Day 283 Bible Readings – Proverbs 4: 7-8 (ESV)

Jeremiah 21-22, Jeremiah 23: 1-8, 1 Thessalonians 2: 17-19, 1 Thessalonians 3, Proverbs 4: 1-9

Proverbs 4: 7-8 (ESV)

“The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight. Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.”

Verses 7 and 8 from Proverbs 4 is good advice about wisdom. If you obtain wisdom you also need to get insight, but wisdom without insight is useless. If you don’t use wisdom and apply it to your life, then the information itself is useless. If you have both wisdom and insight, then you need to value this information. Wisdom and insight will bring you higher in status, and honor you if you embrace the teachings of both wisdom and insight.

But even if you have wisdom and insight, you need to pray to God and check to make sure that you are making the right decisions based on God’s plan for your life. As a person of faith, wisdom and insight without God’s blessings are not a good thing. You need all three; wisdom, insight, and faith in God; to succeed in life.

No internet service on my camping trip

I went camping with friends in northern Arizona, and there was no internet in the campground. I was hoping if I hiked the surrounding hills  to the top I would get an internet connection, but I was was wrong. 

So I couldn't post Bible Reading posts from October 11 through October 13. I plan to get caught up today, so expect more posts today!

Day 282 Bible Readings – Proverbs 3: 25-26 (ESV)

Jeremiah 18-20, 1 Thessalonians 1, 1 Thessalonians 2: 1-16, Proverbs 3: 21-35

Proverbs 3: 25-26 (ESV)

“Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.”

Verses 25 and 26 from Proverbs 3 tells if you have faith in God, you do not need to afraid when bad things happen to you. You can confide in God and ask for guidance and help, and your Father-God will keep the worst from happening to you. When I read these verses, I don’t think it means that we will not experience a season of trouble or affliction. No one can escape the trials and tribulations of life. But if you have faith in God and confide in him, God will guide you and help you so you can endure a season of trouble with a calm and peaceful mind. My faith in God makes me feel like I am never alone. I also have God’s help and guidance with me in all situations, good and bad. Without faith in God, you must rely on yourself, your family, other people, the government, etc. And in my experience, reliance on anything other than God left me always fearful. I honestly don’t know why you wouldn’t want to have faith in God, because your faith leaves you much less fearful.

I often wonder if a lack of faith in God is the reason depression and suicide rates have increased in these last few years. My faith in God keeps me from getting depressed. And if I do succumb to depression, my faith in God pulls me out of my depression. Faith in God gives us a reason to hope and live for, because God promises us a better future and he always delivers on his promises.

Day 281 Bible Readings – Jeremiah 17: 9-10 (ESV)

Jeremiah 16-17, Colossians 4, Psalm 150

Jeremiah 17: 9-10 (ESV)

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

Verses 9 and 10 from the prophet Jeremiah tells us not to trust your own heart and only trust in God. In the earlier verses, Jeremiah says you cannot trust people, and if you cannot trust people how can you even trust yourself. If we follow the dictates of our heart as the key to happiness, we will not find it. The people of Judah followed their heart’s desires and turned away from God, which Jeremiah saw during his lifetime. From watching the people of Judah turn away from God, Jeremiah concludes that following your heart is not a good thing. God tells Jeremiah that he searches, tests, and knows the heart and mind of every person. Pastor David Guzik remarks in his bible commentary on verse 10 that, “It is wise to trust what God says about us more than what we think or feel about ourselves.”

God made us. God planned us. God thought of us before we even entered our mother’s womb. God knows us best. And God will judge us, have mercy on us, and love us even when we cannot even love ourselves. I know for myself that I have deceived myself into thinking that God doesn’t pay attention to me, he doesn’t know how I feel, and what is really in my heart. And time and time again, God has shown me that he does me know me inside and out. God knows what I like and what I don’t like even better than I do myself. God’s taste in all things is definitely better than my own preferences, since I often choose things for the most foolish of reasons. So now I always check with Holy Spirit when I need to make a choice, always asking the question, “What choice does God want me to make?” And God is always right, even when the answer given doesn’t make sense. God has a plan for my life and if I just follow it instead of stubbornly clinging to my owns, my life runs so much better and is so much calm and peaceful.