If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.   Proverbs 9:12
THREE PEOPLE—a minister and two kids—once went on a short sight-seeing flight in a small, four-passenger plane. One of the kids had just been honored in a national newsmagazine as “the smartest kid in the world.”
Suddenly, the pilot shouted to his passengers over the roar of the engine. “We’ve got a big problem!” he said. “Our gas tank has a leak in it, and we’re going to run out of gas in just a couple minutes. We’re going to have to jump!”
“That’s not so bad,” the minister said, forcing a nervous smile. “I’ve always wanted to learn to skydive!”
The pilot shook his head. “We only have three parachutes. One of us isn’t going to make it! I’ve got a family. I can’t leave them alone without a father.”
“Well, I’m the smartest kid in the world,” said the one kid. “I may be the only person who can discover a cure for cancer or AIDS or something like that! You two will have to fight this out between you.” And with that, the kid grabbed one of the parachutes and jumped.
The minister turned to the other kid and the pilot. “You take the other two parachutes,” he told them. “I’m not afraid to die.”
“Thanks,” the other kid said. “But we’ve got nothing to worry about. The ‘smartest kid in the world’ just jumped out of the plane with my backpack!”
The “smartest kid in the world” wasn’t so smart, was he? He made a foolish decision—not just because he took a backpack instead of a parachute, but also because he made a selfish decision. And he paid for his choice!
You may not be as foolish or as selfish as that kid, but you may discover (if you haven’t already) that wrong choices often have a high price. Lying may get you into more trouble. Cheating in school may get you suspended or expelled. Trying to hurt other people may hurt you more than them.
The Bible says, “If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer” (Proverbs 9:12). In other words, godly wisdom and right choices pay off—maybe not right away or maybe not for a long time. But if you make a habit of making right choices, you will benefit in many lasting ways. If you don’t… well, just don’t go jumping out of any airplanes.
REFLECT: Who do you think has more fun: those who are always getting into trouble or those who follow the rules? Have you ever been sorry you made a wrong choice? Have you ever enjoyed any rewards for making right choices? Which are you: a person who is becoming wise or a person who scorns wisdom?
PRAY: “Lord, I want to be wise in making right choices. Please teach me to be wise and help me to make wise choices today.”

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Try to live in peace with everyone, and seek to live a clean and holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.   Hebrews 12:14
IF YOU’VE TRUSTED Christ to forgive your sins and make you a new person inside, you’re a Christian. That means your sins are forgiven and you’re going to heaven.
But until you get to heaven, you still have a challenge. You’re still going to be tempted to sin. And every once in a while, you’re going to make a wrong choice. That doesn’t mean you’re not going to heaven, but it is still a problem. So what should you do? How should you feel about right and wrong choices as a Christian? See if the following True/False quiz helps you to answer those questions:
1. It’s OK to sin.T      F
2. It’s OK to sin as long as you plan to ask God’s forgiveness later.T      F
3. A Christian can make right choices or wrong choices; it doesn’t really matter in the great scheme of things.T      F
4. It’s impossible for a Christian to live a clean and holy life.T      F
5. Making right choices is not optional—it’s crucial.T      F
6. If you say you’re a Christian but go on sinning, you’re not living in the truth.T      F
7. Being a Christian makes living a clean and holy life possible.T      F
8. Those who are not holy will not see the Lord.T      FHow did you do? The first four statements were all false; the final four were all true. Some of those are pretty tough questions, aren’t they? They’re even tougher when you compare the right answers to your own life.
That’s what today’s Bible reading is all about. The writer of Hebrews said, “Seek to live a clean and holy life” (Hebrews 12:14). In other words, making right choices is not optional; and if you say you’re a Christian but go on sinning, you’re not living in the truth (1 John 1:6). Hebrews 12:14 also says that “those who are not holy will not see the Lord.” That means if you’re a Christian, you will seek to live a clean and holy life by making right choices with God’s help.
In fact, being a Christian (and letting God’s Holy Spirit control your life) is the only way any of us can live a clean and holy life. It’s also the only way we’ll ever see the Lord.
REFLECT: Have you ever acted like statements 1-4 (in the True/False quiz above) were true? How can you seek to live a clean and holy life from now on? Can you do it on your own? If not, how can you do it? (Hint: reread the last paragraph above.)
PRAY: “Lord, sometimes I act as if it doesn’t really matter whether or not I make right choices, but I do want to make right choices. I want to live a clean and holy life. I want to see you someday. So please help me to trust you and let your Holy Spirit control my life so I can make right choices.”

