When You’ve Got to Have Wisdom

BIBLE MEDITATION

“But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” 1 Corinthians 1:24

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Do you need a counselor sometimes? People come to pastors and counselors for wisdom. We can counsel from Scripture, but we can’t solve their problems.

We can try to lead them to the One who can solve their problems, the Lord Jesus Christ. But I don’t want them dependent upon me. I want them to know Jesus. He is the Counselor.

There is wisdom in His name. The Bible says, “But of Him, you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30).

ACTION POINT

Are you going through a problem right now where you don’t know the way out? You don’t know what to do. Every answer seems wrong. I want to recommend my counselor to you. Call upon the true Counselor. His name is Jesus. Not only is there wonder in His name. Friend, there is wisdom in His name.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Two Kinds of Opposition to Jesus

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. (Matthew 2:3)

Jesus is troubling to people who do not want to worship him, and he arouses opposition against those who do. This is probably not a main point in the mind of Matthew, but it is an inescapable implication as the story goes on.

In this story, there are two kinds of people who do not want to worship Jesus.

The first kind is the people who simply do nothing about Jesus. He is a nonentity in their lives. This group is represented at the beginning of Jesus’s life by the chief priests and scribes. Matthew 2:4 says, “Assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, [Herod] inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.” So they told him, and that was that: back to business as usual. The sheer silence and inactivity of the leaders is overwhelming in view of the magnitude of what was happening.

And notice, Matthew 2:3 says, “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” In other words, the rumor was going around that someone thought the Messiah was born. The inactivity on the part of the chief priests is staggering: why not go with the magi? They are not interested. They are not passionate about finding the Son of God and worshiping him.

The second kind of people who do not want to worship Jesus is the kind who are deeply threatened by him. That’s Herod in this story. He is really afraid. So much so that he schemes and lies and then commits mass murder just to get rid of Jesus.

So today, these two kinds of opposition will come against Christ and his worshipers: indifference and hostility. I surely hope that you are not in one of those groups.

And if you are a Christian, let this Christmas be the time when you ponder what it means — what it costs — to worship and follow this Messiah.

John Piper 

December 9

1 Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:

2 "You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. 

3 "Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet? 

4 Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing? 

5 Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth, when there is no trap for it? Does a snare spring up from the ground, when it has taken nothing? 

6 Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it? 

7 "For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. 

8 The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken; who can but prophesy?" 

9 Proclaim to the strongholds in Ashdod and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt, and say, "Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, and see the great tumults within her, and the oppressed in her midst." 

10 "They do not know how to do right," declares the LORD, "those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds." 

11 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "An adversary shall surround the land and bring down your defenses from you, and your strongholds shall be plundered." 

12 Thus says the LORD: "As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part of a bed.

13 "Hear, and testify against the house of Jacob," declares the Lord GOD, the God of hosts, 

14 "that on the day I punish Israel for his transgressions, I will punish the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground. 

15 I will strike the winter house along with the summer house, and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall come to an end," declares the LORD.  - Amos 3

1 "Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, 'Bring, that we may drink!' 

2 The Lord GOD has sworn by his holiness that, behold, the days are coming upon you, when they shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishhooks. 

3 And you shall go out through the breaches, each one straight ahead; and you shall be cast out into Harmon," declares the LORD. 

4 "Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days; 

5 offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of Israel!" declares the Lord GOD. 

6 "I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places, yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD. 

7 "I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither; 

8 so two or three cities would wander to another city to drink water, and would not be satisfied; yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD. 

9 "I struck you with blight and mildew; your many gardens and your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured; yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD. 

10 "I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, and carried away your horses, and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils; yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD. 

11 "I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD. 

12 "Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!" 

13 For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth- the LORD, the God of hosts, is his name!  - Amos 4

24 "If I have made gold my trust or called fine gold my confidence, 

25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth was abundant or because my hand had found much, 

26 if I have looked at the sun when it shone, or the moon moving in splendor, 

27 and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand, 

28 this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I would have been false to God above. 

29 "If I have rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me, or exulted when evil overtook him 

30 (I have not let my mouth sin by asking for his life with a curse), 

31 if the men of my tent have not said, 'Who is there that has not been filled with his meat?' 

32 (the sojourner has not lodged in the street; I have opened my doors to the traveler), 

33 if I have concealed my transgressions as others do by hiding my iniquity in my heart, 

34 because I stood in great fear of the multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors- 

35 Oh, that I had one to hear me! (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!) Oh, that I had the indictment written by my adversary! 

