Day 4 of our Wisdom Challenge

My verse from the second chapter of Proverbs

"My Child, listen to me and treasure my instructions. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight and understanding. Search for them as you would for lost money or treasure." Verses 1-4.

I've read through this wisdom book maybe 20 times - I always find something that makes such a difference in my thoughts, the way I live my life (Click here to check out the beginning of this challenge).

• Listen - The Hebrew word for "listen" is to "take, accept, seize, or carry away." How long do I hang onto great words or thoughts? Listening has a lot to do with what "sticks." The "stickiness factor" is very important. Does your listening "stick to you?"
  


• Treasure - "to hide, reserve, protect, esteem" - What I put in a safety deposit box is very valuable to me. How am I doing this with wise advice offered by God? What reinforcements have come from God's treasured wisdom? How has it changed my time? The way my resources are used ($$$)? Do you writing down treasured thoughts and truths? Are they so valuable that you talk about them all the time - you just can't help it?
  


• Concentrate -Literally, it is two Hebrew words meaning "to stretch out your heart." When I stop and really think about it, this stretching of my heart is an all-out passion.

"So Bruce, how badly do you want wise instruction?" Ask yourself this same question. Examine your thoughts, God's - how much do you treasure them? Do they bring change to your friendships? Are you more trustworthy?
Jesus says in Matthew 5, "those who are meek will be very blessed." The word meek can best be translated "teachable." [ Meek word study: Numbers 12:3, Matthew 11:29, Ephesians 4:1-2. Meekness is the opposite of self-interest. To hear well to be teachable, you need to believe you have much to learn.] Do you have a learner's heart? Why? Do you see everything and everyone as an opportunity, a gift from God, to grow you in wisdom and understanding?