The Importance of Pacing Yourself When Leading People Towards Christ

I LOVE leading and I LOVE making disciples.

It's one of those passions where you could just do it for eternity because it is such a joy. Not to discount the difficulties it brings, but it really is a lot of fun.

I recently came across this little piece of advice in a book I'm reading. In short, it was basically "lead people at their own pace."

Many times, I (and if you are anything like me, YOU) have charged ahead with our passion, drive, and seemingly unending energy towards our goals, all the while intending to bring certain people with us on the journey. But when we get to our goal, we look back and it appears everyone has given up because they couldn't keep up with the pace at which we charged forward.

You been there?

I have...

Many times.

I remember one particular example.

I had led this girl who knew nothing about the Christian faith to Christ over the course of four one-hour meetings (hint hint). Once I had, I moved on and tried to find someone else to lead to Christ, missing out on the value of making a self-sustaining believer. A few months later, her faith dwindled out was gone under the lack of discipleship and good example.

Realization hit.

I had gone too fast...

And there was no going back.

How do we avoid creating this demoralizing and difficult scenario?

JOG, DON'T SPRINT.

Now, don't get me wrong, there are times in life to sprint, but that is ten percent of the time. The other ninety percent, we need to be patiently jogging alongside those who are weaker than us. This is what Paul has to say on the matter.

"We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves." Romans 15:1

This has two main applications.


1. Leading People to Christ

When working with someone to help them learn about the Christian faith for the ultimate goal of seeing them give their life to Jesus, understand that more often than not, there pace is going to be different than yours.

Take it upon yourself to give them what they need to hear and know, not what you would like to tell them. Learn about who they are, where they are at in the process of surrendering, and from there, with prayer and discernment, decide before meeting what some things they need to understand are. Not always, but often times what they need to hear at this stage is painfully basic.


2. Discipling People who Know Christ

When working with someone to teach them what it looks like to live a Christian life and dedicate every area of their life to Jesus, pacing is equally important. Realize, in most cases, this is not going to be a two month process, but usually a several year, if not a life-long journey.

You will be disappointed at times. They will not be completing the challenges you asked of them, they will not be moving at the pace you desired.

Remember though, as long as there is any amount of forward momentum, no matter how small, YOU are making a difference.


Just....


Pace yourself.

The 1 Needed Realization to Stop Sinning

I keep sinning.

And I'm sick of it.

Seriously....seriously...sick of it.

Let's talk.

Sometimes I wonder, why, if I am a saint now who has the Holy Spirit and the very righteousness of God, do I still sin? Not only do I still sin, but I sin willingly, consciously, and consistently!

I've often found myself wondering at if I am a true believer because I can't seem to let go of my sin struggles and be a holy and righteous person, so what gives? Why can't I (and I'm willing to bet, YOU) quit sinning, are we doing something wrong, or was God's plan for us to be committed to Him, but still dominated by our sin life?

What have we tried already that hasn't worked?

Stopping.

We have tried stopping. We have tried committing to never sinning again cold-turkey. Did it work?

Nope.

Why?

Because usually when we just stop cold-turkey, we are addressing the symptom, not the source. You see, our sin struggles are not the issue. They are simply a symptom of the issue.

Romans 1:18 says, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth."

Romans chapter 1 discusses the fact that every person, deep down inside their soul, is aware of almighty God. It then goes on to say that unrighteousness suppresses that truth.

Did you catch that?

Your sins suppress the truth of God inside of you.

I'm not talking about other people seeing you sin and the truth being suppressed in some third person sort of way. I'm talking about YOU.

When you sin, you suppress what you know to be true about God.

Well, that begs the question, what does it mean to suppress? Think about a gun with a silencer (or suppressor) on it. You've seen the movies, why do they have a suppressor on their gun? So that no one else hears the gunshot. So that it quiets the truth of what is happening.

Now apply this to your own life. Realize that not only do your sins suppress your ability to feel the reality of God in your life, but you sin in order to suppress the reality of God in your life.

Why?

Because you don't realize how good the reality of God in your life is.

The problem with sin isn't the sin itself. The problem is that is quiets the truth inside you.

Ultimately, a love problem. A problem with not realizing God's love for you because it has been suppressed for so long. 

You don't have a lust problem, a drug problem, a marriage problem, an alcohol problem, a gossip problem.

YOU have a LOVE problem.

So how do we stop sinning? How do break the pattern of sin that we seriously hate?

Seriously...through LOVE.

We stop creating a habitual sin by stopping the suppression of the truth inside of us and realizing the love God has for us.

God is infinitely more interesting, more flattering, more loving, than any sin you could indulge in. But until you experience the reality of that, you will continue suppressing the truth.

But know this.

God is better. 

The First Step to Telling Someone About Jesus

So you wanna help people come to know Jesus?

Great!

I'm here to help.

