LAW BREAKERS

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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.”

“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.”

James 2:8, 10-11

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

“We live in a nation of laws.”

How many times have you heard someone make that statement?

I know I have many times, usually in times when it seems lawlessness is breaking out. Faced with disruption of order and borderline chaos breaking out, you’ll often find officials trying to remind people that there are laws in place for a reason. For the very laws that people are disregarding, as they choose to liberally act in wicked and criminal ways, were intended to prevent that very behavior from happening in the first place.

Now, in saying this, we need to understand that lawlessness is rarely widespread. Usually, we find pockets of it popping up in certain places and it is typically criticized by people watching it play out in the news or those who may live in close proximity to the lawless behavior. Most citizens are quick to call out the criminal actions of others because they believe in the cause of being law-abiding citizens.

There’s only one problem with this stance. For when we look at things objectively and with absolute honesty, everyone has been a law breaker at some time or another.

Sure, maybe you haven’t robbed a store or assaulted someone or even went as far to have killed another person but if you have ever exceeded the posted speed limit while driving, whether around your city or town, or in traveling to other places, you are a law breaker. I could go on and on citing examples by I think you get the point. In the end translation, every person who lives for a while will end up breaking a law they were expected to keep.

Now, you might say that this argument is ridiculous. Speeding is nowhere near the same as stealing or murdering someone. From a worldly, logical perspective, maybe this might be considered true. After all, the world is good at providing people a ready-made excuse to try and justify their wrongs rather than take accountability for them.

But when we shine the light of God’s word on our life’s behaviors and circumstances, a new view emerges and as we see in our latest passage from James’ epistle, no one is exempt from being among the wicked, no matter what their offense is. Look again at these words from James, chapter 2:

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

“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.”  James 2:8, 10-11

Note here that there is zero margin for error when it comes to God’s expectations for complying with His word, the royal Law. It doesn’t matter if you’re obedient to every law except one, that one makes you a law breaker. In other words, 99 percent isn’t good enough in the Lord’s eyes. You either keep the law perfectly or you haven’t kept it at all.

Now on the surface, this may seem as if it’s a bad news devotion, one that is filled with condemnation and conviction. While it’s true that this message (and more so God’s word) condemns and convicts all people as law breakers, it is, at its core, a blessing.

Why do I say this?

Because it reminds us that we are all flawed. Or putting it a different way, it reminds us that we are all sinners who fall short of the grace of God (Romans 3:23).

When it comes to perfectly being righteous, we all fail and fail miserably. None of us can gain salvation through compliance with God’s law because we all have broken it, many times over. Short of having a savior, we are doomed.

And that is why Jesus was sent by God, to rescue and save law breakers like you and me.

You see, the only valid justification a law breaker has at their disposal when before God’s judgment throne is the justification found through believing in Jesus, the unblemished Lamb of God who has taken away the sins of the world. He’s taken away my sins and yours so that when place our full trust in Him for salvation, we find our condemnation before God removed forever. Indeed, Romans 8:1 confirms this truth:

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Through Jesus, law breakers find pardon and experience the purest forms of grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love. But before they can appreciate this, they have to realize and confess that they are law breakers in the first place.

Where do you stand today?

Are you a condemned man or woman, a law breaker who thinks they will just get away with a lifetime of committing sins?

Or are you thankful for how God has exposed you as a law breaker and showed you the way to His absolution through His Son who has already paid the penalty you deserved to bring you the everlasting life you could never earn on your own?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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EXPLOITED?

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In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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

“Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of Him to whom you belong?”

James 2:5-7

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

Through the ages, it seems there has always been social inequity within society. The eras may come and go. Cultures can differ one from the other. But no matter the time period or the locale of any one community gathering of people, there always seems to be division along economic lines. You can almost be guaranteed to find those who have and those who don’t, the wealthy and the poor. And with the financial disparity also comes an imbalance of power. In fact, money ends up equaling power when we look at wealth from a worldly, material perspective. The rich always have an advantage over the poor because they have more income to afford the better things, things like homes and cars and the perks of being prosperous. They also can lord over others through the threat of legal action, well able to afford legal representation than someone in poverty. In fact, often times the disadvantaged find themselves disenfranchised and even exploited by the affluent who know how to wield their monetary might to gain advantage.

