SHOW MERCY...OR ELSE!

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Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

...because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

James 2:13

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

When I was in high level military leadership, it was important to realize that balance was important to the power and position I held. For while I did have the ability to execute judgment and discipline on others, I also had the platform to show grace and pardon and mercy, and I knew I would be assessed and evaluated as to how well I did both.

If I weighed heavier on the punishment side of things, I would be seen as heavy handed and drunk on the authority I had with no hesitation to go hard on someone when the opportunity presented itself.

On the other hand, if I refrained from holding people accountable when it was warranted, always letting people off the hook, I would be viewed as soft and a push over who was unwilling or incapable of upholding good order through the standards established by my military service branch.

In looking for a solid role model to base my leadership off of, I didn’t have to look beyond the Lord God Almighty, the only One who perfectly balances judgment and mercy in the way He rules and reigns over creation. And as we see in today’s scripture verse from James, chapter 2, the Word of God calls all Christian believers to follow God’s lead in these two key areas. Look again at his words here:

...because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. v. 13

Note here that all Jesus followers, whether the Hebrew Christians James was writing to in first century A.D. or Christians today, are expected to show mercy on others. In fact, the Lord is essentially demanding us to do the following:

“Show mercy...or else!”

What’s the “or else” part?

It’s Him exercising His judgment on all those who willingly choose to withhold mercy from someone else. That in its own right should be enough to get our attention because no one should willfully invite God’s judgment on themselves.

Listen, well before we get focused on God judging us for failing to show mercy, we should be keeping our eyes fixed on the cross where Jesus hung and died to pay for our sins. We deserved to suffer in His place but God, out of His deep mercy, sacrificed His one and only Son instead so that all who would place their belief in Him would be saved.

As Christians, neither you, me, or any other person who placed their trust in Jesus did anything to earn such an incredible, glorious gift. God provided it to us freely because He loved mankind so much and didn’t wish for everyone to perish (John 3:16). It truly is, as they say, amazing grace.

In today’s message, God is speaking to us through James and compelling us to show mercy to others as He has shown to us, showing us that mercy indeed does triumph over judgment.

Forgive others as God has forgiven you.

Show mercy as God has shown you mercy.

And freely exercise grace instead of judging others when you really have no right to judge, at least biblically speaking.

Do these things and God will never have to initiate the “or else” part of our verse for today. For only a fool would invite His consequences exacted without mercy, a totally frightening place to be, for sure.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

WHY WE CAN'T SAVE OURSELVES

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For He who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom.

James 2:10-12

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Millions upon millions of people go through life every day believing they are good enough to deserve Heaven at life’s end, existing as if they are working out their own salvation. Sadly, these multitudes have only one eternal destination and that’s the forever torment and damnation of Hell. They have chosen the wide path that Jesus spoke about during His Sermon on the Mount as He urged people to do this:

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

Where does one find the narrow gate?

Going back to the words of Jesus, we learn the answer.

“I am the Gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved.” John 10:9a

Later, He proclaims this about Him being the Gateway to Heaven and life eternal with Him and His (our) Father God:

“No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6b

Indeed, Jesus is the only One who can save us and cleanse of our transgressions through His blessed blood that was shed on the cross at Calvary, the cross where He willingly allowed Himself to be sacrificed to atone for and take away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

Why the reaffirmation of the Gospel and light shone on the tragic misperceptions of millions in the world?

Because as we see in today’s passage from our continued study of the second chapter of James, no one can say they are free from the sin that condemns a person to be cast into Hell on the day of judgment, the day of Jesus’ return. James writes:

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For He who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom.  Vv. 10-12

Here, we find that if we break one law (aka sin) then we are guilty of breaking all of it. In other words, no one can say they aren’t guilty of being disobedient to what God has commanded. No one.

The Lord put it this way as He spoke through the Apostle Paul:

...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

All means all. No one is an exemption.

All have sinned. All fall short of God’s glory and are worthy of His wrath, judgment, and convicted penalty of an eternity in Hell. Everyone is destined for this unless they place their belief in Jesus as Savior.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

And when we place our belief in Jesus as Savior, we not only enter the narrow Gate and walk the narrow road to life, a road that ultimately will lead to the Promised Land of Heaven but we also receive this promise:

...there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

Through belief in Jesus, the Christian becomes immediately justified or made as if they had never sinned. They gain a pardon from the wrath and judgment of God, a get out of Hell free card that serves as our ticket to the beauty and majesty of Heaven when this world passes away.

