How to Prosper.

Scripture: Psalm 1:1-3
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

Having raised three boys, and now watching my 4 year old grandson being raised, is frustrating to watch his parents go through the same things that I did when I was a young parent. I remember feeling the awesome responsibility of always wanting to do what is right, and at the same time, having the overwhelming feeling, trying to learn the things I did not know, to be the person I had not grown to be yet, and just wrestling with life during some of the hard times.

In this well known Psalm, King David begins all of the Psalms with a very positive exhortation with promises of being blessed, bearing fruit and prospering. He says that if we just stay away from bad people and stay in the Bible, we can be like "trees planted by streams of water."

Now, being a grandpa, I feel even more the responsibility of being the person God wants me to be, so that He can use me as an example to others, like my son and grandson, of how to walk upright and worthy of being blessed by God.

To stay away from the "bad guys" is the easiest thing to do. I "hang out" with others who I believe are godly men and have a righteous lifestyle. To do this I go to church regularly and actively participate in the activities. However, finding time to "meditate day and night", seems harder. Not that I don't delight in reading or studying the Bible, I really do, but for me it takes a lot of discipline to schedule time in an already too busy life to just sit down and read.

So what should we do? We should decide to continue to hang onto the promises God gives us, that of being blessed and prospering, and live a life God wants us to live, by not listening to the world, the "bad guys", and making sure we schedule time everyday to delight in what God tells us in the Bible.

Prayer Request:
That God would help us find time in our busy lives to read the Bible.

Prayer:
Dear Lord,
You have promised that you would bless us and that we would prosper if we avoid those individuals who you say are not good to hang around and if we delight reading the Bible day and night. Help us to do just that.
Amen