Monday, January 28, 2013

Wisdom at the Wheel -- January 28, 2013

Each Friday, I introduce our lesson for the week.  Many times, I give you a peek into the lives of our family and what’s on my heart.

Why do you think I do that?

The biggest reason is that I want you to see how the Holy Spirit is guiding and directing my moves in something simple like the preparation of a Sunday School lesson.

Pop quiz:  What do you call the story of what God has done in your life?

It’s called a testimony.  Sometimes we get very nervous about the thought of sharing our testimony with someone who doesn’t know Christ.  But your testimony is simply your story of how you’ve seen God work in your life.

I’ve been reading a book called “EntreLeadership” by Dave Ramsey.

Have you heard of Dave Ramsey?

Dave’s bread and butter is giving people scripturally-based financial advice.  This book is different.  The subtitle on the book is “20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches”.  In short, it’s a business management and leadership book.

Our lesson about wisdom came from concepts in the book.  Now a few of you might have a spring in your step knowing this is a business book.  Others might put your brain in neutral because running a business is the last thing you want to talk about on a Sunday morning.

So I’m asking you to bear with me and come with me on a journey that will touch on wisdom in a very practical way.

I finished the book while in the carpool line waiting to pick up the girls on Thursday.  Having nothing else to read, I opened the book back up toward the front and started reading some more.  That’s when it hit me.

The section I opened up to was on Goal Setting.  Dave talks about how Zig Ziglar uses a graphic called the “Wheel of Life” to describe the different facets of our life.

Here are the seven parts to the “Wheel of Life”:

 
We looked up scripture that gives us wisdom as it relates to each of the seven spokes on the wheel.

First up is CAREER.

Matthew 25:21: 
21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

Colossians 3:23:
23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,


Second is FINANCIAL.

Ecclesiastes 5:10:
10 Whoever loves money never has enough;
    whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
    This too is meaningless.

Luke 14:28-29:
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’


Third is SPIRITUAL.

Romans 12:10-12:
10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Psalms 119:10-11:
10 I seek you with all my heart;
    do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
    that I might not sin against you.


Fourth is PHYSICAL.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20:
19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27:
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.


Fifth is INTELLECTUAL.

1 Peter 1:13:
13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.

Proverbs 1:7:
7 The fear of the LORD
is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and discipline.


Sixth is FAMILY.

1 Corinthians 7:3-5:
3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

Ephesians 6:1-4:
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Proverbs 31:30-31:
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
    and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.


Seventh is SOCIAL.

Acts 2:42:
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Galatians 6:10:
10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

John 15:15-17:
15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.


Do you feel wiser now?

Here’s my challenge for you.  If you like this concept of the “Wheel of Life”, grow this list of Bible passages that fit each section.

It can be your very own in-depth Bible study on wisdom.  I promise that the more time you spend in God’s Word, the more you will grow in Christ.

Make it a great week!

Loyally yours,

Darren Bayne

“Man is made so that whenever anything fires his soul impossibilities vanish.”  - Jean de la Fontaine

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