Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living “The Church of Holy Wisdom” Monday, 24 February 2014 – Scripture – Proverbs 2

Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living “The Church of Holy Wisdom” Monday, 24 February 2014 – Scripture – Proverbs 2: 12 to deliver you from the way of evil,

    from the men who speak perverse things;

13 who forsake the paths of uprightness,

    to walk in the ways of darkness;

14 who rejoice to do evil,

    and delight in the perverseness of evil;

15 who are crooked in their ways,

    and wayward in their paths:

16 To deliver you from the strange woman,

    even from the foreigner who flatters with her words;

17 who forsakes the friend of her youth,

    and forgets the covenant of her God:

18 for her house leads down to death,

    her paths to the departed spirits.

19 None who go to her return again,

    neither do they attain to the paths of life:

20 that you may walk in the way of good men,

    and keep the paths of the righteous.

21 For the upright will dwell in the land.

    The perfect will remain in it.

22 But the wicked will be cut off from the land.

    The treacherous will be rooted out of it.

“The Church of Holy Wisdom” by Duane C. Brush

One of the oldest existing church buildings is the Hagia Sophia, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. This building, dating from AD 532, is actually the third church on the site. It was dedicated to the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ. The name Hagia Sophia, meaning “Holy Wisdom,” is a shortened form of the full name, “Shrine of the Holy Wisdom of God.” The name expresses the truth of 1 Corinthians 1:30, “. . . you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.”

Wisdom for believers is found first in a person. Principles or precepts are secondary. They are true as far as they align with the One who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

The Book of Proverbs is intended to be a guide to wise living. It affirms that “the fear (respect, reverence, regard) of the LORD” is “the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). If we seek wisdom we must first seek the Savior. By His Word, His Spirit, and in fellowship with other believers we will be led in the ways which are good and righteous.

Hymn for Today:

“Be Thou My Vision” Traditional Irish Hymn, Translated by Mary E. Byrne

1.   Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;

     Naught be all else to me, save that thou art;

     Thou my best thought, by day or by night,

     Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

2.   Be thou my Wisdom, and thou my true Word;

     I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord;

     Thou my great Father, and I thy true son,

     Thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

3.   Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise;

     Thou mine inheritance, now and always;

     Thou and thou only, first in my heart,

     High King of heaven, my treasure thou art.

4.   High King of heaven, my victory won,

     May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's Sun!

     Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

     Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Thought for Today:

“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach; and it will be given to him.”(James 1:5).

Prayer Needs:

For the Gospel to penetrate the areas where unreached people groups live!

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