WANT TO GAIN FAVOR WITH GOD

Proclamation:

“My son, do not forget my teachings, but keep my commandments in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity.  Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the table of your heart.  Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man."  Proverbs 3:1-4

Explanation:
These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King Solomon, the son of King David.  Solomon was the wisest man to ever live. (2 Chronicles 1:11-12)  His proverbs were written to teach and guide the people of God so that they would know and practically apply The Word of God.  Here he also addresses how one can please God.

Application:
Most of us would love to have a peaceful, long life and God's favor.  We can enjoy these blessings, all we have to do is believe and follow The Word of God.  If we keep God's word in our heart and on our mind, and have mercy and truth become a part of us so that we demonstrate acts of loving-kindness to others, we will have favor in the sight of God.  Not only should we need to read and meditate on The Word of God, but we also need to live by it.  Our Christian walk is more of a testament to our belief in God than are our spoken words.  Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)  If we want to enjoy His blessings, then we need to keep His commandments.

BE DOERS OF THE WORD OF GOD

Proclamation:

"Do not merely listen to The Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."  James 1:22 (NIV)  The King James Versions says: "But be ye doers of The Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by James, the half-brother of Jesus, The Christ.  James wanted his readers to know that it is not enough to hear The Word of God. One must believe it, internalize it, and put it into practice in their life.

Application:
When we know better, then we ought to do better.  If we hear The Word of God, and if we understand what it is saying, then it should change our behavior.  If it goes over our head, or if it goes in one ear and out of the other without making a difference in us, then we may as well not have heard it.  Believers are changed by The Word of God, not made perfect, but different.  We no longer get the same pleasure out of our sins because we know that it is not pleasing to God.  We know that we have been changed because some sins no longer appeal to us.  However, we have some sins that we struggle with, and pray to God for help with, because they are like an addiction to us.  The good news is that the more time that we spend talking to God in prayer, and reading His Holy Word, the less time we spend in sinful activities or having sinful thoughts.  So, when we are tempted to sin, we need to pick up our Bible and read it.  Then we need to try to live like it says that we should live.  We need to be doers of The Word and not just hearers of it.

RENEWING OUR MIND

Proclamation:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is; His good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by the Apostle Paul, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to the believers in Rome.  Paul offered them practical examples of how they should live the theological truths and principals which he had presented to them earlier.  He exhorted and encouraged them to yield themselves to God.  Paul told them not to imitate the behavior of the unsaved people around them.  They were to transform their mind by the study of and the meditation on the scriptures until they were saturated with and controlled by The Word of God.

Application:

As Christians, we should live our lives in such a way as to be pleasing to God.  We live in this world but we are not of this world.  Our real home is in heaven and we are on our way there.  We just need to get our mind, focus, and actions right while we are here on earth.  How do we "renew our mind"?  By reading, studying, and meditating on The Word of God.  We should read our Bible more often.  None of us is perfect; we can all improve and do better.  Don't be like the unsaved folk in the world.  When we accepted Christ as our personal savior we were changed, transformed into new creators.  We need to grow spiritually and renew our mind and our commitment on a daily basis.  Now that we belong to God, we can expect the devil to get busy in our lives.  We need to be on guard and constantly renew our foundation in God’s Word.  If we love someone, telling them that we love them once a week is not enough.  We need to show them that we love them by our actions and our behavior daily, if not several times each day.  In the same manner, just reading The Bible on Sunday is not enough.  We must read it and live it each day of the week.

Bible Verses As Bible Based Life Lessons

Rev Wendell Wharton is a Christian and an ordained Baptist Minister offering Bible verse blogs at: " revwendell.blogspot.com ".  His blogs share his enlightened thoughts on various Bible verses, or Bible quotes, as daily "Bible Based Life Lessons".  The blogs are three paragraphs featuring 1 The Word of God, proclamation; 2 the context surrounding the Bible verses, explanation; and 3 how the Bible verses relate to our everyday lives, application.  These blogs are part of a Christian Ministry of Bible study on-line, relating the Bible to our daily living in order to provide daily devotional, inspirational, thought provoking scriptures to live by.

Long Life And Prosperity

"My son, do not forget My teaching, but keep My commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity."  Proverbs 3:1-2 (NIV)

In this parental appeal, King Solomon wrote the commands and principals which The Lord God gave to the people through him.  Addressing the young people, these "teachings" here refer to the law of God.  The Word of God was to be remembered, and obeyed.  Those who did so would enjoy a long life and prosperity. 

Here we are taught to live a life in constant communion with The Lord God.  His law should guide our every thought, word, and action.  In order to encourage us to submit to His law, He assured that if we do so, we would enjoy a long and prosperous life.  This long life refers not only to the length of our days here on earth, but also to the length of our days for ever and ever. (Psalms 21:4)

Live By The Word Of God

"But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it, he will be blessed in what he does."  James 1:25 (NIV)

Under the divine inspiration of The Holy Spirit of God, James, the brother of Jesus, recorded these words in order to encourage the believers to read, hear, and live by The Word of God.  A believer should be a living example of their faith.  James said that they should not just be readers or hearers of The Word of God, they should also be doers of The Word. (James 1:22)

We should read, study, and live by The Word of God.  Attending worship services and hearing 
The Word of God does not do us any good, if we only hear it, and it does not change our lives and our behavior.  After we ingest The Word, we need to put it into practice in our daily lives.  We must "walk the walk", and by doing that, we will be blessed.  If we truly love The Lord, then we will live by His Word. (John 14:23)