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THE CURSE OF PERFECTIONISM

Is “perfectionism” un-biblical? Jesus says in His Sermon on the Mount not to worry. “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life. … Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matt. 6:25-27 NIV) Perfectionists worry they won’t measure up to their own standards, let alone the imagined standards of others. Isn’t that un-biblical?

THOSE OF US who are “perfectionists” must unite and throw off our chains! The intense desire that drives us  to do everything just right often cripples us from doing anything. We’re so concerned we’ll look foolish or botch the job that our fear is enough to stop us before we even try. 

Is there a cure? As always, Scripture points us in the right direction. 

SUPPORTING BIBLICAL TEXT

SEEKING A *PERFECT* IMAGE
  • Proverbs 22:19 (NKJV): “So that your trust may be in the LORD; I have instructed you today, even you.”
  • 2 CORINTHIANS 12:9 (ESV): “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
  • 2 CORINTHIANS 10:17-18 (NASB20): “But ‘he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.’ For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.”
  • GALATIANS 6:4-5 (NLT): “Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.”

PITY THE PERFECTIONISTS!

I AM A PERFECTIONIST. That doesn’t mean I perform at a higher level than others nor does it mean I am satisfied with my level of achievement.

Perfectionism is our fleshly desire to appear better than we really are, but God loves the humble over the proud and tells us that His grace, His forbearance, and His acceptance should be enough for us.

It simply means I strive to do the impossible: to excel at whatever task I’m engaged in with the almost inescapable outcome that I will not come close to accomplishing what I set out to do.

That frustrates me. 

One way to defeat that tendency is to avoid doing any task that I assume I can’t do well. Another way is to avoid doing those tasks I can do well but won’t do as well as I would like. 

Those two strategies can leave me with … doing nothing!

So, I continue to struggle to do the best I can.

BIBLICAL WISDOM

THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES gives us some divinely inspired pointers on how to combat this irritating and exhausting tendency. 

Here’s a prime example:

ECCLESIASTES 2:11 (GNT): “Then I thought about all that I had done and how hard I had worked doing it, and I realized that it didn’t mean a thing. It was like chasing the wind—of no use at all.”

POINTING TO GOD’S WORD

Solomon’s writings in Proverbs add more insight:

  • PROVERBS 3:5-6 (NIV): “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
  • PROVERBS 14:12 (ESV): “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”

I especially like this admonition from the apostle Paul:

  • GALATIANS 6:4-5 (NKJV): “But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load.”

Jesus, in His earthly ministry, put it this way:

  • JOHN 15:5 (ESV): “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (emph. added)

MISPLACED PRIORITIES

OBVIOUSLY, IF I OBSESS about my own accomplishments, instead of finding myself in God’s will, I’m heading down the wrong path.

Just another item that’s easier for me to talk about than it is for me to do, especially since I also want to “bear fruit” for the Kingdom. 

Isn’t the saving grace just that … that we’re saved by God’s grace and not by our own works? (Eph. 2:8). If so, then I’m already in God’s will by humbly submitting my soul to His safekeeping.

My job then is to pray for guidance, see where God is working, and jump in. It doesn’t matter how well I do; I’m not the change agent. The Holy Spirit is. He has chosen to work through me. 

Imagine that!

SONS AND DAUGHTERS

SOMETIMES, LOOKING AT WHAT we do and how we do it, it’s just a matter of emphasis — whether we focus on what we’ve done or, instead, focus on what’s left over. 

PRAISING OUR GOD!

Speaker and author Phill Urena states it this way:

“Another perspective that often goes with this teaching is that we are still sinners saved by grace. I would say to that yes, I was a sinner saved by grace. I am now a saint of God who struggles with sin.” — Redefining Grace, Phill Urena, 2020, Kindle Edit., p. 88.

God tells us through the apostle Peter that we’re “special people” and “a royal priesthood” of sons and daughters. (1 Pet. 2:9 NKJV)

God has claimed us out of the darkness and set us down in His “marvelous light.” 

Considering our blessings, I (and all of us) should be more willing — much more willing — to rest our soul in His arms and not strive so much in our own power to accomplish what we readily admit is beyond our means to do. 

  • LET ME DO MY BEST.
  • LET ME DO WHAT I’VE BEEN CALLED TO DO.
  • LET ME PLACE MY TRUST IN HIM.

PRAISE BE TO GOD!

PRAYER

LORD GOD, We confess that too often we try to go  it alone, even in our attempts at Christian witness. You alone, O God, know what is in a person’s heart, and You alone can change that heart. Help us to be more humble and more obedient in service to You, Father God, so that we follow Your lead, not our own. In humility, we lift this prayer in Jesus’ name. AMEN 

SLOW TO ANGER & IT’S ALL ABOUT ME

The Kingdom of Me. It’s all about me. Didn’t you know that? It’s not about you … not about us … just about me. Your role? Well, obviously, to satisfy my desires!

• Proverbs 19:11 (ESV): “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.”

• James 1:19 (CSB): “My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.”

• Ephesians 4:26 (NIV): “‘In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.”

• PHILIPPIANS 2:4 (NKJV): “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

AVOID SENSELESS ARGUMENTS

THE KINGDOM OF ME. It’s all about me. Didn’t you know that? It’s not about you … not about us … just about me. Your role? Well, to satisfy my needs, to make me happy.

You say: What a terribly egocentric, anti-social, narcissistic mindset. No thought for anyone else, just yourself.

I agree with you. My statement of personal interest is everything selfish you said it is.

However, now that I’m a born-again Christian, the Holy Spirit works within me to change all of that, to make certain I don’t consider myself “more highly than I ought” (see Rom. 12:3) and that I should consider others needs “more important” than my own (see Phil. 2:3).

But what about those who aren’t born-again Christians? According to the Bible, most of the people we encounter are not born-again Christians, as Jesus defined the term “born again” (see John 3).

IT’S ALL ABOUT ME

YOU ASK, “HOW DOES this ‘all about me’ stuff impact your meditation topic, avoiding arguments? What’s the connection?”

Great question!

I’ve been meditating and praying a lot in recent weeks about the connection because — this is just what I think happens — arguments erupt when two or more people interact in such a way that each one requires — no, insists on — winning his or her point.

It doesn’t necessarily start off that way. An argument can materialize out of a simple conversation, or maybe an innocent question, or even an off-hand remark that means nothing to the speaker but is dynamite to the listener.

The Bible tells us to avoid such tiffs. In addition to our four text sources above, here are some other gems:

• Proverbs 20:3 (NKJV): “[It is] honorable for a man to stop striving, Since any fool can start a quarrel.”

• Proverbs 21:23 (ESV): “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.”

• James 3:6a (NIV): “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.”

• Proverbs 15:1 (CSB): “A gentle answer turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath.”

TRIPPING OVER PRIDE

THE WAY IT SEEMS to go is that our pride gets in the way of our conversation. Someone’s comment does not square with our reality, so we want to ensure that our perspective — which we insist is objectively based — prevails.

For Christians, the most important topics focus on faith issues, whether it’s abortion or same-sex marriage or euthanasia — or a host of other topics — we often believe we are “witnessing” for our faith when we make our point, but before too long, we restate it, then we dig in our heels, then raise our voice, then make bold judgmental comments.

***

The late Dr. Everett L. Cattell, former president of Malone College in Canton, Ohio, had this to say about arguing as it relates to Christian witness:

“Witnessing is not arguing. I used to get a thrill of self-statisfaction when, with fellow university students, I found I could hold my own arguing an evangelical faith. But nobody got converted by it. Whenever I find myself arguing religion with any one now, I know I am failing. In witnessing, there is no argument. It is sharing, and if the thing you share is not real, it is false witnessing.”

CATTELL, SPIRIT OF HOLINESS, P. 19)

Instead of demanding recognition of your point, no matter how valid you believe it to be, perhaps sprinkle your speech with salt.

The Bible tells us in Colossians 4:6 (ESV): “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

KINGDOM OF SELF

LET’S FINISH WITH a word of advice from Pastor and Author Paul David Tripp, who speaks of “The Kingdom of Self” and it’s fight with God’s Kingdom.

Tripp gives us five questions to ask in self-examination to highlight how sin tarnishes our motives, words, and actions from the high-minded ideal we hold to the way it gets played out.

  • 1. SELF-FOCUS: Before making a decision, do you think, “What’s in it for me?” or do you freely sacrifice for the good of another without expecting a return?
  • 2. SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS: Are you more concerned with, and on the lookout for, the sin, weakness, and moral failure of others than you are your own?
  • 3. SELF-SATISFACTION: Do you regularly feel discontent, always looking for something new to satisfy you, instead of being satisfied with a God-honoring life?
  • 4. SELF-RELIANCE: Do you avoid living in intrusive and intentional relationships, where others admit their need for grace and seek the help of biblical community?
  • 5. SELF-RULE: Which law gets the most attention and the quickest response in your life and relationships, the Word of God or your own desires?

POSTSCRIPT

PAUL DAVID TRIPP points out that Jesus showed anger when someone violated God’s laws, but men and women show anger when someone violates their laws. This is especially true, he said, for married couples, who constantly navigate the petit irritations of close living.

In his book Love and Respect, Emerson Eggerichs asks us to imagine that Jesus is standing behind the person we’re disputing with, saying, “I created this person in My image. Whatever you say to him (or her), you’re saying to Me.”

Well, that would shut us up fast! At least it would encourage us to tone down our rhetoric, maybe cause us to lead with our ears over our tongues.

Here’s the apostle Paul’s exhortation to his disciple Timothy in his ministry:

“Remind them of these things, and solemnly exhort them in the presence of God not to dispute about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the listeners.”

2 TIMOTHY 2:14 (NASB20)

PRAYER

OUR MOST GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL FATHER, we humbly come to You in repentance of our sin, of arrogance and pride, of selfishness and lack of compassion, of judgment and condemnation of others. O Lord, You made us in Your image and yet we flop around in our sin, living a life ruled by distorted vision of Your design. Forgive us, O Lord, and claim us as Your own, washing our sin away by the Lamb’s blood, and giving us the assurance that no one can snatch us from Your hand. In Jesus’ glorious name we pray. AMEN

LIVING A JOY-FILLED LIFE

If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, our lives should be testimonies of joy, peace, and gratitude. When, then, do so many of us grumble about our hardships when God is calling us to receive our blessings with joy … and spread the overflow to those around us.

  • Romans 15:13 (CSB): “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:16, 18 (NKJV): “Rejoice always … in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

BEING A BLESSING TO OTHERS

BY THIS TIME, Danny and Marcy were tearing their hair out … and about ready to tear out each other’s hair!

Call it a day of “First World Problems,” if you want, it was still frustrating, and both of them felt justified in their anger.

“Danny! The garbage disposal isn’t working.” Marcy shouted. “Do something! I need to get rid of these left-overs.”

“Stop annoying me!” Danny responded from a nearby room, where he sat hunched over his computer. “The internet is out, and I can’t complete my project.”

OUR DAILY STRUGGLES

THE EVERYDAY CHALLENGES that dot our lives, testing our resolve to be more patient, to be kinder and more loving, to be considerate of others.

Didn’t we just make that pledge Sunday morning during worship? Weren’t we led to believe that blissful state of being bathed by the Holy Spirit was ours to carry through the week, only to see it leak from our grasp by Monday morning?

How far removed are Danny and Marcy from living out the Gospel as a blessing to those around them, to bear the “Good Fruit” of Christian values, when they can’t get past noon the next day without bickering and quarreling.

While Danny and Marcy are fictional characters, they stand in very nicely for some people I know all too well … like me and just about everyone I know.

HOPE IS AVAILABLE

JESUS TOLD US He is the vine and we’re the branches, and that we must “abide in Him.” Why? “Because,” He said, “without Me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:5 NKJV)

Every day we fail to live out our faith, every time we “quench” the Holy Spirit, whenever we fail to show the “Fruit of the Spirit,” we are reminded that without the guiding, sustaining light of Jesus Christ, we will fail.

We are living testaments of the apostle Paul’s lament in Romans 7:15 (NASB20), when he complained about doing those things he hates: “for I am not practicing what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate.”

Yup. Got it. That’s not just Paul. That’s me, too.

JESUS IS THE ANSWER

THERE IS A BETTER WAY, and we know that. Our text source gives us the answer. The God of hope and joy can so fill our hearts with peace that the overflow, the excess, the over abundance that God gifts us can reach everyone around us.

We can’t help it. If our hearts are filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, “the peace that passes all understanding,” then even in the worst circumstances of daily living, we should feel God’s presence, and our lives should shine in the darkness.

