There is a wealth of Christian material out there for us to read, listen to and watch. I don’t presume to know even a tiny part of what we can be involved in! There is so much to teach us, guide us and help us in our Christian walk.

A couple of things have come to my attention recently, however, and I figured that if I was receiving blessing from them, there was no harm in passing these on to other people, on the principle that it’s more blessed to give than receive!

The first is the Hope House Church blog on Psalms. I found it interesting that as we’re working through Proverbs in January, they’ve started looking at Psalms! This is the church in Barnsley affiliated to the school where I work and the blog is managed by Dave’s son, Mark, so it’s interesting to read their thoughts on Psalms (my favourite book of the Bible.) You can read their thoughts here: http://e100.hopehousechurch.org.uk/

The second is the student conference Passion 2012. I’ve talked about my own experience as a volunteer at Passion London in 2010. This event is in Atlanta, Georgia, but this year they have been able to provide live streaming so people can watch it online for a limited period of time. If you want to be blessed by good teaching and learn new worship songs, you can watch it here:http://268generation.com/passion2012/#!/home/ Click on the ‘Live Stream’ feed. Sessions are available for 24 hours. The conference ends today. It’s good to see over 45,000 students from the U.S.A. and the rest of the world learning about God and what I especially like is how they support so many worthwhile causes, helping the poor and needy.

Sexual sins are stumbling-blocks to maturity and wise living. These days, they’re not often perceived as ‘sin’. Society has re-branded these things to appeal without conscience: thus, it’s fine to ‘experiment’ sexually in order to ‘find oneself’ or to ‘find fulfilment’; adultery is condoned as being the way to ‘self-gratification’ and happiness; we are free to do whatever we like as long as it ‘feels good’. Such thinking is not found in the Bible.

Proverbs 5, is headed ‘warning against adultery’ and reminds us that there is more to life than fleeting pleasure. It can be hard to resist powerful sexual attraction, but we do well to take a long-term view of life: ‘You don’t want to end your life full of regrets, nothing but sin and bones, Saying, “Oh, why didn’t I do what they told me? Why did I reject a disciplined life? Why didn’t I listen to my mentors, or take my teachers seriously? My life is ruined! I haven’t one blessed thing to show for my life!” ‘ (Prov 5:12-14) ,

The Bible does not simply warn against sexual sins, however: it reminds us of the beauty and power of God’s gifts, one of which is sex within marriage. This should be cherished and nurtured (Prov 5:19). Sexual intimacy is not the same as mere physical pleasure; it far transcends that. As Prov 5:20 reminds us, “Why would you trade enduring intimacies for cheap thrills with a whore? For dalliance with a promiscuous stranger?” ,

Wise living has to include self-discipline and self-control, and it behoves each one of us to be aware of the pitfalls of sexual sins. We are reminded at the end of the chapter:
“Mark well that GOD doesn’t miss a move you make; he’s aware of every step you take. The shadow of your sin will overtake you; you’ll find yourself stumbling all over yourself in the dark. Death is the reward of an undisciplined life; your foolish decisions trap you in a dead end.” (Prov 5:21-23)

For those who struggle with this kind of sin more than others, there is forgiveness available when we sin and grace and power to overcome temptation. For those who perhaps feel this advice is irrelevant to them, we should remember Paul’s sobering words in 1 Cor 10:12: “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” , There is never any room for complacency in our lives. Wise living requires discipline and dependence on God.

For our last day, this version is from Straight No Chaser. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8

The last charity to mention is Adopt-A-Child. http://www.adopt-a-child.com/

The motto of Adopt-A-Child is ‘changing the world… one child at a time.’ There are a number of charities which seek to help children who are disadvantaged or orphaned and this one works mainly in Latin America and Eastern Europe. Mack and Peggy McKeown founded Living Water Ministries in 1978 and Adopt-A-child was actually born in 1983 when they began feeding children in the poorest regions of Guatemala and asking sponsors to partner with them. Sponsors from across the world send the equivalent of $25 a month or $360 a year to cover the bi-weekly nutritional meals as well as the medical, dental, and spiritual care that is provided for their sponsored children. Many sponsors also correspond regularly with their children and send them extra gifts for birthdays and Christmas.

