Focusing the Tongue

Action

No steam or gas ever drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined.

Harry Emerson Fosdick 1878-1969, American Minister

James 1:19-22
19 This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. NASU

Many of the things that God allows us to do as Christians can be supplanted by our harsh words and attitudes. We have done many good things in our churches as we have worked together for the Kingdom of God, but many of these things that we do, as far as actions and outward appearances can be overridden by our tongues.

A quick temper, or a sudden outburst of emotion, can do a lot of harm to what you have worked so hard to build as a one of God’s chosen and elect. If you have asked God for help in this area one of the things that you will find happening to you is the constant drip of things that might pull at your emotions and get you upset. God is allowing things around you that will make you cry out to Him for strength to overcome these challenges. He is training you and I to call upon the Holy Spirit to show us how to focus His strength on our weakness.

Didn’t we read in God’s word that when we are weak, then He is strong. Didn’t we hear Paul when he said in 2 Cor 12:10, “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” You see it is in our weaknesses that Christ can manifest Himself in us, so that when we are at our “wits end” is when Jesus can begin.

God says that the “implanted Word” is able to save our souls. Yes, indeed it can, if, we will apply it to our tongues and attitudes and allow the implanted word to give us improved appearances to the world through our daily lives.

Isn’t this true? Who can hide a disgruntled heart? Doesn’t it always show up in some way in our life that doesn’t increase our witness, but diminish it? When God says be ye doers of the Word, it also involves our speech and attitude. Lets you and I allow the Holy Spirit of God show Himself strong and increase His strength in every area of our lives…God Bless

Pastor William

Resettling

We are about settled, today is my first devotion in a while, things are settling down a little more each day as we are moving in to our new residence. Pray for Santa Fe Baptist Church with me as we move forward for our Lord and Savior, and pray for souls to be saved for the Kingdom of God.

It's an Every Day Thing

Obstacles

Everyone who achieves success in a great venture, solves each problem as they came to it. They helped themselves. And they were helped through powers known and unknown to them at the time they set out on their voyage. They keep going regardless of the obstacles they met.

W. Clement Stone 1902-, American Businessman, Author

Isa 57:13-15
“But he who takes refuge in Me will inherit the land and will possess My holy mountain." And it will be said, "Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstacle out of the way of My people." For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, "I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite. NASU

I once heard a man say that an obstacle is something you see when you take your eyes off the goals you are trying to reach. I am afraid that as Christians we need a time of refreshing and need to refocus our hearts on what our true goal is as a church. It is a time to call ourselves to an accounting for our actions, and to go to the alter to ask our God for strength and wisdom to see the obstacles keeping the church from its mission of reaching the lost.

My wife and I recently have moved, and that is always work, but praise God for my wife’s diligence to take it in small bites. It was something that she did a little of everyday and some days were longer than others, but it was not something that we could do in one day, it was something that we set a goal to do and everyday we did something to reach that goal. We can learn from that as a church.

So many times in our churches we have “events.” What I mean by that is that we have a planned time to go together to do something for Christ. They are beneficial and touch many lives, but I think that we all fall short in the time between events. Obstacles are everyday events for Satan, each day he is blocking the road to salvation for so many and he is busy thwarting the many efforts of the church. I’m afraid that even with the best intentions, if we rely on events we will fall behind.

What Christ asks us to do is to live every day for Him. Paul tells us in Rom 14:19 “So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.” In the preceding verses Paul speaks of obstacles and that we are not to be creators of obstacles, but the removers of those things that stand between Christ and the lost and dying of this world. My brothers and sisters in Christ, this is an everyday job and events will not make the impact you and I can have everyday for Christ in this world. Let’s you and I determine to do this “as we go”…God Bless.

Pastor William