“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

                           -John 3:3

“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”

                             -John 3:5-7

In just a few days, 2010 will come to an end. As it does, people everywhere will resolve to get in shape, out of debt, and any number of other things they would feel proud to accomplish. Unfortunately, most of these  resolutions will be discarded before February, and the people who made them will divert their attention to something far less strenuous than going to the gym every week. The problem we face, however, is much more serious than a failure to shed a few pounds; it’s that most of us are annually wasting a God-given time of new beginnings.

You see, I believe that what this country needs is not another handful of broken New Year’s resolutions. It needs a revolution. It needs each of us standing up for something bigger than we are and making a Godly difference in our society for the glory of God. While I think it’s great for a person to determine they will get out of debt or spend more time with their family, what’s even greater is when people resolve together that they will put God first every single day of the coming year. When we do that, we can rest completely assured that everything else will fall into place accordingly (Matthew 6:33).

As we have read in the Scriptures, “… ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” (James 4:14) In light of this truth, let us make a resolution each and every day to serve God from the depths of our heart and not allow something as uncertain as time to shape our actions. After all, who’s to say this day won’t be our last?

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”

                          -Hebrews 12:1

There are 30 books of the Bible in this paragraph. Can you find them? This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket, on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much, he passed it on to some friends. One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat. Another friend studied it while playing his banjo. Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend, was so intrigued by it she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving, she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot. That's a fact. Some people, however, will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or a scholar to see some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the books in this paragraph. During a recent fund raising event, which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new record. The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over 200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, "The books are all right here in plain view hidden from sight." Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. Also, keep in mind, that punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know the answers. Remember, there is no need for a mad exodus; there really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph waiting to be found. God Bless.

Looks can be very deceiving. In fact, some of the worst sinners that can be found are often the ones who outwardly appear to be the most holy. Though this doesn’t mean the outward aspect of our life is unimportant, it does mean we should give first priority to making sure all is well with our soul rather than vice-versa.

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.”

                                 -Matthew 23:27

Notice here that Jesus doesn’t condemn the Pharisees for their outward appearance of holiness; His point is simply that they had a very distorted concept of what holiness consisted of. Rather than recognizing the fact that true holiness begins inside and works its way out, they had come to believe just the opposite. In essence, they put more faith in what they could do outwardly than what God could do inwardly. It got so bad that anybody who dared to violate their sacred traditions was labeled a heathen, even if those traditions had no Biblical foundation (see Matt 15:9). On one occasion, the Pharisees even questioned Christ’s spiritual integrity simply because He didn’t wash His hands before He ate (Matt 15:2)!

The truth is, inward holiness will always be accompanied by outward holiness. Yet this does not mean that every instance of outward “holiness” necessarily  indicates its presence within. Like the old math law which says  “all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares.”, every one who is holy looks holy, but not everyone who looks holy is holy. Am I making any sense? God’s first and foremost priority is to purify our heart, which will then purify our actions. He doesn’t try to do things in reverse, and neither should we.

The above is a short video I put together last night with some of my free time, and I hope you’ll enjoy watching it. Whether it will have the same effect on you or not I don’t know but, at least for me, it really draws me into a spirit of worship and reminds me of our Creator’s majesty.

Call me Charlie Brown, but every Christmas season I attempt to discover true meaning in a holiday that has become quite shallow by modern definition. Over the past few years especially, it seems the holiday season has become nothing more than a full-scale assault on our bank accounts, and a time when businesses all over the country try to balance out their annual figures with sales that have people turning violent just to save a few dollars. A time originally intended to celebrate family, generosity and, above all, Christ, has now turned into a time of greed and materialism for many people across the world.

Now don’t get me wrong. I already know the true meaning of Christmas, but, at least for me, that meaning is something you must rediscover on a yearly basis in order to fully appreciate it. It’s easy to fool ourselves into believing that we “understand Christmas” just because we have a nativity set in our living room, yet still miss out on the blessings God has for His children during this special time of year.

Yesterday evening, as I was trudging through the Christmas snow, I found myself singing the song “How Many Kings” by Downhere. It’s a song I’ve sung many times, but it doesn’t always sink in. Yesterday was different, though, and I was overwhelmed with a sense of joy as I sung out, “How many kings stepped down from their thrones? How many Lords have abandoned their homes? How many greats have become the least for me? How many gods have poured on their heart to romance a world that is torn all apart? How many fathers gave up their son for me?”

