JESUS, A STUMBLING BLOCK?

 

JESUS, A STUMBLING BLOCK?

I Peter 2:8-9 And the Scriptures also say, "He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that will make them fall." They stumble because they do not listen to God's word or obey it, and so they meet the fate that has been planned for them. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests. God's holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. NLT

There are two things I want to emphasize from this passage today. The first is that Jesus is the stumbling block in many people's lives and the other is that we are who we are in Christ so that we can be a witness in the world of God's transforming power.

Two things happen when we are confronted by Jesus: either we will embrace Him or we will reject Him. To embrace Christ is to become like Him. There is no such thing as an unchanged child of God. It may not happen quickly, nor may it be easily seen, but change does indeed happen. When Jesus enters the heart, He begins to get rid of all that is unholy there. He changes the way we live and think. He replaces all that is not consistent with the holiness of God with those things which are. To reject Christ is to resist the changes He wants to make in us.

There is an outright rejection and a subtle rejection. An outright rejection is slamming the door in Christ's face and refusing to even let Him in. A subtle rejection is to let Him in, but resisting the changes He needs to make in us. It is giving lip loyalty to Him but not a life loyalty. When we fail to embrace Christ with all of our heart, mind, and soul, He becomes a stumbling block to us.

We who are in Christ take on a new identity and become living witnesses of God's transforming power. We are on display in the world showcasing God's goodness. We become beacons of light in the darkness of the world. We don't blend into the world, we stand out from it. It becomes obvious to the world that we don't belong here, that we are citizens of heaven. We do not hold dual citizenships. We are chosen by God to represent Him on earth. We are priests of God, a holy people, a people who belong to God.

A child of God is outstanding and out standing in his field.

JESUS, OUR CORNERSTONE

 

JESUS, OUR CORNERSTONE

I Peter 2:6 As the Scriptures express it, "I am placing a stone in Jerusalem, a chosen cornerstone, and anyone who believes in him will never be disappointed." NLT

A cornerstone is the main stone in the building. It is the first stone laid and must be the best stone it can be. It must be able to withstand the pressure placed upon it by all the other stones without crumbling or cracking. If the cornerstone fails, the rest of the building is in serious jeopardy of falling.

God has chosen Jesus as the cornerstone or our faith. Now we know that God is perfect in knowledge and judgment so it is no mistake Jesus was chosen. Jesus is the perfect one upon which to build all those of faith. He is able to withstand all the pressures placed upon Him without fear of failure. He is able to hold the household of faith together without fear of ever shifting or changing. He is flawless in character and will always be as He always has been so that the household of faith will never have to question His ability to hold them together.

Jesus is the perfect choice to be the cornerstone of our faith and all who believe in Him will not be disappointed. He keeps every promise He makes. He purifies the heart and makes it holy for all who will allow Him to do it. He will supply every need we have, if we let Him. He will enable us to keep steadfast in faith if we let Him. He will help us to resist Satan and overcome sin if we let Him. He will use us as key building blocks in His kingdom if we will let Him. He will take us by the hand and lead us safely home to heaven if we let Him.

The key to Jesus being the cornerstone of faith for us is our giving Him permission to fill that role. He will keep His covenant of grace to us, but not against our will. Don't deny the Lord the opportunity to be your cornerstone of faith. Let Him have His way with you.

COME TO CHRIST

 

COME TO CHRIST

I Peter 2:4-5 Come to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God's temple. He was rejected by the people, but he is precious to God who chose him. And now God is building you, as living stones, into his spiritual temple. What's more, you are God's holy priests who offer the spiritual sacrifices that please him because of Jesus Christ. NLT

This is God's plan for all His people. We are created in Christ to serve Him as His chosen priests amongst men. We are not zombies roaming about on earth biding our time. We are living stones, actively doing the Lord's bidding. We are first and foremost spiritual beings. Who we are in Christ takes precedence over everything else.

We are holy priests before Him. We are not participants in sinful living. We are characterized by who we are in Christ and not who we are in the world. We are different because Christ makes us different. We are not perfect, but we are perfected in Him. And, the more we live in Christ, the more we show it.

No matter who you may think you are or aren't, God says you are special. You are specially created in Christ for Him. You have a very important role to play in the work of the Kingdom. You are a somebody because God says you are. Your value is not measured by the world's standard; it's measured by God's standard. We must not listen to what others say about us or compare ourselves to anyone else.

We are a work in progress. The Lord is building you into His spiritual temple. He knows you are not who you need to be or will be. He will not stop working on you until He is ready to take you home. Be patient and don't let what may seem to you to be a lack of progress discourage you. The Lord will complete what He has begun in you.

Live like the person God says you are. The Lord believes in you. Believe you are who He says you are.

CRAVE SPIRITUAL MILK

 

CRAVE SPIRITUAL MILK

I Peter 2:2-3 You must crave pure spiritual milk so that you can grow into the fullness of your salvation. Cry out for this nourishment as a baby cries for milk, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness. NLT

There is such a thing as impure spiritual milk. It is those things that are not true to God’s Word. It is compromised or distorted truth. It is convenient truth. It is insufficient truth. It is truth that never inspires or challenges one to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.

It is imperative that we crave for that which is pure. For the health of your soul, be sure that you only sit under the teaching of the authoritative Word of God accurately proclaimed and taught. Think enough about yourself to not settle for anything that impedes your spiritual growth. You deserve to learn the whole truth of God’s Word.

