Doing Justice and Loving Mercy: Compassion Ministries, Student Workbook, SW16

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D O I N G J U S T I C E A N D L O V I N G M E R C Y : C O M P A S S I O N M I N I S T R I E S

and actions necessary for aggressive and credible outreach in urban communities.

• Identify some of the key problems and challenges associated with outreach in urban neighborhoods, and provide practical advice on how to handle these issues as you engage in proclaiming the Good News and doing good works in the city.

Why Fool Around? Go to the Source

Devotion

Prov. 2.1-9 - My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, [2] making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; [3] yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, [4] if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, [5] then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. [6] For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; [7] he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, [8] guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. [9] Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path. In a world that places great confidence upon one’s level of education and IQ (i.e., intellectual quotient), it is refreshing to rediscover the ground of authentic wisdom in Scripture. The Bible is unequivocal and clear regarding the source of true wisdom. Amazingly, the Bible seems to have no hesitation about the source of true wisdom, or what it means to really live a life dedicated to the telling, displaying, and fleshing out of the truth. Oddly to us moderns, authentic wisdom does not come from scientific method or personal genius or matriculating from a great Ivy League school. Nor does wisdom come from genetics and physical lineage. Real wisdom comes from the Lord and the Lord alone. He is the wise God who provides wisdom for those who are upright, and whose way when obeyed and followed provides a keen understanding into the nature of righteousness, justice, equity, and every good path. This text above shows that real wisdom has a fundamental spiritual root and foundation . Accordingly, those who would pretend to be wise and operate their affairs in wisdom while simultaneously avoiding and ignoring their relationship to the Father through Jesus Christ are deceived. Even a cursory read of the Scripture reveals the ability of God to lead us into the treasure houses of his wisdom and understanding. The following texts represent a

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