Only One has ever given of himself so completely and so freely as Christ did. He didn’t just sacrifice Himself one time while dying on a cross;  He gave His life away every day of those 33 years He walked this earth. He did what no one else had ever, would ever, or could ever do: He saved us. That, my friend, is the true meaning of Christmas.

Imagine with me two men in an airplane flying 6,000 above the ground. All seems to be going well when, halfway through the flight, one man is approached by an attendant who offers him a parachute. She promises that wearing this parachute will dramatically enhance his flight. Though somewhat hesitant at first, not seeing how a parachute of this size could possibly “enhance one’s flight”,  he decides to give it a try after several minutes of persistent nagging by the woman.

A few hours pass and the man finds himself miserably uncomfortable. He looks around and sees dozens of other passengers who seem to be enjoying themselves quite nicely, yet none of them are wearing parachutes. What was supposed enhance his flight has done little more than remove his ability to sit upright and rub several terrible blisters on his shoulders. With a sore neck and aching back, he sees no reason to continue bearing this terrible burden and thus removes the parachute and tosses it to the floor.

Meanwhile, another flight attendant approached a man at the opposite end of the plane with an identical parachute as was offered to man #1. Rather than promising an enhanced flight, however, she informed the gentleman that, in just a few moments, he would be forced to jump from the plane and that wearing this parachute was his only hope of survival. No debating was necessary, for the man immediately recognized the impending danger and strapped himself to the parachute without a minute’s delay. He didn’t give a second thought to the weight he must carry while he waited to jump or the apparent happiness of  other passengers who were wearing no parachute; he rather thanked God for saving Him from a terrible death.

Think about this story. Man #1 represents every person who is told that becoming a Christian will “enhance their flight.” They are promised joy, peace, lasting happiness, and anything else they’ve been missing in life. Though somewhat hesitant at first, most decide to give Jesus a try and see what happens.

Not long afterward, however, they realize that serving Jesus doesn't always make you feel warm and cozy inside. They lose their friends at school, are ridiculed by those closest to them, and maybe even get put in jail. After a quick taste of the persecution promised to all who truly serve God (II Timothy 3:12), they want nothing to do with it and thus discard their faith in what they thought would give them a happier, more peaceful life (see Matthew 10:34).

Man #2, on the other hand, represents everyone who is confronted with the truth of the Gospel: man is a sinner in need of forgiveness, and God is a Savior willing to give it out. Instead of being led to salvation with the promise of joy and lasting happiness, they accept Christ fully aware of the wrath of God which will be revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (Romans 1:18). They understand that Jesus Christ is the only way to avoid hell, and so any inconvenience they encounter is disregarded for the sheer joy of knowing they are saved.

We are doing a great disservice to both God and the world when we reduce Christianity to just another way of enhancing your life. We must confront people with the truth of sin, judgment, and hell if we hope for them to respond to the gospel is such a way that they will endure the tribulations of this life without losing the faith. Doing things the easy way might please more people, but it certainly won’t be pleasing God.

“If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not He that pondereth the heart consider it? and He that keepeth thy soul, doth not He know it? and shall not He render to every man according to his works?”

                     -Proverbs 24:12

When God judges the earth, the Apostle Paul said He will “…render to every man according to his deeds.” (Romans 2:6) The reason for this is that a person’s deeds will, without fail, give incontrovertible proof of what is in the heart. As it was said by the Lord Himself, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil.” (Luke 6:45)

If our attitude stinks, it doesn’t  mean we’re just having a bad day; it means we have a heart issue that needs fixing. Though it’s easy to try and justify our impatience or irritability by saying, “That’s just who I am!”, the Lord tells us in Luke 6:43 that a piece of bad fruit can only be gathered from a bad vine. In other words, our so-called “bad habits” go much deeper than most people are willing to admit, and oftentimes reveal much more serious spiritual issues that need our attention. Whether it be an addiction to facebook or a bad set of priorities, our heart will always shine through in our actions.

I don’t know about you, but it’s sometimes surprising for me to take a few moments at the end of my day and reflect on how I’ve spent my time. Sometimes I feel like I’ve done okay, yet on other day – especially this time of year – I realize I’ve been pushing God to the sidelines of my life. The important thing, though, is to recognize the source of the problem, not just the outward manifestation of it. Remove the cause, and you’ll remove the effect.

