50 Days of Wisdom
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Wisdom is a skill in living that begins with fearing God, then progresses to guarding your mind, choosing your companions, controlling your body, monitoring your words, pursuing your work, managing your money, and loving your neighbor. Very simple. But that’s it. And when you’ve done that, you’ve learned wisdom. It’s vital to be taught wisdom. For example, as a father, if I fail to teach my son to fear God, the devil will teach him to hate God. If I fail to teach my son to guard his mind, the devil will teach him to have an open mind. If I fail to teach my son to obey his parents, the devil will teach him to rebel and break his parents’ hearts. If I fail to teach my son to select his companions carefully, the devil will choose them for him. If I fail to teach my son to control his body, the devil will gladly teach him to give it completely over to his lusts. If I fail to teach my children to enjoy speech that is honorable to God, the devil will fill their mouths with filth. If I fail to teach my children to pursue their work, the devil will make them lazy. If I fail to teach them to manage their money, the devil will teach them to waste it on riotous living. If I fail to teach them to love their neighbor, the devil will gladly teach them to love only themselves. And the only reason I can pass such wisdom on to my children is because God has graciously made it all available in the Bible.
Seek and learn God's wisdom every day!
Day 655
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Proverbs 4:5 - Acquire Wisdom!
Always Rejoice!
I have always held the belief that the measure of a person's spiritual character, the measure of their spiritual strength, and the measure of their spiritual maturity is what it takes to steal their joy. At whatever point your joy breaks down, that's the level of your spiritual strength. You can find out how mature you are, how Spirit-controlled you are, and how spiritually virtuous you are by finding the breaking point where joy is lost and bitterness and negativism, critical spirit, and sullenness begin to creep in and take over your life. The measure of your joy is how you react not to things the way you'd like them to be, but to things the way you wouldn't like them to be. It's important for us to note that joy, according to Galatians 5, is the fruit of the Spirit-controlled life, and that we are to always rejoice, as Paul tells us when he says, "I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice." And that statement is set against Paul's apparent difficult, almost disastrous, circumstances. He will rejoice. He will continue to rejoice in the ministry God has given to him in spite of the difficulties of being in prison. We too are also commanded to rejoice all the time in all things and in all circumstances, and that is what the Spirit of God produces, so there really should be no breaking point. There should be no point in the life of a believer where joy is forfeited to sullenness, bitterness, or negativism because of some things that aren't the way we'd like them to be. In fact, there's only one justification for the loss of joy, and that’s sin. And when you have fallen into sin, you will need to cry out with the psalmist, "Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation." But nothing short of sin should steal our joy, certainly not circumstances. And yet typically for everyone, a sudden change in conditions, a sudden change in circumstances in our lives, great difficulties—confusion, trials, hard times, attacks, disagreements, unfulfilled ambitions, unmet desires, conflicts, strained relationships, unrealistic expectations unmet—all of these things can throw us off balance, and joy is forfeited and bitterness takes its place. Now we need to know that we ought to expect trouble and we ought to expect difficult circumstances. Jesus said in John 16:33, “In the world you'll have trouble”—therefore, expect it. James said that trouble comes in order to make you perfect. It has a divine purpose, so expect it, and expect that God has a purpose for it, which is good. He has profound purposes in our affliction and profound purposes in our trials and difficulties, and one of them is not to take our joy. Now obviously the key to maintaining joy is to have perspective, to understand what's going on, and to yield to the Spirit of God and not be overtaken by the difficulty. So Paul becomes for us a larger-than-life model of this because he is a man whose joy knew no breaking point. There was never a time that I can find in the New Testament when the circumstances in Paul's life impacted his joy. In fact, it seems to us that he has almost a fighting-back mentality—the greater the struggle, the greater the trial, and the more insistent he is to articulate his joy. He is indeed larger than life as a living illustration of the perfect combination of severe affliction mingled with supreme joy. Repent and believe! GTY.org (50-7) - Joy in Spite of Trouble – 50-7
Today's Wisdom
April 10, 2026
Day: 893
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Grace and peace,
My name is Mark Paul from Wauchula, Florida, and like the Apostle Peter said in 2 Peter 1:14, “I know that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent." Consequently, my goal is to leave a legacy that will continue to advance the kingdom of God long after I have departed. In other words, bear fruit for eternity. And by simply reading and sharing my free eBooks, you too become contributors to the advancement of His kingdom. Thank you for partaking in this endeavor, and I look forward to greeting you on heaven's shore.
The Truth in Love,
Mark Paul - Servant of God
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