July 31, 2010

"You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." James 4:4-6

A good friend once challenged me with this question, "If you don't feel close to God, who moved?"

His point was well taken. The truth is I can be as close to God as I want to be. So can you! He longs for intimate fellowship with us.

So, what is it that keeps you from enjoying that close fellowship with God?

Sometimes it is other people.

Here are several examples:

You can allow another person to get between you and God. If you are in a relationship with a nonbeliever that can draw you away from God.

If you over-invest in a relationship where you spend all your time and energy focused on a person that can distract you from God.

You might get wrapped up in your children, running to their activities and events. Before you know it your week-ends are all spent traveling and you neglect the fellowship of your church. Soon you become a stranger with God.

Sometimes it can be other pursuits.

Here are some examples:

You might get preoccupied with a hobby and spend all of your spare time involved in it.

You might get caught up in a sports activity and focus your time and energy bowling or golfing or fishing and not have time for God.

You might get involved in outdoor recreation and spend all your week-ends boating or camping or riding a motorcycle or RV.

After several weeks or months of devoting yourself to these pursuits you suddenly find your heart cold toward God.

Always it is your pride.

All of these things we have mentioned are good and wholesome in themselves. But when you place more inportance on them than you do on your relationship with God, they get between you and Him. But when that happens the problem is not them - it is you! You have placed your pleasure, your needs, your enjoyment ahead of God. That is the essence of pride.

James reminds you that God is a jealous God. He demands to be first in your life. If you are going to choose Him and decide to serve Him, He must hold first place in your affections, your thoughts, and your time. He will not occupy second place to your pride, your pursuits or other people.

These verses pronounce some harsh judgments on those whose pride comes between them and God. He calls them "adulterers". Do you want to be an adulterer?

He says God opposes the proud. Do you want to be in oppostion to God?

If you are not as close to God as you once where or as close as you want to be - who moved?

Have you allowed something or someone to come between you and God?

If so, how do you think that is going to work out for you?

What are you going to do about it?

July 30, 2010

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7

What would the world give for a workable peace plan? If someone had a way to convince nations to lay down arms and begin working together to solve poverty and disease, how would that be celebrated?

James gives such a strategy. It involves three simple steps. Anyone could wage peace with this plan. And since world peace must happen from the inside out, this plan is the only one that has a chance to succeed.

Step One: "submit"

What does it mean to submit? How does this accomplish peace?

To submit means to bring yourself into alignment with God's will. Lining up with God's will requires that you surrender your will. Give up on your dreams and your ambitions. Stop trying sell God on your agenda and surrender to His. Sign up to serve Him and live to accomplish His purposes. Receive His Kingdom into your heart and crown Him King. When you get God you also get His peace and His power and His purity.

Step Two: "stand"

When you surrender to God you stand against the devil. Because God is resident in your life with all His power, purity and peace the enemy has no authority over you and no weapon that can harm you. He can threaten and intimidate but cannot touch you. The only reason he can do any damage to you is because he has infiltrated your nature with a sinful desires and a selfish will. But submitting to God transforms that nature and changes that will. Therein is the peace!

Step Thre: "see what God will do"

John declares in one of his epsitles, "greater is He who is in you than he that is in the world"! Once you have won the war within, you can trust that God will work through you to win the wars waged against you! When you recall the great victories of God in the Old Testament, most of the were won without His people having to fight! Once they got right with God, He made things right around them. The key to transforming your world is allowing God to transform you!

Are you ready for peace?

Stop warring against God!

Line up with His will, stand against evil and see what He will do!

July 29, 2010

"You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?" James 4:4-5

There are not too many positive aspects about a war. Rush Limbaugh correctly states that the purpose of war is to "kill people and break things". And unfortunately, human history is marred by billions of people who have been killed by war and trillions of dollars of destruction done by people primarily motivated by greed, hatred, or lust for power.

What could possibly be positive about that?

War forces people to choose a side. People who are naturally reluctant to commit to anything are forced by war to choose a side. Especially if you join the battle. A soldier is clear about which side he is on. He wears a uniform and serves under a flag and fights side-by-side with others who have committed to that cause.

In these verses, James reminds you that God has chosen sides and when you become a follower of Christ you commit to God's Kingdom. God rightly expects you to be true to that cause.

Can you imagine a soldier who would try to serve on both sides of a battle? Think of what would happen to someone who would run to the middle of the two lines in the heat of a battle. What would happen? He would get shot from both sides! No one would do that!

You would call that soldier a traitor or a fool but God has another name for them - adulterer. Unfortunately, adultery does have as negative of a connotation as it once had, but I don't know too many people who want that label attached to them. Adultery is still destructive and no one wants to be on the wrong side of an adulterous relationship.

But when you flirt around with worldliness and chase after fleshly desires, you are committing adultery on God. You are putting Him on the painful side of the illicit affair. Is that something you really want to do?

Life is a war! Everyone is involved in a spiritual conflict due to the fact that we are spiritual people and everyone is born with an evil spiritual nature. You were born as an enemy of God. Only by a decisive spiritual commitment and through the grace of Jesus Christ can you break free from the Enemy and join forces with God. That decision alone is the means to inner peace, even in the midst of the battle!

Once that decision is made, God expects you to be true to that commitment. You march under His banner. You stand shoulder to shoulder with His people. You execute His plan and act on His orders.

Everyone serves someone! No one can serve two masters. You must be clear in your decision and true to your choice.

Have you made your choice? Are you serving with honor? Or are you hung up between enemy lines?

July 28, 2010

"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." James 4:1-6

Ever feel anxious and you're not sure why? Ever been fearful for no apparent reason? Have you exploded with anger and wondered where that came from? Does your life seem out of control no matter how hard you try to control it?

What is going on? Where does all this angst and turmoil come from?

James says there is a war waging within you. That is the problem and it is a major one!

In these several verses James diagnoses the problem and it is not good news!

First, he says you have a "lust" problem.

