A Wise Inheritance

Proverbs 4:7 “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.”

What is it that separates the wise from the foolish?

I was listening to a podcast by the late Timothy Keller and he was talking about childishness. He went on to reflect that an 8 year old who tries to act like an 18 year old is just as childish as the 18 year old who acts like an 8 year old. The 8 year old tries to act in a way that exceeds their development, while the 18 year old regresses into action that denies their age. Each, when they recognize their limitations or accept them, act in a way that shows maturity or in a way displays wisdom.

What does wisdom look like in your life?

The decisions we make in life can either be prioritized toward honoring the Lord and seeking His guidance, or pleasing the flesh and seeking personal fulfillment. There are limits to our ability to see what our actions entail, but the Lord knows what lies ahead and prepares us for the time.

Hosea 6:3 “Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”

Many of the decisions of the righteous are focused on understanding God’s Word and all that God values. If we examine scripture and place value on all that God places value, we find we have a guide in almost every situation.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

There are great benefits to knowing God and walking in His ways. I’ve known the joy of walking in obedience and sensing His pleasure over me, and I’ve known all too well the sadness of sin and failure, falling short on many occasions. Every time I draw near to the Lord, I question why I ever strive for anything else. Having a close, intimate, relationship with the Lord is the greatest joy we can know on earth.

He is so gracious. No sin is too much that His grace doesn’t cover. No failure committed can erase His love. He is patient with us, I have seen it and know it all too well.

Fools Mocking God

The 2nd letter of Peter gives insight and exhortation for all who strive to be holy.

2 Peter 3:1-3 “This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.”

Peter’s desire is to remind us to keep our minds sharp, focused, and on the prize that awaits His glorious return. There have always been mockers, those who find it easier to ridicule and scorn anything they don’t understand or believe. If we listen to them, we will allow their unbelief to drain our joy and take our eyes off of Christ. Fear of ridicule seems to be a driving force that keeps many from sharing the gospel. Once you move into a position of confidence in all that God is leading you in, you’ll embrace the mocking, knowing the enemy hates those who walk in God’s power.

The world wants to lure you into sin. The enemy hatches devious schemes to draw and entice God’s people into falling into patterns of sin that drains their strength and leaves them hard, calloused, and indifferent. It is the love of God that empowers God’s people and sin erodes that love and focuses the mind inward. When we focus on pleasing the flesh, we lose focus on pleasing God.

We live in the last days. What Peter prophetically warned us about, we are witnessing today.

Those who deny God’s Glory

2 Peter 3:4-7 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.”

There are countless ways the world has tried to deny the claims of God’s people. Secular scientists propose every conceivable solution to how Creation formed and why it is so complex and yet finely tuned, but they do so apart from God. The evolutionary theory has remained a lasting failure that has been disproven on myriads of scales, and yet the world holds to the belief like it was fact.

Only the fool will deny the obvious. Creation shouts of a Creator. The same mockers in Peters day are driven by the same delusion of darkness that hides behind the veil.

We have been created for a purpose and God’s glory awaits for those who look for Him. He will be found but only to those who truly seek Him.

Everything is on Time

2 Peter 3:8 “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

Not one of God’s promises has failed. Not a single event has fallen short in God’s plan. On the greater scale of God’s grand scheme, everything happens exactly when He purposed it to happen. He doesn’t delay. When He wants you to move, do it right when He says. If He wants you to wait, then know He has something good that will reward you for your patience.

If you will only continue to trust Him, you will inherit far more than you sacrificed for Him.

2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

Do you feel like you are unworthy of His love?

Welcome to the club. If never known anyone who has experienced His love that feels worthy of all that God bestows upon His people. He is patient with you because He deeply loves you, far more than you know. The magnitude of God’s love for you is beyond our understanding, but it is critical for us to keep this in mind.

Knowing the value of God’s love is like playing the star in a big game, having the greatest supporter who cheers you on whether you succeed or fail. Except, He not only supports you, but He strengthens and equips you to succeed as well. When you fall, He picks you up, when you get injured, He lovingly nurses you back to health. He loves you through thick and thin, and never leaves your side.

Don’t Give Up!

All of the striving against sin and the battle to keep on is coming to an end. Press on, don’t give up, He is not slow in completing the promise.

2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”

The darkness of evil will see its end. The world as we know it will be purified with fire and all that will remain is you. If you trust in the Lord, he will be your great reward.

Be ready, the day approaches.