True Men of God Build Knowledge

Be wise as serpents...

God wants us to study His word. To be intelligent about his doctrine so we can have an answer for all who inquire of us.

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV)

This spiritual intelligence is not the only study in which we should partake. Take the first chapter of Daniel for example.

In Daniel 1:4, we are told that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were skillful in all wisdom and cunning in knowledge.

So much in fact, that when the king enquired of them, he found them ten times more wise than all his scholars. (Daniel 1:19-20)

Or, how about our Lord Jesus, he tells us:

“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16, KJV)

We can’t be wise as serpents without increasing in knowledge first. The Webster’s 1828 dictionary states the first definition of wise to be, “having knowledge”.

How Do We Gain Knowledge?

In the past we would be gaining knowledge through our craft masters, parents, and general experiences. In our current age, we have an uncountable number of books, videos, podcasts, and web articles.

It’s through this media that we can learn from other people’s experiences. And, at a much faster pace. But, simply reading a book, putting it on the shelf, and moving on to the next is not going to maximize what we learn.

We must be intentional with our reading, watching, or listening. We do this by taking notes, by hand or digitally, when an idea sticks out.

The power comes when we use these notes to fuel our curiosity and link them together. This is where a digital home for your notes is important.

Writing them by hand is great for getting the ideas into your memory but the digital system is there for when your mind forgets.

Digital Tools for Your Personal Database

Many tools exist to take notes but they all will not assist you in your pursuit of wisdom. What you must avoid is writing a note that you will never see again. Unfortunately, all the most common note apps will do exactly that. So here two I’ve used and recommend.

The first is Obsidian. It’s free to use with a few paid features. You don’t need the paid features for what we are working to achieve in this course. I mention this first because it is more popular than the next option so you’ll like find help easily if needed.

The second is called Logseq. It is also free to use with paid features. This program is an outliner at it’s core and has a very simple interface. Logseq is newer than the previous program but still as an active comunity. Which is great if you are looking to take on some of it’s deeper functionality.

No matter what you choose make sure to link each note to an idea. Keep in mind that tags and pages are different in Obsidian. If you are using Logseq, tags and pages function the same and only their appearance is different.

To take these ideas and apply actionable steps to building out your personal knowledge database join us in The Fellowship. The course not yet open to the public but is free to all members of The Fellowship (including all updates).