As we look at our passage for today and our continued study of James, chapter 2, we see God’s word address this matter as it obviously was occurring in first century A.D. Look again at those words here:

“Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of Him to whom you belong?” James 2:5-7

Note here that the Lord despises anyone who dishonors the poor. Going back to Jesus’ words from His ministry teaching, we remember Him saying that when we care for those considered the least in society, it’s as if we are caring for Him. Through His own words, we are to see how social equity is a cause close to our Savior’s heart. After all, He didn’t just come to save the rich. Rather, Jesus came for everyone and there was no economic requirement, no income thresholds that would qualify or disqualify someone for salvation. Through Himself and His redeeming work on Calvary’s heart, Jesus opened the doors of heaven and the opportunity for eternal life for all.

Unfortunately, the world’s ways are counter to the expectations of Jesus. The world’s ways encourage people to excel and rise up in status over others. The world’s ways celebrate inequity, honoring the wealthy and urging those who have to gain more while doing little to nothing to help a person in poverty out of their bad situation. Consequently, we find this saying play out in truth:

“The rich get rich and the poor get poorer.”

But what if the world has it all wrong? What if true wealth has absolutely no monetary component to it but rather a fully spiritual one? What if a person could be the richest person by worldly standards and yet be in abject poverty spiritually? What if Satan is exploiting and deceiving the wealthy to think they are really on top when they are actually at the bottom? Or as Jesus asked:

“What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” Matthew 16:26

In the end translation, God’s word wants us to know that the people who carry the most value are the ones who become poor in the eyes of the world, choosing instead to store up riches in heaven so that they might “be rich in faith” and “inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him.”

So where do you stand today?

Are you rich by the world’s standards and in spiritual poverty because you give no credence to investing in and accumulating treasures in heaven through living for Christ Jesus?

Or are you living in great spiritual affluency, giving no attention to the things of the world because you understand that true wealth in life comes from knowing that the world offers you no gain when compared to the riches you have in your Savior?

My prayer is that you identify with the latter but if not, today is the day you can choose to change, forfeiting the ways of the world and the false sense of prestige and prosperity it promotes to instead accept the vast and inexhaustible riches only found in Jesus Christ, riches that not only sustain in the present but for an everlasting future.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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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 today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Did you grow up with siblings?

I did. A lot of them.

I came first, followed by three sisters, and then a brother. Yes, my parents got a workout through their time of raising us all up.

Now something that inevitably happens when you have a lot of kids like that is that everyone wants to be the favorite of their father and/or mother, a desire that can breed intense internal competitiveness within any one family. We even came up with a phrase for this, “sibling rivalry”, as brother would go against brother, sister against sister, or brother and sister would vie for the feeling that they were rated higher than the other or others.

As we grow up in our youth, we find this matter of favoritism spill over into other arenas. Within a school classroom, students all strive to outdo each other to be the “teacher’s pet”. When sides were chosen for sports or any other game, there was always pressure on the team captains to pick favorites, whether it was the most talented kid or just a good friend who was expected to be selected.

After we leave school, we move onto jobs and what’s one of the first things we see happen in the workplace? It’s someone trying to intentionally get the special favor of their boss so they might get the promotions or the best assignments.

Over and over again as we live this thing called life, we find ourselves facing the matter of favoritism and so it should be of little surprise that God’s word addresses this matter. We find this in the opening four verses of James, chapter 2. Look again at these 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?”  James 2:1-4

It doesn’t take long here to find out what the Lord expects Christians to do, right?

Believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Period.

Note there is no exception clause included here nor is the expectation of the Lord optional.

Christians are not to discriminate and see any one person or people more favored than another. They have no place employing judgment on others.

Why?

Because the Lord doesn’t play favorites, that’s why. He loves every single person equally and doesn’t hold any person in higher regard than another. That’s why He is the perfect Parent, the perfect Teacher, and the perfect Employer.

Friends, if the Lord doesn’t discriminate and show favoritism, than neither should any Christian. If you’re doing it check yourself, repent, and then get back to being obedient to what God commanded, to what God expects. Your actions will be pleasing in His sight.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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THE PURE AND FAULTLESS 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 today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

There are all kinds of religions in the world, a virtual buffet table of them for people to choose from. And one might assume then that each of these religions are competing, one against the other, in order to gain the trust of a believer.

This leads to a quandary for anyone who wishes to commit to some religious belief system and have so many that are promoting themselves as the right one to follow.

So what is a person to do? How can someone find a religion that is absolute truth, the one religion that stands apart from the others and renders them as nothing more than false?

Well, the answer to the question begins by looking to the One who made everything possible, the Father God of all people who made the heavens and earth and all things within each. If you want a perfect answer, ask a perfect God, the only One who can provide such an answer and since we have the inerrant word of God at our disposal, we only need to reference the Bible to find what God calls the one true religion. Look again at these words from the 27th verse of James’ epistle:

“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

Here we find the guidance we need to assess the world’s religions and find our way to the One God accepts. There are two set criteria:

1. The religion needs to look after orphans and widows in their distress.

We know that widows are men or women who have lost their marital partner. In biblical times, this was a particularly precarious situation for women because often times, they had no means of financial support after their husband passed away. Therefore they needed looked after and this was an expectation in Old and New Testament days.

Orphans on the other hand were arguably dealt and much tougher hand. This is because these children lost their parents, either by way of death or abandonment. Unable to care for themselves, these orphans would need someone to step into the void left by their departed parents and make sure their needs were met.

As we look into the scriptures, we learn how God Himself had made it a priority to assist widows and orphans. Looking at the 68th Psalm, we find these words:

Sing to God, sing in praise of His name, extol Him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before Him—His name is the Lord. A Father to the fatherless, a Defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. Psalm 68:5

When we take this in context with our devotion verse from James, we can see that the pure and faultless religion we are to follow is the religion where He, the Father to the fatherless and Defender of the widows, is the focal point. We’re to give our worship to the One who cares for orphans and widows perfectly and uses His followers to help Him to that end.

2. Keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

This is the second indicator of a pure and faultless religion and since we already established in the prior evaluation of orphans and widows that God is the focal point of such a religion, then we will look at the religion all people should follow based on Him, particularly in light of this second benefit to be gained.

How does one keep themselves from being polluted by the world?

By having help to ensure behaviors are pleasing to God and free from the sin of the world.

Where does that help come from?

God provided it to us in the way of His one and only Son, Jesus.

You see, not only was Jesus sent to save us but also to live a life we can model. Jesus was one with God, He said as much, and so we know that He was just as perfect as His Father. Therefore, if we live as He lived and commit ourselves to that, then we can be assured we’ll be safe from the world’s polluting.

Just to make sure we know what to do since Jesus is no longer with us in person but sitting in the heavens at God’s right hand, we were given the Holy Spirit which leads and guides us to make the right choice every time we have one to make. This was the great Counselor and Advocate Jesus promised that God would send to step into the gap left by His absence, and the Holy Spirit has been working to keep Christian believers on the path of righteousness and holiness ever since biblical times.

You may have caught what I just wrote or maybe you missed it but note that the Holy Spirit is not available for everyone. The only way to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit is to first place your belief in Jesus as Savior.

Therefore, the identity of the pure and faultless religion is revealed. It is Christianity, the only religion that places the one true God at its center, the one true God who made it a priority to be a Father to the fatherless and Defender of widows, the one true God who sent His one and only Son to show anyone who puts their trust in Him how to live a life free from the world’s sinfulness, the one true God who also sent the Holy Spirit to take up the work that Jesus started and that Spirit has been leading people to the righteousness and holiness God desires ever since.

If you’re looking for a religion to follow, there are plenty of options but only placing your belief and trust in Jesus as Savior, brings you to the religion that is pure and faultless, the only real true religion.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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REIN IN AND TAME 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.”

“When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”

“All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.”

James 1:26, 3:3-12

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

More than a few people in the course of history have been taken down by something they said.

A famous reporter claimed thought embellishing his war coverage would elevate his image and paint him as heroic. But his stories were found to be untrue and his reputation was ruined as he was removed as news anchor and suspended by his news network for six months.

A celebrity on a food network was found to have used a derogatory term for African-Americans, even confessing to planning weddings where blacks were portrayed in racist fashion. Her words and actions cost her a career but even despite apologies for what happened, the damage was done, all because she couldn’t control her tongue.

And more than a few politicians have opened their mouths and said things that cost them their office during reelection, too many actually to name here.

Add to this all the people who have lost jobs or permanently damaged relationships by saying the wrong things and you get why the Bible speaks very strongly about the matter of the tongue, especially in the Epistle of James, the half brother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

As we look at our verses for today, we see where a troublesome tongue impacts everyone, Christians or otherwise. Note that a person who doesn’t keep a tight rein on themselves, perhaps thinking they get a pass because of their religious association, end up only deceiving themselves and proving their religion is worthless because their words don’t marry up with the identity they profess. They might consider themselves “religious” but their actions don’t match up with their beliefs.

Perhaps the reason people have so many problems with controlling what words come out of their mouth is because they lack the ability to keep their tongues in check. Indeed, we see that these efforts are really wasted ones because no one can take the tongue and that means no one. Large horses can be controlled by bits placed in their mouths and mammoth ships are steered and managed by rudders that are small in comparison to the ship itself but there is no such device that can regulate the tongue that can spark major wickedness with just a few spoken words, just as a forest fire rages after just a small spark started it.

Indeed, the scriptures tell us that although all kinds of living creatures can be tamed, the human tongue is in a league all its own, possessing the ability to corrupt the entire body and lead a person’s life to go down in flames, mostly because of the kind of wickedness that leads to hell itself. James writes that the tongue is a “restless evil, full of deadly poison”. Ever think about that when you consider that tiny part of your overall body picture?

But the tongue isn’t always necessarily bad, right?

I mean, there are many people who have spoken words that have inspired generations. Think about Jesus in this light, for example. Nothing ever came out of His mouth that would cause anything except for a person to become better in and through Him and the Father God who sent Him. Jesus was the only person ever who could perfectly control His tongue and if there’s going to be any hope for us to do likewise, we have to enlist our Lord’s help to do so. Remember, the word of God here makes it clear that no person can control their tongue on their own. But through Jesus Christ, all things are possible (Philippians 4:13).

What will happen if we don’t do this, turning our tongue control issues over to the only One who can take them?

Well, we’ll continue to sin with our tongues while showing running contradictions through our actions. We’ll show that we can use our tongue for positive things that are pleasing to our Lord like lifting up our praises to Him. But then we’ll turn around and curse others - gossiping, slandering, or abusing them with the words our tongue helps us speak. These two polar opposite uses of the tongue are nonsensical. They defy reason as much as seeing fresh water and salt water flowing from the same spring or a fig tree bearing olives and a grapevine harvesting figs.

As James said so well, “…brothers and sisters, this should not be.”

Indeed, it shouldn’t be but it is and it’s a major problem in our society today.

How are we going to stem the tide of destruction caused by our respective tongues?

The answer to the question is found, not within ourselves, but in our Lord. If we’re going to have any hope to rein in our tongues and have them tamed, we’re going to have to surrender that task to the only One with the power to do so. The starting point comes when we relinquish the choice of words we use to the Lord, allowing Him to dictate what we say. Then and only then, do we stand a chance to control our tongues and become more the people that God wants us to be through His Son.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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