Life Hack #12 - Dust Off the Bible

Life Hack #12:

It amazes me how many individuals actually think they are learning something when they just attend church on Sunday, issuing proclamations of agreement and head nods in assent to the teaching, or even watch Christian TV all through the week, and still don't manifest a life change. Exposure to a subject and even agreement with it is not learning - but God holds us accountable for the knowledge we possess, even when we don't use it. Exposure to a subject gives us knowledge of the subject - application of the knowledge gives us the chance to be affected by it. 

Give yourselves to disciplined instruction; open your ears to tested knowledge. (Proverbs 23:12)

We need to "give ourselves" to disciplined instruction. We actually have to put something into our learning, but we all have experienced the difficulty associated with actually learning. The first thing we must remember is that the attitude we exhibit when truth is made available to us and how well we actually apprehend the truth is critical to us actually 'learning' anything. If we are not open to truth, no matter how often we are exposed to it, we will reject it as "not applicable" to our lives.

How open are our senses to what is being taught? All learning comes through one sense or another. This is why we "get" some truths when we finally see it illustrated. The combination of hearing and seeing puts it together for us and we finally "get it". The appropriateness of the truth in relation to the point in life we find ourselves at the time the truth is revealed might just make the difference between hearing and actually learning. When a truth is revealed and our life circumstances seem to "need" the truth, we are often more willing to embrace the truth at that time.

We need to remember it is to be "disciplined" instruction. Disciplined learning only occurs when one is willing to put in the effort to apply what is learned. Disciplined learning is the process of being "rigorous" in applying what we are learning. As truth is revealed, there is a precision required in taking what is heard and incorporating it into one's daily practice. Practice makes perfect is the old adage, but I would say practice leads us closer to what changes our lives. God gives us the truth, challenges us by giving us the leading of the Holy Spirit to assist in remembering the truth, and then he asks us to do the "hard work" of using the truth in a very practiced and consistent manner.

Learning to think differently about myself has been a difficult challenge - but it is through applying the truth that I am a child of God, pure in his sight, and dearly beloved by him that I have made progress in seeing myself as valued and of great worth. If you are a "casual learner" like those who give the head nods and positive assent to "lessons" taught by God's teachers, maybe you owe it to yourself to get into the Word a little yourself and see what God can bring out of it as truth which will set your life on fire. Just sayin!

A small connection

I inherited your book on living; it’s mine forever— what a gift! And how happy it makes me! I concentrate on doing exactly what you say— I always have and always will. (Psalm 119:105)

What have you inherited in your lifetime? As a small child, my paternal grandmother passed and she left me her silverware, complete with a beautiful wood chest to store it in. It is that kind that you wouldn't use everyday, but it has such meaning because it was from someone I got to know only slightly. When my dad passed, some of his tools were incorporated into my tool-shop, but do you know what I treasure the most? His lapel pins! He had some that he had 'earned' as a certified life underwriter for a large insurance company and others he had 'earned' as a member of the military armed forces in Canada. Those are also in a special wood box - memories I will always cherish because they are a small connection with my dad. When mom passed, my home was filled with all kinds of treasures she had made in the ceramics shop when she was fully-sighted and able to do such things. These adorn the walls, and they create beauty in the soffits, but the one thing I cherish most is a pillow my daughter made for me from one of mom's favorite nightgowns. Soft and cuddly fleece, but most importantly - a connection with my mom. There is more than one Bible around my house - each from various times in my life when I felt like I needed to add a new one. Some were for studies in Bible College and others were just for enjoying the reading of the Word. These are also an inheritance - not really handed down to me from a human, but definitely handed down to me by God himself!

The Word of God is often overlooked as one of our greatest 'inheritances' because we don't realize how it helps us make a 'connection' with the one who has given it as our inheritance. It should mean more to us than just a book on a shelf - it should become a living and breathing part of our lives because that is what the giver intended when he gave us this gift! Today's blog is short and sweet - find that 'inheritance', dust it off a bit, and then 'make that connection' with the giver! At first, the connection may be small, but in time you will find the connection will grow until it begins to live inside of you as much as the memories of those who have gone on before you! Just sayin!

More than a good read

And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. (Deuteronomy 6: 6-7 NLT)

Have you ever read a good book, put it down, and then taken it up a short time later to read it all over again?  I have! There are times when I reread the entire chapters again until I get a good handle on the content contained within, or just because I thought maybe I missed something the first time I read through it. If we do this with novels and instructional books designed to help us be better leaders, learn a new task or skill, etc., doesn't it also make sense that we'd want to do this with God's Word? As a matter of fact, God even asks us to do it!

