The hidden things of God are only known by God. They are not for us. But that which God makes known is ours that we may share in His life and live in the warmth of His love forever. I implore you, hunger and thirst for what He has made known.

It has been said the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. To fear the Lord is not to be afraid of Him or terrified of Him so as to avoid Him or appease Him. To fear the Lord is to reverence Him, to be in awe of Him, to respect Him, to adore Him, coupled with a healthy dread of Him. Therefore, proper fear of the Lord is deep love mingled with reverential dread. It is knowing He loves perfectly so as to be drawn in by His love in order to know His love intimately. It is knowing He punishes thoroughly so as to fearfully and carefully live up to what He says in order to return love to the One with whom we share love.

From this perspective, adoration for God coupled with dread of God is the beginning of wisdom. However, we will not adore Him if we do not know him personally, and intimately. And, we cannot get to know Him personally and intimately from a distance. To adore God, to love Him deeply and tenderly, to love Him to the point of devotion, to hold Him in highest esteem, to love Him to the point of unwavering loyalty takes an intimate, shared relationship of communion and companionship with Him.

In like manner, we will not live up to what He says if we do not know Him personally and intimately. As the scriptures say, “He who loves not, knows not God, for God is love.” In other words, we may live up to some of what He says but we will not live up to what we know about what He says if we do not know Him personally and intimately. And, we will not want to know Him this deeply unless we repent, which means changing our mind about Him, about sin, and about ourselves. To obey God, to live up to what we know, to do the right we know is right, takes a changed mind leading to a changed life which hungers and thirsts for intimacy with God.

Therefore, intimate communion and companionship with God coupled with living up to what we know God says is the pathway to wisdom. Skip either side of the equation and we might become smarter, but we will not grow wiser. 

Wisdom is understanding, clear thinking, and sound judgment used in the most sensible manner possible by mere mortals to live in such a manner as to love God supremely and everyone else as much as they love themselves.

Now, the purpose of what has been written in this book is to increase understanding. It is hoped the increase in understanding will promote clear thinking and sound judgment (wisdom) which in turn will encourage choices and behavior that seek the good of everyone affected by your choices and behavior, including God.

Those who are wise value the love of the Lord and live according to the ways of the Lord. Those who hunger for the knowledge of God grow stronger and stronger in the ways of God. So be prudent. Make it your goal to know God personally and intimately, living up to what you know He says about how to live. In this way your relationship with Him will affect your whole life, life-long.

“Not everyone who says to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.”