Greetings East District Clay (Clergy & Laity),
Below is a District Devotional that can be shared with your leadership or small group ministries. The Devotional is adapted from “Dare2B Wise” by Joe White and Kelli Stuart.
“Wise Up”
Read Together: “The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young – let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance – for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.” Proverbs 1:1-6
An older bumper sticker that was popular in Texas read, “If you don’t have an oil well, get one!” The obvious joke was that everyone would like to have an oil well, but getting one is a lot easier said than done. The message of the book of Proverbs is similar: If you don’t have wisdom, get some! But unlike the bumper sticker, the message of Proverbs is no joke. And unlike the humorous slogan, Proverbs doesn’t tell you to get something – without telling you how.
The highest goal you can set for yourself, the best use you can make of your time and the smartest choice you can make in life is to follow the advice of Proverbs and get wisdom. But what is wisdom? The meaning of that word is fuzzy, isn’t it? That’s because people use the word wisdom to mean all sorts of different things. In the Bible the word means the skill to live God’s way. It comes through gaining understanding about how God wants you to live and then applying that understanding by putting it into practice in your daily life, if you do that over the course of your life, you’ll be wise! And being wise is better than being rich, popular, and famous, a great athlete, or any of the other earthly goals we set for ourselves. So, if you want to get wisdom, where do you start? Tomorrow, we’ll look at the first step on the exciting, lifelong journey of becoming wise.
Discussion Starters: What does wisdom mean to you? How is being wise different from being smart? Why do you think it’s important to God that we get wisdom?
Lifeline: Pray that God will give you wisdom as you study together as a family/church/district and ask him to help you apply the things you learn in your daily life.
Blessings Always, (Numbers 6:24-26)
Rev. Dr. Andrew L. Foster, III
East District Superintendent/Servant Leader