Paul tells us in Romans 12:12 (ESV): “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Again, in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NET): “Constantly pray.”

Just a quick, “Help me, Lord Jesus. I need patience.” “Help me, Lord, to feel the joy of your presence.” “Be with me now, Father God. I need to feel bathed in Your love.”

ASKING A QUICK PRAYER

WITH JUST A TWEAK, Danny and Marcy can rescue their morning.

“Danny! The gar—” Marcy starts, then stops to shoot up a short plea: “O God, my Savior, quiet my soul.” Then, she says, “Danny, Honey, can you check this garbage disposal for me? It’s not working.”

“Not now!” Danny exclaims, cursing under his breath. Then he stops and prays: “Lord, give me patience. I love my wife.” Now, he can say: “I’ll be right in.”

He can leave the Internet problem alone for the moment. With a heart filled with Grace, he’ll prefer helping his wife with her needs. The Internet can wait.

POSTLUDE

THERE’S A NEW SONG in the Contemporary Christian Music field, called “Make Room,” featuring Elyssa Smith & Community Music (©2020, Curb|Word Entertainment). Here is the refrain:

“And I will make room for you. To do whatever You want to. To do whatever you want to. This is where I lay it down. You are all I’m chasing now. This is my surrender. This is my surrender.”

I like this song because, well, the melody is hypnotically peaceful, and the lyrics call me to “lay it down,” and tell me “this is my surrender.”

When I surrender, I live in harmony with the Holy Spirit within me, and that gives Him the room to bless me to overflowing, so that, out of His abundance, I can share my blessing with others, to be a blessing to them.

Without Him, as Jesus constantly reminds me, I can do nothing.

PRAYER

Dear Heavenly Father, our creator, our sustainer, our source of anything and everything that is good in our lives, we praise You, we bless You, we adore You. Thank You, Lord of all, for Your love and Your forgiveness and mercy. Help us to shine in the darkness, dear Lord, spilling over in compassion and love, forgiveness and grace so that we can touch the lives around us, to be a blessing to them as You have blessed us. We lift this prayer in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. AMEN

GIVE WILLINGLY, GRACIOUSLY

As Christians, we are quick to lay claims to God’s promises to us, where He promises to guide us and comfort us and give us eternal security, but how quick are we to give back to Him … and to others … from our bounty? God wants us to give with the same sacrificial love that He gives to us.

  • I Chronicles 29:9a (NKJV): “Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the Lord.”
  • 2 Corinthians 9:7 (ESV): “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

WHAT’S IN YOUR HEART?

HOW WILLING ARE YOU to give of your time and  your talents? Really give, unselfishly give, without counting the cost to you, giving because we serve a God who willingly and graciously gave His life for us?

Hmm?

In a recent devotional, I read the story of Israel’s King David offering his possessions for building the Temple to honor God, when he asked the assembly, “Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the Lord?” (1 Chron. 29:5b NASB20)

The text tells us the assembly leaders responded first and did so willingly, and then the entire assembly responded willingly. As a result, the entire country, from king to leaders to the assembly, rejoiced because they had responded willingly.

God uses the word “willing,” “willingly,” or a substitute term, liked “rejoiced” five times  within five verses — three times in one verse — to underscore His point.

It’s not enough, He says, to do something unselfishly, it must be done willingly.

TRYING TO FAKE IT

 THERE’S NO USE trying to fake it, either. 

The Bible tells us that while we might fool one another by smiling through clenched teeth or covering our discontent with a heartier-than-necessary “of course I’ll do it,” we won’t fool our Creator.

Consider these verses:

  • 1 Samuel 16:9b (ESV): “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
  • Psalm 44:21 (NASB20): “Would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.”
  • Luke 16:15 (NIV): “And He said to them, ‘You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts.’”
  • John 2:25 (NLT): “No one needed to tell him [Jesus] about human nature, for He knew what was in each person’s heart.”
  • Acts 15:8 (CSB):  “And God, who knows the heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us.”

There are more verses, but those make the point, don’t they?

REAPING THE BENEFITS

DON’T MISS THIS PART. God imparts a blessing when we give willingly and graciously.

Nehemiah 2:18 (NKJV): “And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. So they said, ‘Let us rise up and build.’ Then they set their hands to this good work.”

Nehemiah 4:9 (ESV): “And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.”

In both of those verses, taken from Nehemiah’s account of the post-exilic Jews rebuilding the Jerusalem wall, we see the faithful (1) praying to God for help, strength, and direction, and (2) acting in concert with God’s will. 

It’s not enough to have “good thoughts” and wonderful intentions, our God wants us to call out to Him, to be in fellowship with Him, and to fulfill His design for us, His will for us, by acting.

It’s in the acting that we receive the blessing.

Check out this promise from God recorded in Malachi 4:10 (NASB95):

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.”

Here’s how author Henry Blackaby describes it:

“When you trust that God always gives His best, you will devote your heart to whatever assignment God gives because you know in that role you can experience everything God has in His heart for you.” Henry Blackaby, Experiencing God. Kindle, Loc. 431.

RESPONDING IN FAITH

NOW, IT’S UP TO US. What are we going to do with the gift of love that our Lord has lavished on us? Are we going to be obedient servants and follow through, or are we going to chart our own course? 

To word it another way, how do the experiences of David and Nehemiah and Malachi, as interesting as they may be, relate to our lives today, to your life and my life?

You can see how it relates to you as I share how it relates to me:

In my life, where I’m called to live out what I write about in my blogs, I must confess I often struggle. In my current situation, where my wife’s heart tells her we must relocate from South Carolina to Maryland’s Eastern Shore to be closer to her family and mine, I have been dragging my feet.

Not only that, and to my shame, I’ve made it a point to tell everyone that I am not pleased with the situation. Recently, my wife scolded me, saying she’s tired of hearing what a martyr I am for giving up my life and my dream to move farther South, when she insists we relocate to the North Pole (my sarcasm) just to chase her dream that (in my view) is not likely to materialize.

You can see my struggle to being obedient to the Lord.

As I gather in prayer each day, petitioning the Lord to change my heart, I find a growing countercurrent, bringing me closer to my wife, to our shared experience, and to my Lord’s guiding touch. 

SENDING REINFORCEMENTS

IT’S NOT BY ACCIDENT that a Christian friend reminded me just days ago of a Henry Blackaby book, Experiencing God, he gave me, which I’m now re-reading.