“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

                      -Proverbs 16:25

We’ve all heard it said to follow our heart. Especially when it comes to things like who to marry or what career to pursue, the #1 answer you’ll get from this world is to just do what feels right. And though the idea might be good in theory, there have many occasions where “following my heart” led me in the wrong direction and left me wishing for a do-over. As today’s Scripture so clearly puts it, the way that seems right to us usually isn’t.

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

                 -Proverbs 3:5-6

There is a reason why the Word of God is filled with Scriptures like this which tell us not to act on emotion or logic: to put it quite simply, our logic is distorted.  When we make a decision, we’re likely to base it on how much we gain and how little we lose. When God guides us, however, He sees the big picture. He doesn’t care if we make a lot of money or have a lot of success; He cares about our soul, and will do whatever it takes to lead us safely to Heaven. The path He chooses for us might be rougher in some ways, but it’s the only one that will get us where we need to go.

As I mentioned a few days ago, it’s important to make sure one’s heart is in the right place because, no matter how hard we try to avoid it, it will inevitably influence the choices we make from day to day. But when it comes to making conscious decisions about something in your life, the only heart you should be following is God’s. His heart will never lead you wrong.

“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 
                                                       -Matthew 7:24

A building is only as strong as the foundation upon which it is built. Whether a humble home or a towering skyscraper, a poorly laid foundation will leave any structure in ruins as soon as the ground gets the least bit shaky. Even if it has a steel frame and beautiful interior, this usually just means it will fall twice as hard when it does crumble. In the same way, Christians must take heed to set there lives on the right foundation if they intend what they are building to last.

“According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

                        -I Corinthians 3:10-11

According to Paul, the only sturdy foundation is Jesus Christ. That may not mean He is the only foundation out there to choose from, but it does mean He is the only foundation that will endure the fire of Judgment Day. Paul goes on to say, “If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” (v. 14 & 15) Even the good works we perform here on earth will only count if they are built on the foundation of Jesus Christ! We can be a saint in the eyes of the world and still a sinner in the eyes of God if we build on a foundation of pride and arrogance.

“And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven.
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

                     -Matthew 6:16-18

Contrary to what many have told us throughout the years, Jesus was not saying that Peter would be the foundation of  The Church. After all, why would the Lord establish His eternal bride on a foundation of temporal flesh and blood? Rather, He was saying that the revelation Peter had received – that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God – would be the at the heart and core of everything the church stands on. It is this very foundation that each individual child of God must stand upon if we plan on making it to the end. 10,000 years from now, may it be said of us that “…the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.” (Matthew 7:25)

“And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.”

                   -Matthew 5:41

We live in a society of incredibly low expectations. Even in my own life, I’ve noticed that many people immediately classify me as a good person simply because I don’t smoke, cuss, or participate in some of the other sinful things people my age typically indulge in. In other words, all in takes to impress this world is to stay in school, don’t do drugs and, in essence, “behave yourself.” You don’t really have to do anything good; just stay away from anything bad. The problem with this, however, is that we often feel like we’re something special simply because we’re “above average.” Staying away from the bad might be enough to impress the people around us, but God has much higher expectations for us to fulfill.

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”

                                                            -Hebrews 12:1

God is no more impressed with neutral Christians than we would be of our favorite Olympic athlete if he simply sat down on the tracks while everybody else ran the wrong way. Perhaps we’re not headed in the wrong direction, but are we headed in the right direction? Standing still might be all it takes to impress our peers, but it certainly won’t impress God or get us to the finish line. Though we might be considered exceptional in a mediocre society, could it be that we’re just exceptionally mediocre?

All the great men and women of history who are worth remembering were people who used their life to accomplish something good. Abraham Lincoln was known, not for his refusal to own a slave, but for his efforts to abolish slavery altogether. King David was known, not for being a better king than Saul, but as being a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). In the same way, we should live our lives so that people can remember us for what we did do – not for what we didn’t.

Love is not an emotion. Though it is often accompanied by emotion, love is so much more than a word or a feeling; it is a commitment. It is a commitment that bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things. True love, as Paul said, never fails. (1 Corinthians 13)

Unlike the brand of love we see at work in today’s world, love in its purest form cannot be expressed in words; it can only be proven by our actions. This is the type of love that filled the heart of our Heavenly Father, moving Him to demonstrate His undying affection for us by dying a sinner’s death at the hands of those He created. Such a love could never begin to be understood if all we had was the verbal promise of its existence. Sure, we’d probably still believe in it, but would we truly comprehend it? Now that we have such clear evidence that it exists, we are now able to “comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.” (Ephesians 3:18-19)

2,000 years ago, love was born into a broken world. Jesus could’ve chose to never set foot in this world, but He didn’t. He knew full well that most of the people who would claim to love Him on earth would one day, directly or indirectly, nail Him to a cross. The amazing thing is that He didn’t let our lack of love keep Him from loving us. Even with His last words, He was praying for our redemption (Luke 23:34). No love has ever been more real; no love has ever been greater.

