This is the 4th picture I took...hard to make your tongue look nice.
Have you ever said something you wish you could take back? Something mean, hurtful, proud or ugly? Has anyone ever said something to you that still rings in your ears… words that hurt for a long time? Ever said the wrong thing, at the wrong time, in the wrong way? (If the answer is ‘no’, then stop reading, go to espn.com and learn something about the Arizona Cardinals, it will be good for you soul, too). But if the answer is ‘yes’, then keep reading.
In James chapter 3:1-12, we get a warning about our words. The warning is first directed at teachers, but it applies to all of us who communicate in any way. I assume that includes you, I know it includes me.
Before I walk through the warning, I want to talk about the way James chooses to warn us. He does not just come out and say “watch your words” or “be careful how you talk to each other”. Instead he chooses to spend his time telling us how powerful, evil, uncontrollable, sinful and inconsistent our tongues are. What is going on? Is he just giving us information? A little lecture on the tongue to fill the “information on the tongue” slot in our brain? I don’t think so.
Let me explain. Have you ever walked into the kitchen before dinner and heard your mom say, “That pan is hot”. You were probably walking toward the stove because you wanted a little appetizer before dinner, just a little sample. And there she goes, telling you the pan is hot. Why? Is she telling you this just for fun, just to add a little piece of information to your head? No, she is warning you not to touch the pan, or else you will get burned. Or maybe you have been driving and heard someone in the car say, “The light is red.” Are they telling you to look at the pretty red light dangling above the street? Nope, they want you to stop the car so you can all live at least one more day. The same is true of James in this passage. All he does is spend 11 verses saying “The Tongue is…”. But what he means is that we should stop the car, not touch the pan, watch our words.
Here is what James says so that we will “watch our words”:
1. We all sin (James 3:2). First, James makes a general comment…we all sin. None of us are perfect, especially with our words. He includes himself among the “word-sinners”. saying “we” and not “you”. If you are still reading, then you know this is a problem for you. Our sin is a big reason to be careful with our words.
2. The Tongue is powerful (3:3-5). James gives two examples here to show that the tongue is powerful even though it is small. First, he talks about horses and bits. The bit is the little piece of metal that goes in the mouth of a horse. With a bit, some rope, and a little skill, you can make a 1,000 pound horse go wherever you want it to go. Same with ships and rudders, his other example. Ships are huge things, and yet they steered by a little tiny rudder. According to God, our tongue works the same with us. The human tongue is tiny compared to the body. It weighs just four ounces (according to Wikipedia). Yet it is able to control our whole body, can guide the course of our life. The point is that the tongue is small, yet powerful. So watch how you use it.
3. The Tongue is dangerous (3:5-6). The next example is about sparks and fire. One little spark starts a huge forest fire. One little word. And the Tongue itself is a fire. It is evil…dangerous. Maybe you think James is exaggerating, but I don’t. Think of all the times you have said the wrong thing, or been hurt by one little comment.
4. The Tongue is untamable (3:7-8). James tells us that it is also untamable. Anybody have a dog? Were you able to get it to role over, or to catch a frisbee, or at least to stop going to the bathroom on your living room floor? Well, that is easy compared to controlling your tongue. Just when you think it is “house-trained”, it breaks out and makes a mess of your life. Have you ever decided you were going to stop saying something, maybe stop saying bad words. How did it go? Are you perfect so far? What happens when you get under a little pressure, or pain. Those words just slip out. What’s the point here? You cannot tame your tongue…so be careful with it.
5. The Tongue is inconsistent (3:9-12). James final point about the tongue is that it is inconsistent. One moment it is is singing praises to God, and the next moment it is cursing people made in the image of God. I was a youth pastor for a long time, and I saw this over and over in my students, in my leaders…and in myself. One minute we were singing about the glory of Jesus, and the next we were talking behind someone’s back. Your tongue is inconsistent…double-minded. Use it with caution.