Thanks be to God for the gift of His Son, the Son who saves us, the Son who is the only One who can bring us to the Father in Heaven to abide forever.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

LOVE: THE ROYAL LAW

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.

James 2:8

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Get to the heart of the scriptures in regard to what drove God to do what He did, make the way for every single person in the world to be saved by simply believing in His Son Jesus, and you will find love. It’s what drives everything and could be seen as the royal law, the law established and upheld by the supreme Maker and Master of all creation.

Go to John 3:16 and the words of Jesus Himself. What do we find?

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandments, how did He respond?

He said this:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.”

“And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40

Finally, go to Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians and you will find these three key words:

“Love never fails.” 13:8

Let’s break these verses down now and piece them together in a way that ties a bow around this matter of love being the core action of the “royal law”.

First, we have to love God in a completely self sacrificial way.

The greatest commandment tells us to love Him with our heart, mind, soul, and strength. In other words, every fiber of our being is to love God. Period.

When we truly do this, when we love God with all that we have, then He becomes all that we are and we begin to reflect Him in everything we do...like loving our neighbors as we should.

We also perfectly keep all of God’s commands in perfect obedience because we love Him too much to fail Him.

We won’t dare worship other gods before Him.

We will never misuse His name in sinful ways or fail to rest on the seventh day as He did when He created all things.

We will honor the parents He placed in our life, the parents who helped bring us into the world and raised us up.

Because we love God completely without compromise, we would never even consider murdering or stealing from another person. We also wouldn’t be unfaithful to the spouse He has given us to share this earthly life with. Finally we wouldn’t give false testimony against a neighbor or covet the things they have over what God has blessed us with.

You get the point. Indeed, all the laws hang on the command to love God and then one another so when we love God as we should, with all that we have, then we will have no problems fulfilling everything He has told us to do, therefore doing right and righteous things in His sight.

Are you struggling in your faith life, possibly wrestling with being obedient to God and what He has commanded?

Maybe the place to get back to where you need to be starts with the matter of love, the behavior at the heart of the royal law and the greatest commandments spoken by Jesus.

For remember that when we love as God wants, that love will never fail.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

DON'T PLAY FAVORITES!

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.

James 2:1-4, 9

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

People in the world are terrible today when it comes to passing judgment on others. It’s not surprising when we consider that Satan is operating with full power in this earthly domain.

But what should concern Christian believers is the number of professing Jesus followers who have allowed themselves to be influenced by the world’s ways, so much so that the way they behave shows they are in allegiance with the world more than set apart from it in holiness and righteousness as God and His word calls for.

We get a sense that this isn’t just a 21st century matter but rather one that has existed for the ages as we look at the opening four verses of James, chapter 2. For as the author, a converted Jew, writes to his Hebrew Christian brothers and sisters. We find him addressing the matter of favoritism. Look again at his words here:

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Vv. 2:1-4

The very Word of our God couldn’t be clearer on this subject of favoring a person or group of people over another. The command to Christian believers is to “not show favoritism” and not means just that, not. It means don’t do it and if the Lord tells us not to do it, then we have no right to treat it as if it’s optional.

We’re not to show favor to people who are well off while brushing off and marginalizing those who aren’t.

We’re not to give preference to one or more members of our family over others. Parents aren’t to put a child or others above another. Ditto for siblings in the way they treat one another.

We’re not to discriminate by race, treating one person or group of people as better than another because of color or ethnicity. The same applies for religion or politics or age or gender.

Our Lord Jesus taught about this matter when He delivered a parable, one that should be familiar to most Christians. Let's revisit His words here:

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10:30-37

The Jews despised the Samaritan people and given the opportunity would discriminate against them ten times out of ten. And yet in the parable, Jesus tries to teach the Jews that being a "neighbor" to others, loving them as you would love yourselves, means that you don't show favor of one ethnic group over another. For the two men who would have been expected to bring aid to the wounded Jewish man, the priest and the Levite, were actually the ones who ignored him while the Samaritan man, the one who would have been shunned by the Jews, loved the Hebrew man to the point where he helped him get the treatment he needed and provided financially for him as well. This is what a world looks like where people refuse to show favoritism for one over another.

