“Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you.  Love her, and she will guard you.  Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do!  And whatever else you do, develop good judgment”-Proverbs 4:6-7 (NLT).

I have to add one more verse to today’s Scripture choice.  Patience; you will see the beautiful tie into what Solomon, the wisest man in the world, said about wisdom.  Preach it Paul. “My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in Whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:2-3). Solomon and Paul said it so beautifully, my commentary isn’t really necessary.  Wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ.  Now, go back and reread Proverbs 4:6-7 and replace wisdom with Christ and the female gender with male. Priceless….and freeing.  Sweet!    

"Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare His praise?"-Psalm 106:2 (NIV).

Who confidently feels they "fully" praise God? Asked in a church, probably not one hand would rise. The Lord our God is holy (Psalm 99:9) and worthy of our praise (Psalm 96:4). Addison Road's song, "What Do I Know of Holy." speaks of wondering if she has made God too small, because she doesn't really fear Him. "Are You fire? Are You fury? Are You sacred? Are you beautiful?...What do I know of Holy?" Scripture says there is none other like our righteous God (Psalm 71:19). The whole earth is full of His glory (Isaiah 6:3) and the heavens declare "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty" (Revelation 4:8)...non-stop!  "If You touched my face would I know You? Looked into my eyes could I behold You?" (Addison Road). Be still and know, brothers and sisters...We aren't to lean on our own understanding, but trust God. He will deliver you (Proverbs 3:5-6). We are to continue, to proclaim and declare...Praise God! 

"And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, Who has been given to us"-Romans 5:5 (NIV).

What a wonderful gift: the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings new life from heaven, we are born again, and that's hard to explain (John 3:6-8). The power of the Holy Spirit frees us to a new life, through Jesus Christ, from the power of sin which leads to death. Jesus fulfilled the requirement of the law, death, and now we follow and seek the desires of the Holy Spirit. There is life and peace when the Holy Spirit controls our minds (Romans 8:2-6). We are new people, with new lives; a gift from God, Who brought us back to Himself through what Jesus did on the cross. Our task, now, is to reconcile others to Him (2 Corinthians 5:16-18).

"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body"-Philippians 3:20-21 (NIV).

The Apostle Paul felt torn, hard pressed, between staying in the present and departing to be with Jesus (1:21-23). The Bible gives us descriptors of our heavenly home. There is plenty of room for all of us (John 14:2), well...not for all (3:36). There won't be any events to cause us to be sad: death, mourning, crying, pain (Revelation 21:4). And heaven has angels, lots of singing, and it's beautiful: a crystal flowing river, trees bearing fruit each month, daylight all the time (22:1-5). And so much more! We should set our hearts on Heaven, because Jesus is there and He is our life. When He appears, "then [we] also will appear with Him in glory" (Colossians 3:1-4). Not only appear with Him, but be transformed to look like Him...Glorious. Praise the Lord!

“So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners”-Matthew 27:7.  

The price for Jesus’ betrayal was 30 pieces of silver and called blood money by the chief priests, meaning it was unclean and against the law to put it back into the treasury (v. 6).  Who does the treasury belong to anyway?  The church’s money is God’s money.  God used his own money to sacrifice His Son.  Two other things jump out at me with today’s Scripture.  

One…The Jewish leaders needed a place to bury foreigners.  Foreigners weren’t welcome; the Gentiles, in fact, were just as unclean as Jesus’ blood money.  Unknowingly, they had coupled the two together (buried with Christ).  

Two…Jesus is the Potter; His money used for His death, to purchase His field, to gather His Own to Him.

Do I hear an Amen out there?

“This is My command—be strong and courageous!  Do not be afraid or discouraged.  For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”-Joshua 1:9 (NLT).

There is a battle going on…for your soul.  You are set apart, not a citizen of this world, chosen…His.  You’ve felt it and known you were different as long as you can remember.  Someone introduced you to the Lord and the dots were connected.  You understood why you felt “different” from the world.  I don’t know about you, but I tried to wedge myself into the world..to fit..but, I couldn’t and praise the Lord, wouldn’t want to now…nope, not at all.  The world begs you to join in; to take your vows of world citizenship by enticing you with earthly pleasures: self-glory, self-satisfaction, self-absorption, self….That is not the Spirit He put in you.  You are the child of the most High.  I have a verse taped to my bedroom mirror.  It’s my battle cry and I’ll share it with you:

“Listen, this is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged…for the battle is not yours, but God’s…go…take up your position...you will not have to fight this battle...take up your position… stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you…do not be afraid…do not be discouraged..go..and the Lord will be with you”-2 Chronicles 20:15-17.  

“You turned my lament into dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness”-Psalm 30:11. 

You’ve heard of extreme sports, well, fasting is extreme prayer.  People would put on sackcloth and enter a period of fasting and prayer when in crisis.  Sackcloth wasn’t comfortable (nor attractive).  Sometimes they would sit in ashes or throw dirt on top of their heads.  Discomfort was extended, as well, to the inside of the body through fasting.  There was no joy on the inward or outward body of the individual; then they prayed until God answered.  Do people still go into periods of fasting?  Yes; Jesus didn’t say “if you fast,” he said “when you fast” (Matthew 6:16).  But Jesus also said we weren’t to make a spectacle of our period of fasting and prayer.  Jesus promised that God sees your fasting in secret and “will reward you” (v. 18).  Then, put on those dancing shoes and sing songs of gladness!

""Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture has said, rivers of Living Water will flow from within them""- John 7:38 (NIV).

The Living Water, Jesus mentions in Scripture is the Holy Spirit. When you drink the Living Water that Jesus offers, you will never be thirsty again (John 4:14) and you don't have to pay for it (Revelation 21:6). It's free, prepaid...for all eternity. Isaiah prophesied that the Holy Spirit would be poured out on us, promised also to be poured out on our children (44:3). The Living Water flows from the throne of God and from the Lamb (Revelation 22:1). We are not to be a reservoir when the Holy Spirit rains down on us, but a waterfall of Living Water overflowing from within us and spilling out into the world and those around us. Lyrics from "Holy Spirit Rain Down" say "Let Your power fall...Holy Spirit, rain down...open up heaven, open it wide over Your church and over our lives."  Rain down on us, Lord.

"This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN"-Daniel 5:25 (NIV).

The writing is on the wall...a cliche meaning it was going to happen. King Belshazzar, son of famed King Nebuchadnezzar, had been weighed by God and found wanting (v. 27). He weighed anorexic after ordering goblets, taken from Jerusalem's temple by dear old Dad, to serve wine to his dinner guests. The wine flowed and praises were lifted to gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone (vs.2-4). Daniel delivered the devastating interpretation of God's handwritten message on the wall; the king was killed that very night and the kingdom fell (v.30-31). Belshazzar had broken God’s number one rule (Exodus 20:3). Incidentally, the ten commandments were written by the hand of God, too. Jesus has weighed in for us and we won’t be  found wanting, but righteous. The Handwriting on our wall will say "REDEEMED!."     

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened”-Matthew 7:7-8 (NASB).

Archaeologists search for artifacts to uncover solidifying facts, change established facts, and postulate possible facts.  It’s dirty, arduous, yet compelling work.  They have passion to go.  What if they didn't go; if our world had no archaeologists?  The Egyptian hieroglyphs, without the Rosetta Stone, would still be “Greek” to us.  We wouldn't have seen the riches of King Tut’s tomb, the terracotta warriors of China’s first emperor, or a fully assembled dinosaur.  God placed an insatiable thirst of inquiry in our soul.  He told us to ask, to seek, to go “where no man has gone before” to find answers.  It all depends on what you’re looking for.  I’m thankful for the archaeologists of God’s truths; people like Billy Graham, Beth Moore, Frances Chan, Max Lacado, Priscilla Shire, and other spiritual archaeologists who search the scriptures, seeking to uncover truth, and revealing Holy Facts to us.  We should all be spiritual archaeologists and have the passion to ask, seek, and find.   Then the Lord will give, we will find, and the way will be opened to us.  Be the Indiana Jones of and for God .   

"Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken"-Psalm 55:22 (NIV).

No one knows who wrote the lyrics to "Just a Closer Walk With Thee," but most people can at least hum the music and remember the refrain: "Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be." The last two lines of the second verse say, "Who with me my burden shares? None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee." Our burdens make us weary, but if we humble ourselves, submit to God's sovereignty, He will [remove that burden] in due time (1 Peter 5:6). We will have burdens to endure during this life, but Jesus has given us eternal life with Him where our burdens will no longer be. Jesus told us to study and model His gentle and humble heart and we will have rest for our soul (Matthew 11:29). Rest assured that as you walk under your burden, Jesus is walking under it with you...sustaining you. 

"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength"-Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV).

Content is defined as a state of peaceful happiness. People want to be happy. Two Princeton economists provided results from their study of what makes people happy? Are you surprised that the answer was money? Yes, a minimum of $75,000 per year according to Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman and his colleague Angus Deaton. Less than $75,000 caused emotional pain and unhappiness (Inc.com). Ed Diener, a University of Illinois professor, had similar results. He added to the money variable, the need for positive feelings: feeling respected, having control of your life, and friends and family to rely upon (Washington Post). It's not surprising that people invest so much time into finding happiness. What would be your answer if you were asked?  Have you learned the secret of being content?  Paul had and he's shared with you.

"Why do you boast of evil, you mighty man? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God? Your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor, you who practice deceit. You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth"-Psalm 52:1-3 (NIV).

God will destroy those who speak lies; He abhors the deceitful man (Psalm 5:6). Some have even infiltrated the church and disguised themselves as followers of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:13). Remember the consequences received by Ananias and his wife for lying and keeping some of the money received from the sell of their land (Acts 5:3). Christians are to refuse to practice this form of underhanded disgrace, the practice of deceitful cunning, even tampering with God's Word (4:2); for the Lord delights in those who are truthful (Proverbs 12:22). Let your life lovingly express truth [in all things, speaking in truth, dealing in truth, living in truth] and "grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him Who is the Head, that is, Christ" (Ephesians 4:15). 

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world"-Psalm 19:1-4 (NIV).

God's creation declares His existence and has been doing so since the beginning. All of creation is His (Psalm 24:1), created by Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16). Mankind has no excuse for not seeing or understanding God's power and His divine nature (Romans 1:20). You can't keep it quiet. If you try, the very stones will cry out His greatness (Luke 19:40). Next time you walk through the woods and forests, listen to the birds singing in the trees, or look down from a mountain height, or hear a babbling brook, feel a gentle breeze...let your heart and soul break out in song, "Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee; How great Thou art!" (How Great Thou Art lyrics). Let your declarations give honor, glory and praise to God our Father, our Creator.