Lust is caused by misdirected desires. Your sinful nature, if unchecked, will pervert good God-given desires into selfish and sinful desires. Though you were created for God's pleasure you are driven to seek your own, deceived by the lie that happiness comes from "out there somewhere".

When you are on a quest for pleasure and self-fulfillment, nasty things happen. For instance, lust can never been satisfied. Living for selfish pleasure is makes you a slave to the next indulgence moment. Also, when you are out for selfish pleasure other people become either objects to be used or competitors to be defeated.

The result of this pursuit of selfish desires is turmoil within and trouble without. Being controlled by lust will wreck relationships rob you of joy.

Not only do you have a "lust" problem you also have a "trust" problem.

When you live under the delusion that you can find satisfaction from the outside in then you trust yourself to make it happen. In essence, when you trust yourself to fulfill your lust, you put yourself in the place of God. That is an impossible role for an unreachable goal.

The wisest man who ever lived once said, "Trust in the Lord with all you heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths."

To translate that in the terms of our discussion he is saying, "Trust - don't lust."

Why would you seek to fill your life with created things when you could have the Creator?

Let me ask you, how's your heart? Are you lusting or are you trusting?

July 27, 2010

"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." James 4:1-3

A rather cranky old grandfather was taking a nap one afternoon when his mischievous grandsons carefully smeared some Limburger cheese in his moustache. It wasn't long until stench woke him up. Sitting up with a start he exclaimed, "My gosh! It stinks in here!"

Retreating to the next room he said again, "It stinks in here, too!"

The same happened in the next room and the next causing him to blurt out, "The whole house stinks!"

Running outside to catch fresh air he found no relief to which he complained, "The whole world stinks!"

Have you ever felt like the whole world stinks?

Does discontent and trouble you seem to follow wherever you go?

Maybe it is just a lousy world you live in. Maybe not.

James informs us that the main problem with your world is the rotten smelly stuff going on in you! And trouble follows you because you ARE the trouble and wherever you go - well - there you are! The one person you can never escape is you!

He said that, not me! I'm just the messenger!

The problem seems to be desires that are at conflict within you. You want what you don't have or can't have and you despise what you do have. Pretty miserable.

Remember that James is written to Christians. So, the desires that were at war within them were their sinful desires versus the will of God. That serves to remind you that you cannot be at war with God and have inner peace.

Earlier in his book, James comments on this same problem using another metaphor. "That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." James 1:7-8

Does that describe you? Is that the turmoil raging in you?

If you have two natures warring within you, one of them has to win and one of them has to lose. God doesn't send His Spirit into your life to be a room mate. When you receive Christ as your Savior He comes in with the plan of becoming your Lord! He won't settle for less.

Christians can be the most miserable of all because they possess the two natures. Non-Christians just sin and don't worry about it because their conscience is dead and they are just doing what comes naturally. But once Christ becomes your Savior and the Spirit is activated in your life, the fight is on! His Spirit wars against your flesh. Someone has to surrender!

Think about it. If you are at war with God, who will ultimately win? Who should win?

If God will win and if He should win why are you fighting a losing battle? When will you surrender? When will you declare Him Lord?

July 26, 2010

"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?" James 4:1

Far be it for me to try to understand all the complexities of war. But I would think there are two basic things you would need to know before you go to war - who the enemy is and what you at fighting for.

James, as he does so often in his intensely practical book, cuts right to the heart of the issue. He states that wars are the result of inner conflicts raging within the heart of man. How can you get along with others if you can't stand yourself? And how do you fight the enemy when it is you?

That is the 800 pound gorilla that has haunted every generation of human beings since Adam's big mistake. There have been hundreds, maybe thousands of wars that have devastated hundreds of millions of people and everyone of those wars were justified by some high sounding justification. But the actual reason is identified by James. People go to war as a result of the war raging within themselves. If you can't or won't identify yourself as the source of the problem, then you have to make someone else the bad guy and try to defeat them.

If it were true that the enemy was someone else, then it would stand to reason once that enemy was destroyed and defeated then there would be peace. Right? How has that worked out?

World War I was fought to end war. A generation later another 60 million died and $1 trillion spent in a world-wide conflict known as WWII. Why did neither major conflgration bring a lasting peace? Don't even mention Korea, Viet Nam, or current wars in the Middle East.

How do I defeat the enemy if it is me? How do I find peace within without destroying myself? The three ways that wars end are through surrender or victory or a treaty. But can I surrender to myself? How do I defeat myself? Can I broker a treaty with myself?

Sounds like a desparate situation! The enemy is you!

Paul expressed it this way:

"So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" Romans 7:22-24

Sounds quite hopeless doesn't it? You hate war but you are one!

When you get ready to declare peace, James is ready to show you how.

Stay with me this week! Keep your white flag handy!

July 25, 2010

“Faith Exercises Wisdom” James 3:13-18

Every work out routine has built in measuring points where you can measure your progress and development, whether it is a faster time for a mile or more reps or more weight that you lift – it is motivational to see growth!

James, accordingly, offers some progress points to measure how you are doing as you work out your faith. Let’s review them:

· Joy in suffering
· Obeying truth under pressure
· Treating everyone with dignity and respect
· Doing good deeds to validate your faith
· Controlling your tongue

How are you doing? How is your faith working out? Have you taken time to check your progress? If not, why not? What are you waiting for? Is spiritual growth not that important to you? If that’s the case, what’s the point? Why are you bothering with the hassle of faith if spiritual growth is not that important?

This morning as we close out the third chapter of James we have another measurement to deal with – the IQ test. It’s not the IQ test you are thinking about – the Intelligence Quotient. This one is far more important and much easier to measure.

Really? What is it?

This IQ test does not have anything to do with intelligence but it does involve wisdom. James defines wisdom as our knowledge of God displayed through godly living. By James’ definition your IQ stands for INTEGRITY QUOTIENT. God measures your wisdom by your integrity. That is what we will discover this morning!

Are you ready to check your IQ?