Going back to our passage for today, we find God speaking to us through this Word he has spoken through James and He is making it crystal clear that showing favoritism is nothing short of sinful. For anyone Christian who willingly chooses to discriminate is opting to judge “with evil thoughts”, evil because the chosen behavior is in direct disobedience to the words of Jesus who commanded His followers to:

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7

The demand from our Lord in this passage is simply, “Don’t play favorites!” It’s up to us to listen and obey.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE PURE AND PERFECT RELIGION

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

James 1:27

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we close out chapter 1 of the letter James wrote to the first century Hebrew Christians, we find the matter of religion take center stage. He says this in verse 27:

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

It’s important to note that there were a lot of religions in the time of James. We know the Roman empire was in control and reigning over Israel as well as other nations in the region and Europe. There was a polytheistic belief system and the Romans worshipped multiple gods and goddesses.

Gnosticism was another belief system that was thriving during the first century. Gnostics held to a firm belief that attaining special divine knowledge is what could save a person, not faith. They also feel there is a creator but don’t view them as being holy or in a place of authority over the earth, just one of several divine figures that can provide knowledge but aren’t present in space and time.

And then there was Judaism, a long existing religion that both James and his Jewish audience prescribed to before converting to Christianity. Prior to Jesus’ coming, death, and subsequent resurrection, the Israelite people were God’s chosen people. They were to be obedient to all the laws, regulations, and commandments He provided them and, in turn, He would protect and bless them.

But then things changed in a big way and Jesus ushered in the new and only true religion, Christianity, when He said these words:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

God now offered the gift of salvation to all people, Jew or Gentile. All they had to do is simply places their belief in His Son as Savior. But even after God had established His new covenant for salvation, there were many Hebrew people who rejected Jesus and refused to set their Judaism aside to follow the new “Way” as Christianity was known early on.

The bottom line is that the Christian religion had a great deal of competition at its onset and so it’s easy to understand why the Lord would speak truth through James to set the matter straight.

Now, of interest, the Greek word that gets translated as the English word “religion” is thréskeia, derived from the Greek thréskos, which means external religious worship. In applying this to our scripture verse for today, the only religion that is acceptable to God the Father is the Christian faith that leads a believer to exhibit these two critical traits:

First, Christians are to care for the disadvantaged.

“...look after orphans and widows in their distress...”

During Biblical times in the New Testament, it wasn’t like there were well established orphanages in place where parentless children could be cared for and eventually join foster families. Rather, orphans were socially marginalized and economically disadvantaged. They couldn’t fend for themselves and had no one to lead, guide, and take care of them. Often, these children could end up enslaved by sinful adults who sought to exploit the children’s vulnerability.

Widows, in this instance primarily speaking of women, found themselves in a similar place of need, particularly if they didn’t have children who could take them in and care for them. Married women rarely worked to earn a wage because their husbands were the ones who earned the household income. The wives were relegated to caring for the household and bearing/raising up children. And so when a husband died, the wife was too often left with nothing and, like the orphans, were socially disenfranchised.  

The call for Christ followers was to take care of those who were, as Jesus said, “the least of these” (Matthew 25:31-46) for this is something God viewed as “pure and faultless” behavior.

The other trait that God favored in anyone practicing the Christian religion was their willingness to conscientiously work to “keep...from being polluted by the world”.

We know Satan is alive, well, and influencing the worldly domain in which we abide in. His number one mission is to disrupt and destroy every good thing God is trying to do and that includes every Jesus believer. He often does this insidiously by leading a Christ follower into sin when they allow him to pollute them through the world and its ways. To prevent this, God calls on all Christians to mirror Jesus and His conduct in everything that they do for that is what being a believer is supposed to be all about...to be Christ-like in every way possible.

Yes, there may have been many religions during the time of James, just as there are today, but since the death and resurrection of Jesus, only one religion is legitimate in the eyes of God and that is the pure and faultless precepts of the Christian belief system which I am blessed to be a part of.

I pray you feel likewise.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

WATCH YOUR TONGUE!

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.

James 1:26

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

How many times have you said something that you later regretted?

I think we all have made this mistake in the past as it’s so easy to do.

This is why we saw an earlier exhortation from this first chapter of James that commanded Christians to be “slow to speak” because once words are out, they’re out. There is no bringing them back and those words, in certain circumstances, can damage people and relationships to a place of no return.

Maybe you can relate, having been hurt and scarred by things spoken by another in your life. Often times, these verbal assaults aren’t accidental but rather delivered with intent like firing bullets out of as gun at another.

