Learning God's Lessons

 

   

I've been doing a personal study on the Book of Proverbs; especially on the topics of wisdom, the simple, the scorner, and the fool.  Even though I have read this book over and over, doing this in-depth, personal study has really been an eye-opening, convicting journey. I have so many notes that I thought I would break it up into little bite-size segments for anyone who is interested. I wish that I could say that I am now wise, but the more I delve into God's Word, the more I see I need to change. Fortunately, He's still working on me!

HOW TO GET WISDOM (this is good stuff!):

I dug into Proverbs chapter 2 for these nuggets on how to get wisdom, and you know what? Anyone, I mean anyone, can get wisdom; well, anyone accept the fool, the scorner, or the simple! Here are the steps that you can follow to be become wise according to Proverbs 2:

I. Memorize scripture--"Hide my commandments with thee."  

    I know what you're thinking--easier said than done! If you set out to memorize verses from Proverbs, they are very short verses that won't tax the brain too much. Write the verses on 3x5 cards and while you're washing dishes, sitting at a red light, drying your hair, or exercising, memorize verses. If you want to be wise, you won't skip this step.

II.  Listen to the preaching and teaching of God's word with purpose-"Incline thine ear unto wisdom."

     If your preacher doesn't mind, take notes. Come to church with a spirit that is ready to listen and learn.

III. Take what you learn from the preaching and apply it to your life.--"Apply thine heart to understanding."   

   Nothing about you will change if you don't apply the truths from God's Word. Real spiritual transformation comes from incorporating God's life-changing truths to your life. When necessary, come to your church's altar and confess any ways before God that are not pleasing to Him. There is something very special about those decisions that are made at the altar. I don't know of anyone who couldn't stand to spend some moments before God on their knees at the altar to make life-transforming decisions!

IV. If you want wisdom, make asking for wisdom an integral part of your prayer life.--"Yea, if thou criest after knowledge and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest her as for hid treasure;  THEN shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God."

      A. Fervently pray to God to give you wisdom.

      B. Ask God often and consistently to give you wisdom.

      C. Look for wisdom like a miner would pick at rock to find veins of silver or gold.

           1. You must work at getting wisdom by spending time studying God's Word.

                 a. Look up words you don't know in a dictionary.

                 b. Use http://www.merriam-webster.com/ --it's super easy to use.

                 c. For really amazing, authentic definitions, I like to use http://1828.mshaffer.com/ --this is the link to Webster's 1828 Dictionary which is known as one of the best dictionaries ever published.

     D. You must search for wisdom like a treasure hunter searches for hidden treasure.

            1. A casual reading of Proverbs is good, but an in-depth study is the way to really find those hidden    nuggets of wisdom that change your life.  

            2. Search for key words like: wisdom, foolish, scoffer, scorner, or simple. Use a good concordance like Strong's or you can even use a Strong's Concordance online to find these key words; I have often used this link which has a Strong's Concordance in it:  http://www.eliyah.com/lexicon.html