I’m now on the section where the author points out that God loves us and that His commandments are designed to benefit us and give us the abundant lives He offers.

1 John 5:3 (HCSB): “For this is what love for God is: to keep His commands. Now His commands are not a burden.”

(See Jeremiah 29:11 and John 10:10 for additional Scriptural support.)

If we know God, Blackaby tells us, we’ll love Him, trust Him, and obey Him. (Blackaby, Experiencing God, Kindle Loc. 485)

The next section of Blackaby’s book capsulizes the point we’re exploring perfectly: “God is all-knowing — His directions are always right.”

It’s not for us to crow when we obey. Our salvation is assured through grace, not our good works, but we do have this assurance: We will have done our jobs.

Listen to what our Lord says:

“So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” — Luke 17:10 (NIV)

PRAYER

FATHER GOD, our Creator and Sustainer, we thank You for being a gracious giver, who gives willingly to mankind, created in Your image. How shagrined we are, O Lord, to admit we are not as gracious in response with our time and our treasure and our talents — all of which You gave us to glorify You. Please forgive us and empower us to be worthy servants, just doing our duty. In the name of our Savior, Jesus the Christ, we pray, AMEN.

The Meaning of Life – An Open Letter

(This devotion is an adaption of a letter I wrote to my adult daughters. I have massaged it to hide their identities and to make it useful to a general audience. May God bless you as you read through it and pray with me at the end. WP)

  • “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27 NKJV)
  • “Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.” (Malachi 2:15 NIV)

A MESSAGE BORN OF LOVE

WITH THE INCREASING TURMOIL in today’s world, this is an excellent time to reflect on the meaning of life. Since I am not a recognized spiritual “expert,” it’s easy to tune me out (😑), but I hope you’ll suffer through a few minutes, if only because I’m sharing from my heart.

GOD establishes His supreme authority very the very beginning, “In the beginning, God created …”

This is a message born out of love and concern, not from one (me) who has gotten everything right in life but one (me) who has had to learn some very tough lessons. Unfortunately, until I learned them, I may well have damaged other people along the way, but that’s what gives this message its impact.

It’s about God’s grace, not my accomplishments.

The text source above gives us two purposes for family as God designed us: one, that He created us male and female for marriage; and two, that He wants us to raise “Godly offspring,” that is, children who know the Lord.

When I was a young man busy with career and family, I did not know the Lord. Now, I do, and I want to tell others about Him because He has brought peace and joy to my life.

OUR INTERCONNECTEDNESS

You (my reader) and I together have experienced the ups and downs of a world connected through mass media and the internet, so a royal wedding in England and a typhoon in Asia are shared by billions around the globe.

GOD designed marriage as a physical, emotional, and spiritual union of male and female to begin families and provide the foundation for orderly society.

We experience it all: mass shootings here, an act of bravery and sacrifice there; devastating illness in one family, joy and thanksgiving in another.

With this perplexing puzzle and the ever present news feed, it’s no wonder so many today feel confused, disoriented, discouraged, and resentful.

Yet, it doesn’t have to be that way. God — our Creator — has graciously provided us a way out.

We are called to join those of faith who, as one church elder phrased it, “praise God in the good times and praise Him in the bad times.”

More than anything else, I wish you would take your spiritual lives seriously and search into the claims the Lord makes for Himself, to see if they are true.

Jesus (God in human form) says He is God.

That makes him one of three things: a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. If He’s one of the first two, we can safely ignore Him.

However, if He’s the third, the Lord — the only other option — then we must worship Him.

WE HAVE CHOICES

God has given each of us a choice, with consequences, in our response. My prayer each day is that those we love — independently and with conviction — will seek the Lord’s guidance in their lives and then teach this to others, especially their children:

GOD designed the man (husband, father) to lead the family in devotions; He created the woman (wife, mother) to raise the children and encourage her husband’s leadership.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” (Deuteronomy 6:5-7 NKJV)

You, dear reader, may well be an accomplished and capable man or woman, making it very easy — seductively easy — to rest in the falsehood that your success is strictly your own doing and that you owe God nothing, that He has done nothing for you.

A quick list of God’s blessings starts with the fact that He created us, that He gave us life. He did that for a purpose, and that purpose is to glorify Himself and to have Fellowship with us. That is the greatest blessing in life, to be in Fellowship with our Creator.

Don’t let another day go by without taking advantage of that free gift of God’s grace. If you are a husband and father, lead your family to worship the Lord and walk with Him daily; if you are a wife and mother, encourage your husband to start leading you and your children so they will become the “Godly offspring” your Creator desires.

The husband’s job is to lead the family; the wife’s job is to ensure he does it!

SHARING OUR GRATITUDE

Finally, I am grateful for my wife being in my life — she is my third wife but my first and only Christian wife. Despite our joy in being together, we see the hurts and sorrows that divorce brings. She and I both suffer from our divorces, and we can see our children accommodating to it in their lives.

GOD desires my worship, praise, and adoration.

Both of us love our collected children and grandchildren, and we’re both trying to present the message of redemption, fellowship, healing, and life to each of them.

God gives each of us the freedom to make our choices. However, there are consequences for our eternal destination. Either we will continue in Fellowship with the Lord forever, or we will be separated from Him forever.

You, dear reader, should not want separation from the Lord for yourself. You should want Fellowship with the Lord. He tells us to “choose life.”

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live.” (Deuteronomy 30:19 ESV)

Two choices: one is foolish, one is wise. Please choose the wise one for you and your families.

________

PRAYER


GOD’S holy and inspired Word guides us, comforts us, leads us, sustains us, and calls us to Him

ABBA, FATHER, we come to You, O Lord, in humility and  repentance, knowing we are unworthy to approach the throne of grace except through the blood of Jesus Christ. We ask forgiveness for our pride and waywardness and seek Your mercy, O Lord, as You reconcile us to Yourself and lead us in all righteousness for Your name sake. Lord, bring a saving grace to a darkened world and may we, Your servants, not be a stumbling block but a light in that task. We ask this in the mighty name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. AMEN

GUARDING OUR TONGUES

What we say can get us into so much trouble. Not only the words we utter, but also our tone of voice and who we share with can hurt others and ourselves. The Bible tells us the tongue “is a fire, a world of iniquity … and it is set on fire by hell.” (James 3:6 NKJV) Those are strong words, yet 2,000 years later, so many of us wish we had been more careful more often with more people. Mankind cannot tame the tongue, the Bible says, so we need the power of God’s Holy Spirit to keep us from this sin.

