Add Something Good

During the Advent season of Christmas, we prepare our hearts to celebrate the coming of Jesus, who came to make a way of reconciliation between God and man. Years ago, I heard someone speaking about their faith journey. He had made a decision to purposefully pursue a closer, more intimate relationship with the Lord. He sought ways that would work for him.

In pursuing a closer relationship with the Lord, each of us may approach this in different ways: Some may add more Scripture reading, some may add more meditation and prayer, some may spend more quiet time listening and looking for God's direction. My friend decided that what he could do is this: Each year, during Advent, he would add one good spiritual practice to his life and during Lent, he would let go of one thing that might be hindering his close relationship with the Lord.

When I heard that, I thought it would be a great idea for each of us. It takes some discipline, but with God's help, we can do all things. Our part is to be willing to make that choice: to turn our hearts more and more to the Lord each year.

So this year, during the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season; purchasing presents and enjoying fellowship with our family and friends, let's take time to think of the greatest present of all and the One who made it possible. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Proverbs Part 2

Last time, I talked a little about why you would benefit from reading Proverbs and challenged you to add that to your Bible reading regimen.

In addition to your Bible, if you would like a resource to help you dig deeper into understanding Proverbs, I think you would be interested in this. "In Search of Wisdom: Life Changing Truths in the Book of Proverbs" by Joyce Meyers. It is available at joycemeyer.org/shop/books where you can support her ministry. During checkout, for a limited time, if you use the code BookSale25, you will receive 25% off of any purchase.

Joyce Meyer also has a Bible study entitled "31 Days in Proverbs". If you are interested, copy and paste this link in your browser.

As we continue in the Proverbs posts, I will be sharing little tidbits of what I gleaned from my readings.

In Proverbs 1, the question is raised, Do you want to be a fool, or do you want to be wise? If you want to be wise, you will listen to God's instructions and follow His lead. If you don't listen, life will not go well for you and you will suffer the consequences of your choices. If you do listen, you will live in peace and things will go better for you as you reap the consequences of your good choices.

Proverbs 2 emphasized the importance of seeking God's wisdom as if you were seeking a hidden treasure. Think about how you would behave if you found a treasure map and knew that if you followed the map, you would find a great treasure. I bet that you would be pretty excited and search for it with all that was within you. I believe that the wisdom of God is much more valuable than any physical treasure you could imagine. As you seek God's wisdom, you will discover it and God, Himself will give you knowledge and protect you. Wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasing to your soul. You will have the understanding necessary to avoid evil.

How is your journey through Proverbs going. Please leave me a note below to let me know. Thank you. God bless you.

Proverbs Challenge

The Bible is an amazing source of guidance, a kind of "how to" book, about how to live the good life: one of peace, joy, love, provision, protection and health. One book that is renowned for its advice is the book of Proverbs. It would take a whole other book to review the advice in Proverbs, but I will start in Chapter 1, which explains why you should read the book of Proverbs.

Proverbs 1:2-7 "Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise. Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair. These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young. Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables, the words of the wise and their riddles. Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." (NLT)

Proverbs 2:4-8 "If you seek her (wisdom) as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasure; then you will discern the fear of the Lord, and discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones."

These are excerpts from just the first two chapters. There are thirty one chapters in the book of Proverbs and each chapter is filled with great advice about how to live an exceptional life. I think that it is pretty convenient that the book has one chapter for each day of the month, to make it easier to study and meditate on each chapter.

Here's the challenge: We can study just one chapter a day and ask the Holy Spirit about how we can apply the knowledge we gain to our lives. Make sure you journal what you are gleaning from your reading and listening for guidance from the Holy Spirit. We can repeat the process each month. Periodically review what you have journaled to see how you have grown. (If you don't like to write, you can journal by leaving yourself a voice memo on your phone and then listening to your entries). I believe that as we apply what we learn, our lives will be transformed for the better.

I am committed to adding one chapter of Proverbs to my daily readings. How about you? Will you join me in committing to this challenge? You can send me a private message below to let me know how you are doing, what you are learning, or how your life has changed. May God bless our efforts.