Wed the 30th

James 3: 9-10

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.

 

There are many things in life that can serve dual purposes. Take salt for example, a little on food and it adds much needed flavor to bland food, yet too much and it will become corrosive, eating through even the toughest steel, or the atom if used correctly can power an entire city, yet in the wrong hands it can destroy the same city that it provided power for. We are not much different, there is a duality to mankind that is as corrosive as salt, and can cause devastation on a personal level that would rival an atomic bomb. Yet in the same way we choose to use these elements, we also choose how to use our most critical gift. The gift of words. We can choose to build up or tear down, we can choose to praise God, or we can curse him. The example that Paul gives is perhaps the best example of our duality, we Praise God, yet curse God’s finest creation, the one creation He set above all others on earth…..our fellow man. Getting ahead in today’s world seems to have changed from the idea that hard work, and loyalty is all you need, to more of a mindset of if I can make everyone else look bad, then I can get ahead and not have to produce as much. As a result more time is spent tearing down and cursing each other, than working towards the goal. We see it at work and we see it in politics, sometimes we might even see it around our house. Do not let yourself fall into that trap! Let your words be full of praise for God, and let your life be an example of hard work, humbleness, and loyalty. Humans cannot serve God, yet backstab their brother. The acidic tongue of the braggart, and the showman, might get noticed for a short while by the world, but it will be the one who stays focused, stays loyal to the goal, and keeps working that will reap the reward of accomplishment from the Lord. Our lives, and our relationships should be a reflection of our relationship with Christ. If a man tears down all that is around him to make himself look taller, why would one suppose that his relationship with the Lord be any different? We cannot ask for God’s grace, yet give none in return, we cannot beg for mercy form our creator, only to skewer our fellow man at the first hint of weakness, but most importantly, we cannot ask for forgiveness, then lord shortcomings over the people in our lives. We all need mercy, we all are weak, and without forgiveness all hope is lost. Let your words reflect the love of Christ. It was Christ who said “whatsoever you do for the least of my brother, that you do unto me”.  May we treat all with the same love that we show Christ.

 

May the love of Christ, and the peace of God be with you,

Brian

 

 

Tuesday the 24th

Ephesians 3:7

 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power.

 

Why? Why do I type these letters, why, do I run my mouth about God? Why do I find myself lost in thought about God and how he works in our lives. I mean really who am I? I took some classes, sure, I read some books, great, but I know what I have done, I know where I have been, and I know that sorry does not go far enough to cover some of the hurt I have inflicted. In short I know who I was, and while it might not be who I am today, I still am left with the question why? The same answer always comes up…. God’s grace. Not because he HAS to but because he LOVES to, not because I deserve it, but because I don’t deserve it. Once God puts his grace and favor on you, there is nothing that you cannot accomplish. That is the catch you know. God’s grace is His gift to us, but our lives are our gift back to him. We are freed from our chains of sin, despair, loss, and death. We are given the freedom to become the all that we possibly can. God’s grace is our freedom, freedom to start again, freedom to draw a line in the sand and say from this point forward I will live differently. I will no longer be bound to the life the world wants, but I will soar to the heights that the Lord has in store. We all go through times where we wonder why me, or am I good enough, or do I deserve this. The answer is always the same. How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed. Acknowledge God’s grace in your life, allow it to propel you forward full of love, and faith, so that all might see Him through your actions. We are children of God, it is never really a question of why, it is a question of why not?

 

Peace ,

 

Brian

 

Tuesday the 22nd

James 1: 22

 

 ²²Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

 

The King James version urges us to be “doers” not just “hearers” What I find interesting is the Greek word used in the text is : poietes ( I had to leave of the accents because of  the different fonts); a performer; specifically a “poet”: - doer, poet. If you have ever been to a play, the ballet, a concert, any where that you are a spectator…or a hearer…..if you think about that, where is the action? On the stage. As you sit in the audience you have no control over the production, you are at the mercy of the performers, you go where they take you, you listen to what they say with no chance to change the dialog. Many of us treat our faith the same way. We make it to Church, we sit among the congregation, we don’t sing much, matter of fact we might find it hard to keep our eyes open, then we set out to finish out our Sunday, fishing, watching football, working in the yard…whatever the case may be. The one thing many of us don’t do is set out to get involved. All too often we don’t take the message into our hearts, we don’t let Gods Word creep in to our lives. Just like when you walk out of the concert hall, or the theater, you have heard, or seen a show, but it stops there. Yet that was not the intention, we are invited to be a performer, we are urged not to sit by and listen, but to jump onto this stage that God has given us, and live out His Word. We are called to take an active role in the greatest production that will ever be shown. TO sit by and just listen robs God of His glory, and it steals the chance for you to take control of the direction in which your part of the play will unfold. We lie to ourselves, and say we can’t make a difference, but God assures us that we can! We are called to action, not so much by rule, not so much by decree, but by love for our brothers and sisters, and thankfulness that Christ gave His life for us. We are given the opportunity to act so that the world might see that There is a way, there is a truth, and there is a light, there is hope, there is redemption, and there is salvation. People can’t see that when you are just sitting there listening, listen to the Word, then get up on that stage and let the world see God’s Word in action!