36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; I would bind it on me as a crown; 

37 I would give him an account of all my steps; like a prince I would approach him. 

38 "If my land has cried out against me and its furrows have wept together, 

39 if I have eaten its yield without payment and made its owners breathe their last, 

40 let thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley." The words of Job are ended.  - Job 31:24-40

1 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, "Come!"

2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.

3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!"

4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand.

6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!"

7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!"

8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.

10 They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"

11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood,

13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.

14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,

16 calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,

17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?" - Revelation 6

25 "I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father.

26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf;

27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father."

29 His disciples said, "Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech!

30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God."

31 Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?

32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.

33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." - John 16:25-33

Do You Feel the Wonder?

BIBLE MEDITATION

“His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb” (Luke 2:21). “…but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31).

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

What is in the name of the Lord Jesus? There is wonder in His name. Do you stand in awe of the Lord Jesus Christ? Or have you become complacent? Do you not get excited when you think of Jesus? If you don’t, you’ve lost the wonder. You have calluses on your soul.

Oh friend, Jesus is wonderful. Wonderful in His birth. Wonderful in His life. Wonderful in His teaching. Wonderful in His miracles. Wonderful in His death. Wonderful in His resurrection. And yes, wonderful in His second coming. His name is wonderful.

I heard of a man riding on a train one time, looking out the window. He was saying, “Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful”. And the man sitting next to him asked, “Why do you think everything is wonderful?” He said, “I’ve been blind, and I’ve just had surgery, and I’m seeing things I had long since forgotten how beautiful they are. And they are wonderful to me.”

ACTION POINT

Friend, if Jesus is not wonderful to you, open your spiritual eyes. See just how wonderful Jesus is. There is wonder in His name.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Bethlehem’s Supernatural Star

“Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2)

Over and over the Bible baffles our curiosity about just how certain things happened. How did this “star” get the magi from the east to Jerusalem?

It does not say that it led them or went before them on the way to Jerusalem. It only says they saw a star in the east (Matthew 2:2) and came to Jerusalem. And how did that star go before them in the little five-mile walk from Jerusalem to Bethlehem as Matthew 2:9 says it did? And how did a star “rest over the place where the child was”?

The answer is: We do not know. There are numerous efforts to explain it in terms of conjunctions of planets or comets or supernovas or miraculous lights. We just don’t know. And I want to exhort you not to become preoccupied — not to become fixated — on theories that are only tentative in the end and have very little spiritual significance.

I risk a generalization to warn you: People who are exercised and preoccupied with such things, as how the star worked and how the Red Sea split and how the manna fell and how Jonah survived the fish and how the moon turns to blood, are generally people who have what I call a mentality for the marginal.

You do not see in them a deep cherishing of the great central things of the gospel: the holiness of God, the ugliness of sin, the helplessness of man, the death of Christ, justification by faith alone, the sanctifying work of the Spirit, the glory of Christ’s return, and the final judgment. They always seem to be taking you down a sidetrack with some new article or book that they’re all excited about dealing with something marginal. There is little rejoicing over the great, central realities.

But what is plain concerning this matter of the star is that it is doing something that it cannot do on its own: It is guiding magi to the Son of God to worship him.

There is only one Person in biblical thinking that can be behind that intentionality in the stars: God himself.

So, the lesson is plain: God is guiding foreigners to Christ to worship him. And he is doing it by exerting global — probably even universal — influence and power to get it done.

Luke shows God influencing the entire Roman Empire so that the census comes at the exact time to get an insignificant virgin to Bethlehem to fulfill prophecy with her delivery. Matthew shows God influencing the stars in the sky to get a little handful of foreigners to Bethlehem so that they can worship the Son.

This is God’s design. He did it then. He is still doing it now. His aim is that the nations — all the nations (Matthew 24:14) — worship his Son.

This is God’s will for everybody in your office at work, and in your classroom, and in your neighborhood, and in your home. As John 4:23 says, “The Father is seeking such people to worship him.”

At the beginning of Matthew we still have a “come-see” pattern. But at the end the pattern is “go-tell.” The magi came and saw. We are to go and tell.

But what is not different is the purpose and power of God in the ingathering of the nations to worship his Son. The magnifying of Christ in the white-hot worship of all nations is the reason the world exists.