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.” James 3:13-18

I. Human Wisdom, Vv. 13-16

Our world has plenty of knowledge and education, but that fact doesn’t always translated into wisdom. In fact, some times wisdom can be learned from relatively uneducated people – including children. Consider some examples of childish wisdom:

Patrick, age 10, wisely suggests, “Never trust a dog to watch your food.”

Randy, age 9, offers, “Stay away from prunes.” (How did Randy know that?)

Lauren, age 9, says, “Felt markers are not good to use as lipstick.” Her friend Naomi adds, “Fingernail polish does not make good lipstick either.”

Joel, age 10, contributes with, “Don’t pick on your sister when she’s holding a baseball bat.”

Eileen, 8, says, “Never try to baptize a cat.”

(Ethel The Cow Give Auto Advice)

WISDOM BEGINS WITH KNOWING WHO TO LISTEN TO….

Marks of human wisdom:

1) bitter envy – an edginess, defensiveness, territorial, ready to attack anyone who challenges them or gets to close to exposing their folly.

2) selfish ambition – determined to impose their opinions and agenda no matter who they have to hurt.

3) disorder and evil practice - willing to divide and create chaos in order to gain power or promote their agenda. These attitudes delight in deceit and fancy themselves clever by their ability to confuse and control others. It originates in the heart of Satan and reflects his arrogance and evil.

Dwight L. Moody once told the fable of an eagle who was envious of another that could fly better than he could. One day the bird saw a hunter with a bow and arrow and said to him, "I wish you would bring down that eagle up there." The man said he would if he had some feathers for his arrow. So the envious eagle pulled out some feathers. The arrow was shot, but it didn’t quite reach the rival bird because he was flying too high. The first eagle pulled out another feather, then another — until he had lost so many that he couldn’t fly. The archer then turned around and killed the helpless bird. - Moody’s point was ‘if you are envious of others, the one you will hurt the most by your actions will be yourself.

Such is the danger and destruction of Human Wisdom……

II. Heavenly Wisdom, Vv. 17-18

In his book, “Tender Loving Heart”, James K. Krames writes, “There was a
young Christian man in a southern university. He made the football team as the starting split end. And he continually was before God saying, ‘Help me in the climax of moments to be absolutely honest. I pray for honesty--that one mark of integrity. I want to be that, Lord, and I’ll work on it through the season.’The rival team came that night, homecoming. He ran his route and went into the end zone. The quarterback shot him the pass and he got it low. He landed on it, and the referee shouted, ‘Touchdown!’ But that boy knew he had trapped the ball. (for you who aren’t into that, it means that he didn’t really catch it.) The stands were just cheering, you know, sending him on his way, the hero of the game. He said, ‘Wait a minute.’ Can you imagine this? Walked up to the referee and shook his head. He said, ‘I trapped it.’ The referee canceled the touchdown and they lost the game.Now you may not understand much about football, but you know what it is to be a fan. And that boy stood all alone, not only against a team that said, ‘What does it matter, man?’ but against the stands full of people. He said, ‘I can’t take the credit. I did not catch it.’

Marks of this wisdom:

1) pure – morally uncontaminated, perfect, pleasing to God, derived from truth
Do you operate from pure motives?

2) peace-loving - committed to promoting peace - Are you a peacemaker?

3) considerate – equitable, fair-minded, polite, gentle – Do you consider others?

4) submissive – compliant, anxious to obey – How is your obedience?

5) merciful – kindness, compassionate, especially to needy – Do you show mercy?

6) good fruit – works produced from the virtues of the heart – How’s your fruit?

7) impartial – not biased, kindly disposed toward all

8) sincere – genuine, authentic, no hidden agenda

THE DEGREE TO WHICH YOU LIVE THESE VIRTUES MEASURES YOUR I Q!

Heavenly wisdom is meant to be an Integrity Quotient.

In his book I Surrender, Patrick Morley writes that the church’s integrity problem is in the misconception "that we can add Christ to our lives, but not subtract sin. It is a change in belief without a change in behavior." He goes on to say, "It is revival without reformation, without repentance."

All too often there is a disconnect between what Christians say they believe and how they actually behave. That disconnect is damaging to the faith and destructive to the church.

A pastor friend in Texas was in a hurry after work. He had to get to the mall for some items, go to his daughter’s school to pick her up, take her home, get to a Deacons meeting, and then to spend the evening in counseling sessions. Once in the mall, he saw an advertisement on a music store window that said, “2 CD’s for $9.99”. He loved music so much he decided he just had to take advantage of it. He went in and picked up 2 CD’s he really had been wanting, and went to the register to pay for them. He threw down with his money while talking to everyone around him- as pastors do. Then he picked up his bag and his change and went out of the mall. When he threw the bag in the front seat of his car, he noticed for the first time that the clerk had charged him $1.99 instead of $9.99 for those CD’s. His first thought was that he didn’t have time to go back in to get it fixed. But a small voice kept saying, “You don’t have time not to.”

So, he went back in, stood in the same line until it came his time to talk to the clerk once again. He said, “Look I’m in a hurry. You made a mistake. The sign says $9.99 and you charged me $1.99. Please make this correct so I can get on with what I have to do.”

She said, “Sir, I didn’t make a mistake.”
He said, “Sure you did. There is the sign, here is the receipt. Please make the correction.”

She said, “No, sir, I didn’t make a mistake.”

He said, “What do you mean?!!”

She said, “Can I tell you the rest of the story. Will you let me finish, please?”

He said, “Yes I will.”

She said, “For 17 years I’ve been out of church. Recently, my life has been falling apart and I needed to get back into church. I looked around at what was closest to me. I found the name of the church and I went there Sunday and slipped in and sat on the back row. The pastor that day was speaking on integrity. Sir, it happened to be your church. And when I saw you in my line, I wondered if this was something you preached on Sunday or lived on Monday. And I determined to find out.” Then she said, “Sir, I don’t even know the right questions to ask, but I know that whatever you’ve got I need. “ And then she began to cry. The manager, who happened to be a Christian, stepped in and took over the register, dismissed the pastor and then he led her to the Lord. Do you think she would have ever darkened the doors of a church again if this pastor had not gone back in?

