Look inside this book.Where the Bush is Burning: A Daily Devotional by [Thomas Tice]

Tag: Psalm 90
Who Is Wise?

Who Is Wise?

By |

So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 

Psalm 90:12 

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 

James 3:13 

How does wisdom manifest itself in the world? If we number our days and gain a heart of wisdom, how will that appear in everyday life? James asks, ‘Who is wise and understanding?’ He answers the question immediately by saying, ‘Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.’ By what standard do we discern what works are good? If we examine the life of Christ, we have an abundance of illustrations. The whole life of Christ evidenced doing good to others. As Peter remarked about Christ when he preached to Cornelius, He ‘went about doing good.’ All the life of Christ, from His incarnation to today, as He ‘ever lives to make intercession’ for His redeemed, evidences works done in the meekness of wisdom. Therefore, if we contemplate Christ, we learn to imitate Him. Thus, our works in the imitation of Christ are done in the meekness of wisdom. This exalts deeds as the practical evidence of wisdom. They are inseparable from the Person of Christ and the contemplation of Him. True wisdom shows in Christlikeness.  

Our Good and Gracious God, 
we rejoice that You are the God of wisdom. 
We praise You that in Christ, 
You teach us to be wise. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
Wisdom

Wisdom

By |

So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 

Psalm 90:12 

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. 

Proverbs 1:7 

What is wisdom and how shall we apply our hearts to it? Raw knowledge is not wisdom. In fact, the Scriptures point out that ‘knowledge puffs up.’ A person may be knowledgeable about many things, be inordinately proud about having that knowledge, yet be utterly lacking in wisdom. The result is arrogance, obnoxious attitudes and behaviors. By contrast, wisdom, which is understanding, comes from God and leads us to Christ. Reverence for God is the beginning of wisdom, and leads us to embrace Christ, to follow Christ, and to imitate Christ. As we learn to imitate Christ He increases our understanding. The result of that process yields the fruit of the Spirit Who indwells us, renews us in the whole person after the image of Christ, and enables us to die more and more unto sin and to live unto righteousness. The wisdom we gain in this process is ‘pure, peaceable, gentle and easy to be intreated, full of mercy, and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.’ This is how, during the numbered days we have, we apply our hearts to wisdom. 

Our Good and Wise God, 
we rejoice that You impart to us Your wisdom through the Holy Spirit. 
We praise You that Your wisdom leads us unto Christ 
and keeps us there. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
To Number Our Days

To Number Our Days

By |

So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 

Psalm 90:12

We are merely mortal and our mortality is abundantly evident. Moses wrote the 90th Psalm and dwelt upon the subject of our mortality. He began with the Godhood of God, and His view of time. He points out His Sovereignty over the life of humanity. He discusses the length of life afforded us as seventy or eighty years, depending on our strength. One of the key statements, worthy of our meditation is our text, ‘So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.’ By implication, our days are numbered. God must teach us to ‘number our days.’ What is interesting is that in His days upon the earth, Christ evidenced a sense of urgency which He associated with having only a short time to accomplish His work. Thus, He remarked, ‘I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.’  Of all who have ever lived upon the earth, Christ had a better idea than anyone else about how much time He had. We are abundantly less certain than He. Therefore, we ought to have a sense of urgency about wisely using the time we have. Our core business is to bear witness of Christ at every opportunity. Aside from anything else we may do, this is worthy of our utmost attention with what time we have. 

Our Holy and Wise God, 
we rejoice that You have given unto us 
all our days in which to serve You. 
We pray that by the power of Your Holy Spirit, 
you will enable us to use them wisely. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
Who Is Wise?

Who Is Wise?

By |

So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 

Psalm 90:12 

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 

James 3:13 

How does wisdom manifest itself in the world? If we number our days and gain a heart of wisdom, how will that appear in everyday life? James asks, ‘Who is wise and understanding?’ He answers the question immediately by saying, ‘Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.’ By what standard do we discern what works are good? If we examine the life of Christ, we have an abundance of illustrations. The whole life of Christ evidenced doing good to others. As Peter remarked about Christ when he preached to Cornelius, He ‘went about doing good.’ All the life of Christ, from His incarnation to today, as He ‘ever lives to make intercession’ for His redeemed, evidences works done in the meekness of wisdom. Therefore, if we contemplate Christ, we learn to imitate Him. Thus, our works in the imitation of Christ are done in the meekness of wisdom. This exalts deeds as the practical evidence of wisdom. They are inseparable from the Person of Christ and the contemplation of Him. True wisdom shows in Christlikeness.  

Our Good and Gracious God, 
we rejoice that You are the God of wisdom. 
We praise You that in Christ, 
You teach us to be wise. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
Wisdom

Wisdom

By |

So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 

Psalm 90:12 

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. 

Proverbs 1:7 

What is wisdom and how shall we apply our hearts to it? Raw knowledge is not wisdom. In fact, the Scriptures point out that ‘knowledge puffs up.’ A person may be knowledgeable about many things, be inordinately proud about having that knowledge, yet be utterly lacking in wisdom. The result is arrogance, obnoxious attitudes and behaviors. By contrast, wisdom, which is understanding, comes from God and leads us to Christ. Reverence for God is the beginning of wisdom, and leads us to embrace Christ, to follow Christ, and to imitate Christ. As we learn to imitate Christ He increases our understanding. The result of that process yields the fruit of the Spirit Who indwells us, renews us in the whole person after the image of Christ, and enables us to die more and more unto sin and to live unto righteousness. The wisdom we gain in this process is ‘pure, peaceable, gentle and easy to be intreated, full of mercy, and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.’ This is how, during the numbered days we have, we apply our hearts to wisdom. 

Our Good and Wise God, 
we rejoice that You impart to us Your wisdom through the Holy Spirit. 
We praise You that Your wisdom leads us unto Christ 
and keeps us there. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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