LEX

write them on the tablet of your heart

how easily i forget.

every day. i wake up each morning. my first thought is of coffee and how i really wish i had washed the pot the night before. i eventually make it to my chair, a rich, sweet, addictive cup of coffee in one hand, and the even richer, even sweeter, yet sometimes, somehow...less addictive Bible in the other.

i read the words.

i write them on paper.

i pray.

by the time i get to the 183/mopac fly over i've usually forgotten the words about patience and humility. by lunch time i've forgotten the words about wisdom and by the time the release bell rings i've forgotten the words about discretion. as i head home i forget the words about my wealth and go to sleep having forgotten the words about the Lord's loving discipline.

the next morning i wake up.

i drink. i read. i forget.

were i ever to forget to drink, i'd be very aware by 10:00am and go in search of caffeinated freedom from weariness.

yet if i were ever to forget to read, i fear i would not be aware even by 10:00pm. i would not go in search of biblical freedom from weariness.

and so i press on, fueled at times by caffeine for a cause (and feeling pretty darn good about myself for it), and running on the spiritual fumes of both the old AND new testaments (and feeling pretty darn good about myself for it) which have not settled in my heart due to the coffeemate blocking the way. and suddenly i look just like the the world - impatient, prideful, selfish, unruly. addicted to me.

the problem is not the coffee. it is, in fact, a quite tasty and stimulating drink. the problem is not the Bible. it is, in fact, the most glorious book on planet earth. the problem is the forgetting. the problem is my heart. the problem is forgetting to write these words on the tablet of my heart.

Proverbs 3

1 My son [or daughter], do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments...

3...write them on the tablet of your heart...

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

9 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce.

11 My son [or daughter], do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of reproof,
12 for the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

19 The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens;
20 by His knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.
21 My son [or daughter], do not lose sight of these - keep sound wisdom and discretion...

26...for the Lord will be your confidence...

27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.

posted by Alexia & Jeffrey @ 10:08 PM