We must crave pure spiritual milk. We must desire to be nourished by the Word. We must grow in our desire for it. We must constantly desire to discover what the Word says and seek to apply it to life. It is impossible for the soul to mature in faith without a steady input of the Word.

We must never be satisfied with what we have. We must cry out for more. Like a baby who cries for his milk, seemingly never satisfied, so should it be with us with the Word of God. There should be an insatiable appetite for more. We must understand this crucial truth; we cannot survive spiritually without a consistent feeding of our souls with the Word of God. A casual or occasional reading of the Word simply will not meet our soul’s needs.

The natural goal of every believer should be to grow into the fullness of faith. It is abnormal for a believer to not want to grow in faith. It is abnormal for him to be comfortable with where he may be in his faith walk and not seek to grow.

Tasting the Lord’s kindness should inspire us to even greater experiences with Him. The Lord’s kindness is His embracing love. It is to know we are forgiven and have eternal life. It is to know His peace and the joy of salvation. Blessed are those who constantly crave more and more of the Lord at work in them.

If you truly love the Lord, you will not ever get enough of Him. You will want to be with Him all the time. You will want Him to want to be with you. You will want what He offers to you. You will always crave for more of Him. Your constant cry will be, “Feed me more, O Lord. Feed me more.”

THE BREVITY OF LIFE

 

THE BREVITY OF LIFE

I Peter 1:24 As the prophet says, "People are like grass that dies away; their beauty fades as quickly as the beauty of wildflowers. The grass withers, and the flowers fall away. But the word of the Lord will last forever." NLT

We discover two essentials truths here we must grasp: the brevity of life and the length of eternal life. We act like life on earth will last forever. We ignore the signs of aging. We continue to pursue earthly gain as long as we are able. We do our best to stay as young and productive as possible. We keep relying on the wisdom of the world which promises us longer and richer lives. We struggle with aging naturally.

We also ignore eternal life. We dismiss from our thoughts that there is life after death that will never end. We don't want to think about it too much lest we take it too seriously. We stay focused on life as we know it and fail to grasp fully what awaits us in eternity.

We also tend to forget that what God has given to us in His Word is eternal truth. It is as true and applicable for us today as much as it was for the people to whom it was given, and it will always be relevant to people who follow us. God never changes His Word. It is for all people of all time. We tend to devalue its worth to us because it was written so long ago. We must reconsider our thinking. God is still speaking to us through His Word and we must listen to it and obey it.

Listen, you are getting older and will die. Life goes by so quickly! Don't waste it away by chasing after things that don't last. Don't believe Satan's lie about the worth of earthly pursuits. God's Word is the only thing that is time proof. What comes out of God's mouth is eternal. It alone is worth giving our lives for.

Satan wants you to believe that life is not eternal, that when you die it’s all over. But, the reality is, when you die life begins. How you live on earth will determine where and how you will live eternally.

SINCERE, INTENSE LOVE

 

SINCERE, INTENSE LOVE

I Peter 1:22 Now you can have sincere love for each other as brothers and sisters because you were cleansed from your sins when you accepted the truth of the Good News. So see to it that you really do love each other intensely with all your hearts. NLT

I wonder what would be different in our churches if we were to take today's verse to heart. Just how intensely do we really love each other? Are we as concerned and involved in each other's lives as we ought to be? What do we do to show our love? Love without action is only a word. Love compels us to take an invested interest in people. It compels us to respond to needs when we learn of them. It compels us to withhold judgment on others unless it is clearly directed by Scripture to do so. It compels us to see the good in others and dwell on it instead of the weaknesses people have. Love is not a convenience, it is the fruit of a heart that is right with God.

If we truly love others, we will befriend them and stand by their side as they endeavor to grow in faith. We will accept others without strings attached. We will work together for the cause of Christ and not let our own agendas get in the way. This is true within our individual churches, and it is true in the body of Christ as a whole.

We can't make people love each other intensely from the depth of their hearts. Most people don't and won't get it. But, what about you? Just because others don't love as they should, it doesn't excuse us. The mandate to love is clear in the Scriptures. We can make a huge difference for Christ by setting a godly example of loving for others to follow. To do anything less, is to live in disobedience to God.

Our capacity to love is directly related to our relationship with Christ. To not live a life of love is to not live in a proper relationship with Christ.

NO FAVORITIES

 

NO FAVORITES

I Peter 1:17 And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites when he judges. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as foreigners here on earth. NLT

No matter whom a person may be in the world or church, God treats all people the same. He judges each of us by His holy standards. He looks into the heart and determines the motives behind our actions. He sees the extent in which we are righteous and holy. He will not be swayed by what we do. Instead, He will be swayed by why we do what we do. His understanding of the heart is perfect and there will be no mistakes.

God determines our judgment or rewards. It is to Him alone that we will give an account. It should therefore cause us to live in reverent fear of Him as we journey through this life. This is the biggest problem most Christians have; we don’t live in reverent fear of God. A proper attitude towards God involves many things.

We have become too familiar with God. We are more buddies than we are worshipers of Him. We have lost our sense of awe of Him. We have made Him more like one of us than the God He is. We marvel at His handiwork, yet fail to worship Him as the creator of it all. We have lost our sense of His holy nature. Our worship is more of a performance or duty than it is an expression of our heart of love for Him.

Our comfort with God has affected our sense of fear for Him. We easily dismiss sinful behavior because we are not struck with the hatred God has for it because He is holy. We no longer are under the law of God therefore we have become convinced that we won’t be judged for our sin because of grace. We have accepted the fact that eternal life means that we will make it to heaven regardless of how we live on earth.

