Daily Wisdom

1Ki 22:7-8b ‘And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD of whom we may inquire?  And the king of Israel (Ahab) said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man… but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.’

If you don’t like the script, you read concerning your life, change the worth of your character don’t look for a new author. Ahab had no interest in the Word of God because it convicted him instead of comforting him. If you find certain aspects of God’s Word too negative in narrative at times, don’t fault the author question your actions instead. The Word of God is not for information but for our transformation. If you don’t like what you hear, trying to live accordingly and I can promise you it’ll start sounding a lot better! 

Follow the script and it’ll sound less squeamish and more soothing to the soul… HSAY

Daily Wisdom

 Ezra 10:4 ‘… be of good courage, and do it’

“do it” – is Christianity in action… the acknowledgement of a thing and the action in it are two different scenarios. Confession of sin without an act of correction is simply asking God to condone your actions. When you get caught with your hand in the cookie jar, you don’t say sorry and still remove the cookie. Ezra’s prayer of confession in (ch. 9) moved the hearts of the Israelites to action, not just acknowledgement. This is true humility when confession leads to change in action, attitude, and behavior. Acknowledging one’s overweight doesn’t cause them to lose weight. 

The truest confession is a changed behavior, otherwise it’s only asking for acceptance… HSAY 

Daily Wisdom

Ezra 9:9 ‘For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us…’

It’s not what we have, but what we’ve been given. Mercy offers love greater than our iniquities, wealth greater than the world, righteousness greater than our trespasses. This is what Ezra states in (vss 10-15). Don’t lose sight of mercy, it matters greatly. We often keep in sight a desire for a little more, but don’t allow it to be at the expense of what you already have been given. It’s the one area of our life we should look back on to keep in sight, allowing us to focus on what really matters, God’s mercy and love upon our life. 

Grace got you right and Mercy allows you to stay right, don’t lose sight of it… HSAY

Daily Wisdom

 Ezr 8:23 ‘So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.’

Ezra knew God's promises to protect his people, but he didn't take them for granted. He also knew that God's blessings are appropriated through prayer (Lk 11:3), so Ezra and the people humbled themselves by fasting and praying. And their prayers were answered. Before making any physical preparations for the journey, Ezra made spiritual preparations. Know the source of your success and prioritize it and seek after it before taken a step. The hardest part of our faith is not in God’s deliverance but rather in our dependence on it!

Only move forward in prayer and faith like victory depends on it… because it does!… HSAY

Daily Wisdom

 Ezra 6:22 ‘… for the LORD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.’ 

It shouldn’t be surprising that our Father is able and willing to do that which we’re often unwilling to do, change of heart to His will.  The Lord changed the very heart of Assyria, their enemy, to help strengthen their own hands. (Pro 16:7) ‘When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.’ When we learn to joyfully change our own heart to His will, then we don’t have to worry about our enemies/obstacles, because our Father will change the rest. 

Being a Christian doesn’t change what you deal with, it changes how you deal with it… HSAY  

Daily Wisdom

 Heb 12:14 ‘Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.’

While peace is given of the Lord, it must be strived for, pursued by man. Knowing that without peace holiness, the personage of Christ, is missed by man. Where peace is absent, sin is often present (Psa 24:3-4). Holiness is coupled with living in peace. A right relationship with God leads to right relationships with fellow believers, we must pursue peace as we become more Christlike: Heb 3:12 ‘Exhort one another every day… that none of you may be hardened by deceitfulness of sin.’ Peace quickly passes when pride is present.

Peace is evident when the posture is poised; quick to listen, slow to speak and patient in spirt… HSAY 

Daily Wisdom

 Joh 14:27 ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you…’

Jesus the night before His suffering makes an amazing statement, 'Peace I leave you.' This is what Jesus is aiming at, again just before His suffers, I want you to have “My” peace. Which brings about ‘Joy’ (vs 28) and an unshakable faith (vs 29); not from what the world gives, but only what Jesus has to offer. Jesus enduring the cross offers to bring you into and share in the very peace that He enjoys with the Father. The gospel of Jesus is peace personified and yours to have. 