WHAT IS YOUR IQ? I AM NOT ASKING HOW WELL YOU KNOW THE BIBLE?

I AM NOT ASKING HOW MANY VERSES YOU KNOW. HOW DO YOU LIVE?

July 24, 2010

I received this today from a missionary friend of mine given to him by the group who regularly interceeds for them. It is a guide on how intercessors pray for missionaries. I thought it might be helpful to you and it might work for pastors, too!

Prayers for the FaithfulJuly 25, 2010
A Time of Consecration

"But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by His decrees and obey His commands, as at this time." 1 Kings 8:61

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Hebrews 12:1-2a NLT

Praise & Thanksgiving

Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting. Nehemiah 9:5-6

Repentance

O Lord, we do not ask for our sakes, but for the sake of Your Holy Name,
which we have profaned among the nations where we have gone. Show the holiness of Your great name, O Lord.

Show Yourself Holy through us, before their eyes. Cleanse us from all our impurities and all our idols.

Give us new hearts and put a new spirit in us and give us hearts of flesh through Your Spirit,
that we may follow Your decrees and keep Your laws. You are our God.

Teach us to loath our evil ways and wicked deeds, to loath ourselves for our sins and detestable practices.

Cleanse us from all our sin.

The Sovereign Lord speaks, and what He speaks, He will do.
Taken from Ezekiel 36, verses 22-33, 36.

Asking

Requests On Behalf of Missionaries

(Insert the name of the missionary in the blanks provided. Change pronouns where appropriate.)

SPIRITUAL GROWTH

I pray _________ will not be tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, I pray he will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4:14-15

I pray _________ will not throw away his confident trust in You, Lord. Help him remember the great reward it brings him! Patient endurance is what he needs now, so that he will continue to do Your will. Then he will receive all that You have promised. You said, "For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. And My righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away." I praise You that _________ is not like those who turn away from You to their own destruction, but is among the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved. Hebrews 10:35-39 NLT

I pray _________ is encouraged by this promise to stay in Your word: Your thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are our ways Your ways, You have declared. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are Your ways higher than our ways and Your thoughts than our thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is Your word that goes out from Your mouth: It will not return to You empty, but will accomplish what You desire and achieve the purpose for which You send it. Isaiah 55:8-11

WISDOM

Teach _________ that skillful and godly Wisdom is more precious than rubies; and nothing he can wish for is to be compared to her. Proverbs 3:15 AMP

I pray he will prize Wisdom highly and exalt her, and she will exalt and promote him; she will bring him to honor when he embraces her. Proverbs 4:8

I pray he is attentive to Your Wisdom [godly Wisdom learned by actual and costly experience], and inclines his ear to Your understanding [of what is becoming and prudent for him], that he may exercise proper discrimination and discretion and his lips may guard and keep knowledge and the wise answer [to temptation]. Proverbs 5:1-2 AMP

We praise You that as _________ finds [Wisdom], he finds life and draws forth and obtains favor from You, Lord. Proverbs 8:35 AMP

I pray _________ knows that the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning (the chief and choice part) of Wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight and understanding. For by [Wisdom from God] his days shall be multiplied, and the years of his life shall be increased. Proverbs 9:10-11 AMP

I pray he also knows that the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord brings instruction in Wisdom, and humility comes before honor. Proverbs 15:33 AMP

I pray _________ knows skillful and godly Wisdom to be thus to his life; there shall be a future and a reward, and his hope and expectation shall not be cut off. Proverbs 24:14 AMP 2 ©Copyright, 2010 Pray the Word Ministries, Houston, Texas

MINISTRY

I pray _________will be firm (steadfast), immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord [always being superior, excelling, doing more than enough in the service of the Lord], knowing and being continually aware that his labor in the Lord is not futile [it is never wasted or to no purpose]. 1 Corinthians 15:58 AMP

I pray that You, who supply seed to the sower, and bread for food, will continue to supply and multiply the seed _________ has sown and increase the fruits of his righteousness, 2 Corinthians 9:10

FAITHFUL WITNESSING

Watching for Divine Appointments -
For it is You, Lord, who works in _________ to will and to act according to Your good purpose. Philippians 2:13

Doing Their Part, God Doing His -

I pray _________ will remain in You, and You will remain in _________. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can we bear fruit unless we remain in You. …apart from You we can do nothing. John 15:4-5

Called as Faithful Witnesses -

You, Lord of the harvest, are the one who sends out workers into Your harvest field. Matthew 9:38

Choosing to Share -

I pray You will enable _________ to speak Your word with great boldness. Acts 4:29

Getting Started –

I pray _________ remembers he can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees You doing. John 5:19-20

Getting to the Heart of the Matter -

I pray _________ remembers that the word is near those who are seeking; it is in their mouth and in their heart, that is, the word of faith being proclaimed. And if seekers confess with their mouths, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in their hearts that God raised them from the dead, they will be saved. Romans 10:8-9

Making No Assumptions -

I pray _________ remembers that all have sinned and fallen short of Your glory, O God. Romans 3:22-23

Discerning Spiritual Needs -

I pray he is led by Your Spirit, O God. Romans 8:14

Avoiding Pitfalls -

You, Lord, have given _________ the ministry of reconciliation: that You were reconciling the world to Yourself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And You have committed to _________ the message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Presenting the Choice/A Time to Choose -

I pray the lost are brought to acknowledge Jesus before men, and Jesus will also acknowledge them before You, Our Father in heaven. Matthew 10:32

Seizing the Moment -

I pray _________ is wise in the way he acts toward outsiders; making the most of every opportunity. I pray his conversation is always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that he may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:5-6

Partnering -

I pray he meets together with others, …and they encourage one another-and all the more as they see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25

Following Up -

I pray he wrestles in prayer for new believers, that they may stand firm in all Your will, O God, mature and fully assured. Colossians 4:12b