You cannot live in grace unless you have a reverent fear for God. The will to not sin flows from our respect for God and our desire to please Him. Reverence for God should stop us in our tracks when we are tempted to sin. Grace can flourish only in the heart of those who are determined to be respectful to God and not sin against Him.

God shows no favoritism; he will judge all people justly. He saves us and commands us to grow, go and glow in the world. He looks upon our living and judges the heart motives behind our living. Are you living in reverent fear of our God?

JUDGED BY GOD

 

JUDGED BY GOD

I Peter 1:17 And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites when he judges. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as foreigners here on earth. NLT

I do not believe very many people believe this is true, at least that is the way they come across. We tend to think of ourselves in a better light than others. We measure our worth by our successes or who we know. We tend to think that we earn brownie points with God because of what we do. However, Peter reminds us that God shows no favoritism when He judges the heart of man.

Everyone will be judged according to how he lives out what he professes. What we do with Christ matters to God. How well we live in Christ determines whether or not we will be rewarded by God. If we are not living in Christ like we should be, then we will be judged accordingly. No one will be accepted by God into His Kingdom by what he does in comparison to anyone else. He will be accepted by God only if He lives well in Christ.

A person who lives well in Christ has a reverent fear of God. He honors and respects who God is. He takes holiness seriously in his life. He honors God as the absolute authority over his life. He honors God by how he approaches God in worship and prayer. He keeps God as his first love and lives always for Christ. Keeping his soul fit for heaven is his number one priority in life.

God does not play favorites. He holds everyone equally responsible for holy living in Christ. Anyone who doesn't live a holy life will be judged as unfit for the Kingdom of God.

God is not impressed by what impresses us. He sees what is on the inside, not just the outside. He doesn’t care about the fluff of our lives; He cares about the stuff we are made of. Only the holy in heart will see God.

YOU MUST BE HOLY

 

YOU MUST BE HOLY

I Peter 1:15-16 But now you must be holy in everything you do just as God--who chose you to be his children--is holy. For he himself has said, “You must be holy because I am holy.” NLT

If I had to narrow down into one issue that I believe is the most important issue in the Christian life, I believe the need to be holy before God would be it. Most of the body of Christ seems to think that holiness is an option and not a necessity. We are taught that all that really matters is our salvation. Conforming into the image of Christ may be proclaimed, but it is not put into practice very well. We acknowledge our sinful failures but don’t seem to overcome them. We admit that we are sinners saved by grace and seem to believe that it’s okay when we sin. We struggle with sin and don’t gain true victory over it.

Holiness in a grace-filled life used to be the heart of our preaching, but it seems to not be the case so much anymore. We shy away from soul wrenching messages that drives us to our knees in repentance. We remove our altars from our churches and think it’s okay with God to do it. We minimize our need for public prayer at the altar of God. We have become comfortable in our righteousness and our appetite for more has been dulled to the point where we are barely recognized by the world as being a holy people.

The mandate of Scripture is for us to be a holy people. It is sin on our part when we are not pursuing holiness in our lives. We are made holy by living in a deeply connected relationship with Christ. He must be our Lord as well as our Savior. We must be willing to let Him rule and influence every part of our heart. Our minds must be captivated by Him. Pursuing righteousness must be our passion.

The demise of the church is her lack of zeal for holy living. Holiness flows from a heart fully surrendered to the Lord. It flows from spending much quality time alone with the Lord in His Word and prayer.

OBEY GOD

 

OBEY GOD

I Peter 1:14 Obey God because you are his children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of doing evil, you didn’t know any better then. NLT

As a child of God, obedience is not an option; it’s a necessity. No one who claims allegiance to Christ can live in disobedience to Him. We do not disrespect those whom we love, and disobedience is disrespect for God.

It is easy to slip back into our old sinful ways. Let’s be honest about it. It is easier to sin than it is to obey. Satan knows our weaknesses, and he is a master at exploiting them. It takes a great amount of effort and patience to stop doing the things we once did. For most of us, changed behavior is a process. We normally don’t just stop doing the things we once did. There are no instant disciples of Christ. Many of us struggle a long time with sinful issues in our lives. It is easy to get frustrated and cave into sinful habits when we find ourselves failing. And I might add, often our sinful habits change as time goes on. When we gain victory over one area of our lives, another area pops up to do battle with us. It doesn’t end until we die.

What we need to remind ourselves of is that perseverance is the key. It is okay to not be perfect, but it is not okay to not try. Each time we fall into sin, we confess our sin, accept Christ’s forgiveness, and strive to do better the next time. We learn to recognize over time how to avoid situations that cause us to sin. We learn to recognize when we are growing weak and need to renew our strength in Christ. We learn how to lean on Christ and not ourselves. We learn how to keep our souls strong through the spiritual disciplines of faith.

Living obediently to Christ and His Word is not an easy task, but it is doable. If we have the will and are determined to obey Him, we will do it. The more we learn from God what is sinful, the more responsibility we accept when we mess up and do that which is sinful. We ‘fess up our mess ups, regroup and strive to do better the next time.

Dear child of God, you know better now. Stay away from that which is evil. Stay away from those things which once drew you into sin. You are not that person anymore. You are a new person in Christ.

Victory in Jesus is certain for those who learn how to overcome through Him who gives us the strength and the desire to do it.

THINKING CLEARLY

 

THINKING CLEARLY

I Peter 1:13 So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the special blessings that will come to you at the return of Jesus Christ. NLT

Thinking clearly requires investing time and energy into getting to know God's ways. It means that we value highly God's instruction and guidance. It means that we value highly our relationship with the Lord. Having a right attitude towards God and His ways does not just happen. It is not something that we can categorize and do when we want to. It is the way we live. It is involving the Lord in all we do.