No one needs to remind us that pain is real, do they? We stub our toe, immediately cry out in pain, and hobble around for days "babying" that tiny part of our body that managed to collide at some awkward angle into some immovable object. We get rejected by that first love and our hearts are left emptied of warmth, frozen in a place of hurt and pain. We see the anguish of our children trying to make a way for themselves in the world and repeating the same mistakes you'd hope they'd have avoided just because you told them to be on the lookout for them. Pain is real - it is evident all around and within us.

We don't need a book to point out our pain, do we?  What we need more is a plan laid out that takes us from pain into a place of hope and healing. That is exactly what we have in God's Word. Yes, there is some content in there that outlines the pain brought on by sin's pathway in our lives, but it is also filled with promises of great hope and magnificent grace. Maybe this is why God tells us to speak about it continually - to "reread" it because we might have missed something the first time, or it just needs to be heard time and time again to remind us of his tremendous love for each of us.

In the days this passage was penned, there wasn't mass printing capabilities. Every home did not have the luxury of owning a copy of the Word of God, nor did their lives contain the ease of a Bible app on their smartphones. So, they "talked" God's Word every chance they had - so it would be refreshed in their minds, taught from generation to generation, and carried on through their actions each day. As much as God may want us to frequently remind each other of the truths from the Word of God, using these truths to guide our behaviors, it is equally important we become familiar with them personally. 

It may have been some time since you dug into the "book". I would encourage you to "begin again" - maybe not where you left off, but reread something of meaning to you. Begin with the easier stuff - the psalms or proverbs, perhaps. Then branch out - but just get into it again! It isn't just a "good book" - it is the Book of Truth that guides our steps and ensures light along our path! Just sayin!

Clothes really do make a man

There are some things in the Bible which just appear a little to hard to grasp. They are a "mind challenge" and most likely a "heart challenge" - especially when we have a mindset toward doing exactly the opposite of what is being presented!  Then there are other things we just gravitate toward because the teaching is easy to understand, brings us some satisfaction, or we just like hearing the words over and over again because they bring us some sense of peace.  Most of the books of the Bible don't open up with an explanation of why they are being written.  In fact, you have to get to know all the "players" in the chapters, figure out a little history of what has gone on, and then try to understand the audience to whom the pages were penned, so you can piece together the meaning of the words - most of which you have a hard time actually knowing how they apply to you anyway.  Proverbs is just the opposite - it simply states right from the beginning - WE are the audience, the purpose for the writing of the book is our learning and growth, and no one is excluded from being able to glean something from its pages.

These are the wise sayings of Solomon, David’s son, Israel’s king—written down so we’ll know how to live well and right, to understand what life means and where it’s going; a manual for living, for learning what’s right and just and fair; to teach the inexperienced the ropes and give our young people a grasp on reality.  There’s something here also for seasoned men and women, still a thing or two for the experienced to learn—fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate, the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women.  (Proverbs 1:1-6 MSG)

The purpose of the gathering of these wise sayings known as the Proverbs is first and foremost the teaching of wisdom - with the hopes it will affect the lives of those who explore these teachings.  Some think the Book of Proverbs is a collection of philosophical sayings and scientific learning.  I beg to differ - for penned within the pages are truths which will guide us into greater truths, if we embrace them.  When embraced, they will give us the ability to discern inner qualities and relationships.  There we find insight, good sense and wise judgment.  Embracing the teachings set forth will have the impact of changing our attitude and affecting our course of action.

If this weren't enough, the gathering of these "wise sayings" is also for us to be taught some form of "discipline" in our lives.  The instruction, teaching, and learning provided afford training that can correct bad behavior, adjust misguided emotions, and enlighten cloudy vision.  Discipline molds, corrects, and brings about a perfecting of our mental faculties - so that our moral character might become strong, upright, and trustworthy.  Maybe we have trouble with really embracing wisdom in our lives - Solomon assures us of the help we will find in understanding these "wise sayings" if we will just allow them a place in our lives.  There is more than a meaning to the words contained within the book - there is a "reasonableness" to these words which point us toward the practical and away from the ethereal.

I guess the most significant thing about these "wise sayings" is their ability to make the simple-minded "clever" - mentally quick and resourceful.  If you have ever felt a little "dull-minded" on occasion, you might just want to remember the ability of the Proverbs to "sharpen" your mind.  It seems like young people have an ability to learn at capacities far exceeding some of us "seasoned" folks.  I think this is why Solomon tells the "young" to listen to these teachings, taking them to heart - so they will have a firm foundation of knowledge and purpose.  When we have "purpose", we have determination - we aren't "drifting" or "aimless" in our pursuits.  Perhaps this is why he asks the young to pay close attention to these teachings - so they will have intentional purpose and pursuit in their lives.

