[Darris McNeely] On BT Daily this week we have been going through three key areas that you can do to make your world smarter and better in the year 2014 and for the rest of our years for that matter. We talked about getting smart about the world and making us more aware and discerning the times in which we live and understanding this world and why the events of this world matter. We talked as well about getting a handle on our finances, getting smarter financially and planning better, spending more wisely in the coming months as well.

There's one key area though that is the most important that I want to get to here in this series, and that is to get smart spiritually. You know, every year at this time many of us, many people that I know, they begin an annual Bible reading program. Now, you can begin reading a Bible through a year or six months or any point in time, but January 1st seems to be a time when people like to do that, and that's all right. If it gets their mind into the word of God, that's great. But whatever your desire is to learn more about the Bible, just to learn how it's made up and what's in it, to have a better relationship with God, to pray more, to be a better person, to put certain destructive habits and behaviors that you may have, and you finally come to the point where you realize you need to make some changes, then getting smart spiritually is going to be the place for you to begin to accomplish that and to make some very serious changes in your life.

Whatever plans you make about the coming months, about 2014 and your world, make this the most important thing you do. Keep it in balance. Keep it in play across the board financially, understanding the world, whatever else you may need to be doing, put this at the core. Create a spiritual center in your life that then allows you to better manage every other aspect of your life. Walk with God. Begin to live with God. Begin to talk with God in a relationship that does make a difference and makes life better for you.

None of us know what the coming months might bring in our own lives. And every year there are natural disasters that occur: a hurricane, a typhoon, an earthquake. Some are predictable, and we can minimize loss. Some events are unpredictable and come suddenly, and there's great loss of life and property, and we have to pick up the pieces, and we help people to do that. We do good works to accomplish those things, but when we look at those big natural disasters that take place there's always a large spiritual lesson that you and I can learn, and that is that in our own lives disasters, events are going to happen that we don't always have control of. We're going to get a phone call about an injury to someone that we love, perhaps about a diagnosis with our own health.

Something's going to happen at some point, and when it does we need to be ready. We need to be able to meet that and handle it and move through it and keep our eyes on God in faith and in confidence that He will be with us and get us to the dawn of the day and the aftermath of whatever that event might be. It begins by our preparation in a time of calm, the calm before the storm that takes place. And if we do that, then we can be assured that how we handle it is going to make all the difference.

Jesus Christ spoke to this in Matthew chapter 7 and beginning in verse 24 where after giving a very, very long sermon He began to sum it up by encouraging people to do what He said. He said, "Whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall for it was founded on the Rock" (Matthew 7:24-25).

For a Christian, the Rock is Jesus Christ. When our lives are founded on a relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father, then we can begin to manage whatever happens in our life. It's a time to begin to get smart spiritually. Jesus went on to say that if we don't, then there is a different consequence. He said, "Everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, so it fell and great was its fall" (Matthew 7:26-27).

Make sure that we're building upon the Rock, upon God. If we do, then whatever rains descend, whatever winds blow, whatever takes place in our life, we will have been prepared. We will have gotten smart spiritually by having a relationship with God in advance that deepens faith, deepens conviction, and allows us to weather and endure and deal with whatever crisis, whatever comes our way. If we can do that, then we can really make giant strides toward our world in 2014 a better world and a better life for ourselves and our families.

It starts right here with a better relationship with God.

That's BT Daily. Join us next time.