Now while the world might simply brush this kind of behavior away, possibly even accepting it instead of condemning, the Lord would call His followers to exercise restraint and conscientiousness before words are said. In fact, He wants us to allow the Holy Spirit to do the talking, driving what we say as much as He dictates how we think and behave. For frankly this is the only hope that any Christian has regarding talking in right and righteous ways to others.

There’s too much at stake to do otherwise, right?

For consider how much damage a person could do to the Christian faith if they chose to speak in sinful ways. The consequences are detailed in our scripture passage today as James writes:

Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 1:26

Many a professed Christian have allowed their tongues to speak unchecked and not only damaged their own reputation but that of their Christian religion.

Consider the ever increasing number of false teachers, self affirming pastors who are misleading believers by misrepresenting the entire Word of God. For only preaching prosperity while remaining silent on the matter of damnation, judgment, and Hell for anyone who fails to place their belief in Jesus is only telling people what they want to hear, not what they need to hear.

And then there are Christians who allow the matter of politics and cultural matters to drive them to verbally attacking others who believe differently than they do. In fact, I have seen proclaimed Christians communicate in ways that make them look no different than the world they live in and that’s not what Jesus has called us to do. Rather, He has called us to follow His lead and be in the world but not of it...to dare to be different.

Of as God commanded, be holy (read...set apart) as He is holy.

Friends, the Lord is speaking to us today from His word with firm direction. Essentially, He is calling us to watch our tongues and refrain from speaking in ways that could discredit Him or the Christian way. If we keep our focus on Him in every manner, to include the way we talk, we achieve this and ensure that every word we say is approved by Him and in accordance with His will because He would have given the words to us.

Let us pray.

Lord, please help us to be disciplined in the way we talk to others. We submit our tongues to you and ask that you will guide and dictate our words so that they will work to bless others and honor You. For we love You and place our fullest trust in Your ability to do all things as we pray in your precious and holy name. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

PUT THE WORD INTO PRACTICE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

James 1:22-25

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The best life instruction manual ever written is the Holy Bible because it’s the only book written by the Lord God Almighty. And since the Lord is perfect right and just in every way, that means every word written in His divine scriptures is true and trustworthy.

In other words, anytime we seek counsel from God’s Word, we can be totally assured of its integrity and validity.

Now, like any other set of instructions we might need to follow, success doesn’t come by ready what one is supposed to do and then deciding to do something else. When this happens, recipes result in ruin and things constructed fail to function as designed, just to name a couple of common examples. Nothing becomes what it was intended to be when directions aren’t followed to the tee.

This principle also applies to our spiritual lives as we look at today’s passage from the first chapter of James. There, he writes this:

Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. Vv. 22-25

Through His holy Word, God wants to lead His people to right and righteous living, to be more like His Son Jesus, the One He sent to be the Savior of the world. But it’s not enough to read or hear the Word of our Lord. We have to put it into practice or as our scripture passage demands, we need to:

“Do what it says.”

Note that this is a demand, not a suggestion. It doesn’t say, “I think it would be a good idea if you did what the Bible says” or “I recommend you read and listen to the Word of God and then put every part of it into practice”.

No, the Bible, the inerrant word of our God orders every single Christian believer to”

“Do what it says.”

Emphasis on the “Do” part.

James likens someone who doesn’t carry out what the Word commands to a person who sees themselves in the mirror and then immediately forgets what they look like when then go away from it. In other words, Lord wants us to be a reflection of what His scriptures call us to be. When we sit down our Bibles and walk away, our lives are to mirror the kind of person He wants us to be, the person who has looked “intently into the perfect” Word of God with its laws and regulations for living, and then carried out that Word in obedience. As a result, the Lord will “bless” that Christian believer “in what they do” because what they do will be in accordance with His scriptures and therefore pleasing in His sight.

The call today from our God is to make sure His Holy Word is put into practice. My prayer today is that this message will be a reminder for you to do just that.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

PUSH THE FLUSH HANDLE

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In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the Word planted in you, which can save you.

James 1:21

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

One need go no further that look at the anatomy and workings of the human body to marvel at the amazing complexity and mastery of the creative hand of God.

Think about it.

What is happening in complete synchronicity for a healthy person every single second of every day?

Isn’t a heart pumping life sustaining blood through a network of vessels (arteries, veins, and capillaries)? And simultaneously, two lungs inhale equally life sustaining oxygen.

