Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "Real Wisdom" for Friday, September 15, 2017
1 Corinthians 3:18-19 - Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their craftiness."Somewhere along the line, many people have concluded that when the light of faith goes on in a person's heart, the light of knowledge in their brain has to be put out.
Now, you should know, nowhere in Scripture does God condemn the acquisition of knowledge. It is only when experts elevate human knowledge over godly wisdom -- that's when they become foolish.
Now understand, I have a deep appreciation of human knowledge.
Because Sir Alexander Fleming saw the curative possibilities of penicillin in a Petri dish, I survived pneumonia when I was five. The knowledge of Jonas Salk and his team offered our children freedom from polio. Other smart folks have given our households microwave ovens, automobiles, light with the flip of a switch, central air-conditioning, Band-Aids®, computers, nail clippers, CDs, and videos to preserve family memories.
No, God isn't against human knowledge. He who gave us brains to think is pleased when we put them to use. But when earthly experts elevate human knowledge over God's wisdom, they become foolish.
Take a look at the Bible. I'll show you what I mean.
Adam and Eve were intelligent enough to name and, I suppose, remember the names of all the Creator's creatures. God asked them to do that. But when the first family thought they were experts and elevated their wishes above God's will, they got into trouble.
Before the flood, God had no problem with humans using their intelligence to subdue the earth. He said that was their responsibility. But when those humans thought they were wise enough to put their pleasure seeking above God's wisdom, the Lord was greatly grieved (see Genesis 6:5-6).
The Lord was glorified by many of the things His prophet Moses did. But when Moses thought himself an expert -- wise enough to improve upon God's plan to give water to the wandering Israelites -- things did not go well (Numbers 20:5).
Time and again, Scripture tells us that when a man thinks he is expert enough and has wisdom enough to displace God, the Lord turns the tables. When experts elevate human knowledge over godly wisdom, they become foolish.
And what should we do to become truly wise? That's simple: trust in the Lord with all your heart and don't lean on your own smarts (see Proverbs 3:5-6). Believe Him when He says that Jesus is the only way of salvation (see John 14:6). Trust Him when He says that there is no other Name under heaven which can save (see Acts 4:12). Rely on His Word which tells us "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from every sin" (1 John 1:7b).
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, many thanks to You for giving us the ability to think. Forgive us for those times when we might think we know more than You. Grant us a spirit of humility and respect to You for Your many graces and gifts. This I ask in the Name of Him who is the greatest gift of all. Amen.
In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: Isaiah 11-13; Ephesians 2
Isaiah 11:1 But a branch will emerge from the trunk of Yishai,
a shoot will grow from his roots.
2 The Spirit of Adonai will rest on him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and power,
the Spirit of knowledge and fearing Adonai —
3 he will be inspired by fearing Adonai.
He will not judge by what his eyes see
or decide by what his ears hear,
4 but he will judge the impoverished justly;
he will decide fairly for the humble of the land.
He will strike the land with a rod from his mouth
and slay the wicked with a breath from his lips.
5 Justice will be the belt around his waist,
faithfulness the sash around his hips.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb;
the leopard lie down with the kid;
calf, young lion and fattened lamb together,
with a little child to lead them.
7 Cow and bear will feed together,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 An infant will play on a cobra’s hole,
a toddler put his hand in a viper’s nest.
9 They will not hurt or destroy
anywhere on my holy mountain,
for the earth will be as full
of the knowledge of Adonai
as water covering the sea.
10 On that day the root of Yishai,
which stands as a banner for the peoples —
the Goyim will seek him out,
and the place where he rests will be glorious.
11 On that day Adonai will raise his hand
again, a second time,
to reclaim the remnant of his people who remain
from Ashur, Egypt, Patros,
Ethiopia, ‘Eilam, Shin‘ar,
Hamat and the islands in the sea.
12 He will hoist a banner for the Goyim,
assemble the dispersed of Isra’el,
and gather the scattered of Y’hudah
from the four corners of the earth.
13 Efrayim’s jealousy will cease —
those who harass Y’hudah will be cut off,
Efrayim will stop envying Y’hudah,
and Y’hudah will stop provoking Efrayim.
14 They will swoop down on the flank of the P’lishtim to the west.
Together they will pillage the people to the east —
they will put out their hand over Edom and Mo’av,
and the people of ‘Amon will obey them.
15 Adonai will dry up the gulf
of the Egyptian Sea.
He will shake his hand over the [Euphrates] River
to bring a scorching wind,
dividing it into seven streams
and enabling people to cross dryshod.
16 There will be a highway for the remnant of his people
who are still left from Ashur,
just as there was for Isra’el
when he came out from the land of Egypt.
12:1 On that day you will say:
“I thank you, Adonai,
because, although you were angry at me,
your anger is now turned away;
and you are comforting me.
2 “See! God is my salvation.
I am confident and unafraid;
for Yah Adonai is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation!”
3 Then you will joyfully draw water
from the springs of salvation.
4 On that day you will say,
“Give thanks to Adonai! Call on his name!
Make his deeds known among the peoples,
declare how exalted is his name.