How are you supposed to persuade someone to come to know Jesus? Well, there isn't any magic formula (and theologically speaking, God brings people to himself using us, we don't really do a whole lot), but practically speaking, we want to know what the best things to say to someone is when they are thinking about accepting Jesus into their life.

Many people will tell you that you should study Christian apologetics (the defenses of the Christian faith).

But guess what...

It doesn't work.

Why?

Because people don't reason their way to God, they have an experience with God. C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity talks about how man is unlikely to  "reason themselves to God," but rather it is more likely that they have an encounter with God which surpasses reason.

Apologetics is good for teaching people who are ready to believe, but not for bringing the unbeliever to faith in Christ.

So where does that leave us?

Right here.

"For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power." - 1 Corinthians 1:17

Imagine that you were bringing news to your parents that you are going to have a baby (or your significant other is for all you men out there), you might try to reveal the news in a clever way, but the reality is, if you simply told them that you were going to have a baby, the same amount of excitement would be instilled.

Why?

Because it's not the way the news is presented that makes it powerful, but the news itself.

That is the way the gospel is.

The gospel does not need to be (in fact, it shouldnt!) presented with "words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power," but rather presented as you would any exciting news.

You wouldn't reason with someone that there really is a baby in your stomach (women, that is), you would simply say "here are my experiences, thus there is a baby in my stomach." We should do the same with the gospel.

"Here are my experiences, thus faith in Jesus is satisfying."

Share YOUR faith. Share YOUR experiences. Share YOUR passion.

Only when people see YOUR excitement about the gospel, will the gospel seem more real than ever before.

Experience is more powerful than reason.

So stop reasoning, and start experiencing.

Jesus' Response to Temptation: Bread Ain't Enough

What's the longest period of time you've gone without eating? One hour? Two hours? A few days maybe?

Well believe it or not, in the book of Matthew, we read that Jesus fasted for forty days!

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, and after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry." Matthew 4:1-2

Go and ask a medical professional how long a person can live without food, you'll find that it is right about at forty days, maybe even thirty depending on the person. Here Jesus is, no food in his stomach for thirty days, no doubt weak and hungry but thriving off of the Spirit of God. And here comes a new character onto the set.

Satan.

He see's Jesus and he must be thinking, "ah! He is weak, he is hungry. Now is the time he shall fall and no longer be adequate as the son of God!" But alas Satan, let me turn your eyes to the truth and reality of the gospel.

"For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:10

Friends, do you realize that in the midst of hardship, in the mire and the difficulty, in the seasons where death is ripe and life is dim, where love is mute and hate is loud, do you realize that these are the times we Christians shine best? That these are the times we are at our strongest?

Many people will say "ah, but I am only strong when I shall have much money and much worldly satisfaction." Than you do not belong to Christ. Those who belong to Christ are satisfied with Christ. Those who belong to Christ become strong in the pit of darkness, in the den of wolves.

We dare you Satan to push us into the tomb, into sickness and despair, for their, our triumph awaits.

What is it that Satan decides to tempt Jesus with? Listen on.

"And the tempter came and said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.'"

How many times has Satan come to you in your time of weakness and offered an escape? But we do not wish to escape from our weakness Satan! For it binds us to Christ! But many have taken him up on his offer. Many have attempted to abandon their weakness to a place of momentary satisfaction.

You aren't getting sex from your spouse so you have an affair or turn to pornography. You feel overwhelmed with work so you turn to a few pain pills here and there. You aren't satisfied so you constantly thirst for more and work yourself into the grave.

Look at Jesus' response.

"But he answered, 'It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes form the mouth of God.'"

Substitute your own struggle. Man shall not live by work alone. Man shall not live by money alone. Man shall not live by sex alone. Man shall not live by food alone. Man shall not live by video games alone.

So what do we live by? Every single syllable of the breath of God. Every ounce of beauty that pours forth from our creators mouth.

Next time Satan shows up to tempt you and your weak, your in bad shape, and your disappointed in yourself.

Think "I do not live by what you are offering Satan. I live by the breath of God. A beautiful and satisfying breath."

3 Necessary Principles for Running (and winning) a Race

There you are.

You see the blanks-loaded gun cocked and ready to fire. You eagerly wait for that POP to set you on your way.

You take off sprinting, adrenaline pumping, heart pounding with excitement and intrigue. You keep running, but your more tired, the finish line seems to be getting farther away rather than closer.

You feel as though something is holding you back.

What is it?

You look down and realize the whole race you have unintentionally been strapping weights to yourself. You also notice that the gun had never gone off and you had taken off too early. The race hadn't even begun. Because of these factors, the finish line no longer looks as greatly appealing as it did in the beginning.

And thus we have a disqualified runner.

Visit 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 with me.

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep in under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."

Let's check out some principles for race-running.


