Proverbs 3:7-8 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
    fear the Lord and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body
    and nourishment to your bones.

Even this chapter alone would earn Proverbs a rightful place in Wisdom Literature! I quote verse 5-6 most often, as do many people, but these verses also are extremely practical and powerful. The whole point is that true wisdom is found only in God, and the minute we think it’s our personal possession, we’re in trouble. It’s not that we can’t have wisdom, because God does give it to us, (James 1:5) but that it’s not something we can conjure up, or generate on our own. Genuine wisdom is always humble. That, frankly, is the thing that concerns me most about Donald Trump. He has been used by God to do some very necessary things in America, but his braggadocio bothers me a lot. I have seen reports of his kind, humble interactions on a personal level, but his public persona gives me pause. He needs a lot of prayer! That said, the same may be said for the vast majority of those in public leadership. The thing is, as soon as we go around judging such people, we are presenting ourselves as wise, opening ourselves up to our own foolishness to be exposed.

I preached on wisdom this past Sunday, and it was truth. I know that rightly relating to my Creator is the only way to receive His wisdom. Last night I was reading some excerpts from the Epstein Files, and it was both disturbing and disgusting. The world-wide connections of that man were downright amazing, but the underlying tone of it all was that all those people thought they were too smart to have to abide by the rules that govern everyone else. That is precisely the sin of Satan, who wanted God’s glory for himself. I know a thing or two about that, having wallowed in conceit far more than I like to think about. I am to be grateful for the mind God has given me, but never think that generates wisdom on its own. Any genuine wisdom I might express will and does come from my gracious Lord, and I must never forget it. Today I will be seeing numbers of people I haven’t seen in a long time. I am to be grateful, and available to God for whatever He might want to say through me to them, and at the same time be open to whatever He might want to say to me through them. All wisdom, all truth, ultimately comes from Him, and I am to rest in that assurance.

Father, thank You for this reminder. All sorts of things press in on me, and I need to release them all to You. I am not to be lazy, or even passive, but know that I can do nothing right on my own, but You will enable me to do everything You call on me to do. (Philippians 4:13) I ask for Your guidance and anointing as we go to the Nagasaki 26 Martyrs Commemoration today, that it may be a blessing and encouragement to all participants and a witness to all who observe it, so that more and more would emulate the commitment of those 26 martyrs, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!