Proverbs 9:10

Verse of the Day: Proverbs 9:10

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” – Proverbs 9:10

I want to start this by letting Solomon himself declare why these writings are so important. “To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding, To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice, and integrity; To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion, A wise person will hear and increase in learning, And a person of understanding will acquire wise counsel, To understand a proverb and a saying, The words of the wise and their riddles.” Proverbs 1:2-6. And then he wraps up these verses into one. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7.

Now, one more thing we need to understand is the difference between knowledge and wisdom.  Knowledge, in itself, is nothing more than an accumulation of raw facts. An example of this would be a list of holidays or family members or how much money we currently have. But wisdom goes well beyond this, being the ability to see people, events, things, and situations as God sees them. Throughout this book, Solomon reveals the mind of God in matters high and lofty and in common, ordinary, everyday situations as well. As we read it, we see no topic escaped King Solomon’s attention. These include, but not limited to,  personal conduct, sexual relations, business, wealth, charity, ambition, discipline, debt, child-rearing, character, alcohol, politics, revenge, and Godliness.

Now let’s look at what the Psalmist says about this. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; All those who follow His commandments have a good understanding; His praise endures forever.” Psalm 111:10. The verses before this in Psalm 111 speak of the great works of the Lord. “Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart, In the company of the upright and in the assembly. Great are the works of the LORD; They are studied by all who delight in them. Splendid and majestic is His work, And His righteousness endures forever. He has caused His wonders to be remembered; The LORD is gracious and compassionate. He has given food to those who fear Him; He will remember His covenant forever. He has made known to His people the power of His works, In giving them the inheritance of the nations. The works of His hands are truth and justice; All His precepts are trustworthy. They are upheld forever and ever; They are performed in truth and uprightness. He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name. Psalm 111:1-9.

Now, the theme of wisdom and its necessity in our lives finds its fulfillment in Christ. We are continually exhorted in Proverbs to seek wisdom, get wisdom, and understand wisdom. It also tells us several times that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Our fear of the Lord’s wrath and justice is what drives us to Christ, who is the embodiment of God’s wisdom as expressed in His glorious plan of redemption for mankind. We read in Colossians that  “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have in your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and that they would attain to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:1-3. We receive a full understanding of true knowledge and wisdom, which is found in Christ. And in another verse we read,  “But it is due to Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written: “LET THE ONE WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.” 1 Corinthians 1:30-31.

The wisdom that is found only in Christ is in contrast to the foolishness of the world which encourages us to be wise in our own eyes. But Proverbs also tells us that the world’s wisdom is not God’s way. “Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.” Proverbs 3:7. but actually leads only to death “There is a way which seems right to a person, But its end is the way of death.” Proverbs 14:12. Wisdom comes to us when we fear the Lord, not in being afraid in a phobic way, but an awe and reverential fear as we really think about God; His greatness, His power, who He is, just that awe that comes over us when we desire to do what God would have us do. As Pastor Chuck Smith once said, “Love what God loves. Hate what God hates. Have that desire recognizing who God is. To seek to please Him, that’s what the fear of the Lord is about. That’s the beginning of wisdom.”

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Psalm 90:12

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 90:12

“So, teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” – Psalm 90:12

This verse does not mean that we are to keep count of the number of days we have been here.  For instance, I have been here, on this earth approximately 22,700 days.  This means nothing in the grand scheme of life.  What it does refer to is that we should understand that our lives here are not limitless.  It more truly describes how we should live our lives going forward.  The idea is that we should estimate our days such that we understand they will pass quickly and then they will be over, and we should live these days with a heart in pursuit of wisdom and not folly.

Many people follow the path of the rich fool found in the gospel of Luke. “And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” Luke 12:19. He planned to take it easy, he would live well since the harvest that year was phenomenal. However, the story ends horribly for him. “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared? So is the man who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:21. This man focused on himself and not on how to live a Godly life.  He assumed his life would go on for years, however, his life did not even last another day.

Then you have those who live by the saying, “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.”  A twist on what we read in Luke, however, there is a definite distinction.  First of all, this phrase is normally has a derogatory meaning.  The idea here is they live their lives in a totally narcissistic way.  What does it matter what happens to us, what is important is that we enjoy life now.  There thought is not of doing what is right but doing what they enjoy.