1. Wait.

Seems a bit interesting to start with this principle but I believe that it is critical for Christian's to learn to wait on God and his drawing.

Here's Isaiah 40:31

"But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."

That's truth. So why don't we experience that as Christians? Could it be because we aren't waiting for the Lord to speak? Could it be that we have our own agenda for where we see our life going and we haven't taken a moment to sit with God and see what he has to speak to us?

I believe the reason that we don't experience such endurance in our life as Christians is because we are never waiting upon God. We are never waiting for the divine POP. We rather began running without direction and without guidance and end up more lost than we were in the first play.

Do you feel tired, out of energy, at the end of your rope?

It's time to wait upon the Lord and be renewed.


2. Get rid of excess weight.

What a hilarious sight it would be to see a race where the runners run carrying as much weight as each one can bare. Think that's hilarious? Well imagine that the rules don't even say the runners have to carry excess weight!

I can't help but imagine that the audience would be harassing the poor fellow to get rid of his weights. And let's be honest, they are right. It is ridiculous to be carrying extra weight while everyone else races on ahead of you. There are a few reasons someone may do this.
                        
                          1. You don't actually take the race seriously

                          2. You look at it as mere training, not the real thing

I believe that many Christians are running with excess weight; our sin. Folks, the rules say we don't have to be using these excess weights. Now does a person with excess weight get anywhere in a race? Of course they do! But not as far, not as fast, and not as long.

2 Peter 1:3 "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness"

Get rid of it.


3. Look to the Prize

Perhaps most important is this principle. Don't take your eyes off the prize. Runners run only for the prize. And I believe that when we enter into that heavenly kingdom where the runners are crowned for their striving, there will be cheering and joy from our glorious savior and the angles.

Don't lose sight of how glorious the prize of eternal intimate relationship with Jesus is. To lose sight of this is to be disqualified altogether. Keep running, but be sure your running the right direction; towards the correct prize.


This race is long, but pass the finish line is immensely longer, and that time depends on what you are doing right now. So apply these principles when needed in order to finish the race and hear the words

"Well done, my good and faithful servant."

This Is Your Prognosis

"You have two weeks to live."

When that prognosis comes your way, how are you going to act differently? When what we all dread most has come right up to your door step and is knocking and you must open the door; the moments before death greets you, what is it that you will boast about?

There a plenty of songs and movies produced trying to push a "live every day like it's your last" mentality. I can't say I disagree with this premise.

Who were the first people who heard the words, "your dying"? Adam and Eve. God came to them after they had disobeyed him and as punishment, said "For you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19). We don't see much about their response. I imagine they must have been struck with some amount of fear. For what does it look like to not exist in the form we have always existed in? No one really knows.

Interestingly, just a chapter later, the first murder occurs, which couldn't happen if death and sin didn't exist. Personally, I would have assumed that the second sin recorded would have been something like lust or idolatry, but not murder. That seems like such a fast progression.

The very punishment that we are forced by God to endure is used and abused by Cain in chapter 4 of genesis, and still today by many disturbed individuals.

Adam and Eve got their prognosis.

But did Abel get his prognosis? Did someone come up to him and say your going to die today? No. But he knew he was going to die, surely his parents made him aware of this as we are made aware of it today. Abel's death was sudden, unexpected. It couldn't have possibly been prepared for. Could it?

I like to sweep death to the side just as much as the next guy, but the sooner we embrace the facts, the more honest a life we will live. We are going to die.

The difference between you and someone who is told by a doctor that they are going to live only two more weeks is....well, there is no difference. You could die in two weeks just as easily as the next person. Do you wanna live your life for God, or push death to the side, die in ignorance, and regret every step you took in life?

This is your prognosis.

Business And The Modern Day Pharisee

I remember my transition from High-School to college. Ahhh...the glory of no bells that ring, no parents that yell, and all-you-can-eat food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

College seemed significantly easier to me than High-School was and it took me some time to put my finger on why that was. Eventually I came to the realization that College had less "Busy Work." You know? That work intended to keep a classroom full of high-school students busy and free from learning. That work that had no value other than giving the teacher a well-deserved (under most circumstances) break.

Matthew 12:38-39 says, "Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, 'Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.' But he answered them, 'An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."

This is one of multiple times that the Pharisees get rejected by Jesus when they request signs from him. Why? After-all, Jesus could just show them a sign, that doesn't seem like a whole lot to ask for from the creator of the universe.

Jesus only had so much time.

He wasn't about to waste his time on busy work. The Pharisees were people who had neglected all of his signs thus far and were so caught up in their own "righteousness" that all of the signs he had already produced were completely ignored.

For Jesus, this was "Busy Work."

Life has a way of distracting us; of manipulating us.

You only have so much time.

Do you let life distract you? Are you caught up in your job, or your next big success? So caught up that your next step forward in your relationship with God has been set on the back-burner?

