1 Corinthians 3:18-21
Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours.
INSIGHT
-Wisdom in Hebrew is written as chokmah which basically means to be wise and has been referenced more than 200 times in the Bible. Wisdom can simply be defined as the application of knowledge and understanding through Gods’ grace.
-As heavens are higher than the earth, Gods’ ways higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isa 55:9). Each one who thinks they are wise should therefore become foolish through humility so that they may be taught by God. For when pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom (Prov 11:2). Apostle Paul cautioned the Corinthians against boasting in men which surmounts to idolatry. Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego refused to worship king Nebuchadnezzar and God delivered them from the fiery furnace of fire. We know that God does not share His glory with anyone but when we have faith in Him; we please Him and He grants us victory. Wisdom of the world is foolishness with God as the thoughts of the wise are futile before Him. We are cautioned from being wise in our own eyes; but to fear the Lord and shun evil (Prov 3:7). We are also called to submit our thoughts and desires to God for we belong to Him and all things are His. The whole universe belongs to God, times and seasons belong to Him, things in the present and future belong to Him and Christ is the heir of all things; and we are in Christ. Let us therefore depend on God for all things and in all things through faith. As stewards; we are servants/ children of God and are required to be faithful to the Master and to the household of faith, to dispense His mysteries through revelation, to rely on His wisdom through obedience and only follow His word, to be faithful in all things entrusted to us and utilize it in the work of grace and to rely on the authority of Christ when making decisions, for His council is a lamp to our feet and a light to our paths and we are called to always glory in Him our only source of wisdom.
PRAYER
We belong to You Jesus, thank You for loving us with an everlasting love. Your ways are higher than our ways and Your thoughts higher than our thoughts, fill us with Your wisdom Holy Spirit. We submit to You Jesus and look to You, the Author and Finisher of our faith, show us Your grace and we shall be saved. Purify our thoughts and hearts with Your precious blood; we humbly ask You Jesus. We pray that Your word may impart our lives and those around us so that what You are working in us You may manifest through us; Your servants. Be with all those who are sick and suffering Jesus that You may heal them by Your saving arm. Have mercy on us all Father that You may meet us at our point of need. Touch all those who do You acknowledge You Jesus as Lord and Saviour that they may respond to Your word and come to salvation. You are our Refuge and Strength Lord, we put our hopes and trust in You. All glory, honor and wisdom belong to You Jesus, now and forever. Amen
Chronicles 1:10-12 Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?” Then God said to Solomon: “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life—but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king— wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like.”
INSIGHT -King Solomon asked for wisdom & knowledge from the Lord after being asked what he wanted. -God searches the hearts of each one of us to reveal the every good & bad request or habit. -After Solomon had requested for wisdom & knowledge, God also gave him riches, wealth & honor.
PRAYER: Abba Father, You are my King & Saviour. Search my heart Father & reveal to me what displeases You so that I may change it with Your help. I come to You with humility asking for the gift of wisdom & knowledge just like Solomon did. May this gift be a blessing to me, my family, community & most of all, be used for Your edification. Amen.
Psalm 111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.
INSIGHT -David the father of Solomon writes that to have wisdom one must fear the Lord. -Fear of The Lord means loving Him wholeheartedly & avoiding anything that is not in His will & commandments. -Following God’s commandments & avoiding sins at all cost is the beginning of wisdom.
PRAYER: Almighty Father, give me the wisdom to fear & love You wholeheartedly. Teach me Your commandments & ways; so that I may walk with You always. Amen.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.
INSIGHT -Solomon the wisest man to ever live wrote several books including Proverbs & Ecclesiastes, which we should read. -Solomon wrote that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 1:7) & the end of man’s duty is to keep God’s commandments. -Jesus is the beginning & end; so is His wisdom & teachings in the Bible. -God will judge everyone works, thus we keep His commandments & seek forgiveness always.
PRAYER: Jesus my Father, You died for my sins, cleanse me. Give me the gift of wisdom so that I may follow & keep Your commandments. Lead me always in Your paths & remember me all the days of my life. Amen.
