Treasured Truths

Dear friend, do what I tell you; treasure my careful instructions.  Do what I say and you’ll live well.  My teaching is as precious as your eyesight—guard it!  Write it out on the back of your hands; etch it on the chambers of your heart. – Proverbs 7:1-5 (MSG)

When was the last time someone you love gave you unsolicited advice or asked hard questions?  It’s never fun to be on the receiving end of questions like:

• Why don’t you join Weight Watchers with me?
• Are you drinking too much?
• How much Netflix are you watching?

Critical questions catch us off guard, but we often need the truths they reveal to re-focus our priorities. It’s amazing how quickly good things can grow to throw our lives out of balance. 

• In the process of learning new recipes and making delicious meals for your family, you embrace the fact that everything tastes better with cream sauce and real butter.  Thirty pounds later, you’re wondering why you’re out of breath climbing the stairs.  
• Soon after a vineyard tour ignites an interest in wines, you go from researching dinner pairings to drinking a bottle a night. 
• When the Netflix series you binge watched ends, you realize how much you miss the screen’s ability to distract, and find glued to it most nights of the week in order to escape. 

God wants us to enjoy our lives with good things but warns us that where our eyes go, our minds and feet will follow. That’s why in Proverbs 7, God tells us how important His word is to our lives.  We are to see the Bible as a priceless treasure, a precious guidebook worthy of being tattooed on our hands and in our hearts.

Think for a moment, what Bible passage do you think is precious enough to be tattooed on you? (Regardless of whether you’d actually get one or not.)

I know a local pastor who tattooed Grace on one wrist and Truth on the other.  Every day, when he lifts his son up into his arms, he wraps Grace and Truth around his child and is reminded of Jesus’ powerful message to all of us. 

God knew we’d need reminders to hold fast to His truths.  After all these years, my 3 o’clock alarm snaps me out of whatever thoughts or desires are monopolizing my mind and switches them to God’s truths. I hope it is doing the same for you.

What is God prompting you to remember about Him today?  Is it His unfailing love, unearned grace, understanding of your pain, or His unchanging truths?  

What is God asking you to tattoo in your mind and on your heart?

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a Part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement