November 8, 2022 7:00 pm
When I was ten, I brought home a tape from a friend at youth group that contained the music of a contemporary Christian band. My dad, who had been raised in a Hindu home but had received salvation in Jesus, didn’t approve. He only wanted worship music played in our home. I explained it was a Christian band, but that didn’t change his mind. After a while, he suggested that I listen to the songs for a week and then decide if they brought me closer to God or pushed me further away from Him. There was some helpful wisdom in that advice.
There are things in life that are clearly right and wrong, but many times we wrestle with disputable matters (Romans 14:1–19). In deciding what to do, we can seek the wisdom found in Scripture. Paul encouraged the Ephesian believers to “be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but wise” (Ephesians 5:15). Like a good parent, Paul knew that he couldn’t possibly be there or give instructions for every situation. If they were going to “[make] the most of every opportunity because the days are evil,” they were going to have to discern for themselves and “understand what the Lord’s will is” (vv. 16–17). A life of wisdom is an invitation to pursue discernment and good decisions as God guides us even when we wrestle with what might be disputable.
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Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.
Our reading today, titled Wise or Unwise, was written by Glenn Packiam. When I was 10, I brought home a cassette tape from a friend at youth group that contained the music of a contemporary Christian band. My dad, who had been raised in a Hindu home but had received salvation in Jesus, didn't approve. He only wanted worship music played in our home.
I explained it was a Christian band, but that didn't change his mind. After a while, he suggested that I listen to the songs for a week and then decide if they brought me closer to God or pushed me further away from Him. There was some helpful wisdom in that advice. There are things in life that are clearly right or wrong, but many times we wrestle with disputable matters. In deciding what to do, we can seek the wisdom found in Scripture. Paul encouraged the Ephesian believers to be very careful then how you live, not as unwise but as wise.
Like a good parent, Paul knew that he couldn't possibly be there or give instructions for every situation. But they were going to make the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. They were going to have to discern for themselves and understand what the Lord's will is. A life of wisdom is an invitation to pursue discernment and good decisions as God guides us even when we wrestle with what might be disputable. Now let's listen together to the wisdom of Scripture. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is taken from Ephesians chapter 5 verses 15 through 17.
Be very careful then how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Let's pray. Dear Jesus, would you cultivate in us hearts of wisdom and enable us to live our lives in a way that will always be drawing us closer to you? And it is in your name that we pray, Amen. Thanks for listening today. My name is Wes Ward and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Whisper: small.en / 2022-11-09 12:42:32 / 2022-11-09 12:43:23 / 1
