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Proverbs: A Mini-Guide to Life

In my regular, daily Bible reading over the past year I read through Proverbs 3, a passage I’ve studied and preached through many times. But during this reading, I realized that in verses 3 through 12 we have all the themes of the rest of the book, and therefore a kind of mini-guide to faithful living. There are five things that comprise a wise, godly life. They function both as means to becoming wise and godly as well as signs that you are growing into such a life:

  1. Put your heart’s deepest trust in God and His grace. Every day, remind yourself of His unconditional, covenantal love for you. Do not instead put your hopes in idols or in your own performance.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all your heart. (Proverbs 3:3-5a)

  1. Submit your whole mind to the Scripture. Don’t think you know better than God’s Word. Bring it to bear on every area of life. Become a person under authority.

Lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5b-6)

  1. Be humble and teachable toward others. Be forgiving and understanding when you want to be critical of them; be ready to learn from others when they come to be critical of you.

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. (Proverbs 3:7-8)

  1. Be generous with all your possessions, and passionate about justice. Share your time, talent, and treasure with those who have less.

Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. (Proverbs 3:9-10)

  1. Accept and learn from difficulties and suffering. Through the gospel, recognize them as not punishment, but a way of refining you.

My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. (Proverbs 3:11-12)

As I meditated on these five elements—rooted in His grace, obeying and delighting in His Word, humble before other people, sacrificially generous toward our neighbor, and steadfast in trials—I thought of Jesus. The New Testament tells us that the personified “divine wisdom” of the Old Testament is actually Jesus (see Matthew 11:19). And I realized that a). He showed the ultimate trust and faithfulness to God and to us by going to the cross; b). He was saturated with and shaped by Scripture; c). He was meek and lowly in heart (see Matthew 11:28-30); d). He, though rich, became poor for us; e). and He bore His suffering, for us, without complaint.

ou can only grow in these five areas if you know you are saved by costly grace. That keeps you from idols, from self-sufficiency and pride, from selfishness with your things, and from crumbling under troubles. Jesus is wisdom personified, and believing His gospel brings these character qualities into your life.

For a number of weeks, I have been spending time praying for these five things for my family and my church leaders. There’s no better way to instill these great things in your own heart than to pray intensely for them in the lives of those you love.

*****

by Tim Keller. This article originally appeared here at www.timothykeller.com. Used with permission.

Timothy Keller is the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he started in 1989. For 28 years he led a diverse congregation of young professionals that grew to a weekly attendance of over 5,000. He is also the Chairman & Co-Founder of Redeemer City to City (CTC), which starts new churches in New York and other global cities, and publishes books and resources for ministry in an urban environment. Dr. Keller’s books, including the New York Times bestselling The Reason for God and The Prodigal God, have sold over 2 million copies and been translated into 25 languages.

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2020 Global Virtual Summit

Global Virtual Summit 2020

We didn’t put a pandemic in our strategic plan for 2020.

When the lockdowns started all around the world, we at Walk Thru the Bible knew that we could share the answers to people’s  biggest questions and deepest longings. After all, we are “beggars showing other beggars where to find bread,” as D.T. Niles once said.  So we knew that we could show fearful, anxious, grieving people where to find comfort, guidance, and direction.

Those answers are found in God’s Word.

And that’s what we do: help people everywhere live God’s Word … and love God’s Word.

We also knew that this ongoing crisis is unprecedented, and we knew we would have to innovate and be creative about how we shared our biblical resources with a hurting world. God answered our prayers, and by His grace, Walk Thru the Bible has been very active in sharing His Word around the world. We’ve found new ways to ignite people’s passion for the Bible.

We want to share with you all that’s been going on with Walk Thru the Bible, all around the world, for the past six months.

Will you join us for the  Walk Thru the Bible 2020 Global Virtual Summit? This is our first ever global virtual summit, and we’re holding it online on Saturday, October 10, 2020 from 1-5 PM (EST).

You’ll hear stories of impact, interviews with our global leaders, celebrate all of the new doors of ministry that God has opened, and more. We’ll tell you how you can get involved through prayer and partnership with Walk Thru the Bible. And best of all, we’ll celebrate the great God who is doing a mighty work through this ministry.

We’d love for you to join us for this exciting event. And please invite your friends and family to be with us, too!

Please register below for the Walk Thru the Bible 2020 Global Virtual Summit. We’ll send you important information closer to the date of the Summit (like a link to view the Summit, how to log in, etc.).