Lesson To Live By

A wonderful time in the life of James and Donnie, what an incredible time ....

It’s also a great time in the life of Deborah as she graduates from high school. ....

It is custom at a time such as this to give a directions for life kind of sermon.

The great thing about these it doesn’t just apply to those who were baptized or to those graduating from high school but to all of us. Those who haven’t yet made it and those who far beyond graduations and baptims to recheck their current life, what are we building right now? What in our daily, get up, get dressed, have breakfast, do something, work, relationship, medical care, responsibilities, relax go to bed, wake up and repeat kind of lives what in all of that are we building.

Jesus told us what we plant, is what we are going to harvest. What we do in our day to days is what is going to produce in our lives.

So here these words of guidance given to us by God

Proverbs 3:1–12 CSB

1 My son, don’t forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commands; 2 for they will bring you many days, a full life, and well-being. 3 Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you. Tie them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will find favor and high regard with God and people. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight. 7 Don’t be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. 8 This will be healing for your body and strengthening for your bones. 9 Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest; 10 then your barns will be completely filled, and your vats will overflow with new wine. 11 Do not despise the Lord’s instruction, my son, and do not loathe his discipline; 12 for the Lord disciplines the one he loves, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.

Great Words to apply to anyone’s life but let’s dig into them to take them off of the Hobby Lobby nice sayings on a wood board and put them in the middle of how we talk to people, how we think, how we actually live. Doing that actually allows us to take on the attitude of Christ Jesus.

Proverbs 3:1–2 CSB

1 My son, don’t forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commands; 2 for they will bring you many days, a full life, and well-being.

I could go on and on for a while of why it says son here but really matters is if you are a daughter, this applies to you as well. This is also is not “son” as in child but “son” as like the oldest guy here has a mom and dad even if they are no longer living, and for all of us who have confessed Jesus as Lord, and committed to follow him with our lives, all of us are sons and daughters of God.

The commands are the commands of God, the teaching of our Lord Jesus, the sword of the Spirit, in other words the Bible. This is what we are not to forget but more importantly what we are to know. The Bible though is large, it is an ancient text with sometimes very confusing ways that it is written and I wish I could get rid of every bizarro person’s teaching who tries to mislead everyone about it, it is a book that needs to be learned from people who teach it correctly.

But today the Bible is more able to be read than ever. We strongly recommend you download the app

YouVersion

where you can read the Bible in the easiest translations ever or even different languages. You also can read devotions that help you get to know the Bible easier.

This reading and learning is vital has to seep in. You can see how to know it correctly in this verse, you might have skipped over the word before keeping the commands, “Let your heart.” The heart, the essence of our life, how we love, how we live, it is what we do when no one is looking, it is who we are. This is where we are to keep our commands. It is vital that we learn the Bible from people who we know have let it into their heart, Like Pastor Jerry in our zooming with Jerry on Wednesday nights.

If someone keeps the commands in their heart it comes out of their heart in all situations.

If you apologize to church people when you slip up as you talk around them but talk in a way you would always be apologizing for if they only knew than you heart is not obeying.

Out of your heart are your true intentions and my friends I encourage you today to give your heart to Christ because giving only your public appearances or your church appearances is exhausting and God’s blessing of keeping his commands are for those who let there heart keep His commands.

- cheating

But the point is not to act as someone who doesn’t let God change their life because we aren’t perfect, then the reward of “many days, a full life, and well being”

In each one of these verse their is a big biblical word called parallelism, in this instance there is an instruction given and then it’s reward. The reward here a full life. You really want “your best life” than live with the commands of God, including the ones of gratitude and joy being on our heart.

The commands are rewards continue.

Proverbs 3:3–4 CSB

3 Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you. Tie them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will find favor and high regard with God and people.

Faithfulness, the ability to do what you have committed to do. Don’t back off, don’t back away, don’t commit to something until it gets hard or inconvenient. When you commit to someone be clear of what you are committing to do, because that is how faithfulness can be maintained.

We have many, many people with good intentions. There are those who will do kind things for people. Yet, those who always come through are much better to others than those with good intentions or thoughts. Come through.

Remember that it is Jesus who gives us the example that when he did not want to die for us, he didn’t want to be beaten and hung on a cross, he said, “not my will but your’s Lord.”

Thus when you offer to help someone come through and don’t make commitments that you cannot keep. Make your desire to be a woman or man of your word greater than your own personal comfort.

The reward, “favor and high regard with God and his people.”

Let God’s favor run over you by being a person of your word.

Proverbs 3:5–8 CSB

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight. 7 Don’t be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. 8 This will be healing for your body and strengthening for your bones.

We are praying for healing, We are praying for easier lives for many who are leaving lives of addiction, some who are struggling right now, look at what the Lord tells us through his ancient promises. Healing, strength, and straightening or easier way of life, are made through trusting God above ourselves.

Think about this, if you life has ruined by addiction, poverty, materialism, sexual immorality, putting a person before God in your life, therapists would tell you that you need to change how you think. It’s our thinking that got us in the position in the first place.

Proverbs 3:9–10 CSB

9 Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest; 10 then your barns will be completely filled, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

Proverbs 3:11–12 CSB

11 Do not despise the Lord’s instruction, my son, and do not loathe his discipline; 12 for the Lord disciplines the one he loves, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.