We are foolish people. We invest our lives in little successes here and there to only find ourselves damned to hell at the end of our life. Is it worth it to you? If it is, then continue in your way, find yourself not dedicating your life to God, not investing your life in other people, not resting in the easy arms of Jesus.

For you, this is "Busy Work."

The person who invests there life in success; in busy work, is the finest of pharisees.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves."

Are you busy?

Priceless Security in Jesus

Are you ever amused by the people surrounding you? As I type this, I can't help but smirk every once and a while a three older women across the coffee shop from me discuss local problems, problems with their husbands, and topics of such unimportance that it would fascinate even the most dull of human beings. But beyond that, beyond the gossip and the problem-solving lies something greater that is in these women's eyes.

Sorry, one of them just said, "you would have had your fanny kicked if you wouldn't have bought that."

Priceless.

Anyways, beyond the gossip and the problem solving lies something greater that we all desire. Something that we all long for, that these women seem to have found at this moment, though I believe it to fade within moments.

You see, the conversation amongst them is swiftly changing topics; from clothes to husbands to politics.  And each one of them desires to talk. To me, it appears there is a great sense of excitement and satisfaction as one of them begins a new topic, but as the topic drifts from what one of them desires it to be on, there is a slight change in demeanor. They seem to be troubled that the conversation is no longer focused on the wisdom they have to offer, but it has transferred to another person in the room, causing them insecurity in who they are.

Now they are debating whether it's proper to refer to them as "Pine-cones, or Fir-cones"

Because in a group of two, there is one other person to focus on. But in a group of three, there are moments of insecurity when the conversation is more focused on two people, and the third is left feeling insecure.

#Beentherefeltthat

However, even in the little things, there is freedom in Christ. The Bible says that

"Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?" - Galatians 4:8-9

You are secure!

Be confident in the Jesus who walked towards that cross with love in his heart.

That is your purpose.

Go live it.

Show Me Where You Laid Him

I have been itching to write or speak on John Chapter 11. And I believe the Spirit has prompted me too strongly today to resist the urge.

John Chapter 11 is about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. It is a powerful and amazing story that God uses to show us what Jesus did with each and every one of us.

"Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha."

Verse 3, "So the sisters sent to him, saying, 'Lord, he whom you love is ill.'"

Here we got Jesus in a town separate from that which Lazarus is in, Lazarus bedded down to die, and his two sisters desperately looking for Jesus to come and make him well.

What is Jesus' wise decision after the sisters tell him this?

To stay where he is at for two days. (verse 6)

But after these two days, Jesus prompts the disciples to depart with him to Bethany where Lazarus is.

The disciples reply "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?"

Thomas goes so far to say "Let us also go, that we may die with him." (verse 16)

Please realize something as we read this. Bethany, where Jesus was headed back to was a place that him and the disciples just left because the Jews were trying to stone him there. And if you look at the progression of events in this section of scripture, we find that immediately, in chapter 12, because of Jesus return to Bethany and his raising Lazarus from the dead, the Jews begin to plot how to kill Jesus.

Ultimately, Jesus return to Bethany to raise Lazarus leads to his crucifixion.

Now Jesus and his disciples go to Bethany. Mary and Martha express some amount of frustration with Jesus because they say "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

How many times have we cried this out? Lord, if you had been here, my finances wouldn't be in the garbage. Lord if you had been here, I wouldn't have gotten cancer. Can you believe today that God is near, and perhaps that doesn't always look how you would like it to?

Let me skip forward a bit.

After conversing with the Mary and Martha for some time. Jesus asks this simple question.

"Where have you laid him?" And he immediately weeps.

There is much debate about why Jesus cried, but may I suggest today that it wasn't just because Lazarus was dead. Jesus after-all knew that he was going to be raised. But may I suggest that Jesus wept because he knew that there was a cost in coming to raise Lazarus, and that cost was his crucifixion. That Jesus knew, in returning to Bethany and raising Lazarus from the dead, he wept under the burden of knowing he must die in order to do this.

And may I be so bold as to suggest further that Jesus has said this about every single person who is someone "whom he loves." That Jesus has said "show me where you laid him" and began to weep knowing that in raising you out of your trespasses and sins, he was going to suffer a most brutal death.

Do you believe we were dead in our trespasses and sins? If you have accepted Jesus, be confident that at one moment, Jesus spoke to God the Father, asked "where have you laid him/her" and wept on his way to your tomb, knowing that in raising you to life, he must pay your price.

The Community of Christians Saving One-Another

"My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins." - James 5:19-20

Today, I was looking through some of my yearbooks from high-school. It brought back some memories of friends who helped me keep the Christian faith as I walked through the pleasantries and difficulties of high-school. As I now look into these peoples lives who once followed the faith, many of them have fallen away.

So let's bring these people back. Many times, we like to help people accept Jesus but then we won't help them follow Jesus. We need to remain in these peoples lives so that when they fall, there is someone there to help them get back up.

We all know these people who used to be Christians and (often times) because of a lack of Christian support behind them, they gave up on Christ all-together. Let's do our part and lift one-another up today and every day.

Here are some ways to do this.

1. Schedule to meet someone for coffee who is struggling in their faith and take that time to listen to them and encourage them.

2. Be friendly. You would be amazed how many people you cross every day that you make or break their day. Decide to make it and invest time in everyone.

3. Listen. Listening is important because it shows people that you care. Listen to someone today and forget about your own agenda.

Let's Run this Race Together

"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayers of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit." - James 5:13-18

Ah, so we have come to some of my favorite scripture in James. Lets discover together what rich application is within these verses.

Isn't it so much more simple than many of us make it? If we are suffering, we should pray; if we are cheerful, we should sing praises; if we are sick, we should have church family pray over us and....anoint us with oil?

Let's first explain this anointing with oil business. Interestingly, anointing with oil back in the time of Jesus (as we like to refer to it) was a symbol of love and respect (see Jesus' anointing in Luke 7:36-40). Thus why church family would practice this during a person's time of weakness (the Greek word translated "sick" literally means "weak"); to show their support.

This scripture testifies to the power and importance of prayer, but most importantly, to the importance of union, love, and support within the body of Christ. By confessing our sins to one another, praying for one another, rejoicing together, anointing one another, we save each-other. This community of love is truly what makes this Christian life livable. Persecution, addiction, and pain is hard to go through, but together we can bare it. If we all pick up our crosses and follow Jesus, we might be surprised to find that this walk together truly is the easy yoke.

1. Start or join a group. If your not part of a church, join one (or start one!). And if you are part of a church, get more involved, start an accountability group, a ministry group, or a Bible study group. Don't like leading? Than join one that already exists!

2. Make Christian friends. If you don't have Christian friends, you are in a bad spot to be in. Sure, you can hold relationships with non-Christians, but the deep relationships that are as family need to be Christ-centered.

3. Start praying for the Christian body. We need to be praying for each-other. Seriously. In Acts, Peter is released from prison because of the Church's prayers lifted up to God (Acts 12:5-19). Find a friend in need (or anyone at anytime because we are needy people) and pray for him/her earnestly.

Blessings.

Being a Reliable Christian

"But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your 'yes' be yes and your 'no' be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation." - James 5:12

Christians need to be reliable people. If we tell someone we are going to be somewhere at sometime, we need to be there. If we tell someone we are going to pay them back, we need to pay them back. A Christian's word should be reliable and trustworthy.

Granted that James also tells us that rather than telling people we will do something, we should make known to them the contingency that the in order for us to do it, the Lord must will it (James 4:13-17).

I know this isn't a whole lot but it really is a simple principle and I don't want to over-complicate things. Here are three practical ways to live reliably.

1. Don't say yes so much. Many of us, including myself, say yes to everyone because there is a certain level of guilt created when we say no. But the reality is that in order to be reliable as James says, we must say no sometimes. So get off your yes-man horse and start saying no (lovingly).

2. Mark things on a calendar. It's easy to forget about an appointment or agreement you made to someone so mark it on your calendar or put an alarm in your phone right when the agreement is made.

3. Stay focused. A lot of times we fill our lives up with things that we aren't actually passionate about simply because the opportunity provided itself. Say no to opportunities that you aren't passionate about and say yes to those you are.

Blessings.

Changing Your Character, Not Your Performance

"Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful." - James 5:7-11

Do you feel like the world around you is falling apart? Like you have no sense of direction and you have began to simply float through life uncared for and unaided?

Me too.

There are so many things to worry about in this life, aren't there? My job, my wife, my finances, but you know what I worry about the most? That what I'm doing today, right now isn't pleasing God. That I should be doing something profound, like healing people miraculously or speaking in tongues in front of a huge crowd. Sure, those things have there place, but we have forgotten something:

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

In your household, do you treat your kids, your wife, and yourself like Jesus? Do you build up with your words and not tear down? Truly, it is the little things in life that matters (or what seems to be the little things). Do you love your Christian brothers and sisters as your should or do you gossip about them in your free time?

Be patient.

Quit being anxious about if what you are doing is for God, and make what you are doing be for God. I may be washing the dishes, but how many prayers could I offer up to God in that amount of time? And perhaps I expect my wife to repay me, forget about it.

Take these steps to change your character in life to being a steadfast Christian, and quit wishing you were one. As someone told me today,

"Nothing is hard, it's just learning to do it."

So may the community of Christians together learn to live steadfastly under the rule and love of God.

1. Add some discipline into your life. Most of the time, adding discipline in one area of your life will quickly drip into others areas and create a domino effect. Wake up early to read your Bible, start exercising, or simply sit for ten or twenty minutes to "be still and know that [He] is God."