Thinking clearly about our relationship with God is not an option; it's an absolute necessity if we are going to please Him. Far too many people who claim fellowship with God do not have a clear mind when it comes to understanding what it means to live in relationship with Him. God commands our best efforts at holy living. He is never pleased with the leftovers. He does not accept anything other than being the number one priority of our lives.

When we think clearly about our souls, we will exercise self-control. We won't fall prey to our sinful desires. We will be able to say no to sin as it tries to weasel itself into our hearts and minds. We will learn the secret to successful living in Christ.

When we think clearly we are guided by faith. We understand that we won’t understand everything and we will have many questions that we will never figure out. We understand that when we encounter those issues in life we accept what God says about it by faith and leave it at that. If God said it, it is regardless of my understanding of it.

The Lord rewards greatly those who know how to think clearly, live by faith and exercise self-control in their lives.

LOOK AHEAD!

 

LOOK AHEAD!

I Peter 1:6 So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while. NLT

When we live in the moment without a vision for the future, we can easily be overcome and fall into discouragement and despair. Sometimes life isn't pleasant. Circumstances in life around us change and often not for the best. We often struggle due to things we have no say or control over. People sometimes take out their own frustrations and problems on us. We sometimes struggle to keep our heads above water and see no end in sight.

When all we can see is the moment, our will to keep trying ebbs away. It seems pointless to fight through the trials we go through. We don't like life's difficulties and look for ways to make things easier, escaping anyway we can. We may even deny their reality, hoping somehow they will not come our way. Yet, we all face them.

The Lord knows how difficult life can be and that is why He instructs us to look beyond the moments of our lives. He knows that what is ahead of us is worth whatever we may be facing at the moment. There is a wonderful joy ahead of us that we can only imagine now. We can't begin to know the glory of what He is preparing for us. We can't even begin to imagine what it will be like to have a face-to-face encounter with our Lord which will never end. There is a wonderful joy ahead of us as we live in a place where there is no more sin, pain, or suffering.

Jesus and His kingdom await us! Life may be tough now, but for those who persevere there is joy unspeakable and full of glory!

Whatever you may be going through in life, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus--the author and finisher of our salvation--and your heart will be filled with joy as you anticipate what lies ahead of you. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.

BRING THEM BACK

 

BRING THEM BACK

James 5:19-20 My dear brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back again, you can be sure that the one who brings that person back will save that sinner from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins. NLT

There is nothing more sad and tragic than to see a brother or sister in Christ wander away from Him into sin. It doesn’t just happen. Slipping into sin is a process that begins with compromise. By neglecting time with the Lord we can be easily be misled and start to compromise on that which we know to be true. Whenever we lower God’s standards to accommodate our desires, we begin to wander from God. Sin breeds sin so when we start compromising, we tend to cover-up what we are doing by lying about it. We lie to ourselves, God and others. The longer the process goes on, the farther away from God we drift. He who does not stand guard over his soul and nourishes it is an easy target for sin.

It is tragic when a fellow believer falls into sin and no one does anything about it. Far too many of us don’t want to get involved. We don’t want to lose friendship or stir up trouble. It is easier to “mind your own business” than it is to show loving concern and care for he who sins and wanders from God. Who can claim to love others when there isn’t enough love for others to get involved when they fall into sin? Coming alongside of those who have wandered from God and lovingly leading them back to Him will certainly help them be restored to God and save them from certain destruction.

There is no greater joy than to be a part of God’s restoration project on earth. Someone you know needs you to take his/her hand and gently lead them back to our Savior. Will you love them enough to get involved and gently help them to find their way back to the Lord?

ELIJAH, ONE OF US

 

ELIJAH, ONE OF US

James 5:17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for the next three and a half years! NLT

One of the things we so often fail to remember is that every one of the men and women of the Scriptures were human, just as we are. No matter how godly they were or how much they were used by God, they were human. They knew the same emotions we do. They had the same good days and bad days we do. They had fears and doubts just like we do. They had problems just like we do. They stumbled and fell just like we do. Yet, God used many of them in miraculous ways. Why them and not us? While there is no way we can know for sure, I believe there are some things that we can say.

These people were people of faith. They did not always get it right, but they believed God, trusted Him, and allowed themselves to be used by Him. They did not have all the knowledge about God that we do, yet they believed God and did marvelous things for God. We can do the same as they did. We cannot be who they were, but we can be used of God like they were.

God uses those who are faithful and submissive to Him. When we put the Lord first in our lives, God honors us and uses us for His glory just the way we are. We don’t have to be anyone special; we just have to be submissive and obedient. Elijah was one of us, yet God used him in miraculous ways.

Are you fully surrendered to the Lord? Are you in a position to be used by God? Are you investing your life in Christ's life? Are you feeding your soul with His Word? Are you in constant fellowship with Him in prayer? If you do these things, just like Elijah of old, God will use you in mighty ways.

CONFESSING SIN

 

CONFESSING SIN

James 5:16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results. NLT

When was the last time you confessed your sins to another believer? It’s been awhile hasn’t it? Now I am not advocating confessing our sins to others for our forgiveness (unless of course we have sinned against them and need their forgiveness); only Christ can forgive us and make us right with God. However, there is great value in opening up to another about sin in our hearts.

