God’s Wisdom

In Daily Devotional by Ray Ortlund

Theme of the Week: Let’s Begin! Wisdom that Works

Bible Verse: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7

Scripture Reading: Proverbs 1:1-7

In our daily lives, we need more than rules. Sometimes life is too complex for a simple rule. We need wisdom to fill in the blanks moment by moment, and God gives us his wisdom in the book of Proverbs.

But we need wisdom for another reason. It is possible to live by all the rules and be ugly about it. We have all known people who were blameless, in their way, and we disliked them. But wisdom “will bestow on you a beautiful crown” (Proverbs 4:9). We want Jesus to place that crown on our heads, for his sake. Wise Christians and wise churches become radiantly attractive. The Bible says, “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders.” (Colossians 4:5) How?

More people are won for Christ by beauty than by rules. We begin our journey deeper into God’s wisdom at Proverbs 1:1-7.

The word “beginning” is seen in verse 7: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” Everyone needs a new beginning with God. That is why we go to church and pray and receive the gospel. We want what only God can do for us, and the fear of the Lord is how we receive it. The fear of the Lord is both a doorway and a pathway. It is a new beginning, and it never ends. You can begin afresh with God today. You can say to him, “Lord, I know the rules fairly well. But the beauty of wisdom takes me much further with you. I want to go there.” You can walk through that doorway and get going on that pathway.

The Biblical worldview opens up the higher meaning of money and sex and power and everything across the landscape of our lives. And we “get it” not by outsmarting someone else but by fearing the Lord. Solomon did. So can you, by God’s grace. Just let God be God to you.


Taken from Proverbs: Wisdom That Works by Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., © 2012. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, crossway.org.

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About
Ray Ortlund
Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. is the Pastor to Pastors at Immanuel Church in Nashville, Tennessee. He also serves as President of Renewal Ministries, Regional Director in the Acts 29 Network, and Council Member of The Gospel Coalition. He is the author of several books, and has also served as an Old Testament translator for NLT and ESV versions of the Bible.
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Ray Ortlund
Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. is the Pastor to Pastors at Immanuel Church in Nashville, Tennessee. He also serves as President of Renewal Ministries, Regional Director in the Acts 29 Network, and Council Member of The Gospel Coalition. He is the author of several books, and has also served as an Old Testament translator for NLT and ESV versions of the Bible.