WISDOM

Hey Vibe Tribe,

Well what is up?  Thanks for joining us last week as we continued our series entitled "Reset" where we learned that "Wisdom is easy to get but it is hard to keep."  I started the night out by screaming, along with the help of a few friends.  A couple of you in the front row had to go change right after that, I would assume because you were so excited about the night!  My point is yelling, was to show you that it is pretty hard to miss when someone is crying aloud in your presence.  Wisdom does the same thing.  It is shouting at you, through your parents, through some of us at Vibe, through some of your friends that are Christ followers but there are times when you don't listen to that great advice.  

I really think part of it is that on a regular basis we are surrounded by bad advice.  We are surrounded by people that say it is okay to have sex before you are married as long as you love the person.  It is okay to to hurt someone if they have hurt you first.  But when grace impacts your life, it should look a lot different.  So when it comes to wisdom, seek it out but know that it is relatively easy to find.  It is within reach.  All you have to do is seek it.  Open your Bible, pray, ask your parents advice and make sure that God is in your decision making process. 

Wisdom is easy to find but hard to keep.  It is only by looking for, receiving and practicing wisdom that you will be able to live a life that reflects wisdom.  Here are some thing that you can do to begin to live a wise life.

1) Run with the Right Pack

Find a group of Jesus followers and begin to live life together.  Consult them when you are making a tough decision.  Remember, it isn't always your best bud that you should consult or someone who is just going to tell you what you wanted to hear.  Sometimes it is an adult who has been there and done that.  D-groups are a great place to find those types of people.

 Proverbs 1:10 “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.”

 Proverbs 11:14 “Where there is no guidance the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory.”

2) Open Your Bible (read it do what it says)

The Bible says that we should "fear God".  It isn't an unhealthy fear of Him where we dread being in His presence.  It is a healthy dose of fear, mixed with a sense of awe and wrapped up in love.  Kind of like a healthy parent/child relationship where you fear your parents when you do wrong but know that they always want the best for you.  It starts there but doesn't end there.  

You should also read His love letter to you (the Bible).  It is there and full of wisdom.  In some places that wisdom has been tested over thousands of years.  It is like getting advice from a thousand year old man that has really lived life and done it well.  So, trust Jesus, do what He says and then work really hard at it.

Psalm 33:11 “The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation.”

3) Consider the Result

Before making a decision, make sure you weigh the consequences.  Will this hurt someone?  Are my actions going to cause pain to someone unnecessarily?

Does this need to hurt someone?  Sometimes telling someone something they don't want to hear may hurt but it may need to, as long as it is done in love and said in a considerate way.

Ultimately you need to decide if Jesus would be happy with the result of the decision that you are making.  That will happen if you do the above things.  Thank you guys for coming and being a part of Vibe.  I hope to see you soon.  Have a great week!

Matt

Proverbs 1:20

“Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares;”