Portions of this section were taken from The Faithful Witness, by Jerry Wiles

STRENGTH

For this reason I kneel before You, Father, from whom Your whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of Your glorious riches You may strengthen _________ with power through Your Spirit in his inner being, so that Christ may dwell in his heart through faith. And I pray that he being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that he may be filled to the measure of all Your fullness. Now to You who are able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to Your power that is at work within _________, to You be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:14-22

PROVISION

Thank You, Lord, that You supply all _________'s needs according to Your riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 NKJV

Help _________ to remember that You are able to make all grace abound to him, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, he may have an abundance for every good deed. 2 Corinthians 9:8 NASB

PROTECTION

I pray _________ hearkens to [Wisdom], dwelling securely and in confident trust, and being quiet, without fear or dread of evil. Proverbs 1:33 AMP

I pray _________ does not forsake [Wisdom], and she will keep, defend, and protect you; love her, and she will guard you. Proverbs 4:6 AMP

HEALTH

I pray _________ attends to Your words; consents and submits to Your sayings. I pray he does not let them depart from his sight; keeps them in the center of his heart. For they are life to him, healing and health to his flesh. Proverbs 4:20-22 AMP

Thank You, Lord! _________'s strong spirit sustains him in bodily pain and trouble. His happy heart is good medicine and his cheerful mind works healing. Proverbs 18:14a AMP, 17:22a AMP3

©Copyright, 2010 Pray the Word Ministries, Houston, Texas

July 23, 2010

"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom." James 3:13

Here is a quick IQ test:

1) Some months have 30 days,some months have 31 days. How many months have 28 days?

2) If a doctor gives you 3 pills and tells you to take one pill every half hour, how long would it be before all the pills had been taken?

3) I went to bed at eight o'clock in the evening and wound up my clock and set the alarm to sound at nine o'clock in the morning. How many hours sleep would I get before being awoken by the alarm?

4) Divide 30 by half and add ten. What do you get?

5) A farmer had 17 sheep. All but 9 died. How many live sheep were left?

6) If you had only one match and entered a COLD and DARK room, where there was an oil heater, an oil lamp and a candle, which would you light first?

Those aren't too bad are they?

An IQ test (Intelligence Quotient) measures your ability to process information and knowledge you have accumulated. Some people consider that important. By the way, here are the answers in case you need them.

1) All of them. Every month has at least 28 days.

2) 1 hour. If you take a pill at 1 o'clock,then another at 1.30 and the last at 2 o'clock,they will be taken in 1 hour.

3) 1 hour. It is a wind up alarm clock which cannot discriminate between a.m. and p.m.

4) 70. Dividing by half is the same as multiplying by 2.

5) 9 live sheep.

6) The match.

God has an IQ test that is far more important to Him. He cares significantly about your Integrity Quotient. How well does your life reflect the truths and the values you profess to believe?

Integrity is a measure of how you "intigrate" what you believe into what you do. In fact, if you don't do it you don't actually believe it.

That is the important truth James is reminding you about in these verses. Wisdom is a function of how you live and behave and the attitudes you display. Wisdom is measured by how well your life matches your professed beliefs.

Your Integrity Quotient is important not only to God, but it is crucial to how non-believers judge the validilty of faith. Christians who profess one thing but demonstrate another are damaging to the cause of Christ.

When it comes to your IQ (intelligence quotient) the higher score the better. The same is true of your Integrity Quotient. 100% is the goal! That person is the real deal!

How is your IQ?

July 22, 2010

"Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil." James 3:15

Have you ever heard the expression "wise up"?

Maybe someone has said it to you or maybe you have given that advice to others.

Perhaps those who offered that advice did not realize how wise it is. Wisdom truly does come from above so if you are going to get wise you must literally "wise up".

James makes it clear in this portion of scripture that wisdom has much more to do with what you show through your life and your attitudes than what you know. Wisdom is a function of character not intelligence. Therefore, wisdom comes from the inside out not from the outside in. Wisdom is an inside job.

Some operate under the belief that wisdom is a funtion of knowledge and education. Wouldn't that be nice if it was that simple? But that fact is for the past 50 years our nation has poured more money into education than in the previous century but to what result? Are we a better society? Have we produced citizens who possess better character? Unfortunately not.

So, if wisdom is an inside job - and it is. And if it isn't a function of merely acquiring knowledge, how do you get it? Where does it come from?

James makes it clear that wisdom is not WHAT you know it is in fact WHO you know. The Who you need to know is Jesus. Wisdom comes from above because that is where Jesus comes from. So wisdom arises from a relationship with the Source of wisdom. Do you know Him?

Wisdom begins when you confess the foolishness of your sinful ways and welcome Christ into your life by faith. That's what the Bible means when it says, "The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom."

So, to sum up: to wise up you must give up your own attempts at wisdom, look up to Him and then 'fess up to Him and then open up to Him and be willing to shape up.

Are you up for that?

July 21, 2010

"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness." James 3:13-18

The word "understanding" is a key word in this portion of Scripture. James used a word here that is used exclusively in this text and it connotes a "specialist". It takes a "specialist" to receive and properly apply wisdom. How would you like to be known as someone who specializes in wisdom? Could you live with that?

How do you know when someone is a wisdom specialist? Do they have a business card? Do they get a title? If you want to pick them out of a crowd what would you look for?

That is essentially the point of this portion of Scripture. A practioner of wisdom demonstrates a very distinct lifestyle. He has attitudes and actions that set him apart from those who do not understand true wisdom.

So, wisdom is intensely practical. It is not just subscribing to a particular set of beliefs or creeds. Wisdom is not a matter of what you know but what you show. Knowledge is important and you certainly must know the correct things. But simply having head knowledge doesn't guarantee a change of heart or behavior. The world is filled with highly educated and very knowledgable people who live ungodly lives because knowledge tends to puff up a person with pride. Pride and wisdom are mutually exclusive.

Show me a wise person and I will show you a humble person. The wise person understands that knowledge brings power and he respects that power. Wise people understand that there is a responsibility that comes with knowledge. Humble people live under accountability to the power and the responsibility of knowledge.

