You know, sometimes fate has a way of taking over in your life when you don’t know enough to do things on your own. Here in my later years, I want to tell you about something that is helping me even as I write this column.
There are three books in the Bible that are called “Wisdom Literature.” These books are Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes. All are good, but my favorite is the book of Proverbs, written by King Solomon, son of King David and reported to be the wisest man who ever lived. We are studying the book of Proverbs in our Sunday School class.
As we study the books of the Bible in our class, our teacher usually has some study guides written by various commentators. Our guide for Proverbs is a book called “Be Skillful” by Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe. This book is available from Amazon.com.
During my devotional time each morning I have about seven or eight books that I read a small portion of, and this really helps me start my day off on a good and positive note. I might add, when I read a book that takes me two or three months, I start over and read it again, often several times. This repetition helps the content to become my own knowledge, and not just something I have given a cursory reading.
I am here to tell you that this book on Proverbs by Dr. Wiersbe is really good, and I am learning a lot from it. I am now on my third time through, and I have come to realize that it is really a “Sermon on Demand.” All I have to do is pick it up and read a few pages, and it helps to keep me on a “straight and narrow path” of what is important to me, and how I choose to live my life.
Here are some chapter headings that will give you a good idea of what is in this book -- Don’t just make a living, make a life; Is anybody listening?; The path of wisdom and life; The path of folly and death; People wise and otherwise; Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief; Family, friends and neighbors; Matter of life & death; Make way for the righteous; Enjoying God’s guidance; Popular sins, drunkenness, disrespect, illusion, greed and pride; This God is our God.
Here is a sample paragraph of what I have been talking about: “Wise people flee from sin. A wise man fears and departs from evil, but a fool rages, and is self-confident. If we fear the Lord, we will hate evil. The self-confident person isn’t wise. Joshua was self-confident and lost a battle. Samson was self-confident and became a prisoner. Peter was self-confident and betrayed the Lord three times. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall.”
Now, here is the real purpose of this column. The most important battles I face are not those on the outside, but rather those that take place on the inside. When we win that war, we are well on our way to greater success and happiness. Anytime we have a need, when things are not going well in our life, it is a good thing to have a “Sermon on Demand.”
All we need to do, in complete privacy, is to read, study and think about the right words or the right course of action to take, and God will never steer us wrong.
(Jim Davidson is an author, public speaker, syndicated columnist, and Founder of the Bookcase for Every Child project. Since its inception in the Log Cabin Democrat in 1995, Jim’s column has been self-syndicated in over 375 newspapers in 35 states. For a personalized copy of “Your Future Begins Today” send $20, which includes postage and handling, to Jim Davidson, 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)
