Proverbs 1:5-6

It takes desire, time, and effort to really learn, increase in wisdom, and get to know God. These Proverbs require hours, even days and years to soak in, understand, and assimilate into our life. This is the nature of Scripture, for it is spiritual and, therefore, must be read from our hearts, not just our intellect. The Holy Spirit inspired these words, so only the Holy Spirit can totally and accurately speak thru them. You must listen with the ears of your heart if you are to gain much from these words.

It is only in the kind of listening in which we are truly open to learning something we didn’t know or realize before, as opposed to the type of listening in which we are merely hoping to bolster what we already (think we) know, where we actually gain, grow, and mature as children of God.

Try really hard to always listen from the position that you don’t know everything already, from the posture that you have much to learn and everything to gain.

Matthew 1:6

It’s wild to me that Bathsheeba is in the lineage of Jesus. It says to me loudly and clearly that no matter how badly you screw up, God can and will redeem and use for good whatever He will. Nothing is beyond His redemptive power…NOTHING. Makes me think of how big of a jack-hole that Paul guy was before Jesus got a hold of him.