This passage paints a pretty discouraging picture. Our tongues are messed up, they are broken. When I read it, I have two responses. First, since it is so powerful, dangerous, untamable and inconsistent, I want to be very, very careful how I use my tongue. I want to be careful with what I say. Guard my words. Be slow to speak. That is my first response. Second, this passage reminds me that I need to put my hope in Jesus, not myself. It says that none of us can tame the tongue. But the Bible also teaches that there is one who can do all things…Jesus. There is one who never said a sinful word…Jesus. There is one who can heal our brokenness…Jesus. And there is one who went to the cross because of my sinful mouth…Jesus. He has promised to charge my “word-sins” to Jesus account. And God has promised to count Christ’s perfect speaking as my speaking, if I put my trust and hope in Jesus and not myself. When I read James 3:1-12, I am reminded that I need Jesus. I am reminded that my hope is not built upon my ability to be perfect, but “Jesus blood and righteousness”.
Filed under: Pastor Kyles Devotions
Once I had completed going through some of the above truths with my sister (previous blog) about God and his salvation I waited. “Hello…. Are you still there?”
“Yes” She replied. “I just was thinking.”
“About what?” I asked
“I was thinking about my life and the witness that I have been in front of my friend. I know I have not been the example of Christ likeness to her all of the time. I feel like I am totally inadequate to say any of the gospel to her because I have not always had God on the throne of my life in every situation. I would feel like a hypocrite.”
With that last statement I started to get very excited. “Why?” you might ask. Because my sister had hit at the heart of the gospel, and I wanted her to relize it.
“You could not be more Right, you are a hypocrite!!!!!!!!” I am not sure she was thinking I was going to say that. And to be honest there have been times, in other conversations, when I would have responded with a soft reassurance that we all fail and no one is perfect, but we all need to just keep trying. But I now have a much different approach. One that hopefully helps people to see the light of Christ more clearly.
There is one particular story in the Bible that I see as a wonderful illustration of what a true believer looks like. It should be no surprise that it was told by our Lord while here on earth.
Luke tells the story in Chapter 18.
“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”” (Luke 18:10-14, ESV)
My sister so understood of her own fallen sinful nature and her need for Christ and his forgiveness in her own life, that she was ashamed to speak to others about her devotion to him because of her sin. She was right to feel like a hypocrite because that is what she truly is, but she was also very wrong.
She was right in her understanding of her sin and she could not stand before her friend with any integrity of her own. She needs, and we all need, the integrity of someone else. We need an alien righteousness. We need a substitute for our fallen wicked hearts. We Need JESUS.
But she was wrong to think that it takes perfection of humanity to be a good witness. In fact just the opposite is true. God is glorified when sinners repent not when the self-righteousness repent. Jesus came to “seek and save the lost”, not the ones who think they don’t need a savior because they have been better than the guy down the street, or at least better than most. Paul boasted in his zealous hatred toward God in pre-conversion. He used it as an example that if God can save a person like him, then you still have hope!!! And so then, I told my sister that she needed to go to her friend in the same manner that the tax-collector prayed. Good to her friend and confess and repent of being a sinful woman who does not walk in perfection. But it is because of her imperfection that she needs a savior to take away her sin, and her friend needs that same forgiveness. If we come to share the Good News to others in pride and arrogance as if we have accomplished anything, or were smarter for believing the truth, then we have undermined the heart of the gospel entirely. We are then selfish and arrogant, when we should have been falling on our face in true Humility, knowing full well that it is not WE who save us, but only by the grace of God that we are saved.
So then our weaknesses can but used as part of the wonderful news of the gospel. We do not deny our sinfulness but just simply and gratefully tell of why there now is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (The opposite of this attitude towards sin is answered in Rom chapter 6)
Let us each use the opportunities that God give us to share the gospel as a time of understanding once again how lost we were without our savior, and how lost we would still be without our savior. Telling the truth of salvation I believe is one of the tools that God uses to keep us humble. Maybe that is why it was the last thing he told his followers to do. Matt 28:18
Next time we will look at what we are promising as a result of believing the good news. Good Life? Joy? Peace? Happiness? We will see.
Filed under: Devotions, Pastor Kyles Devotions | Tags: Bible, Christian, Church, Devotion, Gospel, Salvation, Teen, Youth
Last night I had a great conversation with my sister. It all started with a text message, “Kyle, are you there. I need some advice.” Of course I called her immediately. The advice needed was in regard to how she should go about telling a friend of hers about Jesus. I asked her what she had said to her already. She told me that she had told her about the love of God and the joy and peace that comes through believing in him. “That’s great sis,” I said, “So what do you think is the next step?” “That’s why I called you.” She replied with a half chuckle.
