The Way of Wisdom
9 Wisdom has built her house;
she has hewn her seven pillars.
2 She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.
3 She has sent out her young women to call
from the highest places in the town,
4 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
To him who lacks sense she says,
5 “Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
6 Leave your simple ways,[a] and live,
and walk in the way of insight.”
7 Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
8 Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
9 Give instruction[b] to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
11 For by me your days will be multiplied,
and years will be added to your life.
12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself;
if you scoff, you alone will bear it.
The Way of Folly
13 The woman Folly is loud;
she is seductive[c] and knows nothing.
14 She sits at the door of her house;
she takes a seat on the highest places of the town,
15 calling to those who pass by,
who are going straight on their way,
16 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
And to him who lacks sense she says,
17 “Stolen water is sweet,
and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18 But he does not know that the dead[d] are there,
that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
Sounds simple, doesn’t it?
Leave your old ways and live, and walk in wisdom. (my paraphrase)
But actually….living a life with God is that simple.
When you accept Christ, He will help you leave your simple (old) ways and walk in His light. It is simple, but it certainly isn’t always easy. Leaving old ways, old sins, old habits is hardly ever easy. I know this from personal experience. Leaving deep seated sinful patterns of gossip, judgement, profane language, fighting for control…it has not been easy. I fight daily. And I fail daily. And thank God for His grace daily. And I thank Jesus for walking with me daily, because it strengthens me to know that I am not alone in my walk and my struggles. Jesus faced temptation, He faced pain, rejection, ridicule, indifference, and yet He was without sin. And His death removed my sins from me and placed them onto Him. A gift I could never repay, and yet all I had to do to receive it was put my faith in Him, admit I was a sinner and accept Him as my Savior. And then turn and walk with Him in wisdom and truth.
Friend, if you haven’t received the gift of Christ as your Savior, I pray you do today. It is free, it will save your life for all of eternity, it will change you from the inside out.
Here’s a prayer you could pray, or you can pray one in your own words:
Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness.
I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin.
You said in Your Word, Romans 10:9, that if we confess the Lord our God and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved.
Right now I confess Jesus as the Lord of my soul. I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. At this very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved.
Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you Jesus that your grace never leads to license, but rather it always leads to repentance. Therefore Lord Jesus transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not to myself.
Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life. AMEN.
If you prayed this prayer for the first time, I encourage you to tell someone about it! Leave me a comment, tell a friend, a family member. We would love to rejoice with you!
And then find a strong Bible believing, Bible preaching church where you can grow in your knowledge and love for the Lord.
Friends…if you know Jesus, have walked with Him, whether for a day or a lifetime, be encouraged today. He loves you. He died for you. He thinks you are worthy of His love.