A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need. Proverbs 17:17
AN OLD BOY Scout manual told the story of two brothers who were fighting side by side in France. The brothers struggled to rejoin their unit, but only one made it back safely. He approached his commanding officer and asked permission to retrace his steps in an effort to find his brother.
The officer shook his head. “It’s too dangerous,” he said, not without pity. “Your brother is probably dead, and there’s no use risking your life just to find him dead.”
The brother persisted, however, and begged the officer to let him try. Finally, the man agreed, and the soldier dashed back toward the enemy fire to hunt for his brother. Some time later, he returned-with his brother draped across his shoulders. But just as he reached the safety of the bunker, his brother gasped and died in his arms.
“You see,” said the officer. He clapped a hand on the soldier’s shoulder and shook his head. “I let you risk your life for nothing.”
“Oh no, sir,” the brother answered respectfully. Tears welled in his eyes. “No, sir,” he repeated emphatically. “You see, when I crawled up beside him where he lay, hurt and dying, and I took him in my arms, he said, ‘I knew you’d come, Tom. I knew you’d come.'”
That soldier’s faithfulness was rewarded by his brother’s dying words. Can you imagine how Tom felt to know that his brother’s last words were a testimony to his faithfulness?
Don’t forget, “The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and faithfulness” (1 Samuel 26:23, Niv). Your faithfulness may be rewarded immediately-and it may not. You may see the results of your faithfulness to a friend or family member in this lifetime, and you may not. But faithfulness is often its own reward, as it was for Tom.
REFLECT: What do you think would have happened if Tom had not gone to look for his brother? Do you think Tom would have known of the blessing he had missed? Do you think you have missed any blessings by not being faithful to a friend or family member? Have you experienced any rewards for your faithfulness? If so, what?
ACT: Be alert this week for a chance to be faithful to a friend or family member, especially “in time of need” as Proverbs 17:17 stresses.
PRAY: “Lord, I don’t want to miss the rewards and blessings you give for faithfulness.”

I love hearing the sound of waves on the shoreline of a beach. Whether the wind brings them crashing in, or calmer weather causes them to gently lap the sand, there is a consistency, a repetition to waves that fascinates me. I find myself listening for their rhythm and discernible pattern.“Crash!” The waves impact the shore and are drawn back out to sea. “Crash!” The white foam of the waves crests, then diminishes as the sand absorbs the blow.   
To me, the sound of waves is a ministry to my mind. I deal with tinnitus, which is a loud ringing in my ears. At its worst, tinnitus can bring on a panic attack. But it’s best managed when I am able to focus my brain on something other than the annoying ringing. Listening to waves helps me do that. Truly, their sound is a ministry to my soul and mind.
I think discerning God’s voice works this way for me, as well. Read on.

Bridging the Gap blog #hurthealedwhole

Discerning God’s Voice Like WavesI was recently asked by a friend how I discern God’s voice. I shared that it’s like a wave; that a thought hits the shore of my mind. I’m aware of it, but it ebbs away as I move about my day. But sometimes the thought revisits the shore of my mind. It could be a scripture, or a person’s name, an idea, a situation, or a sin that I need to address. As the thought ebbs and revisits, I become aware of its consistent repetition. Sometimes the thought crashes; other times it’s a gentle, persistent lapping.
Praying, looking to God’s Word, listening for the Holy Spirit, and seeking wise counsel are part of discerning God’s voice. But when a thought keeps nudging me, experience has taught me that it’s often God trying to get my attention about something He wants me to do, either for myself or another person. Oh, I wish I could tell you that I always acknowledge and act on what I hear, but I don’t. Only God knows the blessings I have missed out on by ignoring His voice.

You might be asking, “How do you know that it’s God’s voice and not your own thoughts?”
First, by considering the thought. I compare it to what I know about God’s character, and whether it is contrary or in direct defiance to the truth of who God is and what He expects of His people. I then go to the Bible. And I pray. I ask God to confirm what I believe I hear Him telling me.
Would God ever tell me to get even? No! (Romans 12:19) Would God tell me to sin? No! (Matthew 5:48) If my thinking doesn’t align with God’s Word, I can be sure I need to reject it. We know who originates that kind of thinking, right? Satan. And we know what God tells us to do with the thoughts he suggests: reject them!
As God’s Word teaches us in Galatians 5:16, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” If our thoughts are not of God, we are called to confess any sin around our thoughts and walk in the forgiveness that Jesus Christ has secured for us.
We may never fully understand the mystery of God’s voice in our life, but we can listen for evidence of it. Today, consider your own persistent thoughts.
Is God trying to get your attention so that you take action? How is God prompting you to look to His Word for guidance, to pray, or to rely on the empowerment of His Spirit before you make a decision?
Be encouraged that God is speaking to you, in waves both crashing and lapping. He desires that all of His children hear His voice. But we have to listen, pay attention, and be willing to take action.