This is my reflection on Tuesdays devotions from Proverbs. There are so many wise men & women with a powerful Holy Spirit led message. Scripture tells us to open our ears to them, to learn and receive their message. As we all know, there is also many wise men & women with a distorted ungodly message! As followers of Christ we need to discern which is a God given message, but how do we do this? How can we discern? How do we know? Proverbs teaches how. It tells us to open our ears to these wise men but apply our hearts to God’s knowledge. The word apply can be defined as: to bring into nearness or contact with something. We must always stay near the Lord, we must at all times live in a constant contact with the Lord. This is how we know which is a Godly message. As we grow, continue learning, we must be careful not to miss this principle. It reminds me of Proverbs 9:10 “ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” True wisdom comes from fearing God and coming in contact with Him first. Many people will be deceived, not because of a distorted message (that will be the final blow) but being deceived really starts when we stop being in constant contact with the Lord. When we stop applying our hearts to God’s knowledge we start moving into a broad road of deception!
In this season of growth in my life, I must be constantly reminded that a constant contact with the Lord is the key to a successful ministry. As much as there are great books and speakers to learn from I must never stop learning from God’s word first. I must never replace God or His word with anything or anyone!
Will, thanks for sharing this. It was very thought-provoking for me. As teachers and sharers of God's Word, surely we must know God's Word on a higher, deeper level than on a regular academic or casual way. God's Word is Truth and is the wells of wisdom from which we draw eternal life from. No book or motivational speak can provide that. God's Word is so GREAT! ^_^
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