2. Get healthy. Many people today deny the fact that physical wellbeing directly effects spiritual wellbeing. Well, it does, whether you choose to believe it or not. God created the two to be deeply intertwined and until we get a handle on our physical bodies and learn to "die to them" every day, our spiritual life will be quite difficult. Eat healthy, exercise, and go on walks.

3. Start your day with some silence. We don't like to be still and be in silence because than we are faced with ourselves (and nobody wants to sit down and think of all the wrong they did and how they can improve). In fact, we prefer to crowd our lives with noise so that we don't have to examine ourselves but can continue living in sin. So start out your day by grabbing a cup of coffee (of course), your Bible, and the peace and quiet that comes with a rising sun and be focused on God, whatever that looks like for you.

Be patient.

Blessings.

Love the Poor

"Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you." James 5:1-6

This is a difficult passage for me, and I think it should be the same for ninety percent of the American population. Why? Because James is specifically addressing the rich. "Come now, you rich." And, as we all know, America is incredibly rich. So perhaps this is a good time for our ears to perk up and hear what James has to say.

"Weep and howl..."

Not looking very promising...

"Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten..."

*Nonchalant Whistling*

"Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire."

Crap.

Is being rich wrong? Nope. Think of King David, I'm betting he wasn't the poorest in town, and yet God had a deep and enduring relationship with him. You don't have to be poor to have a relationship with God, and you don't have to be rich either. Why does James condemn these rich people then? Because of their greed and their fraud. Being rich is indeed a temptation, thus why Jesus says that it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle (of course all things are possible with God), but being rich is not a sin in itself.

What then must we do? Whether we are rich or poor, glorify God. Do this my living humbly.

1. Take some money out of your budget this month solely for either giving to a good cause or for giving more personally to someone who struggles financially or has given up altogether. Jesus did this, and we need to mirror that.

2. Think of a fun way for you and your friends to go and feed, minister, and love on the needy. Whether it is a shelter or a hospital, many people only think of doing these things and never actually do them.

3. And perhaps most importantly, QUIT JUDGING THE POOR. They are people just like you and me, you would be surprised at the friendships you can make by treating them like real human beings.

Blessings.

Scheduling Wisely

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” - James 4:13-17

Isn’t wealth a great thing? Getting to make money, spend money, and thus continues the circle of life. Or...not. Not to say that money is a bad thing, but the goal of money is a bad thing, unless the goal of money leads to a more ultimate goal, like going on a missions trip (which costs a lot of money). 

Let’s figure this out. Is there anything wrong with planning? No...and yes. The problem isn’t so much the planning as it is the dependence upon successful planning. Last time you got angry because your day didn’t go the way you had planned was due  to dependence upon successful planning. We humans think we know whats coming next and thus think we can always make successful plans, but we can’t. 

Go ahead, plan. Come up with ideas about how to be successful, make a business, invent something, start a church, start a bible study. These are all good things, but they are evil if you are depending upon successful planning, because a good percentage of the time, what you plan is going to fail. That doesn’t mean don’t plan, it means don’t depend upon the plans success. Expect that your plan may fail and be willing to accept that and move on. 

Honestly, what does it matter anyway? Your nobody special. Get over yourself and accept that you are simply waiting your turn in line to die. It’s what you do while your in line that matters. 

Get to work. 

Depend upon the Lord, not upon your plans. Here are some way to make this part of your life.

1. Don’t be too risky. While their are always exceptions to the rule, a good general guideline to live by is to not be too risky. Don’t quit your job till you have another one. Being too risk with your decisions can cause you to depend more upon the outcome of the situation than upon God’s providence. 

2. God is your Father. Remind yourself regularly that God is your father. He is in control, he has planned for what’s going on, and you aren’t in control. Get over yourself, and make God a bigger part of your life. The more you understand that God is in control and he makes everything ultimately lead to good will put into perspective the “bad” things that go wrong with your planning.

3. Be flexible. Don’t engrave your schedule in a stone, but write it on a calendar with a pencil (that has an eraser). Remember, life is an adventure, be willing to change your plans and be willing to have your plans changed. God is a good God and he will be with you. 

Don’t worry so much.

Blessings. 

How to Love God's Children

“Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?” - James 4:11-12

Reaffirming the truth that we need to be slow to speak, James now tells us how serious an offense it is to “speak evil” against a fellow Christian.

Let’s take a look.

From previous blog posts, we know that if you speak evil against a person, you have just indirectly spoke evil against the creator of the person because, well, he created them. Get it? (For more, check out my blog post titled “Shut it”). We know a person insults God if they insult his creation (any person), but what if we insult his children? Ouch. If someone tells me the house I built is a piece of crap (assuming I had been trained in house-building), I would take a fair amount of offense, but probably still go home that night, tuck myself into bed, complain a little to my wife, and have a nice sleep. However, if someone comes along and starts telling my child they are an idiot, that would go over much differently.

