Author: Brian Burdett

“This ‘knowledge’ puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.” – 1 Corinthians 8:1b-2

Knowledge is a good thing. There’s no excuse for a Christian to not use the mind God gave them. After all, we’re commanded to love the Lord with ALL our mind. That said, having knowledge while lacking humility is a problem. Most people who have a lot of knowledge understand how little they truly know. Their knowledge humbles them rather than inflating their egos. On the other hand, a little knowledge can easily make a person proud, arrogant, and contemptuous toward those with less knowledge (or different knowledge). It’s the “little knowledge” stage that’s particularly dangerous, when we know what we know but don’t know how much we don’t know.

Knowledge is a good thing but love is a better thing! Love should always be the most visible mark of someone saved from their sins as a gift of God’s grace given through faith in Jesus Christ. Love for God. Love from God. Love for other people. Such love blesses others. Builds them up. Points them toward Jesus. Knowledge without humility does the opposite. It undermines others. Tears people down. Turns them away from Jesus. Always choose to emphasize love over knowledge.

So, what’s your balance between love and knowledge? And what do you know? Are you building knowledge about what’s true, righteous, holy, and worthy of honor in Christ? If so, that’s excellent! But are you building your love even more? #FollowJesus

“Send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling!”
– Psalm 43:3

Whenever you find yourself in darkness or despair, lift up this same prayer. Let God’s light bring you back to Him. The truth is He never left you. Not if Jesus is your Lord. It’s just that it can be easy to become blind to His presence because of busyness, distraction, earthly circumstances, or sin. Nonetheless, God’s light can cut through any and all darkness. Turn to His written word, the Bible, and read once more of the truth of His love for you that has been demonstrated in the life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. Turn to Him, the Word Made Flesh, Jesus Christ, your Savior. Cry out to Him and let Him comfort, strengthen, love, and guide you out of darkness and into His radiant light.

If you find yourself in darkness, don’t choose to stay there. Don’t stubbornly insist on finding your own way to the light. God is the light. Turn to Him, no matter how dark things may be or how far from Him you feel. His love, grace, and mercy are always ready to lead you back into the light of His presence. #FollowJesus

“I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”
– Psalm 40:8

Doing God’s will isn’t a burdensome chore or endless grind for God’s people. He didn’t give His commands to make you miserable or leave you trudging through tedium. He didn’t prepare good works for you to do just to grind you down through them. Far from it! When you’re faithful to do His will, you quickly discover that it’s a source of tremendous joy and delight!

To know and do God’s Word and will, having been saved and transformed by God’s Son and filled with God’s Spirit is the path to a life of dignity, purpose, delight, and contentment. It may not be easy. It may not be comfortable. It may not be safe. Nonetheless, to labor FOR the Lord is to labor WITH the Lord. To labor WITH the Lord is to labor with the Lord living IN you and empowering you to do His will. This is why Jesus encouraged us that His yoke was easy and His burden light. Who and what are you laboring for this Labor Day? #FollowJesus

“But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready.” – 1 Corinthians 3:1-2

Hopefully, this isn’t true for you! Nonetheless, Paul’s words are sufficiently sobering that it’s worth spending some time in personal examination. Paul sets the clear expectation that Christians should grow and mature rapidly in the faith, just as a healthy newborn baby rapidly grows, changes, and matures physically and mentally. Very clearly, however, not all Christians do.

Some Christians stay “stuck” as infants in Christ. They may attend church regularly and may talk about Jesus often, but their mindset is still that of an unbeliever. Yes, they believe in Jesus, but their lives don’t look much different than when they were an unbeliever. They still hold onto sins from before Jesus set them free. They’re still more concerned with earthly matters of health, wealth, status, comfort, amusement, or power than about spiritual growth, sharing the Gospel, and blessing and serving others. Their priorities, attitudes, and assumptions reflect those of their earthly country more than their heavenly kingdom. They might as well be atheists for all the difference God makes in how they work, play, spend, save, vote, and live.

Does any of that describe you? Are you maturing in Christ or have you gotten stuck? Do you truly have a mindset like that of Jesus or is it still pretty much the pre-installed mindset of your country, culture, or neighbors? Do you share Christ’s priorities for your community or someone else’s? Are you deep in the meat of God’s Word and will for the world or are you still eager to take a bottle? #FollowJesus

“Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.” – 1 Corinthians 2:6

Where is your main source of wisdom? Is it a treasury of insights and colorful sayings spoken by your elders when you were growing up? Is it the latest trends and words of online influencers? Does it come from scholars or politicians? Philosophers or kings? Is your wisdom based on “common sense”, “hard knocks”, or “street smarts”? Where do you usually pull pithy phrases and wise insights from on a moment’s notice?

While there can be nuggets of truth and pearls of wisdom in many places, the greatest and most important wisdom doesn’t come from our culture or the elite of our age. It comes from God and His Word. It comes from thousands of years of Spirit-led experience living in a fallen world ruled by a perfect God. That is the wisdom that truly works. That is the wisdom every follower of Jesus should crave and share. Not just the clever sayings of our parents or grandparents but the perfect wisdom of our Creator.

So, carefully consider where most of your wisdom comes from. If it isn’t from the Lord, raise your sights! #FollowJesus