I told her that the gospel can be explained in a number of different ways. And even Jesus himself used different methods of telling people about life that is found in him. Yet as I try and spread the Good News of salvation that is found in Christ, I have 4 categories that I try to cover.
1) Who is God
a. God is creator, Lord, Sovereign, Holy (Holy means -separate from us, and wholly different than us), perfect (All that God is, does and will do is marked by perfection), Just, righteous, wrathful, jealous (God is jealous for his children to worship him just as a husband is jealous for his wife to only have affections for him as her husband and not to be with other men), Full of Grace, the definition of Love and kindness……and on and on.
All these things are who God is. When we come to him, we cannot come to someone different than who he has shown himself to be.
Or to say it another way, God does not change as people’s perceptions of him changes, He is that He is. Or as he said, “I am that I am.”
2) Who are we
a. Humanity is created, not creator. We were made in the image of God, Theologians have called this the “Imago Dei.” Gen 1-2
b. Yet despite the image of God that we were created in we have all chosen to turn to our own sinful and selfish ways. We are now all Sinners. We are not Good people who at times do bad things, we are depraved wicked sinful people who do not seek after God or the things of God. Rom 1
c. And because of our Sin and in light of God’s perfect Holy, just, and righteous character, we cannot come into the eternity with God called heaven. We are, as Eph 2:3 informs us, “by nature children of Wrath” not children of God.
3) Jesus
a. The verse in Eph 2 continues, “But God, because of his great love for us, because he is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ. Even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins.” BUT GOD… What an awesome verse.
b. It is only in Christ Death and resurrection on the cross that we have any hope of reconsolidation of our broken relationship with God. And that was the gracious act of God. Salvation is of the Lord.
c. God himself paid the price we should have paid. It is called Forgiveness. It is called Eternal Life IN Christ. It is called the Gospel. And the Gospel is Good News
4) Our Response
a. All of the points above are Facts. They are not sometimes true and sometimes false. But even knowing all of these facts does not save a person. Knowledge alone does not save. The bible says that we are saved by “Grace Through Faith.” Not saved through knowledge and understanding of facts. Without the facts there could be no object of our faith, but facts alone are powerless to save.
b. Therefore, we are called to respond to God in 2 main ways
1. Trust- Trusting that God is really who he claims to be. Trust that you are lost and without hope without him. Trust that Jesus is the only way of salvation. And ENTRUSTING your life to him. Trust is true when we actually, really, and completely put all of your life in the Control of God. When you give up control you express your trust. If you won’t give up control, Do you really trust? (Trust is another way of saying you have faith in something or someone).
2. Repentance – To repent is to not only say you are sorry for your sins but to turn away from them and pursue God. To repent is to change your mind about how you are going to live; resolved by the grace and strength of God, to walk in newness of life. Repentance is not lip service of not wanting the consequences for sin, but understanding the offence that sins is to the real God of the universe and doing all that you can to not continue in that sin. This is what our response to God needs to be, not only in the first moment of salvation but also in the walk of salvation. What has been your response to God? Has it been jus the motions of lip service? Is there true repentance and Trust in your heart of hearts?
I will tell you the exciting conclusion to our talk tomorrow. It is the best part.
Filed under: Devotions, Pastor Kendall's Devotions | Tags: Bible, Christian, Devotion, Genesis, Teen, Youth
There is an old saying that goes like this:
Your walk talks, and your talk talks.
But, your walk talks louder than your talk talks.
I’m not sure where that bit of wisdom originated, but it has an element of biblical truth to it. Our walk does talk! Our silent deeds speak information – not only to others, but also to God. Consider these few Scriptures that connect our actions with our words:
- The apostle Paul described “empty talkers” as people who “profess to know God, but deny Him by their works” (Titus 1:10, 16).
- In Acts 26:20, Paul testified that he called on everyone to “perform deeds in keeping with their repentance (i.e. their verbal profession of Christ).”
- And, in 1 John 3:18, the apostle John said, “Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
Now, in a perfect world, our words and deeds would be aligned all the time. Yet, as fallen sinners, our words and deeds often contradict each other. So, the Scriptures continually exhort us to make sure the two are agreeable.
