Do or Do Not

Some of the greatest advice of all time was given by a small, green sage by the name of Yoda.  "Do or do not. There is no try."

Apparently Tim and I gave our kids lots of good advice, too. Such as, "Be sweet and have fun." And, "Don't get in a fight, but if you do--win." I'm sure you can guess which was Tim's and which was mine. In retrospect, we probably should have given them some advice that was a little more useful (and hopefully we did).

Over the years I have received all kinds of advice. Good. Bad. Solicited. Unsolicited. Valuable. Worthless. Taken. Ignored.

Advice that comes from scripture rises above all of man's wisdom. It is not merely good advice, but the way God wants us to live.

Paul showed us the way to a life that pleases God with 14 bullet points. (Okay, maybe he didn't use bullet points but that's only because they hadn't been invented.)

Here's what he said. It is up to us to do or to do not. There is no try.

• warn those who are idle
• encourage the timid 
• help the weak  
• be patient with everyone  
• make sure that no one pays back wrong for wrong
• always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else
• be joyful always 
• pray continually 
• give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus
• do not put out the Spirit's fire 
• do not treat prophecies with contempt
• test everything 
• hold on to the good 
• avoid every kind of evil 

    --1 Thessalonians 5:14-22