“I am so beautiful”

I talked to a lady today and she asked me if the verses in James 1 that talk about the perfect gift that comes from above could possibly be the gift of beauty that she says she, (evidently), has.  “I don’t want to seem vain, but I am extremely beautiful.”  Though she may be very beautiful, I am pretty sure that is not what James was talking about.  My response to her was that I believe that James was talking about gifts that God gives to us to build His kingdom.  At this response she hung up on me.

However, it is still true.  God has given all of us gifts that are from above and they are there not so that people can say, “Hey look at me, I’m great!”  Instead, the gifts are there so that we can say “Look at God, He is so great!”  And if He is lifted up, He will draw all men unto Himself (John 12:32).  Isn’t the gospel and His Kingdom what our life should be centered around anyway?  When did it ever become about me and my kingdom?  May it never be!

Is Revelation really that confusing?

As a church we decided to go through the book of Revelations.  I told someone we were going to do that and they said, “Are you sure that you can do that?  Isn’t that book too confusing and hard to understand?”  Though admittedly there are many different symbols to consider, as a whole there is very little doubt to the overwhelming theme of the book, God is Sovereign over all creation.  Similar to the exodus of Israel from Egypt, the plagues God reigned on Egypt were a display of God’s power over every “god” of Egypt.  Essentially God was saying you were the sun, I will blot it out.  You were the Nile, I will make it useless and turn it into blood.  Over and over God showed His power over the powerless Egyptian gods.

The book of Revelation is very similar.  The seal, trumpet, and vial judgments all are a show of God’s power and sovereignty over everything.  You will notice that there are judgments that affect only the land, or only the sea, and sometimes only people.  In the book of Revelation God is taking back the “title deed of the earth.”  This world that has been controlled by the prince and power of the air, will be pryed one finger at a time.

Does this have anything to do with us?  Everything!  The same God of Revelation is the same God today.  This is the God that we serve and nothing, absolutely nothing, can overtake the believer.  “If God is for us, who then can be against us.  He who spared not His only Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not freely give us all things?”  (Romans 8:31-32)  Remember to not look at circumstances with your physical eyes, but with the eyes of faith.  Even when it may seem like the Devil is having his way, make no mistake through the eyes of faith God is still in control.  You can trust Him, He is a trustworthy God!

James 3

What a tough chapter James 3 is for most of us because it deals with one of the most “undisciplined” parts of our bodies and according to James one of the most important parts of our body, the tongue.  James, the Apostle Paul and Jesus Himself all agree that we must watch what comes out of our months.  James tells us that it directs where we go in life (3:4), can cause great destruction (3:5) and reveals exactly who we are (3:9-12).

I wander if you ever let a word or joke or outburst “slip” from your mouth and later asked yourself, “Where did that come from?”  I mean that was so uncharacteristic of me, I don’t usually talk that way, where did that come from?  Well Jesus actually has the answer to that, He would say that it came from the heart (Matthew 15:18).  What is the answer then to making sure that the words that come out of our mouth are pleasing to God?  I believe that Solomon said it pretty well in Prov. 4:23, “Above all else guard your heart, for from it come the issues of life.”

How is your heart doing now days?  Do you allow anger, jeolousy, hatred, or other harmful emotions to attach to your heart?  Confess that to God and get rid of it and let God work in and deal with your heart.  David in Psalms 51 said “Create in me a clean heart God and renew a right spirit within me…(vs.17) the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit a broken and contrite heart O God you will not despise.”  May we always seek to honor Him with our words, but we will never fully be able to do that until we have a heart that is completely submitted to Him.

God: The Greatest Attraction

A.W. Tozer once said, “Don’t expect a large crowd when God is the only attraction.”  Last week I attended a Prayer Conference.  I had no idea what to expect, I figured that we might pray every now and then.  I thought that it would be someone up front telling me how to pray and why I should pray a whole lot.  That wasn’t the case at all.  Instead, people across the country and from 6 different nations came for the sole purpose of praying, literally.  We started at 9:30 each morning and there were days that I did not get back home until 10:00 pm.  We spent time praying, then someone would get up and say a Scripture, someone bursts out into song, it was incredible.  One night we had communion together and it was a special meeting.

