The Gift of Wisdom
If I were to ask for one thing for Christmas, I would follow Solomon's request, and rather than asking for wealth, long life or the destruction of my enemies, I'd ask for wisdom and an obedient heart.
Proverbs 8:10-11 says, "Accept my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold. For wisdom is better than jewels, and nothing desirable can compare with it."
God's wisdom will lead you upon the right paths, it will lead you to make the right decisions, and it will cause you to walk in the way of righteousness, bringing you peace and success in all that you do.
Wealth without wisdom is a snare! Just look at the rich elites that have not obtained God's wisdom; it has led them only to misery and death. The dependence upon our gifts, talents, opinions, education or human strength, apart from God's wisdom, will always lead man down a slippery slope, bringing a fall. But the man, or woman, who humbles himself before the Lord, bringing before Him all that he has and asks for wisdom, will see all that he has multiplied. (Photo via Flickr)
What Will You Do with Your Talent?
Our gifts and talents were never given to us to be used apart from God's wisdom; they were given to us like the talents that were entrusted to the servants in Matthew 25.
In the parable of the talents, the man who received five bags of silver used wisdom and gained five more; the man who received two bags of silver used wisdom and gained two more; and the man who received one bag of silver did not seek wisdom, but in fear he buried the silver and returned it to his master with no gain. Because of this, the bag of silver was given to the one with ten bags.
We do not know what to do without God's wisdom. We will either hold on to our talents in fear, or we will squander them in arrogance and greed. Yet, as we receive wisdom and wear it, everything multiplies and we are entrusted with more.
I have watched this principle in my "writing talent." I invested it in wisdom, not holding on to it or squandering it, and God multiplied it far beyond what I ever imagined. As wisdom was added to my one bag of silver (my talent), it was multiplied over and over. What began in my childhood as a love for writing letters became written prayers, then written visions, and then entire books.
What to Ask for This Christmas
If you are wondering what to ask for this Christmas, I have a suggestion: ask for wisdom—wisdom for every area of your life:
• Wisdom for how to have thriving relationships with family, friends, neighbors, business partners and ministry partners
• Wisdom for how to invest what you've been given (your talents, gifts, education, experiences and passions) (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)
• Wisdom for how to multiply and increase all that you've been entrusted with, even if it only feels like one bag of silver
• Wisdom for how to use the pain of your past, or even past failures, to bring His restoration, reconciliation and recovery to others
• Wisdom for how to steward your finances and possessions
• Wisdom for how to bring His Kingdom to Earth and His Gospel to mankind
All I want for Christmas is instruction, knowledge and wisdom for the year ahead. That is my Christmas list to Jesus.
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Kathi Pelton
Inscribe Ministries
Email:Â jkpelton@sbcglobal.net
Website:Â www.inscribeministries.com
Jeffrey and Kathi Pelton live in Portland, Oregon. Jeffrey is a writer, teacher and book editor. Kathi is an author and prophetic voice to the Church. They walk with nations and individuals to see God's original intent fulfilled. Their ministry, Inscribe Ministries, was founded upon the verse from Habakkuk 2:2 that says, "Then the LORD answered me and said: 'Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.'"
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