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

                            -Matthew 7:13-14

Many months ago, I listened to a radio sermon by Pastor Alistair Begg. During his message he shared the story of a critic asking him if he thought Christianity was the only way to heaven, alluding to the millions who have not so much as heard of Christ, let alone had the opportunity to accept Him. He was live on the air at the time, so he knew it was especially important that he didn’t mess this one up. He certainly didn’t, and his response to this man has stuck in my mind all these months. He said, “I have no choice but to affirm that Christ is the only Saviour, because He is the only One qualified to save.”

Though there are many religions in the world today, there is only one Savior. I say this, not because I’m narrow-minded or judgmental, but because it is impossible for there to be more than one Savior. After all, the redemption of mankind required the sacrifice of One that was completely innocent of sin: a requirement that only Christ Himself could fulfill. All humans have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23); if we died on a cross, we’d simply be getting what we deserved.

The Way to heaven is clearly marked, but scarcely traveled. It’s a narrow, often difficult, road to walk that has many hills and valleys, but no turns; it is straight, and will remain straight. The pavement might have a few cracks in it, but don’t worry. It turns to gold toward the end.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

                    -Matthew 6:19-21

Everybody has a treasure. Some people treasure their wealth; some people treasure their social status. Others treasure their home, possessions, their friends, or their jobs. Obviously some of these things are important, but the fact is, no earthly treasure is ever safe. Riches vanish, homes burn, possessions are stolen. Even friends and family can be taken from us in the blink of an eye. Whether we keep our treasure in the bank or in our hearts, Christ tells us that the only safe place to lay up our valuables is in heaven.

Personally speaking, I would never entrust my money to a bank that I knew wasn’t secure. If it was known that they didn’t lock their doors at night or shut the safe when it wasn’t being used, there’s no way I would recommend them to others, let alone use their services myself. How much more foolish would it be for me to entrust my life’s treasure to this world, knowing that it could be swept away at any moment! Money can be earned and re-earned; my life cannot. That is why we are commanded in this Scripture to lay up our treasure  “…where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.”

One thing I’ve learned in my walk with God is that my feet always follow my heart. If my heart is in the wrong place, it won’t be long before my feet follow. That’s why we are instructed to lay up our treasure in heaven: if our treasure is in heaven, our heart will be in heaven. And if our heart is in heaven…well, you get the picture.

“But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”

                    -Matthew 5:34-37

In Jesus’ day, the ultimate way of proving your sincerity in any given matter was to swear an oath. Someone would swear by the temple and, in an attempt to outdo the other, someone else would swear by the gold in the temple. One person would swear by the altar, and another would swear by the sacrifice that was laid on the altar (Matthew 23:16-18). In the same way, this way of life has been almost perfectly mirrored in today’s society, where a person’s word alone is rarely enough to convince someone of the truth. Instead of taking one another at their word, how many times have you heard a conversation like this break out among friends?:

Guy #1: “Wow! Did that really happen?”

Guy #2: “Yes, I’m telling the truth.”

Guy #1: “Do you promise?

Guy #2: “Of course I promise.”

Guy #1: “Do you really really promise?”

If Guy #2 doesn’t “really really promise” that he’s telling the truth, his friend probably won’t believe him anymore. Sadly, many Christians today unwittingly compromise the integrity of their everyday speech by playing this twisted game of pinky-promises and triple-swears. After all, shouldn’t the followers of Jesus Christ – the Way, Truth, and Life (John 14:6) – be able to convince someone of the truth based on their word alone?

To the best of my knowledge, Christ never promised or swore in order to establish His words or teaching. He simply affirmed the truth of the matter at hand with the words, “Verily (i.e. truly) verily I say unto you.” (John 12:24) Likewise, we need not to do more than give somebody our  simple word of faith when the truth of a matter is questioned. Whatsoever is more than this cometh of evil.

Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount covers three full chapters of his gospel (ch. 5, 6, & 7), and I know it would take more time than I have to do each verse justice on this blog. Even so, I want to go through this wonderful portion of Scripture and pick out some of my favorite verses to study and write about. I don’t know how long it will take, or how many posts it will consist of, but I’m trusting God to speak to each of us in a special way through His Word.