Believers are God’s children, non-Believers are not. 

Insult a believer, you have just insulted God’s child. 

Not only that, but “the one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law.” Why? If I am a cross-country runner (which I’m not) and you insult my ability to run even though I just won a race, you have not insulted me, because clearly I’m good at running, but rather the system by which cross-country participants are judged. You haven’t insulted the person, but the system. Christians who speak against other Christians because of their own pride or insecurities have not judged the person, but the system that God created. 

So, you wanna insult a fellow Christian? You don’t? Oh, because you realized that it’s the same as insulting God’s children and the system by which he chooses to raise his children up? Yeah.

Good news? Their is a lawgiver and judge. 

Bad news? It isn’t you.

How do you cut the crap and quit insulting and hating on Christians so that your own self-esteem is boosted? Here are some ideas.

1. Attend church regularly. If you don’t attend church, you won’t even have the opportunity to get to be in a Christian community so dive in. 

2. Find security in God, not in works. God is gracious, accept your insecurities, admit them, and work away from them. God accepts you as you are, so accept yourself as you are. Accept your failings, work on them with God, but don’t convince yourself that your salvation and worth is based upon how much you do for God. It’s based upon grace.

3. And once again, shut up. Quit talking so much. If you don’t talk, you can’t insult Christians. So shut your mouth, think, and maybe once you have a nice thought, you can speak again.

Later.

God, or the World?

“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” - James 4:1-10

Well, we know from the previous verses in James how to effectively be more peaceable people, but do we know what causes our fights and quarrels? Most the time, we fight cause we feel like it, and that’s all that really matters, right? Wrong. Why do we fight with others? Because our passions are at war within us. Oh, you wanna feel better about yourself? Gossiping about others isn’t the way to accomplish that. You want what rich people have? Stealing isn’t the way to accomplish that. Well, I suppose it’s one way, but James doesn’t suggest it. Oh, and by the way, why aren’t you receiving what you ask for in your prayers? Because your selfish. Because you want to spend what you ask for on your own selfish passions. Have fun whore. 

“What did he just say?”

I said have fun whore. 

What do I mean? Check out what James says: “You adulterous people!” Literally he is calling people like this a whore. Quit saying you believe in God and living for your own selfish passions. Quit asking for worldly things and falling in love with worldly items. You say you love God, but you secretly have a relationship with the world. The bad news? God knows. The good news? Draw close to God and he will draw close to you. 

You better change. If you expect that you can come to the end of your life and offer God some worldly bribe to let you into heaven, your dead wrong. If this is your plan, you better expect hell. However, if you are willing to dedicate yourself to God, repent from the worldly love you once had and humble yourself that the Lord may exalt you, your situation will be significantly more enjoyable. How do you turn from your love for worldly things? Here are some ideas:

1. Get rid of it. You addicted to sex? Get rid of it. Video games? Get rid of it. It will be a difficult path but the reward will be well worth it. Try having an accountability partner who helps you out of the difficulty of getting over your addictions.

2. Your gonna die. Yeah, thats right, your gonna die. Everyone is, so start believing it. Quit being in denial that you will live on this planet forever and start preparing for the life after this one. With the right perspective on life, you might begin to spend your time a little bit wiser. 

3. Practice Discipline. Get rid of a bad habit and start a good habit. For example, I got rid of a video game I was playing way too much and started writing these blog posts everyday. The more time spent with God, the better. 

Wise? Learn Peace.

“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” - James 3:13-18

I ask the same question. “Who is wise and understanding among you?” Are you wise? Do you have wisdom and understanding that allows you to discern between hate and love, heresy and truth, God and Satan? You do? Great! Now quit showing off. Rather, by your good conduct and morals, show your wisdom with humility. 

If you have been given a gift to understanding the word of God and applying it to your life appropriately (wisdom), then rejoice in that, use it, and bless other Christians with it. But the moment you have allowed pride to get its grasp on that wisdom, you can wave goodbye to any wisdom you previously had, because now it has been cluttered with “earthly, unspiritual, demonic” motives. And wherever those motives exist, “there will be disorder and every vile practice.” 

Literally, if you don’t handle your wisdom correctly, every kind of disorder and vile practice will be present. From pride to idolatry, to gluttony, hate, lust, gossip, adultery, and anything else awful you can think up. Why? Because the moment you are prideful about yourself, your gonna think your entitled to women, stuff, and happiness. Hello sin. Goodbye wisdom. 

What about those people who don’t have that kind of God-given wisdom? For you, I have the same thing to say, don’t act like you do because of insecurity or pride. If your not skilled at something, admit it to yourself, or your gonna lead Christians astray, which is not gonna make the Big Man happy. 

