My child, pay attention to my words; listen closely to what I say. Don’t ever forget my words; keep them always in mind. They are the key to life for those who find them; they bring health to the whole body. Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life. Don’t use your mouth to tell lies; don’t ever say things that are not true. Keep your eyes focused on what is right, and look straight ahead to what is good. Be careful what you do, and always do what is right. Don’t turn off the road of goodness; keep away from evil paths. Proverbs 4: 20-27 (1)

We unconsciously retain information. Marketers have been aware of this for years and bombard us with subliminal messages.  Advertisements are around us, whether or not we acknowledge them. We store the information without even noticing and sometime later, we may find ourselves fighting the impulse to spend money we don’t have on something we don’t need…

As I read the passage above, my mind went back to my childhood days.  My parents always gave us direction guidance about everything from meals to relationships. Years later, I still ‘hear’ their voices and still continue some of their practices.  What if we made a conscious effort to take in as much of His words as we could?  What if we deliberately went ‘out of our way’ to read His words and ingest them?  What if we chose to gorge ourselves on His word so that when we speak ‘from the overflow of our hearts’, our words will be His words, useful for – “ teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”, 2 Timothy 3:16 (2)

Proverbs 4:20-27 contains much of what we need for effective Christian living, but the Bible is a complete book. If we only read the parts we like or find easier to read, we would be missing out on so much more!  To become like Him, we must spend time reading His word and allowing His words to shape our thoughts and behaviours.  It is said that we will likely become what we spend the most time doing.  How have you been spending your day?

Inventory /Introspection: What percentage of my day do I dedicate to reading/studying His word (How has His Word influenced my  daily life? Have I been spending as much time in Bible Reading / Bible Study as I should? How can I arrange my priorities to make sure I spend more time on the things that matter to Him? )

Father, I am thankful that I have the freedom to read Your word wherever and whenever I please. I do not take this for granted but there are days I don’t spend as much time reading Your map. You give clear and specific directions but I don’t always do what You say. No wonder I get lost sometimes.

I want to know more about You, to grow closer to You and to be more like You to the glory of Your name.

I pray You will restore the passion we had when we first met You. That we would have a hungering and a thirsting to read Your words and allow You to change our hearts.  Help us to make the practical decisions that will enable us to spend more time doing the things that matter to You. Life happens, yes, but we get to choose how we spend each precious moment You give us… Help us to make the right decisions and to allow You to “direct our paths”.  Amen

 Blessings,
ann

Toni R
(c)

(1) Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

(2) Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

© Anthonette Anderson and Tonirand’s Blog, 2011. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Anthonette Anderson and Tonirand’s blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.


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