James 3:13-14 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.
INSIGHT -James writes that the wise show wisdom by good conduct & humility. -But if the heart has bitterness, envy, malice, selfishness, boasting, lying tendencies, one lacks wisdom.
PRAYER: Abba Father, I seek pure wisdom from You alone. Bestore in me a heart full of humility, love, peace, gentleness & mercy, so that I may yield good fruits amongst my family members, friends & community at large. Amen.
Matthew 7:24-25 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
INSIGHT -Jesus expressed much wisdom for Matthew chapter 5 to 7 which we should read. -Jesus says that whoever hears his teachings & follows them is wise. -A wise man builds his/her house on the foundation of a rock, which is not shaken by rain, floods & wind. -House is symbolic to the body, rock to Christ, rains, floods & winds to life situations. -Jesus therefore says that if we rely on Him completely, we will conquer all difficulties & all our needs will be taken care of.
PRAYER: Jesus Christ, You did not come to abolish the law but to fulfil it, give me strength to live it. Let me follow Your teachings since they are life & light to my path. I humbly ask for the gift of wisdom & understanding so that I can make good decisions in my life, family, work place & business. I anchor my life on You so that You may strengthen & help me in all situations. Amen.
Proverbs 4:7-10
Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you.” Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And the years of your life will be many.
INSIGHT
-Wisdom is the principal thing. If one therefore does not get anything else in this world, let him/her get wisdom. It is also a gift that each one should pursue and if one is lacking; let him ask of the Lord Who freely gives us (Jam 1:5). Often times do we hear on the media how money, power and fame have made some people happy and many follow this notion in pursuit of ‘the good life’ at all cost. Wisdom is the principal thing, let each one pursue her first and God will bless us according to His divine purposes. In todays scripture, we find that wisdom has been personified to bring out a relational kind of concept to indicate how we should interact with her. When we embrace and promote her; our reward will be honor, grace, glory and long life, same as what king Solomon received. Like wisdom is the principal thing, so is the fear of the Lord and to keep His commandments, which is the whole duty of man. As we know that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and God will judge every good and evil deed (Ecc 12:13-14). Each one is therefore called to pursue knowledge, understanding and apply it through the gift of wisdom, which crowns us with glory; now and forever.
PRAYER
Lord you are good and Your mercies endures forever. We thank You for this far that You brought us and for the peace that exists in our country. Be with our president Lord, his deputy, all governors, senators, women reps, mcas, mps, pses, cses, all investigative agencies, the judiciary and all other leaders in government; that you may fill them with Your wisdom as they executive their duties. We pray that corruption will be a thing of the past in this nation and prosperity may abound forevermore. Unite our nation loving Father with bonds of love that cannot be broken. Be will all the church leaders Father as they lead Your flock with wisdom. Remember also Lord; the family unit, that You may direct all our parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, relatives and all members of our families in Your divine wisdom. Many families are broken among us Lord, we humbly ask You Jesus to restore them for You love us with an everlasting love. Many youth are lost Lord, we humbly ask You to renew their minds and guide them in the way they should go. Many others are waiting on You for marriage Father, show us Your merciful love for the glory of Your name. Be merciful unto us all Father in our work, businesses, projects, ideas, education and all things; that we may always rely on Your council. We pray for Your guidance in all things so that Your eternal wisdom may be our guide through You our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. May Your love never depart from our hearts as You increase our faith in You that it may be accounted to us for righteousness. Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the followship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forevermore. Amen
1 Corinthians 1:30-31
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord .”
INSIGHT
-As a young Man; Jesus grew in wisdom and statue before God and man (Lk 2:52) and fulfilled all righteousness through baptism (Mat 3:15). He became for us wisdom and through His suffering, death and resurrection; He sanctified and redeemed us from all sin that we too may be righteous. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21). Christ has thus given us the greatest gift, the gift of salvation according to His will so that we may have abundant life through faith in Him. Through His abundant love; we are then called to give all glory to God from everlasting to everlasting; for we have victory in Him; the Source of all wisdom.