I remember sitting next to someone who was praying and it was very evident that he was truly “connected” to God.  I was so humbled and hungry for what he had I actually asked him, “How can I learn to pray like that?”  I was expecting him to impart some deep theological meaning, maybe reveal an obscure passage on prayer that I have not heard of, but instead he replied, you just have to pray.  Be faithful in prayer and “pray without ceasing.”

R.A Torrey wrote that “Satan is not afraid of church.  He wouldn’t mind if everyone went to church.  Satan is afraid of God and prayer is our connection to God.”  I believe that Satan would be afraid of a group of people who submitted themselves to God and sought Him in prayer.  Let us purpose in our hearts to be that kind of people.

Are you Blessed?

Recently, I spoke with a man who said that he was very angry with God, with great curiousity I asked him “Why?”  He said that he felt that God should have kept him from getting a speeding ticket and that he was upset with Him.  I asked him if he was, in fact, speeding, he admitted that he had been speeding, but felt God should have “protected” him from that ticket.  I asked him if he was married.  He said that he had been happily married for 19 years and had 3 beautiful, healthy kids.  This guy couldn’t see all of God’s blessing on his life because of one speeding ticket.

Did you know that if you have a roof over your head, food in the kitchen, and a bed to sleep in tonight then you are more “blessed” then 75% of the entire world.  If you have money in a bank account and spare change in the house then you are richer then 92% of the entire world.  We are so blessed!  There is an old hymn that says:

When upon life’s billows You are tempest tossed
When you are discouraged Thinking all is lost
Count your many blessings Name them one by one
And it will surprise you What the Lord has done

Count your blessings Name them one by one
Count your blessings See what God has done
Count your blessings Name them one by one
Count your many blessings See what God has done

How has God blessed you?  Are you focussing on the negative and missing all that God has blessed you with?  The truth is that God is not obligated to do anything for us.  If He never blessed you and I with one more blessing than He has been more than good to us.  Thank you God for the grace and mercy that you give to me every day.

The Book of James

I love the way that this book begins, “James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ…”  James introduces himself very humbly, if I were James I would have made sure people knew who I really was.  James was the pastor of the 1st church in Jerusalem.  He was the half-brother of Jesus.  He was a pillar and leader of this movement, and yet here James doesn’t mention any of that, only that he was and wanted to be a servant of God.  Maybe his humility came from the fact that while Jesus was here he didn’t believe in Him.  Maybe he developed his humility from prayer, it is said that James’ nickname was “old camel knees” for the fact that he spent so much time on his knees that they were swollen and calloussed.  Wherever his humility came from it is the kind of humility that everyone who names the name of Christ needs.  I love the way that Paul introduced himself “But may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world!” (Gal. 6:14).

Think About It

What accomplishments are you holding to?  Does anything mean more to you than the cross of Jesus and being crucified with Him?  How are you doing being a servant these days?  A servant does what his master tells him to do and so I ask are you listening to your Master and doing what He asks?  What are you willing to give and sacrifice to be a servant of the Most High God?  May you be willing to give it all away to be pleasing in His sight.

You can come out and hear more at our weekly Bible study here at True Life Church located at 4410 Hannah Ford Rd, Pegram, TN 37143.  We meet every Thursday at 7:00 p.m.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Faith Decisions that Go Far.

Picture a time in Israel’s history during the days of the Judges where everyone is doing what is “right in their own eyes.”  400 years before the book of Judges God told Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that the world would be blessed through their seed and eventually the Messiah would come.  All of a sudden we find the whole nation living as if there is no God.  What is God to do?  Will He “scrap” the whole plan and start over?  Was He nervous?  I mean the salvation of the whole world rested in this tiny little nation and they denied the very foundation on which they had been given.  What was God to do?

