Why Reading Can Save Your Life......

I remember sitting in the phew on Sunday morning as a teenager wishing the pastor had somehow written a shorter sermon that week.  My mom would constantly hit my knee or shake my shoulder to wake me from my slumber just in time to here some more garble in the background from the pastor and doze off once more.  At the time I could have cared less about what a guy in back of a pulpit had to say to me.  I always thought Sunday mornings were for my parents and all of the other adults in the congregation.  That was a grievous error on my part.

Buried within those sermons that I tried so hard to fall asleep during was scripture from the bible.  To an adolescent teenager these words were just as important as the homework that had been put off until Sunday night, due Monday morning.  Listening to those words now brings me to a place that I have never been before in my life.  A book I have been reading as part of our bible study group, "Just Do Something," states that most people do not actually mature and move out of the adolescent phase of their life until their early 30's.  I would have to agree in my case!  This week I read through Proverbs 11 which spoke on wisdom and issues dealing with moral and spiritual maturity.  It was a pretty incredible read because even the unsaved individual can read it and see the inequities in their life.  God works if you allow Him too, and He has definitely shown me where I have fallen short.  The key to all of this is softening my heart and listening to what God has to say through His words in the bible.  The bible is no less important than the words Christ spoke to the disciples in the days He walked the Earth.  Just put yourself in God's shoes for a second and marinate on this..........if you wrote a letter to your loved one and then spoke the words to them as well, would the words that were written be any less important?
Read scripture on a regular basis and it will amaze you the change it will have in your life.
Proverbs 11
 ¹ The LORD detests dishonest scales,
   but accurate weights find favor with him.
 ² When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
   but with humility comes wisdom.
 ³ The integrity of the upright guides them,
   but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.
 ⁴ Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath,
   but righteousness delivers from death.
 ⁵ The righteousness of the blameless makes their paths straight,
   but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.
 ⁶ The righteousness of the upright delivers them,
   but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.
 ⁷ Hopes placed in mortals die with them;
   all the promise of^[a] their power comes to nothing.
 ⁸ The righteous person is rescued from trouble,
   and it falls on the wicked instead.
 ⁹ With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors,
   but through knowledge the righteous escape.
 ¹⁰ When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices;
   when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.
 ¹¹ Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
   but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.
 ¹² Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense,
   but the one who has understanding holds their tongue.
 ¹³ A gossip betrays a confidence,
   but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.
 ¹⁴ For lack of guidance a nation falls,
   but victory is won through many advisers.
 ¹⁵ Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer,
   but whoever refuses to shake hands in pledge is safe.
 ¹⁶ A kindhearted woman gains honor,
   but ruthless men gain only wealth.
 ¹⁷ Those who are kind benefit themselves,
   but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.
 ¹⁸ A wicked person earns deceptive wages,
   but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.
 ¹⁹ Truly the righteous attain life,
   but whoever pursues evil finds death.
 ²⁰ The LORD detests those whose hearts are perverse,
   but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.
 ²¹ Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished,
   but those who are righteous will go free.
 ²² Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout
   is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.
 ²³ The desire of the righteous ends only in good,
   but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.
 ²⁴ One person gives freely, yet gains even more;
   another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
 ²⁵ A generous person will prosper;
   whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
 ²⁶ People curse the one who hoards grain,
   but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell.
 ²⁷ Whoever seeks good finds favor,
   but evil comes to one who searches for it.
 ²⁸ Those who trust in their riches will fall,
   but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.
 ²⁹ Whoever brings ruin on their family will inherit only wind,
   and the fool will be servant to the wise.
 ³⁰ The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
   and the one who is wise saves lives.
 ³¹ If the righteous receive their due on earth,
   how much more the ungodly and the sinner!