However, neither of these ways are what our focus verse is calling for.  We are to understand that our lives are short.  That our remaining days will come to an end.  But this is not truly the end.  “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” Hebrews 9:27-28.   As the parable of the sheep and goats lays out, we will be judged, and we will either go to the right with all the sheep or to the left with all the goats.  Do we eagerly await His return?  If so, wisdom calls us to obey and honor God.  We must be wise and be led by God in every part of our life.  As the writer of Proverbs puts it, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7. Wisdom comes from the reverence and adoration of God, following His ways and spending time with Him. This should be our focus, and our priority.  And this is what we should do from this time forward.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

James 1:5

Verse of the Day Devotion: James 1:5

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

In order to get the major context of this verse, we need to look at the three verses prior to this.  “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, and let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”  James 1:2-4.  Now, this verse can be used for any situation wisdom is needed, however, when you see the words in the above verses, ‘your faith produces endurance’ it makes sense what James is focusing on.

Now, the wisdom that James is no doubt referring to is that wisdom which helps the Christian get through these times of trials, for there is probably no time the Christian needs the wisdom from God more than in how to bear up under the ordeal they are suffering.  This wisdom is essentially understanding that for us to be stronger in our faith knowing God is totally in control, it must be tested so that any area where we do not grasp this truth can be strengthened.  And the stronger it is, the more endurance we have to continue through it.  I believe this is why God does not always deliver us from difficult situations.  To paraphrase Francis Schaeffer on this topic, ‘too often we ask God to deliver us from our trials, when we should be asking Him to bring us through our trials.’

Part of this wisdom is seen in James 1:2.  “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,” How can we rejoice, counting it all joy to suffer these trials?  By realizing the following.  1) That God is in control, and He would not have had you go through this if there was not a good reason, 2) Because our faith in God strengthens as we see His help and support though it, and 3) We are glorifying God by trusting Him that we will make it through.  It is interesting that in countries where persecution is at its worst, the church is growing and flourishing.  Here in the United States, where persecution is much, much less, we see more people leaving the faith, churches losing members and closing their doors.  Kind of makes sense.

If we are enduring hard times, we can pray to God for the specific wisdom we need.  We all, as Christians, have wisdom imparted to us.  One is the knowledge we need Him.  Another is how to treat each other.  In fact, the bible is a book full of wisdom. And when we read and study His word, we gain much wisdom and knowledge.  However, this wisdom may not be fully understood, and therefore God must strengthen it in order to equip us to do His will, no matter what that is.  Most times, through trials, our understanding of His word increases.

So, when we find ourselves in a time of trial, consider it a good thing, for your growth and the Kingdom of God.  We must see our times of trials as a needed time that will equip us for the times that are coming.  For when the end-times arrive, it will be incredibly difficult.  When that time comes, we should consider it a time of joy, for we know His return and our deliverance is just around the corner.  And when things seem too hard to handle, pray to God for His strength and wisdom to help us through.  God is able and willing.  All we have to do is ask it of God.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

Psalm 111:10

Verse of the Day Devotion: 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.” – Psalm 111:10

Our focus verse, written by an unknown author, has incredible wisdom in the words it says.  The writer starts with the truth that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Being that this was written to the Jewish nation, I will assume they know God exists.  Fear in this context refers to honor and reverence.  If we know that God is infinite in His power, His love and everything else, then honoring and reverencing Him is wise.  If we believe He is who He says He is, then we should do all we can not to offend Him.  To know He exists and not to fear Him as described above is not wise, but incredibly foolish.  In fact, I would go as far as to say that not fearing and honoring the infinite God is the beginning of foolishness.

Many people who believe God exists will give the honor due their bosses, Pastors, government officials, friends and family, but not to the creator of all things who brought salvation to them through His death on the cross.  They will do what their bosses say, because they want to get paid, but they will not do what God says.  They will obey government authorities because they do not wish to be arrested, but they will not strive to obey God. After all He did for them, and having accepted His work on the cross, they do not consider it as important as all the other areas of their lives.  This is incredibly sad for this is where wisdom starts.  According to the writer of this verse, the foundation and origin of wisdom.  There really is not true wisdom if we do not recognize the being, perfections and the claims of our Almighty God.  Albert Barnes in his commentary on the Psalms puts it this way.  “The highest wisdom – the loftiest endowment of man – is that he may know and honor God. This, in capability, makes him wise above the brute creation; this, in exercise, makes a man wiser than another; this, when it springs up in the soul, makes a man wiser than he was before.’

The writer goes on to say that a person with good understanding will do and obey God’s commandments. The Hebrew phrase for this essentially says, ‘Do the things connected with the fear of the Lord, to obey God.’ If we really understand who God is, what He has done for us, what He does to help us in our lives here, and what He has prepared for us for all eternity, how can we not obey Him?  And for the same reasons, how can we not praise Him?  God never changes, so the foundation of our praise for all eternity is who He is, and that will never change either.