God was so unmoved and the story of Ruth is how God worked.  Ruth was a Moabite woman.  Her husband had died and all she had was a mother in law (Naomi).  Just another girl drifting into obscurity, right?  Who cares?  Ruth made a decision though that even at the time may have seemed a little crazy, but she decided to follow Naomi and the God of Israel no matter what the cost.  “Where you live, I will live…You’re God will be my God…You’re people will be my people.”  God used Ruth’s faith and within 3 generations the greatest king that Israel ever had was born, his name was David.  David, a man after God’s own heart, put Israel back on the map and he put Israel back on track spiritually as well.  All it took was a little faith.

Maybe your life is completely “off track” with God, relationships, finances, and everything.  Maybe you’re thinking of quitting thinking that God can’t do anything with you.  Remember the story of Ruth and her faith.  God is an awesome God!

Are You Blessable?

I read an unbelievable statistic today.  It was a statistic that I knew was low, but I had absolutely no idea how low this statistic actually was.  The statistic was taken from the Barna research group and they found that only 5 to 7 percent of Christians give 10% of their income to the local churches, only 5 to 7.

I think that we all believe that we know how God views our money we think He wants it all!  Let me just help relieve some of your pressure and tell you that if God wanted your money He would take it.  I mean the government takes it, God is certainly greater than the government.  So if it isn’t about the money then what is it about?  I’m glad you asked, the answer is it is all about the heart.

A quick story found in the Bible where Jesus sees a widow who puts in the offering 2 pennies.  All around her where people putting hundreds and yet Jesus marvelled at her gift because it was all she had.  It is not about how much one gives it is about the heart. 

There is one other thing to consider.  Malachi 3:8, 9 tell us that those who withhold or “rob” from God place themselves under a curse.  Either we allow God to bless our 90% or curse 100% of our income.  If this is true and we place a curse upon ourselves for not giving to God what belongs to Him, then 95% of Believers have done so.  It is a wonder why we are not effective as the Church of God anymore.  May we give to Him what is due Him, it is all His.

The Greatest Trait of the Righteous

“The just man falls 7 times, but gets back up.”  Wouldn’t one think that just people don’t fall at all?  Isn’t it a lack of sin that makes someone just?  Not according to Solomon!  According to God’s Word what makes a man righteous is his desire to get back up and go after it again.  It must be one of the greatest traits of the righteous the attitude of never quitting.  One of Winston Churchhill’s famous statement was “Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm.” 

The attitude of not quitting is certainly one of the differences between Peter and Judas.  They both had denied the Lord.  They both went away weeping.  However, one decided to end his life, while Peter is restored and becomes one of the pillars of the early church.  The truth is that so many Christians put a period where God puts a comma.  We put a “The End” where God wants to start a new chapter. 

Don’t let past failures keep you from future success! 

The Opposite of Church

Recently a book entitled “UnChristian” was written that described the attitude of a generation of young people (ages 16-29) who are not just leaving the church, but have already left.  Words such as “hypocritical,” “insensitive,” and “judgmental” have been used by this generation to describe the Church of today.  It is unfortunate because the foundation of the Christian movement was based on love.

 

If our churches continue in this trend then not only will the church of tomorrow have no influence, but will be rendered ineffective.  There must be some irony when we realize the Church was created to overcome sinful attitudes and now it has by and large succumbed to it.  Something has to be done, a change must be made, and today we have the opposite of church.

 

Since the beginning of the Church there has never been a greater disconnect between churches and our younger generations than the one that exists today.  Gone are the days of loyalty to pastors.  No longer is there the great respect for the older generation.  And unfortunately, many churches have decided to hold on to man-made traditions than to reach out with love to the next generation.

 

If you are reading this and have felt disconnected and alienated from the church there is a message that I think that you need to know.  If I could take you back in time to the 1st century and introduce you to this man named Jesus I just want you to know that I think that you would really like Him, and even more than that you would find that He would love you as well.  Please don’t let the actions and attitudes of any church keep you from having the greatest relationship you could ever have, that being the relationship with your Heavenly Father.