With this background in mind, let’s move on to the passage I would like to examine today. Last Tuesday we considered the warning that God gave Cain regarding his anger. Sadly, Cain did not listen. His anger pounced upon him, consumed his soundness of mind, and he murdered his brother. When God confronted Cain about his brother’s whereabouts, Cain answered with the words, “I do not know” (Genesis 4:9).
But, the whisper of Cain’s words was drowned out by the shout of his deeds. God quickly dismissed Cain’s worthless confession by saying, “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground” (4:10). In essence God was saying, “Cain, I don’t listen to your words, I listen to your deeds.” The scream of Cain’s actions cried out to God. Wow, I am sure in that moment that Cain wished his deeds had somehow “lost their voice.” But, that will never happen. God hears all of our deeds loudly and clearly.
So, how are you doing here? What is your life saying to God? Do your words and actions agree? Or, does God find it necessary to dismiss your spiritual words in favor of your unrighteous actions? In these moments when we are confronted with the inconsistency of our lives – I encourage you to look to Jesus. His words and deeds never contradicted each other. When Jesus said He loved us, He always backed it up with His deeds. And, when Jesus spoke a promise, it always came true. Take some time today to meditate on the beautiful words of Matt Redman when he wrote of Jesus:
Your blood speaks a better word
Than all the empty claims
I’ve heard upon this earth
Speaks righteousness for me
And stands in my defense
Jesus it’s Your blood
Kendall C.
Filed under: Daniel Corey Devotions, Devotions | Tags: Bible, Christian, Devotion, Lord, Love, Psalm, Teen, Youth
Psalm 64:3 says, “Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You.” I memorized this verse last year for a counseling class and it revisits my mind often. Here, David affirms that the steadfast love of the Lord is better than life. To David, the love and kindness of God was more valuable, more satisfying, more precious to him than his own life. If we believe this, if it works its way down to our soul, where we can say with David that the steadfast love of God is dearer to us than life itself, then we will live lives in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27).
We sin when we place higher value on immediate sinful pleasure then we place on the love of God. We deceive ourselves into believing that something else will bring greater pleasure, greater joy, greater satisfaction than the love of God, and that simply isn’t true. The result of valuing the steadfast love of the Lord more than life will be a life that is willing to abandon all, including life, to worship and obey the Lord. The greatest price that we can pay is our life, we have no more to give then that; and if we can say that the love of God is greater than that, then we would not hesitate to give all that we have to follow Him.
So the question that I want to leave with you today is this: do you believe that the steadfast love of God better than life? Can you say with David that, “My soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1) or is the language of this psalm foreign to you? Does it seem wishful to desire God more than life and say with confidence, “ I will bless you as long as I live…my soul will be satisfied” (Psalm 63:4a; 5a).
I have found tremendous joy is praying this psalm back to the Lord and making the prayer of David our prayer, as we seek God as our sole satisfaction.
A slave to Christ-
Daniel C.
Filed under: Pastor Phil's Devotions | Tags: 2 Corinthians, Bible, Christian, Church, Devotion, Sin, Teen, Temptation, Youth
During the summer between my junior & senior year of high school I worked as a lifeguard at a water park in Southern California. This was a very challenging job for a number of reasons and during that time my relationship with Christ hit a low point. I stopped going to church because I was working so much and I started to spend a great deal of my time with the other lifeguards who were not a positive influence on my life. God used a speaker at Hume Lake at the end of that summer to get my attention and wake me up to my dilemma. I don’t remember a great deal of what the speaker said, but I do remember his challenge to “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” The Holy Spirit used these words to bring great conviction to my heart and to make some life changing decisions. The speaker challenged us to memorize 2 Cor. 10:5
5 We are destroying speculations and every (K)lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the (L)obedience of Christ, (NASB)
5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, (ESV)
5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (NIV)
I was struggling with a great deal of warfare in my thoughts that summer (that can happen when you work at a water park where “skin is in”) and God used this verse to help me fight the battle.
I think we underestimate the power of God’s Word. I am always reminded that when Jesus encountered the temptations of Satan in the wilderness, He fought back by quoting the Scripture. Jesus had all the power in the World… and He still used the Word of God to defend Himself from Satan’s temptations.