The wisest man who ever lived summed up the wisdom, knowledge and understanding interface this way, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will dirct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

Do you need to "wise up"? Are you trusting in what you know or are you living out what you believe? Has your knowlege puffed you up with pride or has it humbled you? Do you seek to use your knowledge as leverage to promote yourself at the expense of others?

The truth remains, if you really believe it your life will show it.

July 20, 2010

"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom." James 3:1

Jesus told a story one day about two men. One of those men He referred to as "foolish" and the other he called "wise". Other than the fact that Jesus said it (and if Jesus calls you a "fool" you are one) what separates a wise man from a foolish man?

In Jesus' little story it was the men themselves who differentiated themselves by their actions. The "foolish" man built a house on a foundation of sand. While it was cheaper and easier to build on sand it was also short-sighted. When the first big thunderstorm of the season blew through with its torrential rains and winds the house crumbled as its foundation washed away. The "wise" man build his house on a solid foundation of rock. It is more diificult to chisel through the rock and anchor a foundation there. But the painstaking effort and expense paid off when that storm blew in and washed his neighbor away while his house stood strong.

According to Jesus, wisdom is not a matter of what you know but what you show! God is not interested in theories, He wants transformed lives. He wants obedience. He wants you to build your life on the foundation of a personal relationship with Him.

As the brother of Jesus, James echoes the same truth in his writings. He says, "You can't claim to be wise and act like a fool!" If you act foolish you will be judged as a fool. It is that simple.

Do you want to be wise? Build on a proper foundation. This verse tells you that you need understanding. You must understand truth from error. You must understand the importance of obeying God and living according to His revealed truth in the Word. The foundation of your life must be built on His truth and His commands and His will. You must know it and then show it.

If understanding is a key to wisdom, and it is, then humility is evidence of a wise heart. Humility is the by-product of obedience. You cannot be proud and obedient at the same time. Likewise, you cannot be wise and proud.

Intelligence can be measured by an IQ test. Can wisdom be measured?

James would say, "Absolutely!" In this third chapter he lays out an "OQ" test -an obedient quotient. The wise man passed his "OQ" test, the foolish man failed his.

How is your "OQ"?

July 19, 2010

"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom." James 3:13

James has quite a bit to say about wisdom. Why do you think that is so?

Let's look at it this way, could you live the rest of your life on the knowledge that you currently have? I'll bet you could!

But, how would you do if you had to live the rest of your life without wisdom? Not so good!

If you can comprehend that you will understand the difference between wisdom and knowledge.

"Understanding" is the key word in the verse because that is the bridge from knowledge to wisdom. Understanding processes knowledge into wisdom.

How do you know when your knowledge has been processed into wisdom? Easy! It translates into better behavior and actions!

There are a whole lot of highly educated and well-informed fools who live immoral self-destructive lives. As well, there are many who profess to be wise but who are living like ungodly fools.

Wisdom understands the superiority of Biblical truth and seeks to learn it and live it out! The unwise think they can behave themselves into wise living. That will never happen from the inside out, it will only happen from the heart.

How wise you are will ultimately be determined by how godly you live. Wisdom is intensely practical. Knowledge is not always so. Understanding is the process of translating knowledge into action which is the essence of wisdom.

Want to wise up?


Need to wise up?


Live up to you level of knowledge!

Understand?

July 18, 2010

Week Four – “Faith Exercises Speech Control” James 3:1-12

“1Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. 3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.”

Three pastors went to the pastor convention and were all sharing one room. The first pastor said, "Let's confess our secret sins one to another. I'll start - my secret sin is I just love to gamble. When I go out of town, it's cha-ching cha-ching, let the machines ring."

The second pastor said, "My secret sin is that I just hate working. I copy all my sermons from those given by other pastors."

The third pastor said, "My secret sin is gossiping and, oh boy, I just can't wait to get out of this room!"

Your tongue is dangerous and can be hurtful to others and eventually will come back on you.

How many of you remember a hurtful thing said to you 20 years ago or longer?

WHAT JAMES TELLS US ABOUT THE TONGUE

Leaders must have their tongue under control, V. 1

James says don’t try to be a leader if you don’t have your tongue under control. I am going to share some things with you later that will make this even more clear, but there is enough right here to make the point.

Leaders and teachers have significant impact on the hearts and minds and spirits of people under their influence. Because that is true they will be judged severely by God – and for that matter, by man – as that is as it should be!

If you are assuming the role of a leader or a teacher and your life is out of control and your tongue occasionally spews poisons and hurtful stuff you are in a world of hurt and you are creating a world of hurt. Do yourself a favor and do God a favor and do everyone else a favor and step out of leadership until you get it under control.

Controlling the tongue is a test of spiritual maturity, V. 2

Before they speak, spiritually mature people ask themselves:

• T—Is it true?

• H—Is it helpful?
• I—Is it inspiring?
• N—Is it necessary?
• K—Is it kind?

If we can’t answer any of these in the positive, then we should think twice about saying anything.

Controlling the tongue is very difficult, Vv. 3-9

An out of control tongue is very destructive

Like a wild untamed beast

Harriet, the church gossip and self-appointed supervisor of the church’s morals, kept sticking her nose into other people’s business. Several were unappreciative of her activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence. She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his pickup truck parked all afternoon in front of the town’s only bar. She commented to George & others that anyone seeing it there would know that he was an alcoholic. George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment & walked away. He said nothing. Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup in front of Harriet’s house and left it there all night.

Like a fire,,,,,

At 9:00 p.m., Sunday evening, October 8, 1871, the great Chicago Fire began on DeKoven street in a barn owned by Patrick and Catherine O’Leary. The fire would burn for the next two days; before it was finished it would blacken three and one half square miles of the city and destroy over 17,000 buildings before it was checked by gunpowder explosions on the south line of the fire. The fire left over 100,000 people homeless and cost over 300 lives. But, ironically, that was not the greatest inferno in the American Midwest that year. Historians tell us that on the same day that dry autumn a spark ignited a raging fire in the North Woods of Wisconsin which burned for an entire month, taking more lives than the Chicago Fire. A veritable firestorm destroyed billions of cubic yards of precious timber—all from one spark!