Confession gets things out in the open. It forces us to admit that we are sinners. It makes us accountable for our sins and responsible for doing something about them. It humbles us as we no longer are able to be who we appear to be but are not. It also gives us hope as we realize we are not alone in our struggles, that we all fail from time to time. I believe this is one of the reasons why altars are still an important part of a church’s life.

Confession is good for the soul and so is praying for one another. The goal of all confession is a restoration of the soul with God. There is no way that a heart can be right with God apart from confession and prayer. There is great comfort in knowing that others are praying for us when we open up about our sins. We need to be in continuous prayer for one another so that we may have pure hearts before God.

Don’t minimize the importance of prayer when it comes to dealing with sin. The sincere prayers of a righteous person are very effective. They are powerful for they move the heart of God to act and the result is wonderful to behold. When needy people are prayed for by righteous people great things begin to happen.

If you are struggling with sin issues, find someone who you can trust with your heart and confide in them. Let them come alongside of you, pray with you, and help guide you through the Scriptures as you deal with your sins. Then, pour out your soul before Christ and you will be forgiven and find the peace of soul that eludes you.

Jesus assured us that where two or more are together and they are in agreement on anything, God hears our prayers and answer them. When righteous people pray together over confessed sin, they are forgiven and the soul is set free. Why would we not confess our sins and pray for one another?

No sin is unknown by God. The only person who suffers when sin is not admitted and not sought forgiveness for is the sinner.

PRAYING FOR THE SICK

 

PRAYING FOR THE SICK

James 5:14-15 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. And their prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make them well. And anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. NLT

When was the last time the church prayed over you for healing? Most churches have gotten away from this practice. I wonder why. There is something very powerful and personally affirming when the church prays over a soul for healing. Just knowing that others care and are interceding on one's behalf bolsters one's faith. It is an awesome way to strengthen faith and bind the body of Christ together.

Does God always answer prayers for healing? Certainly not in the way we want Him to. Our desire is that the sickness will go away and that the body and mind would be whole and "normal" once again. Sometimes the Lord grants us our prayers and at other times He answers prayers in other ways. Sometimes He brings healing over a period of time. Sometimes death is the way He makes a soul's body whole once again.

Our responsibility is to join together in prayer. We pray in faith believing in what the Lord will do and leave the rest to Him. When we pray in the will of God we must always submit to His workings with gratitude. Our Father knows best how to deal with a person's sickness. He knows best how it will work out for the good and bring Him the glory He alone deserves.

Doctors and medical people are important and we should never neglect going to them, but we should always bring the Lord into the mix. We should ask the elders of the church to anoint us with oil and the Lord promises to hear our prayers and answer them.

WHAT IS SIN?

 

WHAT IS SIN?

James 4:17 Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

Has the Lord spoken to you about something you need to do and you haven’t done it yet? Be careful. Failing to obey God is sin. The Lord holds us responsible for obeying Him.

If you can honestly say that you don’t know what you ought to do, then you need to wait before the Lord until you do. We often push ahead without waiting on our marching orders. We take it upon ourselves to determine how we will serve the Lord. We go where we want to go without being certain it is where the Lord wants us to go. We miss out on so many blessings from God because we don’t wait on Him and end up doing things contrary to what He wants us to do.

There are specific things that the Lord requires from us that are exclusively ours to do and there are general things that are applicable to all believers. All of us are commanded to keep the Lord number one in our lives. We are commanded to be a holy people. We are commanded to rid ourselves of those things which are not holy within us. We are to be students of the Word of God. We are to be a people of prayer. We are to live godly lives amongst the people of the world. We are to be witnesses of Him and mentoring others in the faith. We are to be a people who live in the world but remain detached from the world and its pleasures.

We know what we ought to be doing. The issue is, are we doing it? Don’t live in sin by failing to do what you know God wants you to do. Give up those things which are hindering you from obeying the Lord. Surrender them to Him and confess your sin of disobedience. It is God’s will for you.

POWERFUL, EFFECTIVE PRAYING

 

POWERFUL, EFFECTIVE PRAYING

James 4:13-16 Are any among you suffering? They should keep on praying about it. And those who have reason to be thankful should continually sing praises to the Lord. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. And their prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make them well. And anyone who has committed sin will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wondrous results. NLT

One thing that seems to be very clear in the Scriptures is that we should never give up praying. James stresses that point here when he talks about praying for the sick. So often, we fail to move the hand of God to act in response to our prayers because we give up too easily in our praying. Jesus instructs us to keep on praying. We are to be persistent in our praying. Sometimes the prayers we lift up to God are immediately answered and sometimes the answers take a lot of time. Praying is faith in action. It is believing that God hears our prayers, has a desire to answer them, and then will do it if we pray with hearts in tune with His.

The prayers of a thankful heart swell up into songs of praise to the Lord. They are centered on Christ and submissive to His will. The Lord promises that He will bring healing to the body and soul when we pray. We may not recognize exactly how our prayers are answered, but answered they are. We often fail to trust the Lord in this simply because we don't see the workings of the Spirit through His eyes. We give up praying because we lose confidence in our praying power. We want what we want and forget that what we want may not be what God wants to give. He knows how best to respond to our praying.

Powerful and effective are the prayers of the saints. It is true not because I say so, but because God says so. The rewards are great for those who earnestly seek God, submit to His will, and trust Him to work all things out according to His will and plan for our lives.

Don’t get the idea that because God doesn’t answer your prayers the way you want Him to that He doesn’t answer them. God knows best what we need and moves in response to our needs and not necessarily our wants.