For me, this verse became a defensive weapon. I would quote it over and over each time my mind was attacked with temptation and God was faithful and would help me to recapture my thoughts and often overcome that temptation. This verse truly changed my life.
So this day, this week, this month, this year… take your thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. Commit to memorizing some Scripture that you can hide in your heart to keep you from sin and when you face temptation, use that Scripture to remind you of Who you live for and Whom you serve.
So what verses have had a huge impact on your life? I would love to hear about it in the comment section!
Filed under: Pastor Ben's Devotions | Tags: Bible, Christian, Church, Devotion, Psalm, Teen, Youth
As I was reading this morning in Psalm 1, I was vividly reminded of a reason for hard times. I have to admit that I like good times. I like when I don’t have to watch my checkbook as closely because I know that there is ample money to spend. I love it when my kids all listen and I don’t have to discipline them for disobedience. I love to “fall back” and gain an extra hour of sleep instead of “spring forward” and lose one. I love it when my whole family is healthy and the doctor has not been visited for months. On that note, I love it when my medical deductible has been met so that I don’t have to pay nearly as much for doctor’s visits. In short, I love it when life is going the way that I want it and expect it to go. I love it when life is easy…the waters are calm, the sun is high up in the sky, it’s about 85 degrees out and I am on my 4th coconut.
By contrast…I don’t really care for the hard times of life. I don’t really enjoy having to share my bedroom an infant who could care less if I have a full day of counseling ahead of me. I absolutely hate it when my kids get sick and I can’t do anything about it other than listen real closely at night to make sure that they are still breathing. I would rather have to do something else than find out that a close friend has died or something else tragic like that. I hate it when I hop online to check out how much money I have left and realize that I was way off in my “mental” math. In short, I hate the hard times of life. I don’t like the cold rainy blustery days that are unpredictable.
But…there is an ironic twist about the days that I love and the days that I hate. The good days, while fun and enjoyable, are really wasted days in my life when it comes to eternity. I am forced to deal with absolutely nothing on those good days. Life can continue on as normal in those good days. I am not drawn one step closer to the God I claim to love as long as life is peachy. I am always tempted on these days to be satisfied with what I know about Him and how far I have come in my walk with Him. And to be honest…there are more days than I care to admit where I give into that temptation. That’s extremely sad considering those good days are a gift from Him that I just take for granted. On the other hand, the bad days are the best days for my walk with the Lord in this life. The harder the day…the closer I draw to Him. The harder the rain, the more shelter I need. The higher the wave, the faster and bigger the rescue.
As I was reading through Psalm 1 again, I got to the verse that talks about the wicked being blown away like the chaff. The righteous on the other hand are like a tree that is firmly planted by streams of water which yield its’ fruit in its season. It’s funny because this does not mean that life is always sunny for the righteous and things always go well for the righteous. No, the same circumstances come at the righteous that come at the wicked. Righteous people have lost millions in the stock market just as the wicked have. Righteous people have lost their homes due to the housing crisis just as the wicked have. The storms of life rage and are not selective as to whom they mess with. The difference however is in what happens to the righteous and the wicked. The righteous produce fruit in those hard times…the wicked perish. The righteous bring honor and glory to God…the wicked have lost all purpose. The righteous have every reason to put one foot in front of the other…the wicked have every reason to give up and float away. The righteous are made stronger in the storms…while the wicked are destroyed.
If I give a logical biblical look at the way God uses the hard times in my life and and a thankfulness starts to develop, not because I enjoy them in the moment, but because of what they produce. Man I hope I remember this when I am going through the storm.
Filed under: Devotions, Pastor Kendall's Devotions | Tags: Bible, Christian, Church, Devotion, Judgment, Sin, Teen, Youth
There is a zoo in the upper peninsula of Michigan (thedeyoungfamilyzoo.com) that houses one of the largest collections of big cats (tigers, lions, leopards, etc.) in the world. And, this zoo is no ordinary zoo – the owners let you get up close and personal with the animals! While visiting there I saw people petting a bear, playing with monkeys, and feeding lions. They even let me hold a baby tiger. It was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had.
