Weekly Protein (07/09/22)

“My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments” (Prov. 3:1, NASB 1977).

Quickly notice three things.

1.  The context of the teaching is relationship (“My son . . .”).

2.  The challenge to the son is remembrance (“ . . . do not forget my teaching . . .”).

3.  The consequence for such remembrance is integration (“ . . . keep my commandments . . .”).

To follow the counsel in this verse, we must read (or hear), understand, and then apply. Many Christians have a Bible reading plan. Without implementation, however, they will become storehouses of information, attaining the status of “professional hearer.” What we're warned against in Scripture is not hearing itself but hearing by itself (hearing that doesn't lead to doing).

Here is your weekly protein.

1.  Answer these questions.

• What is the point, anyway, of reading the Bible or listening to a sermon?

• Why is knowing God's commandments not enough? What does it mean to “keep” them?

2.  Read Psalm 103:18 and James 1:22-25.

3.  Communicate with your pastor. Ask him or her, “When I read the Bible or listen to one of your sermons, how do I know what it is that God wants me to do?”