Like deadly poison….

Someone has calculated that for every word in Hitler’s book, Mein Kampf, 125 lives were lost in World War II. Perhaps our words will not cause wars or wreck cities, but what we say can break the heart of loved ones, ruin reputations and destroy friendships. Worse still is the knowledge that our words can destroy souls, sending them into eternity without Christ. How many people have been turned away from following Christ because of intemperate words of God’s professed people!

Josh McDowell shared, “Before I discovered that my cell phone had a lock screen button I would often accidentally dial the last number in my cell phone’s registry. The biggest problem was that I never realized that it had happened. I would go on with normal life and my cell phone would be on for an extended period of time without my knowing that it was on. When I would discover that it was on… either when I picked it up to make a call or when the person on the other end would hang up, and call me back to laugh at me, I would have this strange fear overcome me. What did I say, when I didn’t know that someone else was listening? Did I gossip? Did I say something evil? Did I make a joke that I would not want the person on the other end to know about? Well that it is how it is with the Holy Spirit all the time! It’s like your cell phone has accidentally called God and you didn’t know it. Would you live your live differently if every conversation and ever thought you ever had was being accidentally broadcast across the cell phone in your pocket to your Pastor? Well it is not being broadcast to your Pastor, but your every thought and the ear of God hears every word!”

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT YOUR TONGUE?

TRY TO MANAGE IT?

LET GOD DEAL WITH IT?

WHAT THE TONGUE TELLS YOU ABOUT YOURSELF

You don’t have a tongue problem - have a heart problem……

"For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks," states Matthew 12:33.

“But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.'9For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean';” Matthew 15:18-20

"But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." Matthew 12:36-37

Four Fundamental Heart Problems:

Guilty Heart – Guilt says, “I owe you” – (I took something from you)

If I have a guilty heart how does that express itself in my speech?

Guilty Hearts Give Excuses

Guilty Hearts Accuse Others

Angry Heart– Anger says, “you owe me” - (you took something from me)

An angry heart reveals itself through the tongue:

Angry Hearts Are Hurtful – They Blame You

Angry Hearts Are Hateful – They Burn You

Greedy Heart – Greed says, “I owe me” – (I will take something for me)

The greedy heart betrays itself by speaking these ways:

Greedy People Complain

Greedy People Center On Themselves

Jealous Heart – Jealousy says, “God owes me.” – (I missed something)

Jealous hearts express speak like this:

Jealous People Criticize

Jealous People Compare

Jealous People Celebrate

So, what should I do?

Deal with your heart issues! Get your heart right to get your tongue under control.

To Deal With A Guilty Heart – confession (to person offended)

To Deal With An Angry Heart – forgiveness

To Deal With A Greedy Heart – generosity

To Deal With A Jealous Heart - celebration

If you want to tame the tongue – get to the heart of the problem!

Proverbs 18:21 – “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

“Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.” James 3:10

HERE AT THE END OF THIS ADMOTION ABOUT THE TONGUE JAMES CONCLUDES BY TELLING US WE CAN CHOOSE HOW WE USE OUR TONGUE. IF ENOUGH OF US MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS WE COULD MAKE THIS CHURCH INTO A LIFE-GIVING PLACE – A HOPE-FILLED PLACE….. WHERE DO YOU NEED GIVE PLACE IN YOUR HEART TO GOD?

July 17, 2010

"Out of the same mouth come forth blessing and cursing. These things, my brethren, ought not to be so." James 3:10

After a passionate and detailed description of the latent dangers of an uncontrolled tongue James summarizes with this brief statement. Brief, yes, but very revealing.

What he says essentially is, "Decide what you want coming out of your mouth, praises or curses." That implies that the tongue CAN be controlled and that you are ultimately responsible to do so.

Think about the picture painted here. James portrays a person who stands in church on Sunday singing and praising and testifying but the rest of the week launches swear words with regularity. Is that how you want to be characterized? Do you want to be known as someone who has an uncontrolled tongue? Do you want your life controlled by your tongue?

Knowing that you can control your tongue probably means that you should, don't you think? Or do you think God will look the other way while you blurt out hurtful and obscene stuff? I don't think so!

Certainly, controlling your tongue is not easy. There is no arguing that. But neither is it easy to be praising one moment and cursing the next.

The first decision you need to make is simply, "Do I really want to control my tongue?"

If you are willing then you need to understand the source of the problem. Your tongue problem is not a tongue problem - it is a heart problem!

"You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him." Matthew 12:34-35

"Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.'" Matthew 15:17-18

What James knew and Jesus made clear, an uncontrolled tongue is a symptom of a sinful heart. A tongue problem is actually a heart problem. So managing the tongue or trying to control it will be an exercise in frustration. If you want to win the battle with your tongue you must allow God to deal with issues of the heart. Until you are willing to give God access into the deep dark dispusting secrets of your heart you will lose the battle with your tongue. Unless you are willing to get that serious with God - you are talking nonsense.

July 16, 2010

"The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." James 3:6

Sounds serious doesn't it?

It is!

Something needs to be done about this!

But what? How do you get control over this dangerous and destructive little organ?

Jesus, as usual, offers some insights:

"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." Matthew 12:33-34

Here's the deal, problems with the tongue are really problems with the heart! Your tongue simply reveals what is contained in your heart. Fix your heart and your tongue issues will cease!

Easier said that done!

Let's examine some of the heart issues that expose themselves through the tongue. Andy Stanley in his book "It Came From Within" identifies four basic problems of the heart that are betrayed by the tongue.

Those four are guilt, anger, jealousy and greed. When any of these or any combination of them lurk in your heart it is inevitable that eventually they will express themselves through your speech.

Ever have one of those moments when something ugly erupts off your tongue and embarrasses you. To cover the awkwardness you say, "Wow! I don't know where that came from!"

It came from within! Once you are exposed like that you have a choice, will you deal with your heart or try harder to filter your speech? Your decision on that will make you or break you. Bite your tongue or right your heart?

