@FirstChurchofJerusalem
Today's Early Church Wisdom
“I shall not hesitate also to put into ordered form for you, along with the interpretations, everything I learned carefully in the past from the elders and noted down carefully, for the truth of which I vouch. For unlike most people, I took no pleasure in those who told many different stories, but only in those who taught the truth. Nor did I take pleasure in those who reported their memory of someone else’s commandments, but only in those who reported their memory of the commandments given by the Lord to the faith and proceeding from the Truth itself. And if by chance anyone who had been in attendance on the elders arrived, I made enquiries about the words of the elders—what Andrew or Peter had said, or Philip or Thomas or James or John or Matthew or any other of the Lord’s disciples, and whatever Aristion and John the Elder, the Lord’s disciples, were saying. For I did not think that information from the books would profit me as much as information from a living and surviving voice.
~ Papias of Hierapolis (c. 60–130 AD) From the Preface to his lost ‘Expositions of the Sayings of the Lord’
This week's Psalm is Psalm 31 'My Rock, My Shield, My Song'

Let Your Plans Be Established

We know that plans may be more or less established. Some may be extremely loose, vague, and undefined, whilst others may be exact, precise, and clear. But the interesting thing is that whether tight or loose, vague or clear, the best human plans can fail. Our great Scots poet Robert Burns captures this well in his 1785 poem ‘To a Mouse’, from which is derived the famous saying: “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry." What’s the solution? There’s only one, and it’s perfectly expressed by King Solomon, when he says: “Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts [alt. ‘plans’] will be established” (Proverbs 16:3). Do you have plans? If so, good. An unplanned life is likely to be messy, wasteful, and unproductive. But are your plans merely human, or do you take them to the Lord in prayer? I guaranteed that if you will choose the latter path, your plans will be fully established by Him. Will He modify them? Probably. We need to hear from Him and know His will if we are to plan aright. Don’t settle for plans you cannot trust. Commit your ways to God and He will establish them. Plan together with Him.