So here we are the last day of 2022. I don’t put a lot of stock in New Year’s resolutions, but I will say over the past four weeks I have lost 10 pounds and I plan to keep that up till I hit my goal another 35 pounds from now. I know it will do me good, I am committed to the task and already feel so much better than I did at Thanksgiving. Another task I am committing to is the idea of increasing my understanding of common sense and the use thereof. I have always thought of myself as a commonsense person, but there is always room for growth. If you are like me, there is an area of your life with which you struggle. Wouldn't it be incredible to be set free in 2023.
So, what's the plan? There are 31 days in January and there are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs. I have often used the book of Proverbs in this way, but this time I am looking for the simple common-sense truth.
Here is the reason why? We have seen a lot of foolishness in the world over the past two years. Like a watchman I have to tell you I don’t see it getting any better. To borrow a phrase from comedian Lilly Tomlin “Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse.”
But that’s ok! We can still have peace in a world set on insane self-destruction. For me that peace comes by being a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. God has given us a mind and he calls us to have the mind of Christ and to use the common sense he has given us. In those times when we don’t understand “we lean not on our understanding but in all our ways we acknowledge God, and he directs our path.”
I will be reading one chapter of Proverbs per day during the month of January. Then I will record what the Spirit says to me. In reality I am simply going back to the basics of common sense.
Each week for the month of January I will be posting on our church Facebook page a few things I am learning from the chapters of Proverbs. I encourage you to join me and chime in with what you are learning. Together we can build up the body of Christ with common sense which is so needed in our world today.
Imagine how much smoother the world would run if our leaders just used a little common sense. How will our own lives be more peaceful? What if instead of cursing the driver who almost ran us of the road, we said a prayer for them? How would major decisions in our lives in 2023 be impacted if we are seeking to have the mind of Christ concerning the decisions we make? Rather than jumping to conclusions about what someone has said, instead we are quick to assume that perhaps we have misunderstood and if we haven’t misunderstood, we are quick to forgive.
In Matthew 5:25 Jesus talks about a prison that we are thrown into. Many times, that prison is one of our own making. We get trapped in our own stinking thinking and we ruminate on negative thoughts and those negative thoughts ruin our day if not our relationships.
Finally, here is my hope for 2023. I don’t want any of my friends to go to prison or be stuck in a prison of your own making. Let’s see what happens when we heed the idea of using the common sense God has given us.
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