Tuesday: Asking in Faith
Read James 1:5-6. How is wisdom different from knowledge? What connection does James make between wisdom and faith?
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It may seem a bit odd that James says, If any of you lacks wisdom.
Who thinks he or she has enough wisdom to begin with? Solomon, for instance, recognizing his need, humbly asked for an understanding heart to . . . discern between good and bad
(1 Kings 3:9). Later, he wrote: the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom
(Prov. 9:10).
We tend to think of wisdom as that which we know. How do the following texts, however, show us what another side of true wisdom is? James 1:19-21; James 2:15-16; James 3:13.
Both Proverbs and James describe wisdom as something very practical: not what we know but how we live. For example, being quick to listen, slow to speak
(James 1:19, NIV). Plato said, Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they would like to say something.
In other words, we can have all the knowledge the world offers but lack true wisdom.
Of course, because God is the source of all true wisdom, we gain wisdom most by listening to Him-reading His Word and spending thoughtful time contemplating the life of Christ, who became for us wisdom from God
(1 Cor. 1:30, NKJV). By learning to reflect the character of Christ in our own lives, we live out the truth as it is in Jesus. That is true wisdom.
Read James 1:6 again. We must ask in faith, not doubting. Isn’t that sometimes hard? Who doesn’t, at times, struggle with doubt? When that happens, what’s crucial is to pray and to start dwelling on all the reasons we have for faith: the story of Jesus, the prophecies in the Bible, and our own personal experiences. How could doing this help us work through whatever doubt might occasionally arise?
(21)
Wisdom is knowledge applied effectively for the benefit of all.
To me wisdom covers a very wide area but basically is the application of knowledge in a variety of ways. Perhaps the best explanation of wisdom in James is found in five verses in chapter 3 which we will probably get to in a future lesson so I won’t say anything about them here:
Knowledge without proper wisdom destroys as Paul said, “We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies” (1 Cor 8:1 NKJV). It is how we use what we have that constitutes wisdom. Like the quoted philosopher said, “Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they would like to say something.”
I scanned through the rather long list in proverbs that describe a fool and I am surprised how many apply to me.
In is good to have wisdom but even better to share it. For in the sharing we have to think it through and reassess what we thought to be true. If we don't think it through well, someone else will help us and our wisdom will grow and improve in another deminsion.
Knowledge is absorbing information, wisdom comes from God. It is practical and impractical to our human eyes. Wisdom encompasses every aspect of existence, but only God knows all things without error. By His grace and mercy, He shares with us His wisdom. He places within us the capacity and ability to understand and grasp little bits, even though we think we're making great strides.
Even in learning what we consider 'wise', God gives us what we need and can share. He offers us His wisdom and understanding because in our foolish humanity, we may think at times we know-it-all but in reality, as His children, we only know what God imparts.
I believe James is telling us that we need wisdom when we study the Word of God. If we don't have wisdom from God we will be tossed around like flotsam on the waves because we won't know which 'knowledge' that we hear is true or not.
James tells us that a double minded man is unstable, I think this means that we cant believe two conflicting ideas and be stable.
I think this is like believing people have an immortal soul and that some will burn in hell forever. How can an immortal soul which does not have a body burn, there is nothing that can burn.
Faith wothout works does not lead to salvation. I think that every adventist including myself should be out there preaching the gospel of the second coming of Jesus. Matthew 28V 19, 20 requires us to go and make desciples.... Action is require, our faith in His coming must be seen in our zeal to act in teaching the word of His coming. A doctor is known not oonly by his qualifications by mainly by attending patiants everday,
“Wisdom” is the ablity to make the right or correct choice & “knowladge” is gained by expercinces or detailed sturdy.
Bascilly wisdom is a gift given from God & through faith along with wisdome we all become better workers for Jesus Christ
The wise man believeth that to obey is better than sacrifce. 1 Samuel 15:22. The foolish man is wise in his own conceit. Proverbs 26:5. To be wise in your own conceit is to have knowledge without wisdom.
I think about knowledge as the experience accumulated from practicing what we know and learned along the years. For instance even when we make mistakes we become wiser if we don't repeat them again. "Foul me once shame on you, foul me twice shame on me". The trial process that God allows in our life is to increase our faith and to become wiser in our spiritual life. Real wisdom comes when we have reverence for the Creator and obey his commandments because it is said in Ecl. 12:14 "God is going to judge everything we do, whether good or bad, even things done in secret".
Wisdom should be asked from God with ernest faith of total believe that it will be provided for.And this should be out of humility based on our good christian living accompanied by our actions/deeds.By doing so we will be enable us to make good judgement in our christian walk.With a strong faith, we can tell the mountains to move and they will will move.
At the end of the day the child of God keeps their eyes focused on the Lord, irregardless of all trials and tribulations, they may fall now and again but their cry is "master the tempest is raging but unto the my salvation lies"