Monday, May 29, 2017

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DEVOTION
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Prov 18:15
15 The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out.
NIV

When do we have enough? In a culture which promotes the idea that we always need more or newer of the material things of life, it is difficult not to want them. We are forever being tempted to have more things. We are always told newer is better, upgrade to the newest model of whatever. Some women simply cannot have enough shoes. Some men cannot have enough tools. Some people cannot have enough money. But here we are told it is  more knowledge that we should always be in pursuit. We are to strive for knowledge, but not that of the world, but of God. We cannot ever come to a point in our lives that we say we know enough about God, that we have all the answers. This is a life-long pursuit. Solomon uses both the ears and the heart here for a specific reason. It is with our ears we hear and with our heart we believe. There is a mixture of knowledge and faith which makes the heart discerning and desires the ears to seek out the wisdom from God. It is the heart of faith which wants this knowledge. Those who have a heart bent toward evil have no desire for the knowledge of God. In fact we are told this very truth.

Rom 1:21-23
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
NIV


Of course we would have to include the whole of this chapter to get the completeness of it, but this still makes the point that those who do not seek God, become fools. Their hearts are not discerning, but darkened, because their ears, their minds became futile in their thinking. We cannot ever allow our minds to become futile in our thinking. This futility of thinking would include believing we have enough knowledge about God. We are told it is with our mouth that we confess and with our heart we believe. It is the heart, the essence of our character which drives us to learn more about God. Although in the physical sense our mind controls the heart, but in the spiritual sense our heart controls the mind. It is the desires of our heart which makes it discerning and wants the mind to know more about God. Let us continually be in pursuit of more. 

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