Digging Deeper LIVE with Andi and Brian Hale

What is wisdom?

If you look up the definition for wisdom, you’ll find this: knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action. We can have all the knowledge in the world stored in our brains, but if we don’t know how to apply it and move that information to action, we don’t have wisdom. Basically, we can know more than the average person, but if we don’t apply what we know appropriately, we’re foolish.

The first and most important thing we need to know about wisdom is that it comes from God. Psalm 111:10 NLT tells us that the “beginning of true wisdom” is found when we fear the Lord, and then goes on to say that we’ll “grow in wisdom” when we obey God.

That makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it? Most parents expect their children to obey them. Why? Because they see the path ahead, while the child doesn’t. As children obey their parents, they grow in wisdom, and learn that what their parents advised them to do was ultimately for their good. The same is true with our Heavenly Father — He sees what’s ahead and knows what’s best.

In James 3:13–18 NLT, Godly wisdom is explained in detail:

If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.

This passage is full of rich truths for us, so let’s really digest this passage. Exhibiting godly wisdom means we are:

Honorable — We show honor to everyone.

Humble — We don’t draw attention to ourselves.

Selfless — We think of others more than we think of ourselves.

Pure — We strive to have untarnished motives.

Peace-loving — We agree to respectfully disagree.

Gentle — We consider the feelings of others before acting.

Merciful — We give second chances because they’ve been given to us.

Impartial — We show fairness to all we encounter.

Sincere — We are authentic, honest, and full of integrity.

Learning and growing as followers of Jesus is what will transform our old self to the redeemed person God is calling us to become. Growing in wisdom with God won’t always make sense to people around us. But, as we learn insights from God, we can put them into practice and influence those around us.

Missing Runaway Rhian Grubbs has been found safe and is returning home now.

*** MISSING CHILD ***

UPDATED DETAILS : RUNAWAY Last seen leaving Scottsbluff High School 3:20pm

MISSING : Rhian Grubbs
AGE : 15
HEIGHT : 5'

DESCRIPTION : Blue eyes, light brown hair
110 lbs

Black t-shirt, white Jordan's, black draw string back pack

She has her nose pierced and ears gauged, a beauty mark under her lip. Long hair usually tired up in a "fan" bun.

PLEASE NOTIFY Becca Grubbs
308-672-2846

Heads up loyal scanner friends... we have a missing runaway just reported! Police have been notified, now the family needs your help. We will be updating this post with details as soon as they come in. #staytuned #MissingChild

Andi and Brian Hale have the fastest growing 'New media' company in the valley - Scotts Bluff County Scanner. Get Real News in Real Time. We'll be in Bluffs on Thursday and Friday. Text or call us for anything. 940-224-6315 940-224-6211

Hey everyone it's Brian Hale and I'm in town with my radio partner Brandon! We will be promoting our Scotts Bluff County Scanner business as well as websites and other media opportunities. Don't be surprised if I give you a call or stop by and if you need to talk to me please call 308-635-7271

One of the biggest signs of the ongoing presence of sin in our lives is prayerlessness. Prayerlessness says, “I don’t need to ask God to help me with my daily life.” Another way of talking about this sin of prayerlessness is in terms of pride. Pride doesn’t think it needs God’s help. Pride thinks that more will be accomplished today by skipping a time of prayer and starting to do the tasks for the day. Our prayer life, more than anything else, shows us how much pride is in control of our hearts.

One of the keys to a flourishing, daily prayer life is battling the pride that stands in the way of it. You have to fight to embrace your childlike identity by fighting pride with the words of Jesus, who said, “for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Daily prayer happens when we see through the delusions of pride that say we don’t need to ask God for help.

Others show that they struggle to embrace their childlike identity by believing that they need to use a sophisticated strategy to talk to God in prayer. But God doesn’t want us to look at prayer like that. No decent parent makes their kids speak to them perfectly for them to hear and help. When you think you must have a perfect presentation, or even a perfect “record” for the day, for your heavenly Father to hear your prayers, you show you don’t understand the greatness of his love and grace. Normal parents don’t stop taking care of their kids, wanting to do what’s best for their kids, when they aren’t asking or living perfectly. Why would we think God would do less than that?

We, of course, can overreact and think that our lives don’t matter at all. If a child is consciously rejecting the parents’ clear instructions, parents understand that if they don’t address the problem, they are enabling and training the child to do the wrong thing. That’s what Jesus’ half-brother James was talking about when he told Christians that they weren’t receiving answers to prayer, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (James 4:3). Part of embracing a childlike identity is taking seriously the command to do your heavenly Father’s will.

Will you be perfect? Nope. Jesus knows you’re not perfect, that’s why he came to save you. But his grace doesn’t just change your standing before him; when it is received by faith, it changes the direction of your life. While complete change won’t be likely today, genuine change will.

That’s why Jesus wants his listeners to embrace their childlike identity. If you want to learn to pray, you need to remember who you are. You’re God’s child, so this daily act that leads to daily prayer marked by boldness is for problems and plans that are big and small. When you truly see who God is as your heavenly Father and who you are as his child, no request is too small for him to hear and help.