August 14 - Knowledge, Manifestation of the Spirit

August 14 - Knowledge, Manifestation of the Spirit
1 Corinthians 12:8

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit … (1 Corinthians 12:7-8)

Remember the lines of the Scarecrow’s song?

I could while away the hours,
Conferrin' with the flowers,
Consultin' with the rain.
And my head I'd be scratchin'
While my thoughts were busy hatchin'
If I only had a brain.
I'd unravel every riddle
For any individ'le
In trouble or in pain.
 --Scarecrow, The Wizard of Oz

If he only had a brain, he’d unravel every riddle for any individ’le in trouble or in pain.

I really believe that for the most part, people who spend time learning and finding ways to apply the knowledge they gain, do so for the greater good.  Sure, there are those who can’t find their way out of the ivory tower once they get there, but most high-minded thinkers are attempting to solve problems and gain understanding so the world will be a better place.

The Spirit is made manifest in each person in different ways for one reason … the common good.  Musicians have to share their music. Visual artists have to share their art. Authors have to share their words. Actors have to share their talent. People expose their inner souls so that the world is a better place.

Scientists, doctors, engineers, designers … you name it … they all have a desire to share their ideas, thoughts, and inventions in order to make things better for themselves and for others.  When I consider the great advances in prosthetic technology, I get overwhelmed.  These things are generally designed for someone other than the designer him or herself.  They see a need and creativity begins whirling in their mind until they leap to the solution

This is what excites me about knowledge.  It is never a selfish thing.  Knowledge explodes out of people so that it can be shared. The more we share it, the more cooperative effort occurs to make it grow.

The scarecrow had it right.  While he would have great fun contemplating esoteric things, when he came right down to it, solving riddles for individ’les in trouble or in pain was awfully important to him.

August 13 - Depths of knowledge of God

August 13 - Depths of Knowledge of God
Romans 11:33-36

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! 
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 
 “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”
 “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

I am often frustrated by the vast amounts of knowledge that I don’t have when I think I need it. It seems as if there is so much that I should know, yet I don’t.  There is even more information that I want to have, yet I don’t.  When I was growing up, I remember people talking about the miniscule amount of things we do know versus the vastness of what we don’t know.

I’ve told friends that being ‘jacked into the Matrix’ would be a perfect life for me.  Having immediate access, understanding and full recall of things would be amazing.  Let’s just say that between the internet and my Kindle, I am a very happy person. But, still, there is more out there just waiting for me to learn.

I believe this is one of the great joys of being human, but even moreso, I believe this is one of the great joys of being a Christian and knowing God.  As frustrated as I get, knowing that my knowledge is so limited, on the other side of that is knowing that I will never stop learning.  Not only will I never stop learning, but this universe is infinite and humanity will never stop learning.  Think about how amazing that is!

God has created a universe that can not be placed within boundaries that we can conceive. His wisdom and knowledge is so boundless that we can only tap into a miniscule portion of it.  We don’t even understand the things we have yet to know.

This doxology in Romans is a glorious hymn of praise to God, who is beyond the depths of our understanding. For that I am grateful. Because of Him, I will always find something new to experience, understand and learn in this world.

August 12 - Knowledge of the Secrets of the Kingdom

August 12 - Knowledge of the Secrets of the Kingdom
Matthew 13:11; Luke 8:10

The disciples could not understand why Jesus spoke in parables.  In response, Jesus said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’”  (Matthew 13:11-13)

There are a lot of different religious movements out there who claim to offer you ways to understanding the secret things of God.  Numerology is one of those.  If you add up numbers of words and verses and on and on and on, you will be able to understand things about God that no one else can and this will give you more access.

Well, hooey.

The secrets of the kingdom of heaven are available to any who listen and hear, who understand, who see.  They aren’t some great hidden treasure that no one can access without the right key, whether you are a Christian or not.  They are a wonderful treasure that you can access simply by accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior.  That’s really all it takes!

Think about the times you have read Scripture and had an ‘ah ha’ moment, one of those moments when you feel as if all the understanding of the universe has been made clear to you.  That’s one of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.

Maybe it was a time you were helping someone, or loving someone, or reaching out in kindness to someone because you know it’s what makes God happy in your relationship with him and all of a sudden you just get it.  That’s one of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.

For those who just couldn’t make that leap to acknowledging Jesus Christ as Savior and Messiah, he used parables.  They were either going to get it or they weren’t.  And the ones who closed their hearts to him were never going to get it, in fact the little bit that they might have understood; the more they closed their hearts to him, the further away that understanding became.

But, for those who love Jesus, the more that we learn, the more understanding we gain. It grows exponentially, day by day.

The Scarecrow needed a diploma and all of a sudden he realized that he could understand the mysteries of the universe.  We just need a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and we will learn all the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.

August 11 - Preserve knowledge

August 11 - Preserve knowledge
Malachi 2:7

“For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction – because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty.”

The goal for each of our intrepid travelers through the kingdom of Oz was to get to the Wizard. Once they found him, everything would be set right.  What a shock it was to them to discover he was nothing more than a con man and all of the glories of the palace were simply smoke and mirrors.  He was just a little man behind a screen.