The goal of the "wise sayings" is to make the wise even wiser.  The understanding of those who will study them will grow and they will receive special guidance for their walk.  A life "crowned with grace" is available to those who will embrace these teachings - adornment with unmerited favor (even when we mess up), cleansing from the debris of our past (for it really takes something beyond us to rid us of this), and an opening of doors which have held us captive for way to long (bringing pardon and freedom to our much burdened hearts).  In embracing these teachings, we can begin to clothe ourselves with things which bring us honor - like a good reputation.  To live above shame and regret is to know true freedom.

They say "clothes make a man".  I have to ask - what better way to "clothe" ourselves than with the adornment of wisdom?  Just sayin!

I am not mature!

Mature:  Fully developed in body or mind; complete; perfected; ready; prepared.  Now, how many of you will say you are mature?  In society today, we often think of maturity as reaching a certain age - the age of "legality".  In other words - it is a measure of chronological years, not so much a measure of anything on the inside of the person.  The problem with this way of thinking is that we often have a whole lot of "mature-looking" individuals walking this earth, but they really lack the evidence of maturity in the emotions, mind, or their spirit.  Chronologically, they are "of age" - spiritually, emotionally, or intellectually, they are still immature.

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.  Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.  Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.  He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.  (Ephesians 4:11-16 MSG)

The idea of maturity carries several very focused meanings.  First, there is this idea of being fully developed.  Having lived with some fruit trees in my backyard as a kid, I know it takes some time for the fruit to come to a place of being developed enough to actually eat it.  As an orange "matures", it goes from a solid green color, to a light yellow, and then a full-bodied orange color.  The chance you take in plucking it too early from the tree is the arresting of the maturing process.  You might see it continue to change color a little, but the "full-bodied" taste of the orange is produced best while it still attached to the source of its maturing!  Now, in a spiritual sense, the place of maturing for a believer is not detached from the branch!  It is in finding a good connection with others who will actually aid your development that maturity is realized.  

Second, readiness is evident in maturity.  If you have ever waited any length of time for a child to be "ready" to leave for a destination they may not actually "want" to go to, you will know exactly what I am speaking of here!  The child "knows" the destination - but they aren't "ready" to get there.  They dilly-dally with the silliest things - taking forever to find their shoes, comb their hair, and get their jacket from the last place they threw it aside.  Now, if we are still doing this as we come into adulthood, most of us would never make it out the door to work in the morning!  We learn to do even the things which don't really thrill us - because we have come to a place of maturity which "overrides" our desire to stay in bed!  There is a readiness to arise in the morning, greet the new day and its challenges, and then come home to do it all over again.  In the spiritual sense, readiness is a key indicator of our level of maturity.  When God asks us to take a step with him, do we balk?  Or are we "ready" to move into what he has for us?  

So, how is it we get to this place of maturity, complete in every way?  I don't know about you, but I haven't arrived yet, but I am on the journey!  Maturity is more than a "time" in life - it is a consistent development process, never fully ended until it is ended.  My pastor says the biggest room in your house should be the room for improvement (Pastor Chad Moore).  If you think about this, he is right.  When we think about being mature, we sometimes think we have arrived at a point in life where there is no further need for "maturing" - almost like a wine maker might say a wine has reached its "perfection".  None of us actually reaches the point of perfection - if we think we do, we are only fooling ourselves.

The best we can ever do is stay in a place which allows us to mature - like the orange attached to the tree.  If we begin to see the resources God has provided for our growth (maturity), we will begin to see the benefit of being rightly connected for however long it takes!  Ever eat fruit which is ripened too quickly - it lacks taste, may be a little bitter, and is dry.  In contrast, the fruit which is allowed to develop to its point of maturity "connected" to its source of development has not only a different appearance on the outside, but the inside is quite different, too.  The pulp of a mature orange is full of juice - it has a robust taste, emanates a pleasant aroma, and is sweet to the one taking it in.  The same is true of spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually.  Stay connected to the source of maturity and you will find you produce a "robust" taste, a pleasant aroma, and are not as bitter!

The outside may be deceiving - just looking mature doesn't make us mature.  It is in focusing on what is on the inside that we begin to actually "actualize" maturity.  Readiness is a result of preparation.  Being complete is a result of being perfected.  When we want to do well at something, we just don't launch out and expect to do it well the first time.  We have to prepare - to perfect our skill.  Let's not get the cart before the horse - we have lots and lots of room for improvement in our lives before any of us can actually say we are "mature".  Just sayin!