Disciplined life?

Sexual immorality, like other sins harden your soul and makes your inner life faint. To avoid it you have to make plans purposely to avoid such temptations. Physical health or material prosperity is worth nothing if your soul is lost. Pay attention to the Word of God (the Bible), to mentors and teachers that God is sending to help you in your journey. Don’t let disoriented people take advantage of you. Discipline your life. Your life is a gift of God. Take good care of it.

So, my friend, listen closely;

   don’t treat my words casually.

Keep your distance from such a woman;

   absolutely stay out of her neighborhood.

You don’t want to squander your wonderful life,

   to waste your precious life among the hardhearted.

Why should you allow strangers to take advantage of you?

   Why be exploited by those who care nothing for you?

You don’t want to end your life full of regrets,

   nothing but sin and bones,

Saying, “Oh, why didn’t I do what they told me?

   Why did I reject a disciplined life?

Why didn’t I listen to my mentors,

   or take my teachers seriously?

My life is ruined!

   I haven’t one blessed thing to show for my life!”

(Prov.5:7-14 MSG)

Prayer: Thanks for you Word. Thanks for teachers and mentors who helped me to follow You and be aware of the dangers of an undisciplined life. Help me to preserve the purity of my life. Clean me from past mistakes. Protect me from temptations that could destroy my inner life. You are my master and I decided to follow You my entire life.

Temptation

As with any other temptation, sexual temptations are seductive and it looks a lot more beneficial before you fall in it than after. If you don’t use wisdom you will realize the whole picture of your fall only after falling. Then comes the pain, the heart wounds, the guilt, and the realization of the damages to your relationships. Only wisdom and God’s power will protect you from such trap. Temptation pushes you to make quick decisions with not enough information. Temptation wants you to make decisions based on your sensations and presumptions of pleasure ignoring all the other consequences of your actions.

Dear friend, pay close attention to this, my wisdom;

   listen very closely to the way I see it.

Then you’ll acquire a taste for good sense;

   what I tell you will keep you out of trouble.

The lips of a seductive woman are oh so sweet,

   her soft words are oh so smooth.

But it won’t be long before she’s gravel in your mouth,

   a pain in your gut, a wound in your heart.

She’s dancing down the primrose path to Death;

   she’s headed straight for Hell and taking you with her.

She hasn’t a clue about Real Life,

   about who she is or where she’s going.

(Prov.5:1-6 MSG)

Prayer: Thank God for Your wisdom and protection from temptation. Help me not to be seduced by any sin. Help me to see the consequences of my actions before I proceed. Let me be able to think before I act. Help me not to be pushed by people that don’t know where they are going. Let me develop a taste for good sense.

Watch over your thinking

You listen to wisdom not by chance. You have to intentionally decide to pay attention. That’s how you nurture life for your body and soul. Guard your way of thinking (heart, mind), because there is where everything starts. Life with integrity starts in your thinking. Focus on the right things and your road will become clearer. Focus on life and life is what you are going to enjoy.

Dear friend, listen well to my words;

   tune your ears to my voice.

Keep my message in plain view at all times.

   Concentrate! Learn it by heart!

Those who discover these words live, really live;

   body and soul, they’re bursting with health.

Keep vigilant watch over your heart;

   that’s where life starts.

Don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth;

   avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip.

Keep your eyes straight ahead;

   ignore all sideshow distractions.

Watch your step,

   and the road will stretch out smooth before you.

Look neither right nor left;

   leave evil in the dust.

(Prov.4:20-27 MSG)

Prayer: Thank you Lord for Your life. It is the best life I could choose and I am very happy that I did. Now I need strength to focus on the right things. Help me to discern the new challenges I have in front of me and to walk in integrity. Help me to guard my thinking and grow in wisdom and understanding.

Dark or bright

You have to choose which path are you going to follow in life, where your passion is going to be focused. More than one big decision, life is a sum of millions of little decisions you have to make daily which will finally determine how you live and where you go. Everyone can make undesirable mistakes but if you determine in your heart to follow God’s way, your path will become brighter and brighter.

Evil people are restless

   unless they’re making trouble;

They can’t get a good night’s sleep

   unless they’ve made life miserable for somebody.