Me at the DeYoung Zoo
One thing I began to notice as I walked around the park and viewed these ferocious animals was that the more familiar I became with them, the more their intimidation began to wear off. I naturally began building a false confidence that these animals were tame and would not hurt me. I dreamed a little bit about what it would be like to work there and climb into the enclosures with the animals to feed them and keep company with them. By the time I was ready to leave, I had nearly forgotten that these were dangerous flesh-eating animals…that is until I heard the story of one of the owners.
A few years ago he was making his rounds and stopped to feed the cougars. It was routine, something he did every day. He entered the enclosure and distributed the food like always. However, when he turned to leave, one of the cougars unexpectedly lunged at him and clamped his jaws around the owner’s neck. The owner nearly died from the attack and had the massive scar to prove it. Hearing that story snapped me back to the reality that these big cats are dangerous, are not to be taken lightly, and can tear a man to pieces in a moment’s time.
In Genesis 4, God tells Cain that his sin is like a ferocious, man-eating animal that seeks to devour not his flesh, but his soul. Cain had grown jealous of his brother Abel, and his jealousy was evolving into hatred. So, God approaches Cain and warns him saying, “Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it” (Gen 4:7). Do you feel those words? Sin is like a wild beast crouching down and calmly waiting for the right time to ambush your life. Sin lays low, wanting to be ignored until the right moment when it pounces on you, tears into your life, and shreds your soul. And, it doesn’t desire just a little surface wound – it wants to ruin you completely. It wants to destroy your testimony and render you useless.
Knowing the truth about sin, God told Cain that he should rule over it, and not the other way around. God graciously warned Cain to be aware of the dangers and intentions of sin. Sadly, Cain had become too familiar with his sin. He had built up a false confidence that his sin would not hurt him. Instead of heeding God’s warning and gaining control of his anger he ignored it, let it roam loose in his life, and it led to murder. I am reminded here of the words of John Owen when he said, “Sin aims always at the utmost; every time it rises up to tempt or entice, might it have its own course, it would go out to the utmost sin of that kind. Every unclean thought or glance would be adultery if it could; every covetous desire would be oppression, every thought of unbelief would be atheism, might it grow to its head.” Cain underestimated the violence of sin, and it seized his soul, clamping its jaws around him and ruining his life. Cain did not listen to God’s benevolent warning.
How about you? Does hearing this Scripture snap you back to the reality that sin is dangerous, is not to be taken lightly, and can tear your soul to pieces in a moment’s time? Is there a sin that you are allowing to roam free in your life and you have become too familiar with it? Have you become comfortable with certain sins so that they look gentle and harmless to you? If so, consider the wisdom of God (that sin intends to devour you) and the warning from God (rule over it) so that you can avoid the ambush of sin in your life.
Together in His service,
Kendall C.
Monday Devotional:
Hi there, my name is Daniel Corey and I will be posting the Monday devotionals. I used to post on here roughly a year ago and Phil asked me to start writing on a regular basis. I already know many of you who will be reading this, but for those of you whom I do not know, I will quickly introduce myself. I am 23 years old and was born and raised in Port Angele, WA. I met Phil when he moved to PA to be our youth pastor in my last year of high school. After high school I was an intern working under him in the middle school; he also presided over my wife, Lacey, and my wedding 2006. Phil and I have six years of history and a continuing friendship which I cherish. My wife and I are living in LA at the moment so that I can go to school at TMC and TMS. Now I am sure at this point you have a few questions about the effect living in LA has had on me. To settle your concerns, I am still a north-westerner at heart; I love the rain, I will never be a Lakers/Raiders/Chargers/49’s fan, and yes I am embarrassed that Arnold is our “Gov-inator.” However, a year and a half down here has taken its toll; I am a Dodger fan, I’ve converted to Mac-only/forever, and I am now starting to consider 68 degrees as a ‘cold day’ and 80 degrees as ‘normal.’ Anyway, back on track, I finished my BA in Bible at The Master’s College this December and I hope to begin my study at The Master’s Seminary this coming fall. My passion is preaching and teaching the Word of God as well as shepherding people towards Christ-likeness.