Out of all the sermons that have been preached through the years, none have been equal to the Sermon on the Mount. No Billy Graham or Charles Spurgeon has ever come close to delivering a message so moving and so powerful as this, and that is why I feel compelled to at least devote a handful of posts to its teaching.

Anyway, be sure to check back in a few days for the start of what I trust to be an exciting series! If there are any particular verses you especially want me to post on, don’t be shy of commenting and sending me your requests!

NOTE: Many of you will remember the series I did back in June on the beatitudes, so I’ll probably not touch on those first 12 verses again. If you want to check out my thoughts on those particular teachings, you can find them in my June archives at the bottom of my sidebar.

“Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.”

                       -Acts 19:19-20

Some of the greatest outpourings of the Holy Ghost took place in the book of Acts. People were saved by the thousands (Acts 2:41), and the Lord added to His church daily (Acts 2:47). But contrary to what people often suggest today, God did not pour out of His Spirit so freely just to get people’s attention. The reason we find such amazing miracles and groundbreaking revivals is because the early church knew what it meant to live a holy and sanctified life.

On the other hand, many people today are under the false assumption that you can have as much of the world as you want without it hindering your walk with the Lord. They entertain themselves with murder and vampires on Saturday, yet leave church confused on Sunday because they didn’t feel the Lord like they thought they were supposed to. While their morning might include a short Scripture reading, the evening hours are spent indulged in books unworthy of sharing the same shelf with the Word of God. Apparently unaware that a Christian “…cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils” (I Corinthians 10:21), they continue on in this miserable state of hypocrisy, hoping that they’ll soon come out of the valley they unwittingly keep throwing themself back into.

As Christians, however, we should follow the example of the Ephesians and remove from our lives anything offensive to God. When they realized that the books they read were not holy, they gathered them together and burnt them. No, they didn’t sell them on E-bay and cause someone else to stumble; they destroyed the evil once and for all. The Scripture goes on to say that it was this very act that caused the Word of God to spread rapidly through the area (verse 20). In the same way, we can expect God to work mightily in our lives when we begin removing those things that have no place in our life. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you (James 4:8).

“Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.”

                        -Deuteronomy 7:26

“These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.”

                             -Proverbs 6:16-19

Out of all the sins God hates, the book of Proverbs lists seven specific things that are an abomination in His sight. And though many people can posses these traits, one type of person in particular contains six of these seven terrible sins: the gossip.

A gossip is not only prideful by thinking he or she is better than those they are talking about (verse 17), but they all too often exaggerate what little truth might exist in the rumors they enjoy spreading. By distorting the truth, they are in God’s sight a liar, and thus disqualify themself from the Kingdom of Heaven (Revelation 21:8). Furthermore, their feet are always quick in running into mischief, their heart continually devising wicked imaginations and, above all, their lips always sowing discord among the brethren (verse 18-19). They are the opposite of a peacemaker (Matthew 5:9), and will thus receive the opposite of what is promised to peacemakers: a curse rather than a blessing.

“A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.”

                          -Proverbs 11:13

Whether the information is true or false, gossip is still a sin in God’s eyes. According to this Scripture, there are instances when the best thing to do is to “conceal the matter.” After all, why would we want to spread information that will cause discord, even if we think what we’re saying is factual? In the words of Paul, the only type of communication that should be found on a Christian’s lips is “…that which is good the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” (Ephesians 4:29)

Probably each of us need to carefully and prayerfully consider the way in which we use our tongue. As we read in God’s Word, it is an unruly evil that only God can tame (James 3:8). Truly, death and life are both in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21).

Over the past few months, my Scripture memorization efforts have not been nearly what they used to be. While I never stopped maintaining the verses I’d previously memorized, adding new passages of God’s Word to my list rarely happened. That’s why, starting this Monday, I’m going to begin the process of memorizing III John, and I’d love for you to join me!

I know some of you are no doubt thinking that to memorize a whole book of the Bible is absurd; but in reality, III John contains only about 15% more words than the average Christian song. Why is it that we don’t hesitate to memorize the words of Tobymac and Third Day, and yet are hesitant when it comes to hiding God’s own Word in our heart (Psalm 119:11)? It’s not as hard as we tend to think, and the rewards are far greater than being able to sing along to our favorite tunes.

