Each night that I am at home and am not dealing with a pressing crisis, I send out a little mailer to a number of people in our church and to folks as far away as the east coast. I started it during the Covid lockdown when were forced to be isolated from most everyone else. And I just kept doing it when things returned to “normalcy”. I do them late at night and email them so folks get them when they wake up in the morning. This devotional is in it along with events in church, some funny stories and a section of trivia. The answers to the trivia questions are in the next day’s email. The other day one of the questions was simply “What is the square of 12?” Now the square of any number is simply that number multiplied by itself. I know that and I put down the wrong answer. The answer was “144”, the answer I put down was… “Greece”! Yeah, missed that one by a pretty huge margin. Folks laughed at that and I did too, but then I got curious. I was careless when I typed the answer and didn’t catch the mistake before I sent it. It hit me that maybe the Bible has something to say about being careless. In the ERV translation (Easy to Read Version) there are 5 different verses that talk about being “careless”. One of them sounded like it was meant for me! In Proverbs 14:15-16 it says “ Fools believe every word they hear, but wise people think carefully about everything. (16) Wise people are careful and avoid trouble; fools are too confident and careless.” Yeah I got that, what the careless person is. But that’s an important Proverb. Especially today we need to be wise enough to think about what we hear and everything else that is out there bombarding us each day. The Bible calls us to be careful and reminds us that to be too confident and careless in what we do, what we say and what we believe…is the action of a fool. How do we check out what is true and right and eternal? Well, God has given us what we need in the Bible. When we see things or hear things from other people, the talking heads on TV and online or even in our churches…we need to go to God’s Word and see how that lines up with what God has already said. When I preach a message on
Sunday, I often will encourage the folks who are hearing it to check out what I’ve said in the Bible. I really do know that the answer to a math problem will probably never be “Greece”. That was carelessness…a silly mistake. But there are those out there who push a lot of much more serious things on people and especially kids that are in direct opposition to what God has already said. So be a careful listener and think about what is being said to you. And don’t hesitate to look for the truth that is out there. The Bible makes the audacious claim that what is in it is true. I’m going to use that as my measuring stick for what is right and real and from the God who created us, offers redemption to us and to whom we will stand before one day. Read your Bible and remember God wants you to think carefully about what you hear and to not live carelessly. And always remember that the answer to 12 x 12 is not Greece! Here is our Bible verse for today…
Proverbs 14:15-16 ERV Fools believe every word they hear, but wise people think carefully about everything. (16) Wise people are careful and avoid trouble; fools are too confident and careless.
Remember I’m praying for you…
PJ
Sunday, I often will encourage the folks who are hearing it to check out what I’ve said in the Bible. I really do know that the answer to a math problem will probably never be “Greece”. That was carelessness…a silly mistake. But there are those out there who push a lot of much more serious things on people and especially kids that are in direct opposition to what God has already said. So be a careful listener and think about what is being said to you. And don’t hesitate to look for the truth that is out there. The Bible makes the audacious claim that what is in it is true. I’m going to use that as my measuring stick for what is right and real and from the God who created us, offers redemption to us and to whom we will stand before one day. Read your Bible and remember God wants you to think carefully about what you hear and to not live carelessly. And always remember that the answer to 12 x 12 is not Greece! Here is our Bible verse for today…
Proverbs 14:15-16 ERV Fools believe every word they hear, but wise people think carefully about everything. (16) Wise people are careful and avoid trouble; fools are too confident and careless.
Remember I’m praying for you…
PJ