Re-committment

I am in need of re-committing myself to the good Lord. I have drifted away, indeed. I am feeling lost, wanting to be found. He will find me and draw me closer. Did He not leave behind the ninety and nine, just to find that one which had gone astray?
Re-kindling the fire! What a joy it is to watch a fire that has almost died down, seemingly dead, but, alas! When the poker does agitate the settled ashes, the glow shall be found. The glow is needed to re-kindle a fire bright and strong, but only if small sticks of faith were added, then branches of belief, and finally branches of humility. The fire will warm one's heart and when one allows it, the warmth will be shared with others. It all feels good and wonderful.

Proverbs.

I've never been so intensely interested in reading Proverbs. I wonder how many people read Proverbs daily in addition to their daily devotions or Bible reading.

Proverbs**
can be read over and over again and it only gets better every time you read it. Daily instruction to daily living for God. A pathway to gaining wisdom and understanding which in turn helps you to understand God more and exactly why Solomon told God he wanted wisdom when asked what he wanted. Solomon must have wanted a knowledge of God, to understand God better, and to live the life God wanted him to live. A very successful, prosperous, and blessed life! God gave Solomon just that.

Now, don't forget; Solomon, being human, fell. So, read Proverbs, study it, and APPLY it to your life. Ask God to help you, ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and guide you. You cannot live a life of wisdom and understanding alone; you must have God to help you. You must be humble. Get rid of pride. Its a very hard thing to do. Getting rid of pride is like grating parmesan cheese with a very fine grater, expecting it to erode quickly. But it can be done.

Begin with a fear. A respectful, reverent fear of the Lord. Love Him. God is love. His love will flow through you and you in turn will love others.

Hunker down and listen for God

In the past two weeks, I've spent a lot of time just reading and analyzing. I think I analyze too much, but nevertheless, it's helped. I read two books. Shine: Make them wonder what you've got and Heaven is for Real. These two books have helped me tremendously and I believe it will help you as well.
I've been able to look at people and life from a different perspective and changed how my heart "works". From the book, Shine, I've learned to pray for the Lord to help me to decrease myself, die to self, and to let Christ increase. The book speaks of letting the light of Christ shine through your actions and overall lifestyle, but there is difficulty letting that light shine when there are obstructions, i.e., pride, selfishness, indulgences, etc. So, I've put into practice praying after waking and asking the wonderful Lord to help me start my day by being filled with the Spirit. No wonder Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit as the Comforter! It is comforting! He helps me through the day and my heart swells with a new vigor to truly love and serve the Lord.

Something to ponder...

"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you can." ~John Wesley

I wonder if I have the capability to do this. If not, then, surely, I know God can give me the capability. I want to do this. The best way to be able to do this is to give myself freely to God first, then all good things will flow from Him through me.

Can you or are you doing this? 

First time to go mobile.

I thought I would give short-blogging a try. Short, yes, because it's mobile and it can be difficult to write a lengthy blog mobilly (excuse the word, just sounded appropriate!)

Fact: I love to read Max Lucado. Recenlty picked up four books at Half Price Books. $6 for all four. I also follow his tweets. An inspiration for every apsect of my life.

Applying Proverbs to Daily Life

I'm sorry to say that I'm not going to go in detail on the Proverbs study. I just want to say that I really appreciate what I've learned from reading the book through. I think about what I've read and try to apply them to my daily life.

Now, a great friend gave me a personal hymnal, Sing To The Lord. I look in it daily. I love looking in it. It's a great devotional. Today, I opened the book and the first song I see is, "Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken". I read the words to the song. I realize that I have a cross to pick up, place it on my shoulder, and carry it, following Christ. Forget everything else around me and just follow Christ. It's a burden, but it's well worth it to carry it while following Christ, knowing that He is taking me the right way. Can we fully "know" and "understand" this song and it's meaning?

Jesus, I my cross have taken,
All to leave and follow Thee;
Destitute, despised, forsaken,
Thou from hence my all shall be.

Perish ev'ry fond ambition,
All I've sought, and hoped and known;
Yet how rich is my condition-
God and heav'n are still my own!

Let the world despise and leave me;
They have left my Savior too.
Human hearts and looks deceive me;
Thou art not, like man, untrue.

And while Thou shall smile upon me,
God of wisdom, love, and might,
Foes may hate and friends may shun me;
Show Thy face, and all is bright.

I have called Thee "Abba, Father;"
I have stayed my heart on Thee.
Storms may howl and clouds may gather;
All must work for good to me.

O 'tis not in grief to harm me
While Thy love is left to me;
O 'twere not in joy to charm me,
Were that joy unmixed with Thee.

Hasten from grace to glory,
Armed by faith and winged by prayer;
Heav'n's eternal days before me-
God's own hand shall guide me there.

Soon shall close my earthly mission;
Swift shall pass my pilgrim days;
Hope shall change to glad fruition,
Faith to sight and prayer to praise.

A study of Proverbs

In the following entries, I will be taking notes of what I have learned about Proverbs, learned about myself, and how I can change myself to be a better servant for God. I want to have a better reputation, to build good relationships with people and with God through the study of Proverbs.

Proverbs

Purpose: Teach people how to get wisdom and understanding so that they may have a prudent life doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord. In short, to apply wisdom to daily life and receive moral instruction.

Wisdom for young people
Wisdom for all people
Wisdom for leaders

The Proverbs are given in three parts as listed above, but does not mean that each part is directed at only the specific audience, but rather provide the best instruction for the specific audience. All people should read all of Proverbs.

Wisdom
The Lord wants all people to be wise. There are wise people and there are fools. fools are wicked and stubborn who hate wisdom & instruction and and thus will not accept it, ignoring God. The wise seek to know and love God.

Relationships
Proverbs is filled with instruction for developing relationships withpeople. Every relationship requires that we show love, dedication, and high moral standards.

Speech
Many proverbs mention that what we say shows who we are. It shows our real attitude and as we learn and change, speech is also a real test of how wise we become.

Work
Final outcome in all we do is controlled by God and we are accountable to carry out work out with diligence and discipline, not laziness.

Success
People work hard for fame and money, but God views success as having a good reputation, moral character, and the spiritual devotion to obey Him.