Wisdom

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Living Your Best Life

“God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing” –C. S. Lewis

Wouldn’t it be amazing if life could have purpose, be interesting, and be filled with joy? The kind of life that makes it exciting to get out of bed every morning? In an earlier post, I told you about my recent study of the book of Proverbs. This week, I want to pass along what I think that book teaches about living life to the fullest.

God first.

There is no wisdom, security, or forgiveness without a relationship with God. That relationship doesn’t just happen; it must be developed. Worship, praise, study, and prayer all help to build a stronger, deeper two-way connection with God.

“The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.” – Proverbs 19:23

Get personal.

Proverbs says much about friendships, family, and neighbors. These are important relationships that take time to grow. We must be intentional about cultivating relationships that matter.

“To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” – Proverbs 21:3

Seek advisors.

Proverbs encourages us to be teachable. We all would do well to begin a relationship with a mentor and to listen with openness to the counsel they give. We can learn from each other.

“Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.” – Proverbs 19:20

The good life is possible – if we see it from God’s point of view and live it in light of his instruction. The book of Proverbs is a great place to start!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.“

– Proverbs 3:5-6

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Listen with a purpose.

 “Hope in God, who is not the God of the perfect only, but of the becoming.” – George MacDonald

If you’re like me, you read your Bible every day. You also hear good sermons that share biblical truths. Then we get on with our day-to-day lives often without really living out what we’ve taken in.

Jesus shared a parable about that. He talked about a farmer throwing out seeds, (representing the Word of God) and then watching as the seeds began to grow. Some died, some sprouted, some were choked out by thorns, and some grew to fullness yielding a great crop. What was the difference with those outcomes? Not the seed, but the soil.

Good soil produced a good crop. This is one of the parables Jesus explained to his disciples, and this is what he said, “. . . the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” Our spiritual growth and success in the Kingdom of God all depends on our heart!

If our heart soil is right, here are the steps Jesus gives:

  1. Hear the word. We do that by listening to sermons or podcasts and by reading the Bible for ourselves.
  2. Retain what we hear or read. It’s really easy to forget – even if it was good teaching. We need to think about God’s Word, mull it over, and remember what it says.
  3. Persevere. We keep on learning, pondering, obeying, and focusing. Eventually, after patient waiting, we’ll see fruit.

It’s not hard. We all can do it. And Jesus himself guarantees the results!

“. . . walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” – Colossians 1:10b

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Advice to Self

“God will meet you where you are in order to take you where He wants you to go.” – Tony Evans

I was challenged recently to think about my life in light of teachings in the book of Proverbs. As I pondered, some important considerations surfaced. I want to share them with you.

Recognize the seasons of life.

As I look back on my decades of life, I realize more than ever that there have been seasons – times to focus on various things including education, marriage, children, career, and service. Not that any of these ever fade into oblivion, but various roles come to ascendancy at particular times. I must recognize the season that I’m in today: One of service, engaging both inside and outside of family, and passing some roles to others.

Never stop learning.

Learning and humility are closely related in my mind. I must be willing to learn from friends and advisors and from teachers and authors. I want to retain a curious mind, eager to explore new things and ready to revisit old things with a fresh look. My goal at this stage of life is to go deeper, not wider.

Speak out for justice.

I’ve become more aware in recent months of God’s emphasis on biblically defined justice. I should not ignore injustice when I observe it around me. I must learn to promote justice for those who may not be able to speak up for themselves. Not a movement, but a response to individual needs.

How about you? What season of life are you in? What are you learning? Where is God taking you? It’s worth the time to think about these things. If we listen, he will speak.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1


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Profound. Simple.

“Genuine spiritual knowledge lies not in wonderful and mysterious thoughts but in actual spiritual experience through union of the believer’s life with truth.”– Watchman Nee

If you’ve ever listened to two doctors or two lawyers talk, you know we can be lost quickly in the four-syllable words of their professions.

We sometimes encounter a similar situation related to our faith. There are those who have studied ancient languages and know theology from every angle. And that theology is often expressed in several-syllable words. Because these are important concepts, I have great appreciation for those who study at that level.