 

  • Psalm 141:3 (NKJV): “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.”
  • James 3:8 (NASB): “But no one can tame the tongue;  it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.”

_____________________

MY LIFELONG STRUGGLE

WATCHING MY TONGUE is a life-long struggle.57.Tongue-fire

Early in my life, I said whatever I wanted to, as bluntly as I knew how, disregarding any consequences.

Yes, I paid a price for loose lips, although, at the time, I don’t recall ever seeing a direct correlation between my actions and the resulting consequences. I was not a Christian then, so I did not have the Bible’s wisdom to guide and correct me.

To the extent that I did recognize my own shortcomings, I must have simply shrugged my shoulders and toughened my skin.

That has changed.

God has changed me.

ENTER THE HOLY SPIRIT

IN NOVEMBER 2010, — 10 years ago this month — led by the Holy Spirit, I surrendered my life to Almighty God.

72. Man_Tape_TongueHe placed it upon my heart to watch my tongue, that my  very words belonged to Him, and I was to begin seeing myself as “salt and light” to a sin-filled world.

Another way of stating it is that I was blessed by God to be a blessing to others.

There’s no way I could accomplish that role without being more careful about what I said and how I said it.

Jesus even reminded us of that in Matthew 12:36 (ESV):

“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.”

Although the Lord didn’t add these words, He could have: “That means you … and it means You … and it means YOU!”

ENTER A CHRISTIAN WOMAN

TWO YEARS AFTER coming to faith, the Lord brought a Christian woman into my life, and we married 2 1/2 years later.

She is my true *ezer kenegdo,* chastising me when I make judgmental comments or hurtful criticisms or just flat-out plain and stupid foolishness. Unfortunately, she’s been kept busy in that role. I must be a slow learner.FEMALE_SILHOUETTE

The difference in me now is that I care.

I want to do better.

I am grieved whenever I grieve the Holy Spirit;

Ephesians 4:30 (NIV): “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

I am grieved whenever I grieve my wife.

1 Peter 3:7 (NASB): “You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.”

God is serious about this tongue business.

  ENTER GOD’S GRACE

THE GOD OF MERCY AND GRACE loves me, as He loves each and every one of His children. He chastises me when He needs to, and He forgives me (thankfully!) whenever I repent.

God's Glory Fills the HillsIn gratitude and joy, I should and must become more diligent in watching my speech.

The angels are watching, other men and women are watching, and my Lord and Savior is watching.

Here are just three reminders:

    • “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”  — 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NKJV)
    • ”Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” — Hebrews 4:13 (NIV)
    • ”The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, observing the wicked and the good.” — Proverbs 15:3 (CSB)

POSTSCRIPT

GOD, IN HIS MERCY AND GRACE, saved me from destruction through the life blood of His Son.

In turn, giving thanks to Him, I must be determined, I am determined, and with His help and guidance, I will be determined to watch my tongue.

It pains me to realize I will slip up, but as a child of God, I will be rebuked by the Holy Spirit, and through repentance, restored to fellowship with the eternal and loving God.

“LET THE WORDS OF MY MOUTH AND THE MEDITATION OF MY HEART BE ACCEPTABLE IN YOUR SIGHT, O LORD, MY ROCK AND MY REDEEMER.” — PSALM 19:14 (ESV)

PRAYER

THANK YOU, LORD JESUS, that You have called me from out of the darkness into the light,image-5  that You have plucked me up from the garbage of my sin-filled life and restored my soul. Now, O Lord, continue Your work in me until completion that I may be a blessing to others as You have blessed me. O Lord, help me guard my tongue … and my thoughts. Thank You, Lord Jesus! In Your holy and majestic name I lift this prayer … we lift this prayer … as one. AMEN

THE ELECTION & THE AFTERMATH

Now that the US election 2020 is over, except for the lawsuits and mandatory recounts, what is the role the body of Christ should take in word and deed to bring glory to God and distinguish ourselves from unbelievers in both major parties? Jesus told us to be His witnesses and assured us of His continued presence in our lives, so our marching orders are clear: We are to stay “in His will,” remaining in prayer, and testifying by word and deed what the Lord has done for us.

Romans 13:1 (NASB): “Each person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority  except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”

Daniel 2:21 (NKJV): “He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.”

Romans 14:12 (ESV): “So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.”

____________________

GLORIFYING GOD EVEN IN DEFEAT

NOW THAT THE VOTING IS OVER for the President/Vice President in the 2020 US election, how should the body of Christ react when many of us believe the wrong team won?

In the flesh, we’re as capable of temper tantrums as our non-believing neighbors, but as voting_signfollowers of Jesus Christ, we are called to a higher standard.

He told us that the world would know we are His flock if we love one another (John 13:35; John 15:17). He told us we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matt. 5:44). He told us to care for the least of these (Matt. 25:40), to proclaim the Good News (Matt. 28:19), and to store our treasures in Heaven, where they will not be stolen or damaged (Matt. 6:19-20).

He also told us (John 15:5) we would not be able to do any of that in our own power. We would need His help.

DISCERNING GOD’S WILL FOR US

SO, NOW WE’RE ABOUT the job of discerning the Lord’s will. We read in Daniel 2:21 that God “changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings,” and we wonder, Did God just remove the king and replace him with another?

Wasn’t it just four years ago that we praised God for raising up a president and vice imagepresident who pledged to honor the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, to honor marriage as a gift from God uniting female and male into one unit, and to proclaim not just the freedom to worship but also the freedom to live out our faith?

If so, then, what happened?

Did God change His mind? Not likely.

Did God give us a brief window to get serious about our faith and find us wanting? Maybe.

Why would God elevate to the highest two offices in the land a duo committed to:

    • extending abortion to include allowing born babies to die,
    • extending LGBTQ+ rights over the rights of normal males and females,
    • quenching religious liberty in subjection to the state, and
    • upending the first institution installed by God, that of marriage between a man and a woman?

WHY??

Why, Lord, why?

STAYING FAITHFUL DURING TRIALS

AT THE MOMENT, I feel sick. I see the country I used to love and still have hopes for turning into a hate-filled narcissistic shell of its former self.

Yes, I see the threats launched from the victorious forces declaring their desire to silence opposition to their rule, to continue their assault on our civil liberties, and, if necessary, to destroy us.