July 15, 2010

"When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water." James 3:3-12

Remember the old saying, "Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me"?

Most old sayings get to be old sayings by being true. I am not so sure about this one because words DO hurt. You have been hurt by careless words, so have I. You have hurt others with careless words, so have I.

I want you to notice how many warnings James gives regarding the tongue in these several verses.

First, he tells us it is out of control. It is easier to control large beasts and huge ships than the tiny tongue.

Second, he tells us it is a fire. Have you ever been burned by words? Yeh, me too! And you have scorched some people with your words, too, right? Me, too.

Third, he refers to it as a "restless evil". Not just evil but restless and evil. The tongue can't wait to spread its evil. Not good!

Fourth, it even gets worse! The tongue is filled with "deadly poison". Is he saying that the tongue can kill people? Yes, I think that is exactly what he is saying.

And finally, if these are enough bad things, here is one even worse - the same tongue that can honor God also is capable of cursing Him! That is disgusting!

With all these things in mind I am sure you can understand why he says earlier that the one who controls his tongue is "perfect in all his ways"!

How does that happen? How do you get this powerful little trouble-maker under control?

That is what I will talk about the rest of the week. But it won't really matter until you get sick and tired of the damage your tongue is causing. Until you decide that it is time to get your tongue under control it really won't matter what I tell you.

Are you hurting over something that was said to you by another? Is someone else hurting because of your tongue-lashing?

Start there! Do something today to begin repairing the damage!

July 14, 2010

"When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?" James 3:3-11

Little things can make a big difference!

I remember a tiny o-ring worth a couple of dollars that caused the Challenger to explode and killed our brave shuttle astronauts.

It was the failure of a few tiny heat tiles that caused the Columbia to disintigrate upon reentry high above Texas. More of our finest men and women perished in that tragedy.

A cell phone is small enough to fit in the tiniest hand. It can be placed in a purse or hidden in a pocket and yet it has revoluntioned the world!

Years ago I bought a tiny ring with a little diamond on it and offered it to a beautiful woman. She accepted it and agreed to become my wife and changed my life! It was a little thing that made a huge difference!

In our text, James is warning and bemoaning the destruction caused by something as tiny as the tongue.

I bet you are familiar with someone who has created big damage with a few words from a tiny tongue. Maybe that someone is you.

Once the damage is done it is impossible to undo it.

Wild animals can be tamed. Large ships can be controlled with tiny rudders. But the tongue is almost impossible to control. Left uncontrolled the tongue is like a raging fire. Have you ever tried to put out a forest fire?

James' big point in this short portion of Scripture is a huge truth about a tiny thing that requires lots of attention - the tongue!

Little things can make a big difference.

July 13, 2010

"Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check." James 3:1-2

Did you ever have a perfect teacher? I'm sure you would remember if you did!

I had some very good ones. Each of them impacted my life in significant ways. But I can't say I ever had a perfect teacher.

What would a perfect teacher look like? How would you know?

James comments on that. He says that a perfect teacher is one who never says the wrong thing and therefore, says the right things. If a person can control his tongue he will have his life under control.

You can trust someone like that! You can learn from someone like that!

And, his challenge is this: until you get your speech under control, don't aspire to teach. Teaching and leading is far too important to leave to immature amatuers. Teachers and leaders have tremendous influence and if they have not gained control over their toungue they will disgrace themselves, discredit the Gospel and do harm to others.

When I was a kid my mom always said, "What you say is what you are!"

James agree with that! If you say you are a leader or a teacher but if your speech and your conversations are negative, or untrue, or unkind, you will betray your immature heart.

Leaders lead by example and teacher's lessons are "caught" as they are taught. Words mean things and have powerful significance. Therefore, the words of a teacher must come out of a mature, consecrated, and learned heart. Until then, don't be in a big rush to teach.

How is your heart? How are your words and your speech? What are you willing to do to change?

July 12, 2010

"Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly." James 3:1

I have always had trouble understanding people who are ambitious to be the leader. We see a lot of those these days.

Being shy by nature, I shied away from leadership. Early in my life you could have characterized me as a reluctant leader. It seemed like whenever there was a class election at school I would end up nominated and then once I get nominated I usually got elected.

I think I was elected either class president or vice-president most years from middle school on through college. Some of those years I ran for the office and some years it didn't. It didn't seem to matter.

When I started playing Little League baseball and the coaches started assigning kids positions, they put me at catcher. I sooned learned that the catcher is the leader on the field.

As a basketball player I became a point guard - another leadership position.

Leadership seemed to seek me. I am not boasting I am just sharing how it happened in my life.

By the time I got to college and I knew I would be studying for ministry, I began to embrace leadership since I knew I would one day be called upon to lead a congregation. I recognized how God had His hand on me preparing me to be a leader.

Early in my pastoral ministry I was blessed to gain Dr. John Maxwell as a mentor and a friend. He taught me invaluable lessons about how to lead in a way that honors God and builds churches. While he taught me countless concepts about how to lead, the greatest thing he taught me was the heart of a leader. Like James, he taught that leadership is a sacred responsibility that should be assumed carefully by serious-minded spirit-filled people.

If you want leadership but fail to embrace the responsibility and the accountability, you will set yourself on a path to failure.

You will, in fact, lead. But where will you be leading people? What value will you be adding to their lives?

If you find yourself eager to assume a leadership position make sure you are up for the job. Be careful! Make sure the driving force of your desire for leadership is not motivated by selfish motives. Ask yourself, "Why is it that I find myself desiring this position? Is it out of compassion for others and the desire to help them? Or, do I find myself coveting the power and the prestige of getting in a leadership position?"

Don't be too ambitious to rush into leadership. Allow God to prepare you and submit to a mentor who can shape you into a Godly leader. Don't embrace the responsibility until you are willing to receive the correction, the direction and the accountability to those you serve.

In this day we need as many Godly leaders as He can raise up. But we don't need leaders who are self-promoted for purely carnal motives.

Spend some time today reading over these first verses of chapter three and listen to what God wants to say to you about your leadership.