We have mouths that allow us to chew and then swallow food into a gastrointestinal system that extracts the nutrients needed to fuel everything the body does.

Add to this our sensory abilities to smell, hear, and see, our ability to perform dexterous work with our hands, and the mobility gained through our lower extremities to include two feet.

The body even has disposal capabilities because we produce waste products that need to be expelled. After every inhale, our lungs exhale carbon dioxide, the byproduct of cellular energy production that needs exhausted. And at the end of the digestive tract are orifices used to expel unneeded waste from the body, whether liquid or solid. This is done in a bathroom and toilet, after which we typically will push a flush handle because we don’t need to keep the waste around. We need to deliver it to a sewage system where it is processed and eliminated.

Why the discussion of the body and how it operates, even down to the matter of waste disposal?

Because it has direct application to our scripture passage today, verse 21 of James, chapter 1. There we find these words:

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the Word planted in you, which can save you.

Just as with the physical body, our spiritual body needs to bring in the good and get rid of the bad, the moral filth of sin that pollutes our souls and sickens us unless expelled. Essentially, James is commanding his readers, the first century Hebrew Christians, to push the flush handle of their spiritual self, sending off the “evil that is so prevalent” in the life of a transgressor.

They are to also ensure that they are bringing in the good for spiritual nourishment, the very “Word planted” in them, the Word being Jesus Himself who is the only One who can save.

Need verification that Jesus is the Word?

Consider this from the opening of John’s Gospel:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the Light of all mankind. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1-5, 14

The message is clear here to all Christian believers.

Push the flush handle on your sinful, moral filth and replace it in your spiritual self with the blessed Savior Jesus, the One who was, is, and will always be the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

YELLOW LIGHT/GREEN LIGHT

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

James 1:19-20

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In nearly every country one might drive in, there are traffic signals that are universal, having a language of their own transmitted by color.

Green means go.

Yellow means proceed but with caution.

Red, of course, means to stop.

This collection of colors and their associated meanings are often used as an analogy for making other important points. Today’s message, titled “Yellow Light/Green Light” is one such example as we continue to examine text found in the first chapter of James. Look again at these words here:

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Vv. 19-20

In regard to our behavior as Christians, these words take on critical meaning as we seek to live as God intends for us to live and that is to be a model of Jesus’ conduct when He walked this earth more than 2,000 years ago. James, the author of this letter, implores his “dear brothers and sisters”, the Hebrew Jesus believers, to adopt the following conduct:

1. Be quick to listen.

This is a “green light” command, but one that calls us to restraint as well.

For we are to be “quick to listen” which means we need to shout down our minds and mouths so to be ready to fully receive and understand what someone else is saying to us. If you rearrange the letters in the word “listen”, you get another word “silent”. Don’t think the Lord did this by accident. The best listeners silence themselves and respect what the other person is saying. There will always be ample chance to talk when it’s your turn to.

2. Be slow to speak.

How many times have you spoken without thinking first and gotten yourself in trouble?

I know I have, more times that I would like to confess and this is why we find this “yellow light” caution in the scriptures.

The truth is that we all can find ourselves guilty of speaking too quickly without first stepping back and thinking about our words first, and even more so, consulting the Lord and asking Him to provide the words to say. For if we allow Him to drive how and when we speak to others, we can always be sure we are talking in His perfect time using His perfect words.

3. Be slow to become angry.

Here’s we find our final exhortation and it’s definitely another “yellow light” command.

Too often, we react badly to our circumstances such as when someone wrongs us or we find ourselves in disagreement with another or others.

Unfortunately, we encounter a lot of people in our society with very short fuses, both in person and online. It’s not only important to not be counted in that number but to show restraint when it comes to responding in kind. As they say, “two wrongs don’t make a right” and angry situations can either escalate or diffuse depending on how we respond to someone in midst of their anger. While the world would urge people to respond in kind, the Lord would call for us to be peacemakers and we can do just that when we invoke the Spirit of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, into these matters.

Ultimately, the end goal in the way we live out this life the Lord has blessed us with is to bear the fruits of righteousness in everything we do, the righteousness “that God desires”. We can do so, not just in upholding these “yellow light/green light” orders but also in allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us to the following defining life principles found in Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia. In the fifth chapter, God speaks these words through His apostle to us:

“...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Vv. 22-23

Let’s “green light” all of these, making them a priority as we drive through life each day on the way to the blessed eternal life that our Father God promised us through our belief in Christ Jesus, His Son.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.