A Week to Go

I hope you all have been able to catch up and keep up the daily Proverbs readings. I will admit that while I was in Israel it got very tough some days to do my readings. There were one or two days that I had to double up, but it was amazing how powerful it was to read the Scriptures in the very place they were written.

Today, you all should have read Proverbs 25. What an awesome chapter!

Verse 2 says, "It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search them out."

This has actually been one of my life verses, as I have come to discover time and time again how much God has hidden within his Word, so that we might have the opportunity to discover new and fresh things about Him every time we read. As I was in Israel I realized how much is "hidden" from us as American readers because we have never seen the terrain or don't understand the Jewish culture. My prayer is constantly that I would fall more and more in love with God's Word, and I find the more I pray that the more discoveries I make and the more the Scriptures become alive to me.

My other thought for the day: what if we took the God's Word seriously? What if we believed God when he said obeying his Word will bring us life? When I read verse 21 and 22 I thought, what a powerful command to live counter-culture. Our culture tells us we should get people back when they wrong us or turn our backs on those who hurt us. God tells us that if we love and serve our enemies we participate in building a Kingdom of love and peace. What if we actually tried to do this?

Grace and peace...

Time To Catch Up

Just from my small group today, I have a strong inclination that about half of our team is behind of the Proverbs reading right now.

My suggestion right now would be to get caught up, and not get behind again. Figure out what time each day you will do your reading and let your parents know so that they can help hold you accountable. If you are looking for a "pump me up - make me feel good" Mexico trip this year, then go ahead and do all your readings the last day, but your Mexico feelings are going to disappear just like every other year leaving you to question whether what you experienced even happened at all.

But, if you want the type of faith Jesus had...the type that he taught the disciples to have...the kind that doesn't disappear after a spiritual high...then learning to hear from God daily is so important. And the Numero Uno (check out my Spanish!) way that we hear from God is through his Word.

Maybe in the comment section those of you who are making the time to read every day can offer suggestions as to what is helping you. Others may post why it has been tough so that teammates may offer helpful advice.

I continue to pray for you...may God open your eyes, direct your heart, and order your steps so that you may follow him every day of your life.