Proverbs 15:28 2/25/2020*

“The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.”

What is the difference between weighing an answer and letting it gush out of your mouth?....

The difference is control…in one instance you are controlling your mouth, in the other your mouth is controlling you….

Our hearts and our mouths are connected…We have all experienced times when we have talked ourselves into a rage. We get on a roll and the more we talk the angrier we become.

That is an example of our mouth gushing wickedness and sweeping our emotions along in the flow.

This verse says that’s evil…

Instead we should think before we speak… weigh our answers…consider well our responses.

That is a difficult instruction - that for most people will require great change.

First you must listen to understand… not to respond. In order to weigh your answer, you need facts…listening is how you find them.

Second it requires humility…If you are already sure you are right, there is no need to listen… you are simply waiting for your opponent to take a breath so you can correct them.

Finally, it takes a desire to find the truth, and the patience to search for it.  Today we want sound bites and instant responses. But a righteous heart pursues truth and has the patience to seek it out.

As a young adult, I would sometimes ask my father complex questions … He would often respond, “let me think about that and get back to you”

He would weigh his answer …. there was a quality required of a response before he would allow it to pass through his lips…and hence his advice was always solid. As those of you who knew him know, you could always count on wisdom and truthfulness in his answers.

What if we did that…. What if we decided that today we would require a higher standard of our responses? What would change if we insisted on weighing our answers before allowing them to gush out of our mouths?

Try it for 24 hours…. It may seem simple – but scripture indicates it will be a life changing adjustment that brings wisdom and righteousness to your walk.

“We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.”
 – James 3:2

Romans 5:8 2/18/2020*

“But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Most of us are familiar with this verse and probably learned it when we were young... But have you considered it as an adult? It is a powerful statement that unfortunately loses impact with familiarity.

Read it again as though you’ve never read it before…It is astonishing.

This world does not contain that kind of love. You and I don’t forgive people who are not sorry for what they’ve done.  We demand remorse and change before we even consider allowing someone who has offended us back into our circle.

However, this verse says God loves you so much that He allowed His Son to be sacrificed for you while you were not only - unapologetic - but still actively sinning against Him.

You weren’t sorry for what you did…and you were still doing it.  Yet, as you broke God’s heart – He gave His Son for your redemption.

Think about that. Think about loving someone so much that while they were attacking you – you were finding a way to save them… That is God’s love for you.

That is why legalism and thinking you have earned His love is so offensive.  He loved you while you were rejecting Him. He doesn’t love us because we obey Him - we obey Him because He loves us.

If you can grasp that concept it changes everything… it is the difference in pulling a string - and pushing one… trying to earn His love produces frustration and bitterness…if you are grateful and secure in His love - it produces spontaneous obedience from a joyful heart… It is life altering.

Understanding that God loved us while we didn’t deserve it - removes anxiety, fear, and depression and produces stability, courage, and discipline.  Grasping this truth produces security that is offered nowhere else.

Accept the unconditional love that God is offering you today.  Understand it is a gift and live in that freedom. Let the truth of His stubborn love fill your heart so full that you can’t help but splash it out on everyone you meet.

“Here's the paradox. We can fully embrace God's love only when we recognize how completely unworthy of it we are.”
― Ann Tatlock

James 4: 13-16 2/11/2020*

“Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.”

This verse doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make plans, but it deals with the attitude you should have when you make them.  

An impatient and arrogant heart can lead to two fatal flaws.

First – God has you where you are right now for a reason. “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118-24) -. Too often we allow our plans for tomorrow, to cause us to miss our purpose for today.

Be where you are …You have divine appointments today so open your eyes – It is possible to miss the reason you’re here - when you are always headed somewhere else…Seek His Will today - deal with tomorrow, tomorrow.

Secondly – Pride is misleading…. It is absurd for us to think we can predict the future. We don’t control tomorrow, and thinking we do is prideful…  and scripture says that is the emotion that appears right before destruction. (Prov. 16:18)

Proverbs also says, “A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory is of the LORD.”  - So, make plans…Do everything you can to “prepare your horse for battle”…but in your heart, understand that God is in control.

Great planners have great humility. They understand their limitations and constantly seek the wisdom and direction of the Lord. Adjusting for His Will, not their egos.

If you don’t do this, your “great plans” are just arrogant schemes…Be sure that when you make plans you seek God’s blueprint?…not your desires. This life is a mist, and if your focus is on temporary vanity, your plans will vanish as your life will…Be single minded and make sure that eternity is your focus.

Determine to not waste today planning for tomorrow. And when you do make plans, seek your Father, so you can move forward with certainty based on His all-knowing plan…not your uninformed schemes.

“When your will is God's will, you will have your will.”
- Charles Spurgeon

1 Corinthians 11:1 2/4/2020*

“Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”

Most of us wouldn’t be comfortable making that statement. But it is false humility that causes us to confuse that discomfort with modesty.

It is actually laziness and lack of commitment on our part. Paul is setting the bar for our lives - and if we can’t make this statement we are missing the mark.

There is no arrogance here…He is not saying “I am perfect so you should do everything I do”…He is saying “My heart belongs completely to Christ and that motivates my every step, and it should be the same for you”.

Jesus instructs us to “be perfect as God is perfect” …His sacrifice on the cross occurred because He knew we would fail… but it is not there to make us comfortable with that failure.

The goal is the goal…the bar is set, and we are to be satisfied with nothing less.

If you have accepted Jesus as your savior - but not your Lord -  that should cause you to question …If you are not striving for perfection and you don’t desire to stop heaping sin on His shoulders then you have missed something.

But if your pursuing Jesus why aren’t you comfortable saying “imitate me as I imitate Christ”?...  Are you worried you will stumble?…Don’t be … If you do,  humbly confess – repent and ask for forgiveness …. That is the essence of the gospel, and those who watch you can learn to imitate that as well.

Here is the deal…You might as well get comfortable quoting this verse because it is going to happen anyway…If God puts people in your life for you to mentor they are going to imitate you as you imitate Christ…and that is an awesome responsibility…embrace it.

Don’t lower the bar with your false humility and sluggishness…Run hard after God so that those following you will have to do the same to keep up.

We are called to make disciples, and disciples are made with words that are backed up by actions - so get busy. Christianity is a full-time job. Accept the challenge and like Paul, imitate Christ to the level that you are spreading the gospel with every word you say, and every step you take.

“Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.”
- St. Francis of Assisi.