John Piper 

December 8

1 The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

2 And he said: "The LORD roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers." 

3 Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron. 

4 So I will send a fire upon the house of Hazael, and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad. 

5 I will break the gate-bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven, and him who holds the scepter from Beth-eden; and the people of Syria shall go into exile to Kir," says the LORD. 

6 Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they carried into exile a whole people to deliver them up to Edom. 

7 So I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, and it shall devour her strongholds. 

8 I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod, and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; I will turn my hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish," says the Lord GOD. 

9 Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they delivered up a whole people to Edom, and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood. 

10 So I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre, and it shall devour her strongholds." 

11 Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and cast off all pity, and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever. 

12 So I will send a fire upon Teman, and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah." 

13 Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of the Ammonites, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead, that they might enlarge their border. 

14 So I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour her strongholds, with shouting on the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind; 

15 and their king shall go into exile, he and his princes together," says the LORD. 

Amos 1

1 Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom. 

2 So I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth, and Moab shall die amid uproar, amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet; 

3 I will cut off the ruler from its midst, and will kill all its princes with him," says the LORD. 

4 Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have rejected the law of the LORD, and have not kept his statutes, but their lies have led them astray, those after which their fathers walked. 

5 So I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem." 

6 Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals- 

7 those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned; 

8 they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined. 

9 "Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars and who was as strong as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath. 

10 Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. 

11 And I raised up some of your sons for prophets, and some of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?" declares the LORD. 

12 "But you made the Nazirites drink wine, and commanded the prophets, saying, 'You shall not prophesy.' 

13 "Behold, I will press you down in your place, as a cart full of sheaves presses down. 

14 Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not retain his strength, nor shall the mighty save his life; 

15 he who handles the bow shall not stand, and he who is swift of foot shall not save himself, nor shall he who rides the horse save his life; 

16 and he who is stout of heart among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day," declares the LORD.  - Amos 2

1 "I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin? 

2 What would be my portion from God above and my heritage from the Almighty on high? 

3 Is not calamity for the unrighteous, and disaster for the workers of iniquity? 

4 Does not he see my ways and number all my steps? 

5 "If I have walked with falsehood and my foot has hastened to deceit; 

6 (Let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity!) 

7 if my step has turned aside from the way and my heart has gone after my eyes, and if any spot has stuck to my hands, 

8 then let me sow, and another eat, and let what grows for me be rooted out. 

9 "If my heart has been enticed toward a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor's door, 

10 then let my wife grind for another, and let others bow down on her. 

11 For that would be a heinous crime; that would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges; 

12 for that would be a fire that consumes as far as Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my increase. 

13 "If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant, when they brought a complaint against me, 

14 what then shall I do when God rises up? When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him? 

15 Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb? 

16 "If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, 

17 or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless has not eaten of it 

18 (for from my youth the fatherless grew up with me as with a father, and from my mother's womb I guided the widow), 

19 if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, or the needy without covering, 

20 if his body has not blessed me, and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep, 

21 if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, because I saw my help in the gate, 

22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder, and let my arm be broken from its socket. 

23 For I was in terror of calamity from God, and I could not have faced his majesty.  - Job 31:1-23

1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?"

3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it,

4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.

5 And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals."

6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.

8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 

10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." 

11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands,

12 saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" 

13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" 

14 And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped. - Revelation 5

12 "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

16 "A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me."

17 So some of his disciples said to one another, "What is this that he says to us, 'A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me'; and, 'because I am going to the Father'?"

18 So they were saying, "What does he mean by 'a little while'? We do not know what he is talking about."

19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, "Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, 'A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me'?

20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.

21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.

24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. - John 16:12-24

Do You Believe Jesus Christ Is Lord?

BIBLE MEDITATION

“…concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”

Romans 1:3-4

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

May I ask you a personal question? Do you believe that Jesus Christ is Lord? If your answer is yes, then may I ask you another question? Is He your Lord?

Let’s be more specific.

Is He Lord of your tongue?

Is He Lord of your time?

Is He Lord of your treasure?

Is He Lord of your talents?

Is He Lord of your testimony?

Is He Lord in deed as well as in word?

Is He truly Lord?

ACTION POINT

Don’t answer too quickly. Think about it. It’s one thing to sing “Bring forth the royal diadem and crown Him Lord of all.” It’s another thing to mean it. Crown Him “Lord of all” in your life today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers