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‘Words from the Pastor’

Very often I ask myself if I am really putting my best effort forward in my walk with Christ. Let’s take a look at a passage in the Book of James that speaks to my heart every time I read it. 

James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves, do what it says (NIV).” King James Version puts it this way, “Be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving your own selves.” Pretty plain and simple isn’t it? If we do not put into practice what God tells us then we are deceiving ourselves. It’s interesting that it says that we deceive ourselves. No one else is deceived, just us! 

A few weeks ago Naomi and I had the privilege of going to dinner with 6 of our children, their spouses and 10 of our grandchildren! All of the grandchildren had their own table and boy did they have a great time, as you can imagine! On our way home after dinner I mentioned to Naomi how well behaved our grandchildren were. Then I started remembering some of the shenanigans those little people were pulling! But it didn’t matter to grandma and me because we had on our “Rose Colored Glasses.” They’re our grandchildren! How could they ever do anything wrong? But grandma and I weren’t the ones that had to clean up the mess after we left. The wait staff may not have had the same impression that grandma and I had! 

Do you think we do that as Christians in our own lives? I know I do. There are things that I need to change and work on to become a better follower of Christ, but I don’t. I know I need to share my faith more with those that don’t know Him, but I don’t. I know I need to try and live more of the Big 9 (Fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23) and show Christ in my life, but anger still creeps in not love. I lack joy so often. Peace should be the sign of a Christian but I loose mine so easily. Lack of patience still takes over. Not to mention how poor of an example I am when it comes to kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. And then Paul pours salt in the wound in the 24th verse and says, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Well Paul, I’m working on it. Praise the Lord that my salvation is through the Blood of Jesus and has nothing to do with my works! Faith in Jesus is all it takes. But I do strive, hope and pray that I will do better.

 Think about it. Naomi and I love y’all.

I was reading in chapter 4 verse 32 of Ephesians. It says, “And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ has forgiven you.” There are a few things to look at here. First, it’s a great reminder that we need to be kind to each other. We need to be kind to everyone we come in contact with actually. If we are to “Love others as we love ourselves,” and “Love our neighbor as ourselves,” then we need to learn to show kindness to whomever we come in contact with.
You ever had a bad day? Or maybe you’ve had a bad week or a bad month. Some folks seem to have bad lives, where nothing ever seems to go right for them. I think that we as Christians need to keep this in mind when we are dealing with people. We never know what someone is going through. Look at the writer of this Epistle, the Apostle Paul. He had been imprisoned, shipwrecked, beaten, stoned and attacked from every side but yet he knew that God was on the throne and He was looking out for him. He wrote these words, “Be kind to one another.” We need to keep in mind that we don’t know what everyone is going through when we’re dealing with them. If we knew what they were going through, we might just understand why they’re a big ‘ole grouch!
So maybe instead of being mad about their attitude we should try and encourage them and show them the same love Jesus shows us even when we don’t deserve it. Which in my case is all of the time!
Then Paul writes, “Forgiving one another even as God in Christ has forgiven you.” Each one of us that knows Christ as our personal Savior knows that we do not deserve this kind of forgiveness! We deserve death, but Christ died on the cross for us so we don’t have to die and spend an eternity separated from Him! What a deal! He did it all and forgave us so we need to show the same to everyone, especially our brother’s and sister’s in Christ. I know it sounds simple and in reality it’s hard, but with enough prayer we can get it done! We can become like our Savior, Jesus! Pray for me and I’ll pray for you that we can get this done!
Please let me know if you need anything. Naomi and I love you all.
-Pastor Steve