 

Lord bless,

Brian

 

Monday the 21st

James 1: 19-20

¹⁹My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

I can look back over my life and see that I have never made a good decision when I was angry. Not one, not even close. Typically when I am angry I am thinking about one thing and one thing only……me. It is like that for most people. When we allow ourselves to become angry we are no longer acting, we are reacting, the first response is to fire off the first thing that comes to our mind…….which usually has slipped my the filter in our head….we end up destroying relationships, hurting people, and inflicting pain, all because we have allowed ourselves to become angry. Make no mistake about it, we do allow it, we make the choice, we might not want to admit it, but we do allow it. We let it in, we let that emotion start off as a small little barb, then we help it fester into a burning flame. Once we let that flame get hot enough we let it out, and it burns everyone around us. This is why we should be quick to listen. Really if someone says something that makes you feel the pangs of anger, it is either a false statement, it is the truth and it hurts, or it is something you have no control over. If it is false, why allow that person to hurt you twice? Compose yourself, and your thoughts (slow to speak) then set the record straight, no one listens to a fool shouting their head off, however the person who keeps a level head during difficultly, will be known as someone to listen to, and a liar will always be exposed for what they are. If it is the truth…..well you can’t kill the messenger for delivering the message, own it, and fix it. We all have things in our lives we need to work on, when it is pointed out, there is no need to get upset that you have been called on it. You should recognize that whatever it is…..others are noticing, so you might want to get to work on that! The hardest thing for me was the things we have no control over. I would get so upset, and it was largely due to a feeling of helplessness, I hope you can see where I am going with this one…..we really are not in control of much, place your faith in the Lord, and take things as they come, if you can’t do anything about a situation then wait, if the Lord needs you to help work on it, he will put you in the right place at the right time, until then, listen, watch, but don’t lose your cool over something that you cannot control , trust that God has a plan and whatever happens it will be used for the good in the end. So, be quick to listen…..if you jump to speak, if you blow your top, then how will you hear the voice of the Lord directing you. He usually will not shout over you, HE will wait for you to “play out” and by that time…..well you might have already missed your opportunity to make a difference!

May God bless and keep you,

Brian

Thursday the 17th

James 1: 13-14

 

¹³When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.

 

Remember that old saying “it’s not you….it’s me”? Well in this case it really is you! God allows things into our life, and why not? He did give us free will. While your parents might have stopped you from sticking a fork into an electrical outlet when you were a child, well….. God will let your evil desires lead you. It is free will, that must be what you want right? Here is where many of us lose focus on just how God works in our life. If you want to run wild, and hang from the chandeliers, you go right ahead, there is nothing to stop you, but you. Just don’t blame the Lord for putting that desire into your heart. There is a growing trend in our culture to excuse ourselves of everything, and place the blame onto a scapegoat. God does not serve that purpose in our life. The Lord is our anchor, our foundation, Christ died so that we all might live, but His plan is for us to live a life full of love of God and community. That being said it is easy to see that the one who created us, the one who died for us would never lead us down a path that would destroy us. SO that temptation is not placed there by God, it comes from the very human tendency to return to our comfort zone, the old pair of shoes is always more comfortable than the new ones, nothing fits like a pair of well worn jeans, and no sin calls louder than the sin from our old lives. Just like the old shoes and the old jeans, we have to put our old lives in the trash. While it might have been easier to live in it from an earthly perspective, that life is no longer useful to you, it is old and worn out, your new life will take you the rest of the journey. Just don’t be surprised when you feel that temptation to sneak out to the trash can and pull it out creeps in to your heart! The pangs of temptation are not from God, they are from your old life, the one that was led in darkness, the old life full of all of that old pain, the old despair, and the old selfishness. Recognize it for what it is, and make the choice to leave it in the trash can. The Lord understands what we fight against, he understands far better than we do, however he will not stop you from making that choice. We can take heart in knowing that as we are reminded in 1 Corinthians 10:13” No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” don’t let yourself be drug away by your temptations, you can withstand, you can be more than conquers, we are children of God, he does not tempt us, he will not stop us, but he will ensure that we always have a way out, the question is will you take it?

