SMART MOVE: REMODEL

Happy Father’s Day!  We certainly want to celebrate the gift of our fathers.  We all know that fathers are not perfect and the process of being a father is filled with difficult choices, and at times, a lot of uncertainty!  It is not an easy task if it is taken seriously.  The “absent father” has become a national crisis.  Twenty-five percent (25%) of the households in America have no biological, step, or adoptive father in the home.  This impacts 18.4 million children and puts them at higher risk for a host of problems and behaviors! (National Fatherhood Initiative) In our series, Smart Move: Finding Wisdom for Our Lives we are drawing upon God’s wisdom as we find it in Proverbs.  The goal of any wise father is to help his children to thrive.  This week our sermon is Remodel and we turn to Proverbs 4:1-13.  We struggle in our lives to find the correct model to help us to thrive!  We are blinded by our desires and by our brokenness.  Our heavenly Father is committed and determined to guide us, but in order to follow God’s wisdom we must tear down the structures of darkness and rebuild with the tools of light!  These words are not just a father’s instruction to his children, but they are a blueprint for God’s remodel of our hearts and minds!  As we follow this blueprint, we will find the strength to thrive and truly shine with God’s power and grace.  Our most earnest prayer is that you will sense the hands of our heavenly Father tearing down the walls of darkness and sharing with you the light of his presence as you read Proverbs 4:1-13:  

My children, listen when your father corrects you. Pay attention and learn good judgment, ² for I am giving you good guidance. Don’t turn away from my instructions. ³ For I, too, was once my father’s son, tenderly loved as my mother’s only child. ⁴ My father taught me, “Take my words to heart. Follow my commands, and you will live. ⁵ Get wisdom; develop good judgment. Don’t forget my words or turn away from them. ⁶ Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you. Love her, and she will guard you. ⁷ Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment. ⁸ If you prize wisdom, she will make you great. Embrace her, and she will honor you. ⁹ She will place a lovely wreath on your head; she will present you with a beautiful crown.” ¹⁰ My child, listen to me and do as I say, and you will have a long, good life. ¹¹ I will teach you wisdom’s ways and lead you in straight paths. ¹² When you walk, you won’t be held back; when you run, you won’t stumble. ¹³ Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life. (NLT)