Daily Wisdom

Mat 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”

I’ve often wonder, do you think Jesus enjoyed the beatific vision through His whole life? I ponder because the Lord was able to see things that our sins keep us from seeing. Remember that the promise of the “vision of God” in the beatitudes is a promise made to whom? To the pure of heart! WE fail to see the continual beauty of God and His promises, not because there’s a problem with our optic nerve, but our heart and the impurity within. So yes, Jesus was able to maintain the beauty of the Father within His vision because he maintained a pure heart. The magnitude of this is exemplified by the cross and seldom fully grasped. (Gal 3:13 “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”). This is why the Father and Holy Spirit turned their back to Jesus, He was cursed by God for us, and separated from the Father! And yet during His forsakenness on our behalf, Jesus prevented us from drawing every breath under the curse due us. And yet Jesus was able to see and maintain the purpose and beauty within it all… YOU!

A pure heart resembles a mirror in which the beauty of Christ is reflected for others to see… HSAY

Daily Wisdom

 Hag 2:3 “Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?”

Don’t let your eyes, or feelings, convince you of something greater than what God has promised for you. God is encouraging the remnant of His children that even though the rebuilt temple pales in comparison to Solomon’s original temple, don’t doubt the promises it represents in God. Haggai encouraged them with God's promise that the glory of the rebuilt Temple would surpass that of original (vs 9), and some 500 yrs. later Jesus walked into the courts of the rebuilt temple. 

Trust God where you cannot see Him, and don’t fear the unknown; the mystery is God’s the promise is yours! … HSAY

Daily Wisdom

Hag 1:14  “And the LORD stirred up the spirit… of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God.”

Rarely do we see in the scriptures a prophet’s message produce such a quick response. Within (23) days after Haggai’s message, they returned to building the Temple. Are we as quick to respond to the Word of God for our lives? Do we respond to the Holy Spirit’s revelation or resist it? God’s Word does not exist for the sake of our enjoying Biblical stories; biblical stories exist for the sake of our enjoying God. I make this point because there is great purpose and narrative to God’s Word, and it points to man’s need.

The Word of God is not just to be heard or repeated; it’s to be breathed in, lived by and acted on… HSAY

Daily Wisdom

 Hag 1:5  “Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.”

Such a simple statement yet loaded with ponderance.  Haggai was encouraging the people to finish rebuilding the Temple (God’s work). God asked His people how they could be more concerned with their comfort (ceiled houses) than God’s Kingdom (i.e., more concerned about their own sacrifice than CHRIST’S sacrifice.) We’re just as accountable to “consider” the same question. Are our ways God’s ways or have we placed our interest over His purpose for us?

Consider, when the world is running towards a cliff – he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind… HSAY

Daily Wisdom

 Col 1:27  “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Hope hinges on what we choose trust in. In (Psa 20:7) we’re told “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses” meaning those who put their trust in the physical world around them; the scripture goes on to say, “but we will remember the name of the Lord.” True hope is not what we hold to, but who holds us. This is revealed in the glory of Christ, who manifests Himself in and through our lives, that when we find situations in which Christ is all we have, we experience that Christ is all we need.

Faith climbs the stairs that glory has provided and looks out the window which hope has opened… HSAY

Daily Wisdom

 Col 1:5 “For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel.”

Our hope is gospel based (1 Pt 1:3-4), and with it is our hope established. Hope is the spiritual antidote to that which afflicts the soul; hope heals what the world brings hurt to. But the power of hope is determined by what we hold on to. Whereas the first two chapters of Colossians relate primarily to “principle” (doctrine), the last two chapters relate primarily to “practice” (behavior; manner of life). Paul didn’t treat the subject of “behavior” until he first treated the subject of “belief ” (doctrine). Hope isn’t based on behavioral modification, but spiritual transformation.

What you believe determines how you behave… HSAY

Daily Wisdom

 Jn 19:30 “… It is finished…”

The death-kneel of man’s fleshly efforts rings the loudest in the dying words of Jesus, “it is finished.” Proof, Jesus rose again from the dead. If He had not completed His work of redemption for our penalty of sin, He would have been left in the tomb till then. Our preaching would have been in vain along with our faith, and we would still be in the penalty of our sins… but HE ROSE! And the repentant thief on the cross is the clearest picture in scripture of salvation coming to us by grace through faith apart from oneself.

