Life is a terrible risk. Threats abound in ordinary places--our food, our vehicles, our streets, our bedrooms.  We know it, so we make a plan to be safe from whatever threatens us. 

 

To cut down our overweight, we avoid fats and carbs. To dodge hazards on the road, we inflate our tires, buckle up and watch for drivers talking on cell phones. To escape gang violence and earthquakes, we move to North Idaho.  To avoid diseases and unwelcome pregnancies, we practice safe sex.  To protect our spiritual well being, we…well, what do we do?

 

 I, for one, plan to PRACTICE SAFE LIFE.

 

A plan for spiritual strength and wisdom logically begins with God.  I’ll look to early prophets who knew God well, and had a way of distilling his messages right to their bottom line.  In a clear overview of what’s important in life, one prophet speaks: This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise man gloat in his wisdom, or the mighty man in his might, or the rich man in his riches.  Let them boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who is just and righteous, whose love is unfailing, and that I delight in these things.  I, the Lord, have spoken!” (Jeremiah 9:23-24 NLT)

          

Without this sense of direction, I am at the mercy of my own fears.  They place me at risk. They paralyze my relationships, my joy in times of crisis, and my service to others. By what elaborate plan shall I and others find the courage to face life and take any more risks?  I take a clue from another prophet’s assertion of a sure thing: “…the people who know their God will display strength and take action.” (Daniel 11:32b)

 

This brings me to my plan to go with what I know for sure: My purpose during my time on this planet is to KNOW GOD. I’ll take a life lesson from wherever I find it—usually an experience that overlaps and confirms scripture.  The truth of each discovery itself is not new, but the way I found it is all mine.  Each of my findings is an entry in this website.

 

 

Readers will find on this site a journal of my journey toward knowing God, called PRACTICING SAFE LIFE.   I write for these reasons:

·         To explore, by comparisons, truths learned the hard way about the link between God, my relationships, and my choices.

·         To remind myself what I am learning about Jesus Christ, the bridge to God, who claims, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to God the Father but by me” (John 14:6), and

·         To encourage any readers to keep on seeking to know God better, because he will be found (James 4:8).