When this project was first explored we were confused by so many interpretations of what people considered to be “Life Skills”. Most referred to Educational Life Skills. But we were interested in God’s interpretation of Life Skills. This took some research and understanding of how God wants us to navigate through life. He has given us the skills to do this, but what are those skills? These skills help us understand the world around us and how we are do interact with it.
The question then becomes not “What are life skills?”, but rather, “What are Biblical life skills?”. What kind of skills has God given us that help us navigate through life and live our lives as He wants us to?
To answer these and other questions regarding life skills we must go to His written Word, the Bible. The answers are there. More than likely you are familiar with many of them but never really looked at them as skills. That is what we are going to do on this site.
We are going to go through God’s Word and examine the life skills He presents us. Then, we will look at how we can apply them to our lives.
We will start by examining what Biblical Life Skills are a little further.
First, we must understand that there is a line drawn in this world. Do you remember when you were a child? Did you ever see someone draw a line in the dirt with their foot and say, “Everyone on that side of the line is on their team and everyone on this side of the line is on my team.”? This is the line I am talking about and Jesus is the one who drew this line. He is telling us, “Everyone who stays on that side of the line will be destroyed, and everyone who comes to Me on this side of the line will live forever in My kingdom.”
There are those people who are OF this world and there are those people who are IN this world. We want to be IN this world and not OF it.
The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 12:2:
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
He is telling us we need to change the way we think. We do this by committing ourselves to the truths of God’s Word, the Bible. We need to find His words which speak to us of how we are to live in this world. All throughout Scripture we are told to live by and in His Word. Does this mean we must memorize the Bible and then live by every word? No. It means we must learn what God wants for us and the things that helps us live according to His will.
What is God’s will, exactly?
“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NASB 1995)
As we can see, God wants us to repent. Many people are scared of this word. They are scared because they either do not understand it and they believe it is something that can take allot of work, or they fear they will be seen by others as weird or some sort of religious fanatic.
The word “Repent” means to turn away or turn around and go the opposite direction. When God asks us to repent He wants us to turn away from the sins in our lives and turn towards Him. He wants us to depend on Him rather than ourselves. He wants us to have a great relationship with Him and to love just as He loves.
Too many times we hear people say, “How can a loving God allow such hate and destruction in our lives?” The answer is simple. He gave us our lives to do what we want to do with it. He gave us free will to make our own choices. He did not create the chaos in our world, we did. He does not control us like we were His marionette puppets. We make our own choices and live with them.
Because we have our own free will to make our own choices in life, it is important that we see the choices that are in front of us. Then we are to make a decision on which way we are to go. Man says:
“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.” (Isaiah 22:13 NASB 1995)
Here we find a choice. We can live by this philosophy or we can live by God’s will. Do we just party and try to enjoy everything we can this world has to offer while we are alive and not worry about the consequences, or do we control our behavior and stay sober minded?
God has given us the Tool to help us see the truths of this world and in His Word.
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,” (1 Corinthians 2:12 NASB 1995)
Now, we cannot live perfect lives while we live in this world. It is impossible for us to do so on our own. But Jesus gave us His Spirit to help us by showing us the things that are right and the things that are wrong. Man was born to sin. It is innate nature to oppose God. By the temptations of the devil we are lured away from God to our own passions. But if we trust God and turn to Him then He promises to save us from our own sins by us simply believing in Jesus.
“It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.” (1 Timothy 1:15 NASB 1995)
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NASB 1995)
We will continue our studies of God’s Word to better understand the skills of life He has given us and how we are to use them in our daily lives. I pray for each and every one of you who reads these words that God will show you the truths of His Word and teach you the things that will bring you closer to Him.
Blessings to all.