Thursday, October 29, 2009

Grant Us Wisdom




"I believe that today's lack of interest in guidance to God has resulted in a lot more questions about how to seek guidance from God. We simply don't know God as well as previous generations of believers did and . . . guidance from God is rooted in our knowledge of him. The more one knows of God's character and desires, the better one can live to be conformed to the image of Christ--and make the many daily decisions that must be made." (pp.19-20)

So writes James C. Petty in his book Step by Step: Divine Guidance for Ordinary Christians, published in '99 by P&R. I read this book earlier this year, and I benefited from it in many ways, not the least of which was the appendix that helps you assess your priorities in hourly, daily, and monthly life.

Overall, the book is well-worth reading, and I would give it a grade of 7.8/10 (9's and 10's are hard to come by with me). I found it a little uneven at times; some chapters (8, 11) are simply excellent, and other parts of the book are just ok. Here are some highlights . . .

Thesis: "we come to know the will of God by discernment, wisdom, and insight. The purpose of this book is to show that the Bible's answer to our need for guidance boils down to one very rich word: wisdom." (135)

"The path of wisdom is a lifestyle of repentance from serving functional gods like security, safety, control of situations, pleasure, power, ease, avoidance of pain, and approval. God will systematically expose any such rivals in our hearts that divert us from loving and worshiping him. We must be prepared for that and even search out such duplicity in our hearts." (179)

"The inordinate pursuit of entertainment can easily compete with the pursuit of wisdom." (185)

All in all, this book about wisdom is written by a wise man. Learn from him if you get the chance.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the review. After seeing the quotes I'll put this on my list of 'do not reads.'

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Dale C Hopkinson said...

Hi, I appreciated this article and it's funny I actually just started my blog and saw this. Some of the things I wrote are exactly what you expressed. 1 thing I would also recommend to your other readers is to 1. Read the bible along side this book 2. Pray. If you are seeking knowledge and Guidance simply ask and read God's word. Anyone can pray, even if you are not in good standing with God you can still talk to him, trust me I know.

May I ask you to check out my blog and tell me where I can improve? Thank you in advance http://youthfulfollowers.blogspot.com/