Also, don’t think that because God doesn’t immediately answer your prayers that He is not hearing and answering them. He knows what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and how it needs to be done. Keep on praying and trust Him. He answers the prayers of those who wait on Him with faith believing.

Come on out from among them today and be a prayer warrior. Wait on the Lord and see what great things He will do.

ARE YOU SUFFERING?

 

ARE YOU SUFFERING?

James 5:13 Are any among you suffering? They should keep on praying about it. And those who have reason to be thankful should continually sing praises to God. NLT

Suffering is not a pleasant thing to go through or live with. We don’t like it because it causes us pain. It prevents us from being free to enjoy life, or so we think. I believe it would be beneficial to look at suffering from a different perspective.

Suffering, no matter the cause or pain, can be good for us if it causes us to turn to God more. It is good to draw strength for our suffering from Christ. It is good to go through suffering if it helps to build up stronger and more effective faith in us. It is good for us if it causes us to admit our helplessness to make it go away. When we endure suffering it should drive us to our knees. The Lord may or may not make the suffering go away, but when we pray, we get all that we need to handle our sufferings. If you don’t like your sufferings, pray. If you don’t understand why you have to suffer, pray. If you find no help medically, pray. If no one understands your sufferings, pray. If no one comes alongside you to help you, pray.

If you are blessed to not have to suffer, pray and give thanks to the Lord and praise Him for His graciousness. Praise Him while you don’t have to suffer and you will be much more apt to praise Him while you suffer. Learn to give thanks to the Lord in the good times of life so that it will be natural for you to thank Him in the bad times.

Also, if you are not suffering, pray for those who are. We need to reach out with our prayers and love to those amongst us who suffer. Concerned compassion goes a long ways in helping the sufferer endure the suffering. Everyone needs to know that someone actually cares. We can’t make the suffering go away, but we can support those who do suffer.

Suffering is not just physical. There are a lot of different ways one can, and does suffer: emotionally, mentally, spiritually, being ostracized by others, being ridiculed, financially, etc.

During your suffering, consider this: we have eternal life in Christ. Circumstances do not dictate our salvation. We are forgiven for all our sins. We have the constant companionship of our Lord always. We have the enabling power of the Spirit of Christ always at work in us. We have the loving and watchful eye of our Heavenly Father protecting us from all harm. We have the guaranteed promise of God that we will spend our eternity with Him. Think about these things and no matter how much you may have to suffer, all will be well. You can do it through Christ who gives us the strength.

DO NOT CONDEMN

 

DO NOT CONDEMN

James 4:11-12 Don't speak evil against each other, my dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize each other and condemn each other, then you are criticizing and condemning God's law. But you are not a judge who can decide whether the law is right or wrong. Your job is to obey it. God alone, who made the law, can rightly judge among us. He alone has the power to save or destroy. So what right do you have to condemn your neighbor? NLT

Why is it that we find it so hard to listen to what James is saying here? There are very few church bodies out there who do not struggle with this. Most of us as individuals struggle with this. We have a need to be right and when someone doesn't agree with us we are quick to dismiss their opinions as wrong. We rarely are able to listen to what others believe and think it through. We know what we believe based on what we have been taught. We accept what the teachings of our particular church teaches and don't question them. We seldom ask ourselves if perhaps there might be another equally valid way to understand a text or doctrinal teaching. Rather than take an honest look at what others teach, we dismiss it and proclaim them to be wrong. Period. Depending on how strong our convictions are, we speak evil of those who think differently than us. We claim to have THE correct understanding of the Word and often avoid those who don't agree with us.

But, who are we to stand in a position of judgment? What makes us so wise that we have perfect understanding of the Word? Granted, we have the Spirit within us who guides us into proper understandings of the truth, but why then are there so many different interpretations of certain texts to the point where we are divided? Perhaps we need to mellow a bit on our staunch stand on some things and strive to be one in Christ instead of so many. As long as we do not mess with what the Lord did for us on Calvary, there is room in the Kingdom for all of us. We are one in Christ. The cross is our rallying point. We all have the same status before God through the cross. Jesus is our Savior and He is all we need in order to make it to heaven.

We waste way too much of our time and energy squabbling over the fine print. We are not called by God to have perfect understanding; we are called to obey the Word as we understand it. Our understanding evolves as we grow into maturity of faith. We often have to readjust our thoughts as we grow older and wiser in the faith. We don't have any right to condemn one another when we think differently about things. We can discuss our differences in a loving way for our mutual benefit, and when we can't agree over something, we accept our differences in love and let Christ unite us together in Him.

If changes in understanding needs to be done, the Lord will see to it that it happens in His perfect timing and ways. In the meantime, let's act like the one body we are in Christ.

BOW DOWN

 

BOW DOWN

James 4:10 When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him; he will lift you up and give you honor. NLT

Notice that it is only when we bow before the Lord and admit our dependence on Him that He lifts us up and gives us honor. Bowing before the Lord is an absolute necessity in our walk of faith. We must always remain humble before the Lord. We must always acknowledge Him as our master and worthy of our allegiance. We must always be in awe of Him for who He is and what He has and is doing in our lives. We must always acknowledge that we are nothing apart from Him.

We depend on the Lord for everything. There is no existence apart from Him. There is no hope apart from Him. There is no salvation for our souls. There is no guidance through the maze of life. There is no help in our many battles with Satan over our souls. There is no understanding of God. There is no one to defend us before God apart from Him. We must always remember that it is the Lord who gives meaning to life. It is He alone who can save our souls.