Anyway, I hope you’ll prayerfully consider joining me in committing this wonderful passage of Scripture to memory. I plan on moving forward at a pace of 2 verses per week so that anybody who is willing to truly apply themselves can participate. Even if you’re somebody who has never memorized Scripture before, consider this the perfect time to start! Also, be sure to check out the new page I’ve added to my navigation bar (above) dedicated to this project.

I hope you’ll join me, and please be sure to let me know if you do!

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”

                           -I Peter 3:15

Yesterday I talked a little bit about the importance of becoming grounded in what we believe. Today, however, I want to take things a step further and show you the importance of being able to defend your beliefs through Scripture to both sinners and Christians alike. In other words, though it is important to be grounded in our beliefs, we must make sure we are being grounded on the right foundation (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).

As we read in today’s Scripture, being able to defend what one believes is a vital part of each Christian’s faith. If we respond with “Ask my pastor.” whenever we are questioned about our faith or our convictions (I’ve been given that answer before), we are going to come across as nothing less than a narrow-minded, judgmental legalist who thinks that whatever he/she says goes. After all, would you give up driving your car just because an environmentalist said you should? In the same way, no sinner is going to forsake his sinful lifestyle without first being shown a good reason to.

Martin Luther once said, “Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason, my conscience is captive to the Word of God.” The fact is, you won’t have any luck convincing somebody of your convictions if they have no real Scriptural basis. In fact, if you are only holding onto those standards because your pastor said they were right, chances are you’ll leave them behind yourself as soon as the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence. I’ve seen this happen myself to many people who, though their convictions were not without Biblical foundation, eventually forsook them because they had never been shown the verses they were supposed to be living by. If you are absolutely sure that what you believe is true, then it’s more than worth the time necessary to look up a verse or two on the subject.

“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”

                          -Galatians 1:8

 

Anxiety. It’s a little word, but yet a big problem in today’s world. People worry about everything from mortgage payments to what they’re cooking for dinner, even though several thousand years of history reveal no instances of worry or anxiety ever fixing anything. The worst part of it all, though, is not that countless hours of useful time are thrown away each day by worrywarts; it’s that many Christians have fallen into this  miserable trap of the devil.

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

                                                        -Philippians 4:6

Many times people worry about things which cannot be solved in any other way than through prayer. For example, worrying about where you will spend your eternity won’t change anything, but a single trip to the altar can make all the difference in the world. Despite this, many people spend their entire life in constant fear of what might happen after death, and never do the one thing within their power to resolve this issue. In the same way, how often have we wasted precious time worrying over things that could be solved in a matter of just a few minutes at the altar of prayer?

“For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to Whom be glory for ever. Amen.”

                          -Romans 11:36

And while many things can be solved through prayer, there are certain things that are simply out of our control. We cannot control when and how we will die, when Christ comes, or whether deceased loved ones are in heaven or not. No matter how hard we try, we can’t change the past, or control the future; all we have is today. Right now is the only moment you can do anything about, and let’s not create another moment worth regretting by wasting it.

“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”

                         -James 2:14-17

 

One mistake I think many Christians – including myself - often make, is us getting in our heads that, in order to spend time with God, we’ve got to be saying something. Without giving the Lord a chance to get a word in edgewise, we ramble on about our needs, our desires, and our problems until we feel like we’ve said enough. Once we think we’ve put in enough time, we wrap it up, say Amen, and wait until the next day when we’ll repeat the process.

The problem with this, however, is that we are turning our time with God into a monologue instead of a dialogue. Christianity was never intended to be a single-sided relationship, yet, for many, that’s what it has become. I know that I’ve never really enjoyed talking with somebody who thinks they are the only one with anything worth saying, and I highly doubt the Lord does either. Could it be that the reason we aren’t hearing from God like we want to is because we simply won’t listen for His voice?

“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”

                         -Psalm 46:10

Some of the best moments I’ve ever spent with God were times of complete silence on my part. Whether going outside and watching the beauty of the night sky, or sitting in a church pew enjoying the presence of the Lord, I’ve learned that God has His own ways of speaking to us. He doesn’t always speak audibly; He finds louder ways of getting our attention. But, even if He does speak, will we be able to hear Him over our own voices?

Perhaps the Lord has spoken to your heart in the few moments that you’ve been reading this post. Maybe He’s telling you it’s time to “be still” and listen to the song He’s singing over you (Zeph. 3:17), or that it’s time to stop standing still and start moving forward in Him. Whatever He may be saying to you, listen closely.