Yet, God tells us to “rejoice always” (1 Thess. 5:16), to “give thanks” in all situations (1 Thess. 5:18), and even to rejoice and persevere in “tribulation” (Rom. 12:12).

Okay, we’re there. Tribulation, defeat, rejection. We’re there, Lord. Now we’re supposed to be patient and … what? Quietly endure? Suffer? Seek revenge?

No, our Lord answers. Keep praying, He says (1 Thess. 5:17; Rom. 12:12; James 1:2-3). Besides, our trials are nothing compared with what the apostles suffered. Check out Paul’s trials (2 Cor. 11:24-28).

BELIEVING GOD’S PLAN IS GOOD 

NOT ONLY MUST WE focus on God’s plan being good, we must realize that His timing is not the same as ours. We want answers yesterday; He provides them 500 years later … or 50 years … or maybe five years.

He has to prepare people for the future He has willed. Moses needed 40 years growing up in Pharaoh’s court, 40 years tending sheep in the wilderness, and then enduring the trials of facing Pharaoh with a series of plagues before God considered him ready to lead His people out of bondage.

So, why should we expect an immediate answer to all of our questions by the evening news or tomorrow’s newspaper?

The answers are in His Book, and we can sustain ourselves by reading it and learning from it.

My conclusion: Stay in the Word, remain in prayer, fellowship with the saints, and testify to the world that God is in control, and His plan will occur in the timing that He decrees.

POSTSCRIPT

I DON’T KNOW WHAT the Lord is doing in this election. He doesn’t owe me an explanation. However, I thoroughly trust His judgment and His plan for my life. He will let it develop in His time, and I might live long enough to see some of it play out.

What is very clear to me is that I am to call on the name of the Lord everyday, to seek my refuge in Him, to confess my sins to Him, to ask His will for my life, to engage in intercessory prayer, to be temperate in my comments, to be patient in my demeanor, and to show love and compassion to my fellow man, even those I dislike.

38. God's.MercyThat looks like a pretty full plate, and, no, I am not capable of doing half of that well without the strong arm of Jesus Christ wrapped around my shoulders and the Holy Spirit indwelling my heart.

May my heart cry mimic the covenant prayer of Pastor John Wesley 250 years ago: “I am no longer my own, but thine; Put me to what thou wilt; rank me with whom thou wilt; Put me to doing; put me to suffering. … So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen”

Those are amazing words and an awesome responsibility. I am not up to it, but the God I serve is bigger than any obstacle I face. May His grace lead me and sustain me during the trials ahead.

I’m going to need His love to get me through until the next election … and beyond.

__________________

PRAYER

O LORD GOD, our merciful Father, we come to You humbly and repentant. We know that image-17we have failed to proclaim the Good News as vigorously or as often as we ought. We know You will confront us with our failures when we reach Glory. Help us to see clearly the pathway You’ve laid out for us to follow and give us the strength, and the desire, to obey. Your way is perfect at all times, and we rest comfortably knowing You, Lord, are in control. May we be Your faithful servants. In the loving and mighty name of our Lord Jesus Christ we lift this prayer. AMEN

OBEYING THE LORD’S COMMANDS

The Lord has created us with a perfect plan to glorify Him and to enjoy fellowship with Him and each other. His rules for our lives are designed to help us, not to harm us or destroy our enjoyment. Instead, He promises His prescriptions will give us life and that in abundance. We disobey Him at our loss.

1 Kings 2:3 (CEV): “Do what the Lord your God commands and follow his teachings.”

John 14:15a (TLB): “If you love me, obey me.”

Luke 2:52 (CSB): “Jesus increased in wisdom and  stature, and in favor with God and with people.”

____________________

LEARNING TO BE OBEDIENT

WHEN WE WERE children, our mother would tell us to “go to the bathroom” before we went anywhere in the car.

Of course, that would mean leaving our toys and other play things, so naturally we would respond, “I don’t have to go.”Boys_Playing_Blocks

After she told us another time or two, with each time our refusing to budge, our father would bellow, “Obey your mother!”

Suddenly, we had to use the bathroom and would race one another to get there first.

In many ways, that is how many Christians treat the Lord’s commands.

We know that He loves us and that He’ll forgive us, so we’re lax when it comes to obeying Him.

What too many Christians are prone to forget is that He also judges us and is not pleased when we disobey Him.

LEARNING GOD’S COMMANDS

WHAT ARE SOME of the commandments the Lord requires us to obey?

The first and primary commandment, as Jesus described it, is to love the Lord your God with your entire body, mind, and soul. The second commandment, He said, is to love our neighbor as ourself. (Matt. 22:37-40)

god-is-sovereignHe also commanded us to obey the Ten Commandments or Law of Moses. The first four commandments are to love God first, to worship only God, do not take His name in vain, and to honor the Sabbath Day, a requirement for ancient Israel that was replaced after Jesus’ resurrection with honoring the Lord’s Day.

The next six commandments regulated our interaction with our neighbors and were based entirely on mutual love and respect for others created in God’s image.

We readily recognize those “love” commandments as mandates from God, but there are others that we must acknowledge and obey:

        • You must be born again
        • Let people see your good works
        • Abide in Him
        • Forgive your enemies and pray for those who persecute you
        • Tell others about Him and baptize them in His name
        • Get rid of anything that causes you to sin
        • Store up your treasures in Heaven
        • Observe communion in remembrance of Him
        • Be humble, not proud
        • Do not lust after women (or men)
        • Be merciful.

OBEYING GOD’S COMMANDS

NOW, THE BIG QUESTION:

WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT LIST?

How many of them are you missing? Are you obeying each of them?

A few of them are one-time only, like being born again, but most of the list is ongoing, a way of life. If we are dedicated and consistent, we will live God-honoring lives that will make for a powerful testimony to the Lord’s saving grace.image-2

When we realize that we cannot fulfill the list under our own  power, we can lay claim to one of the more compelling commandments in the list, to “abide” in Jesus.

