TODAYS BIBLE READING:
 

We read in Proverbs 10:8, "The wise in heart will receive commands, But a prating fool will fall." In 10:17, we read, "He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, But he who refuses correction goes astray." In 12:15, we read, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise." God knows how difficult life is and will be for each of us. He didn't just create us and send us on our way to find it. He gave us His divine manual of instruction, the Bible. Throughout these 66 books, He touches on every possible permutation in life. When life doesn't seem to make sense and people complain about how unhappy they are it is like the person with the outdoor grill who assembled it his own way without the instruction manual, then complains that it is not working. This is the case for non-Christian and Christian. How many Christians complain that they are not experiencing the Spirit-filled life, yet refuse to either pick up or truly follow God's instruction manual? Just like some parts of the assembly of the outdoor grill are more difficult than others, so are more parts of life. But He will never leave us or forsake us. He not only gave us His manual, but He gave us His Son, and showed us how. The question is are we willing to stop following our own manual which leads to disaster and destruction and trust Him enough to follow His perfect One. Anyone who exalts his own strength, his own way, his own prescription for life, rather than following God's perfect manual will be humbled. Anyone who is willing to lose himself and follow God's manual will be exalted. In the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Jesus describes the Pharisee who trusted in his own manual for righteousness and contrasted this to the tax collector, where we read the words of Jesus in Luke 18:10-14, "...And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." The Tax Collector realized that he was following the wrong manual and chose to rest completely on the author of the One correct manual, and as a result found his way.

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Besides following the Bible as the One True Manual for our lives. with what lens do we choose to view others and the world. We make a choice every day. We can either seek to elevate others or tear them down. We can choose to look at others with eyes of love or eyes to critique and pick apart. So often we judge ourselves by our best intentions but others by their worst actions. We ourselves could often never live up to our expectations of others. We read in Proverbs 10:12, "Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins." We see a similar verse in the New Testament, as we read in 1 Peter 4:8, "And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." The word cover in Hebrew is "kacah" which means to overwhelm. So, when we see shortcomings in others, the answer is to overwhelm them with love. The truth is if you show love for another you tend to give them the benefit of the doubt, but if you hate someone, you seek excuses to pick them apart and fight. Love is a word that is both used and misused. Paul gives a good definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails...". Armed with the One True Manual, the Bible, and willing to cover others with love we have the true prescription for a God centered life of righteousness and joy.