 

Peace,

Brian

 

 

Tuesday the 15th

James 1:5-6

 

⁵If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ⁶But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

 

You have to believe in yourself and most importantly in God! One piece of scripture that I hear a lot is that “I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me” That is not a suggestion, it is not just a statement, it is a mantra, it is a all encompassing belief that through the risen Christ all things are possible. We are limited, God is not, we are bound by the natural, but God is Supernatural. There is nothing that we can do without him, but there is nothing that we cannot do with him! You have to believe it, you have to eat, live and breath it. It is not something that you do with half a heart, you believe it 100%. Yet here is where we so often stumble! And why not, it is not surprising is it? Think of Peter going out to meet Jesus on the water. All was going well but Peter had a moment of doubt, and he started to sink. And he cries out for Jesus to save him. Of course Jesus does but he asks Peter  "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" Could you imagine? Jesus is right there, hand out and even then Peter still had doubt! SO this is our struggle, to stay focused on the Lord, not on the waves! Paul tells us not to doubt, if you do not doubt….. then you expect, and that is the switch that we need to make. We have to learn to go from living our lives hoping things are going to get better, and start living our lives expecting them to get better. Not because of what we do, but because of what God does. Our lives improve because we acknowledge that all things are in fact possible for God, and we know….we don’t doubt…….we expect that God will provide the way, the sustenance, the light, the grace needed for the journey. God will give, and he does give generously! Now let me point out that God gives what we need, not what we want, but have no doubt, God will give you what you need, and if you will put forth the faith, if you will supply the effort, he will deliver every time. Don’t be blown and tossed by the wind, hold fast to your beacon, and your foundation, the Lord will provide.

 

Peace,

Brian

Friday the 11th

I wrote this earlier in the week, but thought I would pass it on to this group as well.

 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

  ⁴ I always thank my God for you because of God's grace given to you in Christ Jesus, ⁵ that by Him you were made rich in everything—in all speaking and all knowledge — ⁶ as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you, ⁷ so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁸ He will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful; by Him you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

We all have Spiritual gifts. They lie inside of us waiting to be set free. If you think you don’t have any, or don’t know why it is not just jumping forth I will let you in on a little secret…..it is kinda scary to let them out….there I said it. It is the truth though, one we might not like to say out loud but,  we know what we excel at, we know what we are good at, and we can all see how our gifts could be used to support, praise, and magnify the Lord, but we keep them tucked town inside, we say things like ohhh I can’t, or what would people say? We worry about how it will affect our worldly relationships….I mean really….people might think you were one of those Jesus Freaks!  We worry more about our fellowship with society, than our fellowship with the Lord. The gifts are there, we just have to let them out. For us to truly discover what our gifts are, we have to give them a chance to blossom. I will be quite honest and say one of the scariest things I ever did was start writing about the Lord. See the writing led to talking, and the talking led to preaching. Why was it scary? Well….honestly I was worried about what people who knew me would think. I mean really….I am a cradle Catholic…..well a recovering Catholic now but most of my religious peers have a looooong nose to look down when you start talking about bible based churches, or use that nasty word non-denominational. Sure enough though, I let a little bit of that gift out, and there was no looking back. Guess what, the vast majority welcomed it, matter of fact many people tell me that I have helped them feel more comfortable talking to God themselves. But I had to let that gift out. Honestly I knew it all along, I knew good and well what my gift was….running my mouth! I don’t know if you have noticed, but I can talk/ write a blue streak sometimes! It was just a matter of my applying that gift to the ends that it was meant for which of course is glorifying God. Each and every one of us has  gifts that are waiting inside of us. God does not make second rate product, he makes spectacular works of art! If you are thinking that you do not have a gift, rest assured you are mistaken. The candy company might forget to put the prize in the cracker jack box, sometimes you might not get that gift with the happy meal, but make no mistake about it, there are gifts inside of you, God put them there, we are his children, why would he not give us more to offer than we ever imagined, why would he not make us better than we think we are? Would you deny your own child…. Your own family? Of course not!  We are not lacking except in what we allow ourselves to be lacking in. open your hearts, your eyes, and your mind. Your gift to the world is banging at the door, let it out, all it needs is just a small chance to be allowed to grow. Give it the chance! 

 

Peace,

Brian