Perversity is their food and drink,

   violence their drug of choice.

The ways of right-living people glow with light;

   the longer they live, the brighter they shine.

But the road of wrongdoing gets darker and darker—

   travelers can’t see a thing; they fall flat on their faces.

(Prov. 4:16-19 MSG)

Prayer: Thanks for showing me the light. Help me to stick to an honest and just living. Help me to follow your path. Help me to shine so others may see the light too.

Spiritual or physical

Being obedient to God’s ways has a positive influence even to your physical health. God’s ways and a His peace that surpasses all understanding, will give you the balanced life you need. He will deter you from distractions that will waste your energy and He will motivate you to things that really matters. His ways are the best ways, no doubt.

Dear friend, take my advice;

   it will add years to your life.

I’m writing out clear directions to Wisdom Way,

   I’m drawing a map to Righteous Road.

I don’t want you ending up in blind alleys,

   or wasting time making wrong turns.

Hold tight to good advice; don’t relax your grip.

   Guard it well—your life is at stake!

Don’t take Wicked Bypass;

   don’t so much as set foot on that road.

Stay clear of it; give it a wide berth.

   Make a detour and be on your way.

(Prov.4:10-15 MSG)

Prayer: You are the Master of life. I have to say Thank You for so many times you guided me back from wrong turns in life. You gave me understanding and peace. You helped me to be healthy even in dangerous environments. I like being with You, even if it would mean a shorter life. But being with You has made me more and more healthy and that has been an extra gift which I should thank for, every day of my life.

She keeps her eye on you

Wisdom and understanding is better than physical energy. Young people need it the most due to the big amount of very important decisions they are making. You can acquire wisdom by experience too, but you may ruin your life in the mean time. The only way you will benefit from the wisdom of experienced people is if you are humble enough to listen to them and consider their counsel. Listen to your father and mother. If you don’t have them, or if they are giving you a good example of life, look for the advice of experienced people that respect God and people.

Listen, friends, to some fatherly advice;

   sit up and take notice so you’ll know how to live.

I’m giving you good counsel;

   don’t let it go in one ear and out the other.

When I was a boy at my father’s knee,

   the pride and joy of my mother,

He would sit me down and drill me:

   “Take this to heart. Do what I tell you—live!

Sell everything and buy Wisdom! Forage for Understanding!

   Don’t forget one word! Don’t deviate an inch!

Never walk away from Wisdom—she guards your life;

   love her—she keeps her eye on you.

Above all and before all, do this: Get Wisdom!

   Write this at the top of your list: Get Understanding!

Throw your arms around her—believe me, you won’t regret it;

   never let her go—she’ll make your life glorious.

She’ll garland your life with grace,

   she’ll festoon your days with beauty.”

(Prov.4:1-9 MSG)

Prayer: Help me to cultivate wisdom and understanding. Help me to share your wisdom with others. It made my life more enjoyable. I am very happy for every time I was able to obey your counsel and guide. It made my life so much worth living. Thank you, oh God.

Don’t be a bully

It is good to have a great intelligence, power and quality of leader while it is controlled by honesty and humility. The moment you start to abuse of your power or pay attention to selfish motivations, your wisdom becomes stupidity. Righteous and wicked  people will experience the consequences of their decisions. You cannot ignore God and get away with it.

Don’t walk around with a chip on your shoulder,

   always spoiling for a fight.

Don’t try to be like those who shoulder their way through life.

   Why be a bully?

“Why not?” you say. Because God can’t stand twisted souls.

   It’s the straightforward who get his respect.

God’s curse blights the house of the wicked,

   but he blesses the home of the righteous.

He gives proud skeptics a cold shoulder,

   but if you’re down on your luck, he’s right there to help.

Wise living gets rewarded with honor;

   stupid living gets the booby prize. (Prov.3:30-35 MSG)

Prayer: Help me to be humble. To resist the temptation of following a selfish agenda. I am not naturally oriented to choose the best behavior. The possibility of making bad choices is always present. I need your guidance. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Help my thinking to be clear and straightforward. Help to honor You with my living.