It is the Lord alone who can lift us up and give us honor. Don’t rely on man to do it for you. The praises and affirmations of man are fickle, fleeting and meaningless. But, the honor bestowed on us by the Lord is eternal. The approval of the Lord is all that matters. Strive to always please Him in all you do and He will lift you up. He alone is whom we must give an account to for our lives. Let us never forget this wonderful truth.

Don’t let sinful pride keep you from humbling yourself before the Lord and acknowledging your dependence on Him. Don’t let Satan deceive you into thinking you do not need to humble yourself before God, that you are okay as you are. God lifts up and honors those who bow down before Him with humble and broken hearts, dependent on Him.

HUMBLY BROKEN

 

HUMBLY BROKEN

James 4:7-10 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites. Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor. NLT

One of the reasons why so many prayers fail is that we fail to approach God in an acceptable way. We must first come before Him in humility of heart. We must recognize our need and helplessness. We must understand that we are not able to overpower Satan without God's help. We must admit our defeat in the face of evil without God's help.

As we approach God, we must do so with a contrite heart. We must admit our sinfulness and our need for His cleansing. We cannot make ourselves pure. We are utterly helpless when it comes to pleasing God on our own.

We must approach God broken. We must have deep within us a sorrow for the things we have done. We must understand the foolishness of our ways and have a sincere desire to change. We must be shaken to the core because of our sinfulness. A broken heart is a grieving heart.

When was the last time that you approached God broken because of sin in your life? Be honest with yourself. Have you recognized sin in your life lately? Have you let the Lord examine your heart? When was the last time you asked yourself if what you are doing or thinking about is sin? When was the last time you judged sin by God's standards rather than your own?

The promise is that when we approach God the right way, He will reach down and lift us up. He honors those who are humbled before him. He blesses those who have pure hearts.

Our problem with Satan usually is our pride. We think we can resist him on our own. We think that we don't to have pure hearts before God in order to be victorious.

Or, we somehow get the idea that it’s not that big of a deal in the first place, that we don’t have to resist Satan in order to be okay with God. We end up simply not trying and not concerning ourselves about sin. Such thinking lands a person in hell.

Is your heart right with God today?

SORROW FOR SINS

 

SORROW FOR SINS

James 4:9 Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. NLT

When was the last time you actually shed tears over the sins you have committed? Be honest with yourself. When was the last time your heart was truly broken because you know you had sinned against God? It seems to me that a heart heavy with sorrow, grief and shame because of sin is a good thing. There should be times in which we are broken before God because of sin. If we truly believe that we as believers sin against God, it seems to me that there should be times in which those sins crush our hearts. We should be like King David when he wrote Psalm 51. We should be broken in heart and seek God’s forgiveness. There are times in which shedding tears is necessary for the child of God. If we truly love the Lord, our hearts will be broken when we sin against Him.

There are also times in which we should shed tears over the sins of others. Compassion should drive us to our knees when those we know sin against God. We should daily be praying for those whom we know are living in sin. Grief and sorrow should grip our souls for those whose souls are in jeopardy. Sadly, we aren’t driven to our knees very often over the sins of others. We aren’t moved to plead with the Lord to move upon their hearts to convict them of sin. We seldom spend much time pouring out our souls before the Lord on behalf of others. How can we expect anything to change in their hearts if we aren’t praying for them?

There is much emphasis placed on that which excites and entertains us these days. We stress our happiness and seldom stress our need for sorrow. We seldom are challenged to be driven to our knees in grief and sorrow over sin. It should not surprise us that there is very little life-changing going on amongst us. We reap what we sow. Where there is no vision for the devastating effect of sin on our lives, we will all perish.

DRAW CLOSE TO GOD

 

DRAW CLOSE TO GOD

James 4:8 Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites. NLT

When was the last time you can honestly say that you were close to God? I suspect that most of us would have to admit that we aren’t as close to Him as we should be or want to be. There are many reasons why we struggle with this. Some of us struggle with letting go of those things that keep us from being close to the Lord. There may be certain sins that we enjoy and do not want to let go of. There may be earthly goals that we value more than we do our relationship with Christ. There may be people in our lives that take greater priority to us than the Lord. There may be a lack of concern about the deeper things of life in Christ that causes us to not pursue them like we need to. There may be a distorted sense of our security in Christ that keeps us from sensing the need to grow in our walk with Him. There may be little or no concern about hell that lulls our souls to sleep. Whatever the cause, many of us struggle with getting close to God.

There is always the problem of staying close to God once we get there. Our sinful nature wars against us and often draws us away from God. Many of us are not strong enough in faith to not be lured away. We are not grounded in the Word and disciplined in prayer.

How do we get close to God? We repent of our sins and get serious about our salvation. We resist Satan whenever he rears his ugly head. We take action against him. We become students of the Word and participants in prayer. We put into practice the things we learn from God. We value the things of God more than we do the things of the earth. We purposely keep our eyes focused on Jesus and evaluate everything in light of His righteousness. Holiness becomes our life goal.

Getting close to God and staying there is possible for every believer. In fact, it should be the number one goal in every believer’s life. It takes real determination on our part and much effort. There is no real joy and peace in salvation anywhere except to be near to the heart of God.

If you keep the Lord at arm’s length in your life, you will be miserable. There is no peace for those who do not let the Lord get too close to their heart.

If there is something that is keeping the Lord from a heart connection with you, deal with it right now. Humble your heart before the Lord, admit what it is, ask the Lord to forgive you for not letting Him get close, and vow to never let it happen again. You will be glad you did.

