Life Ministries

    In my experience, it seems there are four things that will bring happiness and contentment to life for all of us: Long life; Prosperity; Health; No fear or Peace.

    You could say that these are the things we really desire and seek after in life. All of these “big four” go together - like long life and health; good health can extend life. But, a lack of prosperity or fear or a lack of peace can bring stress, which can shorten life. So in fact, they all go together.
    The Book of Proverbs gives us the wisdom we need to find all of these things and more if we apply its wisdom to our lives. Take for example Proverbs 3:1-35:
¹ “My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,
² for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you peace and prosperity.

³ Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴ Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight

⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil.
⁸ This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.

⁹ Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
¹⁰ then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.

¹¹ My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline,
and do not resent his rebuke,
¹² because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
as a father the son he delights in
¹³ Blessed are those who find wisdom,
those who gain understanding,
¹⁴ for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold.
¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.
¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
¹⁷ Her ways are pleasant ways,
and all her paths are peace.
¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her;
those who hold her fast will be blessed.”

    Solomon starts off with a very matter of fact statement – “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.” Then he gives some very specific details of some principles that we should live by in order to have long life, prosperity, and peace. He gives a list of six wise things we should apply to our lives. I am going to give you my thoughts on these six things for at least the next six days.

#1. “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.’ What Is the result? – “favour; good name in the sight of God and man.” Or, you could say that you will find favor with God and with man. I don’t know about you, but I would like that to be part of my life.
    Two things we need to define then; Love and Faithfulness. As a pastor and a Christian I have to tell you that there is only one true definition of love. It is found in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. I am sure you have heard this scripture many times at weddings. However, this defines not only the love between a husband and wife, but also the kind of love we ought to have and show toward one another. Look it up and put your name before all the things that are listed about love – Pastor Fred is patient... Pastor Fred is kind… How do you measure up? What part of love do you need to work on?
    What about Faithfulness? Well, it is defined as “allegiance; loyalty; a strong sense of responsibil-ity; reliable. Once again we can apply these things to a marriage; to our relationship with God; as well as to one another. What kind of person are you? Are you loving? Are you faithful?
Do you find favor with God and man…or is your life a constant case of chaos and unhappiness?
I’m just sayin…..