Let us always honor and reverence Him no matter what happens, for God knows all things and causes and allows things to happen for our good.  “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28. Let us trust Him and fear Him.  For there is no greater wisdom than this.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

Colossians 3:16

Verse of the Day Devotion Colossians 3:16

“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. – Colossians 3:16

Paul here is referring to the gospel when he says, ‘the word of Christ’. We see that Paul, in many verses, uses the ‘word of God’ as in “Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God,” Colossians 1:25, as well as “And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:17.  So, what we see is that here in verse 16 he is referring to the ‘message about Christ’ rather then the message from Christ.

The meaning we can derive of the command is that the Christian message must be an integral and permanent living force in all Christian’s hearts, not just an outward performance or routine activities. It may be rather difficult in some languages to speak of a message living in someone’s heart. However, we can re-state it by saying,  a message may speak to the heart. This message should be such that if affects our very being.  Paul makes it clear by saying we must let it ‘richly dwell in us’. Richly is a metaphor for all the resources and blessings which are to be found in the Christian message. The phrase in all its richness may characterize either the message or the way in which the message must live in the believer. The meaning is essentially the same in either case. In the first instance, one may speak of the “the wonderful message” and in the second instance, “must live in a wonderful way.” And this is to be taken in two valid ways, in the heart of each individual as well as in the heart of the Church as a whole.

The main idea is that this message regarding Christ must be what we base our lives on.  We must live out this message in ourselves, and we must also help others live it out as well.  Many people who are new to the faith do not fully understand what this life is all about.  This is what I believe Paul was speaking of.  The word ‘teaching’ is the Greek word didaskō which has the idea of teaching publicly or privately, but also the idea of admonishing when they do not follow appropriately.  And we are called to do it with all wisdom, meaning ‘by using all wisdom’ or ‘by being wise in every way’.  We should not flippantly teach about Jesus and the gospel message but should do all we can to train everyone truly in the ways of Christ.  Too often people share the truth but do not go into the depth needed for others to understand it fully.  This message is far too important to simply present it without making its meaning clear.  You may be able to do this with one discussion, or it may take additional training.  But what is important is that the message is understood.

And the message we present, either of training or admonition, should be such that it prompts praise and thanksgiving to God for all He has done and is doing. The message of Christ is a message of grace and mercy.  We had no hope for salvation until Christ came and presented His body as a sacrifice for us all.  There was nothing we could do, so He did it all.  And finally, when we do all this, we must remember that “whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:17.  We must let our words be right, and our actions upright.  Theologian Adam Clarke puts it this way. “Begin with him, and end with him; invoke his name, and pray for his direction and support, in all that ye do; and thus every work will be crowned with all requisite success.” We must remember what Paul said to the Church at Philippi. “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:12-13.  God is working through us to do what we are called to do.  And when we submit to God and allow Him to work through us, we can rejoice with the success we have in helping others become the Christian they are called to be.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

James 3:17

Verse of the Day Devotion James 3:17 

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.” – James 3:17 

James begins his discussion on wisdom by asking a rhetorical question. “Who among you is wise and understanding?” James 3:13a. James is asking those who think they have special understanding and insight regarding spiritual matters to essentially step forward so he can check out whether they are telling the truth or not. Now, based on verse one, James is no doubt speaking to those who are teachers, or desire to be one. Those people who respond to James’s invitation soon find themselves the object of searching and perhaps unwanted scrutiny. For James assesses these people’s claim to wisdom not in theological terms—how much doctrine do they know, how many Greek verbs can they parse—but in practical terms. And the terms laid out is good behavior. And this good behavior is to be done in the gentleness of wisdom.

Then in the next two verses he lays out why gentleness is important. “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.” James 3:14-15.  These verses are the antithesis to James’ challenge in verse 13b. If a person harbors bitter envy and selfish ambition in the heart, that person is, in effect, living a lie: claiming to be wise but conducting themself in a way that denies that claim. The reason that James can draw this conclusion is that bitter envy and selfish ambition are contrary to humility.

If then, humility marks the wise person, these negative qualities exclude a person from being considered wise. He then explains his statement in the next verse, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.” James 3:16.  In this verse, James justifies his harsh verdict on false wisdom by showing what these attitudes produce. He points out how egocentric, selfish attitudes inevitably lead to disorder and every vile practice. This sentence denotes a restless and unsettled state of mind. And James ends this verse by saying, “there is disorder and every evil thing.” James 3:16b.  And based on the transition to verse 17, this is not wisdom for where jealousy and selfishness exist, wisdom is not found. “When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom.” Proverbs 11:2.

Now, looking at our focus verse, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.” James 3:17, we see an interesting point. Wisdom from above is pure, peaceable, and gentle. It is reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits. It is also unwavering and non-hypocritical. These things are in total opposition to verses 14-16. If these attributes exist, then the wisdom you may claim cannot be wisdom from God, it must be the wisdom of this world.  Paul questions this wisdom when he wrote, “Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” 1 Corinthians 1:20.  He in essence calls the wisdom of this world foolishness, which is counter to true wisdom from above. Thus, the wisdom of this world is not wisdom at all, but actually anti-wisdom.

In closing, true wisdom is actually the attributes of God exhibited in our lives.  Paul referred to these attributes as the fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23. Let us walk in this way to exhibit true wisdom.  And the last two verses of this chapter clearly match what James said in our focus verse. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.” Galatians 5:24-25.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Colossians 4:5

Verse of the Day Devotion:  Colossians 4:5 

“Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.” – Colossians 4:5

Paul here is encouraging the Church to be wise in their dealings with non-Christians.  What he means by this is we are to conduct ourselves upright and honestly with them.  For if we do not, the unbeliever may have an occasion to reproach or speak negatively regarding Christianity.  The Church in Colossae was surrounded by pagans who served their own gods rather than the true God.  Therefore, we must act with prudence and propriety toward them; and there is perhaps mot a more important idea in the New Testament than this, for if we do not act wisely, we could destroy any opportunity to speak the truth to them and show them the reality of the gospel of Christ.

So, we must be careful how we approach them.  First, it is important to understand that people in the world judge religion not based on the profession of a believer, but from the life of its followers.  Regarding religion, people are looking for reality more than just talk.  They judge religion not from preaching or  books, or from the conduct of its Founder and his followers, but from what they see in the daily walk and conversation of the members of the church.  Do we walk the walk, or simply talk the talk?  Many who are in other religions understand what religion is about, and why people believe them.  They do this so well that they know when church goers are or are not consistent with their profession.

Unbelievers will set a much higher value on honesty and integrity than on the doctrines and practices.  and if the professing Christians are destitute of the principles of truth and honesty, they will believe they have nothing of any value. They may be very devout in church; very regular at prayer-meetings; very strict in the doing of Christian things – but all these are of little worth in the estimation of the world, unless attended with an upright life.

The most important calling we have is to go out and proclaim the gospel to all the world.  And in the process making disciples of Christ.  “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20.  It is important that we go out and show the world the truth of the gospel for the times are getting short and more evil.  “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16.  We can go out and share the gospel all day long, however, if they have seen us doing evil while calling ourselves Christians, or if we have participated with unbelievers in sinful acts while professing faith in Christ, we may have destroyed any opportunity to help them be saved.  And worse, they may never listen to any Christian present the gospel because of what they remember.

Our enemy, the devil, is always looking for ways to diminish our impact to a lost world of unbelievers.  And he will do all he can to make this happen.  “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” 1 Peter 5:8-9.  Let us not destroy the light we shine in a dark world that need to come to Christ by foolish and sinful activities that destroy our witness to those who need us.  What happened before our salvation can be explained and understood.  But it is far different for deeds done after our salvation when we profess Jesus as Lord.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Proverbs 1:7

Verse of the Day Devotion: Proverbs 1:7  

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. ” – Proverbs 1:7

This is an interesting verse because many do not understand what Solomon is trying to say.  This is especially true of unbelievers.  This is mostly because of their lack of understanding regarding the use of the word ‘fear’ within the scriptures.  When we look in most dictionaries, we see these pretty much as the  basic idea. 

“A very unpleasant or disturbing feeling caused by the presence or imminence of danger.” 

“A reason for dread or extreme apprehension”

“To be afraid or frightened of something or someone.

If someone only sees these definitions for the word fear, they will see God as scary which may prevent them from pursuing Him.  Now, this will be the fear those who never accept the grace and mercy of God through the work of Christ on the cross, will experience when the end comes.  The writer of Hebrews writes this regarding those who keep on sinning.  “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?. For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” Hebrews 10:26-30. “And regarding those who denied Christ, Hebrews finishes with “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:31. 

But for us as Christians, the word fear has a different idea.  For us, the fear of God does not refer to scared, but to reverence and awe of God.  We are not scared of Him, but we revere Him.  We leave sin and seek after righteousness. “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.” Proverbs 8:13.  Solomon in Ecclesiastes wrote the following, “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.” Ecclesiastes 12:13.  And again, “Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.” Proverbs 3:7.  

To fear the Lord is not to be scared, but to obey Him, following in His ways, and to turn away from evil.  “Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the LORD’S commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?” Deuteronomy 10:12-13  This is a good fear, one that is pleasing to God and shows our devotion to Him who loves us and saved us so we can be with Him for all eternity.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.