But sometimes I look at the Bible and just have to smile at the simple ways God expresses profound truths. Here’s one from Numbers 14:9, “The Lord is with us; do not fear them.” In a few one-syllable words, he helps us understand his presence with us and his loving care for us. In this simple expression, he erases our reason to be afraid.

Here are others:

“You are the light of the world. . .” (Matthew 5:14a). Seven simple words alluding to the world as a dark place that we, by being like Jesus, can light up. That’s a lot of encouragement in a short statement.

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth” (Psalm 100:1). Could an instruction be any clearer? We should experience joy in our relationship to God and should express it loudly to him in worship. And, not just us, but everyone, everywhere.

See if you can find some of your own one-syllable word statements in the Bible that contain deep and understandable truth. The Christian life is profound, but it is also simple. There is nothing we need to know that we cannot grasp as God reveals it word-by-word and step-by-step.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” (from John 14:6)

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Transparency

“To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved.” – George MacDonald

Have you noticed that relationships go better if we can be honest about who we are and what we think? The apostle John addresses this issue, but we have to look carefully to see it: “. . . if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

Walking in the light means we aren’t hiding anything. We’re cleansed from our sin and, therefore, have nothing to cover up. We can be ourselves. We can be transparent and honest. The hard relationships are those where there are topics we can’t talk about or sins and weaknesses we want to keep secret. So how do we get to the point of having the kind of relationship John describes as fellowship?

Here’s what he says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9).

If we regret things, past or present, we are acknowledging the truth: We have sinned.

And there a solution to that: Confess and receive God’s forgiveness.

The rest of the verse describes what follows: We are made clean. It’s as if John is telling us to confess the sins we know about and we will be cleansed from the ones we don’t know. God makes us clean, past, present, and future, through the blood of Jesus.

And the result? We walk in the light – meaning we can live easily in transparency and truth.

Only then can we experience true fellowship, deep friendship, committed love. Isn’t that what we all want?

“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.” – Proverbs 10:9

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Understand?

“Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years.” -Charles Spurgeon

Do you understand the Bible? I’ve studied it for a long time and admit there are many things I don’t understand. And I think that I am not the only one!

Here are some examples straight from the Bible:

Jesus told his disciples of his coming arrest, death, and resurrection. They didn’t understand, but were afraid to ask. (Mark 9:32)

The man from Ethiopia was reading an Old Testament scroll when Philip asked him if he understood what he was reading. His answer: “How can I unless someone guides me?” (Acts 8:31a)

Job didn’t understand why all these bad things were happening to him. (Job 7:17-21)

From these examples, we learn three things:

  1. If we don’t understand something in the Bible, we shouldn’t be afraid to ask the Holy Spirit to help. James tells us God gives wisdom to those who ask.
  2. We should be willing to learn from teachers who know more than we do. That incudes people in the flesh, but also reliable resources in print or on line.
  3. Job teaches there are things we will never understand in this life. Mysteries will remain, but if we trust God, we can be OK with that.

There are some things in the Bible we cannot comprehend, not because God is intentionally keeping secrets, but because we, as humans, don’t have the capacity to understand the majestic mind of God. We also realize there are many things in the Bible we can understand and, with that knowledge, we obey what we read and we draw closer to our Creator. The rest will become clearer in time.

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” – Romans 11:33

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Say “yes”.

“There is no one who is insignificant in the purpose of God.”– Alistair Begg

We are so bombarded with sales-pitches today, that we have conditioned ourselves to say “no”. There are times, though, when our conditioning might block us from doing what is really best for us. Our predetermined “no” may keep us from doing something God himself is putting in front of us. Let’s not always be skeptical!

God met Moses at the burning bush and told him he had been chosen to lead God’s people out of slavery in Egypt and into the land God had promised to their ancestors.

Moses’s response: Not me, Lord. I’m not the right guy for this job. I have no influence. The people won’t accept me as their leader. And, I’m not even a good speech maker. You need to find someone else.

As we know, God gave Moses some supportive tools, including miracles he could perform to show God had sent him and including his own brother Aaron to give the speeches. Somehow I think God might have been happier if Moses had just said “yes”.

God says,

“Love me with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.”

“Be holy as I am holy.”

“Love each other as I have loved you.”

“Go into all the world and tell them about me.”

He wants us to say “yes” to all those things.

