The Real Wisdom of Proverbs

Addrienne Cannell teaches on Proverbs

The Real Wisdom of Proverbs

Evening Week 4

HOW IS YOUR CALLING?

JOIN GOD’S FUTURE

Jesus calls you to His mission.

Do you have a mission in life – or does a mission have you?

In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus delivers some profound words related to our individual calling: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

In a day when our sense of “calling” is often rooted in our need to feel special and unique, isn’t it odd that Jesus, in this passage above, seems to give every Christian that ever lived the very same calling?

John Wimber, the leader of the Vineyard movement, once suggested that while everyone is running around looking for their unique calling, their unique ministry – all along it is sitting right in front of them in the Gospels. The work of Jesus is our calling – to love the unlovable, serve our enemies, care for the poor, strengthen the weak, heal the sick, equip the saints, and do the works of the Kingdom.

Each of us is made in the glorious image of God, and we are very, very special. Our special reflection of God’s heart is shaped by our genetics, personality, upbringing, way of thinking, skill set, inclinations, and natural giftedness. It is all precious to Him.

Through our individual design, God will lead us to delightful and stunning opportunities to extend His loving Kingdom, shaping true disciples who have tasted the love of God through us in our homes, workplaces, and unique spheres of influence. 

PRAYER

For a quiet heart and mind.

Spirit of God, it is Your Voice I desire to hear above the din of all others clamoring for my attention. Give me ears to hear Your daily calling on my life as a follower of Jesus, and in my specific role in Your mission to love the world to wholeness. I choose to obey; speak and I will both listen and respond. In Jesus’ name, I offer myself to you. Amen.

DAILY EXAMEN

1. Stillness

Become aware of the Presence of God. Quiet your heart, and listen. In this moment, become present to Jesus.

2. Gratitude

Review your day with gratitude. 

Seeing through a lens of thanks, appreciate God’s gifts in each event of the day.

3. Reflection

Become aware of your emotions. 

Review your positive and negative feelings. Did you choose Jesus’ way in each situation?

4. Joy & Sorrow

Choose one feature of the day, and pray. 

Rejoice in a success, or ask forgiveness for sin. If necessary, plan to make amends.

5. Hope

Look toward tomorrow. 

Move toward expectation. Ask God to shine light on tomorrow’s path. Resolve to grow.

Now add to your Daily Examen the following question:

Is there much about who God is, and who I am, that I have yet to discover? 

Going Deeper: What do I do, that when I do it, I feel the pleasure of God? What do I do that makes me come alive, and also deeply impacts others in my family and community?

EVENING PRAYER

To Conclude Your Days

Thank you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Once again, You have shown Yourself to be faithful and true to Your promises through the moments and hours of this day.

You have spoken, and I turn my heart to listen as I rest. You have acted, and I turn my heart to see what You accomplished today. You have loved me well in body and soul, and for this I am eternally grateful.

Let your Grace and Presence both surround and embrace those I love as they sleep. I bring each one to you now [pray here for family members, friends, and those in need of healing]. 

I sleep now, in Your loving care.

In Jesus’ living name, I come. Amen.

EVENING PSALM

Psalm 55:22

“Cast your cares on the LORD, and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.” 

Evening week 4

Morning week 4

This podcast (Sunday 10-Sat 16) contains the Morning Prayer and a reflection on Vocation and C.S. Lewis.

MORNING PRAYER

To Start Your Days

Good morning, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

Once again, You give me breath, and welcome me into a wild world in which You are living, active, speaking, and pursuing the hearts of humankind. 

Let me be Your voice today to those in my family, to those with whom I work, and to those who I touch in any way. 

Find in me a fitting sanctuary for Your Presence, and work through me to heal, renew, inspire, encourage, and impact those to whom You send me.

I choose faith over fear, believing in Your promises. Have Your way in me today; come Holy Spirit.

In Jesus’ living name, I come. Amen.

MORNING PSALM

Psalm 23:1-3

“The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake.”

YOUR MISSIONAL LIFE

C.S. (Jack) Lewis is a name that is not unfamiliar to most Christians. The famous novelist, academic, and Christian apologist from Belfast, Northern Ireland injected a rich vision of the spiritual life into the 20th century Body of Christ through his books (The Chronicles Of Narnia, Mere Christianity, A Grief Observed), sermons (The Weight Of Glory), and radio broadcasts.

Lewis had much to say, and model for us, related to finding and following our “calling” in Christ. The word “vocation” is from the Latin word vocātiō, which means “a call, or summons.” When speaking of the general vocation (or calling) of the Christian, and the specific vocation of an individual, Lewis was quick to affirm the challenge we face every day as many voices call out to us for our attention: 

“That is why the real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in” (Foster and Smith, Devotional Classics, p. 9).

Cultivating a life that hears God’s voice, His “calling” to us, is a daily challenge. We have many opportunities to be distracted by the voice of the television, the news, the last trauma we faced, the negative scripts running in our mind from our childhood, and the duties that require our energy. 

However, a life that prioritizes hearing God’s call at the beginning of every day, through His Word and by His Spirit, will begin to understand how God’s call is specifically shaped by, and expressed through, our unique personality, gifts, and skills.