Well enough about me, I should start the devotional. I’ll be honest; I am not sure where to begin. I read what the guys have written recently and was impressed, and sure, a little intimidated. The hard thing about beginning a blog is just that, beginning. Where to start… so I went to where all good blogs begin, Starbucks, but all that got me was a decent cup of coffee, overhearing how 1960’s disco music began, and a homeless guy looking at me and laughing from time to time. But as I sat down and began sipping my coffee and flipping through the Word, I was reminded of a question that I heard recently and really got me thinking. I would like to draw your attention to Exodus 5:1-2.; we are all familiar with the scene. God had called Moses back from the wilderness and had given him the message that he was to present to Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Moses and his brother Aaron went in and said the following to, arguably, the most powerful man in the world at that time. They said, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’”(Ex. 5:1) Now it is incredible that the LORD spoke through these men and demanded that His people be released to worship Him, but what is thought provoking is how pharaoh responded to these two sheep herders when they said that their God demands Israel to be released. Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice and let Israel go?” This question, while surprisingly simple at first glance, is profound when we think about it.
As I thought about this question I began to realize how much our response to God is based off of our knowledge of Him. It would appear that Pharaoh did not know of God as he states later in verse two and that lack of knowledge had far reaching consequences. Because he did not know and therefore neither respected or obeyed God, Pharaoh’s land was destroyed by the 10 plagues, his people terrorized, countless firstborns killed including his own son, and his entire army was drown in the Red Sea. What we believe about God directly effects how we respond to Him and His Word. Therefore the study of His Word is vitally important, in fact, to study and obey it is life, and to ignore and disobey it is death. This is why it breaks my heart when people do not value and cherish doctrine. Doctrine is what we believe and know about God. We have some how separated loving God and doctrine. What we know about God is necessary to loving Him and obeying Him.
So my opening question for you as you read these devotionals is this: who is God that you should obey Him? There are a few questions that take a lifetime to answer, and determine the direction of our lives, and this is one of them. My hope is that we would never fall into the trap of believing that we know enough about God that we would stop learning and growing in our relationship with Him.
I hope this was helpful and I look forward to working at answering this question in coming devotionals.
A slave to the Lord Jesus Christ-
Daniel C.
Filed under: Devotions, Pastor Phil's Devotions | Tags: Bible, Christian, Church, Devotion, galations, Persevere, Teen, Youth
I don’t know about you but there are times in my Christian life I just want to give up. Sometimes it is because of personal attacks, sometimes it is because of the strain the fight has taken on me, and sometimes its because I am just plain tired. There have been waves over the past few months where these feelings of giving up have been almost overwhelming. And so I was so thankful when the Lord brought these verses across my path of reading. They come from the book of Galatians where Paul is writing to the Churches of Galatia who are struggling with false teaching. This false teaching was specifically in the area of adding Jewish rituals and circumcision to the Gospel and making them mandatory for all who wanted to be Christians. Paul refutes this false teaching and presents a glorious defense of the justification by faith alone, in Christ alone.
In chapters 5&6 of Galatians, Paul looks at the life of freedom that the believer has because of their justification in Christ. It is here in the 6th chapter that he addresses how to deal with a fellow Christian caught in sin. Anyone who has ever done this knows the personal price this kind of life requires. Helping someone else is messy, exhausting, challenging, and takes a huge personal toll on us. When we BEAR ONE ANOTHER’S BURDENS… we weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn. This is an exhausting process and it can, at times, make us want to quite and just worry about ourselves. And it is because of personally knowing the cost the Christian life has on a person, that Paul is able to write these words…
9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Don’t give up! Don’t lose heart! Keep loving Jesus and loving people like he does. I know it is exhausting. I know it has a personal price… but it is so worth it! Paul understood this firsthand and he writes to us to encourage us to do the same. Remember God is in control and he promises
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Rom. 8:28 )
God is still at work and He promises to be with us every step of the way. He promises that we will never be burdened beyond what we are able to bear and that every trial we encounter helps to make us more like Jesus. So don’t give up! In due season (when it is God’s time), we will reap (God will be glorified and we will be sanctified), if we DO NOT GIVE UP!
I don’t know what is causing you to loose heart… but I know God’s promise. Turn your eyes to him today… ask him to renew your strength… remember the Spirit He has left to be a comforter to us and remember…
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 1 Cor. 15:58
I pray that these verses encourage you as they have encouraged me!
His Humble Servant,
Phil
