2-22-18 The First 15

The Weekly Overview This week we’ll spend time simply stirring up our affections for God. God has designed us to see him, to know his character, and to let the truth of his goodness lead us into deeper relationship with him. Augustine wrote, “Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.” In seeing God for who he is, our hearts are naturally stirred to find rest in his goodness. May your heart be stirred at the revelation of God’s wonderful character.

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

The Worship Experience Artist: Audrey Assad Song: Be Thou My Vision

The Devotional Your heavenly Father is perfectly wise. Everything he does is perfect. Every thought and idea he has is filled with complete wisdom. What’s more, through the Holy Spirit you have access to that wisdom. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” Your God loves you so much that he’s just waiting to bestow on you his vast wisdom. He never wants you to suffer from a lack of knowledge. So often, we are taught that God only reveals to us what we absolutely have to know right before we need to know it. But that’s not the truth of Scripture. James 1:5 proves that. Your God gives his wisdom “generously!” Not only is the wisdom of God given to you generously if you ask, but it also has with it incredible attributes. James 3:17 says, “The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” The wisdom of God will do incredible things for your life. With it comes the very nature of God. James 3:17 could just as easily have said that God is “pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” So when you receive the wisdom God bestows upon you, you are receiving many of the attributes of God himself. The wisdom of God is unlike any other way of thinking you’ll find. 1 Corinthians 3:18-20 says, “Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness,’ and again, ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.'” Jesus taught us in Matthew 10:39, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” The path he is guiding you to is the way out of the stress that worldly ambition and success will assuredly cause. He’s guiding you to a life of abundant peace. When you forgo the wisdom of this world for his, you will undoubtedly appear more foolish to some. But you will have found a way of living free from the burdens of the world. God’s wisdom leads you to a life truly hidden with Christ, lost in the sea of his love and mercy. Ask God for his wisdom today. Read his word with the guidance of the Spirit. God is waiting patiently to reveal everything you have the desire to seek out. Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.” Ask him for his wisdom today, and live the abundant life God has planned for you.

The Prayer 1. Meditate on the amazing qualities of the God’s wisdom. Let meditation stir up within you a desire to think like God. “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” James 3:17 2. Where in your life do you need God’s wisdom? Maybe you need to know how to see yourself. Maybe you have a situation in which you could really use some guidance. Think about the areas in your life in which you need God’s help. 3. Ask God for his wisdom. Have faith in response to his word that he gives wisdom generously, and receive and implement anything he shows you. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” James 1:5

The wisdom of God won’t do much for you if you don’t choose to implement God’s thinking over the world’s. If you continuously work for the favor of man and worldly success in light of what you know to be God’s truth, you will continue to experience the consequences of a life lived foolishly. God’s word must be implemented to produce fruit. You have to choose to live in light of your position in Christ for transcendent peace to become the norm in your life. God gives wisdom to you freely when you ask. The question before you today is simply whether or not you will choose to trust God and implement it. Extended Reading: 1 Corinthians 3

CRAIG DENISON is the author and founder of First15, a daily devotional guiding tens of thousands of believers into a fresh experience with God's presence every day. He writes, speaks, and he and his wife, Rachel lead worship to help believers establish a more tangible, meaningful connection with God.