What’s the point? Why does this all matter? Everyone today is looking for peace, from the terrorists (though it seems like an oxymoron) to the Atheists. Everyone wants one thing on this earth (at least most people): peace. And in this passage of scripture, James tells us how to achieve it. How? By being “pure, peacable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” For those who make peace shall sow righteousness. 

How do we become peacemakers today? Study these qualities and one day at a time, adopt them into your lifestyle:

1. Purity

2. Peacefulness 

3. Gentleness

4. Openness to reason

5. Fullness of mercy

6. Fullness of good fruits

7. Impartialness

8. Sincerity 

Master these and you have become a peacemaker. 

Shut it

“So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.” - James 3:5-12

Ah yes, the tongue. We all know of its’ power to bless and to destroy. We know of its’ ability to curse, to love, to hate. We understand that the tongue is a “world of unrighteousness.” Don’t we? I mean, just the other day, I restrained from yelling at my wife because she called me at a bad time; and instead of telling my boss he is a jerk to his face, I just whispered it to myself so that his feelings wouldn’t get hurt. 

Get it?

The taming of the tongue isn’t actually at all about the tongue, but about the heart, the tongue is merely the exit point for all the hatred and love built up in the heart. That is why the tongue “boasts of great things;” because it is the medium by which our greatest passions are expressed. 

This member of our body can “set ablaze a great fire.” A fire of love, or a fire of hate, a fire of gossip, or a fire of honesty, a fire of destruction, or a fire of instruction. Human beings cannot tame the tongue, but God can and with the aid of the Holy Spirit, it is a realistic endeavor. 

But how do we tame the tongue? How do we actually control our mouth? Here are some ideas. 

1. Think before you speak. “Duh,” you say, “that’s an easy one.” But how often do you actually think about how what your about to say is going to effect the person your saying it to? Shut up and think.  

2. Don’t speak while your angry. Though this can sometimes end up leading to more anger on the opposing side, sometimes the wisest thing to do during a heated fight is to shut your mouth and try to process everything so that you aren’t simply reacting.

3. Practice saying nice things. While this seems like an easy one, it can actually be surprisingly difficult to say nice things to people. However, if you work on constantly encouraging others, you will find that your attitude is better and therefore your tongue is less evil.

Why is it so important to tame the tongue? Because with it “we bless God,” but we also “curse man” who is made in the image of God. Do you realize that James is telling us that it is just as bad to curse man as it is to curse God? Why? Because man is created in the image of God, by the very breath of God. If a man builds me a house and I look at it and call it a piece of crap, I have not insulted the house, but the house-builder. When we gossip, hate, insult, degrade, or hurt any human being with our words, we have just cursed the maker of the universe. How does that make you feel? 

Learn to tame your tongue. Day by day, learn more and more about how to overcome this sinful burden, and eventually you will turn this tool into a vessel for blessing rather than cursing. 

Tame Your Tongue

"Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things."  - James 3:1-5


Every Christian wishes they could stop sinning; wishes their life wasn't cluttered with imperfections and mistakes. Unfortunately, we Christians should expect that life for us is going to remain sinful. Though, through the power and sanctification God offers, our sin nature will be lessened, it will not go away in this lifetime. However, in this passage, James tells us how we can tame our sinful nature; how we can began to put an end to the evil thoughts and actions that rule many of our lives. The key, James says, is taming the tongue. 

James starts this passage by pointing out that not many people should be teachers of the gospel because we all stumble in many ways. The main problem being that teachers are leaders, leaders are looked up to, and if a leader is not able to control his mouth, neither will his followers, bringing greater judgement upon himself. Though we all stumble in many ways, James says the source of all stumbling comes from not being able to bridle the tongue. Evil thoughts are indeed a sin, but if we learn to not talk about those evil thoughts, its amazing how easily those evil thoughts go away. If I am angry with my brother but choose not to express it with my mouth, the anger fades immediately. James is trying to get the point across that if a person perfectly controls his mouth, than he will perfectly control his whole body. So though we will not be able to perfectly control our mouth, if we can control our mouth to some measure, to the same measure we will control our whole body. Just as a ship is driven by a small rudder and a horse is controlled by a bit in its mouth, we are ultimately controlled by our mouths. We are to be "slow to anger" (James 1:19), and this is done by the taming of the tongue. 

Control your mouths friends and think before you speak. If you can do this, your faith will grow. 

Do you remember what happened when Peter was quick to speak? Three times, he denies Christ. Once, he is condemned by Jesus for what he does. Peter's tongue got him into a lot of trouble before he learned to control it, but once he learned to control it, it was a powerful weapon against evil. Though the tongue can bring much evil, it can also bless much. It is a beautiful thing if tamed but a horrible thing if left to its sinful nature. Control your tongue, don't let your tongue control you.