Proverbs 1.1-19

Proverbs 1.1-19

        The Proverbs begin with Solomon exhorting us to be discerners between true wisdom and self-proclaimed wisdom, of what is from the Lord and what is of man. If we want to be wise, if we want to be led by the Lord and His Truth, if we want to honor our Lord in all we do, we must seek His wisdom above all else. “Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance” (Proverbs 1.5). May we be ready to “hear” God’s Word; ready to listen to His Truth; ready to accept what He says as good and right; ready to rely upon the Scriptures as the final authority for all our lives. To hear, we must take the time to listen, being fully committed to reading God’s Word; we must be willing to set aside time, even in the busyness of our schedules, to sit at His feet and learn of our Lord; we must pray for a fervent desire to love the Lord and want to spend time with Him, to love His Word and want to spend time in it. In hearing, may we increase in knowledge of our Lord; not just the knowing of facts, but rather growing in relationship with Him; not just understanding history, but living in awe before Him who is the maker and sustainer of all creation, our only Savior and Redeemer.

        Hearing and learning will lead to an understanding of His will and design for our lives; it will lead to clarity of what it means to follow Jesus in these days. We want to know what to do, what should be the next step of our lives, and what is of the greatest importance for our focus and energies. In hearing and learning, we understand it is not the specific activity or vocation which is of greatest value, but rather our faithfulness in obeying our Lord as revealed in Scripture; our willingness to follow the Lord in the principles of His Word; our living in humble realization that we are the children of God, not because of who we are or what we have done, but rather because of His love, grace, and mercy; we are His because He has called us.

May you enjoy the rich blessings of Christ throughout 2023!

Hearing, learning, and following – we have much to be thankful for –

Terry Burlingame