5 Sing to Adonai, for he has triumphed —
this is being made known throughout the earth.
6 Shout and sing for joy,
you who live in Tziyon;
for the Holy One of Isra’el
is with you in his greatness!”
13:1 This is a prophecy about Bavel, which Yesha‘yahu the son of Amotz saw:
2 Hoist a banner on a high mountain,
shout to [the invaders];
beckon them to enter the Nobles’ Gate.
3 “I have ordered my holy ones,
summoned my heroes, eager and bold,
to execute my anger.”
4 Listen! A tumult on the mountains —
it sounds like a vast multitude!
Listen! The uproar of the kingdoms
of the nations gathering together!
Adonai-Tzva’ot is mustering
an army for war.
5 They come from a distant land,
from beyond the horizon.
It’s Adonai, with the weapons of his rage,
to lay waste to all the earth.
6 Howl! for the Day of Adonai is at hand,
destruction coming from Shaddai.
7 This is why every arm will hang limp
and everyone’s courage melt away.
8 They will be gripped by panic,
seized with pain and agony,
writhing like a woman in labor,
looking aghast at each other, faces aflame.
9 Here comes the Day of Adonai,
full of cruelty, rage and hot fury,
to desolate the earth
and destroy the sinners in it.
10 For the stars, the constellations in the sky,
will no longer give their light;
the sun will be dark when it rises;
and the moon will no longer shine.
11 “I will punish the world for its evil
and the wicked for their iniquity.
I will end the arrogance of the proud
and humble the insolence of tyrants.
12 I will make humans rarer than gold,
scarcer than Ofir’s pure gold.
13 This is why I will make the heavens tremble,
and the earth will be shaken from its place
at the wrath of Adonai-Tzva’ot
on the day of his fierce anger.
14 Then, like a hunted gazelle,
like sheep with no one to gather them,
everyone will head back to his own people;
everyone will flee to his own land.
15 Anyone found will be pierced through;
anyone caught will fall by the sword,
16 their babies dashed to pieces before their eyes,
their houses looted, their wives raped.
17 I will stir up against them the Medes,
who cannot be tempted by silver
or bought off with gold.
18 Their bows will tear young men to pieces,
they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb,
their eye will not spare children.”
19 Thus Bavel, that jewel of kingdoms,
the pride and glory of the Kasdim,
will be like S’dom and ‘Amora
when overthrown by God.
20 It will never again be inhabited,
never lived in through all generations.
Arabs will not pitch tents there
nor shepherds bring their flocks.
21 But wildcats will lie there,
their houses will be full of owls,
ostriches will live there,
and wild goats will dance there.
22 Jackals will howl in their palaces
and wild dogs in their temples of delight.
Its time is close at hand,
its days will not last long.
Ephesians 2:1 You used to be dead because of your sins and acts of disobedience. 2 You walked in the ways of the ‘olam hazeh and obeyed the Ruler of the Powers of the Air, who is still at work among the disobedient. 3 Indeed, we all once lived this way — we followed the passions of our old nature and obeyed the wishes of our old nature and our own thoughts. In our natural condition we were headed for God’s wrath, just like everyone else.
4 But God is so rich in mercy and loves us with such intense love 5 that, even when we were dead because of our acts of disobedience, he brought us to life along with the Messiah — it is by grace that you have been delivered. 6 That is, God raised us up with the Messiah Yeshua and seated us with him in heaven, 7 in order to exhibit in the ages to come how infinitely rich is his grace, how great is his kindness toward us who are united with the Messiah Yeshua. 8 For you have been delivered by grace through trusting, and even this is not your accomplishment but God’s gift. 9 You were not delivered by your own actions; therefore no one should boast. 10 For we are of God’s making, created in union with the Messiah Yeshua for a life of good actions already prepared by God for us to do.
11 Therefore, remember your former state: you Gentiles by birth — called the Uncircumcised by those who, merely because of an operation on their flesh, are called the Circumcised — 12 at that time had no Messiah. You were estranged from the national life of Isra’el. You were foreigners to the covenants embodying God’s promise. You were in this world without hope and without God.
13 But now, you who were once far off have been brought near through the shedding of the Messiah’s blood. 14 For he himself is our shalom — he has made us both one and has broken down the m’chitzah which divided us 15 by destroying in his own body the enmity occasioned by the Torah, with its commands set forth in the form of ordinances. He did this in order to create in union with himself from the two groups a single new humanity and thus make shalom, 16 and in order to reconcile to God both in a single body by being executed on a stake as a criminal and thus in himself killing that enmity.
17 Also, when he came, he announced as Good News shalom to you far off and shalom to those nearby,[Ephesians 2:17 Isaiah 57:19] 18 news that through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
19 So then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers. On the contrary, you are fellow-citizens with God’s people and members of God’s family. 20 You have been built on the foundation of the emissaries and the prophets, with the cornerstone being Yeshua the Messiah himself. 21 In union with him the whole building is held together, and it is growing into a holy temple in union with the Lord. 22 Yes, in union with him, you yourselves are being built together into a spiritual dwelling-place for God!
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Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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