.Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today we will seek clarity on misunderstandings about true knowledge.

Proverbs 1:7 (ERV) drops the following wisdom…
Knowledge begins with fear and respect for the Lord, but stubborn fools hate wisdom and refuse to learn.

And Proverbs 19:2 (NLT) adds the following wisdom…
Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes.

Lastly, God inspired the following wisdom in 2 Timothy 3:16 NLT…
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

Consider…
Have you ever met a know-it-all? Don’t say yes, you have met me 🙄. I mean a person who behaves as if they know everything.

Here are some quotes I found on the Internet about these types of folks…

• Leon Spinks said, “I know a lot of people think I’m dumb. Well, at least I ain’t no educated fool.”
• Margaret Atwood said, “There is no fool like an educated fool.”
• Albert Einstein said, “any fool can know. The point is to understand.”
• Curtis Mayfield said, “educated fools; from uneducated schools.”
• Socrates said, “as for me all I know is that I know nothing.” He was saying, there is human (limited) and divine (limitless) wisdom.

The Bible admonishes believers not to be like know-it-alls in Romans 12:3 (NLT), which says…
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.

And Romans 12:16 (NLT) encourages us to…
Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And DON’T THINK YOU KNOW IT ALL!

While looking up quotes for today’s post, I came across a Leadership Freak Blog, which posted 7 reasons smart people do stupid things:

• Success promotes stupidity.
• Changing other people is easier than changing yourself.
• New ideas destabilize established patterns.
• Unlearning is harder than learning.
• Self-confidence turns to arrogance when defending ideas is more important than pursuing the best ideas.
• Reacting is easier than focusing.
• Knowing blocks learning.

This made me think of the exhortation in Ephesians 5:15‭-‬17 (NLT), which reads…
So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.

People who focus on what they’ve done, want, or think they should do, with no consideration of what God wants them to do, are fools.

Jesus addressed these types of people in Luke 5:30‭-‬32 (NLT)…
But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?” Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

A lot of people know, or want to know, about God, but not everyone wants to know Him. You see truly knowing God requires us to change the way we live. These are the people described in 2 Timothy 3:5 (ERV)
They will go on pretending to be devoted to God, but they will refuse to let that “devotion” change the way they live. Stay away from these people!

You see when we truly know God, we will echo the Apostle Paul’s sentiments in Philippians 3:7‭-‬10 (ERV)…
At one time all these things were important to me. But because of Christ, I decided that they are worth nothing. Not only these things, but now I think that all things are worth nothing compared with the greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Christ, I lost all these things, and now I know that they are all worthless trash. All I want now is Christ. I want to belong to him. In Christ I am right with God, but my being right does not come from following the law. It comes from God through faith. God uses my faith in Christ to make me right with him. All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him from death. I want to share in his sufferings and be like him even in his death.

God has promised us that…
If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. – Jeremiah 29:13 NLT

He also emphasizes…
And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. – Hebrews 11:6 NLT

However, here’s the deal, knowing is about actions, not words…
But someone might argue, “Some people have faith, and others have good works.” My answer would be that you can’t show me your faith if you don’t do anything. But I will show you my faith by the good I do. You believe there is one God. That’s good, but even the demons believe that! And they shake with fear. You fool! Faith that does nothing is worth nothing. – James 2:18‭-‬20a ERV

Actions speak louder than words!

Truly knowing God is living like it!

Therefore the question your life has to answer now, or at the judgement seat, is do you know Jesus? More importantly, does He know you? I pray that neither of us hear Jesus say…
…‘Get away from me, you people who do wrong. I never knew you.’ – Matthew 7:23 ERV

Instead, I pray we’ll be diligent to do what Jesus said in John 15:9‭-‬11 (NLT)…
“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!

My final statement is a revision to a popular saying, which is “know better, do better”. The Holy Spirit is guiding me to re-write it to say, “Know God, please God!”

This should be the primary aim of every child of God, just like it was the only goal of His only begotten Son! Read Jesus’ words in John 6:38 (NLT)…
For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.

You demonstrate what you truly know by what you show! And you should show like Socrates, “as for me all I know is that I know nothing.” When you do understand that, you will stop relying on your own understanding, and…
Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. – Ephesians 4:23 NLT

If you think you know God, prove it by wholeheartedly seeking to please HIM in everything you think, say and do!

Today’s song is…
Know You
https://youtu.be/lqJZgxhWxrM?si=ov6-s7yvDO7coNQk

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)