Here are some other things to add to our “yes” list:

Discomfort

Uncertainty

Humble service

Change

Living by faith

Caring – a lot

Teaching others

Giving back to him everything he’s given to us

Showing compassion

If we say “yes” to these things, we also are saying “yes” to supernatural and unexplainable peace, hope, purpose, and joy. Let’s practice saying “yes” to God!

“For all the promises of God find their Yes in him.” – 2 Corinthians 1:20 .

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There is a safe place.

“We can see hope in the midst of hopelessness. We can see peace in the midst of chaos.” – Priscilla Shirer

Are you in a safe place? A place where you know you will be treated fairly? Or are you living in fear and dread of each new day? God wants justice. He wants his children to live without anxiety.

So much so, that in ancient Israel, he established several places as cities of refuge. A person accused of taking a life accidentally could run to one of those cities where he would await a trial. The purpose of the place of refuge was to protect him from death at the hands of relatives of the deceased person. God wanted him to be treated with justice, not vengeance.

The cities of refuge were located in places accessible by roads, and the elders in the surrounding towns were required to walk the route once a year to make sure there were no obstacles on the path and to place directional signs at any crossroads that read “To the City of Refuge” so the person fleeing wouldn’t get lost. God’s desire was to make it easy to get to a safe place. Nothing in the way. No detours.

Are you facing a crisis right now? Something that seems to threaten life as you know it? God invites you to himself as your refuge, your place of safety and strength, and he’s made it easy for you to get to him. There are no roadblocks. You can run to him through prayer, surrender, and faith. Rest in his presence, drink in his peace, and then trust he will show you the way forward. He really does care.

“The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him.” – Nahum 1:7

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The Me I Want to Be

“The proof of spiritual maturity is not how pure you are but awareness of your impurity. That very awareness opens the door to grace.” – Philip Yancey

Recently a Christian leader sent an angry tweet and, then, another post apologetic about the first and saying, “That isn’t really who I am.”

If we’ve used social media for any period of time, we most likely have had regrets about something we posted. Aren’t we all glad for the edit option?

In Mark 7, Jesus taught his disciples this truth: The words that come from our mouths (or, in today’s world, our phones or computers) reflect what we’re like on the inside. Our words reveal exactly who we are. Maybe, as one tweeter said, we shouldn’t say, “That isn’t really who I am,” and instead say, “That’s not the person I want to be.”

How, then, do I become that person – the one I want to be? The one who is good, kind, gentle, generous, wise, self-controlled, faithful, loving, patient, and forgiving, but still discerning and bold? Whether we need fine tuning or a total overhaul, the method is the same: We go to the Father, confess our failings, and ask him to grow us into the person he’s designed us to be. Then, believe that he’s doing it. As we go through our lives day-by-day, we will be given opportunities to choose our responses, to initiate conversations, to help someone in need, and all the while, we are changing – becoming more and more like the person we want to be.

It all starts with turning to the Father.

” . . . walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,” – Ephesians 4:1b-2

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Sometimes it’s good to change your mind.

“No one who meets Jesus ever stays the same.” – Philip Yancey

We tend to get set in our ways. We choose a path and follow it not realizing that all the obstacles that come may be God’s way of telling us to turn around. We sometimes defend opinions we’ve held for years without recognizing there might be another way of looking at things. We read our Bibles already knowing how we understand the passage, not being aware that God might be trying to give us a new perspective this time.

We’re not always right. Sometimes new information or new insights mean we have to be willing to change our minds.

Jesus and the Pharisees were having a discussion. When he asked them whether John the Baptist’s message was from God, they whispered together for a few minutes and then came back with their answer: “We don’t know.” Matthew gives us the back story by saying they were afraid to give an answer because of what people would think. Jesus challenges them again by saying they might not have been sure at the beginning of John’s ‘ministry, but after all the teaching and signs given, they should have been able to see the truth and speak it. They should have been willing to change their minds.

God expects us to make decisions, enter into relationships, and have opinions. But if I understand him correctly, he also expects us to take in new information, think deeply about our positions, and make changes when it is appropriate. It’s OK to change our minds. If we are growing in our faith, it will become necessary at times.

” . . . to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” – Ephesians 4:23-24