Everything stinks until it’s finished, can you smell the sweet victory… HSAY

Daily Wisdom

 Jas 3:17 “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

All that we need for peace and prosperity are found in the Words of the Lord. In addition, it defines our character.  Have you ever known anyone who claimed to be wise but who acted foolishly? True wisdom can be measured by a person's character (vs 1). Just as you can identify a tree by the type of fruit it produces, you can evaluate your wisdom by the way you act. Foolishness leads to disorder (vss 13-16), but wisdom leads to peace and goodness.

Wisdom does what is right, not what is easy or convenient… HSAY 

Daily Wisdom

 Jas 3:5 “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!”

How can something so small be so destructive! What we don’t say is equally, if not more, as important than what we do say.  Interesting that (vs 2) tells us, if we can control the tongue, we can control the body. And yet we spend endless energy trying to get the body in shape, and it should be our tongue! Before we exercise our tongues consider, is what we say true, edifying, necessary, and kind? What we say is not to be done to make us feel better, but to encourage and strengthen those who hear.

Sadly, the tongue weighs practically nothing, yet few can hold it… HSAY

Daily Wisdom

 Jas 2:14 “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?”

Sadly, there are some religious movements that have tried to use this Scripture to prove that “good works” are essential to salvation and thus part of the saving Gospel (Mt 19:17c). However, this verse is speaking to believers (my brethren) who already have salvation, not to unbelievers who are in need of salvation (Phil 2:12). James is reminding Christians here that what they do speaks louder than what they say (Mt 21:28-32). Too often how we live speaks so loud that people can’t hear what we’re proclaiming.

Always be preaching the gospel, and when needed use words… HSAY

Daily Wisdom

 Jas 1:27 “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

The simplest things are often overlooked, especially in Christianity. Believers can be more concerned about what they become in the Lord rather than what they do for the Lord. When we give/sacrifice with no thought of receiving, we show what it means to truly serve others. The results of focusing on others lessons our ability of being influenced and affected by the world. Pure religion is about the fatherless and afflicted, not self-focus and attention.

Don’t complicate what the Lord called us to, Jesus is saying: you want to be a blessing to me, then bless them in need (Mt 25:34-40-read it)… HSAY

Daily Wisdom

Jas 1:16 “Do not err, my beloved brethren.”

One of the shortest scriptures in the bible, but it can keep us from ending up a long distance from the Lord! We must take particular care not to “err” in our conceptions and actions towards the Lord. The Greek word for “err” is (planao) meaning to wander, go astray, be seduced; Don’t stray into erroneous opinions, and/or go off from the standard of truth. Instead, bring everything into subjection, which is of truth, and depart not from it least we become a castaway (1 Cor 9:27).

The maturity of the believer is not his ability to resist temptation, but to avoid it… HSAY

Daily Wisdom

 Jas 1:4 “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” 

We can't really know the depth of our character until we see how we react under pressure. Such pressures come to the surface when life requires patience. I find this verse interesting in the fact that it starts with “let patience”; as if to say, it requires patience for patience to work in our life. We see this in (1 Pt 2:20), it’s not the patience we must endure for wrongdoing, but rather when we do well and suffer for it is true patience measured. But know it’s in this time that a perfecting work of the Lord comes about in our life when we endure and let it come about patiently. 

Our patience in the Lord will always determine His perfect work and purpose in us… HSAY

Daily Wisdom

 Eph 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” 

The greatest pieces of art are recognizable not only by the signature of the artist, but just as much by the artist style and how they utilize the canvas and brush strokes. As a believer are you recognizable as a piece of God’s work; can others see His traits of goodness, faithfulness, love, hope in your own life? By God’s design we’re called to good works that show forth His traits. We shouldn’t have to sell ourselves as a valuable piece of art, others should be able to recognize whose we are, and whose hand is on our life!

We’re created in Jesus to provide great works, don’t live like a starving artist by selling yourself short… HSAY