GETTING RID OF SATAN

 

GETTING RID OF SATAN

James 4:7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. NLT

Even though this verse is probably very familiar to you and doesn’t need a lot of explanation, let us pause for a few moments to ponder over it today.

The first step in living in victory is humility of heart. Don’t let pride keep you from seeking help from the Lord. Pride gives us a false sense of our strength and ability. It keeps us from recognizing our weaknesses and Satan’s cunning and deceitful ways. Humility keeps us aware of our constant need for Jesus. It is a reminder to us that we are broken and helpless without Him. If we don’t humble ourselves before God, we won’t find help from Him against Satan.

We are to resist the Devil. Satan is for real. He is the archenemy of the soul. He is evil personified. He is always up to no good and we must be determined in our hearts to resist him. It is never a good idea to cuddle up to him or listen to his promptings. He is determined to lure you away from the Lord and will use every trick in the books to do it. Don’t underestimate his power to lure you away from the God you love. Satan is a master at disguising himself up as people so be on the lookout for those who would lead you away from God.

When we are humble before God and resist the Devil, he will flee from us. This is not an idle promise. Satan will not hang around those who are living in Christ and who persistently resist him. He may come back later to try again, but he will not keep harassing you at the moment. Satan cannot stand up against those who stand strong in Christ. It takes guts to stand up and resist Satan, but the rewards are so great! Victory is certain for those who live humbly before God and shut the door on Satan’s face.

And another thing, Satan is not always so easily recognizable. He is a master at disguise and deception. Sometimes he entices us to get so wrapped up in whatever we are doing that we fail to acknowledge the Lord. Sometimes he will convince us that all we have to do is be and do enough good in life and God will accept us. Sometimes he entices others to misuse or abuse the Scriptures so we can’t tell what God really is saying. Sometimes he uses others to gain our trust before he lures us into sin.

Anyone or anything that lures us away from God is Satan at work to destroy our faith and confidence in God. Stay alert and resist him and he will flee from you.

WORLD FRIENDLY

 

WORLD FRIENDLY

James 4:4 You adulterers! Don't you realize that friendship with this world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy this world, you can't be a friend of God. NLT

Wait a minute. Reread this verse. Let this truth sink into your mind. Take a look at yourself. How friendly are you with this world? Before you answer this question, let us consider for a moment what that might mean.

Friendship means that you go along with the world. You don't have a problem with what is going on around you. You agree with much of what the world promotes (self-gain; self-worth; liberal morality; lack of accountability; mind your own business mindset; the permanency of life as we know it, very little respect for the sanctity of life etc.). You don't get upset when the world entertains you with stuff contrary to holiness. When you are friendly with the world you don't strive to live a life of holiness in the world. You are more concerned about what others think than what God thinks about things.

What we tend to forget or ignore is that when we become friendly with the world, we become enemies of God. God puts us into the world to change the world, not to let the world change us. When we are in Christ, we are different. We are distinctly more like God than those around us. We value things differently and we live differently. When we live in Christ we are not ashamed of it; rather, we are ashamed of what is going on around us.

If your aim is to enjoy the things of this world, you cannot be a friend of God. Be careful what you live for. Be careful how you think about things. Be careful how comfortable you become with the world around you. If you aren't, you will become like the world and the Lord will not be pleased with you at all. James goes so far as to call those who are friendly with the world adulterers, a people who do not love the Lord. It is impossible to love the Lord and be okay with how things are in the world.

Are you too friendly with the world? Are you living more for what this world offers than for what God offers? Do you find yourself thinking more about earthly things than you do heavenly things?

James calls those who do adulterers and says they cannot be friends of God. You cannot have it both ways. Those who straddle the fence are rejected by God.

QUARRELS AND FIGHTS

 

QUARRELS AND FIGHTS

James 4:1 What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn’t it the whole army of evil desires at war within you? NLT

There are so many quarrels and fights amongst God’s people. It shouldn’t be that way, but it is. The main reason why there are so many churches everywhere you go is because there have been splits in the past over meaningless issues. People get miffed at each other and break fellowship with each other. Instead of seeking reconciliation in Christ, lines are drawn and people separate.

The root cause of all broken fellowship is sin. Sometimes broken fellowship is absolutely necessary because there is not a willingness to repent and obey God’s Word. Sometimes people let sin drive them instead of the Lord’s righteousness making fellowship impossible.

However, I believe most broken fellowship is unnecessary. I believe that if there is a willingness to be reconciled at the foot of the cross fellowship can be restored. Instead of digging in our heels, we need to dig in our knees. We need to humble ourselves before God and let Him show us where we are wrong or have wronged others. We need to let Him strip us of our pride and seek the purity of His Word. Sometimes we are simply wrong in our understanding or application of truth and we need the Lord to help us see it. We may not be able to completely be restored to fellowship with others, but we can do our part and seek to live at peace with them.

Fights and quarrels are inevitable because there will always be those amongst us who are being driven by evil desires. Pride prevents many from being humbled in spirit where restoration can take place. Pride convinces the soul that he is right and others are wrong. Pride demands that others conform to our way of thinking. Pride demands that others bend the knee before reconciliation can take place.

Are you at odds with someone today? Have you let pride keep you from seeking restoration of your fellowship? Don’t look at the other person and what their role might be in the problem, look inward and ask the Lord what your role in it might be. Ask Him to humble you and ask Him to purify your heart. Seek peace with the Lord in your heart and you will be able to be at peace with others. Regardless of whether or not the fellowship is restored, you can still love them and seek their good in Christ. Praying for the wholeness of heart before God for you and those you have a problem with is the pathway to peace.