OYB: January 17

Today´s reading:
OT: Genesis 35, Genesis 36
NT: Matthew 12:1-21
Ps: Psalm 15
Pr: Proverbs 3:21-26

Today´s notable verse:

For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath

Matthew 12:8 (NIV)

The One Year Bible Blog notes:

The other thing that these Proverbs verses remind me of is one of my favorite three word quotes - "Habits determine success." I've spoken about this in some of my weekly emails in regards to reading the One Year Bible each day. It takes some planning and insight for us to figure out when we will realistically read the Bible for 15 minutes every day. After this planning and insight and after a week or two we've suddenly built up a great habit. A habit that will determine our success in reading the Bible in a year.

Actually, as I understand it, a behavior takes about 21 consecutive days to form a "habit". Regardless, the point is the same. That's why I set my alarm an hour earlier, to be sure I have time to read and write each morning. (Establishing the complimentary habit - getting to bed an hour earlier - has been more difficult.)

Comments from you & Question of the Day - Based on my reflections in Proverbs above, how do you go about planning things in your life? In what ways do you invite God into the process of planning your life? And in what ways, or at what times, do you simply make decisions based on your own knowledge or common sense? What is the foundation of your own knowledge or common sense? Is it the Bible? Is it God? Do you suppose with the foundation of God and the Bible in our lives, that we may not need to take every single decision throughout our day to God in prayer because we are operating (generally speaking) from a biblical godly worldview? How do you balance taking things to God for guidance and making decisions on your own?

Wow, if only you knew just how impactful those questions have been in my life recently... We should always seek God when we make decisions. It is wise to take major decisions to God in prayer, and to seek the counsel of godly men and women. For the day-to-day life decisions, I think we need to have God's Word stored up inside of us, so that we can apply it. It is never wrong to seek wisdom from God directly, but I think we can become spiritually "lazy" by not using His Word, that He has already given us, to prepare us to make such decisions. Bear in mind also that God's wisdom usually turns worldly wisdom on its head, and that the right decision is seldom the easy one. God's principles seem exactly opposite to worldly common sense: to become a leader, serve? To become great, become the least? To live, die? Repay evil with kindness, and pray for those who persecute you? To the world, what nonsense! To us, however, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God! (I Corinthians 1:18-31)