When we do that, He promises to “abide” in us and assures that, without Him, we can do nothing. (John 15:1-5)

POSTSCRIPT

GOD’S COMMANDMENTS are requirements, not requests or suggestions. He wants us to obey Him because His commandments are good for us.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)

Those plans conform to God’s design for our lives. We not only are wise if we obey them, but we will be much happier and peaceful. (Proverbs 1:7; John 10:10)

____________________

PRAYER

OUR GRACIOUS AND LOVING Heavenly Father, we  confess to You so often we have lone_crossfailed to obey Your design for our lives, substituting our own desires for Your commands. We have treated Your commands as worthy suggestions, but often ignore them for what they are: directives. Forgive us, Lord, and encourage us through the Holy Spirit to live our lives as a living testament to Your power and Your goodness. In Jesus’ redeeming name we pray. AMEN

 

WORDS MATTER, AS DO BLACK LIVES

Our country is in upheaval, as bands of angry protestors, some of them peaceful and some of them violent, march up and down our city streets, shouting slogans through bullhorns, brandishing hate-filled banners, and clashing with police striving to maintain order. How we respond to our social ills says a lot about our core values. When some are willing to destroy our physical communities as well as our metaphysical sense of community, the body of Christ needs to awaken from its lethargy and promote a spirit that exalts the living Messiah.

Matthew 12:36 (ESV): “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Colossians 4:6 (NIV): “Let you conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Ephesians 4:29 (NKJV): “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”

_______________

WHERE IS THE CHRISTIAN VOICE?

LIKE MANY AMERICANS, and people throughout the world, I spent much of the summer months watching in horror as bands of lawless thugs mingled with angry protestors, destroying not just the physical structures of our great cities but also laid out a full-scale assault on American values.

Not only did many set fires, smash windows, and loot small businesses, but additional thugs desecrated statutes raised to honor our nation’s history. Even those statutes raised to honor Confederate troops were erected originally to help restore honor and dignity to those forces that suffered defeat in the War Between the States (some call it the Civil War).

Thuggery says that if you disagree with me, your view is evil and must be smashed. If you persist in expressing your view, then you must be smashed.

This is not the essence of what America is about … but it might well be essence of what America is becoming.

ALL WORDS MATTER

JUST THINK ABOUT how words matter and how quickly we can misrepresent something beautiful with a minor tweak in the lettering.

5740847 - abstract speaker silhouette with colorful lettersTake, for example, the slogan “black lives matter.” When stated with lower case letters, the generic message says the  lives of a certain race created by God in His image matter to Him and should matter to each of us, just as the lives of members of all races matter to Him and should to us.

However, when the slogan is capitalized, as in “Black Lives Matter,” the words reflect a brand endorsing a political group favoring the left-wing politics of division and intersectionality.

SAME WORDS, DIFFERENT MESSAGE

WHILE THE WORDS are the same, the message is different.

We cannot come together as a country and a nation when some people use the political slogan to bludgeon those who oppose the group’s left-wing political goals while affirming the beauty of the generic words, the beauty that black lives—and all other lives—created by God in His image and for His glory, matter.

That’s why many of us push for an end to abortion, introduction of alternative schools to improve educational outcomes, and an influx of private investment in impoverished communities to improve employment rates and economic growth.

Because the lives of those left behind matter.

DO BLACK LIVES REALLY MATTER?

IN THE REAL WORLD, do black lives matter?

What about black babies? Do their lives matter?Black_Teenage_Mother

  • A recent study showed that black women continue to have the highest abortion rate at 27.1 per 1,000 women compared with 10 abortions per 1,000 white women (American Journal of Public Health).
  • Black women accounted for 36 percent of the abortions in 2015, a figure almost identical to the percentage of abortions (36 percent) that year among white Americans, who made up 76.6 percent of the population (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
  • The Guttmacher Institute (a pro-abortion group) says “black women are more than 5 times as likely as white women to have an abortion.”

What about the job prospects of black youth graduating from high school? Do their lives matter?

  • Nationwide, black students graduated at a rate of 69 percent. Hispanics graduated at 73 percent; whites graduated at a rate of 86 percent.
  • While dropout rates for all racial groups have dropped in recent decades, the black population remains higher than that for whites or Asians, with males more likely than females to drop out.
  • Males comprise about 50 percent of the high school  population but 60 percent of the dropouts. This harms their ability to provide for their families.
BREAKDOWN OF BLACK FAMILIES

WHAT ABOUT black families? Do their lives matter?

    • Seventy-two percent of black babies are born to unmarried mothers today, according to government statistics.financial charts.
    • A government report in 1965 outlining the destruction of the black family reflected an out-of-wedlock birth rate of 25 percent. That figure jumped to 68 percent in 1991, 72 percent in 2011, and, in 2015, it rose to 77 percent—77 percent of black babies born to unmarried mothers.
    • As for divorce, a study showed that over the last generation, the marriage rate among black Americans has declined while the rates of divorce, separation, cohabitation, out-of-wedlock births, and children residing in female-headed households have increased.
SERVING OUR LORD

THOSE STATISTICS are heart-breaking. While different studies yield slightly different numbers, the story remains the same: in most categories of life, black Americans lag behind other racial groups.

When Jesus told us that whatever we did “for the least of these” we did it to Him, He referenced those who were hungry and thirsty, in need of shelter or clothing, or were in prison, but He could just as well have pointed His divine finger at entire communities today where poverty, discouragement, and violence run rampant.CLASSROOM

A colleague of mine recently veered from my point about language, saying, in effect, that if you are the victim of abuse, you don’t worry so much about how the words are written, you express yourself from the anguish in your heart.

True enough, but the upper case version of the words “black lives matter” is a brand, with a website proclaiming its vision, which is specific and not God-honoring. We who follow the Word of God do not need to repeat the brand name to reflect the beauty of the generic words.

RAY OF HOPE

AS STATISTICS SHOW, the need is great, but all is not lost. There is a bright ray of hope bathing the land.

Every school child in America is afforded free public education through 12th grade, with scholarships and low-interest loans available for continued education in community colleges and trade schools.

image-10Every hungry child in America qualifies for free or subsidized meals in school.

Every child, whether gifted or special, disturbed or healthy, has access to a school guidance counselor, nurse, and an army of caring adult teachers and coaches to guide and mentor them.

Affirmative action laws guarantee preference in hiring, as long as the applicant has the necessary skills.

Finally, statistics show that any child can advance out of poverty simply by:

    • Graduating from high school;
    • Getting a job before marriage;
    • Getting married before having babies.
POSTSCRIPT

OUR JOB AS CHRISTIANS, as followers of Jesus Christ, is to care for those God has placed in our lives. Some of those people are youth looking for guidance, while some are  elderly who can use some help around the yard or an occasional visit.67.Jesus_Welcomes_All

Often, though, the need is just greater than what one man/woman can do on a one-day mission, whether it’s ministering to those in prison, or spreading the Gospel to a foreign land, or eradicating life-crippling poverty.

