Believing That Will Usher In Understanding

"What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?" - 1 Corinthians 4:7b ESV

Understanding will not cause me to believe but believing will usher in understanding. As witnesses of God's mercy we choose to receive His initiations by believing and when we do that we have a spiritual platform for understanding.

God uses the foolishness of preaching (or proclamation) that displays grace and through the channel of grace God's attributes and work are put on display. The Gospel of grace is not a meaty enough argument for the natural man. It is a simple declaration. That declaration seems foolish until a person believes and then it becomes the power of God that dominates a persons life.

The cross and Christ's work there must be our primary apologetic because it is the Spirit of God that must do the persuading that all of our carefully planned arguments would never accomplish. Of course we steer clear of irrational arguments. The message is a rational one. It just can't be received only by the mind. It must be embraced by the heart that senses the presence of a One who Is divine reaching out to them.

"Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding." - Proverbs 4:7 NKJV

When a person becomes wise enough to know where to look they can then get understanding.

"Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear." - Isaiah 65:24 ESV

God's initiation of grace precedes our asking. He has put spiritual desires in our being when He remade us and with our will we exercise the choice to ask and He answers. We don't have anything spiritual of ourselves. What we have has been given to us.

"For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." - Matthew 13:12 ESV

"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." - John 15:5 ESV

Our faith is a gift from God. It is a fruit of the Spirit who indwells us that is now intertwined with our living human spirit.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith," - Galatians 5:22 KJV

In love God has given us faith and all the other fruits of the Spirit so that they can be exercised. We don't have the power to exercise anything. We have the authority as a child of God and when we choose to function in our authority God supplies the power.

We decide to believe based on what we have been given. We say 'Yes' to God in faith thanking Him and rejoicing in Him and then in the creativity that He supplies we keep saying 'Yes'. We thank Him for what He has done and believe Him for what He will do to redeem people and situations

"But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me." - 2 Timothy 1:12b ESV

If my believing lacks content then we will seek comfort and Earthly advantage but when we know Jesus then in wisdom we will have authority to operate in and gain understanding for those things that have a redemptive purpose. That is why we are here on the Earth... to love people and gain what has been lost.

I want to seek the understanding that will further a redemptive purpose.

God help us today. We believe you. Make us wise and give us understanding for all that we do. Understanding for marriage and parenting... understanding for business and finances... understanding for health... understanding for missions and Church life... understanding... we seek it from You our source of all wisdom. Open your book to us. Move our minds to places they have not been and give us deep intuitive insight so that we can function in Your purposes on the Earth. Thank You. We love You and Thank You.

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