years beginning in 60AD.

Paul had led a man named Epaphras to Christ while ministering in Ephesus. This man returned to his home town of Colossae, evangelized it and established the church there which probably met in the house of Philemon.

Years later when Paul in again in prison, Epaphras came to visit Paul with concerns over the hellenizing influence of differenbt forms of mysticism and Judaism was having upon their doctrine and solidity in Christ. It was in response to this news that Paul wrote this wonderful and redemptive letter to the saints in Colossae.

In the first chapter Paul addresses the sincerity of their faith and their genuine love for the saints. Because this was true, Paul knew their wavering in doctrine was not purposeful and so he prayed that they might have a walk worthy of God and live lives fully pleasinbg to Him BY being filled with the knowledge of His will!

Such offers us some clarity regarding how to pray for genuine believers who have wondered into false doctrine and need to be re-established and fortefied in sound and solid doctrine.

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Fortune Cookie wisdom proverbs

Proverbial Fortune Cookies

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Well tonight we are closing out the first segment or division of the greater book of Proverbs with chapter 9. We then work through the first of the second division in Proverbs with chapter 10.

Proverbs 9 is a sort of wrapping up of the first 8 chapters and the setting of our moral compass as we begin navigating the next 19 chapters.

In it two appeals are made:
One from Wisdom
One from Folly

Both are set forth as the only two choices presented to us in this natural life each possessing at least some benefits and certain costs.

Chapter 10 begins what I like to call “fortune cookie” proverbs which are brief, succinct statements most typically offering a progressive truth or a comparative between wisdom and folly.

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