Peace is a promise, not a place determined by our circumstance; it's provided only by the cross… HSAY

Dily Wisdom

 Col 3:15 “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…”

Real peace is not won by avoiding trouble. Jesus endured trouble and hardship to achieve peace, thus freeing us to live at peace with God; “For he is our peace” (Eph 2:14). No wonder the angels proclaimed, “on earth peace to men” (Lk 2:14) upon Jesus’ arrival in the manger. Jesus told His disciples that He gives peace of a different quality than the world gives. The world offers absence of trouble through changed circumstances, Jesus offers peace despite the troubles (Jn 16:33) for those who allow it to have rule of their heart. No Jesus, no peace; know Jesus, know peace.

Peace is the measuring stick for the depth of ones dependence upon Christ… HSAY

Daily Wisodm

 Rth 2:22 ‘And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field.’

Contempt of courtesy… our blessed Saviour is our ‘Goel’ Hebrew word meaning, "to redeem." (Job 19:25). It’s the Lord only who has the right and ability to redeem us. If we expect to receive blessings by him, let us closely adhere to him, and his fields, and his family; let us not go to the world and its fields for that which is to be had with Him only. Has the Lord dealt bountifully with you? Have we dwelled bountifully in Him only, or do we wonder in other fields in contempt?

We perish for lack of wonder, not for a lack of wonders… HSAY

Daily Wisdom

Rth 2:15 “And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not:”

The Lord’s favor often exceeds our prayers and hopes, defining our worth in Him. The Lord moved Boaz to go far beyond the intent of the gleaners’ law; not only did he let Ruth glean in his field, but also told his workers to let some of the grain fall in her path (vs 16). Showing the Lord’s immense favor towards Ruth’s faithfulness. The favor of the Lord is always exceeding our faith to Him. Thus, our humility and thankfulness go far in our faith. Ruth labored in her faith, and the Lord loved her with His favor. Glean in humility, Labor in faith and the Lord’s favor will fall in the path He has you on!

Don’t fear, the Lord’s favor will always recompense your faith; ask Ruth!… HSAY 

Daily Wisdom

Ruth 2:12 “The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.”

Ruth's life exhibited admirable qualities: hardworking, loving, kind, faithful, and brave. By these qualities Ruth gained a good reward from her willingness to work and trust in the Lord’s goodness. In (vs 13) she sought favour in the Lord’s sight, to which the Lord acknowledged her worth and gave her a full reward. Be careful, what you trust in, so your treasures lie in. One day of favor from the Lord is worth a thousand days of labor for the Lord.

Your worth is what you're worth to the Lord; and that’s a wonderfully great deal… HSAY

Daily WIsdom

 Ruth 2:10 “… Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?  

It’s not necessarily what you are, but whose you are that matters. Ruth shows us that what you were born into and what you become, can be two drastically different positions. Ruth was born a Moabite, outsider; yet the Lord had greater purpose and will for her life. One who appeared to be unimportant, was very important to the Father. She may not have mattered to man, but she was a matriarch for the Father and grandmother for King David. 

Man may see you as meaningless, the Master sees you as masterpiece; know your worth … HSAY

Daily Wisdom

 Jer 2:17 ‘Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way?’

What we can’t see can hurt us. How thankful would you be for the rattle of a rattlesnake along a trail! Jeremiah called to attention Israel’s unwillingness to see their wondering from the Lord. Christians can be prone to take the Lord’s blessings and  run off to accomplish more. It’s that “upward” mobility we’re driven by that often drives us away. The strength of our walk in the Lord however is based on our “downward” mobility. Philippians 2 clearly shows us that the path to greatness in God’s eyes is a path of descending, not ascending… (Phl 2:3 ‘Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory; but in lowliness of mind esteem one another.”)

Greatness is not a measure of self-will, but rather of self-abandonment; the more we lose of self, the more we gain in Christ… HSAY