Day 22 - 40 Days of Prayer - Rebecca Blackwell

Proverbs 15:30-33
The light of the eyes rejoices the heart,
and good news refreshes the body.
The ear that heeds wholesome admonition
will lodge among the wise.
Those who ignore instruction despise themselves,
but those who heed admonition gain understanding.
The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom,
and humility goes before honour.

James 3:13 - 4:8
Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

Reflection
In reflecting on this passage from James, Research Professor at Murdoch University, Rev. Dr. William R. G. Loader notes:
[James challenges his] hearers not to embrace a polarising and fractious stance towards people. Many people who most want to be known as wise are anything but peaceable. History abounds with people who think they are right and are prepared to die or kill for their truth. …

The gentleness being advocated is not abdication of responsibility. It is an attitude which comes from a different kind of purity (3:17). That purity consists not in pure doctrine nor in pure anger, but in pure love.

… All this means that the matter of whether you take a compassionate attitude towards people and behave accordingly is much more than a matter of doing what is right or being good. It is about embodying the wisdom which comes from God; it is about embodying God. Notice [that] the chief thing about God is being found in such compassion. The opposite leads to disintegration and chaos, as 3:16 suggests.[1]

Every meeting of the General Assembly is an opportunity for us so seek the Lord’s mind and direction for the work we do in His name. As good Presbyterians, we come with many opinions, all well-researched and documented in scripture; and we come with the parliamentary tools to debate and discuss decently and in order. Yet, wisdom does not attain in research, but in relationship (with God and one another); not in speaking but in listening, and not in debate but in discernment.

Let us seek to embody Godly wisdom as we gather in Minneapolis.


Gracious Lord;
Grant that as we come from east and west and north and south, we might come with compassionate, humble and teachable spirits so that we may hear your word aright in the words of scripture, in the testimony of our brothers and sisters and in the silence of our own hearts. Grant that all we do may bring glory to Christ our Lord, through whom we pray. Amen.

[1] wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/BEpPente...

Rebecca Blackwell
Mission Coordinator/Stated Clerk
Cherokee Presbytery