I have been involved with this charity for a number of years through the school where I work and what is particularly helpful here is the sense of personal involvement that comes from establishing a relationship with a real person! The children in my school are encouraged to write to their sponsored child (Edgar) and they send and receive letters and gifts. What was even more exciting was seeing our previous sponsored child, Hugo, grow up and leave school and get a job, knowing that our donations had helped him to achieve his dreams. In a world where the need sometimes overwhelms us, it is a good reminder that we can make a difference by starting with one action, one gift, one child. We cannot do everything, but we can all do something.

Proverbs 4 shows us that wisdom and understanding are the key treasures of life: “wisdom is supreme, therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” (Prov 4:7)

This theme is continued in the metaphor of a path or journey. I like the way the Message personifies these ideas: ”I’m writing with clear directions to Wisdom Way; I’m drawing a map to Righteous Road. I don’t want you ending up in blind alleys or wasting time making wrong turns… Don’t take Wicked Bypass; don’t so much as set a foot on that road.” (Prov 4:10-13)

As Jesus taught in Matthew 7, there are basically only two paths in life: the broad path that leads to destruction and the narrow path which leads to life. ” The ways of right-living people glow with light. But the road of wrongdoing gets darker and darker – travellers can’t see a thing; they fall on their faces.” (Prov 4:18-19)

It doesn’t always look like that. The world is full of bright lights, making cities and towns shine even at night, whilst the narrow paths of the countryside can often seem shrouded in gloom.

But God’s Word is a lamp to our feet, a light to our paths (Ps 119:105).

We find that there is light for the journey: our job is to ‘watch our step’, neither looking to the right or left (Prov 4:26-27), but fixing our eyes on Jesus (Heb 12:2)

Today, the Moscow Boys’ Choir sing ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’: today is Day 11! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-UomLNjcL4

In keeping with the Russian theme, today’s charity is Open Doors.
http://www.opendoorsuk.org

Open Doors (founded by Brother Andrew) exists to strengthen the church to be the church in the most hostile places. In over 50 countries, Open Doors supplies Bibles, trains church leaders, delivers Scripture-based literacy programmes and supports Christians who suffer for their faith. In the UK and Ireland, Open Doors strives to raise awareness of global persecution, mobilising prayer, support and action among Christians. It works hard to provide Bibles and Christian literature for persecuted believers, trains leadership to help believers grow in their faith and understanding and stand strong through the storm of persecution, helps those who have had to flee their countries because of persecution and speaks out in advocacy, providing various kinds of legal support and seeking positive policy change through private diplomacy and public campaigning.

Most of all, Open Doors encourages believers to pray and to get involved, fulfilling the command “Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering” (Heb 13:2). In 1982 they launched a seven-year campaign of prayer for the Communist Bloc. It ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 with the Soviet Union opened to the Gospel and Christian prisoners released.

If you’re interested in finding out more, the book ‘God’s Smuggler’ tells the story of the founding of Open Doors and is both a great read and an inspiration to all.

Proverbs 3 probably contains some of the most famous verses in the entire Bible:
”Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” (Prov 3:5-6) These verses were written out for me in the first Bible I was ever given as a child and it took me years to fathom why they were so important!

The Message version translates these verses as ”Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go. He’s the one who will keep you on track.”

Once again, we have the image of the road or path, rather like Isaiah says ‘Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” ‘ (Is 30:21)

Many of us are used to the idea of maps and SatNavs guiding us on our way, and SatNavs even have voices (often irritating ones) telling us what to do (“At the next junction, turn left.” )

In essence, God wants to do the same thing for us, guiding us every day, leading us along right paths (or paths of righteousness) for His name’s sake (Ps 23:3). But it is not easy to learn to discern God’s voice. Jesus said that He was the good shepherd and His sheep know His voice (John 10: 4, 11), but there are plenty of other voices competing for our attention. Learning to trust God for direction, guidance and help is something we all need to do if we are to walk well on the road to life.