After they managed to rid the kingdom of the Wicked Witch, he finally told the three residents of the kingdom what they needed to know – they had their heart’s desire in the grasp all along, they just needed assurance.

But, he failed Dorothy. He was so caught up in his own needs that he didn’t actually act as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.  He proved himself to be as common as the next person.

These words from Malachi describe the role of a priest, who has responsibility for others, given to him by the Lord.

The words of his mouth should preserve knowledge and should offer instruction to others.

That’s kind of an important task!  Messengers of the Lord had come to the people in the form of prophets and angels, but the priests were with them always. It was their task to interpret the Law correctly and guide the people of Israel. It was always necessary for them to remember their role as the connection between God and his people.

We have that task now.  We are sent out into the world as God’s messengers.  We are entrusted with the knowledge of his Good News to humanity.  We have to be more than con men, we have to know in our hearts the truth of this message so we don’t appear to be simply smoke and mirrors.  When people pull back the curtain of our hearts, will they find God, or will they find a weak, little man operating levers and using a sound system to make himself sound bigger than he is.

August 10 - Spirit of Knowledge in Jesus

August 10 - Spirit of Knowledge in Jesus
Isaiah 11:2

“The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord – and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.”

None of this should be surprising to us if we have read the Gospels at all.  We read in Luke 2:47 that “Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.”  

In Matthew 13:54, we see the amazement of those who heard him teach.  “Coming to his home town, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?”

That really is something many of us would like to be said of us.  Being thought of as brilliant and wise is a great compliment.

The Scarecrow had come up with many reasons that having a brain would be a good thing.

I could while away the hours,
Conferrin' with the flowers,
Consultin' with the rain.
And my head I'd be scratchin'
While my thoughts were busy hatchin'
If I only had a brain.
I'd unravel every riddle
For any individ'le
In trouble or in pain.
 --Scarecrow, The Wizard of Oz

If you look at the original scripture passage, the last phrase is what brings it all together for me, though.  The prophecy in Isaiah regarding Jesus tells us that he will delight in the fear of the Lord.  Jesus does exactly that.  His entire being was centered around his relationship with God.  He didn’t have to shut his eyes to pray, he didn’t have to concentrate to be able to say the right things. He didn’t have to study and learn to understand what it was that was happening around him. He didn’t have to spend hours worrying that he might not be walking in God’s will.  Every bit of his essence was tied to God.

He’d had an opportunity to make a different choice.  Satan tempted him in the desert, but Jesus had long since made his choice. Whether he was in heaven or on earth, he would be one with God.

We can have all the knowledge in the world, all the wisdom and understanding of the greatest minds that ever existed, but it will be worthless to us without fear of the Lord.

August 9 - Wisdom Brings Knowledge

August 9 - Wisdom Brings Knowledge
Proverbs 2:5

“If you look for it (wisdom) as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.  For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:4-6)

It’s said there are things that can’t be taught and can only be learned.

Some days I think that is my life’s motto. I tend to learn the hard way.  The thing is, some of my most difficult lessons have come when I push forward without stopping to ask the Lord what it is that He wants me to do next.

Actually, I retract that statement.  The most difficult lessons come when I have asked the Lord what it is that He wants me to do next, I’ve heard from Him and I’ve gone my own way because His way just doesn’t make any sense at the time.

That’s one of the pitfalls of free will.  The Lord will give us wisdom, knowledge and understanding. He gives these things freely to us.  The next step, though, is that we must learn to live in obedience.  The moment we step off (dare I say it?) the yellow brick road and on to our own path, we may be able to bully ahead for a while, but pretty soon we find that there is no longer a path, but a swamp.

It’s hard to believe that the Lord knows better than we do what should happen in our lives. It’s hard to accept that what we believe to be common sense about the next step to take or the next thing to do might not be what He wants for us.  It’s hard to trust that what we absolutely know to be the right path to take might not be the path the Lord wants for us.

Wisdom, knowledge and understanding. These things come from the Lord and are ours if we just trust that He sees the great big picture of eternity and probably knows better than we do what is good and right.

August 8 - Teach Me Knowledge

August 8 - Teach Me Knowledge
Psalm 119:66

“Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I believe in your commands”

Oh, I’m a failure because I haven’t got a brain.  –Scarecrow

In the very next scene, the Scarecrow outwits some mean old trees who don’t want to share their apples. He makes them angry enough so they start throwing their apples.  Failure? No brain? I don’t think so.

One of the best ways we can use our brains is to get knowledge.  Scarecrow wanted to wile away the hours thinking big thoughts, but the verse I’m looking at today speaks of learning from God.

Psalm 25:5 says, “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior.”

Psalm 71:17 says, “Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.”

I’ve spent the last few years focusing on education … gaining knowledge. I don’t know if I’m any smarter today than I was before I began, but I’m not just being coy about this.  You see, I’ve put more information in my head over these last few years, but I’ve had the benefit of knowing God personally since I was thirteen years old. He is who put a love of learning on my heart. He is who guided me to the point I am at now. He is who led me into Scripture and placed a passion for learning its intricacies so that I could teach it on my life.

Teach me knowledge, Lord.