Day 84: Mind Games

Reading: Proverbs 8:1-11

When we read of how important wisdom is (and we know it is, because Proverbs is devoted to it), we need to realize that striving for wisdom is much more important than striving for the gratifications of this world. It is called "more precious than silver, gold or jewels." Wisdom is making good choices throughout life. It is setting yourself up with healthy goals and ambitions. Jesus is how we get wisdom, according to the New Testament. Just as Wisdom competes for attention of a seductress in Proverbs, Jesus competes for our attention against the world and it'd deception. Know what you're chasing after in this life, and consider how long it will keep you happy.


Reading: Luke 5:33-6:11

We can see from this reading how knowledge can go to our heads. Knowing Jesus is a renewing of our minds. We must become new and realize that the way Jesus did things was different, thus the way Christians do things is different. When we give our lives to Him, it's like putting new wine into new wine skins. New wine would burst old wine skins, so new must go into new. A new life, committed to Jesus must be put into a renewed person. Saying you're a Christian, but still living in the same old sin doesn't mean anything. But saying you're a Christian and living it out day to day means everything.
We also see how the religious leaders called out Jesus and His disciples for harvesting and healing on the Sabbath day, as the Old Testament law speaks out against these things. The bottom line here is motive of the heart, however. The religious leaders hate what Jesus is doing. They can't stand the authority He has and the movement He makes. They are looking for any opportunity to get rid of Him. Jesus, came to change the face of law. He doesn't want us to be burdened by laws that don't promote compassion and truth. When Jesus fed the hungry and healed on the Sabbath, He makes a statement that doing good and changing a life is more lawful than doing evil and ruining a life. So many times we are guilty of this. We worry about technicalities of a Sunday morning, rather than the needs around us. We focus on the things in the church, the policies, the statements, the rules, the traditions, the rituals...but in the blur behind all that, are lives. There are people who are literally and figuratively hungry and hurting. Yet we are those religious leaders. Take this example from Jesus and heed it carefully.
Don't let knowledge go to your head, but grow in wisdom, as Jesus did.


Reading: Numbers 19:1-21:3

Trusting has been an issue for mankind since Moses' time and before. We have come quite a ways with the people of Israel, and we have experiences many of their highs and lows. But complaining seems to have also been a trait carried on from generation to generation. For some reason, our heads can play games on us and we completely forget the amazing things God has done for us in a matter of days. Though God led these people out of Egypt, parted the Red Sea, provided for them, guided them, established their people- they still find times to complain. This, understandably, makes God angry. The human head can't seem to always grasp that God will take care of them, no matter how many times He's proven Himself. Though the cross alone would seem like enough for us, we always need reassurance of His love and His provision. Let us try to keep our logic out of those situations that scare us, and focus on what God has done in our lives.


Wisdom is a huge asset to life. When we get wisdom, we have something way more valuable than jewels. As humans, temptations and our own logic can get in the way of wisdom. We need to cling to wisdom and what to what Jesus displayed for us when rituals and traditions tried to take precedence over compassion.