Bring your missional life to Jesus – and allow Him to renew your memory each day about your personal mission, calling, sense of purpose, and vocation as a follower of Christ.

Morning Week 4

Evening Week 3

This reflection contains part two of the reflection on Work and Faith, the daily examen and additional question, and the evening prayer.

3. HOW IS YOUR WORK?

WE WORK TO GIVE

Carry Jesus into your world.

Carrying Christ in us, into the world of our work, is like carrying a lion into Times Square – you never know what is going to happen.

Colossians 3:17 says “...And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” 

Whether you are a stay-at-home mom, an insurance salesman, a famous record producer, a pastor, a student, a contractor, or an employee at Starbucks – you have been given a sphere of influence through your work life.

Work is what we do, often, because we must. We must eat. We must keep up our homes. We must care for the people we love with the resources we gain from working. We must work to live. It’s been that way for human beings, for a long, long time.

However, the meaning of that work for the Christian is quite different than the meaning of work for a person who doesn’t acknowledge Christ as Lord. From the beginning of creation, God’s people have had a call to beautify and enhance the world through our fruitful labor. We’re not looking simply to our own benefit as we do the tasks we have been given – we are looking to see others loved, served, encouraged, and provided for through the spending of our energies. We aren’t after money; we’re after the pleasure and joy of God.

While not all of us have a job situation that we love (we may even, at present, hate our job), the passage above calls us to see our work as an act of thankful worship – bringing glory and fame to Jesus as we express our attitudes, words, and work ethic in the world.

PRAYER

For a quiet heart and mind.

Spirit of God, each day you invite me to turn my energies to fruitful work – some that serves to provide for us, and some that serves to enrich our lives in other ways. Give me eyes to see my current work from Your perspective. Receive my work as an expression of my worship, and show Yourself to me within it. In Jesus’ name, I come. Amen.

DAILY EXAMEN

1. Stillness

Become aware of the Presence of God. Quiet your heart, and listen. In this moment, become present to Jesus.

2. Gratitude

Review your day with gratitude. 

Seeing through a lens of thanks, appreciate God’s gifts in each event of the day.

3. Reflection

Become aware of your emotions. 

Review your positive and negative feelings. Did you choose Jesus’ way in each situation?

4. Joy & Sorrow

Choose one feature of the day, and pray. 

Rejoice in a success, or ask forgiveness for sin. If necessary, plan to make amends.

5. Hope

Look toward tomorrow. 

Move toward expectation. Ask God to shine light on tomorrow’s path. Resolve to grow.

Now add to your Daily Examen the following question:

Do I love the work I did today, or do I resent it? Why? 

Going Deeper: Could there be meaning behind my work, be it in my home or other environment, that I am presently missing because of attitudes in my own heart?

EVENING PRAYER

To Conclude Your Days

Thank you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Once again, You have shown Yourself to be faithful and true to Your promises through the moments and hours of this day.

You have spoken, and I turn my heart to listen as I rest. You have acted, and I turn my heart to see what You accomplished today. You have loved me well in body and soul, and for this I am eternally grateful.

Let your Grace and Presence both surround and embrace those I love as they sleep. I bring each one to you now [pray here for family members, friends, and those in need of healing]. 

I sleep now, in Your loving care.

In Jesus’ living name, I come. Amen.

EVENING PSALM

Psalm 55:22

“Cast your cares on the LORD, and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.”

Evening Week 3

Podcast Week 3 Morning

This podcast (to be used between Sunday March 3-Saturday March 9) contains the morning prayer, and reflections on Brother Lawrence and taking joy in work.

MORNING PRAYER

To Start Your Days

Good morning, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

Once again, You give me breath, and welcome me into a wild world in which You are living, active, speaking, and pursuing the hearts of humankind. 

Let me be Your voice today to those in my family, to those with whom I work, and to those who I touch in any way. 

Find in me a fitting sanctuary for Your Presence, and work through me to heal, renew, inspire, encourage, and impact those to whom You send me.

I choose faith over fear, believing in Your promises. Have Your way in me today; come Holy Spirit.

In Jesus’ living name, I come. Amen.

MORNING PSALM

Psalm 23:1-3

“The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake.”

YOUR ACTIVE LIFE

Brother Lawrence is perhaps the most famous historical voice we have today on the integration between work life and one’s prayer life. This simple monk, born into poverty in the 1600s, went on to become a community member in the Discalced Carmelite Order in Paris, France. Here, Lawrence labored in the kitchen, cooking for the community of which he was a part. In his mind, he was a servant of the servants of God, and this perspective placed a golden hue on every small task of kitchen work that was his duty. 

Lawrence seems to have anticipated both our spiritual need and the stresses of our age when he speaks the following: “The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer;  and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament (ed. note: communion)” (Foster and Smith, Devotional Classics, p. 369). 

With the turn of a phrase, Brother Lawrence is inviting all who name Christ as Lord to learn what it means to concentrate all the fragments of our work day into one sacred, holy act of worship. He calls us to see our work as a privilege rather than a burden, turning our attention to serving and enhancing the lives of others through each diverse task to which we put our hands.

Bring your active life to Jesus – and allow Him to reshape your work life as a vivid, profound, and enriching act of both service and worship.

Morning week 3