From The Crucible (by Pastor Linda Pugsley)

Just take a trip to any bookstore and you will find shelf after shelf of books written on how to succeed, how to live right, how to raise kids, etc. Don’t get me wrong, now; they are bursting with good advice and suggestions that will bring success to many. But are you aware of what God has to say on these issues? Too many times, we run to man’s wisdom for a quick fix for our deep, multi-layered, multi-faceted needs and thus fall short of a full remedy and restoration.

Thank God for His ways. Think on what it says in Joshua 1:8, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it, for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have success.”

Wow – meditate on it day and night (not once a year); do not let it depart from your mouth (what is coming out of your mouth, anyway?); be careful to do according to all that is written (not just the parts you like) then (and only then) you will make your way prosperous and then you will have success. What a concrete answer for us, all in today’s all-too-fluid world.

God speaks to us in His word…read it, study it, know it. It is “bread for the head”! No more excuses why you can’t fervently and consistently be committed to studying and reading some scriptures each day. Just start with 5 minutes a day, and then add one minute each week until you read 15 minutes a day, as a minimum. The change you are looking for will follow. You will feel, think and act in an increasingly righteous and repentant manner, being able to live the full and abundant life God originally intended for you. What an awesome God we serve! Endure the fire—it’s producing pure gold!

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