PRAYER
Thank You Jesus for this far that You have brought us. We have seen Your hand of grace in all things, we praise You and glorify Your holy name. Thank You for giving is the gift of salvation together with our descendants, how awesome is Your name Oh Lord. Create in us clean hearts Lord and renew Your steadfast spirit within us. Cast us not away from Your presence Lord and take not Your Holy Spirit from us. Restore unto us, the joy of thy salvation and uphold us by Your generous Spirit. We humbly that we may always obtain favour before You Father and before all men. Our Father who at in heaven hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptations but deliver us from all evil. For thine is the kingdom the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen
Colossians 3:16-17
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
INSIGHT
-Having been chosen by God as a holy people and for a purpose; to obey Him and be purified by His blood (1 Pet 1:2). We are called to constantly meditate on His word, sing songs of praise to the Lord with grace in our hearts and pray without ceasing. To edify and teach one another through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And whatever we choose to say or do; should be in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that we may bear much fruit according to His will. We know that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Eph 2:8-10). We therefore have hope in all things and for everything that we suffer is redemptive and we are reminded to give thanks to God in all situations for this is His will for us through Christ Jesus.
PRAYER
We give thanks to You Lord for You are good and Your mercies endures forever. We bless Your name Lord at all times and Your praises shall constantly be in our mouths. You have redeemed us from all sin and chains of slavery through the cleansing by Your precious blood Jesus; we thank You and glorify Your holy name. We cast all our burdens unto You Lord for You care for us. We humbly ask that You heal all those who are sick among us for by Your stripes we are healed. We submit our lives, intentions, hearts desires, families, businesses, work, youth, churches and the entire nation unto You Jesus; that You may direct us in the way should go. May Your word dwell richly in our hearts Lord that we may never depart from You. Remain in us always Holy Spirit that Your wisdom and peace may forever rule our hearts. We praise You and give thanks to You always Jehovah; for You are good and Your loving kindness is everlasting. Amen
Revelation 5:11-12
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
INSIGHT
-Jesus became poor so that we may become rich. He became sin so that we may become the righteousness of God. He became all of our greed, lust, lies and all our filth; so that we may become like Him. He is the Lamb of God Who is worthy to receive all power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessings, and His love for us endures forever. All creation in heaven even the wisest, worship Him, and we are called to do likewise.
SUMMARY
Wisdom is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the principal thing each one should seek after. Wisdom is better than rubies and all things one may desire cannot be compared with her (Prov 8:11). If then anyone is lacking in wisdom let him/her ask of the Lord for He gives each one generously without finding fault (Jam 1:5). The foolishness of God is wiser than that of men and the weakness of God is stronger than that of men (1 Cor 1:25). When the whole world spoke one language, the people attempted in their own wisdom to reach the heavens by building the tower of Babel. Since this was not Gods’ plan, He gave them different languages and scattered them abroad (Gen 11:1-9). Gods’ purpose will always prevail and we are called to submit all our thoughts, heart desires, wisdom, knowledge and understanding to Him and He will direct our paths. God loved us and gave us His only begotten Son that whoever believes in His should not perish but have everlasting life (Jn 3:16). We have therefore received the gift of salvation with our descendants through Christ that we may live in His grace and have abundant life forever. We are also encouraged to read the word of God, meditate on it, pray always and give thanks to the Lord in all circumstances; holding fast faith in Him, for He has won victory for us; now and forever.
PRAYER
You are worthy Jesus to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessings, for You were slain to redeem the world. You are filed with mercy and love, we humbly come at Your feet in submission to Your authority, to praise and honor You. Teach us to worship You in spirit and in truth Lord. Grant us, our families, leaders, churches, nation and the entire world with Your wisdom so that we may always follow Your divine will. You have given us the gift of salvation and won victory for us Your children; we give You thanks and praise Jehovah. We submit our thought, heart desires, wisdom, ideas and intentions to Yours Jesus, cover us with Your precious blood and accomplish Your will on earth as it is in heaven. We ask that You may always satisfy our hearts with your grace and shepherd us in all things. All power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessings belong to You Jesus;, now and forever. Amen