What is clear is that we need to work together as the body of Christ to make our mark on the world, to shine our light into the darkness.

That effort is hampered when some Christians, thinking they are helping, misuse the upper case brand name “Black Lives Matter,” which promotes a message counter to the love of Christ, instead of the lower case generic phrase, “black lives matter,” which gives the glory to God.

Words matter. We use them to communicate.

PRAYER

lone_crossO LORD, OUR HEAVENLY FATHER, we humbly ask You to heal our land. Soften our hearts, O Lord, so we can hear Your voice as well as those who need our help. Father God, we also pray that we’ll recognize the difference between one set of words that means one thing and a similar set that means the opposite. The evil one will try to deceive us into thinking there’s no difference when there  is. Lord, help us to understand how we can be of service to You and our fellow man. We humbly pray in the mighty name of Jesus. AMEN

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BELIEVE? (Part 2 of 2)

Now that you’re “all in” for Jesus Christ, what are you to do? What comes next? You know the Great Commission tells you to share the Gospel with the whole world, starting with your family and neighborhood and branching outward. You know you are commanded to love one another and to serve others, even “the least of these.” You know that each believer is awarded spiritual gifts, which are different from those awarded other believers. So, what form does all of this take for each one of us?

James 1:1 (NCV): “From James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. To all of God’s people who are scattered everywhere in the world: Greetings.”

2 Cor. 2:14 (ESV): “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.” (cf. Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8)

Col. 1:28 (NLT): So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ.

______________________

LIVING OUT OUR FAITH

You say you are saved?

Wonderful! Praise God!

57. JESUS - Ascension 2What have you done about it?

When we read the Epistle of James, we start with an amazing proclamation in the very first verse, a proclamation so stark we’re compelled to stop right there and meditate on its significance.

James proclaims himself to be the “servant,” or, depending on your translation, the “bond-servant” or “slave,” of Jesus Christ. James is the half-brother of Jesus, a sibling whom Scripture relates not only disbelieved in the Lordship of Jesus but also mocked Him during His public ministry.

Last time, we discussed the significance of James’ coming to faith. This conversion was sparked no doubt by the meeting mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:7, when Jesus “appeared” before James. This was after Jesus was crucified, pronounced dead, buried, and then rose from the dead.

This time, we want to focus on the second part of James 1:1 — what James did after Jesus as Lord intervened in his life.

As we look at James, we need to keep this question in mind: So what? What are we doing after the Lord’s intervention in our lives?

PAYING WITH HIS LIFE

WE’RE TOLD FROM the Bible and other writings that James rose to become the leader of the Jewish believers living in Jerusalem and later suffered a horrific martyrs’ death for his faith.

We read in Acts 15 that it was James who lent the authority of his family ties with Jesus to recognize that God in His mercy had extended salvation through Jesus Christ to the Gentiles.

The apostles Paul and Barnabas had recounted their evangelism to the Gentiles before the Jewish believers meeting in Jerusalem. The council was debating whether Gentiles needed to become Jews before they could be saved or whether they could pass directly from being heathens to salvation.

Luke records the meeting this way (ESV): “After they finished speaking, James replied, ‘Brothers, listen to me. … Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God.’” (Acts 15:13, 19)

That settled the matter for “the brothers, both the apostles and the elders” who then conveyed that message to their Gentile brothers. (v. 23)

FOLLOWING GOD’S PLAN

NOW THAT YOU received God’s Holy Spirit into your heart, what does God expect you to do with it?

We can see what James felt called to do. Here, he is writing a short letter filled with advice and directives on how a new believer should act. Yes, in the Jewish tradition, he focuses on the law and actions, but he ties them in to faith and conversion.Walking_in_Jesus'_Footsteps

“You say you have faith?” he asks. “Well, show me your faith by your actions. Don’t just tell me about your good works. Show me.” (James 2:18 editor’s trans.)

Whereas Paul’s letters focused on creed, James was concerned with conduct. Paul wrote about belief; James, about behavior; Paul was doctrine, James was deed. The two narrative styles complement one another.

Of the 108 verses in James, 54 contain a directive on conduct.

Commentators note parallels between his writings and the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount.

BECOMING FISHERS OF MEN

SO WE ARE TO BE mindful of the evangelizing function, referenced in the Great Commission, among other teaching.

image-6Jesus said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of  men.” (Matt. 4:19 NKJV)

If you’re not sharing the Gospel, you’re not being obedient.

2 Cor. 9:13 (NCV): “It is a proof of your faith. Many people will praise God because you obey the Good News of Christ—the gospel you say you believe—and because you freely share with them and with all others.”

How do you share the Gospel?

LETTING OUR LIGHT SHINE BEFORE MEN

JESUS TELLS US in Matt. 5:16 (NIV) to let our “light shine before others” that they may see our good works, or our good deeds, “and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Isn’t this what James said by matching our deeds with our faith?

This means acting according to the commandments our Lord gave us: to love one other, to forgive, to serve, to show compassion, to respect, to honor, to refrain from coveting, greed, envy, jealousy, anger, hatred, violence.

Then, when we are given the opportunity, as Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:15 (NLT), to explain our “hope as a believer,” we should “be ready to explain it.”

In his book, Talking With My Father, the late evangelical pastor and author Ray C. Stedman, says it this way:

[Lord] Keep us from being ineffective, ordinary Christians. Challenge us to be true followers of you, ready to fling our lives away for Jesus Christ, ready to be utterly careless of what happens to us in order that He may be glorified. We pray in His name. Amen 

—Ray C. Stedman, Talking With My Father

POSTSCRIPT

THESE ARE THE questions each of us must answer:

          • Do you know the risen Lord?
          • Do you worship Him in the way you live your life?
          • Are you ready to explain the hope and joy in your heart?
          • Can you show how the Lord’s message of salvation is important for you and can be for your audience?
          • Are you prepared to share the Gospel?

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PRAYER

OUR HEAVENLY FATHER, we humbly ask You to guide us as we strive to honor You in our image-5lives. Grow within us a softer  heart, one more gracious, more compassionate; more giving; a heart that does not puff up but pours out, one that does not expect but serves; one that shows we are loved by the King. O LORD, our God, to You belong all the Praise, Honor, and Glory. In the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, we pray. AMEN

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